Sun, sea and sand on the Gold Coast

My first full day in Brisbane - and I already feel that I am somewhere very different from Sydney. This is a city with very much its own identity - and much much less of the old-world, colonial feel of Sydney. As I said yesterday, it is definitely reminiscent of both Florida and California - and it has the weather to match. I will see more of the city itself over the weekend (including an 'Aussie rules' game at the football stadium on Saturday night!) - but it certainly has an impressive and very modern skyline.
Today I traveled down the coast (south) to see what is known as the Gold Coast - and the superbly named 'Surfers Paradise'. It is midwinter here right now, but the temperature was around 60 degrees and this certainly didn't deter the avid surfers here - of which there are hundreds. The Pacific Ocean here is beautiful - clean, blue and inviting - and the sandy beaches are perfect.

I learned that in High Schools around here they actually offer surfing as a subject that you can study - and that this has helped maintain school attendance tremendously, as they often both start the school day and end the school day with surfing - and then do all the traditional subjects in between. That's smart thinking!
Surfers Paradise was best seen from above - and I was thrilled to learn that right next to the beach was Australia's tallest building - and the tallest residential building in the world: Q1.

The elevator took us up 77 floors in just 43 seconds - an amazing feat in itself. The views from up there were extraordinary. Now I could really appreciate the full extent of the Gold Coast. This incredible building is only a few years old too - and I had no idea about it before today. What a way to see the whole region!
Back down to earth, I then enjoyed a superb dinner of Fish & Chips - the best I've had since living in England (and perhaps even better than that - as the fish was so incredibly fresh - from the morning's catch). Delicious!

Tomorrow it will be time to head up the coast northwards - to what is known as the Sunshine Coast. I really appreciate how they name places around here: Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Surfers Paradise. It's so appealing and inviting - and matches the positive and optimistic nature of the Australians. In England they call their seaside resorts names like Bognor and Blackpool. I think the Australians have got the right idea!