#is the cross street by our air bnb

[lighthousesbymotorcycle]

Newfoundland Road trip 2023

It was early August 2023; I had just barely made it out of Montreal on my flight as thunder and lighting storms surrounded the airport. I’ve never climbed that high, that fast in a plane, it felt more like a rocket ship. I arrived home in Nova Scotia late that night, but was able to get a good rest and sleep in. After a few loads of laundry, some packing, and a rear tire change on the Indian Challenger I was ready to hit the road. Cam rolled into the yard late afternoon on his Lowrider ST El Diablo. We tore out of there making tracks for North Sydney, Nova Scotia. It was around a 350KM ride. We had to take a backroad detour along the way to avoid a huge traffic delay that occurred regularly in Truro, Nova Scotia. After stopping for supper and then hitting some wet roads, we finally rolled into North Sydney just after dark. There, we were loaded onto a ferry that would take us across the gulf of St. Lawerence to the province of Newfoundland. The ferry set sail just before midnight and would dock on the rock just before 7AM. Being my 7th trip over to Newfoundland on my bike I didn’t find the ferry lounge chairs too bad, and with a little help I was able to sleep through the night.

We awoke just before the ferry reached the island to get some breakfast at the ferry cafeteria. A little fuel before a long day of riding. It would be just over 910KM to travel to our destination of St. John’s on the complete opposite side of the island. Some people say it’s a boring ride, but I’ve always enjoyed it. The landscape is constantly changing. From the Codroy Valley to the winding mountain roads around Corner Brook, through Terra Nova Park, and across the barrens as you cross the Avalon peninsula. The scenery is always changing, giving you something new to look at. You just have to stay alert and watch out for those damn moose.

The sun was shining, and the temperature was in the low 20’s. A perfect day for riding. We made good time, with 5 fuel stops, and a Mary Browns lunch break in Gander. We pulled into our Air BNB in downtown St. Johns around 7PM. The Air BNB was, well, it was interesting. I booked late this time so the spots I regularly stayed in were taken. For trips to Newfoundland its important to book early, or you get stuck with high prices or not so desirable accommodations. The location was right, and it was clean, but the place had that old musty grandma smell. Every room had floor to ceiling wallpaper, and I don’t think it had been renovated since the 60s or 70s.

The next day was calling for heavy rain, so once we got everything unpacked, we went to the grocery store to pick up some drinks and snacks. After that we decided to walk down to George Street for some late-night food, and of course a few drinks. George Street is one of my all-time favourite places to tie one on. You can’t beat the hospitality of Newfoundlanders. We got our food and did a little bar hopping until we wound up at my favourite spot: Christian’s Pub. A hole in the wall bar about the same size as a modern Canadian kitchen. It’s been my favourite spot for years, and its where I became an honorary Newfoundlander (kiss the Cod fish, do a shot of screech, and recite a rhyme). They even still have a cigarette vending machine on the back wall. Over the years I made good friends with the young guys who run the bar most nights, Robby, and Marshall. These guys are a great time, and we had a lot of fun there over the years. I wish I could go into more detail, I probably have enough to write a whole column on Christian’s pub alone. I’ll just leave you with “you had to be there.”. One thing is for sure, the drinks never stop flowing and the tunes are always on point. As Newfoundlanders say, “Best Kind”. You just never want to leave. When you do, you’re probably walking sideways like me and Cam were that night. We made it back to the BNB on foot and passed out around 3AM.

The next morning, we awoke with heavy heads, and to heavy rain showers. Luckily the two go hand in hand when you’re on a motorcycle road trip and you have time for a down day. So, we did just that, took the day off. We relaxed kicking back at the Air BNB. In the early afternoon we did end up dragging our asses into a cab and down to the Bagel Café (the best breakfast spot in town) for some brunch.

The morning of Day 4 we were well rested. The rain had stopped but it was still misting, and the road was wet. We suited up in our rain gear and hit the road for a day of riding. There were a couple loops around the Avalon peninsula that I had never ridden and wanted to check out in the next couple of days. Our first stop was of course a lighthouse, 1 of 5 we would visit on this trip. Lighthouses are one of the best destinations you can have when exploring by motorcycle in Atlantic Canada. The roads to get to them might be questionable in condition, but they provide some of the best twisty’s and coastal scenery. The best part is they are always at the end of the road, so you leave nothing unexplored.

The first lighthouse was Cape St. Francis just north of St. Johns in Biscayan Cove. The road turned to dirt a few Kilometers out. It got tighter and tighter until we came to a steep hill with washouts and large loose stone. Google maps told us we were about 800 meters away, so we parked our bikes and walked down. The road curved along a rocky hill to the lighthouse which was unique as it also served as a helicopter pad. We snapped a few pictures, enjoyed the scenery, then made the climb back up to our bikes. From there we headed to Portugal Cove, where we caught a quick 20-minute ferry over to Bell Island. My friend Gill who I had met just the year before in another part of Newfoundland now lived there through the summer with her boyfriend Curtis. Just off the ferry on the top of a hill she had a great view across the water. We enjoyed a few snacks and learned a lot about Bell Island. Basically, the whole island is undermined. Iron ore had been mined there extensively over the years. All shut down now, most of its residents (including Curtis) are cod fishermen.

We headed out and explored Grebes Nest, a cobbly beach in a very small, secluded cove with rock cliffs over 100 feet tall, accessible only by an old Iron ore mine tunnel. From there we went to check out the Bell Island lighthouse, and then enjoyed a big feed of local cod fish and chips at Dicks Fish and Chips.

After we said our goodbyes, we were waiting for the ferry to take us back to the main island when Cam noticed a problem with his kickstand, his bike seemed to be leaning over a lot more the usual. We did some wrenching and took it off right there on the wharf. Everything checked out, bolts were tight, and the bushings did not seem to be worn. Cam picked up a 2x4 there to jam under it while parked to help keep the bike level. Something he brought all the way back to Nova Scotia with him. We loaded our bikes back on to the decrepit old ferry, by this time the sky had cleared, and the sun was shining.

Back on the mainland, we followed the coastal road along Route 60, through Conception Bay, Holyrood, and Cupids Crossing. We finally hung a right and headed out on a sliver of land towards our third lighthouse of the day at Green Point. Now labelled a heritage lighthouse by the federal government it is well kept and has an amazing view. Time was ticking and we were getting close to riding in the dark, so we gathered up our thoughts and hit the road back to St. Johns, making it back just before dusk. I try my best to be off the road by dark when I’m traveling in Newfoundland. The moose are plentiful, and I’d rather not have one jump out in front of me.

Day 5 on our trip consisted of more exploring on the Avalon peninsula. After a quick stop at Rugged Rock Harley Davidson, we headed south down Route 10 along the Irish loop. Another beautiful ride where the road touched parts of the coast, and then cut straight through the barrens (lots of rock and no trees). We hung a right in Portugal Cove South and headed up this immaculately paved and vacant road to a place called the miniature fishermen, a display of miniature versions of all types of ships you can think of in a small cove. A local that lived nearby had put a lot of time into meticulously crafting these minis. We enjoyed the perfect road to its full potential on the ride back out, making a few passes at speed.

From there we continued around the loop, our next stop was 12KM off the main route down a fairly decent dirt road across the barrens to the coast. The Cape Pine lighthouse sits just in from the coastal cliffs about 300 feet from sea level. The only lighthouse that I’ve been to that was constructed of cast iron. Back when it was constructed in 1851, it cost the British government 6500 pounds.

We followed Route 90 back up the coast. A gas stop and a good lunch at a local store kept us going strong for the rest of the day. We decided to cut across Route 91, and then head south down Route 92 to Cape Saint Mary’s. Here, we would see our first moose, and the first live moose I had ever seen on Newfoundland while riding my motorcycle. Grazing in the ditch, they ran off quickly as we approached them.

Another 10KM off the main road (this one was a paved single lane) we arrived at Cape Saint Mary’s to check out our 5th and final lighthouse of the trip. Along with the lighthouse was a large parking lot with a building labelled Ecological Reserve. Alongside it was a group of ten individuals with the biggest cameras I had ever seen. They looked more like telescopes. As we walked up to the building, I asked one of the ladies what the big cameras were for. She looked at me in surprise and said, “We are here to see and photograph the Northern Gannet.” Not sure what that was I asked, “What’s a Gannet?” She replied in shock and awe, “You’re not here to see the birds!?”

We walked in the front door of what we discovered was a migratory bird museum. There, the curator asked if we were there to see the birds. “What birds?” I said. “The Northern Gannet, look out that giant window in the front, there are over 100,000 of them on that rock over there!” Said the curator. Wow, what a sight! “You can walk right over there in amongst them if you want to get shit on” said the curator, “That’s what’s going to happen to all those photographers from national geographics.” Me and Cam had a good laugh. We checked out the museum and walked out about halfway, staying far enough back not to get shit on.

Not soon after it was time to hustle as it was late in the afternoon. We finished the loop heading north up Route 100, along the windy coast. We wound up on a dirt road, having to backtrack a little before we found pavement again. We made it back to St. Johns again just as the sun set. Time for a bite, and one last visit to Christians Pub before we head back over to the west side of the rock tomorrow. Just one drink, that’s all. Just one.

Day 6 I woke up slightly hungover, but ready to blast to the west coast of the island. Our destination was Norris Point, a small community nestled in Gros Morne national park. I had stayed in Norris Point on every trip I had ever taken to Newfoundland and made some great friends there over the years. It was about a 700-kilometer day of backtracking the road we had came across the rock on. That was until we reached Deer Lake, where we turned north up Route 430 (The Viking Route).

Just up the road a few kilometers we entered Gros Morne national park, which has the best roads, and the best riding in the whole province. There are no potholes to dodge, and no bumps in the road. Just a pile of twistys, blind hills, and corners to navigate as you weave your way north. There’s lots to look at: mountains, rock faces, and the east arm of Bonne Bay. With breathtaking lookoffs just off the road it’s hard not to stop at all of them and take in the beautiful natural scenery. Definitely a must ride if you’re in Newfoundland on a motorcycle.

We stopped at one of my favourite spots, a lookoff at sea level at the base of Gros Morne on a long straight stretch parallel to the bay. You can see Norris Point from here, further across the harbour is the town of Woody Point, and beyond that is the Tableland mountains. We enjoyed some snacks and a beverage before riding the remainder of the road, a quick 15 minutes to our cottage in Norris Point.

Pulling into Out East BNB we were greeted by my good friends Jean and Milton, owners of the lovely property. After unpacking our stuff and getting situated, we noticed rain had started to fall. We had made reservations at a nearby restaurant. Jean was aware of the rain as well, and decided to lend us her car to drive over so we would not get soaked. The hospitality here is hands down amazing, and it’s a big reason why I keep coming back.

After we returned it was down to Terrys Shed to enjoy some drinks and a little smoke. I met Terry on my first trip to the rock in 2016, and my first stay at Out East BNB, which was originally Terrys BNB. The BNB at that time had just been purchased by Jean and Milton but still had Terry’s name on it. I was a bit lost and ended up down at the end of the lane at a shed. I noticed it had a motorcycle in it, and another parked outside. When I poked my head in to ask for some directions, that’s when I met Terry, and I’ve been visiting him on every trip in his iconic shed ever since.

Day 7 was our last day on the rock. We packed up our bikes at the cabin and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast that Jean had cooked for us. From there, we headed south back down Route 430 until we reached the turnoff for Route 431: a road through the mountains and along some rivers to the opposite side of Bonne Bay, which was home to the villages of Woody Point, Trout River, and the Tablelands Park. Another fantastic ride.

I really wanted to take Cam over to see the Tablelands. The Tableland mountains are a very unique place. The rock that forms them are red in color and they are highly acidic, so much so that little to no plant life grows on them. This is because it is part of the earths mantle that has pushed up through the crust.

Across the valley is another mountain that is lush and green. The road runs along the valley floor below perfectly splitting the two scenes. You look to one side, and you feel like you’re riding on mars; look the other way and it’s life on earth. Before we left, we visited the interpretation center there, and each got a sticker for the inside of our saddlebags.

From there we headed to Steady Brook, and a ski hill called Marble Mountain, which was just off the Trans Canada highway. I had gotten into some ziplining adventures earlier on this summer, and there was one here that I really wanted to check out. Nine ziplines back and forth across the mountain, and over top of Steady Brook waterfalls, which would take about an hour to complete. We lucked out as it was calling for rain all day, so we were the only two on the tour with the two guides, a couple guys from college. What a blast, what a thrill!

Afterwards we grabbed a quick meal in Corner Brook and headed for the overnight ferry in Port-aux-Basques. There was a slight delay due to high winds the last few days. It was raining hard by the time we were loaded up onto the ferry. After we got situated, it was lights out for me.

Day 8 we floated into North Sydney, Nova Scotia somewhat rested, and ready for the ride home. Rain or shine, from this point its always hammer down to get home, get unpacked, and give the bike a much-needed wash. Until next year Newfoundland!

