A Lovely Birthday Adventure...

It was a lovely winters Sunday. The birds were singing in the trees... The sun shining warmly with nary a cloud in the sky... a chilly breeze swirling about and insinuating itself upon ones nether regions...

"Rug up Princess... We're Off!" Announced the Empress. "I'm taking you for a "Devonshire Tea" over at Maryborough for a Birthday treat!"

"What? they don't do Tea's at one of the cafe's here in town?" I enquired.

"Just shut up and get in the car Princess... You'll see... Oh... and by the way... You're driving"

So we set off. Rugged up in coats and scarves for the hour long drive to Maryborough a large country town known for it's now closed woolen mills of a 

by-gone era...

Across rolling fields planted with crops of wheat and canola. Winter lambs frolicking and gamboling about in the chilled air but remaining within a bleat their mother's listening ear.

Pulling the car into the long sweeping driveway my eyes met with this sight...

Maryborough Railway Station

Read more about the Station and its History Here

and Here

It is an imposing yet elegant building and could be considered the

 "Grande Old Dame"

 of  Victoria's Railway stations as far as railway stations go.

The Platform itself is undergoing repairs and so did not lend itself to a pretty picture, yet it is purported to be one of the longest platforms in the State measuring a total 1.3 kilometers in length...just over 1 kilometer of that is covered with a verandah which has a central glassed skylight running its full length....(that is the bit that is currently being re-furbished)

Some of the tessellated floor tiling at the entrance

The old dining hall now a modern Cafe/ Restaurant

See the double window on the back wall?

The Empress and I shared a table just beneath that window... 

Where we managed to consume these...

Fresh Baked Scones with lashings of Strawberry Jam and Fresh Cream

The Empress Decided on a Hot Chocolate While I had my usual Latte

 I think the waiter may have left his rubber Cock Ring on the Latte Glass!

Ewww...

I sat right beside a very nice lady that played Her Golden Harp for me all afternoon.

I ended up buying a CD from her... and after that she stopped playing and partook of her own refreshments....If I had known that she would stop... I would have bought a CD from her sooner. There are only so many times that one can listen to "Stranger on the Shore" played on the Harp Solo.

Close up of  Harp

And i did have a very nice conversation with a gentleman that thought that I was quite brilliant for being able to explain some of the history of the Harp dating back to Egypt and its relationship to the Lyre and that that is how 

One of Australia's Native Birds

 the Lyerbird got it's name...
Clickerate the Play button and let Sir David tell you all about it and then
read more about the Lyrebird Here  if you like...

 Its tail... when opened during it's courtship display is shaped like an ancient lyre and male lyrebirds are able to mimic the sounds of over 20 other bird calls and noises that it hears in it's environment...

But I digress... 
Oh... and I forgot to get the nice gentleman's number... Bummer!

After a wander through the antique and collectibles gallery and store... 

Oohing and Ahhing at all the lovely items and laughing at the highway robbery prices... it was time to bid farewell to the "Grand Old Dame".

 No... not the Empress... She followed me back to the car.

It was a lovely Birthday Adventure....