Discovering Brisbane

Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia, coming in behind Sydney and Melbourne. But, what it lacks in population and culture it makes up for in horrific fashion statements; you see, Brisbane is as 80's as slap bracelets and leg-warmers! Women strut their sweatshirt dresses as they glare at you from behind bug-eyed shades. So it was with an underwhelming sense of nostalgia that Andrea and I roamed the streets of Brisbane (can't be overwhelmed seeing as how we were born in '84).

The main attraction for our day was visiting Roma Street Parkland. This park sits just outside of central Brisbane in a converted rail yard. I expected to see signs of the old trains: rusty rails, old cars, maybe a restored depot with a themed-cafe...all mixed in with beautiful flowers. What we found was a lovely botanical garden and a free tour (almost as exciting)!

The gardens were filled flowers, exotic and ancient, divided by raised wooden platforms which were frequented by lizards! They lounged beneath our feet, fat and lazy, as our tour group moved past. The guide was a soft-spoken Chinese man who volunteered at the parkland. He seemed to decide that I was the youngest somehow and kept saying things like "You won't remember this, but..." and turning to my roomie. Who, I'll have you know, is only 4 months older than me!

Just as in Perth's King's Park, I had missed the full flower season by 3 weeks; so while some lilies and snapdragons peeked here and there, the guide was constantly apologizing for the "barren" garden. I also learned more about Queensland water drought than I had ever hoped to. When we weren't talking about the lack of flowers or water, the guide showed us some truly exotic plants. One species had been around since the age of the dinosaurs and actually had a male and female division. Girls outnumbered boys 6 to 2....good odds for an enterprising plant! Another tree was so rare that each new plant is sold by auction and comes complete with a birth certificate; scientists are blind-folded and air-lifted to the site to transplant them. Call me crazy, but that seemed a bit excessive for a plant! Especially since you don't even get to name it yourself. Each one is named after a dinosaur. But, I would defy that. If I had to compete for the privilege of buying this plant, I would name it "Joe" - Joe, the plant.

After the park we went to what appeared to be an aboriginal art museum but in fact was a show for ADD artists who have aboriginal-leanings. Having had that life experience, we went to the Museum of Brisbane which was entirely dedicated to a town rodeo which takes place each year. As thrilling and cultural as Brisbane was we hopped the train back home.

So long Brissie, and thanks for all the lizards!