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Pretty woman stop awhile

August 12, 2019 by David Herd

Pretty woman stop awhile

This is not a travel blog, it is part of my personal photo history, you may describe it as the melancholy musings of an old man. My answer to that is simple, it’s far better to be a “has been” than a “never was”. 🙂

Pretty woman stop a while

Pretty woman stop awhile, Pretty woman talk awhile, Pretty woman give your smile to me, Pretty woman yeah, yeah, yeah, Pretty woman look my way, Pretty woman say you’ll stay with me, ‘Cause I need you, I’ll treat you right, Come with me baby, be mine tonight. It seems fitting looking back on a random selection of some of the Pretty women I have been lucky enough to know, that Roy Orbison should help me recall some of those wonderful memories.

That’s Karen Smith in 1985, my 3rd & last fiancee, I have never known a nicer girl. 

Carol Aboud in 1978

Pretty woman stop awhile This was taken on my birthday which fell on 7-7-77, Carol & I were an item (on & off) for around 4 years. 

Sing it for me Neil. 🙂

Carolyn Clark 1994

Pretty woman stop a while

I still see Carolyn when I’m on the Gold Coast, in fact in July 2019 we made a little promotional video for her boyfriend Andy Sims.

Next we have Glenn Frey sing a beautiful song, ok I know the song is Caroline as opposed to Carolyn, but you get the picture.

Now this definitely is a pretty woman.

Pretty woman stop awhile

Kelly Davis hailed from Tasmania, we knocked around together for a few months in 1991.

Kelly was a huge fan of Van Morrison so here is another one of my favourites.

One of the sexiest of all the girls I knew.

Pretty woman stop awhile There is something about those Kiwi girls, hot, hot, hot. Karen Greenwood & I had an on & off relationship for over a year in 1991. She stuck around mainly because I lent her a car. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Now here we have a real wild child.

Pretty woman stop awhileAllison Schroeder, 18 years of age & gorgeous. Of course I was only 45 at the time. 🙂 If I remember correctly I promised her the world & bought her an atlas. 🙂

As they say in the classics, I was having the time of my life. 🙂

Allison was wild but Tanya was crazy. 🙂

Pretty woman stop awhileGreat company sober, but give her a couple of drinks too many & she would turn into a nightmare. This was 1989 on the Gold Coast.

Time to feature a triple treat.

Pretty woman stop awhile Meet Kitty, Di Parko & Helen Burke,  before you ask the answer is yes. 🙂

They don’t come any hotter than Donna Turner.

 Pretty woman stop awhile

This was 1996 & she still looks fabulous today in 2019.

Marlene Cuthbert

Pretty woman stop awhile Around 1983 Marlene worked for Ansett Airlines, she had a very sexy voice on a microphone, that’s why Ansett used her to make all the announcements at mascot airport. 🙂

Looking back I sometimes regret I chose Karen Smith to be my 3rd fiancee instead of Marlene. Don’t get me wrong, Karen was one of the nicest person I ever knew, our personalities were at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Lee Gregory was my 2nd fiancee.

Pretty woman stop awhile

Lee was from Adelaide where met, then we reconnected again in Melbourne in 1974. We had a fairly hectic dramatic short time together, travelled to Singapore & Bali & saw Frank Sinatra in concert in Melbourne on my birthday 7-7-74. 

This is one of my all time Sinatra favourites, I can think of no better song to play when I think of Lee.

And they did…..

Pretty woman stop a while Teresa Hamilton-Smith & Helen Burke, we had a lot of fun together in 1982 & 1983.

Barbara Manneli aka the Gypsy. 

Pretty woman stop awhile

The classic island romance, we celebrated the millennium on Koh Samui, 3 months later I flew to Italy to re-kindle the affair. Guess what? I didn’t make 1st base. 🙂 

This one’s for you Gypsy.

Tall & tanned & young & lovely

Pretty woman stop a while

This is Mel, we me on Copacabana beach, she had green eyes & was 6′ tall, say no more. 🙂

Bebel Gilberto will sing the song for us.

Someones knocking at the door.

Pretty woman stop awhile

Do me a favour open the door & let em in.

This is Emily at the Sheraton Mirage.

Pretty woman stop awhile Was a Gold Coast meter maid.

Then there was Jill….

Pretty woman stop awhileCool, sexy & a lot of fun. Last time I saw her was in Sydney in 2102.

Back to the 60s

Pretty woman stop awhile Veronica Crocker was my 2nd serious girlfriend, we dated for a couple of years when I was a teenager until the wanderlust took hold of me & at the ripe old age of 20 I sailed to England. 

