Sightseeing in Rum City aka BUNDABERG

One of the things John and I love to do when we get to a new city is take the doubler-decker tour bus tour. This we learned about this from our dear Berlin friends, Wolfgang and Regine Lohrer, when we visited them in Germany. They suggested a ride on the top of the bus to get the best overview of Berlin. We climbed on board with the 3 boys and the Lohrer's, who did EVERYTHING with us. I were very tired when we first boarded but it WAS the best way to get a feel for the city and where everything was in a very compact and efficient way. Our favorite tours are the type you can jump on off, not from the top deck, but you can get on and off to explore one of the stopping sites. In Athens we used the bus as a way to get to all the ruins as the taxis were on strike and we could get on and then off.

Well, there is no double-decker bus here, the closest we can get to that is John sitting on the roof of the car with his camera, but he keeps falling off and because it's a rental car we should not be doing that. But I have gotten around with my camera to snap some pictures of unique buildings or homes.

I'd like to start with a picture of the Australian Flag. It's a combination of the Union Jack from Great Britain and the Southern Cross constellation. Here's what the very reputable site Wikipedia says about it:

The Australian National Flag has three elements on a blue background: the Union Jack, the Commonwealth Star and the Southern Cross. The Union Jack in the upper left corner (or canton) acknowledges the history of British settlement. Below the Union Jack is a white Commonwealth or Federation star.

This flag sits at the center of the business district in Bundaberg, I love to see a flag flapping in the breeze on a crystal clear day.

I'm going to use this little flag a lot!

Bundaberg is known for a couple of things, RUM and GINGERBEER. There are acres and acres of sugar cane being grown and watered everywhere. They make rum to export all over the world and one of these hot evenings we're going to make a Rum and Tonic with some dark Bundaberg Rum. Woody Pelton makes the best Rum and Tonic's and they always remind me vacationing with he and Chris. They plan to come and visit so I'll save some for them!

http://www.bundabergrum.com.au/

The other famous export is Gingerbeer. This drink is like a strong Ginger Ale, non-alcoholic, and very tasty. You can see by this sign that it's famous around here and everyone drinks it.

We have yet to take either tours, the rum distillery or the gingerbeer plant, but plan on doing it before April. FYI, you can buy Bundaberg Ginger Beer at Costco and Sendik's Markets if you're a Milwaukee person. I found it over a year ago at the Costco in Grafton, Wisconsin, and knowing we were going there, had to buy it. You can't always find it there, but it's worth the look. Sendik's has it with their soft drinks. ($$)

http://www.bundabergrum.com.au/

The Post Office Building sits at the start of the downtown business area.

We found out that it's really not a working post office but a shopping area now. There is one lonely mailbox at the back, outside.

Yes, there's a Target here. We have bought many essentials for the barely equipped house we're in there and plan to go back for this and that as needed. Thought my Minneapolis friends and family would like to see this.

One of the prettier old governmental buildings, resource management, that sits in downtown.

This is the Bundaberg Olympic Swimming Pool, and park. I took this from outside as they were closing but it is a full pool with starting blocks for competition. You'll see that sun protection is everywhere, even at the pool and beach. The sun here is very strong and they stay out of it. ME TOO! 

I will show more when I know more about Bundy. Our next adventure is buying a car. 

Ugh