Food Glorious Food

It's been a while since I posted a pointless personal ramble here, and it has been requested that I provide some form of update (are you happy now Melo? :P) I haven't felt that any of my recent activities/dramas/sessions of stupidity have warranted being blogged about, but I think I have something which may capture your attention in both mental and tastebud states!

This weekend past was the Brisbane edition of the Good Food and Wine Show. Now, some of you may recall that this is the event for which I travel to Sydney for. Mister and I had a nice long weekend in Sydney in July for it this year, and we see no reason to miss out on the local version too. I must say, I was slightly apprehensive about going - we missed the Brisbane edition in 2009 because the 2008 edition was rather lacklustre and disappointing. Also, the 2010 Melbourne edition was rated poorly by my parents.




Nevertheless, tickets in hand and a queue spanning the entire Brisbane Convention Centre, we lined up for entry at 10am on Friday. The first issue of annoyance was upon attempt to collect our free show bags from the Info booth, just inside the entry door. It took us no more than 15 minutes to filter through to the front of the line and within that brief time, they'd already given away all of the free bags. Talk about poor planning. In fact, there were food and wine stalls who had very limited stocks of products, or had already run out of things by the time we'd made our way to see them - and this was only the first day of the show!! Whilst we were compensated with vouchers for free mini bottles of Oxford Landing wine, it certainly wasn't a balanced compensation. How unprofessional and disorganised. We, on the other hand, flounced around like old pro's, with our wine tasting glasses suspended from our necks by way of neoprene glass holders on lanyards. These are such a glorious invention which work well within the bounds of gravitational law - your glass is always at the vertical, no matter how much you sway.



My boasted aim of "in by 10 and half drunk by 10:30" wasn't far off the pace - the morning began with a short sharp knock back of a chilled Coffee Baileys, and on to the stalls we ventured. That hour of the morning was not going to be considered too early for tastings of roast lamb, duck legs, Chilean wine, coffee, sauces, chocolate, sake and umeshu, biscuits, cheese or fortified wines and spirits. In fact, that 10:30am rapidly tended towards noon. By this time, there was a strong need to sit down, rest the feet, have a cuppa and offload the haul of purchases. This called for a picnic in the underground carpark of the Convention Centre! My mother, in all her preparedness, had packed a flask of hot water, tea and coffee supplies, and some buttered pumpkin scones.

Round two was another two hours of tasting, drinking, fighting for stepping space amongst the idiots who bring young children in pushers and old dodder'ers with their Good Food shopping trolleys purchased as memorabilia merchandise.

Within the entry ticket price, we were reserved a seat at the celebrity theatre session for George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan. The show was entertaining and witty, and yet for the life of me, I really can't remember what foods were prepared on stage - obviously it was a highly memorable and informative session!!

I think by this time my tastings of moscato, chardonnay, pinot grigio, shiraz, merlot, muscat and many more varietals had sufficiently numbed my memory cells of a week of hell at my place of employment (of which there are only 14 more remaining, and four of those are holidays!) and had inspired me to remain as brainless as possible about anything else in the rest of the world that wasn't to my benefit on that day, in that state.

By the time we were Tom-Tom navigated out of the city and back to the confines of suburbia and domesticity, the belly was bulging and the pores were almost seeping. And nothing could have topped off a day of culinary delights like a bacon, egg and sauce sandwich for dinner!

Oh yeah, and if you need to know about other life events - my job is destined to end on 11 February; I had a job interview two weeks ago and haven't heard anything official about the result (though, if I continue to hold my breath for it, I'll end up looking like a Smurf!); My big birthday plans for 19 February are well underway; I'm still making my way though nearly every food stall and restaurant at Sunnybank's Market Square (it's like a not-so-little China!); Christmas is nearly here and I have no need to panic - the presents are roughly selected and the tree is ready to go up.

Balloonatics

Have you got any of those activities that you'd like to do, but just can't see yourself venturing out to achieve them? To me, hot air ballooning was one of them - it'd be nice to do, but not necessarily something I absolutely have to try before I kick the bucket.

So when the opportunity came along - by way of hand-me-down pre-paid vouchers - to take a flight in a 'loon, I of course took it.


My father and I took the flight (along with 20 other people and the pilot) crammed in to a wicker gondola somewhat reminiscent of a scene from the Indian rail system!

We started the morning being picked up from the foyer of the Radisson hotel at 05:15. As we bounced along in the back of the troopy to the Arundel industrial area for condition testing there was a faint sparkle of the sun rising over the coast. We launched a helium filled (normal party sized) balloon with a red light attached to it to track the breeze and atmospheric conditions. It was decided the location wasn't suitable for launch so off we headed to Helensvale.



A quick balloon test at the second site indicated favourable conditions. By 06:30 the insurance waivers had been signed, the balloon was inflated and we were all piling in to the basket. To be honest, I didn't even notice we'd left the ground until we were about two feet above it - it was a very gentle and gradual lift. I did however notice the heat generated from the four burners right above my head! It's claimed the air inside the balloon is around 120 degrees Celsius.

As we tracked south on our flight following the rail line we were greeted by several honks of the horn from the trains below. Apparently the drivers are known for their communications to the balloons above!



There was no great drama on the flight, nor anything to even suggest we could be unsafe at any time. The flight averaged around 5 knots speed and I believe the average elevation was 500ft. We did begin to drop close to some power lines and trees, but I think the perception of their proximity was worse than the reality.

The flight lasted 45 minutes and we landed in a rough cow paddock at Carrara. The cows at least didn't seem fazed by our presence! I had never really stopped to think how the pack up of the equipment would happen... the envelope (balloon) is flattened out and bundled at the top end, and then, utilising the assistance of all the people who had just taken part in the flight, loaded in to a huge cart and wheeled in to the back of a trailer.


