This morning facebook alerted me to the fact that seven years ago I was deep inside a medina in Fez, reluctantly posing for a rather ridiculous photo with my hub, while dressed in traditional Moroccan garb. This strange Sunday morning awakening prompted me to read back over many of my blog posts from the time, which was quite fascinating. I'm pleased to report I made myself laugh out loud quite a lot while reading them... I guess it's to be expected that one finds one's own jokes funny. Still, it would be a worry if this were not the case!
It also taught me that there's some sort of Anniversary Laurie and I are meant to have had on 16th May, which apparently we were celebrating by way of a high end oyster extravaganza of a lunch at the restaurant underneath Grand Central Station in Manhattan seven years ago. This is weird coz while I do vividly remember the lunch experience, and how special it was, I have absolutely no idea what that date celebration was all about. To the best of my current knowledge our 'start-up' Anniversary is 5th June, which is exactly the date we fly off on this trip. This marks twenty years since we first 'got together'. I know it does, so I wonder what that 16th May date was all about... Possibly that's when I first 'met' him, which was to 'say hello' - Maybe that was the launch of his photographic exhibition in Sydney's Darlinghurst. Isn't memory odd? Or rather the way we assign value to certain memories and organise key dates in our minds.
Thanks to facebook, I also get to see lots of images of amazing places my friends visit, as most of us do these days. I know I'm not alone in that. Lately, there's been quite a rage of palaces appearing in my newsfeed. It's prompted me to think "Oh, we won't be seeing any of those where we're going. No palaces... None at all." For a moment, I felt sad and somehow deprived.
Then I realised that we'll see numerous mansions instead, many plantation houses, and a walled fortress wrapped around a city. So, that's OK. Apparently, the Ramparts of Quebec City are the only remaining fortified city walls in North America, if you discount Mexico entirely. The building of the walls began in 1620, which is obviously a very long time ago. Our trip will involve quite a bit from the 1600s, given we're spending ten nights in Quebec and five nights in Boston and Salem.
I can't recall when most of the plantation mansions we'll be visiting in the South were built, but I think they're mostly from the mid 1700s. I am realising that we have nowhere near enough time down South. There is so much to see, and we've only got six nights in total. For some stupid reason, I had the impression that's all we needed. I think I was reading the wrong reviews at the time. Dammit! I guess most people aren't necessarily built heritage freaks like me, or at least not as much as me. Or is it because most Americans writing the reviews of these places are accustomed to having a plethora of grand architecture everywhere, hence it doesn't seem as compelling as it does to an Australian. Who knows?
Meanwhile, one of my Mother-in-Laws came over today, and suggested that we look into United Airlines Club Lounge facilities for our five hours in LA, and everywhere else we are going. Thank Goodness for her wisdom. She's 80 something, but still on the ball. I'm looking into it now, and while it will cost us some significant bucks, I think, based on the fact this is the first time we're doing a major trip with our 12 year old, we should consider it.
So much travel prep work to do within the next five days, in addition to our day jobs - Eeeeks... But we will get there. It will happen. And we will fly.
Sunday 29 May 2016
Saturday 21 May 2016
Travel time and planning our days...
In just two weeks, we fly.
When friends ask us how long that journey will be, I've not been sure exactly, coz I really don't think numerically, or in terms of quantifiable units. Since getting home, however, I've pulled out the paperwork and worked it all out:
We leave home at 5.30am Sunday morning and arrive at our two story Montreal place, with spiral staircase and rooftop terrace, at about 9.30pm on Sunday night Montreal time. Montreal is 14 hours behind where we are in the world. It is lucky our friends asked us this question, about timing, as listing it all like this prompted me to realise that I'd best book the long-term parking now, and save $97 by doing so in advance. More spending... And we haven't even left yet!
Our house-sitters arrive the day before we depart, so we'll just have time to explain how to use the oven, griller, dishwasher etcetera, and then we'll be off!
Our friends also asked us about wine and what Quebec peeps drink... We have no idea. I guess we'll find ourselves a local wine-store once we're there, and work it out. That's just part of the fun. I have read that we need to go to something called a SAQ store. Apparently that's the answer. I have to say I would be terribly worried about money if we weren't staying in self-contained apartments throughout. I've pre-paid absolutely everything I can think of, so I'm hoping we'll be OK... Fingers crossed...
With 22 nights on the ground, you can't underestimate the savings involved in buying provisions from the local store, and prepping your own morning coffee, breakfasts and dinners each day. We will grab lunches out, and often that's the real heart of local food culture, I feel. We'll be out and about each day, from 10 til 5 walking like crazy. That's just what we'll do. And shopping locally will be really interesting, because it's always novel to check out what's on offer in foreign minimarts, especially where English is not the main language! We're independent travellers. Always have been.
There's free wifi in our Quebec apartments as well, so we should be fine for blogging and researching stuff in the evenings. Our QC host Frederick just confirmed this and said "Pretty much all cafes, bars, restaurants and stores have free wifi as well" - Happy news for Australians! We are so backward in these sort of areas...
Right now, there's a doco on local tellie on New Orleans. I feel a teeny bit mean that we're not going there (coz my hub would dearly love to go), but I've been already, pre-Katrina, and while I absolutely adored it, I feel like its all so vivid in my mind still that I just don't need to go back right now.
We all really dig the idea that absolutely everywhere we are going will be new to all three of us, and that's special. And especially so for our daughter. At age twelve, this trip will be something majorly influential for her, at a pivotal age. And I'm pleased that none of it is remotely mainstream. Given the opportunity, most Australian families take their kids to London or Los Angeles, but not us. We're going to five major heritage cities, up and down the U.S. East Coast, with masses of cultural cache, and whatever she learns in the process, under our guidance, it can only be positive. We're pretty pleased about this, and also an itsy bit proud. It's an amazing gift to give her.
When friends ask us how long that journey will be, I've not been sure exactly, coz I really don't think numerically, or in terms of quantifiable units. Since getting home, however, I've pulled out the paperwork and worked it all out:
- Drive from home to the airport 1.5 hrs
- Long term car parking 0.5 hr
- Checking in 2 hours prior 2.0 hrs
- Fly Melb to LA 14.5 hrs
- In Transit 5.0 hrs
- Fly LA to Montreal 5.25 hrs
- Immigration & luggage collection 0.5 hr
- Taxi to the Old Port 0.75 hrs
We leave home at 5.30am Sunday morning and arrive at our two story Montreal place, with spiral staircase and rooftop terrace, at about 9.30pm on Sunday night Montreal time. Montreal is 14 hours behind where we are in the world. It is lucky our friends asked us this question, about timing, as listing it all like this prompted me to realise that I'd best book the long-term parking now, and save $97 by doing so in advance. More spending... And we haven't even left yet!
Our house-sitters arrive the day before we depart, so we'll just have time to explain how to use the oven, griller, dishwasher etcetera, and then we'll be off!
Our friends also asked us about wine and what Quebec peeps drink... We have no idea. I guess we'll find ourselves a local wine-store once we're there, and work it out. That's just part of the fun. I have read that we need to go to something called a SAQ store. Apparently that's the answer. I have to say I would be terribly worried about money if we weren't staying in self-contained apartments throughout. I've pre-paid absolutely everything I can think of, so I'm hoping we'll be OK... Fingers crossed...
With 22 nights on the ground, you can't underestimate the savings involved in buying provisions from the local store, and prepping your own morning coffee, breakfasts and dinners each day. We will grab lunches out, and often that's the real heart of local food culture, I feel. We'll be out and about each day, from 10 til 5 walking like crazy. That's just what we'll do. And shopping locally will be really interesting, because it's always novel to check out what's on offer in foreign minimarts, especially where English is not the main language! We're independent travellers. Always have been.
