A Queenslander House Tour

Since I live away from many of my family and friends, I thought it would be nice to give everyone an idea of my home. A lot of these people have not had the chance to visit, but I hope these photographs can give you a glimpse into my home while living abroad. But let me give you a bit of background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our house is over 100 years old (ghosts included) and is of the traditional Queenslander type. Queenslander houses are named after where they are found, in Queensland. Essentially, these are timber houses built on stilts (or stumps), allowing the cool air to pass through underneath, I guess it can be considered a pioneers air conditioner. Along with that technique of cooling, breezeways above doors are also characteristics of Queenslanders. My boyfriend calls these houses wooden tents, which is essentially true, as there is no insulation. Did I mention sound proofing is non-existent, which comes in handy when my boyfriend is “undathahouse” (aka under-the-house) working out and I need something from our deep freezer down there. I just stand over where I think he is and yell down.

Our house in particular is a worker’s cottage, as it is one of the smaller Queenslanders built with cheaper material. However, some Queenslanders can resemble villas. Another feature of these houses is the porches, which wrap around, acting as an extra room. To give you an idea, we just repaired the old pipe used to release the gases of the outhouse on the back porch. Don’t worry, all that is left now is a covered hole in the roof. Houses constantly move with the change in weather, some days we can’t shut doors, other days we might be hit with a bought of motion sickness as the floor slopes. The ultimate answer to all of this is, “the joys of living in a Queenslander”.They do have a lot of character, but with that comes constant upkeep. Although our house has a “new” kitchen and washrooms. You can see the traditional cream colour walls, along with chipped paint and original hardware. We have mini renovation plans, which includes painting everything white one day soon.

Original bricks from backyard patio

Additionally, this past summer the cooling technique did not seem to work that well when Brisbane hit record highs of 45 degrees. We have a modern air conditioner, but this type of house limits where it is installed (above the kitchen sink). Many homeowners now end up raising their house and enclosing underneath to add another level. This creates a great balance between the old and new, along with keeping all the elements out. We hang our laundry under the house, which is open to the elements of leaves and dirt, so the second a white sheet, towel, or shirt touches a post or ground, it needs another wash. As I am writing this I am realising how different this is to the Canadian way.

P.S. For information on furnishings please ask in the comment section below.

Creepy Crawlies

Autumn garden clean up

Living in Australia comes with its fair share of wild tales. A lot of my non Australian friends say they could never live in Australia because of the spiders and snakes. I used to think that was silly because one would never really encounter them when living in the city. But summer was in full bloom here and the creepy crawlies came out to play. This was my first summer in Australia living in an old house with a backyard and lush garden; we used to live in a modern apartment. The backyard is incredibly inviting on hot summer days, but it takes work to keep up. It was through my maintenance of the property that I came across spiders and snakes that finally made me question how Australians survive in this wild land.

A spider that is not afraid to hang around our house is the huntsman spider, which does not spin a web, but hunts its prey. You can see where it gets its name. But to give you an idea of its size, its favourite prey are cockroaches, and the cockroaches in Australia are not your everyday cockroaches. They come in all shapes and sizes, but most of them are large to my standard, and take full advantage of their wings (yes cockroaches fly!), flying into houses at night. Does it sound like your nightmare yet?

And I finally encountered snakes, something I honestly did not think would happen. One day I saw a long black snake with red radiating from its underside slither across our driveway. I mentioned what I saw to my boyfriend and neighbour, who should be accustomed to this stuff, but they were shocked, saying I should be careful, as that snake could really do some harm. Its name is a red-bellied black snake, another creative Australian title.

Later, I had another gruesome encounter, when I went to grab something from under our house (picture a house on stilts with the laundry, deep freezer, storage, and tool shed under the house) at night. As I turned on the lights to guide my way, there was a bit of a delay, but I kept walking and noticed something squishy under my foot. The light finally turned on to reveal I stepped on a little, grey, furry creature with big ears and a long tail, whom started to jump at my leg. I forgot what I was meant to do doing and ran upstairs screaming. We think it was a baby possum, the baby of the big possum living under our house. A few days later my boyfriend checked to see if the possum was still there, and it was gone. We originally thought I had scared them away by accidentally stepping on the baby, but my boyfriend came across some news a few days later that put all the pieces together and frankly, scared me even more.

