I just spent the most beautiful weekend in Berry! Simon and I haven't had a weekend away since our trip to Europe over 18 months ago! So we were well overdue for a romantic getaway. The drive down was great, I've only had my new car for 2 months so it was so nice to be able to take it on a long drive. (It has a lot of grunt for such a little car!).
After a quick stop off in Kiama for lunch we headed in to Berry. We stayed at
the Berry Drawing Rooms and it was so beautiful. About 7kms from Berry township it was close enough to everything but far enough away that you felt like you were the only people there...
Kerry and her husband were the perfect hosts and we had home cooked breakfasts on Saturday and Sunday. Plus loads of smiles and local knowledge.
Thursday night we unpacked our stuff and headed down to Berry main street. I oggled through the closed shop windows and then we had dinner at a local pub and Simon had great porkbelly, I ordered Tempura Fish and Chips but got what appeared to be "Fish Nuggets"... they sort of looked like the chicken nuggets you get from MacDonalds.... a little disappointing but still a lovely night.
After a quick stop at the drive through we headed home and rather tragically enjoyed Beauty and the Geek and a double Amazing Race. I felt a little pang of guilt watching TV in such a beautiful place, but in a town where everything closes at 4pm, what else do you do. Besides! We were on holidays and we thoroughly enjoyed the relaxation.
On Friday we did a lot of driving around, went to 7 mile beach. It was so secluded and beautiful. I felt seriously under prepared and a little disappointed that we didn't bring a picnic blanket, food and wine. I did get sunburnt in about 5 minutes thought... so, note to self, must buy big gorgeous 1950's style sun hat...
Friday afternoon we just bought a whole bunch of olives from a little place in
Kangaroo Valley. The two of us are olive-fanatics... so we limited ourselves to three items. Olives in Chilli and Garlic, Olives in Olive Oil and Corriander and a Balsamic Raspberry Vinegar. We then went down to the main street and had lunch at Friendly Inn, Kangaroo Valley. I had a beautiful deconstructed bean and lentil nachos and a cider.
It was so hot... but we later realised you could order your food and drink and sit out the back on benches under the trees and look out over the country-side. If you go there, I would definitely recommend it.
Then I bought myself a beautiful little teacup from a The Nostalgia Factory. I remained very restrained in Kangaroo Valley Collections.... they even sold coffee which I also resisted..
And then went to the local IGA in Berry to buy some cold meats, beautiful bread, and cheese. Then we took it all back to the Drawing Rooms and sat out in the setting sun, reading and then had our nibblies with a glass of cold white wine.
Argh! Total heaven...
Saturday was a visit to Kiama Produce Markets which was really fun. Had a beautiful coffee as we walked along the water's edge. We wandered right along to the natural pool at the North end of the beach.
I watched a really elderly gentlemen, who had zoomed along on a motorised scooter then undressed so slowly you almost couldn't see him move. Then he hobbled over the ramp and slowly moved into the water and proceeded to swim laps. I was terrified he was going the drown. He wasn't there with anyone, no one would know if he just slipped under the water... I watched him intensely for ages... I was so scared, but he obviously wasn't. And that is beautiful.
We wandered up the high street and the clothes were so polyester and so expensive... so don't bother. We had a few Corona's in a lovely sunny beer garden. And then headed back through the markets, bought some farm fresh strawberries, some BBQ flavoured corn kernels and dried mango. Visited the blow-hole, but the wind and tide weren't arguing so no action.
Back to Berry and back to air-conditioned goodness. I sat and read my book and drank ginger-lemon tea for 2 hours. Bliss. I'm reading Shantaram and, if you have time to read a book that is thick enough to kill someone with one blow to the head, I totally recommend it. It's heartbreaking but wonderful at the same time.
We had dinner at the
Hungry Duck in Berry main street. To quote Rachel Zoe... totally O.O.C. It was such a fantastic meal. I wish I had taken photos but I felt a bit self conscious. We started with Kingfish sushimi, Homemade steamed pork buns with white soy and chilli, Crispy local snapper with kaffir lime salt, tomato salt and wasabi mayonnaise, red curry duck with rice and Chinese five spiced doughnuts with butterscotch sauce and sour cream.
It was light and gorgeous and oh so yummy.
So our last day, today, involved a journey to the
Crooked River Winery and bought some of their famous Chocolate Port for some friends and ended up buying a bottle for ourselves as well.
Had a really wonderful lunch at Collangatta Winery. I had a tasting plate with allocated wines. That was really tasty, and I even tried the oysters (which I hate). Verdict: I still HATE oysters. I just can't eat them even though they seem so sophisticated...
We drove home via the NSW Great Ocean Road and the Ocean Bridge was a
much longer way than the freeway but I think it was worth it. You literally drive over the ocean, along the cliff edges, and its the most exhilarating drive just outside of Sydney. (And I saw loads of antique shops along the way in little towns that we didn't have time to stop for!)
Anyway, back in Sydney, I've realised how much I miss journeying around and now I'm going to watch Joanna Lumley searching for the Northern Aurora Lights... and read more of Shantaram and by the time my head hits the pillow I'll absolutely yearning for my next holiday.
Thank goodness I have tomorrow off. I need some time to process.
