So in October we had a public holiday for the football and this month's public holiday is for a horse race! In spite of not being an avid follower of either, I'll take the benefits of the day off from work. Given Melbourne Cup falls on a Tuesday, it's fairly common for folk to take the Monday off and have a super long weekend and we chose this course this year.
The Melbourne Cup holiday weekend also marks our Melbourne anniversary. We arrived in this welcoming and wonderful city 5 years ago. That's 5 years of blogging and over 500 restaurant reviews! It's certainly been an adventure and it's continuing. 5 years also marks our application to become citizens and we're waiting to hear back regarding the next step - citizenship exam!
We headed to Port Fairy which is 3 or so hours West of Melbourne and is one of the small towns at the end of the Great Ocean Road. Taking the coastal route makes it a 6 hour journey though so we went inland.
I'd booked us accommodation at Drift House which is like a boutique B&B but the room is more a suite with a kitchenette and outside terrace with a fireplace. We had suite 3 with timber cladding on the ground floor and it was a lovely relaxing place to spend 3 nights.
The Melbourne Cup holiday weekend also marks our Melbourne anniversary. We arrived in this welcoming and wonderful city 5 years ago. That's 5 years of blogging and over 500 restaurant reviews! It's certainly been an adventure and it's continuing. 5 years also marks our application to become citizens and we're waiting to hear back regarding the next step - citizenship exam!
We headed to Port Fairy which is 3 or so hours West of Melbourne and is one of the small towns at the end of the Great Ocean Road. Taking the coastal route makes it a 6 hour journey though so we went inland.
I'd booked us accommodation at Drift House which is like a boutique B&B but the room is more a suite with a kitchenette and outside terrace with a fireplace. We had suite 3 with timber cladding on the ground floor and it was a lovely relaxing place to spend 3 nights.
The Saturday we travelled there was a glorious day in spite of it starting off drizzly and grey. By the time we arrived in Port Fairy it was all gorgeous blue skies and sunshine in abundance. We spent some time watching the surfers at one of the beaches before checking into Drift House and relaxing for the rest of the day before heading out to dinner.
After some blissful slumber, Sunday was grey and there was a chill in the air. Steve used our breakfast provisions to cook up soft boiled eggs on smashed avocado on toast to fuel us up ready for a breezy walk around Griffiths Island. It's a pleasant trek across tracks some boardwalk, some gravel and over the beach, Lots of resting burrows for shearwater birds and a few dead ones along the way which I am not fond of.
We then headed East towards Basalt Winery which had a cafe where we popped in for elevenses (a fortifying shared sausage roll) before a quick wine tasting. We were there after all. The owner served us and encouraged us to take a drive across the road to Tower Hill which is an inactive volcano with a crater lake. It's quite a pretty view from the top across the water. We drove down and followed one of the walking routes and spied an emu in the car park as we headed to the track. Plenty of little lizards along the way too.
Sunday afternoon was then spent relaxing back in our suite and I used the beautiful bath tub and enjoyed a hot soak with a book.
How wonderful Sundays are when there is no work on Monday. And Monday was a day of very little. After another home cooked breakfast we drove into town to pick up some provisions for the rest of the day as we didn't feel like going out for dinner. Another afternoon soak in the tub followed by a massage at the local day spa combined with doing very little other than lie on the sofa was truly a restorative time and before we knew it, today arrived and it was time to leave...
The journey back to Melbourne was uneventful and we arrived back at the apartment in time for Steve to set up a Sportsbet account and for us to place a few bets. I recall the conversation, "Prince of Penzance for me please. Going to support the girls." as I chose my horse for it's royal title (I am a fan of royalty), nod to UK with Penzance, nod to a musical I am fond of (Pirates of Penzance) and what swung it for me was the female jockey. And Steve's response was, "That's truly an outsider so we will just go for a place." I wanted to argue but couldn't summon the energy after such a relaxing weekend,
And there you have it, Prince of Penzance and his female jockey, Michelle Payne were the victors! And I backed the winner but not enough to take the ultimate prize of an on the nose bet but this is sweet enough!
Amelia has spent this weekend at her great aunty Lillian's caravan in Cumbria with her mum and dad. She has been there before and loves the animals and the swimming pool and she even got into the spirit of the kids Hallowe'en party making friends and throwing some shapes on the dance floor. Apparently her costume of choice was to be an ugly witch. She's far from that to me but her little green face is funny. Poor mum and dad had to wash that out and I hear that wasn't easy!
After some blissful slumber, Sunday was grey and there was a chill in the air. Steve used our breakfast provisions to cook up soft boiled eggs on smashed avocado on toast to fuel us up ready for a breezy walk around Griffiths Island. It's a pleasant trek across tracks some boardwalk, some gravel and over the beach, Lots of resting burrows for shearwater birds and a few dead ones along the way which I am not fond of.
We then headed East towards Basalt Winery which had a cafe where we popped in for elevenses (a fortifying shared sausage roll) before a quick wine tasting. We were there after all. The owner served us and encouraged us to take a drive across the road to Tower Hill which is an inactive volcano with a crater lake. It's quite a pretty view from the top across the water. We drove down and followed one of the walking routes and spied an emu in the car park as we headed to the track. Plenty of little lizards along the way too.
Sunday afternoon was then spent relaxing back in our suite and I used the beautiful bath tub and enjoyed a hot soak with a book.
How wonderful Sundays are when there is no work on Monday. And Monday was a day of very little. After another home cooked breakfast we drove into town to pick up some provisions for the rest of the day as we didn't feel like going out for dinner. Another afternoon soak in the tub followed by a massage at the local day spa combined with doing very little other than lie on the sofa was truly a restorative time and before we knew it, today arrived and it was time to leave...
The journey back to Melbourne was uneventful and we arrived back at the apartment in time for Steve to set up a Sportsbet account and for us to place a few bets. I recall the conversation, "Prince of Penzance for me please. Going to support the girls." as I chose my horse for it's royal title (I am a fan of royalty), nod to UK with Penzance, nod to a musical I am fond of (Pirates of Penzance) and what swung it for me was the female jockey. And Steve's response was, "That's truly an outsider so we will just go for a place." I wanted to argue but couldn't summon the energy after such a relaxing weekend,
And there you have it, Prince of Penzance and his female jockey, Michelle Payne were the victors! And I backed the winner but not enough to take the ultimate prize of an on the nose bet but this is sweet enough!
Amelia has spent this weekend at her great aunty Lillian's caravan in Cumbria with her mum and dad. She has been there before and loves the animals and the swimming pool and she even got into the spirit of the kids Hallowe'en party making friends and throwing some shapes on the dance floor. Apparently her costume of choice was to be an ugly witch. She's far from that to me but her little green face is funny. Poor mum and dad had to wash that out and I hear that wasn't easy!
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