Doorways of Brisbane

Posting magically continues despite me being on me hols. Back in late June.

Riverside Expressway

They must have all been asleep in the Queensland Parliament the day this got approved.

Posting magically continues despite me being on me hols. Back in late June.

Chainlink view of wharf

Posting magically continues despite me being on me hols. Back in late June.

View From Paddington

Completing the triptich of CBD views from hills around the city... this one, taken one evening in 2007, was donated by Nell. I love the rosy light on the buildings set against the moody blue clouds.

Thanks Nell!

View From Hamilton

This is the view from Bartley's Hill Lookout in Hamilton, a well-heeled suburb of Brisbane.


Posting magically continues despite me being on me hols. Back in late June.

View From Highgate Hill

The park where this was taken is a great place to relax on a picnic blanket and watch Brisbane's fireworks displays (of which there seems to be a lot).

Posting magically continues despite me being on me hols. Back in late June.

The Drovers

Thanks to Alex for for suggesting this one - The Drovers by John Underwood. It dates back to World Expo 1988 which was held in Brisbane. Here are only five of over eighty different figures who were frozen in time, capturing the essense of Australia. I know I have mentioned the significance of World Expo 1988 before on this blog... but it was instrumental in transforming Brisbane from a big country town to a city.

Doorways of Brisbane

Posting magically continues despite me being on me hols. Back in late June.

Greek Tragedy!

Today's title is from the main headline of the local paper. This year's Greek Festival, Panyiri, was due to take place today but has been cancelled at the last minute due to the dodgy weather we've been having such as a third of our annual rainfall on Tuesday. They're going to hold it in July instead.

Way back when I first started this blog I made a rash promise of getting a picture of the record-breaking Zorba dance that they do at festival every year. Other fun stuff includes So You Think You Can Dance Greek and an olive and honeypuff eating competition (hopefully not together). As I leave Brisbane today, I had thought I was going to miss out on this year but the not so tragic news is I will be back from my travels in time to get the pictures for you! Lovely.

So in lieu of today's festival, as a tribute to Brisbane's large and established Greek community, I have gone for something with a Greek flavour... a subtle little place, this. Any resemblance to the Acropolis is purely co-incidental! Its a restaurant and a social club with an excellent elevated people-watching aspect. The food is supposed to be great here too. It's on my to-do list...

Posting magically continues despite me being on me hols. Back in late June.

Make Your Own Fun (Brookfield Show 5)

It's like babies with christmas presents. You spend time and money on the gift but all the kid wants to play with is the box. Despite the wild rides, junk food, stunt racing and all the rest of it, this hill was where all the fun was to be had. Sliding down the hill on bits of cardboard. Excellent!

Stunt Riders! (Brookfield Show 4)

Everyone went bananas. It was an absolute show stopper. Did I get a clear shot of either of the motor cross riders? No way!

Down Time (Brookfield Show 3)

Chilling out, piglet style, between races.

Beaut Fruit (Brookfield Show 2)

Here we are at the Brookfield Show again.
Take a look at these beauties. I fancied the custard apples (front) but the sizey avocadoes (2nd from front) clinched it in a nail-biter.

The Brookfield Show

I wasn't aware of the cultural significance of the Dagwood Dog until Saturday. This interesting/bizarre snack food is seemingly only eaten on Show days and is regarded with affection and a tinge of nostalgia by many Australians. By "Show", in Brookfield's case, I am talking about funfair rides, camel rides, pig racing, horse jumping, whip fighting, dogs rounding up ducks, live snake feeding, monster trucks, sheep shearing, motorbike stunt jumping, competitions for best looking chickens, flowers, fruit and vegetables, all sorts of cakes, jams, pickles, photography, art.... and to keep all those animals nice and perky, lots of fireworks.

But back to the Dog. What is it? Well, I must admit I wasn't game enough to give one a try but it's a saveloy, battered, deep fried and dipped in tomato sauce (ketchup).

Get it inta ya!

Traffic Stopping Art (number 19)

Bok BOK!!

Another signal box for you to admire... this one comes to you from outside the old library with the mosaic wall. You don't get so many mosaic walls any more...

Waterfront Place

This is widening the shot after taking the picture in yesterday's post.The building dominating the picture, Waterfront Place, is a ubiquitous part of the Brisbane Skyline and is infamous for its dodgy windows. A couple of years ago, a pane of glass fell out and landed on the pavement narrowly missing pedestrians. There have been a couple more "glass failures" which have prompted the powers that be to build protective sails that completely shield the pedestrian from any high speed glass shard attacks that may occur.

