It’s the 10th of the month which means it’s time for another quick 10 on 10 photo round-up. This month I’m sharing a little photo story of what we got up to when one of our favourite Aussie expats came to stay with us. With just a couple of days together, we were determined to squeeze in as much Stamford food, wine and fun as possible.
We have no time to waste, so after picking up dear Lucy up from the station we headed straight to the Rutland Vineyard. It’s one of our favourite local places and if you come to visit us, chances are you’ll end up here too. Rather than commit to just one wine, we all opted for tasting flights. Fun fact: David and I actually picked the grapes for the red wine back in 2023, the first grapes harvested from these vines since Roman times!
Back at the ranch, Lucy was reunited with her second son, Teddy Roosevelt. Lucy and I actually “met” on Instagram after bonding over our boys, who were born just a month apart. Teddy was absolutely thrilled to have one of his aunties back. He never forgets!
After a wander around town, it was time for pizza at Pizza da Mario. With sunshine, pizza and an Aperol Spritz enjoyed al fresco in the town square, it almost felt like we’d been transported to Italy.
We took the scenic route via the Meadows, soaking up the warm evening sunshine. Stamford was made for golden hour and is an absolute dream for photographers. The light was pure chef’s kiss!
Next stop was another Stamford favourite, The George. This beautiful coaching inn has been welcoming travellers for almost 1,000 years and is packed with character. It was unusually quiet when we popped in, so we practically had the whole bar to ourselves. Cheers to that!
Fuelled by the promise of cinnamon buns, we kicked off the following morning with breakfast at Cakes and Co. We took Lucy’s husband, Dan, when he visited last year and he’s been talking about their CinABUNs ever since so Lucy had high expectations. Happily, they didn’t disappoint. Lucy chose the OG CinABUN, I went for caramel and hazelnut, while David opted for the Serrano ham and zesty Pesto toasted bun. Safe to say it was bun-derful. Ha, see what I did there!
After a quick stroll around the fabulous Friday market and a little sit down at home, it was time for our next foodie stop: Rennet and Rind, home to the best artisan cheese in town. On Fridays and Saturdays they put tables outside, making it the perfect spot for a cheese board, a glass of excellent (and very reasonably priced) wine and a spot of people watching. We couldn’t go past the cheese and charcuterie tower and it disappeared remarkably quickly.
After all that cheese and wine, Lucy and I headed off for our next treat: matching manicures! Getting an appointment at Natalie Dams Beauty is like trying to get an audience with the Pope, so I couldn’t believe I’d managed to book us both in. We were so busy chatting that we completely forgot to take a photo in the salon but here’s the end result. When life gives you lemons, get a manicure!
We rounded off the weekend with cocktails and small plates at The Slanted Door. The food and service are always spot on and this visit was no exception. The cocktails were delicious and those bao buns were every bit as good as they looked.
I think Lucy and my love of matching outfits finally rubbed off on David because this is how we headed out on Lucy’s last evening. The light was perfect, so we waited patiently for a kind stranger to take our photo. Sadly, we picked someone with a slightly wobbly hand, although full marks for composition! Blurry or not, I absolutely love this picture. It’s perfectly imperfect, a bit like us really.
With full hearts, full bellies and lots of happy memories, we dropped Lucy back to her parents the following day. It was one of those weekends that flew by far too quickly, filled with good food, great wine and even better company. Here’s hoping it won’t be too long before we’re showing one of our favourite Aussie around Stamford all over again.
Where’s the first place you’d take visitors to your hometown? And which stop on our foodie tour would you head to first?
