I was told by my ex-lover recently that 'I'm looking for love in all the wrong places.' Maybe it's so, maybe he knows the reason why... but when confronted with statement like that, where is the right place to find love?
I am not in a position to meet 'love' through the office as I work for myself, and I can tell you now, that looking at the dads at school or my kid's hockey or basketball club ain't a possibility. I found my lover on a website, so if I found him there and he's telling me that I'm looking for love in the wrong place, then I'm not going to go there again... I've gone out with a girlfriend a few times to a pub, but with all the eye gazing to suss out all the 'likely candidates', there really hasn't been a person who I would say looks worth even having a chat to. I have been to friends' birthday parties, hoping that maybe they may have a friend who would be interesting enough to chat to, but you just get looked up and down like you might be an easy piece of meat being a 'single friend.' I have friends who relentlessly look for men on dating sites hoping to find the one, but all they do is cheapen their self-esteem by going on too many dates and feeling horrible about who they are just to find 'the one.' So, as I ask 'where is the right place?'
What I find incredibly frustrating is that I am at 'the age,' 'time of my life,' however you want to package it, that anyone who has been in a divorce or long term relationship that has failed, tend to have a 'selfish' attitude to making their life about 'them.' And that's fine, because you are doing the same thing too... you want all the things that you didn't have in your marriage, you want to raise your kids the way you want to and not be dominated by an ideology of another because they have different children or different circumstances. But no one is willing to compromise to allow a relationship just to get its feet off the ground.
Even if you do find a single, never been married guy that has possibilities, you question, why has this man never been married at this age? Has he never grown up? Is he way too selfish? Does he now realise that he wants to have kids or that he's missing out? What is his agenda? And that's the thing... when you're approaching 40, most single men are wanting to have their own kids, want a mother-figure as their own mothers are too old or dead to look after them or do they like what you're all about for themselves, but don't know what they can provide for you?
There is no equality... If all you are looking for is some companionship, some regular sex and just to feel alive with some romance without any wedding ring, extra washing to do or responsibilities of 'belonging' to each other, then your chances of finding that 'one' person who doesn't want you to drive their kids to soccer practice, making brownies for the school fete or pick them up from the airport because they are too cheap to order a cab, is very difficult.
You do become very cynical. You are concerned that any potential candidate has an agenda that's different to yours. You understand that the game rules can change at some point of any relationship, and that's OK, because love, admiration, connection and commonality come in, and you may actually want to be more involved in your lover's life, or vice versa, and it may be mutual, but to get anything off the ground, it seems virtually impossible, essentially, because after being divorced or in a long term relationship and 'settling' in a relationship that wasn't right for you, means that your senses are overloaded with trying to find someone who is 'right' and not just 'he will do.'
In the last 4 years of being a 'single mum,' I have had more married men hit on me than single men, I have had more older men (15+ years older than me) hit on me than men my own age, I've even had men 10+ years younger than me hit on me because they think that I'm an awesome mum and they just want me to be their 'mother figure' and do all the fun things that I do with my boys with them. But for some reason, I'm not good enough for guys in their late 30s/early-mid 40s... probably because they are on their own mid-life crisis of being a boy again. It almost makes you want to go to the other side...
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Monday, 15 July 2013
Back in the homeland from an unforgettable trip
It's 3.58am, 37 hours after we walked into our home. In some ways, as it always is, it's bittersweet... For a long time now, Melbourne hasn't felt like the 'home I want to come back to.' When we were on the train coming back from the airport, I looked at just how disgusting our trains were, remembering how negative I was about the dirt in the Paris Metro, the streets in Rome and Naples (understandably Naples is in a league of its own), but in some ways, the dirt is here too, we just have to look deeper. At least we came home to fairly pollution free air and just the very rare cigarette in sight, the very things that were constantly giving my little one itchy eyes throughout our trip.
My boys and I agree that our favourite places were London, Provence and the alps in Switzerland. You can't beat that crisp clean mountain air. London people are considerate, helpful and easy to be around in the crowds. Provence was relaxing, beautiful, charming, friendly and a gorgeous climate. Whereas, Melbourne people are truly snobs - there is no 'hello' in the streets as you walk by (where in France, you heard 'Bonjour' and saw a sweet smile wherever you went), there's anger on the roads as everyone is eager to get somewhere - didn't have any of that on the 8700kms I drove around Europe even when everyone was in a standstill on a Sunday afternoon on a German autobahn for a good hour, and I truly felt embarrassed walking the 25 minute walk with our luggage up the hill to our home with my boys dragging behind because there was no bus or taxi sitting at the train station to bring us home, and that was the last bit of detail I didn't think about, after we travelled from Brussels to Paris to Beijing to Bangkok to Melbourne in 36 hours... I was embarrassed because I was worried what people would think of me in our tired last hour (and I did bump into two people I know as we walked), but also embarrassed for our public transport system that doesn't have connecting buses so that people can continue their journey with ease, like we experienced so much around Europe.