There's free wifi in our Quebec apartments as well, so we should be fine for blogging and researching stuff in the evenings. Our QC host Frederick just confirmed this and said "Pretty much all cafes, bars, restaurants and stores have free wifi as well" - Happy news for Australians! We are so backward in these sort of areas...
Right now, there's a doco on local tellie on New Orleans. I feel a teeny bit mean that we're not going there (coz my hub would dearly love to go), but I've been already, pre-Katrina, and while I absolutely adored it, I feel like its all so vivid in my mind still that I just don't need to go back right now.
We all really dig the idea that absolutely everywhere we are going will be new to all three of us, and that's special. And especially so for our daughter. At age twelve, this trip will be something majorly influential for her, at a pivotal age. And I'm pleased that none of it is remotely mainstream. Given the opportunity, most Australian families take their kids to London or Los Angeles, but not us. We're going to five major heritage cities, up and down the U.S. East Coast, with masses of cultural cache, and whatever she learns in the process, under our guidance, it can only be positive. We're pretty pleased about this, and also an itsy bit proud. It's an amazing gift to give her.
Thursday 19 May 2016
Visas, house sitters and climate change
I've been wondering what had become of our application to visit the U.S., so just went into our online data, and found that it's now marked 'Authorization Approved', followed by "Have a nice trip. Welcome to the United States." So glad!
These days, Australians travelling to Canada and the United States do not need Visas, as such. Not of the old fashioned type anyway, but we do need ETAs (Electronic Travel Authorizations). These are not expensive: They cost CAN$7 p.p. and US$14 p.p. respectively. You just fill out all the basic info required online, which takes about 15-20 minutes p.p. and pay the money. Usually they notify you to say, yes, you're in! But as I just found, sometimes they forget, so best you make sure you double check how things are going, and not just wait anxiously.
These days, Australians travelling to Canada and the United States do not need Visas, as such. Not of the old fashioned type anyway, but we do need ETAs (Electronic Travel Authorizations). These are not expensive: They cost CAN$7 p.p. and US$14 p.p. respectively. You just fill out all the basic info required online, which takes about 15-20 minutes p.p. and pay the money. Usually they notify you to say, yes, you're in! But as I just found, sometimes they forget, so best you make sure you double check how things are going, and not just wait anxiously.
So, anyway, we're good to go now. Just have to think about packing now, and getting our teeth, eyes and general health checked, so as to hopefully avoid any costly, unanticipated surprises while away. We also need to prep our home for our house sitters who arrive the day before we leave. They're a nice American couple of grey nomads. Having sold their life-long home they've spent the past year or more roaming around the US and Canada, then New Zealand, and now Australia. We hope they enjoy their time in our neck of the woods, or green fields, as the case may be. They're here for the whole time we're away, which should be good for them, as they've been hopping around Australia at an exhausting pace.
It is somewhat disconcerting that they've spent the last month or so in the tropics though. It is certainly not at all tropical down here! It is mild now, as we're experiencing later Summers due to climate change, and thus much warmer Autumns than ever before, but come June it will start dipping to below ten degrees celcius for daily highs. Laurie has been putting in extra effort to ensure our wood stocks are high, so they can easily stack the fireplaces with custom cut wood, light the fires and make things toasty and warm. It's a real treat to live with authentic home fires burning. Admittedly June is not too bad, and by July the cold is so clear and still novel that it's almost enjoyable. It's August that is the truly hideous month in our parts. That's when the cold has gone on for far too long. It feels bitter and damp and almost everyone's mood and outlook becomes negatively impacted, to some degree. In an ideal world, I think most of us would go away each August. I should remind myself of this thought for next year!
Where we're going it'll be the beginning of Summer, so again quite lovely, at least in Quebec. I'm expecting it to be high twenties in Montreal and QC, and low to mid thirties in the South. But I know it will be sultry heat down South, and maybe a bit sticky. Time will tell. I'm looking forward to that slow Southern sensuality. And all those mansions and droopy, drippy trees. I started reading Berendt again, for the first time since 1998, but soon decided it's best read on the plane down there, to introduce the mood, once we leave Quebec. That's 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' for those of you unfamiliar with the novel. It placed Savannah firmly on the map of readers at the time, and for many years thereafter.
Going back to that topic of ETA's. The 'Department of Homeland Security' always ask what your address will be in the U.S., which strikes me as a non-sensical question, as anyone going as a tourist is likely to be tripping about from place to place.If there was space to list everywhere we're going I would, as that's the type of gal I am, but they don't allow that fuller explanation. So I always choose the first destination. In this case I was somewhat surprised to realise that Charleston, South Carolina, is our first stop in the U.S. That's the Airport where we leave the terminal, collect our car and drive off in the dark, on the wrong side of the road! So that's the address I gave them. I told our host, so she's in the loop. She's so lovely. But again, there was no opportunity to state what type of accommodation that is, or offer any context whatsoever. Seems weird to me that they don't require context. For a detail pedant like me I find it hard to understand why they don't want to know. Just sayin'...
Sunday 15 May 2016
Suitable walking shoes...
We need to start pre-packing soon, as we leave in three weeks from this morning. Whenever I go on big holidays, involving lots of walking and exploration of other continents, I tend to come unstuck with my footwear. Come to think of it, my shoes have come unstuck many times, in actual fact. What is it with me?
I have a history of taking shoes overseas that are near the end of their life, and finding myself in a predicament, as a result. I tend to walk countless kilometres while away, to the point that my shoes simply fall apart, and I find myself in awkward situations. I did OK in 2013 in Hong Kong, mainly because I bought some chunky Nike boots soon after arriving there, but...
In 2009, we walked up and down, side to side and zig-zagged all over Manhattan Island, as well as taking in Dumbo in Brooklyn. Ten days of exertion were followed by four days of burning rubber in Paris, including getting lost on our first days there, for four long hours in the heart of old Paris (channelling Bonnie Tyler). We then walked for many cumulative hours, over ten days, throughout various medina's across Morocco. By the time we got to Madrid, my shoes completely fell apart. I didn't know where to go, but as fortune had it I chanced upon an outlet of Camper. I emerged with some gorgeous hazelnut coloured rubber thongs, which looked great, and seemed suited to the sultry Summer climate, but proved to be utterly impractical and painful to roam around the cobblestoned streets of Madrid in, so I limped about a lot of the time.
In 2001, I took my sturdiest boots away on our Honeymoon. However, following immense walking around East Berlin, and a week of intense walking around Havana, they were losing their mojo. By the time we'd done some hiking along the hilltops of Monteverde in Costa Rica, my boots were not so sturdy anymore. I remember walking an absolute marathon along rugged dirt tracks for eight or nine hours on one particular day. I'm sure I lost several kilos - It certainly felt like it. You know that feeling when you think your buttocks and thighs might just give way and collapse at any moment?
After that we spent a couple of nights in a volcanic township called Arenal. There was a situation in which we'd been merrily hiking over warm stones and boulders, immediately beneath Mount Arenal, bubbling and gurgling with fiery orange lava, as a live volcano does. We were having a great time, until my shoes literally disassembled and fell apart like soggy cardboard boxes, when the sides flop down. We had no clue what to do, at that moment. The only thing we could think of was to put our thumbs out to passing utility trucks. There were not many of those in the vicinity, I must say. Thankfully one kind-hearted driver gestured to us to jump on board the back, so we did. We bumped our way back to our rustic resort, sliding about in the tray. I can't exactly recall what I did for shoes after that, but I suspect bought I some local craft style creations at the downtown market-place.
In 1994, I had similar problems during my first three months of living in Sydney, when I only had a few casual shifts at a small cafe to pay the rent with and keep myself afloat. I was keen to use my spare time to explore every crevice of Paddington. I spent so many weeks traipsing around the terraced heritage streets, that I wound up with gaping holes where there should have been inner lining and tread. I was so poor at the time. When the Autumn rain started my feet became soaking wet, a few too many times. Eventually, I had to swallow my rather sizeable pride and ask my Mum to transfer some money over, so I could buy some new shoes.
