Week 9: Highgate Hill to Saint Lucy Café (16.25km, 1:37:25)

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m starting to feel stronger, but the run this morning has been one of my favourites to date.  It was an extension of our week 6 run with the addition of a few kilometres from Indooroopilly to the University of Queensland (UQ) campus.  

We departed Highgate Hill and crossed over Gladstone road and dropped down to the cycle path under the Green Bridge at Fairfield.  The temperate autumn weather is starting to make for very pleasant running conditions.  It was an easy run along the Brisbane Corso, weaving our way from Fairfield, Tennyson, Graceville and Chelmer.  It is flat terrain with a tranquil Brisbane River snaking its way to the right of us. The only vigilance required was the monitoring of the numerous cyclists, mostly going the opposite direction to us, on their river loops.  Cycling is a great way to exercise but running pace ensures a more enhanced interaction with the local environment.  The subtle changes enroute can only be appreciated on foot. The last 4km from Indooroopilly Bridge are a little more undulating. We followed Lambert road past Indooroopilly High School on the left and St Peters Lutheran College on the right.  Laboured breathing heralded the little hill to the St Lucia Golf club where we joined a pedestrian path to the right with a sign for the Eleanor Schonell Bridge. The path shadows the golf course, and then enters the university campus, providing a tour of some of the accommodation options on offer at UQ before reconnecting with the river.    A sprint finish to the shadow of the bridge was met with light applause from some admiring cyclists who were assembling under the bridge (no doubt taking note of the excellent running styles!)

Saint Lucy Cafe is located in the UQ Tennis complex.  One only needs to walk in under the mixed canopy of trees and umbrellas to start feeling a sense of serenity.  I will acknowledge that the post run righteous satisfaction and endorphins may be a contributory influence to this sense of peace.

Saint Lucy is known for her Advent feast; however, one is able to feast on a variety of delicious options every day of the week at her namesake.  Caitlyn is clearly nominating herself to become Brisbane’s expert critic on the intricacies of “Smashed Avocado’ dishes as this was her choice again this week.  It was complemented with minted peas, toasted rye, persian fetta, fried pumpkin, poached eggs and tomato puree.  Bronwyn joined her in this choice and both rated it very highly, with Caitlyn declaring it the best smashed avocado interpretation to date!  The hero of the dish was, reportedly, the minted peas and rye bread. The only con, to be clutched at, was a less than generous portion of pumpkin and fetta.  I enjoyed the crisp potato roesti with grilled haloumi, corn fraiche, poached eggs and salsa verde.  I admit I did experience a little bit of plate envy:  my haloumi, while being a generous portion, was thick and the texture a little tough. The flavours were a lovely mix and the highlight would have been the roesti and corn fraiche.  For the $18:50 a second roesti and a thinner haloumi would have felt better value.  

Smashed avocado

Potato roesti

Whether you’re tennis tragic or not, Saint Lucy Café and its peaceful surrounds and delicious modern food, make it a perfect dining location.
This is one of those places where you could linger and while away the whole day

Week 8: Highgate Hill to Foxy Bean (14:01km, 88min)

Mentally prepped for a very wet run, following the deluge throughout Saturday and during the night, remarkably, the skies remained clear this morning. The trio were reunited with a 5:45 am departure from Highgate Hill. We retraced some familiar territory. Highgate Hill is aptly named and our run commenced with the roller coaster of Laura Street. The short sharp climb from Gloucester Street is yet to feel anything but a grind. We then descended towards the river and the run alongside Kangaroo point cliffs up to the Story Bridge. There was a number of hills this morning (I thought I should mention this to account for the slowish splits – no race pace yet!) .
There is divided opinion in our group about the section from Story Bridge and along the floating board walk through NewFarm.  Caitlyn is staunchly opposed, as she feels it is a flat and tedious plod, while Bronwyn and I enjoy the freedom of running out on the river, free of undulations.  We turned left and wove back through the streets of NewFarm keeping the river on our left. As you approach the bridge, there is a picturesque elevated spot with a view back towards the Southern side of the river. It is far preferable running north to south on the Story Bridge with the longer easier descent.
If you are looking for a hardy stair climb, there is a set of stairs, adjacent to the Story Bridge Hotel, offering multiple flights onto the walkway of the bridge. We took the right direction on these stairs and dropped down to the Kangaroo Point Park and meandered riverside through the Docklands.  At this section, you must ascend again and it is a deceptive climb up O’Connell Street with a left turn down to Mowbray Park. I remind myself that Queenstown is likely to have a few hills so should embrace these opportunities.  We wound our way from Mowbray Park through East Brisbane, more small hills, and popped out onto Stanley Street East at Woolloongabba. There are some beautiful old homes tucked away in East Brisbane delivering some welcome distractions as we approached our café destination.