Dion DiMucci was a huge artist in the 60s, here are two of his songs. Both bring back great memories of my time with Veronica.

Teenager in Love

Take good care of my Baby

My first serious girlfriend

Pretty woman stop awhile What incredible memories I have of this gorgeous girl Elizabeth Wiggington, better known as Beth. She lived on the corner of Wellington Rd & Antwerp St & I would ride my bike 3.3 Km from my home at 58 Kihilla Rd. It was much easier when I got my drivers licence & bought my little Morris Minor, except for the night I was driving home from her house & collided with a horse on Cumberland Rd. 🙂

Now here is one of the reasons I love Facebook, it was 1960 when we were together for 1 to 1.5 years, then I never really saw her again. It’s now September 2019, 59 years later & we have re-connected on Facebook, in fact Beth sent me quite a few photos, because way back then for some stupid teenage reason I had torn up all the ones I owned. 🙂

Johnny Burnette can remind us how it was back then.

The old shipboard romance.

Pretty woman stop awhileI needed to get over my long romance with Veronica & Leanne Scott on the ship to England seemed like the perfect solution. 🙂

Sing it for me Bobby……

Wendy Winspear, tall & gorgeous.

Pretty woman stop awhile A lovely Dutch girl on the Gold Coast, sadly she passed away far too young around 2017, RIP.

My first fiancee, Melbourne 1970.

Pretty woman stop awhilePaula Wills was an Adelaide girl living in Melbourne & working as a an hostess for Ansett. After 3 months living together I think we just ran out of things to say.

Dianne Parkinson in 1975

Pretty woman stop awhileTo say Parko bought some dramas into my life is a gross understatement. Read about some of it on THIS LINK.

The sweetest Diane of them all.

Pretty woman stop awhile

Adelaide 1973 Diane Butson was one of my neighbours in a condo block on Anzac Highway. She was a dance instructor at Arthur Murray dance studio. A great girl & absolutely gorgeous.  Follow THIS LINK for more old photos.

Great song from the Bachelors in 1964.

The Bachelors ~ Diane ~ 1964

Another beautiful Adelaide girl.

Pretty woman stop awhileJan Seagers was another neighbour, we had some terrific times together. We caught up again in 2015, I had not seen her for 40 years. Check out THIS LINK.

Pretty woman stop awhile

Pretty woman stop a while Helen Burke from Melbourne, we really had some fun, played backgammon all through Hawaii & the California coast in 1982.

Linda Ronstadt will tell you about the coast.

Well by now you are bored silly by the memories & musings of an old man. But make no mistake, Glenn Frey will describe exactly how I feel today.

Pretty woman stop a whileSo it’s time for me to go, thank you for visiting my Pretty woman stop awhile photo blog. Here is the collection on Flickr.

Jose Feliciano has the last word.

   Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

2835141a-02cf-4cda-a909-2a8408a99f47        6a173a01-9744-404a-a45f-87a975ec90fa          d5436828-abbc-4da1-a638-7f90436c6417

  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

417091_10150704751043594_62315468_n          Susies home Newport 1 (1)        April24FreewayHotel-33 (1)

Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

Fun in Pattaya-116         92bfa275-a122-4078-9970-1e24188a5917        CopacabanabeachNov2003-124

             Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
Free Cancellation. 
                              Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
                         d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037              01a75360-9573-473f-acba-3a187f779b7f
 
 That’s all folks
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
 
 
9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1) 
A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.               

 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

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Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia

August 4, 2019 by David Herd

Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia

Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia

Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia which is officially known as Flagstaff Beach, is the northernmost beach in New South Wales. It’s at the mouth of the Tweed River and the rocky headland Point Danger, which also marks the Queensland-New South Wales border.

Sand transport system

Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia The Project is a sand transport system that collects sand from the southern side of the Tweed River entrance at Letitia Spit, and pumps it under the river to outlets on the northern side. From there the sand is transported by waves and  currents to nourish the southern Gold Coast beaches. 

Great view of the beach

Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia

We are standing on a cliff in QLD looking across Flagstaff Beach to NSW.

Surfers waiting for a wave.

Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia There seems to be many personal and indescribable experiences in their lives that keeps them paddling out again & again. Plus the willingness to wait for them often defines a surfer more than his or her individual ability.

Bring it on.

Surfing Duranbah Beach AustraliaThe waiting is really worth it.

Everyone loves the beach

Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia Not just surfers, kids with their mums & dogs as well. 🙂

My friends from England

Surfing Duranbah Beach AustraliaJoan Baptist & Bill Austin from Wiltshire visited Australia in 2010 & naturally I took them sightseeing along the coast. The following week we drove down to Sydney.

