Today we had a very, very early start: We got up at 0645 (on a Saturday!) in order to have a look at Brisbane Market. This is held in Rocklea, a suburb that was under three meters of water in the flood. The market is one of Brisbane’s major food supply sources (apparently the restaurant trade buys there), and only managed to reopen a couple of weeks ago. Hoping to find a market similar to Victoria Market in Melbourne, we made the effort to get up early.

Overall it was a bit of a disappointment; there was a wide selection of fruit and vegetables but little meat, and, being held outside, was hot and sticky even under the canvas covers, and even at 7:25am. A learning point: Even at 7am, sunblock up and take a hat!

But, this made the trip worthwhile:

Ever since I saw a chilli tree at the Victoria Market in Melbourne I’d desperately wanted to give one to The Chilli Fiend. I couldn’t do that then, owing to our imminent return to the UK, but I remember thinking ‘I want my life to be settled enough that I can buy stuff like that’. So, even though it’s at the end of the season and the chillies are looking a little sad, we invested $2 in buying this chilli tree, as a symbol.

Having returned home (via two supermarkets due to the erratic food supply) we jumped into the pool (it was still only 9am) to wake up properly, then decided to go exploring. We got into our huge truck and drove to Manly (that’s Manly in QLD, not NSW), on the coast. We fell in love with it instantly; it’s a beautiful place. Ironically we fell right into Manly Market. It looked lovely, especially since we didn’t need to actually buy anything. We watched the sailing for a while, then drove along the tourist trail a bit further south. Here are more pictures of a lovely day.