Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day in Brisvegas, enough cloud cover to keep the temp down, and a cool breeze off the Brisbane River to make being outside a delight. How to spend such a great day? Why exploring the streets and parks in Brisbane.

After grabbing a Toffee Nut Frappuccino I was off to explore.

 Starting in Post Office Square I headed back towards the Queen Street Mall. I then headed down Edward St to the Brisbane Botanical Gardens. I hadn't been in a few years, but this place has a timeless relaxed feel. With plenty of grassed areas and a couple play areas for the kids the Botanical Gardens is great for both the family outing as well as for a nice romantic picnic. I spotted both during my walk.

Walking though the gardens it is quite easy to forget you are actually in the middle of the city. There is plenty of wildlife in the park and the traffic noise just fades away. I was lucky to grab a few images of Australian wildlife as well as the (non-official) bird of Brisbane (the Ibis). With so many in and around Brisbane I sometimes think they should be.
I would highly recommend spending a nice relaxing afternoon in the parklands. With a nice picnic and some reading material, or that special someone, it is just what the doctor ordered.

I've been on a bit photo binge the last few months, my favourite subject the architecture and sites in Brisbane. From South Bank to the Fortitude Valley I have snapped shots of buildings I used to take for granted.

South Bank/South Brisbane

Brisbane

Fortitude Valley/The Valley/Tenneriffe

So, on a little bus trip yesterday we went through the new Boggo Road Busway. Soooo quiet.  We joked that it was haunted and wondered if the new Boggo Road Urban Village was haunted. The new Ecosciences Precinct is an interesting building and made me want to learn more about it and the New Urban Village.

The Ecosciences Precinct has been built on the old Boggo Road Goal site. Boggo Road Goal was home to John Andrew Stuart and Jim Finch, the men who fire bombed the 'Whiskey au Go Go' nightclub in Brisbane, and Nathan Jones, a serial armed robber who later moved onto become a world champion Strongman, join the WWE for a short period, and then have several small parts in films (Troy, Fearless and First Strike to name a few). Opened in 1903 the prison has been a landmark for many Queenslanders, with the Beenleigh train line running close by.


Now the Boggo Road Goal is becoming the Boggo Road Urban Village. The new Ecosciences Precinct built to research climate change and water issues, and to balance the needs of the environment with needs of industry is an award winning building. 

After just looking at it from the outside I really want to have a closer look. The ideas behind this structure and the sense of scientific community they are building here are fantastic. I can't wait for the Boggo Road Urban Village to be completed and see what they accomplish here. They are currently in the phase of appointing a preferred developer. With the public transport infrastructure being set up with the Eastern Busway providing bus services from the University of Queensland and the Eleanor Schonell Bridge at Dutton Park, to the Boggo Road Urban Village, Princess Alexandra Hospital and the South East Busway at Buranda, ease of access to Brisbane and South East Queensland will make this a highly sought after address.