Day 26: Farewell to Sydney (For Now)

Our morning was productive, and we departed for our 1:00 flight to Brisbane. Arriving, we settled into our amazing amenities in Wooloongabba, or Gabba for short. Our new apartments are luxurious by previous standards: we have a pool, sauna, workout facility, full kitchen, cable TV, a balcony, large bathrooms, AND Air Conditioning... The humidity here is reminiscent of Sweet Home Alabama, and only to get worse when we travel North to Cairns in another week or so. We departed for a city tour, and instantly fell in love with the city and its' views. Brisbane is a large city that feels smaller like Melbourne; with parks, city beaches, playgrounds, and large walkways around every corner and nestled between new and old buildings. I don't know if another city will come close to Melbourne, but I suppose we'll give Brisbane a fair chance before ruling it out. With Dr. Holley's last day on our trip finally upon us, we went out for afternoon drinks, then went to "Brisbane's Worst Vegetarian Restaurant," aka Norman's Hotel. The cuts of meat we ordered were immaculate, and my filet mignon was unbelievably tender. We enjoyed the night and company, and Dr. Holley poured his wisdom into us about life and the rest of our trip, and we realized that this trip just wasn't going to be the same without his one-line jokes and expansive knowledge of construction, business, and everything else one could imagine.