They actually got married in England yesterday August 3 2019 after being together for over 20 years.

Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia

Surfing Duranbah Beach AustraliaIt’s not just the board-riders who love to surf. Kite-boarding is an action sport combining aspects of wake-boarding, snowboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, skateboarding and sailing into one extreme sport. A kite-boarder harnesses the power of the wind with a large controllable power kite to be propelled across the water, land, or snow. Wikipedia

Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia

Surfing Duranbah Beach AustraliaI’m guessing he is heading for a cold beer.

OK, I’ll meet you at the pub. 🙂

Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia This is what the Beach Boys call a “surfer girl”.

Thanks for visiting my Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia photo blog.

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               Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
Free Cancellation. 
Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037          b1c99886-3940-4dda-b350-44c5e5c77e41
 
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1g Duck

 

Counter only started June 16 2020.

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Gold Coast birthday celebrations.

July 13, 2019 by David Herd

Gold Coast birthday celebrations

Gold Coast birthday celebrations

Gold Coast birthday celebrations in July 2019 bought back many wonderful memories for me. Thursday 4th was the 38th birthday for Melbas on the park, & Sunday 7th was mine.

On the left above is old friend Lloyd Ross who without a doubt has spent more money in Melbas than anyone else by a country mile. In the middle is the general manager Dave Allen the son of the legendary Melbas founder Paul Allen.

For a look at some of the great Melbas memories just follow THIS LINK.

I recall my first visit to this iconic restaurant/nightclub was January 1st 1982. This was the start of an amazing year, just check out THIS LINK.

July 7 another birthday.

Gold Coast birthday celebrationsGreat to catch up with friends at my favourite Gold Coast venue. From the left is Mike Nidrie, Graham LaRoche, aka “Biff”, yours truly, Renata & Nick Partridge.

The usual suspects

Gold Coast birthday celebrations From the left we have Phil Thomson, aka Baldrich, Greg Craig, aka Noodles, David Robertson, aka Chocolates, & Tony Murphy, aka Murph the Surf.

You gotta love the oysters

Gold Coast birthday celebrations A dozen Tasmanian oysters is a weekend special for $24.

Three amigos

Gold Coast birthday celebrations

Gold Coast birthday celebrations David Herd, Dave Allen & Bruce Grady.

Say hello to Belle Reed.

Gold Coast birthday celebrations The smiling Melbas Mamasan. 🙂 What is a Mamansan you may well ask? well follow THIS LINK.

Gold Coast birthday celebrations

Gold Coast birthday celebrationsMany thanks to my friends & Melbas staff for helping me celebrate my birthday, & thanks to you for checking out my Gold Coast birthday celebrations photo blog. The huge glass in my hand is called a Fish Bowl, give me Jack Daniel’s any day. 🙂

Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

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  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

417091_10150704751043594_62315468_n          Susies home Newport 1 (1)        April24FreewayHotel-33 (1)

Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

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             Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
Free Cancellation. 
                              Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
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 That’s all folks
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
 
 
9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1) 
A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.               

 

Check out these great photo blogs.


Counter only started June 16 2020.

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Surfers Paradise Party Animals 1992

January 15, 2018 by David Herd

This is not a travel blog, it is part of my personal photo history. It seemed like Groundhog day. 🙂

Surfers Paradise Party Animals

Surfers Paradise Party Animals

Surfers Paradise Party Animals, 1992 was just another year of fun & games on the beautiful Gold Coast. I was certainly among the main party hosts, I had a great home for entertaining & I loved have lots of beautiful girls around. 

Some of the usual suspects.

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsNaturally when there were pretty girls around the competition between the guys was fierce. 🙂

A rose between two thorns, I don’t think so. 🙂

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsI guess there is no need to say I was enjoying life to the max.

Occasionally some of the girls would relax in the spa.

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsNaturally I always had my camera ready.

These girls loved nature

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsAnd Dr Evil was always there with the camera. 🙂

Roslyn & Jill looking good

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsI remember spending some “quality time” with both these lovely ladies.

 Jill & Sharon

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsAnother “daily double” I’m happy to say, (that just means I bonked them both. 🙂 )we saw a show that night at Jupiters casino, I think it was Barry Humphries.

Andre Buzek dentist extraordinaire, (I don’t think so)

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsSadly my great mate lost his life soon after in a car crash in Cuba.

Girl of the year Kelly Davis

Surfers Paradise Party Animals I was lucky enough to spend a few months on & off with this lovely lady.

Here we are on New Years Eve

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsNaturally Harley is locked & loaded once again. 🙂

My favoute song from 1992

Big Steve Bristow (son of Tim) & Greg Johnston.

