Around the world with GirlBug

Back home... new blog

2009-06-20T00:19:00.000-07:00

Just a quick word to say that whilst I'm back in Melbourne, I'll be updating the following blog instead:

http://aroundthewaywithgirlbug.blogspot.com/

It will just be a little record of all the fun things to do in Melbourne, places to shop & eat... really whatever tickles my fancy at home.

Enjoy xo

Vietnam... the best til last??? Almost

2009-05-21T04:02:00.000-07:00

The ideal way to begin a stay in a new city is to have a good friend come find your accommodation and show you the town. I was extremely lucky that I found myself in Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon) sans map or guide again... but instead I descend the stair to find the super fabulous Paula waiting for me in the guest house.

I haven't seen Paula since August last year when she left for Vietnam. She's been working as a tour guide... score 2 for the bug!! And came bearing a little map of the city ... score 3!! Yes I do live the charmed life, I know.

So what do 2 old friends do in a new city?? We hit the markets & shops... I walk away with a cool hand made from recycled materials, beaded necklace & a white kaftan-like shirt. OK better behave... no $$ remember. One of the highlights of the shopping spree is seeing the ever-cheerful Paula almost issue a smack down to a Viet stall vendor. I've never seen Paula fire up before... its usually all smiles ... but this was hilarious. Thanks for that fond memory ... that little woman was certainly a little tyrant and deserved the take down. The rest of the stall vendors and onlookers were as entertained as I was .. hehehe

Lunch was a more peaceful affair. And YUM! YUM! YUM! Eating out in Vietnam is much more easier than China as most places have English explanations of the dishes. Finally, I can be guided by my moods & taste buds rather than aimlessly pointing and hoping for the best. But also the food is divine... well everything I ate was divine and super fresh. I think having some fresh ingredients whether it be mint, lettuce, bean sprouts... whatever to a noodle dish, just lightens & enhances the flavour. Especially when its stinking hot too.... light, fresh & delish is the way to go.

A few things about Vietnam I didn't know about til I got here. One, they are known for their coffee (2nd biggest exporters after Brazil) and this country is a good place to get cheap pampering (massages, manicures, pedicures w00t w00t!! I hear you cheer). I was happy to discover both :D And yes if I read a guide book or anything before I got to Vietnam, I may have discovered these facts... but hey, I've done well without a guidebook for so long... why start now?

So after lunch, Paula & I hit the beauty salon for pampering. I'm down for a reflexology foot massage (my feet were screaming for it) and a pedicure to match my cool Chinese manicure. Ah bliss! This is the perfect way to catch up with girlfriends... shopping, lunch & pampering.

This was a perfect day only marred by the penis viewing incident. I was wandering the frenetic streets of the city... and lo & behold... there is a man shaking his wang after a wee. Discretion... P-lease!! WTF?? Suffice to say, that was one of the scariest visions on my trip. Thanks Saigon for that memory... hopefully it won't haunt me for a lifetime...

My plan for Vietnam was always to relax on a beach for several days before heading home.... a vacation from my vacation, in other words. Paula had suggested heading down to Phu Quoc... I knew nothing about it but Paula's OK was enough for me to give it a go.

Before I take you to Phu Quoc... I forgot to send a thank you to the English guy who lives in Germany. The handle on my luggage broke a little in San Francisco but on the Maglev in Shanghai, the damn handle broke right off. To quote the ever talented Antonio Banderes in the tragic film Assassins "sh!t, f#%k, m0thaf#%ker!!". I cannot remember his name... Stuart perhaps... but he helped carry my bag up the escalator and was going to carry it to check-in for me... thankfully a trolley was nearby and he didn't have to go to all that trouble. But it is nice to know, when you're at a miserable low, there are gentlemen & ladies out there willing to give you a hand. So thank you to you all!

OK Phu Quoc.... what a treat! What a little piece of paradise! Motorcycles and scooters scatter the streets of this island just as they do the cities. Once I hit the dirt road where my resort was located, I was excited to the nth degree. Sea Star Resort was surprisingly great. It was a family run resort with bungalows right on the beach. Trip Advisor gave the restaurant mixed reviews ... all I can say is those folks either didn't order the delicious meals I had or they're just plain retarded. Mouth watering sea food delights!! I couldn't have been happier.

My time here was pretty much spent doing exactly what I wanted to do... wake up, eat, rest, swim, nap and then repeat cycle. Occasionally I strayed a little from this. One day I took a boat ride exploring the south island archipelagos. We got to fish (eh not that interested) and snorkel. I'm thrilled to have rediscovered snorkeling again. What have I been doing all these summers? I could swim/float all day. I may have annoyed the other people on the tour by always being the very last person back in the boat. The water was just a heavenly temperature. And to see the little fishies .... wheeeeeeeeeee :D I discovered that I can still manage to squeal with delight under water. It was a fantastic day of snorkeling however my inadequately applied sunscreen meant I awoke to 1 burnt butt, 1 burnt ankle, 1 burnt knee & redness around bra strap. Doh!

The following day on the island, I learned a valuable lesson last nite... never trust food advise from scrawny American gal. Her appreciation of food is never going to match that of an ethnic girl... clearly food will never be a priority in her life. Her recommendations was to check out a particular stall in the Night Market. It wasn't a complete dud but it certainly wasn't anything to be suggesting to others.

Whilst in Phu Quoc, all I kept thinking about was Melbourne as it was getting so close to the end of my trip... "there's no place like home, there's no place like home" and funnily enough, my tour guide around the north of the island's name was Toto. Where were my ruby slippers??

Toto took me for a motorcycle ride up north to swim at some of the island's northern beaches and ride through the mountains. It was a fun day out. Admittedly, it felt quite strange to be casually swim in Vietnam and looking over your shoulder to see Cambodia just a stone's throw away. I also met a bunch of Vietnamese Catholic priest and nuns who were holidaying too. The woman were fascinated with the colour of my skin. As I said goodbye to them, many reached out to touch my skin. It was so weird to them.

Before heading back to Saigon, have to tell you my last night meal at Sea Star Resort may have been the BEST MEAL EVER!! Tamarind crab with rice... I was ripping apart those babies to get to the succulent crab flesh like I had eaten for days. Even reflecting on it now, my eyes roll back in the head and *droolz* *

Although my time in Phu Quoc was blissful, there is something enchanting about Saigon. The crazy pace of the streets ... I don't know... it must be hypnotic. I was happy to wander the streets for as long as my feet would carry me. I think I felt invigorated each time I successfully cross the crazy streets!! So much fun!!!!

I didn't do anything spectacular when I returned to Saigon. I visited the War Remnants Museum and once again indulged in another massage with complimentary foot massage. I couldn't find the original beauty salon I went to so I chose this other place cos it was part of a major hotel & thought it was a safe bet. Not so. I'm almost certain I went to one of those "massage" places that include hand jobs & the like. It had a brothel-type feel to it. During the foot massage, I soon discovered I was the only female clientele ... I left as quickly as possible. Hehehe

Unfortunately I spent all my $$ on massage & pampering treats so had to wait til I was on board flight to eat. Of course I got hungry pretty quickly as soon as I realised my mistake. There was no point in getting $$ out as I was then going to have to change most of it back again... so I waited, waited & waited whilst listening to my belly grumble. Suffice to say, airline food never tasted quite so good until you starve yourself for 8-10 hours :(

On a positive note, I can say #Singapore airlines rocks... 25kg baggage limit!! This is 1st time @girlbug added stuff to her checked luggage w00t!! You have no idea how long I waited for this moment :P

So Melbourne... here I am :D

Will do a final round up shortly. Apologies for taking so long with this one but new job is keeping me very busy.

Later (1 more post, I promise)

GB xoxox

PS - if you checked out my flickr & are wondering why I took so many photos of motorcycles, I was completely enthralled by ALL the bikes EVERYWHERE!! Couldn't get enough of it... such a buzz from crossing the street each time :D

Hangzhou & then some...

2009-05-07T05:21:00.001-07:00

I will try and be brief with this update... but if you've been reading this for a while, you know I tend to go on a bit :)

So day trip to Hangzhou... thankfully left really early to catch my train since my hostel directed me to the wrong station. Doh! Got to Shanghai Southern Station with a few minutes to spare. I bought an economy ticket and was packed in with the rest of the people... kids, families, friends and some tourists. But mainly it was one heck of a lot of Chinese people. Thankfully I had a seat for the 2 hour journey...

When I arrived at Hangzhou, I was the only white person to alight so obviously I was the most popular girl with all the awaiting vendors trying to sell rides, hotels stays, whatever. Unfortunately what I needed was another train ticket back to Shanghai... the queue was ghastly so I consulted my torn out Lonely Planet section... apparently there was a tourist centre that could book your tickets. Off I go on an adventure by cab to find this holy grail. Get there... no luck... they only sell bus tickets. Fck!! So then I hop into another cab to find the train ticket office nearby... I'm in luck. There's still a queue but its not quite as horrific as the one at the train station. 2 hours after arriving in Hangzho, I have my holy grail - the return ticket home.

Train ticket queue

Hangzhou is well known for its lake.. called the West Lake (*sniggers* directed at Judge & Stowie only). By the time I get there, I'm relieved but well & truly exhausted. 2+ hours by train & 2 hours trying to get a train ticket... so when a Chinese man cut in front of me in a line to get a ferry ticket, I lost my cool. I started yelling "No! No! No!" and gently pushed him out of the way. Chinese people don't really value the first-in-first-served ideal but if you yell a bit, they back off. This didn't bother me much in Shanghai as I was a carefree traveler with plenty of time to spare. In Hangzhou, I was a cranky, tired & lost traveler who was ready to unleash her rage on whoever got in her way. Oh well.

So now a ferry ticket in hand, I bought an ice cream and chilled out on the ferry ride over to 3 Mirrors Facing the Moon Island. On the way, I met this gorgeous little girl who was too young to understand that not everyone speaks Chinese so she continued to blabber away to me. Gawd she was a chatterbox & very cute!! She must've thought I was an idiot for not understanding her. BTW I now have a dream of doing an Angelina ... the Chinese kids are so damn cute!!!

My new BFF & her mum

My new BFF & Girlbug.
If I waited a sec longer, she was sticking her tongue out

Anyway....The island was beautiful and tranquil. The only thing that freaked me out was a cockatoo. My fear of birds has not dissipated in my travels. Just found more varieties to fear hehehe. I really enjoyed Hangzhou, I wish I got to spend more time there.

I did manage to walk around part of the lake (actually it was pretty fkn huge trek) and made it to a tower with stunning views of the lake and the city (not sure of the name of the tower- I was wandering around aimlessly for hours). By the time, I finished my trek, it was getting dark and I had to head back to the train station.

I found it very difficult to hail cabs in China... I only managed to succeed if I got one as it was letting passengers out. Again I was having trouble hailing a cab at the tower, but thankfully this lovely couple came to my rescue for a fee. I agreed to it as it was the same cost as the taxi ride over here so I didn't feel I was getting ripped off. Plus I got to chat to the woman who showed me her engagement photo. They were now married.. they were v.cute. I really wish I brought a little map to China to show people where I came from as many of the Chinese I spoke to didn't know where Australia was and thought I was English.

Gee I do recall saying I was going to be brief hehe.

