Woodend

On Wednesday we set out to visit Jason, Angela and Alice in Woodend, which is a town close to Mt Macedon and within computing distance to Melbourne, where Jason works.

On the way there we visited Gisborne, which is a delightful town.   We line up with Connie in front of one of the charming shops in the town.

We had lunch at a very trendy cafe/restaurant in Mt Macedon.   I was surprised to see so many expensive homes, on large plots of land, all the way up to the top of Mt Macedon.    Plenty of money there.

The war memorial at the top of Mt Macedon, from where you can see amazing views of the countryside. The intrepid three line up for a photograph in front of the memorial.

 Another pose, this time with Rudolf, with a colourful rhododendron behind us.

 After that we drove to Hanging Rock, which has a large cluster of very large volcanic rocks rising out of the earth.    The book 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' written by Joan Lindsay, is about a group of school girls who went missing in 1900.    There is no evidence that the book is based on fact but it makes a very chilling and eerie story, and an equally gripping film.    The sound of the pan pipes in the film adds to the eeriness.    Thankfully there were no pan pipes being played yesterday, and the bright sunshine made the area look very benign.

 As well as a picnic and recreation area, there is also a country racecourse.    The next meeting will be held on New Years Day.

Then we drove to Jason and Angela's house in Woodend, which is set in a large and shady garden.    Jason and Angela with their gorgeous daughter, Alice.

 Proud grandparents, Oma and Opa, with their gorgeous granddaughter, plus proud parents of course.

We celebrated the evening with lots of wine plus a delicious steak and fresh asparagus and to finish off there was a truly sumptuous summer pudding, perfectly turned out of the bowl and accompanied by fresh fruit.

We slept very well that night.