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsNow in 2018 Greg lives in Pattaya & runs a bar on the dark side, & Steve still lives on the Gold Coast.

 Birthday drinks at Melbas 7-7-92

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsOur local drinking hole was Melbas on the Park.

Mister Melbas himself.

PaulAllen1992 (1)

The late great Paul Allen, a Surfers Paradise icon.

Talking about icons…………

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsDaryl Beattie is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, those bikes however all belonged to  Mick Doohan the living legend who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. The guy in the middle is a legend in his own lunch time, my good mate Ross Kennedy aka “Shoeless Joe”.

 Talking about legends…

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsHere I am giving my boat a good wash. 🙂

A good looking bunch of babes

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsIt was Xmas day 1992 and we all had a great lunch at my home in 106 Upton St Bundall.  My main squeeze at the time was Kelly 2nd from the right, & my occasional squeeze was Jill standing beside her. 🙂

Another night another dinner at Upton St

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsHarley & his gay flatmate naturally came dressed in their army outfits. 🙂 Tat’s Kandice on the left & Nicola on the right.

That night produced one of my favourite photos

Surfers Paradise lifeThis is a true classic.

Another classic from 1992

Surfers Paradise Party AnimalsLyn Goss & Roslyn provided the glamour & Tony Murphy & I contributed with a truck load of style. 🙂

Can’t remember the other guys name.

 Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

2835141a-02cf-4cda-a909-2a8408a99f47        6a173a01-9744-404a-a45f-87a975ec90fa          d5436828-abbc-4da1-a638-7f90436c6417

  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

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Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

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             Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
Free Cancellation. 
                              Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
                         d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037              01a75360-9573-473f-acba-3a187f779b7f
 
 That’s all folks
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
 
Pattaya live webcam 
 
9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1) 
A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.               

 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

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Road Trip South Australia

April 13, 2017 by David Herd

Road trip with Japanese students.

Road Trip South Australia

Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia

Road Trip South Australia reminds me of the last frontier and the road trip I took in 2003. Three Japanese students, Yukako, Megumi & Noriko & I travelled from the Gold Coast in Queensland, through Broken Hill  NSW to Coober Pedy in South Australia, a fascinating opal mining town where most of the population live in underground houses, then on to Ayers Rock and back home to the Gold Coast via Hervey Bay where we went whale watching. On our marathon journey all through the Australian Outback we traveled 7,300 kilometers  which was around 82 hours behind the wheel. 

The above photo is at Tenterfield on the New England Highway.

Peter Allen Motor Inn

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This famous Australian singer son writer was born in Tenterfield. For a discounted room rate just book through THIS LINK.

Listen to Peter sing one of his famous songs about the Tenterfield sadler.

The first stage

Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia

Across  NSW to South Australia.

Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia

Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia

Our first day on the road, we will overnight in Broken Hill.

Trades Hall in Broken Hill.

Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia

 The Trades Hall is Broken Hill’s most historically important building. 

Broken Hill in outback NSW.

Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia

Broken Hill over 1,100 km (680 mi) west of Sydney and  surrounded by semi-desert.

For a very good discount on a Broken Hill hotel just book through THIS LINK.

Typical outback building

Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia

 In the 19th and early 20th century Broken Hill was home to a community of Afghans. Afghans worked as camel drivers in parts of outback Australia, and they made a significant contribution to economic growth when transport options were limited. The camel drivers formed the first sizeable Muslim communities in Australia, and in Broken Hill they left their mark in the form of the first mosque in NSW (1891).

Wilmington South Australia

Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia

 Wilmington is a farming community, known for sheep, wheat and barley, but more recently for the planting of olive groves.

Road Trip South Australia, the general store

Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia

Wilmington is 305 kilometres north of the state capital, Adelaide.

This was at Byron Bay near the start of our journey.

Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia

Such lovely young girls,  Noriko Megumi & Yukako. Thanks for visiting my Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia photo blog. Next stop is Coober Pedy.

 Lots more posts here;

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     Koh Samui                                   Korea                                  London

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         Bangkok                                   Osaka                                     Pattaya

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             Chiang Mai                      Pattaya                      Chao Phraya river

Chiang Mai with Tone9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1)191de3bb-38fc-45cd-bce7-ef24081c554b

Bangkok Hotels        Pattaya Hotels
d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037b1c99886-3940-4dda-b350-44c5e5c77e41
Pattaya live webcam
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That’s all folks

1g Duck

Counter only started June 16 2020.

