Brizzy Brisbane.

 After a day and a half in Sydney we flew to Brisbane!  We spent the next five days in Brisbane and each day got better and better.  It was honestly the perfect vacation.

The first morning there Kent and I went on a run and got caught in a cyclone (that's what a hurricane is called in australia)!  Okay- so it wasn't quite that bad- but it was crazy.  We got caught out in the storm at mile three and had to go back 3 more miles to get home!  I had to close my eyes because it was raining so hard!  It turns out our first day there was the rainiest march 29th in history :) Luckily for us - after that first day the weather was PERFECT.  75-85 degrees- a few clouds, low humidity, and NO rain :)

After our run, we went downtown to check out the farmer's market/souvenirs/etc.  It continued to rain and we ended up doing a lot of eating :)  I didn't take as many pictures this day because of the rain- so there aren't as many to narrate our day! 

 Downtown with my Aunt Michelle and our new Australia umbrella.

 Here's Kent testing out the famous Australian 'pies'.  We had quite a few flavors while we were there. Our favorite was the 'brekky' pie.  Brekky is short for breakfast.  Australians shorten all of their words.  Brisbane is called 'brizzy', sunglasses are 'sunnies', McDonalds is 'Maccas', Mosquitoes are 'mozzies', universities or 'unies' - and I could go on and on.  I actually really like the idea and may adopt it permanently.

 They also love pumkpin!  It's on lots of their sandwiches, on their pizzas, and anywhere else they can think to put it.  I'm a fan.

 For lunch on rain day we went to the mall and had 'kebabs' or shawarmas.  Mediterranean wraps. They were one of my favorite foods we ate the whole trip!

There's a pretty strong asian influence and Kent enjoyed thai one of the days. One of the best parts of a vacation is trying out new foods and not having to cook :)  We were not disappointed in the variety and quality of food on our vacation!

After being rained on sufficiently -Kent and I decided to venture down to the 'Gold Coast' while everybody else went home.  I wanted to check out 'Surfer's Paradise' and see some of the country side via train.  I really really love traveling on trains. We talked to some super friendly people and saw a lot of beautiful scenery. Plus- the Gold coast was pretty cool.  It was a little gloomy- but at least it had stopped pouring rain.

Surfer's paradise had some amazing waves and was the coolest color.  I'm just not used to the blue/green water!  The beaches I've been to aren't nearly as pretty as in Australia!

Surfer's paradise and the Gold Coast are supposed to be one of the top ten surfing locations in the world!  The area is super touristy and reminds me of what Miami would look like.  We did a lot of window and souvenir shopping and enjoyed people watching.

Here I am chasing birds on the beach. They didn't budge. They weren't afraid of me in the slightest. 

 

 Australia is famous for the 'Gold Coast' and the 'Sunshine Coast'.  We went to the sunshine coast two days later and I'm glad that I got to experience both.  You'll have to wait and see which I liked better!