Thursday, June 07, 2007
MASSIVE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND #5
Yep - the weekend just keeps going!
To commerate the abolishon of slavery in Africa, Kate & I head into Trafalgar Square to join in Africa Day! The weather is cold and there is a continual sprinkling from the heavens, but the smiles and laughter and all round good vibes make up for the lack of sunshine.
In order to keep warm, we head into the crowd and join in the dancing with everyone else, and a lovely man offers to share his umbrella with us! Soon, the african legend Marion Makeba or 'Mama Africa' as she is fondly referred to, appears onstage. Wow - is she one amazing mama! Apparently she is over 80 years old and has retired, but has decided to make a special appearance! Her voice, grace and vitality are infectious and envelope the crowd.
Kel has just rung to say she is also there, and she knows we are too because she has just seen us on the huge tv screen smiling and dancing! Woohoo! We're on british telly! Soaking wet and looking like drowned rats.
For me, one litte old lady epitomised the african spirit - she was tiny and old and frail, and there she was dancing and grooving with the aid of her walking stick! You go girlfriend!!!
To commerate the abolishon of slavery in Africa, Kate & I head into Trafalgar Square to join in Africa Day! The weather is cold and there is a continual sprinkling from the heavens, but the smiles and laughter and all round good vibes make up for the lack of sunshine.
In order to keep warm, we head into the crowd and join in the dancing with everyone else, and a lovely man offers to share his umbrella with us! Soon, the african legend Marion Makeba or 'Mama Africa' as she is fondly referred to, appears onstage. Wow - is she one amazing mama! Apparently she is over 80 years old and has retired, but has decided to make a special appearance! Her voice, grace and vitality are infectious and envelope the crowd.
Kel has just rung to say she is also there, and she knows we are too because she has just seen us on the huge tv screen smiling and dancing! Woohoo! We're on british telly! Soaking wet and looking like drowned rats.
For me, one litte old lady epitomised the african spirit - she was tiny and old and frail, and there she was dancing and grooving with the aid of her walking stick! You go girlfriend!!!
MASSIVE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND #4
Lily Promises to cook breakfast!
Foolishly the night before, I told everyone that I was going to be making my fave breakfast - pancakes with bacon and maple syrup!
Well I wake up at Georges really early, cause whenever I've been drinking I can never sleep properly! In order for me to be able to function enough in my own kitchen, I and George head to a local cafe for some breakfast. Suitably fortified with bacon and eggs and numerous coffees, we head to my house to meet everyone else who has turned up for the fabulous breakfast I am yet to cook!
Kate has bought a boy she met, we have the lovely Meg and Kel, plus George too all crammed into my room awaiting a feast - which I must say I do indeed deliver - albeit at 3pm! The rest of the afternoon is spent with much hilarity and silliness until us girls then go out for a night at The Princess Alexander.
Foolishly the night before, I told everyone that I was going to be making my fave breakfast - pancakes with bacon and maple syrup!
Well I wake up at Georges really early, cause whenever I've been drinking I can never sleep properly! In order for me to be able to function enough in my own kitchen, I and George head to a local cafe for some breakfast. Suitably fortified with bacon and eggs and numerous coffees, we head to my house to meet everyone else who has turned up for the fabulous breakfast I am yet to cook!
Kate has bought a boy she met, we have the lovely Meg and Kel, plus George too all crammed into my room awaiting a feast - which I must say I do indeed deliver - albeit at 3pm! The rest of the afternoon is spent with much hilarity and silliness until us girls then go out for a night at The Princess Alexander.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
MASSIVE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND #3 - CUBA LIBRE
After returning from Richmond Park, Kate & I welcome the darling Meggean and Kel over.
Four girls fashioning themselves up for a night out is seriously unhealthy for a tidy room, in one hour, my tidy loft has been turned into a clothes bomb site! Shortly we are joined by George, who upon entering the room and seeing four stunning but slightly mad girls getting ready, tries to bail and offers to wait in the kitchen downstairs. We protest and hand him a glass of vodka to calm his nerves.
Our first stop for the evening is Cuba Libre in Angel Islington for jugs of Mojitos!!! Its more a bar/restaurant rather than somewhere to dance, but when you look fabulous and infectious beats mix with rum, well, like they say - its hard to keep a good girl down (or four!)
