Lismore - well if it's good enough for The Queen ....

Lismore

Whilst in Byron Bay, we decided to take a day trip out to Lismore. It's only about 30 miles away, and was a pleasant bus journey through countryside that probably included some of local agriculture like coffee and macadamia nuts.

On arrival, we had a good lunch at an excellent café next to the bus station, before braving the heat to go and look for koalas. We had read that a good place to find them is up at the Robinson's Lookout, so we walked up to that area to check it out.

Koala, Lismore

We felt a little strange walking along a street of houses, peering into the trees. We caught the attention of a dog in one of the gardens, but thankfully it wasn't too concerned. One of the residents stopped to speak to us as she went past, and said that she often sees a mother and her youngish cub in the trees along the road.

And sure enough, we soon spotted one, nestling up in the branches. it was the only one we found, but we were quite pleased to have seen one up here.

Gollan Hotel, Lismore

There isn't a great deal in Byron Bay. We had a look around the market and shops, and walked along past the Gollan Hotel, which still has a display in its window from when The Queen and Prince Phillip spent a night here, as part of their tour, back in 1954.

It seems they were lucky they left when they did, as heavy rains started as they departed, resulting in huge floods in the town.

Kookaburra, Lismore

Our bus didn't leave until the evening, so we had planned to have something to eat first, in that gap between the shops closing and the bus going. Which was a fine plan, until we discovered that nowhere opened during that time. We tried various places, to find they were just closing, and asked for suggestions of somewhere that might be open. We eventually got directed to an Italian place that they said usually opened earlier than most, and it was just opening as we arrived.

I can't say that Lismore is a place I would be rushing back to - though Nic will forever have happy memories of his lunch at Palate at the Gallery.

Brisbane

Brisbane

As I said I, the last post, Brisbane didn't stand out for us as a tourist city, but rather as a real, somewhere to live in city. The main city area was not very big, but had a good shopping area and, as previously mentioned, some great places to eat and drink, especially around Eagle Street Pier.

Brisbane

Together with the proximity of decent neighbourhoods to live in, I could see this being a nice place to call home - if you can cope with the heat and those huge spiders, that at least while we were there, confined themselves to the garden. And it was quite fun to have a possum visiting the garden - albeit that I gather they have a mean bite.

Flood indicators, Brisbane

There is a large botanical garden on the city peninsula, and that was a pleasant place to walk around. We spotted a strange thing with bits of wood sticking up at different angles, and wondered what it was. It turned out to be the flood level indicators over the years . They do clearly have problems with flooding here, with 1974 being an especially bad year.

Wheel, Brisbane

The main touristy area is probably the south bank Parklands. This is a landscaped section along the river bank, which has the Wheel of Brisbane, the Nepalese Pagoda, and various boat trip opportunities. We decided to try out the wheel; it was OK, but I suppose we have been a bit spoiled with having the London Eye, which is bigger and has fabulous views. One nice thing about it though, was if you went during the day, your ticket was also valid for a second trip after dark, and vice versa; we thought this was a really nice idea.

Lagoon beach, Brisbane

Something we were surprised to see along the river, was a lagoon and beach, complete with lifeguard's hut. I guess that in a country where most if the population lives along the coast line, and even in the cities, people expect to have a beach on their doorstep, only having a river just isn't good enough.

Brisbane

Other areas of town are largely neighbourhood suburbs, and as we were staying with friends, we didn't explore too far. And of course there are museums and the like if that takes your fancy.

Nepalese Pagoda, Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane

Calgary - breakfasts in the city (Throwback post)

Calgary

Our next stop is Calgary, timed to hit the Calgary Stampede. Mind you, we were lucky that it wasn't cancelled. In the weeks before, Calgary suffered major flooding, leaving the town in turmoil and the stampede grounds under around 14 foot of water, mud and debris.

Calgary

Despite 100,000 people being evacuated from their homes in Alberta, hundreds of volunteers turned out to clear out the grounds and rescue the 101st Stampede.



The flooding in Alberta had a cost of around $6,000 million. At the Stampede, they sold special "Hell or High Water" T-Shirts with all of the money going towards the flood relief funds, and raising a suberb $2.1million.