So back in Shanghai.. what's a gal with tired feet to do. More walking! I checked out the following:

* The streets of Old Town
* Temple of the Town Gods
* Yuyuan Gardens & Bazaar
* Acrobatics in the evening at Lyceum Theatre (originally told to go to another venue... thankfully met some Norwegian tourists with a guide who were going to the same place and managed to find it in time.. phew)

PS: if you want to check out the numerous pics head to my flickr account.

It was great fun to check out all that stuff but I was so SOOOO tired... the next day was May Day. I didn't think I could deal with the most heavily populated country having a public holiday so I stayed in bed. I ventured out for lunch and soon realised I made the right call to lay low. I walked out of the hostel into a swarm of people slowly moving in 1 direction - think peak hour heading into Flinders Street station... but EVERYWHERE and relentless. I went to the local eatery, pointed at noodles and sat down. Lunch done.. time to go back. Not as easy as I thought it would be. Police were making sure pedestrian traffic was one way.. so around the block I go with the rest of the throng... but then police have blocked the entrance to my street. I pointed to the street and said hotel... the policeman kindly let me pass under the blockade and once agin I joined the swarm of people til I reached me hotel... a lie down was required after that small adventure.

On my last day, I was um-ing & ah-ing about what to do.. I hadn't checked out the French Concession yet plus there were other places to see & things to do. So how did I spend my last day?? I found a little nail salon in the People's Square Station... and got my nails done. The girls spoke a teeny tiny bit of English, enough to ask me to choose colour, move seats and to find out what I was doing here. It was one of my highlights of my stay in Shanghai.. not only did I get pampered & got the crazy nails with flowers painted on them with jewels :) but we all got to laugh at the shenanigans of the other vendors just outside the door.

I only spent a week in Shanghai to get a taste for it. And I liked what I saw.... I really want to explore some smaller villages and head north to the Sczechuan province... the food is so delicious. I must admit though, I'm happy to say goodbye to the constant spitting in the street, coughing up phlegm, the jostling and the pushing in front of you in queues. They are things my Western little butt won't ever get used to.

Onto the next stop... Vietnam.

Later
Girlbug xoxo

China .. part 1

2009-05-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

One of the more lasting impressions China had on me was the amount of people living there. I think I picked my jaw off the ground many times when I encountered swarms of people on the street, on the trains and even in temples & gardens.

I left San Francisco on Saturday afternoon & arrived in Shanghai on Sunday evening .. so have essentially lost a day. My first day began with a blessing, I meet the lovely Annabel from Germany. She's studying Chinese up north and had been in town for a few days to meet up with a friend. It was her last day so we decided to team up together to ride on the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel and check out the Chinese Museum of Sex.

I'd been told that the Sightseeing Tunnel is freakily good. And it didn't disappoint. Its a pod that travels beneath the river... only you encounter the most bizarre light show & music for the ride. We were in fits of giggles ... it was just so out-there!! My pics don't do it justice so if you're ever in Shanghai, go for a ride on the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. You won't be disappointed unless you have been completely robbed of any sense of fun and the enjoyment of the ridiculous.

Unfortunately, when we got the other side we couldn't find the Chinese Museum of Sex. It was hilarious to watch Annabel have to ask locals for directions to this place. Eventually we headed back to where we started from (its original location) to be told that it was there but its now "broken". Um.... my first response was to laugh... "how does one break a sex museum" ... then relief "if the sex museum can be broken, perhaps this isn't a place I should go to". Another local explained it wasn't broken but it have moved to another city... doh! I heard great things about this and it got a great write up in Lonely Planet. But I must complain about the editorial team at LP... I read about this Museum in the Shanghai section - that its a must see! I discovered later when researching my day trip, that it is in fact in another city having been moved from Shanghai. Good work Lonely Planet for contradicting information in the same book! Should've stuck with wiki travel & the other online guides I've been using... far more useful.

Anyway enough griping about LP... the plan was also to head to Jimao Tower. We didn't quite make it there. First, as girls do we headed to the mall. This was probably one of the most quietest visits in China. Super Brands Mall was big, clean, and almost sterile .. possibly due to the lack of people. A did score a little H&M dress for a cheap price so Yay to me. Perfect for the summer heat in Vietnam. Once we hit the streets again, Annabel & I couldn't resist the allure of the Oriental Pearl Tower. It was gigantic, pink, looked like a spaceship and had a roller coaster ride in it. Jimao Tower was wiped off the to-do list and replaced with this crazy gem. And I'm glad we did, we had a ball checking out the views & starting to catch the sunset, we ran about like kids in the dizzy cabin to re-create the feeling of light-headedness (I'm sure the constant laughing caused lack of oxygen to flow to our lungs and in effect, the dizziness was achieved) plus we spent a fair bit of time in the Shanghai Municipality History Museum (yes the Museum did have funny mirrors to play with ... wtf? indeed). Several hours later, we finally emerge from the Oriental Pearl Tower, exhausted but not done yet.

Back on the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel for the return trip (again didn't fail to disappoint). We headed to Bar Rouge for some cocktails, people watching and views from across the river. Stunning views, not to many people and the cocktails were "too-die". Incidentally, 1 x cocktail cost more than my accommodation. Hehehe

Farewell Annabel... it was a blast hanging out with you on my 1st day in China.

I've been very blessed with the generosity of friends .. and also friends of friends along my trip. The next day I planned to meet Karlo's mate Jim for dinner. Karlo is a new friend from New York... thanks to the super-fine Ceridwen. And Jim is Karlo's old room mate.

The timing for this meet up was perfect as he worked near People's Square and I was heading to the Museum located there. After an interesting walk up the main street & some of its side streets, I find the People's Park and take refuge. With pastries in hand, I sit in a quiet shady spot and listen to a girl practicing her flute. It was really a delightful way to relax before hitting the Museum.

The museum was awesome and well worth a visit. A highlight was running into Han Juan who was staying at my hostel but had already left. We chatted a bit and I met some of her friends. She's such a cutie.. we were going to try and meet up later in the week. Anyway, the ceramic section was by far by favourite part of the Museum and apologies in advance if you sat through all the flickr pics of vases, bowl and serving dishes. I likey & can't help myself :P

Dinner with Jim was a delight. Its always great to meet wonderful people in your travels. So thank you Jim for over-ordering on the Szechuan feast. I wish I could've made a bigger dent in those yummy dishes... but having downed 2 iced coffees prior to dinner didn't leave room for overindulgence :)

A visit to Hangzhou was on the cards so early night it was.... more to come on China.

Later
GirlBug xoxo

☼ California Dreaming ☼

2009-05-01T03:57:00.000-07:00

A quick run down on Southern California to give you the highlights. After a fantastic time in San Francisco, it was nice to have some down time in Santa Barbara with Roxanne. My time down in Southern California was best summed up eating & resting. I discovered the joys of cable TV... caught a Moonlight marathon on my first night in. Yay!! Since I was hooked on cable, I couldn't move to buy yummies for dinner. I did what any self respecting web geek does... I found an online delivery service & got Chinese home delivered... ah bless :)

We managed to squeeze in a trip to L.A. for an evening. It was perfect timing to meet up with Melody again. The three of us hit the Beverly Wilshire (Pretty Woman hotel) for a drink before heading to Chateau Marmont (Hotel where Jim Belushi died)... the cocktails were delish (the margaritas I had were a Hunter S Thompson recipe) and we topped off our stay at Chateau Marmont with desserts & more drinks.

Er...Clearly we didn't have enough to eat so we headed to Mel's Diner for a burger & curly fries. Curly fries are my current obsession... I hope I can continue my fix in Australia. See what I mean... eat, eat, eat. I'm pretty sure DJ Andrew K was seated in a booth nearby. After all the cocktails we had, I thought it best not to go & introduce myself hehehe

These curly fries are from a quaint little eatery in Summerland... but this is pretty much what I ordered at Mel's Diner hehe

We took in the sights of L.A. (as you do by car)... can check Rodeo Drive, Melrose, Sunset & Hollywood Blvd off the list. I saw the Kodak Theatre and gave a hi-hello to Oscar winners past.

Just back on the topic of eating... this little place called La Super Rica is one of my favourite dining experiences on the west coast. Cheap & super delicious. The good write up is gets in Lonely Planet is well worth it :)

Onto road trip #2... up along Highway 1. We start at Montecito heading all the way up to San Francisco. There were some great stops along the way:

* Solang .. bizarre little place that looks like Holland & Denmark with all its windmill, poppies and strange architecture. Bizarre but quaint

* Madonna Inn .. a serious overdose of pink. This place was strangely tragic, delicious pies and roomfuls of tizzy women (Euro-trashiness without the Euro)

* Cambria ... sweet seaside town. We stayed at the Fog Catcher Inn (heated swimming pool heaven) and ate the Sea Chest (pretty yum but its so popular the wait times are killer when you're hungry). On a stroll along the beach, I stumbled upon harbour seals laying on the rocks... a delightful surprise. I accidentally made a sound and one other seals looked up at me. To make eye contact with the seal was one of the most amazing moments on my trip. Quite breathtaking.

* The coast line .. this is really a spectacular coast line. Breathtaking views... we even had a chance to feed the squirrels. So cute.. how does one resist?

Unfortunately, we had to breeze through the rest of the coast so I didn't get to spend the time I wanted in Big Sur. This place looked jaw dropping-ly gorgeous. Its a must 'come back' and spend more time here place. Another lengthier road trip on the cards, perhaps...

Once we reached San Francisco, I had a fun night out with the @pwndepot crew. Too much meat (I won't forgive you @steveprice), booze and tikkie bars.... they sure know how to show a gal a good time. I'm going to miss these guys.

Just a couple of shout out before I finish up...

A big thank you to Roxanne for the 2 X road trips and showing me a lovely time in Southern California, to Mia, Julie & Norm for your Montecito hospitality and also the @pwndepot crew for all the fun times. I'll be back again.

So a week in China to follow...

I'm so close to home now... I'm really itching to get back and see family, friends but most especially Ben.

A couple more posts then home

Cya soon
GirlBug xox

If ur going 2 San Francisco, B sure 2 wear ✿✿ in ur hair ☮

2009-04-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

I had a blast in San Francisco thanks very much to my lovely new friends @pwndepot. I stayed in a very cool loft in the Mission district ... my own room, cheap & oh-so-delicious Mexican food, bike for exploring and an endless supply of maps & city planners to guide me in my explorations.

I thoroughly enjoyed bike riding in this city, I mainly stuck along the bay (it reminded me very much of home.. Elwood/St Kilda .. just a little less windy). I cheated a bit on my Golden Gate Bridge ride by catching BART down to the bay. It was still an epic ride for me.. 4 hours+ with stops for lunch, photos and just enjoying the view :)

I did some unusual but nonetheless very fun & entertaining things in this city:

* Air BnB party.. now a party isn't unusual but most people don't get to meet the founders & investors of the company that you used to book your holiday accommodation. I was lucky enough to score an invite & tag along with my new housemates. We had drinks, snacks, tunes, good company & amazing views of the city on their rooftop terrace. I highly recommend Air BnB as a place to book accommodation. I could not have been happier with my choice or the process... super smooth & easy. And for the record, I was not paid, coerced or encouraged to make these comments (although I did have a couple of margaritas at the party)... I'm just very happy with the service... got my accommodation booked in 1-hit and had an absolute blast staying there. What more do you need??

