*Remember to read this on the MovableAssets.com site. It’s way better than the emailed version!

Our last day in Cairns was April 25, Anzac Day, a national day of remembrance like American Veterans Day. A very moving dawn ceremony happened right below our balcony. What a treat to witness that.

Then the sun came up, the crowds dispersed and we headed out.

We hadn’t realized how much would be closed for the holiday, but we found a few shops for last minute gifts, took a few photos and just generally enjoyed our last gorgeous day together for a while.

The next morning Brittany and Andy were on the road at dawn, headed back to Alice. I caught an Uber to the airport a few hours later, headed to Brisbane for two nights.

I had booked a room at Hotel Indigo in the city center, which turned out to be gloriously quirky and artsy.

Here’s my fab room, complete with balcony:

Choosing this room meant a flight of stairs coming and going, since the elevator stopped at the floor below. Worth it. I even had a bit of a river view. From my balcony it looked like this at night:

I settled into my room then found the bar for an early dinner. I had the place to myself and the staff was delightful. I was coming full circle, my circuit of the eastern half of Australia ending with another solo dinner in a bar, something I’d been afraid to do before this trip. I not only survived, I had this beauty for dessert:

Calling it “Queensland Pineapple Fritters” doesn’t quite capture all this Japanese magnificence, does it? Matcha ice cream, chocolate sphere, and a meringue basket, the menu promised, but I didn’t expect this. Zoom in. There’s actual edible gold leaf on the chocolate sphere. What?!

I had expected to finish telling you about Australia with this post, but there’s still too much. I’m going to savor it all for one more month. Final Australia post coming in February, I promise!

Until then, I hope you are finding things to savor–whether new experiences or treasured memories. Life can be beautiful, but we all know it can also be heartbreakingly hard. I find that those little flashes of delight help. I’m praying that for you.

Grace and peace to you, as always.