Travis Mack - Darksiders Dartmouth

[longlivetv]

Just a couple of important landmarks on the walk to lunch before seeing @taylorswift tonight in Denver

[bbyboybrock--archived]

The New Hampshire House (Trap House Imagine)

Summary: You and the trap house boys decided to travel to New Hampshire for a week to film Sam and Colby’s new series. Trouble arises on the first night.

Written: 2020

Word Count: 2,250

Warnings: Swearing, murder, haunted house

Masterlist

Slowly sliding through the mist came a faint human-like figure and went into the new house. I shrugged it off as my imagination and helped the guys carry everything inside.

When Sam, Colby, Jake, and Corey invited me on this trip, the last place I expected to be was in a haunted house in the middle of nowhere in New Hampshire. I knew we would be doing the typical stuff for the week: haunted overnights, explore videos, and midnight rituals. What I didn’t know is that they lied to me about our lodging situation. I was told we were going to be staying in this nice Air BnB in a cute little neighborhood. They even showed me pictures. But when we flew in Colby announced to me, because he had already talked to everyone while I was asleep on the plane, that there was a problem with the original house and he had to book this one last minute. We’ve been at this house for about 20 minutes and let me tell you, Bradford, New Hampshire looks and feels creepy. 

“Y/N, come in the living room, we have to talk.” I heard Sam shout from probably the living room.

“Coming!” I exclaimed. I walk into is what I think is the kitchen and spot Colby walks into a different room. I follow him and find everyone sitting around together.

“Y/N, we have to get a few things for this week and we need you to stay here and set up some stuff,” Sam explains when he sees me. 

“What? No way! I am not staying in this creepy house by myself! Why can’t we all go or one of you stay we me?” 

“We’re going shopping for food and supplies for the week. The rental is small and we need to get a lot of things.” Colby explains, patting the seat next to him for me to sit.

“Sure leave the four of you in charge of getting the food we’re going to be living on for the next week. You know what, I’m willing to put feminism back a few years for this. I’m the woman here and I’m probably going to be doing all the cooking anyway. I’ll go grocery shopping, Jake can stay home.” I sit on the armchair by myself and cross my legs; I’m not going out without a fight.

“Y/N, you know if we leave Jake, we’ll never get the deposit back.” Corey jokes. 

“Fine, then you stay Ye Rock.”  

“Fuck that, I’m not staying here.” 

“Then why do I have to?” 

“Please, Y/N, we’ll all owe you big time. We’ll be gone for an hour—two hours tops. We just need someone to charge the equipment and double-check that we have everything.” I throw my hands up and sink into the couch. There is no way I’m going to win this argument.

           I wave goodbye to everyone as they pull out of the driveway. I scan the street one more time before locking the door. We’re really the only house out here. Nothing but dirt and trees for miles. If I didn’t know any better, I would think we were in the middle of the suicide forest. I check all of the equipment that Sam and Colby left behind for me to charge. I stay downstairs for 20 minutes after that before going upstairs to my room to unpack a bit. I close the door and start putting my clothes away. 

Knock, knock, knock. 

I go and open the door, knowing that I’m the only one home, to find nobody there. It’s probably just one of the guys trying to scare me. Maybe they wanted to get a prank video done and make me the subject of their torture. I close the door and go into the closet to start putting some clothes on hangers again. I see a box probably, from the owners, tucked away in the corner. I know I probably shouldn’t open it, I’m a guest in this house. But my curiosity gets the best of me and I get the desk chair and climb on it to reach the shelf. After a few misses, I grab the old dusty brown box. I blow the dust off and open it to find old newspaper articles about this house.

THE DAILY NEWS: MAN MURDERED IN HIS OWN HOUSE

Mark White (Age 37) was murdered in his home today. He suffered head wounds and had multiple stab wounds. His wife (Arianna White, Age 35) found him dead in the family room with the possible murder weapon. Police officers found no fingerprints on the evidence… 

Out of all the houses in the area, Sam and Colby had to choose the murder house. They probably did this on purpose. I go through the box I see pictures of a man and a woman, probably Mark and Arianna, standing in front of the house. Then I pick up another newspaper article.

DAILY NEWS: WOMAN MURDERED IN HER HOME

Arianna White (Age 35) was murdered in her home today. She has suffered gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Mrs. White’s husband was murdered last month in the family room and his wife was found there dead. Her children found her dead when they came home from school and called 911. The family was in the process of moving.

           They have to be fucking with me. There is no way that this group of people, the group that is always doing spooky shit, just happened to book an Air BnB where two—possibly more—people have died. On top of that, them leaving me home along with wouldn’t be a coincidence either. There have to be hidden cameras around the house. How did I find the one room in the house that conveniently just had this box in it?

“No, absolutely fucking not. Nope. Fuck you guys. I’m over this, you picked the wrong bitch.” I shout to nobody in particular and put the box back. I grab my laptop and head to my bed to binge the series I started yesterday.

I must have been tired because I fell asleep while watching the show. It’s dark now and the house is unusually quiet. I sit up and turn on the light to look for my phone. I grab it and unlock my phone to a text from Colby saying that they dropped off the groceries but had to head out for something. He said that they didn’t want to wake me up, so they left without me and would come back with dinner. I rolled my eyes and head downstairs. I pass by the thermostat on the way down and turn on the heat. For the middle of summer, it’s oddly cold. 

When I get to the kitchen I check to see what the four dumb asses managed to get us for provisions. Surprisingly, they got things that we can have for actual meals, on top of snacks. I grab the stovetop popcorn and begin to make it. I turn around and hear a loud crash behind me. The bags on the dining room table were now on the floor. 

“Y/N,” I heard a faint voice say. This has to be a prank. They guys have to be home and hiding filming me somewhere.

“Get out of our house, Y/N.” Now I hear two faint voices one sounded like a man and the other sounded like a woman. This getting weird. Maybe they hired a woman to help prank me. Or maybe one of them finally nailed their fake woman voice.

“You guys can stop now! I’m actually scared so you won. You come out and welcome me to the prank war.” 

“Nobody’s here, Y/N. No one is going to help you.” The voices are getting closer. 

“I’m never doing another video with any of you, ever again. If you don’t— if you don’t come out right now I’ll move out.” 

“Then leave!” Something else falls somewhere else in the house, causing me to scream and jump back into the hot stove. If it’s not the guys, then the ghosts of this house are still here holding a grudge against their killers. I start getting goosebumps and the hair on the back of my neck as I turn off the stove.

“Sam, Colby, Jake, and Corey you better fuck off right now!” I yell as I start running to my room. This house is huge it’s easy to get lost. 

While I’m running things are flying and falling behind me. I’m going to kill them when I see them. After what seems like forever I finally get to my room. I lock the door and slide my back down it. I grab my phone from my back pocket and dial Colby’s number. As I call, I feel things getting thrown at the door.

“Hello—”

“Are you guys fucking with me right now?” I ask as I move myself to the closet.

“What do you mean? We’re not even home right now.” He sounds only mildly panicked, I don’t even know if he’s faking or not.

“Cole Robert Brock, are you and your asshole friends somewhere on property pulling a prank on me?” The banging on the door stopped and I poked my head out of the closet door.

“No, we’re on our way home from a witchcraft store for some ritual ingredients that we couldn’t find at the store. What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know, things are weird here and I’m over—” A loud bang at the door causing me to scream louder than I think I’ve ever done in my entire life.

“Oh, shit. Okay, we’ll be right there.” I hear Colby and everyone else running in the background. I don’t know if it was my scream or if they heard the bang in the background, but now they’re done fucking around.

Colby stays on the phone with me while I go back to hiding in the closet. A few minutes later I hear footsteps approaching my door. When the footsteps get close enough, that when the loud banging started up again, causing me to scream.

“Oh, fuck, sorry. Y/N, it’s just us, open the door.” Colby says on the other line.

I take a few deep breaths and open the door to reveal my idiots, scared out of their minds. I drop my phone and wrap my arms around Colby. I didn’t even realize I was crying until Colby hugged me back and started stroking my hair. Normally, I hate it when he does this because his rings get stuck in my hair, but right now I just need this hug from my best friend.

“What the fuck happened to the house?” Jake asks, breaking the silence.

“What do you mean? It was your guys’ prank.” I pull away from Colby and look at the four of them in disbelief. 

“Uh, not it’s not. The box in your closet, the stuff in your bathroom, and the two dummies outside are our pranks. All this other shit was all you.” Corey says, picking up broken glass and dropping it on the floor. 

“No, it wasn’t. Do you honestly think I’m that good of an actress? I broke character like two months ago when I tried to convince Sam that Colby fell into a ditch the last time we did an overnight. Do you genuinely think I could sit here, screaming and crying for fun? Or that I would somehow have the time to break all that shit and stage the knocking on my door.” I wipe my face and step back to finally let the boys in my room.

“She’s not wrong guys, she does share a brain cell with us. I don’t think she could pull this off. She didn’t even know we were coming here until this afternoon and she can’t think that fast.” Jake says before flopping himself on my bed.

“You know what Webber, I may be scared, but I’m not scared to throw these hands—”

“Guys! Let’s think about this. Couldn’t it have been an earthquake or something? Or the movement of Y/N running. It’s a pretty old house.”

“It can’t be an earthquake dude, I’m pretty sure New Hampshire hasn’t unlocked those yet,” Corey explains.

“Okay, first of all, Sam I’m pretty sure you called me fat but I’ll deal with that later. Second, Corey, you’re so fucking stupid, I swear to God. I’m constantly worried about your well being. And thirdly, Colby either you’re sleeping in here with me or I’m sleeping in your room with you because I refuse to sleep alone tonight.” I explain, sitting down on the floor.

“Wait, can we talk about this seriously. If none of us set up this prank, then who the fuck did. Do you think the owners of this house are doing this? Because if they are, I vote we get the fuck out right now.”

“Why would they even do that?” Sam asks, now joining me on the floor. 

“To scare us before they murder us, brother,” Jake says jokingly from my bed.

“Will you shut the fuck up?” Corey says from the door.

“Can we be serious for one second—” Sam is cut off by the lights going out, covering us in a deep velvet of pitch black. Not even the windows are helping. All five of us scream but dare not move.

[mcufox123]

Fearless

Synopsis: You and Wanda Maximoff are best friends. The story sort of follows the song Fearless by Taylor Swift. This is set after Captain America Civil War.

Warnings: Fluff I guess lol

Authors Note: This is my first fanfic about Wanda. I have never really wrote one before. If there are any suggestions please let me know!

Word Count: 3010

I do not own any of these characters or the songs.

***************************************************************************************************

You had been around the avengers now for almost 2 years. Captain America had found out about your earthly abilities and recruited you as part of his team. You weren’t too sure what you had gotten yourself into, all that you knew is that you just joined the most awesome superhero group the world has ever seen. Except for, of course, the superheroes in Sky High. After moving around undercover it was nice to have a team, a family that cared about you. You had also become best friends with the Scarlett Witch, Wanda. How that name made your head fog up and the butterflies in your stomach go wild. She was perfect, but she was your best friend. You guys had shared many road trips together undercover, as well as late night Netflix marathons that included lots of ice cream. She had been your person to lean on when you found out that your sister was missing as well as your team partner when faced with a new mission. Whenever you moved to a new hotel you and Wanda would always volunteer to share rooms because no offense to the others, but they didn’t flow with you the way Wanda did.

It was about mid-September, and you were on a mission to collect some files from an agent undercover as a Hydra follower. The mission had been a success and you retrieved the files with a few days to spare in your Maine Air bnb which was hidden in the forest. Natasha was attempting to cook a pasta dish for dinner and from the looks of it, it was not turning out well.

“Hey Steve, I’m going to drive into town and get some Chinese food incase plan A doesn’t work, text me everybody’s orders.” You told the man who was reading a book on the lounge chair outside of the kitchen.

You heard him laugh before he asked, “you think she’s going to mess up a simple pasta dish?”

“I don’t think, I know,” you said as you walked towards your room. Wanda was just getting out of the shower. This is a normal thing as you both share a room every mission, but your breath still hitched as your eyes landed on her. You quickly made your way towards the bureau to grab a sweatshirt while talking to her over your shoulder, “Hey I'm going to drive into town to grab some food for dinner, because knowing Nat, she will burn the pasta and I don’t feel like cooking a second dinner tonight.” You told her.

She grabbed her clothes before walking back into the bathroom to get changed, not before calling out “Sure give me 10 minutes!” with a smile on her face.

You left the room feeling flustered in all sorts of places. You walked back into the living room where Steve still sat on the couch. “I'm headed out, don’t forget to text me. I know Nat’s order but get Sam and Bucky’s too. Oh, also tell Wanda I'm in the car.” You said before grabbing the keys and walking towards the door not even waiting for a response. You hopped in the SUV on the driver’s side before putting the keys in the ignition and playing some music. This always helped to calm you down from everything. As you waited you figured you would help clean up the yard. You pointed your hands out the window before beginning a sweeping motion that collected all the leaves and sent them through the air. You’re not really sure where the leaves ever go but it always makes you feel better to see a clear ground. You then closed your eyes and begin strumming your fingers to the new country song that was playing on the radio before you heard a knock on the window. Your eyes shot open as you turned to see Wanda in some jeans, a white t-shirt, and a green jacket with a black cap on her head. Slowly you rolled down the window.

