Take a walk past the swimming pools at the Ramada Resort
along the little path
and you arrive at the beach
stretching for miles in each direction
Marcoola Beach at the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.
A Short Getaway
Category Archives: Spaces & Places
Paniyiri
It started in 1976 when a group of Australian Greeks wanted to share their culture with the community ….. and the rest is history!
Paniyiri – Australia’s longest running Greek Festival, famous for its’ food and Hellenic dancing, celebrated its’ 40 year milestone last weekend, and about 60,000 people, including myself, went along to experience everything Greek.
My favourite – barbecued quail
Everyone’s favourite – honeypuffs
Octopus, anyone???
The park turned into a marketplace with more than 30 food stalls, and stages were set up to entertain the crowds with dancing, live music, grape stomping, plate smashing and olive and honeypuff eating contests.
Sideshow alley was bigger and better than ever with lots of stalls and rides.
Our lovely Autumn weather ensured that everyone had a great time
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Happy New Year
Looking forward to a fresh start this year. Not forgetting my New Year’s Resolution of getting back to somewhat regular posts!
So glad to leave behind 2014. It started off so well with moving house but unfortunately ended on a low note with my “other half” being diagnosed with cancer on the back of his tongue. The last hurdle is to get the result of all the treatment in February; I am sure it will be fine as he has had such a positive attitude through the whole process. So proud of him!
Wishing health and happiness to us all.
Whiskey Business – in the business of Macarons
Yesterday, I was absolutely amazed to find a lovely little cafe, Whiskey Business, selling one of my favourite sweet things- macarons – in the suburb where I use to live. This is amazing for two reasons 1) that it was open for 3 months before I moved and I had missed it and 2) my suburb is definitely not what you would call “trendy” so I did not expect to find a cafe full of charming vintage pieces, pretty plants and more importantly, a very impressive display of macarons. I was instantly tempted to eat my way through the showcase there and then!
Now at this point, I have to say that there is still a bit of confusion around about the difference between a “macaron” and a “macaroon”. However there are numerous explanations on line, so I won’t go into that here; suffice to say that I have cooked many a macaroon and even though they are also made with egg white and sugar, the addition of coconut results in a dense texture, so they look and taste nothing like the delicacy of a macaron.
Anyway, I digress …. after drooling over the vast array for several minutes I narrowed my choice down to a very pretty Black Forest macaron joined with chocolate ganache and a Salty Caramel which was equally delicious. And just when I was licking up the last of the crumbs, out came the lovely barista with two more macarons to try for free!
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With flavours like Lemon Curd & White Chocolate, Jelly Bean, Jam Donut and Turkish Delight (to name a few from their vast menu) yet to try, I will definitely be dropping by again soon!
Currumbin Bird Sanctuary
Recently we had a day out at the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary. The weather at this time of the year is hot so what better place to spend the day than in a beautiful rain forest location in Queensland with waterfalls and rock pools, getting up close and personal with our Australian wildlife.
I was as excited as any tourist to see koalas awake and climbing to reach the tender eucalyptus leaves. Usually they sleep during the day. The wild bird show was wonderful, with owls flying low over our heads, eagles swooping for food and parrots flying in on cue.
I loved walking among the kangaroos who were oblivious to people stopping to watch them as they took a nap on the warm stones.
No Australian show would be complete without seeing the snake handler, sheep being shorn and crocodiles being fed. The highlight of the day was as were were eating our lunch, a peacock suddenly emerged from the bush, walked up to our table and with a couple of shakes, opened up its magnificent tail and strutted around as if to say “Look at me – aren’t I beautiful?”…. and he was!!!
