Once upon a time....

there was a young girl who I met when I first came to live in Perth. Bill's Dad & Dorothy had moved across the Nullabor a couple of years earlier and Dorothy's two children lived with them. Lesley was just a young teenager when I met her for the first time in 1977 and went on to become a Sister-in-law to me and Auntie to David & Gareth. Time marched on as it does and people grow up, leave home & lose touch and with Dad & Dorothy both marrying other people many years later it seemed that our relationship was over. That is until the advent of electronic media that abounds today and it was a pleasant surprise to receive a 'friend request' from Lesley last year.

So a year has passed with us chatting via FB & email and at last the occasion arose when we could meet. Lesley now lives in Canberra and a trip to Melbourne for a training course gave us just the excuse we needed to finally meet each other again and see what each of us has been doing for the last 28 or so years. The only bit of bad news was that Bill could not join us as he was in Sydney for a couple of days.

We decided that dinner would be the ideal event for our reunion and we had a wonderful night. Lesley was staying just around the corner from home so I was able to wander up after work and from there we then popped around another corner to a lovely little restaurant called The Olive Tree. From our initial meeting until we left the restaurant, (the last people to leave), we had a wonderful night reminiscing and learning of each others adventures since we last met. We have vowed that it will not be another 28 years till we meet again and look forward to Bill joining us next time as well. Oh, and the food was great too.

The weekend was another opportunity to catch up with friends and this time we had a yummy dinner with Astrid & Hans at Society in Bourke St before heading off to see Dr Zhivago at Her Majesty's Theatre. I have never ever watched the movie or read the book so did not know too much about the story. Such a sad tale and so very well done. It was a wonderful production and we all enjoyed it immensely. Anthony Warlow as always was just magnificent.

And then on Monday night another 'reunion' with a surprise visitor from Perth. Angelino has been a good friend for many years and last time he was in town we missed each other. We were flying off to Bali as he was arriving. It was great timing this time as Bill was not leaving for another day and so we had a fun night catching up over dinner at The Rising Sun. Good steak, good wine and good friends, what better way to start a week. It was great to see him again and also hear how Wanda, Tyler & River are doing. The girls have all grown up now in the six years since we left and to see photo's of young ladies instead of little preschoolers was a bit of a surprise. Where does the time go we asked.

We said goodbye to Angelino and paid close attention to the news regarding the Ash cloud over Southern Australia, maybe Bill would not be going anywhere this week after all. We'll wait and see what tomorrow brings.

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

Around Daylesford

On Sunday morning we joined the locals and many other visitors at the Daylesford Railway Heritage Markets. A real mix of Trash & Treasure, Craft & Produce. Lots of woolly mittens, gloves, scarfs & socks were on sale and selling well in the very chilly weather. We succumbed to buying some yummy cookies, homemade Peanut Butter and really nice orange blossom Honey. Love visiting the country just for the homemade goodies. On the way to the markets we stopped of in Eganstown for a quick look at the very old St Francis Xavier church and Graveyard.

Once we were marketed out we hit the road again this time heading for Creswick Regional Park. We stopped and had a look at the Twin Bridges Reserve on the way. Not too much to see here as the area had been hit pretty hard last year with the storms and floods. I'm sure in time these places will all be beautiful again but at the moment some are a real mess with fallen trees and broken paths making it a little challenging to get around.

The drive to Creswick was very pleasant and I particularly loved the old windmill with the very picturesque patchwork hill behind it. This was around the Newlyn area. Creswick itself was a sleepy little country town and just like Daylesford full of historic buildings some dating back to the Gold Rush of the 1850's. We had a picnic lunch at St Georges Lake and then a walk across the spillway before taking a drive through the Forrest that surrounds the lake. Next stop was Koala Park which was another area that had been devastated by the wild weather last year. This little area was closed so we could only wander around the edges before admitting defeat and heading off to see what we could find at Slaty Creek. Lots of campers here so we decided that we would move on driving through the park until we decided that it was time to go.

Our next stop was at Mount Franklin where a drive to the summit, while lovely, was not all we hoped for. From the top the view was all but obscured by trees and glimpses was all you could see. It's a shame as the bits that we could see looking towards Castlemaine, Maryborough & the Pyrenees would have made some nice photo's. Still we can't fight nature and we need the trees to keep the planet healthy so I won't complain too much. We had been hoping to see the sunset from there but after checking out the George Barron monument (?) and a quick look at the bits we could see we headed back down to watch the Sunset from the base of the mountain. It seemed to be the popular spot as a few other cars were parked and watching as well. After spending 30 or so mins snapping away we were freezing so didn't need much encouragement to get back in the car, crank the heater and head home to our cozy carriage once more. We had had a lovely day just quietly wandering around the countryside. We had decided that we would self cater that night and stay warm so did just that. Thank goodness for fresh bread and the Peanut Butter & Honey bought this morning were delicious. The telly, the books and the photo's kept us amused for the night until it was time to visit the land of nod once more.

