Feist @ The Enmore (7 Feb 2012)

If it seems like all of my exciting adventures occur in Sydney, that’s probably because most of them do!

When I discovered that one of my favourite musicians would be performing in Sydney, I quickly and excitingly organised with friends to buy tickets – Feist is not a musician I’d be willing to miss.

Feist’s long awaited album Metals has been met with rave reviews, and as a big fan of her previous two albums I couldn’t wait to see what the performer would bring to the live event.

With a four piece band, including Feist’s incredible guitar playing, and three back-up singers, the extraordinarily transformed rock songs by Feist filled the Enmore Theatre to the excitement of hundreds of fans listening intently.

Feist’s melodic, angelic and sometimes banshee-like voice is often blended with soft and subdued accompaniment in studio recordings. However, the live events, as I’ve now learnt, provide an opportunity for Feist’s rock edge to really shine.

With an incredible mix of acoustic, electric and acapella, Feist and her band rocked out most, if not all, songs on her new album and many favourite with not one, but two encores.

Feist attacked each song with an undeniable energy and intensity, bringing an incredible amount of personality and talent to her performance, which was obviously enjoyed by each of her fans as met with roaring applauses.

After playing for almost two hours Feist finally said goodnight and therein ended one of the best live concerts I have ever seen. My respect and love for Feist as a musician and entertainer has grown considerably since and I’ll be sure to take any future opportunity to catch her again. Magic!

Click here to see one of my favourite songs: Feist: My Moon, My Man

Sydney NYE

Well I must say that NYE’11 was probably the most subdued I’ve ever had, which is not to say that it wasn’t just as spectacular as the last.

I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since NYE in London with my beautiful friends Sienna and Aleta, not to mention the gazillions of new friends I made the same night!

I probably don’t need to tell you that I like my NYE to be epic. Each year seems to be better than the last and although I’m sure it’s totally cliché, I absolutely live for it and look forward to bringing in the New Year, every year, with a bang!

I started the night with my good friend Taylor, with a few pre-drinks on his Darlinghurst apartment balcony, watching the glorious sun set on what turned out to be a beautiful clear afternoon.

Just in time to completely miss the 9pm fireworks, we arrived at another friend, Renée’s, apartment in Potts Point, which had an even more spectacular view – that of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House and of course, the world famous midnight fireworks.

At a relatively small party of around 15-20, we all boozed on as the spectacular bursts of light and colour breathtakingly illuminated the Sydney sky once again. The countdown on the bridge facilitated overwhelming mass chanting that, no doubt, could be heard across the entire city.

Of course, midnight by no means signals the end of a NYE party (nor any party for that matter), and we continued until the early hours of morn, as you do.

January 1 2012 was surprisingly easy. So much so I even went out at night again!

Side note: Sydney NYE fireworks are simply phenomenal and I thoroughly recommend the experience to everyone. However, the onlooking apartment balcony (if you should be so lucky) is probably a much better option than fighting the crowds down by the harbour’s edge.

Happy New Year my friends.

Harry Potter Exhibition

For one day only I made my way to ye old Sydney town to catch up with friends and explore the magical world of Harry Potter at the Powerhouse Museum exhibition.

Accompanying me was my dear friend and Harry Potter fanatic (you have no idea!), Michelle. It excited me to share this experience with her, although, unlike each of the film premiers Michelle did not dress as Harry Potter in support of the occasion.

After waiting in line for who knows how long, in between swarms of freckle-faced, runny nosed prepubescents, we were at last given entrance through the gates of Hogwarts, through the misty grounds and past the Hogwarts Express.

Interestingly, attending staff all had ‘English’ accents in what I assumed was an attempt to really bring the exhibition to life. A couple of them were quite good, if not somewhat annoying, where as others could only master the seemingly universal Disney accent = FAIL, although it gave Michelle and I something to giggle to and roll our eyes at.

Once finally past the attendees and free to roam the halls of Hogwarts we found joy in the amount of detail in the large number of props and sets that were on display throughout.

Costumes, wands, trinkets, horcruxes, snitches, witches hats and goblins were all showcased in glass boxes and in sets from each of the eight films, with a brief description of each piece provided on plaques.

Some interactivity was offered, but these areas were largely overrun with children and Michelle and I were somewhat disappointed no photography was allowed in the exhibition. Otherwise I definitely would have gotten a picture sitting in Dolores Umbridge’s pink themed office where the walls were lined with porcelain plates, each detailing pictures of different cats.

Somehow we’d run through the exhibition in just over half an hour, and when contemplating taking another look through we decided against it agreeing that once you’ve seen it – you’ve seen it!

