Day 23 – Repositioning to Brisbane. Groggy from our late night with the turtles we packed up and drove to Brisbane. Whether it was due to the late night or heat, we didn’t stop at all. Lunch was crackers with cheese and pickles in the car. We arrived in outer suburban Brisbane and retired to the hotel. Some internet time, dinner, and a nice walk around the neighbourhood rounded out the day. Not particular exciting, but not every day can be!
Day 24 – Headed to Sydney for the U2 concert. We were so excited to get U2 tickets back in early June when they went on sale, although the timing of other stays we’d pre-planned didn’t quite work with getting to Sydney by then. As domestic flights are super cheap, we decided it made more sense to pop down to Sydney by plane for the weekend instead of rushing down in the car and missing everything between Brisbane and Sydney.
Walking from the train stop to our hotel in Sydney we remarked on how nice the cool air was for a change. Actually, Bron said ‘it’s a bit cold isn’t it’ and Brent said ‘anyone complaining it’s too cold will get a poke in the nose’. It was a refreshing change. We liked the neighbourhood we were in, King’s Cross, as it was full of tasty little restaurants and very walkable to everywhere.
We stayed in an Ibis Budget hotel (hotels are pretty expensive in Sydney) – it was a good price and location, but offset by the shower being over the sink and having to shimmy around just to get into bed.
Day 25 – Off to see the sights! We started off on foot towards the harbour. It was a gorgeous walk through the neighbourhood, then through the Botanical Gardens passed Mrs. Macquaire’s Point. There were great views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge and only moderate tourist crowds. After a bite of lunch we continued around Circular Quay to the Rocks and then walked across the bridge. Views were great all day.
We took transit back to hotel for a little down time before the concert then walked to cricket grounds venue. As we were walking the first rain we’ve felt since arriving started! It was a good thing as it’s badly needed, but the timing was not ideal. The concert entry was smooth for us (but we later heard other gates had lines over a km long). Our seats were good and had a direct (but distant) line of sight and were under cover out of the rain (except when the wind was directly towards us). Luckily I brought the binoculars! (and ear plugs).
The concert was great – they played all the songs we hoped they would and they certainly didn’t skimp on number of songs (well over 2 hours with no breaks). The only downside was the stage was quite far away (the binoculars helped) and Bron was disappointed with the rendition of ‘With or without you’, one of her favorite songs ever. Overall it was awesome to see ‘the greatest rock and roll band on the north side of Melbourne’ (as Bono said).
Day 26 – We had a late start after being out for the concert (and winding down from the excitement). We got up and going and took transit to Bondi Beach for a look around. We didn’t swim but enjoyed watching all the surfers, lifeguard trainees, and various going ons.
Our walk continued down the costal track to Coogee. This is reported as one of the best walks in Sydney for good reason.
Between the late start and taking our time looking around during the walk it was already 5pm when we got to Coogee! Onto transit and back to hotel for an earlier night…
Day 27 – We flew back to Brisbane and met up with some friends from our Labrador City days who are now living here. They were excellent hosts and we had lots of fun catching up with them over a few drinks. It was awesome to see some familiar faces after so long on the road!
We were too busy chatting to remember to take any photos, but here’s a Brisbane resident (who came up in conversation).
Day 28 – A serious ‘urban hike’ (as we like to call it) around Brisbane took up the morning. From our hotel in Fortitude Valley we headed over the Story Bridge, along the river bank passed Kangaroo Point cliffs to South Bank, back across a great pedestrian bridge (with sun shades!), through the Botanical Gardens, back along the north river bank to New Farm arriving at the Power House.
We had lunch with some friends we met on our trip through Cambodia in 2017. Talk was mainly of travel plans and ideas – which was perfect for us. It was so great to see them!
After lunch we did a ‘budget river cruise’, aka took the public transit ferry up and down the river. We alighted before rush hour to get out of the way of the actual commuters and ambled back to the hotel.
Brent And Bron Abroad 