Must Love Dogs (or else:)

I don't have many holidays. Because most of the work I do is casual, holidays mean reduced or no income. Then when I do take holidays it is usually a whirlwind of catching up with friends and family in Brisbane. I tend to always take a little break around September/October because I am feeling stir-crazy and need fortification to survive pre-Christmas retail. The thought of leaving Ted so soon (he has only been with us for 6 months) was a bit daunting so I started researching dog friendly accommodation and found:

Must Love Dogs Bed and Breakfast in Rutherglen.

The things I look for in holiday accommodation are:
Cosy set-up
Near restaurants (preferably walking distance)
Near winerys

This place ticked all the boxes.

I was a bit anxious about taking a dog on holiday- what if he got out and ran away or got hit by a car or got distressed? The reviews on Trip Advisor were overwhelmingly positive so I figured this would be the best place for a first try. It has set the bar remarkably high.

Ted looks like he is having a good time, he isn't, he doesn't like the car much although he did get used to it better than he does on short trips.

Our welcome afternoon tea, including homemade dog-safe biscuits for Ted.

Ted approved of the accommodation

Unfortunately the soft toy wasn't for eating- I took a quick pic and then moved it to a nice safe high place until we left. We are talking about a boy that can de-brain a stuffed toy in under 20 minutes.

We went for a afternoon walk. There are some lovely walking trails in Rutherglen- this one went around a pond. There is also an old rail trail through the vineyards (I'm told, I slept in that day)

The War Memorial in the park.

Given the small size of Rutherglen and the huge list of names, it looks like WW1 pretty much decimated the population of this little town.

Back at the B&B, Ted checked out the grounds

before we abandoned him to go out for dinner. Review on 'Taste' to come.

The report we got the next morning over breakfast was that he had a bit of a whine so Chris & Charlie (our hosts) brought him into their yard to play with their dogs. He and Princess, the Great Dane, had been getting along famously. No wonder he slept so well.

I forgot to take pictures of breakfast but it was seriously good. The Bookworm had a big English breakfast (Charles is English so he knows what he is doing) but my eggs benedict was the standout. Served on English muffins there was heaps of smoked salmon, perfectly poached eggs and lashings of perfect hollandaise, nicely tangy and creamy with steamed asparagus on the side. It's a big call but it might be the best I've had.

After breakfast we went into town to have a look around. Rutherglen is a delightful little town. Very small and sleepy, it reminds me of Casino (rural NSW) when I was growing up.  Most of the buildings are original or very old at least and the vibe is very chilled with some very friendly locals. There are lots of sculptures around the place as part of the Rutherglen sculpture trail. Victorian towns seem to be very supportive of their artists which is great to see. I forgot to take any pictures but here is one of our favourites

Taken from the Arts Rutherglen Facebook page

You can see the others on their website

I did however take a picture of this creepy little lady in an antique store

And these amazing teacosies.

As a wine tour was on the agenda for the afternoon we needed a fortifying lunch.
Parker Pies certainly fit the bill.
No prizes for guessing what is in this one

Beef, bacon and cheese- YUM!

While we were away on the wine tour (post to come soon) Ted spent his time romancing Princess.

We had organised to have dinner cooked by Charles that night. Armed with a very nice bottle of Rutherglen Shiraz from Pfeiffer Wines we were greeted with this in the dining room

And an amazing steak. Melt-in-your mouth meat, potatoes that were super crunchy on the outside, super tender on the inside and cauliflower and broccoli with a delicious cheese sauce. Simple food done extremely well.

And individual pavlovas for dessert. The fruit has been poached in Rutherglen muscat. It was huge but so good I could have eaten two.

With full bellies and happy heads from drinking wine all afternoon we decided to take some pictures of our stash. Ted isn't nearly as excited about the wine as we are.

We retired to the garden to sip muscat under the stars while his lordship made himself comfortable.

The next morning sadly we had to leave. After a breakfast of Charles' famous pancakes (huge fluffy buttery pancakes with lemon and sugar- my fave) we signed the teddy bear, Ted said goodbye to his lady and we made our way home.

Please note: This is not a sponsored post. All arrangements with Must Love Dogs B&B were made and paid for by me.