Berry

Since Asher was born in February this year, Chris and I have hardly left Sydney. There have been a few excursions south (to see Chris’ family in Canberra and the Southern Highlands) and a few north (to visit my parents in Dungog) but thats it. For two people who are originally from the country, and love to leave the city at any opportunity, this has been a little difficult. So for Chris’ birthday, I surprised him with a weekend away (with Asher in tow) to Berry. I was actually surprised there was somewhere left within driving distance of Sydney that Chris and I had never been to!

We arrived at Warrimoo Cottage just after 6pm on Friday night (the drive to Berry had been amusing enough, as we tried to work out our new GPS, and convince Asher to have a sleep). It was a lovely two bedroom self contained cottage overlooking a valley, with plenty of farm animals roaming about – we took Asher for a walk on Saturday afternoon, and he seemed very interested in the cows, ponies and alpacas (cheap entertainment!) The price was quite reasonable ($260 for the weekend) and we had everything we needed – including heaters, which we used as the temperature plummeted. We ate dinner in both nights, as this was far easier than going out with Asher, and had some good wholesome fun, including my victory at Scrabble (the first time ever!) Asher also slept like a dream the entire weekend, which is possibly the best thing I could say about the accomodation!

Breakfast on Saturday morning was at Berry Woodfired Sourdough Bakery – once again my trusted delicious magazine had shared this gem with me. Scrambled eggs on sourdough with smoked salmon and a coffee is my ultimate breakfast – and thankfully it was there on the menu! We also had the unexpected surprise of running into one of my former work colleagues from Sydney. We left with a couple of extra goodies – namely the olive and thyme loaf and a chocolate and hazelnut tart.

The afternoon (when we weren’t introducing Asher to farm animals) was dedicated to wandering the streets of Berry – for a small town, it certainly had plenty to keep the tourists amused. I bought Asher some owl decorations for his room at Bedbugz, and we stopped for tea and scones at Berrylicious Cafe (a totally unneccesary meal, but exactly the sort of thing you do on holidays).

Chris wasn’t up for more shopping on Sunday morning, so I headed in to town to check out the Berry markets by myself. I’ve never seen so much traffic in a country town. I was even the victim of some mild road rage, which was the only downer on the weekend. There was plenty of fresh produce, plants and various paraphernalia for sale – I ended up buying Asher a very cute singlet and cloth nappy ensemble from the My Little Babies Room stall (www.mylittlebabiesroom.com.au). I stopped to buy a donut and coffee for Chris on my way out of town – the Berry Donut Van only makes donuts on demand so they were extremely tasty (and once again, unneccessary).

Our last stop was Gerringong to frolic on the beach and have some fish and chips overlooking the water – the weather had warmed up beautifully but not quite enough for us to venture into water. Asher was rather perplexed by the sand and the crashing waves.

All in all the three of us had a great weekend. While life with a child means holidays have changed from total sloth to a more relaxed continuation of the everyday (the baby still wakes up at 6!) its nice to introduce him to new experiences – and enjoy ourselves at the same time.

Sarah Blasko – Enmore Theatre

Going to see live music upon my arrival in Sydney as an 18 year old was one of the most exciting milestones of independence. Before this, going to a gig was a major event, involving harrassing parents, meticulous planning and hours of travel (see my post on Ben Folds about a time when this didn’t work). Now there were no parents to convince and a short bus ride to most venues. Even though tickets were usually above the budget of a student (especially one who was a sucker for merchadise that proudly displayed to all and sundry that I’d been to an awesome gig) I still managed to scrape together the required cash.

The Sarah Blasko concert at the Enmore Theatre on October 29 brought back these emotions, although it was a different sort of independence. I hadn’t been to a gig since December 2009 when I was 7 months pregnant (and I’m not even sure if it counts if its at the Opera House with the orchestra – although the Whitlams were there too). The sleep deprivation and constant feeding of the following months meant I didn’t have the ability or the energy to be away from my baby for long enough to indulge in many personal interests. I missed many exciting concerts, much to my dismay. But thankfully those days passed, and I could take some time away from Asher to enjoy some pre-birthday entertainment with my sister (our birthday being on October 31).

I’d seen Sarah once before, in 2007 while she was touring her second album. I found her an intruguing performer, but well worth the money. The Enmore was a bigger venue, and her current album As Day Follows Night was quite popular (as well as a complete departure from her previous work into a more jazzy style), so I had high expectations.

There were a few surprises when we arrived. Firstly, Sarah came on only 15 minutes later. Usually there was a support band or two to sit through, then 20 minutes of anticipation before the musician you paid all the money to see came on – we had tried to skip most of this by going out for dinner, but we almost missed everything. Secondly, we actually had seats! I’d dressed in my concert clothes in order to maximise comfort for the hours of standing I was expecting to do – sneakers so my feet didn’t get sore, and noone trod on my toes, and everything I needed stuffed into my pockets so I didn’t need to carry a bag. All this effort was made redundant when we were ushered to seats. I could have checked my ticket for this information, but never thought to since I knew exactly how these things worked….

It was difficult to get into the swing of things from our seats as opposed to standing up, so I found myself concentrating on some unusual things. I have to say Sarah looked pretty ridiculous. She was dressed in a white dress that looked like a slip nightie, with white stockings and Mary Janes, accessorised with a chain of colourful balls around her neck and an accompanying headpiece dangling in front of her face. She looked like a grandma crossed with a hippy. She also started doing this weird dance which reminded me of an uncoordinated male friend from uni – step forward, step backwards, rinse, repeat.

However as soon as she started playing music from her new album it all fell into place. The double bass came out, the lighting warmed up, Sarah suddenly looked more like a 1920′s flapper and everyone looked like they were having much more fun. I found the juxtaposition of her older songs next to the syncopated rhythms and swing of her new album quite jarring, and even though I had started as a fan of her previous alternative pop style, her most recent work is far more enjoyable to listen to.

While there are no more gigs on the horizon at the moment, this situation is bound to change as soon as I get my hands on Drum Media and discover who is touring next. As for the blog, my next entry will be about some travel with baby – on a small scale!

