Day 11 Friday 23/12/22 Portland, cloudy 14 – 19

Woody picked up the last of the Xmas groceries before breakfast, after which we walked down to The Bakehouse to buy cakes for Xmas day. Tucked behind a lot of old buildings it’s a surprise to see people queued up along the laneway. After all, this is Portland not some trendy new place in Melbourne.

Whenever we’ve walked up Julia Street we’ve remarked on how busy Lido Larder is. We drop in to try the coffee and it is excellent. As we walk past the All Saints Catholic Church (1862) we wander in to see the stained glass window that immortalises Mary MacKillop, Australia’s only saint, who began her teaching career here.

Lunch is in the sun with prawns, mayonnaise, and lettuce on fresh crusty bread. I’m drooling as I type this. The park is filling with holidaymakers now and there are tents aplenty. We both wander off on walks around town but mine is rather special as I take the podcast ‘Story Towns Pubs and Laneways Tour’ which fills in a lot of gaps in the history of this fascinating town.

Dinner is Thai sausages and fresh corn cobs on potato mash.

Accom: $37.00