Super Saturday! - Day 20

I told you all Brisbane gave me good vibes! I wasn't far off the truth. Today dawned a bit grey for us in spirit but brilliantly sunny in reality. Will and I have been feeling down lately, because no one seems keen on having two young Canadian professionals at their business. Something needed to change.

We took a train downtown to the Starbucks I applied to the other day. I was hoping to speak to the manager, but she wasn't in. A very helpful shift supervisor was though, and she recommended I apply at her location down the street. Oh, did I mention she was originally from Ottawa? She seemed to set the tone for our day. We meandered a few blocks from the Starbucks down to the Botanical Gardens just outside the Brisbane city core. We strolled the wandering boardwalk through the mangroves, photographing crabs, birds and watching the locals fishing. 

 

We ended up at the Maritime Museum were we spent a few hours looking at naval vessels and marine artifacts. This is where we found a wild little boat a crazy Canuck sailed from Canada to Australia years ago. The boat (if you can call it that) is about 8 feet long and 4 feet wide. See photo below. - Please note this is not a joke, this is the real thing -

Is it just me, or does he seem not quite right in the head; sailing in that dinky little beer keg? It's called the "Happy II". I know I wouldn't be too happy in that thing day and night!

 

 

After the museum we ended up at a pub across the street for a drink.  Turns out the bartender is from Ontario, studying Early Childhood Development at Griffith University. He gave us some good advice for applying for jobs and re-ignited our interest in Brisbane and working/living here. We wandered down from the pub, along the river banks where there was a festival going on. There were plenty of cafes and neat little nooks to stop and rest for a bit. After walking for three hours or so we called it a day, hopped on the City Cat ferry system and caught a ride to the dock closest to our guesthouse. 

 

Back home we finally met some of the folks we're sharing living space with - and were we ever glad we did. We met a solicitor for the Brisbane City Council that give us his business card and told us to apply, apply, apply! Next we met a lovely Indian gentleman that gave us some useful information on the hospitality biz. Seems everyone we've talked to said it's the easiest way for us to get our foot in the door. This company he works for pays $18.50/hr. At that wage I would sign up full-time! So just when we were feeling our most down in the dumps, we got a sign that hope isn't lost. Maybe by this time next week we'll be gainfully employed and a lot happier!