Long Way From Home

I'm back from a (long) weekend in Sydney. The weather and the company was wonderful. Although I mainly took film cameras, you should still be prepared for photo overload. It's what I do.

 Camera bag packed and ready to go.

 My flight there was cancelled, and then the replacement one I got put on kept getting delayed. All of this I could handle. It was when I got to my seat that I nearly cried. I get claustrophobic really easily, but I still asked for a window seat because I feel a bit better when I can look out and see all of the sky outside. I managed to get seated in the only "window" seat without a window. That bit of the wall also comes in about an inch or two further than what the window would. Add to that the annoying child that was next to me, and it was not a pleasant flight.

 The Grace Hotel, where we stayed.

 It was a gorgeous art deco style hotel with beautiful features. Just don't order the room service. Even if The Witches of Eastwick comes on the TV at lunchtime and you just CAN'T leave because you need to know what happens. Also, don't put a toy dinosaur under your roommate's pillow. She will freak out. Especially if you leave the tail hanging out.

 Apparently in Sydney the all day breakfast is unknown. We tried a few places at 12 and were told by many that we were too late for breakfast. This one place was nice enough to accomodate two ladies on Brisbane and Perth time who couldn't stomach lunch yet.

 Off to check out some art at the Art Gallery of NSW. I actually preferred the works from the collection to the Picasso exhibition that we'd paid to see.

 This is my worst fear when I'm at work. 

 Might have bought some $5 gold shoes because I didn't pack my comfy walking boots.

 We had this table at work I think for the 21st Century exhibition (all the exhibitions kind of blend together in my mind). The carving is amazing, but when it was on display in Brisbane there was no photography. No such rules here, so I snapped away.

 My cubist sculpture. I'll always find the kids activities :)

 At one point we made a plan to see this, but unfortunately didn't get around to it because we'd just jammed too much into our weekend. Bummer! If anyone has seen it/has plans to see it.. please let me know about it!

 This was meant to be a little afternoon snack. I still can't get over the size of that lemon merengue pie.

 I think we did pretty well.

 This is why girls with fake red hair don't have white towels.

 Some birthday celebrations at the Belgian Beer Cafe.

Time for some vintage shopping in Newtown.

 

 Unfortunately most things were either too big too take home with us, or out of our pricerange.

 Time for a retro birthday party! Do you remember making those chains? In my memory they were fun and quick to make. In reality they take about the same time as a crappy Amanda Bynes movie to make just one chain.

 I had to steal thses couple of pictures from my friend Kim's facebook, because yeah, only had a film camera with me.

 Smoking lolly Fads with a fake Rock of Ages lighter. Classy. Note my cool tie. I won that because I was the winner of the music quiz (which only one other person bothered to play). I probably should have worn it as a belt since the muu muu wasn't very flattering (I LOVE the fabric though).

 The Instax were a big hit. Only probloem was that I left the photos on the wall with the donkey, so I can't scan them.

 The Rafael Lozano-Hemmer exhibition at the MCA was brilliant. My photos don't really do it any justice, but if you're in the area, go see it!

 On the way home I snagged a window seat AND an empty seat next to me. Score!

And it's back to work and reality tomorrow..

Paradise Circus

 So far it's been a pretty cool weekend.

I spent Saturday hanging out with my awesome buddy Jess and her cute puppies.We ate brownies and Italian biscuits and she got me addicted to yet another TV show. This time it was The Walking Dead. Looks like some more DVD purchasing for me.

 I walked home from Jess's place and took notice of all the cool (and a little bit ghetto) details of my neighbourhood. Probably a good time to move. 

I've been doing lots of cutting and pasting. On the top of my craft list is a birthday card.

 L is for Lisa.

And some yummy watermelon to go with one last read before it gets cut up. I'm horrible, I know, but this collage thing is helping me with my hoarding. I refuse to pack magazines when I move, so I'm getting all the use out of them now before it's too late.

I'm now watching a Jurassic Park marathon. All three movies are on TV, and I just couldn't say no. Tonight is going to be awesome! (For those playing at home, part 2 of my Jurassic Park post will be up on Tuesday)

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to attend to some raptors in the kitchen.

For Reasons Unknown

This isn't what I'd call a productive day. It's insanely hot today, and luckily enough I didn't have to go into work. The gallery is usually freezing and I wear a jumper year round when I'm at work, but the thought of walking to and from train stations was a bit disgusting. So I've been hiding out at home with the AC blasting. I've only gone outside twice, for boring things like hanging washing out and collecting the mail.

It's one of my best buddies birthdays at the end of the month, and I was hoping the mailbox might contain the presents I've ordered for her, but no luck. Although I did get an awesome surprise postcard from said buddy. It made me smile so much. It was from a silly little place we stopped at on a roadtrip many years ago. When I saw the date on this photo, it was hard to believe it was SIX years ago!

Other awesome mail this week included Picasso tickets. Considering that I spend ALL day looking at art, I'm actually pretty excited for this. To be honest, I think I'm more excited about a trip to Sydney, seeing different art (most exhibitions stay up for at least three months... it's easy to get bored with it), and having mad chats with my awesome arty buddy and Sydney hotel-mate.


So it's been a super lazy day. But, I did manage to order some film (waaay too much), so there will be ridiculous amounts of photos happening in Sydney. Hooray! My poor digital cameras have been neglected lately. I forgot how much fun it is to take a picture and actually have to wait before you can see it.

Still can't give up the good old iPhone though ;)