We woke on Monday to another glorious though very chilly morning and soon it was time to say goodbye to our gorgeous 'Red Rattler'. A drive through town for a couple of last minute photo's - you never know where you might find a Redback - and then it was time to hit the road for the next part of our trip. We were off to Trentham driving through the Hepburn Regional Park. It was a lovely drive and not long before we had arrived at our first stop, Trentham Falls. Here a 32 metre single drop waterfall is where the Coliban River cascades over the gigantic basalt columns into an ancient pool. It is a pretty cool place to visit. And my most favourite thing is as there is no direct access to the bottom there are not so many steps to climb up and down. My legs were still recovering from visiting Sailors Falls on Saturday.

After leaving the falls we went on into Trentham and had a look at the little town. The streets of Trentham are often used in Movies and television shows such as The Man from Snowy River, Halifax FP and even the US television western series Ponderosa. Now that one was a surprise to me. While the street scape looks pretty rustic up close it is a little disappointing as many of the shops are empty and decaying. We did find one little gem though. The most interesting shop called Two Fat Wombats with the most amazing & eclectic mix of things for sale. Almost like a museum but it was a shop. The pig outside is just a taste of some of the oddities inside. The other must do place in town is the Redrock Bakery down the lane way. The Pea & Ham soup was so good and the sourdough bread just wonderful. We brought a loaf home and the peanut butter and honey featured again that night.

Leaving Trentham we took a drive through the Wombat State Forest before we started on our trip home. Along the way we took one detour to a little town called Blackwood and found another little hidden gem. This tiny town is just off the highway and is another place that just invites you to stay and relax for a while. No time now but maybe another day.

Just over an hour later we were home again, unpacked and the washing was on. What a way to crash back to reality. We had had a lovely time with three days of R & R away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Loved our stay in such a quirky place and enjoyed looking around at the surrounding areas. Now we just have to wait for the next long weekend. And in the meantime I'm buying Lotto tickets.

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

All aboard....

for a weekend at the end of the line. Where are they you might be asking. With the Queens Birthday long weekend coming up we decided that we should find a new part of Victoria to explore. After finding that most places I could think of were booked out I did a trawl through wotif one night as a last resort. Just started at the top and went all the way to the bottom looking at anything that sounded interesting. And here we are at The End of the Line Accommodation staying in the Governor's Carriage. You will find this very different B & B in a little place called Blampied just 12 mins out of Daylesford.

The Governor's Carriage is a former Melbourne 'Red Rattler' built in 1913. It was one of the famous fleet of Tait Cars that serviced the suburban network for many years. Car No 253T was removed from service in the 1980's. Many of these old treasures were burnt at the Newport yards until the EPA complained about the smoke pollution so they were brought to Newlyn, near Daylesford, and the burning continued. It was here that a good Aussie tradition kicked in and these old carriages could be purchased for 'a slab' and so many were saved from the fire and ended up being used as storage containers on farms.

Our carriage was rescued in 1997, brought to Blampied where it was gutted and an extensive renovation restored it to the way it is today. The bedhead in the bedroom was originally 2 single bedheads from the Commissioner's Carriage of NSW and the carpet made at the Wool Museum in Geelong, is a remnant from the State Apartments in Melbourne's Government House. I knew I had seen it somewhere before! A track was laid, a platform built and the Governor's Carriage was ready for visitors. It was just a lovely place to stay. Set in a bush block surrounded by trees it felt just like we were travelling through the Australian Countryside all weekend. To complete the railway theme a replica Signal Box has been built at the end of the station and that also accommodates 2 people. All in all a wonderful place to stay. Quiet, private and quirky. The ideal requirements for a long weekend away.

