Posted by: Debra Kolkka | January 25, 2012

Some Brisbane colour for Australia Day

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Australians celebrate Australia Day today, 26th January, the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove in 1788. It is a public holiday, and a time to celebrate all things Australian.

We have had heavy rain this week and several official parties have been cancelled, but people will no doubt be throwing a chop on the barbecue and having a cool drink.

Brisbane is a modern colourful city. Here is a little bit of Australia for those of you who live elsewhere.

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I love the mix of the old and the new.

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Have a great day!

Thank you WordPress for Freshly Pressing me. What fun!

Take a look at another great city in my new blog – Beautiful Helsinki. http://beautifulhelsinki.wordpress.com


Responses

  1. Debra,
    Happy Australia Day!! I am not getting any sleep because I am awake watching the Australian Open on TV, so I am now on Oz time!. Enjoy! Toni

    • The weather is not the best today and we have more heavy rain on the way, but that is OK.

  2. Hi Debra, Wonderful photos of our lovely city. I’m about to get on the train to Brisbane to spend the weekend there with my son & d.i.l. You really capture the vibrancy of Brisbane. Come on down everyone! Thanks Deb.
    Dianne

    • I think Brisbane is a beautiful city. I love it!

  3. Happy Australia Day to you Debra.

    I’ll be in Singapore, where there’s an Aussie cafe down the road. Might go there for a good heart-starting coffee, then face LIttle India in the heat and humidity. I’ll try not to gloat about the cricket.

    • Have a great day in Singapore. I think gloating is just fine.

  4. Wow, beautiful!

    • Brisbane is a beautiful modern city, and our flowering trees are gorgeous.

  5. Happy Australia Day.

    • Thank you, perhaps you will come to Australia one day.

  6. Happy Australia Day, Deb! Lovely photos—–
    Kathy

    • Thank you, I hope you are having a fun day too.

  7. What a fantastic series of city scapes.. very modern. My cousin works as a teacher in the outback, her australia looks somewhat different from yours. I think i prefer yours! hers is orange and dusty!! throw a chop on the barbi for me! c

    • The outback has its charms, I loved our trip to the centre of Australia. I’m not sure I would want to live there forever, but it is beautiful.

  8. Brisbane has certainly mushroomed into a modern, vibrant city; yet, I’m glad that some of the old buildings still stand in their proud heritage. I love the way you share the old and the new with the colourful foliage that typifies Brisbane. My parents were married in the old church in 1941, so, it’s lovely to see it on your blog, Debra. I love the raindrops on the frangipani leaves. Frangipani is my favourite flower. My wedding bouquet consisted of cream frangipani flowers. Happy Australia Day!

    • Brisbane has changed a lot in the years that I have been living here. I love living close to the city and all it has to offer.

  9. Happy Australian Day, dear Debra, these photographs are so beautiful, especially the number 5, the tower and the building, they are so impressive. Thank you, have a nice day, with my love, nia

    • Thank you Nia, I love the mix of the old and the new.

  10. Happy Australia Day Deb. Know what a proud Aussie girl you are – and so proud of our own beautiful city of Brisbane.. Great shots of our heritage buildings and our state of the art buildings. Love those summer flowers – how prolific is that white flowering tree- is it of the ‘gum’ family – must find out – they are everywhere right now.
    Di

    • I am an Aussie through and through. I love travelling the world and I feel completely at home in Italy and Finland, but I will always be Australian.

  11. Happy Australia Day! I love the green and yellow donuts! I hope you enjoyed the holiday!

    • I did not eat any of those donuts!

  12. Thanks for the glance at your city… nice colors.
    Hope you have had a happy day… wherever you are.

    • Thank you! I am in Australia intil 5th February when I head off again.

  13. Thank you for capturing our lovely city in a bright and cheery way. We can hear the grass growing today after the lovely rain.

    The white flower is the Buckinghamia or Ivory Curl – but I bet you know that.

    • I didn’t know the name of that plant. Thank you. It’s gorgeous and everywhere just now.

  14. Happy Australia Day, Debra, and thank you, once again for those wonderful photos that bring back very fond memories. We always celebrate Australia Day; however, no barbecue possible in the North of Spain at this time of the year. Nevertheless, I always have a leg of NZ (sorry, not Aussie, but close enough) in my freezer, which I can get at the Leclerc supermarket (not the one at Gallicano) in Urrugne (France). Quite good quality and brings back those flavours to us. I bake it with as many veggies as possible and it tastes delicious. I also buy some mangoes, although they cannot be compared to our Bowen ones. Oh, well, you cannot have everything and as Malcolm Fraser said once: “Life wasn’t ment to be easy….”
    I extend my best wishes to all fellow Aussies.

