And this is Australia

Good morning Brisbane! It is supposed to be a heatwave coming towards the coast for the next few days.  I was all prepared layered in sunscreen, hat, and umbrella ready to go.  I took the train to Auchenflower, which was the stop to catch the ferry. The wonderful thing about Queensland is that 8 months ago they made all the train fares 50 cents per way, which means you can go to Gold coast and Sunshine coast for 50 cents- finally some value for Priscilla!  I think I mentioned this already, but an Indian will always be proud about saving money.  It seems that in the big cities in Australia- they have the  beautiful suburban areas. The suburban area I am currently staying in is pretty nice. It varies per street, but overall his block is very nice. The house is lovely with two levels and it is right next to the park-very nice.  The areas nearby Graceville, Toolong, Indirapally are quite lovely neighborhoods with a lot of great cafes, restaurants, markets, and ...

I wanted to explore the local area and have a coffee in town before taking the train. I went to the Woolworth's to get myself a mango yogurt(delicious), which I ate while having my black coffee with oat milk and reading the newspaper. I really enjoy reading the local papers while traveling and Australia's is pretty good. They have a new mix to the menu at the cafes having different types of ice tea and boba teas like Sydney. The breakfast scene as usual is excellent. Australia is a country that has 5 star breakfast dishes with such creativity and artistic cooking. They win as being one of the best restaurant breakfasts in the world for sure! I hopped on the train and went to Indiropally, which is a major shopping center where I wanted to get some new dresses and scope it out. This turned out to be a very upscale shopping center with the best grocery stores, fruit markets, butchers, sushi, French bakery, specialty food items, lots of coffee spots, and Andrews(cooking ribs, burge...

My train arrived at 5am just in time for the sunrise....timing, timing, and timing. No one informed me that there was a one hour time difference going to Queensland otherwise I would have tried to get myself to a better seat and pass the eff out.  I arrived to Steven's house in a nice suburb of Brisbane with a park, local community stores, and a nearby park I passed out for a while in my new room (stay for 1 week). I woke up, headed to the center with my 50 cent fare. All Queensland trains, buses, and ferries are just 50 cents each way....good news on prices finally! I headed out to Roma park and then got stuck in the Time square of Brisbane. It was full of diverse people and it was not my cup of tea. I just headed back to Oxley to walk in the park and hibernate a bit. Monday Dinner I came back and Steven was making vegetable curry for myself and his German guest who was just 17 years old. He had traveled to 20 countries and he was from Germany, studied in France, and living in Swi...

 This was my last day in the Belligen area and Boy was it a good day.  I woke up just in time to make it to church. Unfortunately, I did not get up to dress my best and just wore jeans and a fleece jacket. I could tell this was not the correct attire by some people's reactions, but this is more important to be present and 5 minutes late. Pastor Jesse was not there, which was a disappointment, but Pastor Greg was there, and he was pretty introverted and did not provide much feeling, but he was very nice.  We had tea and scones after church and sat together getting to know one another. It was really nice how many people came up to me to introduce themselves. The only people who were a bit antisocial and dismissive were his grandchildren and his one grandchild's girlfriend from Manilla. His daughter Anna was absolutely wonderful and delightful. She was close with Jesse, which was not a surprise considering their positive energies they carried.  People were asking about ...

When two intellectual minds come together, two people who have traveled, live life to the fullest and have the same lens on life-it is magical.  This often happens in cultural exchange traveling where you just sit and connect for hours talking about life philosophies, relationships, shared experiences, living abroad, and travel. It is like how will others understand the depth of your traveling and these incredible discussions that take place....how will people understand that THIS is what travel is all about and its not about 5 star hotels, expensive meals, big tours, and spending time with tourists the whole trip.  It is about having this experience with a local intellectual-two minds coming together and sharing a space where you speak comfortably and freely.  We started off speaking about relationships and releasing labels of "perfection" to find someone that you are compatible with and can enjoy life with He is recently widowed from a wife who took her own life an...

  He has this very bold presence when he looks at you, the way he sits, and stands up. I told my friends at the accommodation, "he is the Tom Selleck of Australia." that pretty much sums it up very well." Good looking, charming, well traveled, an intellectual, and a great conversationalist.  I wanted to take a break from my accommodation, so I ran his errands with him dropping off his car and picking up his dog, Ripley, from Daniella who is French. She speaks in the car about the American girl in her dance class who is really loud and obnoxious. I hope that is not the description for me from others-yikes. We stop by Fiume to have a Flat white with oat milk. I just order whatever he orders because I know he drinks what is good. The waiter is catering to us clearing our cups and filling our water-they never do this in cafes. He was clearly a source of power and intimidation whether it was good or bad-I was not sure yet. He dropped me at the Butter Factory where I got...