40 years: 3RRR's exhibition

To celebrate 40 years of being in Melbourne 3RRR has a free exhibition and pop up bar going on at the State Library. The pop up bar is only on selected Fridays.

The 3RRR exhibition was rather interesting. Here they had some of the works from RMIT University a leading uni in radio and television. RMIT have their own student radio and TV channel where students can practice what they have learnt. It was good to be transported back  in time to where nightclubs and bars were more popular. I remembered those years at RMIT especially at the student union where I was helping with their weekly events. Their weekly events had beer for their members and then afterwards we would sit and enjoy that beer. It still happens to this day but not as much because of the move to a smaller space.

Then on selected Friday nights there was the pop up bar which was free entry. It was also a chance to let guest mingle with each other over wine and cocktails. There wasn't much in terms of snacks except for pretzels so I had brought my own and added in a $10 RRR cocktail which was vodka, ginger beer and mint. It was presented in a takeaway cup and it would have been nicer in one of their fancy glasses. But oh well- it had that hint of sweetness from the ginger beer and the refreshing taste of mint.

Other drinks were $4-$8.
The music at the pop up bar was electric and cool. It was the true spirit of RRR and people enjoyed
it.

Do go and see the exhibition in the State Library before they close on the 26th of Feburary.

Melbourne Day and Harbour Kitchen

Melbourne Day celebrations were on in Docklands and it was free for everyone to attend. Here it was a very sunny day and most of us either walked or took the free tram to Docklands.

It was really fun. There was the Sunday market and then there was the free cruises around the promenade which took about 20mins. I really enjoyed this, however I didn't really enjoy waiting in the long line. Here I learnt about Melbourne's extensive boating history which goes back to 1924. I also learnt that Victoria Promenade is all man made.

I also enjoyed the Sunday market and trying on all the different hats. This is the first time I have been to the Sunday market here in Docklands as it is not a regular market. Everytime I have been into the city this market is never on

There were many food trucks around, however I don't go to Docklands much and wanted to support a local business. So I went to Habour Kitchen a place that specialises in beer. Beer and boating and celebrations all go well together. I ordered a James Squire Pale Ale which tasted appley alongside wedges. I for one do not like to have beer just on its own and did not want to take it into the food truck area. Besides I did not know whether food from outside would be allowed here. So I paid $11 for my wedges which I expected a big bowl after seeing them in Journal.

Instead I got a small plate with chilli sauce. It was the sweet chilli sauce.

Sovereign Hill

Sovereign Hill is a tourist attraction which hosts a lot of Chinese and student groups. Whether it would be uni groups or school kids.

An old building

Scenery

An old sign

Entrance

At the goldfields

Inside the miner's cottage

Soaps

At the hat store

Inside a child's room

An old fireplace

At the candle shop

School in the 1850's

The place has been blogged about many times by uni students and by International student publications. We hadn't yet blogged about it so when a deal from Living Social came for $39 for one person we jumped at the chance. With that deal comes two days for the price of one and free coach from Ballarat station.

Normally it is about $52. The Blood on the Southern Cross attracts extra.

The coach ride to Sovereign Hill was great. Upon entering the coach we received a card saying free Cobb and Co ride and 10% off entry. We needed neither as there was lots of keep us occupied. I first saw them at the Archibald Prize as we were passing through and it was not far from the station. At the Family Hakwers market we tried the sausage roll.

Here there are many old buildings and we had fun exploring them all.  All the ladies in their costumes looked lovely and were very friendly. Most were willing to take pictures for everyone. In fact the lady at the candle place said that on really hot days she gets really hot in that costume, but they just have to cope as this is what they did in those days with no air conditioning.

Many of the buildings have no air conditioning except for the New York Bakery and cafes. The New York bakery was a good old place and I enjoyed tea there. The group of Chinese people enjoyed their scones and they took some away.

We also enjoyed sampling the sweets at the Brown bakers where there was a talk on how they were made. They were very warm. The sweets at various places at Sovereign Hill ranged from $1-$20, depending how much you bought. By the way most of the shops take cash only but there is an atm at the entrance.

The bowling was also fun and we enjoyed playing it.

The pan for gold was also a part of the experience and was enjoyable and so was the Chinese camp.

Do visit Sovereign Hill just for fun and do look out for Living Social and Scoopon deals for these

Australian Open and the Arena cafe

RNIS was invited by Study Melbourne
As part of Bupa's best blog competition for 2015

The Australian Open is on again this year and I had heaps of fun watching Kei Nishikori play as well as Raonic. They both won their matches. Raonic played Becker and beat him and Kei beat Steve Johnson. It was their third round matches.

The rules were explained clearly and there was a clear scoreboard. For challenges it is 3 per set per player and if it is a tiebreak then the players get an additional one each. A set has about 6-7 games and the first of six wins.

The fresh food sign

In Garden Square

Seating area

Free sausage

Cooking stage

Menu

We also had the chance to visit Garden Square and the Woolworhts pavilion. Here was so much fun and games that everyone can participate in. A ground pass is $54 in the first week but you can do so much in between matches and plus you'll get to see whoever and whichever matches you want. Now of course there is lines, but if you are in a hurry you could push in. There were huge queues on Hisense arena but luckily we prebooked seats to the Kei Nishikori match which was 2.5 hours long (they played four sets).

A café worth relaxing in is Arena.  It is just outside Hisense arena. Here they are a lovely bar as well as a restaurant and a lot of people ordered champagne and pizzas. They don't do pot of teas which is what I was hoping for for $4.10 and then I can have as much as I want. But I did order a really good looking pistachio mousse and green tea cake ($5 for a mini). The base was store bought but the mousse was lovely.

My cake

Cake display

The service was just ok. Not too attentive and not too friendly.