Melbourne 3000 JustLocal

Melbourne hotel prices soar 11 per cent

2011-09-13T17:06:00.001-07:00

On reading the following article I couldn’t help feeling this isn’t good news for Australian tourism and in particular for Australians wanting to travel within Australia. When I plan to travel and consider destinations, the first things I look at are the cost of travel and accommodation. If the cost to stay locally alone exceeds the cost of packaged overseas holidays, it really does make it hard to support Australia and thus fellow Australian workers. I think local hotels should be looking for ways to make it more cost effective to holiday in Australia rather than making it a less cost effective option for Australians.

Melbourne prices were up 11 per cent in the six months to June 2011 compared with a year earlier.... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with computer problems

Critical alert: Telephone call from scammer purporting to be from Service of Windows Operations James Stevenson. Issue: Illegal copy of Windows.

2011-08-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Only moments ago I received a call from a person called James Steveson who said they were from Service of Windows Operations a section of Microsoft. He informed me they had detected an illegal copy of Windows on my computers. He wanted me to go on my computer. My computers are legitimately licensed so I knew immediately the caller was a scammer.

I asked for his telephone number so I could call him back. He provided an address of 75 Ressdale Street but I was not able to obtain any further information and I’d be certain this information isn’t legitimate. By asking for the a number to call them back on this would provide an ability to trace the caller. The caller knows this so hung up.

I reported the information to Optus (my telephone service provider) but it requires three calls for them to take action. There does not appear to be anything in place to protect consumers so each consumer has to effectively look after their own interests.

In this case the caller appeared to be using the telephone directory information to contact me.

Should you receive any unsolicited call from overseas letting you know you have a problem on your computer it is almost certainly a scammer.

Please take care.

Kelvin Eldridge

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Zara opens in Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne

2011-06-16T05:28:00.001-07:00

We were walking past the Bourke Street mall and remembered Zara had opened so we decide to check it out. As you can see in the photo there was long queue outside. We decided to come back after we'd completed everything else.

On our return the queue was even longer, but I did notice it was moving quite well. We joined the queue. It took just under two minutes before we got in which I thought was quite good.

I'm not a particularly good clothes shopper, but I was interested in seeing the range Zara offered. We both thought the range of clothes was interesting. Looking at the men's clothing I had the feeling there was a European feeling with the clothes.

I also find our behaviour really interesting. People waiting in queues to check out the new store. In a week's time the queues will most likely be gone. But there is something fun about checking out new things.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

The European Bier Cafe Oktoberfest

2010-09-26T18:27:00.001-07:00

Melbourne's biggest Oktoberfest celebration is back! Due to popular demand we are running our famous Oktoberfest event EVERY Friday in October. (http://www.europeanbiercafe.com.au/#/news-events/4542408801)

Kelvin Eldridge

Melbourne shared bicycle scheme troubled

2010-08-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

I found the article "In a bid to save Melbourne's troubled bike share scheme" interesting as I've seen the popularity of bicycles in countries overseas. One thing I did notice is the areas overseas were very flat (such as Amsterdam) which is very conducive to cycling. Melbourne is quite a hilly city in comparison.

As I was watching the cyclists overseas the most they needed to exert themselves was to speed up for the bridges going over the canals and even then it didn't require much effort.

On Friday, my first visit to the city for some time, I noticed a rack of bicycles much like the bicycles I'd seen in Paris. By coincidence I read the article from The Age and thought I'd do some quick maths given the Melbourne Council is spending $5.5 million over the next four years with the scheme being run by the RACV.

It works out that since there is currently an average of 140 trips a day, each trip works out at a cost of $26.90.

With the free tram in Melbourne and those who use public transport most likely having some form of travel card, the market for shared bicycles in Melbourne may be somewhat limited. It will be interesting to see if usage picks up in the lovely warm Melbourne weather.

Kelvin Eldridge

Mobile speed camera locations in Melbourne for August 2010

2010-08-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of the Victorian government the following are the locations of mobile speed cameras in Melbourne for August 2010. As stated on the government site "Mobile cameras are installed in unmarked vehicles parked on the side of a road."

Queens Road, between Lakeside Drive and Albert Road
King Street, between Dudley Street and La Trobe Street

Kelvin Eldridge

DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) at Spencer Street

2010-05-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

It was a lovely day on Sunday so we decided to drive to the Heidelberg train station and catch the train into the city to check out the DFO at Spencer Street. The train fare on a Sunday is very good at $3.10. The trip was very relaxed.

Walking around the station reminds us of travelling. Since we hadn't been to the DFO at Spencer Street station before, it was like an adventure. Before checking out the stores we decided to have a bite to eat. I ordered the Tuna patty and my wife ordered the Cheese and Ham Croissant from Rojo Cafe . We also purchased a diet coke and they gave us two glasses. Unfortunately my knife wasn't clean and my glass had scum in it so the drink had to be thrown out.

