Item number 9 on my "to do list"...to go on a road trip

Item number 9 on my "to do list"...to go on a road trip....went to Daylesford for the Queen's Birthday weekend with Roza and Brett.

We left Friday afternoon from the lab full of high spirits. I was a bit apprehensive apart the drive to Daylesford, as I had never driven that far or for that long before (it takes about 2 hours). Highlights of the drive was a car load of guys checking out Roza as we were driving at 110km/h on the Western Hwy. I had never driven at 110km/h before, it brought out the rev head in me :) and stopping at Bacchus Marsh for a break. As we drove down the road heading to town, the road was lined with trees, with an effect similar to what you see as you walk down Royal Pde towards Sydney Rd. With the afternoon sunlight shining through the trees, it had a surreal effect and it felt magical as we drove. Unfortunately, I couldn't take a photo as I was driving :(

Anyway, we got to Daylesford without getting lost, and once we got there, we found our cottage that we were staying in - Church Springs Cottage without too much trouble. I nearly missed it as we drove down the street, and we were pointed to the right house by this guy who obviously lived in the area but looked freaky. Lets just say we made sure that the door was securely locked at night! We spent the rest of that Friday getting lost in Coles in Daylesford, as we bought the ingredients for Brett's pasta (which was very nice) and I was able to stay up to watch Coyote Ugly (mmmm Adam Garcia) as we were waiting for the opening ceremony for the World Cup. 0

Saturday was a day of indulgence. It started with breakfast in bed (mmm cheese on toast, I became a cheese on toast addict that weekend *lol*) then a walk along Lake Daylesford although we could only walk part of the way because they had closed part of it off. We then decided to visit the Chocolate Mill which makes handmade Belgian chocolates. They make the most heavenly hot chocolates! I walked out feeling dreamy, mmm its up there with chocolate from Koko Black or Max Brenner. Then it was the main part of the weekend - a facial and massage in a day spa. I didn't know what to expect, as I've never had a massage before, but it was absolutely heavenly. It felt sooooo good. I could feel all the stress and tension that had accumulated ever since I had started my PhD just melt away. I fell asleep a couple of times *lol* Roza and I literally walked out of the day spa feeling totally relaxed, with big smiles on our faces and I felt like I was glowing. Its definitely something I have to do again! Saturday night was spent talking with a bottle of wine well into the night. Well that's not true, due to my high susceptibility to alcohol, I did not last the night at all.

Sunday was spent in Daylesford. After exploring the Sunday markets and eating Dutch pancakes, we went to the Convent Gallery which is reputed to be one of the best in Australia. The highlight of the place wasn't the artwork, but the chapel in the gallery. The building and grounds used to be a convent for an order of nuns in the late 1800's. As you walked into the chapel, there was a peaceful, kind of serene atmosphere. I just wanted to sit there and reflect. It was a different kind of atmosphere to the massage I had yesterday, but was relaxing and made you feel at peace. It was also here I did my first ever blessing by lighting a candle. I'd never done that before. The surrounding gardens around the gallery were also really nice, but would look best during summer. It would be an ideal place for a wedding with the chapel and surrounding gardens. Must keep it in mind...After the gallery, we relaxed back at the cottage and Brett and I started playing the card game "Spit".After a good start, I was able to win a couple of games, then lost all the other games we played that weekend. Its a game of luck :) Also spent time sitting on the deck looking out and reading, Roza and I did item 18 on my "to do list" (cloud gazing) except it was cloudy...must do it again when its not so cold and dark. We then went out for dinner and found out one stark difference between Melbourne and Daylesford - the main street of Daylesford is empty of people at 9pm at night, whereas in inner Melbourne, there would be heaps of people around.

Monday we went to Creswick, to go to a hedge maze and play mini golf. That was heaps of fun. We got lost in the maze as we trying to solve the eight clues but we managed to get them all in the end. It made me feel as if I was a contestant on the Amazing Race, well almost. We then played mini golf, which became a close match although Brett won in the end. But it was cold though - my hands were going blue! Then it was back to Melbourne, stopping at Macca's along the way as we passed through Ballarat on the way back to Melbourne. Luckily, we missed most of the traffic as we headed back. Funny thing that happened on the way back was as I was walking back to the car after taking a break from driving, I got honked at by a car at the rest stop. Unfortunately, they weren't very attractive!

It was relaxing weekend, and it was heaps of fun. Its the first kind of holiday I've had where I've truly been relaxed. All of the holidays I've had were great, but they were always planned to the last minute. This weekend was great in that it had "unplanned aspects" and time to just RELAX. I also got to know Roza and Brett better as well (although they know a bit too much about me) and the weekend wouldn' t have been as fun without them. It feels a bit strange going back to the lab tomorrow, but item number 9 is something I definitely want to do again. And we've already planned to go back to the day spa in August after my PhD confirmation...arrrgh its only 2 months away *cue freaking out*

Some pictures:

1. Our cottage
2. At the gardens surrounding convent gallery
3. In the maze...
4. Playing mini golf