BEAUTIFUL BRIZZI

BEAUTIFUL BRIZZI
The big decision when we arrived at Brisbane Aiport was whether to take the Airtrain or the Shuttle. The Airtrain only took about 20 minutes as opposed to 50 minutes for the Shuttle but was more expensive and did not drop us outside our hotel as the Shuttle did. Decision made.
The Adina Hotel was very centrally located. Opposite the Central Railway Station on ANZAC Square (see picture 1), in the Central Business District (CBD). We were right next to the main shopping centres and minutes from City Hall. Great location but it was a pity that the bed was almost too big for the bedroom and made sockets and the safe challenging. However, it had a nice sitting area, adequate kitchen and breakfast area and (most importantly) a washing machine!!!
Having arrived just before 6 o'clock in the evening we took a walk down Creek Street to explore the eateries in the newish area of Eagle Street which were right on the river. With quite a selection we chose Go Centro and it was a good choice. Up until then, and especially after Hamilton Island, most of the restaurants that we fancied looked a bit expensive, but at Go Centro, we had a whole small chicken (four quarters) and two side dishes for $45 (£25 equivalent), which was our best value meal to date - and it was delicious. David enjoyed chatting to our lovely French waitress who advised us on the wine and we enjoyed the dry New Zealand Riesling. An early night was needed which required a steep walk back up the street - no-one had mentioned how hilly Brisbane is.
Next day we took a walk down to City Hall, which was the Victorian Building built on an old swamp that the Aborigines advised the invaders not to build on. Did they listen? No and they had to redo the foundations in years to come and at great cost. The indigenous people knew a thing or two.
When we arrived at City Hall, you could tell that Christmas celebrations were well underway by the size of the tree in the City square (see picture 2 left). There was a great commotion because the mayor had
invited all of the old folk of the city to partake in a Christmas lunch which took the whole week all at just $5 a head. This was very popular and about 10,000 people were fed and entertained  - we were told it was at the expense of the Mayor!! We did the City Hall and then clock tower tours with amazing views (see picture 3 right), which showed how the city had grown. In the  afternoon we took to the river on the City Cat (see picture 4 below right), a catamaran, which gave us great views of Brisbane and helped us familiarise ourselves with the city. The lovely thing about staying in apartotels is we get to have 'normal' food occasionally so we needed to go supermarket shopping and there was a Coles nearby (Aussie type Tesco). Linda also found a place to have her nails done, which she booked for the next morn
ing and then went off to buy some wine whilst I went to the Pig & Whistle, a supposedly British pub in the middle of a street.  Alcohol (in a bottle/can) can only be purchased in a bottle shop and must be in a bag if opened.  Whilst waiting for Linda I spotted  a Japanese fast food restaurant, Ichi Bana, which looked a good idea for that evening - and it was.There was a computer screen on the table with various menu suggestions and their cost. No sooner did we opt for something on the computer than it was delivered to our table. It was very efficient. We made good choices and finished with a spicy chicken dish. We had eaten our fill.

Next day, Linda went to have her nails done (see picture 5 above left) all sparkly for Christmas. Meanwhile, I went in search of an Australian sim card for our old phone. This was to avoid the high cost of phoning somebody in Australia from our UK phones. First stop was Telstra, but our phone was only 3G, which Telstra had discontinued as being old hat. Second stop was Optus, which still did 3G, but they required a passport as identification so that they could set up an account in my name. An hour later back at Optus, they sold me a sim card at a remarkably low cost ($30 for 28 days with unlimited calls and data and 15 calls to NZ and UK). Then we took a train for South Bank, which was a park with lovely gardens and a big lagoon where you can swim.  And of course by now it was time for lunch which was a delightful fish cafe looking out to the river. Linda had an amazing bubbly Strawberry spritzer (see picture 6 above left). Afterwards, we wandered through the beautiful gardens, along the banks of the river Brisbane and came to the lagoon. It was massive, with artificial sandy beaches and it was full of young (and very young) people enjoying themselves in the water on a very hot day. (30C plus!!) We regretted not taking our swimmers. After an ice cream and a ride on the City Hopper (a free boat service) to get back to the north bank we emerged at Eagle Pier and made our way back to the hotel.
Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant was close by so we decided to give it a try that night. We had not had good experiences with Jamie Oliver in the UK but we thought, hey ho, why not. Bad thought. Our waitress, who was Italian and who had come over to Brisbane only two weeks previously to improve her English, did not know the menu very well and she soon disappeared. Our food took ages to come and when it did, Linda's was horrid. Nobody came to ask us how everything was and when they eventually did, the waitress said we should have told them earlier! There was no sign of the manager, but we were only charged for one meal and one drink. Apparently, Jamie Oliver is no longer involved with this restaurant, but he should have his name removed from the signage.  It was the only bad meal the whole time,
But we still loved Brisbane,the architecture and art blending old and modern, the river, the South Bank, friendly people and the weather.
The next day, we went to get our hire car from Apex, which was close by. We had ordered a Toyota Corolla with a sat nav (now that's another story).