On the loose in Brissie City

We've had a lot of rain ...

Purple rain!



Jacarandas are the tree of choice in Gregory Terrace - not so great for parking your car under!

So we now have time, between showers, to walk around the city where we are apparently so famous.

We like to walk, and are getting quite good at finding our way around.

A new initiative by the City Council is the City Cycles.



There are lots of these racks of bikes all over the city - and a lot of stands that have no bikes yet. Seems like a good idea, but ... well, they're not that cheap, you have to pay to sign up for the scheme and have a special card or something. And then there is the question of helmets - you have to wear one, so what? just happened to have one in my handbag here ... ? Oh you will be able to hire them (erch!) or buy some sort of cheap disposable ones ($$) at the time.

The biggest problem I can see is the roads. It's dangerous enough walking on the pavements in Brisbane. Where is one to ride? Oh, the pavement ...

I have actually seen 3 of these bikes out and about being used - all on the pavement.

I guess soon they will iron out the wrinkles and it could be a pleasant and innovative idea.

No Parking!

Of course bikes are a good idea in a city where it is hard to find a parking spot.



I think these people might be serious about not wanting us to park in their driveway.

The Big Story



The Story Bridge is visible from our kitchen window, and enhances any view - especially at night when it's all lit up.

And the Brisbane river, winding its way through the city, is beautiful from any angle.



It's a lovely walk from here onto the bridge itself. For a fee (about $100 each, I gather) you can actually walk over the top of the bridge, way up there.



Personally I'm quite comfortable looking out from here.



Most parts of the river have a pathway of some kind - a boardwalk in places where there is nowhere else to walk.

Our Favourite Restaurant

Being mostly Vegetarian these days, we find that not all restaurants have suitable dishes.

But just down in 'the valley' on Wickham St is a tiny Asian restaurant, the Kuan-Yin Tea Rooms.

This is what they offer.



Of course it was Lisa that introduced it to us. It's become a bit of a tradition to meet Lisa and the boys, and James when he is in Brisbane too, at our restaurant.




To go or stay?

We are enjoying living in our little apartment in this beautiful city.

So, shall we stay? Dunno. Depends on jobs. Waiting to see.

Meanwhile, back at the flat ...

It was Monday. We read our final assignment results in our emails.

We talked about just riding the train and exploring Brisbane from stations that looked interesting - an idea I had during some sleepless hours of the night.

But first we had to go to the dentist.

That wasn't fun, and we came home with both of us having numb/sore mouths. I think some of the anaesthetic may have seeped into my brain. As it was close to lunch time I figured soup might be my best option, so I set about cutting up veges, and soon had a potful on the stove.

Peter said maybe the soup would be better for tea, as we had been talking about going out - on the train, remember?

Oh, ok. So I put my shoes on and out we went.



We got off at Vulture Street / South Bank, and decided to have lunch at our favourite restaurant. It was so beautiful, and so relaxing, as you can see from this pic.

We had already ordered, we had our cups of coffee, and were just waiting for our lunch to arrive ...

All of a sudden, it hit me ... !

The soup!! I remember putting the pot on the stove, and turning it on full for starters, and then ... well, then we left!

We decided to go ahead and eat our meal, quickly. Then we hurried back to the station - fortunately only about a 2 minute wait for a train. Arriving back in Fortitude Valley Peter (being a faster walker) went on ahead of me (nearly getting himself fun over on Brunswick St in his hurry).

As I came puffing up the hill I could see him opening our back door ... standing at the traffic lights waiting to cross I could smell it!

At least there weren't any fire engines! It had been on a good 2 -3 hours. There really wasn't any soup left to speak of.

So now we have washed all the curtains and everything, and had the windows open and fans blowing through. Nilodor sprayed around finished the job.

Think we might go down into the city this morning. Feeling like soup - got a nice new saucepan - but it can wait till we come back!