Bye-bye Brisbane, Hello Sydney

I'm safely in Sydney this evening, after traveling late afternoon. It's nice to return to a home I stayed in five years ago and even better to see my hosts Shaan and Geoff and catch up a bit.

But clearing up a bit of photos from the last few days...

Flat Stanley modeling the pretty and colorful money down under:


Here's a couple from walking Mark and Michelle's dog, Bandit, and a shot of a suburban Brisbane street:




And then last night, after our lovely Thai dinner, Mark, Michelle, and I went up to Mt. Coot-tha and got a gorgeous view of the city. A bit of a fuzzy photo, but still really pretty:


Today was pretty darn fun. Mark had made arrangements to give good friend Michelle L the gift of a barista course for her birthday, and I was fortunate enough to tag along (thanks, Mark!). It was a few hour course, and we learned how to work an espresso machine, make foam, and how to make all of the drinks on an Aussie cafe menu (which is about 80% the same as a US menu, but has a bunch of other things and different names). I now have a certificate (and possible 2nd career if I give up software ;), as well as a much greater respect for a good barista. Sadly for future cafes, I'm also more likely to throw up a stink if I get crap espresso drinks. I'm once again considering (more than I already had) getting an espresso machine. There's a whole secret to how hard to tamp down the espresso, and the sound I thought was good for heating the milk turns out to be not good at all (too much air in the foam). It was good fun, and I drank a LOT of coffee. Here's some shots from our morning:





After all of that coffee, we definitely needed some food, so the three M's took me to Breakfast Creek Hotel for an amazingly tasty steak. Mmmmm, so good!


After that, it was straight off to the airport to catch my Qantas flight to Sydney. It's sad to say goodbye to my lovely hosts. I had such a fun time in Brisbane, and got to relax, too, which is very nice for a vacation. :) But new adventures and more visits await!

In general observations.... I've already long ago adopted "no worries" as a phrase that I use regularly. I think I picked that up on my visit 5 years ago. This visit, I'm thinking "reckon" might be a good one to steal. Although I guess it's already something used in the south US. It just suits the occasion sometimes! But maybe it sounds better with an Aussie accent....

Anyway, here's hoping that all of those coffees hours ago don't affect my sleeping. I'm tired!