steam train sunday

Last Sunday we went on a steam train ride around Brisbane's railway.  It was, of course, to indulge Ollie's fascination (or even obsession) with all things train/car, but I do think we adults probably enjoyed it more than he did.  We started the day by meeting with our friends and their children for breakfast at Roma Street Parklands, which seemed like a good idea until you remember that going out for a meal involves engaging the kids at the table for at least as long as it takes to eat their food.  In reality it's not quite so easy, so most of breakfast time involved shovelling french toast and croissants while running around after the toddlers in the group.  It was fun though, and I guess if you think about it from Ollie's perspective, it is rather dull having to sit at a table when you're surrounded by parklands.

After a bit more waiting around that I would have liked (it gets a little tiresome trying to keep Ollie away from the edge of the platform when it's the only thing he wants to do), the steam train arrived, toot toot, and we all boarded for an hour's journey.  The train was really very beautiful, gorgeous old coaches, leather seats and painted blue (like Thomas, as every child exclaimed when it came into the station).  Though our journey was cut short to compensate for the train running late, we did manage to go through some leafy areas of Brisbane and not just the warehouse districts.

Ollie loved it.  He loved standing on the railings between the carriages, running around and most of all the old timey latches on the windows.  We all came back home tired, a bit sooty and glad we'd made the effort.  Toot toot!