'Bright' Shiny Days

Another glorious weekend in Victoria, this time a little further afield from home. Last year we enjoyed our trip to Bright to see the spectacular autumn colours so we decided that we would go again, this time for 'The Autumn Festival'. The festival runs over 2 weeks and we chose the middle weekend to visit. Just perfect timing for the Gala Day held on Saturday. The main streets in town are closed to traffic and a street market takes over with a carnival atmosphere, lots of local crafts and winter woolies for sale, and a Grand Parade. The theme this year was Folklore, Fairytales & Fantasy. Lots of little kids running round in costumes for the rest of the day - cute.

The trees which are the real stars of the festival were actually more spectacular last year. More leaves had already fallen this year, the water shortage rather than the cold, some people said, but viewed from Huggins lookout & Tower Hill lookout, still looked very picturesque. Bright is such a pretty town and it sure knows how to celebrate autumn. The drive up once leaving the Hume Fwy is quite pretty too and as the surrounding towns start to colour the closer you get, you get a taste of whats to come.

We met Astrid & Hans in town and after a little sightseeing convened in No 8 for a pre dinner Champagne. Dinner at a lovley little French Bistro (booked during the week to get in), Poplars, was just wonderful and the wine 'Mr Frog' was just what we needed after a day travelling & sightseeing. The next morning was mild and sunny and just perfect for a walk along the river, scrunching through leaves and watching the ducks enjoy the sunshine. Breakfast was in a great little cafe overlooking the Swimming Pool (River). There is something wonderful about eating breakfast on verandahs in the sun.

We left Bright after breakfast and decided to have a look at Mt Buffalo on the way home. Well, we have to check out the snowfields don't we. Of course without a snowflake in sight it was a really easy drive to the Chalet (closed since the fires threatened at Christmas). From there we went on up to 'The Horn' and took in the spectacular views. The ski area does not look very big but hard to tell on a fine day with the sun shining brightly. Perhaps we will check it out once the snow comes.

Back in Melbourne, Winter is trying really hard to to arrive. The trees are trying to lose their leaves while coats & scarves are still scarce. The rain too is trying really hard to happen, only succeeding in passing showers and teasing us all caught in the grip of severe water restrictions. Shop windows are full of winter woolies, usually all part of the wardrobe by now. The sales might be extra good this year!

Today we had Mother's Day lunch at Maree's place. We had a wonderful afternoon with Mum & Amelia (Rem's Mum). Now it's back to work tomorrow

so until next time..........

What a week...

it was in Melbourne starting on the Tuesday 24th April. We spent the week back at work getting into the swing of things after our Easter Adventures and we were ready to get out and about again. This time joined by Tammy who arrived from Perth to see the big Anzac Day game ot the MCG. Essendon & Collingwood of course - need you ask!

You might remember that we went last year and were really moved by the ceremony prior to the game. We walked over to the MCG, crossing St Kilda Rd & seeing part of the Anzac Day march to the Shrine as we went. Hundreds of people lining the streets watching the many people marching. It was a lovely fine day and the MCG was almost full with over 90,000 people watching both the pre game ceremony and the game. Bad news - Collingwood won again. Bianca, Astrid & Hans were thrilled, not so Tammy, Bill & myself. Oh well, there's always next year.

After the game we all had dinner in Chinatown and then headed off to Paris Cat, a great little bar in town, to hear Mezz Coleman and her band play. We headed home very late after a great day. Back to work tomorrow - still, only 2 more days till the weekend, who could complain about that.

While we worked Tammy checked out the sights & shops of Melbourne and we headed out again that night to see Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake at the Regent Theatre. It was a wonderful show with 'Men in Feathers' dancing the usually female parts.
Friday was a case of another night, another theatre, with us going to see Miss Saigon at Her Majestys. Another great show with an excellent cast. Certainly worth seeing both of them as they come to your part of the country. A very late dinner at Margo's in the Crown complex rounded off the night.

A sleep-in on Saturday set the pace for a quiet day, lunching in South Melbourne and picking up some shopping at the markets. Dinner at the Blue Train in Southgate was all 3 weary party animals could cope with and we headed home via the video shop to keep us entertained for the evening.

All rested and ready to go again on Sunday & we headed off to Healesville to meet Astrid, Hans & Bianca. Lunch at Riverstone Winery in the Yarra Valley kept us entertained for the afternoon, the Sparkling wine & a good Red didn't go astray either. And the food - pretty good too. The photo amost does it justice!

Monday morning came round far too soon and we said farewell, until next time, to Tammy, and we headed back to work for the next week's pay packet. We actually stayed in each evening for the next few days catching our breath after our week that was. Still we wouldn't have it any other way and it didn't take long to plan our next adventure - The Autumn Festival in Bright. More on that later.

Until next time.............