As we strolled checking out the shops we found a number of items which interested us. I purchased a pair of jeans. I've lost weight and having gone from a size 38 to a 34 it felt good to have a pair of jeans that wasn't baggy and the best part is they only cost around $25. My wife bought some shirts. One was knocked down to $9. OK, a button fell off later, but that's easily fixed. Our best bargain was a 32cm glass lid for our wok at $12.98. Can't complain with that price.

With our shopping trip over it was back onto the train and back home. Overall a very pleasant adventure on a Sunday afternoon.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Crown parking prices change.

2010-03-22T04:13:00.000-07:00

I've always found the $6 parking at the Crown Casino to be very good. As long as you arrived between 9am and 5pm you could park for $6 and not worry about the time. In the last visit to the Crown I noticed the parking prices had changed. I took a photo so I could share it with others.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Tags: Crown Casino, Crown Hotel

YUM Cha

2010-02-11T22:37:00.000-08:00

I know next to nothing about the Chinese New Year, but since a friend and I intended to herald it by going to yum cha, I was all set to find out more, if only by imbibing the culture via food (one of my favourite pastimes).

The name yum cha supposedly means ‘drinking tea’ and the lovely jasmine tea that accompanied our meal bears this out. What I particularly enjoyed was seeing the endless array of food brought by on carts to tempt the eyes, nose and, finally, palate.

I tried about eight different dishes, but I truly lost count. My favourite was probably the barbecue pork bun followed closely by the prawn and seafood dumplings and the san chow boy. (I hope those spellings are right!) The tender, succulent pepper beef was also a highlight.

Fortunately, my friend was ‘in the know’ because I suspect you can kiss a lot of yum cha frogs before you find a good one. I’d go there for the pepper beef and some rice alone!

Anyway, as if the food ‘on tap’ wasn’t enough, while we were eating, we heard some strident, but musical drums beating by the door. We turned and there, in front of us, was a dragon! With struts, wags and a sense of purpose coloured by merriment, the dragon performed in a way that is almost indescribable, but left me—and everyone else—with a bemused but persistent smile.

If you have yet to try yum cha, I highly recommend it. Also, if this dragon was a small taste of what is to come on the weekend, I suggest you hie yourself down to Chinatown in Melbourne. It’ll be the place to be!

Chow (grin)

Renée Barber
... and this is My Melbourne

State Library of Victoria

2010-02-02T06:16:00.000-08:00

I don’t quite know what to say about the State Library of Victoria as I wasn’t there long enough to regale you with tales of its broad reference scope or the types of information available, but I can tell you that it is truly one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve seen in Melbourne (or anywhere for that matter).

Anyone who knows me will know that I love books. Feeling the sensation of all of those books (over a million?!) nestled on the lofty shelves of such a gorgeous building filled me with the warm and fuzzies.

While you cannot take any of the references out of the collection, that’s oddly comforting too because the books will probably elude the fate of many books: being dog-eared, written on or worse.

The thought of that honestly made me shudder! It also reminds me of a time when I was a primary school student at a Catholic school. I visited my Mom at work; she was a librarian in a public school. I remember saying (sotto voce) in a horrified voice, ‘Mom, they’ve written on the desks ...’

Her response was (paraphrased), ‘If you stay still long enough, they’ll write on you too!’

I don’t think any photo can truly capture that vaulted room—and certainly not the feel, quiet but for the unheard, but somehow felt collective whispers of all of those books … ideas just waiting to be uncovered by someone new—so I think you should definitely make the trip to experience it for yourself.

Before I close, I want to thank Kelvin Eldridge of JustLocal for helping me get out and experience more of Melbourne today. Thanks, mate!

I invite you all to see more of this beautiful city and perhaps revisit your old favourites. By doing so, the old is made new.

Warm Regards

Renée Barber
... and this is My Melbourne

Up, Up and Away in a Hot Air Balloon!

2010-01-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

I’ve wanted to go up in a hot air balloon for ages, at least five years, but probably as far back as I’d seen the colourful, gentle giants floating through the air. I can say with no exaggeration whatsoever that the experience was transcendental!

Me and a few complete strangers (laugh): I'm the only one doing the peace sign!

We were probably in the air for about an hour … We had to be at the Hilton on the Park at 5.15 am (!) and we were back in the van after the flight around 7.19 am. Between those two time points, we had the flight and also set up and put away the balloon. We had to help, but it was kinda fun.

Can you see the lady in the flame?

I had no idea that there was a massive flame overhead in the balloon, which every now and then would flame and give out a blast of magma-like air!

The flame overhead! Watch your eyebrows!

Thank goodness I had a hat on, although I expected to need it for the cold! The weather was actually quite mild. We were told that was because we simply went with the wind so there was no windchill factor.

Seeing the sights of Melbourne from above as you gently float through the air is something everyone should experience. In fact, there’s no way that I can amply describe this wonderful journey using ‘just’ words so I’ll stop typing and let my photos (some of the 335 I snapped in an hour, laugh!) do my talking for me!

Floating free, just a few balloons and me ...

Companion balloon and 'Lego' world

Melbourne Town ...

It's a day on and I still can't stop smiling. Do yourself a favour and book your ride on the winds today!

