Yesterday we set out early to explore more of Brisbane on foot before it got too hot. We first walked down to the new casino tower to check out the observation deck.

Next we went to a quirky little coffee shop.

Apparently back in 1918 John Mills and his business partner had a falling out. Mr. Mills opened his own business and declared his independence by naming it John Mills, Himself. Now his building houses a tiny coffee shop with the same name. We then walked a couple of blocks to get a croissant from Lune. In 2016, the New York Times declared that Lune’s original location in Melbourne made the best croissant in the world. I’m sure there were some French bakers who begged to differ. The croissants were quite good–we were so busy eating them that we didn’t get a picture of them.

After our treat, we walked across one of the fifteen–yes, fifteen!–bridges that cross the Brisbane River to the South Bank. Here’s a view of the observation deck from the South Bank.

That picture was taken from our next stop–the Brisbane Wheel.

We walked the full link of the South Bank boardwalk, which takes you to museums, playgrounds, a pool, and a beach!

After that, we hopped on a ferry to go back across the river and grabbed lunch in one of the many food courts in the Central Business District. Then we made our way to Lena’s Bakery to try a lamington, which is an Australian cake we learned about during our bus tour. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was delicious!

Finally, we went to a bookstore Rich had read about that sells old books (and doesn’t allow photos). Then we headed back to the hotel for some pool time. My watch was very impressed that I had walked 13,000 steps before noon!