An invitation from amazing friends arrived by text… “Would you be interested in coming away for a weekend with us to stay in our special place”.

YES!!!

Any time spent with these friends is cherished. They are wonderful. I am extraordinarily lucky to have them in my life.

On top of getting to hang out with them, this would involve eating delicious food, drinking gorgeous wine, staying in a beautiful historic art deco hotel, being generally indulgent and going to the Monet Exhibition at the National Gallery.

We met up with out friends about three quarters of the way there in a town called Collector at Some Cafe for lunch. Not just any cafe, its actually called “Some Cafe”.

The food was delicious by all accounts and the 2 fireplaces in the restaurant and the one in the attached winery, where we collected some shiraz for later, were cozy and warm.

Canberra has a well deserved reputation for being cold being around 3 hours from home and two thirds of the way to the ski fields.

With full bellies it was off to check in. The Hyatt Canberra was originally built to house politicians when the Federal Parliament moved to Canberra from Melbourne in 1927. Prime Minister James Scullin preferred to stay there during parliamentary sessions rather than live in The Lodge.

It has been renovated once or twice since then and is, as you could imagine, absolutely gorgeous.

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After depositing our bags we hired bikes and took a scienic ride around Lake Burley Griffin, a man made lake roughly in the geographic centre of Canberra and only a few peddles from the hotel.

We rode soaking in the fresh air, stunning blue skies, sparkling water and golden display of autumn while passing bridges, the National Gallery, Sculpture Gardens, various historic buildings and a memorial to Captain Cook. There is much to see and a return trip is on the cards to take in more of those and other sites in a more leisurely fashion.

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Time was short. We had to get back to the hotel for an indulgent soak in a deep deep bubble bath in the art deco bathroom with a glass of wine and a snack of fresh strawberries sourced from a roadside stall on the journey from Sydney.

Then off to pre dinner drinks and nibbles and an evening of laughter and stories. The food was delicious, and generous and we were so well looked after that we didnt actually need dinner in the end.

Instead we went off to bed for an indulgent sleep in a perfect snuggly comfortable bed with an impossible selection of pillows. So I just used them all.

In the morning an equally indulgent breakfast. I couldn’t help myself, I think I had 4 courses. Eggs Benedict straight from the chef, fluffy buttermilk pancakes with strawberries and thick rich cream, yoghurt and fruit, and I’m sure there was a buttery flakey pastry in there somewhere. In my defence it was important to keep my energy up for the Monet Exhibition.

And off we went. But thats another story.

It was an absolute treat to stay there and expecially to share it with our friends.

Tell me about a special trip that you have been on. What do you recommend?