Le Chic En Rose

Au Revoir Perth For The Next Month!

rosemaylily2014

April 3, 2016

Le Chic En Rose is soon to be the “En The Road” again! We’re heading off this week for a month in Europe mainly to the UK to catch up with family including our younger daughter, Mlle, in London. However we’ve also booked trips to Menaggio on Lake Como and a long weekend in Berlin. There always seems to be so much to organise before heading overseas, not helped on this occasion by someone deciding to hack into our credit card account (a master ploy by Monsieur Le Chic to prevent any holiday splurges perhaps?). Anyway the house is almost ready for our lovely house and pet sitters who will be looking after Winston Le Schnoodle and Duchess our equally pampered feline whilst we’re away. I won’t be blogging as much whilst travelling although I hope to stay in touch as best I can. I plan to put photos up on my Instagram and Facebook pages (see here and here for links) and I will pop in to check on what’s happening in the blogosphere from time to time.

Although we’re looking forward to our holiday there are a few things I’ll miss – our Perth family and friends and our gorgeous WA weather! Here are a few photos taken out and about recently.

Perth sunrise – photo captured by Monsieur Le Chic and Winston Le Schnoodle on their early morning walk!

North Beach – our Saturday walking spot

Beach Wedding

Monsieur making sure Winston doesn’t decide to gatecrash the wedding!

Sunday Morning Walk

Morning on the beach

Indian Ocean Perth

Plus I will certainly miss our beautiful West Coast sunsets! Au Revoir Perth till early May!

Sunset over Indian Ocean

Easter Memories From Bruges

rosemaylily2014

38 comments

March 25, 2016

This is the first year for a while that we’ve been in Perth for Easter. Nearly 5 years ago on Good Friday 2011 we were enjoying a couple of nights break in Bruges, Belgium after visiting our families in the UK. We had a lovely short break in this beautiful historic town during a particularly warm European spring before heading off to Koblenz on the Rhine and Basel, Switzerland. Belgium has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently and the tragic events this week have affected the lives of so many innocent people. Here are a few photos of happier and peaceful times in a pretty part of the country – a more positive image of Belgium than the one currently being portrayed.

Bruges in the spring

Bruges, often referred to as the “Venice Of The North” owing to its myriad of canals and pretty bridges is the capital of the Flemish speaking region of West Flanders in the North West of the country. The city centre with its old narrow streets and medieval buildings is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it is not surprisingly a huge tourist drawcard. We found it busy though not unpleasantly crowded and enjoyed wandering round the pretty old cobbled squares and streets.

Wandering round Bruges

Old square in Bruges

Cafes and restaurants on street corners

Bruges is certainly a town of spires – everywhere you look you see one including the famous 13th century belfry tower – perhaps the iconic image of Bruges. We also visited the Parish Church of Our Lady, home to many priceless works of art including the Madonna by Michelangelo.

The Belfry Tower Bruges

Bruges – square and church

Narrow streets and church spires

Bruges – spire among the trees

Church Of Our Lady Bruges – statue of Madonna by Michelangelo

Many of the old buildings now house cafes, restaurants and shops. We certainly enjoyed our fair share of Belgian hospitality during our visit including beer (Monsieur Le Chic particularly!), wonderful fish and seafood (you’re close to the North Sea coast) and plenty of samplings of the renowned Belgian chocolates! We were also very taken with the shops selling the famous lace and tapestry work and came home with several tapestry cushion covers, which are still in daily use back home.

Dumon Chocolatiers

Cafe on corner of street in the centre of Bruges Old Town

Le Chic En Rose relaxing in a cafe in Bruges

Belgian beer!

Little tapestry shop Bruges

I particularly loved the way the old medieval buildings jostled for space in the crowded old town!

Dumon Chocolatiers Eiermarkt Bruges

We were centrally based in a delightful boutique hotel near the town centre, the Tulierieen. This chic and elegant hotel is situated in what was originally a 15th century town house and overlooks the Den Dijver canal just 50 metres walk to the main Market Square. It was also apparently used as the base for actor Colin Farrell during the filming of “In Bruges” (rather a dark comedy thriller and certainly not my cup of tea).

