I was so bummed that I missed out on this place on the weekend, but I have a feeling this isn't the…read morelast time I will be on the Gold Coast so I will ensure I go back for an evening sesh. I couldn't find the Marketta Cafe, so I have a strange feeling that the cafe is part the Miami Marketta. We went there to get an iced coffee after the beach. They didn't have Iced Americanos on the menu, but they gladly made them for us. Also, I was short about 1 dollar since we were trying to get ride of all of our Australian coins, and the lady happily said, no worries that's enough. She was super nice and to top it off the coffee was the best we had since our stay on the Gold Coast (better than Zarraffa's, which I am sure is not difficult). The cafe was fully mums and babies (it was Tuesday late morning), and from the menu I saw that there was some delicious smoothies as well as other yummy snacks and cabinet food. Keep doing what you are doing Marketta Cafe!

The bluesfest is my favorite festival. Byron bay is a healing place. Earth yourself, get well, get…read morehappy. Bring out your inner hippy and enjoy!

Gung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Year of the Dragon everyone…read more Chinatown in the Valley is the traditional venue for Chinese New Year celebrations organised by the Brisbane City Council. The festivities usually run over three days and will consist of lion dances (usually several times a day), dragon dances (rarer), fire crackers, market stalls selling Asian paraphernalia and performances from various cultural and musical groups. For a little bit of trivia, the most obvious difference between a lion and a dragon dance is the size of the animal. The lion is operated by two people while a dragon needs many people to form the body. I'm not expert but I'm sure there are other differences as well such as dance steps and probably costuming. The best part about seeing in Chinese New year in Chinatown is the choice of restaurants nearby. King of Kings, Golden Palace and China House are three of the bigger Chinese restaurants on the mall. If you're not fussy about eating Chinese food on the night, then try Singapore Lah or Green Tea for some delicious Vietnamese fare. Make sure you get in early and reserve a table to avoid disappointment. For those who missed out this year, don't worry. The lions will crash through the Chinese gates to welcome Year of the Snake around February 10th 2013.

The line up at Sunset Sounds is usually pretty impressive; the year I went, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs,…read moreMoby, and Grizzly Bear were headlining, while local acts like Little Red, Sarah Blasko and Bertie Blackman stole the show during their sets. Staged in the city botanical gardens, Sunset Sounds is a chilled out festival for those who are after a festival experience that is youth oriented without being obnoxious. The main demographic is probably 18-24 year olds who shop at General Pants and wear floppy hats. Most of the attendees are quite friendly and chilled out; no one pushes in an attempt to get to the front of the stage, and when a great song is playing people are generally content having a boogie on their own. What could have been better handled was the lack of good food stalls; besides the usual satay stands and pizza stalls, there wasn't much of a range when it came to dinner, and my festival companions and I were left chewing somberly on cobs of corn. I'd have to say the best thing about Sunset Sounds is the line up, while the worst is probably the amount of young girls wearing shorts so short and so tight they may as well be naked.

First time I have been to such a event, it rained early in the morning ,but once the rain cleared,…read moreeveryone came down . It was a great festival / experience . The food was absolutely excellent , it is also a very family friendly experience , with plenty of security and Police. So if you missed this year ,mark it down for next year. BTW the fireworks at the end where spectacular .

You don't really notice Brisbane's Italian community until you go to an event like this, then you…read morefeel like you've been transported to Italy! The Three Saints Festival happens around the first Sunday of every May at the Holy Cross Parish in Lutwyche. It begins with the traditional church service (all in Italian!) and is followed by a parade around the block and a fete, complete with delicious Italian food, a jumping castle and some greasy-haired Italian heartthrob singing all the classics. If you're not a genuine church-goer and just going for the spectacle and perhaps the food, I recommend arriving around 1.30 or 2pm in time for the start of the parade as it really is something to see. The men of the parish carry out a huge statue of the three saints and place it on a throne-like vehicle. Before commencing the short trip around the block, monetary donations are collected and placed in little velvet bags pinned to each corner of the throne, the congregation yelling "Viva Saint Alfio!" each time a donation is made. The procession has to go slowly to accommodate the pace of the little old Italian grandmas and grandpas--also because everyone is singing along to repetitive processional tunes being played by a brass band in tow. Sound bizarre? Definitely! Go along, experience the Italian community and eat your weight in arancini, gelati and other Italian delights. Entry is free, but take cash for food.

The most magical time of the year is not DECEMBER it is in…read morefact JANUARY (the month of glorious, smelly old books!) Lifeline book fest is akin to Christmas, Hanukkah and my Birthday, In fact every year I come in armed with a trolley bag and steely determination to nab every good book I find. But you ain't got to be no square to enjoy books, from Tolstoy, Dancing Cat's and Bird Watching almanacs to Snoop Doggy Doggs ABC, Bookfest has got you covered. I like to start off in the RARE EXPENSIVE section and gradually wheeze my way to the children's books. (Don't tell me you don't want Roald Dahls BFG on your bookcase.) Bookfest is likely to steal away your whole day so really do try and come prepared. It's best to come on the first couple of days before the best books are nabbed, also PLEASE do account for food stuffs otherwise you'll wind up shaking, confused and clutching the sport biography of Michael Clark (Asiya circa 2010)

It's the night before Lifeline Bookfest and I'm acting like a five year old does on Christmas Eve…read more I'm making wishlists, setting my alarm, and trying to drink as much warm milk as I can manage because I JUST CAN'T SLEEP. I'm too excited. Lifeline Bookfest is held at the Brisbane Convention Centre bi-annually. It's a Save The Date kind of affair. Basically, an entire libraries worth of books is dumped and strewn throughout an exhibition hall and put on sale for dirt cheap prices. There are literally MOUNTAINS of books to sift through. It's not all chaos though, the books are categorised by genre. You'll be able to navigate through the aisles easily enough if you can manage to move amid the crowd. Favourites among the crowd are the HQ (High Quality) section, and the games section. Looking for a backgammon board or a game of Cluedo? You'll find it here. Several of them. You'd do well to get in early. There are hoardes of people that travel all across Brisbane for this event. People use trollies instead of book bags. It is an all out frenzy. You'll only be able to move an inch at a time through the aisles because you'll be immersed in a thick soup of crazed book worms getting high on stale book smell. The best part is listening to the public announcements while you're browsing. There's always calls for missing people and lost children. The guy who does the call outs is sardonic and funny as hell. He alone is worth coming down for.