First off, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I had no idea, so sorry for being such a no-show.

Secondly, I swear my dark pix look good when viewed on a flat LCD monitor. I've been a little disappointed in how dark they look on the "old" CRT monitors. Anyone have any experience with this, and how they turn out when printed? Does anyone still read this drivel, for that matter?

After a bit of a rough start in Brisbane, (due to being given the wrong address), I eventually re-united with Sabrina and Jeff. They have a great location, being in the Riverside district near the Story Bridge. The top left pic is the view from their apartment, while the right is the Story Bridge. They are within a 20 minute walk from everything of interest to me, so I spent the following days exploring the city in a progressive, petal-shaped manner.

Brisbane is the business centre of Queensland, and built along the Brisbane River, which winds its way through the city. Business suits mix with haircuts reminicent of Joan Jett, while bothe the faux-hawk and even the mullet are big looks, here. Far more attention to hairstyle than I've been used to of late.
Sab and I spent one day catching up while walking along the river through patches of mangroves, across slowly heaving floating boardwalks, past cliffs and the requisite cafes, looking for places where Sab could redeem her coupons and get us some coffees. Sailboats line the river, and many citizens simply live aboard their crafts. Passed by the Botanical Gardens, which abut the Queensland University of Technology. Nice spot for uni! The weather is fairly consistent, getting down to a chilly 22 degrees in the winter, RBG on one side, downtown on another, with the remaining sides being river.

Another day, we took the CityCat catamaran ferry down the river to a little burb called Bulimba. No swimming in the river, though. The river apparently contains bullsharks, who prey upon the unsuspecting suburbanites in the houses along man-made canals which radiate from the river outside the city.
In the heart of downtown is Queen St. Mall, a pedestrian-only shopping strip. Good place for people watching, not to mention catching some bowling (though it was expensive - 20 bucks for two games!). Also some cinemas, where I caught Talledega Nights. Ahem. Had some funny moments, but seemed more like an inside joke than an "out loud" joke.
Across the river, on the other side of downtown (a painful 20 minute walk from Sab's) is Southbank. Here is another uni, Griffith U.'s Art School, as well as a Buddhist Temple, a man-made lagoon (Streets Beach - remember, no going in the river!), a concert theatre and walking paths.

One night, we went to the West End, one of "Briz Vegas'" funkier hoods. I've heard it described as similar to Queen West, but when we arrived there on a Thursday night, stores were closing up 8pm, quite unlike the Queen West I know. We ate at a little cafe called Tongue and Groove, located in a side pocket of West End, and luckily for us, contained in Sabrina's infamous Entertainment Guide coupon book. Started out on the patio, but a fellow patron's persistence in wetly coughing up a lung made us change our minds and move inside. Later on, we hooked up with Jeff and some of his friends at a jazz bar called Satchmos. However, no jazz, so we made up for it with martinis, as well as calling our friend Shaam, because the best way to start a Friday is by getting a phonecall from two drunken idiots half a world away. This bar started putting up the chairs at 11:30 (or maybe it was us), again surprising considering the buzz about West End. Then again, I've been learning that Aussies tend to be morning people (maybe I'm generalizing a bit), since the sun is usually up and hot by 7:30.
Refusing to be daunted, we headed over to the Fortitude Valley, Brisbane's "racy" area. Apparently the area used to be overwrought with the drug trade, but gentrification has mellowed it a bit. Now it is where to find the best clubs and bars, the gay district, good ethnic food, and several notable hostels. After a nightcap, we decided we were old, and that those martinis were stronger than we thought, so another 10 minute walk, and we were home. A good idea, since she had a meeting at 8:30 the next morning.