FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Rylestone & Mudgee

Today's blog brought to you by guest blogger...Heather Berlee!

Our delightfully comfortable beds at the Fairmont were too enticing for two of us (Elaine & Heather) whilst the other two (Serena & Belinda) were able to drag themselves out of bed, brave the crisp morning air and run down to last night's location (Sublime Point) to be rewarded with an amazing sunrise!! Well done ladies, almost wished we had joined you!!

Spectacular sunrise colours

The ones who managed to get up

We then packed, checked out to then search for breakfast. We made our way to the lovely main street of Leura and we discovered 'Leura Gourmet'. A shop front with wonderful local and semi-local treats and then a cafe out the back with a view! As a special lunch awaited us in Rylstone, we shared 2 main meals to literally break our fast and give us the necessary road trip energy for laughter and chat! Belinda took her turn behind the wheel of the Tiguan and we made our way along the highway.

The "back" part of the cafe with a view

Serena says the almond flat white is not bad

Our breakfast

Rylestone

After an easy drive we arrived into the picturesque town of Rylstone. As we were early for our booked lunch we took the time to investigate the township. Beautiful buildings, quaint bric-a-brac stores and probably some of the best public toilets any of us have ever encountered. Thumbs up!!

We were enchanted to stumble upon a beautiful homewares/gift shop called 'Folkologie' from which we each indulged with memorable purchases. The wall of the shop was made from vintage Wool Presses from the 1840's. The Husband of the shop owner was asked to dismantle this wall from a nearby property so salvaged this unique part of Australian History to decorate a feature wall of the shop. What a fantastic save!!

Quaint buildings of Rylestone

Post Office

The cleanest public toilets

Butcher

Wall made of vintage woolpress in Folkologie

Great array of soy candles. Australian Bush was a winner

Soaps for all occasion

A special welcome from the resident dog

Just what Malcolm would love

Mmm....

Ooh wouldn't mind one of those either

The timing was perfect to then head to a well known Yum Cha restaurant ! Yes in Rylstone! Apparently tourists come from far and wide to enjoy the dumpling delicacies!! A tiny inside table area with shelves of brightly coloured Chinese wares then lead to an outdoor courtyard of tables with bright red umbrellas.

We chose the 8-dumpling menu (with extra choice) and encountered a spectacular array of teas (included) to accompany our meal. Belinda chose chrysanthemum tea, Serena chose tea while Heather & Elaine shared a pot of Buckwheat tea. The dumplings were filling and delicious, sadly our choice of 'Sticky Rice wrapped in lotus leaf', was mixed up with another set of dumplings. It was not the ending were all hoping for, but overall a unique and enjoyable experience.

Addendum from Belinda: Don't expect a Sydney yum cha and you'll enjoy the experience. The setting was serene and pretty, the fillings were actually excellent but the skin wasn't quite right. And remember to bring cash, they don't take EFTPOS or credit cards.

The restaurant was in a historic building previously the Bridge Hotel

Gorgeous outlook facing the church next door

The Thyme Out Community Garden in the background

Chrysanthemum tea...everything tinged red because of the red umbrella...

Cheers!

The first four dumplings

The gorgeous views on our way to Mudgee

We arrived safely into Mudgee and checked into the Parklands Hotel. This time we were sharing a family suite which was enormous! After a quick unpack we made our way to the Baker Williams Distillery. We had arrived early and decided to share a bottle of Organic Sparkling Chardonnay from the adjoining Vineyard, Vinifera. A lovely way to enjoy the tranquillity and Mudgee sunshine. This decision would become Heather's undoing (more on that later).

We all then participated in the tastings offered by the distillery. Elaine and Heather indulged in all the delicious samples and then Belinda & Serena when a particular liqueur piqued their fancy. We each purchased some bottles to take home. By this point, tiredness, lack of food, holiday atmosphere, glass of wine and the liqueur samples presented Heather with some visual and verbal challenges. Having said that I think I was very entertaining. I was not driving, but Belinda felt it was important to test Heather's sobriety (outstanding job of line walking - I must say). Needless to say, Heather did feel the need to have little rest (but a moment!) in preparation for the dining experience of the evening.

We then ventured into the township of Mudgee. Wide streets, reverse angle parking and shorter retail hours which were all novelties for we Sydney-siders!! We went straight to dinner at Eltons which used to be a pharmacy in its hey-day. Subtle features of tealight candles in brown pill containers and flowers in old brown potion bottles were a lovely homage to its origins. We were then treated to an array of delicious share plates. The food was good and if you have plans to dine here on a weekend, it would be prudent to make a reservation around 2-3 weeks in advance. Finally back at the hotel we settled in for the night and introduced Serena to the delights of Bridgerton on Netflix!!!