Reflected Glory

It was a glorious sky on saturday: the perfect sky-blue with puffy white clouds. Seen here on the windows of Waterfront Place on Eagle Street.

For other views of the sky, snapped by bloggers worldwide, visit Skywatch Friday.

Bird's Eye View

This is looking down from floor 16 at the riverside walkway and Boardwalk bistro, Saturday around lunchtime.

Sunlight Through The CBD

I love the way the reflections of the glass buildings create patterns on the brick ones... and how the brick ones are mirrored in the glass.

Friends In High Places

On Saturday I was lucky enough to be invited to have a look out of some windows half way up Riparian Plaza. It's real picture-postcard stuff. I was very excited!

And the "Simpsons" sky just topped things of nicely.

One More From Toowong...

Angel Monument

Inside the cemetery, angels peer down, having stood in that spot for a century... this one looks like she could do with a seat...

Ghost Town

A friend of mine reckons that at one point there were more dead in Toowong Cemetery than living in the whole of Brisbane. Right now, it is the final resting place for 120,000 people. Somewhat smaller than Brisbane's 2m population but still, the size of a small town or perhaps a really large music festival.

It is a gorgeous place to walk around with some beautiful old and new grave sites on 250 acres of steep hills with plenty of native trees and birds... and it's HAUNTED. And to make it even more scary, they shut the gates at night and give ghost tours wooooooOOOOOOOOOOo!!!!!!!!!

Reach For The Sky

Brisbane's fabulous frangipani trees have lost their stunning flowers and now, one by one, they are dropping their leaves, revealing sturdy skeletons reaching skyward.

Reach skyward yourself: visit Skywatch Friday.

Your Roots Are Showing

Last week I told you about the tree on death row in Orleigh Park...well I didn't manage to break into the fenced off area but I did take a photo of the roots of a nearby tree. Not as curlywurly as the condemned tree but getting there...

Traffic Stopping Art (number 18)

Continuing the jungle theme from yesterday.... today's painted signal box is brought to you today by the local artist Alicia Lane. It's called West End Jungle and is on the corner of Vulture Street and Hampstead Road in Highgate Hill. Incase you were wondering, that's a possum on the front and a fruit bat on the side. You get large populations of both in Brisbane and they often like to make themselves heard at night. The possums are the ones that sound like a cappucino machine and the bats are the ones that sound like that other-end-of-the-telephone sound that you often used to get in cartoons.

Alicia Lane has 10 fabulous boxes under her belt - so far I have featured 2 others here and here.

Concrete Jungle

Once upon a time this whole bank was covered in mangroves. Now it's a forest of pillars growing out of the water.

Central Brisbane's North Quay is dominated by the Riverside Expressway. The riverside path beneath it is dark and loud... but you still get plenty of joggers and cyclists walking along it.

After All This Time

This is taken from the monumental arch on the southern side of Victoria Bridge. The arch is from the previous Victoria Bridge which was demolished in 1969. Around Anzac day time, wreaths of poppies are placed next to it to remember those who fought and died for Australia in the wars. Also there are wreaths of flowers in remembrance of an 11 year old Greek boy, Hector Vasyli, who was killed nearby in 1918 "as a result of a lamentable accident" so the plaque there says. According to Wikipedia it was a traffic accident that happened while he was waving to soldiers returning from the First World War. Anyway... when I stopped by last week, there were flowers and cards aplenty especially from members of Brisbane's strong and vibrant Greek community.

Electric North Quay

Since I started this blog this I have been out at night with a camera twice so I'm in need of some practice. This is my first attempt at a "Brisbane by night" shot with the camera balanced on the balustrade of the William Jolly Bridge. Must invest in a tripod...
It's a bit garish!

Back to the drawing board...

Magic Dragon

Water Dragon. Handsome devil, isn't he? They are prolific in Brisbane. Especially near water but also in the garden section of Bunnings Warehouse in Rocklea.

May Theme Day: Shadows

It was by complete chance that I noticed the shadows of the man and the tree on the right so I took a series of 8 pictures - about 1km later I noticed the lady on the right and fired off a few more snaps. I didn't realise how similar both series were until I got home - with the tree and the incline and the shadow in the road. I was quite pleased about that!

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