The cool breeze.
A very little town (at least that's what we think. Just a few shops along the highway) with the entire post dedicated to it.
It's this beautiful and memorable.
There is more than one route from Queenstown to Wanaka, the one via Crown Range being the shorter one that takes slightly longer than an hour.
We decided to go via Cromwell (about 30 minutes longer than the Crown Range route) instead for a couple of reasons.
#1: Crown Range is a rather steep mountainous road and mountainous roads are not something I fancy. Remember?
#2: We've not travelled on steep, risky-looking mountainous roads ever. Why take the risk now?
#3: Going via Cromwell will take us pass a town - Tarras. We've been wanting to take a look at the town since we passed it on the way to Queenstown. Something about that town just draws us in. Maybe it's that huge "Mrs Robinsons" signboard we saw, with one word that stood out -- VINTAGE.
We did a little scream when we passed by the store the first time. Trust me when I said 'we'. The hubby did too. What have I done to him?
Actually, we really just wanted to go to Tarras.
We had lunch in this coffee shop that has a wonderful, huge fireplace and tables covered in oilcloth.
I only wanted to sit at the tables with the floral oilcloth.
We had 'Salmon Salad with Couscous' for lunch.
And a sticky date loaf as well.
A very yummy date loaf I wish I knew how to bake.
I can eat it everyday.
One serving is more than enough to share.
For record purposes, the salad is at $17.90 and the date loaf at $5.90.
I loved it.
The hubby not so.
He's a little sad that the couscous looked very much different from what we saw on TV.
We finally got to Mrs Robinson's after lunch. It's a house of vintage goodness.
My heart was doing its happy dance all the time we were inside.
It was beating soooooooo fast.
I wanted to get everything I saw.
The teacups.
The fabric.
The pillows.
The plates.
The buttons.
Buntings!
And gorgeous looking aprons!
And... and.. vintage toys!
I don't know if the toys were hand-me-downs from long ago. That was the only thing stopping me from getting my hands on them. We are superstitious like that.
I didn't get any photos in the shop because I don't know if photography is allowed.
But check out their facebook page (link at start of entry) because it is oh-so-pretty!
They have oilcloths too.
The same one we saw at the coffee shop.
*melts*
We wanted to get some home but it will be quite difficult to transport them all the way back.
And it's not cheap.
I hope Spotlight has them. *fingers crossed*
I don't think there was enough pictures to justify how beautiful Tarras actually is.
I don't know if the town is really big or small like we assumed it to be.
It's simple. And that what makes it charming.
We saw a little girl with a pony just outside Mrs Robinson's.
That is a beautiful sight. Really beautiful.
For that hour or so we were there, we felt so much at ease.
I could also see that the place has that bit of magic that pulls the stress away from the hubby, and I appreciate that a lot. Really.
We saw this outside one of the shops. It seemed like many visitors had penned down their thoughts about Tarras. We agreed completely with this one.
Edit:
According to wikipedia, Tarras is a small farming settlement.
That explains the charm.
Some information about Tarras here.
And a little about Shrek the sheep here.
More of the trip here:
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Setting foot on New Zealand
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Geraldine, Lake Tekapo
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Lake Tekapo in Snow
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Mount Cook. Just a quick one.
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Queenstown
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Arrowtown
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Wanaka
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Fox Glacier
{New Zealand Aug 2012} The scary ride
{New Zealand Aug 2012} The lesson from a seal
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Kaikoura
{New Zealand Aug 2012} International Antarctic Centre
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