Down Under Diary

The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur Down Under
October 30 - Brisbane, Shorncliffe, Queensland

Today was a working day for me. I gave the keynote address to the Australian Society of CPA's first annual Hospitality Industry Day Conference. The topic was "Delivering World Best Service . . . From the Inside Out" and I was very pleased with the response. It is always productive to re-think my material for a new audience. Following the keynote I led a breakout session about "Cashing In On Complaints." Both groups were very responsive and participative.

After the programs, the tone of the trip changed abruptly for us. We had been staying in hotels since we arrived, but after lunch we were picked up by Bob and Pam Marsh, friends we had met on our Alaska cruise last year. Suddenly we were out of the visitor environment and into the resident world! The day had turned rainy, so some of the sight-seeing spots didn't offer quite the sights, but eventually we arrived at their home in Shorncliffe, about 30 minutes north of Brisbane.

Cities are interesting but I prefer to get away to where the real people live. We went off for a few drinks at their funky little yacht club. It is a real home-grown effort with club members taking turns serving as the bartender and cooking in the little kitchen. We didn't eat at the club but the choices for the evening were a steak the equivalent of US$5 or chicken for US$3! A round of drinks for four of us ran the equivalent of US$4! After hotel prices, it was awfully refreshing!

We had dinner in their little kitchen at home - steak, mashed potatoes and veggie - accompanied by a decent wine and capped off with a first for me, homemade mulberry pie! Simple is good.

For photos of a more travelogue-like nature, click here.

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