Terrace garden of the Tuilerieen Hotel Bruges

View from our top floor room at the Tuilerieen Hotel – Church Of Our Lady in the background

Spring Flowers in the hotel lobby at the Tuilerieen

View from our top floor room at the Tuilerieen Hotel – Church Of Our Lady in the background

Of course we did the almost obligatory canal cruises (in fact we did a couple of them). Admittedly they are touristy but you can’t go past a cruise for getting a full perspective of the charming old town and a feel for life in its trading heyday.

Bruges cruising along the canals

Canal Cruise Bruges

Bridge over the canal Bruges

Passers by waving on the bridge

Old medieval building as seen from the canal

Spring flowers by the canal Bruges

Boat on the canal Bruges

We admired the distinctive oxblood red of some of the old merchants’ houses along the canal and the famous gabled Flemish roofs.

Houses alongside the canal Bruges

Merchants’ houses line the canals

Oxblood red houses with distinctive gables Bruges

Impressive canals would have been busy with trade in medieval times

Old houses line the canals

Bruges is the perfect spot for a long weekend or a short break and one day we may well come back here again. In the meantime wishing everyone a safe and happy Easter holiday!

Hot air balloon flying over the old medieval town centre of Bruges at twilight

Lunch On the River: Halo Restaurant

rosemaylily2014

18 comments

March 18, 2016

Following on from our lovely walk round Elizabeth Quay, thoughts turned to lunch. As I said in last week’s post (see here), the quay is still a work in progress and apart from a couple of pop up kiosks there isn’t much in the way of refreshments there yet. Fortunately the adjacent Barrack Street Jetty has a few options – just keep walking towards the Bell Tower to get there.

The Bell Tower Perth

Boats down at Barrack Street Jetty

It was an unseasonally hot autumn day (well really late summer as early March is often still very hot here in Perth). We were glad to get a seat on the veranda at Halo, a restaurant out on the jetty at the end of Barrack Street, which we’d visited once before many moons ago (under I think different management). Specialising (but not limited to fish and seafood) we had a superb lunch (see here for menu options). Using my upcoming birthday as our excuse we splurged on the 3 course fixed lunch – salmon ceviche, scallop carpaccio, pork cutlet with fennel slaw and good old fashioned fish and chips made up the starters and mains. I was thankful to fit in dessert at all but the trio of home-made ice creams was too good to resist and Monsieur Le Chic liked his selection of cheeses and accompaniments.

Le Chic En Rose at Halo

Starters

Mains

Trio of ice creams for dessert – chocolate, vanilla and pistachio

Cheese dessert platter

Stylish and chic, Halo makes a lovely dining spot. However its best asset was definitely the superb setting out on the pier. The breeze down near the water was wonderfully refreshing and we had an enjoyable time watching the waves gently lapping on the water and the boats plying their way along the River Swan.

Old Perth Boat House down on the river front

View into the restaurant from the outside veranda

View from the restaurant veranda – Halo Restaurant Perth

Halo Restaurant

Next to Halo is the intriguingly named “Lucky Shag Bar” – for anyone interested this is the home from home of the English cricket fan squad, the Barmy Army. If you’re a cricket fan and ever in Perth during an Ashes series you now know where to go to find a drink!

Lucky Shag Bar Perth – home from home of the “Barmy Army”

I’ll sign off with a lingering last look at the water views from Halo!

View from the restaurant veranda – Halo Restaurant Perth

Checking Out Elizabeth Quay

rosemaylily2014

16 comments

March 12, 2016

Elizabeth Quay is a new development in the heart of Perth by the Swan River, built with the intention of bringing the Esplanade area to life. Although blessed with a gorgeous setting on the river and popular with recreational cyclists, walkers and joggers, the area round the river front has been in many respects an underutilised resource for the city. Now backed with state funds (at times controversially but I’m not a politician so don’t intend to get involved in that debate!), the ambitious project features boardwalks, cafes and restaurants. Excellent transport links by both train and river are designed to connect it with the city centre hub and the suburbs.

