Barefoot Sundays

We love to find great coffee shops hidden away and the Gold Coast has turned up a few gems. We have a few favourites that I will write about soon such as Vintage, Borough and Gov’s but this morning we ventured to a small café we have been meaning to try for a few months – Barefoot Barista.

Down a side street off the Gold Coast Highway in Palm Beach is a delightful café that has a simple appeal. When we turn up at 7am on this hot Sunday morning, it is already filling with people sipping lattes and reading magazines quietly – they have the air of being regulars. The cars parked on the street are all loaded up with bikes, surfboards and surf-skis; others are locals just walking down the street from home. They have been open since 5:30am serving up coffee to a steady stream of caffeine aficionados and everyone in between.

My husband is very particular about his coffee. Having been a barista for a few years himself, and my unofficial barista at home for many more, he can pick a bad coffee before it even reaches the table. He says it’s the smell, the sound of the steam, he claims he can even pick it by the look of the guy (or girl) making it. I knew that they had done well when he ordered a second coffee. At the moment, my 6 month old screams the house down if I drink coffee so I have been abstaining, for far too long in my book, but when I realised that the coffee was that good I ordered a decaf – not really a coffee in my book but it tasted pretty close and I am happy to suffer the consequences of a grumbly breastfed baby later on this afternoon.

I eyed off the smoothies but decided on a fresh juice – watermelon, pineapple, orange and mint – cool and refreshing. To satiate the tummy rumbles we enjoyed toasted banana bread with ricotta and bush honey as well as organic fig and hazelnut toast with vanilla butter. Barefoot Barista was great and has made it to our list of favourites.

It is already climbing into the 30’s and is shaping up to be another scorcher to top off a week of extreme heat and bushfires across the country. We drove just up the road to Tallebudgera Beach, a small sandy shore between the beach and the creek to cool off before it gets too hot out in the sun. It is beautiful here, the water is clear and flat, just perfect for the kids, and it overlooks the Burleigh Headland National Park. Unfortunately this morning there are big blue jellyfish playing in the current and they are getting a little too close for comfort with people scampering back up onto the beach. We splash our feet for a little while but it’s not worth the risk, so we tip toe barefoot across the car park trying not to burn our feet and we head back home to play under the sprinkler instead.

I love barefoot Sundays.