{"id":1786,"date":"2017-03-22T13:43:05","date_gmt":"2017-03-22T02:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/?p=1786"},"modified":"2018-01-19T16:17:27","modified_gmt":"2018-01-19T05:17:27","slug":"a-travelling-taste-itinerary-through-the-goldfields-and-spa-country-of-victoria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/a-travelling-taste-itinerary-through-the-goldfields-and-spa-country-of-victoria\/","title":{"rendered":"A Travelling Taste Itinerary Through The Goldfields And Spa Country Of Victoria"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As the 2017 summer shifted into the first days of Autumn, I hit the road with my camera and my love, to explore some more of Victoria. Already eight months into Melbourne living, I feel I\u2019ve barely scratched the surface of what there is to see, do and explore beyond Melbourne itself. So we set out to cover some more ground, with our itinerary\u2019s core focus around tasting our way through the Goldfields and Spa country of Victoria.<\/p>\n

Like a progressive dinner, except across the entire day, we started with breakfast in Ballarat, then made it over to Daylesford for a long, relaxed lunch, and then ended up in Castlemaine in time for dinner. With only a short drive between each destination, there was plenty of time for detours and other adventures along the way. Here\u2019s what we got up to – on our plates, and beyond!<\/p>\n

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Breakfast in Ballarat – at Yellow Espresso<\/h2>\n

While we had arrived in Ballarat the night prior, to experience White Night (more on that below), naturally, the coffee scene in Ballarat was our priority the next morning. Arriving at this humble little cafe, you really couldn\u2019t feel anything but joy – with yellow accents dotted around the place. There were yellow stools to perch on, yellow smoothie straws to sip from, and of course, the coffees are served in yellow cups…just like drinking pure sunshine! Serving up Axil Coffee, Prana Chai,\u00a0Matcha Maiden lattes<\/a>, an extensive smoothie menu and all of the brunching options you could hope to \u00a0find, this tiny establishment packs a punch and not surprisingly is absolutely loved by the locals (and visitors!)<\/p>\n

Yellow Espresso<\/a>\u00a0– 13 Sturt Street Ballarat<\/h4>\n\"\"\"\"\n

Lunch in Daylesford – at Sault<\/h2>\n

Caffeinated and content, we hopped in the car, put on some roadtrip tunes and drive onwards to Daylesford. Given it was only a 40 minute trip, we made plenty of stops along the way – mostly in search of weathered houses and Instagram-worthy doors.<\/p>\n

Arriving at Sault, you could be forgiven if you do a double take and wonder for a moment how you\u2019ve wound up in France. Set on a 125 acre estate against the backdrop of the Wombat State Forest with an expanse of Lavender fields, the restaurant itself is housed in a beautiful two-storey country house. Hailing from Spain, Head chef Santiago Nine-Fernandez makes art out of food and we absolutely loved our relaxed lunch overlooking the lake.\u00a0On the menu, there\u2019s a full page dedicated to tapas (yes!) for a la carte diners and also a seven course tasting menu available, based around the ancient recipes of Spain.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Sault Restaurant<\/a>\u00a0– 2349 Ballan Daylesford Road, Sailors Falls<\/h4>\n\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\n\"\"\n

Organic tomatoes, tomato consomm\u00e9, basil, black olive lavosh<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Soft taco of Moorish-style chicken, Pimiento de Padr\u00f3n, mojo verde, avocado, coriander, corn tortilla (my favourite!)<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Grilled octopus, confit potato, black garlic aioli, edamame bean, smoked paprika, olive oil (Charles’ favourite)<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Fig, berries and roses, almond cake, fig leaf ice cream<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\"\"\"\"\n

Frolicking about the lavender fields in my\u00a0Keepsake The Label<\/a>\u00a0Easy Love skirt [released in March\/April]<\/em><\/p>\n

Dinner in Castlemaine – at the Public Inn<\/h2>\n

A hatted restaurant inside a repurposed Fire Station? Yes, my interest was piqued too! As the sun dipped to the horizon and the light became that magic-kind of surreal, we arrived at Castlemaine\u2019s old fire station for our final destination on the progressive food itinerary. Here, you can select local wine and have it poured straight from the barrel wall (pictured below) and the food is both experimental and comforting. After our day of extended dining, we couldn’t quite manage dessert, so we opted for a liquid kind – with a Victorian distilled\u00a0Four Pillars Gin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Public Inn<\/a>\u00a0– 26 Templton Street, Castlemaine<\/h4>\n

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Roast duck breast, heirloom carrot, aged balsamic and bergamot,\u00a0beetroot, kohlrabi<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Other adventures along the way<\/h2>\n\"\"\n

We arrived in Ballarat in time to experience\u00a0White Night Ballarat<\/a>\u00a0– Australia\u2019s contribution to the internationally loved phenomenon of Nuit Blanche, where cities around the world transform into all-night galleries. In joining Melbourne, Paris, Toronto and Sao Paulo, Ballarat was the first regional White Night!<\/p>\n

When the sun went down, the streets became a blank canvas under the ephemeral cloak of night, until 7am the next morning – flooding with musicians and buskers, swing dancing, art installations, lights painted onto the historical building\u00a0facades, pop up bars and restaurants spilling out onto the streets… it was magic! I left my camera at home to fully immerse myself in the night, and goodness, we had SO much fun soaking up the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Creativity around every street corner.<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\"\"\n

We couldn’t miss a snack at\u00a0Forge Pizzeria<\/a>\u00a0– yum! \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Taking a wander through the\u00a0Art Gallery of Ballarat<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0the oldest and largest gallery in regional Australia.<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Pre-White Night drinks at\u00a0Mitchell Harris Wine Bar<\/a>\u00a0(the Sabre Chardonnay Pinot Noir sparkling was SO good) – a\u00a0140-year-old former produce store and motor workshop, now turned winebar.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"Dining at local Spanish institution\u00a0Meigas<\/a>\u00a0– with a live flamenco performance!
\nDon’t miss the spicy prawns with garlic and chilli chorizo saut\u00e9ed in red wine!<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\"\"\n

Sunrise at the boardwalk, Lake Wendouree\u00a0<\/em>
\nWearing\u00a0Finders Keepers<\/a>\u00a0Bosnia Mini Skirt in Cloud [April release]\u00a0\u00a0– and wrapped in\u00a0The Beach People Wategos\u00a0roundie<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\"\"\"\"\n

For our stay in Ballarat, we called home the exquisite\u00a0No. 1 Errard<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\"\"\n

For our stay in Ballarat, we called home the exquisite\u00a0No. 1 Errard<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\"\"\"\"\n

Falling in love (all over again) with the weatherboard houses, windows and doors of Daylesford.<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\"\"\"\"\n

Capturing the houses and doors of Castlemaine<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\n

Our home for the night in Castlemaine \u00a0at the\u00a0Empyre Boutique Hotel\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Tea on our suite’s balcony at\u00a0The Empyre<\/a>\u00a0– and enjoying some treats from\u00a0Afternoon Pick Me Up
\n<\/a>Wearing\u00a0Keepsake Intimates<\/a>\u00a0White Lies Robe<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Hitting the road – back home to Melbourne<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you (so much) Visit Victoria for hosting us on this adventure, and for coordinating such a beautiful itinerary to\u00a0Wander Victoria<\/a>!\u00a0<\/em><\/h4>\n

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] As the 2017 summer shifted into the first days of Autumn, I hit the road with my camera and my love, to explore some more of Victoria. Already eight months into Melbourne living, I feel I\u2019ve barely scratched the surface of what there is to see, do and explore beyond Melbourne itself. So we… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmakateco.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}