    • I am making the most of the mangoes, pineapples and stone fruit in my last week before heading off to Italy again .

  15. Deb…great photos.! Enjoy the rest of the day too! Sydney weather has been very overcast all day…but all in all very relaxing.
    We are planning a party for Saturday so do hope the weather improves. I’ll be cooking Moroccan style except for the dessert, Italiano….. my fav Tira Misu! 🙂

    • There is not much we can do about the weather. I was hoping to have a bit of time at the beach before I go, but it is not looking good.

  16. Happy Australia Day! I am in Germany doing my bit for Australia, have taken an Australia cake in to the Franconian International School decorated with a koala and Minties! Kirsten sent me Aussie side mirror covers so I the car will have them on! Kids got Vegemite sangers! I” m gonna talk to Aussie cobbers and have a bundy and coke later, I wish youz all a fabo Ostraya Day 2012! On ya mate!

    • It’s good to hear that you are being a good Aussie on the other side of the world.

  17. Happy Australia Day Debra! Brisbane looks so tropical in your pictures – there’s something about the foliage, the sky and the quality of light that says it all.

    • We are subtropical, but we have had lots of rain and everything is green and lush.

  18. Thank you for sharing such beautiful and colorful photos. There are absolutely lovely. Enjoy your day.

    • Sorry for the typo, They are absolutely lovely.

    • Thanks, I love that brightly coloured building in Brisbane.

  19. GORGEOUS colors. Those doughnuts even look amazing! 🙂

    • Green and gold for Australia Day.

  20. Have spent very little time in Brisbane – but love the photos – looks like I missed out! Happy Australia Day!

    • Thank you! You must come back one day.

  21. I would love to visit Australia. Great photos!

    http://minimalistlifestyle.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/hit-bottom-now-you-have-nothing-to-lose/

    • Australia is a great place, we would love to have you.

  22. Now I just really want a donut.

    • You will have to come to Brisbane to get one.

  23. Brisbane looks like a cool city to visit some day!
    Happy Australia Day 🙂

    • I think it is a great city, but I am a bit biased.

      • Oh, and congratulations on being Freshly Pressed 🙂

      • Thank you! Freshly Pressed is fun

  24. Great images, love the colour, well done on making freshly pressed!

    • Thank you, being Freshly Pressed is fun.

  25. beautiful flowers !

    • Thank you, there has to be an upside to all the rain.

  26. I would just like to say that those doughnuts alone have convinced me to move to Australia.

    • I wish I could tell you that I had tried one.

  27. […] http://bagnidilucca.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/some-brisbane-colour-for-australia-day/ […]

    • Thank you for the nomination.

  28. […] working holiday adventure, here are a few fun sites to help you celebrate from your computer: 1- Colourful Brisbane 2- Josh’s 1-minute video 3- Jill’s awesome blog: Lateral Movements 4- Matthew’s […]

    • Thanks for the pingback.

  29. Love the photos of buildings and plants – really enjoyed them — but the doughnuts? Great photbut sorry,: the colours are really alarming and so non-doughnut. 😉

    • I’m sure they were just done for Australia Day in the Australian colour of green and gold. I didn’t eat one.

  30. Congrats on Freshly Pressed again, Deb! This post so deserved it!
    Hugs,
    Kathy

    • Thank you, it is a lovely surprise.

  31. Reblogged this on Werewolf of Oz and commented:
    Great photos Debra, thanks. I’ve been virtually travelling Oz through the Werewolf of Oz the last couple of years, and the big finale is set for Brisbane in the next month or so. Cheers, and Happy Australia Day!

    • Thanks for the reblog. Have a great time in Australia!

  32. Really great shots! I lived in Sydney for 2 years (quite a while ago), but unfortunately never had the chance to visit Brisbane – you’ve made it very enticing, however, so it’ll have to be for next time! 🙂 Congrats on being freshly pressed!

    • Thank you. You must come to Brisbane next time. I like your leaf. My last post was about fallen leaves.

  33. YEAH!!! I read your post yesterday but today say that it was Freshly Pressed! Congratulations! Your blog is always lovely and every post deserves to be FP!

