~ Discovering Comporta’s Hidden Gems: Vineyards, Villages and Cavalos ~

Over breakfast on Sunday, we chatted about what the itinerary would be for that day. Graham had been told there were some wineries in the area. I looked a few up and asked the receptionist to ring around to check which ones were open. I was surprised to find out there was only one open, being a Sunday. We booked a tour and lunch and off we went.

As we were approaching Comporta we saw huge birds sitting atop chimneys, lampposts and buildings. Moving closer we realised they were storks. A real treat seeing a stork in the wild.

I tried to get closer, but you can guess what happened.

Before we arrived we stopped and admired the ricefields. At the time not realising they were ricefields.

Flocks of glossy ibis feasting on the rice
with water water everywhere

The winery was called Adega da Herdade da Comporta. It lies with the sea on one side and rice fields on the other. The views around are absolutely stunning. We had arrived at the perfect place for our Sunday lunch. We were given a fascinating tour, visiting the wine cellars and learning about the history. The wine tasting was at our table and the measures were more than generous. We were served lunch with all the wine thankfully.

I was definitely looking forward to tasting this wine.

The view from our guide’s office window

**Enjoying a delicious charcuterie board with a variety of wines**

We all agreed that this place went above our expectations, although I think our lunch played a big part.

Our guide had mentioned a fishing village not far from the winery, she said we must go. So we did and what a fun find it was.

Cais Palafítico da Carrasqueira is a unique fishing village that sits on a multitude of wooden jetties on stilts. They zigzag along the muddy marshes with weathered huts standing on top. The huts are decorated in a myriad of ways all different. It is still a working village which was surprising, considering how rickety the small plankways looked. We spent quite a while here, all of us walking in different directions, daring each other to walk along the piers.

There was no-one around when we were here and I was wondering how the fisherman actually got to their boats.

A faded mural and some random numbers.

Let’s Pull Up a Seat and enjoy the view

Leaving just before sunset with the golden rays spreading slowly across the sea.

Before returning to our hotel we had another brief stop at an equestrian centre. It was just closing but the manager said we could still walk around. Being a horse lover Colleen was in her element. I’m happy there was fences between us.

I would have liked longer to long around as there were some fantastic memorabilia on display.

A fitting end to a perfect day. Back to the hotel for our last night in Porto Covo.

~ Exploring Swan Valley: Riverbank Estate ~

Off for our usual Sunday jaunt to a winery in the Swan Valley. We haven’t been to the Swan Valley for a while, preferring to go into the Perth Hills for the views. More wineries are located in the Swan Valley, along with restaurants, cafes and farm shops. We had lunch at Riverbank Estate overlooking the green vineyards. There’s a mediterranean ambience here, maybe due to the terracotta and limestone brick architecture.

The service and food were excellent. As it was a super hot day there were hanging water spouts squirting a cool mist over us.

On the way out I stopped to take a few photos of the decorative window frames.

Something for Monday Window!

~ January Adventures – Family Fun in Busselton, Western Australia ~

The first half of January has been busy in the extreme! My son Laurence and his lovely fiancee Maddy tied the knot on January 3rd. Our house was full to the rafters with overseas family staying and various guests popping around to see us. It was the happiest two weeks I could imagine.

Our visitors wanted to visit South West WA for a few days. I managed to book an 8 bedroom house in Busselton. We were so happy that Laurence and Maddy decided to join us as well. I booked a few places to eat and drink as there were 17 of us in all. I couldn’t imagine turning up en masse without a booking. I was teased constantly that everywhere had better be good, otherwise there would be complaints to travelswithali!

To find a house this large and in high season was a feat in itself. There were enough bedrooms to accommodate all of us, so no-one had to sleep on the floor.

Our first lunch was spent at Shelter Brewing Company, right on the promenade overlooking the beach. The food came quickly and the beer was served in paddles, four at a time. Great for beer lovers who got the chance to sample a few.

After checking in and everyone choosing a room, we unpacked and headed to the beach.

Busselton Jetty is the longest pier in the Southern Hemisphere at 1,841 metres long. At the end of the pier there is an underwater jetty and sculpture park. To see the sculptures there are scuba diving tours.

There is a train that goes to the end and back for a fee. Otherwise a walk will take around 30 minutes each way. The beach is beautiful and great for small kids and adults who don’t like too many waves (me). With many restaurants, cafes and bars here it’s not difficult to find somewhere for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

On our second day, a few of the boys played a round of golf and the rest of us drove to Dunsborough. I’ve written about Dunsborough previoulsy. It’s a small town full of quirky shops and small boutiques. We did all manage to buy a few items.

