Australia

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We got up late, maybe because of all the red wine we put away last night, or maybe it was just because we could!

Nit had offered to take us on a drive around some of the suburbs and the Swan Valley and we were really looking forward to getting out and about and seeing more of the area.

It was already very hot when we left the house mid morning and the sun just seemed to get stronger as the day wore on.

After stopping at the post office to send home a big box of things we could no longer carry, Nitin drove us around lots of areas with plots of land for sale and giving us a look at the types of houses we could build if we moved out to Perth. It was all very tempting - there were some massive plots overlooking the ocean that we could really see ourselves in (if only our finances we allow!!)

After seeing some new coastal suburbs, we drove inland and checked out the countryside. It instantly got a few degrees hotter as we lost the coastal breeze. There were some lovely large plots with paddocks and plenty of space but it didn’t have the same pull for us as the ocean did.

Just as I was starting to get hungry we pulled into a branch of the Margaret River Chocolate shop. Inside they had large bowls of chocolate drops that could be tasted for free so I had a good few scoops of them and felt much better. After a long walk around while dreaming about all of the chocolate I was going to buy, we decided to go to the coffee shop for a bite to eat. I had a milkshake and Matt had a real hot chocolate and we got a large slice of cake each. By the time we’d finished we were both so sick of the sight and taste of chocolate that we couldn’t even manage any more free tasters and the temptation to buy lots of bars had well and truly worn off.

We stopped at a open air winery stand for a few tasters but it was almost too hot to enjoy the drinks (or maybe it was because we’d eaten too much chocolate?!) Either way we managed to escape without being too tempted to buy anything.

When we got back I sent a noisy e-card to my brother Neil as it was his 40th birthday! Then we spent our evening relaxing in front of the tv - it was still such a novelty having not seen one for so long!

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