Edith

PHOTO DIARY / 1. The driveway and entrance gate to the house / 2. The rustic kitchen and gorgeous tree that stretched out behind the windows / 3. Little Nero after a swim and a play in the backyard / 4. Thursday morning paper out near the porch / 5. The lake and the towels from the swim / 6. Taking a breather on the couch / 7. The second porch and the BBQ that we never used / 8. The fire at night  

As far as growing up in Australia for the entirety of my life so far, 4 hours of driving to Edith was the first time I've ever set foot in the 'country' part of it. Consequentially, I sure did have my CGM moments (a.k.a 'City Girl Moments' - an acronym lovingly dubbed by Nic), which varied from the likes of seeing a flannel-clad farmer driving a tractor on the other side of the road and squealing with the delight of the accuracy of a stereotype, accidentally drifting on the dirt track to avoid some excited rabbits crossing a dirt road, seeing cows and sheep a close radius of the driveway for the first time outside of a zoo enclosure and finally, seeing the pitch black night sky be filled with what would seem like a bajillion stars.

We stayed in a beautiful little cottage in Edith that faced a lake at the front, and cows at the back. No phone reception, Instagram - nothing. We only got phone service when we drove 15 minutes to the nearby town of Oberon - which homed one of the best Chicken Caesar Wraps of all time (Monkey Bean Cafe, I'm looking at you), the cutest cattle dogs tied to the back of the ute waiting for their owners to finish shopping at the local IGA and major Gilmore Girls vibes from visiting a town where the locals knew each other and the outsiders stick out like a pin.

I once understood the hype of the holidays and visiting resorts/theme parks and what not, but it's a whole 'nother thing to take the opposite route and end up in the enjoying the comfort of friends and family, and to spend cheesy quality time with them. We watched the boys take an afternoon swim in the freezing, muddy lake with Nero the Golden Retriever, battled it out at Trivial Pursuit whist drinking a cold glass of Moscato and bantered around a fire underneath the blanket of stars and constellations. I would definitely recommend the city folks a chance to take themselves out of the drama of the city and into the peace and quiet of the country. Tranquil doesn't even begin to cover it.