Wanderlust Questionnaire

·         Hello! Who are you?

Hi, I'm Michelle, Gemma's Mum.  Her wanderlust may be due to me encouraging her to leave home.   I'm a busy MD of a Training company, so I like my holidays to be easy to organise at present.  I really love lots of fresh air (avoiding tourist buses is essential) and experiencing different cultures. Local food, local people and local architecture are highlights for me.

·         What do you travel for?

Both work & pleasure, and its important the former includes the latter.

·         Last destination visited?

This year I've touristed Melbourne, Tanzania, Fiji & Dubbo.  What variety!  The trips have covered work, pleasure and romance (not necessarily all together), so it's been a very enjoyable year.  This is probably my biggest travel year ever as I'll also go to Guam and Brisbane.

·         Hotel or Hostel? Why?

Hotel.  I like my own room with all the bells and whistles, fresh clean sheets and towels, and plenty of space.  I don’t like rooms with smelly sock odours, and listening to strangers snort and snore all night.  But I do like camping - why wasn't that included?

·         Favourite destinations.

The best destinations for me have water, river or sea, that is warm enough for swimming.  Water makes it easy to unwind and relax.  I think each place has it's own special charms, so I don't rate one place over another.

·         Travel good luck charm?

Salisbury Cathedral Tower badge.  I’d read the story of Old Sarum in which the cathedral was built, and then years later I actually visited it and climbed the tower.  It reminds me dreams come true. 

·         Packing ritual?

Throw everything into the bag at the last minute.  Don’t stress.  You can always buy anything you need if you forgot something.  And if you are on the move then you don't need many clothes, so long as you get to wash frequently.  Lots of baggage is just a nuisance.

·         Destination you will not return to? Why?

Levuka, Fiji.  Hot, noisy, mosquito ridden, no beach and nothing to do (and I may have hated it more because I was pregnant).

·         Destinations you dream about.

Macchu Pichu, South America to see ancient, ancient history, wonderful scenery, and a totally different culture.  I doubt that the pictures do it justice.

·         Must have in your carry-on luggage.

Nowadays my ipad loaded with good books!  Lonely Planet guide of my destination and my camera.

·         The best meal you have had away.

Lots – Soup and rolls in pubs across Ireland, 5 courses of fungi in a monastery in China, Peking duck in a Peking duck exclusive restaurant in Beijing, eating amazing food in a Chinese peasants house with the pig in the room next door.

·         Favourite travel quote.

It’s not about the destination; it’s the journey – pretty cliched!

·         How do you survive the flight?

Read a long book that requires lots of concentration.  Get excited about the food!  Plan where I'm going to visit, as I've generally not done it before I left.

·         That one travel story that you have told a million times, and will keep on telling.

Can’t say I’m much of a story teller.  More of a photo taker, and there are too many favourite photos.

Our communist guide in Beijing asked our group tour to appoint a sole decision maker for the group because we would not be able to agree as a group.  We protested and insisted on a democratic vote, which took a lot of insistence to get accepted.  He was so sure it wouldn’t work that when our first vote was 6 to 7 we all just smiled, kept our mouths closed and accepted the vote.  Which meant we saw the Beijing Opera, didn’t understand a thing, and were nearly deafened, but we still all said it was fantastic.

Lilianfels

This week I went up the mountains with an old friend Annie to celebrate her upcoming birthday. I chose to visit Lilianfels in Katoomba as I had been wanting to check it out for a while and this seemed like the perfect opportunity!

 Lilianfels is just outside of Katoomba, sitting near Echo’s point, overlooking the Jamison Valley and is a five star hotel with an award winning restaurant, Darley’s, attached.

Annie in Leura

It was a surprise for Annie and so I hoped that she had no idea where we were going but when we pulled into the driveway of the hotel she did a little squeal and said that she had hoped it would be here. Apparently I had mentioned my desire to go there to quite a few people.

Shopping in Leura

We stopped by the hotel but it wasn’t check-in time yet and so we trundled back to Leura for some lunch. We went to Fresh cafe on a recommendation and ate chicken, avocado and aioli wraps and corn fritters as well as fantastic coffee. I don’t often drink straight coffee; if I’m buying a takeaway cup on the way to work it is a mocha or chai. But as soon as I step into a warm cafe with that beautiful brewing smell, I don’t care about anything else until I get a latte!

