A Gold Coast minimoon: Day 2

Our second day on Queensland's southern coast started with a buffet breakfast and a quick walk over to Pacific Fair. The brief shopping trip was required as each of us had forgotten to pack a certain critical item - for my beloved, his sunglasses; for me, a second t-shirt (for some reason 20 degree temperatures translated to long-sleeved t-shirts in my metereologically-challenged mind...oops!). The trusty Red Circle Boutique (AKA Target) quickly satisfied our shopping needs and we made our way straight to the beach. For the most part, our morning was spent meandering at a snail pace towards Surfers Paradise.

After arriving at our destination, we were stoked to find that the Surfers Paradise festival organisers had erected a stage and marquee on the beach. We kicked back and listened to a couple of bands rehearsing for a gig later in the day and, believe it or not, made sandcastles.

Apparently sandcastle construction requires much energy, because we were utterly famished upon completion (I know what you're thinking: these two should give up their day jobs and opt for a career in design...!). We made our way up Cavill Avenue in search of some lunch, craving real comfort food. Cheesy nachos with pulled pork and beer fit the bill. Despite having pretty low expectations of Hard Rock Cafe fare generally, the food here was surprisingly fresh, tasty and reasonably priced. We split a starter and couldn't even finish the dish. 

Bellies full, we set off to do something tacky and childish (when in Surfers, right?!). Our choice of activity was a hotly contested topic. I wanted to check out Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, which we had visited many years prior and thoroughly enjoyed. My beloved, on the other hand, felt like some game play at Timezone. He was victorious. As much as I protested, I have to say that we had a brilliant time mucking around on the air hockey tables and whacking alligators.

The afternoon was sweetened further by a visit to Royal Copenhagen Ice Cream. The waffle cones were being made before our eyes and were the perfect crunchy complement to the silky and intense ice cream flavours.

After a wander through the Surfers Paradise market (part of the Surfers Paradise Festival, I believe), we set off for our hotel. Our evening was busy, but unremarkable: a quick dip in the hotel jacuzzi to start, followed by a very disappointing dinner at Bistro On3 (so disappointing that no photos were even taken... *gasp*), and a very small flutter at Jupiters Casino.  Overall, a wonderful second day of our honeyminimoon.