We stayed in a very remote, creaky house in Nowra found on Airbnb, which was scary and dark when we arrived. As we chatted on the lounges, a huge black mouse charged across the room! That freaked us right out. Once we’d calmed ourselves down enough to go to bed, I woke in the night to heavy thumping on the floorboards. At first I thought it was one of our group stomping around on the way to the bathroom… then realised the sound was actually in the roof. Dane slept soundly throughout.
The new day dawned, and the place looked much friendlier. We spent the early morning soaking up sun on the back deck, listening to Cat Stevens, enjoying the view of Nowra river.
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| Chillin' on the balcony |
We headed into Berry for brunch at the Berry Sourdough Cafe. I absolutely loved it and will definitely return the next time we go through Berry. I tried their poached egg, roasted corn, and kale salad - the first time I’ve ever ordered kale - and polished off the whole plate. The coffee was bellissimo and I couldn’t get enough of their little cakes and tarts. I bought an extra tray of baked goodies to take with us so I could try everything.
We headed back to the creaky house to pretty up for Jason and Thalia's wedding. There were four girls, only two mirrors and only one bathroom so it was a bit hectic! Whoever takes that house next will be finding bobbypins EVERYWHERE.
Jason and Thalia got married at the truly spectacular Terrara House Estate. The grounds were absolutely magnificent - a croquet lawn, formal garden, kitchen garden, ornamental pool, and a very grand sandstone house. We peeked into one of the rooms of the house and saw a shiny grand piano, a leather chesterfield lounge and some exquisitely carved chess knights. During the night we drank and chatted underneath the great circular canopies of some fantastically large fig trees. It was such a romantic spot.
The next day, we headed back up the coast to Wollongong to meet up with our church on retreat. It was a really chilled program, with heaps of time for chats and cards. My discussion group leader grew up in Iraq and had lots of personal experience with one of the main themes of the weekend - persecution. It was really refreshing and encouraging hearing about the strength of his faith in the face of such violence and segregation.
I am having a compulsory quiet week this week (since my car is in the shop!) to make up for the excitement of the weekend.
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