WARNING -- mom don’t read this one ;)
Today was my travel buddy’s last day, so we were going to make the most of it -- and it is Good Friday. The weather was a little gloomy so our plans were appropriate. After grabbing a donut (my first in awhile -- did I mention that I had lost 30 pounds in the last 10 months on Weightwatchers?), we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral to get our bus for a wine tour of the Yarra Valley. Is that sacrilegious? They were just starting a service and the church was amazingly beautiful, would have been fun to stay.
Our traveling party members:
Our driver, Billly, is an artist along with his wife and they have an art supply store and gallery in the Yarra Valley. He is originally Scottish but an Aussie now. They have started doing uncaustic work with wax. Sounded very interesting.
In Melbourne, Betty and Debbie, sisters from the Philadelphia area joined us. Debbie was here working with Vanguard for a few months. Betty was visiting her and works as an event coordinator for Rolls Royce (nautical division)- very cool. They were both very nice and funny. Coming from a large family, the siblings love to travel together.
Also on the bus was Wade and Lauren, from Sydney. Wade works in fencing and landscaping. Lauren is a personal motivational fitness trainer. Wade was a hoot, he had been to Vegas a few times and had personality like you wouldn’t believe. Lauren was so positive of a person and sarcastic it was refreshing.
We picked up the remaining members of this mobile party in the Yarra Valley, Andrea and Mark from Melbourne. He works for Ford (two days on the job so far) and she works for IBM in the commerce/marketing division. They were both very smart and witty. He was big into current events.
Ari and Laura, also from Melbourne, were our last pickups. He is a Physiotherapist and she is studying nursing (so if we need medical care we are set). They were fun and very outgoing.
The whole group was a good fun one and everyone got along and visited while on the tour. They schooled us on Aussie slang.
Our first winery was Sticks. They are known for their wines in the U.S. (Of course, I have never heard of them as I am a wine illiterate - it’s either red or white. I do know a little about wines but very little -- I do know if I like them or not.) This was a large winery but their shop/tasting area was very small and quaint - the owners were the ones pouring our samples. They had a nice veranda overlooking the valley. The wine was very good.
Our next winery was De Bartoli, which was a big one. They had an elegant dining room, where we had a private table. After making our lunch selection, they led us downstairs to a big tasting room. We tried about 10 wines here also, starting with sparkling wine aka Champagne. They had sparkling shiraz, loved it. They had “wine dogs” here and were very friendly. The food was very good - and the wine was excellent. This winery was a stone building which was huge and professional landscaping. The tasting room was a large bar with a few bartenders.
Our next winery was the Graeme Miller Winery. This was a small winery, Mr. Miller poured our samples and had been in the business a very long time. He was very versed in his wines. The small tasting room overlooked a large high ceilinged room that had casks and boxes and supplies piled to the top. He plied us with about 10 wines too -- whites to reds.
Our last winery, Balgownie, they had a large tasting room and it was a very slick looking place -- modern and “California”ish. Black, grey and white were their colors. Windows overlooking the valley. A large dining room area with a fireplace as you walk in. Our bartender was very friendly and spoke with his hands a lot. They had sparkling shiraz too and it was superb.
At each winery, they let us try about 10 wines each. What’s up with that? In the California and French wineries I have been to, they only let you try a few of them. Aussies are very proud of their wines and want to share them with everyone. Napa Valley should take some lessons from the Aussies. Also at every winery, they bagged on the Kiwi wineries. So belly up to the bar mates, those Aussies know how to pass a good time.
We were feeling good when we were dropped back off at St. Paul’s. Where to eat dinner? What to do on our last night in Melbourne? Why of course hit one of the most famous restaurants in the world. Nobu has a location in the Crown Casino on the river in Melbourne. There were no seats or tables, but the hostess seemed to like us and gave us seats at the sushi bar. We had the pleasure watching the sushi chefs fix plates. There was a female chef - didn’t know they had those. My California roll and Cucumber roll were excellent. As I am not a big sushi eater and not a very adventurous sort, I was pleasantly surprised with how good this was.
The Crown Casino was massive. Very much like a BIG Vegas casino. Lots of slot machines and heaps of tables with many people contributing to the casino's income. They even had an alcohol tester to tell you what your BAC is ... interesting.
We took our first cab ride (odd turning right over tram tracks) to the Fitzroy area. Naked for Satan was an excellent bar. They had two different levels and a large bar. I had never seen food served like they had it -- you got a plate and used a toothpick to select something that looked like an hor d'oeuvre. They cost $2 each. The decor was very funky - the menus had classic pinup photos - men and women. They practiced recycling by putting empty liquor bottles in crates. The walls to the restroom were wallpapered with vintage pinup and movie photos -- very stylish. On the tables they had brochures with an urban legend of who Satan was -- Satanovich who supposedly brewed vodka a long time ago. It’s always interesting to see the local nightlife. I didn't partake after the wine tour so I remember the interesting sights we observed. Melbourne reminds me of Austin and it's funky citizens.
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