Comments by "Andy Dee" (@AndyViant) on "Lord Spoda" channel.

  1. One of the highlights of the Botanical Gardens is the Water Dragons that congregate around and swim in the ponds.
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  2. And... we got hit by a cyclone less than 2 weeks later. Don't worry Brisbane is still A-OK.
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  3. Australia only has 6 states (and a heap of territories, small and large). 2 of the 6 states have a capital of over 5 million people (Sydney, Melbourne), 2 more over 2 million people (Brisbane, Perth), one over 1 million (Adelaide). We have plenty of other cities of over 150,000 people. Just not many people in the middle of the desert. South East Queensland has about 4 million, with big cities surrounding (and in some cases attached to) Brisbane, like the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Toowoomba. Moreton Bay, Redlands, Ipswich and Logan are not "officially" Brisbane but are usually included in the "capital city" population as it's definitely within the same urban area without any break. If you also include the two "coast" regions which are almost completely joined, Brisbane is about 200 miles North to South. To an American it's not really too dissimilar to combining Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, although the three of them do have a little bigger population than the SEQ region. Maybe Miami-Dade and Broward, because that's a similar population in total. Aussies wondering what Broward is, it's the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood-Pembroke-Miramar region. You've probably heard of Fort Lauderdale. Also, no, not THAT Hollywood.
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  4.  @RootedMate  I'm fairly sure if you asked Australians about the average Aussie about big cities in the USA we could probably name half a dozen to a dozen and then we'd start to struggle too. Or about the big cities of Germany or Ireland or France.
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  5.  @dionysus1016  People come here expecting to see the whole country in a few days but it's as big as the continental USA. The biggest state in Australia will not just fit both Alaska AND Texas, it's got plenty of room for Kentucky too. Finding states SMALLER than Texas is the challenge.
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  6. The Atlantic Salmon is probably farmed in Australia, most likely Tasmania. Your food choices were certainly not "representative" of Brisbane, but, you know if that's what you wanted to eat on that day there's absolutely nothing wrong with choosing your go to foods. After all these are things you haven't chosen to eat for a while while on tour in Australia and it's perfectly normal to want something comforting. As a Brisbanite I would consider the Salmon serve pretty good and well presented, but the Spaghetti didn't look great value. The Mud cake looks good with a good quality icecream and almond biscuit. Yum. Viewers should remember those prices include taxes, that tipping is not normal in Australia, and the price needs to be multiplied by 0.6 to get down to US pricing, as you mentioned. As a tip you might round up to the nearest $10 amount and that would be considered absolutely fine, but it's not expected. If you wanted to be generous, if your order was close to that $10 mark you would round up to the next $10. None of this 25-30% stuff. Garlic bread is usually a side order to a meal, or a garlic and cheese pizza. We wouldn't call it toast unless the bread was browned on the surface, not just the outside. A lot of people don't want to eat bread for "health reasons" despite them ordering the carb loaded pasta :D because that's just how people are now. Brisbane has a really good and somewhat unique Asian fusion food culture. It's a completely different food culture to Melbourne or Sydney and it took me some time to adapt to, although you can find all the traditional international foods if you want to. Thanks for the display of the CBD. There are plenty more places to see and eat in there. The streets around the Southbank Beach (also called Streets Beach) have a lot of restaurant options too. Also, during mid winter, we have a temporary public ice skating rink in the King George Square, with Gluhwine and Hot chocolate and various european winter treats. It's still 70 fahrenheit during the day though it might get down to 50 during the night. The free public beach and Swimming Pool in Southbank are usually closed for maintenance as that's too cold for Aussies to swim. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit.
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