We finished the morning back at the Radisson hotel with a champagne buffet breakfast and review of the photos which had been taken from the on-balloon camera. All up, a four hour adventure for something I'd probably never have treated myself to. But at least now I can say I've done it!

New adventures in old haunts

Whilst it's often nice to return to a familiar place for holidays, it's also nice to throw in some new adventures just to 'value add' to the experience.

I've just spent four days down in Sydney with the Mister for a bit of a get away, and a chance to participate in the annual Good Food and Wine Show.

The familiarity of wandering through Town Hall Station and QVB, over the foot bridge from the hotel to Darling Harbour was a comforting feeling. Like a flashback of something that never actually went away. The smell of the hotel foyer reminded me that there was a weekend of exploration (and inevitable expense) awaiting me. The sound of the car horns expressing their angst in having drivers desperately needing to uphold deadlines in their urgency to get to their next location made me even more aware that I had four whole days of freedom and pleasure awaiting me.

So, Friday was the flight down and the Food Show. There was a little drama on the flight - let me just say first up that a two hour delay in your departing flight at 7am is not an adventure worth having! And then the drama continued. About 20 minutes prior to landing, as the plane was well in to it's descent, I had a slight attack with my heart and then that horrid sensation of wanting to black out... some of you may remember that I had the same thing on a return flight from Tokyo last year, albeit the sensation actually resulted in me completely blacking out. So that was some excitement (and anxiety) for the morning. I really didn't expect it, I wasn't thinking about it at all, and I really didn't want it either!

We eventually made it to the Food Show at the Exhibition Centre on Darling Harbour. I've been attending the show now for about 6 or 7 years and thoroughly enjoy the chance to spend a day wandering between exhibition halls, sampling food and wine, and spinning stories to stall holders to try and score additional freebies! This year was, as is always, a success. Too much drunk, too much sampled and many free items packed in to our bags. By 4pm we were both knackered!

Saturday involved much city discovery, and consequently much shopping. The glory of the boutiques and finery of independent shops throughout historical arcades and malls is always an adventure. The afternoon allowed for indulgence in Sydney Harbour with wine and oysters overlooking the sun setting behind the Harbour Bridge.

Sunday was a first for me - in all the years I've lived in and visited Sydney, I have never taken the ferry out to Parramatta. The train ride was a common occurrence, but never the journey down the river. To visit the old streets of my work and many a lunch feast showed me just what the region had grown in to. The fact that the town was like a dead alive hole also let me see some of the finer points to the buildings and features around it.

Sunday night at the casino - just for a quite bite to eat and a flutter. I can't say I ever missed that place though! If you're not like a moth to a flame for poker machines, I really can't understand the attraction - though $14 steak sandwiches and chips are quite the deal!

Monday, the last day to shop and experience. A trip to Peters of Kensington is always in order, and should I return from a trip to Sydney without a pink bag, I don't believe I've done my holiday complete justice! The bad weather rolled in and the weather chilled. As Mister explained, it was the tears of Sydney farewelling us!

At least our flight home was on time (albeit feeling like it was hours past midnight and we'd been running around for all four days straight) and uneventful (other than my constant stressing about something going wrong again).

All in all, the weekend was full of firsts, lasts, news and olds.. what more could you really ask for?

Astrological Traits

Regardless of whether you're a believer in the powers of the zodiac, or the fortunes of astrology, we were all born in to a phase from which certain persons believe you will adopt personal traits and characteristics. Taking in to account the position of the planets, moons, sun and potentially even space junk, you will inherit your own unique personality under the umbrella of your sign.
I remember as a young child I took great interest in my zodiac sign, and as a teenager I further investigated the compatibility of my sign with those of my crushes throughout school. This resulted in a purchase many years ago of a large framed print detailing my sign. I think at the time I would have been too young to identify if the traits were accurate or not, however these days I often read the print which hangs in our powder room downstairs, and have a giggle at just how apt some of the statement are. Since I'm not able to copy down what the print says at this time (silly work interfering with life!) I decided to troll the net to see what various sites had to say about me.
I'm a water bearer - of the Aquarius astrological star sign if you like.


According to the wikipedia entry: In astrology, Aquarius is considered a "masculine", positive (extrovert) sign. So, there's my first characteristic - strength.


My web searching has told me that the traditional Aquarian traits are:

Friendly and humanitarian Honest and loyal Original and inventive Independent and intellectual

Unfortunately, on the dark side, the traits are:

Intractable and contrary Perverse and unpredictable Unemotional and detached

Whilst, in all honesty, I believe I can relate to much of that, it doesn't shine a particularly fine light on me, let alone the masses of population who also fall under this sign. A further search on other astrology sites concluded that:

'I KNOW' is the motto for Aquarius. You have an original and inventive mind and can take the long view. You also have a scientific or technological bent.

I accept that.

Original, independent, individualistic and freedom-loving, you can be rebellious and perverse if you do not handle these qualities well. Your strong likes and dislikes can make you seem stubborn and unyielding.

Fair call.

You have a charming disposition, a great love of life, and you are affectionate and social.
You are charming, gracious and easygoing. You have many artistic talents as well as the ability to express them.

You are strong and self-disciplined. Self-reliant, efficient, dignified and intense, you seldom act until you know what is right for you. Idealistic, probing and set in your ways, you are very trustworthy and you expect the same from others. You lack adaptability and the power to relax. A planner and strategist without equal, you have an all-or-nothing attitude that makes compromise difficult. Sexually you are strong, powerful and secretive; if you misdirect this drive you can become intensely jealous.

Yeah, OK... I think we get the message!