Still feels like home in Brisbane

Brisbane and the Gold Coast are generally not on the itinerary for tourists travelling to Australia. However, I spent a year of college (ie. ‘uni’) abroad at the University of Queensland, in a suburb of Brisbane, so Ryan and I scheduled 6 days in the area to visit friends and check out old haunts. Luckily, Ryan was feeling almost all better by this point, and we were able to get out and see the sights. I’ve always said that Austin reminds me of Brisbane, and Ryan agreed that Brisbane has a similar feel to Austin.

The university and the residential college where I lived (Union College) looked relatively the same, with some minor improvements, but there has been a lot of development in downtown Brisbane. First night we walked over the [new] pedestrian bridge to the South Bank, with good views of the city. The great Streets Beach and pool were still there (where my first scuba lesson took place years and years ago), but now there are a ton of restaurants and bars and a marketplace on the weekends. Looks like a fun place!
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November 5 was Melbourne Cup Day; think Kentucky derby, but more national involvement and much more celebration. Everyone, and I mean everyone, leaves work early to party. We headed to a bar in one of the city squares to people watch, have a drink, and catch the race. Since the bartender could not tell us the official drink of the Melbourne cup, we opted for a glass of wine and a mint julep, only to later find out from the women sitting next to us that it is champagne. We then wandered through the city, down the Bicentennial path along the river.
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While in Brisbane, we were able to meet up with Craig and his fiance Karen (Craig is a friend from uni), Edwin (IBMer I met in Argentina), and Snoopy (another friend from uni). It was great to see them all and catch up. Snoopy said I should join the FaceTube so we can keep in touch :-) . Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture with him!
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The following day we made a quick stop at the XXXX (four ex) Brewery for a tour before catching the train down to the Gold Coast. Ryan compares XXXX to Budweiser in the U.S. XXXX Gold is one of the most popular beers in Australia. Ryan learned how to properly pour a beer from the tap (though I think he already knew).
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