Tags
Australia, Bowral, Ethos Restaurant, Links House, New South Wales, Southern Highlands, travelling with friends, Vegan wine
A lovely overnight trip out of Canberra
Finally…we can travel…well domestically anyway. My friend and I decided to drive about two hours out of Canberra to a beautiful area of New South Wales called the Southern Highlands which is also considered a wine region. My lovely friend Sharon booked us a couple of rooms at Links House in Bowral. Bowral is the largest town in the Southern Highlands and is known for its antique shops, cafes, house & garden stores and expensive homes similar to other areas in the Southern Highlands.
We had a nice drive; I drove and we chatted about anything and everything and before we knew it, we had arrived at our hotel. Links House has a lovely frontage. It was built in 1928 as a country guesthouse and still has all the charm of that era and style. We drove up the side lane and parked the car and walked into the hotel. We were greeted by the owner who offered us a small glass of locally made port. Sharon indulged but because I don’t like red wine I declined. We were shown our rooms which were lovely with a country style; heated, clean and most importantly; a comfortable bed!We spent the next hour or so with a friend and his family in their beautiful home; an old schoolhouse – and so beautifully decorated. No photos unfortunately as didn’t think it appropriate to be snapping at the home of people I have only just met!!! Then Sharon, David and I went out to lunch at Centennial Vineyards, a local winery, located in the same suburb as our hotel (but more on that in an upcoming post).
That evening Sharon and I decided to eat at our hotel at Ethos restaurant as it was rather cold outside and we had a busy day driving/eating/chatting and meeting new friends. We met in the lounge area of our hotel which had a lovely fire and comfortable chairs.
I arrived early to the lounge area so ordered a glass of wine. As most of you will know I am vegan (over two years now) but something you might not know is it’s only been the last two months that I have decided to only drink vegan wine. This means that any wine that has used egg white/fish or gelatine as a finishing agent (stops the clouding of the wine) I won’t drink.
I asked whether there were any vegan wines available and was told there was only one which was a rosé. I am not a red wine or rosé drinker but the owner said this wine was very light and offered me a taste. I took a small sip and it certainly was very light so ordered a glass. By this time Sharon had arrived and after a few minutes we moved into the restaurant. I ordered a mushroom risotto which the chef made vegan and Sharon ordered the pumpkin soup with truffle oil and home made grain bread. Both very good dishes with lovely fresh local produce.By this time we were feeling a little tired so moved back into the lounge area near the fire for a chat before heading off to our rooms where I promptly fell straight asleep.
The next morning, I woke up early to see the sun rising and hopped out of bed to take a walk around the local area to check out the expensive homes.My walk took about an hour and whilst it was hard to see many of the homes from the street (I am definitely one of those people who loves to peer into other people’s homes!!), I could see driveways and parts of homes along from the footpath.The gardens were beautifully maintained also and one even had little ducks walking along the grass; very country I must say.Bowral has always been a place I would love to live but unfortunately now it’s way out of my price range…ah well it’s a lovely place to visit overnight or even for a few days.We enjoyed a lovely breakfast at our hotel and then it was time to check out and head back to Canberra. On our way home we stopped at another country town called Mittagong to look at the shops – I love the stores selling all things fabulous like facial creams/soaps and candles – a little bit expensive but gorgeous. Sharon and I ended up buying a few things in one particular shop and I bought a present for my friends Ray and Nat who helped look after my dogs whilst I was away. I bought them a jigger – now I had no idea it was called this but you might, it’s the stainless steel measuring cup used to measure alcoholic spirits…so I learnt something (mindless) whilst away. We also went into a fabulous bread shop. I must say I love good bread but whilst I didn’t buy any bread I did buy an Indian vegan pie to take home which I have since eaten and it was very good; great pastry!So as you can see we had a lovely time away and as it’s so close to Canberra it’s an easy place to visit regularly. I must return soon!
Gary said:
Bowral is such a nice place to visit. I love the Gumnut patisserie there and the vanilla slice, apple turnover, and chocolate eclairs.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Yum Gary.
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nikkidiscovers said:
I never knew about vegan wine interesting.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Well funnily enough I didn’t either until some time ago.
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Gail’s Snapshotsincursive said:
The sunlight cast beautiful shadows over the landscape. 👀🍃
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Little Miss Traveller said:
What a gorgeous hotel, I can just see myself curled up in front of that open fire with a glass of wine. It’s so good that you were able to get away, we are hoping to do the same shortly. We have a couple of jiggers, one belonged to my parents but neither as posh as that one as ours don’t have handles! Thanks for sharing your lovely little trip, Sue.
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mytimetotravel said:
Jiggers also come in glass. I have one I bought decades ago in Biot, France, which is known for “bubble” glass.
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Lyn Douglas said:
I have wonderful memories of the Southern Highlands of NSW. When I was growing up in Sydney we would spend a weekend there occasionally. Beautiful.
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vinneve said:
I never consider Rose wine is vegan before haha! I like it though. How can the risotto make it creamy without parmesan? Nice that you get to enjoy domestic travel.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Oh how lovely Lyn. I agree it’s a very lovely part of NSW.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Ah…thank you. Interesting.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thanks so much as always Marion. Yes hope you can get away soon.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thanks Gail.
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JohnRH said:
Beautiful place, Sue. And FOOD! Even a carnivore like me could go for that risotto and pumpkin soup. ::thumbsup::
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Marta said:
Ah, so lucky! I’m dying to go somewhere, I haven’t been anywhere in almost 10 months. I have a week off next month and I’m thinking about going to Sanya… it’s an easy destination for a 2 year old, haha.
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Lignum Draco said:
That sounds like a lovely short break. It must have felt so good to get out and travel, even if just a few hours from home. Actually I hadn’t heard of vegan wine before.
Here’s hoping we can travel more soon, but I’m keeping a nervous eye on the Victorian situation for the moment.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
I just read on line last night that QF is cancelling all its international bookings this year. Next year for us all!!! Surely it will be a better year.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Yes Sanya would be great. Beaches to run around for your little boy.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thanks John!!
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Lignum Draco said:
We can hope.
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Amy said:
Thank you for the enjoyable tour, Sue. Beautiful photos of your trip!
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you very much Amy.
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Sophie said:
HI Sue! Lovely post for a lovely weekend away with your friend (finally able to drive about, as you said!). This fireplace with two big armchairs seem pretty comfy indeed, I can imagine you and Sharon chatting while sipping on your (vegan, really? I had no clue wine could be vegan) rosé wine. While reading the end of your post, I couldn’t help it but smile and think how alike you and I are (we keep finding out about our resemblances, don’t we?!), because I too do love walking about and looking at expensive houses and private properties everywhere I go. I also love the wrought iron double entrance gates these properties have. Thank you for the Tour!! xxx
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Sunshiny SA, Kavitha said:
Luck you Sue to be out and about. Looks like time well spent. I cant wait for my turn. 🤗
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you. Yes here in Canberra we are very fortunate. One of our other states Victoria has gone to level 4 with shops closed / not being allowed out between 8pm and 6am and many other restrictions.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thanks Sophie. Sorry for my delay. I have been very busy. Will send you a voice mail this week/weekend. Love your comments though. XX
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