Brisbane

We left Byron Bay and headed up the coast today to Brisbane.  Many people at home have wondered if we encountered the flooded areas and yes we did. On the way up we stopped off at Surfers Paradise, a city built on the ocean, one side of the main street surf and the other highrise apartments for the rich. It’s a very trendy area with lots of shops and amazing surf and lots of surfers. We then headed into Brissie( as the locals say) where we stayed in a  new hostel – very nice. Marilyn, Murray, Peter and I headed off to explore the area. Brissie is a city much like Paris, built on the Brisbane river  with many bridges crossing. We headed over the first bridge to find our way around the museum blocked by fences and security guards. The area was heavily flooded and museums, libraries, office buildings, etc were all closed with huge dumpsters in front of each. WE found our way along and eventually  passed under a beautiful bouganvilla archway, which went on forever. WE entered a market that had just reopened after the flood – they had been out of business for over a month. That evening it was my turn along with Nick from England to make dinner at the hostel. After chilli, salad and fresh bread it was off to bed.