While I have lived in big cities before, I have never "lived" in a city. I have always been on the edge - pretty much suburbia. The last few days in the Central Business District of Brisbane has been interesting.
I never pictured a downtown area in the US with many non-business people. Of course, I have also never spent a lot of time in big city "downtowns". Here, the CBD is lively with families and shoppers from when the stores open until closing time at 5 pm or so. It reminds me of going to a festival that only occurs on a weekend and happens to be in a downtown precinct. Or maybe a better description is just the local US mall only outdoors. It is even busier on the weekends and as the day grows long (especially on the weekends), the more eclectic the outfits.
This last weekend was Palm Sunday. There were several areas for kids to meet and greet not only the EB (Easter Bunny) but other spring time (I guess - fall time here) characters. There were balloon animal creators, story tellers and several street performers. There was a flea market in one of the plazas, a rally for nuclear disarmament and of course the regular South Bank craft vendors. And it continues this week. Street performers from jazz bands to tap dancers are all up an down the Queen Street area and a rally / fund raiser for autistic children yesterday.
Today was appliance shopping day and I haven't been able to spend much time in the area. I guess I'll head downstairs to sit in one of the cafes, have a glass of wine and read a book. Well - after I check out the new part of the mall that just opened. :)
I could get used to this.
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