Wild Hop Brewery was booked for 4pm. A fantastic place in Yallingup. By the time we arrived many of the items had disappeared off the menu. Also some of the staff were quite rude. Anyway after a few drinks we still enjoyed it.

On the morning of our last full day, we had a trip to Meelup Beach in the morning. I had booked a winery for the afternoon. Meelup Beach is also a child friendly beach with soft sand and beautiful clear water.

Next we were off to Lentedal Winery in Marybrooke, Margaret River. What a wonderful find this was. We had a table outside but under a shade cloth. Before ordering any food we did some wine tasting. After a scrumptious lunch we walked around the estate to look at the animals.

We had an absolutely perfect time away together. There’s nothing like a family holiday. I’m not sure when we will all be together again like this, living so far apart from each other. People have busy lives and jobs to do. Flights are expensive and holidays are short. We made so many memories to treasure and look back on. I made a Whatsapp group and can look back and read all the hilarious messages that were posted daily.

I did manage a walk to the end of Busselton Pier with Anthony, quite an accomplishment!

~ Chilly Times in Melbourne and Halls Gap ~

The apartment I had booked for our stay in Melbourne was in St. Kilda, even though it was from Booking.Com, it was just an Air B n B. As we drove into the carpark I realised it was a stacker park and Anthony was concerned that his long car wouldn’t fit! Luckily a lady who had just finished parking her car said she would help guide the car in. It was a very tight and tricky fit and I would definitely never book a place with stacker parking again. She even tested the elevation to check the fit. All the while with Anthony in the driver seat. The apartment itself was fine with a fantastic view from the large balcony. This would be wonderful in summer.

We spent the next two days wandering around Melbourne, eating, drinking and shopping.

I wanted to have a look at the Three Fates displayed at The Hellenic Museum in Melbourne. They were painted by Ox King (Steven Nuttall). They are called Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos.

Clotho (left) chose when and whether a person was to be born, spinning the thread of human life.
Lachesis (centre) chose the length of a person’s life and measures the thread.
Atropos (right) chose when and how a person would die and cuts the thread.

The mural on my left caught my eye as we walked down the street and I had to backtrack to take the photo. A comic book mural featuring Gordan Ramsay, I noticed at the bottom.
The sculpture on the right is titled “Creative Brilliance” by Ngardang Girri Kalat Mimini. It is located outside the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre.

A few from our evenings out wining and dining

Hall’s Gap and The Grampians

I had planned a two day visit, overnight in Ballarat and then onto The Grampians. Anthony said he wanted to experience really cold weather. It looked like his wish would come true as the temperatures were hovering around 0 to 3.

We had to make the most of our time away as it was so short, so on arriving at The Grampians Motel, we checked in and made our way into the picturesque town of Halls Gap. The motel was situated outside of the town and in a beautifully landscaped area. Complete with its own troupes of kangaroos.

I made my way over to a very large one and froze on the spot when he got up and I started walking slowly backwards.

Views from our room

Infinitely more friendly!

We did just a couple of small walks around The Grampians, there are some wonderful trails for the more serious hikers, sadly I’m not one of those.

A zoomed in shot of some climbers up in the rocks on the right.

The Grampians are a range of quartzose sandstone mountains that were a million years in the making. There are five spectacular sandstone ridges running north to south with steep and craggy slopes on the eastern side and gentler slopes to the west. They are the result of earth movements lifting and tilting the hard sandstones to create an impressive landscape of peaks and valleys. Source: The Grampians

I thought at first the markings on the trees above were some kind of symbolic carvings! The patterns are so intricate and look like ancient configurations. It’s just where the bark has fallen off though or maybe some beetle borings.

On our drive back to Melbourne we stopped at a winery in Ararat called Montara. We shared a delicious charcuterie platter and sampled the wines.

As you’ve noticed I do take quite a few selfies, I enjoy posing everyone, so when a stranger offers to take our photo I never object. It’s the awkward moment after, do you check it straightaway, look later or just take your own anyway. I’ve yet to decide how to deal with this. They do generally come out okay but if not you’ve lost that opportunity. Also they take so many! It’s the control freak in me.

All too soon our mini trip away was over. The next day we would be heading over to Sydney. with another overnight stop on the way.

🐾 Until we see you again dear Archie 🐾

~ Postcard from Perth ~

A funfilled week was had last week, starting with Bank Holiday Monday and a trip to the zoo. As you can imagine it was packed, but Elena holds a zoo pass so you need only spend a few hours each time.

We were lucky enough to see a Tree Kangaroo with her baby, who just happened to stick his head out for a photo. Also a sausage tree in bloom!

On Wednesday I spent a lovely morning at the beach viewing the sculptures which I’ve already posted about.

