Saturday 24 January 2015

The Big Wheel, Moor's Head, Amanda Palmer

School goes back on Thursday.  We have been enjoying the summer holidays but I need a break.  Yesterday was a crazy day.  We had a big day out at the park, doing craft, riding the big wheel, eating churros, my first visit to Costco, dropping Sylvia off for a sleepover, dinner at the Moor's Head and finally an Amanda Palmer book reading. 

We took the train to the city and met my sister and nephew at Birrung Marr so Sylvia could have a play at the park with Dash.  The climbing frame was very popular.

Then my sister found that there was a kid's craft tent nearby where children could make little boats to float in the wading pool.  So that's what you do with all your leftover corks!

Sylvia and Dash had a lovely time.  It was really nice to be able to do craft outdoors.

Then we headed off for the tram to meet up with more family and leave Chris to head off to meet up with friends.  We were sad to say goodbye.  It's been lovely to have her visiting from Ireland and Sylvia says she will miss Chris's makeup.

On the way to the tram we passed the fun circular bookshelves in the foyer of the NGV Ian Potter Gallery.  (If you have an eye for detail you might notice Sylvia has on a different dress.  This photo is from when we saw Arriety at ACMI Cinema.  Fantastic movie.)  We could have spent lots of time at the bookshelves but the Big Wheel beckoned.

So I took Sylvia and Dash on the tram to Docklands.  This is a very new part of Melbourne's city where I rarely go.  We walked along the avenues of shops and stopped to stare in fascination at the snake handler giving children a snake to drape over their shoulders for a photo opportunity.

We stopped at the food mall for sandwiches for lunch.  I had my favourite sandwich filling: avocado, tomato, lettuce and swiss cheese.  It was huge. 

Finally it was time for the Big Wheel.  Actually its proper name is the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel but I hardly hear that used and every time we pass it on the train we just call it the Big Wheel.  It goes so slowly that from a distance it doesn't seem to be moving.

It was my dad's Christmas present but he shared it with everyone.  So there were 2 adults and 8 children in our capsule.  These capsules are very echoey and with lots of kids it was really noisy.  The 30 minutes seemed to go really quickly with all the little dramas of who got the map, which window to look out and Maddy's warnings not to go near the door.

Of course we took lots of photos.  I really loved the photos at the top but we didn't seem to stay on top long.  The Big Wheel is on the more industrial side of Melbourne and was great to see city skylines as well as all the railways, docklands and freeways.  I would recommend the Eureka Tower viewing platform if you wanted to see more of the historic buildings, sports stadiums and the river.

Before long we were stepping out of our capsule.  We were glad it was moving so slowly because it does not stop for disembarking.  The kids all raced through the gift shop and out the exit without stopping to look at what I thought was a lego model of the wheel.  (I would have checked if I hadn't been keeping up!)

We then had some churros with chocolate at San Churro.  So yummy.  I was talking to my sister-in-law about nearby Costco.  Erica has a membership and offered to take me over to buy some maple syrup.  Which is how I found myself with 2 litres of the stuff in my bag.  I was so excited at how cheap it was that I forgot how heavy it was to carry home.  Oh well!  At least I didn't spend $817 like the person in front of us at the cash register.

Sylvia and I headed home to have a quick play before taking her out to her friend's place for a sleepover.  E and I were going out.

Firstly we had dinner at the Moor's Head in Thornbury.  We arrived at 6pm before our show.  The place was fairly empty but I heard a staff member say it was booked out later in the evening.  The Moor's Head was opened in 2011 by Joseph Abboud of Rumi.  They offer mainly "inauthentic pizzas", made in a Middle Eastern style, as well as dips, salads, and desserts.

I enjoyed reading the names of the pizzas: Omar Sharif, Shams of Tabriz, Beiruti and Fred the Deaf!  There is a choice of round or long Turkish-style with quite a few vegetarian options.   We started with drinks.  E ordered the Uludag Gazos, a Middle Eastern style lemonade.  I had a lovely sour cherry juice.

E ordered a meaty pizza so there was no sharing.  I had the Istanbuli pide (Turkish style long pizza with pumpkin, spinach, caramelised onion, tahini yoghurt, dukkah and parsley).  It was lovely with soft Turkish bread around the filling.  It was a lot for one person.  I think I would have preferred half the pizza with some salad.  Despite this, I am never going to complain about eating bread, seasoned pumpkin and tasty creamy sauce.

