Mudgee Magic

Our weekend in Mudgee about 3 to 4 hours drive over the Blue Mountains west of Sydney was so good that you are receiving a blog entry sooner than expected.

Queasy

As seems to be the norm, Thursday, the day after my chemotherapy I felt the queasiest.  Good to feel more settled on Friday.  We got ready for our weekend away; our first weekend away since learning the extent of my cancer.  I did some office work while Barbara worked at the Op Shop in Petersham.

Long journey west

Ugh - that horrendous Sydney traffic meant that it took from 3.15pm when I left home pick Barbara up from the Op Shop in Petersham till about 5.15pm to reach Lesley and Stephen's place in Emu Plains on the western outskirts of Sydney - two hours to travel 50 kilometres (31 miles)!  Thankfully we had a much better run from Emu Plains to Mudgee http://www.visitmudgeeregion.com.au/j/index.php, which is about 230 kms (145 miles), arriving around 8.00pm.

As we ate Barbara’s home cooked vegetable soup we toasted the weekend and Lesley and Stephen’s 33rd wedding anniversary.

Jessica’s Cottage

We stayed at Jessica’s Cottage http://www.mudgeeguesthouse.com/ , a self-contained, comfortably furnished, three-bedroom home, situated on a small farm about 5 kms south of Mudgee.  Late Saturday afternoon we wandered around the property, circuiting the vineyard, laying in the hammocks and me taking photos.  Saturday night we toasted friendship and enjoyed champagne, wine and beer, various cheeses from Mudgee, Milawa, and Margaret River (3Ms), local superb chicken liver paté, olives and local Turkish bread.  Sunday morning was beautiful, fresh and sunny and I was out again with the camera.  You can see photos of the cottage and its surrounds as well as other Mudgee photos at http://gallery.me.com/davidheyc/100098 .

Shop-a-holic

Saturday morning we journeyed into Mudgee and went to the Farmers’ Markets, which are held on the third Saturday of each month: great choice of high quality produce and product from local boutique farms.  They also have great coffee.  We supported the local economy with buying coffees, jams, sauces and cheeses.

Next we went to Blowes, a menswear store chain operating in central western NSW.  I entered the shop a slob and emerged well-groomed.  I don’t like shopping much but I enjoyed buying good quality clothing and RM Williams boots at reasonable prices with excellent service provided by the store manager, Peter, and his staff.  I provided a real boost to the local economy.

Robert Oatley Winery

We wiled the afternoon away with a delightful lunch at the Robert Oatley Winery http://www.robertoatley.com.au/home/ to the north of Mudgee, where most of the numerous vineyards and wineries are located.  We tasted a variety of white wines to choose the wine to accompany lunch.  Barbara purchased a couple of bottles – more support for the local economy.

Leaning Oak Cheese and Winery

We visited Leaning Oak twice.  We tried on Saturday around midday but arrived with the fire engines that had come to extinguish the fire that occurred in the ceiling of the cheese and wine shop.  The staff and a customer had already extinguished the flames before the fire engines arrived but firemen checked up in the roof. 

So, we visited again late Sunday morning and this time we were successful.  They mainly make goats cheese with some cow cheese and sheep cheese when in season during spring.  We enjoyed talking with the Frenchman who is on an extended one-year holiday and working visa.  He learnt to make these kinds of cheeses as a hobby in France and is now assisting in the cheese making at this farm.  He gets along well with the animals, introducing a number to us, and then guided us through sampling and purchasing in the shop.

Departing

We enjoyed lunch at a local pub, visited Cleaview Estate Winery http://www.clearviewwines.com.au/ where Barbara bought two bottles of their local sparkling chardonnay, returned to Jessica’s Cottage, packed the car and headed for home.  In Katoomba we enjoyed afternoon tea at an eclectic Common Ground Café, corner Katoomba and Waratah Streets.  The décor is like you’d imagine for the Hobbits in Middle Earth while the food and coffee is good.

Andy Smith’s art exhibition

On Monday afternoon, Barbara and I went to Andy Smith’s art exhibition at Primrose Park Gallery, Matora Lane, Cremorne, Sydney (open for a couple more days).  Andy is a friend from Glebe Uniting Church days in the 1970s and has taken up painting (using acrylics) in the last four years.  We now have three of his paintings as while we were at the exhibition, Andy gave us a painting he did of my photo of Eilean Donan Castle http://www.eileandonancastle.com near Dornie in the west of Scotland that we visited with Josh and Kate in 2007.  Andy’s website is: http://www.ajmsmith.com .