Brisbane

After Adelaide we had a week or so in Brisbane to catch up with my husband's parents and extended family - unfortunately his mum was in hospital after falling and cracking her head - came home after a couple of days but not much fun for her! But we were pleased to be there and able to help a bit with the cooking and keep his dad company. 

My husband had a birthday so we had pizza and  his sister made him a cake (delicious, we ate it for days). His dad is also a crazy bird man - I was the first one to open the blinds one morning to be greeted by this line up of hungry birds. They are slightly different to ours but still parrots and still demanding to be fed. Bird Man, Son of Bird Man is now his official title. 

We went into town and poked around a bit - the middle of Brisbane is lovely on a good day, especially in winter. Summer can be very hot but a clear twenty degree day in August is amazing. I went to art galleries and shops - my husband went with his dad on a tour of some historic barracks - great day out on both counts.

We hung out with his parents, caught up with extended family (including the great niece that I hadn't met before and who is very cute!) and generally had a lovely chill time. We also did a three-day trip up to K'Gari but I think that will need to be its own post because it was amazing and I took a LOT of photos....

Adelaide

We've been away for two weeks, which it turns out is a little bit too long to leave our country idyll, and we missed it very much. But we did have a lovely time and it's not exactly a bad problem, to enjoy your holidays but be glad to be home.

First we went to Adelaide for a few days for a friend's 60th - I have spent a heap of time in Adelaide over the years and know it reasonably well, but Brad hasn't at all. The last time was when we took the children in 2008 - so ages 3 and 6 - and it was a fiesta of railway museums, chicken nuggets and 5 am starts from memory. This trip was much more pleasant. We went for a lot of walks to orient ourselves, enjoyed the sights and had a lovely day for our friend's birthday - including a wine tasting at a very scenic winery.

The photo looks quite sunny but it was about five degrees and windy so we sat inside and tasted the wines (delicious, and there may be a dozen winging their way to our house as we speak) then had a lunch at a very cool historic pub, then to other friends for a lovely afternoon tea in front of two open fires. Pretty much a perfect day!

We caught up with another friend who had retired to Adelaide (and loving it, the universal cry of the recently retired) then had a day doing the art gallery and museum. I'd remembered that I thought the South Australian State Gallery was pretty good, but couldn't quite remember why, until I went in and realized that this is the gallery that just runs everything together regardless of era, and it's way cool. It's organised by themes, but not so you'd notice, and it's a wonderful viewing experience.

So two thumbs up for Adelaide - we were only there for five days and flew up to Brisbane. Definitely on the list to visit again (perhaps drive over, it's about 1300 km) and explore the countryside around it a bit more. Plenty to see!