We spent last week on holiday in Byron Bay. The winter weather was absolutely stunning, every day we had perfectly clear skies and warm sunny weather. The kids woke us early each morning when we’d go to the beach and make sandcastles, then we’d spend the rest of the day swimming in our own plunge pool where we were staying. A completely relaxing week and I didn’t open my laptop once 
We saw Fat Freddy’s Drop live at the Northern in Byron Bay last Saturday night. They were really good, but not as good as last time I saw them in Brisbane, probably because they played mainly new stuff (unreleased) so I didn’t really know that many songs. It is probably a better idea to tour after releasing a new album, as that way the crowd can get into the new songs they know. It was a great night nonetheless.
Tickets
My pretty much all-time favourite band are touring Australia next month. With a choice between the Tivoli in Brisbane on a Friday, or two gigs (Saturday & Sunday) in Byron Bay, we opted for Byron, with the added bonus of the Byron tix being about $20 cheaper.
The last time I saw them was in late 2007 and they blew me away so it has been a long time coming: I can’t wait!
With the surplus of working days this leap year, Kitty and I thought it would be nice to have a three day weekend.
Friday
After reading so many good reviews we decided to venture the half block to Piaf, a French styled bistro for lunch. Our expectations were sky high and unfortunately weren’t entirely met. I had rice paper rolls to start which were a little too sweet for my taste. I also would have preferred a runnier, homemade sauce rather than the straight thick hoisin (with peanuts) on offer. The belly pork that I had for main was also very sweet. It was a huge serve (of meat) but had very little accompanying green and rice. It would have enjoyed it more if it was three times less meat and three times more green. Kitty’s veg linguine was okay but needed more seasoning and less oil. The interior design and layout is very cool. I love the wood and the simplistic art on the white wall inside. The prices are very reasonable, all starters were eight bucks, light meals twelve and mains sixteen.
Afterwards we had devonshire tea at tealicious which was very yum!
Saturday
We drove to Byron to stay the night at the consistently good beach hotel.
We had lunch at the Orient Express eatery. They have a weekend yum cha menu where all dishes are $7.90. We ordered gow gee, veg spring rolls, a prawn pancake, crepe wrapped fried rice and a side of green. Most of the dishes were nice but needed more seasoning/herbs for my liking. The supplied hot chili and soy sauces came in handy to smother the food. We ordered a pot of Buddha tears jasmine tea which was superb.
We swam in the pool and the weather was nice as we walked the length of the beach at sunset.
Fishmongers for dinner was consistently sound. We had grilled fresh local mahi-mahi.
Sunday
It started to rain on Sunday morning whilst we ate breakfast looking towards the park and ocean.
Arriving back into Brisbane we decided to pick up a late lunch from a local favourite: Viet Hoah at West End.
Good times.
We decided to spend an impromptu night in Byron Bay on the weekend to celebrate Kitty getting a new job. Luckily, the Beach Hotel had one room left so we decided to stay there.
I was extremely impressed with the hotel. You can’t beat the location plus the actual accommodation is top notch. The heated pool was especially nice. The landscaping is very tropical and modern and features beautiful pandanus palms.
I was also impressed by the simple things, like the “do not disturb” sign that was printed on recycled cardboard. It was a simple but effective use of a symbol. Why use three words when a symbol will do?
In the morning we walked along the main beach where we were lucky enough to find a ♥ shaped smooth stone.
We then enjoyed the included continental breakfast (which was great) and another swim in the pool. Good times.
wow wow wow, i was just surfing finley quaye‘s myspace page and i saw that finley and his band are playing in byron bay on 21.02.2008. this is *the* tour i have been waiting for forever. this is the biggest musical news for me in the last few years. oh my gosh, i can’t wait!
this time last week we were watching the resin dogs at the great northern hotel in byron bay.
the gig show was really good. they played lots of varied dub/funk/hip-hop including old favourite songs and new songs that i hadn’t heard before. they closed with their own dub/d&b remix of midnight oil which sounded great with loads of bass. mc dno did some nice rapping/rhyming as well throughout the night. brisbane’s ‘optimen‘ did the opening act which was also excellent with more of a focus on ‘aussie hip-hop’ rather than the musical mashup that the resin dogs achieve.
we got ticket numbers 1&2 – dedicated!
the tour poster
oh how i love a weekend trip to byron bay. (especially when the weather is like it is)
i couldn’t imagine a trip to byron without a meal at one of my three favourite eateries. today it was time to visit the original ‘fish mongers’. (the new sydney stores are also getting good reviews!)
what a lovely meal! 1/2 family box with grilled mackerel & a side garden salad.
