Australian Adventure 2013 - 3

Wednesday the weather reverted to what Pam & Nick consider normal – clear blue skies and a nice breeze – lovely!  We elected to go the streetscape open air mall in downtown Brisbane.  We drove for a while, parked, walked a couple of hundred yards and soon thereafter boarded a “City Cat” one of the fleet of catamaran ferries that are just as much a part of city transportation as trains and buses.  P & N each have a prepaid pass, good on any mode of public transportation, but I had to pay a few dollars, which were well worth it.  The Cats zig-zag from side to side between jetties on either side on a circular route so that some are always headed upstream (as we were) and some downstream.

The rivers is circuitous due to various ancient rock formations & cliffs, but we eventually reached downtown and debarked, immediately having to climb a long steep set of steps up to main city level.  We walked a little way until we reached the main shopping street now entirely pedestrian (buses and traffic go beneath through a tunnel).  We had a leisurely cup of coffee, did a lot of window shopping but only actually purchased one or two items plus some postcards in a tourist shop, but got a flavor for the sort of items that are available.

We then reversed ourselves all the way back to home, picking up a nice loaf of bread in the farmers’ market section just as we were leaving the main drag.  After lunch we began to seriously plan what “tourist” things we wanted to do and finding out which were affordable and which were unreasonable.  We also found that perhaps we should have planned, and booked, ahead (as in well before I arrived) but somehow I don’t think we are going to be bored!  Nick gave me the phone after responding briefly himself and I had a chat with a childhood friend I had not seen since leaving England for the USA the first time in 1966.  Odds are we will go to Melbourne and include a stay with her and her husband as part of our time there.

Pam & Nick left in the late afternoon for a dinner party to which they had committed long ago.  Peter and I stayed here, watched a movie and had dinner, each did our own thing for a while and then chatted.  I was delighted to be able to remain awake until a normal bedtime & slept late next morning.  I hope this means I have fairly quickly managed to adapt to the 14-hour time difference.