Believe it or not, my very first trip to Brisbane was just last month. But before you say, “how is that possible, aren’t you Australian?!” The answer is of course yes, but living abroad for many years of my life means that I haven’t actually explored alot of my own homeland. When I was a teenager living in Italy at the time, people were always a little astounded that I hadn’t been to Uluru, or the Great Barrier Reef, or Darwin, or well, Brisbane. I always said to myself “when I move back, I’m going to travel across Australia!”. When I did move back life took over – school, university, my shop, cafe and now here I am, living across the other side of the world again. And still without visiting Uluru. But I can now add Brisbane to the list of places I have been to in my home country. Although I was there for less than 24 hours, I got to see a good amount of the city with many thanks to my dear friend and fab tour guide, Zoë.
brisbane on the river – seen through the reflection of the bow of the citycat
So, here is a little photo essay of the trip we took along the river on the city cat to the powerhouse, in New Farm. Traveling on the river was the best way to be introduced to the city – we got to see all the different bridges, the old, refurbished buildings, and got a good idea of where each area is located…
We hopped off at the powerhouse (which I had a ball exploring) and had drinks outside on the top deck, while watching the sun set over the city…
above and below: view from inside the powerhouse…
my view after a couple of champagnes! no, I did purposely take off the auto focus for this shot, I promise.
Heading back on the city cat at night was lovely. Seeing the bridges all lit up was rather fantastical, albeit a little kitsch but still, lots of fun…
The next day we had brunch at the Lock ‘n’ Load on Boundary Street, West End. The food was great! As was the setting. Then we wandered up and down Boundary Street where there are heaps of great independent boutiques and bookstores.
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I was utterly surprised at how gorgeous this city actually is. Most Brisbanites I’ve met around the world talk their city down and to be honest, that’s probably why I never made the effort to visit earlier. But it’s beautiful – an urban scape nestled around a huge, winding river lined with old native bushland. I think most Australian’s take the expanse of nature for granted. I must say I did growing up, and it wasn’t until I lived abroad that I realised no matter how “urbanised” we think our backyards are, nature always rules and that is really, really special…
book cover of 
