Strolling and scones

Last stop on the roadtrip was Echuca, a gorgeous old town nestled on the banks of the Murray River.

Highlights:

-catching up with my parents, who came up for the weekend and stayed in our apartment. (and brought copious amounts of delicious food so I didn't have to cook!)

-strolling through the Moama Market on Sunday morning and discovering a wooden toy kidlet had but toddler didn't (because it was purchased at Eumundi market in QLD years ago) and buying it.

-tasting and buying too much at the Echuca Chocolate Company. All handmade, all delicious!


-discovering the BEST SCONES EVER at WistariA. Melt in your mouth, light, fluffy, we visited several times, holed away in their cosy private rooms with open fires. And the lattes were fab too!

(Hmm...there seems to be a recurring pattern on this roadtrip...too much food!)

Dragons and downpours

Second stop on our roadtrip: the delightful town of Bendigo.

Once again, the actual size of the town surprised me. I'd visited over 10 years ago and remember it being a lot smaller.
Not anymore.
Loads of intriguing stuff to do and see.

Highlights:

-visiting the Golden Dragon Museum, steeped in Chinese culture, and snaffling some printed material that has spurned a book series niggling in the back of my mind...

-antique tram ride around the town for kidlet and hubby while toddler and I cuddled up on the couch and read books

-descending 61 metres underground into an old mine and kidlet being far braver than I thought

-walking through the Chinese gardens while rain dripped off the pagodas around us

-brunch in a cafe on the shores of a lake while the rain bucketed down

-discovering the best restaurant on Bath St on our last morning that served a delicious vegan brekkie (and I'm not even vegetarian!)

-watching the drama unfold as Australia's first woman Prime Minister rose to power (not my highlight, my hubby's, who is glued to current affairs while I prefer to bury my nose in a good book.)

The great Victorian roadtrip

We had a ball on our week away, exploring a few old Victorian towns.

First stop: Ballarat, Victoria's 3rd largest city/town.

Highlights:

-visiting Sovereign Hill for the first time. While the kids loved panning for gold and going underground, I'm addicted to their aniseed drops made on site.

-running wild through the Botanical Gardens and being the only ones there.
-discovering the best wooden toy park ever on the shores of Lake Wendouree.
-ogling the gold discoveries at the Gold Museum
-dinner with my oldest uni buddy, who made the most sublime lemon tart ON THE PLANET!
-brunches at an old pub: the brekkie pizza with egg, bacon, tomato, onion, hash browns and sweet chilli was the best!

Did you miss me?

I'm back from my research roadtrip later on today.

Did you miss me?

This is the hero inspiration which spurred me on this road trip in the first place.
He strutted into my mind, fully formed, along with the heroine, a first scene and another scene involving him half naked.
Yes folks, after a blissful month off, the first time I've ever taken more than a week off from writing, it's back to my PC to launch my next story.
*warming up fingers*