Christmas is Coming, 2016 .... Part Three

Hello lovely bloggers, 

I must say that I had the best Melbourne night last night. We do indeed live in the world's most liveable city.

First up, we attended  "The Age" newspaper's 2016 in review at The Peninsula at Docklands. 

We started with the yummiest canapes and delicious wine ...

And then the serious part of the evening began. It comprised a panel of some of Australia's most respected journalists reviewing the big stories of 2016.

It was a most interesting and enlightening evening.  When we came out, the night was still balmy and there was some great urban landscapes for me to take some pics of.

Then we trammed down to the Bourke Street Mall to see the iconic Myer Christmas windows.

"Excited children and their parents lined up in Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall to be among the first to get a glimpse of this year’s spectacular Christmas Windows, based on the new children’s book ‘One Christmas Eve’ by author Corinne Fenton and illustrator Marjorie Crosby-Fairall.

The book tells the story of Bella on Christmas Eve in 1968 when she visits her Grandparents in St Kilda for a typical Australian BBQ. Bella and her grandfather head to Luna Park and she is given the choice of one ride so she chooses the magical carousel. She jumps on the horse and lets her imagination take hold as she daydreams about the ‘Majestic Horse’ taking her high above the clouds over Melbourne and being greeted by Santa’s sleigh and his reindeers. Once the ride ends, Bella’s dream fades back to reality and she heads home with her grandfather. When Bella wakes on Christmas Day, she is delighted to unwrap a rocking horse that her Grandfather hand-carved for her to resemble the ‘Majestic Horse’ she rode on the carousel.

This year’s theme features 3D adaptions of some of Melbourne’s most iconic sites including Luna Park, The Palais Theatre and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Brought to life once again by the incredible John Kerr and the talented team at Stage ONE, this year’s windows feature over 10,000 festoon lights, 120 individual 55cm characters, 5,000 miniature figurines and took over 30 artisans 17,000 hours to create."

[Source:https://blog.myer.com.au/home-lifestyle/for-the-family/the-2016-myer-christmas-windows/]

Oh, they were so wonderful!

Afterwards, we went for a bit of a walk and I couldn't resist taking some pictures of the yummy chocolates in the Haigh's window.

Hey, this is my 120th post for the year - so I have met one of my big goals for 2016 - Yay!

Have a great day everyone, 

hugs, 

Lunchtime in Melbourne Docklands....

On Monday one of my authors and I went out for lunch at Melbourne Docklands.  Now, Docklands is just what its name suggests - it was originally the Docks for the Port of Melbourne but has now been decommissioned and rezoned and revamped.  It is now full of office and condo buildings and lots of great cafes and restaurants.  .

..and if you go exploring there are some hidden gems to be found, like this community park:

These garden beds are full of herbs and vegetable plants - not sure who looks after them, though.

There are lots of references to Docklands maritime heritage - like the sailboat full of flowers and the vast ship's anchor.

 There is also a little "amphitheatre" of a grassed area to enjoy and an urban sandpit for the children.

... and this is the gem of a cafe where we had lunch with the sun shining and the sky oh so blue!  It is called Caffe Bambino and the waiters are all gorgeous Italian men straight off the boat from Italy!  Needless to say, the lattes are excellent and the panini divine!

On the way back to the office we saw this anchor suspended in the sky....

 .... we crossed a bridge over an urban reed garden which reflected the Aboriginal heritage of the Wurundjeri people who used to care for Country before white man came:

I hope that you have enjoyed this walk around Docklands with me,

Have a great day everyone,

hugs,