Today is our bonus day in Brisbane–we had to leave a day earlier than originally planned because United Airlines changed its schedule, so we added an extra day here. I’m not going to complain about having a day to chill.

Our hotel is directly across the street from the City Botanic Gardens, a large park that spans from the Central Business District to the riverwalk on the north bank of the river. After breakfast, we meandered through the gardens, which are truly spectacular. We also got to facetime with Hannah and Arthur, which was an extra special treat!

We did not see the resident python or the fruit bats that live in the park, but we saw lots of lizards and birds.

Now is a good time to mention the two most common birds in Brisbane. First is the ibis, which is as ubiquitous as pigeons are in U.S. cities. They are nicknamed bin chickens because of their habit of eating out of trash cans.

There are also tons of turkeys.

We have no other plans until this evening, when we are attending one of the shows in town for the Brisbane Festival called the Choir of Man, after an early dinner at the whimsically named Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers restaurant.

Tomorrow we have an all-day tour to the Australia Zoo, which is about 90 minutes from here. It is the zoo that was founded by Steve Irwin and is still run by his family. It is home to several animals we haven’t seen before, so it should be a fun day!