Our Favourite Place For a Short Break

Even though we are fortunate enough to call a part of Australia that truly is paradise, we do like to get away to another part of paradise, a couple of hours south of our home. 

Back in late September, my friend Sam contacted me during the school holidays, inviting the girls and I down to join her and her two children to their holiday house at Mission Beach.  With MrL being away at the time (& Sam's was too at the time), I immediately agreed.  Any excuse. 

Sam's house had been brought down from Cairns and they've slowly been renovating the old Queenslander.  It makes a perfect beach shack.  Located a street back from North Mission Beach, we spent most of our time there, at the beach...

To say the girls had a great time is a bit of an understatement.  As the water was warming up (along with the weather), September really is a great time to visit Mission Beach.  As the stingers hadn't arrived yet (they invade North Queensland waters from November onwards) and this beach is sandy, inviting and the water is rather shallow and deepens the more you walk out, it makes an ideal holiday or relaxation destination.

Sam's holiday house helps too.  It is sooo relaxing, with three bedrooms, bathroom, open plan kitchen - dining and sitting area and NO television.  The house from the outside is nothing to talk about but the plans they have for the future sound fab.  (Open bi-fold doors onto a big balcony from the dining/kitchen.)

I'm looking forward to getting away down there again soon….once those stingers have exited so I can get back in the water along with these two….

…and MrL.  It's not really a holiday or a getaway without my best friend.

A Glimpse of Ellen

I don't know how it happened, but our Melbourne itinerary somehow collided with Ellen DeGeneres when she was in Australia.  The girls and I had a whole day to spare in the city and it just happened to be the day Ellen was making an appearance for her show!  

We had planned a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria but alas, the gallery is closed on a Tuesday (I swear it used to always be closed on a Monday!) so we thought we might head on down to Birrarung Marr, behind Federation Square, to see (if we could) perhaps catch a glimpse, or at least hear the Talk Show Legend.  But when we approached the corner of Federation Square and the Yarra River our hearts slumped.  

The que was unbelievable....  I sent this pic to MrL who was on the other side of Australia, probably with the caption "look at this line!!!"

Thousands of people.

I suggested to the girls we take a seat outside near an outside stage and screen as it was pretty obvious that there was no way we would make it inside the the formal stage where things were going to happen.

The crowd kept building up with a lot of people having the same idea and the formal line being told that the stage area was now closed.

It wasn't too long before the Queen arrived.  There was a big buzz in the air.  And she acknowledged the people who couldn't/didn't get into the main arena.

Can you see her there waving?  And that's her mum across from her and wife Portia climbing the stairs ahead in a pretty red dress.  (She too did turn around and wave - she is a Melbourne girl after all!)

Monet and I were particularly thrilled.  Lily?  Nah.  She had no idea.

After watching a bit of the recording on the big screen ahead of us I was faced with two hungry and restless daughters.

But I soon put a stop to that.

My Ploughman's lunch went down a certain treat and the girls enjoyed their meals too.

A fantastic day.

Melbourne

MrL started a new job, which is interstate.  Since he was going to be absent over the Easter Break, we decided that the girls and I should spend some time in Melbourne City and then go to country Victoria to stay and visit with family.

I pulled Monet out of school for a few days so she began her Easter School Holidays a good four days before the rest of her classmates.  (Lucky her!)  The girls were very excited to be getting back into a plane again and heading to stay in a hotel for a couple of nights, let alone to be seeing their Grandparents and Cousins.  

Melbourne greeted us with beautiful Autumn weather.  

Flinders Street Station

We had a lovely time, strolling around.

And I had two, well, one especially, child/ren get very excited to see outside the art gallery an upcoming exhibition...  But unfortunately for us, the Gallery is closed on a Tuesday.

The girls had great fun touching the huge pane of water glass.  I remember doing this when I was a young girl.

We did a little shopping and I forgot where we were when we hit Myer.  It has changed a lot over the years.

We ate out for the two nights we were there and we all sat and watched the world go by.