Good Food and Wine Show 2010

Its been a long time between drinks on the blog. Instead of writing posts about the rest of my travels around Europe, I got busy preparing to be a mum, and then actually became a mum. 5 and a half months later, I’m starting to get used to interrupted sleep, crying and cute gummy smiles from my son Asher, and thought I might attempt a return to some pre-baby activities – like writing, eating good food, and going to crowded festivals. This post is a combination of all three.

Last year’s Good Food and Wine Show was my first. While I had an amazing time, I was eight weeks pregnant at the time and was constantly asking myself ‘can I eat this?’ every time I put something in my mouth. We came home with piles of food, empty wallets, and an autographed cookbook by Tobie Puttock which we won merely by sitting in the crowd of his live cooking show.

I was hoping that the 2010 show would impress just as much. And for the first 45 minutes it did. Asher was happily sleeping in his pram while my sister Amy and I hopped from stall to stall, gasping with excitement at all the yummy goods on display. At the Adora Handmade Chocolates Stall we shared a liquid chocolate shot and then promptly bought some hot-chocolate-on-a-stick (the chocolate melts when placed in hot milk, leaving you with a blob of melting chocolate which you can lick, and a yummy hot chocolate at the end – what a brilliant idea!) We passed Kylie Kwong and Alvin from Masterchef in the crowd.

However, once we entered the Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris (two of the judges from Masterchef) live cooking show, things started to look less rosy. There was ten minutes of various MC’s and ‘comedians’ before Gary and George even appeared, and then I was underwhelmed by what Gary and George cooked – beetroot and fetta dip? That’s not particularly inventive. Asher also found all the loud noises and flashing lights disturbing, so I spent most of the show standing up comforting him. The crowds had swelled by the time the show was over, which made pushing the pram an effort – not to mention the evil glances I got from people as I attempted to move (did they ever consider they might be getting in my way?)

We had a late lunch at the celebrity chef restaurant in the middle of the convention hall – the polenta gnocchi had a strong cheese flavour and was quite filling, while the goats curd cheesecake with lemon syrup was lovely when you first bit into it, but then had a rather strange aftertaste that came from the goats curd. We had intended to buy the various components for dinner from the show, but after lunch we were so exhausted – and full! – that we ended up leaving, with only chocolate, some sourdough, and mustard and dill aioli. At least I didn’t spend as much money as 2009!

Reflecting on it later, one of the most disappointing aspects of the day for me was the lack of the search. This is a undercurrent in all my shopping experiences and lifestyle choices – the thrill of discovering something new. Its why I listen to Triple J, why I search recipe books for new dinner ideas every week, and why I love to travel. I had been so excited the previous year because I had been overwhelmed with new tastes and smells by companies I had never heard of before. However I found that with baby in tow, I could no longer dawdle and enjoy the moment, plus many exhibitors were the same. Coming home with only a handful of new products was anticlimatic – just like that shopping trip when you don’t find the one piece of clothing you were really searching for.

Hopefully I’ll be back with another new experience to share soon!

Italy

I wrote hopefully at the end of my last blog entry that I would post again soon. However, a few things got in the way (namely the completion of the aforementioned Masters, planning an international holiday and falling pregnant unexpectedly). Its now November and the baby is about 15 weeks away from entering the world – but at least I have a lot to write about.

My husband Chris and I have been speaking about an epic European adventure ever since we got married almost 6 years ago. I developed an uncanny knack for spending my time and money doing other things – so thus it was only now we finally got around to it (which turned out to be extremely good timing, given that we booked our tickets before we knew anything about the baby). Our itinerary, a subject of great debate, was finally whittled down to 5 weeks, 5 countries and 13 locations within them. We were to spend the greatest amount of time in Italy (2 weeks) including 1 week with one of our closest friends, Julie.

By the time the holiday came around, I was feeling apprehensive. I’d never travelled pregnant before, and I was worried that if something went wrong I would have no idea what to do. I had an ultrasound the morning we left, which was all clear and provided some comfort – but when we arrived in Rome after 20 hours of travel, I was feeling overwhelmed. So when the owner of our hostel asked if we would like to join him for breakfast, I gratefully accepted.

He took us to a breakfast bar. On one side of the room was a glass display cabinet full of pastries, where we picked up a croissant each. We then crossed to the long marble bar at the other side of the room, where people were crowded around drinking small cups of coffee – standing up. Our cappuncinos arrived within a minute. As soon as I took a sip and a bite, I was in heaven – the coffee was full of flavour and at a perfect temperature, and the croissant had a lovely sugar glaze and was freshly-baked soft. My apprehension disappeared at that moment and I didn’t look back – it still rates as one of my favourite experiences of the entire trip, and every morning we were in Italy we tried to replicate it.

View from our hotel room in Rome

Julie arrived in the afternoon, and we took off for the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. The first two dated from the 17th century while the Pantheon is one of the best preserved ancient buildings, dating from 27BC. However I wasn’t prepared for the number of tourists at each location – there was hardly room to move and I was constantly ducking and weaving out of the way of peoples cameras. I was also surprised by the warm weather, which was similar to that we had left behind in Sydney. We rapidly ran out of energy due to jet lag and I fell asleep fully clothed on my bed at 8.30.

Jules and I on the Spanish Steps

The jet lag meant we started early the next morning as well. We ended up at the Colosseum as it opened at 9, and were convinced into joining a guided tour, which was much better than expected. We learnt that the marble that formerly covered the Colosseum had been ‘recycled’ by the Vatican (e.g. stolen), and the holes throughout the wall had previously held metal pins to stabilise the Colosseum against earthquakes until they were stolen by budding entrepeneurs, which resulted in the arena’s partial collapse in years to come. My interest  in history had previously been reserved for modern history, so I was surprised to find the Colosseum so fascinating – perhaps because it’s a struggle to understand the societies that have come before ours. The Roman Forum next door – the alleged birthplace of Rome and the political centre of the Roman Empire – was harder to picture as it was thousands of years ago, possibly because the ruins were in worse shape.

 

Overlooking the Colosseum

The surprise for the day was an exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions, built as they were described in his diaries. They ranged from flying devices, to a massive crossbow, to a tank which looked more like a UFO. Now there was someone with an imagination!

