Day Tripper

     Funny story from the other day. Andy inadvertently (thanks to his GPS) went on a toll road and we didn't have an eTag. The good news is you can call in the automated phone system and pay the bill. The bad news is the voice recognition software didn't recognize his American accent. When asked what state he was calling from, Andy replied "Victoria." The system asked, "Northern Territory?" uh, not quite. Andy had to use his best Aussie accent to make himself understood.
    Last night we had dinner at the Italian restaurant attached to our hotel. While I have complained about the prices, it should be noted that the prices shown are really the final prices. Everything already includes the tax, and there is no tipping. Andy and I had a really hard time with that, and had asked various people about it. Finally we asked our friendly waitress from Ireland, who has been here two years. She confirmed that they really do not tip here. Wow.
     Didn't make it to a milk bar, but we did make it to the Safeway grocery store. Per Ben's command suggestion that we try an Ice Break, we did. Below is proof. It was quite delicious.

Gimme a break...an Ice Break

        For the art connoissseurs in the group (Lynn, are you here?) we're staying at the Blackman Hotel, part of the Art Series hotels. Everywhere there is art from Charles Blackman, including in the elevators, hallways, and of course, the room. He did some Alice in Wonderland themed art, so there are mirror rabbits in random places in the hotel. But I digress...


Roo Crossing sign



     Today we took a drive out to a local winery in the Yarra Valley. It was less than an hour, a lovely drive, and of course we had to stop for this sign. Unfortunately, we didn't spot any live roos. Our destination was the Kellybrook Winery, a quaint, family-owned vineyard. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch, accompanied by several glasses of a very nice Shiraz. The dessert alone was worth the trip, a decadent dark chocolate ganache, coffee ice cream, Kellybrook tawny port and raisin puree. The sauce was much much better than it sounds. We actually asked for it on the side--yes Ben, I can get things on the side here--but it was so scrumptious we quickly poured it on top of the dessert.

Kellybrook Winery

        

Lunchtime

     One observation about eating out: they happily serve tap water, and often provide a bottle so you can refil your own glasses. This makes Alexi very happy. On the other hand, ice cubes are not included in the deal, which means we have to ask for some ice if we want to secretly slip an ice cube into our wine. Shh, our dirty little secret! But really, don't judge. Red wines aren't really meant to be served at "room temperature" and they are much better, imho, a few degrees colder. Hence the ice cube. 

    All in all, a nice little day trip.