eats | fedOZsenko

It was my first solo day in Brisbane, during which I was alone for 8+ hours. Chris started safety training in the outlying Brisbane suburb of Salisbury, leaving me to my own devices.

I rowed on a Concept 2 machine in the hotel gym and watched the local morning news show. I Skyped with two dear friends and my parents. I drank mint chocolate roiboos tea and read ‘The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet’ by David Mitchell on the balcony. I mailed parcels and postcards. I attempted to get a Queensland driver’s license, only to be turned away because of insufficient identification; it turns out that my CareCard isn’t recognized as identification internationally. I drank a flat white at Sam’s Cafe in the IBM building and read Vogue Australia. I bought a massage bar from Lush and belts from ‘Scissors Paper’ clothing store in Queen St. mall. Whenever I use the word ‘mall’ to describe any area, I think of London’s ‘Pall Mall’ and subsequently think of Eighteenth Century British dramatists John Dryden and Aphra Behn. I browsed the library, which had great seating for patrons.

After work hours, we ate at vegetarian restaurant Govindas, scoring a huge meal for a mere $12. I wish Vancouver had such a delicious and inexpensive buffet when I was studying at UBC. We drank from massive goblets at the Belgian Beer Cafe, enjoying Hoegaarden and Leffe. We kissed on street corners while waiting for the walk sign light up and safely guide us home.