Friday 30th November 2018 - A Final Work Related Weekend Trip To Melbourne

Thursday 29th November 2018 - Overnight XPT Sydney to Melbourne first class as no sleepers available - very full train! Departed on time for once @ 8.42 pm. Slept through the entire night so tired! Seat B52 was near the front of Car B not at the back as I previously blogged. Yep this seat reclined ok.

Friday 30th November 2018 - Arrived around 7.30 am - an almost on time arrival - since when did this train ever arrive on time or depart on time? First thing breakfast oh no the other Hungry Jacks above the station near the Woolworths is just as bad getting my order incorrect yet again! - I said no cheese and no sauce and a muffin instead of a bun - it was full of sauce and too late to go back to complain as I was already at the YHA Melbourne Central! I dumped my bag, checked in and had a shower. No need to use the pay locker this time round, I was able to check in really early and go straight to my private room on the second floor 208. The room overlooked a construction site being excavated and is pretty basic for what I paid for ie a double bed with a spare brown blanket and 2 rolled up towels. Home for just one night ie Friday. Unpacked and had a shower before making my way to the Myer AGM on Level 6 Mural Hall Bourke Street by taking the tram up Flinders Street and walking. (I should know how to get to Myer Bourke Street by now but still have not figured out the quickest way and have to ask locals for directions along the way!)

That was the longest most drawn out meeting! The Myer AGM started at 11 am and finishes at 12.30 pm usually
 ( registration opened at 10 am with refreshments served prior to meeting) on Friday morning and question time is still going on and it is now past 1.30 pm. So many unanswered questions! And again Solomon Lew was a no show at this year's Myer AGM. Instead Mr Leiber is again present asking questions on behalf of Premier Investments.
I stayed to listen to what Mr Leibler had to say again this year. Same old questions but they need to be addressed. Then comes the counter positive comments from another representative of shareholders  - a repeat of  last year's Myer AGM - de ja vu!

OK most shareholders are now exiting the hall now probably sick of question time and wanting some free lunch provided to shareholders of various salads and finger sandwiches.

I just could not stay any longer during question time after 1.30 pm - tired from my as announced "almost on time"  12 hour overnight XPT  train trip from Sydney to Melbourne in seat B52, hungry and sick of listening to the same old questions being asked about poor sales, when dividends will be reinstated and lack of profits as well as why the previous CEO was terminated and if the current chairman was involved in his termination and if there was a conflict of interest over his temporary employment as CEO etc etc... - I just switched off. ( except for the heckling shareholder who yelled out as comment catching the attention of the chairman who didn't quite hear the comment responding with a "PARDON?" and with no repeat of the comment from the heckling shareholder. (I am sure I know who the heckling shareholder was - it sounded very much like the very old shareholder who shook up question time a few AGM's ago with declaring how Myer was unable to pay its bills and therefore in serious trouble)

Had a bit of light lunch supplied to shareholders - there was certainly lots of salad and a few platters of finger sandwiches and tea.

Question time is still going........

OK almost 2 pm and the final crowd of die hard question time shareholders finally exit the Mural Hall along with some of the senior management staff and some of the board members.

Would love to have spoken personally to Mr Hounsell but he was busy still answering individual questions outside of question time from shareholders and he doesn't seem as approachable as the previous chairman.

Refer to my posting on Facebook in regards to some of the points bought up during this year's Myer AGM.

Sorry photos and videos of meeting prohibited ( although I saw someone clicking away at Powerpoint presentations throughout the AGM)

Meeting and lunch over it was time to take a look around Myer's Christmas Giftorium on Level 6 and "go spend some money" as suggested during the AGM.

So I found these chocolates custom made by Yarra Valley Chocolates ( refer to my previous blog on my visit to Yarra Valley Chocolates ) just for Myer in 24 flavours.  After trying countless flavours I selected and purchased 4 flavours to take back to Sydney with me. It is rare I purchase anything from Myer so spend money I did today although my $20 purchase will hardly change the bottom line of Myer's dismal financial situation! The CEO and other Myer board members may boast that they are decked out from head to toe in Myer apparel but they probably get huge staff discounts or even gifted items and do so not because they love it but probably feel obliged to wear Myer apparel as loyalty to the Myer brands.

So much for the $100 pair of sunglasses I purchased recently from a Myer store in Sydney where the lens fell out whilst I was cleaning it with a lens cloth! No discount there and I will not buy another pair from Myer again!

Onto the Myer Christmas windows. This year's windows are Alice In Wonderland themed and although draw crowds of people is not a point of difference apparently as I overheard someone mention there are not as many moving parts in the displays as there were in the past displays - due to budget cuts perhaps? Photos below

This oversized fluffy cat has to be my favourite from the display windows although he doesn't do much.

