Lovers & Dreamers' Affair to Remember

Wow! 4 weeks goes so fast! In the last 4 weeks I've seen Singapore, England, Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris. This was my first trip overseas and, turning 27 in only a few months, it was a very long time coming.

So, first things first: Glastonbury Festival. This was initially the whole point of our trip. Glastonbury is exactly what you think it will be - muddy, very muddy. Walking out of wellies stuck in 15cms of goop, trekking up a massive hill at least once a day and the frequent waft of poo did not deter me. The festival is amazing and people go out of their way to help one another; you could never be sure if you'd be the next to fall or get stuck in the mud so the general attitude is 'help them now, in case I need help later'. Throughout the site there are stores to buy an array of goods, from food and camping equipment through to second hand clothing, outfits by local designers (mainly light weight, hippie-inspired pieces) and even handmade lingerie. Glasto was a big city of tipis and tents, where it was about sharing a passion for music and respecting those around you; in 4 and a half days we did not see a single fight break out but instead witnessed people singing en masse to Oasis's 'Wonderwall'

Next stop was Amsterdam. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and so are its people, they definitely go above and beyond to help and are more than willing to stop for a chat. Whilst street art is clearly popular, it was the contemporary design that caught my eye. Our hotel, Citizen M, had a wonderful lobby/lounge area filled with furniture by designers such as Charles & Ray Eames and our room, with a huge bed (XL King Size) and changing mood lights, was unforgettable. There are also a number of homeware and furniture shops that provide great inspiration and there's a particular Miffy lamp that I am now trying to track down in Australia after seeing it on display in a number of stores throughout the city.

We then travelled on to Berlin, which is a major hub for urban artists. Berlin frequently left me awestruck by the sheer size of some of its artworks, as well as artists' ability to take over buildings with there being little or no resilience shown by police - my dream would be to walk into a place and claim it as my studio (without the stress of having to pay rent).

Below are pictures from Tacheles, the Berlin Wall East Side Gallery and artworks by Blu

Paris was a quick stop but like Amsterdam, it too had a strong sense of modern design. below is a picture of our hotel room at Mama Shelter, which came complete with Asterix and Batman masks, as well as an in room TV/ PC/'photo booth' (aka Apple Mac) which saves all photos to the hotel's hard drive and can then be viewed inside your room or seen scrolling across the TV in the restaurant downstairs (we decided not to take pictures this time).

Whilst there were plenty of architecturally renowned places to be seen throughout Europe, this is just a glimpse of the things I saw. Back in London, I got my fill of Banksy pieces and went to a number of markets - Portobello and Camden markets being 2 of the best known. I also visited Tate Modern, which is the most amazing gallery I have ever been to. So many more things were seen during my time abroad but I won't bore you with further details :)

LD xxx

Clearer Skies

Hello!

We have been gone some time, sorry for not keeping you up to date on all of our happenings! Miss Veeni has visited the lovely land of Bali and LD has taken to the rails to see parts of Europe, but we're back and into the swing of things again (albeit slightly jet lagged).

Here's a run down on Veeni's trip:

"I crossed the street to walk in the sunshine" Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) 

Bali, it's beautiful! Although I'd visited before, this trip was about getting away from the tourist centres and into the peaceful villages and farming areas. It's amazing how most of the people have nothing, but they seem so much happier than a lot of people living in Australia. The locals are generous, offering what they can when they can, and are almost completely self sufficient, with chickens and children running everywhere! Their can-do attitude is inspiring and it was definitely the escape from my daily routine that I needed to re-balance.

The arts and crafts of the Balinese varies greatly from traditional artwork inspired by the everyday, such as paintings of people working in the rice fields and women working in the home, to more westernised jewellery and accessories. During our stay in Bali, my partner and I visited the Ubud Markets which is set up according to a more traditional 'locals' market (although it is now too somewhat of a tourist destination), offering hand-carved statues, wooden beaded bracelets, works by silversmiths and batik fabrics.

In contrast to Ubud, Seminyak, a fast developing Spa area, had lots of little boutiques that were clearly inspired by Western trends. Apart from the roads, the shops are so shiny that you would almost think you were not in Bali. Upcycling was definitely a selling feature of many of the products. Whilst traditional Balinese ways are to use and re-use found items to further improve living and working conditions, these modernised pieces were taking items such as plastic bags and turning them into fashion pieces to further improve appearance. This use of everyday items was inspiring, but one can also see the change in culture from improving home/work life to improving the individual.

All up a great journey and one I'm keen to do again, but next time I think I'll go further into the mountains and trek through, meeting locals on the way and gaining a greater understanding of the Balinese culture and the skills and crafts used within the home.