The trio was expanded at breakfast this morning with the welcome addition of supporters to combine for a belated birthday celebration.

Corn and haloumi fritters

 

 Foxy Bean is an appealing looking café with plenty of seating options including a covered courtyard lined with attractive planter boxes and rustic bar tables and stools. There is a diverse and interesting breakfast menu.  There was a collective sigh around the table with my suggestion I might try the bircher muesli. It seemed the group had actually been reading the blog, however, unanimously appealed for a little more variety in my breakfast choices.  I acquiesced for the benefit and interest of my readers and ordered corn and haloumi fritters and sour cream topped with avocado salsa. A tempting looking dish, however, looks can be deceptive. It was bland with little mention of haloumi or anything other than the flavour of corn.  Bronwyn had the same dish as myself and Caitlyn continued in her theme of avocado (it seems she intends to try every breakfast derivation on avocado around Brisbane).

Crushed avocado

Her Crushed avocado meal came on sourdough with crumbled feta and slow roasted tomatoes sprinkled with house-made dukkah. Normally quite agreeable, Caitlyn found the dish quite salty, her tomatoes being the highlight. The stand out dishes around the table appeared to be the Bushman’s Benedict with chipotle braised beef cheeks and pork savoury mince poached eggs, béarnaise and sourdough and the French Brioant Toast; with a delicious whipped lemon ricotta with vanilla maple syrup and mulled strawberries. The tea and coffee drinkers declared their brews excellent. The Foxy Bean offers friendly service and reasonable prices with change from $20.00 for a meal and hot drink.

Happy belated birthday Clara!

French Brioant toast

Week 7: Hunter foreshore to Estobar Cafe (12.1km, 73min)



Breakwater with Nobbys behind

It was breakfast on the run on the road this week. A good friends 50th birthday in the Hunter Valley generated the opportunity to revisit the sites and flavours of the Newcastle region. The husband and I camped enroute’ at ‘Jimmys’ on the Beach’ campground, an hour north of Newcastle. Hawks nest is a magical seaside holiday hamlet that has successfully retained the sleepy feel without succumbing to development pressures.
It would be failing journalistic integrity to suggest I leapt out of bed with vigour after a disturbed ‘first night away’ sleep.  Nonetheless, not one to disappoint,  we drove another hour to the Newcastle foreshore. Donned running gear and headed west up the Hunter River towards Carrington. The husband set the pace and path in brisk southern winds. Within the first minutes we enjoyed a fortuitous encounter with a local running identity, 62yo Alan. Macca was warming down one of his ‘chargés’, having just completed a neat half marathon training session. To my delight, he promptly ascertained the serious level of my commitment and enquired into my current running goals. Suitably impressed with my response he regaled us with his Boston marathon tales from last year. My delight turned to glee with his assessment of my "very nice" running style! The husband proudly bedecked with his gold coast marathon t-shirt was chastised about his inefficient weak low hanging arm style.  There was suggestion, later in our run, by the husband that perhaps Alan’s recruitment strategy involved targeting all the female runners in the foreshore. I suspect he was still carrying a grudge about the reference to his arm propulsion technique. Alan's other sage advice included "lest is best ' and not to over race. I enjoyed the chirpy company and brush with obvious running celebrity. There were numerous warm greetings from other runners, who all seemed to know our companion.
We farewelled Alan and continued along the river foreshore past the old docks. We passed the fishing trawlers with fisherman cleaning off after their catch and we meandered via the new townhouse developments, with enviable proximity to the water front. We turned around at Carrington and retraced our steps heading east towards Nobbys' lighthouse and the breakwater then return.  

view from Estobar

Estobar cafe is located across from Newcastle beach and seems to have already been discovered. The tables are a little close for comfort and make for intimate dining with strangers. Secure a bar stool off the street for uninterrupted ocean views. The highlight was the generous sized and cute tea pot, dressed with knitted cosy and tasty leaf brew. The bircher muesli with berries and a side of yoghurt was attractively presented but an oversupply of grated apple and a confusing assortment of other fillers missed its mark. The husbands berry yogurt with honey pistachios was a perfect balance of sweet and tangy. A magnificent cappuccino established Estobar as a worthy dining option. Friendly staff made it a memorable breakfast. Slightly elevated prices compensated by the location.

Week 6: Highgate Hill to The Corner Café Indooroopilly ( 12km, 73min) [plus 6km walk home]

Caitlyn was assigned run co-ordinator this morning and I relished her choice for the following reasons: We enjoyed a little sleep-in with a slightly later start at 5:45am ; the distance was an achievable 13km (as compared to 15km last week); we couldn’t get lost as we just had to keep the river on our right shoulder and most importantly, the course had no repeats in it. A circular or one way course is a critical element to any good run or walk . Unless it can’t be avoided, I don’t like repeating scenery. The reason for the final distance of 12km as opposed to the intended 13km will be explained shortly.

