Turkish Weekend at the Tesselaar Tulip Festival

Daytrip from Melbourne

When I heard about a local festival featuring tulips and Turkish food, I knew we had to attend! It's like this event was created just for us!

Just an hour’s drive from Melbourne through the beautiful Dandenong Ranges, the Tesselaar Tulip Festival, now in its 62nd year, features more than half a million tulips and a million other spring bulbs planted on 25 acres of farmland. The festival runs through October 6^th and includes an upcoming food, wine and jazz as well as Irish weekends. There’s something for everybody here!

Since we lived in Istanbul for three years, I took countless photos of the Turkish lale (tulips). I ended up doing the same thing at the Tesselaar Festival, although my husband insisted that I surely had enough tulip photos in my collection. Never enough, I told him!

We arrived right as the doors opened at 10 a.m. so we could beat the crowds and have better tulip photos sans people, of course. I was slightly disappointed more tulips weren’t open yet, but apparently the Victoria region's winter had been longer and colder than usual this year. No worries. The festival workers gave us two free late-bloomer tickets to return again.

Seeing row after row of colorful blooming tulips is certainly a feast for the eyes, don’t you think?

There once was an old woman that lived in a shoe…but I don’t consider myself old!

This wooden shoe is recorded to be the largest in the world and was carved by Aussie-born and internationally renowned chainsaw artist, Robbie Bast.

By now, you may be wondering what does Turkey and tulips have in common.

Well, tulips are native to Turkey and Central Asia and were brought to Holland in the 16^th century. Because of the growing popularity of Turkish tulips, Holland experienced a period known as “Tulipmania” during the 17^th century with excessive tulip prices and oversupply which resulted in market crashes. Then, during 1718-1730, known as the “Tulip Era” under the Ottoman reign of Sultan Ahmed III, tulips became an important symbol in Turkish arts, folklore and daily life. The lale symbol is still found all over Turkish ceramics and textiles.

After taking plenty of tulip photos, we wandered over to the Turkish side of the festival where a live band was playing. The only Turkish word I could grasp was “şey,” which is the American equivalent of saying “like” all the time.

Next, I found a Turkish woman from Izmir demonstrating how to do ebru, which is the art of creating patterns with colored pigments in a pan of oily water and then transferring this pattern to paper. I paid 10aud and she helped me create my own vibrant masterpiece.

By now, we were hungry so we wandered off to check out the Turkish options for food. The gözleme stand was calling my name. The Turkish family from Ankara making these spinach-cheese filled flatbreads (or pancakes) were thrilled to speak with me in my bir az Türkçe. The only item missing was the pickled veggies that are usually served alongside like at the Turkish pazar.

Since we shared the gözleme, we were still hungry and soon were tempted by the tantalizing smells coming from the nearby Adana kebab grill. We shared the kebab and an ayran to drink while we soaked up the spring sunshine and planned where we wanted to go hiking.

Even though I haven’t lived in Turkey for more than two years now, I still miss it and I think she will forever be a part of my soul. At least, this Turkish weekend and the blooming tulips brought back so many wonderful memories of my former home.

Am I really in Australia? The festival also featured free tractor rides around the farm and a sculpture garden.

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12 More Things to Do in Sydney

Once you’ve experienced some of the typical touristy things in Sydney, you need to stretch your imagination further and just get out there and explore the city.

On our recent second trip to Sydney, I still had a few more main sites to cross off my list in the CBD area. However, I mainly wanted to focus on exploring some outer areas such as Parramatta and Manly Beach, where we rented this cozy Airbnb apartment just a block from the water. There’s so much to see and do in Sydney that I think you could enjoy something different every time you visit! See for yourself!

Enjoy a Retro Coffee

One day I was walking quickly to Circular Quay to catch my ferry boat when I passed the retro-looking Parlour Lane Roasters. I made a mental note to return the next day. This coffee shop – a Euro-style café by day and apertivo wine bar at night – is located next door to the ornate State Theatre. The Art-Deco theatre, opened in 1929, looks like another interesting place to visit. However, I only had time to sip my flat-white while people watching and soaking up the atmosphere around me.

Admire Victorian-era Architecture

As you walk through the CBD and the Rocks, you can’t help but notice the historic, 19^th-century buildings made from local sandstone amidst the modern-day high rises and skyscrapers. Since I love to wander with my Canon camera, I can’t help but stop here and there and photograph these buildings. Many of these date to the 1850s due to the city’s wealth and population increase following the gold rush era and an increase in Italian immigrants in the 1860s, which led to more ornamentation, arcades and square towers. Just look around!

