Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Gingerbread Melbourne

Knowing how hard it is (for me at least) to create reasonably flat, well proportioned gingerbread shapes and stick them together so they don't slither and slide creating something more like a disaster zone than a stable building, I'm super impressed by this creative Gingerbread Village by Epicure in Melbourne this month.

Here's the real Melbourne Town Hall
and the gingerbread facsimile, complete with wreaths and snow. 
It'd be a bit of a shock to wake up and find snow in Melbourne, but you can always dream!
The Arts Centre from the back of Fed Square (Federation Square) looking across the Yarra River.
The gingerbread Arts Centre complete with spire - no seagulls wheeling above it thankfully! The MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) is in the background. The Christmas tree with star that you see at the bottom of the photo is in the next shot. 
without snow, thankfully!
and a close up of the MCG complete with the towering lights, spectators and players. 
A structural masterpiece!
I suspect this is Flinders Street Station, normally seen without the reindeer and Santa!
 Santa and an elf have come to life!  Taking a break to sample some gingerbread.
Playing hide and seek amongst the forest of plastic trees at Fed Square. It would have been a real challenge in gingerbread as it has fantastic angles. Flinders Street Station is the sandy coloured building with the dome in the background.
And for those dreaming of jingling bells, there's always the possibility of enjoying a horse and carriage ride. Just beware of the rhinoceros on a skateboard! (A clever advertising strategy reminding people that trams don't stop quickly or easily.)
Now, back to trying to make something presentable out of my own gingerbread disaster. The roof insists on slithering off...sigh.

I cheated this year, and bought a kit from the supermarket - Never again! Whilst the shapes are neat, it smells all wrong, it's sickly sweet and I suspect the flour is coloured rather than oozing ginger and cinnamon; it doesn't smell like Christmas. Smell is such an important sense, it seems a pity to shortchange it, don't you think? It's a bit like the plastic tree we resorted to a couple of years ago during the drought - ok, but not quite right.

Celebrations and smells. What does Christmas smell like to you?
.

12 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Sue .. great pictures and story .. both of Melbourne and of the Gingerbread scene - I'd love to be creativily (can't spell it!) .. clever .. make things look so wonderful - my fingers don't work that way!

Did you read my tea bag post - my Christmas smells are in there .. there's that special spicy - Mince pie, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding - aroma floating around .. delicious ..

Have a good Christmas and New Year .. and have fun and a very happy and successful 2012 .. cheers Hilary

Jan Morrison said...

Wonderful post! I love this madness. I've been making tiny felted worlds in teacups. Finished my last one yesterday. What possesses us?
have a wonderful Christmas....

Sue said...

Hilary, your skill is in bringing words to life and sharing your observations creatively! I loved your tea bag post,though some of those flavours were ... different! Not sure about the beetroot tea, but with some of the others the aromas were (in my mind at least) enticing.

Have a wonderful Christmas season Hilary. I remember my one and only Christmas in England (near Stratton Strawless - now I can't spell!) with family. It was crisply cold and still and the bells rang out (at midnight?) echoing around the village. It was magical and just as I'd dreamed.

Jan, gosh! have you posted a photo? must check! Life has been a tad hectic here so I haven't been out and about blogwise as much as I'd like.

What possesses us? Is it time to pause and absorb the wonder and magic, and hope for beauty and peace? Enjoy your Christmas season Jan, and some good wine with family and friends ;)

Ms. Becky said...

my Christmas currently smells like cinnamon and nutmeg from the oatmeal raisin cookies just out of the oven. I've never attempted a gingerbread house, but my sister sent me instructions for doing it - they're in a drawer somewhere. She had scrawled across the top of the paper - "you could do this!". It made me laugh. I've often wondered how it would be to not have Christmas in wintertime, but summer instead. how upside down that would seem! But the cheer is still there. wishing you the merriest of holidays Sue. take care now.

Sue said...

Becky, oatmeal raisin cookies with cinnamon and nutmeg - YUM!
Even though we have Christmas in summer many decorations include fake snow. It's like we dream of that even though most people have never experienced it. It'll be hot and humid here with thunderstorms later in the day. Varied to say the least!

fiziskandarz said...

supercool gingerbread melbourne! we saw some pastry store made some gingerbread house as part of their xmas deco no where near as interesting as this! so thanks for sharing :) happy new year to u + family :D

Sue said...

fiziskandarz, they are great aren't they! Thanks for visiting - have a fun, safe and photo filled 2012!

website designers adelaide said...

Hi Sue! One of the famous bakeshops in out town always put up a gingerbread display several weeks before Christmas. I always find time to spend around the decorations. I am dreaming of having the snow.

Sue said...

WDA, I don't think you're going to get much snow over in Adelaide, but it's not so far to the Vic snowfields! I love gingerbread - I wonder if I mentioned that? I'd probably even find time to come to Adelaide to see a display. Enjoy your Christmas - New Year break :) Hope you're having better weather than us.

Michelle said...

My sister had problems with her gingerbread this year slithering away too. It was the heat.

Sue said...

Hi Michelle, I contacted Epicure (who put the show on) and they offered the suggestion that if you add extra egg white to the icing mix it works better. Also the kit ones seem to be a bit of a disaster, my relos had the same problem with them too.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful creations! i love it.. I do not want to eat them LOL it will just destroy the well made creations of gingerbread. Nice one!
quality website design