After work on the 1980's XPT train leaving @ 8.40 pm Friday night from Sydney bound for Melbourne arriving 7.30 am on Saturday morning again. (on time this time round).
At Central Station I had time to kill therefore dinner of a chicken slovaki and lettuce sandwich brown bread unbuttered and a marble melting moment for the train. Next repack after a toliet stop and change of clothes for comfort and warmth.
There is time to step outside the regional trains concourse to watch the projection on the clock tower - unsure if it was part of this year's VIVID or rehashed from last year's VIVID no sound visuals only.
Photo below and refer upload of my video onto YouTube
Sleep and phone off to conserve power and not have any disturbances during the night. You could feel the cold creeping up during the night but it was a little more comfortable in first class (aisle seat B46) on the train with a little more room and angle of seat recline for my neck pillow blanket and cushion. A hoodie over my head a must - face mask optional.
Why am I always allocated seat # 46 in any class carriage on this route I book? Could not get a first class ticket back on Sunday so travelling economy class - B to D carriage there is definitely a difference although still no power points or wifi! I have rated this Sydney to Melbourne overnight service many times before. My rating stands but I have to comment again on how courteous the NSW Trainlink (that's regional trains not local public transport trains and buses - they wouldn't care a S***) staff are both at the booking office and on the train services. I hope they keep up their customer service standards.
Saturday morning arrive in Melbourne breakfast after a toliet stop then to Melbourne YHA for a shower, repack, store my suitcase in a pay locker then recharge my phone and blog before heading out. I am overnighting there again for Saturday night in a 3 shared female dorm and have requested a bottom bunk if possible.
First stop on Saturday morning is to catch the free City Circle Tram from outside the YHA to Flinders Street Station and walk across to Federation Square to the Wonderland exhibition @ the ACMI. Rating 8/10 over all. I enjoyed this exhibition very much but then I always enjoy the exhibitions at the ACMI! (remember Wallace & Gromet?). General adult entry around $26. Check when this exhibition ends on their website.
Photos below but refer to my YouTube videos of the exhibition uploaded. My favourite activities at Wonderland included :
1. A Mad Tea Party - refer my YouTube video uploaded. An interactive 28 people seated 3D experience. Well worth the queuing time. 4 minutes duration. Take your camera or video with you whilst inside. Waiting time is not too bad. Rating 9/10
2. Interactive map & The Queen's Croquet Ground - Match the legs of Alice on the back of the map with the heads of Alice on specially designed slots throughout the exhibition and watch what happens. Rating 8/10
3. Final multiple circular screen projection of the Alice in Wonderland story before exiting. Every man and his dog is in this projection including snippets from a very old black and white Jello commercial, Captain Kirk and Mr Spock from Star Trek and even Hello Kitty. Rating 8/10
4. The maze of doors to enter the exhibition. Which one to choose? Should I even try to crawl through the miniture doors? Rating 8/10
Limited sessions of High Tea were sold out before I arrived.
The entrance to the Wonderland exhibition downstairs of ACMI
I took heaps of photos @ Wonderland but won't spoil it for everyone. See the exhibition for yourself . Costumes, riddles, animation, silent black & white movies, special effects, Johnny Depp, Helena Bohemne Carter, prints, paintings, posters, figurines, sketches and drawings, models, props etc
Postscript : A year on after this exhibition had closed in Melbourne my YouTube video I uploaded was removed from YouTube by the ACMI due to copyright and I was given a first strike for copyright infringement notice from YouTube. Apologies to anyone who didn't get to see the video. This is not the first time one of my videos on YouTube was removed. I made a slideshow of a whole lot of photos I personally took at night of VIVID at The Royal Botanic Gardens a few years ago and that was removed due to the music I used in the background which was actually a exert of music from part of VIVID played by a live DJ from another VIVID venue. If anything I should be the one taking legal action against the organisation or individual who removed my slideshow of all the photos I took to create the video on YouTube - they are my photos don't I have the copyright to them? I spent quite a lot of my time creating that video. Such an ungreatful organisation or individual for not realising that I liked tbeir music so much I decided to use it in my slideshow and I didn't even use all of it. I am sure there are many others out there thst copied it - it was made ava ilable to the public via VIVID. I should be suing the organisation or individual for illegally removing my personal photos on YouTube. Apologies again to anyone who did not get to see all the photos I took in that slideshow removed. They are my copyright.
Onto my next stop by tram and walk @ Melbourne Central on La Trobe St where the Nestle Kit Kat Chocolatory is located and to seek out this imported new "Ruby" chocolate @ $5 a stick from Japan. Here you can create your own customised Kit Kat box using similar hardware and software as the Mcdonalds create a burger. It takes a lot longer then a McDonald's create a burger to make though, about 1.5 hours to make up your customised Kit Kat box. Also available off the shelf Kit Kat packs imported from Japan such as Matcha or the Australian version. I ended up purchasing 4 different packets of Kit Kats Hot Cross Bun, Matcha , Lamington and Berry Cheesecake. I really wanted the mixed fruit pack and another citrus limited edition flavoured Kit Kat pack but both were sold out along with the multi stick packs of Ruby chocolate.
Photos below but refer to my Facebook page for photos
https://www.facebook.com/dulcinea.lee/posts/10217384531225630
Finally onto my final stop of the day QV Markets nearby which closed at 3 pm on Saturdays but I still managed to grab some last minute barramundi and vegetables for dinner that night around 3.15pm. A walk back to Flinders Street before boarding a tram back down Spencer Street stopping at both Woolworths and Coles along the way for additional groceries. Sorry no good photos to post.
Back at Melbourne YHA time to retrieve my suitcase from the pay locker without incident this time round and check in. This is when I ran into trouble. I was originally allocated a 3 share female dorm room which I had booked online weeks in advance. Room # 111 but when I arrived the bottom bunks had already been taken so I was stuck with a top bunk which was ok as I was only staying for 1 night. I use my swipe card to open the door to the room but find I can't open the door as the 2 girls inside were blocking it with their suitcases so I had to wait until they let me in. They would not move and I had to step over them and all their stuff in the room to get to a spot I could dump my small wheelie bag in. I then wanted to leave the room after taking my jacket off and placing it on the top bunk but the girls were still blocking the door and I had to climb over them again and wait for them to allow me out. They were not in any hurry to leave the room and looked as if they had been there for hours. Problem was there were 3 girls in that room already with hardly a clear area to place my wheelie bag in. I went downstairs and reported this and was offered a private room #209 on the second floor. I went back up to the first floor and waited again to be allowed in to retrieve my wheelie bag and jacket. This really wasted my time. After settling in I went back donstairs to return the key to room # 111 and make dinner of tom yum noodles with seafood and vegetables purchased on my way back to the YHA.
Bedtime by 9 pm after blogging and packing.
Sunday morning first alarm goes off at 5 am I ignore it. Second alarm goes off at 6 am and it is time to slowly get up shower change clothes and have some breakfast before checking out after storing my luggage again in pay a locker. Done.
Now off to the Good Food and Wine Show for the day at the Melbourne Convention Centre.
I have a repurchased ticket and asked if there was a priority line for Citibank card holders. I arrived at around 9.30 am (the show is open from 10 am - 5 pm today). I am at the front of the line so was allowed in at 10 am (not tht there was much of a line this morning in the Citibank Priority Queue). Whilst in the line tickets were prescanned and we were offered a free Kitchenaid Culinary Academy course starting at 10.30 am ($35 value). Pretty cool as I own a kitchenaid but have not used it. We are making banana bread with a cinnamon maple butter cream and a green smoothie. I want a Kitchenaid convection/microwave oven - so cool how you can use both!
By 10.15 am I had already grabbed a hand full of freebies. A sample box of curries and some chocolates . I also sampled a few things too. I lined up near the front of the queue for Heston By Everdure first course chicken wings served in a bamboo cone but did not have time to eat them as I ran across to make it in time for the Kitchenaid class for which I was a little late for but caught up.
The class was fun despite a few technical glitches. beater not staying on - blender not switched on etc.... We get to pick up our banana bread we made in cooler bag and an apron for free! It takes about 40 minutes to cook the cake. Can't wait to see how it turned out and taste it!
TBC....
Now queuing up for approximately 30 minutes to get a sample of what is on offer at The Masterchef Holden Pop Up Experience. Watching former Masterchef contestants load the boot challenge whilst eating the savoury sampling dish . Yum!
Next back to The Kitchenaid Culinary Academy to pick up my banana bread and maple cinamon maple buttercream I made this morning - still hot in the cooler bag but ah oh I lift off the baking paper and the top of it is so burnt it has to be sliced off as it is inedible. Another technical malfunction. I didn't set up the temperature and time of the oven it was done for me and I could not hang around to watch it cook!
Baking disaster! lumpy butter cream and a burnt banana bread.
photos below .
Heston by Everdure 5 course menu for the day included 1st course Chipotle Chicken Wings @ 10.30 am followed by Chicken Slovaki and ending ith the final course of Apple Tartan with or hold the Smoked Icecream for dessert @ 3 pm.
Burnt Banana Bread with Lumpy Cinnamon Butter Cream @ The Kitchenaid Culinary Academy. Not happy Jan! Someone has sabotaged my baking reputation by cranking up the oven too high and leaving my loaf in too long! At least the Green Smoothie tasted good!
What was I actually eating ? Some very dry pork bits ? Looked good but didn't taste anywhere near as good as what Heston By Everdure produced. No one even wanted dessert @ the Masterchef Holden Pop Up Experience.
Onto more food sampling and a purchase of some Ashgrove Amaze Balls (crispy freeze dried cheese balls in havarti & chedder cheese with no artificial ingredients) , some alcohol watermelon martini and non alcohol pops elderflower & fruit (alcoholic pops are illegal to be sold commercially in NSW due to licencing laws hence the company can't do the Sydney Good Food & Wine Show), pick up my free wine glass courtesy of Citibank and discount passport, more wine tasting - red ice wine and alcohol pop followed by more sampling of food before heading back to Heston by Everdure and queuing up for the last course of the day dessert of smoked ice cream with apple tartan served at 3 pm. How about some cherry juice sampling in the mean time (which I thought was an alcoholic cider)?
Tired I did a few final rounds of the show collected some more free samples then left the show around 4.40 pm. Quite a few exhibitors had already packed up by now. I entered the main competition before exiting. Wait I had to grab one more Cadbury chocolate sample before I left. The trolleys were almost empty of them and it was down to one chocolate smple per person and no more help yourself to as many as you want which was the option when doors to the show opened to the public at 10 am this morning.
Back to the YHA to retrieve my wheelie bag out of the pay locker and get my pack it out of the fridge. Refill my Contigo with boiling water for my long train trip back to Sydney and recharge my phone to 100% as well. Final toliet stop before walking to Southern Cross Station for some dinner and try to upgrade from D46 economy to B22 first class at the NSW Trainlink office. Extra $21 ie the sale price difference between the 2 fares. Done!
7.50 pm now well on my way back to Sydney on the train. Good night. End of a very long weekend.
Monday morning 7.30 am the train arrival into Sydney Central Station. Still barely awake although I did manage to sleep as there was no one seated next to me all the way from Melbourne to Sydney so I could stretch out over 2 seats ( very rare this happens).
First stop toliet then recharge my Opal card. As soon as I arrive home I dump all my dirty clothes into the washing machine while I make breakfast for my father and then have a shower change my clothes and hang up my washing.
My sister drops by to visit my father as she thought that I was not back until Monday night 10 pm. She got it wrong it was 10 am. My brother was going to drop by after work too because my sister had told him that I was not back until Monday night. Chinese whispers!
It happens that my fathers friend invited him to her place for dinner so my brother did not have to come over to visit.
When my father left I went into the city to attend the SFF ( Sydney Film Festival) volunteers induction which was on between 6 pm and 8 pm although I was a little late and it ended at around 7.30 pm. It was on in Cinema 5 of the Events Cinema on George Street. I was amazed at the amount of people that signed up to volunteer for this event. The cinema was so full I had to sit on the steps along with quite a few others.
I am so excited to start volunteering for this event as a first timer however I did leave myself some time to see a series of films on a Sunday during the Sydney Film Festival.
Sydney Film Festival 6th - 17th June 2018 coinciding with VIVID 2018 ending on 16th June 2018
More about this later. My adventures never end!
Back to work again tomorrow and the rest of the week.