After the party we headed to a gay bar. It wasn't to busy so we took a seat and at bar and drank a few beers. The only reason I mention this place is because this was one of the most awkward peeing experiences ever. This out-weirded any Morocco bathroom experiences for me. So I'm in a bar filled with men and I need to go. I find the bathroom and there's NO DOOR!!! Nothing!!! Just a room with urinals & a toilet bowl. Now I ♥ the gay man but not right now. I'm busting and gotta go... what's a gal to do?? Thankfully one of my new housemates stands guard whilst I do my business. Needless to say, I didn't drink too much in order to avoid that situation again hehe :)

* Picnic Shabbat in Dolores Park. With the sun shining down on San Francisco, the @pwndepot household headed out to Dolores Park to munch on a picnic, drink with friends, enjoy the glorious sun & challenge each other to scrabble competitions. I was quite content to soak up the atmosphere of the park, watch hacky sack (weird), people practising Capoeria (even weirder... Brazilian martial art/dance) and even some people practicing walking a tight-rope (WTF?). So I put this down to Americans being overly athletic and weird :P hehehe. OK so I liked every minute of it... including the stunning views of the city *sigh*. The day was topped off by treating myself to a $1 fish taco in the park. Whoa... big spender!!

This was a great day followed by an even stranger evening. A few of us headed down to Fisherman's Wharf... all I knew was there would be a tall ship with people singing sea shanty's (shipboard working songs)... no I didn't know what these were either. I was under the impression that there would be a band or something... not quite. We head into the ship to be surrounded by a predominantly older crowd (err much older).

"Most shanties are "call and response" songs, with one voice (the shantyman) singing the line and the chorus of sailors bellowing the response. For example, the shanty "Boney":

Shantyman: Boney was a warrior,
All: Way, hey, ya!
Shantyman: A warrior and a terrier,
All: Jean-François! " (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_shanty)

Quite a few younguns rolled in too. Real young.. like 16yr-old boys. Now they didn't hand out song sheets... These people knew ALL the words to these songs!!! Songs I have never ever heard of before!! This was clearly a What-the-F%#k!! moment ...but definitely in a good way. I couldn't wipe the goofy smile off my face... and no it wasn't because of the rum.... that came later :P

On Sunday I went on a walking tour to learn about the Gold rush. I won't bore you with the details... but I had a good ole nerdy time :) I headed up to the Castro district afterwards (quick detour to Haight & Ashbury ... my tip: avoid it. Smells like urine with tourist & homeless people. What a mix!) I went to the Castro Cinema which is now my most favourite cinema in the whole wide world. Its a beautiful theatre built in 1922. They still have an organ player perform before the screening. What a treat! I saw Jean-Luc Godard's Made in USA ... now I'm obsessed with Anna Karina & looking like her. Need to practice mod make up techniques some more :P

Another surprising treat was my roomie from Morocco was in the Bay Area. So I headed up to Larkspur by ferry to spend the day exploring with Betty. We head into Muir Woods; the redwoods are beautiful, Mount Tam, had yummy lunch at Sand $ Restaurant in Stinson Beach, checked out Saulsilito (eh) and also took many happy snaps along the beautiful coast on Northern California (very much like Australian East coast). It was such a great day and thank you to Betty for being such an amazing guide and friend!

This was my last day in San Francisco. My AirBnB hosts Brendan & Lisa decided to take me out for one last hooray before I head south. Off we head to Little Star for Chicago style deep pan pizza & spicy buffalo wings. OMG it was yum!! This night turned into a very late one with a bar pit stop for more beer and ending with more drinking in the @pwndepot net with the housemates. I finally get to spend some time with the infamous @SFPT/Preston, the housemate that I kept hearing about all week. Glad to put a face to the name behind all their escapades :) It was a fun night out however I had an early start. Four hours sleep?? Would that be the death of me? Not quite :P Made the 9 hour Greyhound Bus journey from San Francisco to Santa Barbara a breeze as I dozed most of the way there. And a big thank you to the diligent efforts of the bus driver to keep the bus quiet... no talking on cell phones, no loud music (even head phones had to be turned down not to disturb others) and no talking loudly to friends. Bless you Mr Bus Driver ... what a peaceful journey that was.

So now I'm in Montecito and Roxanne is due here any minute. Will report back soon.

Later
GB xoxox

NYC 2 SFO

2009-04-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

A note from yesterday...

I'm sitting wedged between 2 guys on Flight UA11 en route to San Francisco. I wish I had an aisle seat. One guy is a skinny old man recovering from a stroke or something, the other is a chubby bible reading dude who constantly invades my personal space. In an act of passive aggression, I go to the toilet 4 times on a 5 hour flight. Actually, I kept drinking to remain hydrated... the plus side is my skin looks good but my bladder got overworked. Ha!

Anyway, I'm a little sad to leave New York as I had the most amazing time ... thanks especially to:

* Melody (my Chelsea roomie)

* Karlo (my hula-hooping buddy)

* David Meerman Scott/@dmscott for the #NASDAQ bell ringing invitation

* & even the random last day catch up with 3AW marketing queen Ms Sharna Jones

* Also a big thank you to Twitter peeps for suggestions, tip and just warm hospitality... (I'm looking at you @pwilson720 especially)

Although I'm sad to leave New York, I'm excited about several things:

1) San Francisco - staying at the most awesome loft in the Mission district so I think I'm going to have a pretty special time there

2) Hooking up with Roxanne in Santa Barbara

3) Being reunited with my Ben, my kitties and home. I've got a little over 6 weeks left to go. This is going to fly by...

4) Being taken to Korean BBQ in Carnegie when I return (that's a huge hint BF!!)

5) Seeing Melbourne & Elwood... I miss both

6) Seeing all my friends and family... what a catch up we'll all have :)

I'm not looking forward to my impending unemployment and bill... so if anyone hears of any work on the grapevine, please ping me.

Next update from San Francisco. Already briefly checked out the hood ... ♥ it. Although I wish I spoke a bit of Spanish cos I don't understand their English .. so bad of me but its such a strong accent. You'd think coming from a 'English is my second language' background, I'd be dealing better. Oh well, all the more fun, I say.

Well bye for now...

GB xox

#NASDAQ bell ringing ...

2009-04-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

On Monday I rustled up some corporate attire to attend a #NASDAQ tweet-up thanks to the super-awesome David Meerman Scott or @dmscott to his Twitter buddies. @dmscott was invited by GlobeNewswire to launch his book 'World Wide Rave' and ring the bell to open NASDAQ. How did I score an invite to such an auspicious occasion you ask? Well, Twitter of course. I stumbled upon this tweet-up looking for NYC gathering with my fellow tweeps. I was very lucky that @dmscott had room in the inn for this little Australian gal... in fact he thought it was pretty funny that I was representing Australia for this tweetup *pounds chest* "represent!!!"

To avoid being late, I caught a cab to Time Square. I was a little early and wandered down to check out the filming of Good Morning America. I walked down there, saw it and then wandered back. Saw enough!

Then I headed in and met up with some of the Twitter folk. Security check.. done. After some chit chat with new Twitter folks and meeting the star of the moment, @dmscott, we head into the studio. Its a bit of a fish bowl and you can watch the folks walk by Time Square. We're given a brief on how this will all go down ... lots of pics & tweeting required, an intro plus speech by @dmscott & we get up on stage to help cheer as @dmscott ring the bell. This is the first time that NASDAQ had a tweet-up so I feel very special to have taken part of it.

So there were 30 people there to support @dmscott open NASDAQ and we were all tweeting away. From the outsiders point of view, it may look like a very anti-social event as there were 30 people texting, tweeting on their mobile phones. But you also get a chance to meet new people and share such experiences with each other as well as all your followers who are watching you & 'taking part' from afar. This was one of my favourite experiences in New York City.

We got our photos taken at the podium and this was being beamed up to the NASDAQ big screen in Time Square. Who would've known that getting your face on a big screen would be so much fun. Suffice to say, I had a ball and was drunk with joy all day.

OK at this point I shall briefly explain what Twitter is, what tweeting is (as I'm sure most of my family & friends are thinking "WTF"?. Twitter is a social networking site like MySpace and Facebook... only better! I guess its micro-blogging as you only have 140 characters to say what you're doing. You follow people to see what they're doing and others follow you too. Its about sharing ideas, thoughts, experiences... you don't actually need to know the people you follow. But eventually you come to know them. What's great about this is you can Tweet (a twitter message) anywhere as long as you have a mobile phone. That's basically it... You may still be scratching your head, but I love it. I find it a useful way to find new information including current affairs, film, pop culture and even keep tabs on what the BF is up to. I got my updates in the Victorian bush fires by perusing #vicbushfires updates. I also found out about the plane landing on Hudson River before some of the Australian news outlets. Its quite a handy little medium (suggestion for recent convert or interested parties... its best to download an application like Twirl rather than using the website).

Anyone interested in learning more about social media and its impact on Public Relations and Marketing should also check out David's book and his blog. He has other book you can buy too. Shameless plug for something I haven't read... yet! I do stress yet and I'm definitely going to buy one when I return to Australia (just so it doesn't impact anymore on my luggage weight hehehe).

Check out pics from the #NASDAQ tweet up on my Flickr. You can also view this video posted by a new Twitter buddy @devindwyer - you'll get a jist of what the event was about (can you spot me??)

New York... New York

2009-03-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

I've just spent a jam-packed week & a bit in New York with the super fab Ms Melody... 2 unemployed film publicists hitting the town and painting it red!! I'm exhausted... Melody has headed off to Montreal and I'm still here putting in the long hard yards. Oh my life is so tough :P

Anyway, this was slightly dangerous pairing as neither of us seem to be able to say 'No' to shopping sprees... and when you have encouragement, well let's just say its even harder. On the plus side, Melody and I will both be returning to Melbourne with some super-duper purchases that you will all be envious of (unless of course we bought them for u :P).

We're staying in this great studio apartment in Chelsea. A cool pad in a fairly cool side of town. Its close to the Meatpacking District and a short stroll to Magnolia Bakery *drool*... great spot to start exploring the city.

I arrived late on Thursday afternoon after a long, long flight from Frankfurt. All I wanted to do was shower and change my clothes. We do head out to get some wine to have with the yummo pasta Melody is whipping up... and what happens?? I get ID'd... first night in NYC and I have to show ID... yipee!!! My strict moisturising routine is working. Not quite, the shopkeeper said he id's everyone cos he's been fined before. So of course I harass him for not thinking I look young enough to be ID'd... poor guy. Couldn't win :D

So what have we done this past week? Here's a brief run-down:

* MOMA - was really cool, however I think I like the Tate Modern better (sorry NY). We went after 4pm on Friday ... which is freebie night so it was packed. But not crazy packed. We had to line up to get in but the line moved along quickly enough. There were a few wanna be queue jumpers which I immediately dealt with... "back of the line, dude" (maybe the use of the term 'dude' was omitted)

* Magnolia Bakery - um, er, yum. Enough said.

* Shopping in Greenwich Village & Soho. I'm not sure what happened when I stepped out at JFK, but this overwhelming urge for labels I've never seen in real life before took over. Why do I now own a DKNY dress, Michale Kors boots and have an array of Marc Jacobs accessories?? I really don't know what happened. It felt very much like an out-of-body experience... although that could've been the light headedness when I was mentally converting from US dollars to Australian. I think I understand why New York can be considered a dangerous town. I turned white with fear when I saw my bank balance hehehe
* First celeb spotting near Washington Square.... model Agyness Deyn *gasp* hehehe
* Flea Market somewhere in Soho/West Village - got some great bargains... tees, hats and earrings :)

* Central Park - beautiful park. I'm sure you could wander aimlessly for days. Beware of the bicycle dudes & their hidden costs... we got ripped off by Omar. Then he was a little upset that Melody didn't want her photo taken with him (he had a little crush hehe). Although we did see an awesome street performance in the park. It is a nice way to see the park but its just a tad expensive if you suddenly agree to be dropped off somewhere without realising the little sh#% is going to add a further $15 on top of that bill. No tip for you Omar.

