April 1
You know how some mornings on vacation seem to drag on because you can take everything slowly and just enjoy the cool morning sun? Well that is what we did. We just sat on the back deck overlooking the tropical garden, having some breakfast and listening to the birds.
Just after noon we left for Moreton Bay, which is the bay Brisbane is close to. The bay is known for the shellfish (Google Moreton Bay Bug for a weird shellfish) and some very unique species that is only found in this bay. We didn't see any of that, since we just walked the boardwalk but we did see a different kind of cockatoo. The sun was nice and strong and we had a nice sea breeze. How perfect was that? No trip to Moreton Bay would be complete without a feed of fish and chips, so we did.
On the way back into the city we stopped for some supplies at the grocery store since I had some baking to do for Easter. Baking in ones kitchen (especially our kitchen) is always easier beacuse of our tools but with a little creativity we did okay in Angela's. I made some biscuits (scones here, since biscuits mean cookies). Then with the help of everyone, I made 3 chocolate cakes. Monique loves my chocolate cake and has waited over 3 years to try it again.
April 2
Good-Friday. Another beautiful day and we start out by mid morning to drive up to Mt. Cootha lookout to have a great view of the city. There sure is a great view, as the pictures show and not to mention the "iced coffees/chocolates". We spent most of the early afternoon up in these hills.
We arrive home in time to get dinner going since we have guests coming over. Monique and Greg design and set the outdoor table and Angela makes the salads and gets the salmon ready and my steak (yes, MEAT on Good Friday). I put the cake together. By mid afternoon, Becca and Donna arrive. We had met them when they visited Fredericton to see Angela and Monique. We spend the rest of the day eating and laughing and getting caught up. About 7:00 or so, another two friends of Angela's drop over from some cake. It was a great evening listening to the Aussie's talk.
Becca, Donna and us in Angela's garden
The 3 year wait is over!
The Panoramic view
The pre Easter pose
April 3
We make a pretty early start (well 10:00) for the Saturday, Farmers Market. You would not believe how much wonderful fruits and veggies are here and how cheap! I swear we Canadians sure get the big rip when it comes to fresh fruits and vegies! It would be so great if we could have this kind of access. We spent about 3 1/2 hours here. Along with filling our little cart with fresh everything, including a wonderful Turkish bread, we did some purchasing of silk, too. We had brunch here as well, Japanese Pancakes, which is kind of like a cabbage and rice flour thing. Not sure how it was all made but it was tasty and filling. The market has many things to sample for free so one doesn't even need to purchase anything to get filled up.
After the market we head off to the mall, or "shopping centre" as they call it, to check out where Monique works. We spend a few hours just walking around and checking prices out.
The rest of the day we just go back to the house and relax. For some reason we are all tired and just have enough energy to watch the tv.
The market
April 4 - Easter
Another wonderful fall morning (22 or so). The Easter Bilbie (bunny) finds us and we enjoy "a bit" of chocolate while we are BBQing bacon and eggs. We have a tasty breakfast and head off on a hour or so drive south to Tamborine Mountain Park area. The area is beautiful with great views everywhere and lots of little shops and galleries. The mountain is also full with folks enjoying one last bit of fun before the holidays are over and winter comes. We kind of laugh because they have no idea what winter really is since the day time highs in their winter are pretty much what much our summer is. We head down a trail to Witch Falls. It's a nice 3km walk to a water falls and lookout. The palm forest is kind of dark and witchy looking. It was a refreshing walk.
After our return back to the car, Angela wants to take us to this little Polish cafe which has a great view and a number of birds. The view is pretty amazing! They have Rainbow Lorikeets all over the trees and for those who don't know, soon things are about to happen. We have no idea if it is a certain time or what triggers this but for the first 25 minutes all the guests are on the deck eating/drinking and just looking out over the valley below with great peace. At this moment, all you heard were the quiet chirps of the birds and people whispering. Are you feeling the calmness? Then in a flash, there are Lorikeets everywhere and they are attacking the sugar packets on the tables. It is almost like we are being attacked, too. If you had a fear of birds this would be your death! One time, we must have had over 15 birds on our table alone. We begin putting sugar in our hands and they are everywhere. They were even drinking out of the coffee cups and glasses of water. One even licked the cream off the side of Greg's coffee mug and another, was inside a glass trying for the water at the bottom of the glass. For a few minutes, vibrant coloured birds were flying everywhere, walking on the tables, squawking and people running to see this and grabbing cameras. What a crazy time this was!
Easter breakfast
The new car
Soon it was time to head back down the mountain and the hour drive back into Brisbane.
Angela did have a roast for dinner in the fridge to cook but we were hungry and tired so we decided to just go out for Thai food which is only a 5 minute walk from the house. Let's just say we are glad we don't have a restaurant like this so close or we would be there all the time. The food was DELICIOUS! I'm sure we will be back there before we leave Brisbane for our final time. Tomorrow, we are on a 5 1/2 hour flight to see friends in Perth for a week. Thanks again to our very good friend, Jeremy, who is a pilot with Virgin Blue, we got some great reduced rates on this and a couple other remaining flights while in Australia. Nice to have friend's in high places. Thanks, Jeremy!
In closing you know how we like to have fun, as is evident with this blog. Well for our readers who have followed this blog all the way through we figured we could have some fun with a little game. For the rest of the time we are in Australia every once in awhile we will put a clue in our blog that will eventually ask a question. It could be a highlighted word, it may even be a question that you have to answer. It even may get you Googling something or put the questions' words in the correct order. It will for sure teach you a bit about Australia. The first person to send us the full question followed by the answer will win the prize. We will bring it home for you. Stay alert because we may try to trick you a bit. Don't share your answers with anyone because they might get the complete answer before you do.
An example of a question could be " What furry little creature only eats a certain type of eucalyptus leaf?" Then we may ask you to take the last letter of the answer and use it as the first word of the question. The Answer is Koala. So if you take the last letter your question will begin with "A" . Good luck, since the game has begun!
Francis, where do we send the answers to your clues, I'm sure not your work email address??
ReplyDeleteLisa,UNB
I love looking at all your pics, beautiful!