“Hello, miss, what can I help you with?” you asked in an innocent tone. You knew what she was about to say so you had to try your hardest to keep a straight face.

“Move over Y/N, we all know you’re a horrible driver and have done damage to multiple cars, which Steve is not happy with because our budget is tight.” She said while giving you an unamused look in her eyes.

“But I never get to drive! And this place is only 10 minutes away, and I promise both hands will stay on the wheel.” Even though you secretly wanted her to drive. She didn’t even try to fight you anymore, just flicked her hand and you were suddenly in the passenger seat and she was climbing into the driver’s seat. You give her an ‘are you serious look’ as she just smiles and starts backing the car out of the driveway. The two of you drive along the beautiful fall foliage while singing some of your favorite tunes, both being wildly off key. You finally pull into the strip mall and find a parking spot. It’s a crowded strip mall, with what seems to have a food truck night outdoors. There is live music and people walking from truck to truck grabbing large takeout containers. Your eyes instantly light up at the market street lights and the live music.

“How lucky is this? This is totally awesome! Can we please hangout for a little? Please? Pretty please?” you ask like a five-year-old as your eyes continue to scan the scene. Wanda just looks at you as something crosses over her eyes. Something that you haven’t seen before. “I’ll text Steve and tell him we will be a little bit late. Please? We never get to do anything normal anymore!” you beg.

“Fine,” she sighs defeated. “but your telling Steve, I don’t feel like him being upset with me because he had to eat past 7.”

“Totally worth it.” You say before pulling out your phone and sending a quick text to Steve. His only response was an ‘ok, but also hurry up, Nat just threw away the only jar of sauce left.’

You smiled before turning to look at Wanda. She’s running her hand through her hair before putting the baseball cap back on, absentmindedly making you want her but you knew not to cross the line. “You ready?” she asked, and your only response was a nod. You both decide to divide and conquer to reach all of the food trucks in a record-breaking time. You each decided to get a few platters from each Truck as well as the samples for you both to eat while enjoying some live music.

As you find a table you are loving the normal feel of this whole event, and the fact that Wanda is here with you to experience it. She looks over at you smiling as she catches your eyes across the crowd. She walks over towards your table and sits down. “What are you so smiley about?” you ask her.

“This was actually really fun. I’m happy we got to do this. And this band is awesome!” she says looking at the people up on stage. You still can’t take your eyes off of her though. You never have seen her this relaxed outside of the comfort of the hotels. She is always on high alert that disaster can strike at any time. But here, she’s smiling, and her nose is doing that cute scrunchy thing that she does when she’s happy and her beautiful emerald eyes are sparkling as she continues to watch the people dancing. You quickly glance away before she can catch you staring. The last thing you need is to lose this amazing person because of some feelings.

“I wish I learned how to dance, or at least had some rhythm in my body.” You say as you watch somebody twirling around on the dance floor. You sat there for a while having small talk and eating the array of sample food while enjoying the music. Just as Wanda is about to say something your phone starts ringing, its Nat. You show Wanda the caller before giving her the one-minute symbol and pressing the phone to your ear.

“Hey Nat, what’s up?” you ask casually even though you know what she’s about to ask.

“Do you guys think you could pick up some food on your way home? I may have ruined the pasta.” She quietly says in embarrassment.

“Of course!” you say, trying so hard to keep your laughter back.

“And Y/N can you hurry? Bucky just woke up from his nap and we all know what happens after a nap if there is no food.”

“Of course, Nat! We will be home in 20 minutes!” you say as you hang up the phone. You look at Wanda who is just twirling some hair around her finger. Something that you learned she does when she is feeling nervous.

“You all, right?” you ask her. She’s quick to snap out of it though and look at you with a smile.

“Never better! Let’s head out before Bucky blows a gasket,” she says while getting up. You have the oddest feeling however walking back to the car. You ignore it though, not wanting to ruin the fun night you just had. The car ride back was quiet, the only sound being that of the music playing in the background. “Hey, do you think we can go for a drive tonight?” she asks. This wasn’t a new thing, when one of you felt overwhelmed or stressed you would both hop in the car and drive around whatever city you were in taking in the sights around you.

“Yeah, sure everything ok?” you ask for the second time tonight. You were starting to get worried that maybe you stared a little too long or blushed a little too hard at something she said. You worried that she was in her head again about her family, or her powers. You wished to be able to take the worry and stress away from her and make it disappear like you were able to do with the leaves earlier. You knew that she had to figure this out on her own. So you gave her the space she needed to think. The rest of the ride was quiet.

You finally got home and grabbed the food, neither of you saying a word which was odd, but you didn’t push it. Sometimes Wanda just needed to breathe and think. You walked in the door saying, “IT’S DINNER TIME.” Then laughing maniacally as Esma does in Emperor’s New Groove. Everyone knew the reference because you made them watch the movie countless times on movie night, so you got a little chuckle from Bucky, while Nat, Steve, and Sam looked at you with crazy eyes.

“Damn Y/N, are you sure you’re not a bad guy because that laugh was creepy.” Same said eyeing you up.

“Ha ha ha, very funny Sam, but no, otherwise I’d have poisoned the food.” You say with a smirk. You watched him freeze in terror

“Which she did not, I can assure you,” Wanda said setting the food on the table as everyone gathered around. Sam still eyed you suspiciously. You could still smell the burnt smell of the pasta but decided to leave Nat alone about the failed dinner, as I'm sure Bucky or Sam already teased her about it. Dinner went on with the usual catchup on the mission, what everyone did that was well and what everyone did that could have been better. Then it turned to what was coming up and where you would be going next. And then it turned into a casual conversation about which TV show was best. The whole time Wanda was almost silent, only adding to the conversation when someone directly talked to her. This had you very worried. You did not want her to start closing everyone off again.

After dinner was cleaned up you hopped in the shower before your drive with Wanda. Wanda however stayed in the kitchen talking to Nat and Steve.

“I'm going to tell her tonight.” Both Steve and Nat whipped their heads to look at the petite brunette.

“That’s great,” Nat finally said after a few minutes. Her smile grew as did Steve. Wanda was in love with you, and you had no idea. Steve and Nat had been the only people that she confided in and coincidentally so had you. They knew that the confession was only going to have a great outcome, but they were sure to keep their mouth closed about it.

Wanda went on to explain her plan to them until she heard your bedroom door shut and watch you come out with wet hair, wearing your most comfy clothes. You smiled at her as you walked out and gave a quick wave before heading out of the door. You knew just to hop in the passenger side this time because you were a bad driver but also because you knew on drives like this Wanda liked to be in control of something in her life and it was driving. As the drive began you took in the sight again of beautiful Maine. It had rained during dinner and the sight before you was one not even a picture could do justice. The pavement was still wet, and the autumn leaves were slowly falling down all around the car. You guys sat in silence, the only sound being the radio, and you know this is what she needs.

Wanda had always told you that she never felt like she could ever organize her thoughts. There was always the commotion of having powers and saving lives. She never had a time to just sit and organize her thoughts. That was when you both decided to take these drives. You agreed that nobody had to talk, instead just be there for the other person. Let them have control of the music, the car and the direction. In this moment though, you couldn’t stop looking at her. She was beautiful, even when she was freaking out. You were getting so caught up in the moment and her that you hadn’t realized the street had come to a dead end and you ran out of road. She turned off the car and just sat there. You looked out the window and you were on a cliff that was overlooking the small town. It was amazing. You must have sat there for an hour in silence. Wanda was fidgety the whole time but never said a word. You wanted so bad just to reach out and hold her, but you didn’t want to push the limits. Whatever she was going thru, it looked like a war was going on in her head, it was awful. Just when you think she is finally about to talk she turns the car back on and begins the drive home.

As you pulled into the driveway Whitney Houston’s “I wanna dance with somebody comes on the radio.” You instantly smile. This was your jam and right away distracted you from the beautiful girl sitting next to you. Little did you know she was staring at you in awe. You made your way out of the car and you were still singing the tune of the song but now you were also dancing around ridiculously in the driveway. Soon enough Wanda was also dancing, and you were both twirling each other around. After a few moments of the silliness, it began to rain again. You didn’t even care though; you were actually having more fun splashing in the fast-falling rain. You both began dancing closer and closer to each other before your faces were inches apart. You both looked at each other intensely as if asking each other with your eyes ‘are we really doing this?’ Your hands begin to shake as she pulls your foreheads together. Just then you close your eyes and feel a soft pair of lips against yours.

The kiss was everything you ever dreamed it would be. Your mouths moved flawlessly together, and for once in your life you felt fearless. So much held back emotion was put into that kiss from both of you. You finally pulled away breathless. Your foreheads still touching.

“I love you Y/N. I love you so much that it hurts to be away from you. I love you so much that I’d go to the ends of the earth for you. I have for a while now. And I don’t ever want to let you go.” She says, before you interrupt her, she continues. “Tonight, with you, was perfect. I almost told you when we were at the food trucks, but I wasn’t sure. Then I got into my head thinking about if you didn’t feel the same way. So, then we went on the drive and I almost told you on that cliff too, but I chickened out and the…” but before she can continue you kiss her again.

“I love you too, Wanda. I always have and I always will.” You say softly looking into her beautiful emerald eyes. She gives you one of the smiles that scrunches her nose. You could stay in this moment forever, with you in her arms staring at each other. You’re interrupted, however, by the rain coming down much harder now.

“We should get inside.” You say before taking her hand in yours and walking to the door. You give her one more kiss before opening the door to the house. As you walk in Steve and Nat are there smiling, obviously having watched the whole thing from the window.

“Shut it you two.” You and Wanda say at the exact same time. You take Wanda’s hand and guide her to your room not wanting to share her for the rest of the night.

[kelsmister]

Rose City Comic Con Artist Alley Review 2019 RCCC Sept 13-15  Convention Center Portland, OR So, another con in the books. Another first time for me. Never been to any Oregon shows prior to this, still trying to make it into Emerald City, here’s hoping I hear back this next week about that! So, Oregon. Flying in wasn’t a big deal. Actually using the public transit wasn’t that bad either. Only like $5 for my mom and I, and around 30 minutes till we got off at the convention center stop. Our hotel was right across the street from the con, called The Inn at the Convention Center. (Yes it was called that). It’s a really old, like something from the 50s, style hotel, with some modern upgrades. The place was still tiny, had that old musky odor, and paper thin walls. Mom thought in advance and checked reviews, seriously always check reviews before booking, and asked to be placed on the quieter side, as one side of the hotel faces the said public transit and those reviews said you will hear it. I barely heard it from our room, so kudos on mom for that. Since it was just a quick hop each day to the con it wasn’t that bad hotel wise, I’d recommend again. Set up was Friday morning. Wasn’t too hard figuring out where to go, as the con did put up giant posters pointing which way to go. Never seen K-9s used as security, so that was different. Otherwise I wasn’t really bag checked like everyone else, wandered down, got my badges, found my table, and set up. Easy peasy. I did love the laminated badges, but the problem was they put the ‘show hours’ on the back. The vendor hall didn’t use those hours, as we tended to open about 1-2 hours past the opening for the main show. Wasn’t that bad, but had to remind myself not to rush in the mornings as again, we wouldn’t open until 10 or so.

Similar to Phoenix, this show does the rectangular pins for each artist, followed by blocking off the ends with mini pipe and drape on flimsy metal rods. No big deal, but they didn’t mark off any walkways behind the tables, so my neighbor, as did many others, crossed that threshold and made it impossible for those in the middle to escape. I was lucky being on the end, so I could escape easily. I also lucked out in that it seemed no one wanted to even try to escape through my exit, so no vendor booty bumping my display or anything.

Crowd level wise it was like any other show. Friday slow start, picked up around noonish, then trickled off until close around 8. Saturday slow start, then baam! Then sluggish, and Sunday slow, bit of a pick up mid day, then it stagnated until close around 5.

Food options at the con center were impressive. You had the typical stuff like pizza, burgers, etc. But, they offered unlimited refills for your soda throughout your stay. Mom and I decided on Saturday to keep my empty cup, refilled it Sunday to save some money. Seriously, $5 for unlimited drinks, win-win for me.

But, you’re probably wondering my pros and cons list, ok here it is.