The main event was close by at the Thornbury Theatre.  We went to see a book reading by Amanda Palmer.  She has written a book called The Art of Asking, reflecting on her crowdfunding experience as a musician and how our reluctance to ask for help can paralyse our lives.

At the reading she spoke to local artists, Justin Heazlewood and Tom Dickins about their crowdfunding experiences. her husband Neil Gaiman read some sections of her book exploring their relationship, and she sang some songs accompanying herself on ukelele.  I think my favourite moment was when Amanda and Tom Dickins sang one of my favourite Glen Hansard songs, Falling Slowly.

When the gig ended, E wanted to get his copy of the book signed.  I was prepared to wait, despite being a little worried about hearing about Neil Gaiman doing an 8 hour book signing.  The queue for the signing snaked all around the ballroom.  After over half an hour and the queue had not moved, I was tired and went home, leaving E with some friends.  (I was sad I missed Neil Gaiman handing out brownie to people in the queue!)

This morning I woke up tired and achy.  (I got a sunburnt back at the Botanic Gardens on Thursday.)  Then I remembered I totally forgot about my dentist appointment yesterday.  I left a message at their dentist's surgery and will have to ring them again with another grovelling apology on Tuesday.  Meanwhile today has been more restful and hopefully we will get more quiet time over the Australia Day long weekend.

Moor's Head
774 High Street
Thornbury
Tel: 03 9484 0173
http://themoorshead.com/

15 comments:

  1. Glad you made it to Costco, the maple syrup is the cheapest I've seen anywhere for pure syrup! We haven't gone to the big wheel yet, though we have always followed it's history of not operating! I really like Neil Gaiman but I wouldn't have stayed long for a book signing, I prefer to go home and sleep :)

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    1. Thanks Veganopoulous - I've been wondering where I could get cheaper maple syrup - now I have so much I need to think about ideas for using it. If I hadn't been out all day I might have had more energy for staying longer but it was a long time to be on our feet at the gig - though I wish I had been there when Neil Gaiman handed out brownie to people in the queue

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  2. intriguing, did Amanda Palmer acknowledge that after raising a million bucks, she was asking local musicians to play for hugs? I hope she has some wisdom about it...

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    1. Thanks Cate - it didn't come up at the discussion but I would be interested to see if she discusses it in the book

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  3. After all this action, I can see why you need a break! It sounds like you have packed heaps into the school holidays (and how amazing to be entering another school year). We still haven't done the London Eye and the thought of battling queues and crowds puts me off, so it was nice to share your photos from the Melbourne equivalent. I love those circular bookshelves too.

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    1. Thanks Kari - we have had a lovely quiet day today which was what we all needed. I went on the London Eye years ago and loved how it gave such wonderful views of the Thames and the Houses of Parliament - it was a shame the Melbourne wheel wasn't around Southbank where views would be more interesting but I do like the industrial side of Melb too. I'd love a house big enough for these bookshelves - they were so cool and the kids loved playing in them

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  4. You certainly have crammed a lot into the summer holiday. Like you, I'm ready for my little guy to return to school. There comes a time when you just know you need to get back into the routine. I would love to experience going on that wheel xx

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    1. Thanks charlie - hard to believe school goes back in days - am needing to get back into that routine which will be shock to the system but we need to get back into a routine.

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  5. I keep forgetting things are different where you are... kids are just half way through the school year here and you're talking about kids going back after summer break ;p
    Love the Big Wheel! I would love to ride on something like that - it looks so very cool! Your pictures came out beautifully.
    And yay for inexpensive maple syrup!!!! I can't imagine what it cost out where you are. I found a hard enough time with the price difference just moving from Canada to the United States.

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    1. Thanks Kimmy - yes things are very different here because Christmas is the start of the summer holidays - the big wheel is actually quite peaceful in some ways as it glides but with the kids it was so noisy! And I love maple syrup but when a recipe calls for half a cup it seems so expensive

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  6. What a lovely day. The big wheel reminds me of the London Eye, great views. Love the look of the Turkish pizza, such a fun shape.

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    1. Thanks Katie - it was quite similar to the London Eye but they have built it in an area that is a little out of the way so I don't think it is as successful (though they also had trouble with safety problems which I think has put people off too).

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  7. Sounds like a fun weekend! I like the sound of your pide. Happy Australia Day!

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    1. Thanks Cakelaw - there is another Moor's Head which is in Elsternwick.

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  8. What a wonderful sounding day and just love that you capped it off with a thoughtful date night! Good for you two. xo Brooke

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