In 1986, I travelled to Europe on my own, as I have many places, and had a fascinating time backpacking from place to place. I have recollections of being in Austria, and actually sliding back down the rain drizzled stone path, when I was meant to be heading upwards toward the main castle in Salzburg. I lacked suitable tread on my boots. A kind young Cockney extended his hand and physically ushered me up the slippery pathway to the castle, hauling at least a percentage of my (then very light) body weight, in order to do so. We formed a brief friendship and shared some good conversation. I remember that after we'd enjoyed the city views at the top, he held my hand again and helped escort me coming down, sparing me the indignity of having to spend too much time gripping onto the fortress walls.
By the time I reached Rome my new best walking shoes were at the premature end of their short lifespan. One particular day I was wandering around the Colosseum on my own, of course, when the soles of both my shoes began flapping, one more so than the other. I had to walk in a rather ridiculous way simply in order to just move forward. I remember being determined not to let this inconvenience ruin my once in a lifetime chance to explore the Colosseum, so I kept on investigating all the nooks and crannies and perspectives that I wanted to enjoy at this amazing world heritage site. I recall feeling glad I didn't know anyone around me, because I felt rather conscious that I looked conspicuous and people might think me strange. I had no choice thereafter but to leave the neighbouring Forum, earlier than I would have liked, to search out the nearest shopping strip, enter the first shoe store I could find, and buy the best looking pair of casual walking shoes I could find.
So, there's a bit about me and my shoes... It hasn't all been disastrous. I think I did OK in Egypt, Israel, India, Thailand, Fiji, Jamaica and Japan. But overall, I'm clearly not the best with organising new pairs of shoes that suit my destinations or intentions. I tend to carry this Great Depression mentality, that my paternal Grandmother instilled in me. Something to do with making the best of what you've got, and making everything last. It can be hard to kick some of those values learned early in life.
This time, however, I'm onto it! I'm going into Melbourne this Thursday night, especially to buy myself a new pair of eight hole Doc Martens. That should do the trick. I'll then have over two weeks to wear them in, and get through the blistered ankle and toe phase. Let's hope that at mid-life, I may have finally got my act together in the shoe department... This remains to be seen. Best I take lots of band-aids, just in case.
I have a history of taking shoes overseas that are near the end of their life, and finding myself in a predicament, as a result. I tend to walk countless kilometres while away, to the point that my shoes simply fall apart, and I find myself in awkward situations. I did OK in 2013 in Hong Kong, mainly because I bought some chunky Nike boots soon after arriving there, but...
In 2009, we walked up and down, side to side and zig-zagged all over Manhattan Island, as well as taking in Dumbo in Brooklyn. Ten days of exertion were followed by four days of burning rubber in Paris, including getting lost on our first days there, for four long hours in the heart of old Paris (channelling Bonnie Tyler). We then walked for many cumulative hours, over ten days, throughout various medina's across Morocco. By the time we got to Madrid, my shoes completely fell apart. I didn't know where to go, but as fortune had it I chanced upon an outlet of Camper. I emerged with some gorgeous hazelnut coloured rubber thongs, which looked great, and seemed suited to the sultry Summer climate, but proved to be utterly impractical and painful to roam around the cobblestoned streets of Madrid in, so I limped about a lot of the time.
In 2001, I took my sturdiest boots away on our Honeymoon. However, following immense walking around East Berlin, and a week of intense walking around Havana, they were losing their mojo. By the time we'd done some hiking along the hilltops of Monteverde in Costa Rica, my boots were not so sturdy anymore. I remember walking an absolute marathon along rugged dirt tracks for eight or nine hours on one particular day. I'm sure I lost several kilos - It certainly felt like it. You know that feeling when you think your buttocks and thighs might just give way and collapse at any moment?
After that we spent a couple of nights in a volcanic township called Arenal. There was a situation in which we'd been merrily hiking over warm stones and boulders, immediately beneath Mount Arenal, bubbling and gurgling with fiery orange lava, as a live volcano does. We were having a great time, until my shoes literally disassembled and fell apart like soggy cardboard boxes, when the sides flop down. We had no clue what to do, at that moment. The only thing we could think of was to put our thumbs out to passing utility trucks. There were not many of those in the vicinity, I must say. Thankfully one kind-hearted driver gestured to us to jump on board the back, so we did. We bumped our way back to our rustic resort, sliding about in the tray. I can't exactly recall what I did for shoes after that, but I suspect bought I some local craft style creations at the downtown market-place.
In 1994, I had similar problems during my first three months of living in Sydney, when I only had a few casual shifts at a small cafe to pay the rent with and keep myself afloat. I was keen to use my spare time to explore every crevice of Paddington. I spent so many weeks traipsing around the terraced heritage streets, that I wound up with gaping holes where there should have been inner lining and tread. I was so poor at the time. When the Autumn rain started my feet became soaking wet, a few too many times. Eventually, I had to swallow my rather sizeable pride and ask my Mum to transfer some money over, so I could buy some new shoes.
In 1986, I travelled to Europe on my own, as I have many places, and had a fascinating time backpacking from place to place. I have recollections of being in Austria, and actually sliding back down the rain drizzled stone path, when I was meant to be heading upwards toward the main castle in Salzburg. I lacked suitable tread on my boots. A kind young Cockney extended his hand and physically ushered me up the slippery pathway to the castle, hauling at least a percentage of my (then very light) body weight, in order to do so. We formed a brief friendship and shared some good conversation. I remember that after we'd enjoyed the city views at the top, he held my hand again and helped escort me coming down, sparing me the indignity of having to spend too much time gripping onto the fortress walls.
By the time I reached Rome my new best walking shoes were at the premature end of their short lifespan. One particular day I was wandering around the Colosseum on my own, of course, when the soles of both my shoes began flapping, one more so than the other. I had to walk in a rather ridiculous way simply in order to just move forward. I remember being determined not to let this inconvenience ruin my once in a lifetime chance to explore the Colosseum, so I kept on investigating all the nooks and crannies and perspectives that I wanted to enjoy at this amazing world heritage site. I recall feeling glad I didn't know anyone around me, because I felt rather conscious that I looked conspicuous and people might think me strange. I had no choice thereafter but to leave the neighbouring Forum, earlier than I would have liked, to search out the nearest shopping strip, enter the first shoe store I could find, and buy the best looking pair of casual walking shoes I could find.
So, there's a bit about me and my shoes... It hasn't all been disastrous. I think I did OK in Egypt, Israel, India, Thailand, Fiji, Jamaica and Japan. But overall, I'm clearly not the best with organising new pairs of shoes that suit my destinations or intentions. I tend to carry this Great Depression mentality, that my paternal Grandmother instilled in me. Something to do with making the best of what you've got, and making everything last. It can be hard to kick some of those values learned early in life.
This time, however, I'm onto it! I'm going into Melbourne this Thursday night, especially to buy myself a new pair of eight hole Doc Martens. That should do the trick. I'll then have over two weeks to wear them in, and get through the blistered ankle and toe phase. Let's hope that at mid-life, I may have finally got my act together in the shoe department... This remains to be seen. Best I take lots of band-aids, just in case.
Friday 13 May 2016
Snail mail, books and foodie tours
I am feeling most relieved to have the door key to our Boston residence for 5 nights.
I remain highly suspicious of the likelihood of us successfully making the 40 minute transition between our two supposedly connecting flights in Washington's notoriously congested Dulles International Airport. If we get bumped there's only one later flight which will get us into Boston, and that will be well after Midnight.
For this reason, our AirB'n'B host has kindly sent us the door key to our grand 1890s building, just in case. I've seen historic photos of the (former hotel) foyer, and I can not wait to tip-toe through there, on the way to our 'condo', after our double flight journey. The word 'condo' sits uneasily with my Australian sensibility, but I admit I am curious to assess for my self what this translate as, in real terms.
Clearly snail mail is still perfectly functional for such purposes (those which it was intended for, such as transporting small and light materials across the globe). Still, it seems wonderful to me that one little envelope with an unidentified key in it can make its way safely from the North East Coast of the U.S. to country Victoria in Australia.
Which reminds me, I'm anticipating that we may need to send a box of goodies home at some stage. We sent a box home from Manhattan seven years ago, and it was here before we were, which was a nice thing to come home to. Not that we intend to buy much at all, but you just ever know.
Being, as I am, the Artistic Director of a major book festival, I have found myself researching the best pre-loved, English language book stores in Montreal, which is probably a dangerous move. Montreal is renowned as a city of book lovers and literary events, so I can't help but feel I need to check some of them out, at least in a window shopping sort of way... I often find myself drawn to architectural coffee-table books or cook-books when abroad. This is craziness as they're generally hard back and always heavy, but oh, so tempting. I'll have to exercise some considerable self-control.
We are doing a three hour foodie tour in Charleston, South Carolina with a company called 'Chow Down'. It should be lots of fun. We did one, as a family, on Hong Kong Island three years ago, and that was just brilliant. Not only were the food offerings supreme quality, we learned a whole lot about the political economy of urban change in Hong Kong and it's civic history. We walked and walked and it was an architectural and visual feast, as well as a greatly educational experience.
I was fortunate enough to do a cooking session in the French Quarter of New Orleans back in late 2002, and although that was entertaining, and the host was a charm (a true Southern Belle, in fact), it was not my thing exactly. I much prefer walking tours that mix in opportunities for different types of tastes and support a range of diverse small traders. If there's some consideration of architectural, local community and political history thrown into the tour, even better. That's just me. To each their own.
I remain highly suspicious of the likelihood of us successfully making the 40 minute transition between our two supposedly connecting flights in Washington's notoriously congested Dulles International Airport. If we get bumped there's only one later flight which will get us into Boston, and that will be well after Midnight.
For this reason, our AirB'n'B host has kindly sent us the door key to our grand 1890s building, just in case. I've seen historic photos of the (former hotel) foyer, and I can not wait to tip-toe through there, on the way to our 'condo', after our double flight journey. The word 'condo' sits uneasily with my Australian sensibility, but I admit I am curious to assess for my self what this translate as, in real terms.
Clearly snail mail is still perfectly functional for such purposes (those which it was intended for, such as transporting small and light materials across the globe). Still, it seems wonderful to me that one little envelope with an unidentified key in it can make its way safely from the North East Coast of the U.S. to country Victoria in Australia.
Which reminds me, I'm anticipating that we may need to send a box of goodies home at some stage. We sent a box home from Manhattan seven years ago, and it was here before we were, which was a nice thing to come home to. Not that we intend to buy much at all, but you just ever know.
Being, as I am, the Artistic Director of a major book festival, I have found myself researching the best pre-loved, English language book stores in Montreal, which is probably a dangerous move. Montreal is renowned as a city of book lovers and literary events, so I can't help but feel I need to check some of them out, at least in a window shopping sort of way... I often find myself drawn to architectural coffee-table books or cook-books when abroad. This is craziness as they're generally hard back and always heavy, but oh, so tempting. I'll have to exercise some considerable self-control.
We are doing a three hour foodie tour in Charleston, South Carolina with a company called 'Chow Down'. It should be lots of fun. We did one, as a family, on Hong Kong Island three years ago, and that was just brilliant. Not only were the food offerings supreme quality, we learned a whole lot about the political economy of urban change in Hong Kong and it's civic history. We walked and walked and it was an architectural and visual feast, as well as a greatly educational experience.
I was fortunate enough to do a cooking session in the French Quarter of New Orleans back in late 2002, and although that was entertaining, and the host was a charm (a true Southern Belle, in fact), it was not my thing exactly. I much prefer walking tours that mix in opportunities for different types of tastes and support a range of diverse small traders. If there's some consideration of architectural, local community and political history thrown into the tour, even better. That's just me. To each their own.
Thursday 12 May 2016
Cost and heritage matters... .
I have to say...
Booking complicated, multi-leg international flights online a whole year ahead is a smart idea, if you're interested in saving money.
Twelve months ago I booked our creative cobweb of multi-leg flights to and from North America, for our little Australian family of three, using Expedia. Afterwards I worried for a long time about whether I'd done the right thing or not. Three months ago I did a quote comparison to see what it would cost if I booked then. I discovered that what I paid for three return, muti-leg flights was one third of the going cost then. I was most relieved. In other words, I got the three flights for the current price of one.
Tonight I phoned Expedia just to see what it would cost to extend our stay in Denver by two nights. Following about thirty minutes on hold, while a very lovely guy, located somewhere in the less-developed world, looked into it for me, the answer was "Thousands of dollars, Madam." And there it is. Plan ahead!
While I was on hold, sitting in front of my big screen, I did some fast research, and worked out that we can have quite a lovely day in Denver after we check out of our Art Hotel. I have found that there is a historic sensibility to Denver, and we'll be exploring it on an architectural walking tour of LoDo (the downtown heart of Denver city).
Our guided tour is focused on the arrival and impact of railway, how buildings grew up around Union Station and the neighbourhood's transformation over time. They claim we'll view one of the finest collections of late 19th and early 20th century commercial buildings in America, including historic hotels, warehouses and adaptive reuse projects (the exact focus of my PhD thesis!) Apparently, we'll even gain a sense of what it might have felt like to arrive in Denver at the turn of the 20th century. Should be fun. Thanks to Historic Denver, it's just $15 each for 90 minutes of knowledge enrichment. So it seems Denver can make sense within a heritage framework, after-all. Yay! Happy about that. Afterwards we'll grab some lunch in a part of town called Larimer Square, where not so long ago locals saved a host of old buildings from demolition and now it's thriving. That's my kind of place.
We'll have 22 nights away on land, and that's over 3 whole weeks spent in totally astonishing places: Montreal (7 nights), Quebec City (3 nights), Charleston (3 nights), Savannah (3 nights), Boston (5 nights) and Denver (1 night), plus two nights in the sky.
Occasionally people shake their heads when I say we're away for 3.5 weeks all up. These sceptics exclaim "That's not long at all. Hardly worth going!" I look at the people speaking and think to myself "Excuse me, and who exactly is paying for this trip? And when did you last make the effort to go anywhere out of the ordinary?"
These self-appointed critics are almost always retired, with all the time in the world on their hands, and no concept of how every moment away has a lost income cost for self-employed people, not to mention the weighty awareness of accruing work related tasks awaiting one's return. Further, they've often never even been overseas at all, so have absolutely no clue what they're talking about. Don't misunderstand me: I'm not bagging all retirees', just those that vocalise unsolicited, barely-baked thoughts.
We all look for different things in a holiday. Personally, doing my research to ensure that I'm staying in stylish places in the right locations of cultural relevance and interest to me is important. And I'd rather go for 3ish weeks than not go at all. So, that is exactly what we are doing!
Booking complicated, multi-leg international flights online a whole year ahead is a smart idea, if you're interested in saving money.
Twelve months ago I booked our creative cobweb of multi-leg flights to and from North America, for our little Australian family of three, using Expedia. Afterwards I worried for a long time about whether I'd done the right thing or not. Three months ago I did a quote comparison to see what it would cost if I booked then. I discovered that what I paid for three return, muti-leg flights was one third of the going cost then. I was most relieved. In other words, I got the three flights for the current price of one.
Tonight I phoned Expedia just to see what it would cost to extend our stay in Denver by two nights. Following about thirty minutes on hold, while a very lovely guy, located somewhere in the less-developed world, looked into it for me, the answer was "Thousands of dollars, Madam." And there it is. Plan ahead!
