Weekend Colors

These are some random shots of things that caught my eye over the weekend at the Royal Easte Show in Sydney. I admit I could have taken these shots at better angles but there were just too many people mulling about that I didnt have time to be a perfectionist.

Woolworths shelf showcasing fresh produce

Brightly colored mini pack potato crisps

Jackets galore

cheryl

Our Short Weekend in Brisbane - Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast

We had a great time at the Gold Coast. Even though it wasn't the best of times to be on a holiday what with the rain and flooding in some areas of Brisbane plus the fact that we were both not well, we still had a wonderful time. This blog post will have quite a significant amount of photos so you have been warned :)

We rented a car to get us to the Gold Coast from the airport. We got an Audi and Alex was over the moon for it. We had an Audi A6 for our wedding car so this car brought back symbolic memories.

Ours for the day Audi A3

The ecstatic driver

I hate round vents! How is this an accepted aesthetic? It looks like a growth sticking out in the middle of the dashboard!

Dash controls of the car

We stayed at the Holiday Inn at Surfers Paradise. It was a nice hotel with a modern touch to its decor, located just down the street from the beach. It’s also a very short stroll to a shopping center and the Surfers Paradise Promenade. Plenty of cafes, restaurants, bars and even a Starbucks within walking distance! I mention Starbucks in particular because all but 23 Starbucks outlets are closed in Australia and I love my Starbucks. Can you imagine having only 23 outlets in the entire country! And none in Canberra too! Horrendous! Anyway, I digress. Right across the hotel is a mini theme park offering bungee jumps, sky shots, 360 degree rides and a mini golf course. The hotel has all the usual facilities, swimming pools including a heated spa, a gym, tennis court and a relaxation centre. So yes, you won’t be for want of activities while staying at the Holiday Inn.

Entrance to Holiday Inn - Surfers Paradise

Giant yellow modern artwork adorning the walls of the ground floor stairway

Minimalistic hotel lobby - Interesting red lip shaped sofas

Sirocco - formal dining restaurant

Our room

Simplistic theme continues in the room

Kinky shower with peekaboo window to the room

Our seafacing balcony gave us great views of the beach

Hotels lining the Gold Coast Highway with the beach on the other side

More views from the balcony

A shopping centre a mere 5 minute walk away from the hotel

The mini theme park across the street

The mini theme park all lit up at night - pretty eh?

We took beach strolls had a typical beach cafe lunch too. There are a couple of cafes lining the beach with some opened early - offering simple buffet breakfasts. We chose to have our lunch at Montmartre by the Sea.

Walkway to the beach

Blue bottle jellyfish washed ashore - this delivers a very bad sting... see this anywhere near you, jump out of the water immediately!

Random shot of beach users

The waves looked scary

Buildings lining the beachfront

The world before me....

Surfers Paradise archway

Surfers Paradise Promenade

Promenade in the evening

We spotted rookie lifesavers in training

Lifeguard post

Ala Baywatch, Bondi Rescue..

Wave crashing... the volume and height makes me nervous

Shadows in the sand

Super hubby making a second appearance :) His first appearance was here

One of the many cafes by the sea

Fish & Chips - typical beach fare

Iced Chocolate

If you are looking for a bigger shopping centre, the Pacific Fair is just a 2.5km drive away. It has all the usual retail outlets and cinemas.

I liked the frames lining the roof of the mall, Pacific Fair

Beautiful stained glass in between the frames

There was a fashion show showcasing winter wear when I was at the mall. I took some shots. Inspiration for a closet change maybe?

The next day we headed to the city, our first stop being South Bank. There we spotted the Brisbane Eye! I did not realise Brisbane had one. It was just too bad that the weather was cloudy and rainy. Gray skies do not make good shots.

It was raining when we took this shot on the bridge

South Bank with the Brisbane Eye

We then headed Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall. This is Brisbane’s premier shopping destination a usual haunt for tourists and locals alike. Alex and I were strolling down the walk when we bumped into some old friends. Boon and Sarah! It was just the day before that I mentioned to Alex that we could bump into these friends and true enough, we did so the very next day! I was so caught up with catching up with Boon and Sarah that I completely forgot to have a picture taken with them. Sigh..

Queen Street Mall

Our trip although short, although rainy and although shadowed by ill health, was a really good one. Being able to go on short holidays in a moment’s notice is a luxury we treasure. Once little Cheryl’s and little Alex’s come along, holidays like these would be few and far between.

cheryl

First Sickie

I nearly made it a full year without falling sick. Nearly. Its been 10 months 16 days since I packed my suitcases, leaving Malaysia for Australia and just when I thought I could get away with being healthy for a year.... I fell sick. It happened at the best of times too, the night before we were to fly to the Gold Coast! Grr......#$%*@!

I could blame the sickness on the flu vaccination I took a week ago or I could blame it on a colleague at work (the hospital is a bug playground no?). I got the full on sicky - sore throat, body ache, fever, general weakness, loss of appetite and etc.

Today I went to see my first doctor in Australia and got the usual antibiotics for it. I'm glad I got my Medicare card a month ago. Medicare is an Australian Goverment health program. The card came in handy for this consultation. Without it I would have had to pay consultation fees and extra for my medication. Hurrah for great timing!

Oh and Alex has a stiff neck too. The stories we could tell you about our eventful weekend... whooh! Quite ridiculous really. But that will be a story for another time.

For now I am going to enjoy my day off work, rest and hopefully recover before this weekend.


cheryl

Going on Another Journey

We are going to the Gold Coast tomorrow! Whheee! Happy, happy, happy...

I'm always happy to make a getaway from Canberra even if its just over the weekend. A little change every now and then is a good thing. A little surprise every now and then is also a very good thing! :)

Alex organised this trip way before and actually kept it a secret from me up till 4 days ago when he dropped the bombshell. I can't believe my man actually managed to keep something from me for once!

Our flight out of Canberra is at 620am tomorrow morning so its rise and shine at 5am. THAT I'm not looking forward to.

Will be back with posts about our short getaway when we return. Have a great weekend everyone!

cheryl

The Stuff That Keeps Us Going

Of late, Alex and I have been eating rather oily and unhealthy foods. I guess we got carried away with all the eating we did on our honeymoon trip and it just continued even though we have been back in Australia for 2 months now. This has resulted in us feeling really 'heaty'.

What is 'heaty'? Well, for my non Chinese readers, I shall attempt to explain 'heaty' here.

Heaty is often used to explain away these symptoms; dark yellow urine, pimples, constipation, nose bleeds, fever and feelings of irritability. If you have either one or a combination of these symptoms coupled with the fact that you know you haven't been drinking enough water or eating right lately, then we can safely say to you, " You are heaty"

This heaty explanation of ones well being is very much part of the culture of Chinese people in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. The Chinese people are known to have plenty of traditional remedies to treat ailments of every kind. Often these remedies involve the use of herbs, roots and leaves.

I recently bought one such remedy from Sydney after anticipating that Alex and I would need it in our pantry. I remember having to drink this when I was younger whenever I was 'heaty'. It does work and I was happy to be able to get my hands on this.


The above are the ends of ginseng roots boiled in water and it is the water that we drink to reduce heatiness. The ends of the ginseng roots only cost a small fraction of the price of ginseng. This pot was boiled for 45 minutes before it was taken off the heat. A little salt was then added to the liquid to make the drink more palatable - it is VERY bitter. I suppose things that taste bad are usually very good for you, i.e cough syrup, cod liver oil, vegetables :)

As a child I learnt about this drink from mom and I can now make my future kids drink this too :)


cheryl