Brisbane

I've been seconded to the Brisbane Office for this week's work, so I spent this afternoon wandering around Queensland's capital. Brisbane is a rather pleasant (albeit very quiet), and I'm staying right by the river with a view to the Story Bridge, and right next to the Botanic Gardens. I also took a stroll over to Southbank, which has been done up full of landscaped parklands, including an artificial beach, with lots of restaurants and cafes... All in all, I've had a great day.

Photos: The Treasury Casino, Brisbane by night, My hotel - the Stamford Plaza, Brisbane bridges (including the famous Story Bridge), and Brisbane highrise.

City to Surf

Every August sees the City to Surf here in Sydney. For the 3rd time, I participated (to say I ran is probably a bit too much of an exaggeration) in the 14km route from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach, including the famous "Heartbreak Hill". Overall I would have run about a quarter of the way, walking the rest. I finished the race in about 2 hours (only an 80 minutes longer than the winner!!) and overall my position was 35,094 (out of 60,000-70,000 participants). I have to admit, the final push came from the smell of the barbecue in work's marquee, all the way down the hill to Bondi Beach.

Unfortunately I didn't take my camera (it would have slowed my blistering pace) however a great day was had by all. It was a beautiful day, on a beautiful beach, one of those glorious winter days we get here in Sydney. Looking forward to taking part again next year!

South of the Border

Last week I had to travel to Wangaratta, Victoria for work. This is one of the largish country towns in the North-East of Victoria, and is the home of the church below. Following the week's work, I spent the weekend in Melbourne, doing some sightseeing and wanderings.

Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne

On Sunday, the Exhibition Buildings at Carlton held an Open Day, so we went inside to take a look. Here are some pictures of the external view, and the internal view of the dome.

Shopping in Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital of shopping in Australia... and for good reason. There are some great shops & shopping centres like Melbourne Central, recently refurbishing, and featuring the magnificent shot tower and cone. Also, the refurbished GPO shopping centre on Bourke St Mall was one of my destinations (thanks Mark for showing me!) I loved the wine bottles filled with pink flowers floating in the air.

I also visited Block Arcade, one of the historic shopping arcades off Collins St.

As for something to show for it? All I managed this trip was a new jumper. I promise to do better in my shopping next time :)