Hervey Bay and the March Wrap-Up

Okay, so I’ve already told you a bit about March (see my Word of the Year check-in post), but here’s the official wrap-up…

Where I travelled…

To Sydney for a wedding (but I told you all about that here); and to Hervey Bay to celebrate Sarah’s birthday and spend a week with her. This time Kali got to stay with me as well.

One of the things I love about Sarah’s place is the number of birds that come down – especially early morning and late afternoon. The house is always filled with birdsong. This kookaburra was my lunch companion every day this week.

Although I’m day-jobbing as usual up here, I’ve also taken the opportunity to catch up with my friend Debbish. We attempted sundowners at Enzo’s (the best place on the beach for sundowners) on Sunday, but there was very little sun about. Normally the view from here is lovely, but not so on Sunday afternoon with the screens down to stop the rain from coming in.

The pic below is of the same restaurant at sunrise on Tuesday morning. Hey ho.

We did, however, manage to meet up for lunch as well – also on the beach, but this time at Aquavue, a few blocks from where my daughter lives at Torquay. Not a bad view from here either.

But no monthly round-up post from me would be complete without some food pics, and let’s just say this week hasn’t been as healthy as it could have been – although, on the days we did eat out, we made up for it with lighter meals on others.

Breakfast at Salt Cafe, Urangan

I’ve been wanting to try this place for as long as Sarah has been living up this way – and it didn’t let me down. Plus it was dog friendly so Kali was welcome.

I chose the spicy beans, Sarah the eggs bennie and Grant the BLT. We’re heading back tomorrow morning before we drive back to the Sunny Coast to sample more of the menu. (I have my eye on those scones…) Plus there’s a fabulous homeware store next door that I could have spent way too much money in – The Ibis Next Door.

Odyssey, Scarness

This was without a doubt a memorable meal from start to finish. Odyssey is a casual fine diner (fine dining without the pretension or need to get too glammed up) that is all about local produce – from Caloundra on the Sunny Coast, through the Hinterland and up to Bundaberg. The key staff take it in turns to do the produce run each Monday, the menus for the week are written and tested on Tuesday and served from Wednesday.

Once drinks have been ordered, Sarah and I are each handed a menu sealed with wax and told about the process and the produce. It reminded me a little of the restaurant I invented for Escape To Curlew Cottage, Lily James.

We ordered the 5-course menu plus a couple of oysters (which were the only things that weren’t local – having come from Tasmania due to the season). Because there were just two of us we got to sample everything – and every mouthful was flawless.

We began with radishes served with the softest, pillowiest taramasalata, and finished with pumpkin cheesecake, malt ice cream, candied pepitas and a speculoos crumb. I can count on one hand (and have fingers left over) the number of desserts I eat in a year, and this one was well worth the calories.

The lighting was low, so the pics aren’t great, but here are a few.

What I watched…

I inhaled Britbox’s Father Brown spin-off, The Sister Boniface Mysteries. Other than that, I watched Michael Mosley’s Health Intervention (SBS) and March saw the return of Adam Liaw’s The Cook-Up (SBS), and (be still my beating heart) Bridgerton. I’m almost ashamed to say I googled the time it would “drop” and was there waiting with a glass of wine to begin watching. And yes, I binged the lot and enjoyed it as much as I did the first series. Yes, there’s less sex this time around, but the chemistry is scorching hot. Apparently many of those addicted to the books are upset that the plot differs from that in the book, but I didn’t care – the books are the books and the series is, I think, better for including subplots relating to minor characters along the way.

What I read…

Because I was away for a bit and spent a lot of time in the car getting to and from Sydney (I am that person who can read in a moving vehicle without getting sick), I read more in March than I usually would.

Obviously you’ll need to wait until What’s On Your Bookshelf for the full lowdown (mark your calendars for April 15) but here’s what I read… As for my favourite book of the month? Again, you’ll need to wait for WOYB…

Okay, that was my month…how was yours?