Brisbane Day 1 + 2

Up in Sunny Brisbane now.....

Day 1
Brisbane is nice! I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised despite all the 2nd hand accounts from friends telling me how boring it is over here and the food is poor with nothing going on in the city. On the contrary, I found quite a few nice restaurants for food and drink and the usual gamut of small shops and stores. I’m staying at the lovely southbank area (bigger than Melbourne’s southbank) where it’s a bit of a tourist strip with the fancy restaurants, cafes and even an artificial beach right alongside the river.

Monday went by in a blur. Straight from the airport into the office and we sat in a meeting the whole afternoon with a manager and a contractor and I could hardly understand anything they were talking about as they knew the systems we were working on much better than I did.

By night, I had dinner at a nice steakhouse along southbank before getting on the CityCat for a scenic ride up the river to Brett’s Wharf and back. River transports like these are a fantastic idea! The catamaran was sleek, quiet and fast as it nipped from pier to pier dropping off office workers, students and city folk to their homes along the river.

I stood at the bow of the boat and just gazed into the Brisbane skyline, mesmerized by the city lights.

Day 2
The 2nd day in Brisbane was crazy, I sat through yet another gruelling long workshop session which could have been conducted in German for all I cared as it sure sounded like they were talking in another language I didn't understand. True to my guns however, I diligently took notes and put on my 'I'm on top of everything' face while ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach. (Note to self: sinking feeling in stomach might also be due to crap coffee from downstairs)

It was a welcome relief when our manager pulled us out from the meeting early and back into the office for another long meeting with him instead. (definitely better than the meeting in german earlier)

That evening, our small team from melbourne went out for dinner by the riverside. It was nice to have the tab picked up by the company and since it started raining when we were through the meal, we had not much choice but to order dessert and more wine! =)

I'll try and upload some photos if I get the time later tonight or tomorrow...