    • Thank you. It is exciting to be Freshly Pressed.

  34. Those are the strangest donuts I’ve ever seen…

  35. Happy Australia Day! I’ve never been to Brisbane so thanks for the lovely photos. I put up an Australia Day post… my gift to Aussies on their special day! Hope you enjoy it if you have the time to read it.

    • Your post is great! Thank you for taking the time to do it.

  36. Congratulations on being freshly pressed again! Great post, all those colours do seem so typical of Brisbane.

    • Thank you! Freshly Pressed is fun.

  37. Nice to see pix of Brisbane. My brother lives there, but I haven’t had the chance to visit yet. Your photos make me want to go there even more! Tom

    • I hope you come one day, it’s great!

  38. Just seen you are ‘freshly pressed’ for this. Well done and Happy Australia Day.

    • Thank you Caroline, Australia Day was a bit wet, but great anyway.

  39. Beautiful pictures, those donuts look delish!

    • They are certainly colourful.

  40. So many beautiful corals around Australia. I’d love to do some scuba diving there along the great reef.

    • I hope you come one day. The Great Barrier Reef is spectacular.

  41. Love it! It brings back the good memories of when I visited the city! Thanks a lot!

    • Brisbane is a great place to live.

  42. Love the beautifully colored photos 🙂 And Australia!

    • Brisbane is a very colourful city.

  43. That blue sky is stunning! Beautiful pics 🙂

    • Thank you! We have no blue skies right now. It has been raining for days.

      • Aww boo. Well maybe the rain will make for a pretty picture like the wet pink flowers 🙂

      • The frangipanis look beautiful with raindrops.

  44. Those donuts look great! 😀

    • They were certainly very colourful!

  45. This looks more colorful than the shots shown from Gabba!

    • We live very close to the Gabba. I guess it depends where the cameras are pointing.

  46. Reblogged this on and commented:
    Great pics of Brisbane

    • Thank you for doing that. I love to share my city with the world.

  47. Thanks for the lovely images of home!

    • Brisbane is a great city!

  48. Congratulations on being freshly pressed Debra. Lovely photos and a great post! And Happy Australia Day for yesterday!

    • Thank you! Brisbane is looking good.

  49. Lovely photographs. What I would do for some summer weather right about now. At least I had your photos to remind me of my favorite season.

    • I will be heading back to Italy soon for some winter. I love that too.

  50. Reblogged this on Mrs. O Around the World_____ not just another travel blog.

    • Thank you for that. It is good to share Brisbane with the world.

  51. Not a city I would ever have thought to visit but it sure looks attractive here. I gather you’ve had floods again- hope everyone’s ok? Was watching Rafa and Roger in the tennis so enjoyed the fireworks with you guys.

    • Brisbane is a beautiful city. There has been a bit of flooding, but nothing like last year. Thank you for your concern.

  52. […] Some Brisbane colour for Australia Day (bagnidilucca.wordpress.com) […]

    • I hope that is a Curly Flat pinot noir!!! My sister makes superb wine at her vineyard in Victoria. Look for Curly Flat on your travels.

  53. […] Some Brisbane colour for Australia Day (bagnidilucca.wordpress.com) […]

  54. Reblogged this on marilynwdotcom.

    • Thanks for the reblog! Brisbane is a beautiful city.

  55. What kind of camera what that???? Great stuff.

    • I use a Canon G12 and I love it!

  56. Even though they were yellow and green donuts I’d still yam them down. The church windows were bloody awesome too!, lastly but not least that clock tower looks like the one out of ‘back to the future’. Nice photo’s happy belated Australia day!

    • I’m not sure that donuts are good for dogs.

  57. Greetings from India…

    • I think 26th January is an important day for India too.

  58. Belated Happy Australia Day! It certainly was nice to see some blue sky and sunshine yesterday especially when it is back to bleak today. Great photos, so vibrant and colourful – you make Brisbane look awesome.

    • If you look at the photos you can see that there were blue skies, but then the clouds rolled in.

  59. Happy Australia Day for yesterday and congrats on the Freshly Pressed 😀 I’m from Inner west Brissie and I try to avoid the city like the plague but you’ve given me great visual reasons to maybe make the journey back in, one day. At least, when it’s not raining!
    Now, I want donuts…

    • I love the city centre. We live very close and I am there often.

  60. […] Brisbane […]

  61. Thank you for the vibrant photos. Brisbane is where my heart is! I love Brisbane especially in June.

    • Winter in Brisbane is just about perfect.

