Ph(f)oto Friday: Autumn, Winter or Spring?

Saw this on my commute to work on an officially spring morning (September is suppose to be spring anyway). The weather is still somewhat like winter and red maple leaf just somehow reminded me of autumn.

Regardless, this little leaf made me smile - on a cold Melbourne morning ^^


Side note: Photo taken from a train, going in to Flinders Street Station on 3rd September 2013, 7.48 am, Tuesday.

Silvan: 2013 Tesselaar Tulip Festival

Silvan is a town in Victoria, Australia, about 40km east of Melbourne CBD. Silvan is new to me, I would not have heard of this town if not for Tesselaar Tulip Festival. From the festival's website, Dutch migrants, Cees and Johanna Tesselaar left the Netherlands in 1939 on their wedding day with a suitcase full of tulip builds. They set up their shop in Dandenong Ranges growing tulips and offically celebrated their first tulip festival in 1954. Thanks to them, I had a fairly near-ish travel to see tulip farm.

Just to clarify, this is not a very big farm or festival, so if you are thinking of Keukenhof, please abandon that thought! Grin. This year, Tesselaar Tulip Festival is held from 12th September to 8th October.

There were also some sculptures at the side of the tulip farm.

LOL - nah, this is not part of the sculptures, but a boot scraper :P

There's a different theme each week, we hopped on the tulip bandwagon on the first weekend - Turkish weekend. In conjunction to the Turkish week theme, there were belly dancing performances, sale of turkish art related knick knacks or carpets and Turkish food.



Not even an ounce of fat

Apple tea and Turkish coffee

Lamb kebab

Spinach & cheese Gozleme - fattening but yummy!

End with a dessert - baklava

Or two desserts - Mint choc chip and turkish delight ice cream :P

Here's some of the knick knacks, and a little on a fairy hollow section.

Side note: First (baby) step to learning swimming soon!

Multicultural events at Feds Square

 

So - what's the connection between Taiwan and Korea? Grin - just simply because both are one of the many multicultural events here in Melbourne, and they were back to back, a week after another.

Taiwan Festival was on 1st September and Korean Wave Festival was just a week after, on the 7th September of this year. Both were held in Federation Square.

Set up of both festival were fairly similar, there were some stalls introducing Taiwan and of course, culture related booths and food.

Taiwan



Taiwan

Korean - just in case you missed the Gangnam :P

To be honest, I was rather disappointed in both the festival. I was expecting it to be of a larger scale but unfortunately not. Even food stalls, there were just a couple of them. I didn't get anything as the queue was too long and I just couldn't be bothered getting in the crowd and lining up.
Perhaps I was just being too hopeful, but a couple of years back I went to a Korean Festival in Sydney and it was brilliant. I remembered watching Nanta performing on the stage too! I'm sorry Melbourne, but the one in Sydney were much better.


Side note: I think I need a new hobby

Ph(f)oto Friday: Tamarillo

Pardon the blurry photo, this is the only one I have. Don't know what was in my head at that time, that I didn't take another shot with the fruit nicely placed on my desk. Probably too eager to tuck in.

Despite the very subpar quality, I want to post this, to remind myself the name of this fruit. I have not seen or heard of this fruit prior and expressed great interest when my colleague brought this in on a fine Friday. The best part - it was from his very own Tamarillo tree.

I have linked up the wiki page above. Taste wise, I do find the fruit has some similarity towards tomato. I was told that to eat the fruit, technically you just cut it in half and scoop the flesh with a spoon. Some people eat it with some sugar sprinkled on the fruit.


Side note: I feel like I don't clock enough sleeping time! = ="

Happy Mid Autumn Festival

Durian mooncake from Little P. Happy Mid Autumn Festival to all ^^


Side note: Time to light some lanterns!

Ph(f)oto Friday: Australia on Collins

Australia on Collins is actually a shopping centre on Collins Street (hence the name on Collins), between Elizabeth Street and Swanston Street. Before I joined my colleague on daily runs (Fridays are free days), my manager would remind me to go out of the building, walk about as part of OH&S (Occupation Health & Safety). It did me good, especially when I first moved to Melbourne, as I get my bearings better. On one of my walks, I stumbled upon this floor art :)


Side note: Cravings for all sorts of food = ="

Onsen in Victoria

I have not been to Mornington Peninsula despite it being a popular day trip option from Melbourne. There were plans but just didn't materialise. The first time the plan just fell off, and the second time I was sick. Third time's a charm, so they said and it is probably true as I did make it to Mornington Peninsula this third time.

However it was also a day where my packing failed big time, don't know what's in my head at that time. So - three's a charm or bad things comes in three? Grin.

1. I planned to put on my contact lens and somehow forgotten, till I was at the train platform.
2. Forgot to bring my camera, so pictures were taken with phone camera
3. Failed to pack a pair of slippers despite I specifically asked my friend what to pack and she clearly stated that in her text, so I ended up barefooted from one pool to another. = ="

This little getaway was mainly to celebrate Little P's cousin's birthday. Mmmm, I was invited and in my attempt to be less anti-social and more so to grab any chance to see Victoria, I decided to tag along :P

Birthday girl opted for a group booking "Fresh Break" cost $90 per person, inclusive of a full day bathing in the pools complete with towel and robe hire, also 5 course lunch plus a dessert fruit platter and a drink of choice. The food was really good and I finished off with my current favourite - a long macchiato.

Corn fritters with praws

Chicken with sauce, served with rockets

Vietnamese style salad

Lamb with couscous

Salmon with Soba

Fruit platter served with chocolate

Here's another photo - strawberry with chocolate, just because it was yummy, one of the best pairing with chocolate :P

Just before you think I travelled all the way and just stuffed myself silly with food, we did try the hot springs. This is a different ball game from onsen in Japan - one does not stripped naked but goes into the pool with a swimmer/bather (whichever word you prefer). Also, you could take photographs if you want to but only on your own group of friends or family. I didnt, because I didn't want to carry my phone around, partly because there was no pocket on my robe and that I could just see myself dropping the phone into one of the pool.

After a very fulfilling lunch, we were brought to 'check-in', given a towel and robe, also a wrist band that act as a 'key' to the locker. When you hover the hot spring sign on the locker, it will open/close.

'Chip' behind the wrist band

Like I mentioned above, I didn't take photos of the exact hot spring location but here are a couple of photos on the surrounding area.

It was a good experience, there's nothing like hot spring on a winter day but I would much prefer it if its quieter and mm, a more serene feel. Ahh.. how I miss onsen in Japan :)


Side note: I can't stop eating during weekends = ="

Ph(f)oto Friday: Captain Crankypants

Tangelo and Lemon

One of my colleague, D was having a bad day and was grumpy. Colleague T was trying to 'stir' him and drew a grumpy face on his tangelo fruit. T said this tangelo face resembled D and called him Captain Crankypants.

Actually, prior to grumpy face on tangelo, there was another lemon with grumpy face. Grumpy-face-lemon was not in picture because D had the lemon before I took this picture. Maybe that was why he became even more grumpy :P

Despite the grumpy-face-tangelo, I find it cute, LOL.. so I drew a 'sticking tongue out' face on another lemon on D's workstation ^^


Side note: A tangelo is a cross between the grapefruit and the mandarin