We arrived late on Friday night so we could make the most of the next few days. After dragging ourselves away the next morning we went into Daylesford to have a look around. It is a lovely town well known for it's Mineral Springs and Spa's that have become very popular over the last decade or so. We had a wander through the main street and a look around but decided that as the crowds grew we would continue our exploring elsewhere and headed off to the bush. Our first stop was Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, very nice and the avenue of old Elms very impressive even without leaves. We climbed to the top of the lookout tower to see the view over the surrounding countryside. Jubilee Lake was our next stop and we had a walk around here being stalked by a funky duck for some of the way. Very cute with a real Punk hairdo. We found a pretty good looking C'van park here so will put that on the list for another time in the future. From there we went in search of some lunch and the Daylesford Inn was the winner here. My sweet potato soup & Bill's cauliflower soup was yummy, filled a hole and the wood burning fire in the dining room warmed us up. After lunch we went to see Sailors Falls and got our fair share of exercise as we climbed down and then back up to see the falls and surrounding bushland. Not very much water running but still worth a look. We headed back to our cosy carriage after that and chilled out for a couple of hours before driving back to the Daylesford Hotel for a yummy dinner. Steak & Kidney pie and a nice glass of Red finished the day of in fine style.

The very funny movie Morning Glory, with a really grumpy Harrison Ford as a Breakfast Show Host, kept us entertained for the night and it wasn't long after that the lure of the electric blanket won and it was bed time for two weary adventurers.

See you in the morning........

Warm up to Winter

Yes, Winter has arrived right on cue and after a very cold snap to start us off we followed up with two glorious weekends. Nothing says Melbourne more than crisp, clear fine sunny days in winter and it can be great fun wandering through the city and seeing some of the winter fashions hitting the streets. Coats, hats, scarfs, glove & boots abound and what a variety we see. Lots of high fashion but also lots of 'what the' items. But enough of that, what have we been up too now that winter has arrived.

We both succumbed to the dreaded lurgy and suffered colds for a little over a week each and so spent some time tucked up in front of the telly with the heater on. Once we recovered it was time to get out and about once more and we started off in fine fashion on Friday night with a trip to Berwick to have dinner with Matt & Amber in a new Restaurant they had found. We had a great night catching up and hearing all about their recent holiday to Perth. The next night we went to see Cirque du Soleil who were performing at Rod Laver Arena. We joined Susie & Bryce for a fun night out and after being wowed by the wonderful show, Saltimbanco, we headed off to Southgate for dinner at La Camera, a nice little Italian restaurant along the river. We had a great night and made up for missing our birthday dinner. The following day Bill had a day at the Western Treatment Plant at Werribee playing with the birdies and I entertained myself in the city with a little bit of RT. I found a great coat and some new jeans. All set now for the chilly months ahead. After the shopping I whiled away a little time taking a look at a cute exhibition at the State Library. Look! 'the art of Australian Picture books today'. Kids books today look a little different to what we remember but it seemed all the kids were loving them.

The following weekend started on Friday night with dinner at Tsindo's in the city with Ben & Jennifer. Bill had worked with Ben last year and we had been trying to catch up for a while. It finally came together and we had a great night sharing a yummy Greek banquet and a good bottle of Red. And I got to wear my new clothes! We were expecting to hibernate on Saturday due to an awful forecast but the beautiful blue skies changed our mind and we decided that we would spend the afternoon at Werribee again. After missing out the week before I joined Bill this time and we spent some time exploring and found lots of subjects for Bill's camera. We stayed there until sunset and were fascinated with all the pelicans returning to Lake Borrie for the evening. Each time we venture out we see new aspects of life there and Bill has some beautiful pictures to share with everyone. Once home we opted for dinner downstairs followed by a quiet night with a movie.

With the blue skies continuing on Sunday we walked up to Federation Square to have a look at a new Lego Exhibition. Imagine our surprise when we got there to find it all sold out. How rude! So instead we tried a little culture and visited the NGV's Ian Potter Centre to see the wonderful Eugene von Guerard exhibition titled Nature Revealed. The artist is an Austrian born painter who migrated to Australia in the 1830's and became one of the countries most important colonial landscape painters. I had never seen any of his works before and thoroughly enjoyed seeing them all for the first time. Seeing beautiful scenes from familiar areas in Vic, NSW, SA, Mt Gambier and the Blue Lakes as well as Lake Wakatipu & Milford Sound in New Zealand it makes you wonder at how difficult it must have been for him to access these places in that time. He went on to become the Gallery's first Master of the School of Painting and the first curator, also the 'de facto' Director of the NGV. We finished our adventures with lunch in the city and then came home to the more mundane tasks of washing and ironing.

The forecast rain finally arrived that night and the winter weather is setting in this week with snow forecast at Mt Dandenong. Just in time for the opening of the ski season next weekend. We won't be there but will be out and about discovering new corners of Victoria.

Find out where next time............