The gift shop was almost as much fun as the exhibition. Although we had the opportunity to buy beautifully crafted replica wands (for $60 each), we agreed that everything was just a tad overpriced and Michelle suggested to just get a stick from the front garden and pretend that’s your wand instead!

It was a fun exhibition and great seeing certain probs etc. in real life, but not actually having the opportunity to hold probs, or enter sets detracted from the overall experience. When it comes down to it, if you’ve seen the films then really, you’ve seen the exhibition.

I am now looking forward to sharing my only gift shop purchase, a packet of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans ($5 … JK Rowling, aren’t you rich enough?), with my sister at Christmas. Mmm, earwax flavour … delish!

I’m Back!

After months of missing in action I’m back: bigger, brighter and bolder than before!

From July to November I completed my very final semester of university and I’m now fully prepped to graduate with a B Communication (PR). Look at me go. These harrowing past months of hard work tore me away from the blogosphere, as the drive to write creatively and diarise the happening of my everyday life was severely diminished by the overpowering force that is – the academic essay.

Good news: I never have to write another essay again! So I’m back with more gusto than ever and ready to share with you my journey and adventures, as I have done so brilliantly in times gone by (modesty? … Never heard of it).

Funnily enough it was one year ago today that I landed at London’s Heathrow Airport and began an adventure of a completely different kind.

However, with no funds for far away holidays I’m going to make do with what I’ve got. Which is fine by me because I love Australia, Newcastle and Sydney, and there’s plenty of fun to be had at my very doorstep. Please wipe your feet before entering …

Sydney Weekend

Last Wednesday evening I set off through the torrential rain of Newcastle along the Pacific Highway en rout to good old Sydney town, a not-too-far destination of friends, food and parties that I’m rarely awarded a visit due to my crowded schedule and lack of available funding.

Staying with my dear friend Michelle in Edgecliff on Wednesday and Thursday nights, the primary purpose of my visit with neither friends or food, or even parties. Rather, I had agreed to do a trial at Klick Communications, where I hoped to intern the coming semester.

With the previous hectic semester behind me (yes, I survived!) I begun looking to the future and decided not to waste my lovely seven-week break (jealous?) on sleep-ins or TV-show marathons and instead prepare myself for the wonderful world of working life, that I’ll be greeting head on in just a few measly months.

My day in the office was initially a shock, mainly to my head that was no longer used to the closed-in air-conditioned environment I’d previously worked in. Tasks of performing preliminary research, perusing magazines and running for coffee filled my day and before it knew it the working hours had passed and I’d completed my trial. Crap! How did that pass so quickly? And more Importantly, how had I performed?

Tired and starving I popped into Coles on the way back to Michelle’s to buy all the ingredients required for my world famous butternut pumpkin soup (I like to say that now because I’ve made it in three different continents, always with a welcoming reception). Michelle and her housemate Eric were all too pleased to have me make them a meal after finishing work late. And I was honestly also quite happy to be eating away from home for a change – even though the meal was still home-cooked!

I spent Friday and a large part of Saturday with my brother and sister-in-law-to-be at their apartment in Hillsdale, mainly watching movies and TV-shows. Opps, didn’t I warn myself against this? Eh. Their dog Lulu kept me warm with cuddles on the couch and I was happy to have canine companionship.

Saturday afternoon I set off once again, now travelling to me friend Jeremy’s apartment in Bondi. This, by the way, was the most trekking around I’d done since my overseas trip, and I was enjoying the small adventure. Jeremy and I enjoyed a late lunch at a small café overlooking Bondi beach and I was reminded of the beauty Sydney holds. Unfortunately it wasn’t long before the wind picked up and the sun’s heat started to die off. Thus, we made our way back to the apartment.

So, maybe I lied a little: one of the reasons I stayed in Sydney was to attend my friend Simon’s housewarming gathering in Alexandria, and a party with friends and food we had! We sat on the (somewhat freezing) balcony enjoying wine and conversations until the hour stuck to catch a cab into the city.

I am lead to believe we had a great time at ARQ and Nevermind, two night clubs in Darlinghurst, where I finally let my hair loose after many months resigned as a recluse in my study at home. I believe I recall Jeremy and I hi-fiving each other when realising we were still out at 5am. A large night we had planned, and a large night we had had!

Although only reaching a few of my Sydney friends during my visit, I had a wonderful time away from home, finally opening my study window to partake in the events of the winder world around me.

Oh yeah, and I later confirmed my internship at Klick! Starting mid-July I’ll be travelling to Sydney each week to experience the eventful world of PR … and I’m sure I’ll have many more stories to divulge.

Until then, I must prepare for my brother’s upcoming wedding in Thailand. Ah, life is a little bliss right now!

