What a day!

As I write this I'm relaxing on the couch, with laptop, rug and one sleepy black pug on my lap. On the other couch sleeps a larger fawn pug. Don't ask how I did it.

Wow.

Last night was our first dining experience at Cafe Fidama (I know I know, we took our sweet time didn't we?). Well they are certainly not wrong when they say 'Nothing they do is ordinary'. We were seated at a cosy seat next to the window, a rarity apparently but this is one of the benefits of eating out on a Sunday night. Ronnie our waiter made us feel welcome straight away and we began with their famous homemade ciabatta as well as delicious saganaki, accompanied by fresh lemons and plump juicy kalamata olives.
Travis chose the special duck breast with orange infused polenta, while I went with the harissa marinated lamb ump with spiced chick peas, sesame spinach, grilled eggplant and tahini yoghurt with a local Del Rios Pinot Noir. It was all just delicious! We both struggled to finish our mains, could have had something to do with the side of shoestring fries we also enjoyed...
Of course we were feeling confident enough to look at the dessert menu - not difficult when the pastries, ice creams, shortbread and chocolates are also made in-house. Trav had the renowned slow cooked lemon tart and I chose the orange and dark chocolate creme brulee. We had such a fantastic evening and left with a hot tip to find an excellent bakery down a Trentham laneway on our trip to the country the following day. We could have rolled home - we don't seem to have learned yet - there is such a thing as too much of a good thing!

This morning, after a rude awakening to the unexpected jingle of a collar and a strange pug on our bed, we got everyone out the door and were heading towards fresh air by 11am.

On the way our conversation turned to plans for our dream house. I love so much that we are both so sure about this! I started researching suffolk sheep and straw bale displays on the web and as we followed the road from Kyneton to Lauriston a house under construction caught our eye. 'Nah, that looks like mud brick' I said but Trav persisted and did a u-turn - the signs out the front said 'Strawbale Spaceship' and 'Professional Straw Bale'. One more u-turn and we dared each other to go down the driveway! We could see 2 pairs of legs through a doorway and soon we were introducing ourselves to Mark of Professional Strawbale! He was working on this bachelor pad and happily spent some time with us discussing the process and benefits. He encouraged us to research, research, research and to keep in touch. Well that was meant to be!
Soon we turned into the back entrance to Lauriston Reservoir, Travis proudly saving us $2 but also cutting off access to the 'facilities' since they've blocked access across the dam wall. We parked on the water's edge and Rossi and Dudley proceeded to run in various circles and sniff various trees. It was a crisp but still 8 degrees, with a pocket of blue sky here and there. Our roast pork rolls were delicious, washed down with Holgate Mt Macedon Ale, and followed up by super sweet strawberries and yummy shortbreads. My man can shop!
After a stroll around the right banks, we made our way across to the pine forest. There was no chance of anymore 'king of the forest' photos, as neither of us was keen to lay down on our bellies - let alone try to get both dogs to stay still and look in the same direction!

We headed out through Drummond and Denver and soon arrived at Trentham, we found Red Beard Bakery easily and soon were enjoying piping hot coffees and fresh scones while we pondered the build-your-own wood fired oven books. I was also delighted to realise that they attend the weekly farmers market at the showgrounds and this more than made up for the fact that their bakers have Mondays off.