Whereas in Europe, I didn't care one bit about what people think of me. I was my own person with my beautiful kids, doing what we wanted to do, and people didn't have judgment, only acceptance. Where as there is a certain expectation you have to live up to in Melbourne. I truly did not miss Melbourne... and coming home to a much colder temperature with a broken ducted heating system and a tree fallen blocking most of our walkway to the car isn't much fun either.
What we do like about being home? Our own beds and space, but really, we adjusted well to all the beds we slept in, except for the occasional one with bed bugs. Constant and consistent internet and not needing to worry about overseas charges on my phone. And my boys were worried about being away for so long that their friends would forget them and move onto new friendships, but they have been welcomed back with open arms. When I was overseas, I missed listening to English, but now that I'm here, the Aussie accent isn't doing it for me and I wish I was back in France, or a French speaking country (like Switzerland or Belgium). Oh how much I would love to learn conversational French... might be the next thing on the bucket list to conquer.
I've already ordered some of our favourite French boisson (drink) - Orangina to hopefully be delivered for someone's birthday tomorrow, I've organised Belgian Waffles for his birthday breakfast and a few other little surprises based on our trip as presents for my soon to be 12 year old. But I guess that's what you do when you go on holiday... everything 'there' is always better than home and you just want to embrace it more when it's all not there anymore, and just in the memory bank.
Don't get me wrong, there are some lovely people in Melbourne, once you get to know them, but strangers are less accepting. And unfortunately, that is also the world's perception of Australians. It just takes us awhile for us to let people we don't know into our lives, even if it's just a passing 'hello.' It really is shallow... I just don't know if that's for me, hence the reason why I don't feel like it's 'home' - or the home I want to come home to.
I have friends all over the world, and just knowing that, it's comforting to think that this world is my home... not just a city, a defined point of location. There truly is too much to see and experience in this world to be stuck in one place, hence 'home' to me will always be wherever I feel happy in my own skin.
My boys and I agree that our favourite places were London, Provence and the alps in Switzerland. You can't beat that crisp clean mountain air. London people are considerate, helpful and easy to be around in the crowds. Provence was relaxing, beautiful, charming, friendly and a gorgeous climate. Whereas, Melbourne people are truly snobs - there is no 'hello' in the streets as you walk by (where in France, you heard 'Bonjour' and saw a sweet smile wherever you went), there's anger on the roads as everyone is eager to get somewhere - didn't have any of that on the 8700kms I drove around Europe even when everyone was in a standstill on a Sunday afternoon on a German autobahn for a good hour, and I truly felt embarrassed walking the 25 minute walk with our luggage up the hill to our home with my boys dragging behind because there was no bus or taxi sitting at the train station to bring us home, and that was the last bit of detail I didn't think about, after we travelled from Brussels to Paris to Beijing to Bangkok to Melbourne in 36 hours... I was embarrassed because I was worried what people would think of me in our tired last hour (and I did bump into two people I know as we walked), but also embarrassed for our public transport system that doesn't have connecting buses so that people can continue their journey with ease, like we experienced so much around Europe.
Whereas in Europe, I didn't care one bit about what people think of me. I was my own person with my beautiful kids, doing what we wanted to do, and people didn't have judgment, only acceptance. Where as there is a certain expectation you have to live up to in Melbourne. I truly did not miss Melbourne... and coming home to a much colder temperature with a broken ducted heating system and a tree fallen blocking most of our walkway to the car isn't much fun either.
What we do like about being home? Our own beds and space, but really, we adjusted well to all the beds we slept in, except for the occasional one with bed bugs. Constant and consistent internet and not needing to worry about overseas charges on my phone. And my boys were worried about being away for so long that their friends would forget them and move onto new friendships, but they have been welcomed back with open arms. When I was overseas, I missed listening to English, but now that I'm here, the Aussie accent isn't doing it for me and I wish I was back in France, or a French speaking country (like Switzerland or Belgium). Oh how much I would love to learn conversational French... might be the next thing on the bucket list to conquer.
I've already ordered some of our favourite French boisson (drink) - Orangina to hopefully be delivered for someone's birthday tomorrow, I've organised Belgian Waffles for his birthday breakfast and a few other little surprises based on our trip as presents for my soon to be 12 year old. But I guess that's what you do when you go on holiday... everything 'there' is always better than home and you just want to embrace it more when it's all not there anymore, and just in the memory bank.
Don't get me wrong, there are some lovely people in Melbourne, once you get to know them, but strangers are less accepting. And unfortunately, that is also the world's perception of Australians. It just takes us awhile for us to let people we don't know into our lives, even if it's just a passing 'hello.' It really is shallow... I just don't know if that's for me, hence the reason why I don't feel like it's 'home' - or the home I want to come home to.
I have friends all over the world, and just knowing that, it's comforting to think that this world is my home... not just a city, a defined point of location. There truly is too much to see and experience in this world to be stuck in one place, hence 'home' to me will always be wherever I feel happy in my own skin.
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Austria to Germany to The Netherlands in just a few days!
We're sort of in wind down time, ready to go home. Our enthusiasm for being tourists have waned, so pics have been few and far between, driving has been just the motorways to get anywhere faster, and the boys are just keen to hang out in the hotel room. We've got 3 more nights and then we are going home... While we are all getting along really really well, I think we are ready for some normalcy.
