Our 24 hours in Melbourne were heaps fun. We did the very early flight over which gave us time to drop off bags at hotel in CBD, cruise the shops and lanes of Melbourne, grab a quick lunch and head off to the National Gallery of Victoria for the Salvador Dali exhibition before heading to the Espy for Rockwiz.
Lunch was a fine affair at the Toby Puttock/Jamie Oliver restaurant which trains disadvantaged and at-risk youths for careers in the hospitality industry. Our $15 lunch at the bar special was fantastic. An entree of thinly sliced porchetta was dressed with rocket and a simple lemon & oil dressing. The main course was a pasta dish: a rondelle filled with ricotta, spinach and mushroom and dressed with crisp sage leaves and burned butter. Just perfect. It was easy to double the price of the meal with a nice glass of red. We chose Yarra Valley wines, a pinot noir and a malbec (for comparison with our recent Argentina trip). Both were fabulous: the pinot noir a good lunch choice, not too big or too alcoholic; the malbec was leathery, chocolaty and berry-like but not overly so.
http://www.fifteen.net/restaurants/fifteenmelbourne/Pages/default.aspx
Salvador Dali. What can I say? This exhibition was so much more than melting clocks. I was overwhelmed by the depth of the information provided in each room of this huge exhibit. The technique and styles of Dali’s works were a real surprise for me. I particularly liked some of the film and photographic collaborations. This is a ‘must see’ exhibition. Go to Melbourne. See it!
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/dali/
A short tram ride to St Kilda took us to the Esplanade Hotel where we dined at the Espy Kitchen. We met the rest of our group there and proceeded to the line up for the Gershwin Room for the recording of the first two episodes of the new season. I won’t divulge who the guest musos are, but I will say that you are in for a treat when the series airs in October. We had one of our group ‘try out’ for the panel of Rockwizzers, and she did admirably well, but alas, was not selected for the finals…We thought you were a champ Katrina! Brian Nankervis (Don Dunstan look-a-like) was on fire and amazed us with his wit and organisation at wrangling the audience. Julia was funny as ever and had a great time with the audience and contestants. We had a few beers and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.Check out the site if you are not already a fan.
http://www.sbs.com.au/rockwiz/
We had a late night and an early flight back to Adelaide the next morning but I’d do it again!
Cheers for now!
MLT at Large 