A Weekend in Brisbane - #1

A couple of weeks ago I flew up to Brisbane with my daughter Rhiannan, to visit my Mum who is in an aged care facility.

We spent some great time with Mum, who is doing very well, but we also took advantage of the time up north to have a look around Brisbane.

We started by having some breakfast in West End and then walking over the Victoria Bridge and into the Queen Street Mall to have a look around.  That sort of ended shortly after we started; one mall is just like another and this one wasn't particularly jumping with street photo opportunities.

We ended up going down to the wharf and, for FREE, decided to jump onboard a City Hopper Ferry.

Yes, you read that right, the City Hopper ferries are free and it is a fantastic way to get around Brisbane to have a look at areas that, normally, would cost you money to park after you drove through the city traffic to arrive at!

It was not a particularly hot day but the humidity was killing both of us!  Even though I am a Queenslander, I have become unaccustomed to humidity over the years of living elsewhere.  It was great on the Ferry, gliding up and down the river and taking advantage of the cooler water coming off the water.

We eventually got off at the Holman Street Wharf and wandered around Captain Bird Park underneath the southern end of the Story Bridge.  From there we wandered down to the Story Bridge Hotel where we sat to cool off with a couple of icy cold beverages!

Because we'd had a late breakfast (which was huge!) we were not particularly worried about finding a spot for lunch.  From the Story Bridge Hotel, we wandered back to the Holman Street Ferry Wharf and jumped on the next free City Hopper back to the Queen Street area.  We did some more wandering around City streets before deciding we had had enough and returned to the car.

Rhiannan wears this Apple Watch and had set it up to measure our distance walked for the day; just on 14kms!  I was only wearing a pair of light canvas shoes; no wonder my feet were aching at the end of the day!

As indicated by the heading, this is the first blog for our Brisbane jaunt.  I also took a small point and shoot film camera with me and will post those photos shortly.

These photos are Copyright ©Life with Jordy Photography

All Rights Reserved.

As we were cruising down river, I espied this young lady putting on her sunscreen.
At the very moment I lined up the shot, she raised her head and
looked straight down the lens!

This shot and the one below are taken from the City Hopper.  This pedestrian bridge
is known as the Goodwill Bridge and spans the Brisbane River down near
the Maritime Museum.  Great perspective from underneath!

As we wandered along George Street, we came across this great little laneway.
As you can see, the glass on the building on the right, gave some wonderful
reflections of the laneway and the people in the laneway!

As we walked back to the car park, this quirky looking chap
was on the other side of the road, waiting to cross over as well.
I raised my camera as he started walking against the
 'No Walking' sign.  

South Bank, Brisbane.  For a while the weather looked very threatening.

The "Forceful" was the last coal fired steam Tugboat to operate on the Port of Brisbane.  She
has a chequered history in Australia and you can read more of her exploits
via this link.

The Story Bridge is the longest cantilever bridge in Australia.  So elegant looking!

Recently finished, the Felons Brewing Co. is well situated under the northern
end of the Story Bridge.  

The Brisbane Jazz Club is also ideally situated on the Brisbane River.  Would be an ideal
place to visit on the next occassion!

Rhiannan - taken at the Story Bridge Hotel before the cold
drinks arrived.

I love Brisbane.  Although it is full of high rise buildings mixed in with
the older style architecture, it just reminds me of a big country town!

This dome reminds me of the old Newcastle Post Office.

Brisbane has some beautiful buildings!