Once again we woke up early in order to eat and get ready to head to the airport and catch our flight to Brisbane. It was a quick two hour flight, and I had the window seat, so I enjoyed the views of Australia's miles and miles of beautiful coastline the stretched out below me as far as the eye could see.
Upon landing we picked up our bags and rental car and navigated our way into the heart of the city to find our hotel, the Four Points by Sheraton, a 30 story building. We were able to check into our room on the 26th floor, which was small, but clean and modern. We headed up to the bar on the 30th floor to grab a bite for lunch, then set off to meet another Kytherian friend named Mary (Londy) Kyffin, who we met in Kythera in 2009.
Upon landing we picked up our bags and rental car and navigated our way into the heart of the city to find our hotel, the Four Points by Sheraton, a 30 story building. We were able to check into our room on the 26th floor, which was small, but clean and modern. We headed up to the bar on the 30th floor to grab a bite for lunch, then set off to meet another Kytherian friend named Mary (Londy) Kyffin, who we met in Kythera in 2009.
She lives in Brisbane with her husband and two adorable boys, 4 and 5 year olds, she suggested we meet at the Wheel of Brisbane, which is located in the South Bank area, the central area for cultural arts, just a 20 minute walk across the river over the Victoria Bridge from our hotel.
We found her easily, or more like she found us, sticking out like the tourists that we are, taking a selfie in front of the big riverfront BRISBANE sign.
She had her two adorable boys, George and Sam in tow, bundles of energy, running about like little dynamos, excited to go to the playground. We walked (they ran) straight to the playground and the grown ups found a bench from where we could watch the boys and catch up.
She had her two adorable boys, George and Sam in tow, bundles of energy, running about like little dynamos, excited to go to the playground. We walked (they ran) straight to the playground and the grown ups found a bench from where we could watch the boys and catch up.
After they played for a while, we decided we should ride the Wheel of Brisbane. We thought it would be lovely to get the sunset views of the city.
Little Sam didn't want to go, so he stayed with Mary on the ground, while we took George along with us. We completed five revolutions, waving fervently at Mary and Sam each time as we passed them.
Little Sam didn't want to go, so he stayed with Mary on the ground, while we took George along with us. We completed five revolutions, waving fervently at Mary and Sam each time as we passed them.
After riding the wheel we snapped a few more pics in front of the Brisbane sign, which was now all lit up and looked really cool.
It was getting dark and her boys were hungry, but having had a late lunch, we weren't quite ready to eat. We made plans to get together again on Friday night when her husband could join us, then went our separate ways, but not before she recommended we walk back along the river and cross over the Goodwill Bridge and head back to our hotel via the Botanical Gardens.
It was getting dark and her boys were hungry, but having had a late lunch, we weren't quite ready to eat. We made plans to get together again on Friday night when her husband could join us, then went our separate ways, but not before she recommended we walk back along the river and cross over the Goodwill Bridge and head back to our hotel via the Botanical Gardens.
This is precisely what we did, despite the vociferous protests from one whose legs were turning into bloody stumps from *all* of the walking he had done today. The
sun had set, but it was a lovely riverside walk through an arbor and over a pedestrian bridge which offered a great view of the city, and then dropped us at the QUT (Queensland University of Technology) campus, and just a block or so from the Botanical Gardens.
There were very few people about, which made it easy to spot more nocturnal wildlife, including more large fruit bats (now that it was evening, we actually saw them flying between the trees, their huge silhouettes gliding gracefully, barely visible against the dark sky). Next as we made our way through the gardens we spotted what we thought was a cat at first, but as we got closer we realized it most definitely was something else. I texted a picture to Mary who informed us that it was a possum, but it looked so different from our American possums! It had a fluffy tail and a stubbier nose, and was very cute and not at all afraid of us as we approached it for photo ops.
There were very few people about, which made it easy to spot more nocturnal wildlife, including more large fruit bats (now that it was evening, we actually saw them flying between the trees, their huge silhouettes gliding gracefully, barely visible against the dark sky). Next as we made our way through the gardens we spotted what we thought was a cat at first, but as we got closer we realized it most definitely was something else. I texted a picture to Mary who informed us that it was a possum, but it looked so different from our American possums! It had a fluffy tail and a stubbier nose, and was very cute and not at all afraid of us as we approached it for photo ops.
From there we made our way towards “Pancake Manor,” a chain restaurant serving both sweet and savory pancakes which is not particularly remarkable, except that the restaurant is located in the former St. Lakes Church of England, which was built in the early 20th century and is a historical landmark. We were worried it would be busy, but we were there during the much anticipated Queensland v. New South Wales rugby match, and given there was no TV inside, the place was empty, save for a few other Asian tourists and another family with kids. Service was terrible and we were there for a good 30-45 minutes longer that we would have liked, but Ewan was thrilled to have pancakes for dinner AND dessert, plus it was fun to see such an iconic Brisbane institution before heading back to the hotel for the evening.
Fun times! We stayed at the Rydges, right behind the Wheel. We're looking forward to going back to Brisbane next year! Now I see more places we need to take in!
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