The next day we tackled the Vatican. This was our first experience of enormous lines, which became a running joke throughout the holiday as I pestered Chris to allow me to stand in any line I saw because they were so enjoyable (hmmm…) We hired an audioguide for St Peters Basilica, trying to replicate our experience from the day before – a very bad decision. The audioguide went for more than 2 hours, describing everything in excruciating detail and trying to convert the listener to Catholicism along the way. It completely detracted from any enjoyment I had of the Basilica, which otherwise was quite a spectacular building.

After lunch, we started to make our way to the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel. Along the way, we discovered that the entrance was going to close in ten minutes and we were still a considerable distance away. We walked as quickly as I could waddle – and were the last people admitted when we arrived just on closing time. That easily made up for the disappointment of the Basilica! The Sistine Chapel was amazing – although quite difficult on your neck. I was also at a loss to understand why we had to be quiet – sure, flashes can ruin the artwork, but does sound??? How holy are these pictures?? The Raphael Rooms on the way to the Chapel were equally stunning.

Having a rest in St Peters Square

After being on our feet almost constantly for two days, I was pretty exhausted, and was relieved that we took an easier option the next morning to see the Catacombs and the Appin Way (the original road into Rome). The Catacombs were thankfully not full of skulls like the one I saw in Paris several years earlier, but had plenty of interesting stories.

In the afternoon, we caught the train to Florence and except for more tedious standing in lines, it was quite simple (a relief considering Chris and I were doing all of our travel by train!) I came armed with suggestions of places to eat from the Australia foodie magazine, delicious. We tried a few of them during our time in Florence and while I was impressed, I was just as pleased by the random trattorias and breakfast bars that we stumbled upon.

The Duomo in Florence

An unfortunate surprise which we only discovered on our first night in Florence was that the place is teeming with mosquitoes. While they buzzed around me in bed and bit my face, I found myself wishing that I had my electrified, tennis racket shaped, mosquito killer that was so useful when I lived in Laos. All I had to do was press a button and wave it around, and zap! the mosquito died. Instead I turned the lights on and ran around trying to crush them while they rested on the walls. By the time we left 3 days later, the walls almost looked red.

Florence was also crammed full of tourists. However, by having early mornings, we got to experience the city without others, which made a huge difference. Our first morning was spent at the Uffizi Gallery – I noticed I travelled through the Gallery much quicker than Julie or Chris, perhaps because I do not have a sufficient appreciation of art (there are only so many Madonna and Child paintings you can see before they start to look the same).  The highlight of our afternoon at Palazzo Pitti was seeing an exhibition of the Medici’s burial clothes that my work colleague Sue’s friend had worked on – I felt only a few degrees of seperation from the action!

At 8am the following morning, advance tickets in hand, we were admitted to the Galleria dell’Academia, the home of Michaelangelo’s David. We somehow managed to get to the 5m statue first and spend a few minutes gazing up at it before the crowds hit – not an experience that many can claim to have.  We then spent our afternoon on a tour through the Chianti region of Tuscany – I wanted to see what all the fuss about Tuscany was, even if I couldn’t participate in the wine tasting at the end of the day (the Chianti region has its own particular type of wine, and the requirements in order for it to be certified made my head spin). The castle we visited had an amazing view of the countryside, which was pierced by small sections of vineyard in every direction. It was lovely to get away from the crowds of Rome and Florence and see some of the beauty of rural Italy.

Jules and Chris sample the Chianti wine

The next day we caught the train to Venice. Getting off the train and straight onto a ferry on the Grand Canal, I was immediately struck by the city – it was unlike any place I have ever seen before. There were buildings sitting right at the edge of the water, with small bridges spanning the canals that separated the islands, and boats passing in every direction. We spent the afternoon wandering the city and purposefully getting lost – which was more enjoyable than all of our meticulously planned days before it. We found ourselves in St Marks Square at sunset and caught the lift to the top of the belltower in time to watch the sun go down.  It was easy to see the romance in the city.

Jules watches the sunset over Venice

However, 24 hours was an appropriate time to spend there, because by the end of the following day its appeal had worn a bit thin. While we had a delightful morning exploring and shopping on the nearby island of Murano, which is renown for its glass making, St Marks Square was teeming with tourists when we arrived at lunchtime. St Marks Basilica smelt like a sewer and was so unattractive that it barely got 5 minutes of our time, and the nearby Doges Palace (the former Venetian Parliament) seemed ridiculously ostentatious – every second room was a waiting room for the room following it. Who needs that many waiting rooms???? The food in Venice was also a real disappointment after the phemoneal food we had eaten in both Rome and Florence. It wasn’t hard to conclude that the real attraction in Venice was not the ‘sights’, but rather the city itself.

We left Julie that afternoon, as she made her way to France through eastern Italy and we caught the overnight train to Vienna. It was sad to leave her, since she was such an entertaining travel companion, and I think she was nervous about venturing out on her own. However it was only a temporary departure from Italy for us, as we found ourselves back there on our return to Rome 3 weeks later.

On our return, we caught five connecting trains from Interlaken in Switzerland to the Cinque Terre (or Five Villages) on the eastern Italian coast, which took the majority of the day. It was amazing to go from 3 degrees and snow covered Alps to 20 degrees and brilliant sunshine on the Mediterranean shores, within the space of a few hours. The warmth, the beauty of the coastline and the colourful villages nestled in the hillside were a recipe for happiness, and almost immediately we went and stuck our toes in the ocean. Afterwards we watched the sunset from a cliffside bar while Chris had some of his new favourite drink, Limoncello. It was as close to perfect as you can get – and we didn’t have to share it with a million other tourists.

 

Chris dips his feet in the Mediterranean at the Cinque Terre

While clouds covered up the sunshine for the rest of our time in the Cinque Terre, it didn’t dampen our spirits. In two hours, we walked from our village (Riomaggiore, the last of the five villages) to Cornuglia, two villages along, following a picturesque and easy walk along the coastline. The most interesting section was ‘Lovers Lane’, a 20 minute stretch of track which was covered in padlocks as signs of devotion. We made our way to the larger Monterosso, the first village, on the train, and then caught the ferry back to Riomaggiore to see the villages from the water. It was phenomenal that these villages  had survived despite their perilous positions on the side of cliffs. Rain prevented any further outdoor adventures (including swimming, which disappointed Chris), but exploring the remaining villages was fun and we were always able to cheer ourselves up with wonderful food (the area is known for its pesto and olives).

