Jo & her ‘Tummy’ Visit Brisbane

Jo had to get her butt outta bed early to catch the train to visit me on Tuesday…….

I met her at the train station & we walked down to the river & grabbed ‘Mickey D’s’ for breakfast, along with a ‘yummy as’ coffee We sat in the warm Queensland sun talking shit & enjoying being together. (yeah yeah we know, not a very good diet for an expecting Mum, but we can’t be good all the time, & she has been really looking after herself)

Once finished we jumped on the ferry & headed off to our apartment where Jo had a ball raiding my wardrobe taking most of the clothing I had in my throw out pile, along with the usual amount a Jewellery that leaves my home when my darling girls come to visit.

We got some great shots of Jo & her baby tum-tum (Added that bit just for you Brooke - Dad)

Our Grandbaby is due in January……

EJ visits Brisbane.

After dinner at Westend - Beam me up Scotty!!! & EJ's new tat, Butterfly is carrying a Pohutukawa Flower


Bisbane Eye


Dracula's & Surfer's in the Wee small hours of the morning.


Lunch Time & Photo from the Haunted House, Hahaha check out EJ's face!

Having EJ come & stay was better than Christmas……….

The Tuesday EJ arrived Marty & I caught the train to meet her at the airport, man you would have thought the airport was the train station, there is a bloke asleep in a chair & he was bringing the house down with his snoring!!!!!!!! (Another damn Kiwi?!!!)
We got on the train back to the city for a spot of shopping. Talk about break the bank, man us girls can shop?!!!
1 o’clock had EJ as nervous as hell as we had booked her in for her first real tattoo (we will not discuss the 2 that she had done herself…..hummm one of them has Jo’s name glowing under the lights in the night clubs!!!!)
That evening we drove EJ to Surfers to stay with her sister but that didn’t work out as planned & EJ was back on the Train the next day having to find her way in strange place all on her own. (She will be a seasoned traveler by the time she gets back to NZ?!!!)

Friday night we caught the Ferry to Southbank & went up in the Brisbane Eye & then into Westend for a yummy Turkish Dinner.
Saturday, ‘shop till ya drop’ at Harbour Town, ‘Bargains Galore’ & then a FUN night out at Dracula’s. Dracula’s is awesome but bring ya gold cause that’s what it costs, $198 just in drinks for the 3 of us!!! But you should have seen the drinks Marty was buying us. Marty ordered a bowl, & I mean a BOWL of god knows what, I took one look at it & thought OMG we will never finish that?!!! But of course we did & then Marty ordered 3 Grave Yardy’s, they were soooooo yum. So by the time we left we were well primed for clubbing in Surfers & meeting random’s at The Beer Garden.

On EJ’s last day, we caught the train to Surfers to spend some time with Jo. EJ had loaded some music on her new phone & we were ‘Rockstars’ the whole way on the train & bus. (Those poor passengers having to listen to our singing for the whole journey?!!!) EJ, Jo & I had lunch together at Chevron Renaissance & then went back to Jo’s to chill before EJ & I went back into Surfers to visit the ‘Haunted House’.
EJ was such a ‘scaredy-cat’ making me go though all the doors of darkness first……..whooooo hahaha

♪♫♪…So what, I’m still a Rockstar ♪♫♪

A Sunny Day at Southbank

Views from Apartment


Birds (Ibis) at lunch



Southbank & photo from Rickshaw Ride


Cheesy Tourist shots.....Me with Didgeridoo Guy


Brisbane Eye I'm cool with it!!!


Pic's from being up in the Eye. Check out the 'phallic symbol' in the background, Marty helped make the top of it.......


Well I have been out of New Zealand for 6 months now, am not homesick yet…...I actually feel some disappointment at not being homesick!!!?
Where we are staying is pretty awesome, It is fully serviced, so no more housework for this girl, they clean my bathroom, change the sheets & give us fresh towels once a week, (yes I know your jealous, I would be too!!!). We have river views & it’s only a 10 minute ride on the ferry to the city. Oh & it’s been over a month since I drove a car!!!!

Have to tell you about Marty & the Asian Student at the Laundromat. I don’t know what kind of washing machines they have in other parts of the world but clearly they are more sophisticated than the ones we have here…….She had put her money in the correct place, tipped her washing into the machine, closed the lid, stood back & with arm movements commanded ‘WASH,WASH”????????????? Poor girl, how Marty contained his laughter I will never know, he politely showed her to spread her washing evenly in the machine, to use laundry powder & which BUTTON to push!!! Hellooooo!!!!!!!!! I want a voice controlled washing machine……….

