Exploring Brisbane

On Thursday morning, I woke up after sleeping for a total of 10 hours—it was fantastic! After catching up on messages, I walked to a coffee shop, The Paper Cup, for a latte and to spend some time blogging.

Since the rain continued, I decided to go shopping next, so I drove to the nearest Op Shop (a thrift store). I found a couple of small items.

Next, I drove up to Mount Gravatt Lookout to meet a friend for lunch. She pointed out the names of different local bird species that flew by as we ate and shared several famous Australian food items. Afterwards we drove to the location where church services are held so I’d have a better idea of its location when I visit.

I finished the day by walking around the neighborhood where I have been staying and getting a better feel for where everything is. I walked as far as the Brisbane River and took photos of the city from the dock.

On Friday, I decided to beat the traffic and drive deeper into Brisbane before all the parking spots were claimed. After a quick breakfast (or “brekky,” as the Australians call it), I drove towards Bulimba and parked across from a bookstore. However, the bookstore didn’t open for another hour, so I began by walking around, buying coffee, discovering what stores were within walking range, and then circling my way back to several as they opened for the day.

The shopping area was also close to Bulimba Memorial Park, which featured some very interesting trees with branches that grew towards the ground to create a fascinating archway over the sidewalk.

I picked up some authentic Australian snack food at Woolworth’s, visited a boba tea shop twice (it was so good I couldn’t resist) and shopped for gifts at several stores.

In the afternoon, I took the ferry across the Brisbane River and explored the South Bank area. I mostly window shopped, but it was nice to see a different part of the city. I got 26,274 steps total for the day! It was worth it to avoid city driving and trying to find parking.

Now I’ve been in the Brisbane area for a couple of days, I recognize that there’s more of Brisbane than I’ll ever be able to find my way around, but at least I’ve experienced a pretty good sample of it so far!