Yarra Valley wine

When we got off the train, be boarded the bus again and headed to the first of two Yarra Valley wineries. The first one was family run, and we stopped there for lunch. 

They set us up with a very nice meal and several bottles of wine for our group of 14 people. Because it was an optional paid excursion, the whole group didn't go.  This family named their wines after themselves and their pets, apparently. I'm pretty sure we had one names for Louise, one for Jeremy and definitely one named for his dog, Miss Sapphire. It was all wonderful. Australians seem to know what they're doing with their wine. 

When we finished our meal and our wine tasting, the proper thing to do, apparently, was head to another winery for another tasting. 

 

On the way back to the hotel, we even stopped by a chocolate shop. It was the most busy, chaotic chocolate shop ice ever seen. Behold: 

 

Those folks are all shopping for chocolate. All of them. 

When we left there, we went back to the hotel and the official excursion was over for the day. We didn't depart from the bus until after the driver recommended something we were already planning to do. He suggested dinner in Chinatown.  He also suggested something we hadn't heard about or considered. The local casino does what they call a fire show. 

Cas and I relaxed for a moment, then regrouped and figured out which free tram to take to get to Chinatown. I got a pork dish, and Cas ordered a spicy fish thing- since the restaurant was called Spicy Fish, it was probably their specialty. 

When our food came out, mine was on a pretty standard sized plate. His was in a bowl that was more appropriate for a family of five or six. I could tell he was a little embarrassed at the extreme portion size. He also didn't want food to go to waste. I almost felt bad for him in his effort to finish the task at hand. Eventually, with most of the fish gone and many noodles remaining, he had to lay down the chopsticks and call it. He gave it his best effort. 

After that, we got back on the free tram and rode it to the Batman Park stop. They have a Batman Park. No joke. One of the families that came to this continent from Europe was named Batman. 

The park is just across the river from the casino, where there was to be a fire show every hour on the hour. We had no idea where to stand or what to expect, so we went into the casino to ask. There were revolving doors. I have never given much thought to the fact that every revolving door I have used in my life has gone counter clockwise. I never thought anything of it until today. These went clockwise. First, the water goes down the drain wrong, now this. So odd. 

But we saw the fire show. It was a spectacle from some large, concrete pillars where they made plumes of flame at particular moments by bursting big amounts of natural gas into the sky. It was very pretty, and it took just about the last bit of energy I had to watch that and walk back. 

I'll close with a little bit of the fire show. Good night, folks!