Yarra Valley Wine Tour

Last weekend we were fortunate enough to be invited to a birthday party. But this wasn't just any old birthday party. Oh no. This one was a Yarra Valley Wine Tour!!

We got up at an ungodly hour and made our way to the birthday girl's house to catch a bus. I may have fallen asleep in the bus on the way out of town. 

We went to 4 vineyards where they let us try a splash of their wines and then had glasses and bottles to purchase. The first place had the best cheese plate. I mean look at this thing!!!

So many barrels of wine!

The next vineyard had 13 different wines for us to try! Their tasting room was located in an old hayshed and while is smelled rustic, it was also perfect, friendly and delicious!

This vineyard is actually owned by a pair of brothers. One does the wine thing while the other runs the organic orchard! 

The view was perfect, the weather was perfect. What is better than sipping wines on a sunny day with some fabulous people?

The last one we went to was a bit pretentious. They had 3 sparkling wines but instead of letting us taste them all we were given a lecture on them and then asked to choose one. This is why I like family-owned things rather than big corporations. 

They did have a lovely lawn that looked out onto the grape vines where we could sit and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Easter Sunday

With both TJ and I working like mad we don't get to see a lot of each other. We both had Easter Sunday off and went on an adventure. 

First we made Huevos Rancheros - Aussie style (corn tortillas are hard to come by!)

Then we walked to the city where TJ looked like the perfect misty-do tourist

Arts Precinct 

Our destination was the Eureka Tower

Look! Bees!

The Eureka Tower has a skydeck on level 88. You can see the whole city. There is a glass box that slides out from the building. That seemed unnecessarily expensive and scary. 

Arts Precinct from above and the MCG in the background

Federation Square

Fed Square and Flinders St Station

Yarra River and Melbourne Aquarium

We went back to earth on the fastest, ear-popping-est elevator of all time. We wandered around Southbank, had a delicious taco, got lost in the Crown Casino complex and ate thai and indian food before heading back up the tower for a night time view. 

Fed Square

Flinders St Station. I love all the lit up platforms!

The colours on the AAMI stadium (we watched a rugby game there) changed and were beautiful!

A pretty perfect way to spend Easter Sunday. We even had a couple of chocolate eggs! 

Hot Hot Christmas

We were invited to spend Christmas day with the family of our friend. It was so nice to be welcomed into their home and family during this season. Having a Christmas in the opposite season is very very strange. My mind knows that it is Christmastime but my body does not understand how that could be.

We did presents under the tree and then had Christmas lunch around 2pm. There was cold turkey and ham and about 6 different kinds of salad. 

Then we took some cider to the oval (what I would call the park by the school) and played footy and bowls. 

We then had a nap on any couch or floor available and then had leftovers for second lunch. 

On Boxing Day morning we had some delicious fruit with dips and crackers in our apartment in the city centre of Adelaide. 

Since we didn't have a Christmas tree of our own I made one! 

Great Ocean Road

Our delightful friends drove us from Melbourne to Adelaide the long way. Which meant 16 hours of 4 people in a Mazda 2 packed to the rim with Christmas presents and sleeping bags. All because we wanted to drive down the Great Ocean Road, a gorgeous winding road along the coast.

Phillip Island, the car journey

Phillip Island is touristy and pretty easy to get around. That is, of course, if you have a vehicle. We didn't but decided to remedy that.
May we introduce you to The Wombat:

We drove around the island to the Grand Prix Circuit. We thought we might go go-karting by the sea. But it was far more money than any sane person would choose to spend!
So we drove to The Nobbies, a set of rocks that houses heaps of seals and birds. There were walkways to get a better view of the rocks and the sea. They all led to The Blowhole where waves have carved out a cave. The waves rush into the back of the cave and the pressure pushes the water and air back out in a forceful mist. Very dramatic. Very hard to photograph.

Then the next day as I was looking out the window I saw a wallaby in the yard next door! How exciting!!

Phillip Island... A long walk

After the Chocolate Factory we kept on walking and walking. We walked from Newhaven to Cape
Woolamai.

 
View Larger Map

We walked through the town of Cape Woolamai and into the State Park. We didn't know what to expect but as we walked over the hill all we could see what an overwhelmingly beautiful view of the sea.

We walked down to the nearly deserted beach. The sand was perfect and fine. The only worry was that there were many jelly fish washed up on the beach.

We walked up to the highest point on Phillip Island to see The Pinnicles, a granite rock formation.

On the walk back we saw an echidna waddling along in the wild. I still think of these animals as things that are only in zoos!

We ended up walking 23km and ended the day with the most delicious pizza and pear cider eaten on the side of the road... (it didn't last long enough for a picture!)