After checking in to the hotel, we barely had time to shower before gathering on the first floor for the buffet lunch the hotel had prepared for us. At 2:30 we met in the first floor lounge for a quick meeting before heading out on our walking tour of the area.
Although it was sunnier compared to Sydney, our walk through the Central Business District put us in the shadows of some of the taller biding and it was surprisingly windy, making it a little cool even with a jacket on.
From the Ibis we walked South down George St. to the Queen Street Mall - a pedestrian mall lined on both sides by actual malls which even extend underground. Some of our students exchanged money there before we continued down George St. to the lovely City Botanic Gardens. With the sun out and the wind died down, it was actually a pretty nice day. It was a beautiful walk through the Gardens down to the edge of the river and around the bend to the Goodwill Bridge. From the bridge we got our first great views of the river, the South Bank, the CBD skyline, and the Maritime Museum.
Across the bridge we walked through the Southbank Parklands, former site of the World Expo 88 and now a major entertainment and tourism district. There were busy bars and restaurants, a man-made beach, and a long path under a bougainvillea-covered arbor. All this ad up to the Brisbane Wheel, museums, and a performing arts center, which we did not reach because we stopped to board a City Cat ferry down the river to our next appointment, which I will have to write about tomorrow.
Tiredness sets in, so I must go to bed - still two full days behind on the blog.
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