Bris Vegas wrap-up

How I got there: Hitched a lift with the oldies in their trusty Ford Falcon. We drove to Coffs Harbour, stayed overnight in a budget Formule 1 motel (our three-person room saw me sleeping in a top bunk for the first time in probably 25 years), then drove the rest of the way the next day.

How I got back: XPT train. 'Twas scheduled to leave the Brisbane Transit Centre at 7.30am but rail congestion delayed our departure an hour. We eventually arrived at Central Station, Sydney at 10.45pm! During that time - when not gazing at the countryside, eating or napping - I managed to read: the "Courier-Mail" newspaper (and do a crossword and sudoku), the latest "ABC Cricket" magazine, "Knights Of The Dinner Table" #119 (the only US comic I can't give up) and half of Michael Frayn's excellently excellent novel "Spies" (a mystery of childhood imaginings in WW2 England). I also played through a large chunk of the RPG "Lunar Genesis" on the Nintendo DS.

What I did: Spent the first two days at a classy convention centre (in an outlying suburb) for my sister EW's wedding to TM. Day one saw the menfolk attempting to out-drink and out-anecdote each other as always happens on the rare occasions when our clan gather. Late that night, I had to forcibly separate two of my uncles when a drunken argument escalated beyond the verbal, but all was forgiven with a handshake at breakfast and the marriage and reception went swimmingly. It really was great to see everyone - doesn't happen often enough. I felt a terrible sense of loss when it was over. As the bride and groom flew to Vanuatu, I transferred to a motel overlooking the CBD for five days of playing tourist.

Sightseeing: Local dorkgeeknerd shops, Conrad Treasury Casino (I've now gambled in every state/territory capital in Oz!), Chinatown (had a meat-heavy yum cha at the biblical-sounding King Of Kings), "City Sights" bus tour x2 (so good I did it twice and, as expected, the second driver pointed out stuff the first hadn't), Museum Of Brisbane (nice mix - especially liked the history of the Miss Australia pageant), Royal Botanic Gardens (ho-hum), Queensland University of Technology (picturesque campus where I thought my scientist sis had worked - I later found it was UQ) and their Art Museum (96% crap), Qld Maritime Museum (compares favourably to Sydney's; highlights were touring the river frigate HMAS Diamantina and a collection of boat/ship paintings entered in a national competition), Qld Museum (surprisingly narrow range; the immersive Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander exhibits were the most memorable), the artificial sandy beach (beside the Brisbane River at South Bank), Old/New Parliament House (basically, they built the new one onto the old. I could happily live in the library room!), XXXX Brewery (the second best tour I took), 'Gabba cricket/AFL ground (the best; saw every bit and got to walk across the hallowed turf until the Bulls came out for a practice session. Have now visited all the major krikkit grounds in Oz*.).

Notable gut-stuffing: "Ancient" lentil soup at Ahmet's Turkish restaurant (tasted fresh to me), visne suyu (sour cherry juice from same), Beef and Carbine Stout pie and can't-get-it-anywhere-else XXX Bitter (yes, three ex) at the XXXX Ale House.

Final word: Brisbane is a pretty city in which old sandstone buildings, radical-looking skyscrapers and tropical parklands share the space. From a tourist perspective, it's well laid out, maintained and, most importantly, signposted (I walked almost everywhere). As to whether I could live there...the tanglible feelings of potential and local pride are certainly appealing. It's possible I'll return in a few years as the Qld Art Gallery and (most of) the State Library were closed this time, I also didn't get around to visiting the observatory and it'd be beaut to see some sport played at either the 'Gabba or the gigantic glass box that is Suncorp Stadium.

*Watched matches at the SCG (heaps), Adelaide Oval and the WACCA, and toured Bellerive (Hobart) in the off-season. But, to my shame, I've so far only admired the MCG from the outside.