Be Careful What You Wish For ...

The other day I was looking for the 'seedier side of Brisbane' and really didn't find it. Today I went out on a 'Spire Quest'. On my walk the other day, I had spied a spire in an area that I had never walked before. Thinking there was a church I had missed photographing, I started off in the direction to find it, but quickly lost the spire, got tired of wandering so gave up and went home.

Today's mission: Find That Church!

So - after leaving the apartment, I headed to Woolies - and crossed the street - and into uncharted territory ... without a map. Five or so blocks later I spied this:

I was getting close! Finally found it and took a bunch of shots. They aren't very good - it was surrounded by a tall fence and I had put my camera in through the slats and shot a vertical panorama and the colors didn't blend very well from top to bottom ... but I had found my church.

Walked another block just enjoying the cool weather - when I noticed something. Windows were barred, there was a bit of graffiti and the only people around were very tattooed, pierced and starting right at the crazy woman with the camera.


Thinking back, I realized that it was the only church surrounded by a fence - all the others were just out in the open. Gulp. I had found my 'seedier side of Brisbane'.


Didn't feel comfortable taking photos since as I passed, conversations stopped, transactions from a creepy bag to three creepy guys stopped, and I just wanted to get out of the area as fast as I could. Direction be damned.


I looked up and noticed the top of a skyscraper that I had dubbed 'The Ghostbuster Building' since the top reminds me of the building in Ghostbusters I. It was, seriously, 180 degrees from where I expected it to be.





I was lost.




Damn ... and without a map. How stupid was I?



I started to walk in the direction I thought Queen Street would be in:


Hipwood St
Rogers St
Victoria St
Union St
Isaac St


did I recognize any of these? No.


Laisby St
Dickens St
Boundary St (maybe ...)

Lower Edward St


Lower Edward Street! I believe that we had driven that ... which leads to Upper Edward Street which I PRAYED lead to Edward Street which crosses Queen Street. Hallelujah!!! I was found!

Started taking photos again - being unconcerned that I was going to be killed for my camera, or maybe it was so when someone found my cold, dead body they would have photographic evidence of my path:

Beautiful buildings abound in downtown Brisbane:

And suddenly ... I knew where I was!!! Turbot Street and Edward Street. We had driven this many times passing the strangest sculptures - me wishing every time that I could photograph them.


My theory is they are spaceships - aliens have landed in Australia and have disguised their spacecraft on the corner of Turbot and Edward by dipping them in brass to cover their ancient alien script:

So happy I knew where I was I took a photograph (or I still thought my life was in jeopardy and this would help somehow):


Last spacecraft (apparently aliens come in a set of 4 spaceships ... who knew?):

Kept on trudging and made it to Queen Street! I was home. There was the Louis Vuitton store, the Montblanc, the Gucci - the people were neither tattooed, pierced or staring. Whew! I was truly back where I belonged!


I then made the oddest choice I have made in a very, very long time. Tired and with sore feet, I turned the OPPOSITE direction from home and headed to the end of Queen Street. I can't remember where I read it, but remember there being a set of old buildings - called The Mansions by the Botanical Gardens - so I decided to find the Botanical Gardens from Queen Street - how hard could it be ... right?

Passed the treasury building - right at the end of Queen Street. Was clearly in the 'tourist' area.

I have not explained this in the year I have been semi-living in Australia, but the Aussies have a very set way of walking. You always walk to the left - with people coming toward you on your right (just like they drive). It is VITAL down on the river walk, since there are also joggers and bicycles and the cyclists DEPEND on you staying put while they zoom in between the two groups of people going in opposite directions.


You know you are in a tourist section of town when people are passing you willy nilly on either side of you - no order, bumping, people dead stopped looking at maps, people looking lost ... I much enjoy when I am in an orderly walking section of Brisbane!

Another land mark I recognize. I had reached the river and the Eye. I turned left and started following the river - so sure it would take me right to the Botanical Gardens.

Passed a building I had passed a couple of other times, but with groups of men playing 'football' on the lawn, never wandered the 'park' area and took photos of all the statues. I had really never seen this one of Queen Victoria:

Suddenly, amid my trudging, I happened to look up and realized that I was dead ending into a building and a freeway - not a ginormous park. DAMN!


I was super tired, my feet were on fire, and I just felt plain stupid. What I would have given for a taxi to have driven by at that moment ...


Swearing a few more times for luck, I turned left and found myself staring directly at:


The Mansions!!!!


I knew they were on George street - not the street I was on - so this was sheer dumb luck:

Followed George St (since in my reading it said they were located just beyond the George Street exit of the Botanical Gardens, I felt I was onto something here ...


It must have been 'Queen Day' instead of 'April Fools' in Australia as I spied another statue I had not seen before of Queen Elizabeth:

And suddenly, I was at the entrance of the Botanical Gardens! WITH A MAP! WITH A 'YOU ARE HERE' DOT!!!


So, reading the map, I just needed to skirt past the lily pads (never even knew they existed, thank you very much - I have only been in the Botanical Gardens at least four times ...) and I was home free - well - except for the long walk home from the River entrance to the Botanical Gardens to my apartment.


Seriously ... just about stepped on this guy I was so enamoured with the closed lilies:

Can you IMAGINE how gorgeous this would have been had the flowers been open? Damn! I might have to go back and see if they are open when it is sunny ...

He kept a pretty good eye on me, and I kept a pretty good eye on him. Having been told that they would charge rather than retreat, I am sort of glad that up till now, most have just not moved at all, just rudely stared:

An 'almost' open lily:

There were beautiful flowers in the Garden:

And can YOU BELIEVE the beauty of these leaves?

My very own 'curtain fig tree':

Tiring, and wondering if I should just lie down in the grass and nap for a day or two, I looked up ...

Story Bridge!!! I was HOME!!! (Eventually)


Started my long trek down the river walk, with the day looking wonderful, me hurting, but feeling like I had accomplished something.


Spied the paddle wheel boat coming back from its Luncheon Tour, my apartment, my bridge:

And just kept on trudging ...






Until I was home ...



...

And now off to pack! We leave at 5:00am in the morning for Melbourne for 5 days. Don't know if I will have internet ... so this novella just might have to do!

Later ...