This mornings sunrise wasn't a patch on yesterdays which was a tad disappointing. However the sun is out and the wind is blowing. By 0700 hours it was just too hot for Si to be sat on the balcony, and he had to retreat into the air conditioning and watch the waves from the sofa.
It's our last day here and I decided to do bit of laundry so everything would be clean for the next part of the trip. How's that for organised? I may have accidentally washed one of the apartments's white fluffy towels in with my bright pink wardrobe. The former white fluffy towel is now a delicate shade of pink. Ooops. As we were in washing mode, we checked behind Bob and Kevs ears to make sure they didn't need another bath, and were pleased to find they were squeaky clean.
Mid morning we went for a gentle rumble down to Surfers for some brunch. Several places were possibilities but someone, and we can't remember who, had previously told us that the Surf clubs do excellent food and are very reasonable. As you would expect there was one right on the beach so we went in. The NFL was on in the bar, and although it was really busy, it was such a huge place so there was plenty of room. At the back of it there is a pokie. A gaming and gambling room. The back wall was lined with TV and all channels were on different sports. Greyhound racing, horse racing, trotting races and obviously the NFL.
We checked out the menu and it was all very tasty, and I really fancied a massive salad and a fruit smoothie. Unfortunately only the breakfast menu was on til midday and we were a bit early. Whilst the brekkie looked pretty amazing, we discovered we weren't feeling a full hit so we decided we'd return once the lunch menu was available. In the Mall there was a juice bar so we sat in the cool and enjoyed a detoxing drink which was pretty damn good. Not my preferred way to get a massive fruit and veg hit but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
A little old lady approached us and started chatting.
Within a few minutes we had discovered she was from Melbourne. Her husband died six years ago and her son and his best mate got caught up in the Bali bombings. The mate lost a leg and the hospital managed to save the sons foot. They sold up in Melbourne and moved up to Gold Coast to help him. I had a little chuckle when she asked why Si was wearing a long sleeved top in 32degree heat. When he replied he wasn't a sun worshiper she was, for the first time since engaging in conversation with us, utterly lost for words. Hilarious.
I decided to rumble down to a little nail salon I'd spotted and see how much it would be to get my nails done. I obviously took too long reading and before I knew it I was hustled inside and wheeled up to a desk. It all happened so fast I didn't have time to say so was just looking!! My god those ladies don't let a potential customer out of their grip. Once you stop outside for longer than thirty seconds they're ushering you into a seat. Slick moves indeed! I messaged Si to let him know where I was and he came to find me. He went back to the Surf club to watch the game and have a beer and we agreed I would meet him there when I was done.
With lovely pink sparkly nails adorning my fingers and still in shock at the speed in which I'd been hailed in there I went to pay. There was an issue with the wifi in the mall and as such they were having trouble with the card machine. Eventually the manager got it working and I was able to escape. It wasn't the most enjoyable of experiences. The girl who was doing my nails was on the phone the whole time which made me feel like I was intruding on her social life. Also the nails aren't a particularly good standard in my opinion. I can do them myself a lot better! Any hoo, they're done and they're pink and sparkly which makes me smile, therefore they will do for now.
I rolled down to meet Si, and he was enjoying an ice cold Perroni, condensation running down the chilled glass and forming a pool on the beer mat beneath it. I was in need of a thirst quencher and had a pint of soda water with half a lime in it. That hit the spot. I had a slurp of the Perroni but nope, wasn't feeling that at all. We ordered our meals and they were very quickly served. Actually they were so fast, the mains landed before we'd finished the starters. All the dishes were huge, particularly Si's starter. He'd opted for Bread and dips again and was a little surprised when they served him half a loaf of bread!! We were both really full after it all and wrapped up half of the bread to take back for supper!
In an attempt for Si to jiggle his food down, we went on another rumble down the beach path and took some photos of Bob with a bright blue Koala. There are numerous Koalas dotted around the jubilee trail from Broadbeach to Southport and are from 2018 when the olympics were in Australia. They are all different and carry a different message. Pretty cute too. As we rolled, we could see that the beach was once more closed for swimming, there was a life guard out on a jet ski patrolling the waves the length of the beach. He was having the time of his life flying over the huge breakers at speed. There were only two lifeguards on duty in a truck per station as the beach was closed. It was a shame because I'm sure Bob and Kev would make excellent lifeguards and look great in little red skull caps. Definitely missed an opportunity there for the boys.
The sun was lush and the heat bearable because of the stiff breeze. There were less people around today, obviously back in work and school. That suits us just fine. As we made our way along the tree lined path, an aqua duck went by quacking. We'd seen them regularly over the last few days as they travel up the sea front and then go behind the hotels and apartments into the lakes and rivers with a guide pointing our various things of interest. It was packed again and they must be making an absolute fortune on it. Didn't really appeal to us so we gave it a wide berth.
When we were walking through the Mall, the gentleman with the triangle bikini was back on his deck chair. Today his bikini of choice was a blush pink colour and it was equally as brief as his previous one. I couldn't help but notice that his skin was fantastic, smooth and healthy looking, once I got past the ick factor of the whole image. He had the most beautiful even tan that I can only dream of achieving. That said he's way more comfortable in his bikini and trainers than I am in my binki! He looked to be consuming a Greggs sausage roll, but obviously not a Greggs one. There was flaky pastry going in all directions, but it appeared he was enjoying it.
Returning to the apartment, I went down to the pool again and had a nice swim. The water was certainly refreshing, and once I'd done my exercises I plonked myself on a lounger and soaked up the sunshine for an hour. When the clouds came over and showed no sign of moving on I returned to the apartment and did some more booking for the next leg of the trip. It's a good job I had nothing else to do as it takes me ages going through all the different sites and comparing the prices with the airlines them selves. It's definitely worth while doing though!
Our lunch finally digested we finished up the last few bits of food from the fridge for supper and used the last of Si's bread from lunchtime. As snacks go it wasn't bad, fresh tomatoes, feta spinach leaves and bread drizzled with olive oil. Nom nom nom.
We've decided to pack in the morning as we are in no big hurry to check out and it was a nice leisurely evening on the balcony watching the world go by. We did a very basic clean through of the apartment and tidied up. They request that all dishes are washed and put away, bins emptied etc and any excess dirt sorted out. It wasn't messy but it needed a good sweep through to get rid of the sand we'd traipsed in, which we would have done had we been able to locate a broom!
The few days we've had on the Gold Coast have been lovely. I recognise very little of it even from when I came with Morg. I recognise even less from when I was working here!! :the only familiar thing was Pacific Fair Mall, the beach, the ocean and the sunshine!
Much love
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