May 08, 2011

I'm Back from the Land Down Under

Actually I have been back for a few days but jet-lag always hits me on the trip back, so I have been sleeping a lot and getting gradually getting back on track.  I had a wonderful time and got to visit with my eldest daughter who is attending university in Sydney, and catch up with other family members too, including my two wonderful sisters-in-law.

I thought I would share a couple of photos from our trip to the mountains before getting back into the regular recipes.  It is Autumn (Fall) in Australia and the weather is starting to get colder.  Although it can get down to the low 30's in the morning during winter, it does not snow in Sydney.  Growing up I did not have central heating in my house so it was a mad dash in the morning to get into a warm shower and get some winter clothes on.  It was a sad day if someone had beaten you to the shower.

Some of the teapots at Bygone Beautys


On a cold, rainy day there is nothing better to warm you up than to have a Devonshire Tea by a fireplace.  To achieve this my daughter and I headed to the Blue Mountains, which are located about 90 minutes west of Sydney by car, to a wonderful tearoom located in Leura.  Bygone Beautys not only serves a wonderful Devonshire Tea, but also boasts the world’s largest private collection of teapots.  We started with the Soup of the Day, which was a sweet potato-pumpkin soup, and followed it with a Devonshire Tea - home made scones with jam and whipped cream, served with tea or coffee.




As you can see the grounds are beautiful, but the star is the scones, jam, and cream.




The leaves changing color was quite stunning too.  I had forgotten how beautiful they are since I don't see them very often.




We also visited a wonderful old hotel called The Carrington which was opened in 1882.



And a final few photos.  There was a fine rain falling for most of the day and I was amazed at how it delicately clung to the flowers, and even a spider's web.



And the spider's web.

12 comments:

  1. Glad your back safely! Great pictures!

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  2. Wow, what amazing photographs. Welcome back, first off. :) But, wow. I'm amazed by the shots of the water on the flowers. I've never seen anything like it.

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  3. Welcome home Felice!! I'm so happy you posted a few pictures for us. Would love to see more!! I'll be you don't see those changing leaves very often, so it is always a treat. So glad you had a good visit with your daughter. I've only had "real" tea one time when I was in Devon, England - the full scones along with apricot jam and clotted cream. I can still remember it to this day!

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  4. Welcome home- looks like you had an amazing time!! The scones look so good and those flower pictures are so pretty with the rain on them.

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  5. Thank you for your great post showcasing some of the lesser known regions of Australia! The Blue Mountains have such wonderful little gems, looks like you found a couple! (I'm a Sydney-sider!)

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  6. Beautiful photos. What a nice trip for you to visit your daughter. I love the thought of tea in the mountains. Welcome back.

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  7. What a fantastic trip! Love your photos!

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  8. Thanks for sharing your trip with us...such fabulous photos! Those flower pictures are sensational. Welcome home :)

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  9. what a wonderful trip! Adam's sister lives in Australia and we are looking forward to a trip there sometime soon if we can just find the time to get away. Adam loves your photos, and says they surprised him as he always thinks of Down Under as a land of eternal summer. That tea looks perfect, I miss a proper tea like we used to have in England, thanks for the memories!

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  10. Great pics and thanks for sharing. Those scones with jam and cream look amazing.

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  11. Looks like you had a great trip. We just went to New Zealand March - great area of the world to visit!!

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  12. What beautiful photos! Looks like you had a wonderful trip :)

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