(Australia) Sunday, March 28th

Saturday, March 27th

We had a wonderful time in Melbourne and are now driving south into an area of Victoria called Mornington Peninsula.   The middle of the peninsula is a wonderful wine region known for it’s pinot noirs and pinot grigios.  When we left Melbourne this morning, rather than getting on the motorway, we drove through the outlying neighborhoods and suburbs.  For us it was about an hour of stopping and starting as it was a 2 lane road with parking on each side of the street.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning and people were out in droves eating, shopping and just walking and looking in the shop windows.

Today we mainly wandered through the countryside and stopped at a few wineries for tasting and also at an artisanal cheese shop for a tasting.  They made cow, sheep, and goat’s milk cheeses and they were all delicious.  The ladies at the cheese tasting recommended a restaurant at a winery (Max’s at Red Hill Estate) that we had actually seen in a book, so they called and made a reservation for us.  When we got there we had the déjà vu feeling of how are we going to get out of this one!  It was a fancier restaurant that we had planned to stop at for lunch, but the menu looked interesting so we gave it a try.  It turned out to be wonderful.   Mark got the tasting menu of appetizers and they were all good.  I’m going to describe the 5 things he got only because it was delicious and different:

• Smoked mountain trout with fresh herbs served over a slice of balsamic vinegar infused watermelon
• Cream of cauliflower soup with truffle oil
• Fried calamari with fennel served over a poached pear slice
• Blue cheese stuffed mushroom baked with a homemade puff pastry cap
• And last, but not least, red wine marinated “Roo” served over mashed potatoes  (don’t think I need to explain what roo is.)

 To think we considered not having lunch there!!!  The roo actually turned out to be pretty good.  It tasted like beef that was gamey, yet tender.  Mark and I decided it should have been called Roo Bourguignon!  Wouldn’t Julia have been proud?

The area is a beautiful area with a lot of horse and stud farms.  We saw a sign for a Wine Tasting Tour on Horseback and actually saw a group doing it.  That sounds a little risky to me after visiting a few wineries, but I guess not more so than driving a 2 ton car after a few wineries.  The other thing we seen a lot of here (besides Eucalyptus trees) are agapanthus.  I’ve never seen them as lush as we’ve seen them here.  It is a pretty temperate climate and must never freeze.  You can tell they have just finished blooming and it must have been a beautiful site. 

Below is one of the road caution signs that we saw today.  I was driving and got Mark to take pictures of several signs.  I then had him on koala/kangaroo alert, but he didn’t spot any, even though I was driving about 5 mph down the road.  He reminded me that it’s like seeing deer crossing signs at home, and then being disappointed because you didn’t see a deer. 

 

 

After a couple more wine tastings we are now in Sorrento which is at the tip of the peninsula.  In the morning we catch a ferry across the bay to the western side of Victoria and drive the coast road towards Adelaide and a road called “The Great Ocean Road.”  It is supposed to be a beautiful drive and we are looking forward to it. 

Sunday morning, March 28^th

We’re waiting for the ferry to take us from Sorrento to Queenscliff and enjoying a latte.  I keep saying it, but this is a coffee drinking society.  I think they make the Italians look lightweight when it comes to coffee.  Deirdre Basham told us that it was in the paper a few weeks ago that the greatest percentage of small kitchen appliance sales in the country is espresso/cappuccino machines and I can believe it. 

We had a wonderful seafood dinner at the Sorrento Seafood Tavern last night.  Our waitress was Australian, but recognized our accent and asked where we were from.  She said she had just returned to Australia from a year long stay with her aunt near Lake Conroe Texas.  She’d love to have stayed, but her visa ran out.  Then the people at the table next to us heard us talking and leaned over and we had quite a long chat with them.  The wife was born in the US – American father and Australian mother, but she has lived here pretty much all of her life in Australia.  They were an interesting couple; he is a doctor, so he asked a lot of questions about the big health care debate/vote in the US.  Mark’s explanation is that even we can’t understand why the bill was passed and who is going to pay for it.  The wife and I were sitting facing a large screen TV in the bar and could see the Australian football game that was on.  I could tell she was an “Australian Debbie (Heroman)” and loved her football.  The players don’t wear any padding and wear short shorts, so the good looking fit ones are oogled a lot during the game!!!

I feel like we’re eating and drinking our way across the country.  Breakfast is a big thing here – eggs, English bacon and sausage, grilled tomatoes, fresh fruit (which has been wonderful – melons, fresh figs, strawberries, etc.) and toast and jams.  Mark is in heaven.  He’s going to go into withdrawal when we get home!  Other than lunch yesterday we’ve been eating pretty light lunches and then stopping for a gelato when we get hot in the afternoons.  Yesterday we passed a sign that I circled back around the block for Mark to get a picture of – Bruce I think it could become your motto!

 

 

Today is Katie and Whitney’s crawfish boil and we just talked to the girls.  Jennifer is over helping this afternoon and we are so sorry we’re missing it.  I know the crawfish will be great, but nothing like the size we sent a picture of from the market in Melbourne.  We did eat a very unusual crustacean last night: Morton Bay Bugs.  They are one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen – quite prehistoric looking, but delicious.  The texture is like a lobster, but much more flavorful – even without butter!!!  They served them with a chili sauce on the side to give them some spice. 

 

Well, we’re going to walk down a few doors and sit on the steps of  La Porchetta for their free wireless so we can send this, then we’re off for the ferry and don’t know when we’ll get internet again. 

 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.