Brisbane with the Hansen Family

What a great time we had in Brisbane! It is so nice when you meet such nice people when you are travelling. For the last 3 days we certainly have felt like we have been home away from home. After spending a night in Surfer's Paradise, Wayne drove down to the condo where we are staying (about an hour south of Brisbane), picked us up and drove us to their home in Brisbane. We were welcomed into their home and had an incredible visit. We almost seemed like we were back on the cruiseship as it seemed like we were always eating! Kathy put on a fabulous spread with three beautiful salads for lunch on the day we arrived. One of the highlights was of the visit was that Lauren and Cameron had their first taste of Vegemite. Kathy spread just a little bit of the Vegemite on some buttered bread and then we watched them do their best to eat it. As you can see in the photos, it was a bit of a challenge (especially for Cameron) and it may be their first and last taste of Vegemite. Vegemite is a Kiwi and Australian food staple and every kid over here grows up on it. Cameron and Lauren can't quite understand why anyone would want to eat it. Gord had tried it before and enjoys it in small quantities. Kathy and Wayne are still laughing at Cameron's face as he attempted to eat it. A great experience for them anyway! After that they took us on a nice walk along the Brisbane river to an outdoor pool by the waterfront where the kids enjoyed a nice swim. Kathy and Kathleen went off to the market and came back with chocolate stuffed bananas for the kids. Cameron was quite impressed that they grew chocolate bananas in Brisbane! We came back to their home and had a nice swim in the pool, made three more salads and then they took us up to the Summit overlooking the city of Brisbane where we enjoyed a picnic dinner overlooking Brisbane city. It was so beautiful as the weather was a perfect temperature after a very hot day, it was dark out and we were able to view the lights of the city of Brisbane and look at the stars above. Magical! The drive to the summit and back was great. We took turns driving in the BMW convertible and the kids enjoyed that. The plan was to also take their 1966 Mustang convertible as well but unfortunately the battery was dead, so we went up in their other BMW vehicle as well. Wayne and Kathy also loaned us this vehicle the next day to go to the Australia Zoo which is about an hour North of Brisbane which was so nice of them. The kids enjoyed the ride and Cameron thinks we should get a BMW when we return to Canada. We had a great day at the zoo (more about that in the next blog entry). Upon our return, Kathy was once again in the kitchen making gourmet pizzas and Wayne grilled them in their wood fired BBQ oven. Once again, an amazing meal! We have been so fortunate to have met the Hansen family and are greatly appreciative of their hospitality. Thank you Hansen family! We look forward to your visit to Canada which will hopefully take place next year!