An Afternoon in Brisbane City

After a productive start to my first day off in seven days – a morning of laundry, groceries, writing – I met a friend to enjoy the afternoon and evening. 

We decided to meet at the City Hall to explore the Museum of Brisbane on the third floor. It’s a small museum, but a strong collection that showcases some of Brisbane’s history through art. It was interesting to see paintings in which we recognised real life. We saw a little of the building as we wandered between the floors, including the bright domed centre. There were several people inside, with notebooks or their heads bowed. It felt almost church-like. The museum also runs free tours of the clock tower, but sadly these were booked out.

The current Clay: Collected Ceramics exhibit was very visually appealing, and we spent a while admiring and comparing various displayed pieces. In the video that had been created for the exhibit, the artists talked about their practice and history. 

After exploring the museum, we decided to get a drink nearby and stumbled across Brew at the bottom of an artsy laneway (Brisbane is coming for you, Melbourne). The place was underground and had a relaxed vibe. The bathroom stalls were covered in supportive graffiti, messages scrawled in a rainbow of ink. We drank soft drinks and chatted for a while. Then Happy Hour arrived, so we drank $7 glasses of Merlot.

The evening came around and we were hungry after the wine, so we headed back to my friend’s house via Coles and made ginormous burritos with tomato rice, beans, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, capsicum, guacamole, tofu, and more. They were delicious and messy – as all good burritos are. 

After a week of working, it felt good to relax and spend a day intuitively, rather than adhering to a strict plan. I also loved discovering new areas in the CBD! Even though I’m putting down roots for a few months, it’s important to find the adventure in the everyday, and not lose motivation to explore and see new things. Days like this are the perfect balance of the vital chores of everyday life, and keeping the travelling spirit alive.