View of Perth from the riverside bridge at Elizabeth Quay

Elizabeth Quay was only officially opened at the end of January this year to coincide with the Perth International Arts Festival and Perth Fringe Festival. Having heard excellent reports from friends, we decided we should go down and check it out for ourselves. We’ve tended to only use public transport when we’ve been travelling abroad, but now we’re making a concerted effort to use the buses and trains more, especially when going into town. Getting off at the newly renamed Elizabeth Quay station (formerly Esplanade station), we found ourselves right by the Quay itself.

Le Chic En Rose Elizabeth Quay station

Office buildings overlooking Elizabeth Quay

Elizabeth Quay Station

Getting your bearings! Directions from Elizabeth Quay station

Basically it’s a circular quay and we took a promenade around it admiring the views of the Swan River on one side and the impressive Perth City Centre on the other. You haven’t been able to get such spectacular views of the city before without heading up to Kings Park or across the Swan to South Perth – the new development really opens the city up and showcases its superb riverside situation.

Looking towards the Bell Tower and Barrack Street

Looking towards the bridge and South Perth

Le Chic En Rose at Elizabeth Quay

History of recreation down at the Esplanade

More city views

Boats moored at Elizabeth Quay

Inscription on artwork

Bringing together Perth – artwork at Elizabeth Quay

I should add it’s very much a work in progress. Only the walkways are complete and there is still a lot of building work going on. The water play area is currently closed owing to health and hygiene safety concerns (there have been suggestions to set up showers for patrons to use prior to entering the water zone!).

A distinct lack of water at the water play area!

Most of the cafes and eateries are still under construction and work will probably continue until 2108 according to some estimates. However finding refreshments is not a problem. The adjacent Barrack Street jetty area (next to the Bell Tower) has several cafes and watering holes and you are only a matter of minutes from Perth’s main thoroughfare (and business and shopping centre), St Georges Terrace.

There was an attractive walk down by the river where you could watch the boats coming and going from the small man-made harbour.

View of the Swan river at the entrance to Elizabeth Quay

Boat on the River

The beautiful River Swan

View across the River Swan to South Perth

River Swan from Elizabeth Quay

The best vantage point in our opinion was from the arched bridge – here you can enjoy a wonderful vista of central Perth.

Perth City Centre from the bridge at Elizabeth Quay

Bridge at Elizabeth Quay

The bridge is a good vantage point for views across the harbour and to the city

Elizabeth Quay Bridge Arch

Sculpture at the end of the bridge – we think it’s a penguin!

Elizabeth Quay Bridge

Another view from the bridge

If you’re heading off to the Perth Zoo, the river ferry across the Swan now departs from Elizabeth Quay. The ferries down to Fremantle or up to the Swan Valley still go from nearby Barrack Street.

Elizabeth Quay Ferry Details

Ferry terminal Elizabeth Quay

After our walk round we headed off to find lunch at nearby Barrack Street – more about that next week!

View of the Bell Tower from Elizabeth Quay

Talking of walks, Restless Jo has some wonderful ideas for walks around the globe in her weekly Monday Walks

Yallingup Part 2

rosemaylily2014

23 comments

March 5, 2016

Yallingup is the pretty coastal settlement that we’ve used as our base for our last couple of trips down to the South West Cape Region of WA. As you will have gathered from last week’s post (Yallingup Part 1) it is a beautiful, unspoilt and relatively remote part of the world. You certainly need a car to travel down from Perth (the train stops at the port town of Bunbury (about 50 kms to the north). The roads are dark and not too well lit at night so unless you’re staying in a larger settlement such as Dunsborough, Busselton or Margaret River it is better to drive off and explore the region during the day and head home early evening to enjoy some local produce with a glass or 2 of the local wines. We opted for the self catering apartments of the Seashells Resort. Attractively designed to blend in with the surrounding gardens and bushland they were modern, tastefully decorated and cosy.

Seashells Apartments Yallingup

View of gardens from the balcony

Another balcony view

Grounds and bushland Seashells Yallingup

However the one thing they lacked was an open wood fire. It does get considerably cooler than Perth down here especially during the winter months and although the apartments were warm and toasty, you can’t beat the charms of a real wood fire in my book! Fortunately you don’t need to travel too far to find one. Adjacent to Seashells you’ll find Caves House – the only pub and hotel in the township. If you want to eat out or find some entertainment in the evenings Caves House is pretty well “it”! The original Caves House Hotel was built by the WA Government in 1903 to provide accommodation for visitors coming down to see the newly opened caves nearby. Sadly it was destroyed by fire in December 1930 (see here for a newspaper report from the era). This unfortunate event resulted in the construction of the current hotel in 1938 (historic by Western Australian standards). The architecture of Seashells Resort was in fact designed to fit in with the 1930s art deco style of Caves House.