While I was on hold, sitting in front of my big screen, I did some fast research, and worked out that we can have quite a lovely day in Denver after we check out of our Art Hotel. I have found that there is a historic sensibility to Denver, and we'll be exploring it on an architectural walking tour of LoDo (the downtown heart of Denver city).
Our guided tour is focused on the arrival and impact of railway, how buildings grew up around Union Station and the neighbourhood's transformation over time. They claim we'll view one of the finest collections of late 19th and early 20th century commercial buildings in America, including historic hotels, warehouses and adaptive reuse projects (the exact focus of my PhD thesis!) Apparently, we'll even gain a sense of what it might have felt like to arrive in Denver at the turn of the 20th century. Should be fun. Thanks to Historic Denver, it's just $15 each for 90 minutes of knowledge enrichment. So it seems Denver can make sense within a heritage framework, after-all. Yay! Happy about that. Afterwards we'll grab some lunch in a part of town called Larimer Square, where not so long ago locals saved a host of old buildings from demolition and now it's thriving. That's my kind of place.
We'll have 22 nights away on land, and that's over 3 whole weeks spent in totally astonishing places: Montreal (7 nights), Quebec City (3 nights), Charleston (3 nights), Savannah (3 nights), Boston (5 nights) and Denver (1 night), plus two nights in the sky.
Occasionally people shake their heads when I say we're away for 3.5 weeks all up. These sceptics exclaim "That's not long at all. Hardly worth going!" I look at the people speaking and think to myself "Excuse me, and who exactly is paying for this trip? And when did you last make the effort to go anywhere out of the ordinary?"
These self-appointed critics are almost always retired, with all the time in the world on their hands, and no concept of how every moment away has a lost income cost for self-employed people, not to mention the weighty awareness of accruing work related tasks awaiting one's return. Further, they've often never even been overseas at all, so have absolutely no clue what they're talking about. Don't misunderstand me: I'm not bagging all retirees', just those that vocalise unsolicited, barely-baked thoughts.
We all look for different things in a holiday. Personally, doing my research to ensure that I'm staying in stylish places in the right locations of cultural relevance and interest to me is important. And I'd rather go for 3ish weeks than not go at all. So, that is exactly what we are doing!
Wednesday 11 May 2016
Denver Dreaming...
I fully acknowledge that Denver, Colorado, may seem like a rather weird choice as the final addition to our trip, focused as it is on five supremely heritage rich cities, but...
When discussing our journey home from Boston, we experienced considerable disagreement within our little family over where to stop over for a sleep. We were all agreed that we needed to break the journey. My daughter and I were pro Los Angeles, but my husband can be absolutely inflexible in his views sometimes, and this was one of those occasions. He absolutely refuses to leave Los Angeles Airport. As he's already been to Hawaii, he sees no need what-so-ever to go there again either. So this ruled out our two most obvious stop-over options.
Meanwhile, my daughter and I are now 'not-so-secretly' plotting a trip to Los Angeles and Honolulu together for her 21st. If you deny certain people the opportunity to do what they want to do, it can make them all the more determined! She'll have to earn her own money, and pay her own way, of course, but it's just something that has initiated a shared 'Mum & Daughter' goal, and we think that's kinda cool. She hopes to work or study in LA one day, so at the very least I expect to have the chance to check on her well-being, and sleep on her grungy fold out sofa some time within the next decade. I have promised her I won't stay too long, or cramp her style...
Back to the main storyline - Thankfully we were all adamant that we have to stop somewhere to break the long-haul journey, so when looking at the options with United Airlines (our budget airline of choice), we found we had to think about their hub cities, and Denver is a big one for them. As it happened, my husband approved Denver, in principle. I do not know why. I don't think he does either, other than to say, "That would be interesting." Given it's a four hour flight from Boston to Denver, I immediately thought "OK. I can live with that - It will break the trip."
We'll be there in Summer, so the mountain views will be clear. As we all know, the ultra rich go there for the ski season, but I had read recently that Denver is rising up the ranks as a year round destination and lifestyle choice for the young and hip. I'm not claiming to be young, but the 'hip' category appealed to me.
I promptly investigated the main Denver art scene and found they have two major art museums. What I neglected to do was check their opening days... So anyway, I booked us in for one night at the newly opened Art Hotel, adjacent to the Denver Art Museum. This is the only night in our entire trip that we're actually staying at a more-or-less conventional hotel, but it does look quite suitable for a final pit-stop, to just dip in and out of.
We originally planned a few hours spare on the Sunday afternoon to meander about the Art Museum at a leisurely pace, but as UA have pushed our arrival time out by over an hour, we'll be lucky to squeeze in one whole hour before they close for the weekend. Fingers crossed we can even do that! Denver's art establishments are all closed on Mondays, which is super annoying. I guess we'll just have to find a park to hang out in on Monday: like Civic Centre Park or City Park... as we have to check out at 11am, but do not fly til 6.45pm that night.
In the final analysis, just to have the chance to eye-ball Denver will be an unexpected treat, as will the opportunity to lay our heads down on soft 5 star pillows and stretch out our limbs for the night.
I actually think this will be a pretty cool way to wind up our trip. I now kind of wish we'd booked in for a few nights there... I've always liked their music and the way they have both kinds on offer...
Then we fly home, via LA... This will be my sixth trip to the U.S. in which L.A. is the gateway, but I never get to leave the Airport. Maybe one day...
I was thrilled, however, to learn that they've finally enabled some decent food outlets and retail stores to populate the Los Angeles Airport lounge areas. About time! I could never understand how the world's 'greatest' capitalist nation had so little to offer consumers in transit. You could always buy a 'candy bar' from a news kiosk, along with a copy of 'Dwell' magazine, or similar, but that was about the extent of options for indulgence, when spending eight or so hours in-between flights. Just nuts!
Now, there's Champagne and oyster bars at the ready, apparently... Whatever they have there, I'll be sure to report on my findings, come the time.
When discussing our journey home from Boston, we experienced considerable disagreement within our little family over where to stop over for a sleep. We were all agreed that we needed to break the journey. My daughter and I were pro Los Angeles, but my husband can be absolutely inflexible in his views sometimes, and this was one of those occasions. He absolutely refuses to leave Los Angeles Airport. As he's already been to Hawaii, he sees no need what-so-ever to go there again either. So this ruled out our two most obvious stop-over options.
Meanwhile, my daughter and I are now 'not-so-secretly' plotting a trip to Los Angeles and Honolulu together for her 21st. If you deny certain people the opportunity to do what they want to do, it can make them all the more determined! She'll have to earn her own money, and pay her own way, of course, but it's just something that has initiated a shared 'Mum & Daughter' goal, and we think that's kinda cool. She hopes to work or study in LA one day, so at the very least I expect to have the chance to check on her well-being, and sleep on her grungy fold out sofa some time within the next decade. I have promised her I won't stay too long, or cramp her style...
Back to the main storyline - Thankfully we were all adamant that we have to stop somewhere to break the long-haul journey, so when looking at the options with United Airlines (our budget airline of choice), we found we had to think about their hub cities, and Denver is a big one for them. As it happened, my husband approved Denver, in principle. I do not know why. I don't think he does either, other than to say, "That would be interesting." Given it's a four hour flight from Boston to Denver, I immediately thought "OK. I can live with that - It will break the trip."
We'll be there in Summer, so the mountain views will be clear. As we all know, the ultra rich go there for the ski season, but I had read recently that Denver is rising up the ranks as a year round destination and lifestyle choice for the young and hip. I'm not claiming to be young, but the 'hip' category appealed to me.
I promptly investigated the main Denver art scene and found they have two major art museums. What I neglected to do was check their opening days... So anyway, I booked us in for one night at the newly opened Art Hotel, adjacent to the Denver Art Museum. This is the only night in our entire trip that we're actually staying at a more-or-less conventional hotel, but it does look quite suitable for a final pit-stop, to just dip in and out of.