With the weather getting cooler in the mornings I’ve been able to go for a walk around Lake Claremont.

“There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them” – Ralph Marston

**Vivid green grass blowing in the breeze**

It wasn’t that long at all, just a 40 minute circuit around the lake!

Sunday afternoon we had a drive out to one of our favourite wineries in Bickley Valley. We had a table on the terrace overlooking the vineyards and shared a bottle of wine and a charcuterie board.

Next Postcard will be from Seminyak, Bali for a short break!

Linking to CWWC (Cee’s Challenge on Which Way) and Sunday Stills (This week Terri is asking for Green).

~ Postcard from Perth ~ 28 October 2023

The last week here in Perth has been pretty busy for me and last weekend I was out and about in the hills of Perth. On Saturday I went on an art trail with a friend. In the hills and surrounding areas there are many small galleries, featuring all kinds of crafts, artwork and sculptures. There was an open day so we took the chance to have a glimpse at the work. It was also a great way to see some of the countryside. The weather has been fantastic, but I haven’t put away all my winter gear just yet as it is still very cool in the evenings.

Some of the artwork in the gardens

We saw some beautiful houses, all very different, I couldn’t live up there though with the danger of bush fires throughout the summer.

On Sunday we had our winery date and once again drove out into the countryside, this time to the Wheatbelt region. About an hour and 15 minutes drive from our house. I had booked lunch at Stringy Bark Winery. In the middle of the state forest (luckily we didn’t get lost this time actually in the forest itself as we did the week before!).

It doesn’t look much more than a shack but nice and cosy inside and a good menu too.

**Chicken liver pate with cranberry relish**

This was absolutely delicious which I had with a glass ..or two.. of their Verdehlo.

**A bottle of their Cabernet Savignon to take home**

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Monday I drove over to Elena’s and had lunch with her and Rosie in a cafe on the river. I saw some amazing murals on the toilet block. Better than having them look like a concrete grey block. My feature photo is looking across the river.

Beautiful mosaic decorated box

The parks and reserves on the river banks in Perth are great places to visit. There are always bbq facilities, picnic areas and of course intricately designed playgrounds for kids. There are also purpose built playground equipment for wheelchairs. A day out doesn’t have to be expensive, who doesn’t love a picnic.

Linking to Pull up a Seat and Weekend Coffee Share/PPAC

~ 🦘 Postcard from Perth 🦘~

The week started with a trip to the cinema with friends to see the much acclaimed movie Barbie. It’s had fantastic reviews so off we went. After we walked over to an Indian restaurant, “Bollywood” for a few curries and a lively discussion. We were all in agreement that it was an enjoyable film. For me the best scenes were the ones with Ryan Gosling, who was brilliant. I’m not sure how he kept a straight face! The choreography with all the Kens dancing was wonderful to watch. We chatted about who had Barbies and our different memories of playing with dolls.

There were some very political messages they were trying to put across, and the Space Odyssey scene at the beginning was clever, a tad scary! When I go to the cinema I like to watch something that’s feel good and uplifting, I’m not one for true life films.

The rest of the week flew past as usual, before you know it the weekend has arrived. It was Bridge on Tuesday where my partner Donald and myself are in a two week competition, we came fourth out of 22, very happy with that.

Wednesday and Friday are Zumba mornings, where we are currently doing one dance to a Barbie song, lots of fun.

Thursday night we had dinner out with friends at a yacht club overlooking the Swan River, a lovely evening eating and drinking.

Saturday we had a birthday lunch at a winery in the Swan Valley. A gorgeous sunny afternoon outside looking out across the vineyards. We caught up with many old friends, some we hadn’t seen for a few months and even years!

All the vines had been pruned so did not look that picturesque.

This time next week I’ll be back in the UK again, a last minute decision to attend a wedding.

🦘 Have a fantastic week 🦘

~ Melbourne Moments – July 2023 ~

After getting over our initial disappointment with the accommodation and realising we had to stay or spend more to move, we got on with enjoying Melbourne. There were lunches and dinners, mixing it up sometimes about who went out with whom, but mostly having fun family moments.

One thing I enjoy about Melbourne is the fantastic murals and artwork and the fabulous sculptures on display.

“**Beauty is in the eye of the beholder**“

These two paintings were next to the beautiful eye mural, so I looked up “My Dog Sighs” and realised that is the name of the painter. Click the link to find out more about this wonderful painter, who gave away his work free for ten years, but is now a world-wide renowned painter.

I had to cross the road to get the full impact of this mural, absolutely stunning.

Found in Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, Victoria

Quirky paintings on meter boxes

There were many of these steel sculptures along the Yarra River, they look brilliant when lit up at night.