Photos of Myer Giftorium level 6  below

Myer Christmas Giftorium Level 6 - pick & mix 24 flavours & counting - this is what I spend my money on. The 4 flavours I chose were chai , salted pistashio, jelly and pop corn I think? all presented in a christmas bonbon of my choosing. Hope they survived the 2 days of 31+ degrees C temperatures in Melbourne & Sydney!

Onto The Big Design Market by #96 tram to stop # 11 Melbourne Exhibition Hall  a building near Carlton Gardens and next to Melbourne Museum (not to be confused with the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre where I will be tomorrow for the Cake Bake & Sweet Show).

Wow I was very impressed being my first visit to this event/venue in Melbourne and I didn't even mind paying the $2 entry fee. The Exhibition Hall building is amazing and there were so many stalls at this Big Design Market. Loved it but didn't buy anything (except a bottle of nail polish) as it is coming to Sydney in a week or so and I still have the Finders Keepers Market on Sunday in Sydney @ The Cutaway Barangaroo to visit once I get back to Sydney. Rating : 8/10 - Friday night is late night shopping in Melbourne and The Big Design Markets were open until 9 pm - I got a stamp to re enter after I left around 4 pm but was too tired to return later that night. I loved how all of the ground floor space is utilised with pop up foid and drink concessions located under archways, if the markets were held on the floors above in the galleries,  it would have been even more interesting to visit - logical layout very easy to see every single stall without missing any . It has been a long day for me and it is far from over!

photos below

A quick shop on the way back to the YHA at Coles & Woolworths, packing and a proper sleep in my private room ( yes a private room but still with a communial bathroom - only 1 night so I figured it would not matter) although not so easy as there was a rather loud party going on next door at one of the many bars and pubs around Melbourne city. Locked the windows and pulled the blind down blocking some of the noise out but not all of it.

Saturday 30th November 2018 - today is suppose to be a scorcher in Melbourne - great time to head to the beach but first I have to attend what I came down for ie the Cake Bake & Sweet Show @ the Melbourne Covention & Exhibition Centre. On at the same time was The Australian Tatoo Expo - don't laugh there was a huge queue to get tickets to attend this expo - no queue to get into The Cake Bake & Sweet Show.

OK attended between 10.30 am and 1 pm . Purchased a few things then left when I thought I had seen most things. Compared to Sydney's Cake Bake & Sweet Show last weekend it rated a bit better so am giving it a 7.5/10. A little stingy on the M & M bars given out upon exiting the show only 1 bar not 2 bars given out but then I am attending day 2 of the show in Melbourne not day 3 as I did in Sydney. I did request a stamp to reenter but was still tired and it was so hot I did not bother. Although only a week apart the Melbourne show had a Christmas theme to it whereas the Sydney show didn't.

Every man and his dog was there again selling their wares however there were some new products that were not at the Sydney show - photos below.

Ok Let me first talk about Melbourne show exclusives

1. Minniesweets. What are mochis? They are a traditional Asian sticky rice cake in various versions ( usually with a sweet filling of some type) . Modern versions of mochis may contain a filling of strawberry jam, various flavours of custard, chocolate or even various flavours of ice cream. Common modern flavours are matcha, mocha, chocolate, vanilla custard, honeydew melon, mango & strawberry jam. Tradtional mochi filling flavours are lotus paste , red bean paste  black bean paste white bean paste and various tea flavours including matcha ( green tea) paste. Chinese versions of mochi are sometimes rolled in coconut and tend to be not as delicate and thicker and more chewy.

Below are examples of traditional mochis hand made made by Minnie using tradional fillings. I purchased the middle sample 4 pack for $15 to take back to Sydney with me - no sharing all mine! Did they survive the overnight train trip back to Sydney? - yes they sure did without refrigeration however the recommended shelf life is only about 3 days. So as soon as I got home on Sunday morning I ate my first 2 of 4 mochis purchased - the brown one  and the green one which both tasted like green tea or matcha - no the brown one was not chocolate although it looked like a cocoa dusted chocolate truffle ball. Not bad considering I hate any type of bean paste except for chocolate! 2 down 2 to go later. Rating 8/10. So how did this mochi compare to the ones I am used to in Sydney - well it is not chocolate or vanilla flavoured but worth trying. Quite delicate and smooth except for the green paste one. A nice dessert without loads of sugar. Can't wait to try the yuzu and passionfruit (my favourite flavours) and compare the matcha. Who knows flavoured mochis could be the new macaroon trend!

