Our Hunter Valley mini-vacation

Ahhh! This is a stress-free me writing this blog post. The knots are gone from my neck and I feel rested and content. That’s what a weekend away will do for you!

We’ve just arrived home after a few days up in the Hunter Valley. For those that don’t know, the Hunter Valley is about 2 hours north of Sydney and is the very popular wine country. There are handfuls {and more handfuls} of wineries spotted all over the countryside.

We arrived Friday afternoon and settled into a little villa at the Crowne Plaza. It was huge. And the resort {is that what they’re called when they’re not near the beach?} is so big we needed a map to navigate. There were free-standing villas all over the property with their own streets and car parks, with a golf course nestled around the edge of the villas. Pretty impressive.

There are just two things I have on my must-have list when staying anywhere, and I search for them as soon as I put the key in the door: king beds and a bath-tub. Our villa had both these things. Winning! Friday night I finished off some work and poured a hot bath, and attempted to read my first magazine in the tub. Word to the wise: I won’t be doing that again.

On Saturday morning we headed up for breakfast and on the way up the stairs, as I smelt toast and bacon, I broke my shoe. So I held my shoe in my hand and hobbled to our table. Too embarassed to tackle the buffet barefoot I suggested that Hubby get my breakfast for me. He returned to the table proudly with smoked salmon and eggs. The only problem was, I hate smoked salmon. With a passion. I laughed and began to wonder if my Hubby really knew me at all. He was convinced that I loved them. I put them to the side and sent him off for another try…

Grateful that I’d packed two pairs of shoes, we spent the rest of the day getting massages and checking out the wineries. I put a call out on Twitter for the best wineries to visit, because there are truly SO many… and the people that tweet delivered. I can personally recommend Peterson’s Champagne House, Hunter Valley Chocolates, Tempus Two winery and Cockfighter’s Ghost winery. We didn’t take a tour {with a driver} so we couldn’t try too much wine and drive, so we limited it to just a few and took our time between those.

This morning we got up early in order to beat the back to school traffic and headed home. It’s just after lunch and we’ve already unpacked and done the grocery shopping. Who needs sleep-ins?Thanks to Toyota for sending us on our little weekend away. They armed us with their new Toyota Camry and sent us on our way. For those interested, my personal opinion is {and I’m not obligated to give a review} that it’s a really nice car. It’s sporty looking and smooth to drive. It’s gutsy, yet fuel efficient {we’ve only used half a tank so far}. It has key-less entry and key-less start-up {which confused the beejeezus out of me at first}. All you have to do is press a ‘start’ button to get the engine going. You can even lock the car by wiping your finger over the handle. Lacey loves the sky roof and the reverse parking camera. She thinks we’re keeping it. I don’t have the heart to tell her otherwise!


When is the last time you escaped for a weekend away? If you could go anywhere, where would you like to go for a few days?

23 thoughts on “Our Hunter Valley mini-vacation”

  1. So glad to hear you had such a great weekend away – always good to recharge your batteries like that.
    Have a great week !
    Me

  2. We haven't had a weekend away in years and years (but we do go on regular family holidays so won't complain). Like you, the main thing I would want out of a weekend away is a King Bed and a Bath – that is a formula to total relaxation (add wine and chocolate to the mix and bliss has arrived).

  3. So jealous! A weekend away sounds heavenly right now 🙂 Looks like you had a good time- loving your photo a day challenge too and am looking forward to the February one 🙂

  4. Looks like a fantastic weekend – our company takes us for a conference for a week to the Crowne Plaza I love it there – the villas are gorgeous

  5. I LOVE Tempus Two Winery. The last holiday I had with my husband was when my first child was 20 months old. We went to Vietnam for 17 days. My daughter stayed with my parents. It was hard to leave her and be without her, but it was the best thing for nurturing my marriage. Shan xo http://www.lifeandtimeswithart.wordpress.com
    For some reason it's too difficult to leave comments under WordPress on this site?

  6. Sounds like you had a lovely, relaxing weekend away!
    I'm heading to the Hunter Valley with 7 girlfriends in April – we have booked a beautiful private house for us all to stay in, and those winery suggestions will definitely go on our list of places to visit, so thanks for mentioning those!!
    Cheers!

  7. Sounds like you have had a fantastic time. We had a little road trip today just before i return to work. Drove to Dromana kids had a swim followed by fish and chips and off to Sorrento for a ferryvtrip to Queenscliff. Seeing the smiles on the kid's faces = priceless.

  8. Sounds like a brilliant weekend! Trips like this wouldn't be the same without little mishaps like the shoes – make the memories even fonder I think! And totally agree on the bath, we don't have one at home in the flat so when we go away I have to have one!

  9. Glad you had time to re-tune, it's so good to get away. The girls from my family got together at my mum's request, we went food shopping and we had a lovely weekend in a quiet, rented cottage in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes it doesn't matter where you are, but who you're with.

    However, if I could go anywhere now, I'd have a bag packed for a tropical beach before you could say which one!

  10. Love the description of your weekend! Glad it made you feel relaxed!
    Question: Maeve Magazine-your photo “Being Two” was adorable. What
    software program did you use to do the text? Glad I found you!
    We live at the beach in Surf City NC, so knowing you're warm when we're
    cold sounds wonderful!

  11. We went to Portland, OR a few months ago and it was a wonderful time. If we could go anywhere, we'd go somewhere in Aus 🙂 wonderful reading, felt like I was right there with you.

  12. We just had an awesome weekend at Port Vincent on the Yorke Peninsula in SA. I love the laid back holiday lifestyle. Your holiday sounds like it was just what you needed.

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