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Published: April 13th 2010
Strolling along the Yarra
In Warrandyte. Photo by Richard.This morning we set off with the “Pie in the Sky” bakery as our destination for, as is obvious, a pie lunch. This bakery is in Olinda in the Dandenongs about 30 minutes out of the city.
Before we got there we stopped at Warrandyte where we walked alongside the Yarra River in a national park before coming to a small cafe where we had coffee. It was quite busy everywhere we went, many taking advantage of the fine weather on this Easter Monday.
The vegetation in this area is very lush, and it is not difficult to imagine the ferocity of a fire as they had on 'Black Saturday' in 2009 when 173 people died in the fires NE of Melbourne. The road continued its winding way through the ranges until we came to Olinda. It was now nearly 2pm when we got to the bakery, even then we had to wait a short time for a table and people continued arriving. The food was very tasty with both of us having a Rendang pie, Judy showing her South Ozzie roots by having hers as a 'floater' in pea soup!
On our
A walk along the Yarra.
Carole, Rags and Judy. Photo by Richard Rowe. way home we stopped at Grant's picnic area where tourists, including us, fed the Sulphur Crested parrots and Crimson Rosellas which fly in from the forest to be fed.
Tuesday 6th 2010 Carol took us to the local shopping area from where we were able to catch the bus into the city about an hour away. We found the Ibis Hotel in Little Burke St easily and were lucky enough to be able to book in straight away. Small room but plenty big enough and nicely refurbished.
After unpacking we set off for the main shopping area and to find Federation Square where we were told we would find the Visitors' centre. The woman here was very helpful and gave us maps and nformation for many different parts of Victoria. She helped us plan out a trip.
Next, we boarded the free city loop tram for a scenic tour of the outskirts of Melbourne. Unfortunately, a lot of other people had the same idea so it was very full and we had to wait for seats. We alighted at the closest stop for the for the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, across the
The shop where we ate a pie.
Judy had the pie floater and thought they were pretty special! river. This we found to be an impressive structure with the convention area to one side and on 3 levels. We wandered around for a bit before a man involved int he conference setup found us and pointed us in the right direction for the Exhibition Hall. Over the next 3 days we got to know this area quite well, getting lots of exercise as we moved from one area to the next.
We were too early to be allowed into the area where the exhibitors were still setting up, but after being probably the first delegates to be registered, we 'killed' some time exploring the adjacent South Wharf area. This is a large complex with DFO (Direct Factory Outlets) being the main tenants. Here we found a JB Hi Fi where they were selling 19” HD tvs at half price. As they were also adaptable as a computer monitor and they were 12volt powered we took little convincing that it would be $198 well spent!
Judy later found a Sketchers shoe shop, this too was earmarked for a later visit.
The Welcome Reception had just commenced when we returned and here we caught up with many people,
both from WA and interstate, whom we had met in the past as well as enjoying the good food and drinks provided. By the end of the reception both of us felt we didn't need any more food, but even so we returned to Mike Leishman's hotel where we shared a pizza and a wine or two.
Wednesday 6th - Friday 8th April 2010 These three days were fairly full on with many different sessions being attended. Many just confirmed what we knew or were doing, but some did introduce a new slant on things and give us some food for thought.
Speaking of food, the food and the way it was distributed, couldn't be faulted, this would have been the best either of us has experienced at conferences and the like.
Breakfast was a bit of an adventure for us in that rather than eat at the hotel we went out every morning looking for somewhere different to eat. At no time were we disappointed and the exercise of walking there and back didn't hurt either.
On Wednesday night we were invited to the President's Reception, held in the
Melbourne Aquarium, again great food and company. Thursday night was the Conference Dinner, always a special night for both of us as we met at one of these all those years ago. Good band and by the end of the night we were both exhausted.
We managed to extend our hotel stay for a night so we could enjoy Friday night dinner in Lygon St with Brett & Jan and their friends Helen & John. Rags hadn't been to Lygon St before and it was as impressive as Judy had told him. We travelled by tram there with many others, after battling the football crowd going to the MCG that evening. The street is lined with cafes, all with people in front touting you to enter their premises. As Brett & Jan had been there several times previously, they had booked a cafe, Universal. Certainly no disappointment there with super food. Rags had one of the best Tbones he has ever had and after nibbles, main course and wine, the bill for each couple was just on $70. Food over here is so much cheaper than at home.
