Brizzy - Part 2

Monday, October 1

This was the day we had dedicated to exploring Brisbane and hitting all the tourist spots.  Unfortunately, the weather was not the best- overcast, windy, and actually kind of chilly, but that didn't stop us. One thing I loved about Brisbane is that it is situated on a river (The Brisbane River – imagine that), and they have some really great public transportation for the river – several different options for ferries, some even free.  So we started the day by taking the CityCat ferry across the river to Southbank Parklands.  This is a neat area of the city that has lots of parks (crazy, I KNOW!), restaurants, shopping, and even a man-made beach.  We spent most of our time walking around the parks underneath the beautiful bougainvillea-covered overhangs.  These flowers were so pretty, and we weren’t even there when they were in full bloom.   

 

As you can see in the picture above, I was clearly famished by this time- so it was time to eat.  Of course, I would find the one Spanish/Tapas restaurant Ole, and that is where we ate an amazing meal.  We even had a legit Spanish waiter, and after a couple glasses of sangria, I was even brave enough to speak some of my now broken Spanish with him. 

 

 

 

 

 Our next stop was the Wheel of Brisbane Wheel of Brisbane.  Ever since my trip to visit my sister in Seattle and my ride on the new Great Wheel of Seattle, I’ve been obsessed with Ferris Wheels.  So now, any place I travel that has one, you can bet I will be on it.  The neat thing about this Ferris Wheel is that there is a recorded “guide” while you ride around that points of interesting locations and information about the city.  Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy, so the view was not the best. 

To end our day exploring Brisbane, we took a night Ferry on the river.  The views of the Story Bridge and the city at night were so pretty! 

 

Up next: The last installment of our Brisbane Trip- Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary!