A Trip to Yarra Valley

In the past two weeks, I’ve been on three different trips. Each of them having their own amazing experiences and memories. On this occasion, I jet-setted with my lovely family to the Yarra Valley for a few days. I have the admit I had an absolute blast visiting various vineyards, living the high life of fine dining.

As we all looked back, the best meal that we had, in terms on food and dining experience was undoubtedly at Giant Steps / Innocent Bystander at Healesville. It boasted a large dining area with spectacular views to where the barrels gets stored. Each meal is hand-created from scratch using local and mostly organic ingredients. Their claim to fame is their Moscato, however they also do their own coffee beans and have a mini patisserie/bakery. Although slightly pricey (as expected), the food they served was well worth the wait and price. We fell in love with their duck and mushroom pie and their steak was absolutely delicious and tender, perfectly cooked. I also had some beer brewed next door at White Rabbits. Their pale ale was lovely, definitely looking out for them next time I go for a drink.

Apart from that we visited two wineries – Yering and Chandon. Both were impressive in their own way, however I felt that Yering was a bit over-rated. There was nothing to really complain about but nothing stood out either. Except for maybe their gift shop, which housed a heap of local produce and art work. Chandon had beautiful architecture with the sandstone type stairway to the tour gallery. Supposedly, there’s a room where they clear all the wine bottles that are sitting there to make way for a unique dining experience.

Was quite happy that I was able to take some happy snaps – both with my phone (cos I stupidly left my DSLR back in car, when I thought we were only heading out for lunch) and my SLR, which has been painfully neglected. The difference between using the two is immense in terms of picture quality (duh) but also the mindset I am in when I am taking photos with them. I wanted to share a few more pics than usual so I’ve put them in a little slideshow (if it works) for you 🙂

One of the many things that absolutely made my stay was the bubble bath we drew the two nights we were there. I had bought a bath fizz thing from Lush, which smelled like bubblegum and left my skin feeling so soft and luxurious. Not to mention all the bubbles and the pink water! It was very girly indeed but so relaxing and something I felt I so needed and could get used to (damn you water restrictions).

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