* Went to Macy's... a bit eh but the YSL make up salesman Neil displayed some exceptional brush strokes that we'll be incorporating into our make up application routine. Van Gogh would've seriously been impressed.
* Empire State Building - well this was expensive, cold and a couple chose to snog right next to us which was a little eek. I guess we can say "We've done it!" The views were pretty impressive despite it being night time... but the gusty winds were enough to keep our time up in the sky to a minimum.
* Oh.. how can I forget my endless hours queuing at the Chinese Embassy for a visa? That will not be included in my highlights package but interesting nonetheless :)
* Visited Williamsburg & Brooklyn... very cool hood. Believe it or not.. I forgot the name of "the best breakfast in NYC" ... its called egg. I think Melody wanted to slap me for forgetting that one. We had to find an internet cafe in Williamsburg which was an adventure on its own... DJ Ranger led the way. No, that's his name! We were not sure whether to trust him or not but in the end he was just being nice & showed us to the neighbourhood internet cafe.

So finally we get to egg cos I tracked down the name and address... see, I'm the most unprepared traveler. I can't even cross Brooklyn Bridge without forgetting valuable information. It was a good day though... egg was found, lunch was eaten (albeit rather quietly as we were very uncomfortable sitting next to a couple having "The Talk" about their future. I wanted to tell the guy to run cos she sounded like a tyrant. Apparently she lives a great life cos she's goes to movies and dines out. I do those things too but I don't find that particularly exceptional :P ) And he lacked "Ambition"... those words were never spoken but written down for curious bugs to photograph when they left.... whoopsie

GirlBug 'egg' artwork below

* We found a great little bar in Brooklyn that was having happy hour. $3 Gin & tonics is great no matter what the exchange rate :D Woo! Hoo!!
* Brooklyn Bridge - crossed it. This was fun! Although my thighs were numb and frozen by the end of it. The city really does look pretty at dusk.

* Dinner at Spice Market - OMG the food was so good there. Divine! Delicious! Delightful! And service was great. The whole experience was awesome. Um BF... can you please take me back here?? :D xoxo
* Visited Ground Zero. Not my fave place to visit as I also suffered a breathing episode. Visit to St Paul's Chapel was touching though. Recovered from breathing difficulties in the fitting rooms at Century 21... briefly nanna-napped whilst Melody tried on some dresses. Century 21 was a bit eh... the only dress I really liked was a red Valentino dress. It was marked down to a measley US$1000 from US$10,000. Clearly in my budget.

* US$500 visit to a doctor to treat bronchitis, strep throat and middle ear infection. Oh dear lord!! How expensive it this??? I'm so glad I have travel insurance otherwise I would've cried in the doctor's surgery. This was not a fun visit from a financial point of view nor from physical comfort. I got 2 needles jabbed in the butt. Ouch!! On the plus side, my doctor did give me a hug along with my bill :) I've also stopped coughing finally... much relief there.

* Met Ms Peach's dear friend Karlo... we went to a bar and had some rum cocktails then headed over to Housing Bookstore for a DJ spin-off where my eyes were opened to the world of Andrew. W.K... not only did I get a chance to boogie :) ... I also got to hula-hoop in NYC!!!! Woooooooo!! Pictorial evidence will be uploaded shortly hehehe. Oh yeah, b4 we headed to the DJ spin-off, we were at this bar where this dude was drinking at the bar with his oxygen tank. Hard core!! His mate was a little more hard core as he hired 2 hookers for the night. Not the best mental images to start the night off with.

Saturday night fun ...

This morning, I tagged along with @dmscott as he rung the bell to open trading at the NASDAQ. I can thank the joys of Twitter for making this happen. I happily tweeted away and will be sure to give more detailed update shortly. And then San Francisco.... here I come

Talk soon
GB xoxo

PS - how could I forget?? Statue of Liberty... check. Froggie & I enjoyed the ferry ride to Stanton Island.

Morocco... the rest of the trip

2009-03-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

Day 5

Today we drive south toward the Sahara desert. I'm getting butterflies again :) We drive through Draa Valley and stop at the apparently famous sign - "Tombouctou 52 Jours". It looks pretty new so I'm not sure if this is like a Big Banana/Big Merino type attraction... but I don't care.... I'm in Morocco. Plus now I know if I travel by camel in a certain direction, I'll reach Tombouchtou in 52 days :) hehehe.

We stayed the night in Zagora, had a lovely stroll amongst the palmeries where we met a super cute local boy called Mohamed. We nicknamed him mini-Mohamed and he weaved all the ladies a little camel out of grass. We think he's a ladies man in the making. Perhaps that's why he happily agreed to be Anne's new boyfriend.

At dusk, Betty & I found the roof of the hotel and managed to get some pretty stunning photos of the sunset. The colours of the desert are simply stunning.

Tonight was also the night, that the giggles hit myself and Anne quite hard. I won't share what started the laughs ... let's face it... its usually quite childish and embarrassing and I'm not quite willing to commit my immaturity to the written form just yet.... suffice to say, there were plenty of stifled laughs, tears, confused looks from our fellow travelers & restaurant patrons plus the all important panda-eyes thanks to my non-waterproof mascara. I'd say that was punishment enough for turning into a somewhat respectable (who am I kidding?) 30-something to basically a tween.

Day 6

Sahara is getting close but first stop... Tamegroute. This settlement was famous for its 11th century religious scholars and now houses a shrine to its spiritual leader. This was a very interesting stop as the nerd in me got to visit its library filled with ancient scripts of science, literature, the Koran, interpretations of the Koran and stories about the prophet Mohamed. I was really impressed to see Berber poetry as well.

Our guide Mohamed explained that most Berber people do not know how to read Berber as the language is generally only passed on orally and is not taught in schools. He said he would be interested to learn the alphabet in Berber so he can read it as well. I found it fascinating that your language from birth would not be one that you could share in the written form with others... only through speech. I hope Mohamed learns to read his native language one day... I'll make him go back and translate the Berber poetry for me.

A local guide also showed us the sights of the Kasbah village which was really nice & cool compared to the warm day we were having. Naturally air conditioning... totally amazing that architecture from so long ago was able to build in ways to keep homes cool in summer and warm in winter without the aid of electricity. Genius.

This Kasbah village is well known for its ceramic pottery industry so we got to check out where they make the pots/plates, their kilns and the final goodies. Very pretty. If it weren't for the extra month of travel ahead of me, I may have gone a little cray here.

OK I did go a little crazy in the shopping department. But I just had to have it!!! Firstly my turbin, when you see pics of me on my camel, you won't even ask why. But more importantly, I was really moved by our visit to the library. Our guide showed us some jewelry with Berber symbols on them and I really wanted something that depicted the native language to Morocco. I found one that suited perfectly... it was the Berber symbol for the constellation the Southern Cross. I thought it was a nice touch to be able to combine my Australian roots (in case you don't know - the Southern Cross is featured on the Australian flag) and my support of an ancient language.

So this day will turn out to be one my favourites on the trip. Not only did I find something in the Berber language that had personal meaning to me... but I gots to ride me a camel today. Woo hoo!!

After lunch, Mohamed wrapped my turbin on my head and I really wish I could wear this get up more freely in Melbourne. However, the weather in melbourne probably doesn't require the covering of the head from sun & wind. But perhaps I'll incorporate it into Bad Hair Days. I'm a big believer when you can't get your hair to do anything right... cover it!!

So the camel ride. It was all its cracked up to be. So much fun! fun! fun! What a way to cruise the world? I wonder what looks I'd get if I cruised down the St Kilda Esplanade on camel back hehehe. I think if we did this ride anywhere but the Sahara it wouldn't have made as good as impression on me. Once you see the sand dunes start rolling by and that's pretty much all you see except for a odd tree here or there. It really feels out of this world.

The camel ride started from M'Hamid which is the end of the road (quite literally). Once our camel ride is over, we get picked up by 4WD and head into the Sahara to our desert camp. Its a 2 hour drive - new driver and guide, another Hassain and Ahmad. These two love love love their music! It was a little weird having Celine Dion as the soundtrack to hitting the sand dunes in the 4WD. Thankfully, they changed their cassette deck (that is what they used pre-CD and pre-mp3 for those young-uns) to more Arabic and Berber tunes. As a result, we got my hand clapping, hand dancing and singing by the driving duet :)

I'm sure I would've enjoyed this part of the journey more if I didn't need to pee and being teased by my guide that I could go Berber style :( I don't have a huge problem with peeing in the great outdoor but when A. you're the only one going & B. its pretty much flat sand plains and nowhere to hide... I decided my option was to get out of the back seat, swap with Anne and move to the more comfortable middle seats. OK much better. Bladder not pressed against my legs anymore. I can wait comfortably. Plus I'm not pressing into the roof every 2 seconds either. This was Anne's favourite bit of the journey. I'm so grateful she was happy to swap.

Once we got to our camp, we wearily climbed (actually maybe that was just me) the dunes and watched the sun go down over the desert. It was absolutely breathtaking!! It was something I wanted to do for a very long time and in the serene quiet of the sunset, I'm 'woman' enough to admit it, I shed a tear. Finally I was in the desert. The only downside... I wish Ben was there to share it with me.

Unfortunately, I couldn't shake that bittersweet feeling. So whilst my new friends danced under the stars to Mohamed's mp3 player, I lay back, watched the stars, thanked the telco's for network coverage in the Sahara and texted my baby :)

It was so much fun sleeping and eating in the desert camp. A cherished memory. Even the girl's group peeing in the open air was hilarious. A shared memory with Betty and Anne that I will have forever hehehehe

Day 7

We wake up nice an early to catch the sunrise... up we climb the dunes again to watch a most spectacular sight. Once again it was a special moment. We topped off the beautiful views by tumbling down the dunes... cartwheels, somersaults and back flips. A tranquil start to the day :)

After breakfast we head off for a 30-60 minute walk. During the walk, it starts heating up and I really hope the 4WD finds us soon. Please don't leave us out here. Please come pick us up soon. As much as I'm not looking forward to a 2 hour ride through bumby terrain, I'd prefer not be left out in the desert either. Our rescue vehicle picks us up and we set off to Foum Zguid. Bump bump bump all the way. It quite funny to finally arrive to a tiny little town, look out the car window and see a familiar face... or mini-van driver Hassain! Hassain takes us to Taroudannt.

One big complaint about the hotel we stayed at here. After spending a night in the desert with no shower facilities... all you want to do is have a hot shower. But no, no friggin' hot water at this place. You have no idea how disappointed I was with this... and how hard it was to have a cold shower. Washing my hair was an interesting exercise.

