Stickin' Around Base Camp

As much as we love travelling around the Sunshine Coast yesterday, Mum and I are very tired and we really need a day off; and so today is the day.  Last night's dinner went down so well that Mum has suggested that I do another stir-fry - this time I add in prawns instead of vegetarian bacon.

But today, I'm going to take you around the hotel room and parts of Mantra that you haven't seen.  It's a small set of rooms, but yet it's good.  This hotel is mainly used for

functions and meetings, so there's mirrors everywhere!  There's one in the bedroom - of course - and one in the living room and one in the bathroom too.  Then, once you're out in the area where the lifts are, there's a pretty decent-sized one there too!

And there's plenty of windows too; so plenty of natural light during the day. The bedroom has a full-length window next to the beds (which are very close together).  Then, there's one big one next to the kitchen, and a lovely big set of doors that look out to the beach and The Esplande.  It's wonderful!  I don't get to see the ocean very much; and just can't seem to stop photographing it!

Once you're out the door of the unit, there's a little corner

and then the lifts; but if you keep walking along and turn left, there's a corridor that runs along and curves around.  Along here is a large set of windows that look out over the back of the hotel and over the back of Mooloolaba.  It takes in the Glass House Mountains and surrounding areas!  What a gorgeous view it is!  It makes taking out the rubbish worthwhile... as this is the same corridor that you walk along to put your rubbish out.

When you want a coffee or something to eat, there's always a place to go.  Once downstairs, there's a lovely lot of restaurants along what's called the Tourist Strip.  It's got everything there you could possibly think of (but I've yet to find a bookstore... maybe I didn't look hard enough).  Anyway, Mum and I had a Bookcrossing meet up there on Tuesday, and the coffee was wonderful; as was the company.  

Well, today, seeing we're just lazying around the place, we're hoping to get in a coffee or a walk around The Esplanade.  Better yet, we might walk out to Point Cartright for a bit; sounds like a nice relaxing thing to do.  I might stick around here and catch up on my reading and postcard writing.

4:34pm:  As the day has passed us slowly by, the clouds have crowded Mooloolaba from all sides.  They came in over the ocean and from the mountains too bringing rain with them; however they were only light showers.
Even though we went out for lunch along the tourist strip at a bakery past Brisbane Street, the day didn't seem to improve; and we both forgot our cameras.  While at the bakery, a pigeon kept walking in and pooping all over the floor.  The lady behind the counter had to keep washing the floor down every so often keep the place tidy; and the pigeon kept on coming in searching for food and pooping everywhere.  It was so tame that we could corner it and walk closely behind it.  I noticed a tag on its leg; so I thought it may have been a homing pigeon; but I wasn't sure.  So, the lady and I got him out from behind the counter (which seemed to be his favourite place) and I picked him up gently.  Once in my hands, he didn't seem to struggle too much until we were outside.  Then, he flew off a short distance and turned around to begin walking back!  It was so funny to find him back under my feet this time when I went to get off my stool from lunch.

We walked all the way long the tourist strip nearly to the surf club and back.  On the way back, we stopped in to a book store and looked around; such a pity it was so tiny, yet very much full of the most up-to-date books around!  Then, we found this place that was full of Indian and Chinese things.  It was beautiful and the smell of incense hung in the air just a little bit.  There were leadlight lamps, jewellery, hair accessories, bags, bracelets of all kinds, keyrings of all kinds, bookmarks, hair sticks, paintings, fountains, notebooks, Tibetian Singing Bells of all sizes (even one that was massive and cost $395!) and there were little perfume bottles and other beads and necklaces,

statuettes made of jade and quartz ... oh!  So, much was in this little shop and we wished we had the money to buy a lot of the lovely stuff in it.
But I wasn't feeling all that great... actually haven't been feeling good all day... so I was eager to get back to the hotel.  Mum wanted to walk around the place and it was looking like it was going to rain again soon.  It still does.  Now, I'm back here at the hotel and Mum's out at the bank and getting some prawns for tonight.  So, there was our day of hanging out here... I'm hoping I feel better tomorrow.