After a busy week a leisurely weekend beckoned.
By about 11:00 am we were ready to venture out and cloudy skies meant pleasant temperatures and a lovely breeze.
We headed down the river to the city for a stroll around the Sunday markets.
All was very quiet here as the markets were about to close but we wandered through, purchased a new tripod for Tony's camera and shared a very nice proscutto, pine nut and pumpkin pizza for a late lunch.( sorry no photo! )
Next we strolled towards the shopping part of the city.
I love the way our few old colonial buildings sit amongst the sparkling new high rise buildings of the city.
This building was built in 1889
It was built as offices for the Australian United Steam Navigation Company.
It certainly looked outstanding in those days situated near the wharves near the city centre.
(Photo: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library; #168436)
Now it is dwarfed by the highrise and occupied by the Brisbane Polo Club ( no connection with polo at all as far as I know but an exclusive club of sorts !!)
( photo from the Internet )
On one outside wall there are markers showing flood levels.
The higher one near the man's elbow is from 1974
and the one high up on the building is from the great Flood in 1893 which was a flood of epic proportions.
I don't think our recent floods reached the Polo Club at all.
It is surrounded on all sides by sparkling new buildings reaching for the stars.
Further along the street we came upon a new initiative of our City Council - pushbikes for hire.
So far not very successful I'm afraid.
All through the city there is lots of greenery and all the streets are lined with trees which takes away that concrete jungle look and softens all those modern constructions.
Lots of people were out shopping in the heart of the city and like most cities this is where the tourists congregate.
An Aboriginal fellow was playing the didgeridoo and had quite a crowd listening and a couple of little girls enjoying the rhythm.
It is a unique sound which I love and I imagine not so easy to achieve but as women traditionally are barred from playing the didgeridoo I haven't given it a try.
As we walked up the Mall we came to another colonial gem, the old Treasury Building, which is now used as Brisbane's Casino (ironic ???).
Brisbane was first settled as a penal settlement around 1825 so these buildings are not old when you compare them to anything in the UK. You can see why we love all the old buildings and houses when we visit there. ( most of them are older than our city !!!)
By now we felt the need for a break and we sat in a sidewalk cafe and dreamt we were in Paris !!
then crossed the river by way of the Victoria Street bridge to South Bank
where we found this little rainforest oasis.
This area was all under water in our floods last year
but this section of the garden has recovered well though some sections are still fenced off and all the restaurants here have been left abandoned and empty - a terrible shame but perhaps will be refurbished in time when money is available.
Can you see a couple of old buildings amongst the new ones across the river? (you may need to click on the photos to enlarge them)
Brissy is looking pretty good on this pleasant March day.
Cheers