It was a great day, cold outside but sunny and still so that when we sat by the window in Fresh the sun warmed us all over. Out in the main street of Leura we trundled from candle shop to stationary shop to chocolate shop to homewares rugged up in coats and beanies. Leura has such a nicely laid out main strip with grass and trees in the median strip and park benches everywhere for sitting and enjoying delicate chocolates in the sun. I would recommend the Lavender and Honey one; it tasted like green and mauve!

Chocolates!

 When we went back to the hotel we checked into our room (007!) and Annie was just thrilled. We had a pink room, the wallpaper was a fabric print of children and goat herds and trees and it matched our curtain and the drapes over our beds. I had mentioned when I made the booking that we were celebrating Annie’s birthday and so there was a letter and a little bag of chocolates on the bed for her. Of course we tried on our bathrobes and slippers and tested out the beds a bit before we went to explore the rest of the hotel.

Annie in our room.

We discovered the lounge area with a large fireplace at each end and French doors spanning one side of the room overlooking the valley. It was scattered with leather lounges and beautifully upholstered arm chairs arranged around various coffee tables. There were a few people having high tea overlooked by the man in the bar in the corner. Further down the hotel we found a reading room with a gorgeous old worn reading desk, a games room with a huge pool (or billiards?) table and the indoor heated pool. The pool room had three walls of windows allowing plenty of light in. The fourth wall had large columns spanning it making it feel a lot like a roman bath house.

The indoor pool

Outside we wandered the gardens, they reminded us of English cottage gardens with their laid out beds and scattered fountains and benches. The outdoor pool was locked, we assumed that was because it was winter although it is advertised as heated but we didn’t mind too much as we were happy to stay inside in the warm!

In the gardens

After our full tour we went back to our room to collect our swimmers and headed down to the spa. A lovely young girl showed us the facilities and then left us on our own. The only unfortunate thing that I thought was that the spa areas we separate for male and female, which was just fine for Annie and I but might be kind of disappointing for couples on a romantic weekend. We made full use of the spa, steam room and sauna as well as the pool and went back to our room feeling refreshed and energised.

The view from the hotel gardens

For dinner we went to Avalon in Katoomba’s main street with Annie’s brother and his family. Annie and I agreed that the place looked like a mix between Professor Tralawney’s room and the tea shop in Hogsmead (that was a Harry Potter reference in case there are any non-readers out there!) It had mismatched plates, chairs, vases, tables everything! And the women serving us were older women in long skirts and knitted jumpers. The food was hearty so it really felt like you had just popped by grandma’s house!

Back at the hotel we played a long drawn out game of pool as neither of us has any skill for it, but we laughed all the way through so it was fun. Then we relaxed in the lounge area with books, chocolates and Gin and Tonic’s from the bar!

Pool

The next morning we were babysitting Annie’s niece Elke. We picked her up and went out to brunch at the Hatter’s cafe on Katoomba’s main street. Elke devoured a babychinno and chips whilst Annie and I had pesto mushrooms on toast which filled us for the whole day! We walked Katoomba’s main street but it was not as good as Leura’s, we still enjoyed some antique shops and hippy clothing shops before heading into another cafe to escape the freezing wind that had turned up! This cafe was called Common Ground and was like walking into the inside of a tree that someone had turned into a cafe. There were so many nooks and crannies and dark corners and ups and downs that it felt like it could have been a fairy house. We sat in front of the fire and drank Chai and danced with Elke and people watched.

Chai at Common Ground

After we dropped Elke home our last mountain stop was Blackheath to show Annie a fantastic antiques shop I had been to before. We spent an hour turning over all the treasures and trying on hats and coats and finally I bought a fantastic pair of Dame Edna style glasses for my road trip.   

Lollies in Leura

We wound down the mountain in the afternoon, dropping in on some friends as we went and finally making it home after dark. It had only been one night but it had felt like we had escaped for a lot longer! I always forget that wonderful and different destinations are so close to us and so easy to get to. Everyone should try and spend just one night away occasionally to see just how revitalising it can be!

Go

Tourist in my own city

My friend Claire works at the Sydney Sky Tower and after a dismal start to my day (I missed my flight to Melbourne) she suggested that I come up for a complete Sydney Tower experience. If I couldn’t be a tourist in Melbourne, I might as well be one in Sydney!

