Brisbane

    We were up early Saturday morning and after saying our goodbyes and final thanks to our hosts Jeff and Ray, Jeff kindly drove us on the hour's journey into the city.  We dropped Don and Wendy at a car so they could drive south to Sydney to rejoin their family and take up some grandchild care duties.  We waved goodbye to Jeff after he dropped us off at our Pacific Hotel overlooking the Brisbane River and its tourist walk encompassing culture and dining.

    After dropping our bags at the hotel we ventured out to explore.  We first stopped for a couple of flat whites at the courthouse gardens before venturing across the river to the Queensland Museum.  We hit it on a free day and enjoyed the museums' natural history displays of flora and fauna.  Deborah enjoyed it all except perhaps the stuffed venomous snake display.

We've been enjoying our flat whites

We loved the beautiful walking paths flanking the Brisbane river

    After a short break for lunch, we entered the Queensland Art gallery and wandered the many rooms displaying local historical art.

Sheep station painting of the ever-capable Australian woman

    Day two was spent shopping in the morning and arranging a rental car for our own coastal drive south to rejoin Don and Wendy at their daughter Mollie's family home in North Narrabeen in the northern beaches suburb of Sydney.  Only after much persistence on Deborah's part did we secure a car at a reasonable price.  We learned a few things, it is cheaper; to rent online rather than in a brick-and-mortar shop, and to book a rental through a third party rather than direct. It was worth Deborah's effort.  She managed to reduce the cost from an initial $1200 to $190 after much research.

Sunset over the Brisbane skyline

    On Ray's advice, we had dinner at the Little Greek Taverna in the West End adjacent to the Theatre District.  We took a short walk after a memorable meal to the Brisbane Performing Arts Center to watch the musical Hamilton.  Deborah enjoyed the entire experience.  I did as well but was glad to have researched the story and characters to keep track of the story that can be challenging to understand without knowing United States history.

View from Queensland Performing Art Centre

We saw the fabulous Hamilton musical

Fish Alley street art 

    We were up early the next day to pick up the rental from the airport and leave the city on the coastal drive south.