Brisbane eats

Yesterday we caught up with Brisbane family at some great eating places. We started the day with a leisurely breakfast at Anouk on Given Terrace in the very hip and happening Paddington. I enjoyed the privilege of being able to catch up with Matt & Mel while we sampled the great breakfast menu at Anouk (I had Spring whiting omelet with fennel).

Last night, with more storm clouds brewing, we met up with Joel and Imogen at their place to start with before heading out for a night on the town at West End: drinks at the soulful Lock n Load Bistro on Boundary Street and then a wonderful Turkish meal at Caravanserai on Dornoch Terrace. This was a very special night as we don't get to see Joel very often now and meeting the beautiful Imogen for the first time was a great privilege too. They share our love of family, travel, Middle Eastern food, politics and broadcast news (an industry they are both passionate about and doing so well in!!) so we ate and talked and talked while the Brisbane weather grew wilder and more windy as the night progressed. Caravanserai is located in an old, character filled Queenslander and the wind just howled through its open verandah overlooking the river and the night lights of the city. It would have been beautiful on a warm night. We voted it the best middle eastern food we had eaten anywhere.

The rain really settled in today. A drive to Wynnum for fish and chips and a walk along the bay esplanade ended up with us huddling under cover at the Pelican Nest fish & chippery and sticking to a slow drive in the car past the rain soaked Manly Yacht Club and the Wynnum wading pool we all remembered so well from our childhood days in the 50s.

For our last afternoon in Brisbane I met up with my friend Jane in familiar territory at Jetty on Oxford Street at the Bulimba ferry wharf. We enjoyed a relaxed few hours catching up on our news while appreciating our ringside view of the scudding rain on the river and the rolling drama of the storm clouds behind the Tenneriffe Wool Stores as the day drew to a close.