OH MY GOODNESS! I had the best day out yesterday in Alexandria and I didn't expect it to be nearly as good as it was.

Isn't it wonderful when your weekends have a secret surprise. It's like Christmas and birthdays all together.

Sometimes I get soooo excited and yesterday was one of those days!

Those of you peeps out there that have read my previous blog will know that I spent a lot of time on my grandparents farm and we had a menagerie of animals.

We had pet lambs and sheep - I had my own 3, Betty, Molly mark one and Molly mark two, we had Ben and Betty the pet lambs, in my parents back garden at home. Chucks a plenty. Horses, cows and goats and some lovely pigs that I once had a ride on. We had a pet pig called Sally and I'm sorry to say, but we did eat her and yes she tasted good. Our animals were well looked after and loved. It was free range heaven.



So I had animals as part of my life from a very young age.

Yesterday I went out for a mosey around a new fabulous eating and lifestyle experience in the up and coming funky/hipster Alexandria - The Grounds. It's at No 2 Huntley Street, Alexandria. Corner of Bourke Road (big car park).

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?client=safari&rls=en&q=the+grounds+alexandria&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=tbWTT4v4N_GwiQeQgf2OBA&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=3&ved=0CBIQ_AUoAg

Now I'm not going to write about the food. I'll let these other bloggers' give you the gen on that. Have a squizz at this link for what Katie ate. Her photos are amazing.

The food and coffee are top notch and I am a bit of a foodie and cook heaps at home. I really enjoyed my chicken schnitzel and coleslaw. Yummo. The food is truly amazing. Friendly staff and quick service.

There was heaps of families there and plenty of room for strollers. I counted  at least 30 bubs with their parents.

I'm going to write about activities for the kids.

They had a small animal farm in the grounds. All the animals were so well looked after. This lovely lady, Dianne and her helper, travel all the way from Bankstown with James the Alpaca, Molly Mark Three - the lovely sheep, Goatie the cheeky nanny goat who refuses to eat food off the ground and likes to be hand fed. Such a cheeky princess. They are also available for children's parties. If you have children seriously think about it. It will be the best party you're child has ever experienced.

They do baby animals farm display, pony rides, balloon animals, face painting and jumping castles.

They had rabbits and guinea pigs that children could hold in baskets on their laps and feed with carrot sticks and other lovely things. These animals are so relaxed and not once did they try and escape.

I saw a little girl, around 20 months old, being shown her first farm animals. I felt so emotional, as I'm a country girl and I'd sort of taken, my crazy eclectic childhood for granted.

I had a little talk to the managers of the Grounds and explained how important this experience is for the local city children.

The effect it has on emotional and cognitive development. Feeding and stroking animals is so calming and centres an anxious child.

It helps the child explore relationships and read body language.

The Grounds manager, Jack Hanna and Caroline Choker told me that they're thinking of inviting them here on a fortnightly basis. I think that would be amazing. If you'd seen the reaction from the children that I saw, you'd understand.

Go there...soon...you will not be disappointed and tell me what it meant for you and your child. I'd like to hear from you...