This evening Jeff, Anne & I head out on our own to grab a bite to eat. We stumble upon this little place with rooftop terrace. We sit an wait for our waiter. Instead another patron comes up to take our order... the actual waiter couldn't speak English and didn't really want to deal with 3 Westerners so sent up a regular who spoke English. So we ended up making new friends, Rashid and what's-his-name. It was a fun night chatting away to them but I'm sure all three of us drew our breath when Rashid opened up his jacket to reveal a bullet-proof vest!!! Actually it wasn't a bullet proof vest but on first glance it sure did look like one... after our initial stunned silence we did what mature adults do in a situation like this.... avoid each other's eye contact to prevent the giggles starting up at this ridiculous get-up he was wearing hehehe. It was pretty funny

Day 8

Taroudannt was so so. Nothing mind boggling but just a nice place to stay. After a quick tour of the the town and local tannerie (not recommended for vegetarians or those with queasy stomachs - it smelt pretty bad), we leave the mountains and desert behind to hit the coast... Essaouira, here we come!!

On the way through, we pass Mohamed's old hood, Agadir (the went to university here). We cruise by his old hood and we stop to see if he knows anyone in his old apartment. We're in luck, one of the students Ahmed is from his village back home. Mohamed takes us up to his old apartment and shows us around. Its awesome. There are about 6 young men living and studying there. All of them happened to be home (I'm not sure if that's a universal student habit of not going to class but they assured me they had none that day - I believe them). They invited us for mint tea and biscuits - very sweet. They were just as curious about us as we were about them. This is definitely one of my highlights of the trip... to be welcomed into the home of the lovely young men. We had a great time, Jeff got his butt kicked in checkers (hehe) and we made some great new friends. We cannot thank Mohamed enough for sharing this little slice of life with us. A thousand thank you's Mohamed.

Today, I also stepped into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. So now I've been in the 3 major oceans of the world; Pacific, Indian and now Atlantic. I had no bikini with me so my turban became a sarong and I went in with my t-shirt. I didn't go all the way in but did do mini-Superman's (not the same without you Caz). It was exciting and fun.

Next stop... Essaouira. We get to our riad and its beautiful (except for the baby crying... I mean seriously, wtf?). I really like this town, in fact its one of those place I could even see myself living in. It gets a lot of tourists in so you have access to all the mod-cons... but its small enough to not be too crazy like Marrakech. Plus its on the coast. I like living near the water.

After dinner, Mohamed takes us to our local bar. Its just like a pub, fall of men (I think we're the only women in the place) and we kick back with beers and play cards. It was plenty of fun. Going to the bathroom was interesting... Anne became my permanent toilet buddy. Going solo didn't seem like an option. Drunk with joy and beer in Morocco... it was a good night out.

Day 9

Today we meet the fabulous Rashida who is by far the best local guide we've had on this tour. Beautiful, vivacious, funny and super, super smart. She took us around the town and gave us snippets of local history, gossip, customs. It was so much fun to hang with her. I hope to remain in contact with her. For some reaso, she couldn't remember Mohamed's name. She kept calling him Ahmed (which of course meant we had to join in the fun too). She also let us in on the secret to attracting Moroccan men.. apparently they like dark straight hair, milky white skin and curvey rounded bodies... so ladies... may I suggest you ditch your tanning lotions, get your ghd straighteners out & head to Morocco to land yourself a man :P

This afternoon I went to a hamman, a traditional communal bath. I went to a local one rather than forking out $$ for a touristy one. Although I was sans guide with no language to help me out, one of the women working there helped me out with gestures and actually bathing me. Very unique experience that I'd be happy to repeat again. It was interesting to watch the women chat, gossip and hang with each other whilst completely in the nude. So unlike anything I've experienced before; a wonderful centurys old tradition of bathing and community.

We had a free afternoon to do what we pleased and it was quite nice that we all just hang together in the riad. Having such a small tour group who actually enjoyed each other's company meant a pleasant afternoon sipping tea, swapping photos and just hanging was easy enough to do. Perfect start to another night out at our favourite bar in Essaouira. This time it was only the three of us... Mohamed, Anne & myself. Mohamed was THE most popular man in the bar as he was sitting with 2 Western women... every 5 minutes a new guy came up to chat to him. Thankfully he deflected every single one of them. But it was pretty funny nonetheless. So were the bathroom runs... but the less said about that in a public forum the better.

Day 10

The tour is coming to an end and we're all feeling a little sad about this. We head back to Marrakech today via bus. Oh no :P it was cramped and a long trip. We've been spoilt for luxury and room in the mini-van. But if I thought this was cramped, the taxi ride back to the hotel from the bus depot was a tight squeeze with 4 of us sitting in the back seat... "hey Anne get your hand off my leg!!!" hehe

We hit another bar tonight but this time with Arabic, Latin and African tunes. A fun night of dancing, drinking was had by all! I even managed to show off my model walk to the gang. Whoops.... not again :P

I'm really sorry to leave this fantastic country. I want to come back here and explore some more. I'd love to go the gorge where Mohamed is from. It sound beautiful. And I think an exploration of the country's north is in order. Ben ... pack you bags!! We've got to come here. You can drive, I'll navigate. I know how to say "no thank you" in Arabic... I'm sure that's all we need to get by :)

Oh Morocco. I miss you so much. The food, the colours, the smells, the sounds, the people, the warmth ... I miss all of this. I cannot explain in words how moved I was by this country... so all I can say is, if you have a chance... go and explore. The cities are crazy but if you go to some of the smaller villages, you will encounter sights like no other.

Hope you all enjoyed my thesis on my trip to Morocco. I'm in New York City now and will beupdating soon-ish. Missing you all at home in Melbourne (& Sydney too... haven't forgotten you Brother Bug & the original Girl LoveBug).

Take care

GB xoxox

Morocco ... Days 1-4

2009-03-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

Be warned! This is going to be a long post :)

Right now I'm in Paris and cursing the rain, cursing the Notre Dame for 'stealing' my trusty umbrella all those weeks ago & more importantly, cursing my body for falling apart on me. I was going to stay another night but my hotel was booked out. No room at the inn for me - I now know how unwanted the Virgin Mary felt. Anyway I took it as a sign to get out of Paris. Venice ... here I come!

But before I get there, let's backtrack to the last 12 days in the most wonderful country, Morocco. I know its early to call but this is (& will be) my most favourite part of my trip. I had the most amazing time. I'm sure many of you heard me go on & on & on about hitting the Sahara desert on camel back & falling in love under the stars. And it did happen to a certain extent... I fell in love with Africa. This part of the trip was a little bitter sweet without Ben so I did what all gals do in a time of need...I texted my BF my proclamation of love under the stars of the Sahara desert hehehe.

I'm going to divide this post by days so not to inundate you with information, adventures and pics. Oh yeah pics... be warned I have close to 700 pics to upload to flickr :)

Day 1

I flew into Marrakech via Paris on Royal Air Maroc. I mention this as this airline have squashed my hatred of flying. Got to Orly airport a few hours before flight, no crowds, no queues, Orly have 9 security desks to deal with crowds so its a breeze to get through (unlike the UK and Irish counterparts!!) and I manage to board the flight without breaking a sweat. This is a 1st for me. It made me worry that something bad was going to happen on the flight though. It can't be that easy... surely not. And another thing, I had no-one sitting next to me on the flight with extra leg room being on the wing. *Shoots goal**Scores!!*

So I finally see the city of Marrakech below and the butterflies in my tummy. I'm so nervous. Already this place is like no place I've been before... there are cats wandering around the airport. I guess this is a sign of things to come :) My driver picks me up and I take in more sights of the city; cars, motor bikes, bikes, horse drawn carriages, mule drawn carriages, mules, camels and people EVERYWHERE! My butterflies are justified. When I reach my hotel, my room overlooks a busy intersection so I just sit and watch the sights and sounds of this hectic city. I probably shouldn't have done this... as a result I was too frightened to cross the street to get to the vendor for food.

I have to admit that if you come to Marrakech and successfully cross a street without getting hit by some moving vehicle, I think you can go back home content and proud of yourself. My tactic was to walk closely to large groups crossing preferably in the middle of this group. I figured that if we do get hit, there will be less physical damage if they hit a large group as opposed to one person. Luckily I didn't have to find out if that were true.

Eventually when I did try to brave the city streets, the skies opened up and started to bucket down. I went back inside to the hotel bar and got my first taste of liquid gold... the mint tea **droolz** whilst watching an incredicle thunderstorm. My introduction to Marrakech was quiet and cautious, I suppose. But with 10 more days of travel and a lingering chest cold... playing it safe was probably the best option.

Day 2

Today began with a change of venues to joining point of the tour. I took a chance on a cab and got to experience another Moroccon delight - being ripped off by cab drivers & scared to death by his driving. Yay Morocco! I think I turned that luck around when I paid 50MHD to be taken to the airport on final day - according to Mohamed (our fearless tour guide) I was very lucky to get that price. Lucky... maybe cos it certainly wasn't my savvy bargaining skills. That was non-existent :)

First day of tour, I met my roomie for the trip Betty (or Beeper), a lovely adventurous American woman who was on an earlier Intrepid tour of the northern parts of Morocco. Met some of her tour buddies and thanked the lord (ensh'allah) that I wasn't on that tour... too many loud, young Australians... one squealed at me when I mentioned I was from Melbourne. I think my look of horror was enough to put her off talking to me again. Death stares are so under-rated :P

Betty took me of my 1st tour of the Medina and within the first minutes of stepping in there, I had 2 snakes draped around my neck. I was just tagging along for the ride and instead become the focal point of attention for 2 snakes. I was not overly happy about it. The souks were amazing however I do believe I suffered a sensory overload - the sights, the sounds, the smells, the crowds - it was nuts with a capital N! Not my kind of shopping environment so the purse stayed firmly in my pocket.

In case you didn't know, I was going on a 10 day Intrepid Travel tour. We had a very small group; 3 Americans (or USA-ian's as Anne preferred) Anne, Betty & Jeff, myself the sole Australian and our gorgeous Berber guide Mohamed. Nice and small.... and thankfully we all got on like a house on fire for the whole trip. I was concerned how I would handle being forced to socialise with people I didn't know for that long a period. I couldn't have picked a better group. I giggled so much on this trip... that I do believe I don't have to laugh again for the remainder of the year.

Also for the record, I'd like to mention that Mohamed, our guide is a gidab ... liar to those unschooled in Arabic. The 1st words to come out of his mouth were all lies... "No I'm not the guide, I'm part of the tour" ... and I had to deal with this for 10 days!! Geez Louise! Thankfully he's not a good liar and starts to laugh once you get taken in... Gidab! Gidab :P Anyway, I best not bitch too much about one of the highlights of the trip or he'll get a complex.

So first night with the group, we head to Djemaa el Fna, the crazy square of the Medina with its countless snake charmers, story tellers, acrobats, fortune tellers, jugglers, medicine men and even dentists!! Well. I'm hungry and bypass all of that to hit the stalls for an al fresco feast!! Dinner with my new family was great. Next sleep for busy trip. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's

Day 3

Oh the mini-bus... its to be our home away from home for the next few days. Its so great that there's only 4 of us on this trip as we can all kick back and enjoy the space. I'm greedy and take the back seat. So Hassain will be our kick-ass driver for most of the trip. I say kick-ass and mean it. After my initial shock of Moroccan driving wore off, I felt I couldn't be in safer hands as he manouvered his way through windy mountainous streets or overtook cars, buses, mules, carriages... whatever got in our way. Safe, confident & competent... what more could you ask for in a driver!

Next destination... the High Atlas Mountains. We take a 2 hour drive to Imlil, a little village where we store our luggage, hop on our mules with our day packs & head up the mountains to the teeny village called Aremd. Last time I was on a mule, I was 18 months old. Now my parents have a pic of me as a child and adult on a mule. Clearly this is one of those life achievements they've been waiting to brag about to their friends (sorry mum & dad :P). Mule ride up the mountain was a hoot! We were staying at a family run Gite perched onto of the mountains - it had the most amazing views. Whilst we ate lunch on the terrace surrounded by the mountain ranges, you couldn't help but have your breath taken away.

