Our Week Scouted – August 9, 2019
SEE
If you haven’t had a chance to visit Les Yeux du Monde for Landscape Reimagined and Summer Sculpture Show, now’s your last chance. Read Cville Weekly’s review of the show here and then head out this Sunday, August 11, from 2-5 pm for the Closing Reception & Sculpture Walk. The Sculpture Walk will begin at 2:30pm as many of the sculptors guide the walk and discuss their work. Then hold the date on Saturday, 24 August, from 4:30 - 6:30pm for
the newest show’s opening reception for Sanda Iliescu: Arrivals, which we’ll explore in an upcoming Our Week Scouted.
Les Yeux du Monde | 841 Wolf Trap Road | 434.973.5566
LOVE
We’ve fallen for all of the Old Whaling Co. products at Ivy Nursery. And as summer starts to draw to a close, we’re embracing their variety of delicious scents (personal fave: Seaweed + Sea Salt) that feel so beach-ey. They have bar soaps, bath bombs, body butters and roll-on perfumes. There’s even a mini body butter size that’s perfect for stowing in your bag or taking on your next jaunt. Pop on into Ivy Nursery to scoop up your next hostess gift, or better yet, a treat for yourself.
*Photo by, Kate Gereer
Ivy Nursery | 570 Broomley Road | 434-295-1183
HOURS | 9-6 Monday-Saturday, Closed Sunday
CELEBRATE
Calling all Wahoo Fans! Glemore Country Club is hosting the University of Virginia Trophy Tour on one of their stops. This Saturday, August 10 from 12-12:45pm Glemore is opening their gates to the public for a chance to check out the UVA basketball and lacrosse championship trophies at their UVA Fan Zone. Test your hoops skills with UBall, register to win prizes from Crutchfield and take a pic with UVA’s hard-won trophies. Don’t this miss this once-in-a-lifetime photo op!
Glenmore Country Club | 1750 Piper Way, Keswick | 434.817.0506
TREAT
In their ongoing celebration of 20 years in business, Charlottesville Skin & Laser is pleased to offer a 20% discount on microblading services for eyebrows or permanent eyeliner.
Microblading is a semi-permanent makeup procedure where their licensed and professionally trained practitioner utilizes a specialized pen, drawing each hair onto the brow one by one. This precise and detailed process can enhance thin or over-plucked eyebrows or fill in gaps, giving you full, natural-looking results.
Permanent eyeliner is a technique where pigment is placed into the dermis on the upper eyelid and/or lower lash line. Pigment can also by placed between the eyelashes, which creates a visual effect of dark, thick, and lush lashes.
Head into Charlottesville Skin & Laser for a free consultation if you’re not sure if microblading or permanent eyeliner is right for you. This special is valid during the month of August. As always, you are welcome to take advantage of this offer and bank it (buy now and use later).
Charlottesville Skin & Laser | Townside Shopping Center, 2214 Ivy Rd #104 | 434.984.4491
PLAY
In case you missed it, IX Park is hosting a Sunday Beach Club all summer long. This week’s theme combines two of our favorite things: the beach + dancing. IX Beach Club Havana Nights will take place Sunday, August 11 from 1-4pm. There will be the usual four tons of sand, but they’ll also be serving up mojitos at the bar and the Charlottesville Salsa Club will be on hand teaching salsa and bachata. Bring your beach chairs and sunscreen, and don’t forget to hydrate. This is a super fun, free event for the whole family.
SHOP
The heat of summer makes it hard to get into the holiday spirit, but the Handmade & Vintage Market by Craft Cville at Early Mountain Vineyard on Saturday, August 10 from 11am-5pm is the perfect time to snap up some unique gifts. Shop some of the best in handmade & vintage while enjoying Early Mountain wines in their beautiful Event Hall. Vendors include: Filthy Clean, The Bird and Elephant, Mobius Keramikk, Bright Body, White Fawn Arts, Pint Sized Pixels, Eva Eliza Art, Neocretion, I Wear Tights, Little Paper Crane, Sliced Cake Bar, Hi Fiber Design Hi Fiber Design, TeTai, Shira Brooks Studio, Ryan Arnold Studios and more! Free admission.
Early Mountain Vineyard | 6109 Wolftown-Hood Road, Madison | 540.948.9005
GO
Did you know there is a rodeo right outside of Cville? Oakland Heights Farm Rodeo in Gordonsville takes place the second Saturday of the month, May through September. The second to last one is happening this Saturday, August 10 starting at 5:30pm. In addition to bull riding, the evening includes live music, mutton busting and ladies barrel racing. Make an evening of it with live music, vendors, and food concessions benefiting the Gordonsville Fire Department. Gates open at 5:30pm, with live music starting at 6:00 and bull riding at 7:15. Go early, pick a great seat and get set for an awesome evening of old-fashioned, family-fun excitement!
