Brisbane / Mt. Coot-tha

I have loved trains of any kind since I was a kid. I think this comes from growing up riding Santa Fe trains all over the western U.S.A.. Our whole family got to ride free on dad's Santa Fe pass. That was a real luxury for a working class family in the 1950's. It was an experience that engendered a life long love of trains and riding trains.

Phil's sister works near the main train terminal in downtown Brisbane. When we got to take the train from the Brisbane airport to meet Phil's sister for lunch downtown, it was a fun and interesting experience. Brisbane, unlike Melbourne, has a distinctly European feel to it.

Phil's sis was generous and loaned us her car for our whirlwind tour of Brisbane. That made it so much easier to see some of the sights. Our first stop was Mt. Coot-tha. Mt. Coot-tha is a mountain outside of town that boasts a Botanical Garden, Planetarium, and look out area.

Although it was rainy during our visit, it was possible to see quite a long way from the top of Mt. Coot-tha. To the left is a picture of the city of Brisbane from the lookout area.

We walked around and had some coffee at the restaurant. It was a great place to relax. We had coffee and hot chocolate on the patio. Fortunatly the patio was roofed as it started raining.

Brisbane is very humid even when it is not raining. It was unseasonable cool when we were there and it was still one of the most humid places I have ever visited. I can't imagine what it is like with over 100 degree (F) temperatures in the summer. Be prepared if you visit there.