I am back, and I know--it is about time! After writing papers and assignments I have been turned off from writing my blog, but I have had a break--therefore I am ready to write. Just recently we visited a nearby mountain loaded with wineries, and unbelievable scenic views!
We (a group of 8) signed up for a wine tour, which took place on Tambourine Mountain, just thirty minutes away from our humble apartments. Included in our tour was pick up and drop off, visits to 3 wineries, a distillery, a chocolate shop, cheese factory, gallery walk, and a wonderful garden lunch! The day was wonderful!

We were picked up at 9:00 am and headed to Tambourine mountain where we were whisked away in a Trolley to start our tour. First stop--The Distillery, so yes--by 10:00 am we had all started taking shots of flavored liquor! It was a very unique distillery, where the bottles were all decorated by hand and the liquors were all made using natural ingredients from their very own land! We were able to try 6 different flavors starting with a chocolate hazelnut--which was delicious! We also tried chocolate cherry, hazelnut, passion fruit, chocolate mint and a grasshopper flavor which extracted the "Australian Aboriginal flavors." They were all very tasty, providing us with a great start to our day!

Our next stop was a winery called "Witches Winery." It was crazy to learn that although the mountain was loaded with wineries only 20% of the grapes were actually grown on the mountain...instead the grapes were mostly shipped from about 2 hours away! Over 90% of Australian wineries also use twist caps opposed to the cork, as it is preferred by the Australian market. After tasting and touring we headed into town and visited a local chocolate/coffee shop and ordered lattes and tasted some yummy chocolates and took a break from the alcohol.

We then headed off to another winery--"Ceder Creeks" This winery sat on some beautiful open land--green rolling hills, many different types of trees, ponds--just amazing! We enjoyed the view and the wine. It was my favorite winery of the day--I enjoyed all of the wines, and even walked away with a few bottles for later.

It was time for our tipsy bodies to be nourished so our trolley took us to a secluded cafe in a garden setting. The lunch menu was unbelievable...lets just say that living in Australia as a poor college student doesn't exactly offer the best of food--tuna fish is as gourmet as it gets for me! But on this special day we were in for a treat. I had the Tasmanian salmon, and I savored every last bite of it!

After our meals we headed to our next destination...winery number 3. This one had a perfect name for the occasion, "Aussie Winery," with a label produced by America to bring the wine into my very own beloved country. So in a sense, this "Aussie Winery," had been Americanized before we even arrived. Unfortunately, it was my least favorite as far as the tasting of the wines.

Our next destination was the cheese factory, which was tasty indeed, lots to choose from! Me and Lacey walked away with a yummy onion relish and cheddar cheese to enjoy later! We then headed back to the town to do the infamous gallery walk, with several shops, art galleries and cafe's there was much to see and a lot of culture to take in. This was the end of our tour, and we found ourselves homeward bound, exhausted from a full day of drinking!