This Isn't a Vacation and I Didn't Get the Memo

Note: Some of these pictures belong to Sam because I either forgot my camera or was too lazy to fish it out of my bag or I just liked hers better. So, I'm giving credit where credit is due.

Apologies for the absence! Nothing too exciting has happened as of late, so I didn't feel like there was anything worth writing about.

PLUS, assignments and tests are starting to pop, which I had conveniently forgotten about. I tend to forget about the "study" part in "study abroad." I'm here for school, who knew?

The week after Moreton Island, I finally went to the Max Brenner Chocolate Bar. Holy hell, that place is fantastic. So many sweets, so little money to spend. Pricey but expected. There were individual truffles and pieces of fudges to buy as well as many different desserts including chocolate pizzas, sundaes, and waffles with ice cream. I ended up getting the signature souffle and a cappuccino frappe. The souffle ended up being more of a cake than an actual light souffle (think denser than American cake but lighter than flourless cake and with a molten chocolate center), but both were delicious. The cups (which you can buy) are really cute, too. They're all have names that represent their design. There was the Kangaroo, which was a coffee cup with a small "pouch" on the side for a piece of chocolate you could melt, and there was the Alice (my frappe was in this one), with a hold on top for a straw and the words "DRINK ME" running down on the side. Cute stuff, and definitely going to have to come back for more.

Last weekend was St. Patrick's Day (I'm sure most of you knew that even if you don't remember the night), and the city was fairly festive. The Wheel of Brisbane and the Cultural Centre were illuminated in green lights, and there were various performances and events throughout the city in the week leading up to it. I ended up at an Irish pub called Irish Murphy's for the night and lost myself in a sea of green, beer, and people. 'Twas a grand ol' time.

Other than that, the past week has been pretty low key. Brisbane is on the receiving end of far more rain than is the norm (according to locals with whom I've talked), and it's putting a damper on my otherwise good mood and view of the city. Nothing is less motivating than hills and rain especially when you have to go to class.

Thankfully, this past Friday showed up in all it's sunny glory. One CityCat stop away is the QUT Botanical Gardens, and Sam and I ventured over there to check it out. Lots of ducks, lizards, and foliage (duh) awaited us. It was actually a pretty big area. There were open grass parts where people were playing some pick-up soccer, pathways winding around a few ponds, and a path closer the river that eventually went through a very jungle-y looking area. There was also this one structure/sculpture, and there are very few times when I don't have the urge to climb something like a 6 year old. This was not one of those times.

What's my age again?

Immediately following this, we went to the Pancake Manor, a 24-hour eatery not unlike the Pantry in downtown. The differences are 1) it's in a church or what once was church, I'm not entirely sure 2) it is fully licensed with a small bar in the middle of the room. Despite watery syrup (that was called "special syrup" on the menu, the pancakes were delicious and definitely better than expected. Not gonna lie, my heart broke a little when I saw a girl leave a good 75% of her nachos (yes, nachos) left on the table when she got up to pay. Was I tempted to take them? Oh, yes. But I'll save that bit of crazy for another day.

Yesterday (Saturday) did not follow any of the original plans that were made for it, but it ended up just fine anyway. A small group of us had planned to go a few hours north to the Sunshine Coast, chill on the beach, maybe go to a national park, and possibly check out an aquarium/marine-life zoo type thing. Due to the recent rains, however, there has been flooding in the area, causing delays for the trains and adding upwards of an hour to our already guess-timated 3 hour travel time one way.

So, we opted to head to the Gold Coast but a bit farther south than Surfer's Paradise. We went to the Burleigh Heads National Park and then to the Burleigh Beach (which was much less touristy than our last Gold Coast endeavor). The park had a few different paths, one that was the "ocean side" walk and two that were through the rainforest part. We did all of them considering they were fairly short (a few kilometers for each). The views from all of them were really cool (though the ocean walk view doesn't even hold a candle to Honeymoon Bay), and there were plenty of lizards, different species of butterflies, and the occasional wild turkey. And then, it was just nice to relax on the beach and laze about for a few hours.

I didn't focus my camera properly, but you should take notice of the berries and the thorns next to them. We're in the wild. THE WILD THORNBERRYS. You love me, don't even try to kid yourself.

After going home, I decided it was time for some Aussie cooking. I cooked kangaroo steaks. And you know what? It was really good. Consider me a fan. If I'm not mistaken, it's one of the healthiest red meats with a very high iron and very low fat content. I can't quite describe it, but I can say that there was a sort of pork-y, sausage-y taste to it. Sam said it reminded her of bacon-wrapped steak or something along those lines. Definitely something I'll be eating again.

And that's all for now! Mid-semester/Easter Break is just under 2 weeks away, and I'll be running around farther south in Oz in Sydney and Melbourne during my time off. Until then, I guess I'll just have to act like a student for a change. I have a midterm this week. On a Saturday. Complete and utter nonsense. That is the expected low point of the week. The expected highlight is Trivia Night with the Harry Potter Alliance at Traddies the RedRoom complete with Butterbeer. There should be some sort of post on that eventually.

Happy Sunday! Koala cuddles for all!

EDIT: Totally forgot to mention that I watched The Hunger Games this week in what was supposedly Brisbane's largest theatre/screen (which was no bigger than half the size of the average theater at home if that). The movie was entertaining but a tad underwhelming for my taste. I love Jennifer Lawrence though, and the girl who played Rue was adorable.