Walking around Melbourne and its suburbs is like being in a gigantic art museum, but outside. I much prefer looking at art outside than in a museum.

Views of the Yarra River

Below are five carved-wooden figureheads representing a dragon, woman, bird and man and lion.

They are placed where the river created a natural widening for the boats in the 19th century to turn around after unloading their wares.

Constellation Sculptures by Geoffrey Bartlett and Bruce Armstrong
Enterprize Landing

We finished our five day trip with a drive to a winery in Werribee, called Shadowfax. There wasn’t a table available inside so we made do with outside and a heater. This was good news for the munchkins as they had the run of the garden and we could see them from our table. The food was delicious and the wine was flowing.

Thanks for coming along for the trip to Melbourne with us!

~ Postcard from Perth – July 2023 ~ Museums, Movies and Meanderings

This week was the last of the school holidays and I went with Elena and the munchkins to the WA Museum, Boola Bardip. I’ve never been before so was interested to see what was there.

Boola Bardip means many stories in Whadjuk Nyoongar;
the Country on which the Museum sits.

A fantastic museum for all ages and takes visitors on an enchanting journey through the ages. There are many exhibits to see and also interactive displays and games for the kids to enjoy.

We all had the best time, especially as naughty Ninny said yes to a stop in the gift shop!

The rest of my week was spent shopping, a zumba class, dinner with friends and of course Bridge.

I was surprised that Anthony agreed to accompany me to see Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning. What a hectic ride of a film, so many car chases and implausible stunts, I read Tom Cruise does his own! Anyway I enjoyed it especially the scenery, set in Venice and the Austrian Alps. By hook or by crook, I will visit Venice one day. The film went for so long that we missed our restaurant booking but managed to get a table at the next door Indian, Bollywood which was delicious.

Today (Sunday) Anthony suggested a winery in Bickley Valley. About a 45 minute drive from our house and it has been a beautiful sunny day. I chose Plume Winery which has amazing views over the hills and vineyards.

Vista and Views

Inside the restaurant

Posted for Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share, Weekend Sky for Hammad and Pull up a Seat for XingfuMama

🚗 Dunsborough Road Trip – Part Two – Eagle Bay and Cape Naturaliste 🚗

After a very good night’s sleep, for me anyway, we took ourselves off for breakfast in Dunsborough. The plan was to walk but the weather wasn’t looking great so we jumped in the car again.

With so many cafes to choose from but all looking busy everywhere we opted for the first one we saw and chanced our luck for an empty table. It was a good choice and I started the day with a cooked breakfast.

Just a tad more shopping and and a stop at the beach, then it was back to the house and a catch up on the books we were reading and then off out again for lunch.

I had seen these sculptures from the road and really wanted a photo, I’m the one who has the “bright” ideas for posing.

The colours of Geographe Bay are always stunning in various shades of blue and green.

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We were having lunch at Eagle Bay Brewery, which coincidentally is in Eagle Bay. It was a first for all of us and as soon as we were out of the car we saw the views were worth coming for.

**It would have been perfect to sit outside but a bit chilly for us!**

Even though it was a brewery we’re none of us beer drinkers so opted for a bottle of the local sauvingon blanc. It went down a treat with the delicious salads we all shared.

They had their own vegetable garden just outside so everything was fresh. Of course I took more photos.

**Hay Bales – or Bay Hales as I kept saying – too much wine!**

As it was still fairly early in the afternoon we drove to the headland of Cape Naturaliste which is the northernmost point of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge. After parking the car we saw there was a trail that led through the bush and wildflowers. There was a couple coming back along the trail and they said they had seen around ten pods of migrating whales! So we carried on to a lookout and saw another man with camera and tripod also documenting the pods. We stood for around 20 minutes and witnessed a fantastic display of whales jumping in out of the water. A bit far to get a good photo but the thrill of seeing so many whales was awesome.

The photos below are just the scenery from on top of the hill overlooking the sea.

Blink and you’ll miss it!

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By this time it was around 5 pm, so on the way back we stopped along the foreshore and waited for the pop-up curry van to arrive. We were having take away that night and a full evening of games!

We were off home the next day but so far we had all enjoyed this time away together, eating, drinking, gossiping, shopping and playing games. Although there was still time for one more winery on the way home.

Homeward Bound

Leaving on the dot of 10 am – check out time – we packed up our bags and headed off. Maybe coffee and lunch on the way, depending how we felt.

As it happens Lisa mentioned a winery that she thought we would all enjoy for lunch, called Green Door Wines. Situated in the beautiful Ferguson Valley with views for miles. We didn’t have a booking but fortunately there was a table.