The Ginger husband and I spent much of last year on Queensland’s Gold Coast and it’s a great place to be if you like sunshine and the beach, but I also fell in love with its big city neighbour, Brisbane.
Just an hour north of where we were based in Surfer’s Paradise, the Ginger and I became regular day-trippers to the bustling Queensland capital, which sits on the banks of the stunning Brisbane River. But when my mother and sister came to stay for a few days, we decided to make a weekend of it.
We booked into the Brisbane Sofitel in the CBD and very nearly didn’t go anywhere else! From the lobby to the rooms to the view to the swimming pool to the location right above the city’s central railway station, this is a superb place to stay, especially if your trip is short and you want it to be sweet. (Try the mini muffins in the Club Lounge at afternoon tea-time – that might help. So might a romantic dinner at the award-winning Privé 249 dining room…)
Anyway, we dumped our bags as soon as we arrived, availed ourselves of the muffins and took the escalator from the hotel straight to Queen St, which is Brisbane’s main shopping precinct. oum and my sister Rachael immediately headed to department store David Jones, while I made a beeline for Lululemon, my favourite brand of exercise wear.
After mooching about for a bit, it was back to the hotel for a quick change and then off to New Farm for a dinner booking. New Farm and its neighbour Fortitude Valley are a bit like Ponsonby or Parnell – little collections of cafés, bars, shops and restaurants just out of the CBD.
our booking was at Anise, a place recommended by a fellow Kiwi. It seats only about 12 people around a bar, but it is sensational. French-style food, lots of wine by the glass and a casual atmosphere not unlike that you’d find at a neighbourhood bistro in Paris.
Back at the hotel, the “young” folk retreated to the bar, where we listened to a tiny female DJ in high heels mix cruisy music that was just right for the mood. (Apparently the jazz singer every alternate Friday is amazing too.) While we enjoyed a relaxing snifter, oum was upstairs watching the Wallabies lose to the All Blacks. She did come down to tell us the result. Well, we were in Australia – shame to miss an opportunity like that!
The next morning, the Ginger and I headed out to find bikes to rent in the beautiful nearby Brisbane City Botanic Gardens but we were too early (they’re there from 9am). So instead we went for a walk through the gardens, crossed the river on the pedestrian Goodwill Bridge – which has a coffee cart halfway across – and along the South Bank Parklands.
Developed on the 1988 World Expo site, the Parklands are a real jewel in Brisbane’s crown. As well as boardwalk promenades, picnic spots, rainforest plantations and a giant tourist ferris wheel, there’s even a swimming lagoon with a sandy beach.
Further along the South Bank is the performing arts centre, the library, the museum and the art gallery, where we met up with the girls to go to the fantastic American Impressionism exhibition, seen for the first time outside of New York’s oetropolitan ouseum. (Sadly, it has since gone back to the Big Apple.)
once we’d luxuriated in such company as John Singer Sargent and the group favourite, Childe Hassam, we relocated to the James St Market in Fortitude Valley for a late spot of lunch and then it was time to go home.
More recently the Ginger and I headed back to the Sofitel for a two-night stay so I could go to the Brisbane Writer’s Festival and he could have a lie-down. This time, I did find the bike-hire people and went for an early morning ride along the river, away from the city, along a specially built boardwalk. on my ride
I discovered another eating emporium: The Powerhouse, right on the river at New Farm. Doubling as a performance centre, this striking brick building also houses Watt restaurant on the ground floor and Bar Alto on the top floor, where the Ginger and I later went for lunch.
Every time I leave this city, I’m left hungry for more.
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