Lunch at a Winery in the Yarra Valley

 St. Patrick's Cathedral from the side.

 A bittern in Carleton Gardens.

 Barry, Carol, Bev and Jim

 John's deck.

 Me, John, Bev and Carol.

Sunset in Chelsea

Saturday, February 6^th.
I left early and took the train into the city. I met a neighbour on the platform and talked to her all the way in. She told me of some nice places to eat around the area and of some places to visit within a days drive of Melbourne. I am looking forward to exploring. I was going to do that today but Jim and Barry, two principals from the International Teachers Association had invited Carol, Bev and I out for lunch.

I arrived about 9:30 and wandered about the Parliament Station until 11:00 when I was to meet the others. I visited St. Patrick's Cathedral which was open and escaped just before mass. It was a beautiful, sunny day and you could feel the warmth of the sun.

Jim and Barry picked us up in their late model Honda CRV and we drove out of the city for about 60 kilometres to Healsville. We walked along the main street for a bit to kill some time before our lunch reservation. We drove to the Boat O'Craigo winery to eat. It is a small winery situated on a small rise overlooking their vineyards. We had a tasting of three types of white wine, sparkling, sauvignon blanc and a reisling, all of which were nice. We sat outside at a picnic table and had various pizzas for lunch and shared a bottle of the sauvignon. The service was slow and we had lots of time to talk. A woman at a table behind us heard us and came over to introduce herself as a retired principal and to welcome us to Australia.

Then we drove back towards the city and stopped at the house of a friend of theirs, named John, who lives in Lillydale. The house was beautiful situated on a hill with the steepest driveway I've ever seen. It commands an amazing view over the Yara Valley. He toured us around his garden. The work he puts into it is incredible. He has grapefruit, lime, lemon and fig trees and lots of other varieties of trees including sequia trees. He was a very gracious host serving us a beer, some strawberries and cookies. We sat and talked for a couple of hours before taking our leave and driving back to Melbourne where they dropped us at Bev and Carol's. They asked me in for a drink but I declined as I wanted to spend part of this beautiful day on the beach.

I took the train back and went straight to the beach. There were lots of people there today and the tide was out. I had a sort swim and then sat on the beach and watched the sunset. Back home for a late dinner and watched a Foyle's War before bed.