Weekend in Brisbane

Di (Susan's best friend) celebrated her 40th birthday last Friday, so Susan and I made a weekend out of going to Brisbane. We stayed in a hotel that has a Korean bath house, very similar to the one in Lakewood, Washington, and yes, we did take advantage of it. It was heaven to soak in the tubs. We walked the city, took the water taxi and went to the Planetarium. Brisbane is a beautiful city, there are many small mammals (possums that are actually cute!) and tons of birds in the city. Most of the mammals are in the residential areas. If you look at the photos of Brisbane you will notice it looks like a city growing out of the middle of a jungle. There are trees everywhere. The Brisbane River runs through the city.

This photo is taken just to the right of the one above.

Mangroves grow within the city on the edges of the Brisbane River.

The city transportation is a combination of bus, train, and water transport. Traveling on the the Brisbane River through town via the “City Cat” is a wonderful way to get to where you want to go. The City Cat is a catamaran taxi that makes frequent stops on the river front. It runs from downtown, to the urban housing areas. Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia could certainly learn a lot from this system. (They are passenger-only taxis).

Brisbane River

City Cat on the river.

Melonie on the City Cat
Brisbane has a beach within the city too. As you can see from the photos, there are man-made sandy beaches (four different pool/beach areas) complete with lifeguards. This is built along the rivers edge, is used by many people and it is free! It was still open when we walked by it late in the evening. VERY cool!
The planetarium was great, a reminder to me of how tiny, tiny and insignificant we really are in the grand cosmos. Makes me think about “Horton hear a Who”. Is planet earth a similar speck of dust?

I am looking forward to exploring more of the city this next year. Oh! There is one intersection in downtown that is very odd. When the “walk” light comes on, people cross the street diagonally. I will video tape it next time. (I guess I am easily humored these days).
Susan and Melonie on top of Mount Coot-tha

IN the past nearly every city block had a similar pub located on the corner. This one was next to our hotel.

These ibis birds are not native, but are all over this part of the country. This one is downtown next to some outdoor restaurants.