bigger and better...

this blog has been an amazing platform for me to detail our adventures and journeys over the past few weeks, but i have now decided to make things a little more professional and will be moving to a website, in the coming weeks. this site will remain up for the next few months as there is alot of content on here that still gets copious amounts of hits per weeks. dont forget to add this address to your favorites and/or reading list http://www.fly-the-coop.com/

wining and dining on the gold coast...

with another long weekend upon us and no firm plans in place, we were busy bee's out and about on the gold coast this past weekend. our friday started after a leisurely sleep-in and a walk up to the natural bridge in springbrook national park before a great pub lunch up on mount tamborine. we then opted for an afternoon of water skiing and beers on the coomera river. the rest of the weekend was a blur of fishing, eating, playing tennis, hitting the local farmers markets, sipping on amazing wines and enjoying time with family and good friends.

i am always asked by family and friends about some great spots to visit on the gold coast so i am going to name a few of our favourite spots for you to head along to when you are next on the coast, in no particular order.

a long lunch on the water in sanctuary cove is always a safe bet before heading to ferry road markets for a coffee and shop at the amazing bohemian fashion and homeware stores. evening tapas at madam tojo's on a friday night is a fun event followed by drinks at stingray bar in surfers paradise. breakfast at elk in broadbeach is consistently good but busy so if you can't get in, head on over to edgewater at capri on via roma, just around the corner. wines in the garden at manadala organic cafe is a nice way to waste the afternoon away and take in some vegan cuisine.

nobby's beach is a great spot for dinner and drinks on a saturday night. some of our local haunts are the fish house at burleigh heads, hellenika in nobby's beach (both owned by the same peeps), little truffle in mermaid, avvia cafe in palm beach and bumbles on a thursday night is you are after a romantic setting. sundays are always fun if you head to the bundall farmers markets or south to burleigh to the village markets where you can pick up some handmade candles, some vintage clothes, shabby chic furniture or some fresh flowers. finish the weekend by either grabbing some seafood from petes fish markets at marina mirage along with a nice bottle of wine and head over to the beach for a picnic or take a drive up to mount tamborine for an afternoon walk and a cold cider at clancy's and enjoy the open fire place.

the perfect straddy weekend...

happy easter fly-the-coopers. i hope you all had a wonderful and restful few days off. kurt and i were lucky enough to head over to north stradbroke island for a beautiful weekend on the water. if we weren't on the boat, we were at the beach or picnicking on the nearby peel island. we had the most magical weather which made for perfect sunsets and long balmy days. we drank far to much wine, enjoyed some local food and enjoyed each others company. can you really ask for more on a long weekend?

back home - for now at least...

we are now back on the sunny gold coast loyal followers and just in time for kurts favorite time of the year. autumn or fall for you yanks. the mornings are crisp, the sunrises breathtaking with the warmth of the days still very much enjoyable. while we are not enjoying the monotony of being back at work (blah...), we are enjoying the creature comforts of home. i.e. glorious hot showers, our own bed, cooking and new clothes to rotate.  we know this will be short-lived however and are already talking about booking tickets to somewhere new and exotic. there seem to be a lot of amazing deals on flights at the moment so who knows where we will end up. since we are back on the coast, i am going to start detailing some of our ‘closer to home’ adventures. so keep on checking in.

on a separate note, flythecoop is up for one of the peoples choice awards for australia’s best blogs 2014 so i urge you, if you are so inclined, to vote for us. i have taken the liberty of adding the details below so you can click on through. voting closes on may fifth - so head on over now. 

our final few days...

we spent our last few days in lovely santa monica staying in a gorgeous room we booked on airbnb. if you plan on driving in la (which is known as a driving city) then beware! your stress levels will elevate, as will your need to consume vast amounts of alcohol, even with gps. this was our base for exploring hollywood, beverly hills and westwood. we purchased a map of the movie stars homes and basked in the gardens of chateau marmont. we made the most of delicious tex-mexican and the amazing bargains at the citadel outlets. our last evening was spent watching the sun set behind the malibu hills at paradise cove and dining on delectable seafood with desley and ted over some amazing californian sauvignon blanc.