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Kitchens Robina Town Centre

March 19, 2017 by David Herd

Fabulous Robina food court

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

 Kitchens Robina Town Centre Gold Coast is the largest and most expensive in QLD costing a whopping $160,000,000. Combining bars, cafes, restaurants along with 40 fresh food retailers. Spread over two levels it features eateries from local hospitality heavyweights such as the Honeyeater Kitchen from ex-Songbirds chef Trent Scarr, David Hayles’ Betty’s Burgers and James Brady’s Mr Pigs Bakehouse; alongside celebrity chef George Calombaris’ first Queensland restaurant, Jimmy Grants.

Kitchens Robina Town Centre Gold Coast

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

The whole place is quite spectacular, I will certainly visit again next time I’m on the coast.

Pure Meats

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

Butchers have come a long way since I grew up, I clearly remember them having sawdust on the floor. Here is an explanation from an old butcher explaining why; 

When my Dad and I butchered, we used it as a safety enhancement and for ease of cleanup as was mentioned. No, we wouldn’t have meat on the floor, but it seemed as the floor would get slippery over time, and without sawdust, it was only a matter of time before someone would slip and it didn’t matter much what you had for footwear.

Often we wore cowboy boots as you basically stand for 8 to 14 hours at a time and it seemed easier on you, but as you can imagine they aren’t known for tractive abilities. If you are packing a 135# or so hind, you really want your feet to stay under you. We never would have worked without sawdust on the floor in the back, the front we left sawdust free but eventually it would make its way up there.

It is a pain though tracking sawdust all over the place, in your vehicle, etc.

Naturally the beef must be hung. 🙂

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

Why is meat hung you may well ask; 

Meat hanging is a culinary process, used in beef ageing, that improves the flavor of meats by allowing the natural enzymes in the meat to break down the tissue through dry ageing. The process also allows the water in the meat to evaporate, thus concentrating the flavor.

Fish Lab by William Wu

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

Not only is this a good looking restaurant they also have a “drying room” next door. Follow THIS LINK for more about it.

The drying room

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

I have never seen anything like this before in a food court.

One of the many cafes

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

There is certainly lots of choices where to have a coffee here.

Too many coffee shops are never enough. 🙂

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

Not too sure if they are all making a living, and I’m guessing the rents are astronomical. 

Such a feeling of space.

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

The high ceilings and open plan gives a feeling of space.

 Spectacular roof at Kitchens Robina Town Centre Gold Coast

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

The architects have really done a great job here.

Lucky Luciano’s

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

I wonder if it’s a mafia hangout? 🙂

Woolworth’s for some serious shopping.

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

As you can see Kitchens Robina Town Centre Gold Coast caters for everything.

Farewell from Robina

Kitchens Robina Town Centre

Thanks for visiting my Kitchens Robina Town Centre Gold Coast photo blog.

   Istanbul                                 Budapest                        London

Fascinating Istanbul Asia Meets EuropeHungarian Parliament Building (2)The Walkie Talkie (5)   

          Mostar                           Dubrobnik                            Split

                     43638e36-5da5-4162-98e3-635e2c149837IMG_7425Split Ancient Croatian Coastal city                    

                 Saigon                            Zagreb                          Vung tau

Ho Chi Minh City South VietnamMain Square (3)Vung Tau statue (6)

Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
 
9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1)

That’s all folks

1g Duck

Holiday Inn

bbc35e6d-80db-4e1c-8f51-83dd84f16520

Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

Check out these great food photo blogs.

  • Tokyo fabulous food
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Counter only started June 16 2020.

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Contemplating life beyond 2000

February 6, 2017 by David Herd

A personal photo collection, not a travel blog.

Contemplating life beyond 2000

Contemplating life beyond 2000

Contemplating life beyond 2000 after just completing a huge around the world trip with Tony Murphy & John Martin aka Pothole. The fabulous trip began in November 1999 in Los Angeles then on to Miami, Mexico City, Bolivia, San Paulo, Rio di Janeiro, Salavador, Paris, Bangkok & finishing in  Koh Samui. 

Consequently I really expected 2000 to be a bit of a let down, after all how do you recover after a two month trip like that one?

The photo above was in Sydney for Pothole’s 50th birthday on February 1st. That’s our good mate Paul Slaughter with the glasses & the lovely Kathy who was Pothole’s girlfriend at the time. He was punching way above his weight as you can clearly see. 🙂

Sadly I was as well.

Contemplating life beyond 2000

Punching above my weight also with an Italian princess I met & fell for in Koh Samui.

What a smile

Contemplating life beyond 2000

Her name was Barbara Manelli, however to me she will always be “Gypsy”.

