We had one day to explore Brisbane.  Several people had told us about taking a catamaran on the Brisbane River.  We went to the train station to purchase a “Go Pass” that would work all day on the trains and the ferries.  It seemed confusing.  Then a woman who was behind us in line told us that we didn’t need the “Go Pass.”  Her name was Tina and she was a Brisbane Greeter who was on her way to take a group on a free city tour.  She rode the train with us to the city and took us to a place to get maps for the ferries and told us what to do.

There are Ibises right in the city.

Tina walked us down to the river.  On the way we saw a couple of sculptures.  Tina said this one was done by an American.

These are just a couple of examples of ones that were created from steamers that are used to steam food.  There are many of them around.

Tina explained that our train ticket was good for the CityCat which is a Catamaran that goes along the Brisbane River.  We began at the North Quay dock and had enough time left on our train ticket  to ride it to the Queenstown University campus and back again.  This was the beginning of a delightful day on and along the Brisbane River.

Brisbane has several bridges that cross the river.

We enjoyed sitting on the deck of the CityCat and looking at views of the city.

This is the Kirulpa Bridge.  I read that it is lit up at night.

We rode the CityCat back and got off at South Bank 1 and 2.  Our plan was to switch  to a smaller ferry called the City Hopper.  You can get off of it and back on at any stop.  This is a wonderful service provided to both tourists and residents in Portland.

We decided to walk along the river bank before getting onto the CityHppper.  Brisbane has a fabulous river walk.

This photo shows what one of the ferry landings looks like.

This is an example of one of the many tiles in the sidewalk along the river  path.

We passed a park that is called “Street Beach.”  It has a pool and sand on the side.

Some parts of the river path are tree-lined.  It was such a pleasant walk.

We walked through the Epicurus Garden on South Bank where there were many edible plants.  I tasted the parsley.  One of them was Tamarind.

The garden was delightful.  Then we ran into Tina who was with her tour group.  So, of course, I had to get the photo of us that I had forgotten to take.

We decided to walk over the Goodwill Bridge on foot instead of riding the City Hopper to the next stop.   On the other side of the bridge we found the Brisbane Botanical Garden.  This garden is actually on the edge of the city.  I wish I could have found out the name of this incredibly beautiful tree.

There are many Ibises under the tree.  I loved the ones that were arguing with each other on a branch of the tree.

I know they are considered a pest in the city, but I think they are elegant.

We took our time walking through the park and then saw the Story Bridge in the distance.

The Story Bridge is a heritage-listed steel cantilever bridge spanning the Brisbane River that carries vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the northern and the southern sides of the Brisbane River,   There is an adventure climb to the top of the bridge for approximately 85 Australian dollars.  It is very strenuous and the even test your lung capacity before you are allowed to do it.  We decided to skip this adventure.

Along the same path we passed this wonderful lovers bench.

We continued walking along the path and then got onto the CityHopper at the Eagle Street Pier and rode it to Holman.  Then we walked to the Story bridge and walked under it. We  found a place to rest and nave lunch at a coffee shop.  There was a huge fig tree right between the shop and the street.

The waiter came out to talk to us about what we were doing and suggested that we go to the hippie area of town for dinner.

While eating lunch, I decided that I would like to visit the Brisbane Synagogue.  I looked it up on the map and discovered that is was close to our first ferry stop.  So I called them to see if a visit was possible and a man named Peter answered the phone and said that I could come.

So we wandered through the streets of  Kangaroo Point looking for the Dock Side Ferry dock and took the ferry all the way back to our original stop at North Quay.  The ride is so relaxing and the views are wonderful.  In addition to the fabulous public spaces, there are many homes and condos along the river.

 

The Brisbane river does not go in a straight line.  Here is a photo of the map so you can see  how it meanders through the city.

From the North Quay dock we walked through town to the Brisbane Synagogue which is a heritage-listed synagogue at 98 Margaret Street.  It was designed by Arthur Morry and built from 1885 to 1886 by Arthur Midson.

Peter, who lives on the premises, let us in and told us stories about the synagogue and the upgrades that have been done.  Since it is a Heritage Site, everything has to be approved.

We decided to follow the advice of the waiter so we walked across the Victoria Bridge a fairly long way to the West End.  We were looking for the pub.  A woman in the pharmacy where I stopped for directions told us to go the pub in the alley way up the street.  So we ended up at the Brisbane Brewery where Rose had a beer and I had a coke.  We didn’t see anything on the menu that we wanted to eat so we asked the young men working in the brewery about a Mediterranean restaurant we had passed.  He suggested that we go to the Little Greek we had passed on the way there instead..  I love the sign over head as we left the pub.

I sure enjoyed my spanakopita, lamb skewers, pita bread for dinner at the Little Greek.  By then we were pretty tired so we walked back to a  train stop and made our way back to the motel.

The walks along both sides of the Brisbane River, the ferries that transport you from place to place, and the wonderful parks make Brisbane a very lovely city to visit.  We certainly had a pleasant day.