"We're much too young, we're much too rich... so let's go out tonight and live like this."

Brisbane likes bridges.  I mean, REALLY likes bridges.  I can see about six in one go, each of them completely different from the next, connecting South Brisbane to North Brisbane, over the Brisbane River.  Most of them look like your normal bridge-type bridges, but there is this one that I'm pretty convinced the architect was on drugs.  Probably acid.  It's got wires and cords and poles galore.  It's stark white, but at night it changes colours: from blue, to purple, green, pink, yellow, etc...  It's an eye sore, that only a Brizzy local could love.  However, it does have these amazing little coves off of it that you can sit OVER the river and read a book, or if you're my Nova Scotian friends, enjoy the best water you have ever had out of a convenient water fountain.

Speaking of water fountains, they have a lot of them here, which I hadn't seen until this city.  Before I was convinced that only Americans had water fountains, however Brisbane has adopted it as well.  But, for us it's about convenience, for the Aussie's it's about conservation of water.  They use recycled water in most of the taps here and advise you to not drink out of the taps, use the fountains.  Saving the environment... by recycling our toilet water.  Yum!

Also, toilets really do flush the other way.  Nifty!

I went to the Casino last night with Evan and Nick and lost $10.  I'm quite the big spender... playing the dollar slots.  They don't have penny or nickel slots, as they don't have those types of money here.  So, I won $5 then lost it all again.  I watched my friends play the "big boys and girls games," but find myself easily bored and confused.  I like the flashing lights, pictures, and sounds that come out of the slots.  I'm like a 5 year old.  

After the tree of us were defeated, we walked home and I read more of my book "The Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson.  It's about American as the lost continent, and he road trips all over it, finding out what American is all about.  It's a good laugh.

Today I went to the art museum and saw a hat exhibit!  The word "free" lured me in.  

There were hats from all over the world, displayed as art.  There were your normal hats, some with feathers and fancy do-dads hanging off of them.  

Then there were some that I'm not sure deserved a place in an art museum: like the helmet.  It's description?  "Bike Helmet."  Thank you Mr. Sign, I had no idea.

Then there were the weird ones, where you question if anyone has actually ever worn it.  If they did wear it, why?  And, most importantly, what was the person on when they made it?  There was a knitted hat that had a whole breakfast knitted on top of it: eggs, sausage, bacon, even ketchup (tomato sauce).  

Oooh!  Then there was the hat that had a man and a women made out of woven straw (looked much like intricate voo-doo dolls), in quite a compromising position.  The label?  "Sex on the Brain Hat."  Clever!

There were a good three rooms of hats!  Wonder what the cat in the hat would've thought about that!

Then, I laid out in the lagoon area, which is a manmade beach right on the river... read my book and got some sun.

What a life!

Oh yea... I applied to some jobs too!  Might be moving up to Rockhampton to clean a hostel for awhile (13 hours north)!  *Crosses Fingers*

Love,

Michaela