okaybee

This trip was about a year and a half in the making. 

When my friend Sarah told me she was moving to Australia, I promised her then and there that I would visit her and Collie. I had never been to Australia before, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity.  It took forever to work out dates, time off work, the rest of my schedule. But eventually I booked my flights and started planning. 

I landed in Brisbane on November 1st, only to leave for Hamilton Island the very next day with Sarah, Collie and 8 more of their friends. If you haven’t seen the blog or video for Hamilton Island yet, you should check them out!

However, that first night the three of us went to dinner. First, we caught up over a few cocktails at Jade Budda Bar, before having dinner at George’s Paragon. It has such a lovely view over the city and the bridge lit up at night. The food was really good although the portions were intense. I had enough fish to feed a family of four. My jet lag held out for a few more hours so that we could go to Riverbar and Kitchen for a few more drinks. It was so nice getting to catch up with them both having not seen either of them in 18 months! 

I got back from Hamilton Island the day of the Melbourne Cup. I literally ran back to the apartment, showered, changed and we left the apartment in record time with my hair still completely wet. Such a good look, I know. Sarah and I met Collie and his work colleagues in Press Club where they were all well on their way having been drinking since lunchtime. The bar staff were hilarious, doing tricks with fire and joking around. It was the perfect way to come back to Brisbane!

The next afternoon, I was dying to head to the shops. There’s a brand I love on Instagram, called Verge Girl, and their only current store is in Brisbane. Side note, there is a lot of really amazing Australian brands that I WISH would come to Europe. The shipping kills me when trying to buy Australian brands. Anyway, I spent about two hours in the shop trying on everything. I think the girl thought I was insane. In the end I bought a lovely red wrap dress with white dots, which I proceeded to wear to death for the rest of my travels. I wanted to go back and try on things a second time, but never got the opportunity. Another place you need to check out is Noosa Chocolate Factory. Oh my god, such a dreamy shop. Everything looked and tasted amazing!

Sarah and I met for a glass, or two, of wine when Sarah finished work that evening, before we headed back to the apartment for a lovely BBQ. It was so nice to sit on the balcony, drinking wine, eating salad and steak, and catching up. Sometimes you just need those more relaxed nights. Although, don’t get me wrong, we still got through a lot of wine that evening!

Thursday I decided to venture out a little more and explore Brisbane for myself. One thing I would definitely recommend doing if you’re ever in Brisbane, is walking along the river from Kangaroo Point Park, to the Wheel of Brisbane or the museum. It is such a gorgeous walk! You can really see how they’ve made the city such a lovely place with the artificial beach, all the walkways are filled with flowers. It really is so nice, and let’s be honest, Instagrammable. After my walk, I met Sarah for more wine (it really is becoming a theme for this trip), and later Collie joined us for dinner at River Quay Fish. As we finished our dinner, fireworks started going off as we overlooked the river! Basically, Brisbane was showing off at this point.

I pretty much spent Friday morning lounging by the pool. I was so lucky that Sarah and Collie’s apartment block had a pool that I could take advantage of, as it was grossly hot some days. That night we went to see a show called ‘Flaws and All The Musical’ at the Princess Theatre, which Sarah’s boss actually wrote! I know it was in Adelaide Fringe Festival before. If you ever get the chance to go, go! Women especially will appreciate seeing their inner thoughts come to life, and men can get a hilarious view into our minds. Collie actually turned to Sarah and I at the interval and said “That’s not actually how women think, is it?!” Yes my friend, yes it is. Before the show, we went to Chu the Phat for dinner. You guys, the steamed duck buns. Oh my god. Actual heaven. I dream about these sometimes. You need to go if you’re in Brisbane, no question!

Saturday was my last full day in Brisbane as I was leaving the next day to go to Sydney. We headed early that morning to Tambourine Mountain to do the Rainforest Skywalk. It was so beautiful walking above the rainforest. I’ve never been to a rainforest before so other than looking out for spiders, snakes and anything else that could kill me, it was amazing to see! After that, we headed to Curtis Falls to check out the waterfall. We may have got lost for a minute. Maybe… just a little. But we found our way back eventually.

Sticking with the wine theme, because we’re so good at it, we rounded out the day by seeing some of the wineries in the area. We went to Cedar Creek Estate for a lovely lunch and a tester of a few of their wines. Afterwards, we headed to Witches Falls Winery for a wine tasting. A perfect way to end my Brisbane trip!

Thanks so much to Sarah and Collie for being the best hosts while I was in Brisbane! If you want to check out any of the places I visited in Brisbane, they’re all saved in this Google Map that you can access. Happy exploring!

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