Our trio was varied this morning. Bronwyn is in New Zealand attending a reunion, undoubtedly maintaining her training regime. Taking her place was The Husband. There was some alteration to the usual banter and pace but Caitlyn and I did manage to keep him in our sights. We started from Highgate Hill and crossed Gladstone Road and dropped down into Fairfield to the river under the Green Bridge. The path follows the river along the Brisbane Corso and is a delightful area with the mix of euctalypts, poincianas and luxury houses to keep one distracted from the task at hand. At some point around Yeronga, the husband led us away from the river across country, which appears to have cut 1km from the course. Human nature is such that there was no protests from the group as to the impact of the variation. We made our way into the Tennyson Tennis centre complex and onto Graceville with the river never far from our view. Some sections through Graceville don’t have a pedestrian path and are shared road with the oncoming cyclists on their river loop. The early morning traffic is minimal, so the access was not a problem. The Indooroopilly Bridge towers seemed to come upon us in no time as our landmark objective for breakfast.




Breakfast 26

The Corner Cafe' at Indooroopilly is located in the mix of shops behind the El Dorado cinema opposite Indooroopilly train station. Although a good meal and very friendly service, it was not quite in the same league as our other fantastic breakfast locations to date. Perhaps it was the lack of view , plastic tables on the side walk and my view of the brick wall? My companions declare I am a little harsh. Caitlyn continued her avocado devotion and devoured her ‘Breakfast 26” declaring the poached eggs and mushrooms were cooked to perfection. I enjoyed a variation titled ‘Healthy Breakfast’ with an inclusion of baked beans and a tasty tomato relish. My avocado was edible but damaged, bordering on whether it should have been served. The husband’s Breakfast Burger looked fresh and fulfilling, with a sneaky hash brown on the side. Given the unique size of the coffees and our breakfast cycling companions, I suspect the attraction to the café might be the local brew. Apparently an adequate coffee, but my husband, in referencing Jack Reacher’s attitude to espresso coffee, size is not as important as quality. The three of us ate for $52, which included a pot of nicely brewed leaf tea.

big eared mug

Breakfast burger

Week 5:Norman Park to The Rabbit Hole café (15km, 93min)

 

The Rabbit Hole

At risk of falling down the rabbit hole like Alice, control of the running route was furnished to Bronwyn this morning. We were in her natural territory, familiar to me but a shakeup on my normal direction and landmarks. As a result, being directionally challenged, the cognitive demand has been greater in  recalling where I went in order to write it up. Fortunately, I have been able to refer to the youthful mind of Caitlyn and the map!

At 5:30am we started from Norman park, crossed Wynnum Road and following the river, city bound through Mowbray Park. We wound our way riverside, Kangaroo Point cliffs on the left, and powered onto the Goodwill Bridge with a side glance back at the many breakfast possibilities in South Bank (only the half way point after all). The Botanical Gardens is a worthy addition on any run with the beautiful promenade of figs providing cooling shade. We passed via Eagle Street Pier ,with its breakfast options, towards the steep climb up to the Story Bridge walkway. There are occasions where a fast walk achieves the same degree of forward propulsion up a steep incline as running. Caitlyn was particularly peppy this morning and the more mature members of our small pose have suggested she should perhaps go out clubbing on Saturday nights to even out the capability levels. The fastest kilometre split in our run was at 11km, with the gravity assisted descent off the Story Bridge back onto Kangaroo Point. At this point we reconnected to our earlier path and weaved our way through Mowbray Park and the back streets and onwards to the Rabbit Hole café in Seven Hills.

Smashed avocado

Fruit salad and granola

The Rabbit Hole is a well-patronised local café at the Corso. Get up a little earlier to ensure a table as I am told it fills fast. Bronwyn and I chose the fresh fruit salad with yoghurt and a side of toasted Granola. Caitlyn continued with her theme on avocado and tried the ‘Smashed avocado’; two pieces of toast with avocado, fresh tomato, rocket and lemon. The portion sizes were very generous; the food fresh and delicious. I’m assuming the toasted granola was house made as it was too unique and tasty to have been a commercial product. It was an essential addition providing the texture and taste to offset the fresh fruit and yoghurt. On return I would have to try one of the fruit juices, as there was a moment of envy when the neighbouring table received their drinks. A check in on my stomach capacity, however, confirmed it would have to be a next time. Good prices and great food. A pot of leaf tea and breakfast with change from $20.