Ah, the Whitsundays

Sorry, I know it's been a long time since I've gotten back on the blog. We came up to the Whitsundays Islands (up the north east coast of Aussie, by the great barrier reef - some of the nicest fucking beaches I've ever seen)I've been without proper
internet for a while. We had a friend of a friend, Pat, who graciously let us stay at his house up here (with our own bedrooms!) and Jess and I have just been laying around, enjoying the nice, albeit small, Airlie Beach. We went out on our new friend Mark's boat, got caught in basically the landscape for the movie The Perfect Storm, but somehow came out unscathed and still smiling. It's hard to get upset about anything out here :) We head out this evening, Greyhounding it all the way to 1770 and then on to Rainbow Beach, Sunshine Coast, Brissy, Surfer's Paradise, and finally to Byron Bay for the Blues and Roots festy for 5 big ones! So looking forward to the journey ahead, and will be blogging about our couchsurfing experiences along the way (hoping there's internet!)....
Oh, and one lovely little side note - we've got an apartment to stay in for our last two months in Sydney! Our friend Narissa will have a spare room, and even though we'll still be sharing our space, Jess and I couldn't be more thrilled to have a place to hang our clothes and an awesome girl to live with!!!

GOING UP THE COAST! FUCK YEAH!

So another crazy weekend with Tricky Ricki, Jess, Alex, and Huey. Between dinners with friends, a couple of concerts, and of course a few good nights out in the cross, aka the devil's vagina, it was one great fucking time. Saturday, we started the day off at a cops and cowboys party, complete with kareoke :) and then later that day hit up a summer sports themed party, and then finally out to Newtown to see the incredible Kiwi band Fat Freddy's drop. Who were, in a word Awesome. Seriously, check out the video. Needless to say, I had a bit of a hard time getting into nightclubs dressed like a retard tennis player who had just broken out of the backseat of a paddy wagon, but luckily the good people at Iguana bar didn't seem to give a shit. Aussie rock star Daniel Johns from Silverchair was there, and Huey was outside having a chat with him when I rocked up and started blabbering on about something and scared him off. Good job, Lize. Ah well. Had a lovely day yesterday, and lunch with the boys in Crow's Nest. AND...we are off once again to see some more of this beautiful place! Could not be more excited. Flying into the Whitsundays and making our way down the coast should be a really nice introduction to the amazing Aussie beaches. The Byron Bluesfest is coming up over easter weekend, so check out the coverage on QC. I'll be sure to post pics along the way....

It's been a while, I know -

This weekend proved to be one of the most amazingly fun times I've had thus far in Sydney. I had been looking forward to the Sound Relief concert for a couple of weeks, and was thoroughly contented with the way the day turned out. Our new besty Narissa came along with Jess and I, and Mundey met up with us there. Starting the day with mimosas and arriving just in time to see Coldplay was a great start to the day. Wolfmother, Jet, Presets, Midnight Oil, and The Beegees were also on the bill, as well as live streams from KOL and Jack Johnson over in Melbourne. The barricades were a bit of an ass pain, as they sectioned off areas so you couldn't get to your friends once inside. I think it was because there was no age minimum to get in, and they wanted to keep the kids out of the drinking spots. No matter, we were able to snag a couple of VIP bracelets and get on to the main grass ahead of the stage. We found our friends Huey and Wardy and spent the day in the heat, in the rain, under an umbrella mundey lifted off a drink vendor and finally shivering and wanting to change. A quick stop in the city after the show to dry off followed by a night in the cross, this was one of the most fun days I've spent here in Sydney, and that's saying a lot. Check out the coverage at quietcolor.com. As for this week, it's St. Patty's day today! Jess and I are going to head into town and hit up some Irish bars and make a day of it. Friday we're seeing Coby Grant at a small bar downtown. She's from Melbourne and has a voice that will send you places. Check that review out at thedwarf.com.au. Saturday we may go see kiwi band Fat Freddy's Drop, and then next week we're off to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands, so lots coming up. Can't wait for the few days ahead!

Back to Sydney = back to the crazy

Jess and I got back to Sydney on Thursday night, tired, but happy to be back. We flew Emirates from Christchurch and boy was it nice. This asian woman sat down in our row, and I could see from her ticket she wasn't supposed to be there. No big deal except that she was staring at the screen in front of her - not watching a movie or tv. Not listening to music or playing trivia. No, she stared, for no joke 3 and a half hours straight at the flight progress. That little airplane slowly moving from one country to another. Yeah, freaky. I distracted myself by watching the movie Changeling, sipping a glass of red, and bawling my eyes out. Good times. After getting back to our home base and couches at Mundey's house, we had a pool day on Friday and then met up with the boys downtown for some after work drinks. Which of course turned into a night at Cross, and another night of debauchery. Ahhh Sydney, how I've missed you. Saturday was Mardi Gras. Another day of fun in the sun, bbq's, and entertainment provided by Sydney's finest: the boys of Greenwich Rd. This week we're off to Bondi to couchsurf with a newbie named Q. Hopefully the weather will clear up and we'll get some sunnage, eh??

FM Winery Tour in Sandusky, er, Queenstown

I went to this music fest on Sunday presented by the FM Winery Tour. On the bill was Op Shop, Anika Moa, and Dave Dobbyn, three of NZ's biggest acts. I had heard from friends that it would be a lot of fun, so I decided to get Jess and I a couple of tickets while we were down in Qtown. Unfortunately, come Sunday Jess wasn't feeling up to it, and the weather was for shit, so I decided to make the trek out to Milbrook Estates on my own. It was a great place to go hear some music - gorgeous backdrop, mountains for miles. There were different wineries set up with drinks and great food, and it was a small enough venue that you could easily find your friends (if only I'd had some) upon entering the field. Going to things like this alone is a nice opportunity to do some thinking, to reflect on where you are and really take it all in. Well, looking around it would've been hard to tell if I was in Zew Zealand or Ohio. Ladies in Mom Jeans with dykey haircuts dancing around with sillie smiles hangin off their faces. Men in fanny packs and oversized t-shirts, foakly sunglasses swinging from their necks. There were groups of young people in between, but a lot of them were there with their mums and pops and uncles and aunties and all that. It was wierd. The one thing that was refreshing and able to really make me smile were the hoards of children playing everywhere. I swear to God, parents must think I'm a pure child stalker molester when I sit there and watch their babies with a shit eating grin on my face. But honestly, how can you not laugh when there's a toddler in a diaper trying to shake and dance to the music. Thank God I'm a girl right? I ended up not being into the music at all, and played soccer with some kids for the most part. Op Shop is super fucking cheesy, and once they had the crowd to the mexican wave I was pretty much done with them. Anika Moa had a great voice, and fantastic stage presence, but again, I just couldn't help but feel like I was at a Raffie concert circa 1985. I kept thinking to myself, "Is this really New Zealand?" The answer is, yes, yes it is. NZ for the most part is filled with hick farmers with missing teeth, and tight knit families who shear sheep and get married young, and go out hunting with their mothers. By the time Dave Dobbyn took the stage, I was simultaneously disgusted and jealous of all these young people dancing with their families, drinking beers, and having a great time. Toward the close of the fest, the weather had cleared and the music was nearly done. As was I. I got a ride back into Queenstown (ie. civilization) and met up with Jess for a pizza at Winnies. The #2 Irish Idol was there playing cover tunes! Ha, can't get much better than that!