Day trip to Bowral!

Last Saturday, Dane and I went driving south to Bowral in New South Wales' Southern Highlands. I hadn't ever been before, but Dane promised me I would like it.

I said to him, "But what's at Bowral? What are we going to do?"
And he said, "Don't worry, you'll like it."

Bowral is only a forty-five minute drive from where we live, an ideal distance for a day trip. We left late in the morning, and pulled into the main drag of Bowral just before midday. It's a charming regional town, with really crispy air and tall, tall poplars along the highway.

We passed a few antique-y, gift shops on our way to grab coffees. Dane turned to me and said, "there are heaps of those stores here... Babe, we're going picking!"

Dane is addicted to those red-neck American shows about picking, pawning, taxidermy, auctions, all of that. He can watch hour after hour of discovering a rare piece of 'Americana' and then having it restored, valued, and auctioned. He loves that stuff.

I began to feel as though I had been brought to Bowral under false pretences.

But actually it was a really fun day. Our first stop was at the famous Gumnut Patisserie! It's a cosy shopfront crammed with pastries and cakes. The place was absolutely hopping as more and more people squished in front of the counter, and while I was there a line actually formed out the door.

Pastries everywhere!

There's no room to sit down  inside the cafe, but they have tables just outside in the mall. Dane and I got a table, but it was so busy that another couple - an older lady and man - asked if they could sit with us. We got to chatting. They had just been holidaying further south, and were on their way home up on the central coast. They said they always stopped in Bowral on the journey - bargains to be found at the charity shops, as some of the Bowral locals are well off and their hand-me-downs are usually very good!

One of the highlights of our day trip was the bookstores. There were bookstores that you just don't see around any more. At Macarthur Square (my local shopping centre) there is a bookstore where nearly one whole wall is dedicated to the 'Paranormal' genre. I mean, is that really a genre?? And WHY does it take up so much realestate in the store??

Anyway, in this Bowral bookstore there was only a tiny shelf with the heading 'Paranormal', and everything else was just regular normal. We spent quite a bit of time wandering the shelves. There was book with a painting of a different species of trout on every page. There was another one with pictures of the world's most famous golf courses. And before we left the store, I bought a copy of Robinson Crusoe - haven't started it yet.

There was also a delightful children's store, selling gorgeous little outfits and playthings. They had a section of gumboots and ballet flats and I came across a really cute pair of navy and fuchsia shoes. Sometimes I am lucky enough to fit into kids sized shoes, and this was one of those times!

Ballet flats by Walnut

After we had checked out a few other kooky places - an antique store, a bookstore selling rare and old books, one place selling hat boxes - we went into a modern homewares shop. Full of colour! Lots of interesting, really neat things. Walking past their Le Crusset section, our attention was caught by a very sweet looking pie bird - free when you buy a pie dish! The pie dishes looked beautiful and were on sale (30% off) so I took them both home.

And here is the chicken and veg pie I made in it:

Best dinner for a cold night! My chicken and veg pie.