All for now from

Renée Barber
Your roving (high flying) Melbourne correspondent

Hit for Haiti

2010-01-17T01:02:00.000-08:00

The Hit for Haiti (mixed-)doubles (heck and sometimes triples!) match at Rod Laver Arena today at 2 pm was the brainchild of tennis legend Roger Federer, and I can wholeheartedly say it was an absolutely awesome experience. I mean really, it isn’t every day you’re treated to such a talented exhibition of players, especially on one court at one time!

The array of tennis royalty included:

• Roger Federer (of course);
• Rafael Nadal;
• Serena Williams;
• Sam Stosur;
• Lleyton Hewitt;
• Novak Djokovic;
• Kim Clijsters;
• Andy Roddick; and
• Bernard Tomic.

At an unbelievably inexpensive $10 per ticket, we were treated to the antics of Novak Djokovic in particular who had me and almost everyone else in stitches. Jim Courier, notable ranga, relished the seat of power as the chair umpire, but let the players run the show for the most part.

Rafa’s shoe tieing show was probably the hottest shot on court, but Roger’s usual cheeky charm kept everyone smiling too. It was also great to see Serena, Sam and Kim mixing it up with the boys. I love mixed doubles as it can only help improve the game as a whole. Plus, who wouldn’t like to get a chance to see if they could take on the male hot shots of the game? Go Serena!

OK, I must share one more pictures as this may well be the first time I've ever seen a triples match on any official court. I like!

On a more serious note, I am so proud of the Aussies (and honorary Aussies: me for one) who turned up in droves—about 15,000 people I believe—to support the people of Haiti during their time of need. I believe approximately $200,000 was raised on the day and for having a day’s notice, I reckon that’s pretty ace!

Donations can apparently be made at any ANZ branch and also via Partners in Health online at www.pih.org. Please give generously!

Until next time, warm regards from
Renée Barber
Your roving Melbourne correspondent

PS I wish I had captured a video of the great Mexican waves that swept through the entire stadium several times. Maybe next time!

Fitzroy Gardens

2010-01-11T03:07:00.000-08:00

As a newly fledged city dweller, I don’t have a garden, or even a balcony (more’s the pity), but that fact is giving me the impetus to visit some of Melbourne’s beautiful gardens. Last week, I had a wander through Carlton Gardens on the day I booked my first IMAX experience, but that’ll wait for another post as I want to share my experience in Fitzroy Gardens.

The bountiful array of flowers and the overall lovely design of Fitzroy Gardens is inspiring. Also notable were the sheer number of pathways and laneways and the absolutely stunning trees.

For many, the main drawcard of Fitzroy Gardens is Cook’s Cottage and also the Faeries Tree, but I unfortunately missed the last entry at Cook’s Cottage, 4.45 pm for the record so you don’t miss out, so I’ll have to return to see the inside of the cottage. If this photo is any indication of the delights inside, it'll be well worth a return trip.

But don't stop your exploration of the gardens with Cook's Cottage as I also recommend seeing the miniature Tudor Village. It was so detailed that I could almost hear the jostling crowds!

What I probably enjoyed most about my outing was stopping to commune with nature. While I didn't quite hug a tree, just touching the bark of this magnificent tree really renewed me:

It reminded me of the feeling of taking my shoes off in the Carlton Gardens and just walking through the grass. Too often, we're separate from nature and forget the pure joy of feeling the cool grass underneath our feet, the wind and sun on our skin or the delicate bouquet of a flower tickling our nose.

I hope I never forget ...

If you have any suggestions on lovely gardens for me to explore, please post here or email me directly on renee@risingstardesigns.com.au.

Until then, may you enjoy the peace that nature brings to the soul.

Renée

My Melbourne by Renée Barber

2010-01-06T23:43:00.000-08:00

Having just moved from the 'burbs to the city 'proper', I'm doing my best to drink in everything I love about Melbourne: the gorgeous buildings; the cosmopolitan outlook; the FOOD; the fashion (not that I don't prefer my trackies, but I like to look); the rich cultural mix; and so much more.

I'm taking the time to try to do all of the things I've wanted to do over the years, but haven't because of the lack of time, energy, money and/or transport. I've realised that although I do vaguely believe in reincarnation, just in case, we'll just say, 'You only live once!'

Last night I went to the Queen Vic Market at night for the first time. There was a real bazaar feel to it and, no, I don't mean bizarre! I loved the variety of foods, although I missed out on the Dutch pancakes and the churros because the lines were too long. I loved the handcrafted goods, especially the leather-enshrouded notebooks, paintings and trendy bags. And most of all, I just loved the vibe.

The weather was absolutely perfect, with a cool breeze that carried the beautiful infusion of music including Mista Savona into everyone’s ears. Seeing so many people swaying to the music and enjoying their food and conversations, I really just smiled and counted my blessings for being able to experience such a wonderful city.

OK, I’ll close for now, but stay tuned for more updates and if there’s a particular place you love and want me to experience and write about, feel free to email me on renee@risingstardesigns.com.au.