Marvellous Mildura

I spent my Easter break and a few days extra in Mildura, a town about 1hour flight from Melbourne or a seven hours drive. It's known for orange orchards, grapevines and the Murray River - one of the longest river's in Australia. The weather during this time of the year is always gorgeous - it even got to 29C.
The very famous Italian-Australian, Stefano De Pieri , has a renowned restaurant, Stefano's, located in the cellar of the Grand Hotel. We had an intimate dinner in a very rustic setting and were served a seven-course degustation. His food is simple Italian with a focus on fresh local ingredients. Melburnians fly to Mildura for the weekend just to dine at his restaurant - it truly is that good. He also has a Cafe/Bakery and adjoining gallery as well as his own range of food products and Italian-style wines. http://www.stefano.com.au/
We saw a great exhibition in Stefano's gallery by Philip Hunter which were studies for his paintings. The colours are very earthy and the imagery at first looks like landscapes but they twist and mould into different shapes that sometimes look like marine life. http://tiny.cc/03nUz

Simply elegant

Last weekend on a partially drizzly Sunday, we visited Como House, a historic mansion - part Italianate and part Australian Regency style. It's less than 20mins from my house and I've lived most of my life in Melbourne and never visited it. My delight at the property heightened when I discovered that part of the five acres had a field of overgrown grass and weathered wooden fencing that looked like it hadn't been touched since the house was built in the 1850s.
The reason for our visit was a fashion exhibition that is part of the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival titled Shaping Elegance - Robert Fritzlaff - 12 March-14 June 2009. The way his clothing draped the models was superb, his use of tweed delightfully modern and the room that had a complete splash of red dresses and suits - a gorgeous surprise. Fritzlaff started working in the 1950s in Melbourne and worked full-time up until the 1980s. He continues to work with a small group of clients. http://www.comohouse.com.au/about_como