A Lazy Day in Cairns (Sunday, May 7)
This is a continuation from the entry titled 3 Days in Brizzy (Day 3: May 6), which tells the tale of our trip to Queensland at the beginning of May.
BUSTED
We arrived in Cairns close to midnight the night before, fresh in from a 3-day visit with Kari & Max. A shuttle from our hotel picked us up, and only 30 minutes after arriving in Cairns we were checking out the many pools on the grounds of the Hotel Colonial Club.
Never mind that it was pitch black out.
We tip-toed in the water as long as we could and then dove under. By the time I got to the other side, Crash was already out and exploring the poolside. I followed him to see what he'd found.
It was the hot tub.
I climbed in next to him, a bit put off that I was more happy to be in the hot tub than in a refreshing pool. Cairns after midnight is not the tropical paradise it is in the daytime; I was actually shivering a bit.
The hot tub didn't last long, though. Shortly after getting in, a guard came along and told us to get out. The pool was open, but the hot tub was off-limits after 11pm.
Our first hour in Cairns and we're already in trouble.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SWIM UP POOL BAR
We decided that Sunday was our day off. No touring, no traveling. It was going to be all about the swim-up pool bar. And if it's going to be all about the swim-up pool bar, then you'd better start with a hearty breakfast.
Normally I'm not one for buffets — I never eat my money's worth and really, it's like cable TV: it's pretty to look at for a bit and sounds good in theory, but usually it's just a bunch of junk.
This one was pretty good though... even though the bacon left much to be desired (none of the bacon here is good, and we figured out it's because it's not cured). There were broiled tomatoes, yummy mushrooms, muffins, eggs, hash browns... unlimited glasses of pineapple juice... this could be both breakfast AND lunch for me.
The weather wasn't looking too swim-up bar friendly, but we persevered. I did a little work after breakfast (some projects had come in and our trip was so last minute that it was too late to cancel them) while Crash read, and then we wandered off to find the pool that had the bar.
Finally we found it... but no one was around. Well, it WAS still early (barely noon?), so we found an umbrella and sat down in some chairs to read a bit (and to get up the nerve to get into the water, which was a little cold). It sprinkled a little bit but we eventually went swimming anyway. I eased my way into the pool a little and then stuck my head under to finally get it over with; Crash just bit the bullet and did a cannonball.
The pool, much like others on the hotel grounds, was a beach at one end, so that you drag some chairs into the water and cool off without getting completely wet. There was also a cave with a waterfall; you had to go under the waterfall to get into the little cave, which had seats along the edges and even some water jets so that it became a whirlpool. It was pretty cool, but I could see it being a kid haven during the busier vacation months.
At the other end was the swim up pool bar; Crash practiced how to sit on the stools — a wise idea as it IS a little weird to sit on a chair underwater. One false move and you could fall in — or worse yet, spill your drink.
Around the corner from that was a smaller separate pool that was the kids pool. I had to wonder if it was foolishness or genious that prompted the designer of the pools to place the children's areas next to the pool bar. Was this to placate parents? Or to remind the single people hitting on each other at the bar that pool bars could lead to kids... which may or may not lead to more pool bars?
Around 2pm or so, the bartender finally showed up and opened up shop. Up we swam to the barstools, and soon after we had margaritas in hand.
And once those were done, we switched to gin and tonics — not only because the margaritas in Australia are less than pleasing, but because in my family, gin and tonics are the summer drink of choice. I think the bartender even served them with limes (most times they give us lemons, and once we even had an ORANGE served in our gin & tonic!).
But, at any rate, we were happy. I even did the math to prove it:
Pool + swim up bar + Australia - no more 14-hour train rides = 2 Happy Americans
BUSTED
We arrived in Cairns close to midnight the night before, fresh in from a 3-day visit with Kari & Max. A shuttle from our hotel picked us up, and only 30 minutes after arriving in Cairns we were checking out the many pools on the grounds of the Hotel Colonial Club.
Never mind that it was pitch black out.
We tip-toed in the water as long as we could and then dove under. By the time I got to the other side, Crash was already out and exploring the poolside. I followed him to see what he'd found.
It was the hot tub.
I climbed in next to him, a bit put off that I was more happy to be in the hot tub than in a refreshing pool. Cairns after midnight is not the tropical paradise it is in the daytime; I was actually shivering a bit.
The hot tub didn't last long, though. Shortly after getting in, a guard came along and told us to get out. The pool was open, but the hot tub was off-limits after 11pm.
Our first hour in Cairns and we're already in trouble.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SWIM UP POOL BAR
We decided that Sunday was our day off. No touring, no traveling. It was going to be all about the swim-up pool bar. And if it's going to be all about the swim-up pool bar, then you'd better start with a hearty breakfast.
Normally I'm not one for buffets — I never eat my money's worth and really, it's like cable TV: it's pretty to look at for a bit and sounds good in theory, but usually it's just a bunch of junk.
This one was pretty good though... even though the bacon left much to be desired (none of the bacon here is good, and we figured out it's because it's not cured). There were broiled tomatoes, yummy mushrooms, muffins, eggs, hash browns... unlimited glasses of pineapple juice... this could be both breakfast AND lunch for me.
The weather wasn't looking too swim-up bar friendly, but we persevered. I did a little work after breakfast (some projects had come in and our trip was so last minute that it was too late to cancel them) while Crash read, and then we wandered off to find the pool that had the bar.
Finally we found it... but no one was around. Well, it WAS still early (barely noon?), so we found an umbrella and sat down in some chairs to read a bit (and to get up the nerve to get into the water, which was a little cold). It sprinkled a little bit but we eventually went swimming anyway. I eased my way into the pool a little and then stuck my head under to finally get it over with; Crash just bit the bullet and did a cannonball.
The pool, much like others on the hotel grounds, was a beach at one end, so that you drag some chairs into the water and cool off without getting completely wet. There was also a cave with a waterfall; you had to go under the waterfall to get into the little cave, which had seats along the edges and even some water jets so that it became a whirlpool. It was pretty cool, but I could see it being a kid haven during the busier vacation months.
At the other end was the swim up pool bar; Crash practiced how to sit on the stools — a wise idea as it IS a little weird to sit on a chair underwater. One false move and you could fall in — or worse yet, spill your drink.
Around the corner from that was a smaller separate pool that was the kids pool. I had to wonder if it was foolishness or genious that prompted the designer of the pools to place the children's areas next to the pool bar. Was this to placate parents? Or to remind the single people hitting on each other at the bar that pool bars could lead to kids... which may or may not lead to more pool bars?
Around 2pm or so, the bartender finally showed up and opened up shop. Up we swam to the barstools, and soon after we had margaritas in hand.
And once those were done, we switched to gin and tonics — not only because the margaritas in Australia are less than pleasing, but because in my family, gin and tonics are the summer drink of choice. I think the bartender even served them with limes (most times they give us lemons, and once we even had an ORANGE served in our gin & tonic!).
But, at any rate, we were happy. I even did the math to prove it:
Pool + swim up bar + Australia - no more 14-hour train rides = 2 Happy Americans
posted by ~a at 6/25/2006 12:12:00 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home