Wednesday 22 May 2013

Up in the mountains!




On Saturday, Jake and I decided to take a drive up to Mount Tamborine to hunt down Curtis Falls and just generally explore the area. Since we moved to the Gold Coast we have been a little strapped for cash, and because of this - bored! It is tough thinking up things to do on a tight budget but Saturday's drive was a total success, and a pretty good indication that Jake and I should do some more exploring!

The drive up to the mountain was a lot shorter than I expected - it was a nice drive albeit a little stressful with my tiny little car straining to make it up the mountainside! The views when we got to the top were amazing! On one side of the mountain there were views over the city and the ocean, on the other there were green pastures stretching to distant mountains. We stopped at what we thought was a little lookout when we got to the top - turns out is was actually the jumping point for a hang gliding club! We watched them soar overhead for a while, then went for a drive past some big mansions and headed into town.

I had a sneaky ulterior motive for coming to Tambourine - I desperately wanted to visit The Shop That Time Forgot and Kitty's Vintage Kitsch after meeting Celia in January at the Woolangabba Antique Centre. At the Gabba, I was trying on many of her gorgeous dresses and struck up a conversation with her about vintage clothing. I told her about my formal dress, which I suspected could be vintage, although I was unsure because I knew there were a lot of reproductions of that sort of thing around. She told me to take it to the shop sometime and she would have a look at it. Well, boy was I embarrassed when I took it to the shop and Sue, Celia's business partner, took a look at it for me! There, on the right hand side just below the bust was a tag! The tag clearly dated the dress as 80's, not 1930's as the style of the dress would suggest. I couldn't believe I'd never noticed the tag before! I mean, there was only a tiny bit of overlocking on the entire dress, so I just assumed that it was vintage! Oh well, I still felt like a princess on my formal day, and still got the dress for an amazing price, despite it not being as old as I thought it was.

Sue was kind enough, while I browsed the shop, to teach me a little about dating clothing. She also invited me back to have a little bit of a dress-up day and find the right fit of vintage dresses for my shape, minus the boyfriend, where she would teach me a little more. If you're ever in the Mount Tamborine area, I would definitely recommend that you drop in to The Shop That Time Forgot and Kitty's Vintage Kitsch. Both Celia and Sue are lovely and the shop is spectacularly presented! I wish I had remembered to take pictures!

I fit inside the tree! 
I swear there was a cute outfit under that ugly jumper!

After saying goodbye to Sue, Jake and I followed her directions to get to Curtis Falls. There we enjoyed a quick strawberry milkshake before heading down the path through the rainforest to get to the base of the waterfall. The walk through the rainforest was beautiful, albeit a little cold and Jake and I had a ball mucking around on our way down, and then back up the path.




When we got to the bottom of the path, Jake convinced me to climb over the fence which was up around the viewing platform so he could get a better photo of me near the waterfall. All I could think of as i edged around to the fallen tree was how bloody cold the water looked! I was pretty tentative walking out to the end of the log, even though it was about 3 times as wide as I am. I have come to learn the hard way that clumsiness and water don't mix!


Jake had to be a daredevil, as usual, and go right out to the tip of the log, of course! I am guessing he was a little disappointed at how small the waterfall was, because he was making some pretty sarcastic comments as he stood with his hands splayed like that!





Me, Being an idiot and pretending I am Tarzan or something.

On our way to Curtis Falls we noticed quite a few different little restaurants which we thought might be fun to go to. There was a German beer place which looked quite interesting, as well as one called Camelot, but the one which I decided I just had to go to was The Polish Place. The smells wafting into our car windows as we pulled up to The Polish Place were amazing! Unfortunately, we got there just as the kitchen was closing, so all we could get was coffee and cake. That wasn't a big matter though, because just being there was an experience, and we have already decided that we will be going back there some time for dinner!



I was a little shy to take photos, as there were quite a few people eating in the restaurant at the time, so Jake took a couple of quick pictures on the sly for me. This is basically the only one which isn't completely out of focus! It shows pretty well the amazing decor of the restaurant, as well as the traditional Polish costumes of the waitresses. Total bonus for me was that all the aitresses were wearing floral crowns! They looked so cute! Oh, and of course I wanted to rip those lights out of the ceiling and take them home! Blue and white porcelain for the win!!!



The hot mocha which they brought me was absolutely delicious, as was the Rum and Chocolate Torte, which was finished before I even thought to take a picture! The food that everyone was eating looked so delicious, and Jake and I hadn't eaten since breakfast so we were devastated that we couldn't order.



Through a little side door in the restaurant was a gallery of Polish stuff, which was really cool, and The Polish Place is also a boutique motel, with four chalets to stay in, featuring an open fireplace, mountain views and a twin spa bath in the lounge room so that you can sit in the tub and watch television! After looking at the prices on their website, Jake and I are going to have to just keep dreaming of our romantic weekend getaway to the mountains, unfortunately.

After warming up in The Polish Place for a little while, it was time for Jake and I to head home. Since we set off so late, we really did miss out on quite a lot of stuff. That's okay though, because I know we will be back! When we got back to Coolangatta it was well and truly time for dinner. Steaks at Higs Breath Cafe had bsolutely nothing on The Polish Place, but that's what we settled for and it was a great way to round of such a wonderful day.





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