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Sweets, Meats, Christmas and Doctor Who In Bridgetown!!
Barbados?? England?? USA??
Just about everywhere you go in the world you will find a Bridgetown.#Bridgetown As part of our whistle stop road trip we pulled up in Bridgetown WA Australia for a couple of hours. As far as Bridgetowns around the world go, we have one of the best!!!
After stopping for a coffee break at our beloved Donnelly River village, we took about a twenty minute drive and found ourselves in this delightful town. We have been here on numerous occasions and every time we discover something new.
As always our first stop has a distinct sweet flavour!! Ohh La Lollipop!! #OhhLaLollipop My favorite sweet, (or should I call it lolly?), shop.
We simply can’t visit Bridgetown without popping in here to get a few treats. You are always greeted by a friendly shopkeeper and a tray of samples. The shop has a real old English feel to it. It’s like going back in time. Everywhere are big tubs of old favourites that I used to enjoy as a kid. Rhubarb and Custard, Army and Navy, Acid Drops to name but a few. On this visit, we opted for a couple of Yorkie bars, (Google them!!) Lime and Chocolate sweets, good old fashioned Bon Bons and a bag of assorted toffee!! Note to self, make dentist appointment for whole family. With my sweet tooth satisfied, it was time for something savoury!!
Across the road from Ohh la Lollipop we happened upon Blackwood Butchers.#BlackwoodButchers If there is one thing I can’t get enough of, it’s sausages. I just love them in every meat and flavour combination. I get pretty excited when I come across something a bit different. Today was no exception. Among the different types, one in particular caught my eye. Chicken and Orange!! What fiendish mind decided to marry these two flavours? Duck and orange…yeah, that’s a classic combo, but chook and orange? Well I am very pleased to say they were delicious. My teenage sons and I had them the following morning for brekky. The orange flavour just walked with silk slippers on, accompanying the chicken and certainly not overpowering it. The chicken was boss and the orange accepted it. Got some more in the freezer for another day!!
So, with my bag heavy with sausages we left the butchers to further explore the town. Suddenly, we were met by a strange phenomenon!! Had we gone back in time to December? Was we hearing things? It’s the middle of April and we can hear the unmistakable sound of jingle bells and Christmas music!! What is this madness?? It’s an amazing little shop appropriately titled “Christmas@139 & Santa's Secret Toy Store.” #Christmas139SantasSecretToyStore
Who could resist? Certainly no Bah Humbug! Moments here. As soon as you walk in you are transported to December 25th. All the old crooners are belting out their festive tunes over the sound system. Christmas tree decorations in every size shape and form adorn the shelves and walls. Nativity scenes, Christmas crackers and every other form of seasonal paraphilia are on offer, it even smells Christmassy in there, (not in a bad Brussels sprouts way if you get my meaning!!). Lisa picked up a festive cow bell and with eyes wide and an eager smile asked, “Shall I get it?” to which I came back with the witty reply of “Nah, it won’t fit ya!!” Well…I thought it was funny! Pop into this Winter Wonderland of a shop on your next visit, it’s magical!
With our Christmas spirit well and truly revived, we headed for another little gem of a store. I’m a bit of a geek, I have no shame admitting to it. As long as I can remember, I have been a devoted fan of Doctor Who. I have more or less a whole room dedicated to the time lord at home. I have everything from A sonic screwdriver pizza cutter to a full sized Tardis on my patio.
A lot of the memorabilia surprisingly was bought in our next stop. A great store called Rollin Trading Co.#rollinrocktradingco This shop has something for everyone. As well as all the Doctor Who stuff there is lots of other Sci-Fi and pop culture items up for grabs. It’s a full on geek fest. They also stock an amazing collection of Vinyl records. I have spent hours trawling through the stacks and stacks of them, a trip down memory lane is guaranteed! If all this wasn’t enough the have a unique collection of women’s shoes, all very vivid and eye catching. The shop has recently downsized, but their diverse stock is huge. Pay it a visit, I can personally recommend the Dalek egg cups!
Well, by now the time was getting on. The original plan was to visit The Cidery, but unfortunately, that will be a blog for another day. We were getting hungry and we had a destination in mind. I had heard great things about Tasty Edibles,#TastyEdibles in the little town of Greenbushes about ten minutes outside Bridgetown. Greenbushes is an old mining town with a fair bit of history. In all fairness, I think we picked the wrong day and the wrong time to come. It was the day before Anzac Day and the town was getting ready for it’s service and day of remembrance. We got to the Café just after two o’clock. It was clear that we had missed out on lunch, but we were offered a selection of pies and pastries etc as well a a large range of cakes. I loved the country town feel to this café.
There were a few locals in there shooting the breeze. I ordered a huge chicken pie and Lisa ordered an Anzac cake, we also got a few items to take home to our boys. Our tea for two would have done Tiffany’s proud, all china and chintz!! Not a tea bag in sight either, fresh tea leaves and a strainer, just like your granny used to make. The best cup of tea I’ve had in along time.
Everyone agreed the cakes were top notch. Only one small whinge from me, (I’m allowed to..I’m English!!) The pie was a bit on the cold side. 30 seconds in the microwave would have done the trick! Have to mention the homemade tomato sauce served with the pie, tangy and made the pie sing!
Well that was our one day road trip.
Balingup was on our list, but again time got the better of us. We will be doing another day soon that will see us in Donnybrook and Balingup…..look out for that blog coming soon.
I am so glad I chose to live in the South West of Australia. Bunbury Rocks as well as all our nearby rural towns. Please get the message out there by sharing the blogs you read on this page and help us get a share of the tourist dollar. Don’t forget that Townaround’s ride service is now live so getting in and out of Bunbury City is even more affordable and easy.
Loving The South West!!!!