April 20 ... Griffith

We made a bit of an effort to "move" along today (19th). I was especially keen to spend a couple of nights in Griffith so we continued on through Parkes, Forbes and West Wyalong with only brief stops to eat. However, we were remiss in not stopping at "McFeeter's Motor Museum" in Forbes, but Garry has added it to the growing list for "next time". The countryside throughout the whole drive has been interesting and scenic. There are still large areas with water lying around but all the recent rains have certainly been of benefit. The paddocks are all green and the dams full. After we checked in to the Tourist Park in Griffith we went for a walk through town. It is an  unusual but nice city with a lengthy main street and we spied out some promising places to eat. The shops are mostly on one side and there are parks and a few municipal buildings on the other. It was really warm so our huge gelati was perfect as we appreciated the circular city design of Walter Burley Griffin. Apparently he designed Leeton as well but his "piece de resistance" was Canberra.


Yesterday's warmth was an indicator that today (20th) would be heavily overcast and rainy! We spent the morning shopping and I bought myself a retirement present; a leather Pandora braclet. We were surprised by the extreme friendliness and helpfullness of all the people we met. Their attitude created a very positive feeling about Griffith and we enjoyed our stay much more because they were all so lovely. We had a delicious early lunch at Miel Amici and then drove out to the Catania Fruit Salad Farm. Joe, the owner, came from Sicily in the area of Taormina, and he was a friendly and generous host. Despite the wet weather, we toured the farm which grew a variety of plums, nuts, citrus and grapes, hence the term "fruit salad". We sampled all of these and ended up buying some wine (it's okay), prunes and Italian biscuits. We also got a recommendation for dinner!

Catania Fruit Salad Farm

Despite the weather, we did the scenic drive around town and then had a few quiet hours before going to dinner at La Scala. Garry ordered the mussels and I had home made gnocchi ... both delicious, followed by tiramasu and panna cotta, and then the best coffee! It was certainly a restaurant to recommend.