PRO:

Tables reasonable priced, $275 for artist alley

Crowds are there

Nice weather

Amazing cosplays and crowds in general

Free refills on drinks

Tons of food options

HUGE vending hall

Public transit reasonable and easy to get to

Show hours reasonable and manageable

Easy to get badges/find tables

Rows numbered/labeled

Only 3 days

Got some good guests

CONS:

Hotels are not cheap, and sell out fast

Lot of homeless

Food options outside limited, and said places had super slow service

Side by side with your neighbor, little room to move, people going over their allotted spacing

Bathrooms were a disaster, always out of toilet paper

Artist alley hours not posted, but hall was open to public due to autographs being in same giant room

Slow start each morning

Bargain hunters, bring your cheaper wares/make deals

Rained a bit on last day, seemed to dampen crowds a tiny bit

Not many panels

No activities past show hours, such as the games room closed same time vendor hall did

So would I recommend Rose City?

No. I was told mixed things going in, and coming out I can say I did not make enough to warrant a return trip. For me. Now, let me say who I would recommend for this show.

First timers to comic cons this is a great show to experience the comic con scene. It heavily reminds me of Phoenix Comic Con (now fan-fusion), and likewise it’s a homegrown shown with locals to boot. If you’re local it’s perfect. If not, try to cut costs where-ever you can.

Airfare is the one you can’t really save much on. Hotel I recommend either staying with multiple people in a room or maybe going further away from the con and either staying at an Air BnB or again sharing space at another hotel.

While I did not drive, I did see the small parking options and I would not recommend driving there. Park somewhere further away and take the tram in, because parking options were limited and ran out rather quickly. My hotel, the Inn, had like 10 spots max and they were gone by Friday morning.

Bring snacks to tide you over. While the con center had food options they had huge lines. Coffee shop alone took around 30/40 minutes to get anything. Also, the local food places near by were not use to being slammed. Only one that managed was the Burgerville thing, otherwise Denny’s and Red Robin were atrocious.

Again anything expressed in my reviews is from my own perspective. If you feel differently you’re entitled to your own opinions, but keep in mind these are my own. I do this for a living and try to judge each convention fairly, but everything does contribute towards my final decision. This may also be on my own skill level and artistic craft as well, as my style may not appeal to all or my own charisma may play a part in selling my wares as well. Thank you for understanding and I hope this review is helpful in someway.

[chrysaliseuro2019]

FROM RAGS TO RICHES

Our usual peaceful breakfast wasn’t to be this morning. The owner of the absolutely perfectly tasteful Pension/BnB we stayed in had in her wisdom chosen to set one long table instead of several small ones. In keeping with the rest of the little establishment the setting and indeed breakfast was exquisite. That is until Daniela came to join us.

Chris asked her if she spoke English and from that moment she never stopped proving she could. We found out she is building two houses in Ostuni (with pools) and invited us to come and look at them (we declined), has a son who is hoping to work at Four Seasons in Sydney next year and that she wants to go to Brisbane and experience the personal concierge who can take you to all the best Brisbane has to offer. We didn’t like to disabuse her fantasy by saying that one day would probably cover it.

Meanwhile the other more reserved guests arrived at the table. They all suggested we go to Matera saying it was amazing but didn’t specify why. One of them even said she cried when she saw it. We thought this must be some speccy city to evoke such a reaction. Daniela chipped in with an accommodation suggestion which when we checked on booking.com came in at €435 per night, about a week’s accommodation budget for us. We parted with Daniela wanting to exchange telephone numbers so we only hope Brisbane can enhance its tourist appeal to keep her there.

Matera bound which was an easy drive although a bit of it was retracing our steps from yesterday. Past all the little truilli and lucky enough to be stopped by a flock of around 200 sheep crossing the road. Escorting them were 2 dogs who looked more like golden retrievers (possibly Maremma breed)than our kelpies or border collies and a farmer. When they’d safely crossed bells jingling, the farmer closed the gate and returned to his home while the dogs joined the flock blending in perfectly, gamboling up the hill with their charges. Presumably the flock settled to graze and the dogs settled to oversee them.

Found a big carpark not too far out of town after the more formal one was full. Worked out is was a no charge car park, slapped on plenty of sunscreen to deal with the blazing sun and walked 10 minutes into town. The drive and walk into town to date had been less than inspiring so what were the girl’s tears about?

Found a large square with the usual imposing municipal office buildings, the do-not-ignore-me church and a statue based on one of Salvador Dali’s figures -a long and skinny legged elephant with a structure on its back. Still looking for the tear jerking moment and there it was. Looking from street level to below laid out is a vast city built into caves known Sassi. A total network of rambling ‘homes’ built into limestone rocks ad hoc in structure and layout. It was huge and what we could see was only half of it, divided by a cathedral built at the top (as cathedrals inevitably are) with the rest hidden down the incline behind the cathedral. The rest of the new city had been built at a higher level around it. It truly was jaw dropping.

There were tours to the water cisterns but didn’t fancy that. Other than that you could just roam the higgeldy piggeldy streets looking at this city. We soon learnt its sad history. The Sassi was over 2000 years old and was inhabited as slums by 15,000 people as recently as 1952. The dwellings had no sanitation, electricity or natural light. Families of any number of children who survived diseases such as cholera and malaria shared a one room dwelling with livestock of maybe a donkey, pigs and/or chooks. The toilet was in the corner and no flush technology there. The men and boys travelled with the donkey to work the land some several kilometres away, and the women plied skill they had at home in order to make ends meet. It was overwhelmingly grim. A reconstructed house was set up as a museum to get a feel for it. But compared to the photos in the foyer the museum model, although unbelievably basic, was a sanitised version of what the reality must have been. Now we understood the tears.

Finally the Italian prime minister in 1950 called the slums ‘a national disgrace’ and action was taken. The families were moved out of the slums into new accommodation in the new bit of town. However many of the residents struggled to adapt having never seen water from a tap, electric lights etc. Also where to keep the livestock? And some felt very disconnected from what once was a community of solidarity. The adjustment must have been daunting. The young lady at the museum said her grandfather lived there and once removed never went back. And who could blame him. Another man now aged 83, so presumably an ex-resident, also had painstakingly constructed a large model of the city. It took him 3 years.

But the wheels of change came into play as they have in Melbourne’s inner suburbs and it is now a highly desirable place to stay. In 1986 it was decided to allow people to move back. But not the old inhabitants. Instead a tourist opportunity opened up. In 2017 it was claimed more than 25% of the Sassi had been converted to Airbnb accommodation. We passed plenty of these Airbnbs and suspect that Daniela’s€435 per night was one of them.

A quick lunch that turned out to be a way to use the restaurants stale bread, possibly salvaged from the days when the Sassi was still a slum, by soaking it in oil, throwing 2 slices of tomato and 2 baby tomatoes cut into 16ths, a few chunks of onion and some celery leaves and calling it a local speciality. Special it was not. Topped up with some excellent sour cherry pastries along our walk.

The walk around the Sassi while sobering to think how conditions once were, was also lovely, if hot. Down the deep valley was a river and the walk was punctuated with statues inspired by Dali’s artworks. We highly recommend making this a stop in any Puglia itinerary.

Paid a quick visit to the museum which had a room open with some 15th Century artefacts to tempt visitors to buy a ticket for the rest of the museum. This sounds like a blasé traveller, but having seen antiquities from many centuries BC we weren’t tempted to venture in. Instead back to our Fiat to head a little further towards Rome. Once again a pleasant drive as the flatter plains of Puglia slowly transformed into rolling hills as we drove towards Benevento in the Campania region. I chose this town out of the blue as there seemed to be a lot of little hamlets and this was a reasonable sized town so would have accommodation choices. Did a quick Google images scan and pictures looked ok and hotel on booking.com looked ok but held off booking to firstly do a quick reccy of town and if alright then check out the hotel.

On approach Benevento looked a dud. Lots of 50’s and 60’s ugly apartments and no apparent charm. Started to doubt my judgement so another quick google of the most beautiful towns in Campania showed Benevento came in second to Naples which was reassuring. Found the hotel after a miss on first attempt and landed a huge room with view over local river for a much better deal than booking.com. Also got some dinner recommendations which are also helpful.

Quick spruce and time to explore. Five minutes walk to the Centro historico which consisted of a wide Roman road with little dark side streets running off it and breaking out into plazas from time to time. Once again there were many grand buildings, bell towers, churches and gladly shops selling clothes not tourist tatt. It turned out we had chosen well.

Tried the first dinner recommendation way down one of those dark side streets but the atmospheric main room was full so they steered us to the fully lit ante room with one couple looking very lonely. Think they would’ve liked the company of other diners so they didn’t feel like they were in Siberia but we weren’t charitable enough to join them.

So off to second choice which had seating outside in a little courtyard which is what we hoped for. As we arrived 2 women were drifting in too and they beat us to the table by a short half head. Damn that was the last table so now struggling to find somewhere. Up the main drag but that’s never our choice as usually very touristy and average food. Finally saw a few bods sitting down another dark narrow laneway and went exploring this time with success. Last table of only 3 outside was ours. It felt very local down this not quite grimy but certainly not sanitised alleyway. As usual beer, red and white wine readily available, while vodka, tonic, rosé and sprite (for shandy purposes) were not. Opposites was a little bar so I went looking for a sprite to buy but did one better by getting a V&T and bringing it back to the table. A different version of BYO.

Pizza for Chris and spaghetti arrabiata (angry sauce) for me and it sure made by tongue angry with one big lump of chilli heavily disguised amongst the sugo.

Identified a couple of historic sites to explore tomorrow morning and headed for home. Meanwhile the Main Street had become more crowded with families, oldies like us and a number of young people especially young men in small groups wandering along chatting and enjoying the balmy air.

[justasmalltowngirl1990-blog]

London calling

Hi guys so this is my first blog please dont expect perfect grammar or any of that shizz cos you know we all make mistakes and nobody's perfect. As you guessed it's about a trip to London. I'm writing it alongside my better half @bloke-interrupted as he is known on tumblr. I know him as Owen.

So this wasnt my first trip to London but I always get that sense of excitement approaching kings cross (I'm a Harry Potter fan). We were going for a weekend of culture and London always delivers big on culture. Me I love love love musicals but this time we went to see a Tennessee William's play bit more civilised but I couldn't sing along (bummer). So anyways we found a great place for breakfast a deli in golborne avocados pancetta poached eggs tomatoes cheese and pancakes it was huge and delicious. Spoiler alert I'll talk alot about food #sorrynotsorry

So then we walked through portobello road place where the riches of ages are sold (Disney fans will get the reference for you less cool people reading this bedknobs and broomsticks). It was really cool and I loved it so we headed off to Camden on the tube which I also love just cos we dont have it where I'm from (public transport is a joke). Camden was everything and more I posed with hulk antman and a moonin (seperatly) there was loads of cool stalls and the food smelt amazing. Then we went to the cube cafe which had pikachu in the window and had shakes again yummy my berry one kicked Owens banana & chai ones ass.

And that's when things went slightly pear shaped. Ladies and gentlemen we walked from Camden all the way to the British museum to then discover actually we had been there in our last trip. I was fine used to walking in cheap primark shoes however @bloke-interrupted

not so much his shoes started crumbling (moral of the story wear socks in your shoes kids). Needless to say both of us had aching feet by this point so we got an uber to Trafalgar square.

Next stop on the culture trip the national gallery where we saw some really old art by some really famous long dead dudes. Dont get me wrong they were good paintings but tbh it was totally over my head I didnt have a clue I even saw a famous horse painting which everyone else recognised. I felt like a fish out of water plus my feet were really hurting by this point . We got the tube back to our air bnb (more walking eugh) which sidenote was awesome.

Rested and ready to hit the town we got the tube back into town for the main event of the whole weekend the play about a night at the iguana. Had a fabulous line up and the noel coward theatre looked amazing. I love all the gilded decorations and the big dome in the ceiling. Somehow I'm into architecture in old buildings no idea why but I love it the grander the better in my opinion. And then it started I swear to God the first half seemed to last an eternity not helped by the ridiculously uncomfortable (seat c15 you son of a .... ) or the fact it was slow to get going. The acting was good and I could not do what they do (my memory is terrible) however Clive owen was the weakest of the main cast I'm sure he will find his groove. Round of applause to the female leads fantastic throughout. The German family ponlintless in my opinion but then there could be some deeper meaning behind them that I missed. The second act way better one of them descends into madness another dies and your left feeling sorry for one of them as well. Time went alot quicker and before I knew it the actors were bowing and we were outta there. I wish I had researched the play so I felt some connection to it I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Now for my favourite part the walk to China town and the best Chinese I have ever had. Pork dumplings, crispy duck, sweet and sour chicken crispy chilli beef and chicken fried rice just amazing my mouth is watering remembering it good job this isn't a vlog or it would be plain embarrassing 😂😂

Anyways the night ended on a high and we tumbled into bed exhausted.

Sunday we breakfasts again at the same place pancakes maple syrup and bacon for me owen had scrambled eggs bacon on ciabatta again delicious and then we were at kings cross looking at places to live in London..... we could afford a house boat 😂😂😂 and people watching always fun.

