Brisbane doesn’t get a lot of credit from the other cities in Australia. If you were to go to Australia you would visit Melbourne or Sydney first, maybe even Adelaide before you might venture over to Brisbane. I took a tour one day while in Brisbane and the guide even said that Brisbane has as much culture as a small pot of yogurt. I’m still not sure if that means it has very little culture or a whole lot – guess it depends on the type of yoghurt ….. Compared to other cities in Australia it has a lot less, but it has definitely changed a lot over the years.
I walked a lot while in Brisbane, a lot. The CBD is full of interesting stores and buildings. A river cruise is a must to see the city from a different view point. On the other side of the river to the CBD is South Bank, which is full of beaches, parks and restaurants.
My highlight in Brisbane thought was the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. A short 20 minute bus ride from the CBD, the Sanctuary is, as the name suggests, full of Koalas. There are over 130 of them, of all shapes and sizes and all as cute and fuzzy as can be. The Sanctuary also has a sheep dog show and lots other Aussie classics such as platypus, Kookaburras, Tasmanian Devils and Wombats. But of course the highlight are the Koalas.
Back in the CBD and after a fantastic day exploring the city I found myself at Chocolate Soldier. This little coffee shop is actually at the entrance of a very standard looking office building. I only stopped because they had the word chocolate in the title. The staff here were fantastic and incredibly friendly and also made me a pretty nice little hot chocolate. It was tiny, kind of like a shot of hot chocolate. It was pretty sweet but because of the small amount it ended up being the perfect pick me up after a long day soaking in the sights.
Verdict: Perhaps my first hot chocolate in an office building, but if all office buildings had hot chocolates like this I would spend more time in them! Chocolate Soldier, 275 George Street, Brisbane, Australia
