If only there was a beach nearby.

[mstakenidentity]

mc_shamo and I just spent a lovely weekend in Castlemaine. I think it really cemented for us the idea that we could live there in a few years. We both love Melbourne so much, but we'll never be able to afford a house here and have the kind of lifestyle we want. Plus for me it was such a luxury, this amazing feeling of walking more than two blocks at a fast pace and not reaching for my inhaler. The air is so clean! In fact the only times I used my inhaler were inside that cottage we stayed in as the couch was dusty and when we climbed up to the Burke and Wills monument- that was from genuine excertion though, which I hardly ever get to in Melbourne before my airways swell up, so that was a celebration in itself.

This time around staying in Castlemaine we lunched at Saffs Cafe which was just as good as last time, then went to the Drummond Natural Soap shop next door and stocked up on shampoo, conditioner and body wash (so worth it, the stuff is amazing). We were thinking of going on a walk around the old gold diggings but the weather was not clement (I seem to have a knack of booking weekends away during which it rains almost non-stop) so instead we decided to go to nearby Harcourt and find the cidery cellar door.

Thanks to the slightly dodgy map we were using we managed to get lost. This turned out to be a blessing as instead of Henry's of Harcourt we ended up at Bress Winery who in addition to very nice wine also make cider, olive oil, honey and assorted other things. Best of all they are a biodynamic estate, which means no added sulfer (yet another thing I'm allergic to) which means I cad drink their stuff without risk of respitory attack or headache (well, I'd probably get a hangover headache if I drank a LOT, but no sulfer induced headache!) On the way back to Castlemaine we dropped in at Peeler's Family Orchard for fresh apples and pears. Yum. The weather was still awful, so we ended up spending the night in our cottage with a cheese platter, soup and pudding for dinner.

Saturday morning we breakfasted at Togs, then did the Castlemain Town Historical walk, visiting the Burke and Wills monument with a spectacular view of the town, stopping in at the Art Gallery and Museum and discovering that practically every building in the place had been a police station at one point or another. I bought a few books in the bookshop as the rainy weather meant I'd finished my novel earlier than expected. I was glad to see signed copies of cows_might_fly's Dad's book were still on the display table- they obviously support local authors, good news for me if I ever5 get around to writing that novel ;-)

In the afternoon we finally did make it out to Henry's of Harcourt and spent a pleasant afternoon trying ciders and vinegars and dessert cider (fantastic thing! think sweet apple brandy made with golden delicious apples, yum!) Then mc_shamo felt inspired and worked on Omniprop's website for a few hours while I had a nap. That evening we tought we'd check what the local pizza place was like and were very favourably impressed, we took advantage of a weekend without the cats and had pizza on the floor of the cottage while watching Shrek on tv.

On Sunday we drove to Maldon for the local winter food and wine festival. Maldon is an incredibly pretty little town, full of friendly peope. I bought a crocheted cloche hat from a lady sitting behind a spinning wheel after watching fascinated as she spun her own yarn. My hat was made by her, hand crochet, hand spun, and it would have been hand-dyed except she left it natural so it's not dyed at all. We decided after the last few days to ignore the wine and concentrate on the food, stocking up on chutneys, puddings, cheeses and sauces, as well as a few little cakes and chocolates that are mostly gone by now :-)

We got back to Melbourne on Sunday afternoon and relaxed at home for a few hours before going to cows_might_fly and clappamungus's house for dinner, during which we hatched a cunning plot to go to a swing dancing lesson on Monday, which we did. It was an absolute blast and I definitely want to go again, there were a few people their I knew too, including fin, so we didn't have to go in as total strangers which was nice.

All in all a fastastic weekend away.

Comments

[sylver-spiders.livejournal.com]

Not sure if Nicolai has mentioned this, but if you ever want free accommodation in Castlemaine it's on offer. My parents are about a 10-minute drive out of town and have what used to be a granny flat, which they are happy for people to use.

[mstakenidentity.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's really generous of them! We'll keep it in mind, thank you :-)

[lena-supercat.livejournal.com]

Dessert cider sounds delicious, I'll definitely try some!

[mc-shamo.livejournal.com]

You didn't mention the amazing yum cha from the stand at amldon. Turned out it was from a Chinese restaurant in castlemaine anyway. But yes, a mental health weekend much deserved for the both of us I think. It's a lovely part of the world.

[thecatsamuel.livejournal.com]

It sounds fantastic - despite the rain!