We arrived at Dream World without issue and strode up to the giant, yellow, rectangular building. Five-year-olds posed in front of the doors as their parents snapped pictures (the cheapest memento they would leave with that day). Josh declined to have his photo taken in front of the doors, although he's usually game for most other activities favored by five year olds (not limited to: snack time, nap time, aquariums in the middle of the week, and candy at every meal). The Lego Store doors slid open and... it wasn't very big. Josh quickly scoured the merchandise for country-specific items but found nothing. So, we took a stroll around the store perimeter and enjoyed the Lego sculptures that decorate every store. There weren't any wrap-around-the-entire-store designs like in the NYC Lego Store, but there were some pretty cute Australian designs and a very impressive tiger.
As we continued to the airport, we already felt nostalgia washing over us. Parks were filled with scurrying children playing cricket and soccer. A mile-long wall mural bordering the highway depicted Australian animals jumping, diving, and climbing. We were definitely going to miss Brisbane and Surfer's Paradise.
A few short hours later, we had reached our final Australian destination: Cairns.
Though the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) stretches for over 1,400 miles, Cairns is the spot to go for reef trips. Since we're not sure how much longer the GBR will survive, we made it a priority to get up here and see it. So, late in the evening, we touched down in Cairns. It looked and felt like Hawaii: water over one shoulder, densely forest mountains over the other, wet heat hugging your skin. Vending machines at the airport sold artistic flip flops ("It's art for your feet!").
After dropping off our bags, we headed out to dinner at C'est Bon. The air conditioning was a relief after our walk in the humidity. Our appetizers were incredible but the entrees left something to be desired. It seemed like the wait staff were a bit overwhelmed by the Saturday night crush, though, so perhaps the kitchen was, too. Or maybe we're just spoiled after our trip to France. Fine dining might never be the same.
Spotted: "Until late". Businesses here give opening times (which in Surfer's Paradise were often 11 am or later), but many do not give specific closing times. Instead, they just say "until late". I'm not sure if this has some specific meaning (e.g. midnight) for locals, but it seems awfully inconvenient to only know that a restaurant or store might still be open at a particular hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment