Melbourne – Victoria – Australia – August 2019

Tags

Australia, Fatto Bar & Cantina, Melbourne, Royce Hotel, Smith & Daughters, Xi'an terracotta warriors

Long weekend away from Canberra’s cold

I had made plans a few months ago to visit friends in Melbourne; really to get out of Canberra’s cold but also to just enjoy some time away whilst my friend looked after my dogs. This meant I could take my daily walks without two excited (but truly gorgeous) dogs pulling on their leads (maybe that means they (I) need additional training!!)…I booked a boutique hotel near the city through Luxury Escapes and really got a great deal.  I had a suite at the Royce Hotel that included free mini bar snacks, breakfast every morning and a voucher for a drink in the bar..very happy with all that.My first evening I spent with two friends over dinner at Fatto Bar & Cantina overlooking the Swan River.  

Quite a casual evening but food was pretty good and great that the chef made the risotto vegan for me. I definitely could not eat it all but enjoyed half with a salad and a few glasses of wine.

The next day I took a walk through one of the local parks.  I think all parks in Melbourne’s CBD are fabulous so I enjoyed seeing firstly walking through a vacant park then seeing lots of people out and about exercising and walking their dogs.

On my second day I booked a vegan restaurant called Smith & Daughters in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.  I heard about this restaurant from a friend so being a little excited, I arrived a early mistaking our reservation for 1230 when it was actually for 1pm.  Staff were very lovely and I was able to sit at our table early thus allowing me time to enjoy a glass of wine and pore over the fabulous brunch menu.  My friends arrived and I thought I already knew what I wanted to order, having had half an hour to decide; firstly it was the Parmesan Scramble on sourdough but finally I decided on the Breakfast Pizza.  As I was looking at the menu I had to confirm with the waitress that everything was actually vegan as it all sounded very non-vegan.  But luckily it was!We all shared a garlic bread and the warm potato salad.  Bread was gone even before I had the opportunity to take out my phone to take a photograph…truly delicious as was the warm potato salad.My friends ordered the Meatball Sub, the Mushrooms & Ricotta and the Classic Italian Basil Pesto & Roasted Vegetable Frittata…each enjoyed enormously by all.And it’s not often I get to order dessert unless it’s sorbet so this time I definitley wanted something even thought I was a little full.  Three of us ordered the baby donuts filled with a vanilla bean masala custard. And when I say we ordered them..we all ordered our own bowl of six donuts…I couldn’t eat all but tried my hardest and we all loved them!!Another friend and I had booked tickets to see the Chinese ancient terracotta warriors at the National Gallery of Victoria the following day.  Having lived in China for three years, I had seen them several times in their hometown of Xi’an, but my friend wanted to see them so I was very happy to go along; they really are impressive along with other amazing items discovered in the tomb.There was also an exhibition by contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang who created a 10,000 porcelain bird exhibition within the gallery.  Amazing!After observing the exhibition, it was time for lunch so we ate within the gallery and I ordered a delicious meal of a cauliflower steak and my friend and I shared a bowl of french fries (staple diet of mine I think).  The cauliflower was cooked to perfection and the accompanying lentils and sauce was delicious.So after another great weekend away it was time to return to Canberra to arrive home to two dogs that were incredibly happy to see me.  Love Melbourne!

 

 

Melbourne – Victoria – Australia – December 2018

Tags

Australia, Evita the musical, Langham Hotel, Melbourne, Street Art, Victoria

A trip to Melbourne to see Evita the musical

(source: Herald Sun newspaper)

This was my fourth visit to Melbourne in the last two years and on this occasion it was to see Evita the musical so as usual I took the opportunity to stay a couple of days longer to enjoy this fabulous city.

I stayed at The Langham in a lovely room with access to the Club Lounge.  I hadn’t stayed at this hotel before but my friends Ray and Natalie and I wanted to stay close to where Evita was playing so we could walk to and from the venue so The Langham is what we chose.  It was a very lovely hotel with a beautiful foyer area and as it was December it was decorated with a huge Christmas tree and decorations.Every morning I would get up early and go for a walk along the Yarra River for about an hour, return to the hotel and after getting ready, pop upstairs to the Club Lounge for breakfast. whilst looking out over the city and the Yarra.

On my first day I walked to Brunswick Street in Fitzroy [I had done this on a previous visit so knew my way] walking past lovely tree lined streets and outdoor cafes and restaurants. It was about a forty-five minute walk and I had a list of vegan restaurants and cafes I had been given by a friend. I love the interesting buildings and terrace homes of Melbourne and in particular Brunswick Street so took the opportunity to snap a few photos.Smith & Daughters was the first restaurant to visit on my list but unfortunately it was only open for dinner on the day I was there.  I had bought their cookbook on advice from my same friend and it’s great but recipes are a little too complicated for me especially with me not being a cook of any sorts!!The next restaurant I wanted to see was Tranformer which as its website says is ‘innovative plant based dining’ but by this time I was very hungry and had plans to eat at  The Vegie Bar as the menu looked fantastic so continued walking. I arrived at number 380 Brunswick Street (The Vegie Bar) and saw there was a cafe next door called Girls & Boys which serves plant based desserts including ice cream/ gelato/smoothies/doughnuts and lots of other wonderful sweet things.  I really could have eaten everything but decided to just buy a bar of vegan chocolate as I didn’t want to spoil my lunch.

Veggie Bar was definitely worth the wait.  Communal wooden tables and a wonderful menu of both hot and cold dishes.  And…santa clause sitting on a half moon near the roof!! I ordered a laksa with tofu and vegetables and a sparkling mineral water.  The laksa was so good but incredibly filling I only could eat half.The next evening my friends Ray and Natalie arrived from Canberra. I was having an alcohol free month so whilst they enjoyed some champagne in the Club Lounge I had some mineral water and again enjoyed the views over the Yarra River.When the club closed we went downstairs for a late snack, a glass of scotch for Ray and Nat and a refreshing mocktail for me in the bar area of the hotel.I woke up early again the next morning and took another stroll along the river followed by a walk around Melbourne city where I saw some interesting street art and also happened upon a lovely little Welsh church against a backdrop of a very modern building.  It was nice to see the church as having dual citizenship it brought back lovely memories of my birthplace.I always like to visit my favourite book store [Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller] where many years ago I bought a First Folio {first edition} of William Shakespeare’s plays; beautifully blue leather bound in their own case. Melbourne is known for its shopping especially its high end shops.  Cartier being just one which was decorated for Christmas along with huge baubles hanging from trees and other wonderful displays of the festive season.It was then time to see the musical as it was the main reason we had come to Melbourne…glad I saw it but not one of my favourite productions.  But a visit to Melbourne is always worth my time!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melbourne – Victoria – Australia – October 2017

Tags

Australia, Brunswich Street, Fitzroy, Friends, Melbourne, Victoria

Part II of my long weekend in Melbourne

On our long-weekend in Melbourne, my friend Jane and I took the plane from Canberra to meet another friend Sandy.  As we were landing I had lovely views of the countryside. I don’t know what the yellow fields were but they were stunning.We stayed at an apartment in the centre of Melbourne which was ideally located for walking around the city and we also had a nice little coffee/pastry shop next door along with views of the nearby buildings which looked so much better in the evening.One day we decided to walk to from our apartment to a nearby suburb to visit some local markets.  As it was an hour walk we decided to wear our exercise clothing….a little later in the afternoon we wished we hadn’t…but more on that later.

We walked past some interesting buildings along the way; one with a huge naked baby on the front  [little strange], some nice churches and lovely entranceways.We finally found the markets which were nearby a beautiful purple wisteria tree that covered the entire front and side of a building.  We bought some lovely smelling candles and other small gifts and then then decided to walk back to our apartment and on the way stop at a couple of local bars or pubs for a glass of wine.Our first was a very interesting bar, plants on the roof, huge paintings on the walls and bright and colourful lights throughout.  We sat at a gorgeous velvet covered lounge and enjoyed a glass of wine before we head off to our next stop.We then walked for about half an hour until we found our next location and along the way we also saw some great local artwork along the street; this is definitely a real funky suburb with fabulous shops.I even saw a print in a second hand shop, that my mum used to have in our home when we lived in Wales [all those many years ago].We walked past an amazing bar and we all wanted to stop here but unfortunately we couldn’t as it wasn’t yet open but the owner was very happy for us to take a look around…bright pink walls, gold framed pictures, velvet chairs and settees and mood lighting.   The owner told us it’s best to book a table if we wanted to return as it’s always booked out each night.Our next stop was a local pub; not that interesting inside but good for people watching.  We had a mineral water at this place followed by a glass of wine.After we left this pub, we thought we would walk straight to the apartment to rest up before going out to dinner.  However we walked past the Sofitel Hotel and Jane mentioned to us that the bar was very good. I really didn’t want to go as we were in our exercise clothes but the girls said it didn’t matter [it did]…

I think the bar was on the 42nd floor from memory and when we arrived it was about 4pm and there was a table of beautifully dressed people drinking champagne.  We thought they had been to a wedding and were waiting for the reception.  We sat next to them and apologised to the waiter for our choice of clothing [he didn’t care].

We ordered some snacks [because they sounded great although we already had eaten] and a glass of wine.  Jane’s funny story of the day was going to the bathroom and seeing one of the ladies from the table near us and thought her dress was beautiful, so said “I love your dress, you look beautiful’ to which the lady said she was appreciative then Jane said to her [mindful she is in exercise gear] ‘bet you are thinking the same thing about me’ … the lady had a good laugh…as did we when we were told the story.

Jane said the bathrooms in the Sofitel are gorgeous; they have views overlooking the city – guess five star hotels can afford to have this.

 

Italian food – Melbourne – Victoria – Australia – May 2017

Tags

Australia, Becco Restaurant, Il Nostro Posto Restaurant, Italian food, Melbourne, Victoria

Italian Food in Melbourne

A few months ago my friend Jane and I went to Melbourne for a long weekend [I have previously posted on our visit to the theatre and a French restaurant] where we went to a lovely Italian restaurant I had previously been to.  Melbourne is known for its fabulous restaurants and Becco didn’t let us down.  The restaurant is located in one of Melbourne’s lovely cobblestone streets and its interior has dim lighting in the evening making it rather difficult to take photos on my phone.Jane ordered an entree of ceviche which was marinated in fresh lime juice with sliced onions and vegetables and a light cream and pesto sauce .  She said this was absolutely delicious.

I wasn’t that hungry so only ordered a main dish of rigatoni pasta with a rich tomato and basil sauce…it was very good, unlike my photos.Jane then had the veal dish which was topped with sauted spinach with a white wine reduction.One other Italian restaurant I have been to in Melbourne is Il Nostro Posto; a beautiful converted 19th century warehouse.  I went to this restaurant when I was working in our office in Melbourne and as our group was large we were seated in the cellar area downstairs – a reasonable size room with two large tables, wood panelling on the walls and one original stone wall – just lovely!

It’s a Sicilian themed restaurant whose speciality is seafood and most of my colleagues ordered a dish with some sort of seafood apart from one young girl I work with in Canberra who ordered a tomato based penne pasta.I wanted to eat and drink relatively healthy being a weeknight, so had my obligatory sparkling mineral water but no wine on this evening and an entree of mixed roasted vegetables in a napoli sauce with lightly toasted bread and olive oil.  The dish was delicious and I only ate one small piece of bread…a good evening for me health wise.Another signature dish of the restaurant is the seafood pie; guazzetto in crosta, linguine pasta tossed with fresh seafood and chilli then topped with a lid of pizza dough and baked in the oven.

Melbourne has so many wonderful restaurants; a great city to visit and being only an hour plane ride from Canberra I shall be visiting again next month.

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend in Melbourne – Victoria – Australia – March 2017

Tags

Australia, French dining, Italian food, Melbourne, Shen Yun

Theatre and a long weekend away

My friend Jane, who you know I regularly travel interstate with knows I love all things China, so told me about a Chinese dance troupe that was visiting Australia.  Without either of us checking out anything about it on the internet, I said ‘let’s go’.  We arranged to spend a long weekend in Melbourne which is about an hour in the plane from Canberra and we organised tickets, flights and accommodation only to find out that the dance troupe was coming to Canberra…ah well we both love Melbourne so decided to still go – lots of eating and shopping to be done anyway!

The dance troupe is called Shen Yun Performing Arts and was formed in New York.  It performs classical Chinese dance and as it’s website says ‘was founded in 2006 by practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline with the mission of reviving the essence of 5000 years of Chinese culture, which it states to have been nearly destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party’.

(source: internet images)

It was an interesting event I must say – lovely dancing but a little bit political which neither of us expected.

I organised an Airbnb two bedroom/two bathroom apartment and I travelled on the Friday afternoon and immediately left the apartment to go shopping as Melbourne is known for its great shops.  After a while I was tired from carrying too many shopping bags so stopped at a lovely cobblestone street for something to eat and drink and do some people watching.

I ordered my usual; a glass of wine and glass of sparkling mineral water along with a bowl of fresh tomato and basil pasta…delicious!

Before Jane arrived around 8pm, I caught up with a Melbourne based friend at a lovely little pub around the corner from where I was staying followed by a quick dinner at one of the five star hotels. I forgot to take photos!

The next day Jane went out early to the fresh food markets (I think I have told you she is a ‘foodie’) and she enjoyed some oysters and fresh fruit.  I stayed in the apartment as was feeling a little unwell from a recent cold, then we both went for a walk around the city to find the theatre where the dance troupe was performing.  By this time it was after midday and both of us were a little hungry [I was ravenous].  We decided we needed to eat something delicious for lunch but not knowing the city we didn’t really know where to go.  Then a wonderful surprise – across the road from the theatre we saw a gorgeous little French bistro ‘BISTROT d’ORSAY’…what a fabulous find.

The interior is evocative of a typical Paris bistro with dark wood panelling and soft lighting and a towering vintage French poster adorning the dining room.  The menu has  French bistro classics such as bouillabaisse and crème brûlée and also Mediterranean style dishes.

Jane ordered a bottle of French wine which we started drinking whilst waiting for our meals and snacked on some thick fresh bread.

This was such a lovely restaurant we didn’t want to leave and I think it had something to do with a very charming [and very handsome] waiter who had that beautiful French accent [and told us he was from Paris].  After perusing the menu for some time, I decided on the risotto with rich mushroom ragu which I really enjoyed and even the chef was happy to make it without cheese for me (very kind).

Jane ordered the bouillabaisse; Marseilles’ famous soup of prawns, scallops, fish and mussels in a saffron, tomato, fennel broth with crouton and rouille.  She couldn’t stop talking about how incredible this dish was.

And of course the obligatory pommes frites [which I have now learnt from the very handsome waiter, are ‘fries’ in French]…sounds much more eloquent than ordering ‘fries’ or ‘chips’.

Then it was time to head over to the show followed by dinner at a lovely little Italian restaurant that I had been to previously [post to follow].