Getting My Groove Back – Not as Easy as it Sounds

So it’s been 44 days since I arrived in Sydney after a rather pleasant flight home from Los Angeles in a Quantas Airbus A380 (no faulty Rolls-Royce engines, thank goodness!).

The first two weeks back home were difficult to say the least. Not having a job to return to, and starting uni two weeks after arriving home made for some extremely boring, frustrating and anxiety-filled days. There were even a few times I drove to Charlestown Square (local shopping centre) twice within the day for no particular reason, probably still in the mindset of ease of everyday convenience awarded to me whilst staying in NYC.

I am still thrown into a state of nostalgia and sadness whenever someone asks of my holiday. I long to return to NYC, London and Paris as soon as time and money permit. Although, I never can resist the opportunity to share my experiences and boast about the sites I’ve seen.

Alas, here I am now drawing to a close my fifth week back at uni studying communication and public relations. In order to complete my degree this year I requested to undertake six subjects (two more than average, and one more than allowed). For which, I had to have a meeting with the university’s Pro Vice Chancellor in order to be approved after initially being denied. My charm and confidence obviously won him over, and now I’m almost beginning to regret it did …

I have a severe case of writer’s block when attempting to begin essays and my once (I’d consider) enviable time management skills appear to have disappeared completely. Returning to a bureaucratically structured restrictive stress-heavy learning environment is a far cry from the limitless pleasurable unrestricted freedom-filled overseas travel experience.

I’ve written lists, allocated myself vast lengths on study time and banned myself from twitter and television, but none of these attempts have seemed to really assist in suppressing the urge to admit defeat and return to the couch, or the beach for yet another sun soaked afternoon consisting on nothing but just that, and mind-cleansing music of waves rolling to the shore.

With this being said, I am most definitely not one for defeat.

I have written this post for a few reasons: to demonstrate to myself the ease of writing, which will possibly be encouraging come essay writing time; to clear my head of these issues that overcome me, put it on the table and move on; and, ask for suggestions to surmount my post-travel anxieties and that will assist in my return journey to the harsh reality of the struggle of every day existence in finite normality.

Real world here I come.

I think I can, I think I can …

Bus Tour of LA

There were quite a lot of things that I wanted to see in LA. Unfortunately, the city is really spread out and exploring it completely is definitely not accomplishable by foot. So, I decided to do the same thing I did in San Francisco and jump on a tour bus.

There are quite a few places in LA that are very beautiful and also a lot of iconic studios etc. if you’re one for cinema history. However, in between each major sight there aren’t a heap of interesting sights to see. Rather, lots of 20^th century buildings etc., basically, the things you’d see in any modern city.

Travelling through Beverly Hills and along Melrose was of course great because of all the giant houses, manicured hedges and perfect landscaping. I wasn’t really interested in a celebrity spotting tour, although a longer tour through Beverly Hills would have been nice, seeing the mansions and quirky houses, but unfortunately I didn’t have time.

The next main attraction was Rodeo Drive, with its multitude of designer shops. Seeing the shops this way was different to what it was like in any other city because the shop fronts were all spectacular and the sidewalk area and its surroundings were immaculate. I could definitely feel a sense of class and wealth oozing from the pavement.

Then, driving through Santa Monica a completely different vibe was felt, with beachy style architecture and a more relaxed feel. The beach was beautiful with the sun setting in the sky and the infamous palm trees along the sidewalks.

At this point it started to get dark and quite cold. Silly me only wore a shirt, light pants and thongs as it was warm when I was walking around at midday. I attempted to keep myself warm, but really couldn’t wait to get back to my hotel.

The remainder of the tour passed through some iconic filming sites, cemeteries and shopping locations – but nothing of too high significance.

I think if I’d had more time to really explore LA I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. Having important things to do the following day that required internet access, my exploring options were limited and I only really got a chance to walk through some parts of Hollywood.

Also, because I was so close to flying home my sense of adventure faded heavily and my desire to venture into the unknown had basically vanished. Even though I loved travelling, once I began the countdown to leaving the USA, reality set back in. Although I wasn’t necessarily keen to go home, knowing that the holiday was about to end made me ready to leave.

I think with having so much time to explore NYC and London, the idea of only briefly encountering major attractions in a city is foreign to me. I think LA would be another one of those places that really deserves a couple of weeks to really allow you to soak up what the city is all about. There seemed to be a lot of fun things happening and it would have been great to continue my stay and get to experience some of them. Another time perhaps …

Hollywood Walk of Fame

When I checked into my hotel in Hollywood around 1pm after catching a bus from Palm Springs, I wasn’t willing to waste any of the limited time I had sitting in my dingy room at the Dune Inn on Sunset Boulevard.