Consequently in March I headed to Florence to see if there was any future pursuing this gorgeous creature. I soon found out that a brief tropical island fling was soon forgotten back in Italy. 🙂

Italy to Australia via Bangkok

Contemplating life beyond 2000

I figured there was only one way to fix a broken heart & that was a week in Bangkok on the way home. 🙂 

Pothole & I with Ian Rich

Contemplating life beyond 2000

We took my boat over to Main Beach to see Ian’s new condo.

View of Paradise waters from Ian’s condo the Grand Mariner.

Contemplating life beyond 2000

My apologies for the low quality photos, I was using my 1st 1.2 mega pixel digital camera. 🙂

Melbas on the Park

Contemplating life beyond 2000

The usual suspects, John Moon, Jim Bell aka “HO HO”, & John “Secrets” Sinclair. 

John Sinclair aka Secrets at Main Beach.

Contemplating life beyond 2000

Here is John with one of the gorgeous Main Beach waitresses.

The dreaded black list.

Contemplating life beyond 2000

Over the years Secrets has always had a black list of people who have been guilty of some indiscretion of which he has not approved of. I have been on & off the list a few times over the years, now in February 2017 I am, with quite a few others, most certainly firmly back on the list. Consequently to commemorate this honour I designed a T shirt & Pothole has arranged to have them printed. 🙂

Melbas was our favourite bar.

Contemplating life beyond 2000

Owned & run by Paul Allen a larger than life Gold Coast character, passed away far to young in 1013.

Celebrated my birthday at the Boardroom in Southport.

Contemplating life beyond 2000

Always a few sexy girls at the Boardroom which was owned & run by Malcolm Pearce.

Always a lot of fun

Contemplating life beyond 2000

As you can clearly see I was being totally dominated here. 🙂

 Skye from Launceston

Contemplating life beyond 2000

What a knockout, here we are having lunch at Melbas.

Let’s go back to Italy

Contemplating life beyond 2000

A flashback to March when my pursuit of the beautiful Gypsy crashed & burned. No that’s not really true, after Samui it never really got off the ground. 🙂

San Gimignano

Contemplating life beyond 2000

We did all the tourist things then I headed south to Rome to hook up with my friend Paul McNeil & Scooter Boy.

The Spanish Steps in Rome

Contemplating life beyond 2000

I hired a car & the 3 of us had a great road trip through Naples, Sorrento, Positano all the way down to Reggio in Southern Italy, the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria.

 Artist at work in Positano.

Contemplating life beyond 2000

We covered a lot of territory including Isle of Capri, this quickly became my favourite part of Italy until 2010 when I discovered the Cinque Terre. 🙂

Xmas lunch

Contemplating life beyond 2000

Tradition dictated we would gather at Melbas each year for a Xmas lunch, here we have Jim “Ho Ho” Bell, John “Secrets” Sinclair, David Herd & Tony Murphy.

Best ever Melbas barmaid

Contemplating life beyond 2000

Her name is Aurora & we all fell in love with her. 🙂

Family & friends come to visit

Contemplating life beyond 2000

My brother Warren & his wife Kerry with my cute little niece Laura. On the left is Chris Lockwood & his partner in happier times.

My best friend Ziggy

Contemplating life beyond 2000

We had lots of fun together, plus he was an excellent guard dog.

At the end of the day 2000 certainly was another good year.

Contemplating life beyond 2000 Contemplating life beyond 2000

Contemplating life beyond 2000 Contemplating life beyond 2000

From the top left is Malvina from Paris, Rush from Thailand, & Kerry & Simone from Australia.

Thanks for visiting my Contemplating life beyond 2000 photo blog.                     

   Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

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  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

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Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

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             Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
Free Cancellation. 
                              Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
                         d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037              01a75360-9573-473f-acba-3a187f779b7f
 
 That’s all folks
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
 
Pattaya live webcam 
 
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A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.               

 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

 

Check out these great photo blogs.

Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 3 photos

Brisbane City South Bank

August 29, 2016 by David Herd

Brisbane City Hall

Brisbane City South Bank

Brisbane City South Bank

 Brisbane City River South Bank was a pleasant surprise for me, it had been many years since I last visited and the changes were many. Way back in the 90s when I worked for Metway Bank and the NRMA I would travel there regularly for the endless tedious meetings banks & insurance companies were famous for. This trip was purely for pleasure after spending 10 days on the Gold Coast.

Uniting Church Albert St

Brisbane City South Bank

Across the road from City Hall stands this delightful old church which was originally built in 1888.

From the old to the new

Brisbane City South Bank

Infinity tower is the magnificent tall building (81 floors) on the left and the monster on the far right is 1 William Street which will house only government departments. The photo was taken from the William Jolly Bridge.

