All Dressed Up at the Breakfast Creek Hotel

Yesterday was another fun day in Oz. I've been here for a week and a half and I've worn nothing but sundresses the entire time. The hot, humid weather here makes wearing anything else less than comfortable. Sundresses are definately going to be the thing to wear in the next few months. Because I owned only a handful of dresses, it was clear that I was going to need to go shopping. Poor me! So, yesterday I took a city ferry across the river to the Queen Street Mall. It's an outdoor shopping area a short walk from the pier. I've noticed that things in Australia are more expensive than in the States. In Australia, it's not uncommon to pay $40 a plate for dinner or several hundred dollars for a pair of jeans. So, you can imagine my surprise when I discovered several holiday sales still going on. I spent a couple of hours browsing the stylish tropical metropolis where, in the end, I not only bought 6 dresses but also enjoyed a mug of flat white ~ a coffee lover's dream!

After returning home, Ryan and I decided to go out to dinner to my favorite restaurant in Brisbane, The Breakfast Creek Hotel. It's a refurbished building that was built in 1889. It now makes the most of its exposed brick walls, soaring ceiling and wharehouse feel. There are no waiters or waitresses. Instead, guests approach a butcher case, which houses several cuts of raw steak, where they order their choice cut. After the meal is prepared, guests return to the pick up counter to retrieve their meal which includes salad and either a baked potato with bacon sauce or chips (fries). It sounds semi-formal, but on the contrary, it's a pretty fancy place. We've been twice before when I visited in July, and both times were after long days at the beach. There is no dress code. However, compared to the other diners I felt underdressed. This time, I was prepared. After all, I had just purchased 6 new sundresses. Ryan and I both dressed up and had a fantastic dinner of New York Steak and Striploin.

Breakfast Creet Hotel in Brisbane, Australia