Parnell Festival of Roses

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What a pleasurable day out we had! Especially now that I have discovered another great space I can go and read my book! We spent the day close to home at the Parnell Festival of Roses. It runs over two days at the end of October.

Only a short walk away from where we are staying is Parnell Rose Garden's so this was a great opportunity to go and check it out when all the roses are in bloom. There was entertainment along Parnell road and all the shops were involved. There was a farmer's market as well but unfortunately we woke up a bit too late and missed it. We went for a short walk up Parnell Road but to be honest it was not that different from most times except that the shops had moved outside with some of their wares. All the action was really at the Garden's so off we trekked. There was a special bus running to take you to the different bits but we needed the exercise and the sun was shining. I should explain that when you are not used to the sun shining very often you tend to appreciate it all the more and you want to take full advantage. Sometimes we have to keep reminding ourselves that there are probably going to be a lot more sunny days to take advantage of.

The roses were in full bloom and they were absolutely beautiful...put simply the blossoms were huge and the variety of colours on display was spectacular. A little live music added in made a great touch, they had two different stages with different acts throughout the day. Of course there was food on sale and different craft/clothes/jewellery stalls. We took lots of pictures of all the different blossoms, everyone was taking pictures because they really do capture your imagination. Eventually we settled down in between the beauty and the smells to listen to the music on offer. They even had a dance floor if you fancied a go.

The rose garden is part of the Dove-myer Robinson Park and you can go for a pleasant walk down to Judges Bay with a view over the harbour. It is a working harbour and you can hear the noises from all the action but it does not spoil anything just adds to my imagination.

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