Instead, I walked about 15 minutes down the road to Hollywood Boulevard, home to the Hollywood walk of fame. I didn’t realise that the walk was so long, and a large part of it is outside questionable food outlets and clothing shops. This was one of the only times in my life I’ve walked facing the ground instead of holding my head held high, I couldn’t help but read all the famous names as they passed beneath my feet fleetingly (some may say, like fame itself).

Before I knew it, I was walking along a much nicer part of the strip, where there were nice food outlets, the Kodak Theatre, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Madame Tussauds and the Hard Rock Café.

The streets were packed with tourists, especially outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, which of course has the hand and foot prints of many infamous actors of the past, as well as impressionists hackling to have their photograph taken with you for a small fee.

It was all a bit of cheesy fun, but there was a really good friendly vibe and I actually enjoyed the area more than I thought I would.

Bernadette Peters: McCallum Theatre

For the third time in my life I would be seeing Bernadette Peters perform live, and this excited me – especially considering three years ago I didn’t think such an amazing thing would ever happen.

Bernadette Peters in concert was advertised as taking place at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Springs. So, naturally I booked accommodation in Palm Springs knowing that it was a rather small city and transportation to and from the event would be easy. Alas, the theatre was actually about 25 minutes drive away in Palm Desert.

After doing some research I found a bus that traveled from Palm Springs to Palm Desert – taking around 50 minutes. Only costing $1, it was my only economical option.

I purchased my ticket to the show quite a few months ago and therefore got a seat about nine rows from the stage, right in the centre.

The show was very similar to the show in Adelaide 2009. She wore a similar gown, rather than being pink, this one was slightly more purple, with beautiful beading that made the dress sparkle under the lights – like Jessica Rabbit.

The performance began with a lot of energy, the songs were mainly upbeat, with Bernadette’s versions of ‘Let Me Entertain You’ and ‘Nothing like a Dame’. She pulled out a few classic songs, like ‘No One Is Alone’ and ‘Some enchanted evening’, which were both beautifully sung.

Two of my favourite songs she regularly sings, ‘Not A Day Goes By’ and ‘Johanna’, were sung back to back and delivered with high energy and extreme force. These ballads were obviously other audience favourites with applause lasting longer than normal.

She then sang a few lesser-known Sondheim songs, and more gentle songs that made the show begin to drag a little. Now, anyone who knows me knows I find it difficult to say a bad word about Bernadette, however, I don’t know if it was the poor ordering of songs or her deliverance that made this part of the show feel less entertaining and energetic.

She ended the formal part of her concert with a power ballad that she’s also famous for singing, ‘Being Alive’. After her second curtain call, she returned to the stage to sing two goodnight songs, one sitting on the piano and one down with the audience. Even though these songs were slower and softer, they were more appealing than the previous slow songs because they were much more intimate and personal.

Overall, I was still in awe of Miss Peters and her talents. I was expecting a little more diversity from what was offered in her Adelaide performance, rather than much of the same. Regardless, I still believe she’s an amazing live performer who sings with her heart for every song.

Fate smiled on me by sitting me next to a woman who was visiting her parents in Palm Springs. After a quick conversation they generously offered me a ride back to my hotel – otherwise I would have had to run to make the last bus, and sit on it for 50 minutes. This topped off what was already a truly magical night.

Palm Springs: East Canyon Hotel and Spa

Checking into Palm Springs’ East Canyon Hotel and Spa I began to wish I had more days to spend there. A reasonably small hotel, of only around 30 rooms, it was intimate and quaint a truly felt like an escape from civilisation.

The high wrought-iron gates at the entrance locked out any passers by. Walking into the courtyard there were thick vines covering the walls of the two-story building. The courtyard centred an inviting crystal blue swimming pool, with a few palm trees, a gazebo covered jacuzzi and a beautiful backdrop of the mountains behind the hotel.

I was given a guided tour of the hotel and informed of the services provided; the common room featured lounges with a large TV, books and movies for free rental, the latest magazines and newspapers. Free breakfast was served daily in the kitchen and dining room, next to the pool, which also had tables and chairs for outdoor eating.

My room was large and well decorated. I felt as if the hotel offered everything you could possibly want when on vacation. Everything was clean and crisp; the bathroom was large and definitely had a resort feel with large mirrors and large shower recess with a wooden floor.

I spent my only full day in Palm Springs lounging by the pool and making conversation with other guests. Iced tea and water were provided by the side of the pool, and refreshed regularly. The sun beamed down and I soaked up its rays for the first time in over two months. A gentle and occasional breeze swept through the courtyard breaking the heat. This was bliss.

The only downfall was the sun beginning to disappear behind the mountains at around 4pm. Lucky I started the day early …