Life as a Beach Bum

So I'm back on the backpacker trail. On Monday, I left a fairly cold Canberra - apparently they just got their first frost earlier this week (haha) - and headed north. I'm currently on the Gold Coast of Australia, which is just south of Brisbane. It's a built up area. Very glitzy. Brand new apartments line the beach. Lots of tacky tourist shops (Ripley's believe it or not - that sort of stuff). And miles and miles of golden sandy beaches. The actual city that I'm in is called Surfer's Paradise. And it certainly is paradise.

Every day, I get up, go for a swim. The water is not super warm, but it isn't that cold - esp. for us Canadians who are used to very cold lakes. And thus goes life - alternating between sunbathing and swimming. I know, it's a tough life... On Tuesday, I also went up to the top of Q1. http://www.q1.com.au/ (check out the website) There are absolutely stunning views from the 77th floor. It's the tallest residential building in the world (2oth tallest overall). Yesterday arvo, I also had my first surf lesson. I have a few pics that I'll need to post sometime. Over the course of the two hours, I wasn't able to stand up (I know, it's pathetic) but I had an awesome time. Not sure if I'd do it again soon b/c I manage to chafe the inside of my thighs and swallow a ridiculous amount of salt water. Today, I think I'll take it easy and just hit up the beach again (which is about 5-10 mins walk from my hostel).

This hostel that I'm staying at is pretty freakin' awesome too. They have stuff to do every night, so I've been going out lots w/ the ppl. It's weird, b/c while I'm in Australia, the hostel is full of Brits, and sometimes I have a hard time understanding them. I just got used to understanding Aussies, and now I have to learn another "English dialect." ;) Last night, I went on a pub crawl - my very first one ever! Aren't you all proud of me?!? I pretty much stopped drinking by the second bar b/c I got friendly w/ the hostel staff who had BIG bar tabs and didn't mind sharing the love. ;) Party on! I have to admit that typing this blog is a bit tricky, I'm still sort of rocking from side to side - I don't know if it was all the alcohol from last night, or from spending hours in the ocean. ;)

So it's awesome to be traveling again. I'll stay here until tomorrow and then head up to Brisbane for the weekend.

I do miss Canberra though although I'm glad to have gotten out before the cold set in. I've left so many friends in Canberra. So many good friends and "special" people. My last weekend in Canberra was just one farewell after the other so it was pretty emotional. I had lots of fun and even got to play Settlers of Catan one more time before leaving. sigh...

Alright, no more emotions. Time to hit up the beach and get more tanned.