in & around Brissy. . .

the past 2 weekends, we have taken the time to enjoy the sights of Brisbane. . .2 sundays ago we hopped on the citycat (public transport up & down the river) . . .that's exactly what we did. . .went all the way up one end and down the other. . .it took up most of the afternoon with a couple stops along the way. . .it a really nice way to see the city on a tight budget :) only $7 for the both of us and the tickets lasted all day! :) we highly recommend this activity if you are ever in the Brissy area! :)

last weekend was action packed! :) a christmas tree lighting ceremony in Brisbane square downtown kicked off the weekend . . .we were actually just on a little walk and stumbled upon the celebrations. . .the christmas carols drew my attention and all Rob could do was try to keep up with me going there. . .it was nice to feel the holiday spirit, but really. . .it feels like christmas in july! the high temp today was 30C . . .hmmm? just doesn't add up for these albertans :)

on Sabbath, we attended a youth rally. . .heard some good music and inspiring preaching. . .then a picnic lunch at the park. . .mingled with other young SDA folks. . .then wrapped the day up with a rugby game that evening. . .the tri-nations rugby league series taking place and we were able to get nosebleed seats for the game. . .it was Great Britain vs. Australia . . . .(sorry we had to live your dream, Richard! the outcome wasn't to your favour anyway. . .33-10 for the Kangaroos :) the stadium is huge and built well so we still had a great view even though we were so far up. . .the game was quite exciting and even a few fights broke out in the crowd! . . .luckily not in our section. . .we both had our own personal experts (thanks, Bek & Stephen) on either side, so we always knew what was going on . . .or we should have anyway! :)

on Sunday we ventured out north on the train to meet tyler's (coleman) relatives. . .he had "introduced" via email. . .and they had invited us over for an afternoon. . .it was fun to visit with fellow Canadians and play with their 4 kids! :) they even took us to see the local ice arena. . .where there were some kids playing hockey! that made Rob just a little homesick. . .ok a lot. . .so we had to get out quick!!! :)

and now you're all caught up! :) we are winding down our stay in Brissy. . .in a week we will be in the Philippines with the Ferrer parents :) can't wait to see them and eat some bananas. . .did we tell you that bananas here cost from $8 to $15 per kilo???? INSANE. . .definitely not within our budget! . . . check out the story here : banana story :) so philippine bananas. . . here we come! :)

other events that happened/happeing in Brisbane that we wish we could attend include:

1. U2 concert
2. Kylie Minogue
3. Cirque du Soleil
4. Elton John
5. Billy Joel

just to name a few. . .here are some photos. . .enjoy! :) :) :)

Rob checking out the goods at the Sunday street market

the CityCat . . . . Brisbane's river transit

a fancy bridge of the many that cross the river

our dream home. . .

the upper end of the river - Brett's wharf

Brisbane skyline from the CityCat. . .

a fancy walking/bike trail at Southbank . . .

the man-made beach at Southbank. . .where currently a huge screen is set up to view the Ashes (a cricket series between Australia & England . . .we can't seem to get into it! but good times watching all the fans. . .there's many here from the UK :)

images from the rugby game. . .

the scrum. . .interesting. . .

the kickoff. . .

so close, but denied by the official (in red) . . . a goal is called a try (interesting)

the ice arena at Boondall. . .can you smell it??? we sure did! just like the back ice in Lacombe!!! :) we could actually see our breath. . .been a while! :)