(as you read this, I’m on my way to Sydney for my flight to Germany! I hope to update here or twitter while I’m away, but if not, or if I’m irregular, I will be back!)
I love conference dinners, especially when the venue is gorgeous, the people wonderful, and the food the best! Enter Crown Palladium to wrap up our conference.

Table setting, including our pre-dinner drinks!


The alternating menu
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Tagged as:
conference dinner,
Crown Casino
Now to share with you my little accommodation bargain – $65 per night, booked just at the right time – Hotel Ibis, Little Bourke St.

Comfy beds!
I understand the rack rate to be closer to $120 – I probably wouldn’t have paid that online having not seen it before, but it worked out well for the $65 (I never pay full price for my hotels!) but this little twin room suited us for our stay. And it was walking distance (past the strip clubs of King Street!) to the Crown conference venue/casino.
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hotel,
ibis,
melbourne
Okay. Here is my itinerary in yahoo weather widgets. Towards the end my packing dilemma will be revealed.

First stop, Vienna. Fly into Frankfurt Saturday with Malaysian Airlines, then hop straight onto an Air Berlin flight to Vienna. Were supposed to be meeting friends there, but they’ve pulled out… plans to date: apple strudel (for Rish), music, horses. For all locations, suggestions welcome. We probably won’t stay in Vienna the whole time we’re in Austria, likely to venture out a little :)
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Tagged as:
Austria,
canberra,
clothes,
Germany,
Malaysia,
packing,
weather

Fruit Salad, $5.50
While I’m on breakfasts, I had to eat something for brekkies while in Melbourne this week – and fortunately we stumbled across Blanc Cafe on King Street on the way to the conference venue.

I like the collectible teaspoons!
Melbourne, you really do know how to make coffee, don’t you? I don’t think i can have Canberra coffee for awhile now! Spoilt!
(Their raisin toast was also awesome!)
Tagged as:
blanc cafe,
breakfast,
melbourne

My favourite! Rice noodles with veges and tofu
I could eat this dish once a week and not get sick of it. In fact, I think it did that last winter! My’s Vietnamese at Cooleman Court is a short walk and even shorter drive from work (and now from my house) so I was very happy to drag the family there for dinner when they visited.
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Tagged as:
Cooleman Court,
My's Vietnamese,
Weston Creek

Reflections on Lake Burley Griffin
- Cream :: get on top
- Be with you :: always
- Pancakes :: cheesecake
- Believe :: skeptic
- 45 :: 54
- Eat :: drink
- Background :: music
- Pane :: pain
- Aim :: higher
- Collapse :: in a heap
(Week 382)
Tagged as:
canberra,
mutterings
(prepare yourselves for oodles of pics of my nephew, Liam!)

Mum, my sister Jennie and her son Liam came for a visit last weekend, to watch the Swans go down to the evil Bulldogs and to see me :p
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kids,
Liam,
swans
Arrived to check in for my trip to Melbourne just on closing time (for luggage, anyway, ALWAYS take a large suitcase to Melbourne, just in case I need the room!), so on a flight where there may have been one spare seat, it’s no surprise I got the aisle rather than requested window. I’m just glad I wasn’t in the dreaded middle seat!

Snack on QF815
Interesting choice of biscuit, but I was pleased it wasn’t chocolate, rued yet again that Qantas only serves red apples, and ate it up.
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Tagged as:
in-flight meals,
mobile check-in,
Qantas,
QF815,
QF826

I crunch over the frosty leaves on the way to work, deviating from the path to step on the ice. Bend down, take off a glove and touch the leaves. Snap a photo.
And move on.
Welcome to Winter, Canberra.
Tagged as:
frost