Coolangatta...

Last week, DH and I spent a night at Coolangatta on the Gold Coast. Both of us have fond memories of this area from the 1960s. Unlike a lot of the Gold Coast, there is still a 'laidback' charm about Coolangatta. 

Once again we were staying at Outriggers which has been rebranded as Mantra Outriggers...

Views from our balcony...Twin Towns Services Club across the road from the Mantra...

Looking south and east from our balcony...those 'triangles' in the middle of the photo mark the Queensland/New South Wales border...

And looking east from our balcony, the sweet little pink 60s motel...it's still here! 

As usual after we checked into our accommodation, we went for a stroll around...

Along the foreshore...

  Then up a side street...the old caravan park is now a lovely big park...

Named after DH's family??? (No I have to admit it was named after a former governor.)

The rather grandly named Coolangatta Transit Centre...

Then along a street that runs parallel to the foreshore...

When I was in my late teens, the Coolangatta Pie Shop was always a stop...such memories of those pies and doughnuts! All off the menu for us these days! 

That night we had dinner with former colleagues of DH when they all worked at Social Security (Centrelink). These friends chose George's Paragon cafe, a favourite of theirs...and what a wonderful choice...beautiful Italian and Greek food! There are a number of these restaurants/cafes both on the coast and in Brisbane. I can say we'll be going back again, that's for sure!!

A little break...

Firstly a big thank you to those who left supportive comments on my recent posts; 2 posts dealing with my 'Liberty Stamp Block Swap' dramas and the other recent one where I outlined the difficulties caused by my offspring being estranged from each other. Your comments and emails are much appreciated.

But last Thursday DH 'swept' me away to the Gold Coast for a little break which coincided with our wedding anniversary, and it was so nice to have those 2 days and a night away. 

We shopped at Harbour Town on the way...

Black Pepper had sent me an email saying that their clearance store would be having a sale while we were down that way, so I checked it out. I bought a few items at very good prices. Usually at clearance stores, they rarely have anything in my size but I was lucky this time!

I had heard people talk about a store at Tallebudgera called Fifi's Fabricology, so we decided to find it and have a look...well I would do the looking, I should say! I didn't take any photos but it was definitely worth the visit...there is just so much fabric!! But I only bought a new rotary cutter and some EPP papers. Here is the link to the website of this wonderful, but overwhelming store!

On the way back to the highway after visiting Fifi's we stopped for lunch at the Wild Bean Cafe which is in a small shopping centre at Tallebudgera. The food was delicious! DH had the Wild Bean Special and I had the Moroccan Beef Burger.

Our next stop was going to be a visit to some friends at Banora Point but about 1pm we got a call saying that they were both unwell due to a virus that had hit both of them...so instead we went to South Tweed to visit the store, Fantazia. (I have previously written about this store in this post, but the Giveaway is over !) . While I browsed through the 3 sections of this huge store, DH went for a walk. I bought some fabric and some 'precuts', some novelty buttons as well as a new cutting mat. By then it was time to head to our accommodation.

DH had booked us into Outriggers at Coolangatta...this is my favourite part of the Gold Coast. There's still a  bit of sea view through the other buildings...

Another view from our balcony...

Sneaky DH took a photo of me while I was taking those photos...

Then it was time to go for a nice long walk; we followed the path along the beachfront and then walked around some of the streets, looking in shop windows etc.

We got back to the room as darkness fell.
We dined at Twin Towns Services Club and then settled down to watch the free entertainment...a group called Steve Cummins and the Bar Studs. They played music from the 60s up till present day...lots of fun!

On Friday we caught up with 2 lots of friends; one lot for coffee and the other couple we met for lunch.
We dined at this place...nice food and prompt service in quaint surroundings.

DH has known these friends since they all worked in the Commonwealth Public Service. They were all a long younger then! lol.

And after our leisurely long lunch we headed home to Eduardo the cat who complained lustily about our going away and leaving him to be fed and spoiled by our neighbour!