Picture Perfect

"I've never seen the sky so blue. The birds are singing, I've got nothing to do. Hey-hey, hey-hey. It's just a sunny day." --- Artist Unknown

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to escape the life of the city, escape the mundanes of the suburbs and venture out into the dry and desolate rural areas of South East Queensland. Even more impressive than the fresh air, mountainous surrounds, clear skies and unreachable horizons, is the fact that these parts are still recovering from recent, uncharacteristic flooding that left once thriving farmland as desolate wastelands. Also a contributing factor is the recent Winter frost that has made farming all the more difficult. Yet a land so sad maintains its beauty and grace like nothing else.

Slowly recovering, these picturesque surrounds still manage to take my breath away and have the ability to enable anyone to appreciate what they don't have on their own back porch.

Summer in Winter

Last Wednesday morning was spent at the Eumundi Markets, located within the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands, serving up a perfect mixture of live music, foods as well as a multitude of stalls selling products ranging from fresh fruit and veggies to hand crafted wooden home wares and hammocks.

Soon after we traveled further towards the coast, ending up in Noosa. Although the day was cold and windy, there was no possible way that we could leave without enjoying ice-cream alongside the beach- something considered traditionally as a Summer experience that wouldn't be experienced in Winter, anywhere but Queensland.

Conrad Jupiters

One cannot be expected to enjoy a 'quiet dinner with the girls' without a cocktail or two. Though this one looks somewhat visually enticing, it is highly debatable that it was composed entirely of pure methylated spirits. What's dinner without a show?

Sunrise on a Sunday

Sunday morning I took a few minutes out of my not-so-busy breakfast shift to go out onto the terrace and appreciate the morning's sunrise- a spectacle I rarely get the opportunity to appreciate, especially during Winter.

This particular shot fails to capture the majesty of the sun's rise itself, however, the sky was so clear and blue, while the inner-most depths of the city seemed to be still sleeping beneath as the church steeples, cranes, trees and rooftops slowly came to life.

"Eat, Drink and Be Merry!"

July 4 sent us sailing towards Brisbane's Musgrave Park for the annual Paniyiri Greek Festival. Amongst the thousands there was more than enough food, dancing, singing, drinking and gladness to go around - including a dance off between over sized Xena and Hercules characters.

The dance floor was continuously filled with concentric circles of enthusiastic dances, giving their best for the Zorba, with numbers growing in perfect relation to intoxication.

Musgrave Park's usual bleakness was transformed into a festive wonderland with stalls set up, representing various members of the Greek community within Brisbane, each selling Greek delicacies such as Greek wines, honey puffs, baklava and spanakopita.

Rad in a Stack...

Self explanatory:

All in a Day's Work

A common misconception is one that assumes a day of shopping is a day of ease and relaxation. For some maybe. However, for those who shop, strutting one's entire city on foot, back and forth through every street, lane and alley way, this is no small feat. In fact; quite the contrary.

Wednesday was spent trampling through the busy day time streets of Brisbane City through the buildings of both new and old- reminiscent of a walk through history. Jostling and competing for bargains and anything with a quirk amongst tourist, fellow shoppers and the placid business men and women who seem never to be phased by the goings on of day to day city life.

As curious beings, we tend to follow any small lane way or stair case that may or may not lead us to new discoveries such as the aptly named Curiosities and Cloth. A day shopping is never complete without following something on a whim. Wednesday's whim lead us straight to the Jaguar store, located in Fortitude Valley.