Ticking them off one by one

Brisbane...check!

Ticked another one of the list. 

And got a little taste of tropical Queensland. QLD. The sunshine state. 

That is, not counting a brief foray in the Brisbane airport.

I've finally made it to the five biggest cities in Australia, plus it's capital, and the major cities in New Zealand. And this map conveniently marked them for me. I'm only missing Darwin as the capital of the Northern Territory (but most people haven't been to Darwin) and Hobart, the capital of Tasmania but that's not mainland Australia.

 And what did I think of Brisbane?

Yum!

South Bank in Brisbane takes al fresco dining to a new level. So many choices from Turkish, to Thai, Bourbon St to Spain. It made it difficult for two indecisive people to pick somewhere for dinner.

Glorious Gardens.

They even had an herb garden if you needed a little extra coriander for your tacos.

With beautiful playgrounds inviting you to play.

Connected.

And it was easy to get around with the Goodwill pedestrian and cycle bridge, paths around the river, plenty of city bike rentals.

 Southern charm in the southern hemisphere.

It reminded my of the American South of Georgia or Florida, with the old buildings among the palm trees and mangroves, hinting of tropical Queensland.

And the highlight may be the man made beach in the middle of the city. And on the first day of spring, it wasn't lacking for sunbathers and swimmers (apparently they go through 150 litres of chlorine a day in the summer, but a small army of staff were out every morning raking, trimming and skimming).

And the beach is sponsored by an ice cream company. 

Yum.