The package began with a 4D movie experience. I have done these before and no matter how lame I might think it will be going in, I couldn’t help but grin when the floor shook in time with the shuddering of the yacht and we were sprayed with water when the dolphins jumped (quickly dried by the wind created from the lorikeet’s wings).  We were taken all over Sydney, which even for a local like me was fun to see.

After the movie we were taken up in the wedge shaped elevator to the viewing deck at about 260 meters above the ground. This circular viewing deck allows you to see all the way to the Blue Mountains in the west and to the sea in the east and is especially great for viewing the sunrise or sunset (check out the awesome pictures on their Facebook page).

The complete package includes the sky walk, a walk around the outside of the tower. I am not a fan of heights, I feel woozy even looking out the window of a 30 storey building, but Claire talked me into it and soon I was getting kitted up. The kit involves a blue jumpsuit and a safety harness just like a rock climbing belt. Once my sunglasses had a safety chain on them and I was attached to the trolley run by my safety belt we were ready to go.

We were in a group of about 10 and Martina was guiding us. As we stepped out onto the balcony I told myself that I just wouldn’t look down and it would all be fine, but of course down was where my gaze was pulled and strangely, I felt ok. There was so much solid building around me that although I could see through my feet down between the metal grill to Pitt St, it didn’t worry me. Awesome.

Martina pointed out some sights, shouting over the wind that was whipping my hair everywhere and making me thankful for my warm jumpsuit. The next challenge for me was when we got to the glass platform. I took a deep breath, stepped on, and thankfully didn’t find it any more alarming than the rest of the walk. However Martina asking all 10 of us to jump up and down on it did stretch my nerves a little.

We all had our photos taken on this glass platform and were given plenty of time to look around the rest of the deck. Martina knew lots of interesting facts about the tower and Sydney, I really didn’t expect her to be able to surprise me with any of them, being a local, but she did. The walk itself also had one more surprise left which actually did make my heart stop, but I will leave it as surprise. Don’t want to spoil all of the fun!

Once inside we were stripped of our safety gear, shown our photos for purchase and left to wander the observation deck again. I sat on a window ledge and tried to find my house whilst I waited for Claire to finish her shift. I was also marvelling at how much more awesome your city becomes when you act the tourist in it.

Wanderlust Questionnaire

·         Hello! Who are you?

Konichiwa, I’m  Nicky, I’m 21 and I work for a youth service organisation that provides programs for disadvantaged and marginalised youth. I love playing with kids, travelling to foreign countries, movies with my Mamma and humus.

·         What do you travel for?

Adventure. Education. Experience. Meeting new people. Food. To get away.

·         Last destination visited?

Byron Bay and Mullumbimby. I went to visit my second family and celebrate a 50^th birthday.

·         Hotel or Hostel? Why?

Depends on what type of travelling you are doing. But my all time preference would be a hostel. Get to meet new people and experience more of the ‘travelling’ culture. A lot of fun times have been spent in hostels for me, and a lot of funny stories surround hostel experiences.

·         Favourite destinations.

I loved travelling in Japan, had a fantastic trip travelling solo. I really like Western Australia for a chilled out holiday with sun, surf and sand. I want to go back to Thailand and experience more, had only a short time over there. New York is next on my list!

·         Travel good luck charm?

Mmm… don’t really have one. I guess my trusty Katmandu backpack. And I usually always have a battered Lonely Planet stuffed in there somewhere.

·         Packing ritual?

Last minute! Always. I can never pack in advance – I analyse and think too much about what I’m taking. And I always make lists. A list for my big bag and a list for my carry on. The only way to pack!

·         Destination you will not return to? Why?

I don’t really have one. I don’t believe in the saying ‘I’d try anything once’. I prefer instead ‘I’d try anything twice’. First time might be a dud experience for a number of reasons. I’d give something a second shot and then if that fails maybe I wouldn’t return, but that hasn’t happened to me yet.

·         Destinations you dream about.

New York! The big bright lights of New York City. Hopefully that is my next destination in the near future.

·         Must have in your carry-on luggage.

A map.

·         The best meal you have had away.

Sooo many to choose from! From my recent trip to China, I had the most far-out-amazing dumplings! And a bowl of shaved ice and sweet bean topping the size of my head for desert! A fantastic meal!

·         How do you survive the flight?

I can never sleep unless I have a whole row of seats to myself, which I have been lucky enough to have a few times. Otherwise I usually watch a lot of movies, or I daydream about my upcoming destination.

·         That one travel story that you have told a million times, and will keep on telling.

