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December 5, 2007

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WHERE'S JOHNNY JET?                                 Brisbane, Australia
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SAVILLE SOUTHBANK
Natalie and I spent two nights at the 161-room Saville Hotel. Opened in 2005, the first seven floors are dedicated to the hotel while the rest of the building has 86 private apartments. Real estate is expensive here too, as the apartments go for a cool $1.7 million. The hotel is quiet, sleek and clean, in an almost sterile way. Our room was on the sixth floor with a gorgeous view of the Brisbane skyline. The rooms have a minimalist decor but I gotta tell you, it’s so nice to have accommodations with all the creature comforts of home: a living room, stocked kitchen, separate bedroom, a washer and dryer and two flat screen TVs. The bathroom itself was like an apartment -- big and stark with brown tile flooring and white tiled walls. The shower was one of those with just a half-door so the floor gets soaked no matter how you try and prevent it. The chic nozzle was to blame as it sprayed everywhere. The hotel offers Internet but it was broadband so only one laptop could be logged on at a time. Wireless access was only available in the lobby. Both cost $27.50 for 24 hours, which is ridiculously steep. Next to the lobby is Stone, the hotel restaurant. They offer an above-average breakfast buffet with eggs, an assortment of muesli, pastries, fruit (including passion fruit and star fruit) and fresh squeezed pineapple juice. Warning: The OJ is nasty. Be sure to get breakfast included in your room rate otherwise it’s $29.50 per person. Rates begin at $195. Saville Southbank, 161 Grey Street, Southbank; T: 07 3305 2500, for more information, email southbank.info@savillehotelgroup.com.

BRISBANE
When we first arrived, Natalie and I dropped off our bags and went for a walk along the main artery of the city; the Brisbane River flows just two blocks away from the Saville. We were amazed at how quiet the city was, even with the nearby freeways. And Brisbane is not a small city. It has close to one million people and greater Brisbane has close to two million. The best way to explore is either by bicycle, walking or taking the CityCat, a small ferry that runs frequently up and down the river, a form of public transportation. The city also does a fine job putting up street signs that explain everything clearly, so it’s easy to navigate and the modern high-rises don’t intimidate. In two days, you can see plenty of what Brisbane has to offer.

OUR LOOP
We began by walking across the pedestrian-only Goodwill Bridge. We then took an impromptu tour of the Queensland University of Technology campus, then the Botanical Gardens (check out the Mangrove Boardwalk), then jumped on a CityCat boat ourselves to head to PowerHouse for lunch. After finding an over-priced restaurant in a museum, not quite what we were looking for, we hopped back on the boat to Riverside. There we had a great lunch at the Riverside Café, a perfect place for people watching and enjoying a view of the river. Next, we walked lunch off along the river to Queen Street Mall. There are no cars on Queen Street so the only traffic you’ll find are the hordes of people scrambling to go to one of the hundred or so shops and cafes. The malls and arcades are very similar to the ones in Sydney and one has my favorite juice place, FJ’s, the perfect pit stop for some freshly squeezed apple guava juice ($2.50) – it’s so yummy!



BRISBANE WEATHER
Though Brisbane has a humid, subtropical climate with hot, humid summers we were there just as spring was ... springing, so the climate was dry and mild, making it the perfect weather to walk around in – even at night. To get back to our hotel, we walked across the Victoria Bridge. That put us in Southbank, near our hotel, the cultural arts complex, conservatorium of music and the Nepal peace pagoda, which is situated next to a bamboo forest with a beautiful meandering boardwalk. This whole Southbank area is so cool and was built up in 1988 for the World Expo. There are also high-end boutique shops, a movie theater, a monster outdoor swimming pool/manmade beach (much of it was under repair) and al fresco cafes, one after another. The entire area is quite pretty. There are flowers everywhere, perfectly manicured lawns and at night, the area is gently lit with white lights, giving everything a beautiful glow. Natalie said it felt like being in the pages of a storybook. Every kind of food is available and we settled for some average Malaysian food at the Satay Hut. Then, we walked back to our hotel in the crisp night air, under the pretty bougainvillea-covered pathway.

AUSTRALIA
Driving from the hotel to the airport, I asked our driver my usual snake and spider questions. Unfortunately, he was telling me things I didn’t want to hear. Example #1: He has king brown snakes at his house. That was the first thing I didn’t want to hear. Example #2: Growing up, he knew people who had died from bites. That was the second thing I definitely didn’t want to hear. So I asked him: “What would Australia be like without these dangerous creatures?” Anticipating his answer, I assumed he’d say it would be wonderful not to have to worry about lethal bites from creepy crawlies in the grass. But he looked me in the eye and without a moment’s hesitation said, “Boring.” There was a moment of awkward silence as I pondered this but the truth is, he’s right. One of the great appeals of Australia is the excitement of the unknown. In many ways, this country is similar to the United States or Canada. And in other ways, it is remarkably, unfathomably different. Of course it would be rare for a visitor to get bitten by a deadly snake or spider but it’s that element of surprise that keeps you just a little bit on edge. Natalie, who was scared at times, tells me that she actually misses the adrenaline rush of walking around Australia at night ... something that just a few short weeks ago, she was afraid of doing.



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Copyright 2007 JohnnyJet, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Pictures From

The Trip

 

The Saville

 

Our Living Room

 

Our View

 

Our Kitchen

 

Bedroom

 

High-rises

 

Goodwill Bridge

 

Riverside Café

 

Queen Street

 

Nepal Peace Pagoda

 

Pool/Manmade Beach

 

Bougainvillea

 

Sidewalk

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