We originally planned a few hours spare on the Sunday afternoon to meander about the Art Museum at a leisurely pace, but as UA have pushed our arrival time out by over an hour, we'll be lucky to squeeze in one whole hour before they close for the weekend. Fingers crossed we can even do that! Denver's art establishments are all closed on Mondays, which is super annoying. I guess we'll just have to find a park to hang out in on Monday: like Civic Centre Park or City Park... as we have to check out at 11am, but do not fly til 6.45pm that night.
In the final analysis, just to have the chance to eye-ball Denver will be an unexpected treat, as will the opportunity to lay our heads down on soft 5 star pillows and stretch out our limbs for the night.
I actually think this will be a pretty cool way to wind up our trip. I now kind of wish we'd booked in for a few nights there... I've always liked their music and the way they have both kinds on offer...
Then we fly home, via LA... This will be my sixth trip to the U.S. in which L.A. is the gateway, but I never get to leave the Airport. Maybe one day...
I was thrilled, however, to learn that they've finally enabled some decent food outlets and retail stores to populate the Los Angeles Airport lounge areas. About time! I could never understand how the world's 'greatest' capitalist nation had so little to offer consumers in transit. You could always buy a 'candy bar' from a news kiosk, along with a copy of 'Dwell' magazine, or similar, but that was about the extent of options for indulgence, when spending eight or so hours in-between flights. Just nuts!
Now, there's Champagne and oyster bars at the ready, apparently... Whatever they have there, I'll be sure to report on my findings, come the time.
Tuesday 10 May 2016
Bostonian Intent
I've always wanted to go to Boston.
The influence of American television culture on my childhood highlighted the historic importance of the area, via cheery and cheesy kids' television programs, such as The Brady Bunch and Bewitched, both of which I adored. The references to Massachusetts were subtle and, on reflection, only featured in one episode of each series, but clearly I was paying full attention, in an era when there was no auto-replay option...
As a tweener beginning to buy celebrity rags from the corner store I learned that the teen actress Brooke Shields went to Yale (half way between NYC and Boston). Over time I learned that Harvard and MIT were in Boston (or at least adjacent, in the township of Cambridge) - all Ivy League educational institutions that were, and still are, held in the highest regard globally. It's amazing how these adolescent learnings can have life-long impact.
As a 'grown-up' and an educational publisher the first global Manager's Conference I ever attended was in Madison, Wisconsin, via Chicago. I was overwhelmed and impressed by the mammoth character of these places, and the warmth of the people I met. I liked the fact that they had political conscience, and would talk about democracy at the end of each day of meetings, generally while at the bar. At that first conference I found that I connected really well with the small cohort of publishers from the Boston office. At that point in time, back in late 2001, I made up my mind that one day I'd make my way to Boston, Massachusetts, one way or another. Fifteen years later, I'm finally converting that goal into reality.
We're spending five nights there, staying in a private apartment at Beacon Hill, directly opposite the starting point for the famous Freedom Trail tourist walk. Our accommodation appears quite elite, though compact of course, and the building has a dedicated doorman, which will be an extraordinary novelty for a little Australian family like us. Again, it's an Air B'n'B find, and promises to be rather special indeed (yet still about 25% cheaper than our match-box sized hotel rooms in Manhattan seven years ago!) And we'll have our own full kitchen in which we can whip meals up in, to save some dollars.
I've got a range of places across the city I want us to explore on foot, like Back Bay for instance, but for me it's not about any particular part of Boston - It's just about being there and soaking it all up. Some people have told me it's grey, drab and stuck-up, but I find the drab part hard to believe. In any case we're there in June, so it should be warm enough. For us the Boston experience will be hot on the heels of a few days in sultry and slow-moving Savannah, so we're bound to find the whole trip completely mind-boggling, not just the Bostonian component.
I do anticipate Boston to be the most intimidating of places, in context, but that's fine. If I can't handle the challenge at mid-life, when can I? I view it as part of my PhD preparation, frankly. This whole trip is about deeply historic cities. I am certain I'll arrive home (to my historic city) monumentally inspired.
While we're there, we are planning a day trip by ferry to visit nearby Salem, the historic open air museum township settled in 1626, and made tragically famous by the witch trails of 1692. It seems like there's far more there than any history student (such as myself) can possibly digest in just one day, so I'll be making a list, and checking it twice.
I'll be taking photos: hundreds and hundreds of photos, so will work out a way to feature them here, or via a link to another site. I haven't decided on the best forum for images yet, but I'll get there. We still have 3.5 weeks before we fly... Plus a truck load of work to get done in the meantime! Not to mention preparing a list of things to see and do around here for our house sitters. Yikes!
The influence of American television culture on my childhood highlighted the historic importance of the area, via cheery and cheesy kids' television programs, such as The Brady Bunch and Bewitched, both of which I adored. The references to Massachusetts were subtle and, on reflection, only featured in one episode of each series, but clearly I was paying full attention, in an era when there was no auto-replay option...
As a tweener beginning to buy celebrity rags from the corner store I learned that the teen actress Brooke Shields went to Yale (half way between NYC and Boston). Over time I learned that Harvard and MIT were in Boston (or at least adjacent, in the township of Cambridge) - all Ivy League educational institutions that were, and still are, held in the highest regard globally. It's amazing how these adolescent learnings can have life-long impact.
As a 'grown-up' and an educational publisher the first global Manager's Conference I ever attended was in Madison, Wisconsin, via Chicago. I was overwhelmed and impressed by the mammoth character of these places, and the warmth of the people I met. I liked the fact that they had political conscience, and would talk about democracy at the end of each day of meetings, generally while at the bar. At that first conference I found that I connected really well with the small cohort of publishers from the Boston office. At that point in time, back in late 2001, I made up my mind that one day I'd make my way to Boston, Massachusetts, one way or another. Fifteen years later, I'm finally converting that goal into reality.
We're spending five nights there, staying in a private apartment at Beacon Hill, directly opposite the starting point for the famous Freedom Trail tourist walk. Our accommodation appears quite elite, though compact of course, and the building has a dedicated doorman, which will be an extraordinary novelty for a little Australian family like us. Again, it's an Air B'n'B find, and promises to be rather special indeed (yet still about 25% cheaper than our match-box sized hotel rooms in Manhattan seven years ago!) And we'll have our own full kitchen in which we can whip meals up in, to save some dollars.
I've got a range of places across the city I want us to explore on foot, like Back Bay for instance, but for me it's not about any particular part of Boston - It's just about being there and soaking it all up. Some people have told me it's grey, drab and stuck-up, but I find the drab part hard to believe. In any case we're there in June, so it should be warm enough. For us the Boston experience will be hot on the heels of a few days in sultry and slow-moving Savannah, so we're bound to find the whole trip completely mind-boggling, not just the Bostonian component.
I do anticipate Boston to be the most intimidating of places, in context, but that's fine. If I can't handle the challenge at mid-life, when can I? I view it as part of my PhD preparation, frankly. This whole trip is about deeply historic cities. I am certain I'll arrive home (to my historic city) monumentally inspired.
While we're there, we are planning a day trip by ferry to visit nearby Salem, the historic open air museum township settled in 1626, and made tragically famous by the witch trails of 1692. It seems like there's far more there than any history student (such as myself) can possibly digest in just one day, so I'll be making a list, and checking it twice.
I'll be taking photos: hundreds and hundreds of photos, so will work out a way to feature them here, or via a link to another site. I haven't decided on the best forum for images yet, but I'll get there. We still have 3.5 weeks before we fly... Plus a truck load of work to get done in the meantime! Not to mention preparing a list of things to see and do around here for our house sitters. Yikes!
Monday 9 May 2016
Going Deeper...
I'm conscious that I left my last post hanging in Charleston, South Carolina...
