Tags
Australia, Fatto Bar & Cantina, Melbourne, Royce Hotel, Smith & Daughters, Xi'an terracotta warriors
Long weekend away from Canberra’s cold
I had made plans a few months ago to visit friends in Melbourne; really to get out of Canberra’s cold but also to just enjoy some time away whilst my friend looked after my dogs. This meant I could take my daily walks without two excited (but truly gorgeous) dogs pulling on their leads (maybe that means they (I) need additional training!!)…
I booked a boutique hotel near the city through Luxury Escapes and really got a great deal. I had a suite at the Royce Hotel that included free mini bar snacks, breakfast every morning and a voucher for a drink in the bar..very happy with all that.
My first evening I spent with two friends over dinner at Fatto Bar & Cantina overlooking the Swan River. 
Quite a casual evening but food was pretty good and great that the chef made the risotto vegan for me. I definitely could not eat it all but enjoyed half with a salad and a few glasses of wine.
The next day I took a walk through one of the local parks. I think all parks in Melbourne’s CBD are fabulous so I enjoyed seeing firstly walking through a vacant park then seeing lots of people out and about exercising and walking their dogs.
On my second day I booked a vegan restaurant called Smith & Daughters in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. I heard about this restaurant from a friend so being a little excited, I arrived a early mistaking our reservation for 1230 when it was actually for 1pm. Staff were very lovely and I was able to sit at our table early thus allowing me time to enjoy a glass of wine and pore over the fabulous brunch menu. 
My friends arrived and I thought I already knew what I wanted to order, having had half an hour to decide; firstly it was the Parmesan Scramble on sourdough but finally I decided on the Breakfast Pizza. 
As I was looking at the menu I had to confirm with the waitress that everything was actually vegan as it all sounded very non-vegan. But luckily it was!
We all shared a garlic bread and the warm potato salad. Bread was gone even before I had the opportunity to take out my phone to take a photograph…truly delicious as was the warm potato salad.
My friends ordered the Meatball Sub, the Mushrooms & Ricotta and the Classic Italian Basil Pesto & Roasted Vegetable Frittata…each enjoyed enormously by all.
And it’s not often I get to order dessert unless it’s sorbet so this time I definitley wanted something even thought I was a little full. Three of us ordered the baby donuts filled with a vanilla bean masala custard. And when I say we ordered them..we all ordered our own bowl of six donuts…I couldn’t eat all but tried my hardest and we all loved them!!
Another friend and I had booked tickets to see the Chinese ancient terracotta warriors at the National Gallery of Victoria the following day. Having lived in China for three years, I had seen them several times in their hometown of Xi’an, but my friend wanted to see them so I was very happy to go along; they really are impressive along with other amazing items discovered in the tomb.
There was also an exhibition by contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang who created a 10,000 porcelain bird exhibition within the gallery. Amazing!
After observing the exhibition, it was time for lunch so we ate within the gallery and I ordered a delicious meal of a cauliflower steak and my friend and I shared a bowl of french fries (staple diet of mine I think). The cauliflower was cooked to perfection and the accompanying lentils and sauce was delicious.
So after another great weekend away it was time to return to Canberra to arrive home to two dogs that were incredibly happy to see me. Love Melbourne!
Canberra is pretty cold in the winter so it’s always nice to travel interstate mainly north to Queensland for a few days of warmth. That is what I decided to do last month and took my brother and nephew along too. I booked an Airbnb home at a suburb called Biggera Waters which is about an hour’s drive from Gold Coast (Coolangatta) Airport.
It was too cool to swim in the pool so we spent many an hour on the patio reading and just watching the swans and ducks swim by. The swans would arrive at 8.30am every morning; you really could set your clock by them.
I had made plans to catch up with friends who have a holiday home at Sanctuary Cove and my friend Steve kindly offered to come and pick us up in their boat so we could sail along the river to their home. How lucky were we!! So Steve and his son Ryan arrived on our private mooring and off we went…
Until we reached the open waters the boat is legally only able to travel at six knots (no wake allowed) so this afforded me to time to check out houses and gardens that back onto the river…wow some people have gorgeous homes! Once away from residences we could go a little faster which was really nice with the wake behind us.
Also nice to see the Gold Coast skyline behind us as well as views along the shore.
After a glass of wine at my friend’s home we took their golf carts and drove to Sanctuary Cove restaurant area where we had a wonderful lunch at a local Italian restaurant which had a lovely wine bar and to enter you walk through a huge wine barrel. Definitely my sort of place. 
Along the way we drove through the golf course and were fortunate enough to see a mob of kangaroos and one mum with her baby!
After lunch we returned to my friend’s home to watch the sunset – I never grow tired of watching either a sunrise or sunset…beautiful anywhere around the world.
And I love it when the sky changes colour whilst the sun is setting…
One other day we took my nephew and godson to MovieWorld on the Gold Coast. Rather expensive and really not what I like to do but I hope my nephew and godson enjoyed themselves. It was my godson’s first time to eat a snow cone; he loved it and enjoyed some rides.
And the sweetest thing about the trip was my godson absolutely loved my nephew (they had met some three years ago) so followed him around all weekend and just wouldn’t let him out of his sight…very lovely and my nephew even though he is seven years older, was incredibly patient and loving!
We also had a meal at a local Chinese restaurant on our last night with another friend (my godson’s mum) and as usual I enjoyed an eggplant dish and some dumplings…delicious. A great long weekend away!
Sue's Fabulous Travels 
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