Caves House Hotel Yallingup viewed from the back of the property

Heritage listed, Caves House is well known as a local music venue (especially with its Sunday Sessions during summer) and is also a popular venue for weddings and functions. On this particular late winter’s night though, a bitterly cold wind was howling in from the Indian Ocean making the temperature seem even colder than the 7 or 8 degrees it actually was. We were greeted with the sight of a roaring log fire and a cosy sitting area nearby – very welcome! We took our drinks over and waited for our evening meal to arrive (good hearty pub food – just what we needed after the drive down from the city).

Roaring log fire in the main bar area

Le Chic En Rose Caves House Hotel

The main bar area at Caves House Hotel

The gardens could have come straight out of an Edwardian country garden. Lush and green they are beautifully maintained and like the house are also heritage listed.

The beautiful grounds of the hotel

Plaque with details of the heritage listed Caves House

Borders of flowers

The Emily Rose Terrace overlooking the gardens is a popular location for wedding ceremonies!

The gardens are a popular wedding venue

Beautiful Bird Of Paradise

Front wing of Caves House

A walking trail leads from the back of the property right the way down to Yallingup Beach (it takes about 20 minutes at a fairly leisurely pace). Simply follow the steps down to the path and keep walking. Cutting through a little valley with trees and shrubbery on either side it made for a pleasant way to start the day.

Looking back up the steps to Caves House

The path takes you over a bridge and little stream

Along a wooded trail

Refreshing and green

Looking down to the little stream

Suddenly you come out from the wooded pathway and find yourself in a residential street in Yallingup. From here, however, it’s only a couple of minutes walk until you reach the lookout point above Yallingup Beach.

Yallingup view across the beach

View out to the Indian Ocean and lagoon at Yallingup Beach

Look out point at Yallingup Front

Yallingup Part 1

rosemaylily2014

35 comments

February 26, 2016

On our last couple of trips down to the South West Cape Region, we’ve stayed in the pretty settlement of Yallingup. Perched on the hillside with spectacular views of the Indian Ocean, it has a small local population (just over 1000) swelled during holiday seasons by visitors drawn to the surfing beaches and regional attractions such as the caves, wineries and art galleries.

The settlement of Yallingup on the ridge overlooking the Indian Ocean

Yallingup is an aboriginal place name meaning, “Place of the caves” but it is also referred to as the “Place of Love”. It certainly draws lovers of the ocean to admire its wild surf and rolling waves and many famous surfers have surfed the waves of the beaches in the area including Yallingup, Smiths and Injidup.

Surf at Yallingup

View as you come down the hill towards the bay at Yallingup

Memorial to the surfing tradition at Yallingup Beach Front and also recognition for the local Wardandi People

Sculpture of surfer at Yallingup Beach Front

Yallingup Beach Western Australia Le Chic En Rose

However it is surprisingly family friendly with a more tranquil and calm lagoon perfect for snorkelling and swimming in the warmer months of the year. There is also an excellent children’s playground on the front overlooking the beach.

Lagoon end of the beach at Yallingup with rain clouds approaching

Although there are plenty of holiday homes and accommodation in the form of a hotel/pub (Caves House), holiday apartments (Seashells) and a caravan park, there aren’t many eateries in Yallingup itself (more about the pub/hotel next week). There is however an excellent local bakery, open daily except Tuesdays, which has a distinct German flavour. The Yallingup Gugelhupf takes its name from the distinctive cake associated especially with the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef and King of Hungary (reigned 1848 to 1916). He had the crown shaped cake (baked in special moulds, which creates an even temperature during baking) for his daily breakfast. The “King Of Cake” has become popular not only in Austria but Switzerland and Germany as well. The French also created the “Kugelhopf”, which contains walnut and speck (though I found many different versions when I did a google search!). The bakery in Yallingup has made the cake its signature dish, which can be enjoyed with all the local jams and chutneys produced in the region. They also make delicious breads freshly baked on the premises and we picked up a couple of their sourdough loaves to take back home to Perth with us.

