Long weekends are like gold and the Grand Final weekend is my last one for this year (University staff don’t get Melbourne Cup day) so it may be a long time in between drinks for me. I wasn’t up for much this past weekend and we decided relatively last minute to go away to Rye on the Mornington Peninsula. Even though it’s not summer, I still love the beach at any time of the year.
We grabbed fish and chips from Hector’s on Thursday night after packing the car and driving straight from work a few hours earlier. It’s great to wake up the next day already at your destination although we had to do a supermarket stop the following morning after catching up with family who have a house in nearby Tootgarook. The Montino Continental Delicatessen is opposite the supermarket and looks like it does great coffee. We got there at closing time but bought some delectable yo yo biscuits with passionfruit icing, some Franklin & Sons cordial (an in-joke as I’ve married into the Franklin family and we have two sons) and a beautiful sourdough rye bread.
Mr Rosanna and I spent Grand Final morning fossicking at the Dromana Indoor Market and The Factory Antique Market in a nearby industrial estate where we found some comic books and other books for the kids and a miniature Chinese terracotta teapot (above) for me. The industrial estate (opposite the Dromana Drive-In) houses some other interesting shops including Bass Surfboards, Little Rebel Coffee and Bass and Flinders Distillery. We didn’t get a chance to visit them but would go back another time, when we have more time there. The continental theme continued with a pitstop at Vulcano Gelato for an afternoon ice cream – I deviated from my normal coffee and lemon and got a blood orange, which was nice but super sweet – a bit too sweet for me but an interesting departure from the norm (need to mix things up sometimes!).
My sister-in-law who visits the peninsula on a regular basis has told me that the old Quarantine Station at Point Nepean is a great place to visit if you have kids, located right near the beach (so they can run around) where the ships come in (and you can get up close) with a very interesting history in a spectacular location so I will file that away for next time.
While Sardo restaurant in nearby Sorrento had been recommended by our Air BnB host Bridgette, we chose to go to another recommendation of hers – Sisco Pizza (owned by two sisters who were both there on the night) – keeping it local in Rye. It’s close to the Rip Curl surf outlet (up to 70% off!) and next door to Aqua Blu cafe. While the kids opted for pizza and lasagne, Mr Rosanna and I got two of the specials – the fish of the day and the vongole seafood spaghetti – both of which were delicious. It was buzzing in the restaurant and for those dining al fresco I love that Sisco provides grey lap blankets for outdoor diners – such a smart and thoughtful idea. While we thankfully got our meal on time, the table of diners next to us had a wait and staff were apologetic as someone had called in sick.
Given it’s not yet Daylight Savings time, we also took our dog to the front beach (above) where we could walk her unleashed and I managed a walk/run on our last morning there before we grabbed a quick lunch at the swashbuckling Captains of Rye cafe – a good place to go I suspect after a big night out given the size of the burgers, fries and other dude food on offer. I also like the street art that you can find in Rye – it makes for an interesting feel to the seaside town.
I actually spent most mornings there, and now back here in Melbourne, having a sleep in, reading magazines and taking it easy. So easy in fact, that twice now I’ve been sprung by neighbours still in my pyjamas when they’ve come knocking on my door! Luckily I’ve bought some nice ones from Sage and Clare recently on sale instead of wearing my usual supermarket brand. I hope you had a great Grand Final long weekend and I know you did if you barrack for the mighty Tigers!
Miss Rosanna 