Frequent flyer Points (Miles) 

A deal to be had

Being a new comer to the world of Frequent flyer Points or Miles as they are known in other parts of the world, here is my first jump in the deep end and see what happens when you buy into a deal that you read about online. 

I have been reading many blogs and websites relating to building a bank of miles either by earning them through multiple avenues or buying them when a deal is on offer.

Yes a deal came around where I could buy bundles of 1000 for a price and the offer was get 2 for 1. So I did, I purchased 50,000 and got 100,000 credited to my account. Still cautious as to the thought that I have just paid for frequent flyer points (miles) from the national airline and flag carrier of Colombia : Avianca. A Star Alliance member at least when you know nothing about the airline itself.

Yes I have trialled the use of these lovely miles and they do work. I purchased an award ticket from Singapore to Shanghai to Sydney in business class and it cost a little over A$800. The first leg was with Singapore Airlines and the second leg with Air China.  It's not just the business class seats that converts into a flat bed and french champagne, It's the priority treatment at the airport, It's the lounge access in the terminal before you even get on the airplane.

So when the offer pops up again I'm in for every miles or Point I can get...

If you decide to have a go please let me know how it went for you.

Cheers and happy traveling at the pointy end...

 

 

Location and setting : Just near the Cairns airport turn off : to access if you are coming from the city you must pass airport turnoff and turn right into the access road just after to get there. Near new AFP building
Food  / Menu : Worth the effort - typical Japanese nosh house with pretty good food. Gota try there Okonomiyaki next time I stop by.  
Drinks : Simple
Special : Just has good food
Service :It's a self service order at the counter type of deal - So if you do it well you will get good service.

Here is the link to the menu page : Take a look for yourself

http://sushido.co/menu.html

 428 SheridanStreet

Location and setting : Just near the Cairns airport turn off : to access if you are coming from the city you must pass airport turnoff and turn right into the access road just after to get there. Near new AFP building
Food  / Menu : Worth the effort - typical Japanese nosh house with pretty good food. Gota try there Okonomiyaki next time I stop by.  
Drinks : Simple
Special : Just has good food
Service :It's a self service order at the counter type of deal - So if you do it well you will get good service.

Here is the link to the menu page : Take a look for yourself

http://sushido.co/menu.html

 428 SheridanStreet

Location and setting : Beach front Palm Cove northern end. A simply styled shed with plastic chairs a real beach shack feel and no scary flashiness. Love it..
Food  / Menu : Only went here this time for dessert as the place we went to for lunch did not give us the opportunity to tuck in. I have always wanted to go to beach Almond but it's always closed when i want to go.. my problem. We were not disappointed - 2 desserts were had (there was 2 of us) a creme brulee and there sticky rice and banana  
Drinks : A glass of dessert wine & glass of Champagne - great wine list
Special : Location - a walk down the jetty after lunch give you a spectacular view back on the coast. 
Service :Even though it was only dessert and one glass of wine plus a coffee I was thrilled with the service. Great staff, personality and knowledgeable and know when to be at the table. I didn't have the opportunity to go thirsty which was a pleasant surprise. Now i am just planning when to go back for dinner to really try the menu to the fullest.

 beachalmond.com 

45 Williams Esplanade

Palm Cove QLD 4879

O'sheas - Machans Beach, Qld

Location and setting : Great position, plenty of parking and right on the beach. Well there is a road between you and the beach but really no traffic to contend with. So uninterrupted views out to sea. Nice relax layout, nicely done.
Food  / Menu : A quick lunch was  the plan and I had never been to this place before, always seen the signs on the highway - So there advertising is working.. well it did for me. small menu, easy to choose as it had some old fashioned dishes that just suited the place. The two meals ordered were seafood basket & garlic prawns. The food was very good loaded with fresh juicy seafood. The seafood basket was not as expected and a pleasant surprise : cooked and natural items in the basket. Garlic prawns were Yum.
Drinks : A glass of wine each ; very very average wine list
Special : Location and relaxed feel about the place. Very comfortable place to spent a few hours if you wish
Service : Nice and friendly staff, food & drinks order was taken when we wanted it which was nice and drinks were back on the table pronto. H2o was automatically put on the table which is great. I always like a 2nd drink with my lunch if I'm going to have wine, but I will not wave my arm around to get it. If your glass is empty I would expect it to be asked if I would like another or something else. We waited, the meals were finished, we waited and not even an inquiry as to the need for another beverage. So again another missed opportunity of more revenue in the restaurants register!!

Why oh why: thirsty again - Guess its more money to spend elsewhere. 
Off to the Beach Almond for dessert with extra cash to spend there.

 169 O'Shea Esplanade, Machans Beach, 4878

www.osheasrestaurant.com

NuNu Restaurant 

1 Veivers Rd,Palm Cove

Location and setting : Just moved into the Alamanda Palm Cove (formerly Angsana). It has the best position beach front and no road between you and the beach. NuNu have done a little bit of work to the place before moving in. 
Food  / Menu : A quick lunch 1 course lunch. Three of u,s all different dishes and I got the winner. commentary from the table and i also tasted all dishes with or without their consent! Pork was a mismatch of flavours, Veal was very small and also had a taste issue and mine the prawn, pumpkin, noodles & ponzu  was a pleasant tasting dish
Drinks : A glass of wine each, Mine was a Lake Breeze Reserve Chardonnay - a winner
Special : Location location location
Service : Very nice staff and everything arrived as you would expect. a few things were a bit flimsy, asking for cutlery, over compensating with friendliness when they had to ask who had what. not what you expect for the price you pay and how busy it was.

 Name from when they were down the other end of the street

Name from their new website (which is under construction)

 http://www.nunu.com.au/

 http://www.lancemore.com.au/alamanda

Lime Tree Bar & Grill

 28 Trinity Beach Road, Trinity Beach

Location and setting : tucked away just off the main road into trinity beach overlooking a lake. A tropical oasis with a rather comfortable feel about it.
Food  / Menu : I came here for dessert today but while I was there had a look at the lunch menu and I will be back tomorrow as it read so well. My choice of dessert was easy - there special was an Eton Mess (made popular by MKR-igged). I was extremely happy - it was YUM.
Drinks : Coffee - Made well, right strength and arrived when I needed it.
Special : its an unobtrusive relaxed setting and really quite pleasant place to sit
Service : Spot on - great staff, efficient and friendly. they got me to a table, order taken and were knowledgeable about the food. timing was also good with delivery of my dessert.

 http://www.lime-tree.com.au