Visit the Queen (Victoria Building)

Another Victorian-era beauty (dedicated to Queen Victoria II) is the QVB, designed by a Scottish architect in 1893. This building’s dominant feature is its central, copper-sheathed dome which has a stained glass window view from the interior. Here you’ll mainly find upmarket boutique and brand-name shops, but the two tea rooms and the Old Vienna Coffee House looked the most fascinating to me.

Strand Arcade

Built around the same time as the QVB, the Strand Arcade is another beautiful, historic shopping center located in Sydney’s CBD. When the Strand opened in 1892, it was described as the “finest public thoroughfare in the Australian colonies.” Definitely pop in here simply to admire the architecture or shop at one of the more normal-priced stores here.

Hyde Park

Just east of the CBD is Australia’s oldest public park, Hyde Park, which was named after the same park in London in 1810. This 40-acre park is known for its magnificent fig-tree lined paths and open space. Include a stroll through the park on your Sydney to-do list.

Anzac War Memorial

At the southern end of the Hyde Park is the Anzac War Memorial, built in 1934 to honor the Australian soldiers who fought in World War I. The marble-lined interior features a domed ceiling adorned with 120,000 gold stars, one for each of the WWI military volunteers. Take a few minutes to stop in here and reflect on all those who have fought and died for our freedom.

Free Walking Tour

I’ve often enjoyed doing free walking tours when we’ve travelled. I usually find they are a great way to explore a new city as well as learn about its local color. Unfortunately, I simply ran out of time on this trip. If interested, there’s three I’m Free Walking Tours offered daily.

Surf lessons at Manly Beach

My husband works an awful lot so his weekend treat was to take a surfing lesson. We hired a private one-on-one instructor from the well-known Manly Surf School. At 100aud ($70usd) for an hour, the private class seemed reasonable. After several failed attempts, hubby successfully stood up on his board twice during the class. He says, surfing is much tougher than it looks!

Find the Wormhole at Queenscliff

After seeing a photo on Instagram, I was determined to find this mysterious “wormhole,” with directions given as “follow the rocky path behind the Queenscliff natural pool.” Well, technically these directions are correct, but you definitely need to clamber over some rocks to find this tunnel. And the path isn’t really a path at all. The “Wormhole” is a man-made tunnel created by locals in 1908 to link Manly and Freshwater beaches. What you’ll find is a dark archway carved into the rock face and a tunnel that has been weathered smooth in places by wind, rain and sea water.

We explored the wormhole and nearby cliffs for a bit, but didn’t venture out to Freshwater beach. The old pathway still remains, but some has been covered up by rock falls.

Enjoy Skyline Views at North Head Sanctuary

From Manly Beach, we walked past Shelly Beach and then up through bushland paths and then eventually past the old North Fort and to Fairfax Lookout, which is the tip of the North Head Sanctuary. From Fairfax Lookout, you can enjoy panoramic views of the bustling Sydney Harbour and the city’s skyline.

All in all, we probably walked a good 10km on the trails that day, but were slightly disappointed to see a car park near the lookout. I guess we were hoping for a more rewarding experience since we had walked so far. (Here’s a walking map of North Head.)

Secret Beaches near Manly

Since it was such a warm day, we spotted a nearby beach on the map and decided to head that way. Collins Beach, a small patch of sand just 10 minutes from Manly Pier, seemed to be quite popular with the 20-something crowd the day we visited. Lots of beer cans were scattered here and there, so we didn’t feel so bad sipping wine from the plastic cups in our backpack. We felt like we had definitely stumbled upon a local’s secret.

River Cruise to Parramatta

Parramatta Park is home to the UNESCO listed Old Government House, established in 1799, making it Australia’s oldest public building. The “mansion” served as the country residence of the 10 early governors of New South Wales, and its interiors are preserved in the 1820s fashion. I skipped the 16aud admission ticket simply because I wasn’t that interested in British Colonial history. Instead, I wandered around the park and sat down by the riverbank to eat my take-away lunch.

The suburb town of Parramatta itself is filled with historic buildings and many cafés near the Town Hall.  A farmer’s market is held in the square every Friday, which is where I bought my delicious lunch.

Main square in Parramatta.

River views along the Parramatta.

From Circular Quay, the river cruise to Parramatta takes 90 minutes. I’d only recommend visiting if you have a lot of time and/or are interested in Colonial history. To save time, I took a 40-minute train ride back to Town Hall station in the CBD.

Since my husband often works in Sydney now, I imagine this won’t be my last trip here. Do you have any sightseeing or restaurant recommendations for my next trip?

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Following the Foodie Trail Along the Great Ocean Road

Though we went for the stunning seascapes along the Great Ocean Road, we also ended up finding some foodie treasures. I simply have a nose for good food!

