The beautifully lit up facade of a historic pub in the setting sun
The first thing I noticed were the grapevines on the outskirts of this regional city and then the tall skinny palms dotted around the city centre. Next I felt the warmth of the setting sun on my skin and watched it light up the facade of a historic pub. This area is a known mecca for fishing, camping and paddleboats, but it is also rich in history and brimming with other fun things to do. I don't think of Mildura as a major holiday destination in itself, but it is a rather fabulous stopover - Mr Fritz and I stayed for three nights. This gave us plenty of time to drive around, hire a little boat and cruise the mighty Murray river, visit The Vault art gallery (a former bank who's vault is packed full of art), and peruse a vintage/antiques store - heaven on earth for me!
Aah, how I adore vintage and antiques stores - love!
We also ate extremely well in Mildura. Perhaps a little too well. We managed to work our way through Stefano's five course dinner. Stefano is an Italian chef who, one could argue put Mildura on the map for us city folk. It's a delicious experience sitting in the moody dimly-lit corridor of the former cellar eating and drinking indulgently - but a full day fast in preparation is a must.
European contact began in this area as early as 1847 but ultimately, it was an irrigation scheme engineered by the Chaffey Brothers, who came all the way from Canada, that helped create this important regional city and ensure it's survival - but not before a devastating rabbit plague, a drought and a depression. One of the brothers, William, built a grand house which we visited. It's called Rio Vista and you enter it through the Mildura Regional Arts Centre. It's chock full of WA Jarrah, Italian tiles, embossed wallpaper, marble fire places, stained glass windows and and grand Blackwood staircase - just divine!
One of the decorative and very impressive fireplaces inside Rio Vista house
European post-war migrants and soldier settlers further added to the landscape and culture of this region which is now considered a very important food producing area in Australia. This region is known for Mallee lamb, Murray cod, Murray River Salt (which I'm a huge fan of) and for growing citrus, grapes, olives and nuts and much more.
Lush grape vines line the main road and are dotted all around this area, a seductive and calming sight
And if you're quite particular about your coffee, like Mr Fritz and I are, fear not, Mildura happens to have an ex-Melbournian restaurateur, Silvano who, lucky for us, happens to be a Rome-trained barista too. He will happily serve you the perfect cup of coffee, which he manually extracts from his Italian hand-built espresso machine at his cafe Steampunk. Delish!
Inside Steampunk - we sat in those gorgeous vintage chairs while we drank our coffees
Murray River Salt, much to my delight, now make delicious silky smooth dark chocolate flecked with delicate pink salt flakes - very satisfying indeed!