Oakland Heights Farm | 1711 James Madison Hwy, Gordonsville | 540.222.1824
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The Tanzanites Down Under
March 12 - 28, 2019
Photo credits - Thanks to all those who contributed photos to this blog post - especially Christian Pantke and Al Prior.
Well it only took me 52 years, but I finally made it to Australia. I’ve wanted to go my whole adult life, and Oz did not disappoint!
Looking back on it now, I don’t know how we did so much in so little time. Every day was utterly packed, and for good reason. Two weeks just isn’t enough time to get it all done.
The thing that struck me most is how quickly the vistas change in the space of just a few miles. Rocky coastlines, lush rain forests, sandy beaches, sprawling vineyards ... all within a short drive of the urban centers of Melbourne or Sydney. It’s almost too much to take in.
Tuesday - Arrival Day
There is one down side about any trip to Australia, of course, and that’s the getting there part.
Oh. Holy. Hell.
Dallas to Sydney is seventeen hours. Seventeen very looooong hours that for me commenced at 10 pm Dallas time on Sunday. By the time I checked into my hotel in Melbourne around noon on Tuesday, I’d essentially been awake (I don’t sleep on airplanes) something like 36 hours. Nothing to do at that point but POWER THROUGH to a respectable bedtime!
Christian & Claudia arrived shortly before I did, so Al (our host) came and collected us for a preview of the city.
The first thing I noticed about Melbourne is the varied architecture ... magnificent Victorian structures right next to modern skyscrapers right next to 1930s art deco buildings. Much like the country itself, Melbourne crams a lot of diversity into a relatively small space.
Birgitte had arrived several days earlier and was off on a driving tour, but she joined us for an early dinner at Chin Chin - one of my favorite restaurants of the whole trip.
Wednesday - Melbourne Walking Tour & Queen Vic Market
Our first full day in Melbourne was a walking tour of the Shrine of Remembrance and the Royal Botanic Gardens, both of which were stunning.
The Shrine of Remembrance was built to honor Victorians who lost their lives in World War I. It’s one of the more thoughtful and impressive monuments I’ve seen anywhere.
The Royal Botanic Gardens cover 89 acres of public space in the middle of Melbourne and rival such privately-funded botanical gardens as the Dallas Arboretum.
Dinner that night was at Queen Victoria Market, where a multitude of vendors sell their crafts and international cuisine.
Al’s girlfriend Hope and his - now our - friend Kellie joined us for dinner, which was a little of this and a little of that.
I was introduced to a delicious Australian dessert called pavlova, which I highly recommend trying next time you’re down under.
Christian bought himself a Crocodile Dundee hat (as one does).
Thursday - 12 Apostles & Rain Forest #1
Our first road trip took us about three hours southwest of Melbourne to The Twelve Apostles, a spectacular section of eroded shoreline near Port Campbell that forms 12(ish) stacks that somehow came to be known as the apostles.
Birgitte decided to get up close & personal with the apostles in the front seat of a helicopter!
On the ride back to Melbourne, we drove along the Great Ocean Road, stopping in Lorne for a glass of wine, and a little further on, a stroll through the rain forest.
Friday - Wine Day
Friday was our first of several wine tastings, this one on the Mornington Peninsula. I was surprised at how many wineries there are, and I was particularly surprised at how GOOD Australian wine is, given that the only Australian labels we know of in the US are Barefoot and Yellow Tail (which incidentally can hardly be found in Australia)!
The drive back to Melbourne took us to Dromana for a stroll along Safety Beach.
This was also my first introduction to beach boxes - tiny little empty huts along the beach with no electricity or running water that people pay upwards of AUD $100k for. (And I totally get it, given the setting!)
Saturday Morning - Prahran Market
For our final morning in Melbourne, we started at Prahran Market, where I would be myself every Saturday morning if I lived in Melbourne. It’s basically Central Market on steroids. I’ve never seen anything like it. Fresh vegetables, meat, seafood, and prepared dishes as far as you can see.
We met up with the Melbourne crew for brunch at Gramercy Social before heading to the airport for a quick flight to Sydney.
Saturday Evening - First Night in Sydney
Like Melbourne, Sydney is very much a walking city. The evidence of this can be found on my iPhone, which registered in excess of 25,000 steps on just one day. I even lost a couple of pounds on this trip despite eating many meals that looked much like the one pictured above.
So as in Melbourne, day one was a walking day. Sydney is all about Queen Victoria, for whom the state is named. Victorian influences can be found everywhere - in the architecture, the street names, and the monuments.
Dinner that night was at Phillip’s Foote, a former Sailor’s bar, where one goes to cook one’s own steak on the barbie.
After dinner, we walked down to Sydney Harbor, where the postcard photos I’d seen since I was a child came to life. It was an especially poignant evening to be there, as the horrific shootings at Christchurch had happened just the day before, so the Opera House was illuminated with a silver fern, a national symbol of New Zealand.
As if on cue, the fireworks started the moment we arrived.
Sunday - A Good Day to Be Indoors!