Weekend 9th & !0th March Being
Grants Picnic area walk
Here we were in search of one of a population of famous lyrebirds. None were sighted! a Saturday we found that most of the cafes serving breakfast were closed and it wasn't until we walked to Queen St that we found one open. After checking out of the hotel we had to walk back to where we had the breakfast as the bus stop was just outside. Unfortunately, Rags had misread the timetable and we had a 40 minute wait. Once on the bus all went well, Carol waiting for us when we arrived at the shopping centre near her place.
The afternoon was spent driving around the Yarra Valley area, visiting several wineries, and having afternoon tea at a small one which had been hit by the bushfire but was lucky enough not to lose the house.
After a slow start Sunday was spent by firstly going to the St Kilda markets. This was disappointing as because of the inclement weather most of the stalls, had not opened and the few that were left were thinking of packing up as another front was expected.
The morning was saved however by us going to the main street which was lined with cake and coffee shops. Richard finds this place a real challenge as
Pizza after the Welcome Reception!
Mike carried it back on it's side so all the topping fell off! he is on a strict diet and there is temptation in every shop window! He did find something he was allowed to eat and us three others succumbed and had a tasty, fattening treat.
Despite the threat of rain we continued on to the Queen Victoria Markets with Richard pointing out sights along the way. This market has operated since 1878, now catering for those after cheap clothing, gifts and souvenirs as well as the original fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. We wandered around the former areas until our stomachs told us it was lunchtime whereupon we made our way to the food hall for tasty curries and hamburgers.
The highlight of the visit was when we went to the meat and fish areas. As it was now about 3pm and as the market is not open on Mondays, there was competition amongst the vendors to sell their products. Touts tried to get you to look at their stalls, in the stalls themselves the sellers were yelling out their reduced prices and in the chaos we managed to buy several meals of fish and vegies for the next few days. One fish we bought, Marlin, we will cook
for all to share tomorrow. No idea what its like, but at a pinch we'll curry it.
Monday 12th April 2010 As today is our last day here we took the opportunity to do some last minute washing and start loading the van and Jeep ready for tomorrow.
Late in the morning we went to Westfield Shoppers Town, not really high on Rags' priorities but an excursion just the same. The fact that there is a large Apple Store there helped motivate him. On arriving the first shop he saw was a Wine Lovers store and on investigating it we found they were selling bargain price wine with tastings encouraged. As we intended to go to the Get Wines Direct store we have patronised over the Net for the last 4 or 5 years we didn't stay.
The complex is huge with many stores including one wing which had all the well-known top brand stores as well as a few extras. Great for window shopping!
We did find a self serve bread shop similar to one we found in China, where all sorts of bread concoctions such as buns
and tarts are displayed and you take a plate and tongs and serve yourself, paying at the cashier. A tasty lunch including bacon and cheese pizza, red bean paste buns and almond and custard buns was eaten just outside.
The Apple Store was large, with customers everywhere. We looked at what was available, did not think that $200 was a reasonable price for the microphone Rags wanted, but we did find a cable that we can connect from our amplifier to the iphone so we can play music through it. We then continued to Dick Smiths where a microphone with headset within our budget was purchased.
Judy went to a hairdresser, with Richard's recommendation, for a haircut whilst Rags did some mundane grocery shopping. On the way out we did return to the Wine Lovers shop as we felt that it was now too late to go Richmond where GWD is. Several dozen of tasty 'quaffing' wines were bought.
Dinner was a success tonight with us cooking a dish of marlin steaks with garlic and parsley sauce on a sweet potato mash with stir-fried Chinese vegetables. Sounds swish, wasn't, but all agreed it was tasty. This was
Outside the Conference Building
The ship is the Polly Woodside. The Polly Woodside was built in 1885 and is a reminder of Australia s rich maritime history. followed by pudding and custard.
Richard has a large movie collection so the evening was spent watching "Saving Grace" followed by a chat via Skype with their daughter, Kate who is working in Naples, Italy. Kate and Judy's son, Ryan are less than 2 weeks apart in age and were close friends until they moved to Melbourne.
We've had such fun staying with Carole and Richard that it will be hard to leave tomorrow.
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kerry
non-member comment
Sounds like a great place for food and wine lovers. We're having some lovely Spanish nosh here in the Costa Brava. Love Kerry.