Wandering around Brisbane

Landing in Brisbane we had a non-surprise surprise when our friend Andrew met us at the gate. We knew he was picking us up at the airport, and I was surprised we didn't designate a pick up spot, but at the gate? As an American who saw that ability disappear in 2001 when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers. 

Andrew was working from home that day, but he offered to drop us off in the Central Business District (CBD) of Brisbane so we could go sightseeing. First, though, we had to change out of our warm clothes (needed so we could fit everything in our carry-ons) and into summer attire. He gave us a brief overview of the city, then dropped us off in South Bank near restaurants and cafés.

Having woken up at 3:30 am to take a 4 am Uber to catch a 6 am flight, by the time we were in Brisbane at 10 am it felt as if an entire day had passed. Feeling like Zombies on that sunny 90 degree day, we ordered breakfast and found a table.

Before we boarded our flight, Ashley called at 5:30 am our time to say she was having serious car problems. Sitting at the café was our fist chance to FaceTime her to get the full scoop.

Our first impression of Brisbane was that it was hot out! By dinnertime the temperature had dropped a few degrees. When we returned to the CBD the next day we appreciated the city a lot more.

As with Melbourne, Brisbane does not charge to take mass transit within the CBD. We took a catamaran across the Brisbane River. Later someone was surprised when I said it was free. I'm guessing it was free to take it across the river, but not down the river, which was what we were supposed to do as it is a nice way to see the city. We were also supposed to ride the free bus around the streets of Brisbane but never found it.

Don and I wandered aimlessly around Brisbane. We saw an art exhibit of indigenous art at Griffin University, which was on the other side of an archway of flowers. School holidays were in full swing. The area around the very inviting looking public pool was crowded, as was the small restroom next to it which was filled with moms changing small children oblivious to the foreigner clueless as to where the closest public restroom without puddles of the pool water was located. As a traveler, Don and I were pleased to always find clean, free, public restrooms without much effort. It is included on the list of small ways we fell in love with New Zealand and Australia.

Love the name!

Brisbane was recently selected to host the 2032 Summer Olympics. I noticed massive construction projects already in place to build infrastructure. While walking along the riverside, we had to wait while a "picky upy" crane (not to be mixed up with the nefarious ibis above) moved a piece needed to build another new bridge over the Brisbane River.

Seeing animals like this roaming the wild made me think of our Glinda Dragon back home. I'm glad we had enough time on our trip to pause and enjoy nature when it showed up for us.

We found Brisbane's Botanical Garden, and saw more lizards roaming freely. I suppose if I lived there I would come to think of them (and the ibis) as rodents, but as a vacationer, I found them all charming and mythical, if not magical.

As we walked, we admired public art statues that caught our attention. Unlike Melbourne, we did not notice much street art in the form of graffiti or spray painted art (not to say it doesn't exist), but we did notice statues and wondered about the stories behind the works of art. My mind wandering in the heat wondered if anyone has picked up where J. Seward Johnson left off with creating painted sculptures of people in ordinary situations, or 3-D versions of classic paintings. (If you have an answer to that rumination, please leave it in the comments.) I wish we had taken a tour which included sharing stories of local art.

Brisbane confused us. We walked across several bridges that day and took the catamaran across the river, but could not figure out which side of the river we were on. Tired from an early travel day, and hot, Don and I stared at the river trying to figure out how we were on the opposite side of where we thought we were. Fortunately we found a map and realized rather than making a smooth arc through Brisbane, the Brisbane River is serpentine in shape. That's how it managed to confuse us.

With that realization, we decided it was time to turn to Google Maps and ask for directions to the South Bank train station, only we kept ending up at the bus station confused as to where the train tracks were. Maybe we should have skipped walking around the city and taken a nap instead. 

We figured it out and in a moment of sheer joy were able to convince the conductor to stop the train and let us on rather than leaving us behind to wait thirty minutes for the next one. That small act of kindness made my day. It also gave us a chance to nap before dinner.

Andrew and Jo took us to Club Manly for dinner. Andrew introduced us to oysters. He made them as palatable as possibly by ordering them cooked, drenched in BBQ sauce and with a garnish of bacon. I not only swallowed mine, I ate the other half of Don's oyster. I don't see us ordering more any time soon, but at least I have now tried it.

Andrew also introduced us to the parmi -- which, on the surface is a chicken and ham parmesan sandwich, but it is much moister and satisfying than any chicken parm I have had in the states. I opted for pumpkin gnocchi, and Don had a margarita pizza. It was a lovely evening to be out with friends.

Afterwards we went out for gelato and took an ice cream selfie. Don was full from dinner, so I went with a salted caramel cone.

Though I have only seen Andrew once since we met in Belgium in 1988, and this was our first time meeting Jo, being with them felt like we were home. We chuckled when we saw we have the same IKEA trundle guest bed, and hoped Bart and Megan were sleeping just as comfortably in ours as we did in theirs.