Friday!
Even though I no longer have my nose to the grindstone Friday nights still feel special so we headed into town to see the Christmas lights and visit the Christmas Craft Markets - both which were being held in the city's King George Square.
We arrived before nightfall and made our way through the lovely old Brisbane Arcade towards the square.
It looked lovely
with decorations hanging from the high balcony and pretty lights twinkling everywhere.
It was "late night shopping " in the city and the shops were busy with the Christmas rush.
We made our way to the city hall and King George Square where the market was in full swing
and happy families were strolling around looking for something a little different.
Friends were gathered at little bars celebrating the end of the working week for many of them.
and the giant Christmas tree towered above it all.... waiting for darkness to fall so it could show off its thousands of solar powered lights.
We headed off to have some dinner and came upon this:
Unwittingly we had chosen the perfect time for our city lights excursion!
Crowds cleared a path through the Queen Street Mall and bands
and choirs, singing as they marched, led the parade towards the square.
Mary Joseph and Baby Jesus were there
as well as the shepherds - plus their sheep _
and the Three Wise Men mounted on their camels.
Next came Santa pulled along by a couple of "riendeer"
Christmas Dinner arrived along with all the cooks!
and" The Night Before Christmas" was the bedtime story.
There were ballet dancers,
and Santa's elves.
By now night had fallen.
It comes so quickly here in Brisbane.
One minute it's daylight and the next it's dark!
The parade finally passed us by and after a bite of dinner and a cool glass of wine by the river we made our way back to the Square and the tree.
The reindeer were sparkling ....
as they pulled the sleigh around the tree...
as it stood towering above us with with thousands of twinkling lights.
and there in the background was the church where we were married almost 41 years ago.
The weather was delightful too.
Warm but not hot, a cool, gentle breeze blowing as we caught the CityCat back to the car.
The countdown to Christmas is off to a great start.
Cheers.
The Christmas Tree next to the beautiful church makes for a very magical scene. It sound like you had a wonderful evening out.
ReplyDeleteSounds great. Our trees might be lacking in illumination if we used solar power for them here - but what a good idea. Seems strange to us to see Christmas celebrations where people are not all wrapped up in thick coats and scarves etc. Glad you enjoyed it all.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great evening and so lucky to pick that one.It looks wonderful.I just can't imagine Christmas without it being cold,central heating on,curtains drawn etc.Glad you had such a great trip.
ReplyDeleteWhat a spectacle! They don't do things by halves.
ReplyDeleteBrisbane is a great city isn't it. I need to time my trips to the cutey a lillte better so I can enjoy the celebrations too. Lucky your timing was impeccable, glad you had a lovely evening.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely afternoon/evening you had enjoying the Christmas atmosphere. The arcade looked gorgeous from your photos. Solar powered Christmas lights, I like the sound of that.
ReplyDeleteAnne xx
Wow, fantastic. A lovely evening, thank you for sharing it with us! Made all the more special and personal with 'your church' in the background too.
ReplyDeleteAmazing procession, so much of it. Wonderful Christmas tree plus the twinkly reindeer and a shop window in the arcade with tempting pottery and china to buy. I wonder what the first white settlers thought of Christmas in the hot weather, very different from their old homeland. Have a good holiday!
ReplyDeleteAll you needed was some summer snow. I still can't imagine Christmas on the beach.
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely photo "story" Helen. Forty one years? Wow! Tony deserves some kind of an award!
ReplyDeleteIt's all so pretty . Christmas has definitely arrived !
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