Yallingup Gugelhupf Bakery Western Australia

Sign for the Yallingup Gugelhupf Bakery

The pretty blue and pink weatherboard bakery

We love the relative isolation of Yallingup, although a few kilometres down the road is the larger township of Dunsborough, which has a wider range of shops and restaurants. We feel very “away from it all” in only a few days in this part of the world and had a wonderful time exploring the attractions of the region (Canal Rocks, Cape Lavender, Cullens, Woody Nook and Bunker Bay to name just a few). More about our Yallingup base to follow in Part 2 next week!

The French Connection: Bunker Bay

rosemaylily2014

34 comments

February 19, 2016

With its plethora of wineries and rolling green pastures you might sometimes be forgiven for thinking you were in France when visiting the South Western tip of Western Australia. Of course, the tall Karri and Jarrah trees, not to mention the red soil, are a bit of a giveaway but in fact there is a stronger French connection to this part of Australia than you might at first realise. The names provide a clue! Late one afternoon on our winter’s break, we stopped off at another of our favourite little spots along the Cape Naturaliste Road, Bunker Bay. The road out to Cape Naturaliste point and lighthouse is dotted with sheltered beaches and inlets and is, not surprisingly, favoured by tourists and holidaymakers. On this particular day, however, we had the place to ourselves (as we had done for our earlier stroll along Meelup Beach). The sunlight was just begin to fade and the light was somewhere between a soft aquamarine and lilac/blue.

Tranquil scene at Bunker Bay looking out to the softly lapping waters of Geographe Bay

Bunker Bay in the late afternoon

No need to explain why we love this particular spot! Photos don’t do it justice – it’s incredibly beautiful and peaceful. I can remember years ago somehow getting our younger daughter’s stroller down the rocky path to the water’s edge. There are no wild seas here – the bay is calm and sheltered and has easy access for young and old alike. Bunker Bay is on the coastal trail (the Bunker Bay Loop), which we took in part round the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse on the tip of the point (see here).

The calm blue waters of Geographe Bay

A serene place in the late afternoon

Vantage point on the rocks – Monsieur Le Chic

The rocks are a good spot for admiring the views – Le Chic En Rose

The beach stretches out round Bunker Bay inlet

Looking across to Point Marchant on the northern tip of Bunker Bay

After walking around and admiring the view for a while we noticed the information sign, which gives you some background on the history of European exploration in the area. It turns out that many moons ago in the time of Napolean, the French decided to send a couple of ships under the captaincy of one Thomas Nicolas Baudin to discover more about the “Great Southern Land”. Equipped with 262 crew and 23 scientists, Baudin and his entourage arrived in the bay off the South Western Cape on 30th May 1801 (after 7 and a half months at sea). They spent 10 days exploring and gathering samples of flora and fauna to take back home – the largest ever collection of such specimens from a single voyage! Baudin named both Cape Naturaliste and Geographe Bay after the 2 ships under his command.

Information about Bunker Bay and Point Marchant South Western WA

The history of French exploration in these parts was extensively documented by Professor Leslie Marchant (1924 – 2004) in his book, “France Australe”. In honour of his research efforts he was awarded both an Order Of Australia and a French knighthood. As a mark of respect the northerly point of Bunker Bay was named Point Marchant in his honour in 2005. His work is carried on by the Woodside Valley Foundation who encourage the preservation of artifacts and research into the exploration history of Western Australia.

Information about the history of the Bunker Bay area

Get your bearings on the map!

There are a number of walking trails in the Cape Naturaliste area in addition to the Bunker Bay Loop and you can find out further information on the Trails WA website here and here as well as information about many other bushwalks and trails in the rest of Western Australia. Talking of walks, Restless Jo has some wonderful ideas for walks around the globe in her weekly Monday Walks and Ting and Allane have some equally fascinating travel stories and ideas in their fortnightly Monday Escapes.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Ruth (RuthsArc) and her daughter for coffee this morning. They have been on a short holiday in Perth and Ruth will have plenty of stories to share from her Perth trip, which I’m looking forward to reading (always interesting to get a visitor’s perspective on your home town!).