Speaking of breath being taken away, that also happened after lunch. But it was the more painful variety. There's a lesson to be learned here kids, pay attention when your guide speaks. Don't zone out & day dream or drift away in your thoughts. Listen carefully!! Especially when someone is telling you, you're about to undertake an uphill 4 hour hike. Intrepid considers this to be a moderate 8km trek... but when someone considers a day out shopping as her aerobic activity, an 8km trek up to mountains to see the shrine of Sidi Chamarouch... well let's face, its problematic.

I struggled and persevered. My Croatian stubborness kicked in. If I couldn't make it, we'd all have to turn around and I couldn't let down the Americans (Shit!! did John Howard instill this need to please Americans in me??) No, I really wanted to get to to the top though. I stopped to catch my breath many times, Jeff fed me chocolate chip cookies (oh boy did sugar help) and Mohamed carried my coat. I was red, sweaty and exhausted. Clearly, I was not prepared for this! hehehe

Regardless, I made it to the top baby!! The shrine of Sidi Chamarouch is a burial place for a medieval Saint; many come with offerings in order to get blessing. Despite this place not being open to non-Muslims, we were allowed entry to it. I felt very privileged to make to to the top and see this very sacred place. We enjoyed some mint tea on top of the mountains before making our way back down again. Oh boy! How cruisey was the walk down?? I seriously thought we went a different way because we just breezed our way down.

At the base of the mountain, we ran into some local village women who were carrying the most enormous piles of wood on their backs. One of them offered the guys to try lifting it. OK now its time to shame the boys. I'm naming names here people so be prepared to hang your head in shame. Step up Mohamed. He came, he saw and was conquered. All the women laughed (so did I). Next up Jeff! Yep, disappointing and more laughs ensued. I did not even think to attempt this (please note: tiara fixed firmly atop head) but I did provide moral support when Anne stepped up to the plate. She came, she saw, she conquered!! Three cheers for Anne! Three cheers for the sisterhood! Hip hip horray! Hip hip horray! Hip hip horray!

After the exhilarating walk, we all shared a lovely dinner together. I made the illy mistake of having a shower though. Although there was hot water a plenty, this is one of the coldest showers I've had in my life!! It was so cold up there in the mountains. To get from the shower to my awaiting towel may be one of the most painful life experiences notwithstanding deaths, break ups, illnesses, family traumas etc. OK it was bad but not that bad. The problem was that it was cold and damp up in the mountains. If you left anything away from your own body heat or fire, it would develop a cold damp *shivers* So next morning, no-one dared to use the shower. Baby wipes all round.

Day 4

We head back down the mountain by foot to our awaiting mini-bus and ever reliant driver Hassain. We have a long drive ahead of us across the spectacular mountain roads. We reach Morocco's highest pass at Tizi n 'Tichka til we arrive at the Kasbah Ait Benhaddou which is just on the edge of the Sahara (the anticipation is killing me... are we there yet? are we there yet?)

Once we check into the hotel, we head straight out to explore the Kasbah which has been featured in many films: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000). It used to be an important stop for caravans trading in salt, gold, ivory and even slaves. Now its home to only a handful of families. Its a stunning fortified village with beautiful clay architecture. We got there during dusk so we enjoyed the golden hue of the buildings caused by the sun.

The Kasbah is situated on the other side of a small river. Due to recent rains, there was no easy way to pass without getting feet wet. The locals were there to offer mule and donkey rides across the river too. I was feeling a little cheap and adventurous. Off came the shoes & socks. Pants were hiked up high enough. Into the water we stepped. Jeff & I braved the elements. It was cold and I did have 2nd thoughts when I saw the donkey turd float by me... but the decision was made. And it was fun... albeit cold enough to make my eyeballs ache hehehe.

The view from the top of the Kasbah were absolutely stunning and it was worth the little stroll through icy waters. Please do check out my flickr... you won't be disappointed.

That evening we got to meet a local legend "Action Man" and his sister Fatima. They showed us how to cook a tagine and cous cous *droolz*. Action Man has been an extra in a few of the films mentioned above. He's one super-cool dude. We had the pleasure of having Action Man join us for dinner (another highlight) and as a result we got to meet the cutest little munchkin of all, "Baby Action" ... oh if I could've done an Angelina and swooped that cute little dude for myself, I would have. He stole my heart with his cuteness & sweetness. You could really tell he was daddy's little boy :)

Many of the highlight of this trip come from being able to interact with the local people. Action Man and his family were warm, welcoming and delightful. I hope to meet them again one day.

More to come soon....

xoxox

I hate flying ✈ This is problematic :P

2009-02-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

For some reason I decided to punish myself today. I'm not sure why... obviously the beating Ryanair and Dublin airport gave me wasn't enough... I decided I needed to torture myself further by insisting I could find my way to my hotel on public transport & foot sans map.

Perhaps Ryanair, lack of food and little sleep can be blamed. Or Croat stubbornness. But I'm going to go with Ryanair because when I take a disliking to something, I like to roll with it. Ryanair sucks balls. I caught 2 flights with them and am seriously unimpressed. I'll never fly with them again ... will avoid them like an STD!!!

Flight from Dublin landed OK... was one of 1st out, greeted by super friendly passport control (♥ French passport control), got bags & ticket for shuttle bus... sat next to lovely Lebanese/French girl living in Dublin who checked how I get to Paris from bus stop... all good so far. Found Metro fine despite the fact I was carrying 30kg of luggage rather awkwardly, got metro ticket & caught train... all OK. Chatted to Dublin mum & kid who kindly gave me a map *ding*ding*ding* At this point I should've checked to see if I was going to the right train stop... but no... Ms Unprepared & Unorganised will just wing it.

St Paul's train station is where I get off and then finally I check the map & realise it would've been better to get off a few stops earlier. Do I head back underground to go back those few stops?? No, I walk! Still awkwardly carrying 30kg worth of luggage. I head the wrong way, after a while ask a young man & head back in right direction. Then catch bus to make it easier but once again wing it and get off too early. Check map & head off. I'm getting closer... but I'm also getting hotter, sweatier, redder. After much wandering around, cursing & still awkwardly carrying 30kg worth of luggage, I get some fabbo directions from a pint-sized Frenchman and reach the hotel. Shower. Tick. Simple things in life are grand :)

I would've look more frazzled than this upon reaching my hotel after my 'stroll' through Paris

Back to Ireland briefly. Ireland can be best summed up as pleasant. Its green, lush, quiet, generally friendly people (chicks in pub loo's are NOT!! I think they were all jealous of my hawt boots... well deh, clearly :P) & nice. Pleasant. Nice.

Me thinks next time when I head Europe-way rather than going to Ireland to see Sarah & her boys, an invite to Croatia might be required. They seemed to like the idea when I mentioned it.

So in my travels I've made a discovery about myself. I only have the patience to stay in a city for about 7 days... on the 7th day, GirlBug cracks the sh#%s... puts a new spin on that line. I start to get antsy about day 5-6. This didn't happen in London or Berlin however so I may be safe in the States too. I miss my home, my kitchen, my bathroom, my couch, my bed and most importantly... my wardrobe & all it holds. I hate living out of a suitcase (not as much as I hate Ryanair) but it still strong enough to cause tension between myself and my luggage, in particular the dreaded backpack... how I loathe thee?? It will be interesting how I fair for the remainder of my trip ... I'm 1/2 way through my trip.

I'm missing Melbourne terribly, missing BF, kitties, friends and my place (& the original bugs too). So much so, I got extremely excited when I saw St Kilda in Home n Away (for the record I did not choose to watch H.A.A, this was my host's choice... she just ♥'s crap TV... always has).

Well take care lovelies. I'm heading Morocco & am not sure what my internet access status will be like. I'm guessing none as some of the places I'm heading seem pretty remote. I'm keeping fingers crossed that the fellow tour peeps don't do my head in... and that I don't annoy them terribly with my princess tendencies & low tolerance of human beings :D

This is going to be a long 10 days... but I'm sure a fab 10 days.

Later
GB xoxo

Irish Eyes... are blurry :P

2009-02-19T06:44:00.000-08:00

I've said goodbye to London... oh boy was that hard?? Not only did I have such an amazing time there with Cecelia and want to go back immediately... but I'm pretty sure the city wanted me to stay & did everything in its power to try keep me there.

Closing down major underground lines so I needed to catch a bus & 3 trains to get to Victoria Station (which is just a few stops from Highbury-Islington) & then endless queues & luggage hold ups at Gatwick airport. I jumped thru so many hoops to get on a plane that even my calf muscles were soaked in sweat (had to take off boots for scanning after walking thru scan already - discovered all my clothes were soaked in sweat in middle of winter). Gatwick Airport & Ryanair can jam it up their you-know-what's. I'll be avoiding both from now on... I do have to get to France with Ryainair but will do my best-est to avoid getting hit with another ridiculously high excessive luggage fee. I thought my shopping might cut my trip short... clearly the f@#%ers at Ryanair are responsible for culling 1-2 weeks off my trip. Sheez!!

Being the careless or carefree traveler that I am, I didn't really bother to find out where my friend Sarah lives. So I get to Dublin airport, catch the bus 16A (thanks to fellow traveler/musician who helped load my back pack on bus) and mid-bus trip find out I have another few hours to go before I reach my final destination. Smelly... yep. Tired... check. And I'm sooo hungry I could lick the Burger King poster that's next to me. None of this is helping my mood.

Finally get off the bus and Sarah's hubby Ciaran is waiting to help carry my bags. I'm happy already. I haven't seen Ciaran in over 6 years when we all lived together in Kew... and its oh-so-good when you can pick up your friendship from where you left off... like no time has passed. After a cup of tea and a bite to eat at their Dublin base camp, we set off for the trip south to county Wexford.

Its awesome to see my dear friend Sarah again... another friendship that just settles back in like time stood still while we were apart. Time may have stood still for me but she's popped out 2 little rug rats since moving to Ireland... so the minute I wake up the next day... its all on!!!

Eamon is my new best friend (according to him) and we have been playing with jigsaw puzzles, going to Playzone, reading stories, going for Wellington walks, watching Dora and all kinds of fun stuff. He won't share with me and this is a sore spot in our friendship ... we butt heads over the tricycles, toys or whether I can drink his pink juice or eat his left overs. I have discovered that I really enjoying tormenting 3 year olds. He seems to really enjoy tormenting me too. It's all rather exhausting though hehehehe. His teeny-tiny brother William is hilarious and gorgeous. He moves like an old man, won't crawl but slides on his bum (it looks like he's walking with a cane... will try & get video footage of this). He enjoys being chased, tickles & doesn't like being changed into fresh nappies or pj's... what a squirmer!! But oh so cute! :)

So I think I'll return to Australia with a nanny qualification and a healthy respect for my fabulous friend who is raising 2 amazing young men. They will be heart breakers when grown up, I can see it a mile away, especially William with his strong & silent manner.

Here are some pics from our wellington walk around the property. Muddy, exhausting & fun... especially when we can pop into the in-laws afterwards for a fresh pot of tea & home made baked treats. Yay!

