Day 45 - On the Brisbane Tourist Trail

​It was another scorcher today (which makes the fact that I can hear ‘Last Christmas’ playing outside my hotel even weirder…), but I was on a mission to see some of Brisbane’s top sights.

After another yummy (Vegemite free) breakfast, I walked down the hill to City Hall. I was able to get on the guided tour of the hall, which was really interesting with highlights including the auditorium with impressive organ (one of only two of its kind in the world, with the other being in Westminster Cathedral) and the soldiers’ wall, where soldiers graffitied their names during WWII, and weirdly everyone who signed it survived. 


I had a brief look around the Museum of Brisbane, a quick drink and banana bread, and then got on the tour of the Clock Tower. Pleasingly there was a lift up what used to be Brisbane’s tallest building, but very much is not now! 


It was then a walk down to the river, across a bridge (with well hidden geocache!) and to the cultural centre. I had a general wander about, took the compulsory photo of the Brisbane Sign, and then went on the Wheel of Brisbane, which was lovely with its air conditioned pods and commentary about the city. My favourite fact that I learnt was that all the streets of Brisbane CBD are named after UK royals, with female streets running one way (kind of East-West, but not quite!) and then male streets perpendicular to them. 


After the wheel, I continued to walk along the South Bank, stopping for lunch at a nice cafe. I continued to explore the beach and the river area in the early afternoon, enjoying the elves that are along the river for Christmas, before eventually crossing back over the river on the Goodwill Bridge with lovely views of the city. 


This gave me a quick view of the Botanic Gardens, but by this point I was needing to rest and cool down a bit, so I took an Uber back to the hotel, where I promptly had a nap and watched an episode of Ted Lasso.

It was a chilled dinner at the hotel tonight and then packing for the flight to Sydney tomorrow. Packing has become a bit more of a challenge now, as I have my cricket tour stash, as well as Christmas present purchases and souvenirs… Luckily I am well practised at playing Tetris. 

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