I'm sat here at the dining table with Elton John blaring through my headphones to drown out the squeals of a tickle-fest emanating from the other end of the house. The first five minutes were funny, the last twenty...not so serene in this tiny little cottage. I think tickling is torturous but my kids seem to love it and go back for more. Weirdos!
On Thursday the boys and I dropped the Husband off to work a little earlier than usual and continued west for our day trip to Junee. Our first port of call was Jugiong for a coffee at the Long Track Pantry. It was buzzing with tourists and locals, all finding caffeinated sanctuary from the icy winds blustering about outside. I snavelled myself a lovely Rare Rabbit necklace from Long Track's home wares store and we popped across the road to the playground where the boys hit up the swings and flying fox with a rambunctious rabble of kidlets. Then, it was onward south to Gundagai where we took a turn off the highway and wound our way along the back roads through a landscape of green rolling hills dotted with sheep and cattle. We arrived in Junee just before lunch and headed straight for the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory housed in the town's old Flour Mill. It was bubbling with the sound of humans happy and high from chocolate induced endorphins. We decided to sit in the courtyard of the cafe and have lunch before diving into the cacao laced fray. Not a good idea to peak too soon when it comes to chocolate!
After a belly warming feast of chicken pot pie and fish & chips, we made our way inside to have a go at making Rocky Road. With hair nets and gloves donned and my camera at the ready, we were welcomed by a lovely staff member and shown into the chocolate room. At one of the cool metal benches decked with tubs of delectable toppings, we portioned out marshmallows onto our plates, added a couple of scoops of nuts and fruit, covered it all with melted chocolate, mixed it up with our hands then gave a last flourishing sprinkle before they were transferred to another bench to set. Willy Wonka eat your heart out!
With about twenty minutes to kill before our confectionery masterpieces were ready for collection, we wandered within the building, peeking through windows to watch conveyor belts lined with long strips of raspberry licorice being sliced into bullets and large copper kettles filled with shades of light and dark chocolate. Jack had a tinkle on the old piano, we stocked up on an array of chocolate supplies from the shop and then, before we knew it, our rocky road was ready to pick up and it was time to start heading home. We popped into the train station for a few minutes on our way through the town so that Harry could get his loco fix. To his delight there was a team doing track work just near the platform. The old railway cafe was open so we ducked in to have a look. With it's immensely high ceilings, giant mirrors and a roaring fire in the fireplace, it was easy to imagine what it had been like back in it's hey day. We grabbed a coffee then jumped into the car homeward bound.
The drive home was filled with more of Stephen Fry's audio tales of greek mythology as we wound our way past paddocks and villages. The sun dipped below the hills and we arrived back in Canberra just in time to pick the husband up from work.
Til next time...xx Em.