The whole point of this blog (I know we finally got to it) is to encourage people (if anyone reads it) to take your loved ones to places you have been that are special to you for a fun day/weekend out. For me having someone who knows London pretty well makes me fall in love with it even more and also reignites that persons spark for the place. Watching someone experience London for the first time is magical it's like a kid in a candy store where do you look first and your wonder and amazement is infectious and changes the whole experience for both of you. But when you've seen all the "big stuff" you start to notice the smaller things around London little bars that you never noticed cos your head was in a map or the cute little side street that has wild flowers all around it. Time shared together is never wasted and whether its London or somewhere your nan used to take you it's just so worth it to see your happiness become their happiness.

Peace out guys and dolls xoxoxo

[lalorrunningclub]

Ross Running Festival Runcation 2019 collaboration by Nikki Alvey, Sharon Hughes and Kirsty Branagan

Every now and then a twist of fate sees you doing something you didn’t really have grand plans to do. That is how this story begins. 

During 2018, Nikki entered a competition with Run Down Under which she won.. The prize? Entry and accommodation for 4 people for the Ross Running Festival in April 2019. Enter the Disciples. Nikki kindly offered the remaining tickets to Sharon, Kirsty and Laura. Now, Kirsty and Sharon snapped up the opportunity for a kid free weekend in Tassie, Laura apparently had something better to do (half marathon in Honolulu anyone?!).. But the remaining Disciples weren’t willing to let their Judas get away with it quite that easy.. 

Anyway, Kirsty, Sharon and Nikki went ahead with the plans for the weekend, including flights to Launceston (with checked baggage for the anxiety ridden KB, topped up with random contraband from Nikki and Sharon), an Air BnB booking for Friday night, car hire, plans for parkrun on the Saturday, entry into the 10km event at Ross and fingers crossed for the rest of the weekend. 

As the week of the trip approached there was a realisation that no accommodation had been booked for the Sunday night.. A very quick bookings.com check secured the last remaining room in Ross for the night. How busy could this town really be?! 

Very early Friday morning the Shuber arrived to collect KB and then on to Nikki’s place from where her husband kindly drove the intrepid travellers to the airport (with a random sighting of an LRC car in the wild - we’re watching you Paula!). The first stop was naturally coffee (and some surprisingly sensational toasties), and then it was on to the plane. And here is where Laura made her first appearance for the weekend. Nikki had used her work resources wisely to print and laminate a life sized face of Laura, which was to become a photographic feature of the weekend! 

The flight was fairly uneventful, and you’ll be pleased to know that despite some struggles Nikki managed to complete the kids puzzles in the in-flight magazine. 

On arrival in Launceston, the hire car was collected. This was a collaborative effort as the whole weekend was.. In this particular case one of the group booked the car (Nikki), one offered to do most of the driving (KB), one offered to be the sober one for post pub driving (Sharon) and one sat safely buckled in the backseat, keeping quiet (Laura).  

We left the airport with no real destination in mind. The one way streets of Launceston tricked us a bit, but somehow we seemed to end up at Boag’s Brewery.. literally straight from the plane! It seemed that a tour and beer and cheese tasting was needed, and this also helped to fill in a few hours before check in at our ‘luxurious’ accommodation for the night. On our way to the accommodation we stocked up on enough cheese, fruit, twiggy sticks.. soooo many twiggy sticks (there appeared to be a translation issue from Mainlandian to Tasmanian).. and Mars Easter Eggs to see us through the weekend. We arrived at our lodgings for the evening and it appeared that if we weren’t already close friends we would soon become that.. ‘studio apartment’ was really a bit fancy for the single room we were all sleeping/cooking/eating/relaxing in for the night.  

We settled in to the relaxation phase quite quickly before Nikki suddenly realised we had horrifically forgotten to get wine earlier.. So we went for a pleasant walk to the bottle shop, where Laura disgraced herself by getting in the fridge with the ciders.. Then it was really relaxation time, with a lovely collaborative cheese platter and some wines for dinner ahead of an early night in preparation for an early morning for parkrun.  

Wait. We were in Tasmania. The land of 9am parkruns. We were staying 10 mins from parkrun. What early morning?! Of course despite the option of a relative sleep in we were all awake by 6.30am. We packed up the hire car, and headed off with plenty of time to arrive at parkrun. Which was lucky. Because Nikki was navigating. After two completely incorrect directions and a few u-turns, we navigated the ‘heavy’ traffic (Tasmanians apparently think one car 30m ahead is ‘traffic’) and made it to Windsor Precinct parkrun with a few minutes to spare.  

Windsor Precinct is a nice smaller parkrun, where we were automatically identified and greeted as tourists. Quite a few people chatted to us before the event, and as we set off on the beautiful, scenic two lap ‘U’ shaped course we felt very welcome. By the time we were part way through our second lap we realised the tail walker was running to catch up to us. Despite walking and stopping for numerous photos and dog pats, we didn’t realise we were the ‘tail’. It turns out that as the course passes the start/finish area a few times there are many who do part of the course as they build up to the full course (or they remain content with the social aspect of completing some of the event among friends). True parkrun inclusiveness in action!  

Anyway, the tailwalker Lisa was keen to walk and talk with us, and as we neared the top of one end of the ‘u’ we picked up another walker Daz, who had been ahead of us but retraced his steps to hang with us (probably our Victorian reputation). We also collected the Marshall and made our way back towards the other ‘u’ tip. Our new friend Daz had dropped back and suddenly called out to us to come back, as he had spotted a Copperhead snake just off the path. It was happily sunning itself, and didn’t seem bothered by the tourists taking photos! Many of the volunteers and participants were heading down to Ross for the event so it was nice to know there would be some familiar friendly faces the next day.

At breakfast we decided it would be remiss of us not to check out Cataract Gorge while in Launceston. So we booked a boat cruise tour and proceeded to head there after our refuel. But on the way we received a call to say there wasn’t enough water in the gorge. Um. What? Ok, refund issued, we decided to just do a walk around the gorge, including the suspension bridge which was definitely Nikki’s highlight.

Meanwhile, Nikki had rung our pre-booked accommodation for Ross, and they had no idea who we were. Being the level headed people we are, we rapidly claimed different sections of the ‘spacious’ hire car to spend the night in. Not sure if you’re familiar with a Kia Rio.. But we were pretty sure they aren’t designed for 3 grown women to sleep in.. Fortunately after a bit of back and forth we solved the booking mystery, but in terms of suspense, that was only the beginning for this particular accommodation.

A reasonably uneventful drive to Ross (approximately 60 minutes of 90s car karaoke) lead us to the Main Street of Ross (and by Main Street we mean only street). We went to our accommodation, and we were met the Marvellous Mystery Key Collection process. Namely an envelope with Nikki’s pseudonym (Nicky Elvey- despite her having spelt her name out over the phone!). Inside the envelope was a set of instructions for getting our key, which was a lot like a treasure hunt. We finally made our way into our room which was thankfully a little more spacious than our previous night. 

We set out to explore Ross, and made our way to the historic bridge for a photo op. Little did we know, we would come across what was to become a talking point of the Ross Running Event.. We could hear a busy hive of bees and were cautiously looking into the tree branches overhead when we realised it was in fact a drone. We began to head up the bridge when we heard the drone let out a high pitched tone and realised it had become stuck in the overhanging branches. As in, overhanging the water below. Sure enough, the drone came loose and dropped straight into the Macquarie River. The two guys who had been operating it were clearly concerned, and one of them was soon up to his shoulders in the very cold river. He succeeded in finding it, with a little guidance from us, however it was no longer working. It turned out these guys were the photographers for the running event and were testing the equipment.. We were told not to hold out hope of overhead shots over the bridge!

Laura enjoyed a tour of Ross, while not getting even a step up herself (lazy so and so, expecting to be carried around all weekend!), and Nikki met and patted her more dogs.

As dinner time approached we decided the Ross Hotel was our best bet. Turns out our only bet, as there is no other place to get dinner in Ross. We had a little false start as without a booking the girl behind the bar wasn’t keen to take our order. Fortunately we met and made friends with the barman Liam (officially our favourite person in Ross at the time), and he kindly took our orders. The food was great, as was the wine, and we were excited to see Travis from Run Down Under, particularly as this was the first time our prize winner Nikki had actually met him. We sensibly had an early night though, as we had a race in the morning (although we did spy a few other event entrants having a slightly bigger night!)

The event day finally arrived (yep, if you’ve got this far, we are finally up to the event!) We took the long 50m commute to the event hub, and met up with quite a few running friends, new and old. The Tasmanian Road Runners are a super welcoming group, and some people we have met in previous ‘big’ events (Cadbury) were excited to see us at this regional event. We were summoned for a Run Down Under team photo, and also took our own selfie with Travis. We saw the half marathoners off (including Travis) and waited until it was our turn. As per usual, most of this time was spent waiting in the toilet queue, although we were blessed with Town Hall facilities rather than portaloos. 

Finally (at 10am!) it was time for us to set off on our 2 lap run. We had decided early on that this was an event to experience together, so we ran to everyone’s comfort, stopping for walk breaks, dog patting breaks, photo opportunities and high 5s whenever the mood took us. The run was so beautiful, taking in the historic bridge, and much of the small farming town as well (hello alpacas and lambs!). Every person, from lead runner to spectator was friendly and calling out encouragement. While our course was different to the half and full marathon courses, their route took in a lot of ours so we saw many runners multiple times, and being 2 laps and a sort of looping course, we passed through the Main Street and finish area a few times. Nikki had the music cranking and we sang and danced our way along the course. 

As we approached the 8km mark we saw a runner who was clearly struggling. She was unsteady and when we stopped to check on her she seemed to be slurring her words. We weren’t confident she was ok, so we stuck with her for a kilometre or more, until we were back on the Main Street in view of spectators and medics should she require attention. Sharon particularly showed her runners spirit when she ran behind our new friend for a while to ensure she was safe. Soon, we were approaching the finish line. Nikki made a random comment about a sprint finish and Coach KB took her at her word, encouraging ridiculous speeds for Nikki to cross the line first out of the trio. We received our amazing medals, and after chatting with Travis and our friends from Windsor Precinct parkrun, we headed off for coffee. Being a small town event, the queue for coffee was long, but the service awesome, and only a short stroll back to the event hub, where Laura busied herself posing for more photos.

We entered the ‘bib number’ raffle, where Nikki won a world famous vanilla slice (to go with her Iconic ASICS prize she won on completion of the challenge!)

Naturally, as LRC peeps do, we waited until the final finisher came through, and cheered every runner as they finished. In the process we made more friends, including the event team who couldn’t believe we were waiting for the final finisher even though we didn’t know her!

Of course we were only a few metres from the pub, so after the last marathoner finished (in a very respectable 5.24!) we headed for yet another cheese platter, and some more wine (for 1/2 of us anyway - Laura was saving herself for her half marathon, and Sharon was being responsible and healthy!). We chatted with Travis and his RDU crew a bit more, and enjoyed the glorious Autumn weather in the beer garden. As the bar was also the town bottleshop (which we discovered after leaving the pub to walk around to the bottle-o, and finding ourselves back in Liam’s company!) we purchased a bottle of wine to take back to our room. 

In our ‘3 different accomodations in 3 nights’ quest we headed to the Ross Motel after lunch with just a quick stop at the Ross Bakery to claim Nikki’s prize (and purchase additional vanilla slices!) It was a big journey of about 100m. The Ross Motel is a highly recommended place to stay, and where we will be booking for both the Saturday and Sunday nights next year. Helen at the front desk was most excited to have Laura staying and was more than happy to pose for a photo. 

After showers and phone calls home we decided to head into Campbell Town, just a short 10mins along the highway for some delicious dinner, and then we had a sensible early night ahead of our trip back to Launceston for our flight home the next day. 

This event was never on our radar before Nikki won the competition, and now we are very excited by the idea of going back next year. The whole town of Ross was super friendly (except perhaps the first bar lady..) and the event is a highlight as far as runcations go. So, who’s joining us for Ross 2020?

[i-answer-quite-slowly]

Holy shit this dream

So I’m at like a really lavish big house, and it ends up being my boyfriends dads. Well we have some friends over and it ends up being a big party. We’re doing some laundry in the middle of it all and these two guys show up and are like “move” and they throw their laundry in the washer before we could finish turning our dryer load on. I looked at my bf and I said “who are those guys?” He said “my Dads air bnb.” I was like “....ok kinda weird.” I was talking to these hot 18 year old chicks and made some drinks had some cool lights going, and thought hm I’ll go outside I think I know a good coke hookup. So I run into my art friend who’s a total hippy, Paulie. And I said hey man where’s the hookup? He says go down this ally and stop take a right. I do and I notice I cross like some kind of barrier and all these guys with guns are there speaking Spanish and yelling at me I was crying and so scared and just kept screaming “please don’t shoot me” they laughed and like let me keep walking. And then I ran into a line of police and they did the same thing but much more aggressive and then I saw my friend with some more people like hiding. So I ran into them and I said “Dudes wtf” he said “yeah I got it wrong..” and we realized the whole city was barricaded and they weren’t letting anyone in.

