It’s Autumn in Berry, Shoalhaven.
We took off early for a family weekend in a holiday home by the lake. Not easy with 6 grandchildren of 2 teenagers and 4 under 10. Chaos cuts across almost everything that involved the 6. Who sits beside whom? Who shares a pie or a platter of scones with clotted cream and jam? Which gelato flavors to order? Where to park? Where and what to eat? Who else hasn’t peed before the next long drive?
A very interesting one-story hotel in Berry.
Where to have a brekkie in Berry? So many choices.
First Pitstop identified. The heritage town of Berry in the Shoalhaven region along the South Coast is just slightly over an hour’s drive south of the state capital of Sydney. It is a small town, but packed with many historic buildings as well as a number of curio shops with arts, antiques and crafts. Very charming.
The main street in Berry is lined with historic buildings, interesting curio shops, many arts and crafts stalls.
On this store is a big sign that says “POTTERING AROUND IS THE PERFECT PASTIME”. Only in Berry, Shoalhaven!
Population is only a couple of thousand. The few we met who manned the curio shops didn’t seem to mind our little ones sneaking in and out of stalls, pushing chairs here and there to get closer to a favorite cousin, or to slurp from someone elses’s milk shake. An elderly couple even approached us while enjoying our brekkie, just to say how delighted they were with our little one who took off his hat to fill it up with water from a drinking fountain! (That could only be Xion)
Cousins!
The kids loved the scones and devonshire tea from Gourmet on Broughton Cafe. Berry, NSW.
Earlier on, we debated on whether to try the famous doughnuts of Berry or stick to our fav scones and tea. The nearby gelato and available parking clinched the decision to go for scones. Not a bad thing at all. GOURMET ON BROUGHTON CAFE had enough tables to sit all of us, with the Berry Museum, Berry Memorial and a couple more historic buildings just a few meters away.
Before long, the little ones easily found their way to the nearby gelato. We also just needed to cross the street to check out the arts and crafts stalls. Many interesting stores here. And the vibe is very “Berry” relaxed. It was so refreshing to be chatting with so many cheerful strangers!
We were all packed inside our cars and well on our way when we passed the doughnut shop. Hmmmm. Maybe next time 🙂
lifeisacelebration 