Saved by the bacon

Having slept a fair bit the night before, I woke up rather early the next day - my first full day in Brisbane. I was feeling better but knew I needed a lot of water and a good meal to really get going again. So I got myself showered and dressed and started making my way to the dining hall.

On my way there I was contemplating what I might eat, toast perhaps or cereal and then I got this overwhelming need for bacon. Like a super serious craving in the strongest sense that I might actually seek out a pig if the cook didn't have any bacon. As I crossed the dining room floor towards the hot buffet, I said a silent prayer and lo and behold....there was bacon! Right beside the Macdonalds like hashbrowns (double score)! So I loaded my plate with both, and balanced it out with fruit and thanked the cook for the beautiful spread. "Really?", he said? "Yup - your bacon just made my day", I replied and turned quickly to exit, and mainly because I wasn't sure how he would take my comment about his bacon.

Fed and ready to go, I started to make my way to the city centre. The Queen Street Mall was nice - loaded with tons of shopping. street performers and touristy options. I hung out there for a big before making my way to South Bank - this was much more what I was looking for. Flower covered paths lead to an urban beach where you could swim or dip your feet and relax reading a book. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon but to be honest, Brisbane still wasn't wowing me. Think I was spoiled by Sydney that it just didn't stand a chance.

With just a bit more time there, I decided to hit up the famous Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and really glad I did. The koalas are so cute as they hug the trees during their nap. And you can take your chances feeding the Roos in their open park. The cockatoos said hello when I approached their enclosure, and goodbye when I turned to leave!! I had to test that so I walked up again and they repeated the routine! Amazing.

But when it got to the place where you could get your pic taken with the koala, I couldn't do it. I watched as he got passed from one person to the next - and even though the trainer insisted he enjoyed it, it just didn't feel right to me. So I settled with getting up close, in the hopes he would get back to his eucalyptus tree hugging sooner. But seeing them somehow made it all better and Brisbane wasn't such a bust after all. (Ahhh, a happy ending to that).