Hanging Out With Justine
Our daughter, Justine came for a visit in November 2015. Isn’t the visit of a son or daughter the best?! There is an ease with families that comes from long familiarity. When our son came here in 2014, he wanted to see everything. Our daughter, on the other hand, was happy to just hang out – visit the local cafes – and get familiar with our world – so relaxing and comfortable.
Justine
Justine too cute
Our favorite activity was to go for breakfast or coffee – or just coffee! French Twist is just around the corner from where we live and it is my favorite place to go! On Oxford Street, Justine and I discovered a new favorite – Double Shot at Riverbend Bookstore.
Breakfast at French Twist
-
- Diane’s Parissienne breakfast
-
- Double Shot, Riverbend Bookstore
-
- Bookstore breakfast
-
- Coffee
-
- Breakfast at Double Shot
-
- Justine’s French Twist Breakfast
Aside from coffee, we enjoyed some great meals together at home. I made a classic favorite Australian main of pork roast with cracklin.’ Actually, pork belly with crackling tops my leader board.
Australians also really enjoy seafood. Fish and chips is a given, but Moreton Bay Bug is a treat. Justine tried some when we went to George’s Paragon Restaurant.
We also went out for dinner at a local favorite – Marinara
Justine didn’t like traveling long distances, so we tried to stay closer to home. Here we are at the Bulimba Festival, right in our backyard. It was a cute throwback to Justine’s childhood to have her dad buy her some “fairy floss” as they call it here.
Bulimba Festival
-
- Dad buys Justine some fairy floss
-
- Ymm
Brisbane Powerhouse Arts Centre
Now for something a little more sophisticated. We decided to go out to a show at the Powerhouse Theatre. A well known comedian looked like a safe bet. We checked out some clips online just to make sure that we were not in for excessive profanity – seemed good. Later, we would remark that they would have had to work very hard to find a few minutes of clean humor. Bad Hughsey!
The Powerhouse Theatre is a few ferry stops upriver and is a cool place to go out to a show.
Pensive waiting. I know what I can do…
Out and About
Shopping
Of course, girls gotta shop. Justine really wanted to get a picture of the Chanel store. So, here I am. Justine didn’t want to pose.
Lovely walks along the river
Pelican Cove
One of the things that Justine wanted to see was pelicans. Well, pelicans are quite numerous here and I knew just the place to get an up close look. Off to Pelican Cove.
Just about 10:00 am and the birds are hanging around because they know what is coming.
Feeding Time – they don’t really get fed enough to survive on. They feed them as part of a maintenance program so that they can check the birds for injuries.
Okay – time to head back into the water – until tomorrow…
Sandgate
We head out to Sandgate for a walk along the ocean and some seafood. A good sized portion of tender Calamari is $6! While Sandgate is not really a sandy beach location it is a prime location for Kite Surfing, due to the consistent winds and wide shallow foreshore.
BeeGees
Okay. I’m a fan – maybe not Justine, but she let us take her to the BeeGee’s Way in Redcliffe. We also wanted to visit the Sunday market there too. Anyway, I finally got my chance to sing with the BeeGees.
City Hall – Clock Tower and Museum
City Hall in the CBD is a great place to visit. Among other activities, you can go up to the top of the clock tower, for a short, but interesting tour and a bird’s eye view over the city, and then to the also free museum. I really like this small museum because it has a great history of Brisbane.
-
- Brisbane City Hall Clock Tower
Too funny…
“In a warm climate like this, few things are more conducive to a sound state of health than regular bathing. Independently of the actual purification so necessary to the skin, the bath has an invigorating effect upon the whole system, most delightful and refreshing after the lassitude produced by a hot summer day. Every evening, during the summer, at least, the bath should be taken in these latitudes. But bathing in the river Brisbane is prohibited at present, and would be absolute madness, in consequence of the number of sharks in the river.” The Moreton Bay Courier, Saturday 6th January 1849
“Ordinances have been approved by the Brisbane City Council to regulate bathing, and the follow directions should be carefully noted: – All persons over four years of age bathing in any water exposed to the public view other than baths, shall be clad in: – A two-piece standard costume, or A Canadian two-piece costume, or A University one-piece costume, and, if this costume is of cotton manufacture, a V must be worn underneath by males of 14 years and over.” 1927-28 Brisbane City Council
Australia Zoo
I am doing a separate post on the Australia Zoo, but we did take Justine there, and here are a few pictures to represent.
Justine’s favorite was probably the Kangaroos.
Yandina Ginger Factory and Nutworks
Before Justine heads back to Canada, we try to get her out for one last road trip. She wasn’t keen on the long drive (~1 hour) but here we are, trying to visit one more tourist attraction. We goofed around at the Ginger Factory in Yandina and Nutworks, across the street. Bruderheim Ginger is a real factory where much of the ginger that we buy in shops here, comes from this factory and the ginger is grown locally. The Ginger Factory is well set up for tourists, with shops and restaurants, a train and a small rainforest.
Yandina Ginger Factory
Bromeliads are interesting plants, treasured by many. This is commonly grown in this particular region as the climate is perfect for it. Although special Broms would fetch much higher prices in the city, here it seems as if almost every home with a garden has extra Broms to sell for about $5 each.
Bromeliads are related to the pineapple family. Their thick, waxy leaves form a bowl shape in the centre for catching rainwater. Some bromeliads can hold several gallons of water and are miniature ecosystems in themselves providing homes for several creatures including frogs and their tadpoles, salamanders, snails, beetles and mosquito larvae. Those that die decompose and furnish the plant with nutrients. One bromeliad was found to contain several small beetles, crane flies, earwigs, a frog, a cockroach, spiders, fly larvae, a millipede, a scorpion, woodlice and an earthworm!
Yandina Ginger Factory – Bromeliad
Bromeliad
It doesn’t matter if your daughter is 3 or over 30, dads can’t resist goofing off a little with their daughters. Too cute!
Sadly, the end of our daughter’s visit draws to a close. Time for her to leave and we all swallow tears at the airport.
Two Canadians in Australia 
Thanks, Sharon. Justine talked to him every single day while she was here.
LikeLike