Brisbane
Also referred to as “the river city,” Brisbane has been overshadowed in the past by the popular cities Sydney and Melbourne, but it still has plenty to offer and is in close proximity to some major holiday destinations. To the southeast is the Gold Coast, about an hours’ drive from the city, to the northwest is the Sunshine Coast, also within an hour, two hours south is the legendary Byron Bay, and two hours north is Noosa. Not to mention the surrounding Australian tropical “hinterland” or rainforest dotted with National parks and swimming holes.
We began the hunt for an apartment shortly after landing in “Brissy.” We now live in the buzzing suburb Fortitude Valley, which is a train stop away from the CBD (central business district).
One of my favorite parts of Brisbane is the Southbank Parklands. The first day we arrived, it was sweltering hot of course, it was a Saturday and the parklands were pleasantly busy teeming with families and young people. There is a manmade beach along the river with city skyline views, public lawns, gardens, playgrounds, plus a Ferris wheel.
Southbank man-made beach
Anthony reluctantly loading up on sunscreen
An up and coming area that is approximately a ten-minute journey by foot from our apartment is the Howard Smith Wharves. It’s really cool because while there you are right on the river’s edge located right below The Story Bridge (which is basically Brisbane’s most notable landmark). This precinct is loaded with good restaurants and even a brewery.
Felons Brewing Co.
Eat Street Northshore is another cool little set up along the river. It houses food stalls recycled from old shipping containers from of all types of international cuisines. I did about two full laps before I ever even decided what I wanted to eat.
Eat Street Northshore
Also I believe it’s time for you all to meet Margo the Mazda…
Anthony recently purchased her for work, for us to take long weekends out of the city and camp, and eventually for our big trip nearly circumnavigating the continent later in the year. She is a good van, though we do have some plans to further fix her up and make her a little homier and more practical for our accommodation. I will do a blog post on this transformation later on as I’m sure it will an interesting process.
We haven’t just been city slickers since we’ve been here, I’ll be posting on some weekend trips from Brisbane as well! xx