Home again but not for long.....

Bill returned to work and I spent two days washing a laundry full of summer clothes.  We had arrived home on Cup Day which is in November and we expected that summer would have made an appearance while we we gone but this was not to be.  It was text book spring weather with it changing almost daily, more often than not to winter instead of summer.  A little difficult to know what to where most days.  Even this snapshot of the Christmas week is a little all over the place.  Melbourne weather is certainly living up to it's reputation this year!

Before we left on our outback adventure we had made plans to spend the weekend in St Leonard's with Cheryl and Shane so on Friday we had our bags packed and drove down for a weekend of fun and feasting.   We arrived during the afternoon and were soon settled in with a drink and a lot of catching up on each other's adventures since May.  We had a lovely dinner and Shane opened a bottle of wine that when Cheryl and I googled it we found it to be $500.  It was lovely but I'm still in shock that Shane opened it!

After dinner we all braved the winter like conditions and jumped in the spa where we chatted some more for a couple of hours. Time flies when you're enjoying life and what better way than warm bubbles and a drink or two.  

The next morning we were spoiled by Shane cooking breakfast and we all relaxed with the papers before taking a walk to the beach where Lily thoroughly enjoyed her run off the lead.  Soon after we jumped in the car and drove to Queenscliff for crepes at Panache.  Very yummy and no need to eat for hours to come.  We walked our lunch off with a wander along the Main Street but Cheryl and I were soon checking out the shops and managed to indulge in some retail therapy.  Once we found the guys again we stopped and had a look at the Vue Grand Hotel.  This lovely old hotel has been tastefully renovated and still retains it's old world charm.  We hope to organize a 'Frogs' event there later next year.

We returned home for some quiet time before donning the glad rags and driving to Wallington where we were having dinner at Oakdene.  This is a Vineyard, restaurant and Cellar Door on the Bellarine Peninsula with a well deserved reputation for fabulous food, Wine and service. 

 In the grounds there are some of the funkiest pieces of sculpture I have seen in a long time all made from farm equipment.  Some of the artwork inside the restaurant was just as quirky and we had a fabulous night enjoying the delicious food and great company.  Back at home Cheryl and I stayed warm and dry while Shane and Bill talked man stuff in the spa finishing off a great day.

Spoiled again at breakfast time we were soon back in the cars and drove to Port Arlington where we had a wander around the weekly market before driving along to the village where we had coffee and said goodbye to Cheryl and Shane.  We stopped at Oakdene for a quick visit to the Cellar Door to buy a couple of bottles of their Sparkling Shirazz before hitting the highway home.  Thanks again for a fabulous weekend and we are looking forward to seeing you again in January.

We arrived home during the afternoon and soon were getting ready for work the next week.  Our holidays were now well and truly over and it was back to work to save for our next adventure.

Until next time......