PS - Today Sarah & I dropped the kids off at creche then headed to Wexford for a day of shopping & lunching (as ladies do :P). Scored a new pairs of black jeans, ballet shoes & bag... thanx New Look (likey likey but not as much as TopShop... I think knowing TopShop is online is a dangerous thing for this bug hehe)

Miss everyone xoxo

♥ Hello lover ♥

2009-02-12T17:15:00.001-08:00

Well everyone knows I was bound to go to TopShop... & oh boy, did it live up to all expectations! I was a sensible grrrl and only bought a few accessories ... when I have some down time, I'll be sure to post up my shopping delights... except the super-duper stuff I bought for the BF, which is on its merry way to Melbourne right now (check PO Box in a week or 2 babe xoxox)

So London has been Awesome with a Capital A!!!! As much as I ♥ Paris, I've had a ball in London especially with my trusty sidekick Cel's.

So far this week, we went to see Wicked... fun! fun! fun! & oh yeah... I am woman enough to admit it... I cried :P This was a great night out although I'm particularly concerned that my enjoyment of the Wizard of Oz has been forever tainted. Can I forgive Wicked for this? I'm not sure yet... its something I ponder as I sit on the bus/tube en route to my next play destination.

OK, you know I like the nerdy things too. Soooooo.... British Museum was paid a visit. I spent hours in there and didn't even get to the other levels. This place got me thinking about British Colonialism though... did they 'acquire' most of their collection through unsavoury means?? The Parthenon sculptures & architecture is definitely a sore spot between English & Greece relations. Now, don't get me wrong! I was so impressed with the collection. However throughout the audio guide, the British Museum touted that these things would be lost forever if it weren't for them/Lord Elgin/{insert name of explorer/ambassador/etc here}... but then the question remains, who are they to make that judgement call for other cultures?? Anywayz just a thought that kept nagging me as I strolled... below are a few pics from my tour around the Museum. Enjoy ☺

Today was a little more quiet and less manic than my previous days. Probably due to SKYPE DATE with the BF this morning ... woo hoo !!! So nice to chat again. Miss him. Wish he was here. ☹ Sorry if I sound like a broken record.. but I do. So there!

Another bonus today was to have an extra long sleep in after a few drinks at the pub last night. Mind you, I've been sleeping in every single day... my bed is just so damn comfy (thanx Cara ... I haven't met you but your bed has been so welcoming).

Back to today... I finally got my butt into gear and headed out to do this bus tour. It was very late but they say on website that they run til 6pm. Apparently I missed the last Red tour bus but after joking around with one of the bus drivers... he conspired with another bus driver to get me to the Marble Arch in time to catch up with the last Red tour bus (confused??).... anyways...... with pedal to the metal & a dangerous manevoure on a round-a-bout... & I get there! Yay! Thanks Terry... ur da man!! This will end up being the highlight of the tour... it was ok, but with cold weather, rain and camera battery dying mid-tour... it all adds up to "eh"... I'm going to have to do part of the tour again tomorrow. Thank gawd that ticket lasts for 48 hours. Hopefully I get Terry the mad rev-head driver. He was cooool!

And then there was Brick Lane. This little place keeps popping up on my radar via the fashion blogs I read. So I ask away... "what's Brick Lane?" ... and that's when everybody mentions "Curry", "You must have a curry on Brick Lane" is the most frequently used sentence. Off we go... and OMG it was good. Lamb one was ok... but the chicken & lychee curry.... in the words of Rachel Zoe... "To Die™". This is going to come as a bit of a shock to some but London has been my fave place to eat so far... the divine pub meal last night, the Brick Lane curries (might go back for seconds tomorrow) and the tasty Cornish Pasties from Victoria Station have all been delish, not heavy, perfect 4 me!

Better get some zzzz's peeps. Got half a bus tour to do plus hitting Camden markets and possibly play Barbie in a fave shop around the corner from here... dangerous stuff I tell you.

Hope you're all well. Take care

GB xoxox

Yet another Motherland....

2009-02-09T16:27:00.001-08:00

"London calling at the top of the dial

After all this, wont you give me a smile?" ~ The Clash

A smile indeed! I was so happy to see a familiar face when I arrived in London. My lovely 4mer Melbourne gal & original member of the StitchNBitch crew, Cecelia was there to greet me at the station. Yay!! So after Oyster card was purchased, we were off on another trip to Islington... home for the next 6 days.

Jean-Michel Basquiat
Tobacco vs Red Chief 1981-2

Sunday night in London.. what's a gal to do?? Why.... have roast with a bunch of Aussies, of course!!! Cajun roast, spicy gravy&spuds courtesy of Liz&Phil plus bottles of red, red wine (stay close 2me... sorry UB40). Nice way 2 settle into any place if you ask me.

First day in London was a little wet & dreary. Nothing unexpected, I guess. I had high hopes of an early start but after a wonderful sleep-in, I thought a slow start to the day was in order. Plus I am one of the most unorganised travelers... I don't decide what I'm going to do or see, until I get to a place. And its also good to get tips from the locals. Tip #1... the Tate.

With my Oyster Card in hand, I bordered a bus (oops paid no attention to bus# for return trip) & headed toward London Bridge. It looked vaguely close to the Tate Modern. So I stumbled out at London bridge station and headed left, meandering through cobbled stone lane-ways, stopped off at a 30-something version of Macca's ... baguettes, wraps, soups & smoothies for sale with well groomed 'Londoners' ... cheap too. Oh & yum (thankfully). So after being souped, caffiened, juiced & sudoku'd up, I continued on my meanderings til I hit the Tate.... whoa its big. Not Versailles-big... but still big. And... wait for it.... its free!! Thank you, London.

Here are a few of my faves from the Tate:

Pablo Picasso Goat's Skull, Bottle and Candle 1952

Jackson Pollock Number 14 1951

Cornelia Parker Thirty Pieces of Silver 1988-9

Robert Rauschenberg Almanac 1962

Julian Schnabel Humanity Asleep 1982

Putting them all in a row like that, kinda bleak colours. What does that say about me??

It was such a lovely suprise to see the Schnabel piece with all its broken crockery and glimpses of faces... then walk around the corner to Basquit painting featured above. For those who don't know, Julian Schnabel directed the 1996 film Basquit about the painter's life. Great film! Check it out!

I also loved the work of Damien Ortega "Diagram by Plan: Skins". Unfortunately I couldn't find any image of it. But that may be a good thing cos I may then be forced to try to explain it. And I cannot :D The hanging wooden sculptures of Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica were very cool. I'd love to hang one in my home. I'm sure my kitties would have a field day.

There was also a film by Lithuanian born Jonas Mekas. I can't explain why... but I was mesmerised. I didn't see all 6 reels of footage they had, alas the Tate was closing and I was told to clear out. For that reason, I may go back... just to see all the footage. The link I've posted may include some of the footage shown at the Tate.

So I didn't see to many sights today... but by catching the wrong bus, I did see Big Ben, The London Eye and a few other beautiful parts of the city. I still have no sense of orientation which is very rare for me. Perhaps this is due to most of the day being viewed either under an umbrella or on a bus with fogged up windows hehehe.

Hopefully, I'll have some pictures for you soon. Its kinda hard to juggle camera, handbag and umbrella ... especially with the wind picking up too.

Before I leave you, my ♥ goes out to all Victorians struggling with the bushfires. My thoughts are with the firefighters/volunteers and families. R.I.P to the 173 people who lost their lives. Let's hope the death toll doesn't climb further.

Sending rain vibes to Victoria xoxox
GB

Image sources: Tate Modern, ArtLine

I shopped... enough said

2009-02-07T14:53:00.000-08:00

Today was my 1st & only shopping day in Paris...

Its the last day of my trip & I'm 'oh-so-glad' I waited til last day to shop. Otherwise I would've become intoxicated & spent all my $$$ then have to head back early with my tail between my legs (but an awesome wardrobe in tow). As it is, I'm sure I'll cut back my trip a bit... especially if I have another day or 2 like today :-/

So let me introduce you to me new lover...sorry BF :P

Black patent leather boots with wedge heel

My initial plan was to go check out a market & some vintage shops. Market closed early (or on time... coulda got times wrong). Started heading over to where the vintage shops were but then the snow & the wind picked up. I didn't actually have a problem with the weather. It was the retarded, evil umbrella that kept turning inside out every few steps... nothing... I mean nothing would end this battle... nothing except ducking into a cafe for lunch.

Now I'm going to say something blasphemous. I don't ♥ French food that much. Its just so heavy for my tum tum... actually this isn't limited to just French food, most of the heavy European food has been really tough on me. I've taken to finding Japanese, Thai or other Asian delights in the fair cities I visit. I've eaten non-Asian food & it has been yum (ok) but I'm not indulging in any of it. With the French food, what's been the most difficult thing to stomach is the melted cheese... on absolutely everything!!!! I luuuurrrrrvvvvvvve cheese. Give me a kilo of blue cheese & its gone, adios, Cya! Down the hatch. But as soon as you melt cheese, me no likey likey. So when almost every 'French' meal I've had here haz cheese... me no likey likey either.

Plus all this walking around & being overly active means I'd rather eat light meals. There's a delish Asian restaurant/take out place right near the hotel. I've been here less than a week & the women knows me... is that sad?

Anyway enough ranting about food... this post is supposed to be about shopping. I wandered around the 4th Arrondossiment ... it was amazing. I could've gone completely nuts. I fell in love with so many goodies. And the men's range was awesome too. BF... we're coming back here. U Will Die™. Its Bananas™.

I realise you haven't seen my purchases from previous cities so I'm going to add them all here.

Now for a gal, who doesn't like getting her photo taken... actually I was a gal who HATED having her photo taken... but then Roxanne beat that out of me with the endless photo shoots she subjected me too. I digress.. so for someone who doesn't really love having her photo taken, I actually enjoyed playing with tripod & timer record on camera to get these shots for you. The poses were inspired by the countless fashion blogs I subscribe to (& they say u can't learn things online... eh, I beg to differ).

Paris Goodies

New patent boots with wedge heel. They were half price!!! Yay! I ♥ them so much

Mock-suede jacket with leather collar

Berlin Goodies

A reversable thingy... can wear as coat, hoodie etc

Grey top/dress depending how game I am

My funky mitten with skull & cross bones... plus pom poms :)

Prague Goodies

My dutiful grey ear muffs... how I've lived without them until now??

Split Goodies

Zara hoodie

OK this was fun playing dress ups for y'all.

I hit London tomorrow. Can't wait to see Cel's... yay!!

Laterrrrrrrr,
GB xoxox

Whoa... Versailles is HUGE!!!

2009-02-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

Today I donned my Marie Antoinette attitude for a day trip to the Estate of Versailles... and actually it worked. I was 10-15 minutes late meeting Shah at the St Michel Fountain... we didn't have each other's mobiles (he didn't have roaming... I don't know my Croat number off by ♥) plus he obviously didn't know me... otherwise he would've known to give a 15minute leeway for the gal with no watch or commitment to time. A big whoopsy to start the day...

Once again I was hit up by a Frenchie for directions. WTF??? I need to change my perfume or deodorant.. or alter my pheromones. Who do peeps always come up to me??

Now after 1st hiccup of loosing travel, the train down to Versailles was very pleasant, especially having a saxophone busker in the train carriage. Sun shining, smooth tunes... what more could I ask for?

