Tuesday - 27 March 2012 - Brisbane, Australia

Tuesday – 27 March 2012 – Brisbane, Australia

I wake up to the sound of the ocean about 4:30 am when I quickly realize  our balcony door is open.  Phil has opened the door because the air-conditioning is not working and he is hot. 

Phil leaves  the  cabin to find a cooler place on the ship  to read – he’s back in a few minutes to retrieve his glasses reporting that he has complained at the front desk about the  A/C malfunction.    I fall back to sleep until I hear a knock at the door – I get up and look through the peep hole expecting to see Phil but it is a  maintenance man.  I open the door and he says, “Madam, I am sorry to disturb you but your husband reported a problem and said it was urgent.”  So – I let him in.  He  fiddled with the thermostat – he got into the ceiling and fiddled with something up there – all the time apologizing for the early hour.    After about 20 minutes – he left promising to be back shortly.   At this point I think it wise to get dressed.   Phil comes in about 10 minutes later just as cold air comes blasting  out of the ceiling.   Our maintenance man returns – re-opens the ceiling fiddling with something – apologizing all the time about the early hour.  Finally he proclaims that the problem is fixed – and tells us that he has several cabins with the same issue.

Brisbane is fabulous – we take the  shuttle from the dock  to downtown to  purchase tickets on the City Tour Bus – also known as the Hop On/Hop Off Bus.  Walking along the Queen Street mall Beth, Lynn and I are stopped by four students from Griffith University – Gary – Courtney – Erika – Carly.  They ask if we would give them our thoughts on whether synthetic drugs which have become quite popular with young people should be outlawed – apparently several US states have banned these drugs. We are happy to oblige.    

Moving on – our tickets are purchased and we begin the tour of the city as we make our way to Mt. Coot-Tha where we  hop off for a half hour  taking photos of the panoramic view of Brisbane and browsing in the gift shop.   Back on the bus for a few more stops --- we hop off at the Cultural Center a parkland running along  the Brisbane River.  

It is here that we spot The Wheel of Brisbane – a huge ferris wheel  offering a 12 minute narrated ride for $15 pp.  Beth, Lynn, Patte and I are all for it – the boys decide to stay on the ground.  Each cab is air conditioned and fits the  four of us with room to spare – the narration describes the sights we are seeing as  we go around.

After this delightful ride – we walk through the cultural center to the next bus stop  where we hop on staying until the last stop  – basically we have  traveled a loop. 

Beth and Lynn go off on their own – Patte, Dave, Phil and I walk towards the Brisbane River where we stop at the Bier Garten  for lunch.   Then we walk through the Botanical Gardens which are truly magnificent from the old banyon and unusual pine trees to the variety of plantings. 

Then it is off to the Cat Ferry which will take us to the ship docked on the Brisbane River – the ride is free with our ticket from the City Tour Bus ticket.   We have some confusion finding the dock and almost get on the ferry going the wrong way but we eventually end up on the correct ferry in the right direction.   The ride is  most pleasant --- the people watching is nothing short of  pure entertainment.

We complete our 15 minute walk from the ferry dock to the cruise ship terminal just as the rain comes pouring down – perfect timing.  

Trivia at 5:30 – no wins for the Cape Codders.   After a  lovely dinner on the back deck of the Regatta  everyone goes to the show.  Phil and I get our last load of laundry done and pop into the show for a few minutes.

It is hard to believe we’re almost to Sydney.

Thanks for Reading!

Pat