One Day More!

Yes, it's just one day more (humming to the tune of "One Day More" in Les Miz, but this is one day more to my well-deserved holiday and not to the French Revolution :P)!  It seemed so far away when I first started planning for this trip, but now it feels so surreal as I'm leaving for Melbourne tomorrow.

Praise God for this holiday and making it possible for me to leave Singapore, without having to worry about my kids as they are in the good hands of my loving family.  Well, this is a lie, because a mother can never leave town on her own without a feeling of guilt!  :(

Not only has God fulfilled my heart's desire to watch Les Miz again, He has planned this trip to coincide with many other arts & crafts events in Melbourne, which I'll not be able to experience here in Singapore.

The one event that I'm really looking forward to is the Craft & Quilt Fair which is taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 26 - 29 June.  The best part is, the location is just behind where I'm lodging.  I've always seen awesome quilt fairs in the USA, Europe and Australia online and always looking forward to attending one.  However, there is almost a zero chance for Singapore to have a craft or quilt event of this nature.  Therefore, I will not give this a miss as I've never been to one.  Can't wait to see the awesome craft ideas and gorgeous quilts that will be on display at the show and attend workshops conducted by the experienced quilters!

In addition, I also found out that there will be a world premiere of DreamWorks Animation at the Australian Centre of the Moving Image (ACMI), featuring many never-before-seen concept drawings, interviews, models and original artworks and interactive experiences.  This would be another great exhibition not to be missed!

Not forgetting many other famous contemporary art galleries that I will be visiting such as the National Gallery of Victoria, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and the Centre for Contemporary Photography.  What an arts-tronomy trip!

To remind myself that this trip is for real, here's a screenshot of my boarding pass!

Now, time to do some packing as I've not found the time to do so over the past week!

9 More Days!

Oh boy!  It's just 9 more days to my long awaited trip!  I've been too busy at work to update my travelling plans since the first blog post in February, but I've been religiously researching on cool places to visit and planning my itinerary.  I should say it's pretty much set by now, still subject to minor changes, weather dependent.

Here's how my 12-day itinerary looks like in a gist!

Day 1 (26 June)
- Departure to Melbourne on SQ237

Day 2 (27 June)

- Arrival in Melbourne

- Visit to Craft & Quilt Fair

- City Sightseeing, Dinner and Shopping

Day 3 (28 June)

- Breakfast and shopping at Queen Victoria Market

- Lunch and Shopping at The Rose St. Artists’ Market

- Shopping at Smith Street & Gertrude Street

- Shopping at The Lost Weekend Vintage Market 

- Dinner at Lygon Street

 
Day 4 (29 June) 

- Day trip to Dandenong Ranges

Day 5 (30 June)

- Visit to Museums (Hellenic Musuem/Chinese Museum/Old Treasury Building/Melbourne Museum)

- Visit to the Carlton Gardens

Day 6 (1 July)

- Day tour to Ballarat (Sovereign Hill and Wildlife Park)

Day 7 (2 July)

-  Visit to art galleries (Australian Centre for Contemporary Art/National Gallery of Victoria/The Ian Potter Centre/Australian Centre for the Moving Image/Centre for Contemporary Photography)

Day 8 (3 July)
- Visit to St Kilda Beach/Esplanade
- Visit to Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts
- Visit to Royal Botanic Gardens 
- Visit to Shrine of Remembrance    
- Sightseeing at Docklands
- Shopping and dinner at Harbourtown 

Day 9 (4 July)
- Day tour to Puffing Billy, Yarra Valley and Healesville Sanctuary

Day 10 (5 July)

-  Shopping and lunch at Northern Regards Artisan Market 
-  Les Miserables Musical 
-  Shopping and dinner at city laneways

 Day 11 (6 July)
- Shopping and lunch at St Kilda Esplanade Market 
- Shopping at The Arts Centre Sunday Market 
- Departure to Singapore on SQ208 

Day 12 (7 July)
- Arrival in Singapore 

So exciting huh?  The priority of this trip focuses on the arts and crafts and I've tried my best to slot in visits to art galleries, museums and craft markets/fairs to the best of my ability.  And not forgetting the long awaited Les Miserables Musical!  I just can't wait to come face to face with my favourite musical again, after a long wait of 20 years!

In addition, I'll be catching up with my old friend Hwee, whom I've not met for more than 8 years, after she moved to Melbourne.  We are going to spend a few fun days of chatting, shopping and good coffee and food together!