In the meantime I’ll leave you with some lingering shots of the beautiful Bunker Bay!

Bunker Bay in the late afternoon

Geographe Bay

Peaceful scene

Back To Berlin!

rosemaylily2014

34 comments

February 14, 2016

One of those “the scheduled blog post has gone out of the window” weeks! Probably not helped in part by the excessive heat – we had 4 consecutive days when it got to 40 degrees or above equalling the record for Perth set in 1933. Mercifully the sea breeze is back and it’s been in the mid 20s most of today, which is so refreshing! The heat did get me dreaming wistfully of colder climes (not rainy ones though!). Fortunately I have been putting the finishing touches to our forthcoming European trip in April. We’re mainly visiting family in the UK but have 9 days planned on the continent including a long weekend in Berlin, which I featured on “Five Places To Go Back To” some time ago and also “Remembrance And Renewal : Berlin”.

View of the Fernsehturm Berlin (Berlin TV Tower) near Alexanderplatz in the Mitte

Berlin certainly isn’t the prettiest capital city in the world but it has a fascinating history and the juxtaposition of the new and old was striking.

Unter Den Linden

The Dom

Statue by the Dom

New apartments under construction at Alexanderplatz

Down by the River Spree – the Dom is on the opposite bank

We stayed in the former East Berlin in the Mitte district just by the River Spree and a comfortable 10 minute walk to the bustling Hackescher Markt Square. Flanked by cafes and restaurants we ate out here a couple of times and enjoyed the locality so much that we’ll be staying around here again.

Hackescher Markt S Bahn Station

Le Chic En Rose Hackescher Markt

Cafes and restaurants Hackescher Markt

Berlin doesn’t shy away from its often uncomfortable history. In fact we were there during the time of a city-wide exhibition honouring and remembering some of the many victims of the Nazi era entitled, “Zerstoerte Vielfalt’ (Diversity Destroyed). It was 80 years since the Nazis had first come to power in 1933.

Holocaust Memorial Berlin

One of the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall left as a grim reminder of Berlin’s divided past

Information poster for the Deutsches Historisches Museum

Neue Wache (New Guardhouse) – Käthe Kollwitz’s incredibly moving statue “Mother With Her Dead Son” exposed to the elements by the oculus in the roof

One of the things that I’m looking forward to seeing is how far the rebuilding has come along since our last trip there in 2013. The main avenue, Unter Den Linden, seemed to be a mass of cranes and construction (like so many parts of Berlin). The former Communist Palace had been demolished and work was about to start on rebuilding the Berlin City Palace (Berlin Stadtschloss) – the winter palace of the Kaisers. At the end of Unter Den Linden you come to another traditional symbol of Berlin, the iconic Brandenburg Gate. It seemed a bit surreal to actually be there and even more so to be able to freely wander around, something that would have been impossible when I was growing up. Suffice to say I’m very much looking forward to seeing Berlin for the second time around and sharing more posts and photos from our forthcoming trip!

Down At Woody Nook

rosemaylily2014

27 comments

February 5, 2016

Continuing my little culinary tour of Western Australia’s south west region (with more than a homage to wine see here and here), I’m sharing another delightful spot that we discovered many years ago. Hidden way down at the end of a long straight driveway flanked on both sides by rows of vines, you happen upon the charming Woody Nook. The rustic style buildings nestling in the bush consist of a farmhouse style restaurant and a cosy wine tasting area. Family run, warm and welcoming, it hasn’t changed much over the years. The gardens and veranda have been tastefully updated and a children’s play area added but otherwise it is pretty much the same as when we first chanced upon it back in the early 1990s.

Le Chic En Rose at Woody Nook Winery

Rustic charm at Woody Nook

Front of the winery and restaurant

Woody Nook is nestled deep in the bush

The driveway leading into Woody Nook Winery

Our 2 girls used to love playing around the old farm machinery at the front of the property – you can still see these implements from a bygone era near the entrance. Now a generation along, we have already taken our granddaughter, La Petite 1, there as a baby and hope we can take her and her little sister, La Petite 2, back before too long.

