:: Exploring Brisbane - Part One ::

At the beginning of January one of my closest friends flew up from Sydney to hang out with me for a few days. She had only been to Brisbane once before and had spent most of her time in a place called The Valley (full name is Fortitude Valley). Now, there's nothing wrong with the Valley, but it is geared towards a certain demographic - there is a lot of cool cafes, clubs, trendy bars etc, so it's perfect if you like that sort of thing. But, she had never actually been to Brisbane, the city (even though it's literally a ten minute walk from the Valley).

So in light of her last visit, I decided that we would do some exploring while she was here. It was fun to view my home town through the eyes of a 'tourist'. Gracie came along on one of the days (see her post here) and we went to South Bank, which is a parkland across the river from the city. South Bank has markets, food stalls, a man-made beach that overlooks the city, parklands (obviously), cafes and restaurants.

View of Brisbane city from Mt Coot-tha

View of Brisbane city from Bartley's Lookout in Hamilton

Playing with bokeh at Bartley's Lookout

View of Brisbane city from Kangaroo Point

One of the cool buildings in Brisbane city and the iconic bougainvillea walkways at South Bank

The Wheel of Brisbane and another reflective building in Brisbane city

View of the Valley end of Brisbane city with part of the Botanical Gardens to the left

Gracie on the City Cat (the name of our ferries)

Ducks at South Bank

More bougainvillea and the Brisbane Conservatory of Music ("the Con")

View of Brisbane city from near the top of the Wheel of Brisbane

Gracie and I have actually been talking a lot about what Brisbane has to offer lately and we have decided that we need to be a bit kinder to our home town and really start to enjoy what it has to offer. If you were to look through my photos you would see hundreds of photos of the beach, Melbourne, Perth ... anywhere but here. It's a little sad because Brisbane really does have a lot of amazing things to see and do. We went out on Friday night and walked through the city taking photos of all the pretty buildings and South Bank all lit up at night. I can't wait to show you those photos! We plan to get together once a month to see something new in Brisbane!

Are you like us? Do you forget to really 'see' your home town? If you have a post about where you live I'd love to read it! Leave a link so I can check it out. It'll be like a little tour around the world, from the comfort of my home :)

:: Brisbane - A Guest Post ::

When you hear the word 'Australia', what do you think of? Kangaroos? Emus, maybe? Sydney Opera House? Me too. Australia has some very iconic animals and landmarks, which is part of what makes this island so special. Whenever I first mention I'm from Brisbane to my penpals, most of them admit to either not knowing about it at all, or knowing very little about it. I kind of like that about Brisbane, it's a bit of an untapped gem.

Brisbane has some amazing sights to see, and I talk about a few of them of at Lindsay Eyrn's blog. Lindsay is on her way home from Korea and is doing a feature on 'home' and she asked me to write about the place I call home! See my post here!

I want to thank you all for your patience while I recover from my recent illnesses. I still find it hard to get through a whole week of work, so things like blogging and writing to pen pals get pushed aside in favour of sleeping. I hope to have a lot of wonderful photos to share with you all soon!

:: Town Mouse, Country Mouse ::

I love living close to the city. I love working in the city. I love the hustle and bustle, the bright lights and fast paced living. I love the wild, weird and wonderful.

I also love the country. I love seeing the stars. I love the serenity and tranquility. I love nature and wildlife.

So in love with this little guy!

A little while ago Mr LG and I headed out to the country to visit his family. I really enjoyed taking a step away from the fast-paced life of the city and relished the clean, country air. When I was younger I used to love visiting my cousins on their farm. I loved country life! Now though, I'm definitely a city girl. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy my country retreats (like the one I'm going on this weekend!).

How about you? Are you a town mouse or a country mouse?