From May 1st, 2010 I have decided to post my material on our joined website www.travelsofanearthpilgrim.com, in one of the three main categories that make up my life: Conscious Living | Independent Working | Travel Culture. All the material from this site has been transferred, except for the photo albums. Sign up for the RSS feed to keep informed of new entries!
After extensive travel and diving into the preparations for the MoonScout period in Tilburg, Graham and I took out a couple of days and went to Paris to re-connect with life itself. Graham came over to Antwerp by train from the Light and Building Fair in Frankfurt and we drove down from there to Beauvais, where we parked the car. From there we took the train to Gare du Nord.
I know for a lot of you the erupting volcano ruined your travel plans, yet for me it was such a gift that there were no planes up in the sky during our stay! Because, as a result of that, like a cloud of dust, the usual whirl of energy settled down and it got QUIET. The background-energy in the city was so peaceful and relaxed… People just stayed where they were, had given up attempting to get to somewhere else. It felt like one of these 1970’s long lazy sunday afternoons…
At our leisure, we visited an eclectic collection of buildings, modern and ancient. Next to must-sees like the Sacre Coeur, the Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, we admired unfamiliar gems like the excavations below the Notre Dame square and the Arab World Institute.
The modern architecture of the Arab World Institute doesn’t look all that special at first sight, yet it has surprising features. It combines the latest technology and techniques with traditional Arab architecture. The southern façade is decorated with a translucent ornament of steel reminding the moucharabiehs. Here however, this geometric pattern is made of 240 diaphragms opening or closing according to the sun, thanks to a light-cell, to let in enough light without harming art pieces exhibited. On the inside a walkway allows you to watch the mechanism up close. Fascinating!
On the top floor you’ll find a roof terras that provides an spectacular view of the city, from the Notre Dame on one end all the way to the Sacre Coeur - hovering over the Centre Pompidou – on the other; especially under a clear blue sky:-) See for yourself next time you’re in Paris (1, rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, Place Mohammed V, 75236 PARIS CEDEX 05, Metro line 7 or 10, station Jussieu).
On our last evening we went to see the famous Moulin Rouge show; quite a spectacle as well. I’d expected all glamour and glitter inside, yet the theatre was very old. The show was great – I have always admired feathers and shiny stones!
Yesterday we drove down to Normandy, to start our next housesit. And today – back to work… The MoonScout preparations are in full swing; soon to be launched: MirroroftheMoonGoddess.com and the start of the ticket sales for the show on June 21st in Tilburg.
Australia turns out to be a true “blue” country – even worse than I imagined! Blue = stricktly rules based. On my first trip over to Australia, I really enjoyed the laid-back mentality, the hospitality and atmosphere of the people. Over the past 4 months the laid-back mentality proved to be skin-deep.
Some examples: fine AU$ 150,0 for driving 108km/hr on a completely empty 100km/hr highway, fine for parking the car with the nose in the wrong direction, not allowed to take plastic water bottles into a fenced off area on new year’s eve, not allowed to take a bottle of champagne to the park to watch the fireworks, fine AU$ 200 for speeding with no consideration whatsoever to the fact that we were eloping giant honking trucks that were going way faster that the 100km/hr limit after two attempt to run us off the road altogether, shops closing at 3pm, bars and restaurants – even in Brisbane for that matter – closing at 9:00pm or 9:30pm…
The top was having to take 0.28kg out of my suitcase, because the weight limit is 20kg, so 20.28kg is unacceptable. I demonstratively took out some underwear and my bra!
All this has really shifted my perspective of this country. Shifted it from looking into permanent residency, to this is not the place for me. What happened?
Over the past 3 years I have been visiting travelling up and down the east coast tourist strip. This time we moved away from the coast and went more inland, about 50km. And it got more and more sleepy as we drove on. Most of the land is being developed for retirement villages that basically all look the same. Rows of houses with a giant mall next to it. The mall closes at 6:30pm and all of Sundays. Question: what do people do here to meet their need for variety. Because outside of these malls, there is nothing. And I mean nothing. We are a bit taken aback by that.
Every now and then Graham and I knock off at 3pm and embark on some sightseeing. This proves to be hardly possible in this region (Brisbane/Bundaberg); apart from the physical distances, you have to take in account that the sun sets at 6:30pm – and it sets very fast, almost as if someone turns off the light!
We made one attempt, visiting the small town of Childers, described to us by the house owners as still containing large numbers of original Queenslander houses. By the time we get there (4pm) it resembles a ghost town. Stores closed around 3:30pm, restaurants and bars are set for locking up at 9pm. What do they do after that, we wondered… The house owners helped us out there: life here is geared towards the daylight. Most people rise between 5pm and 6pm and start their day.
Gin Gin marked the end of our 4 month stay in Australia. During this time I have come to see Australia from the inside out. And my conclusion: nice for a holiday – not suitable for permanent living:-)
