For my girlfriend, Heather's birthday, my other dear friend, Franca and I took her on a tour of Montsalvat and then lunch at the cafe there.
This photo below cracks us up as this gentleman and his baby photobombed us! I love the fact that we are all laughing with delight!
Montsalvat is "where the life of art is lived and a fabled past meets a vibrant present. Montsalvat is Australia’s oldest continuously active artists’ community; a place where art in all its forms is made and taught, and art’s transformative power is celebrated in exhibitions, festivals, concerts, workshops and artists’ residencies."
It is a place full of gorgeous buildings with interesting nooks and crannies, all built with recycled materials (long before the current recycle craze). Let me show you.....
If you are a fan of the Phryne Fisher Murder Mysteries, well "Murder under the Misteltoe was filmed in the Great Hall at Montsalvat which they turned into a winter chalet - snow and all! (NB: We do not get snow in Melbourne).
Here is a scene from the episode below and you can read all about the Phryne Fisher books and the TV series if you click on the links.
Our lunch:
Here we are waiting for the tour to start, I think that Heather looks like a movie star here with her dark glasses.
Franca took this candid shot of me through a mullioned window - I wonder what I am smiling at - obviously happy thoughts!
I must say, we had a fabulous day and for a final fillip, my aunt (by marriage) actually lived at Montsalvat as a child in the (hippy) commune in the 1940s and 50s as her father came out to Australia from England to help build some of the buildings.
My Garden
I planted about eight or nine of these plants (I thought that they were hollyhocks but when I posted this pic on FB/IG, everyone else who knows far more about gardening than I do says "No" but maybe Snapdragons (?). I am sure that I planted Hollyhocks, though! Anyway, the point is that after months and months of waiting - really healthy plants - this is all that I have to show in the way of flowers! So disappointed.
So, that is the end of Part Two of February Miscellanea, one more part to come (either later today or tomorrow - and there may be a nice surprise in this one).
I would love it if you read Part One, too.
Thanks for visiting and please don't forget to leave a comment as I do love a good chat,
hugs,
