Little Things...and a Forecast Fear

I've been asked for another blog post about my adventures here, after a two-day hiatus. The problem is...there really hasn't been too much going on. As a dashing lawyer in CT has said to me reassuringly, not every day is about wild adventure. I've been applying for casual jobs here and there, and I have been napping. I've gone out with the water ladies, but we are really trying more to get a feel for the area still than go on some incredible journey. This will be our home for the remainder of the year, after all.

Tuesday Denise and I went onto the CityCat ferry and aimed for a town called Tenneriffe. It seems like a pretty quiet and pleasant area. There, I saw a strange sculpture of a ewe posing with a handbag. The building behind it has the words "Woolstores" hanging on top. I gather this area, when it was more a rural backwater, was a wool manufacturing (read as: farming) area. It isn't a wool area anymore, though; the building was converted to apartments a while ago. The whole area seems pretty residential, aside from the construction garages and boutique offices speckled around on the streets.

We ended up going to a little corner cafe to get lunch. You know, I've heard complaints that (compared to NYC food) restaurants here aren't that great. I'm not sure I believe this -  every meal I've had out in a restaurant (all 3 of them) has been excellent! Here, we shared a salad and corn fritters with bacon, and it was pretty delectable. The bacon was generous and crispy, the corn fritters were actually good, and the salad was refreshing. And the portions were massive! For the cost, especially.

Anyways, we ended up getting lost for a few hours in an area that was either New Farm or Fortitude Valley. Fortitude Valley, should you need to know, is apparently where the wild nightlife of Brisbane takes place, and has a few seedy places as a result (so I don't really plan on spending much time over there). Apparently it has shops as well. We did find an RSPCA thrift shop and enjoyed looking around the books on display; I know now where to go when I need nicer stuff on a student budget.

Yesterday, the water ladies and I met up to enjoy the Museum of Brisbane in City Hall. There is a river exhibit there about the history of the watery snake that splits the city up into separate pockets and reaches (pockets are where the land turn into peninsulas; reaches are where the land curves around the peninsulas). Once again, the short timeline on city history confused me a bit. Most everything that has happened here has been photographed in some way!

We did learn that the Aborigines would paddle/wade to cross the river with spears between their legs, in preparation for crocodiles. So that was fun.

They also had a Hollywood in Brisbane exhibit, which displayed a healthy amount of costumes that were worn in movies from the Golden Age. This was a bit baffling to me as well - Australia hosts Hollywood costumes? Apparently they were gifted by a private collector in Brisbane. Good on him? The costumes were pretty and well made.

We reserved a time to go up the City Hall tower to admire the clocks in the tower. We got to ride an old elevator and check out the square from about 10 stories up.

Other than that, I've been trying to find a face soap that successfully scraping the excess oils on my summery skin, and trying not to freak out about the upcoming cyclone expected to hit Brisbane later tonight. They're forecasting pretty significant flooding. I'm really anxious about it, since the place where I'm supposed to be moving in tomorrow is right in a flood-prone area. Think, right on the water. I'm very much biting my nails from nervousness, and praying it all works out. Because I am not sure what to do if it doesn't.