The sun setting behind The Rialto

Puppy-arazzi at Federation Square

Tea Rooms in The Block Arcade

We loved our two days, two nights in Melbourne town ; it's been too long since I enjoyed the great city.  And as a bonus we saw Ellen!  But that's another post.

Angry Water

The wet season has hit the tropics in a big way.  It has basically been raining non stop since Saturday, bar a few lovely sunny hours on Sunday.  So the humidity doesn't give up along with the rain.  I am addicted to watching the rain radar on my phone...  The screen has been seeing a load of green with flecks of orange. 

Back at the start of September I had taken my parents up to see Barron Falls, not far up the road (about a 25 drive away).   This is what the Falls look like during most of the Dry Season.

Then the other week when the girls and I hit the Kuranda train, which stops at Barron Falls, I didn't even really bother to take a photo of the falls.  More like a little trickle.

Hard to believe that was only a few short weeks ago.

This was the Barron Falls today...

 As soon as the girls and I stepped out of the car in the carpark you could hear the mighty roar.  I couldn't wait to see the water!

Spectacular.  I have never witnessed the Falls like that as I have never driven up during 'the Wet' to see them.  Worth the drive up, that was for sure.

A Must

A few weeks back MrL took a well deserved break from work and headed down to our home state of Victoria for 4 nights.  It had been close to three years since he had been to see family and friends and so it was a must.  

Monet was on her last few days of school holidays so we went to the cinema to see 'Tinkerbell' which Lily just adored, ate McDonald's, had a picnic party on a rug in the lounge room, had toasted sandwiches for dinner and went shopping along other things.  One thing we did too was drive up to Port Douglas for lunch.  

Both girls insisted on an ice cream from a certain ice cream parlour we hadn't had one from ever.  They certainly won't be our last ice creams from there either - ohh they were delicious and thoroughly enjoyed to say the least.   Can't you tell?

After a walk up and down the main drag and browsing in a few stores, we settled on the Central Pub for lunch.  It ended up being a wise choice as it was enjoyed by the three of us.  I indulged in a serving of Barramundi Spring Rolls with a mandatory schooner of XXXX Gold.

Monet surprised me with her choice for lunch; steamed veggies served with a dollop of mash.  It made a nice change from chicken nuggets and chips which was Miss Lily's typical choice.

No visit (ever) is complete to Port Douglas without visiting The Point.  We always end up there, with good reason - it is picturesque, even if it had been raining on and off.

And there is a playground.  In the girl's book, it is therefore a must to visit.

Tropical Gardens

On the spur of the moment, whilst driving past the Flecker Botanical Gardens, I pulled into a car park so we could go for a wander around the tropical gardens.  It is truly gorgeous in there with so many tropical plants.  It is soooo green and lush and magical with little paths leading here and there and trying to spot (and unsuccessfully trying to photograph) Ulysses butterflies.  

Since we left Cairns in 2008, there has been built a new fan dangled visitor centre and cafe, located just outside the Gardens themselves.  I remember reading that a lot of people were disappointed with the final building which is totally mirrored on the sides, due to the number of 'kamikaze' birds.  I can see now what they mean, but I like the way it reflects all the colours around it.  

And they make a mean milkshake in the cafe.

If you ever find yourself in Cairns I do highly recommend a visit to the Gardens, especially if you are not from the tropics.

The girls entertained themselves for a good twenty minutes on the storm water drain cover.

There are so many species of plants and trees located in the garden of all shapes and sizes.

Lily was thrilled when she collected a handful of seed pods.

Monet got a bit paranoid when I kept pointing out these wonderful Golden Orb spider webs dotted through out the gardens so when a leaf fell on her head she would've sworn it was a spider.  (Poor girl!)

I love the flower below.  It had 'colour blocking' all sorted before it became a fashion trend.  How lovely is the pink and orange together in the same flower?

Only a handful of days left in the school holidays up here in Queensland.  Not sure what we will get up to tomorrow but I know that Lily and I will return to these Gardens again down the track...