Simply Being

It’s the name of the guided meditation app that I use but it’s also something I have enjoyed doing the past few months and indeed the whole Easter break. My sister Ange and I went away together for the first time as two families to Blairgowrie so that the cousins could enjoy spending some time together and the adults as well. The whole break ended up being family time as we caught up with Mr R’s brother who was staying down at the Mornington peninsula with his family as well as my cousin Di who is lucky enough to have a beach house there given her family sails and windsurfs.

Blairgowrie back beach – twilight walk

This time we were walking distance to the back beach but a drive to the dog beach at Cameron’s Bight. The traffic wasn’t as bad as previous years travelling on Good Friday but it was pretty nuts at Cornell’s Fresh Seafood shop ordering fish and chips. There was also a comedy of errors with me picking up the wrong ‘Adam’s order’, discovering my mistake on returning to our beach house and subsequently returning to the shop to find the other Adam there. I think he was glad I’d been honest enough to return his dinner and collect ours (we ordered the 15 minute ‘fast packs’ of just battered fish and chips to avoid a 90 minute wait) – aargh!

The shops were very crowded and if you ever stay at Blairgowrie at Easter time, my tip is to do a grocery shop before you go or stop at the supermarkets in Rye as the Blairgowrie IGA stocks premium food with prices to match. You really do want to avoid having to go to the supermarket if you can and Mr R and I also like the Koonya general store for both standard takeaway, fresh produce and more (their take home lasagne and curry packs are delicious and good value).

We were very happy to just chill out and relax this Easter starting our stay with a twilight walk to the back beach on our first night, days spent at the beach or Point Nepean, cooking, eating, watching the footy and playing games at the house and one chilly night spent dining al fresco at Sisco Pizza in Rye where our table wasn’t close to the outdoor heaters. We had taken the earlier booking outside rather than an 8pm dinner inside but I will reconsider this next time! I am always a bit sad too when daylight savings ends as it gets dark very early now.

It was nice to just be rather than feel the need to do as so often happens when you holiday at home. Speaking of the simple life, I also wanted to do a shout out for my sister-in-law Liz’s online guided meditation business called Simply Meditation (above) where you can learn how to meditate in 3-days. I love her tagline – the magic is in the moment – and it’s this thought that I will try to hold onto as I start my new job and new career journey this week. Wish me luck!

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Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

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Rye street art (Captains of Rye)

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.

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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.

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Dromana Indoor Market teapot

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!).

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Me at Vulcano Gelato

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.

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Sisco Pizza exterior

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.

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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.

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Captains of Rye interior

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!

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