Our road trip adventure started out in the small town of Torquay, which is considered the official start of the 243-km southern coast-hugging Great Ocean Road. We woke up early to catch a splendid sunrise along the town’s Esplanade and nearby beach. I’m not a good morning person, but every now and then I don’t mind getting up early. The views were worth it, and so was the breakfast afterwards.

Not many cafés are open at 7 a.m., so we wandered into Café Moby, which was ranked as one of the top eateries on Foursquare. This local, laidback café provided us with an Aussie brekkie complete with poached eggs, bacon and avocado (an Aussie staple) and a Moroccan-style egg dish that almost reminded me of Turkish menemen.

The night before in Torquay, we enjoyed a pub dinner at a new brewery called Blackman's Brewery, where beer is brewed just a hop and a skip from Bells Beach, one of the world's most famous surfing areas. Hubby recommends ordering the hoppy Pale Ale while I sipped on a homebrewed cider. The brewery specializes in somewhat unique pub food such as barramundi fish tacos and quinoa-beet salad as well as more normal pizzas and buckets of fries. Grab a pint at this bustling brewery and enjoy the local people watching.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to wander off the road between Torquay and Port Campbell, where we stayed the second night. However, if you are interested, check out the Victoria Tourism website for winery, farm and other foodie recommendations, especially in the Great Otways region.

Port Campbell is the ideal locale to stay overnight and visit the nearby 12 Apostles, but it’s really a foodie wasteland and the main restaurant in town looked extremely overpriced for boring food. That said, we did have a decent gluten-free pizza and a large Greek salad at Nico’s Pizza for dinner and a typical breakfast at The Alcove Café, which opens at 6 a.m.

The beach at Port Campbell.

Before leaving Port Campbell, be sure to stop by the visitor’s center for a map of the 12 Apostles Gourmet Trail, which features 11 local food artisans. On our Sunday drive back to Melbourne, we stopped at five of the places for samples of chocolate, cheese, cured meats, ice cream, liqueurs and the best meal we had the entire trip!

Our first stop was GORGE Chocolates, established in 2004 in a former farm shed with a storefront and chocolate making room. The current owners, Mel & Jason, took over in 2010 and make tons of chocolate-covered delights such as marshmallows, honeycomb, freckles and black licorice, which happened to be our favorite! You can stop by here 7 days a week.

Next, we sampled a wedge of country life at Apostle Whey Cheese, a dairy farm since 1981. We had a delicious and informative cheese tasting with Dianne, one of the owners, whom had just traveled to France to learn about more kinds of cheese. We ended up buying a round of brie, a chunk of garlic Havarti and creamy blue cheese. Too bad we didn’t have time to enjoy a glass of local wine with our cheese tasting!

We ventured about 15km down a gravel road to our third stop, Mousetrap Café, home to Schulz Organic Dairy Farm. We thought the cheeses here weren’t quite as flavorful as our previous stop, but we did enjoy the tasting and ended up buying some feta and a washed rind cheese. The café also offers ample indoor and outdoor seating if you have time to order a cup of tea/coffee or glass of wine to go with your cheese platter or freshly baked scones.

Our last and tastiest stop along the Great Ocean Road was the tiny township of Timboon, which proved that big things do come in small packages! The Timboon Railway Shed Distillery is housed in an updated “shed” of the former Timboon railway line. Timboon was a big whiskey producer in the late 1800s. The current distillery produces single malt whiskey, vodka and several liqueurs and all are available for sampling behind the bar. If you like coffee, you must buy a bottle of Baxter’s Coffee Cream. Yum-o!

The distillery also contains a large, bustling restaurant which takes full advantage of the local produce in Victoria and offers an interesting seasonal menu. We ordered the chicken gado gado (described as Asian-inspired, flaky chicken cakes with veggies and a peanut-lime sauce) and the twice-cooked pork belly with coconut rice and an Asian slaw. Both dishes were so delicious that the flavors reminded us of our Bali trip in 2011! In fact, Bali is a very popular tourist destination for Aussies.

After lunch, don’t forget to order an ice cream cone from the Timboon Fine Ice Cream stand or buy some of the many local food products sold in the restaurant.

How about a salted caramel ice cream cone?

The distillery has a large display case of local foodie products from the Victoria region.

Our bellies were full and we still had a nearly 3-hour drive back to Melbourne. Starting in October and November, you can also do wine tastings at several of the wineries located off the A-1 highway between Colac and Geelong. Guess we’ll have to save that part for another trip!

As you can see, the Great Ocean Road not only has stunning scenery, but a vibrant, local food scene as well.

The Great Ocean Road goodies that made it home with us from our road trip!

Bon appétit!

Joy

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