Brisbane Australia

Sunday marked the end of our first cruise and the beginning of the second. We decided to spend the day  visiting the center of the city where the shopping area was located. On the previous cruise, Rose and I weren't able to reallyfind   quilt shops with the Australian fabrics we were hoping to find. Many of previous passengers who lived in Brisbane told us about a shopping center where there was a large craft and fabric shop.  That was our destination for the day.

Once considered the "country cousin" among Australian cities, Brisbane is today the nation's third-largest metropolis - and one of the most desirable places to live in the country. Lying on the banks of the meandering Brisbane River, this cosmopolitan city boasts elegant 19th-century sandstone buildings, a lively cultural scene and superb parklands. Brisbane is also your gateway to uniquely Australian adventures, be it the theme parks of the Gold Coast or Queensland's dazzling beaches.
The beaches south of Brisbane form Queensland's Gold Coast. Travel tip: Brisbane is pronounced "Bris-bin."

We arrived early to center shopping area so we sent some time browsing in the area. There were many stories that were interconnected.  The area contained over 1,000 shops. However, there was only ONE fabric shop but it was two stories high.  Finally at 11:00am the store opened!  Rose and I quickly moved to the fabric on the first level. We were quite disappointed because it was dressmaker fabric. However, when the clerk told us that quilt making fabric was on the second level, we were excited again!  That excitement didnt  last long. As we looked at the relative small selection of fabrics, no Aborigine fabrics lcould be found. We couldn't find any fabrics with animals and other things characteristic to Australia.  Finally, we asked a lady for assistance. She sadly said their store really didn't carry that kind of fabric.  She said there may be one piece of aborigine fabric in the dressmaking part downstairs.  Finally we found it.  We really weren't  impressed but we bought a meter of it. We could read John's mind......$28 cab ride to get there....$16 uber ride to return to the ship....and $30 for the fabric that we really weren't impressed with when we purchased it. However, John never complained!

However, all was not lost. Across the street from the shopping center and in front of the casino, Rose and Suzie found a flea market. Australians call it a suitcase market. People brought there used items there every weekend to sale.  Suzie was the big winner of the day ....a backpack ,a new swimsuit that still had the tags on it, and a couple of T shirts.  She told the seller that the shirts would be proudly wore in the USA!

It was a good day.  We arrived back to the ship to have lunch. It was also the first sail away that we were able to watch. While we were watching the sail away, I heard someone call my name.  It was Rae, the lovely lady from Australia who provided me with so much great information for cruising in Australia. It was such a pleasure to finally meet her in person.  Two sea days ahead and then our first port in Papua New Guinea Islands.