17 November 2007
Look Who's Talking
Anyways, was looking through our Aussie photos again and saw this one I took at Queen Street Mall. My very own Banner! (Well, almost... :-)
10 November 2007
Brisbane Memories, Gold Coast Shivers
Brisbane had gone through a face-lift since we studied there more than 10 years ago. New buildings towered over the once quiet city and Fortitude Valley (Chinatown then) had become a bustling suburb somewhat like Holland Village. And where Laurence stays, it was once a bus terminus where Belle, Corinne, Lorraine and I used to trot across to get to the other street where we caught the bus into town. QUT today has a lot more facilities and amenities than before. Students there are definitely a lot more "fortunate" than we were.
We rented a car and took a familiar drive to Gold Coast. Vibe Hotel didn't disappoint with its beautiful views, good location and very spacious apartment. The weather, however, was a real dampener (pun intended). It was cold, windy and wet :-( Thankfully, I had Gideon's jumper which kept him warm throughout. Terence managed to "tahan" while I practically lived in my one and only shawl. Surfer's Paradise seems less happening then before. Either it was because of the weather or it's not a peak holiday period. So the weather provided the perfect excuse to shop "to get something warm". But of course, every store was decked with summer apparel with no trace of anything even with sleeves!
Thankfully, the sun greeted us on our last day in Gold Coast so we had a really great time at Movie World before heading back to Brisbane for a last night at Laurence's. We also managed to drive through the neighbourhoods we lived in and caught glimpses of our "homes".
We had a great time. More importantly, this trip brought back fond memories of the good ol' uni days. Laurence was a most generous host and we loved his apartment (even when it was filled to the brim with boxes as he gets ready to return to S'pore). As for Gideon, he's already asking when our next holiday is going to be.