By the time we got there, they only had small ones left, so I bought one of those and turned it into a tote bag instead.

But we'll get to the Stampede itself in a later post. For now, a bit about the city and the Stampede Breakfasts.

Calgary

Calgary may have an agricultural past - hence the Stampede - but these days the main money is in oil and gas, and the city is increasingly high rise, big business and wealthy. As a result, the view from the Calgary Tower isn't desperately exciting.

But there are some nice areas to wander around and find a few places to eat and drink too. We rather liked the eastern end of Kensington Rd NW, and the 14 St SW.

Calgary

Calgary

Calgary

Glenbow Museum, Calgary

The Glenbow Museum has some interesting exhibits on the history of the city, including some comparatively frank information about the treatment of the First Nations people. It was somewhat uncomfortable reading about some of the limitations placed on them, including not being allowed to leave the reservation without a permit.

Glenbow Museum, Calgary

Glenbow Museum, Calgary

Glenbow Museum, Calgary

Glenbow Museum, Calgary

Stampede Parade, Calgary

On the subject of the First Nations People, it was good to see their participation in the Stampede parade in Rope Square. Some of the other events were a little more frivolous, including pancake tossing and hat stomping competitions.

Hat stomping, Calgary

Pancake tossing, Calgary

Rope Square event, Calgary

Stampede Parade, Calgary

Stampede Parade, Calgary

Stampede Parade, Calgary

Stampede Parade, Calgary

Stampede Breakfast, Calgary

Bullshooters Breakfast, Calgary

One nice thing we managed to partake of, were some of the free Stampede Breakfasts. During the Stampede period, chuckwagons roll up to various different locations, and they cook and give out free pancakes. I wouldn't say it is enough for a proper breakfast, but it makes a nice snack. We got another freebie too; when the people at the information desk heard we were from the UK, we got free Stampede neckerchiefs.

Of course, while the free breakfasts are good, the hot ticket in town is to the Bullshooters Stampede Breakfast. We had heard vague stories of this rather alcoholic event, but figured the tickets would be way out of our price range. Then, when we were in a bar in New Orleans on Mardi Gras night, we met a couple from Calgary, and the guy just happened to be one of the organisers. He told us to get in touch when we arrived in town and he would get us in.

We weren't entirely sure that he would even remember us, but we got in touch, and sure enough, he invited us along and got us in for free. Pretty good going really, given tickets are around $140 each.

So we turned up at around 9am and the event was already in full swing, having been going for an hour already. There was breakfast, and live bands, and a lot of people dressed as cowboys and cowgirls. We had at least put on our closest choice of clothes and added our new neckerchiefs.

Bullshooters Breakfast, Calgary

Bullshooters Breakfast, Calgary

Then there was the drink. Looking at the website, I think it has changed now, and you just get ten free drink tickets. I know ten free drinks doesn't sound like I should be saying 'just' but by comparison to when we went, that it quite restrained.

The way it worked then was pretty simple; go to the bar and collect your 3 litre jug of your drink of choice. If I remember correctly, there were about five options, wine, beer, bucks fizz, margaritas and another cocktail. Once you finished that jug, you just went and got another one. And keep repeating until the buses arrived at 1pm to take you on to the next location.

And if that wasn't enough to drink, the guys also got offered free shots, from the shot girls walking around. We ladies took a seat for our shots - on a saddle.

The next stage was to take the shuttle bus to Cowboys Nightclub tent, outside the Stampede Ground, where we would get free VIP entrance, but only one last free drink. We weren't going to do that, as we felt that drinking from 9am to 1pm was probably more than sufficient, but we met a group at the breakfast, and they were determined that we should go with them.

They assured us that a visit to Cowboys was an essential part of the Stampede experience, " the most fun you can have with your boots on" apparently, and it was interesting. They actually had a wedding chapel there.

Cowboys Nightclub, Calgary

The whole thing was great fun, but we made our excuses and rolled our way back home at about 4pm, before the evening fun kicked off. It seems Stampede Parties are quite an event here, although I read that there can be consequences beyond just a hangover. Apparently they notice an increase in divorce proceedings for infidelity just after the Stampede period, and the birth rate has a tendency to spike nine months later!

Glenbow Museum, Calgary

Calgary

Calgary

Calgary