Meanwhile, George is bemusedly watching from the sidelines, and I am a little worried that I may have thrown him in at the deep end by inviting him to a trial by fire girls night out!
Well, the lovely George can hold his own, we are all about to find out, as he proceeds to offer to dance with me, and OH MY GOD - can this boy dance! I'm being dipped and whirled and whizzed, the assembled crowd are watching us and I feel like the sexiest girl in London town.
While I sit back and sip mojitos and wonder at my luck of having a boy that can actually salsa, George proceeds to whip and whizz the other girls all over the dancefloor. Needless to say, the girls all approve of George! I am still in shock - how naughty of him not to mention he can dance!
Mind you - he did drop me on the floor at one stage, and poor Meggean caught an elbow in the face from a by stander, but we girls will forgive anything from a boy that actually likes to dance!
MASSIVE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND! #2 - RICHMOND PARK
Kate arrives late Friday night for a weekend stay at my place, which has become her escape from the toffee-nosed tossers she is nannying for! Our mission, is to drive through London to the south to meet up with a friend of Kates, called Carlos, who is taking us for a day trip to Richmond Park! We feel all safari and special when we jump into his London Wildlife Trust 4WD and head off through the busy weekend traffic to the peace and serenity that is Richmond Park.
Upon arrival, we immedialtely see herds of deer just off the road, and I imagine it is at this point that Carlo wonders what he has got himself into when I proceed to scream and squeal in excitement like a four year old child! After a drive through the park, we grab our picnic and proceed to set off on a four hour walk.
Carlo is a wealth of information, and I keep badgering him as to what is that tree and is that a crow or a raven? The old gnarled and twisted oak trees are my favourite, looking like something out of a wild magic forrest that you can imagine at night time, come alive and eat unwary children! I am delighted when we come accross a gloriously handsome raven and have the opportunity to admire his splendour.
Upon arrival, we immedialtely see herds of deer just off the road, and I imagine it is at this point that Carlo wonders what he has got himself into when I proceed to scream and squeal in excitement like a four year old child! After a drive through the park, we grab our picnic and proceed to set off on a four hour walk.
Carlo is a wealth of information, and I keep badgering him as to what is that tree and is that a crow or a raven? The old gnarled and twisted oak trees are my favourite, looking like something out of a wild magic forrest that you can imagine at night time, come alive and eat unwary children! I am delighted when we come accross a gloriously handsome raven and have the opportunity to admire his splendour.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
MASSIVE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND! #1 CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW
Well, the weekend starts at 4:30pm, with a mad dash to Sloane Square for entry to the Chelsea Flower Show with Kel. We have only from 5-8pm to see the show and a strategic plan is implemeted in order for us to see everything we most want to.
Suffice to say, upon entering, with the massive crowds and utter excitement of being at the show, strategic plan is ditched in favour of mad dashes and tangential wanderings!
The show is a burst of colour and texture, with not ony gardens but amazing scuptures and garden products as well. All this only amplifies my lust for a garden and home of my own in which to potter and make beautiful!
The gardens are breath-takingly beautiful and true works of art. One can only admire the love and creativity that has inspired these horticultural artists!
At 8pm, with announcements that the show was closed, we were disappointed that we hadnt even had the time to see the floral arrangements section. So cheeky Lil, determined not to miss out, grabs Kel and we sneak into the Floral section to have a quick peek. This precipitates a new plan of action, whereby we run around madly, cheecking out all the bits we missed, deciding we will just keep wandering until someone kicks us out. The joy of this plan, is that we get to see everything without having to elbow and push ourselves to the front to see the exhibitions! Brilliant! So we end up seeing more in that last half hour than we did in the previous 1 and a half!
All the excitment and hype has indeed made us thirsty, so we head for a local Chelsea Pub on Kings Road for a well earned pint!
All the excitment and hype has indeed made us thirsty, so we head for a local Chelsea Pub on Kings Road for a well earned pint!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
GRASSE
Grasse is a village up in the hills and is famous for its perfumeries! The hills and constant sunshine allow for spectacular growth of flowers and herbs for making perfumes.
Well, Sonja and I werent missing out on going here! And yes, we did buy ourselves a few little treats!
We then visited a confisseire and learnt all about using flowers to make jam, liqueres and lollies. Best bit was that we got to taste it all too! I couldnt resist buying some rose petal jam and some voilet liquerer!
