Brisbane is the third largest city by population in Australia. It has a small-town vibe with lots to offerings. We stayed in the CBD (central business district) and walked everywhere. The five nights passed quickly and we attribute this to the time spent with Astrid and Freda.
Astrid is a Bryn Mawr friend who recently moved to Australia. We had not seen each other since Astrid’s pregnancy fifteen years ago when we still lived in Brooklyn, NY. We met up for coffee, ate dinner at her home, ate out at I Love Raman, walked along the river, had drinks at Bar Alto and explored the Saturday market in the West End. It was great catching up and reconnecting after more than 30 years of friendship.
Freda is a Brisbane native who we met at the yoga retreat. She gave us a lift to our hotel and offered lots of suggestions about things to do in the city. We met up for a fun dinner on the South Bank. To get to the restaurant we walked through the Botanic Gardens and crossed the Goodwill Bridge. Many of the trees were covered in white lights that looked like glowworms. After dinner we enjoyed spectacular views of the city at the Emporium Hotel bar. We went out again our last night for dinner at We Came Again—a new plant based restaurant in the West End. After dinner we went to the night market to taste the vegan donuts.
During the days we explored the city. We walked over the Victoria bridge to explore the West End neighborhood numerous times. It is rumored to be named after the West End, London because of the many cafes, bars and shops. On one visit, we wondered along Fish Lane and looked at the street art, drank coffee at Miss Green’s, explored the Queensland Museum, ate breakfast at The Gunshot Cafe then shopped before heading back to the CBD.
In the CBD, we tried a delicious chocolate brownie at Dello Mano and had fun talking with the many venders at the Wednesday market. In general, we just walked around and enjoyed the waterfront paths. We were in town for Anzac Day (similar to Veteran’s Day). We watched the parade route and especially enjoyed seeing the participants line up and get ready to walk (or drive) in the parade.
We addressed some of our tech issues by going to the Apple Store. If you have ever had to get help at the store, you know this took a few hours. Ian’s iPad started sending emails again and Sunshine bought an iPad mini! While there we signed for a city photo walk. That was a lot of fun and we learned a little about the surrounding area.