Our final Italian stop was Siena, via Pisa to have a quick look at the Leaning Tower (which was quite impressive in 3D). Our first experience in Siena was weaving through the narrow cobbled streets in a taxi, hoping not to hit anything – cheap thrills! The sunshine was welcome after the rainy Cinque Terre, so we explored the large town square and fortress. The town square (Piazza Il Campo) is home to the horse race, the Palio, a race that dates back 1000 years and which sees each district (or contrade) in Siena race a horse around the square. The many pictures of the race throughout the town looked remarkable.

We spent most of the rainy next day wandering through the Cathedral, Museum, Crypt and Baptistry, and once again I was pleasantly surprised to find Sue’s friends work on display in the museum – this time it was ancient Contrade flags that had been restored. The marble carvings on the floor of the Cathedral were equally impressive. We spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering the labyrinth like streets – somewhat akin to Venice, without the water.

We were lucky for two reasons on our last day in Siena – the sun came out again, and due to the festival of the 700th anniversary of the Siennese constitution several of the Contrade museums opened their doors. These museums are rarely ever open to the public. It was fantastic to look through the artefacts of the Palio, especially the banners received as first prize, some of which dated back more than 200 years. Chris then climbed the 400m high clock tower while I sunned myself in the square (having reached the stage of pregnancy where I no longer wanted to walk far or climb anything too high!) Our train ride back to Rome in the afternoon was tinged with sadness, knowing that our holiday had effectively come to an end.

View from the belltower in Siena

There was one last surprise for us though. As we arrived at the train station to catch our train to the airport the next morning, we were confused as to why the clocks appeared to be an hour slow. We soon noticed this phenomenon everywhere and reasoned that Daylight Savings must have finished the night before. Lucky for us it wasn’t the other way around!

Stay tuned for stories from Germany, Austria, Czech Republic (ok…Prague) and Switzerland.

Taste of Sydney Festival

Amy, my foodie sister, who was introduced in my earlier post about Mudgee, was kind enough to inform me of a festival of gastronomic delights happening much closer to home. The Taste of Sydney Festival was being held in the lovely Centennial Park in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs for one weekend in March - and after looking at the menu, I leapt at the chance to go. A who’s who of the Sydney restaurant scene – including Becasse, Balzac, Berowra Waters Inn, and Jonah’s for those who like name dropping – would be serving up some of their classic dishes for very affordable prices (well, for this standard anyway). I almost fell off my chair when I saw Balzac’s bread and butter pudding on the list – my other foodie buddy Adrian (who recently took me to a 4 hour eating extravaganza at Rockpool) had taken me to Balzac for the degustation several years ago and I still remembered that phenomenal dessert.

Dark clouds loomed as we parked the car at 5pm and made our way across Centennial Park. After a few minutes of walking, the sky opened – and our little umbrella shared between three was no match for the downpour. Eventually we gave up and trudged through the pelting rain – me feeling very much like I was back in South East Asia in the wet season. The sun came out as we finally got to the venue, but it took many more hours for our clothes to dry.

However, the state of my clothes didn’t dampen my enthusiasm when I walked in. Not only were there numerous restaurants, but hundreds of stalls offering food, wine and beer tasting, books, cooking demonstrations…Amy and I watched as Thomas Schnetzler from the Lindt chocolate store made mouth watering chocolate mousse in a kitchen that looked like it had been ripped straight out of a high end restaurant and plopped in the middle of the park. But this was only a brief stop as we moved onto the more important things – namely, eating.

We had each bought a $50 pack for the event, which included a $20 entry fee and $30 worth of food vouchers. We carefully planned between us what we would buy and took turns leaving our table (which had been very hard to find and we were at pains not to lose) to get food. We tried tempura ricotta filled zucchini flowers with basil pesto sauce from Jonah’s. We tried prawns with peanuts, lime, ginger, coconut, chilli and caramel from Sailors Thai. We tried veal rolled in parsley, pinenuts, sultanas and garlic with fresh tomato from Buon Ricardo….and many more, all washed down with a glass of Blanc de Blanc from de Bortoli. However, as dessert loomed, we knew we had a problem. Too much food, not enough money!! So we ended up buying $60 more of food vouchers and having 5 desserts (including, of course, the bread and butter pudding). While I felt a little ill from that amount of money I had spent on food, I rationalised to myself that to spend only $50 to try 13 dishes from 9 of Sydney’s top restaurants was actually quite an achievement.

We spent the next hour wandering through the stalls, tasting some cheese here, some chocolate there. I was delighted to find an olive oil producer from Wagga (my husband is from Wagga, and every time we visit his family we stop by the Charles Sturt Winery for some cheese and wine – so now I have even more reason to go to Wagga!) I tasted once again the yummy cheeses from the Hunter Valley, and had some extraordinary chocolate that was infused with raspberry tea. I saw the stall from the cupcake shop in Surry Hills advertised in delicious a few months ago, and was reminded of how much I want to run my own bakery. However, after awhile, our wet clothes started to feel cold, and our pockets empty of money, and we decided to make our way back to the car. As we started to walk, it started to spit rain, and we put our own ponchos that we had been given as we arrived at the event (a little late for us by then…) and hoped for the best. Thankfully we were much more lucky this time – as soon as we stepped in the car it started pouring rain again!!!

I’m not entirely sure what the next post will be about – hopefully you won’t be waiting too long for it (although I can’t promise anything, as the last few weeks of my Masters degree is looming…)

Status Anxiety – Alain de Botton

Since I was young, I’ve enjoyed dabbling in philosophy. My favourite book of all time is Sophies World by Jostein Gaardner, which takes the reader on a unique journey through the history of philosophy (and has a special twist at the end which does your head in – somewhat akin to The Matrix where I came out of the cinema expecting cracks to start appearing in the sky). I used to borrow treatises about logic from the library and pour over them, usually not understanding a word but still enjoying being in the company of big ideas that go to the core of our existence.

I first came across Alain de Botton while exploring my friends book collection during my year in Laos (something I always do when first visiting a house – it tells a lot about character!) The Art of Travel was a revelation, although many of its specific ideas elude me now – I put this down to bad memory. While I had always felt that being in Laos was about more than enjoying myself and ticking the ‘travel’ box on the life experience list, it was good to feel that someone else believed that travel, and the reasons behind it, were much more complex and deserving of thought.

I came across Status Anxiety while searching for more. It felt as if he had a window into my soul – with almost every page came another thought that would challenge many well-worn preconceptions. Perhaps the most fundamental belief that was shook (which was the focal point of the whole book) was that it was ok to be ‘ordinary’. This was a little hard to swallow, considering I spend a lot of time thinking about how to be (and sometimes trying to be) extraordinary.

de Botton spends the majority of the book pouring scorn on how we evaluate status and worth. For example,  he compares the requirements for high status between different societies in various time periods, emphatically making the point that today’s measure of status in the Western world (e.g. wealth) is not absolute. He also makes the point that while wealth can often be a indicator of merit – of ‘creativity, courage, intelligience and stamina’ – there are plenty of rich people in the world who got their money through deceitful means, or because their parents left them a large inheritance. The discussion on Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park and George Eliot’s Middlemarch was brilliant – where characters without some of the traditional merits that were held in high esteem, but rich moral lives, end up trumping those around them with far more external riches and moral emptiness. This framework for evaluating ourselves is far more comforting.

The novelist [Austen] exchanges the standard lens through which people are viewed in society, a lens which magnifies wealth and power, for a moral lens, which magnifies qualities of character. Through this lens, the high and mighty may become small, the forgotten and retiring figures may loom large. (pg 139)

de Botton also seeks to reassure us that comparison with others, and the instant belief in their opinions, has no value either. He seems to rejoice in sharing Schopenhauer’s acidic comments about ‘the earth swarming with people who are not worth talking to’ (pg 127) and laughs at the ridiculousness of times when men would duel to defend their honour against others’ negative opinions (for example, a floppy moustache). It is not the value that is placed on us by others that matters, but rather the value that we bestow on ourselves. Furthermore, we don’t actually need the praise of others for that value to exist.

The Christianity argument was interesting too. As someone who has counted themselves Christian for eight years, I didn’t expect this book to provide new insights into my own religion that would go straight to the heart of my faith. Jesus repeatedly discusses in the Bible about the similarities between all people (e.g. our creation by God in his image) and even talks of the poor in spirit being first to enter heaven, which is completely countercultural – but not ideas that I had not heard before. de Botton summarised this equality in one terrifying sentence:

We can overcome a feeling of unimportance not by making ourselves more important, but by recognising the relative unimportance of everyone (pg 249).

The little, constant voice in my head piped up saying ‘But I want to be important!’ In fact, it is not about being important – God already views me as important, but what I really wanted all this time was to be more important. It seems like God has a lot more work to do with me yet.

de Botton discussion’s of the differences between the earthly and the spiritual realm also shed light on the worthlessness of status here on Earth, as well as providing another alternate framework to evaluate ourselves:

One might be powerful and revered in the earthly realm, while barren and corrupt in the spiritial one. Or, like the beggar Lazarus in the Gospel of Luke, one might have only rags to ones name while glorifying in divine riches(pg 263).

However, there are a few challenges that Status Anxiety threw my way that I am still trying to resolve. To start with: just as I may feel there are those who might rank themselves above me, am I also guilty of this? Do I assume that those who haven’t had my education or earn as much money as me are somehow worth less than me? While the book did wonders at elevating my self esteem, I don’t feel like I was left with any strategies to actually stop perpetuating these status myths.

I’m also still struggling with the idea that the opinions of others should have no impact on how I view myself. If their opinion is worth nothing, then why is my opinion necessarily somehow worth more? After all, I am an ‘other’ to everyone else but me – so is de Botton saying that the only person that my opinion should matter to is myself? How am I to know that my opinion is not full of the alleged garbage spouted out by these others? There seems to be no objective source to ask.

My final challenge from Status Anxiety came from the very premise of the book itself – that it was ok to be ‘ordinary’. For example, de Botton explores the idea of tragedy in art, and how it allows us to share and empathise with a common human condition – failure. He goes on to say:

‘A world in which people had imbibed the lessons implicit within tragic art would be one in which the consequences of our failures would necessarily cease to weigh upon us so heavily’ (pg 165).

The line between not allowing my failures to affect my self-esteem,  and not trying at all, convinced in my own self-worth, feels far too fine. Could this book have swung me around from pushing too hard for things that perhaps don’t matter, to not standing for anything at all and revelling in ‘ordinariness’? The fact that I am having that argument with myself convinces me that this is not the case.

I have Consolations of Philosophy sitting on my bookshelf at the moment, waiting to offer me more insights. But for the moment, I am giving myself – and my conscience – a break.

Personal training

One thing you might notice from reading my blog is that I really like my food. Something else you might have picked up is that I lived in Laos for a year, and only recently returned home. The two pieces of information might seem random next to each other, but in fact were quite a dangerous combination. Laos was bursting at the seams with delicious food. Firstly there was local cuisine, which centred around khao niew (sticky rice), laap (a minced meat salad with mint, chilli and lemongrass), tom ma gung (papaya salad) and feu (noodle soup). Next there was the French cuisine, left over from Laos’ days as a French colony – bakeries filled with baguettes and a phenomenal crepe restaurant. There was also Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese….you get the picture.  Because it was such an inexpensive place to live, I ate out for every single meal – and because it was a tropical country with a rather laidback attitude (and a rather unique take on Western forms of exercise), I barely did anything active.

Consequently, I came home about 5 kilograms heavier. I tipped the scales at about 70kgs when I arrived home.  While this is not a particularly large number, it is the heaviest I have ever been. The feeling of not fitting into your clothes is not very pleasant!

