It’s clear, sunny, and a pleasant 80° here in Brisbane. Less than 24 hours since I stepped off the plane (remember the bus plan? Haha.) I’m nothing but impressed with the reception I’ve gotten so far. For instance:

1. At the first movie theater I went to, the girl helpfully told me the film I wanted (Spellbound) was actually playing at another chain. Then she drew me a map, so detailed it included the location of the elevators.
2. When I reached my destination, that guy was happy to sell me a ticket. Then he whipped out a map, pointed out a helpful navigation tip (in the CBD, all the streets in one direction have male names [e.g., Edward, George], while all the intersecting streets have female names [Elizabeth, Ann]) and gave me specifics on where all the good nightlife was located and how much it cost.
3. The City of Brisbane provides free wireless internet throughout the Queen Street (ped) Mall, so anyone can sit at the myriad cafés — or even just a bench — and enjoy a bite to eat while checking e-mail and planning the day. Today, there’s even a free concert, with a woman doing a pretty good version of “No Woman, No Cry.”

I wonder if I’ll meet any Iowa Staters here…

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2003 at 10:54 am and is filed under Travel.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.