Hen's Day Out.

Girls are like phones. We love to be held, talked too but if you press the wrong button you'll be disconnected! I am battling a bit of a wog, probably thanks to Liddy who likes to share, but nothing irks me more than letting a little thing like a cold spoil my fun ~ so we went into Brisbane as planned; just Siano & I. Ditz opted to stay at home & this was probably a good thing. One way & another we didn't leave as early as we'd hoped so had a slight change of plans & opted for Siano's old stomping grounds out Toowong way.


As anything to do with Brisbane necessitates negotiating a rat's maze of unmarked streets I venture into the city only when I have no other choice. I do not like cities. I dislike cities so much I opt to live on an island but as Siano pointed out Brisbane has pockets I would like very much indeed given the opportunity to investigate them though these areas tend to encompass the sort of environment I can have without the city drawbacks. Being driven round by someone who actually knows what they're doing & has some sort of internal refedex regarding the relationships of suburbs to each other certainly helps. Old helps too. Old & a little tatty around the edges. Old & green. Which is one reason we began out Mt~Cootha way driving into the grounds of Stuartholme College, which sits on top of a hill & backs onto the botanical gardens. It was founded in 1920 by religious of The Sacred Heart with just 5 students & is a rather imposing edifice. Fantastic views from the grounds of Brisbane.

However having got so far we were absolutely ravenous & in desperate need of sustenance so Siano dragged me off to the perfect place to eat: MaryRyan's fine books & coffee. The coffee & eats is out the back. We chose the terraced verandahs which was just extraordinarily pleasant, thumbing through the catalogue discussing books while consuming salad & Italian dressing before heading back inside to sample the books. If I were a coffee table book sort this might have beguiled me. I holidayed quite a bit on the Pittwater as a child as my folks were *boaties* & I remember the old Pittwater, which was isolated & stunningly beautiful & a little quirky. However with limited money one is forced to choose wisely. Very wisely. And coffee table books are not something to waste money on. This & this I will order through the library. Probably not worth my money but at least worth a cursory look. I see Rude People wasn't available to have a look at but probably worth a library order too. I spotted something for Ditz too. Reminded me of the Lemony Snickett books & at some point I think we will round this one up & read it. Yes, I came away with something but I went for an author I know is excellent value for money & whose books have never disappointed: Tracy Chevallier's latest offering Remarkable Creatures. I adored Girl with a Pearl Ear~ring, The Lady & the Unicorn & Virgin Blue. Others I have not found so intrinsically interesting but still very readable & I have my eye on a long, long year of rehearsals with Ditz.And then this sign!!!! I sooo wish I had found this little shop when I was hunting for that little black dress for Ditz. Unfortunately the window was full of lovely things to be worn under the little black dress for optimum effect & not terribly suitable for a family oriented blog.

Bardon, where all these tantalising things reside, meanders up & down & along one of the Brisbane ridges. An older suburb that appears to be getting something of a facelift ~ a least in places. Gorgeous old Queenslanders built high & ornamented. Every time I begin to drool I remind myself of the cost in time & money just for upkeep ~ but they are sooo lovely!
This one sat on the edge of a roadside cliff & must have had spectacular 360 degree views. Bougainvillea all along the fence line which would be amazing in full bloom but just nasty, spikey, thorny & rampant otherwise. Not sure I'm a fan of Bougainvillea.
Paddling up & down the vertical streets to look at a row of workers cottages that probably date to around the 1920's. Workers could have trammed into the city proper at the time. We speculated which factories : the brewery [XXXX], Arnotts [biscuits] or maybe the docks. Most were 2 bedroom dwellings & only single walled as evidenced by the exposed external struts. Siano lived in one of them for a time.Just opposite was a tiny patch of green space with the most enormous multi~trunked ficus & a handy seat.

We sat & surveyed the view of Brisbane CBD. Yeah, I know. The contrast is rather ironic. Eventually we hoyed ourselves back towards the car but not before stopping at Monty's. Monty's, however, deserves a post all to itself.