Return to Oz - Culture and Food

Instead of gaining more pounds, Mike and I thought we’d increase our brain power with a bit of culture and history. So Sunday we decide to go to the Queensland Museum, The Queensland Art Gallery and to the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA).

It was a drizzly, damp grey day and a few of Aussies asked “are you not cold?” “Why would you come out on a day like this?” we explained that we’re British and if drizzle scared us we’d never go out!

Queensland Museum is a free attraction and it seemed that all parents within a 25 mile radius were going to make the most of this!! A few times, kids would point stare and ask “is she/it a handicap?” I’ve found and decided I don’t like this word; handicap is one above all that I cannot stand, it makes me cringe!

Anyway once I stopped being an exhibit all on my own, we wandered round the marine, dinosaur and nature sections; lots of cabinets full of creepy crawlies, stuffed animals and life size replicas of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops heads.

Turtle

Dinosaurs 

There were also exhibits on the 2011 floods, the rights of aboriginal culture and history of Queensland and its people. Although I loved the museum and what was on show; the lay out was very disjointed and in my option badly planned.

After a couple of hours we’d seen all on show and I think Mike had, had enough of all the children we almost ran over, so after a quick lunch we moved on to The Queensland Art Gallery and Goma.

I personally know very little about art/artists but it doesn’t stop me appreciating it. I loved both galleries, but The Queensland Art Gallery appealed more. I found some of the modern art in Goma odd and not very artistic, but as I say - each to their own and I’m personally a self confessed old school art fan, the older the better.

Modern Art

Glass Art

There is currently an exhibition dedicated to Australian Art – 6 rooms in fact showing pieces from “European occupation of the continent to the 1970s”  - my favourite in the main gallery and a collection of work from Queensland High School/College/University students was my favourite in GOMA.

Old School Art

After filling up on Art and History we needed to continue our food tour lol! We were meeting with Mike’s University friends Jenna and Brian (you may remember this!) who in the year since I last saw them have; got married, toured New Zealand on their Honeymoon, bought a dog, and had a house custom built – they’re like a poster ad for emigrating!

Last year Mike and I went out to unsuccessfully find a Mexican restaurant he had visited with his colleagues, well.... we finally found the said restaurant in Fortitude Valley – Monrezuma’s.

We sat in the outdoor restaurant so I didn’t really see inside, but the menu was comfort food, you know the type, carb loaded, rice filled and cheese covered! I opted for the taco’s, the only dish set not accompanied with potato’s or rice. I was amazed only getting through 1 ½ of them – stomach isn’t the cavern - I thought it may have become!

L x