A lovely day out

On Friday I had a lovely day out in the Fassifern Valley also known as the Scenic Rim, not far from Ipswich and a very pretty area indeed. I travelled by coach with a group of National Trust members and friends. We headed first to the little town of Kalbar (pop. 900) and had a delicious morning tea at the Art Cafe. As well as food there was art for sale along with some very pretty china and bric-a-brac (no, I didn't buy anything- I was tempted though).

After morning tea, we wandered around the corner to the Wiss Emporium. This building is over 100 years old and traded as a general store through to the 1980s. The present owner has restored the building beautifully, (she even won a Heritage Award for the restoration) and it is now open as a boutique gallery, selling hand-crafted jewellry, patchwork quilts, unique rocking horses and felted items as well as a lovely range of clothing. Well worth a visit. After browsing and listening to a talk on the history of the building which also has a restored cottage next door built in the 1890s, I strolled up the road for a quick peek at an antiques & collectables shop housed in an old Melbourne tram. Still no purchases but I can see a Sunday drive in my future.

We then boarded the coach and were off to have lunch at the Roadvale Hotel, a real country pub. After rolling out of there and back to the coach, we then attempted to walk off our lunch by a stroll up the main street of Boonah, the largest town in the area. Just by chance we spotted a gorgeous vintage car parked near our bus and a chat with the owner informed us it was a Model A Ford.

I'm afraid when I got home I really needed a nap. Amazing how tiring it is having a good time!