6:30am alarm on a wet and dreary day – blergh!
After some online research for day trips and how to get out to visit Puffing Billy and other areas outside Melbourne without a car, we opted to go with a Viator Tour (local operator: AAT Kings) who collected us from our hotel. We were the last pick up at 7:35am before a full bus headed out of Melbourne towards the Dandenongs.
Our first stop was near Belgrave Station for morning tea and bird feeding. Mmmm fresh homemade scones.
Then we boarded Puffing Billy for a 20 min trip to Menzies Station. It was still raining and drizzly but the view was still very impressive – rainforest everywhere! The train was….cool? It was very train-like. You could actually sit on the carriage edges which surprised me, I would think we would nanny-state out that kind of thing.
After photo ops with the locomotive, we headed off to the Yarra Valley for the winery part of our day. We visited:
Rochford Winery – #1 choice here was the Pinot Noir
(No photo – I was too busy scoffing lunch)
Dominique Portet – #1 choice here was the 2016 Fontaine Cab Sav
Yering Station – #1 choice here was the cider
We bought wine at each and were very impressed. Dominique Portet was particularly good and isn’t available in retail stores so definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.
After a 2hr coach trip back to Melbourne we again found ourselves at “Impromptunes” because it was JUST SO GOOD THE FIRST TIME! Tonight’s improvised musical topic was the first (and last) performance of: Toejam – a soliloquy!
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