The William Jolly Bridge

Brisbane City South Bank

The art deco design bride was built during the depression and opened in March 1932.

 Sunday Suitcase sale August 21st 2016

Brisbane City South Bank

The majority seemed to be backpackers selling their old clothes.

Treasury Casino

Brisbane City South Bank

  Treasury Casino was formerly the Lands Administration Building until it became a casino in 1995.

Many cranes on the skyline

Brisbane City South Bank

There is no doubt Brisbane is in the middle of a building boom, just count the cranes on this small part of the city.

CityHopper is free

Brisbane City South Bank

The CityHopper lets you travel the Brisbane river for free, the ferries run every 30 minutes between 6am and midnight, seven days a week. Follow the link below for all the information.

Simply hop on and hop off and enjoy all the Brisbane River and city sights.

City Cat

Brisbane City South Bank

Another great way to see Brisbane’s city and suburbs. Check out THIS LINK for my photo blog.

A sunny Sunday afternoon at South Bank.

Brisbane City South Bank

Lots of people cross the river to visit South Bank with its many attractions.

South Bank tranquil garden

Brisbane City South Bank

The garden has a genuine rain forest feel.

A beautiful pagoda.

Brisbane City South Bank

This Nepalese Pagoda was originally brought to Brisbane for Expo 88, in fact I actually remember seeing it back then. Incredibly this is one of only three Nepalese peace pagodas in the world to be located outside of Nepal.

As you can see from my Brisbane City South Bank photo blog there is so much to see in this great city.

The Wheel of Brisbane

Brisbane City South Bank

Nowhere near as large as London or Tokyo but it certainly looks very nice at night. ?

 Approaching Equilibrium

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A rather interesting sculpture

Brisbane City South Bank

Brisbane City South Bank

This sculpture in front of the Queensland Art Gallery is named “Approaching Equilibrium”, I guess people with more understanding of art than I possess will appreciate it. In my opinion a better name would be “Big Black Mosquito”. 🙂

The heart of Brisbane

Brisbane City South Bank

The Queen Street Mall is certainly the heart of Brisbane, no traffic, lots of shops & restaurants.

Relax in the Mall

b1206537-a901-4ffe-9cb4-970e4613930e

A great “people watching” place where you can enjoy dinner & a glass of wine.

Lots of colour, lots of shops

Brisbane City South Bank

Day or night the mall is a hive of activity.

Eagle Street pier

Brisbane City South Bank

Eagle Street is Brisbane’s business hub, jump on a City Cat and cruise along the river past many of the cities landmarks.

Huge towers beside Eagle Street wharf.

Brisbane City South Bank

Lots of offices and lots of good bars & restaurants to capture the workers for lunch and dinner.

Brisbane City South Bank

Brisbane City South Bank

Cruise past the wheel on your way to lunch at The Regatta Hotel, you won’t be disappointed. 🙂

The Regatta Hotel

Brisbane City South Bank

The perfect spot for lunch or dinner, great steaks and good service. Check out my photo blog here.

Regatta Hotel

Brisbane City South Bank

Thanks for visiting my Brisbane City South Bank photo blog, this city has improved out of sight in the last 20 years.

Here are some other Brisbane photo blogs to check out.

City Cat cruise                        Hotels                               Restaurants    

A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.               

 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

 
  Please check out these fabulous posts
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Rio de Janeiro                  Singapore                    Eastern Europe
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    Bangkok Bars                         Tokyo                      Cape Town Safari
d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037          f5e9441a-4154-44e0-a362-18b662d40b48          2a2b79ea-bc5f-46e3-8448-2e71658eff14 
               Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
Free Cancellation. 
Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037          b1c99886-3940-4dda-b350-44c5e5c77e41
 
 That’s all folks

1g Duck

 

 

Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

Check out these great photo blogs.

Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 2 photos

Good Value Brisbane City Hotels

August 28, 2016 by David Herd

Abby On Roma

Good Value Brisbane City Hotels

 Good Value Brisbane City Hotels starting with Abby On Roma which is directly opposite Roma St railway station. The coffee shop you see on the ground floor does an excellent breakfast. Use THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.

The header on this post shows two of the hotels I will mention later, The Park Regis and Meriton serviced apartments. For excellent room rates just book through the highlighted links.

 Ibis Styles

Good Value Brisbane City Hotels

Located at 40 Elizabeth Street in the heart of the city. Nice rooms and friendly staff, good shopping arcade next door where you will fine Coles supermarket & Target. Book through THIS LINK for a very good room rate.

