Brisbane

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Sunday 7 December continued

We went for a walk at 6 pm to see what might be awake for food in this town on a Sunday evening. Neighbours had been out and back with a Subway meal so we had hopes of something.

We headed over the railway bridge and were able to sight a McDonalds and a Kentucky fried chicken, Pat likes the occasional kfc so off we went. It was air conditioning at full strength so we took our meal back to the room.

The brain was mush after we had settled down, so, I turned the television on and we happened to be at the start of the film Fury with Brad Pitt so we watched that.

Monday 7 December

A good nights sleep and woke at 7.30 am. We only had a short journey this morning so we took a slow start.

We checked out at 9.30 am and drove back to the shopping area we had walked passed last night as Pat had spotted a Newsagents and we could really do with a better map of Brisbane. So a quick stop, with a map purchased and then back on the M1 Bruce highway.

Our destination today was in Brisbane City, we have accommodation booked in the middle for three nights until our cruise on the 10th. They refer to the city centre as CBD (Central Business district).

The highway into Brisbane was heavy with traffic and the lorries weren't helping, it seemed that we kept ending up behind one. We had an idea of were we were going, but seeing signs always helps.

The apartment is on a one way street, just to complicate matters and we have car parking as part of the deal, but we are well early at 11.30 am, so thought we would park nearby and then walk to the reception and find out what time we could check in and so on.

Finding a car park in a city centre is not always as easy as it sounds, and when we drove into one, the prices were significant. After we found another and it's prices were similarly high we decided we had no option.

We made our way on foot to the apartments and spoke to reception, who said the room was nearly ready, but we could park the car. We checked in and got the information how to park the car and then walked back to the other car park. The cost for the half an hour was AUS$18. The cost for 3 hours was AUS$77.00!

A short drive in the one way system and back to the apartments. We are on the 9th floor in a serviced apartment and it is great, with a good view as well.

Our drive today was 53 kilometres.

By now it was 12.30 pm, so we unloaded the car and put stuff in the fridge etc.

We were both hungry, so the first thing on our exploration was somewhere to eat.

As we left the building the receptionist gave us lots of helpful information on the City and we followed some of her advice to visit the river front, which was full of cafes and restaurants.

Nearly the first one we found a place called Alchemy looked very inviting so we went in. A notch above many we have been in and was wonderful, with a high level of service.

Pat had grilled swordfish and I had rolled belly pork stuffed with mushrooms on a bed of risotto and a side order salad with blue cheese dressing, chopped apple, pickled walnuts and shaved parmesan. Pat had a glass of rose. We were given an amuse bouche of pumpkin soup, which again was lovely. Cost AUS$118.50.

The restaurant appeared full of business types and I was in my sandals and shorts and an Australian T-shirt, what ho!

We then found the retail area and pottered around the shops until returning, via Woolworths and some supplies at 16.20 pm.

The shopping centre was busy, but I guess it is christmas time.

Pat went to the pool and spa for a while when we got back.

At 7.30 pm we headed for a stroll, we found Chinatown, but all was quiet and not much to see. Then down to the river boardwalk watching the world go by. We stopped at The Groove Train for a drink and got back at 9.40 pm.

Tuesday 8 December

A good nights sleep and a slow start to the day. We headed towards the river and stopped at St Johns cathedral on the way. The architect is the same guy as Truro cathedral apparently.

Then on down to the riverside and Eagle Street Pier to await the Cityhopper service. This is a free ferry service that runs up and down this stretch of river all day long, half hourly between boats. We decided that as it was free that we would do the whole circuit first and then see what to do.

The trip takes about 45 minutes and we sat on the top deck and took in all the sights. We decided to get off at South Bank 3, as we had seen cafes and restaurants.

We went to another riverside restaurant called The Jetty and busy with people.
The food and presentation of it, was excellent, but the service was lacking. Pat had braised beef cheek ragout with pasta and I had pork belly with crackling and apple and beetroot with aioli chips, AUS$83.00.

Then on to the Maritime museum and we spent a fair while looking around. They have an old Australian Naval frigate called HMAS Diamantina in a dry dock and an ocean going tug called Forceful tied up, both of which you can look over.

After a very enjoyable and interesting time, we walked to the Maritime Museum jetty and caught the 15.32 cityhopper back to Eagle Street Pier.

A quick pop into Woolworths for two fresh cream apple turnovers to go with afternoon tea and back to the apartment at 4.10 pm.

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