The last (and only other) time I had reached 70kgs was when I was completing my undergraduate thesis in Photovoltaic Engineering. At the time I was horrified and started going to the gym several times a week, which was completely new to me. I settled into a rhythm and soon found myself considerably fitter – and back to my normal 65kgs in 6 months (an even bigger achievement when you consider that I was working at a bakery at the time – and bringing home vast quantities of free bread each day). I kept this up for two years before I left for Laos.

So naturally one of my first priorities when I arrived home was to find a gym. I joined Definition Health Club in Blacktown on the back of a cheap deal  – which included 4 free personal training sessions. Personal training was something I had always wanted to try but was a bit scared of after watching too many episodes of The Biggest Loser. 

My first session with Chris involved nothing physical, just the run down on nutrition and taking my measurements (which was disheartening!) While all the discussion on food made perfect sense – and I even kept a food diary for two weeks at his request – I always knew that I wasn’t prepared to negotiate on food. I am much more prepared to work harder for longer to lose weight than to eat vast quantities of vegetables and even worse, no carbohydrates or desserts. If I can’t enjoy food, then what’s the point?? 

The next few sessions we concentrated on aerobic fitness and strength. This is exactly what I had wanted from a personal trainer – basically someone who would make me do things I didn’t want to do but knew I needed to. Previously, I was always a bit of a piker in my gym classes – if something got even remotely hard, I would stop. With Chris, I always came away sore – and worse yet, if I said something was hard, he would be pleased, and if I said something was easy, he would make it harder. There was no way to coast through this.

I decided to keep going after the free sessions were over, as well as step up my hours in the gym. Chris introduced boxing into the routine – it was always great to smack the crap out of a bag, especially after a stressful day at work. The routine changed to include more complex pieces of equipment, which I would have never figured out how to use independently. 

Gradually over time I noticed that I was able to endure greater punishments. At the start, I could barely run for one minute, and walk for one, for ten minutes. A few months later, I was running – sometimes sprinting – for ten minutes, and still able to carry a conversation with Chris (although then he decided to make it harder). Another day, Chris asked me to do the plank, my arch nemesis exercise, and I said that there was no way I’d ever be able to do it for a minute. That was the day he decided I would – and made me push right through to the end. 

The greatest victory for me was when I asked Chris why I felt better, but didn’t seem to be losing weight (the scales still said 70kgs). He redid my measurements – and found that on every dimension I had lost several centimetres, indicating that all the previous wobbliness was making the transition to muscle! 

While it still might take me awhile to achieve my goal, I have seen that it is definitely possible – and that having someone to push you along is worth the extra time and effort (even if I don’t listen to his advice about food!)

P.S. I know I said this entry was going to be about Alain de Botton. However that was a pretty difficult subject to dissect, and so the blog entry is still in the making. Stay tuned for a few more food and music related entries in the pipeline!

 

 

Sydney Writers Centre – Creative Writing Stage 1

There are some skills that I have always viewed as intuitive. You’re either born with it, or not. You can try to learn  – and eventually you might become reasonable – but you will always feel out of your depth and look up to those who seem effortlessly talented. My efforts to be a lead guitarist (which I gave up on happily after about 8 years of trying) and my current attempts to be an engineer feel like skills I was definitely lacking from birth. Another skill I’ve always put in this category is writing – I always imagined that my favourite writers just sat down and poured out the words until they were finished.

Thankfully, the Creative writing course by the Sydney Writers Centre shattered that illusion.

I started the class in November, three weeks after coming home from overseas. My year away had given me lots of food for thought and I felt determined that the next ‘thing’ that I would try was to be an author. I diligently read To Kill a Mockingbird as my preparation and showed up at the training room (overlooking the Harbour Bridge in Milsons Point) ready for my creative genius to be unleashed. Instead, Pamela Freeman took us through the process of writing a book – voice, structure, scene, characters – with nothing, including the hard parts, spared.

Pamela was immediately engaging and refreshingly humble despite the success she has had as a writer – one week we were given several drafts of a passage from one of her books and asked to pick which one was included. She had no qualms in telling us that it was in fact none of them and she had to rewrite the whole thing! I was also amazed by how well read she was and was constantly scribbling down titles that she recommended we read (my next trip to Borders was very exciting!)

The writing task was amusing - although intimidating reading in front of a group of strangers – as we weaved our way from a personals ad to developing character. I always left myself too little time to do the task – possibly because I was still stuck in the mindset that it should write itself if I was any good. The story of a deluded prisoner, written by another student who had patiently researched his setting and crafted a jerky, intense voice, was like a lightning bolt in the room and my mind started to change. Pamela’s critique of each of our pieces shed light on issues that I would have never realised – simple things like making a man sound more like a woman, or drifting from first person to third.

But perhaps the greatest encouragement I received was from reading an excerpt of Making Stories given to me by Pamela at the end of the first week. As someone who can get weary at the sight of challenge, I was troubled to think that writing was not actually as easy as it looked. However, after reading the painstaking process that Peter Carey went through to write Oscar and Lucinda I realised that even the most brilliant writers sometimes feel like they don’t know what they’re doing. So there is a chance for me yet! (and perhaps as an engineer and guitarist as well).

Sydney Writers Centre, http://www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au
Ph: 9929 9237
$395 for five weeks for Creative Writing Stage 1
Also hold courses in magazine writing, novel writing, childrens writing, memoirs, travel writing and business writing

In keeping with the bookish theme, the next entry will be about Alain de Botton and all of his books that I have been eating up recently – you just have to wait until I finish the last one!

Ben Folds

One of the things I really missed while I was living in South East Asia for a year was music. Sure, we had local music, but I could never understand the words, it was always played at a painful volume, and any song that was even remotely good was in constant rotation. So as soon as I got home, I had the radio playing 24/7 trying desperately to get back up to date. It didn’t take me long to stumble across Ben Folds’ new c.d. Way to Normal.

Even though it took a few listens to grow on me, it eventually revealed itself as a typical – hence good! –  Ben Folds album. Irreverant and funny lyrics made me laugh out loud, like those in Free Coffee:

When I was broke, I needed it more,
But now that I’m rich, they give me free coffee

Hiroshima (a song about Ben falling off stage during a concert in Japan) and Bitch Went Nuts (I have been told that this is his ‘divorce album’) also fall into this category. You Don’t Know Me was a real treat, as it featured Regina Spektor on backup vocals, another one of the favourite singer-songwriter-pianists.

