Brisbane/Gold Coast Part 3

One day we hopped on the free waterway public transportation system just to take a tour of Brisbane from the water. We just got on and stayed on until the boat finally reached our real destination. In doing this we were able to make a big trip out and a return to a spot we could have gotten to on foot but the boat trip was interesting. No photos though. We were too busy looking around I guess.

The third park/gardens we visited was ROMA Parklands. This is considered a contemporary display garden and was fantastic. Lots of photos. To get here we walked across a very long elevated pedestrian walkway that passed a main transportation station. We didn't encounter any "swooping birds" but they must sometimes be a problem.

 If anyone knows what this plant is, I would like to hear from you. It is really striking.

 For the ibis.

 Yes, another dragon.

 They hadn't yet planted the annuals in these beds.

 These are ponytail palms.

You know what this is by now, right?

Parks are great to visit in the Spring.

We tried to visit the Museum of Brisbane inside Brisbane City Hall one day but we arrived so late in the day we had only minutes to glance around. The next day we returned for a better look. The small museum tells the story of Brisbane. It also had an Origami station with directions on how to create several Origami critters. 

They had a display on diversity. In it, they posed questions and then answered them by demonstrating how many people out of 100 were the same. One started by taking an ethnicity quiz, i.e., answering questions about your sex, where you were born etc. Then they showed how you shared so many characteristics with others. Very interesting and we sat and watched it for along time. 

I really liked this painting (though I would probably frame it differently if I owned it) in the Museum. "The Veranda" by Miles Evergood, Brisbane, 1931.

I also liked this mural painted by Karla Marchesi in 2014. Titled "Thresholds," the artist painted it as a memory of her family's front yard as she grew up. Her home seems hidden in the mysterious jungle she remembers from childhood.

Last, but certainly not least, I was able to meet a friend, Joy,who moved to Brisbane very early this year. She is from Australia and I think is the only person I've ever heard use the expression of shock or amazement, "Crikey!" that you hear in movies sometimes. We met for a very long lunch one day. It was great to see her after so many months. Another friend also lives in Brisbane (she moved away in 2016) but she was in New Zealand with her mother at the time B and I were in Brisbane so I wasn't able to see them both. Both ladies were part of my Needle Nomads stitching group.  Here we are after lunch. This pedestrian walkway area was filled with giant Christmas decorations and some store windows had been decorated. It felt odd on the one hand because it's late spring in Brisbane. But it was November so it made perfect sense on the other hand. They had just gone up a day or two before. Notice the teddy bear! We both tried to do selfies and neither of us are very good at it.