One of the amazing things about Brisbane in the winter was that there were so few clouds in the sky, every day. It was really remarkable. The weather was fantastic: about 70° F every day, clear, cool, beautiful. We actually spent as much time outside as possible, whether that meant grabbing a coffee and reading in a cafe, having meals outside, or walking around; we just soaked it all in.
Greg on the bridge on our way to the botanic garden.
This one is for Greg. This is the main post office building in Brisbane. It's amazing! You can actually do all your shopping at the post office, then pack it off. Sure, you can get the usual commemorative stamp and postal items here, but if you need electronics, this is also your place.
So among our wanderings, we were impressed with the Aussie way of doing a great many things. Yes, there are coffee shops everywhere, but they are relaxed and easy-going. You can sit for ages, and the coffee is so civilized in mugs and saucers. There are recycling receptacles everywhere too. Crosswalks are well marked and people are incredibly aware of them. Honestly, I was afraid to cross without the walk for fear of chastisement by my fellow pedestrians! But my favorite? Public toilets. Brisbane is so friendly! There are clean, accessible, free, public toilets all over the downtown area, and I just thought this was fantastic.
One of our main destinations in Brisbane was the botanic garden. We spent the greater part of one day here, wandering, having lunch, wandering, enjoying the plants, people watching, etc. It was lovely.
On the way to the garden, one of the bridge signs. A bike and pedestrian friendly city.
Mangroves surrounding the area near the gardens.
Flooding has been a problem. This marker shows past flood heights.
Bamboo as graffiti house.
The dragon tree.
Banyan fig
No idea, but I thought this flower pretty.
Eastern water dragons. They were all over the lake and pond section of the park. Some people's reactions were really funny!
Unfortunately, we think the botanic garden is where Greg got his spider bite. It never really bothered him, but it was a bit ugly looking for a couple of weeks. Yikes!
We also really enjoyed the night skies. I wish I'd thought about that more before going, because I would have liked to have taken some information with me about the southern hemisphere. But Olivia's Greg pointed out the Southern Cross, which was fun, and I also saw the Milky Way for the first time, and that was amazing! Which also reminds me that we saw the current Harry Potter movie while in Brisbane too.
The other thing we enjoyed was good restaurants. We had great Turkish and good Japanese in Brisbane, fantastic breakfasts, and lots of wonderful coffee and pastries. Our last day, we actually decided to go for a big fancy lunch, then just have a snack before the exhibition opening. So we went to a seafood restaurant along the water called Jellyfish. We loved it! I had the snapper and escolar, and Greg had the tailor. Over the course of the trip, we also drank wonderful wines, of course, and discovered some great new drinks as well. My favorites: ginger beer and lemon/lime bitters. Mmmmmm.
But the best part of the whole trip was the time we got to spend with friends. I was so fortunate to have Olivia along for nearly all of the trip, and Greg and Greg got nearly a week together too. And there was an incredible bonus as well. Half of the Vietnam Field School 2008 class was in Brisbane at the same time and Rae offered to host dinner! Rae lives in Brisbane, as does Joycelin, who had just returned from some field work for one of her projects. Joyce had been with her on this trip, so was in Brisbane on her way back to her home in New South Wales. I was there for the conference (where I did also see Joycelin and Rae) and work, and Thu Huong was in for school. Greg and Amar finally met, and we girls also got to meet Bill and John. For me, it was also a treat to have a home-cooked meal after more than two weeks of hotels. It was an incredible evening, and we had a wonderful time. It would only have been better if the other five girls had been able to be there too!
Joycelin, me, Joyce, Thu Huong, and Rae
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