OLINDA AND THE DANDENONGS

I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. To front only the essentials of life and see if I could learn what it had to teach.

And not, when it came time to die,

discover I had not lived...

Henry David Thoreau

A trip to Melbourne to see my cousins always means a trip to Olinda in the Dandenong Ranges ,  a set of low mountain ranges, approximately 35 km east of Melbourne.

 My cousin lives in Upper Ferntree Gully at the base of the Dandenongs and it is just a  short drive to the pretty little town of Olinda.

Olinda

We went on a grey day but the coffee shop had a roaring fire and all the other shops were heated. 

There is one beautiful shop in Olinda which sells lots of beautiful wooden boxes, and old style compasses and boat replicas as well as leather goods and all sorts of unusual bits and pieces. P:-) decided on a model of a ketch as an early birthday present. (A ketch has 2 masts.)

P:-) liked the detail and said it reminded him of the one his father had many years ago.

We continued up the mountains to the town of Gembrook where we stopped for lunch.

 By the time we drove back down towards the city the rain had set in.

It was a lovely day, bringing back memories of previous trips, and making me look forward to the next time we come.

Interesting sites
1.

Jason Fann builds nests for people

 

Photo source

Jason Fann builds nests for people. To ensure that the nest actually holds up, Fann builds a separate base that can support a 2,000-pound load, upon which the nest anchored on using a crane. They look fun but I think they would leak in wet weather. Click here to see a range of nests.



2.

 The White Towns of Andalusia

Photo source

These are whitewashed houses in Andalusia in Spain.. I am currently reading a book by Chris Stewart entitled Driving Over Lemons. It is set in Andalusia so I really enjoyed looking at these pictures and reading about the towns. Click here to see some more.

3.

 A walk in the park fixes a fuzzy brain

 

Photo source

Studies show that a walk in the park fixes a fuzzy brain. This article fits nicely with our quote above. According to this article urban living gives you brain fatigue. Click here to read the article.