Sadly, we left Mornington this morning (Saturday) and headed for home. We are over-nighting at Gundagai, but more about that later.
We were on the road by 9:30 on the new by-pass that links the Peninsula with Melbourne. The further north we went the the higher temperature and the thicker the smoke from the bushfires. The area from Benalla through to the border was the thickest. The images on TV last night were terrifying, particularly of the fire around Glenmaggie where we have friends. I've emailed and contacted them by text - they are fine, unscathed again, thankfully.
We actually left Mornington one day early to break up the drive, otherwise we would have been facing a 10 hour trip tomorrow - and that is without breaks. Gundagai was chosen at random, I wanted to get further on than Wodonga or Albury and that really only left Gundagai or Yass. Any town further than that and I would have been too tempted to just keep driving.
Wotif v Trip Advisor
Uncharacteristically, I used Wotif.com to book our accommodation, not Trip Advisor. There is a lesson in that. Trip Advisor served us well throughout Ireland and France. In fact, I received an email this morning informing us that somewhere we had stayed in Ireland was placed in the top 25 B&Bs. Actually, 2 of the places we stayed at rated in the top grouping. And of course there was our wonderful find in Beechworth (Albertines) on the way down to Mornington.
So, after a quick check on Wotif and a glance at the website of the potential accommodation, I booked. We're here, sitting in the Irish State Room. I'm sure it's called that because it has been painted green. (I found out at dinner it was so named because the Irish Ambassador had stayed there). Our accommodation is at the Lanigan Abbey. Check out their website at http://www.laniganabbey.com.au it looks OK. Ah, but looks can be deceptive. It also offered breakfast which was a bonus. So, while we were letting the afternoon drift away I checked out Trip Advisor. Some of the previous reviews were entilted: "Run", "Worse than Fawlty Towers" and "If you didn't laugh you'd cry". Get the picture? Curiously the other two reviews were glowing. So, who was right?
We were phoned by one of the owners this morning to provide directions because the Wotif address is inaccurate. During that conversation we also opted to dine here because the implication was that dining options were very limited. Having just walked Sheridan Street, the main street, I would tend to agree. There are two pubs, an ex-servicemans club, a cafe and a Chinese restaurant. The ex-servicemans club looked OK. Beyond that, just about everything was closed. Later discussion with the owner, Brian, revealed that had we opted to eat out we would have been heading for South Gundagai and not Sheridan Street.
Before we returned to our accommodation I wanted to find the old timber bridge I remember driving across as a child. Found it. Or what's left of it. It is literally falling apart and even the first six spans (of 76) that they had restored to use as a viewing platform have now been closed.
Back to the Abbey. Our State Room consists of a sitting room at the top of the stairs. It is open to the downstairs - no door. The bathroom is off the sitting room and there is a door through to the bedroom. Both rooms face west, and yes it is hot. A portable air conditioner has been placed in the bedroom. I am editing this prior to bed and it is still warm, although the cooler is making a difference.
Certainly we've stayed in worse places. In our Uni days we even lived in worse! But things just feel a little uneasy. When we arrived we found the area to park the car, but there were no signs as to the entrance. The owner appeared from what turned out to be the back door and so we entered the property through there. Interesting.
The furnishings in our rooms are fine - no problems there. On the marble coffee table in the sitting room are copies of Royalty and Majesty. Seriously, I couldn't make this up, I didn't even know such magazines existed! No, I didn't open them, nor the souvenir magazine copy on the royal wedding from some English paper. It's like deliverance country but in reverse. And every bit as terrifying.
And so we sit in our green sitting room watching the tennis and waiting for dinner. When asked what time we would like dinner, Jayne replied, "6 because we usually go to bed early." That was met with silence, so I suggested later if that would be more acceptable. We settled on 6:30 for dinner and 7:30 for breakfast, which became 8am as we went to bed.
Dinner was fine as was the tour of the house afterwards, but I couldn't escape the feeling that if you didn't meet the 'standard' your time here at the Abbey could be decidedly unpleasant.
One of the Trip Advisor reviews likened the Abbey to Fawlty Towers, which is a bit harsh. The owner is a man of definite views as you will find out if you stay there. If you are a member of the Gundagai community it is something of which you would already be aware.
Staying at the Abbey is an experience. It has been beautifully restored and the furniture and artworks are exquisite. There is no doubt that an enormous amount of money and love have gone into resurrecting the building from its previous dilapidated state. Is that enough to bring me back? No.
And that's it for a while - it's back to work again. No more holiday stories till mid year when we are heading back to France to finish what we started. Hopefully Jayne will stay vertical and we'll see more of Paris than a hotel room and hospital bed.
Au revoir.
Before we returned to our accommodation I wanted to find the old timber bridge I remember driving across as a child. Found it. Or what's left of it. It is literally falling apart and even the first six spans (of 76) that they had restored to use as a viewing platform have now been closed.
Back to the Abbey. Our State Room consists of a sitting room at the top of the stairs. It is open to the downstairs - no door. The bathroom is off the sitting room and there is a door through to the bedroom. Both rooms face west, and yes it is hot. A portable air conditioner has been placed in the bedroom. I am editing this prior to bed and it is still warm, although the cooler is making a difference.
Certainly we've stayed in worse places. In our Uni days we even lived in worse! But things just feel a little uneasy. When we arrived we found the area to park the car, but there were no signs as to the entrance. The owner appeared from what turned out to be the back door and so we entered the property through there. Interesting.
The furnishings in our rooms are fine - no problems there. On the marble coffee table in the sitting room are copies of Royalty and Majesty. Seriously, I couldn't make this up, I didn't even know such magazines existed! No, I didn't open them, nor the souvenir magazine copy on the royal wedding from some English paper. It's like deliverance country but in reverse. And every bit as terrifying.
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And so we sit in our green sitting room watching the tennis and waiting for dinner. When asked what time we would like dinner, Jayne replied, "6 because we usually go to bed early." That was met with silence, so I suggested later if that would be more acceptable. We settled on 6:30 for dinner and 7:30 for breakfast, which became 8am as we went to bed.
Dinner was fine as was the tour of the house afterwards, but I couldn't escape the feeling that if you didn't meet the 'standard' your time here at the Abbey could be decidedly unpleasant.
One of the Trip Advisor reviews likened the Abbey to Fawlty Towers, which is a bit harsh. The owner is a man of definite views as you will find out if you stay there. If you are a member of the Gundagai community it is something of which you would already be aware.
Staying at the Abbey is an experience. It has been beautifully restored and the furniture and artworks are exquisite. There is no doubt that an enormous amount of money and love have gone into resurrecting the building from its previous dilapidated state. Is that enough to bring me back? No.
And that's it for a while - it's back to work again. No more holiday stories till mid year when we are heading back to France to finish what we started. Hopefully Jayne will stay vertical and we'll see more of Paris than a hotel room and hospital bed.
Au revoir.
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