City Cat, Centre and Southbank...

My first full day in Brisbane (and every day since) I have been on the city cat and explored Brisbane City Centre and Southbank...Once registered as a student here you get given a Go Card transport card with $15 of credit, this allows you to access all Queensland transport (busses, ferries and trains) for half price :) a single is $4.60 across zones 1 & 2 (city centre to university) so the 50% off is a must have for students!!

The CityCat is slower than the bus, but the better journey into the centre, it is a ferry boat along the Brisbane river which is impressively wide with amazing bridges and lots of sky. My favourite bridge is the 'spider bridge' which has an impressive number of web like structures. You see Brisbane grow on the horizon as you travel along the river which is a wonderful view.

Get off a North Quay for the city centre or an easy walk to Southbank. The main shopping area (and really the main hub of Brisbane city centre) is Queen Street which is a long pedestrian strip filled to the brim with stalls, banks, shopping mall's and small boutiques...it seems to go on forever and is a shopper's dream! One thing I love about Brisbane is that the streets that go To and From the river have (english) Princess names, so apart from Queen street, you get (elizabeth, charlotte, margaret) and then the streets that run parrallel to the river are (english) Prince names (edward, albert...) It's something really simple but really cute, and means you always know which way you're heading.

Southbank is my favourite area of Brisbane so far, it is on the opposite side of the river to the City Centre, and known as the 'Cultural Hub' of Brisbane - it's got a theatre, a museum, a ferris wheel, art gallery, cinema, and then rows upon rows of cafe's and restaurants. It's got such a cosmopolitan feel, with wide walkways, a river and beautiful flowerbeds and architectual delights. At weekend's it holds a market, while not very Australian in the things it sells, it is swarming with australians and internationals a like and is the perfect spot for people watching and enjoying cultural delights from around the world.

Another attraction of Southbank is the 'man-made' beach - confusingly enough Brisbane isn't actually on the coast, and you have to travel down to the Gold Coast or up to the Sunshine Coast. The man-made beach is really maintained, and while too cold to swim in at the moment, will be fun to hang out at in the coming summer.

(Man-Made Beach)

I enjoyed a lazy sunday in Southbank, with bright sunshine and a cloudless sky, I also went back there on Monday afternoon with two american guys and a french girl...here I made my first blonde moment; there is a man suspended on a unicycle over the central square of Southbank restaurant area, he reminds me of the human statues in Covent Garden, and I was convinced it was a real man - after arguing with all 3 for several minutes that i KNEW it was a real man, and that he would frighten them if they didn't believe it, they forced me into the local newsagents to prove myself right....needless to say that the newsagents found it a hilarious question and weirdly enough rarely get asked it - 'how could you think that was a real man' was the common response from both shopkeeper and other customers...I'm now known as the 'he is real!' girl, which I suppose is better than 'glandular fever girl' (from when i started Nottingham).




Love...G xxxx