flashman181

Another quiet night had us scratching at the door at 6 am for our morning walk and coffee. Another lovely day has dawned for our last full day on our short sojourn this time round. Seemed to be an Espresso Engine now on every corner so having tried a different corner today I also went balls in and got a cappuccino instead of a flat white. No one can accuse me of being predictable eh

Speaking of being predictable , after a solid 12 hours thinking about it have booked flights to USA for October. Doubt we will ever return to the great deals prior COVID given we are still basically Mid COVID and the world needs a bex and a lie down at present. It’s an interesting trip where one heads south to Melboring before flying in the expected direction to LA. It’s all to do with what planes Qantas use where and why and Brisvegas still not what one would call a travel hub it seems. Then return to Sydney before home to Brisvegas. Of course also still have to book some internal US flights but that can wait another 12 hrs at least. Now for todays plan…

Revolves around a lunch at Alchemy with HPFA Anthony of the Della clan which just leaves morning and afternoon to fill in so to speak. Think we can lock in The Gresham again for late arvo shenanigans – did I mention they had Guinness on tap? A mid morning coffee and a mid afternoon snooze and the day virtually fills itself in eh

Tradition #2 at least survives with a coffee at the always reliable Sugar n Spice . I could barely contain my excitement

Ok , let’s head off to lunch for a couple of hours and then home for usual snooze and a bath. Yeah right . We were Drinking with Dellas. The food at Alchemy was truly excellent and we had a beer and then shared a bottle of wine . A normal lunch enjoyed and all according to plan

Then Ant suggested a second bottle of wine . The rest is a blur. We then went onto The Gresham for Tradition #2 – finally some black stuff

A perfect end to a pleasant lunch. Then Ant just naturally said “ So two more Guinesses “? Well , of course

Then Ant asked where the toilets were but collared the waiter on the way out and before you knew it

By now CLP had switched to Soda Water but I felt my inborn masculinity/stupidity had been challenged so naturally ordered two more Guinnessesssssssss while Ant was checking the Stockmarket

At last sanity prevailed as the clock struck 6 pm and CLP had been asleep for the last hour. We bid farewell to our drinking buddy at bus station and wobbled home for a night of possible sleep but certainly sweet dreams. It has been a magic few days and I bid adieu until the next breakout bonanza of booze and bon vivant escapades.

Average night sleep as usual when in a new place after a day of imbibing . There was some racket outside late at night and can only assume it was one of those Hollywood celebs swanning around in between shooting latest epic Jungle Cruise 2 on the Brisbane river. Can’t say I can place the face but they have so much work done these days it could be anybody. Ouch, hey that hurt

Looks like a booteeful day dawned so headed out early for our morning coffee. We are creatures of habit in case the penny hasn’t dropped yet folks. Espresso Engine on Turbot St seemed as good a place as any to start . We got there before the early morning rush of workers (hee hee) but was already doing good business

Always been considered a Star but now it is official and as a Star club member there was a rather good breakfast special on at The Kitchen. Put CLP to work washing the dishes first up and then we got stuck into the smashed Avo Egg Toast Bacon combo and twas rather good.

Speaking of Breakfast my partner in crime , R of RJER fame mentioned on weekend about the new Rum bar at the Brekky Creek Hotel . A plan formed , dissolved and then reappeared as if by magic . Back to room to chill for a couple and then mix with the GU on a shortish bus ride to be creek adjacent for some rumbos before hooking into a steak at midday. Of course, after the floods the creek may be adjacent to the bus stop which will make for a short walk.