Apparently, python snakes like possums, and are not afraid to hunt possums sleeping in houses. Here is another piece of the puzzle, the day after my incident with the baby possum, we woke up to the sound of kookaburra, which you might think is an everyday occurrence in Australia, but in our neighbourhood, it is not. Kookaburra actually make their lovely (annoying) laughing noise to warn the other birds that there is a snake near by, so the birds can protect their eggs. We think a snake might have had something to do with getting rid of the possum under our house. It could also explain why the baby possum did not move when it saw me coming, as possums are usually scared of people and see well at night, the snake could have already injured it.

So summer is almost over, even though it is still hotter than ever, and I have survived! But honestly, this is all part of the adventure of living abroad. I like to think I am a stronger and braver person for it, but now the fleas have invaded our house. The snakes don’t seem so scary anymore…

The Best of Brisbane

View of Brisbane at night from Mount Coot-tha

Since I first moved to Brisbane about three years ago, a lot has changed here in this modern city. To keep up with demand, there has been an influx of culture and character. New cafes, restaurants, and bars are constantly popping up, with markets as a great supplement. However, shopping and cultural institutions leave something to be desired. So here are some of my favourite places around Brisbane.

Australian rocky road towers at Eagle Farm Markets

Eat
When getting to know any city I usually find it best to check out the best cafes, restaurants, and bars around. Below are the best cheap to mid priced eats, but be aware that service is not a strong point for most Brisbane establishments.
Breakfast/Brunch
Pawpaw Café – Woolloongabba: Love the subtle twist on traditional breakfasts.
The Burrow – West End: Could sit here all day and keep ordering all the yummy drinks and food.
Au Cirque – New Farm: French twist breakfasts.
Lunch
Felix Espresso and Wine Bar – CBD: For a healthy lunch.
Three Monkeys Coffee and Tea House – West End: Best chai tea in the city!
Happy Little Dumplings – New Farm: Best dumplings in the city, they have multiple locations as well.
Dinner
Gerard’s Bistro – New Farm: Amazing sharing plates inspired by Southern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Beccofino – Teneriffe: Best Italian food in the city, just go early or late to get a table, no reservations.
Green Papaya – Woolloongabba: Best Thai food in the city.
Harajuku Gyoza – Fortitude Valley: Great atmosphere, plus the dessert gyoza is worth trying.
Wagaya – Fortitude Valley: Quality Japanese food, all ordered from the touch screen at the table.
Quan Thanh – West End: Best Vietnamese food in the city
Drink
Riverbar and Kitchen – CBD: Best patio overlooking the Brisbane River.
Alfred and Constance – Fortitude Valley: Funky atmosphere with yummy cocktail jugs.
Super Whatnot – CBD: Lane way post work week drinks.

Past exhibition at GOMA

Shop
Unlike most cities, Brisbane lacks high street shopping. So for the one stop shop, Queen Street Mall in the CBD is the best bet. Brand name shops include Seed Heritage, Witchery, Country Road, French Connection, and Topshop, along with high-end department stores like Myer and David Jones. I have also become a huge fan of Target lately, mainly for its stylish, affordable women’s fashion. But my favourite, little discovery is Daiso, on the top-level of the Myer Centre, it is basically a Japanese dollar store, and if you have been to Japan, you know it is not your average dollar store.
For boutique shopping, be aware of high prices and bad service, so window shopping is the best bet in areas like Paddington and James Street.  But head to Woolloongabba for the best antique centre in the city, treasures of all sorts are to be found there.

Giant watermelon at Brisbane Markets

Markets
The large amount of markets in South East Queensland makes Brisbane unique. The best quality and most affordable produce, along with yummy street eats are found at these markets.
Eagle Farm Markets – Sunday morning: Best all round experience.
Queen Street Markets – Wednesday all day: Mid week pick me up.
Eat Street Markets (Portside) – Friday and Saturday evening: Something different for a date night.
Davies Park Markets (West End) – Saturday morning: Best atmosphere.
But I am excited to try the new Boundary Street Markets.

Past exhibition at GOMA

Art
Brisbane still has a way to go to catch up with world-renowned cultural institutions, but a few stand out as nice retreats on hot, humid days. The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), in the South Bank Cultural Precinct, always has interesting exhibitions and features leading technology. Neighbouring GOMA is the State Library of Queensland, offering free Internet and quiet hideaways overlooking the Brisbane River. A local favourite is the Museum of Brisbane, with its newly renovated, contemporary space above Brisbane City Hall.

Family at Eat Street Markets