  62. […] Colors of Brisbane for Australia Day – Kolkkar Blogger […]

  63. Thank you for the beautiful pics. I lived in Brisbane in 1988 while working at World Expo and I loved the city. The city manages to be quaint and cosmopolitan at the same time. I tried to emmigrate to no avail.

    Marisa
    http://www.steppingintothewater.wordpress.com

    • I was a volunteer at Expo 88 and loved every minute of it. I was a fun time to be in Brisbane.

  64. Some great colourful images!!!

    🙂

  65. Those doughnuts look a little bright……but still yummy 🙂

    • Australia’s colours are green and gold. Hopefully those donuts won’t reappear until next Australia Day.

  66. Happy belated Australia Day! Brisbane looks beautiful it is always so fresh and relaxed there, as shown in your photos! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed too! So great!

    • Thank you. Being Freshly Pressed again is great.

  67. What a wonderful post, Australia is a beautiful city, wonderful photos

    • Brisbane is a great city to live in.

  68. the flowers are wonderful

    • The rain has some benefits.

  69. Reblogged this on andrewjmck.

  70. Wow…the Pictures are so colourful!! I love them! My friend was off yesterday, he works for the Australian Embassy so they were celebrating too. We ate sandwiches in celebration…

    • Brisbane is a very colorful modern city.

  71. Thank you for the photos! I live vicariously through images like those you’ve shared.

    • I love sharing my city.

  72. Brisbane looks like such a nice city & I hadn’t ever heard about Australia Day, so I’m glad this has been FP. Congratulations, Aussies! I’ve never been there, but your country holds a lot of appeal for me, so perhaps one day I’ll make that long flight.

    • The flight is long but it is worth it.

  73. Your Photo’s have shown me a little of the City. I look forward to seeing it for myself in two weeks when i visit for a holiday.
    Thanks

    • I hope you have a great time.

  74. Happy Australia Day, friend. I don’t know if it’s appropriate or not, but I keep thinking of this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG48Ftsr3OI

    Have a good one, and cheers!

    • That’s a great song!

  75. Beautiful photos! I was in Caloundra in October, and while I flew into Brisbane I didn’t get to see much of the city. It’s on my list for my next visit to Australia. And Happy Australia Day (a little late)!

    • I hope you get to come back.

  76. Awesome Brisbane pictures! Thank you for sharing!

    …following your blog…

    • I hope you find the blog interesting, thanks for following.

  77. OMG Brisbane! I know a girl from Brisbane, and it looks like such a vibrant, colorful city! Thank you for sharing all those beautiful photos:)

    Btw, is that a canal in your opening picture? Looks like such a homely place, surrounded by greenery!

    • The header picture at the top is of the village of Bagni di Lucca in Italy where we also have a house. I spend 6 months in each place. I am going back there next week. Brisbane is quite a big city and it is on the Brisbane River.

  78. Pretty cool looking city
    kinda reminds me of a mixture between Toronto and Dubai, if that is even possible 😉

    Cheers and congrats on being freshly pressed

    -Ron

    • We have some skyscrapers, but I think Dubai has more and they are higher. I haven’t been to Toronto yet, but my son has, and he really likes it.

  79. Thanks for sharing. I lived and studied in the Brisbane area a few years ago, and I miss it so much. It’s always nice seeing photos of the beautiful CBD. Your pictures are great! I hope you had a wonderful Australia Day.

    • The inner city is very attractive I think. I’m pleased you enjoyed your visit here.

  80. such beautiful photos!! and I really want to eat one or two of those donuts!!

    http://www.LoveandIDo.wordpress.com

    • I wish I could send one to you.

  81. -1′

    • Whatever that means!

  82. Excellent photographs! I love the old architecture mixed with the new skyscrapers…

    • We still have a few old buildings left, but not many.

  83. Congratulations dear Debra, being on Freshly Press… Have a nice weekend, with my love, nia

    • Thank you Nia. We just need a little bit of blue sky.

  84. Hehe… feels funny to see the city I live in being freshly pressed and view by thousands around the world 🙂

    Congrats.

    • I think it is great that Brisbane has had a audience from all over the world. I love my city.

  85. I live in Brisbane and your photos are amazing!! Credit to you, wonderful work!

    • Thank you! Brisbane is a great place to live.

