Huge Bats!

Last night there was an uncountable number of huge, huge bats flying past our balcony. Kelsey was using her flip to record it...and one flew pretty darn close. The video has plenty of ducking and screaming on it. We've been told they're fruit bats and aren't a danger to humans but that didn't make it any less exciting when one came so close. They're really quite beautiful. Not bird of paradise beautiful but knowing they don't have rabies helps me to appreciate their unique loveliness. Benji says that he's seen them flying back home at dawn.

Did I already mention that each outlet here has it's very own on/off switch? So, not only do you plug an appliance in, you also have to turn on the power to it at the wall plate.

My feet hurt. It took a full week for there to be any pain at all so that's saying quite a lot about the quality of Chacos sandals. My body aches too. I look forward to having my own bed again. There's still so much walking left to do. I'm sure I'll get used to it quickly.

Some people here stink. Literally. I know, people stink everywhere but there seems to be more than the usual share here in Brisbane. At least once a day I have to move to another part of the street/the bus/the store/the sidewalk to get away from some stinky person. Yesterday, this dear old man wanted to have a chat with me. It was horrid and you all know I have a soft spot for the old folks. I was trying so hard not to gag. Doesn't someone love him enough to tell him that he needs a bath? I couldn't get away from him without being just blantantly rude and I kept thinking he was going to wander away at any moment. I've got such a sensitive nose, I seem to be the only one who can smell them.

This morning we were up bright and early to head down to the Powerhouse Farmer's Market. It was marvelous. We bought homemade cheese, pineapple (literally from a pineapple farmer), passionfruit, bananas (different variety than I've ever had before and they are dreadful), cookies (from a lovely couple who want to go to America in the winter), a cupcake, organic grass fed beef (woohoo!!!! The farmer heard Ben and I discussing how we could figure out how to broil them in the oven and he said, "Ahh, ye got to get yerself a barbie, mate!"), organic free range eggs, rockmelon (cantalope), dragonfruit (from a cactus), a very, very expensive espresso brownie, carrots, candy, salad greens (they have one called rocket but I have no idea what that is), avocodos, and apple juice. I also bought a bouquet of flowers to make the condo feel a little more like home. There were samples galore and I was nearly sick by the time we got out of there from eating so much. I was in Heaven! And everything was so much cheaper than in the grocery store. I wanted to dance....but the bags were too heavy.

We hauled it all back home and then went to explore Kangaroo Point to see if it's somewhere we'd want to live. Ben liked it. I'm not so sure. I really, really like where we are staying....so,we'll just have to see what happens.

The weather was blindingly hot today but we decided it was worth it to make our way over to the Farmer's Market in West End just to see what it was like. I don't even want to talk about how long spent riding the city ferry there (it's much slower than the CityCat....lesson learned) and then we sat at the damn bus station forever waiting for our bus until we realize that we'd have to take a different one because today is a public holiday (Anzac Day). We were standing in the sun the whole time. (Another lesson learned- read all the signage available) We did manage to catch the last minute of the West End Farmer's Market and got a watermelon for $4.That was before I realized how far we'd have to carry it. Luckily Ben is happy to carry anything and everything though I did offer to help.

We stopped by Sol Bread to grab a snack and buy some organic bread. They have a store here near us, too. I don't know what was in my salad but it's my new favorite thing.

Yesterday, I went to the Butcher Shop down the road. Rabbits laid out in the window. I passed on that. The butcher was great...he was very friendly and didn't mind that I didn't know diddly about the metric system. He gave me directions on what temperature to put the oven and I bought a nice roast from him. He didn't even look shocked when I asked for grass-fed beef and was happy to have a conversation about how much better it is.

So, let's review....I know where there's a great Farmer's Market, I have a bakery, I have a butcher and I have a view of the river. Life is good.