Do not mistaken the above mochis as pre coloured/moulded fondant, gum paste or marzipan.

2. Little Bumble Bees Wax Wraps - every man and his dog are making them these days and yes they are great however I found a company at the Melbourne show that has gone just one step further which I thought was a very simple but brilliant idea that I just had to purchase one to take back to Sydney with me - refer photos below. That's right customised wax wrap labels. Since cheese is the most common label I would use I purchased this one. These labels are perfect for glass and ceramic jars and identifying what is wrapped up in your bees wrap wax as you can't see whats inside them once wrapped therefore eliminating the need to use stinky back markers or  sticky labels you have to soak off. Unsuitable on plastics. Rating 9/10

3. The Ultimate Yoghurt By Danone - I tried the chocolate/orange & the caramel both very yummy. This stand came complete with a relaxation garden where you could sit and sample one of 3 dessert flavoured yoghurts. Rating 7.5/10 available at Coles.

4. Made Locally a unique stall where everything is made locally. There were a lot of cute knitted items eg cakes, donuts, fruit and veg etc and a range of tea towels depicting maps of Melbourne on them. Rating : 9/10 great quirky gifts

5. Pielicious - Although I have never heard of this in Melbourne they sure have a point of difference. Their hot pies sold out by noon so I had to purchase a cold takeaway chicken and vegetable pie. Although they sold huge chunks of chocolate honeycomb and the biggest chocolate  coconut covered marshmallow snowballs, I wasn't interested in their sweet products but in their unique savoury pies - eg macaroni and cheese. Each pie had a perfectly edged pie top crust which was a little similar to a French pie pastry. The filling in the pies were to die for - not commercial mince and a few frozen vegetable pieces mixed  in a googey gravy but very home style with as they say on Masterchef " bags of flavour' and big chunks of chicken with recognisable pieces of vegetables held together in a nice gravy for example. Yummy! Rating 8/10 - should have purchased 2 pies!

photos below

Then there were the repeats - Jalna yoghurt & YoEasy, the Cake Decorating Theatre with Katherine Sabbeth making her Norwak cake, Greens Microwavable cake mixes, The Loyal Art of Cake Competition, Le Cordon Bleu chocolate masterclasses, Make & Take workshops, Healthy Baking ,  the Sugar Lab theatre with celebrity pastry chefs and many other baking suppliers and dessert vendors. I did not spot a Woll stand or a Kitchenaid stand though which were both present at the Sydney show.

Photos below

Entrance to the Cake Bake & Sweet Show - no long queues this year 

Greens Microwave Cakes

Katherine Sabbeth at The Cake Decorating Stage

Do these heels look familiar from the Sydney show?

I'm pretty sure Berry Fresh was also at the Sydney show

Make & Take classes.

other workshops & demonstrations....

More yoghart on offer both were at the Sydney show

There were the chocolates....

The strawberries, rasberries, cherries, blueberries, figs and mangos....

The olive oils even......

The cakes, pastries and other sweet desserts.....

The gingerbread......

The packaging & cake decorating supplies ......

The chocolate masterclass....

poor Rudolf has lost his antler but he still won first prize.

Entries in the Loyal Art of Cake Competition

It is just too hot outside so I am back at the YHA Melbourne Central cooling off in the dining area. I put my cold chicken and vegetable pie (they had run out of hot ones by noon at the show) I purchased at the show in the fridge to be warmed up and eaten later on the train. I recharged my phone and tried to catch up on my blog before trying to head out on the #96 tram to St Kilda Beach.

In 31 degree C heat I managed to take a walk down Acland Street passing countless cake shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs and takeouts even buying some fruit and snacks from the local Woolworths after finding Coles did not have any. I then walked down the lane past Luna Park to the beach where I sat along with every man and his dog to eat my sandwich and soak up some much needed vitamin D! The sand was blowing everywhere and I really wanted to take off my shoes and jump into the ocean but knew if I did I would not be able to have a shower and didn't want any more  sand in my bags.

photos below

The famous Luna Park  but not as famous as Luna Park in Sydney!

St Kilda Beach - every man and his dog was there where the beach is just one long coast line where you can see Port Melbourne and The Spirit of Tasmania docked there in the distant

Acland Street- a mall where the # 96 tram terminates at the end of the line -  full of vegan and vegetarian cafes, bars and pubs and a collection of shops but known for its array of traditional cake shops (which I exercised restraint of purchasing any treats from)  like the ones above.

It was a long hot walk and wait for the next tram back to Melbourne Central YHA. Back at the YHA I retrieve my prepaid day locker hire ( prepaid for the entire day as the machine would not accept credit or debit card)

Once I returned it was a final recharge of my phone pack and fill my bottle with water and heat my pie up before walking to Southern Cross station to wait for the overnight XPT train Melbourne to Sydney scheduled to depart at 7.50 pm. I had packed some snacks but forgot I didn't need any as I was travelling back to Sydney in a sleeper Car A 29 and snacks continential breakfast towel toiletries and shower facilities are all included - yes a sleeper although it was only available travelling in the opposite direction - who cares it is a bottom bunk sleeper!

So tired my cabin mate and I pulled the bunks down as soon as we departed Melbourne- instructions given by a train officer but what no help? we had to DIY! So we hatched a plan to put our bulky wheelie bags in the rather large luggage racks at the end of first class car B then pulled the beds down and tucked our stuff under my bunk or above in the little cubby holes. There was a wardrobe each but they could hardly fit a jacket in it so we used it to stash our complimentary packets of snacks and tolietry packs we received whilst the train was moving and we were pulling our bunks down and securing them into position.

Now all settled in and tickets checked we didn't order a hot meal but each ordered a very light breakfast also complimentary - she ordered just a black tea and I ordered a black tea and vegemite on toast - long gone are the days where a full hot breakfast was delivered to your sleeper cabin. Continental breakfast now served only. I think we both had a good sleep although we were both woken up by the guys in the next cabin in front of us munching on pop corn laughing loudly and watching movies without headphones. We complained and were able to get back to sleep. I wasn't sure whether to have a shower as I had enough trouble flushing the toilet next to our cabin. What happens if the water doesn't come out and I still have soap on me. I risked it and woke up at 5.30 am to have a shower. A little squishy and short but it was a shower. I even took my bottle of water with me to brush my teeth as the tap water in the bathroom was not for drinking. When my cabin mate woke up I had to warn her that the bathroom was wet because I had a shower. No one else dared to have a shower but they sure used the toliet a lot!Because I was having so much trouble flushing the toliet I decided to use the first class toliet which is much easier to flush. Breakfast is delivered and we were unsure where to dispose of all our rubbish. Our bin in the cabin was full already with our other rubbish. We did receive help with putting the top bunk back up but decided to leave the bottom bunk down to sit on. Very firm mattress. Rating :  7/10 It maybe an early 1980's XPT but still worth booking a sleeper as an experience on a long haul train trip. Remember no wifi no power points except a power point for shavers only in sleeper cabins. Signal not too good either due to mesh between safety glass windows instead of tempered glass. Walk to buffet is a distance in car C from car A.

photos attached of sleeper cabins

This is what a sleeper cabin in Car A looks like - daysitter during the day, top a nd bottom bunks at night. snacks towels toiletry packs and a continential breakfast delivered to your cabin. Shared shower & toilet in between 2 cabins. 

The ever changing scenery from the train

Sunday 1st December 2018 - The train was 65 minutes late arriving into Sydney due to a refuelling issue at Southern Cross and trackwork. Just as well I m not in a hurry to arrive home on Sunday!

Caught the train then the M40 from Townhall home. A quick rest and rechrge and change of clothes and bag then back out to the Finders Keepers Market @ The Cutaway Barangaroo. $5 entry fee means it is more expensive then the Big Design Market which was only $2. Some stalls overlapped at both markets. Rating 6/10 Same stalls every year more expensive entry fee. Big Design Market probably better value and a little more interesting to visit if you don't mind travelling out of the city to get to. Due to the massive amount of construction and redevelopment going on around Millers Point Barangaroo Walsh Bay and Wynyard there are no bus stops near The Cutaway and it is quite a walk to Wynyard and Barangaroo ferry terminal or the closest bus stop. Did not go to the Melbourne Finders Keepers Market earlier in the year therefore could not compare. Bog Design Market next weekend in Sydney @ EQ. May not have time to go this year.

Photos and comments to follow

Work at Balmain tomorrow and for the next 6 days so not much time for attending events or blogging.


I just tried to upload a whole lot of photos but blogger crashed as it usually does so lost them all.  I now have to re uploading them all. This is a constant problem I am having with blogger so may consider stopping my blog and finding a new blogging site. It has been a great 3 years but constant loss of data and photos is beginning to frustrate me along with several functions such as multiple photo uploading and links not working, the site has become too outdated and slow for my liking.

For now this will be my final blog for 2018.

I wish all my readers around the world a safe Christmas & A Happy New Year!

If anyone out there has any blogging sites they can suggest, please feel free to write in comments. Thanks.