The Glass House Mountains and Peregian Beach

The Glass House Mountains are about an hour north of Brisbane.  We rented a car , and Audie no less, to get us on our way. We really did pretty well with the maps and staying on the left side while the drivers sits on the right.  We did insist on an automatic which was an additional 20.00 per day (we say well worth it) 

Yup, you are seeing this right, wild koalas. There are also many signs with kangaroos on them.

This guy was at the cafe we ate at in Maleny.  He had two other friends with him too circling the outside patio tables. They were not afraid of people, at all. Me?  I went inside to sit!

The Sunshine Valley Cottage in Woombye. So adorble and clean and surrounded by trees.

Inside is a diarama of how they grow pineapples.  You can also climb to the top (areYOU kidding, it was over 100 in there!)

The BIG Pineapple just outside Woombye. There are many pineapple groves on the mountains.

A friend at the BIG Pineapple

These two were having quite a stare down.

Is that an Aussie local or Ttom?

This is the town we are staying in for the next four days.

Aussie trivia: The Girl Scouts are selling "biscuits."  There is a TV add that says, "Save a girl, buy the biscuits!"

Check out Jens online for the BEST Anzac cookies around. These cookies also come with chocolate on the top.  Anzac cookies can be found in both Australia and New Zealand.  We love them and have tasted many different types. Jens wins the prize.

Aussies call breakfast "brekkie"  and we haven't found it to be great.  Not one of their specialties anyway.

We have been enjoying a local beer, XXXX Crown.  They call it "4 X"  We call it great!

Brisbane - the South Bank and West End - and the Birthday!

This is a sign on fence of a grammar school on the West End of Brisbane.

A Jack Fruit, something we have never see or tried.

Inside of the fruit. Still have not tried it!

The pool(s) at the South Bank. Clorinated and filtered, clean and warm!

More of the pool area, about a block long

Great sign for produce and flowers.

Full moon from the Brisbane Eye

Tom's Birthday dinner. Pizza and Beer! We also went to see "The Dallas Buyers Club"  Lots to think about with that movie.

Me, waving to Tom from the pool

More shots from the Brisbane Eye

I met the woman, Katie B who designed these clothes. I bought TWO of her dresses. They are amazing and as they say in Australia "lovely." She had a small booth at a market on the West End. She is planning to market her designs in the U. S. A. Check out her website.  Her mother is 90 years old and married an American G. I.  Her mother has been to Wisconsin a number of times in her life.

Gret food here. Just kitty corner from our apartment.

Views from our apartment. The building in the foreground is the restaurant.

Another view from our balcony.

Good bye Sydney, Hello Brisbane

Off to Brisbane. We took the train from our neighborhood station to the Sydney Airport and again from the Brisbane Airport to our apartment complex on the West end of Brisbane. We got to within six blocks of the apartment and I had to call it quits. I was not feeling well and we took a cab the last six blocks!  It is very hot here, 100 and up.  Not great for a stroll with a suitcase, backback and two over the shoulder bags.

Friday we spent the day in the Gallery of Modern Art and the State Library of Queensland.  Too hot to be outside. 

This is a timeline wall of photos high lighting the history of European settlers in Brisbane. The photos were really intersting and the captions, priceless.

This is one of the rare published copies of the diary of Captain Cook as published by James Matra. See below.

One of the first quantas planes.  1923

The caption on this one reads Four young nuns fishing with rods."  1952

This is a sculture in the art gallery.  All glass.

The Australian artist Bea Maddock, did this in her 70's. The painting extends around an entire room. It is a depiction of the coastline of the entire island of Tasmania done to scale and painted with the ancient colors used by the aborigines.  

This is a hand made book done by Bea depicting all of the natural artifacts she found in Tasmania.

More about Bea.

Map of the art galleries on the west end.

Skyline of downtown Brisbane as seen from the State Library.

Balconies of the State Library overlooking the Brisbane River. 

Music hour at the library. She was wonderful.

More of the skyline from the south end. 

The "eye" of Brisbane on the South Band.

Beautiful mosaics on the river walkway of the South Bank

These ibis are really scavengers are NOT afraid of people.

The swimming pool along the Brisbane River on the south end.  Can't wait to take a swim.

Our studio apartment at the West End Apartments. Very nice.

Kitchenette.

Very nice compact bathroom.