New Brisbane

Aaaahhhh, Brisbane. It’s that cold nibble at your toes around 11pm at night, when you’re taking that solitary self-immersed stroll along the river. It’s the new chill in the breeze that buffers your cheeks as you watch the Story Bridge lights slip over the blackened water, as if submersible fireworks were exploding, creating a leaky fusion of foiled reds, golds and whites fingering their way toward you.

It’s that cool, quiet night on the veranda, watching the moon sit complacently in the sky, gilded by its following of stars, sprinkled in (strategic) splendour. It the silhouette of the possum, pausing mid-scamper across the electricity line, suspended in time, only an ear occasionally twitching to detect you breathing quietly, watching intently from somewhere below.

It’s the spray of bats, spreading their distinctive, yet peculiarly-shaped wings and squawking as they zoom between trees. It’s the far-off sound of a car disrupting the night calm, like a pair of hands ripping sheets in a soundproof booth.

It’s the stinking hot summer that turned everybody surly, set the cat’s ears at a disgruntled angle, baked the rooftops, melted the lipstick in the bathroom cabinet, turned the ocean into soup, set the old-timers exclaiming over the hottest summer yet. And it’s definitely that first hint of autumn, as everybody sighs in sweaty relief, splaying out to catch the chilled breeze, waking up to cold tiles, frosted windscreens, slow creaky morning muscles.

It’s being able to jog at 11am and not break a sweat but still catch the heat of the sun. It’s speeding (within reason) along Coronation Drive with the windows down, the heater blaring, perhaps a cigarettes balanced between forefinger and middle finger, taking the occasional glance out towards the river, the seemingly central gravity of the city. It’s the parks with their lush green grass, it’s the colourfully painted Queenslanders, snuggled in beside the wrecking yard that passes for someone’s suburban ’shelter’. It’s what you know, who you know, and all that and those you don’t.

It’s the ants, it’s the birds, it’s the bees. Maybe I’m crazy but I think it’s Brisbane…

We’ve just hit our best time of year, and there’s no time like the present to capitalise on the best of what we’ve got.

Follow me through the discoveries and shared secrets of Queensland’s River City (well-dubbed by the State Government I should add), add a few ideas, glean a few more; just enjoy the place!

Soon to come: Simpatico on Latrobe Tce, Paddington. The Alibi Room, New Farm. Caxton Street’s lugubrious Beer and Battered Fish Festival (oops I meant the Seafood and Wine festival- of course!)

I’ll fill you in with all the details. Cheers, Alice.