So I basically snuck out of a safe haven and was on the streets with a bunch of criminals and I was crying the whole time and trying not to get shot.

Wtf lol

[theolivechickken]

Czeching out Prague

Feb 21

How am I leaving already? I feel like I just got back to Salzburg. What do you do in Prague anyways?

We accidentally got on the wrong train but still ended up going the right way. Realization that we were on the wrong one clicked right as the doors closed and the train started leaving the station. Did a little train matrix action to hop on one that would bring us to our next station to catch our original connecting train. We almost hopped off one train only to realize that we would be running to hop back on.

Yooo, these train cabins remind me of the ones in Harry Potter. Also, they are super hot. How do people sit in these during the summertime?

We were debating taking a cab to our Air Bnb, but saw that the metro could take us in that direction. Prague so far is a different vibe than Budapest. Maybe because in Budapest we arrived pretty much in the city and stayed in a central area whereas we immediately hopped on the metro to take us out of the city center and into the suburbs. It was quieter and darker, but we eventually found our way to the apartment. We grabbed the keys from the Magic Kellæ and trekked the 3 (more like 5) floors to our apartment.

Feb 22

I didn’t want to sleep the days away like I did in Budapest, so Bryn and I got ready earlier than the rest of the crew and strolled through the city in the morning. Much more livelier in the day and in the actual city! I really enjoy walking because I think it allows me to see more of the places that I visit. It also helps me to understand where I am on a map. We walked along the river, crossed a bridge, and found our way to the Lennon Wall. It was a bit chilly, but the sun came out for a hot minute and I almost felt like I could carry on without a jacket. But then the sun disappeared and it was freezing and windy for the rest of the day.

Bryn and I made our way up the many stairs to Prague Castle. We met up with Aubree, Raine, and Ayetzy. We walked through the church and seeked refuge from the wind in a little coffee shop. Can’t hideout forever though, and my stomach was rumbling for food. We made our way back to the Lennon Wall and got lunch at the John Lennon Pub. I ordered the Pie Madras and a Pilsner Beer (yummy!). The food packed a spicy punch too (reminded me of lamb curry or vindaloo) but I loved it!

We went back to rest and have some downtime before taking the metro to old town. We walked around the square and watched the Astronomical Clock as it rang for the next hour. Then we went to Las Adelitas for dinner. I was a bit skeptical about Mexican food, but it was actually really good. I tried the Tacos Al Pastor (tortillas topped with pineapple, onion, cilantro, red sauce, and slices of pork leg marinated in guajillo chili, achiote, and orange juice).

Afterwards, we went out on a pub crawl. It was pretty early in the night and quiet at first. But then things got poppin’ after we met a bunch of English folk. Can always count on them for fun company. We met good ol’ Londoners Tom and Ollie first at the foosball table. Definitely thought they were 22-24 but they revealed that they were 19 and had birthdays coming up in the next month. A crowd from Southern England later joined us too. 2 Joes, Steven, Stephan, Greg, and a couple other buddies of theirs. We had fun giving them words and phrases to say, and the two groups tried to help us understand the difference between their accents and slang :))

Feb 23

Bryn and I went out again in the morning to explore a bit. We managed to find our way back to the river just by remembering the route we walked yesterday. We stopped by the post office so that I could mail out a postcard to Nick (happy belated valentines day!). It oddly reminded me of the DMV. We wandered around old town for a bit and then got lunch at Restaurace Blatnice. I finally ordered a honey roasted Koleno (aka “Pork Knee”). HOLY PIG. Did not realize how much 1kg of meat would be until they brought out the plate. Hot damn I went for it though. Nearly ate the whole thing by myself. So good, but so much food. That was breakfast, lunch, AND dinner right there.

We walked across the Charles bridge, passed by the many street performers and artists selling their crafts, and visited a contemporary arts museum on the other side of the river (Museum Kampa). Later, we went back to the other side of the river to meet up with Raine, Tom, Ollie, Ayetzy, and Aubree. We tried finding a pub to hang in so that they could watch the rugby game, but so many of them were packed. We found a little corner in the basement of The Dubliner, and hung out in there for a few hours. Not gonna lie, I was ready for bed and it was only 6:30. I stuck it through for a few more hours, and then Bryn and I went out to grab a quick dinner and head back to the Air Bnb. Took the metro back, packed, and passed out.

Feb 24

YAY hopped on the right train! But there was construction on the track so we had to get off at a different station, hop on a bus to shuttle to a new train station, and hop back on a connecting train. At least the bus ride had a woodsy, snowy, scenic drive casually through the Czech Republic.

[erza-liao]

Here's a prompt for you “Sometimes I can’t help but get lost in your eyes.”

Hi! I don’t know how long ago this has been asked, but still here it is!

---

Setting: Vandal Hearts' World Tour under Overknight Records coincides with your study abroad program in London. You and Kaitlyn broke up before your trip, after having doubts with your future as a couple.

"Bye! See you tomorrow." You wave at your classmates, Johannes and Marie, as you make your way out of the library of the university you are attending in London for your study abroad program. You have stayed here for quite a while now, and yet you still can't help to admire the picturesque architecture of the buildings, including this library where you walk down along the tables and chairs and large bookshelves, and every single time, your jaw drops in awe.

It is only when you have completely exited the building did you notice that it is already evening, as the sky is already dark and full of stars. You shake your head at yourself as you realized that you have again overworked yourself in writing your thesis, but much to your relief, the night is still young. Many people are still lurking along the streets, and establishments are still open and the light coming from them seems to be helping the lamp posts to shine over the roads.

You have stayed in London for two months now, and for the time period, you immerse yourself in the craft of writing. You work on your thesis almost from the time you wake up - sometimes even thinking and coming up with ideas in the shower - until late at night or in the wee hours of dawn. You even write down poetry during your breaks from writing your thesis. You stop writing only to eat or to sleep, or when you think about Kaitlyn.

And it is during times like this, when you are walking alone, that the thoughts of Kaitlyn cross your mind.

Ever since you landed in London, you kept yourself busy and tried not to think about how you ended things with Kaitlyn, but times come when you can't help yourself from thinking what she may be doing right now or how would it be right now if you did not decide to break up with her. You even stop scrolling through all of your social media feed to keep yourself from reading and seeing her posts, but you are very much aware that Kaitlyn's band, Vandal Hearts, has already released their second album, Bubblegum Dreams, thanks to Abbie for telling you.

Bubblegum Dreams. You think you know where that title came from.

You are reminiscing that night with Kaitlyn inside your BnB room in Cedar Crest during your weekend vacation, when you remember her writing what you believe are the first lines of Bubblegum Dreams. You can still hear Kaitlyn saying, “Bubblegum dreams, still so sweet when they pop!” Suddenly, you snap back to reality when you heard a very familiar voice.

"Thank you, London! Now we are down to our last song of the set."

You immediately turn your head to where the voice came from, and you saw a park venue full of people, different colors of spotlights dancing around the crowd. You focus your eyes on the stage and saw familiar figures.

"This song is of a slightly different genre from our usual, but this is one of my favorites, I hope you like it. This song is called Lost in the Stars." The lead vocalist then started strumming her guitar. The music was slow, mellow, and it is really different from the rock and punk genre this band used to play. The crowd fell silent as the vocalist readies herself to sing the song.

You cannot believe what you see and hear. Kaitlyn's Vandal Hearts are touring here in London.

"Your eyes were bright.They shine like the stars.Right then from the start,They captivated my heart."

Your heart sank upon hearing the familiar voice that used to sing for you. You wonder who Kaitlyn is singing to. Two months, has she found someone new?

Absentmindedly, you walk towards the crowd. You work your way forward, ignoring the bumps you receive from the people you pass by, desperate to see the face you have missed so much.

"Oh, your eyes become so bright,I can't stare at the light.Sometimes I can't help but get lost in your eyes.Lost in your eyes, oh, lost in the stars!"

You finally got a clearer glimpse of Kaitlyn's face halfway through the crowd. Her eyes closed, brows furrowed. One can easily say that this song comes from her heart. When Kaitlyn started to rock the chorus, you hear nothing but silence and occasional praise from the audience.

"Oh my god, they can totally rock this genre!"

"Kaitlyn Liao is so talented!"

"Deeply they hurt me here,but my heart did not stir.The light still guides me back,Guides me back to you."

It is in these lines that you realize, Kaitlyn still sings to you.

You reach the front of the crowd by the time Kaitlyn seems to be finishing the song. She happen to land her eyes on you, and you recognize the look of surprise in her eyes no matter how she tries to hide it. She quickly composes herself, as she needs to close the song.

No music accompanies the last lines of the song. Kaitlyn's voice filled the air, her emotions felt through the silence of the crowd. This time, she does not close her eyes but instead locked her eyes with yours, and she sings.

"Your eyes were so bright, they captivated my heart.Sometimes I get lost in your eyes, lost in the stars.But the light still guides me back, guides me back to you."

The audience roars in applause, but you are too consumed by your thoughts to lift your hands and clap. All those times that you keep Kaitlyn from your mind, all those times you immerse yourself writing, all the walls you put back around you to keep all Kaitlyn thoughts outside, all those days and weeks and months - they all collapse in just a few minutes and a single song. Tears begin to well in your eyes, and you know that you are back to square one.

Before tears begin to fall down your face, you run your way back home.

[backofthebiketours]

Staying in Ho Chi Minh City District 4 : Tips for Air Bnb Guests

Let’s face it, during your first tip to Saigon, You don’t know anything about the different districts of Ho Chi Minh City. Now it’s up to you to pick the best spot for your family to stay during your vacation to Ho Chi Minh City! The pressure is on! I’m gonna give you some information about District 4 compared to District 1 to help you make a decision if an Air Bnb in District 4 is a good option for your family.

How does Ho Chi Minh City’s District 4 compare to District 1? They are very different but District 4 is so close to District 1 that it makes sense to stay here if you are travelling. I’m going to go over some of the questions you might have if you choose to stay in District 4 rather than District 1.

Should I stay in D4 instead of D1?

This all depends on what you are looking for. In my opinion, if you are planning to spend most of your time outside of your hotel, I would have no problem staying at one of the accommodation options in District 4. It is an easy hop in a taxi cab to get right into the thick of things in the middle of District 1.

If you are looking for an apartment style stay that has a swimming pool, the accommodation options in D4 are pretty sound. The location is good if you are okay with jumping in a taxi cab ride when you want to go out. If you decide to walk around, you’ll be in for a real experience of a local area of Ho Chi Minh City. Honestly, this isn’t the right location to stay in if you want to leave your hotel and walk right outside to find a restaurant that is suitable for younger kids or western food.

District 4 Information

Over Thirty years ago, district 4 was often known for its low level of security and gangsters. However, thanks to improving management by government and gentrification, today District 4 is a pleasant place. It hasn’t been known as a dangerous area since the 70’s.

Due to its location, District 4 has become a coveted area for people to live and work. This makes the property value for homes in District 4 extremely high. Many of the families who still live in this district now have been living in these houses for decades. The small houses that we refer to as tube houses because of their narrow width but tall height are tightly packed in, creating a web of small alleyways that are very interesting.

In recent years, due to the influence of other nearby districts like District 1 and District 2, District 4 has gradually developed. Many new apartments were built here, streets were improved and repaired, entertainment areas also began to appear. This not only makes local people’s lives better but also creates convenience and comfort for tourists when visiting District 4.

District 4 Location Compared to District 1

District 4 is likened to a triangular island located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. It is surrounded by rivers and canals and stuck among 3 other developed districts: District 1 (in the Northwest), District 7 (in the Northeast) and District 2 (in the South).

    This means that District 4 is very close to District 1, people here usually only take 10 minutes to reach famous places in District 1. To get to District 1 from District 4, you need to cross a Ben Nghe canal. There are 5 bridges built to cross this canal such as Khanh Hoi bridge, Calmette bridge, Ong Lanh bridge, Rainbow bridge, and Nguyen Van Cu bridge. Depending on your location, you can choose the closest bridge to shorten the time to reach District 1.

  Hotels or Airbnb?

Honestly, District 4 doesn't have many hotels like District 1. So sometimes on holiday, hotels in District 4 often run out of rooms. Therefore, if you want to stay at a hotel to enjoy high-class service, you should book a room advanced.

Although not owning many famous hotels like District 1, however, District 4 has a lot of room rental services which local people open by themselves. To be able to find out more information about these rental rooms, you can easily find it on Airbnb’s website.

Normally, both hotels and room rental services will be in the newly constructed apartments right across from the canal. This means you are very close to the center of the city for a bit cheaper price. The area to wander about from these large apartments is actually interesting. Just behind these large apartments you can wander into Xom Chieu market for a visit during the day to see one of the most local and busiest wet markets in Ho Chi Minh City.

