Brisbane, a vibrant river city

K: The third largest city in Australia is also the fastest-growing. Brisbane was a pleasant surprise. The city runs along the Brisbane River and is modern, beautiful and, seemingly, a great place to live. There are many beautiful parks and walkways, and an entire "beach" right in the middle of the city with a number of bathing pools, a few sandy 'beach' spots, and even lifeguards. We enjoyed exploring the river, Chinatown and many of the city's parks.



Interesting bridge

Paddlewheelers on the Brisbane River	Where am I -- New Orleans?
Am I in New Orleans?
City Ferry	Downtown Brissie

V: Brissie, a fine city, in my opinion, as I'm uncannily reminded of New Orleans, in the architecture of riverside homes, and the paddlewheel boats on the Brisbane River. This is a city that has wonderful riverside development of commerce, tourism sites, and homes and apartments. The ferry system works like a city taxi service, moving people across and down the river quite efficiently and economically.

And, significantly, we finally find a decent Aussie beer! From Western Australia, we discovered Fat Yak Pale Ale, the best Aussie beer thus far. Nice aroma, good balance of hops and flavor, a solid effort. Of course the wines have been diverse and tasty, but this is the one beer that doesn't taste like all the others. I'll have to check out if it's available in the USA.

From Brissie, on to Sydney!