Once again the rain followed us. Big time. Funny as Queensland had on their license plates THE SUNSHINE STATE. Wrong. We came into Bris-Rain and settled up at our rather large hotel room right along the river and a bridge. We were on the South side of Brisbane which included the South Bank district. Loads of cafes, restos, snack shops and the like. Nice area, very nice.
The best pizza ever. Speck, potato, cheese and rosemary. O M G. this was a good option. We returned again so that Chad could choose wisely.
Our reef adventure had not been checked off so I was determined to hug a koala at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We rode the bus there, and took in all the animals of Down Under. Kangaroos are like dogs. Pack animals and lounging in the sun. Rather shorter than I imagined.
I am anal and enjoy finding the typo if ever. QLD when typoed is OLD. Ha ha!
We walked in giant rain to find the market and then walked in more rain to find our spot for the Saturday brewery tour. Come on, you didn't think we were NOT going to tour it. Not a good beer but the family of beers is pretty good at the XXXX. A really good tour, extensive and worth the money. We were rewarded with our own table to enjoy our barbecue lunch and 4 samples of beer.
The guys at the table next to us left without using all their beer stamps so we sat here all afternoon and drained them. No stamp left undo.
Quite an interesting place, and a fun tour. I could do it again. Maybe out at No Label in Katy, TX.
Finally the sun came out. The Storey Bridge in Brisbane. The largest iron structure in Australia and not named for the queen, but rather the designer.
shocking, another brew pub found by Linda and Chad. This one was all things Belgian. Quite a cool place with a huge patio and cute alchemist style bars. Ridiculously expensive so we sat lightly and drank slowly.
Brisbane has their own VELIB program of rental bikes that you can take around the city. Must have a helmet so we didn't take advantage. Plus with all our soggy walks, we were rather excited to take in a few sunny walks.
The South Bank area was gorgeous with this "arbor" of bougainvillea everywhere. Loads of places to hang out right by the river. Even the South Bank beach where a lagoon has been made and some sand makes it a beach right across from the Central Business District. Quite a view from the beach over the river with the skyline right back at you.
We tried Hungry Jacks aka the Burger King of Australia. Wiki that for a interesting view on names and franchising. Here is my cappuccino which I think no American Burger King has a machine for making. The food was fast, not good at all. But we were in a hurry to get a koala in my arms.
Kookaburra sitting in an old gum tree! I loved to sing that dumb song as a child.
Cheers to me and making my donation for the upkeep and preservation of the koalas. This one, Utopia, was rather cuddly and awake. The small koala they had out for the kids to hold was so sleepy. They actually handed over the koala and then posed its head to face the photographer. By the way, koalas smell like cough drops. hee hee. There was room dedicated to all the famous people who had also cuddled a koala. Pope John Paul, Claire Danes and President Obama have had the coughdrop treatment. Funniest picture was of the Queen. No she didn't cuddle, just strode by.
We then flew back to Sydney and spent one last night in search of Tim Tams, cheap food and more picture spots. We got back to the airport and used the Star Alliance club of New Zealand Air. Way nicer than any United club. Rows of mini fridges with everything you could imagine drinking, real food, and of course Champagne. Ah! I could get used to that lifestyle. Back to reality.
Stay tuned as we are now dog less, we can travel a bit more in Texas. I felt bad leaving Berli in the care of anyone as his house pooping was a regular biz. So now, onto Texas. I bought a magazine with all the cool quiet spots along the coast so we are off to explore. Next weekend will be Christmas Bay and possibly Galveston Park. Still have the Anhuac to venture and Beaumont added a float trip recently that I just may need to check out. cheers to travels!
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