Here and There Blog

Today brings a 20F drop in temp from 100 to 80. It almost feels like a winter chill without the snow.  It's possible to eat an ice cream cone without having it all melt down your hands within seconds. This also brings about the day where I go into full work mode for a while. Last night we had dinner at the Summit Restaurant where you have a great view of Brisbane.  The Lookout has a formal restaurant, an informal cafe, a gift shop and the picture are. It's worth a drive and when the city is hot, you can count on a cool breeze up in the trees. This was close to 6pm. Not sure if there was a fire burning or if it was hazy from the high temps for the last couple of days.

In the last week I've wrapped up working in Adelaide and moved on to Brisbane. My window of opportunity for getting out and about is best at 6am when it's only hot and not super hot. This is my walk this Sunday morning from 6-7 am. Cathedral There were several different works. This looked like an Apollo landing capsule. Brisbane River Art on electrical box Fun at Government building Botanic Gardens

The pigs on the street are pretty amusing and the most popular photo op on the pedestrian street. The Art Gallery is free to enter and has visually interesting exhibits but they don't want you taking photos. Here's a couple that I took anyway.

Adelaide is a small city compared to others. It's easy to get around.  The hotel is on the edge of the run down massage parlor district, a few blocks from the pedestrian shopping area, and a short distance from the government buildings and university. All aspects of life in one 15-20 minute compressed area. I was up early on Sunday morning and had to tip toe by sleeping homeless to not disturb them and watch out for vomit on the sidewalk near the bars. Another day on the road.

The National Gallery of Victoria is where the museum pictures were taken that I posted yesterday as well as this one below.  It was free and fun and worth checking out if you are in town. Walking along the Yarra River you'll find fun works of art. Melbourne overall seems to be a city that embraces all types of art medium and style.  Even the trees were decorated for Christmas on the main pedestrian shopping street. The Circle Line Trolley is free to ride and acts as a hop-on, hop-off or you can just ride it. Since it was peak summer and hot, the trolley was packed full, hot, and you couldn't see anything. And that takes us back to Hosier Lane - home of the free for all street art. You had to really look for the gems as the art is redone over and over.  Everything that I did as a tourist in 7 hours was free. Museum Exhibits, Place of Remembrance, and the Circle Trolley. Melbourne has a lot to offer and is a great walking city!

The new travel year has me in Australia for most of January. I stopped first in Melbourne to visit a friend for a day before moving on to work. Here's a few from around the city. Street Art on the street art street Fun times at the local museum The whole street is sort of a mess View from the top of the Remembrance Memorial More fun at the museum

Not sure what kind of year 2018 will be but it's up and going!  The first day was the usual great Carlsbad day and I got a beach walk in before packing up and heading out to LAX for the first trip of the year.  I'm in Australia, first stop Melbourne for a day of fun before moving on to work related stops in Adelaide and Brisbane. Not home for a while on this one so house sitters are in place. This month should see me ending out Invisalign and going into the retainers only at night in February.  What I've disliked the most about this process is dealing with trays and travel. As I've mentioned, it's a hassle on long flights. So 15 hours, 8 minutes to Melbourne, I skipped both meals and opted for only a snack in the middle of the flight. Since I can't get to the dentist until I return, the weekly trays will go to every 10 days in the final stretch. That's probably for the best since it will let the teeth settle in to where they need to be. Invisalign Sch...