Our Visit to Australia - Day One

On Friday, August 26, 2011, we departed to Brisbane, Australia on a mission to find a house and a school for the kids.  Paul, Colin and I made the trip.  Mason declined to join us and instructed us to "not sign him up for anything because he wasn't moving to Australia".   

He is not on board with this move yet.  Mason doesn't want to leave his friends at school and the kids on our soccer team.  He also doesn't want to leave our house.  I hope he gets excited after Colin tells him all about it.  We arrived in Brisbane at 6 a.m. on Sunday August 28th, approximately 24 hours after we left St. Louis.   The fifteen hour time difference on top of the 24 hour trip is a bit bizarre, but manageable.  After we unpacked our bags, we headed out on foot to tour the city of Brisbane.  We walked to the Brisbane river and shopped at an outdoor market on the riverbank that is held on weekends.  We then walked along the riverfront to the Botanical Garden.  Past the Botanical Garden is a awesome bridge that takes you across the river to an area called South Bank. 

There is a cool beach on South Bank called Streets Beach that is a huge chlorinated pool over sand.  It in situated right next to the Brisbane River and has a great view of the Central Business District of Brisbane.

Here is Colin in front of the Streets Beach:

Brisbane also has a ferris wheel called the "Eye on Brisbane" that gives a great view of the city. Here are some photos we took on the Eye.

The Eye of Brisbane

Colin on the Eye

A view of Brisbanes' Central Business District (CBD)

The Performing Arts Center

Brisbane River and Central Business District

A View of South Bank Parklands

Southbank Parklands

We ate lunch at an outdoor cafe and watched Australian Rules Football.  Here is a photo of Paul that Colin took:

After lunch, we took the CityCat, a 100 person public transportation catamaran, that any one can hop on to travel up and down the winding Brisbane River.  We headed to Bulimba, a family-friendly suburb of Brisbane that we were told we should consider moving to.  Some of Paul's Peabody coworkers were attending the "Bulimba Festival" and invited us to attend.  Here are some photos of our 25 minute journey on the CityCat to Bulimba:

Colin waiting for the CityCat to arrive

Colin on the CityCat

The Story Bridge

Colin on the CityCat

When we arrived at the Bulimba CityCat stop, we checked out the Bulimba Festival and met up with some of Pauls' coworkers and their wives.  The Festival was held on Oxford Street, which we were told is the hot spot of Bulimba.  It has lots of quaint restaurants and shops.

Paul and Colin in Bulimba

 A Wine Shop on Oxford Street

 Bulimba Festival on Oxford Street

Liquorish...a bar on Oxford Street.

 Colin at Bulimba Park

 Colin on a fig tree in Bulimba Park

Colin on another fig tree.

The three of us covered some territory on Sunday and we were so tired we were all asleep by 6 p.m.  We subsequently woke up at 4 a.m. on Monday morning!