Team Leip Travels

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

26 November 2024 Brisbane: Hosting the Abbotts for a Day - Part 2

After we had out lunch at Opa, we walked hopped back on the ferry to get to the Felons brewery that is located under the Storey Bridge. Here Mike and Leslie were able to get some of the many Felon beers that were on tap. The brewery was founded by four felons who were shipwrecked on nearby Moreton Island in 1823. They later founded the brewery which is still in existence today. Leslie got a mango brew and Mike chose the barrel aged brew. I was able to try a few new gins, the Papa Salt gin and the "The Slowing Down of Time" gin made in Australia by AOB, the Art of Booze brewing. This complex is just enormous with four large beer halls each with food and entertainment areas. We sat inside so we could get some back support from the chairs. We did not want to get all the way down to sit in the bean bag chairs that seemed to be everywhere. All too soon, it was time call an Uber to head back to the port. We thought that the top side would be the best place to mee the car, so we took the giant elevator to the top of the bluffs but the Uber app made us go back down. Even then we were chasing after the car to get him to stop. We said our goodbyes and Leslie and I walked along the elevated walkways back to our place. We put in 11,700 steps for the day and our feet felt it.

There were barrels everywhere

Beer-Can Christmas tree

With a few ornaments hanging off the tree

Decorated barrels

A nice decorative touch

No thanks to bean bag chairs

New Farm architecture

Japanese anime inspired

Leaping lizards

Dragon bones

One serious elevator

Fully contained topside

Great views downriver. Our walkway is to the left along the riverbank

More folks on the bridge walkway

Down there is where we pick up the uber

Parting is such sweet sorrow

High voltage art

Huge prints on the side of the building

Turtle birds?

Pink dolphins

The Barrel Hall is just one of three Felon Brewery buildings

Till we get to stroll Abbott street again

It has been 2 years and 174 days since we began our Migration

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

26 November 2024 Brisbane: Hosting the Abbotts for a Day

Mike and Deb are on a cruise around Australia and they had a stop in Brisbane. We made sure that we had a nice day planned with them as this is our fourth time seeing them on our 900+ days of travel. We took a cruise with them in Alaska and we also saw them in London and in Dover. They love to cruise, so we always cross reference our plans with theirs. The cruise port is at the mouth of the Brisbane river so we coordinated the meet up at the Hamilton Ferry stop, the closest ferry stop to the port. We rode the ferry upstream, towards the city, pointing out all the sights along the way. We stopped off at the South Bank terminal and walked along the river through the pool/beach area. Here we stopped and ate some tasty bits including a fruit salad, spinach balls and some hummus. Mike and I walked past the Maritime Museum and over the pedestrian bridge while Leslie and Deb took the ferry across the river. We could see all the ships and maritime related items from the elevated pedestrian bridge. A leisurely stroll through the Old Botanical Gardens was followed by a tasty Greek Lunch at Opa. Our server was from Thailand and her name was Soda, like from Seinfeld. She was great and she told us about the Koh Tao Island in Thailand

We rode up on the orange "Bingo" themed City Cat. They have a blue one for Bluey and the orange one for Bluey's friend Bingo

Perhaps an old coast guard ship now a home on the river

A midday crossing of the Storey bridge

This tern has a fish

On the south bank looking over at the new Queens Warf development

This pedestrian bridge was just being built two years ago

A pied butcherbird

We saw lots of bright dyed hair

An orange doo

Highschoolers in their uniforms

A very odd boat down by the Maritime Museum

Looking down at a lighthouse boat from the pedestrian bridge

Dancing ladies mosaic on the sidewalk

Bird of Paradise flower mosaic on the sidewalk

Spiders!

Walking the path in the park

Detailed bark pattern

This Australian Ibis was showing off for the ladies

Mossy steps

A jungle like area

With a Buff Banded Rail

After the park we had to detour through town for a bit

A statue on the sidewalk

At Opa, they had Morton Bay Bugs

We got a great table at Opa with a good breeze and right next to the river

It has been 2 years and 174 days since we began our Migration

Monday, November 25, 2024

24 November 2024 Brisbane: The Brisbane Jazz Club

After having so much fun and hearing lots of Jazz in Copenhagen, we decided to look up some Jazz clubs here in Brisbane. We started with the aptly named Brisbane Jazz Club and listened to the Brisbane Jazz Orchestra play "From Gershwin to Goodman." This club is located on Kangaroo Point under the Storey Bridge. We took the smaller ferry, the City Cat, to Hobson Landing. These ferries run on the half hour so we got there early enough to walk along the river a bit. The brush turkeys were everywhere and we must have seen a dozen or more. We really enjoyed the jazz club and we sat with some great folks. Paul told me of his bout with Polio before the vaccine was available and he had seen Dr. Ross Taylor back in 1975 before he went to New Guinea for ten years. This is the same Doctor that we visited. The jazz went on for just shy of three hours and we had a blast.