However it was the song Cologne that really struck me – it felt like a classic ballad from the tradition of Ben Folds Five, his previous band which I began listening to when I was in high school. A lot of memories associated with Ben Folds music suddenly came out of nowhere and took me back to my past. Like when my friend came to school and told us about this great new song Battle of Who Could Care Less that she had heard from their second album. Quoting the words of Philosophy to my first boyfriend in a conversation, which sparked a 4 hour metaphysical discussion (we started going out the next day). My friends going to see a Ben Folds Five concert in Sydney (which was three hours away) and bringing me back a shirt that was too big, which I felt rubbed salt in the wound of not being able to go. Spending hours with my guitar trying to figure out how to play Brick and other songs (you can find these attempts at my first ever website, http://realityforge.net/su!) It was bizarre when I realised that I was now old enough to have had moments in my life with accompanying pieces of music – and I was still listening to it ten years later!

So I thought I’d compose a (short) list of my favourite# Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five songs.

• For when you feel like singing (or laughing) really loud: Julianne and Underground (Ben Folds Five), Song for the Dumped (Whatever and Ever Amen), Army (The Unauthorised Biography of Reinhold Messner), Hiroshima (Way to Normal)
• For when you feel like some quiet time:  Boxing (Ben Folds Five), Brick and Evaporated (Whatever and Ever Amen), Magic (The Unauthorised Biography of Reinhold Messner), Fred Jones Pt 2 (Rockin’ The Suburbs)*, Cologne  (Way To Normal)
• My favorite: Philosophy (Ben Folds Five)

# Ben Folds followers will notice I’ve left out an album here – Songs for Silverman, his second solo album. The truth is I can’t find it!!! Hopefully I will see it again one day…
* This song features John McCrea from Cake, another one of my favourite bands!

Coming up will be a review about…writing!! I just completed a five week Creative Writing Course at the Sydney Writers Centre – so stay tuned for some thoughts about that

Mudgee

I’m a twin, and in recent years my sister and I have started celebrating our birthday in rather extravagant ways. For example, last year we spent a weekend in Hervey Bay in Queensland whale watching. Since Amy is a food scientist and I am what she likes to call a ‘closet foodie’ we decided to go to the winegrowing region of Mudgee in New South Wales for four days of gastronomic indulgence.

Our first stop was Logan’s Wines – the very first winery on the way into town. We were estastic to be there – not only because it signalled the start of our weekend, but because we had already tried some of their tasty wines via a friend. The view was amazing, and the design of both the building and the advertising material was very funky – these guys had definitely steered away from the traditional winegrowers themes. I went straight for the sweet stuff, carrying out a bottle of Moscato as well as some other whites.
Logan’s Wines, www.loganwines.com.au, (02) 6373 1333
Castlereagh Highway, Apple Tree Flat, Mudgee

Our next stop was High Valley Wine + Cheese Co – this was mainly for the cheese! We weren’t disappointed – the marinated fettas (especially the pesto) were phenomenonal, and the soft cheeses were just as good. I was impressed with the blue, which was lovely and creamy. We liked it so much that when the boys joined us on the weekend, we took them for a tasting platter – and then bought more cheese!
High Valley Wine + Cheese Co, www.highvalley.com.au, (02) 6372 1011
137 Cassilis Road, Mudgee

After all the stopping, we finally made our way to our accomodation – the Bushman’s Cottage at Pieter Van Gent Winery + Vineyard. The cottage was lovely and fully equipped, even though the rustic look from the outside may have been deceiving (the cottage was built in the 1880′s). We made our way down to the winery a short while later. The cellar door was stunning – 160 year old oak barrels lining the walk as you made your way to the tasting room – as were the ports. We walked away with a few bottles of Pipeclay Vermouth, which is also known as ‘liquid fruit cake’ because thats exactly what it tastes like!
Pieter Van Gent Winey + Vineyard, www.pvgwinery.com.au, (02) 6373 3030
141 Black Springs Road, Mudgee

Dinner that night was at the Wineglass Bar + Grill restaurant @ Cobb + Co Court Boutique Hotel – and was by far the best food we ate on the entire weekend. The duck was bursting with flavour, and my tiramisu looked every bit as good as it tasted. We took the boys here for breakfast on Sunday as well – while the service was a little slower this time round, the food was every bit as good.
Wineglass Bar + Grill restaurant @ Cobb + Co Court Boutique Hotel, www.cobbandcocourt.com.au,
(02) 63723417, 97 Market St (Cnr Perry St) Mudgee

The next morning (our 26th birthday) we started the day at the Butchers Shop Cafe to fill our bellies before we got stuck into the wine. Smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, avocado and lemon on toast went down a treat as we fielded birthday phone calls and soaked up the morning sun.
Butchers Shop Cafe, (02) 6374 2322, 49 Church St Mudgee

Just when I thought I was about to explode after breakfast, we headed to Mudgee Gourmet in the old railway station building This place was a treat – we could try just about every single local product from mustards, to hazelnuts, to olive oils, to fudge…It was awfully hard to choose, but eventually I walked out with some cumquat and muscat jelly made by the Grape Alternative and some of Michael’s Mustards Garlic and Rosemary Mustard.
Mudgee Gourmet, www.mudgeegourmet.com.au, (02) 6372 0030
Railway Station, cnr Church and Inglis St, Mudgee

The first winery of the day was Frog Rock, who thankfully sell at Dan Murphy’s as well as their cellar door. I bought some Pinot Gris although I was once again sorely tempted by their sweet ‘Sticky Frog’. Amy went straight past the wine and went for a pair of boxer shorts with frogs all over them!
Frog Rock, www.frogrockwines.com, (02) 6372 2408
Opposite Airport, Mudgee

di Lusso Estate was our next stop – I was keen to get a bottle of the Mudgee Russo red which I had with my duck at Cobbs + Co Court the night before. This time I gave into temptation and bought a bottle of sweet wine!
di Lusso Estate, www.dilusso.com.au, (02) 6373 3125
Eurunderee Lane, Mudgee