Last weekend the weather was awesome, (unlike this week where a lot of the area around us is flooded!!!!) We caught a Ferry to Southbank & Marty & I went up in the Brisbane Eye……. Oh the fear……the sweaty palms, oh the anticipation…….I’ll be OK, I’ll be OK………
Well I was OK; it’s not that different from going on a gondola Duhhhh I’ve done that before?!!!!!! So, all is good until it has to stop to let other people get on or off…….can you believe the bloody thing stopped with us (I really mean me cause Marty just thinks it’s funny) right at the very top……………. TYPICAL!!!
Great; been there done that, now I’m ready for the London eye!!!!!!!!
We went to the Southbank Markets, ate lunch & watched the birds , had a tourist photo with ‘Didgeridoo guy’, then caught a Rickshaw over there river into the city. The young guy riding charges an extra $5 to take you to town cause its uphill most of the way!

A Saturday afternoon in Brizzy City.

After a meal & a beer at O’Malley’s we went & did a spot of shopping, Marty found me the coolest black dress on sale at Myer’s, almost half price!!! Great spotting Marty………….

The City is so interesting & entertaining. There are many street performers – bah-ha-ha check out me & the Charlie Chappy!
So happens that this Saturday Allen’s Confectionery were filming an add in the city & they had a ginormous Puppet doll with eyes that moved & they had a heap of enthusiastic children jumping for lollies in a lolly scramble. Funny thing was that they had to do take after take & the lollies (not all wrapped in paper) were picked up off the ground & thrown again, & again, & again?!!!

Ferry ride home in the evening.
Brisbane in a beautiful city by day & so very pretty at night………

Kiwi Band Kora in OZ

April the 13th we rocked out to Kora (My favorite Kiwi band) for the 4th time. They played at the Coolangatta Hotel, Love these guys. (So can't wait for the new album)....... OMG we slept the night in the car & swam in the ocean before breakfast.
Some of us will just never grow up?!!!

Surfers Paradise…been there done that???!!!!!!!!!!

Load up the Station Wagon honey we are on the move…….

‘Plastic fantastic’, ‘Clone city’ are words that come to mind when thinking of Surfers?
Having Big Boobs & riding in a limo is NOT unique here!!!
A travel destination lacking in culture…… or maybe that is a culture???

I should really be careful what I say here as I have friends who just love Surfers Paradise, but I just didn’t get it??? Sorry……….

I really did enjoy visiting the smaller outlying places, like Tambourine Mountain & Byron Bay……..And it certainly is a beautiful coastline.

To the friends I made while working at OZ Fair, …….you are awesome & I really do wish our time together had been longer,

Oh & ‘Rock On’ at The Beer Garden, where I have danced till my feet hurt way into the wee hours of the morning!

Lot’s of Fun things to do here, but bring a Fat wallet cause your gonna need it!!! However this is compensated by a low cost of living, if you choose to live here.
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I would like to finish this Blog with a quote from a young friend of mine who has also lived in Surfers Paradise…….
“I like to think I’m better than the politics that surrounds you in that place” but “you gotta try these things out don’t ya?”

The Spit

Sorry it’s been a couple of weeks since my last entry. Life has slipped into some kind of normality, whatever that is? (Mental Note….must NOT let that happen!!!).

So I thought I would tell you about ‘The Spit” This is where Marty goes to fish - not that he’s ever caught anything worth mentioning there. However it’s a great place to sit & watch the world go by. – Jet Ski’s racing backwards & forwards & boats everywhere. Some very big & expensive. These boats are nearly always full of people. I can’t help but think about the passengers on these boats & wonder how many of them are genuine friends of the owner and how many are friends just for notoriety? Or maybe these boats are hired & my mind is just evil???
And just when you are lost in thought of the lives of others a commercial Jet boat speeds buy full of passengers looking for a thrill.

Most times I take a book to The Spit & sit on a rock to read, occasionally distracted by what’s happening on the water, all the while Marty attempts to catch fish! (Marty really misses the fishing in New Zealand)

On this particular day that I took pictures at The Spit, it poured with rain on the way in. We drove right through it, Yay……., but it followed us & we sat in the car waiting for the rain to pass. So much for bringing the camera I thought? It did pass & Marty baited up his fishing rod & threw it out. (We should have gone home when we first sighted the rain?). He got attacked by insect’s but insisted rather than leaving we should move….. so we moved...... & he baited up his fishing rod & threw it out. Now the tide is moving too fast, OMG can’t bloody win!!!
(I must be quick)…… click click click……time to go home!!!!!!!!!