Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

My first full day in Brisbane was a lot of fun. We took the bus to town and it went straight to the Cultural Center on the South Bank of the Brisbane River. The major museums are conveniently located in this Cultural Precinct and within walking distance of one another. The weather was a perfect spring day, brilliantly sunny and warm.

Brisbane River

We started at the Queensland Museum which had these Lego-type people attached to various parts of the walls and roof of the building.

Lego people

Inside we saw an exhibit on recent archeological finds relating to the Australian explorers Burke and Wills who died in the Outback in the 1800s while pioneering a route from the south to the north of the country.

On to the Queensland Art Gallery, where we saw an exhibit of works of Hans Heysen, the foremost Australian landscape painter. He loved painting the outback and the huge gum trees.

Not a Hans Heysen work

I really liked the “For Kids” labels on many of the artworks. They are placed below the main label, at the right height for kids to read, and they speak directly to the child about the work of art.

For Kids label at lower left

Across the plaza, we ate lunch at the cafe at the Queensland State Library building and explored their bookstore.

After lunch, we headed over to the Gallery of Modern Art and saw a retrospective of haute couture by Valentino. Dresses worn by the rich and famous were on display, including Jackie Kennedy Onassis’ wedding dress, Cate Blanchett’s and Julia Roberts’ Oscar dresses, and many more from 5 decades of fashion. It cost $20 to get in, but if you love clothes, it’s worth it.

We walked over the river on the Kurilpa Bridge The name is the Australian Aboriginal word for the South Brisbane and West End area.

We continued on the north side of the river to the central business district (CBD) and over to the Queen St. Mall, the main shopping area of town. In Australia a “mall” is usually a pedestrian shopping area rather than an indoor mall, but those also exist. The way to tell the difference is if there is “Street” in the name.

We caught a bus back out to Indooroopilly (“IN-dra-pill-ee”), the close-in suburb where I’m staying with DD and DSIL. We ended the day with a delicious Asian-inspired meal at Bali Grill in Rosalie.

Pre-Travel Spending-It’s More Than I Thought

So I’m getting ready to leave on a 3-week trip and I realized that I’m spending a lot of money just getting ready to go on the trip. We usually have a “travel budget” and we figure out transportation, hotel, car rental, food, activities, tour costs. But do we put into that budget what it takes for us to get ready to go on the trip?

My list of pre-travel purchases is below. Is it out of line for a long trip?

I headed to the grocery store to get a few boxes of granola bars and packed 4. I also got gum and chewy candies.

I bought some new clothes- a dress, pants, a jacket, shoes. Everything but the shoes needed alterations at the tailor shop.

I bought an international SIM Card for an old Nokia cell phone we had. But then I had to pay for the cell phone to be unlocked and for repairs to the charging port. I also bought a voucher for more talk time on the SIM card. I also bought the smallest international data roaming plan from AT&T, just in case I have to use my iPhone data. I already have international calling and roaming plans on my phone.

I bought a couple of books for my Kindle. I am not actually taking the Kindle reader this trip, but will be reading the books off of my iPhone.

I bought a new suitcase. 25 jn. Cloudstream by Eagle Creek. Lightweight but hopefully sturdy.

I bought a  10.1 “ netbook computer. And a case for it.

Of course, the last 2 will be used on many trips to come, but this particular trip was the impetus for the purchases.

I have read a lot of articles about vacation planning and budgeting , but never one about all the money we spend before we even get out of the driveway.

  Carry-on contents-not including jacket

Keep watching this space for trip updates and product reviews!