The Pendulum Swings

Last week I spent six days at an idyllic beach about eight hours north of Sydney with a mile of silky sand nearly all my own. I then spent two days in the city of Brisbane and its the latter that I'm going to write about because I enjoyed it the most. Seems that just a few weeks ago, I struggled to chronicle my exploration of any city, more comfortable writing about places further afield. My, how the pendulum swings.

From Coff's Harbou...

From Brisbane '07

Actually, it hasn't swung quite that far. I’m still far more inclined to find my way outside of most cities (save Sydney) and explore the countryside, but the small town of Coff’s Harbor lacked much else worth chronicling other than it’s excellent beaches. A few paragraphs about the quality of the sand or the shape of the crashing waves would undoubtedly make for dull reading. Thus, the unexpectedly exceptional city of Brisbane will get the focus of this post, and not undeservedly so.

Brisbane is billed as Australia's most liveable city, and after just two days of exploring I’d be hard pressed to disagree, although I could definitely make the case for Sydney. It’s as if Brisbane took notes on its larger sister cities to the south and then patterned itself after just their best parts. The end result is a beautiful city with a sleek skyline, great neighborhoods, and a fantastic waterfront area all in a place that’s remarkably easy to get around despite not feeling all that small. Brisbane’s almost two million inhabitants are nestled midway between the fabled Gold Coast to the south and the equally fabled Sunshine Coast to the north. As such, there are far worse fates than to find yourself living in Brisbane.



The city is centered about eight miles inland from the ocean, along the shores of the Brisbane River which leads out to the Pacific. Brisbane makes great use of it’s river shoreline with it’s downtown on the river’s edge and superb parks, museums and neighborhoods stretched out along the length of the twisting waters. A terrific walking/bike path stretches for miles up and down the river also making for a great way to take in some of the city’s best sights.





I opted for the walking path for most of my two days of exploration, but I also found that one of the best ways to see the city is via the inexpensive river cat ferry. The speedy ferry plies the waters up and down the river going to the far edges of the metro area providinhg a great tour of the million dollar homes that tastefully line the riverfront as well as the many attractive bridges that span the shores. The ride up or down the river also gives a greater understanding of the city's expanse and its many pleasant neighborhoods.







Downtown Brisbane is as pleasant an urban center as you could hope to find. It's clean, well laid out and remarkably scenic with wide, airy streets and sleek modern buildings. The central point is the Queen Street pedestrian mall with its requisite shops and restaurants, but there is plenty more to see on the surrounding streets with a mix of historic buildings, monuments, museums and botanical gardens infiltrating the shopping and business zones.









Just outside of the central business district, lie a number of welcoming neighborhoods that accent each other well. It's remarkably easy to get from one neighborhood to the other on foot, making Brisbane a city where you can easily sample its many tastes in just a day or two. One morning I began my day in the funky bohemian enclave of Fortitude Valley with thrift shops and flea markets standing next to chic designer storefronts. A short walk later, I found myself in stylish Spring Hill neighborhood, home to welcoming cafes and tree lined streets.



By mid-afternoon, I followed a bridge across the river to Southbank, a neighborhood nestled along the river's edge directly across from downtown. If there's ever a case for urban development done right, Southbank is probably it. The half-mile long area along the riverfront is lined with big, leafy trees and dense gardens that nearly obscure the buildings across the water. In the middle of the parkland is a construction of sand and pools (supposedly the only riverside beach in Australia) that looks far from it's man-made origins and a long way from any similar water park construction. A few blocks inland, I found Southbank's strip of enticing, open air restaurants capped by a row of first-class museums.







By the time daylight was winding down, I took the river cat ferry to the eastern edge of town to visit the New Farm neighborhood. New Farm seemed like a quiet neighborhood that's recently been 'discovered' and had all the new construction and shiny new eateries to show for it. New Farm's location on a bend in the river provides it with the distinction of having two of its borders surrounded by the river. I made the beeline between the two shores and then followed the walking path along the river back to downtown just as Brisbane's skyscrapers were lighting up for the night and as the setting sun illuminated them from behind.





Due to my short stay, I didn’t get a chance to explore the Gold or Sunshine Coasts to the north or south of Brisbane which is a shame because it’s said to be some of the finest shoreline in all of Australia. But, exploring Brisbane was well worth visiting on its own for two brief days. It whet my appetite to return one day and make sure that I carve out some time to explore those outlying shorelines as well.


BRISBANE PHOTOS: http://picasaweb.google.com/gscottie/Brisbane07
COFF'S HARBOUR PHOTOS: http://picasaweb.google.com/gscottie/CoffSHarbour07