Well, Sonja and I werent missing out on going here! And yes, we did buy ourselves a few little treats!
We then visited a confisseire and learnt all about using flowers to make jam, liqueres and lollies. Best bit was that we got to taste it all too! I couldnt resist buying some rose petal jam and some voilet liquerer!
BORMES LES MIMOSA
Well, this gorgeous little village nestled on top of a hill overlooking the sea is my most favourite place in France so far! Exploring the tiny winding alleys which lead through all the houses, I was inspired to become a potter or painter or else fall in love with one and spend my days living in a cute little house, growing plants and making jam! It was just so peaceful and serene! Of course, we did visit in winter when it was quiet and apparently in summer it is jam packed with tourists, but then I kinda like the idea of a sleepy winter making cool things to sell and then a party summer with lots of visiting people! Sounds purrfect!
Sonja, the consumate bargain aquisitor professioniale, managed to acquire us the most stunning hotel room with the most ginormous bath you could imagine for some teeny tiny euros and we spent the two nights we stayed there dining at the hotels restuarant, all due to an incredibly charming and very cute french waiter!
Much to my delight, the menu was in french, so once again, Sonja with her trusty french dictionary, saves the day! Well, it took us over an hour to order, as we tried to decipher what everything was. Of course, Lily is meanwhile downing the delicious wine, and our table is becoming more and more uproarish! personally i thought it made complete sense, but sonja and mark thought it was the most hysterical thing ever when i tried to ask the waiter if they served any QUACK QUACK (accompanied by wagging of the arms)! The poor boy couldnt have look more surprised than if I had slapped him with a fish!
Mind you, he did try to explain that one of the ingrediants in a dish was "something from the sea" and proceeded to wiggle his fingers in front of his face! To this day all three of us still have no idea what it was!
Anyway, he became our waiter for the entire stay and we refused to be served by anyone else! And as we were leaving, he asked us when we were coming back! What a sweetie!
Sonja, the consumate bargain aquisitor professioniale, managed to acquire us the most stunning hotel room with the most ginormous bath you could imagine for some teeny tiny euros and we spent the two nights we stayed there dining at the hotels restuarant, all due to an incredibly charming and very cute french waiter!
Much to my delight, the menu was in french, so once again, Sonja with her trusty french dictionary, saves the day! Well, it took us over an hour to order, as we tried to decipher what everything was. Of course, Lily is meanwhile downing the delicious wine, and our table is becoming more and more uproarish! personally i thought it made complete sense, but sonja and mark thought it was the most hysterical thing ever when i tried to ask the waiter if they served any QUACK QUACK (accompanied by wagging of the arms)! The poor boy couldnt have look more surprised than if I had slapped him with a fish!
Mind you, he did try to explain that one of the ingrediants in a dish was "something from the sea" and proceeded to wiggle his fingers in front of his face! To this day all three of us still have no idea what it was!
Anyway, he became our waiter for the entire stay and we refused to be served by anyone else! And as we were leaving, he asked us when we were coming back! What a sweetie!
COTE DU AZUR - NICE
Highlight of Nice? Sonja Mark and I head to a fabulous little cafe for breakfast, and what do we both spy just outside? A street performer in an old fashioned marquis costume with not one but two cats that he performs with! With much eye rolling and a look of "Gee, do they have to stop and personall greet EVERY cat they come accross in France" look from Mark, Sonja and I promptly begin to fawn over and smooch the adorable darlings! You could tell from their coats that they were indeed old cats, and they possessed an air of nonchalance about the surrounding hustle and bustle that characterises Nice. Of course, how could we refuse when the performer asked us for money to feed the cats!
We proceed to spend the day strolling around Nice, oohing and ahhing over enchanting chocolate shops and fashions we could never afford when to our absoulte delight, we come accross the street performer with his cats, doing his show! There was some booming classical music accompanying his show, and watching the cats perform, and then having Sonja go up and have her hand shaken by the cat - well, it was all just so amazing and beautiful that I burst into tears. A surprised Sonja and Mark spy me crying and ask me whats wrong, "The cats, theyre so beautiful" I wail. "R...i...ght" they reply, obviously thinking who is this lunatic we seem to be travelling with!
