Hurrah, you might say! I finally got my camera out in a city! I have been in and out of Brisbane on previous visits, and each time I come to appreciate it more. When I do stay here, a long-standing school friend, Rosemary Porter and her husband Graham are always generous with their hospitality.
I also have several cousins on my mother's side who live here, too. As a result, I enjoyed an outing to the Glasshouse Mountains and Caloundra with Rosemary on the Monday and on the Tuesday my wonderful cousins Dugald and Larry were able to find time from their busy work schedules to meet me in the city. As a result, I had some time with camera in hand to try to capture some images for you.
Much like Florida, this area is tropical and so you will not be surprised to know that we have been going through a rainy spell. Unlike Florida, it is quite hilly, so the cloud effects from the overcast days were dramatic.
The Glasshouse Mountains are volcanic plugs that burst out of the coastal plain. There are a number of them and the cloud effects changed rapidly around them. Rosemary found a lookout that allowed us to get a good view, but photography was difficult as they are somewhat spread out.
In this one, we managed to block the one behind us, but I thought it was a decent photo of us, so here it is without the mountain! I always hate to critique photos taken by a kind stranger and this is no exception!
This makes up for it and gives you and idea of how interesting they are!
This is the only one we got close to. Looks a bit foreboding to have nestling in one's back yard!
As the weather wasn't so great, we headed to the coast for lunch at Caloundra. Brisbane is on a river that leads into a large bay - Moreton Bay - so most of the waterfront is muddy sand and has no surf. Caloundra is the closest ocean beach to the north of the city and is pleasantly developed. It is densely built, but not quite as brash as the 'Gold Coast' to the south, which has elements of Fort Lauderdale and Miami in its high rise buildings along the beach.
We ate in a restaurant just opposite the north end of Bribie Island. You can see the surf off to the left in the channel and a large container ship heading out from the bay.
There were nice public facilities along the ocean front.....
...and I liked this mosaic on the stepping stone.
These buildings are typical of new low rise development I've seen along the waterfront through much of Australia. A spare, industrial and sweeping look in my opinion.
This house is boldly hanging on to its old style Aussie pride!
The following day I headed into the city. Parking was hard to find and expensive, but other than that, I really liked the city center. I was in the area of the post office and the ANZAC memorial. It has some pretty high end shopping in some of the malls and arcades. Sadly, that's not in my budget or suitcase space!
I liked the juxtaposition of the tropical green space with the shiny facade of the tall buildings.
The round sandstone structure at the end of the walk way is a memorial to ANZACS, which stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, a group of soldiers who fought bravely in the first world war in Europe. It was not long after Federation (the unification of Australia into one nation) and many young men of the day set out to support Australian allies in Europe. The fortitude and courage of these soldiers has long been a source of national pride. My mother's father had been an ANZAC and fought in Gallipoli, their most famous theatre of war in Turkey.
It was delightful to see school children on a field trip. This was a common sight as I traveled around metropolitan areas. It is refreshing to see that kids are allowed to learn outside the walls of the school room! A novel concept!
There is nothing quite like the lacy iron work from days gone by. This was a splendid example!
Modern art was also interesting..........
This mall was a very high end mall - all the European designers here!
And finally, it was good to see that Brisbane also has some of these little old-fashioned arcades that dot other Australian cities. I have always enjoyed exploring them.
Then it was on south to Murwillumbah, my mother's home town and where Toni and my aunt and uncle live. After a brief stop to say 'hi', I came on south to Ocean Shores where I have indulged in a whole week without schlepping my suitcase or taking pictures! It has been a lovely break from the somewhat dizzying pace I have been maintaining, while allowing a more relaxed pace for visits.
Now, it will be on to Kuala Lumpur for a few days and after that I'll fill you in as it unfolds.
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