Transportation in District 4

District 1’s location for walking to some of the main attractions in Ho Chi Minh City is better than District 4. District 4 is about a 10-minute walk plus a bridge crossing in order to get to Nguyen Hue walking street in the center of the city. The walk might be a little bit difficult but interesting. While walking across these bridges, you can watch the canal flowing through the city and take some nice photos. The bridges at night will shine by the beautiful street lights, which is one of the typical beauties of this city.

If you are going for a night out and a bit dressed up, you’ll probably want to call a taxi or grab to give you a lift. I don’t think District 4’s location is convenient for making a lot of trips back and forth to the city center on foot but its very close if you are using a taxi cab. Check out our in depth article about about taxi cabs in Ho Chi Minh City to

Another thing about transportation in District 4 you should know is heavy traffic jams at rush hour. Because the roads in District 4 are quite small and narrow, so during peak hours these roads often occur more serious traffic jams than other districts. My university is located in District 4, every afternoon after school, it takes me about 45 minutes to 1 hour to get home. If you choose to use a taxi or grab to take you around, don't choose rush hours to go out.

Walking around District 4

If district 1 is famous for high-class and luxury restaurants, the cuisine of district 4 is famous for being found in plenty with delicious options. There are so many people living, working, and visiting District 4 that the local street food is fantastic and famous. You can find street foods in food carts, food stalls or small private restaurants open by locals.  Food stalls and restaurants are usually located along many streets in District 4, which makes district 4 is so famous for many food streets. The three most famous food streets that I want to recommend to you are Xom Chieu, Vinh Khanh and Ton Dan.

Xom Chieu has special and delicious dishes. The food stalls and restaurants in this street have existed for a long time and have created a famous reputation. That makes them attract many people coming and trying the taste of special foods. These dishes which are cooked with unique recipes seem to be “specialties” of this district. Some "specialties" on Xom Chieu street I want you to know are banana cooked with sugar, crab soup mixed vegetables and many other types of ingredients, mussel noodles.

- Pha Lau Miss Oanh

Beef Organs Cooked in Coconut Milk served with Banh MI

Address: C200 / 20 Xom Chieu, District 4

- Vermicelli crab and snail

Address: C200 / 6 Xom Chieu, District 4

- Oc To

Small but Popular Seafood Stand

Address: C218 Xom Chieu, District 4

- Crab Soup Hang

Thick Soup made with Tapioca, Crab, Shrimp, and about 8 other ingredients

Address: C200 / 18 Xom Chieu, District 4

- Banana cooked with Sugar

Braised with sugar and topped with sesame seeds, this dish is unique to Xom Chieu

Address: Head of the alley 200 Xom Chieu, District 4

In 2018, Vinh Khanh street officially became the food street of District 4 and is strictly managed on food safety and hygiene by the government. Up to now, it has been extremely famous not only to locals but also for foreign visitors. Most of the restaurants here serve seafood and beer. Plates of seafood here are cooked in Vietnamese-style but a little bit spicier than normal Vietnamese food. Famous dishes like snails cooked with coconut milk, fried crab with salt and chili, grilled octopus with sate can be found up and down Vinh Khanh Street. If you are a person who loves seafood, Vinh Khanh is definitely a great choice for you. The operating hours of Vinh Khanh street are from afternoon to evening. The restaurants here are crowded at 6:00 pm until Midnight. Make sure that you are there at the right time so you can enjoy the bustling atmosphere of this food street and delicious dishes. If you want to experience street food like this but are a bit nervous to do it yourself,

- Chilli hotpot

Alot of grilled meat options, oysters, and hotpot. Delcious and Highly recommended

Address: 232 Vinh Khanh, District 4

- Oc Oanh

A standout on a street known for seafood, don't miss out on the scallops!

Address: 534 Vinh Khanh, District 4

- Sushi Ko

International Sushi on the Street?

Address: 122/37/15 Vinh Khanh, District 4

In addition, other roads like Hoang Dieu, Doan Van Bo, Ngo Van So or Nguyen Truong To also have a few interesting restaurants. These roads are very close to Vinh Khanh and Ton Dan, you can visit them conveniently.

- Mi Vit Tiem Thuan Hieu

Chinese inspired Duck soup with wheat Noodles. Very Tasty and Open late

Address: 3 Hoang Dieu, District 4

- Crab Curry in Quan Oc 63

Crab smothered in Delcious curry sauce that you mop up with Vietnamse Bread. Very close to Air BnB's on Ben Van Do

Address: 63 Nguyen Truong To, District 4

Any other recommendations?

Yeah, I’m gonna let you now about my secret coffee shop that is my absolute favorite This is my place for working during the afternoon. This is located 2-5 minutes from the Air BnB locations in District 4.

Spotlight Coffee 

Address: 64 Le Quoc Hung, Ward 12, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City

The operating hours: 7:00 am - 9:00 pm

We hope these tips help you make a decision on staying in District 4 or not. If so, please enjoy our recommendations for spending time in District 4 and commuting to District 1. Please share this article if you think it will help other travelers like yourself book a vacation that they will remember for a lifetime.

Check Out More

Read More Here: Staying in Ho Chi Minh City District 4 : Tips for Air Bnb Guests

[tacitennui]

I met Joel last week. We had a planned out how we were going to meet and rehearsed it almost every single day before meeting. He would drop his stuff off at the Air bnb first, take Baloo, and then come up to my apartment and knock on my door. I would open it, and he would say, hi, I’m Joel. I would respond, and he would ask to come in and we would hug. We rehearsed this so many times we both had it memorized, so it wouldn’t be awkward when we first meet and we would only have to play our parts.

Of course, life rarely happens the way we planned. Joel got lost on his way to Ottawa (there were so many hiccups with him at the border), so I wasn’t sure if he would even make it. A 3 hour drive turned into a 6 hour trip. He was tired and stressed. His phone died on his way into the city but miraculously he was able to pass by Laurier. After talking to a cop and finding a patio, he quickly charged his phone and called me to ask me to come to him. Realistically, he was only 2 minutes away but the distance felt much greater.

I hurriedly grabbed my things, put on my sunscreen and slowly simmered in my anticipation to see him. He called me again, telling me to hurry up but also to ask me what I would be wearing, in case he wouldn’t recognize me. I didn’t tell him and assured him that he would recognize me.

I sped walked to the patio he was at. We saw each other across the street and our eyes locked. I blew him a kiss instinctively - partially so that he would know I was me, but also because I couldn’t help it. He was sitting on a chair, hunched over, with no one around him. My poor baby, I thought.

I waited and then crossed the street. I wanted to give him a big hug - I could tell he had a tough day but our first hug was a little awkward. I tried not to stare at him. He looked exactly like the way he did over our video calls, but he was wearing a new outfit and had gotten a haircut the day before so there was a small sense of unfamiliarity.

We figured out the Airbnb stuff and went to dinner. It was strange - I felt comfortable in his presence but there was a shyness and over politeness in our interactions. At one point in the evening he reached for my hand, and I said I needed more time to feel comfortable around him. I was worried that I offended him when I said that, and in my mind, I wondered if I could feel comfortable later on.

The next day felt more natural. We started being ourselves around each other more. It still took some time to be around each other, but the chemistry was undeniable. He still gives me butterflies all the time. We have been around each other for about a week now and I truly enjoy being in his company. I was afraid being around people would be an adjustment but I love holding hands and walking down the street.

I’m happy. Our issues aren’t gone but we’re together and somehow that makes our relationship feel stronger, like we can face the challenges together now instead of individually. I can’t wait to even do errands together with him because at least we won’t be separated. There are so many more things I still want to do with him. I always can’t wait until I get to see him again. He still calls me or messages me in the morning to start our day, and reminds us to pray together. I am really enjoying my time with him.

[palecolorbouquetmag-blog]

Cosmo Pyke is a skater from South London who’s become known around the world for his unique singing, songwriting and guitar music. His unique sound made such a big noise it was heard by millions of people and many of them quickly became his fans. But in conversation you discover his passion for his music is as strong as his love for skateboarding and making art. Skating and playing the guitar gripped him from a young age and he picked up both naturally. But it wasn’t just his talent to string together well written songs and lines on his board that helped him to be the artist he is today. It’s also the excitement he gets from expressing his thoughts and ideas through them that stokes him out. Inspired to push for perfection with his pursuits and through taking his skills in a creative direction, he was further motivated to make art and his music career moved forward. Cosmo has been a No Comply Network member since the start and to see his meteoric rise as a musician has been immense. Four years since he released his impactful first EP and a week before the release of his latest offering, we had a chat about how he learned to skate and play guitar, shredding South Norwood, Peckham Rye and Bromley Skateparks, Ben Glasser and Max Critchlow, seeing US pros at demos, BRIT School, WITH Section, Slam City Skates, Southbank, street skating, making graff, recording his breakout EP ‘Just Cosmo’ with Fraser T Smith in the same studio as Stormzy, behind-the-scenes stories of all of his music videos, playing the last ever show at The Montague Arms with King Krule, filming ideal skate clips in Birmingham and Barcelona, playing live gigs, why his latest single Piper for Janet is one of his most meaningful to date, making tunes in Lockdown, the release timeline of his new tracks and his favourite skaters, spots, skate videos, art and photos and much more.

Glad to get a hold of you man, it’s been a while!

Yeah, it’s good because I’m releasing my first tune in a while in six days. It’s really good timing, we’re getting to chat now.

So when did you first see skating and think, I want to do that?

I used to skate when I was younger, maybe when I was about 7 years old.

That’s young, where did you get your first skateboard?

I got my first board from Brixton Cycles, which was next to Stockwell Skatepark at the time. I used to skate Peckham Skatepark. But not too much. I was always going to Stockwell and Kennington Bowl with my mate when I was really small. But then I stopped skating and started rollerblading…

Why on earth did you stop skateboarding to rollerblade?

It was my mate that I mentioned earlier. His older brother used to skate in my area and he was like a bit of a king in the graffiti scene. We always used his skates, everybody learned on his skates. We used to rollerblade at Whites Grounds, the skatepark in London Bridge, when Reuben De Haan’s cousin used to run it.

What year was this, 2005-2006?

Yeah.

So you started skating at age 7, stopped for a few years and started again. What motivated you to get back on board?

Yeah when I was 12, in year 7, Louie Dobbs, my boy he got me on it. We used to skate with Max Critchlow as well.

Yeah the day I started skating again I was at Bay 66 Skatepark, on the mini, on blades, with a party of people and at Bay you had to wear a helmet if you’re on blades but not if you’re on a board, it’s still like that. So at the time I was like fuck this!

I tried to drop in on the mini on a board and I was like look, I put my Vans on and went for the drop in on a skateboard and just did it! Dropped in first try on the mini and I was like fuck this! I’m skating from now on. I could always ride into the bank in Peckham but I’d actually never dropped in on a skateboard up to this point.

When was the first time you made your own music?

Well it was from about the age of about 9-10, maybe 11-10. I went to this thing called School of Rock at the Prendergast School in South London. It was called Felix’s School of Rock – run by this guy called Felix. You get put into a band, it was sick. In the holidays you’d do it for 4 days for a £100.

Like a kind of music boot camp for kids?

Yeah. Max Critchlow used to do it so it was really cool. It was sick. We weren’t allowed to bring skateboards and skate in the hall because they were scared we’d break our necks it was funny man.

How did it work?

You’d’ get put in a band with a Jack Black kind of figure and then on the fourth day there would be a battle of the bands type event and you’d do a gig on the stage. There would be like 90 bands, all just like loads of small kids playing  and the winner at the end wins chocolate, whoever screams the loudest wins basically!

Sounds hilarious man

From there, I was put on the stage, those were my first shows and gigs as a kid, just playing guitar, not even singing really, I did that School of Rock like nine times over the course of the next 5 years over the holidays and shit. Then I moved from Prendergast to Thomas Tallis School and then I started working there when I got to the age of like 18.

At the School of Rock?

Yeah, my first gig was there! Playing gigs, I was really scared before I got on stage as well. Because I cared a lot about what I was doing from such a young age. Cared about how I did.

Once you’d finished school and were looking to go to College, were you making music a lot or skating a lot?

I kind of wasn’t even doing anything religiously. Skate one day. Music the next day. Day after that do some graffiti. Never do one thing; I’ve always been juggling three things at a time. Going to school and school was just…school, you know?

For sure. What was it like studying at the Brit School?

It was really cool, I loved it, I was so happy really. I wasn’t at my rubbish school I was at previously. It had a uniform. This had no uniform and liberal teachers.

That’s dope

Yeah BRIT was crazy. It was like Uni as a 15 year old, no school bell, just like be on time.

So it made you be more independent

I didn’t go to Uni. I went to Sixth Form and then just finished school,  recorded my tape when I was in year 13, towards the end of my school, so it all patterned up well. When I finished school. I was touring all around London, South, West, East and North. In all the pubs.

I guess you made such a big impact; you were waiting to make something on that level or better

The way that I do Graff is the same way I do music. My friend even told me the other day. My songs are like the same way I do a piece or skate, just perfected and something I’ve been doing for a long time, so they are all really similar for me.So what stopped you from releasing those other songs?

