Tag Archives: tarragindi

168 hours down under

‘One Week’, the crossover hit by Canadian band the Barenaked Ladies. ‘One Week’, the Canadian film about a school teacher who motorcycles across the country after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. One week, the length of time that Chris and I have been in Australia.

This morning I had trouble getting out of bed. I slept though our morning gym routine, rousing with barely enough time to see Chris out the door. I spent the morning reading on the sofa, drinking Roiboos de Provence and eating bread with salty butter. Needless to say, a bit dreary.

Returning to the Wednesday market in the plaza between the library and the casino lifted my spirits. The hustle and bustle of market goers, the friendly greetings of the vendors and the shining sun made for a invigorating shopping trip. I returned to the hotel with two loafs of bread (spelt, dried fig & pistachio and rye & onion), plenty of veg, and some Australian Cheddar and Camembert. Many Australians and folks that have holidayed down under have waxed poetic about Aussie cheese; now I know why. I can’t put my finger on what makes it different; perhaps the salt content or the aging process. Regardless, getting our weeks infusion of cheese left me pleased.

This afternoon I ventured out to the West End en route to Salisbury. With a mix of boutique clothing stores, bohemian cafes and ethnic restaurants, the West End reminded me a lot of Vancouver’s Main Street. I spent an hour reading at the Three Monkey Coffee House, enjoying iced tea and butter cookies. I hopped back on the Beenleigh (great name, eh?) train to meet Chris. We proceeded to wander around lost, looking for the bus stop that would take us to Tarragindi Thai Restaurant. Although we successfully found the 120 bus, we accidently took it in the wrong direction, travelling all the way to Garden City via the Nathan campus of Griffin University. My lack of a map stole about an hour from our day, but provided plenty of sightseeing and laughter.

Tarragindi Thai was totally worth the transit hassle. The Massaman beef curry, Thai basil stir fry, steamed prawn dumplings and purple sticky rice dessert were delectable. Thank you to my dear friend Corrine, who recommended the restaurant to us.

Commuting home was smooth sailings. It seems that some parts of Brisbane have bus-only roads, making the trip quick and painless. When we got back, a bagpipe band was practicing in the alley next to our hotel. We can still hear them 36 floors up. They play ‘When the Saints Coming Marching In’ over and over. We grin at each other, excited to be in a city with great food, transportation, and people.