  86. Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous photos! I’m an Aussie currently living in Japan and loving it! Your lovely pictures made me miss Brisbane, and Australia as a whole. 🙂

    • Thank you for visiting. I love my life in Italy, but I miss Brisbane and Australia when I am away.

  87. hello, there,

    wow, huge structures and humble yet bursting plants… i love your play of lights on the series. thanks for sharing. 🙂

    • Thank you for visiting Bagni di Lucca and beyond.

  88. great blog!!! love the pic of the doughnuts. ^_^

    http://travellersdiningdepot.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/welcoming-the-year-of-the-water-dragon/

    • They were certainly very colourful donuts.

  89. I live in Sydney and had the chance to go to Brisbane last December and for sure we’ll visit this city more in the next days to come because my long time friend from the Philippines just migrated to Australia and lives now in Brisbane. Great pictures!!

    • I hope you have a great time in Brisbane.

  90. Some nice angles and compositions. Great to see Brisbane through some one else’s camera. Thanks!

    • I think Brisbane looks great!

  91. What beautiful pictures! Xoxx

    lavenderdaffodils.wordpress.com

    • Thank you! I think Brisbane has some great stuff.

  92. Lovely photos! I just want to eat one of those brightly colored donuts…LOL

    • They certainly look colourful.

  93. Great photos! I was working in the building in photos 2,3,4 when I was over in Brisbane last year. You brought back some good memories. Thanks!

    • I hope it is as colourful on the inside.

  94. Soo beautiful!
    I felt I was there!
    Please check my blog of art at loniduekart.wordpress.com
    and my photos at menotspeakenglish.wordpress.com
    😉

  95. I really like this post. Those of you who want a daily dose of literature and everything in between, come check out my blog @ http://thedailydoseofliterature.wordpress.com/

  96. I used to live in this city for 1 1/2 years, your photos reminded me of how colorful the city can be. Great to see Brisbane bouncing back like nothing has happened to it especially after the terrible flooding few years back

    • The devastating floods were last year in January. The city centre is great, but there are still some homes that are not ready to be lived in and there is still work to be done in some areas.

  97. Ah, Brisbane is a truly beautiful city, great to see it bounce back from the floods of ’11.

    • Things are looking good. It is difficult to believe it was a whole year ago that we were underwater. A house we own went 1.8 metres under, so we know first hand what damage water can do.

  98. Ah my old home town. I only get back once a year now and I find I don’t know my way around like I used to. Half of thoe buildings weren’t there 10 years ago! Great shots, I can feel the heat from here:)

    • All you would feel now is wet. It is time for the rain to stop.

      • I’m old enough to have lived through the 74 floods. We lived on the river so our place was among the first to go. I followed last years on the ABC website but this time the house we loved in then merely got its feet wet. Although it was much less severe it was still as devastating. We got all nostalgic after reading this and have booked a trip back to SEQ for a fortnight:) Thanks for the gentle jab.

      • If you are interested, I wrote several posts about last year’s flood and the mess it made of our house and the amazing clean up. Look in the archives for January 2011.

  99. I miss Australia!

    • It is a great place to live.

  100. Well somebody is kind enough to visit the church on Australia Day XD

  101. I sometimes get down-under to Brissie on business, but have never seen those colourful buildings. Thanks for sharing. I love the street art in Brisbane. The giant pencils are a favourite. Doughnuts looked a bit dodgy though… 😉

    • I like the kangaroos in George St.

  102. I’m moving to Brisbane on Feb 15 – cant wait!

    • I hope you like our city.

  103. Your post has turned my malcontent Monday into a magnificent day! Love how even with cold, grey skies Brisbane still looks cheery and welcoming. Australia captured my heart when I was only five and though I haven’t had the privilege to visit yet, the day is quickly approaching. Thanks for posting this and for the boost!

  104. Totally fab photos of my home town. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    • Brisbane is looking good – and we have some sunshine today – excellent!

  105. […] our eyes. Our temporary hometown was too stimulating, too much. Twelve years later and far from Brisbane, we’d do anything to hold on to that […]

  106. […] Some Brisbane colour for Australia Day « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond. […]

  107. Haha I went around Brisbane the other day taking photos and got some of the same things you did, I guess great minds think alike.

    • I’m sure that is very true.

  108. Great array of colors, these pictures look great!

    • Brisbane is a modern, colourful city. I love living there.

  109. […] first Freshly Pressed post was about my home town of Brisbane for a post I did for Australia Day on 25th January. It was my most popular post of the […]


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