I went up to Leeds and recorded with this guy, stayed with him there and recorded in his house. It just felt like the act of making music felt forced. I felt mad going up to Leeds sleeping in an Air BnB and focusing solely on just making music. Now I could do it a lot more but at the time I didn’t have the concentration.

Now I know a lot more but then I wasn’t ready. I made some good stuff and I really like it now and at the time I kinda like it as well but I kind of didn’t want to release it because it wasn’t the same process as the first record that I made with a big old studio with live musicians. This was just me on my own with no drummer, my mate, my drummer wasn’t there, it didn’t feel natural.

I tried to do some other stuff, that will come out in the future that I will re-record but I did stuff that I wasn’t 100% happy but this record I’m putting out now. This latest record, I recorded the way I’d done the first one with all live instruments.

Sounds like you needed some inspiration on this one. What music inspires you as an artist?

At the time I was coming up with loads of bands that played in the Montague Arms in New Cross and The Windmill in Brixton. There were loads of bands playing there at the time

Like who?

Horsey, my cousin’s band a cover band called The Bodies and King Krule.

You and King Krule played the last ever show at the Montague Arms in New Cross, what do you remember from that gig?

Yeah, there was a queue down the fucking road. The first person I saw in the queue was King Krule. I was like what the fuck!? why are people coming to see me. I never really had confidence in myself but you know! Yeah that was the first time I experienced people acting weird man, from those days at the Montague.

Yeah, when you get fame people treat you differently. But what was it like for you?

I learned my social skills from skating so I was always just completely…When you do my line of work, you meet a lot of fans. So it’s like when you meet someone and you’re a fan of their skating, it’s just about being nice to people and it was nice at the time and I miss playing.

The last gig I played was in Jakarta and I haven’t played since then. I’ve been dormant for 2 years. It’s such a long time but you know due to Lockdown it’s just extended that really.

Do you have a favourite artist?

Matthew Klarwein.  He did Miles Davis’ album cover artworks and then I really like Peter Green too; he’s a musician from Fleetwood Mac.

I also like John Piper, he’s the artist who’s art I’m basing this next record I’m about to release on. It’s called a Piper for Janet because my granny’s friend drew a John Piper style painting for her, he used a lot of watercolour and collage so the front cover of this record is based on him and he’s a British Painter. John Piper, he’s pretty cool

I like Edward Ruscha; he’s a photographer but he did a lot of stuff like taking photos of carparks and gas station in LA and Route 66 from specific perspectives back in the 60s and stuff like that.

Dope. Lastly when are all your new songs going to be released?

Next couple of months; they should all be out in January

Sounds good, look forward to it. Any last words Cosmo?

For anybody who’s out there reading this thanks for supporting me.

[shoeshoesho]

february 26, 2021

I had the most peculiar dream. I was with a group of people and we were walking in the residential streets in the dark. walking away from something like a big event of sorts in a venue. I dont remember how or why but we managed to be at the edge of a large city and at high elevation, the sun was rising upon this city and you could see a 180 degree view. There were red hues and yellow reflections off the city skyline (as you would imagine it would look with the sun rising in a big city). Come to think of it now I know exactly where this came from, when i was riding the subway right after arriving to NYC twoards the air bnb... and I took a red eye and the sun was just rising and reflecting off the dirty shiny new york. Anyways, continuing with my story. It was strange because we cam upon this steep building with christmas lights strewn about and the background was the immediate sun setting city skyline. The weird thing was that there was a bridge with a river running through it (you could hear the sound of the water) and it was fall, with birch trees and their yellow fell leaves on the bridge. It was dark enough were you could see the christmas lights, but light enough were the colors were just right. As you approached the bridge if you looked up, there was a birds eye view of a cross stitch of all the highways, with people stuck in traffic. Obviously this is impossible, because i was dreaming, but it was so real you could almost touch the cars, and the highways were woven so tight.

rat race. And I woke up. Thats the last thing i thought of, the phrase “rat race.” When i think of things I realize this image that is burned into my mind at the moment are all combinations of memorable views or items in my life. Birch trees in the fall (often seen in alpine forests- when its breezy they make a clicking sound. Also the three trees that once used to be in my parents front yard but have since been taken out). The Sun setting on a city in NYC (an unbelievable feeling if you havent been the NYC, it makes sense why people live there). A river with a wooden bridge (Ive seen more rivers the past two years i have been with tyler than my entire life). The weave of traffic and the phrase “rat race.” 

You know what was the first thing that came to my mind? I thought about my future children. And I thought about myself. I thought about how i was in the rat race. And then I thought, what if we were not in it any longer? What if we lived somewhere remote, with the river, and the birch trees but without the city skyline? Would i be happy then? What if our kids grew up in a small mountain town with basic necessities and basic needs- would they not feel the urge to join the race? However, would they become complacent small town folk and never leave the town? Would they have small minds and never want to leave this place to see other cultures, people and environments? Or,- would they grow happier, feel less inclined to make money and not live with the notion that the more money you make the more successful you are in this thing called life. 

I have been struggling with this notion my whole life. In fact, I still cant decide if i would be happier if i didnt live my life this way. In no way did this come from my parents either. They never drilled it in me. In fact I most likely drilled it myself somehow. At this time, I make >100K. I am able to buy whatever I want. I dont have any loans or owe anyone anything yet, I dont feel I have arrived yet. And often times I am unhappy. (Or i think i am unhappy, but really I just make myself this way so I am always doing more). 

anyways. Thats where Im at. It was wonderful to see in this dream though some of the more wonderful things i have seen in my life. Maybe it means something  more. I do see beauty in the hustle and bustle of a city.. will I miss that?

[chrysaliseuro2019]

TRUELY CUTE

After 1 day that quickly turned into 2, then 3 and finally four, it was time to leave Monopoli. It is a gorgeous old town full of winding narrow alleyways, a small cove of a sandy beach well patronised, some excellent restaurants, a little fishing harbour, many magnificent baroque churches, grand buildings and happily some locals.

Like all beautiful towns/cities it attracts the masses (us included of course). Here is the age-old dilemma. As tourists we all want to experience the authenticity of such a place and in doing so slowly erode that authenticity. The ‘invasion’ of this town by tourists is in its infancy but we heard a number of times that due to the recent popularity of Puglia, Monopoli has changed significantly in the last 5 years. Of course new hotels can’t be built in the old town so opportunities abound for people to convert old buildings into apartments thereby flooding the town with tourists in summer. Apparently in winter it’s quiet and deserted. Of course with the influx brings many opportunities for tradies converting and renovating buildings, establishment and growth of businesses etc. But we as tourists continue to spoil what we love. So I guess the message is get here fast before Monopoli becomes another Dubrovnik because it’s only a matter of time.

Anyway we absolutely loved our experience there and will take away happy memories from it.

Had received a couple of recommendations of places to visit but a quick breakfast before heading out of town. The breakfast arrangement with our apartment was to hand over a token to the downstairs cafe in exchange for a modest but adequate breakfast. Coinciding with the serving of our croissants, tea and juice was the arrival of the sewer cart. Not sure if this was a regular clearing visitation to the house 10 metres away or a one off blockage. It smelt like there’d been no clearance since it was occupied by the Byzantines. Luckily we could retreat into the cafe where the sympathetic owner whacked on the fan and air conditioner, he himself peeved as no customers in their right mind would come within 100 metres of his restaurant with that stench pervading the air.

Wheeled our luggage 300 metres and I minded it while Chris fetched the car. Followed our well rehearsed packing system and headed to Alberobello about 30 kilometres south west of Monopoli. This region of Puglia is famous for its truilli and Alberobello is truilli central. Truilli are drystone conically roofed houses. The oldest surviving ones date back to 16th century. Various stories claim they were built for storage or as temporary accommodation that could be quickly dismantled when property tax collectors came to town. If only we’d known this prior to renovation Fergie Street. We could have replaced our cottage with a truilli and dismantled it at valuation time significantly reducing Yarra Council’s hefty capital improvement rates. Splendid plan.

Once you get to the region the truilli pop up in singles, pairs or clusters that look like a family community. They are squat round buildings with stone conical roofs with a cup shape top filled with a little ball. I couldn’t decide if they looked like pert breasts or tagines scattered through the fields. They also looked a bit like a man made version of Cappadocia.

Alberobello has the historic centre full of them so we parked up and braved the heat to explore. On the right was a little village of them all pretty and clustered together, maybe a 100. They were all beautifully painted white or left stone with the little ‘areola and nipple’ on the top painted white. We wandered through the heat for a while admiring their hobbit home like quality. Crossed over to the other side of the Main Street which was a far more touristy affair. Lots of little shops selling tea towels, fridge magnets and you know the rest. Probably another 200 more over this side too and happily all in excellent condition. One was furnished and open for inspection so we went in. Straight into the small windowless main room that housed a double bed, fireplace, tv and small table. Off that room was another pokey windowless single bedroom. And that was it. Not sure where ablutions were undertaken but no sewerage cart required there.

Now about 36 degrees with the heat bouncing off the white flagstones and very little shade. Back to the car with lunch on our mind. Next recommendation was Martina Franca a hillside town once again only 30 minutes away. On arrival we had had the usual confusion about parking metres but finally worked out parking between 2pm until 5pm was free. Guess demand is reduced because Italy still enjoys its siesta.

Short walk to the main historical centre and went into the massive church while it was open. A bit of a cold impersonal interior so a quick whip around was all that was required. Meanwhile a lot of activity with lights for Fiestas being put up through town. This was also happening in Monopoli so we assume August is not only crazy with tourists but also with fiestas. After last night’s delicious pizza we went in search of another. Unfortunately not in the same league but it did the job.

While it was a grand town we didn’t feel particularly drawn to it so back in the car again to our third recommendation Ostuni. Chris has got this left hand driving down pat and the little Fiat Punto gets is there, not in a hurry, but eventually. The drive was an easy one (says she with all the bravado from the passenger’s seat) with flat A or B roads carrying little traffic. Truilli sightings continued for most of the 24 kilometre drive along with olive groves, peach/nectarine and apple orchards, little vineyards for nonno’s grappa and fields of tomatoes and melons. Occasionally there were some cattle gathered under trees for some respite from the 36 degree sun.

While on the move I checked out some accommodation in Ostuni and one looked a winner. Only reservation was it appeared not to have a window and we both love fresh air through an open window when we sleep. So we programmed it into Narelle thinking we would check it out on arrival. Missed it on our first lap of Ostuni but second time around got lucky. Parked right out the front but it looked to be an Air BnB with the front door shut. But our timing was good as some other guests were arriving as we got there so the ‘receptionist’ showed us the room. We were in luck. Not only was it on the ground floor but it was huge and beautiful, reasonable and with an opening window. The remainder of the house was available for guests too which included two connected sitting rooms leading out to a balcony and below that a lush garden with sun beds. It was 100% perfect. No hesitation in taking this one. Not often do you land one so tasteful, in such a great position (10 minutes amble to the old town) and so reasonable. Even got lucky with the parking with a free park 10 metres along the road. Sometimes it can be a little wearing such as the frustrating hunt in Fazana while other times they land in your lap.

A bit of down time, Chris watching the Roos beat the Hawks while I had the peaceful garden all to myself for blogging.

Receptionist recommended a restaurant in town and booked it for us. The restaurant setting was lovely under a vine covered terrace allowing a cool breeze to temper the high 20 degree temperature. The dishes we ordered we great, both spaghetti one with vongole and the other with mussels. But the service bazaar. There were 6 staff and about the same number of tables but to get their attention to do anything was hard work. They had no tonic so I though I would go the shandy option. Nup. No Sprite. So tried a sip of their rosé by the glass but you could have run a Vespa on it. Waitress wanted us to order on the pretence people were coming into the restaurant and they would be busy so she got a bit pushy. As it happened by the time we left there were only 6 tables full with about 15 empty ones so we couldn’t figure out the rush. Then ordering was a bit tricky. Because we had only finished our lunch pizza at 4pm we were only after the Primi course but there weren’t any listed in the menu just the price range and not a Specials Board in sight. Managed to extract the choices from the waitress who seemed disheartened that was all we were ordering. I guess it comes as a surprise as Italians can really graze. They think nothing of antipasti followed by Primi course and then Secondi. Still we enjoyed the food, ambience and just have to put the rest down to cultural differences.

Pottered about town and found a bar with locals only. Enjoyed a duet of a female singer and the bloke playing sax. They were many notches above the Fantasy Duo of Vrsar. Finished the night off by checking out the Cathedral up the top of the hill and a jumper purchase for Chris. Enjoyed and exchange with the boutique owners who said they’d noticed a lot more Australians in Puglia in the last few years. We told them to expect a lot more as Puglia features highly in Australian travel magazines and travel supplements.

Ostuni was in party mode when we headed for home at midnight. The handsome town square was buzzing with people enjoying sitting out, the old town streets were busy with night time strollers and the grand buildings created a majestic backdrop to all the tourists at play.