Our Murgon/Kingaroy Road Trip Part 2:

After checking out Mr P.'s museum recently, we also stayed a couple of nights in his old hometown of Toowoomba.  We always love visiting.  Even though it's summer, we had two extraordinarily foggy nights up on the range.  It was brilliant!

Toowoomba is located in a caldera (the top of an old volcano), at nearly 800 metres high on the Great Dividing Range.  From our hotel, you can see the hills surrounding the town.  You don't actually realise that it is a bowl until you're up high.  During the 2011 floods, water rushed down into the bowl sweeping people and cars away.

On our way from Murgon to Toowoomba via Kingaroy, we stopped at a cute cafe cum gift store in the wee town of Maidenwell.  We were amazed to find not just one but two fabulous cafes plus the old pub being well-patronised on a Sunday lunchtime.  Oh yes, I bought a cast-iron spider there; I'm trying to de-sensitise myself as my arachnophobia is huge!

cast-iron spider by Mr. Gecko

Unlike other silos on the Silo Art Trail throughout Australia, these are heritage-listed so cannot be painted over.  They really are magnificent, and are still used today.  Kingaroy is in the heart of a peanut-growing area, and you can still buy fresh peanuts here - sooo much better than packaged ones from who knows where.  There is a peanut van or two, and a peanut artwork in the town.  So cute!

historical silos at Kingaroy

artwork by The ZooKeeper

brilliant old car outside the pub at Maidenwell

an absolute beauty in Crow's Nest

inside the French cafe at Crow's Nest

street art in Toowoomba (by Buttons)

foggy night!

and a foggy morning

we had pastries at the bakery

and we visited the Japanese Gardens

and more fog rolling in

we took the scenic route home

this mailbox reminds me of that Russian folktale - Baba Yaga

Remember Baba Yaga? - the old witch who lives in a house that walks around on chicken legs.  I love the mailboxes that you find on country roads.

Well, that's all for this trip.  Just wait till February when we head to Northern Rivers again!

c. Sherry M.

Myrtille Bistro, Crow's Nest - Review

I don't usually write reviews for the blog these days, but Mr P. and I were so happy with our lunch at Myrtille (French for blueberry) that I just had to write one!  I know many of you lovely readers are not from this area, but you can get a feel for this charming place.  Hubby and I headed off to Toowoomba for a weekend break, he to attend a building designers' awards night, and both of us to enjoy my post-birthday lunch. 

‘Twas a very foggy, rainy, grey day when we headed out to Crow’s Nest for lunch.  Thank goodness Mr P. had booked, ‘cos lots of folks were being turned away, as the place was hopping.  The bistro is in a historical 1906 building which has been renovated beautifully; the restaurant has dark blue (blueberry like the name) walls with lovely lights and lots of glass doors and high windows.  A bar runs along one side; there are tables inside and out, and don’t forget the pâtisserie next door! 

'there's a clock on the wall' la la la ...

walking by ...

We ate: parmesan gougère with truffled egg and scallops for me, and hubby had housemade baguette with garlic thyme butter.  Both were excellent, and I was very happy to have a wee bit of the 500 gram (1 lb) truffle from the Granite Belt. The eggs were creamy, the scallops were sweet, and his bread and butter was generous.  We both chose the beef cheeks en daube, which was melt in your mouth, pull-apart with a spoon (yes they gave us a spoon too for the saucy bits). The Paris mash was divinely creamy and buttery and delicious, though I have to say the greens didn’t do anything for me.  I thought they were a bit too crunchy, though hubby thought they were fine.  I guess the dark green stuff was kale - the devil’s work :-) - so I left that to its own devices after a chew on its evil, green heart. Even though we were full, dessert was on the cards so I had an affogato with Frangelico, and I stole a few big spoonfuls of his (our) white chocolate mousse with blueberries, and passionfruit and sponge, oh and a wonderful birthday sparkler for moi! 

Service was wonderful, prompt, efficient and warm.  The atmosphere was lovely, the décor was sophisticated, and the food Frenchy and fabulous.  And the menu changes regularly according to the produce available.  (The toilets are interesting with a plethora of choices, as I said to hubby when he went off after me. At least the urinal was in a cubicle, thank heavens!) And they offered me a doggy bag for my uneaten beef, which was much appreciated.  In fact, several diners were given them, so clearly the serves are generous.  Well worth the road trip to get there, foodie people.  And you can do a wee bit of shopping in the lovely stores also in the building.  One of them had a gorgeous and wonderfully warm fireplace going.  Crow's Nest is one of the High Country Hamlets after all, so it gets cold!

baguette with garlic thyme butter

parmesan gougere, truffled eggs and scallops

beef cheek en daube

looking to the bar

moi, Mr P. and a birthday sparkler

affogato with Frangelico

white chocolate mousse, passionfruit,
sponge and blueberries (pre-sparkler)

exterior and sign

lovely old building

looking up and out

on Pipeline Road

Myrtille Bistro: Nolan's Block, 1 Thallon Street, New England Highway, Crow's Nest QLD

Ph: 07 4698 4164

email: hello.myrtillebistro@gmail.com

Toowoomba - Trendy, Tasty and Terrific

Mr P. and I were last up in Toowoomba about 18 months ago to see the spring Carnival of Flowers. He grew up there and remembers cycling to school in rain, hail or sleet; chopping wood for the fire, and throwing the snow off his bedclothes in the mornings.   Nah - kidding!  (Our American friend does tell stories of doing exactly that as she and her sisters slept on the porch without windows so the snow did come in over their beds during the night).  But Mr P. and his siblings did have to tough out the cold winters without heating in their rooms.  Actually so did my siblings and I in cold Melbourne weather!  Never mind all that, this story is about our trip last week to Toowoomba for a couple of nights so Mr P. could attend a conference up there.  And how magnificent it was, with glorious trees full of scarlet and yellow autumn leaves, brilliant blue skies and sunny days.

so stunning

golden leaves beginning to fall  

We had a quick lunch at the Park House cafe once we got to the top of the range, before settling into Beccles B&B, a really comfy and welcoming home away from home run by the lovely Janette and her 2 gorgeous dogs.

don't tell Janette how many biscuits I gave her :)

gorgeous day 

gotta love an all-day breakfast menu (excuse the shadows; I was sitting in direct sunlight)  

lovely front garden 

having wine and cheese in the delightful living room at Beccles

trendy elephant mural in a laneway  

love this artwork in the Regional Art Gallery  

what an amazing lightwell on the external wall of the Gallery   

inside the Gallery   

part of the Bimblebox exhibition currently showing   

Mr P. hanging out in a trendy laneway  

drinking coffee with the hipsters at Ground Up Espresso Bar 

my fave trendy mural!

Mr P. doing more hanging out 

but I'm not an ibis!, said the duck:)

guess what this is!  a chocolate shop

and where else do you go on a freezing cold Toowoomba night? 

you eat ice-cream of course!  

Mr P. loves strawberry  

We had such a lovely weekend; I highly recommend spending a couple of nights here especially if you like a bit of a chill in the air.  We will definitely be going back soon!  Oh, and I forgot to mention the heavenly breakfasts made by Janette. She had another guest staying when we did, who had to leave by 6:30 so Janette was up and about at some ungodly hour cooking up the bacon and eggs.  You won't need lunch after one of her fab breakfasts. 

the charming breakfast room at Beccles 

(All meals and accommodation independently paid for)