Hahahaha the time a group of friends and I were in Scotland and were trying to figure out the train lines. We were on the right platform, boarded our train when it arrived, settled with our million heavy backpacks into our seats and brought out our lunch eager to eat. Looking up at the screen to contemplate how many stops until we had to get off, I realised our station did not appear on the screen and after much discussion and with the whistle blowing signalling the train was about to depart we shoved our food back into the containers and scrambled off the train as the doors were closing. We landed in a heap of bags, sushi, arms and legs on the platform while the train departed the station. That was close! We consulted the monitors – we had been on the correct platform. What happened? We waited of the next train and tried again. This time, we got on, sat down and the train had departed before we realised we were again on the wrong train and piled off at the next possible stop to catch another train back to our original destination where we got off and stormed up to the station guards pissed off! What was going on! The guards explained – we were on the right platform yes, but each platform has two trains. The train at the front and the train at the back. We had been getting the train at the back of the platform and we needed to get on the front train. To us, it looked like all one train. Finally we boarded the correct train and many hours later, arrived at the station we needed to be at. Confusion!

A visit to VIVID

What is it about humans and light? We all laugh at moths when they relentlessly circle a candle, and yet the same thing is seen around a bonfire at a campground with people!

In 1879 somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 people flocked to Blackpool in England to watch 8 electric street lamps being turned on for the first time, and people still make the pilgrimage each year to see the now thousands of lights turned on. If we admit it, fireworks make us all feel like excited little children again and everyone loves a Christmas lights display! People seem to be just as attracted to light as moths are.

The screaming wall of lights.

It should be no surprise then when a trip to Sydney's winter lights festival 'Vivid' reveals that a quarter of the city seem to have also decided that this was THE night to pop down and take a peek at the lights. Apparently even the opening night this year had just as many spectators as the closing night last year did.

Vivid is in it's fourth year and although its highlight is the light displays across buildings like the Opera House, the MCA and Customs House as well as the art installations around circular quay it also includes performances by local and international musicians and public talks and debates from leading global creative thinkers.

Chandelier in the harbour.

I went down to have a look at the lights on the 8th. We started our night with dinner opposite the Opera House which this year had animated people rolling over it's sails. As my Aunt said, it looked like her Pilate's class.

Pilate's on the Opera House.

The majority of the installations are around Circular Quay although they do stretch around to Walsh Bay. There are chandeliers hanging in the harbour, rotating disco cubes, pedal powered fluorescent wings, a huge wall of noughts and crosses and even a wall of bright bright lights covered by flaps which lifted when you screamed at them.



Rotating disco cube.

We made it as far as the Argyle Cut where we found that the roof of the tunnel had been lit with a constantly blooming and wilting procession of roses and sunflowers. Even in that dark corner of the city there were a group of people just standing gaping in silence at the roof.

Flowers in the Argyle Cut.



The best part however was the big buildings. The MCA had a constantly shifting pattern of bright lights moving to the music. This was truly spellbinding and here the crowed was thickest. Too bad if you had somewhere in particular to go because people were just stopped still in front of the museum staring.

Various patterns of the MCA.

The other big building was the Customs house. The projections on it told a story of a day in a city. From sun up to sun down we followed a cartoon man as he woke up, went to work, fixed a clock and went home. If you haven't seen it, it is hard to describe how the projections fit the building so that it is hard to believe that the show isn't just being projected onto a blank screen. It should be seen to be believed!

Customs house.

Sadly however, tonight, the 11th is the last night of Vivid for this year. If you did not get to see it, put it in your diary for next year! If you did, how did you like it? Let me know in the comments!





Pedal powered wings.

A road tripping playlist

In a mere 19 days I will be jet setting off to San Francisco for a long awaited road trip with my good friend Claire. There has been a lot of organising going on in these past months and many decisions have had to be made. I wanted to drive from San Francisco to New York in a painted camper van, Claire did not. We have ended up with a convertible. The description on the website says that we have booked a 'PT cruiser or similar' and Claire and I can't wait to find out how far their definition of similar stretches.

Some of the planning for this long road trip has of course been in picking the sound track for our journey. I have been sorting my iTunes, buying new albums and keeping my ear to the ground for new ideas.

Some of my criteria are that the artist or band must be American. The only way an artist could be on the list if they are not American is if they are singing explicitly about America. It is even better if the artist or band is from somewhere that we are going!

