Sunday Salon: Road trip!

Not to long ago I read a book which featured the main characters travelling around a few of the small towns in country Victoria. The book, Sex, Gossip and Rock'n'Roll by Nicola Marsh, reminded me that there are lots of places that aren't too far away that I have been wanting to go to for a long time!

Then, I found out that at the Bendigo Art Gallery they currently have an exhibition on which is called White Wedding Dresses: Two Hundred Years of Wedding Dresses. I knew that one of my friends would be interested in attending, and so a day trip was born! The original plan though was that it was going to be a train trip! My intentions were that the little chef and I would catch the train to Bendigo (a couple of hours away), I would be able to catch up with some of the reading that I am behind on, and would be nice and relaxed at the end of the day. Unfortunately, they decided that this weekend they would replace the trains with buses, and given that I can not read in buses without feeling sick, the day turned into a road trip instead.

I really enjoyed the exhibition (not sure the 13 year old boy was quite so thrilled but what can you do!). There were some absolutely gorgeous gowns on display, some of which had come from the V & A Museum in London and including  a couple of celebrity dresses. There were also some shockers that you would definitely know that the grand kids would be looking at and thinking oh my goodness what were they thinking!  I think one of my favourites was a World War II wedding dress which was made out of upholstery material, because that wasn't rationed, but it was absolutely gorgeous! (If you are interested you can get a glimpse of the exhibition on their Facebook page.)

After a quick, very average lunch, my friend went home and that left the boy and I free to do some exploring that was more suited to his interests! We walked through the gorgeous gardens and went to the Golden Dragon museum, which is all about the influence of the Chinese immigrants who came to the Goldfields during the gold rush in the 1860s. I have also been to a Chinese museum in Ararat which focused more on the life of the Chinese miner, but this one was more about the artifacts, and is home to a couple of Chinese dragons that are used during various celebrations during the year. The Golden Dragon museum was one thing that was specifically mentioned in the book. I hadn't heard of it before! In addition there are also gardens and a temple that are open to all.

After walking back through more gorgeous gardens, and a quick trip to the top of the viewing tower for the boy, it was time to go home, after a stop off at Kmart. It was only when we got home that I realised that I didn't have a single book with me the whole day, well, until I bought one in Kmart.

The boy really enjoyed our day out, and I am pretty sure if I was to say to him that we might move to Bendigo he would be happy enough. He was particularly impressed that they had all the major fast food outlets, including 3 McDonalds that we saw just on the way into town plus an EB Games and two bookstores! After a very rainy start to the day it turned out to be a lovely sunny afternoon, which was just perfect for a day of wandering around finding new places.

We will definitely be visiting Bendigo again. In fact, next year they are having an exhibition about Grace Kelly at the Art Gallery, and so we might just do a day trip to see that, although the boy may choose to stay at home this time!

Currently Reading

I am struggling with reading at the moment because my glasses broke and so I am having to read using my old ones. They are very unstylish, but better than nothing, but my eyes still hurt after a bit.

the books I currently have on the go are Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart, Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman, The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson, Jane Austen Made Me Do It anthology, Foal's Bread by Gillian Mears.

Reading Next

I really need to read Imperial Highness by Evelyn Anthony in the next couple of days. It is an interlibrary loan so I can't extend it but I haven't started it yet.