Park Regis North Quay

Good Value Brisbane City Hotels

Very nice rooms with an incredible view. About an 8 minute walk to Queen St Mall. My only complaint was the very poor internet service, they give you a miserly 250 meg per day. Book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.

 Good Value Brisbane City Hotels here is view from Park Regis.

Good Value Brisbane City Hotels

One of the best river & city views from my room on the 7th floor.

Park Regis pool & Infinity Tower incorporating  Meriton hotel & serviced apartments.

Good Value Brisbane City Hotels

As you can see the Meriton Infinity tower is a spectacular building.

Riverside Hotel Southbank

Good Value Brisbane City Hotels

Just across the road from South Bank and the convention centre. Book through THIS LINK for a discounted rate.

Meriton hotel & serviced apartments aka Infinity Tower

Good Value Brisbane City Hotels

A huge 81 floors with 549 apartments with stunning views of Brisbane and beyond. For a great discounted room rate at the Meriton hotel there just use THIS LINK to book.

Thanks for visiting my Good Value Brisbane City Hotels photo blog.

Each month my posts receive 75,000 visits which I certainly appreciate.

Please check out some of the most popular below, and thank you for visiting.

 

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Fascinating Istanbul Asia Meets EuropeHungarian Parliament Building (2)The Walkie Talkie (5)   

          Mostar                           Dubrobnik                            Split

                     43638e36-5da5-4162-98e3-635e2c149837IMG_7425Split Ancient Croatian Coastal city                    

                 Saigon                            Zagreb                          Vung tau

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Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
 
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That’s all folks

1g Duck

Holiday Inn

bbc35e6d-80db-4e1c-8f51-83dd84f16520

Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

Check out these great photo blogs.

 

Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

August 27, 2016 by David Herd

Harajuku Gyoza

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants I visited in August 2016 included Harajuku Gyoza at 141 Queen St. The service was good and the Gyoza excellent. There are two other branches, one in South Bank the other in Fortitude Valley.

Busy chef at work

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

The Gyoza was as good as I have experienced in Japan.

Little Singapore is adjacent to Harajuku Gyoza

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

TripAdvisor rating is 502 out of 3,180 Brisbane restaurants.

Vapiano 191 Albert St Queen Street Mall

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

Also opposite Harajuku Gyoza and I could not believe the queue waiting for a table. I didn’t eat there myself but if the queue is any indication the food must be good. 🙂

Comuna Cantina

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

Mexican restaurant in the same complex as the above at 175 Albert St.

Comuna

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

 Latin, Mexican & South American dishes , dine in or takeaway.

Chez Nous opposite Roma St station

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

Very busy for breakfast, good coffee and quick service. For an excellent room rate at Abby on Roma just book through THIS LINK.

Pony Dining Eagle Street Pier

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

Great location and some good reviews, however I thought the food was over rated & expensive.

Pony Dining

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

Ambience & service was fine but I’m guessing I ordered the wrong dishes.

Not my cup of tea. 🙂

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

I’m positive I won’t return, there are too many other choices in the area that I need to try.

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

As you can see there are many restaurant choices on Brisbane Riverside, follow THIS LINK for more suggestions.

 Jimmy’s on the Mall

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

One of Brisbane’s most popular restaurant bars & probably the best “people watching” spot in the city.

 Lots of choices in Queen St Mall

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

Sidewalk cafes & restaurants offering all types of food are everywhere on Queen St Mall.

 Pig & Whistle

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

There are six of these popular drinking spots in Brisbane. Based on a British Pub with live sports screens, follow THIS LINK for the locations.

Finally make sure you visit the Regatta Hotel

Brisbane Inner City Restaurants

The Boathouse at the Regatta is an excellent restaurant with very good aged beef & an interesting wine list.

Thanks for visiting my Brisbane Inner City Restaurants photo blog, before you leave please check out my City Cat blog.

                         Here are some other Brisbane photo blogs to check out.

            City Cat cruise                        Hotels                               Restaurants    

       

A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.               

 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

 
  Please check out these fabulous posts
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Rio de Janeiro                  Singapore                    Eastern Europe
f044491e-69aa-4082-b49b-1ff33557d7d4          60e7d26d-1039-4dde-863d-62b66656ccbf          1bea4a99-cb07-4161-83ba-75c0ef2b63cc
    Bangkok Bars                         Tokyo                      Cape Town Safari
d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037          f5e9441a-4154-44e0-a362-18b662d40b48          2a2b79ea-bc5f-46e3-8448-2e71658eff14 
               Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
Free Cancellation. 
Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037          b1c99886-3940-4dda-b350-44c5e5c77e41
 
 That’s all folks

1g Duck

 

Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

Australian adventures

  • Melbourne

Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 2 photos