Old farm machinery dotted about the front of the property

The award winning restaurant, The Nookery Cafe, serves up hearty plates of food whatever the season, though we especially love coming here on a cold crisp winter’s day. On this occasion at the end of last winter, Monsieur tucked into a large plate of sausages and mash whilst I enjoyed the fish of the day with vegetable accompaniments. Desserts were pavlova roulade and a delicious fruit strudel. Suffice to say we didn’t eat much for dinner that night!

Monsieur’s “bangers and mash”

The pavlova roulade was an excellent choice!

Fish Of The Day

Delicious desserts

Of course no visit would have been complete without a chance to stock up on the wine cellar. Yours truly was the “skipper” so watched on whilst Monsieur sampled potential purchases. We have always loved their cheekily named “Nooky Delight” a ruby red smooth port. The Velvet Rose with its pretty label that changes colour at room temperature (they use temperature sensitive ink) is another favourite of mine. The owner was delightful and the German waitress humoured me whilst I “practised” my German on her. She was about to return home after 8 years in Australia – nothing to do with my linguistic “skills” I hope! We ended up with a mixed dozen crate (we do a lot of entertaining!) and our hosts kindly agreed to pose for a photo (I did tell them about the blog and they were quite happy for a photo to be published and yes we did pay for the wine and our meals in full!). If anyone is interested you can find details of where to purchase Woody Nook wines here (they ship round the world and have importers in countries including the UK and the USA).

Wine tasting at the Woody Nook Cellar Door

Responsible service of alcohol and the “Skipper” notice

The helpful staff at Woody Nook Cellar Door and the “mixed dozen”

Having had a relatively mild summer so far we are just embarking on a week long heatwave (mid 30s to 40 degrees until late next week). It has therefore been rather nice to reminisce about a late winter’s day only a few months back! Prost!

Lunar Cycles And Lunch at Cullen Winery Part 2

rosemaylily2014

21 comments

January 29, 2016

Last week I wrote about yet another delicious lunch we had at one of our favourite South West places, Cullen Winery (see here). Keen to see the beautiful gardens we headed outside and discovered a new treasure – a self-guided tour of their Biodynamic Garden. It is a fairly new addition opened in 2013 though this was our first walk round (we must have been too busy making wine purchases on previous visits to notice!).

The grounds stretch down towards the vines

The gardens leading to the spiral garden

Rolling pastures

A lovely place for a post lunch stroll

Once you’ve admired the views and grounds, you are encouraged to wander round the spiral shaped garden and learn more about Cullen’s farming practices and philosophy. There is a raft of information and you can read up more here.

Entrance to the Cullen Wines Biodynamic Spiral Garden Tour

Always with a concern for the environment, Cullen switched to being totally organic in 1998 but increased this to incorporate biodynamic practices in 2003. Only preparations based on mineral, plant and animal substances are used in soil preparation. Furthermore the moon cycles and in particular the position of the moon in relation to the other planets governs the viticulture at Cullen. I can only give a brief overview here but a pictorial guided tour helps to give an idea of the ideas behind the wine cultivation at Cullen.

History of Cullen wines

Philosophy behind Cullen Wines

Sustainability at Cullen Wines

Cullen Wines – details

If you’re wondering about the difference between organic and biodynamic (as I was) here is a close up of the explanation!

Explanation of biodynamic farming at Cullen Wines

Our self-guided tour brought back memories of school science lessons. However I don’t remember my teachers discussing the importance of the Moon being opposite Saturn in wine production (nor for that matter teaching us about viticulture at all!). Lunar cycles and bees are 2 of the important cogs in the wheel of the farming at Cullen.

Details of bee keeping at Cullen

Lunar cycles are important in Cullen’s farming practices

The local Aboriginal people, the Wardandi and the early European settlers have all made a contribution to the botanical history of the South West region.

Acknowledgement of the Wardandi People in the South West Region

Details of some of the many Western Australian plants and flowers

Georgiana Molloy – one of the first European settlers and a keen botanist

Details of some of the uses the local indigenous people have for the plants and flowers of the region

Details of the local Organic Garden Trail of which Cullen is a participant

The Biodynamic Spiral Garden is well worth a wander round – it’s a relaxed and peaceful place in a lovely setting and the fresh produce and wines are a testament to the Cullen family’s hard work and dedication!