They should be songs that invoke strong images of Americana for me, deserts, big cities, country, California beaches; that kind of thing.

And of course they must be extremely singable! I want to be able to have to top down in our convertible and be in the middle of a city and STILL not be able to resist belting them out! That is the whole point of road trip songs!

So here is a selection of 10 of my songs selected so far. Please drop in the comments any suggestions for your favourite road tripping songs, I still have roughly 3 weeks to add to my list!


 Lana Del Rey- National Anthem

I have just bought this album and I am addicted to it! It is so sultry and sexy and so many of her songs just scream 'America!' at you in the lyrics. An added bonus is if you get caught making duck faces whilst singing, you can just pass it off as emulating the singer!





Regina Spektor - Folding Chair

Regina's music is very much associated with New York City because of it eclectic mix of everything. This song however is much more a California song to me. It's so happy and sunny and just something you want to bounce around to. Also all of Regina's songs are just fantastic for belting out.





Kenny Rodgers - The Gambler

Ahh Kenny Rodgers. I love this song, like really really love it. Every time it comes on my speakers I cant help but put on a smile and a southern twang. This will song will be coming out when we hit Oklahoma.




The Mountain Goats - This Year

Again, I love all of the Mountain Goats songs but this one makes me drum on my steering wheel and sit a little straighter. It is so powerful and the lyrics really grab me and make me think. Also the film clip here is pretty funny!




Taylor Swift - Our Song

Oh Taylor. My guilty pleasure. I have all her albums and even went to her concert. There I've said it. All her songs will probably get played somewhere along the way because I think she is very versatile and can stretch from coast to coast. For now, this one can be 'Our Song' for the trip. Don't forget to add that fantastic twang to your voice when singing. 




Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow

These guys are from the West coast and mention place names in a lot of their songs. Snow is just fun because you always feel like you are tripping over your own tongue trying to get the lyrics out.





Tracy Chapman - Fast Car

What is a road trip without Tracy Chapman's Fast Car? Nothing. This one is for driving off into the sunset.

 



The Killers - Dustland Fairytale

I love The Killers! They are possibly my favourite band and I have been hanging out to listen to them in their proper surroundings, which in my mind is the desert. They are originally from Las Vegas, hence all the glitter in most of their film clips (not this one though) and I feel like going a bit Priscilla Queen of the Desert whilst listening to them would not be inappropriate.





Jay-Z and Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind

Nothing screams 'Tourist!' like driving around New York in a convertible with this blaring from the speakers. I. Can't. Wait.





Sara Bareilles - Many the Miles

Many the Miles is exactly what we will be doing this trip. Sara has us covered if anyone asks.

Wanderlust Questionnaire

Costa Rica

·         Hello! Who are you?

Hola! My name is Kezia; I am 21 and a Masters student. I love to travel, read, pick/steal flowers, daydream, dance, anything Spanish, chocolate, turron, really any sort of sweet. I also love history and inspiring quotes.

·         What do you travel for?

I travel for excitement, experience, to escape the mundane – I travel to live.

·         Last destination visited?

Costa Rica! It was AMAZING! I obviously recommend YOU go there.

·         Hotel or Hostel? Why?

Hostel, cheap, relaxed (though they can be seedy) but most importantly you get great stories out of staying in them.

·         Favourite destinations.

This is difficult. I LOVE St Petersburg, Barcelona and Cairo.

·         Travel good luck charm?

A Swiss army knife, electrical tape, rope/ cord and your most charming smile – they are all equally useful.

·         Destination you will not return to? Why?

I don’t think I will ever say I won’t visit a place twice, things change, you change, and experiences change. A place/ city or town isn’t the same every visit and neither are you, so who knows – you could love it the second time round!

·         Destinations you dream about.

Atlantis. Cuba. Anywhere in Latin America and Antarctica

·         Must have in your carry-on luggage.

A pen, paper, a small light and baby wipes.

·         Favourite travel quote. 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

As you can see I also have a thing for Mr Twain.

·         How do you survive the flight?

I order lots of juice and wine and sit back and enjoy the movies – then eventually sleep takes me. NOTE: Remember to use that sticker that says, “wake for dinner” or alternatively stick a post-it note on your head.

·         That one travel story that you have told a million times, and will keep on telling.

How I got lost on Mt. Olympus with my boyfriend, that there were dogs that looked like wolves, a goat header (who must have been Zeus) and that all this happens when you don’t pour libations.