After a rest to let the food and wine digest, we headed for Oatley Wines for some afternoon tea at the Wild Oats Cafe and, of course, some wine. When we told the very helpful staff that it was our birthday, we each got a glass of bubbly for free – after compounding that with a lot of wine tasting, the room was spinning! Thankfully afternoon tea settled us down again – a tasting platter covered with beetroot and cinnamon dip, olives, fetta and a whole host of equally yummy things. We took the boys here for dinner on Saturday night – while the restaurant was a little busy and noisy, we did get to enjoy the Oatley wines with some tasty food, which always brings out the best in a wine. Plus a restaurant that gives you free bread always gets high marks with me!
Oatley Wines + Wild Oats Cafe, www.oatleywines.com.au, (02) 6372 2208
Craigmoor Road, Mudgee

The next stop was very brief – at Huntington Estate. Despite all the ‘award winning’ stickers everywhere, it was actually the only winery where I didn’t buy wine – maybe it was because I had gone off red, or maybe just because I wasn’t very impressed.
Huntington Estate, www.huntingtonestate.com.au, (02) 6373 3825
Cassilis Road, Mudgee

Our birthday dinner was at the Blue Wren Restaurant, part of the Blue Wren Wines cellar door. This place also had a very good reputation – but I was actually disappointed considering the high quality of the food we had had the night before at the Cobbs and Co Court. The food was lacking flavour, and the room felt far too cavernous for a restaurant. However, the candle that they put in our dessert sorbet was a nice touch, and the courtesy bus that took us to and from the cottage made it easy to drink more!
Blue Wren Restaurant, www.bluewrenwines.com.au, (02) 6372 6205
433 Cassilis Road, Mudgee

The next morning, with boys in tow, we made our way to Sajo’s Lounge Bar and Restaurant for the first meal of the day. The place was very funky – it would have looked out of place in any other town except Mudgee! – and would have been fantastic for cocktails. Instead I had some lovely banana bread (it was a bit too early for that!)
Sajo’s Lounge Bar and Restaurant, www.sajos.com.au, (02) 6372 2722
22 Church St, Mudgee

Our next stop was more for the boys than anything – the Mudgee Brewing Company (I don’t really like beer). My husband, Chris, was nice enough to take notes for me – apparently the wheat beer was ‘fairly standard’, he ‘preferred Coopers’ to the pale ale, the spring ale was ‘excellent and strongly flavoured’ and the porter was ‘very chocolaty and unusual’. The kegs as chairs was a nice touch.
Mudgee Brewing Company, www.mudgeebreweing.com.au, (02) 6372 6726
4 Church St, Mudgee

Vinifera Wines was the first winery of the day, but was made special by the unexpected visit by one of our friends travelling through town. We listened to stories about the vineyard losing a lot of its crop due to a bitter frost a few weeks before – at least I got to take a bottle of Semillon home!
Vinifera Wines, www.viniferawines.com.au, (02) 6372 2461
194 Henry Lawson Drive, Mudgee

Elliot Cooke Estate was just a little further up the road, and we stopped to try their Ice Wine, which didn’t disappoint. I was pleased to hear about the frequent events that are held there – including an eight course degustation which is matched with their wines!
Elliot Cooke Estate, www.elliotrockestate.com.au, (02) 6372 7722
Craigmoor Road, Mudgee

I was determined to come home from Mudgee with a bottle of olive oil, so we checked out The Olive Nest. My education in olive oil was definitely increased by my visit! We tried some lovely oils, but I couldn’t justify their prices to myself (despite how much I had spent on wine!) and ended up buying a black olive tapenade. It was interesting to compare the smell and taste of their olive oils to standard Coles brands – they were worlds apart (by the way, the olive oil I ended up buying was Broswood Estate, which I had with my dinner at Cobbs & Co Court).
The Olive Nest, www.olivenest.com.au, (02) 6373 3719
Pipes Clay Lane, Mudgee

Our final visit was to Petersons Glenesk Estate, right next door to our cottage. While it was busy at the time, we managed to taste everything and finally decided on a smooth port (despite the fact that I was still campaigning to buy more white wine).
Peterson’s Glenesk Estate, www.petersonswine.com.au, (02) 6373 3184
Blacksprings Road, Mudgee

So my final ratings for the weekend:

Best wine: Hard choice, but I go for the ports at Pieter Van Gent Winery + Vineyard.
Best food: Hands down – Wineglass Bar + Grill restaurant @ Cobb + Co Court Boutique Hotel.
Best of the rest: Mudgee Gourmet for their selection of local produce and High Valley Wine & Cheese Co. for their amazing cheese!

Mudgee is about four hours west of Sydney, and can be reached either by travelling over the Blue Mountains  or through Richmond. Once you reach Lithgow, follow the signs to Mudgee.

Note: Since I started this blog entry (its taken me a few weeks to finish!) I’ve also been to the wine growing area of the Yarra Valley, which is an hour outside Melbourne. Before you start thinking – is she an alcoholic? – it was a surprise birthday weekend planned by two of my closest friends Julie and Bec. It was a phonemonal experience – it made Mudgee look tiny, with its hills covered in vineyards, its 88 cellar doors, and restaurants galore. Rather than bore you with more wine and food reviews, I’ll simply point out my highlights:
Balgownie Estate (www.balgownieestate.com.au) – Our dinner here on Saturday night was amazing, with the view equally matching the lovely food.
De Bortoli Winery & Restaurant (www.debortoli.com.au) – For someone who loves sweet wine as much as me, I was in heaven here. De Bortoli’s Noble One is arguably one of the best sweet wines in the country.
Yerling Station (www.yering.com) – This was Victoria’s first vineyard, and is just astonishing with its sculptures, cuisine and breathtaking views over the valley.
Badger Creek Blueberry Farm & Winery Cafe – This was the nicest surprise of the weekend. Delicious pancakes for Sunday morning breakfast, covered in fresh blueberries. Yum……..

I hope to go there again very soon! Here’s a picture for a sneak peek….