A unanimous choice for our Walky Talky Group last month was a trip to Bendigo to visit the Grace Kelly Exhibition. To a group of50-something women, Grace Kelly represented a beautiful, ageless icon from our younger days.
Just for the record, even though walking is one of our ‘core’ activities, we happily embrace opportunities which bring us together. This will certainly be evident in my future blog posts, which I hope inspires readers to start up your own group.
We decided to travel to Bendigo by train, and for most of us, it was our first experience on V-line. Don’t wait until you are eligible for your Seniors card, as it is relaxing, comfortable way to travel. After such an early start to the morning (we left Frankston at 7.30am!!), the aroma wafting from the coffee vendor at Southern Cross, was heavenly.
We all settled into our reserved seats, chatting, reading and snoozing for the duration of the trip. Arriving at Bendigo Station, we were greeted by a gorgeous, friendly man, armed with everything there was to know about ‘my city’. As it was such a beautiful day, we decided to walk into the centre, taking in the various landmarks along the way. (after all we are a walking group!)
One of our other favourite past times is good food, coffee and wine, so we made sure we allowed plenty of time for a leisurely lunch. If you are ever in Bendigo, you must drop into GPO and have the Duck Salad and a glass of Pinot! Wow!
A short stroll through the beautiful gardens to the Exhibition, we arrived with 10 minutes to spare, for our 2pm entry. We were delighted to walk straight in as we had been dreading the well-publicised queues.
We decided to meet back at the station in time to catch the4.28 back to Melbourne. An opportunity to peruse our catalogues and reflect on our day. It would be fair to say we were a little disappointed in the some aspects of the Exhibition, but overall, we were so glad we had seen it.
Overwhelmingly, the verdict was a wonderful day with women sharing and enjoying time together. I can’t finish up without mentioning the hot, salty, crispy potato cakes we devoured on Flinders St Station…..