Monday, July 14, 2014

Brisbane French Festival

Bastille Day, the Tour de France and this weekend's French Festival in Brisbane...it's hard not to think about France today!

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We enjoyed another beautiful sunny winter's day here on Sunday at the Brisbane French Festival.

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Lots of market stalls, French food, dressed-up folks and activities for the kids.

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As close as I've ever been to Tahiti:

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Churros with a warm caramel sauce:

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What happens after you say 'no more churros':

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And the grand finale - Pepper the French Bulldog:

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I hope you're enjoying your Bastille Day, wherever you are!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Teneriffe Festival, Brisbane

Hey, you guys, did you have a good weekend? Was it warm? It's winter here but we managed 24℃ (75℉), which is not too shabby.

We had a fab weekend, due in part to attending the Teneriffe Festival on Saturday.

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

Several streets are closed off in the trendy inner-city suburb of Teneriffe and all sorts of attractions and activities are set up - from food vendors, markets, displays, music, petting zoos, fashion parades....the list goes on.

We arrived early and were treated to free popcorn for the kids while we wandered down through some nostalgic car displays.

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

I was very keen to catch Betty and the Betties, an acapella, boogie-woogie style group, who were performing at 9am. I was not disappointed.

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

Have you ever heard Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know done Andrew Sisters style? I have now, and it was fantastic.

We browsed through some of the market stalls:

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Why yes, I'd love a sample. Erm, what is it? Never mind: irrelevant. 

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

Next we headed down to the kids' area.

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Face (and hand) painting

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Spin-your-own painting

We gave the petting zoo a miss and instead secured a front row spot for the piglet races.

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

Talk about cute. Here they are snoozing in the sun before the race (I love how they're all snuggled up together.)

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

Then the announcer played the racing call and they jumped up and ran over to the start line all by themselves - they were keen to get into it!

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

The course took maybe 90 secs for the piggies to run, at most. And of course, it wouldn't be Australia if there wasn't a sweep to participate in.

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

The winner was the first piglet to navigate the gates, tyres, hay bales, pipes and ramps and make it to the feed bucket.

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

Once their little tummies were full they went back to lazing in the sun. Not a bad life for a piggie, considering the alternative:

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Oink. (To be fair, I think these sausages say Moooo.)

After the big race, the mister and I were in need of refreshment. Low and behold, we happened upon a wee caravan selling boutique beer. There were high fives all 'round.

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

It was midday and very warm, so a cool beer was just the ticket.

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
They drank the beer and the beer was good.

There were deck chairs and leis and even Pimms for those not so keen on beer (such people actually exist, I hear.)

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

Sitting back in a deck chair with a beer, looking up at the lovely old converted buildings in the area:

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane
Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

This lasted a good 12 seconds until a child ran away and had to be retrieved. Oh well.

The Festival went on well into the evening and included many more things than I'm showing today (particularly for the grown ups). This 2 minute video on the Festival's website gives a great overview of it all.

Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

We really had a most splendid day and we'll be noting it in our diaries for 2015. If you happen to be in Brisbane in July I hope you'll do the same!

 Teneriffe Festival Brisbane

Linking up with Design Mom's Love the Place You Live series.

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