Saturday, October 13, 2007
Brisbane, the Gold Coast of Australia
As Florida is to us Southerners, so Brisbane is to Australians. It's the fun, sunny, beach-laden place to go for a vacation. It's also hot and humid as can be.Brisbane was one of the original penal colonies that the Brits set up to house convicts from England back in the day. Now, it's a beautiful and thriving city. To the left is a picture of the Story Bridge, one of only three bridges of this size that can be walked across on the very top girders (with a tour guide and carabiner lines for safety). You can also make out the "CityCat" high-speed ferry boat that's plying the river.
I only had about 24 hours in the city. So after getting checked in to the hotel and dropping off my bags, James Delve and I strolled down to the riverfront area by the Brisbane River to enjoy a meal. Of course, Australians don't tip their waiteres and waitresses. Consequently, the service is terrible. But the views were spectacular. 
The river also has some very nice paddle boats, called River Queens, that ply the waters. Strangely, Brisbane can go from sunny and clear to raining and chilly in very short order. It started sunny, clouded over and rained, cleared, and then rained again all in one day while I was there. I hear that in summer the weather is more stable.
I've heard that the women of Brisbane are the most babe-tacular of all Australia. Unfortunately, I didn't get to check it out at the beaches where all the action happens. But just walking down the street is certainly a great experience. (grin)
Cheers,
-Kevin
Labels: Experiences, Travel
# posted by Zebraman @ 1:07 AM 