We proceed to spend the day strolling around Nice, oohing and ahhing over enchanting chocolate shops and fashions we could never afford when to our absoulte delight, we come accross the street performer with his cats, doing his show! There was some booming classical music accompanying his show, and watching the cats perform, and then having Sonja go up and have her hand shaken by the cat - well, it was all just so amazing and beautiful that I burst into tears. A surprised Sonja and Mark spy me crying and ask me whats wrong, "The cats, theyre so beautiful" I wail. "R...i...ght" they reply, obviously thinking who is this lunatic we seem to be travelling with!
COTE DU AZUR - MONACO
Well, i have to say, the Cote du Azur is just beautiful. We start at Monaco and visit the aquarium there as my bro told me it was incredible. I saw baby sharks still wiggling around in their egg sacks! And a rare brown eel who was massive and fully grown when they caught him in 1968. I must say, he did look very old and grumpy, and I felt sorry for him being in captivity for so long. And there was a tank full of tiny tiny nemos!!! Poor Mark, i think Sonja and I embarassed him with our extremely loud squeals of "NEMOS!!!" and rushing like three year olds over to the tank! SIGH! I miss my tank so much! Since moving to london I have realised the three things I cant live without - cats, fish and plants!
We also drive the formula one circuit - which is actually the streets of Monaco, "IN YOUR FACE!!!", I say to all my fellow male gamers!
Next its a visit to the palace of the Prince - I tried my best to look fabulous in the hope he might spy me from his palace window and decide he desparatly needed me as his mistress! Actually, I did manage to make one of the guards laugh though! Hmmm - wonder how well THEY get paid? Only kidding - I am STILL waiting for my broke but sexy spainish artist to turn up. Actually, I am still waiting for ANYONE to turn up!
Well, Monaco is rich, you can feel it in the air. You can just tell that the clothes people are wearing cost a fortune, the cars are all flashy and the shops heartbreakingly divine!
Still, in my sexy black dress and audrey sunnies driving along the winding coast, I too felt a little of that Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief glamour!
BELATED GERMAN CHRISTMAS
I caught up with Sonja and Mark in Germany, which is just like a toy village. All the houses are the same and painted in pastel colours and everything is very neat and tidy! The Autobarn ROCKS! They have drive thru petrol stations, in fact, as far as I could tell the whole place just runs so well. Gotta love that German efficiency! Oh, so tell me, how come it takes three hours to check in and board at Stansted, and in Frankfurt, I was through customs, had my bags and was out the front door smoking a fag literally within 5 minutes! Oh, I also went to the loo in that time and noticed that they have recycled toilet paper too! Love the germans!
Which brings me to the idea that if any of you were thinking of the UK as being a first world country - disuade yourself of that thinking if you ever come to visit. It will only frustrate and infuriate you when you expect things to work, expect to go to emergency and receive something other than a panadol, expect that your stupid bank account can transfer cash back to australia and actually work when you go to the continent. Seriously - my bank gave me a card that didnt work outside the UK (this i found out after ringing them from germany asking why my card didnt work). Which I shall point out is right bloody next door to the continent, as opposed to my australian bank account which works in the continent! Anyway, so once you get it in your head that the UK is actually more a second world and stop expecting things to run smoothly and efficiently then life in the uk becomes an adventure of impossibilities. Someone let you go in front of them through the tube ticket barrier - wow!, you went to the post office to mail a parcel and there was only 20 people in front of you and you werent in there for an hour - amazing! someone smiled at you on the tube - impossible!!! Trust me, its a fight to the death just to get to your local deli, dodging people and bikes and more people, homeless asking for cash, dogs, drunken yobs, men leering at you (apparently I am quite gorgeous over here - all you aussie bastards take note! chick with white skin and freckles - means exotic over here!!) but its also exhilerating too! Such a mish mash of people from all cultures and lifestyles, jammed together and doing their thing! So much so, that its a rare thing to meet a real londoner - someone who was actually born and bred here!
Anyway I digress, so back to adventures with Sonja and MArk!
Sonja and her mother bridgette took me shopping to some massive autobarn style complex with EVERYTHING you could possibly imagine in it! Grocery Shopping heaven here we come! The best bit was me wandering around checking out all the foodstuffs you can get in Germany. I just love checking out supermarkets in foreign countries. And what do they have in copious amounts in germany at christmas time?? GINGERBREAD! Well I bought so much of the stuff, I needed and extra bag to get it home on the plane!