Almost as an afterthought, I purchased a poncho just before I left Dallas. On Sunday, I was VERY glad to have done so! The skies opened up in the morning and it rained virtually the entire day.
So what better day to do museum and cathedral tours? We started at The Australian Museum, which is more or less a natural history museum, then walked through St. Mary’s Cathedral, and finally The Art Gallery of New South Wales.
I enjoyed the Australian Museum, but St. Mary’s and the Art Gallery of NSW were my favorites.
I especially enjoyed the aboriginal exhibit, created by artists from Australia’s indigenous community.
Another favorite was this painting called Holiday Sketch at Coogee (1888). Saro pointed it out because she knew we’d be standing in more or less the same spot a couple of days later.
And sure enough ...
The sun never really came out that day, but the rain let up enough to enjoy walking around and gawking at the incredible trees found all over Sydney, which look like they would be more at home in a sculpture museum than a city park.
Monday - Alarming Start to a Great Day
Nothing like waking up to a fire alarm! No need for panic, it turns out. One of our fellow hotel guests decided to do a little laundry and hang it from the fire sprinkler. (What could go wrong??) Turns out - the sprinkler system can flood the elevator shaft and cause the hotel staff to have to relocate EVERY SINGLE GUEST to a nearby hotel.
Evacuations and relocations notwithstanding, Monday was a good day. We did a nice walking tour, taking in more of the architecture and public spaces.
Monday night was opera night! A highlight of the trip, to be sure! The performance was Salome. It was - in a word - GRAPHIC. (And also a bit different than depicted in my childhood Sunday School lessons.) I thoroughly enjoyed it, though, if only for the venue.
Tuesday - Beach Walk & Bridge Climb
On Tuesday, I logged 24,962 steps (not including the 1,400+ steps it took me to walk up and down the Sydney Harbor Bridge).
The day started with a long and scenic coastal walk from Coogee Beach up to Bondi. In just a few miles, you come across one sandy beach after another ensconced in craggy, rocky shorelines.
Another HUGE highlight of the trip was climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Radka and I were supposed to do it together, but she had to cancel her trip at the last minute because her mum was ill and died just a few days before our trip. They were on my mind the whole time, though, and they climbed with me in spirit.
The bridge climb was FANTASTIC! Don’t go to Sydney without doing it! It’s not cheap, and it takes several hours of your time, but it’s well worth it. The views are incredible, and the tour guides tell great stories about the history of the bridge.
Wednesday - Wildlife Park & Blue Mountains
Wednesday was another road trip.
First we visited the Featherdale Wildlife Park.
From there we Headed up to Katoomba for a visit to the Blue Mountains.
I was again astounded by the panorama and the fact that you could go from mountaintop to rain forest in under two minutes.
Thursday - More Wine Tastings & Nelson Bay
Another road trip - this time up to Nelson Bay, with a stop at Tyrell’s Wines.
Friday - Last Night in Sydney
We got back from Port Nelson on Friday and enjoyed a final, casual night in Sydney. We started out at The Glemore Hotel for happy hour. This is a great place to see a bat show, notable because the bats are the size of ... I don’t know ... CONDORS ... as opposed to the bats we get in Texas, which are essentially the size of sparrows.
For dinner, Al took us to Myung Jan for Korean BBQ, which incidentally is NOTHING like Texas BBQ (just so you know).
Saturday - Farewell to Sydney
We started the day at Paddington Market, a great place to buy textiles and souvenirs.
We said goodbye to Birgitte, who had to get back to real life, and Christian and Claudia, who were moving on to Tasmania.
Then there were three.
Al, Hope, and I took a ferry to the iconic Manly Beach for a lazy last afternoon in Sydney.
Apparently there’s a VW bus club that meets at Manly, which only made the place even cooler.
Dinner Saturday night was cocktails and hamburgers at a crazy-loud joint in Newtown called Mary’s, which at various points in its history was a Greek sporting club, a women’s sanctuary, a Masonic hall and an STD clinic.
Sunday through Tuesday - Port Douglas
Sunday afternoon we flew to Cairns, then rented a car and drove down to Port Douglas, a quaint little beach-side community which is also a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.
The main reason for going to Port Douglas was to go SCUBA DIVING!! I spent many hours getting my PADI certification for this very reason, and the experience was everything I’d hoped it would be! What a perfect capstone to an unbelievable trip!
Wednesday and Thursday - Final Goodbyes
Wednesday we drove back to Cairns for lunch, then I flew back to Sydney for one night before my return flight to Dallas.
Thursday afternoon I got on my SIXTH Qantas plane in less than three weeks. I have no idea what happened to the previous sixteen days. I just know they went really fast.
This was one of the greatest adventures of my life - one that would never have happened if it weren’t for the IBM Corporate Service Corps. I remain astounded at all the ways that my CSC experience has changed my life, and I look forward to all the reunions yet to come.
As for this one - many thanks to those and shared it with me and those who made it happen - Saro Yeo and Alastair Prior.
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