There’s nothing quite like hopping in the car and hitting the open road. This week, Christina and I went country, going to a new part of regional new South Wales.

We love exploring our own back yard, especially when it turns up so numerous enjoyable surprises.

The hunter Valley town of Maitland might not be on numerous people’s radars yet, but mark our words, it won’t be long before this little town is making big impressions on folks searching for a weekend escape from the city.

We’ll be telling quite a few stories from our time in Maitland over the next few week, so here’s just a snapshot of some of the places we went to and things we did while we were there.

And keep reading for news on how you can score great savings on your shopping with American express until September 12th.

We hope you delight in this weekly Edition.

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

About 15 minutes outside Maitland, which is a couple of hours’ drive north of Sydney and only 30 minutes from Cessnock and the hunter red wine region, is the village of Morpeth.

Morpeth is full of history – including this old wooden-based bridge, which as you can see from the sign, wasn’t developed for modern vehicles.

This is also where we’re based for the weekend. check out our hotel:

This is the beautiful restroom of our digs in the Bronte boutique hotel on Morpeth’s main street.

Our room – room 3 – is the most significant in the hotel and has some great antique furniture to choose the Victorian feel to the hotel. There’s also a blend of Japanese art and objects dotted around the place, which give an interesting accent to the hotel.

One of our preferred things to do when we’re in small country towns is check out the antiques stores. You’re guaranteed to find some absolute treasures you’d never see in the city.

True to form, Morpeth has some great shops with all kinds of things. It’s a fair reflection of a town with such a lot of history to it – Morpeth used to be one of the most essential ports in the country in the mid-1800s.

This is just one room of one level of the old Campbell’s Store, which is home to Morpeth Antique Centre. There’s just so much stuff here, but it’s also probably the most organised shop we’ve ever been in.

Dinner tonight is at the absolutely amazing Coquun – a restaurant and cafe with strong ties to the local Aboriginal culture, drawing from indigenous foods and local wines. view this space for our review – can’t wait to tell you much more about this place.

The Dr Morse’s Indian root Pills barn is an renowned landmark of the area around Maitland. The cows certainly seem to like this unusual bit of history.

They’re not so keen on having their photo taken though. shortly after Christina gets this shot, the cow in the foreground freaks out and runs off into the field!

This is just one of the amazing pastries you can have at the Icky Sticky Patisserie in Lorn, just over the Belmore Bridge from Maitland. The cakes in this place are off the charts – but get ready to queue, it’s popular.

Maitland and its surrounding towns are full of pretty places like this. Christina’s filling up memory cards like crazy!

While we’re in Maitland today, walking along the banks of the hunter River, we decide to pop back in to Coquun and see our mate Daniel. We also get a chance to see this beautiful restaurant, which looks out over the river, in the daylight.

There are some fascinating shops around Maitland, and art is very much a focus in the community.

The entrance to the Maitland regional Art Gallery is pretty cool and illustrates perfectly what I imply about art being essential to the community here.

And possibly the best thing about the art gallery is the cafe within its walls! Seraphine has some fantastic things on the menu – can’t wait to tell you more. Suffice to say, my gnocchi was mind-alteringly good.

Maitland has these messages all over the pavements. They’re pointing to beautiful old facades on buildings you’d probably miss if it weren’t for the signs. A smart activation.

Buildings like this one – Treasure corner – best in the middle of The Levee home entertainment quarter of town.

There are so numerous interesting pieces of public art scattered around Maitland. The raincloud lights and the ‘dog-man’ cleaning up after itself – so interesting and fun.

Dinner tonight is at The Rigby in Maitland. This place is very outstanding and has much more of a Melbourne feel than regional NSW. quietly confident and very cool, this is a hot spot to visit when you’re here.

The food’s amazing, the service is great and the atmosphere makes for a fantastic dinner.

You can see our full review of The Rigby here.

It’s a sign that Maitland is on the up. This bar – Rama – is absolutely superb. Fun, unusual and some of the best cocktails we’ve had. Well worth a stop pre- or post-dinner. Or both!

More outstanding public art in Maitland.

Back in Morpeth, the rooftops of the towntell of a place that has a lot of history. When this was a port town, the sailors would have to find digs here, and numerous of them would end up in the attics of these buildings, their hammocks strung from the eaves and rafters.

We stop for another shot of the Indian root Pills barn and decide we need to shine a bit of light on our noble steed for the trip!

This is a brand new Subaru Forester that Hertz has rented us (only 1000kms on the clock) and it’s got some cool features. I’ve never driven a car that keeps you in your lane before.

If the car starts to get too close to the edge of the line, you feel the steering wheel tug a little and push you back on course. A bit unnerving at first but great for longer drives. rather impressive.

We’re all had a look at of the Bronte boutique hotel and have said goodbye to Morpeth. We’re now back in Maitland and enjoying the outstanding coffee at the tongue-twistingly challenging Cunning Culinarian! much more on this place later, however…

…I do have to show you the supreme brekky roll they do here. absolutely magnificent!

Our visit to the Old Maitland Gaol is a real eye-opener. some of the worst villains in the country were guests here once, including Ivan Milat.

Our last stop as we head back to Sydney is to the Heritage gardens cafe in Ashtonfield. part of a spectacular garden centre, the food and coffee here does well to stand apart against all the blooms around us.

Taking of blooms, now we’re back in Sydney, we discover the David Jones flower show is on.

At the same time, the vogue American express fashion night Out (VEAFNO is easier) has come to Sydney and Pitt street mall is packed with eager shoppers.

It’s the ideal evening for the VAEFNO, and as the sun gleams gold across the skyline, we find our way to the Amex Lounge.

The American express Lounge (free access for Amex card members) has a cool, nyc block party vibe this year. We get a glass of Mumm and a bagel and view the world go by.

As part of the partnership between vogue and American Express, card members can activate an amazing deal that’s going until Thursday 12th September.

When you spend $50 or much more at any of the 600 participating sellers – big and small, you get $20 back! Not bad.

The deal’s valid for the first 10,000 card members, so get in quick.

Here’s cheers to a great week. We hope you’ve delighted in this Edition.

Jim & Christina xx

We went to Maitland as guests of Destination new South Wales and were invited to VAEFNO by American Express.