When we drive out of there, we're intending to stop off at a big old plantation, called Drayton Hall, to see an unrestored space, preserved just as it was left in the cruel times of old - nasty stuff, but as an A grade student of American slave history, I think it should be looked at, and reflected upon.
Thereafter we drive for an hour to visit Beaufort, utterly unlike our local Beaufort here in regional Victoria, I presume. The classic 1980s film 'The Big Chill' was set in the American Beaufort. It's said to be an old and slightly spooky little town on the windy coast. After that, on the way out, we'll visit the Old Sheldon Church ruins, which are meant to be magic, before we drive on down to Savannah.
It's going to be very hot and sultry, which is an unknown for us. I know what that means in Darwinian terms, but... I also know that I've wanted to visit Savannah ever since I sold umpteen copies of the novel 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' at the Bookshop I worked for in Sydney, back in the mid 90s. I've booked us a classic two story house, a short stroll from Forsyth Park (the focus of the novel). Our place looks like something out of a Steve Martin 'Father of the Bride' movie and is a bit over the top, but hey, why not? It costs no more than many far less ambient places across the town. Again, this is an Air B'n'B find. The trick is to study the online details. I'm very good at that.
I've also booked us a guided tour of the Bonaventure Cemetery for our first day in Savannah, because I feel that's just what one has to do. We've only got two full days in Savannah, before we fly again. I am sure this is not enough time for a 'go slow' destination like this, but we do what we do on a budget. And we'll wander. The fact is that I know that any time any where is better than none at all, so I am not complaining. You can capture a whole lot visually, and hold the experience vividly for years, if you're that sort of person.
At 2.30pm on a Tuesday we fly North again. We're travelling to Boston, via Washington. I am worried about that connection. I don't think we have enough time, but the airlines claim we do, all being well... 40 minutes between connections... Huh! United Airlines are notorious for delayed flights, botched connections and lost luggage. I have flown with them before, with no troubles, but not on flights involving change-overs, so I am nervous. Nothing I can do about it though. Will just have to wait with baited breath, and see what happens...
When we drive out of there, we're intending to stop off at a big old plantation, called Drayton Hall, to see an unrestored space, preserved just as it was left in the cruel times of old - nasty stuff, but as an A grade student of American slave history, I think it should be looked at, and reflected upon.
Thereafter we drive for an hour to visit Beaufort, utterly unlike our local Beaufort here in regional Victoria, I presume. The classic 1980s film 'The Big Chill' was set in the American Beaufort. It's said to be an old and slightly spooky little town on the windy coast. After that, on the way out, we'll visit the Old Sheldon Church ruins, which are meant to be magic, before we drive on down to Savannah.
It's going to be very hot and sultry, which is an unknown for us. I know what that means in Darwinian terms, but... I also know that I've wanted to visit Savannah ever since I sold umpteen copies of the novel 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' at the Bookshop I worked for in Sydney, back in the mid 90s. I've booked us a classic two story house, a short stroll from Forsyth Park (the focus of the novel). Our place looks like something out of a Steve Martin 'Father of the Bride' movie and is a bit over the top, but hey, why not? It costs no more than many far less ambient places across the town. Again, this is an Air B'n'B find. The trick is to study the online details. I'm very good at that.
I've also booked us a guided tour of the Bonaventure Cemetery for our first day in Savannah, because I feel that's just what one has to do. We've only got two full days in Savannah, before we fly again. I am sure this is not enough time for a 'go slow' destination like this, but we do what we do on a budget. And we'll wander. The fact is that I know that any time any where is better than none at all, so I am not complaining. You can capture a whole lot visually, and hold the experience vividly for years, if you're that sort of person.
At 2.30pm on a Tuesday we fly North again. We're travelling to Boston, via Washington. I am worried about that connection. I don't think we have enough time, but the airlines claim we do, all being well... 40 minutes between connections... Huh! United Airlines are notorious for delayed flights, botched connections and lost luggage. I have flown with them before, with no troubles, but not on flights involving change-overs, so I am nervous. Nothing I can do about it though. Will just have to wait with baited breath, and see what happens...
Sunday 8 May 2016
Going Places...
As I mentioned in my last (and first) post, my little family and I are off to Montreal, thanks to a strange but super twist of fate. We're greatly looking forward to it. We'll enjoy seven nights there, primarily because it was cheaper that way... I got a special deal on Air B'n'B for booking our intended apartment in the Old Port district for a whole week rather than just the five nights I initially had in mind.
Travelling all the way from Australia, I know (from experience) that we'll be completely blitzed for the first three days anyway, so will need that recovery time in a stable place, while we find our land-legs (and relocate our brains).
After a week there, we're catching the train for a couple of hours across to old Quebec City. We're staying inside the walled fortress for three nights. For me personally, Quebec City is the big drawcard, so as we're going to Montreal, in the first place, it makes sense to spend some time checking out QC. By all accounts, it's a compact kind of place, so we only need the two full days there. Again, we're utilising Air B'n'B, so just as with our time in Montreal, we'll have a self-contained apartment, in which we can economise by having breakfast and dinner in, on our own terms.
Were it not for Air B'n'B we'd not be doing this trip at all. The total cost for self-contained accommodation throughout our trip is one third of what we paid seven years ago using good standard hotels, and that was just for two people. Throughout this trip we're accommodating three of us! And in most instances our daughter gets her own room.
As it's Air B'n'B, we won't have to tip anyone or worry about the intrusion of room service staff. I am aware that Air B'n'B may well be endemic to a particular period of contemporary history. Come what may in the future, I just think that it's brilliant that it exists at present, for what it is now.
In the beginning we thought we'd just spend ten nights total in French Canada, then fly home, based around what we thought the purpose of the trip was - an academic conference on critical heritage. But it's so damned hard for Australians to break away from normality and travel across the skies, and it costs an awful lot of money for international flights, whichever way you look at it. I felt it important that we fulfill some of our adjacent dreams while over there. With that in mind, I knew exactly what else I'd like to see while on the U.S. East Coast...
Sixteen years ago, when planning our wedding, we had considered spending a big part of our honeymoon in Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. For whatever reasons, we did not do that, and did something else instead. But I've held the thought of it close to my heart ever since. And so... When we've finished with Quebec City we're boarding an Air Canada flight to Newark, NY, and changing over to a flight that will take us down to the Deep South.
We'll have three nights in Charleston. I've booked an SUV (same model and type as my own car, coz I figure that's safest when in a strange land...) to collect from the Airport, so we can move about the place. Again, it seemed cheaper that way than fussing with taxis and the like. My hub has bravely volunteered to drive on the wrong side of the road for our entire time down there. He's organised his 'international license' so we're ready, or as ready as we can be. Again, we're staying Air B'n'B, in a gorgeous heritage cottage, and after three nights there, we're heading further South.
I think I'll leave this post now, and make a late dinner. Must prepare myself to lecture tomorrow. Further elaboration of our plans to be continued in a couple of days...
Travelling all the way from Australia, I know (from experience) that we'll be completely blitzed for the first three days anyway, so will need that recovery time in a stable place, while we find our land-legs (and relocate our brains).
After a week there, we're catching the train for a couple of hours across to old Quebec City. We're staying inside the walled fortress for three nights. For me personally, Quebec City is the big drawcard, so as we're going to Montreal, in the first place, it makes sense to spend some time checking out QC. By all accounts, it's a compact kind of place, so we only need the two full days there. Again, we're utilising Air B'n'B, so just as with our time in Montreal, we'll have a self-contained apartment, in which we can economise by having breakfast and dinner in, on our own terms.
Were it not for Air B'n'B we'd not be doing this trip at all. The total cost for self-contained accommodation throughout our trip is one third of what we paid seven years ago using good standard hotels, and that was just for two people. Throughout this trip we're accommodating three of us! And in most instances our daughter gets her own room.
As it's Air B'n'B, we won't have to tip anyone or worry about the intrusion of room service staff. I am aware that Air B'n'B may well be endemic to a particular period of contemporary history. Come what may in the future, I just think that it's brilliant that it exists at present, for what it is now.
