Brisbane, Australia

Yves and I went to Brisbane a couple of times and spent quite a lot of that time at Southbank Parklands. The parklands are located on the side of the Brisbane River, overlooking the CBD. It was originally the site of the World Expo 1988, and after this it was transformed into a beautiful public park. A new feature of the parklands is the bouganvillia walk, which winds its way through past the man-made beach and restaurants. This walk provides much needed shade during the heat of the day and its bright purple flowers are a great contrast against the green grass and the blue skies.

Sweet scented frangiapani trees line the boardwalk around the river-side of the parklands. Behind them is a row of restaurants cooking up a storm, their tables outside overlooking the city centre.`Southbank's beach looks out onto the River, and has plenty of soft, white sand to sunbake on. We only have pictures of it at night, but by day it is also stunning.