Brisbane

Marielle in front of a Bottle Tree
Paul in front of fence-eating Moreton Bay Fig tree

Brisbane skyline

I wondered how much Brisbane had changed since I left in 1980 and my last visit in the early nineties. Many of my friends had reported that it had grownup, from a sleepy country town albeit with a population close to a million, to a bustling cosmopolitan city. They were right. The Brisbane skyline has changed to one of towering condominium complexes and high rises with crowded streets full of young people and a decidedly asiatic influence. You can still find traditional pubs however they are outnumbered by sushi shops and Vietnamese restaurants. The botanical gardens are still there with their spectacular Moreton Bay Fig trees providing shade and even the little park where Marielle and I used to eat lunch together is unchanged with its benches, flower beds and Bottle trees (boababs). We spent most of our day in traffic jams on the highways under construction, shopping on the pedestrian mall (this never existed before) and visiting Mount Cootha for a walk through the other botanical gardens and a lookout over the city. Did you know that at many intersections in Australia traffic is stopped in all directions while pedestrians cross the streets every way including diagonally?