Although its nice to have a buddy in a foreign city, this little day trip was probably best served solo anyway. I got to do my nerdy tours, utilise the audio guide & wander the gardens at my own pace. And I came to the conclusion that despite the economic recession, I want to live in a Palace!! A big Palace!! With gardens, secret doorways, beautiful porcelean, art work, tapestry, chapel (hey I'd go if it was right there... ok maybe not) & of course servants (cos there is no way I would clean something that big... :P)

My jaw dropped when I saw the Palace... it was so enormous!! During Louis XVI's reign, there were approx 4000 people living and working there. That's bigger than the little village of Blato where my folks are now living. HUGE! The gardens were very beautiful... I ♥ the structure & form of French gardens. I only had a little wander so definitely want to come back (in summer perhaps... yay).

Latone Fountain & Parterre looking down onto the Grand Canal

South Parterre

Our tour guide was hilarious. He didn't mean to be however when he stressed the word "STAG" in his French accent, I had to stifle a giggle. There was also a woman on tour who was very knowledgeable about history which could've been a real bonus... Buuuuut... she was one of those weird old quirky people who knew so much about history cos she lacked all other social skills. Again had to stifle giggle when she refused the headsets we were given to hear the guide... quirky woman: "I don't like putting things in my ears" .. she was going to argue her case but the guide simply cbf'd (& rightly so).

Check out more pics of Versailles on Flickr. Enjoy xx

Here's just a bit of fun I had on my own with my camera & tripod... pretending to be a headless Marie Antoinette roaming her gardens and haunting the tourists. The haunting of the tourists didn't quite work... a woman walking by thought it was a perfect shot :P

OK one more day of play left in Paris before I head over to London & see the lovely Cel's...

Later
GB xx

Another day in Paris

2009-02-05T08:53:00.000-08:00

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again, dancing a jig;
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog;
Home again, home again, jiggety-jog;
To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,
Home again, home again, market is done.
by Jessie Redmon Fauset

Today I headed out to a local market in the 7th Arrondissement in Paris. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect... whether it would be an absolute waste of time or if it would be Fun with a Capital F!! Thankfully it was the latter :) I met up with my new buddy Shah, hopped onto the Metro to Segur & headed down Perignon to the awaiting market... stalls of fruits, vegetables, olives, cheeses, meats (incl whole rabbits ... poor Bugsy), flowers etc... And may I add absolutely EVERYTHING looked delicious and immaculate. Now I love our Melbourne markets but the quality of the food seems to pale in comparison... This is going to make shopping back home particularly difficult from now on.

Another bonus as you're perusing these fine treats, is that the gorgeous Eiffel Tower is watching over you (not in an evil Big Brother kinda way, more "I'm-in-Paris-woo-hoo" kinda way). There are other goodies to buy like clothes, shoes, hoover bags (?) etc. However, the food is clearly the ★star★ of this show. After sampling some olives & dip, we decided on lunch... market goodies!!! Yay!

Wandering around, we settled on chilli olives, cheese stuffed artichokes, wild pig ham with pistachios, roasted potatoes, roasted chicken and of course, a baguette. As tempting as the fruit was... we thought we had it covered.

Now this wouldn't have been half as fun, had it not been for our hilarious attempts at French. This is how a usual scenario ran:

Shopkeeper: "Bonjour {insert an entire sentence here}"

Us: "Bonjour" *point to roast chicken legs* "Deux, s'il vous plait"
Shopkeeper: *places chicken legs in bag, calculates price, shows us receipt*
Shopkeeper/Us: *exchange goods for cash*
Us: "Merci"
Shopkeeper: "Merci"
*transaction complete* hehehe

This was so much fun!!! Finally, lunch was bought. Now the pressing issue... where to eat it? We were heading to the Rodin Museum; it has a beautiful garden with Rodin's bronze sculptures scattered throughout. Cool...Another decision made. Headed over via bus and enjoyed the sites & sounds of Rodin's former residence. It was an old creaky mansion which made his work look all the more special. Check out some of my faves on flickr.

The Kiss is dedicated to my beloved BF back home. Wish u were here in Paris with me. MissnU☹

Before checking out the garden sculptures, we had lunch on a park bench. Finally we got to sample the yummy treats from the market. Now don't tell me ur not jealous of this little feast?? Yum, yum, yum!!!

So after a lovely day out with Shah, I let the team down (according to him) and skidaddled back to the hotel for some R&R. Once again I was approached by a Frenchie for directions. I gave her my "deer-in-headlights" look but she persisted, I heard "Notre Dame"... I knew the train was going there so said "oui" ... the women replied "merci", sat down then got off several stops later at Notre Dame station. Woo hoo!! My 1st successful conversation about directions in France *pats myself on the back*

Tomorrow I'm checking out Versailles Palace. Can't wait!! I've seen the place where ♕Marie Antoinette♕ was beheaded... now I'd like to see where she lived.

Au Revoir my lovely family & friends
GB xoxo

Two Days in Paris

2009-02-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

So I've been a little sleep deprived lately... as such tackling the Paris Metro or anything actually has been uber-difficult for this little chook. So yesterday turned out to be 'laundry day' ... I had one outfit that was clean, feeln the pressure to look good in Paris (or at the very least not embarrassingly bad), I decided it was time to wash the ole clothes-a-roony. Under the guidance of hotel staff, I navigated my way thru to the Latin Quarter to do laundry. You must say "eh.. what a waste of a day"... but fear not, it was a pleasant day with some zzzzzzzzz's thown in for good measure. So took a stroll through this gorgeous park, hits the streets & had a lovely lunch sans tourist. Thanksfully, a Parisian grrrl helped me navigate the menu as waiter couldn't speak English.

Today was a busy day. I rushed from hotel to Eiffel Tower to do a bike tour. Got to the tour smack bang on 11am whilst catching glimces of the tower & having my breath taken away. It is more impressive than one can imagine. For some strange reason, I was more blown away with the base of the tower... it just looks amazing.

Anyway, back to bike tour. Big plus side was sseing the city via bike, hitting the streets & taking chances on intersections. It was fun, fun, fun!! Lunch with the tour... not so fun, fun, fun. 1st... my footsies were frozen (I know this is blasphemous but I wish I wore my ugg boots) and 2nd... the peeps on the tour were from another tour that will remain nameless. I was the only person not part of this. And boy was I glad that I only had a 4hr bike ride with them rather than an 18 day tour of Europe with this crowd. To put it simply.... not my people. Thankfully, I only had to deal with them @lunch.... not time for chit-chat when riding a bicycles thru Parisian streets :)

So after the tour, I headed over to the Eiffel Tower. I promised @dkeahey that I would go up the tower... I did not, however promise how high that would be. I did level 1 & 2. I so chickened out for level 3 (no fkn way was I going up there without BB to hold my hand).

So the strategy for the Tower was this... scary 2nd level first then try & enjoy the 1st level. Guess what it worked!! I was terrified up on Level 2. I never went near the edge & didn't eve walk all the way around. Too cold. Too high. Too frightening!! I even had to hide under a stairwell to psych myself up to just check it.

Now 1st level (altho still very high) put me at ease. I was able to take pics easily, even go to the edge, checked out this amazing audio visual display. It showed a snippet of the 1911 attempt by Franz Reichtel to jump from the Eiffel Tower in his bat suit (unfortunately it didn't work). My fave story also took place in 1911, a woman hitched up a tightrope from the 1st level of the Eiffel Tower to a nearby building's flag pole. She successfully walked to the flagpole to cheers from Parisians, she turned around & walked back to an awaiting media. Apparently she did this to get attention of her boyfriend so he would marry her (unfortunately, I don't know whether it worked).... hehehe the things we do for ♥

Anyway, I watched the sunset in Paris on the bridge before the Eiffel Tower *sigh*, made a friend on the bridge (hi Shah), took plenty of happy snaps of the tower under lights, watched some b-boys bust some moves (tres cool) & am now exhausted in my hotel room.

Looking forward to tomorrow... will be heading to a market and hopefully Rodin Museum.

Au Revoir for now

xx
GB

Bonjour Paris

2009-02-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

So I've finally made it to Paris (yipeeeeeee) after a not-so-delightful train ride from Berlin. There was nothing terribly wrong (ie I didn't end up in Warsaw by mistake as I did en route to Prague... doh!) however I've discovered I ain't a grrrl who likes to rock to & fro whilst trying to sleep. 2 hour burst of sleep doesn't do wonders for your state of mind & a super hot cabin makes for an uncomfortable ride. Sadly I discovered once I got to Paris how to turn down the temperature (double doh!).

So 1st day in Paris was spent showering and sleeping. Much needed, I tell ya. I couldn't let Paris see me in any other state :P

So I haven't updated family & friends since leaving Croatia so here's an update:

First stop Prague. To get there, I caught a train from Split to Zagreb, then Zagreb to Vienna (nice but awfully quick stop over) where I was misinformed by rail staff that my train stopped in Prague then Warsaw... after sleeping like a baby, I discovered this was indeed INCORRECT! The train split in 2; one part went to Prague & the other to Warsaw. Anyway, got to Warsaw & then caught a train to Prague... no biggie really. Quite funny & really a typical misadventure.
So the extended train ride meant I got sick. But this isn't entirely sad news cos the hotel in Prague was so nice. Thanks wotif.com for the delightfil find that is Galileo Hotel.
When I finally escaped my room, I went of a fantastic walking tour where I met a super cool Elwood grrrl Sar & her super cool bf Justin (hello & happy travels guys)
I met Czech film maker called Lada who took me to a warped puppet show. It based on the movie Rocky. Strange but oh-so-much fun. Check out some pics of the puppets & puppeteers.
I saw La clemenza di Tito; one of Mozart's last operas. It was performed at the theatre it made its debut in 1791. Très bon
And my most favourite thing to do in Prague was to got to a marionette puppet workshop & create my very own Princess "Pinnochio". If in Prague, you must attend this puppet workshop. I had a ball!!
After Prague, I headed across to Berlin & stayed at the Circus Hostel. Highly recommended. Again went on a walking tour and saw the sights of Berlin. Now Berlin isn't a prettiest city but its way cool. I swear everyone is good looking & cool. Not good looking in a preppy or jock kinda way (eh yuk) but I'm-an-artist-&-read-Proust-&-paint kinda way. All the clothes are funky. So of course, I shopped a bit :D Yay!!
I also went for a bike ride in Berlin & was way excited when it began to snow. So with my mittens (new purchase), ear muffs, scarf, hoodie & coat.. I was well & truly rugged up when I rode to the East Side Gallery. Really loved this gallery ... I kinda liked that peeps were continuing to add to it... an organice piece of artwork. Oh & you must check out the street art in Berlin... I was constantly walking into laneways & doorways taking pics of the art. Love, love loved it!! {Thanx Satta & JD ;-) u can take some responsibility for that}

So now I'm in Paris. After catching up on some zzzzzzzzzzzzzz's I went for a wander along the Sienne, checked out the Notre Dame & the Louvre. I wonder if I'm one of the few visitors to the Notre Dame who spent most of her time cursing like a sailor. I'm scared of heights yet I constantly find myself climbing stairs up bell towers etc to check out the view. I exhaust myself climbing the stairs... (let's face it, this is the only exercise I've been getting for the last few years) & then I am sick with fear once I reach the destination. I'm doing this one more time though, I promised a Twitter follower that I would go up the Eiffel Tower. What can I say? @dkeahey was convincing.

So I've been busy with my flickr so check out the happy snaps :)

Will chat soon.

Maryann (Or GirlBug for my Twitter lovelies)
xxx