Brisbane Adventures - Roma Street Parkland, City Hall Tour, Parliament House , City Botanic Gardens and Queensland Police Museum

 To begin our Brisbane adventure we took the train to Roma Street Station and headed directly to Roma Street Parklands.  Here we explored the gardens and walked around the lake.  This is a great inner city space for all ages, with cosy corners, playgrounds and large open grass spaces.

https://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/roma-street-parkland-and-spring-hill

We left the gardens via Wickham Terrace to look at the Brisbane Coat of Arms on the corner of Wickham Terrace and Albert Street. 

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/new-life-for-piece-of-brisbane-s-history-20190712-p526kz.html

Next was the Old Windmill, Brisbane's oldest existing building.

https://www.mustdobrisbane.com/visitor-info-arts-culture-history/old-windmill-brisbane

Brisbane City Hall was a short walk including going down the many many steps of Jacobs Ladder.  Here we had a short look around the Museum of Brisbane's current exhibition regarding the marketing of Queensland as the Sunshine State. Then down to the lobby to meet our tour guides for a tour of City Hall.

https://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/

https://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/whats-on/brisbane-city-hall-tour/

This was conducted by a gentleman who had been doing these tours for many many years and a lady who is relatively new to Brisbane and Australia.  They were both amazing with their passion for what they were showing and the history behind it. We toured many different parts of the building and leant about its restoration.  I would love to hear the pipe organ performed!

After a picnic lunch, we headed to Parliament House for a tour.  Unfortunately photography was not allowed in the majority of the spaces we went through.  The area you enter to go on the tour is a section of the building that I had not even realised was part of Parliament House, despite having studied at the adjacent Gardens Point QUT campus.  This building, the Parliamentary Annexe Building is newer and a completely different style to the main Parliament House.

https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/explore/education/factsheets/Factsheet_10.2_VisitingParliamentHouse.pdf

Brisbane City Botanic Gardens was as pretty as ever, with lovely big shady grassy spaces and fountains to keep things cool.  Walking along the Brisbane River bank it was apparent the water level had been quite high in the recent flooding.  

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/things-to-see-and-do/council-venues-and-precincts/parks/botanic-gardens-in-brisbane/city-botanic-gardens

Last stop for today was the Queensland Police Museum. This was a small museum, but packed with a great deal of interesting information on all topic policing related. This is a free facility, open to the public, in the main Roma Street police station and a nice surprise.

https://www.police.qld.gov.au/museum