Off on the autobarn we go on a mission to the french alps! It was fabulous driving through the alps - just like being in gran turismo! I especially loved tthe tunnels that went through the mountains! We made our way to a gorgeous little village called Megeve up in the mountains. Squeals of delight - here we are in france in a snow covered village out of some fairy tale! With the christmas lights it looker ever so pretty! They even have horse and buggies to take you around the town! Mark and I were incredibly excited about going snowboarding the next day, ok I know my back was only just managing to get better but it was snowboarding were talking about here!
Should have known - later that night, just as I am about to step into a nice hot bath, the disc in my back goes again, and a concerned Sonja races in to the bathroom to find out why I am standing nude and screaming. The pain was breathtaking, quite literally it took my breath away. Every time I so much as thought of twitching a muscle, some unseen imp was stabbing a hot knife into my spine! Needless to say, I went to sleep that night with tears rolling down my cheeks!
In the morning, our first mission of the day is to find me an osteopath, that is after I get dressed. Mark, bless him, put on my shoes and socks for me! I wanted Sonja to marry him right then and there! To cut a long story short, the osteo cracks me this way and that, says I have an inflammed spine and guess what - no smowboarding! So its screw the snow - lets hit the beach!
WHAT I LURVE ABOUT LONDON BOYS
You have to love a cold climate where all the boys wear 3/4 length coats with scarves! Mmmmmmm.... YUMMY!
Friday, February 09, 2007
GESTATING
Travelling. Everything you read about and expect is that it is supposed t be the most amazing, boozy, making friends, shagging boys senseless and generally having the best ever time of your life. I wonder if that is only the bits that people remember? Do they remember all the times they felt lonely, frustrated and out of place?
You see, my experience of travelling at the moment (albeit I am stuck in London) has been one of total loss of sense of place and purpose. Frankly, I have been having a god awful time with myself these last couple of months. I am miserable, demotivated, hermetic and generally listless. And you knw what - its ok. I am holed up in mylittle loft room, slowly gestating, wondering, lots of sleeping and delving into who i am and what it is I really want and value in life. This takes time. And a lack of distraction. How bizarre that I am living in one of the most hectic, things happening cities in the world and it is here that I have chsen to take a sabbatical from life so to speak. (Wished I had planned it better and was on some tropical island somewhere though!)
In some ways, I feel like a monk who has chosen t live in a cave on some mountainside seeking enlightment. Sit with just yourself long enoough and you start to see yourself a little better. Whilst it can be incredibly awkward and frustrating to see aspects of yourself that are perhaps a little unpleasant, I am trying to place myself in the non judgmental position as observer.
I have been watching my brain and am amazed at how much it skitters and hithers here and there with total reckless abandon and lack of focus. How much time and energy it wastes churning over irrelevant and inconsequential things. There is a distinct lack of calmness to my thoughts and indeed my very being.
So I am going to cntinue to sit, observing myself in this dark place with a knowledge that this time is valuable and needed and that a tiny flicker of light will eventually slowly begin to burn and illuminate a new path for myself to take.
You see, my experience of travelling at the moment (albeit I am stuck in London) has been one of total loss of sense of place and purpose. Frankly, I have been having a god awful time with myself these last couple of months. I am miserable, demotivated, hermetic and generally listless. And you knw what - its ok. I am holed up in mylittle loft room, slowly gestating, wondering, lots of sleeping and delving into who i am and what it is I really want and value in life. This takes time. And a lack of distraction. How bizarre that I am living in one of the most hectic, things happening cities in the world and it is here that I have chsen to take a sabbatical from life so to speak. (Wished I had planned it better and was on some tropical island somewhere though!)
In some ways, I feel like a monk who has chosen t live in a cave on some mountainside seeking enlightment. Sit with just yourself long enoough and you start to see yourself a little better. Whilst it can be incredibly awkward and frustrating to see aspects of yourself that are perhaps a little unpleasant, I am trying to place myself in the non judgmental position as observer.
I have been watching my brain and am amazed at how much it skitters and hithers here and there with total reckless abandon and lack of focus. How much time and energy it wastes churning over irrelevant and inconsequential things. There is a distinct lack of calmness to my thoughts and indeed my very being.
So I am going to cntinue to sit, observing myself in this dark place with a knowledge that this time is valuable and needed and that a tiny flicker of light will eventually slowly begin to burn and illuminate a new path for myself to take.
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