In the beginning we thought we'd just spend ten nights total in French Canada, then fly home, based around what we thought the purpose of the trip was - an academic conference on critical heritage. But it's so damned hard for Australians to break away from normality and travel across the skies, and it costs an awful lot of money for international flights, whichever way you look at it. I felt it important that we fulfill some of our adjacent dreams while over there. With that in mind, I knew exactly what else I'd like to see while on the U.S. East Coast...
Sixteen years ago, when planning our wedding, we had considered spending a big part of our honeymoon in Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. For whatever reasons, we did not do that, and did something else instead. But I've held the thought of it close to my heart ever since. And so... When we've finished with Quebec City we're boarding an Air Canada flight to Newark, NY, and changing over to a flight that will take us down to the Deep South.
We'll have three nights in Charleston. I've booked an SUV (same model and type as my own car, coz I figure that's safest when in a strange land...) to collect from the Airport, so we can move about the place. Again, it seemed cheaper that way than fussing with taxis and the like. My hub has bravely volunteered to drive on the wrong side of the road for our entire time down there. He's organised his 'international license' so we're ready, or as ready as we can be. Again, we're staying Air B'n'B, in a gorgeous heritage cottage, and after three nights there, we're heading further South.
I think I'll leave this post now, and make a late dinner. Must prepare myself to lecture tomorrow. Further elaboration of our plans to be continued in a couple of days...
Typing, in advance of a big trip...
I'm Australian, and back in May 2009, I had a very neat travel blog set up on Wordpress for my long awaited 'ten year long service leave' trip around the world. I took this journey with my hub about eighteen months after my ten years with the company had past. It can be hard to tear yourself away from a high pressure career when you're all caught up in the middle of it, and barely able see your way out.
That 29 night trip to Manhattan, Paris, Morocco and Madrid was absolute magic, but when we got back, my life began to slowly and dramatically unravel. Over the subsequent five-year period my life changed completely, and with that, so did I. Thankfully, I've emerged at last, and come out through the other side of what was an abyss. And for the past year or more I've been too busy working multiple jobs to think too much more about it, in any detail. That's probably a good thing.
Now that I've organised this next big overseas trip seven years since the last, I figure I should start a whole new blog for it, so here we are... on blogspot. When we got back, we promised our then five year old daughter that we'd never leave her again. We said we'd take her everywhere we go, when ever and where ever that may be. We've kept our word on that.
In May 2013 we did manage to spend a week together in Hong Kong. We took some wonderful photos, but at the time I didn't feel like writing about it. Now, three years later, I think I'm ready. I'm not sure yet whether I'll integrate photos into this blog, or just leave it as a text-based travel log. Time will tell.
So where are we going this time? And why? Well, it's a very long story, but basically I had this idea that I'd be presenting one or two academic papers at a conference in Montreal, as an independent. With this great ambition in mind, I paid for our flights a full year ago, at entirely inflexible, bargain basement rates. A few months later I found out that the conference organisers had pulled the whole conference forward by five days. So now, instead of my first full day in Montreal being a clear day for jet-lag adjustment prior to the conference starting, my first day is the very last day of the conference, and it's basically all over. Obviously, there's no point paying several hundred to register for half a day of sessions, the morning after I've taken a mammoth long-leg flight across the globe. I've also noticed that half the conference is in French anyway, which I should have known, but somehow neglected to think about. Oh well.
For a short while I was shocked and annoyed, wondering why this extravagant trip to all these mind-boggling heritage places on my B list for places to go in my lifetime. Since then, I've decided it was obviously meant to be. It's hard for Australians to make it to these sort of places: up and down the East Coast of the U.S., because to do so assumes you may have already seen absolutely everything on your dream destination A list.
Personally, I am fortunate to have been to almost all the places on my U.S. A list (New York City, San Francisco, New Orleans & Chicago), but there's a long list of places on my European A list that I've not been, as yet. Still, I may as well make the most of it and enjoy it. What else can I do? I've spent a non-refundable small fortune on flights and accom already. It's a great privilege to be going and our little family does need a break afterall. We've had a pretty hard time emotionally these last five or more years.
If I hadn't been planning to attend that Conference, I would love to have organised to be there for the Montreal Jazz Festival, which is also during our daughter's school holidays. Instead we're there in June, which is a bit weird, but at least it's during the Australian Uni swat vac and exam period and break, and straight after my Festival wrap up happens, so it is strangely perfect timing with regard to my work commitments.
This trip does give me something monumentally inspiring to do during June, it must be said. And when I return to resume my PhD studies part-time, I'll do so with fresh recollections of grand heritage cities and spaces clearly in mind. That can only be a good thing, given my PhD is in history... Maybe it was meant to be after-all.
I still haven't explained where we're going, have I? I guess that can be the subject of my next post.
That 29 night trip to Manhattan, Paris, Morocco and Madrid was absolute magic, but when we got back, my life began to slowly and dramatically unravel. Over the subsequent five-year period my life changed completely, and with that, so did I. Thankfully, I've emerged at last, and come out through the other side of what was an abyss. And for the past year or more I've been too busy working multiple jobs to think too much more about it, in any detail. That's probably a good thing.
Now that I've organised this next big overseas trip seven years since the last, I figure I should start a whole new blog for it, so here we are... on blogspot. When we got back, we promised our then five year old daughter that we'd never leave her again. We said we'd take her everywhere we go, when ever and where ever that may be. We've kept our word on that.
In May 2013 we did manage to spend a week together in Hong Kong. We took some wonderful photos, but at the time I didn't feel like writing about it. Now, three years later, I think I'm ready. I'm not sure yet whether I'll integrate photos into this blog, or just leave it as a text-based travel log. Time will tell.
So where are we going this time? And why? Well, it's a very long story, but basically I had this idea that I'd be presenting one or two academic papers at a conference in Montreal, as an independent. With this great ambition in mind, I paid for our flights a full year ago, at entirely inflexible, bargain basement rates. A few months later I found out that the conference organisers had pulled the whole conference forward by five days. So now, instead of my first full day in Montreal being a clear day for jet-lag adjustment prior to the conference starting, my first day is the very last day of the conference, and it's basically all over. Obviously, there's no point paying several hundred to register for half a day of sessions, the morning after I've taken a mammoth long-leg flight across the globe. I've also noticed that half the conference is in French anyway, which I should have known, but somehow neglected to think about. Oh well.
For a short while I was shocked and annoyed, wondering why this extravagant trip to all these mind-boggling heritage places on my B list for places to go in my lifetime. Since then, I've decided it was obviously meant to be. It's hard for Australians to make it to these sort of places: up and down the East Coast of the U.S., because to do so assumes you may have already seen absolutely everything on your dream destination A list.
Personally, I am fortunate to have been to almost all the places on my U.S. A list (New York City, San Francisco, New Orleans & Chicago), but there's a long list of places on my European A list that I've not been, as yet. Still, I may as well make the most of it and enjoy it. What else can I do? I've spent a non-refundable small fortune on flights and accom already. It's a great privilege to be going and our little family does need a break afterall. We've had a pretty hard time emotionally these last five or more years.
If I hadn't been planning to attend that Conference, I would love to have organised to be there for the Montreal Jazz Festival, which is also during our daughter's school holidays. Instead we're there in June, which is a bit weird, but at least it's during the Australian Uni swat vac and exam period and break, and straight after my Festival wrap up happens, so it is strangely perfect timing with regard to my work commitments.
This trip does give me something monumentally inspiring to do during June, it must be said. And when I return to resume my PhD studies part-time, I'll do so with fresh recollections of grand heritage cities and spaces clearly in mind. That can only be a good thing, given my PhD is in history... Maybe it was meant to be after-all.
I still haven't explained where we're going, have I? I guess that can be the subject of my next post.
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