Brisvegas has always been a great city to walk around but there certainly is a lot of construction and road closures in the CBD at present. Also sad that City Cats are not running yet

We headed off at 10:30 for todays adventure and caught our bus. Mask compliance 80%. Got off at the bus stop near Brekky Creek which certainly is a better idea than our usual plan off jumping off moving vehicles at random locations. A mirage appeared on the near horizon

Of course food can wait when there is rum available. We worked our way along the various sub stations ( non French of course ) until we got to 41. An impressive place and quiet with just the cheery barmaid behind the bar. Well, talk about fookin useless. Tried to engage her in what one normally does at these establishments and just got a blank look. Eventually decided on a shot of Jamaican and went back later for some Peruvian juice. Great idea. Lousy implementation . I drank and soon forgot my grievances .

Then time for some meat of the red variety . Who on earth thinks it’s a great idea to have Scan, Tap and Pay caper at a pub is a goose. Anyway , it worked ok and soon we were pumping that cholesterol up with the best of them . Great meal washed down with a Balter XPA , a brand which is suddenly everywhere in Brisvegas

A slow stroll then through Newstead Park which seems to have recovered well before bus trip home to chill for a few. There was an impressive erection to be found if you looked hard enough, a lesson for us all.

After a suitable R&R we headed for afternoon drinkies and made a beeline for a CLP recommendation at end of Mall – The Gresham. It ain’t cheap maybe but to relaxasalubriate ( patent pending) in such elegant surroundings was an excellent way to end a long day .

Did I mention it had been a long day ?

Devoted followers and casual stalkers would know the plan was to slowly re enter the world of travel in baby steps before eventually travelling back to USA late October 2022. As an aside the actual accomodation in USA is already booked and no flights yet. Breathe Breathe. With Qantass charging 10 k to catch a single engine Cessna to LA at present they will be waiting a bit longer. Luckily no bad news on the horizon like exorbitant fuel prices……. I digress

So, we are off to Brisveags for a few days at our new fave , The Treasury Hotel and Gambling Den. Once our old fave The Stamford went down the Not Welcome Camp path for tourists we had to look around and very happy with this choice . First up though a day to chill at the Ponderosa Pool at Flashman Inc.

Luckily it was St Patricks Day and had the green sluggos ready

Righto its Saturday morning and time to head down to Brisvegas and a quick reconnoiter in Wilston in preparation for an upcoming house sitting gig for CLP. This of course brings Fritzenjammer Beerhall into play for lunch and the old burger and beer double play

After ingesting sufficient calories to last the next few hours it was onto RJER for a catchup and a short babysitting gig with the Terrific Twin Terrors. I need a drink. Hey , there’s one . Sadly they were out of General Shitfaced 6 packs 😏

In a sign of appropriate affluence it was then time to swim in another pool I dont have to clean 170 klm apart. Frivolity ensued and some removed their swimmers but my lips are sealed. You would think though at CLPs age……

We woke the next morning, luckily, and headed to the park for some coffee and croissants to celebrate the J of RJER fame turning 22……. Then it was off to our lodgings and see if we can snare the ” We are old, early room please” deal at 10 am. Close and we only had to wait 45 mins so quickly ducked into mall for some necessities . Our room was great as always and in case ya need some convincing

We had dinner booked at Donna Chang across the road so a light lunch was in order and of course our one tradition in Brisvegas – that first Guinness . There is a pub just across the road called Irish Murphys , as opposed to say Tokyo Joes , that we have enhanced previously. It was quite , great. It was quiet because they had run out of Guinness, bad. So, you didnt think there would be a run on this week🤦🏻‍♂️ What was your last job, the vaccine rollout ?? So, we settled for some perfectly fine Asahi and will chase down the black stuff tomorrow maybe.

Back then for a quiet afternoon before Donna Chang tonight. I assume it has an oriental flavour but have been fooled before

Dinner at Donna Chang was excellent as expected . We were sensible and didnt over indulge but tried a wide range from the Dim Sum menu washed down with a splash of the good stuff.

There were no wuffer thin chocolates available so we went with a couple of fortune cookies . Imagine my surprise when we found out they were Seinfeld fans as well

And so our first full day and a half in Brisvegas comes to an end. In fact, you could say we were shown the door …