From Vienna, we drove to Salzburg in Austria, then to Stuttgart via Dachau where we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp. The camp recommends only 12 year olds and up to visit, as there are some fairly graphic images of dead bodies lumped together in a mass grave, extreme starvation and concepts of inequality including imprisoning homosexuals, the disabled, as well as the Jewish and other religious sects, as we know. It was a stark reminder of how far we have come in the western world in regards to equality and freedom, which I think is a valuable lesson for my boys to understand how bad things really were. It was quite humbling, yet also such a huge reminder in how some laws are still so inhumane in terms of civil rights and how drastically the governments need to change them as quickly as possible.
From Vienna, we drove to Salzburg in Austria, then to Stuttgart via Dachau where we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp. The camp recommends only 12 year olds and up to visit, as there are some fairly graphic images of dead bodies lumped together in a mass grave, extreme starvation and concepts of inequality including imprisoning homosexuals, the disabled, as well as the Jewish and other religious sects, as we know. It was a stark reminder of how far we have come in the western world in regards to equality and freedom, which I think is a valuable lesson for my boys to understand how bad things really were. It was quite humbling, yet also such a huge reminder in how some laws are still so inhumane in terms of civil rights and how drastically the governments need to change them as quickly as possible.
We then got back on the A8 motorway, and somehow came to a dead stop about 40 minutes into our journey. A stop that added 2 hours onto our journey, as there had been a fatal accident on the motorway and they weren't letting any vehicles through. We were hoping to get to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart to complete our day, but the compulsory standstill made it impossible. We decided to get up early the next day and go to the iconic monument to the famous car instead.
The next morning, we headed to the Porsche museum, and after spending about half an hour trying to find parking, we found the museum to be closed :( So we took a couple of pics outside it to show that we tried!
We drove to Dusseldorf and found our funky hotel right in the heart of the cafe culture. Such a pretty town. It has a vibe similar to Melbourne, but a bit more relaxed and possibly a lot safer. We had dinner in a 1920s style bar, complete with iconic posters of Hollywood actors of its time, oversized light fittings, red leather and brass bar stools and lots of vintage style. They served traditional German fare, which got the ticks from all of us.
Today we drove to Amsterdam to our house boat for the next two nights. Unfortunately, I had too much work to do before we could venture around, but we walked through the streets to find some dinner, loving the beauty of the canals, the active street life, the playgrounds in the median strips of the streets and the social boating life on such a beautiful night. The only thing which I forgot to pre-warn my boys about is the avid use of pot smoking in this Dutch town. It's everywhere!
So that's been the last few days. We have two nights in Amsterdam, one in Brussels and then a drive to Paris to return the car and fly home. Our European leg has already hit 6200kms in 24 days, with probably another 500-600kms to go. It's been amazing and we will have the most incredible memories... and we have already earmarked which places we'd like to come back and see with more time on on hands.
Saturday, 6 July 2013
Life After Death and Spirituality
As you all know, I question the concept of the belief in anything else other than the belief in yourself to make your life the best it can be. I firmly stand in the thought that we have one life and we must live it to the fullest and without regret, as we can't turn back time to change our destiny. And I hope that my readers can see that, with how I take my boys on adventures, have my own business and strive to live my dream of being a published author. I am the one making it happen, not some chosen path that a higher spirit has given me.
I live life without fear... some might say it's ignorance, courage or stupidity. After all, I am driving 6800kms around Europe, not understanding most words on the street signs, gradually getting an idea for the road rules as I am going along, driving on the wrong side of the car and road than I am used to, finding the tightest streets squeezing my car between hard stone walls and tour buses and having no idea how we drove past each other without trading paint, and driving on some of the fastest motorways in the world when our country's fastest speed limit is 110km/h. I was told I was very brave to attempt such a mission, but I didn't think it's brave at all... it's taking on the adventure! (and even 5300kms into the Europe side (plus 1800kms in the UK) I am still enjoying the drive. Some even said to me when I decided to get a divorce, it was the bravest thing anyone could do... and I really didn't comprehend what they meant until a was in the true depth of all the hardship it created. But it also made me realise, that the people who say that divorce is a brave thing to do, and have themselves had serious issues with their own marriages, just showed me that they are weak and cowardly for not being strong enough to make the change that could make them happy and actually turn their lives around.
I am lucky, I will say, as I have been close to tragedy numerous times, stuck in it, had family surrounded by it and almost lost everything I had to my name, but nothing stopped my spirit - the spirit inside me, not an external force, from fighting for what I want, what I need to seek fulfilment in MY OWN LIFE.
So in saying all of that, I cannot understand how people seek comfort in knowing that if a loved one passes away, that they are 'in a better place,' 'are in the arms of God,' or have been 'granted eternal life' for all the good they have done in this life. Why does it matter? Why aren't they concentrating on THIS LIFE, to make THIS EXISTING LIFE better? There is no certainty that God even exists and there is an after life, so why can't they concentrate on what they know is true - their own life NOW. We are all in charge of our own destiny if we were born in poverty or privilege. You see so many born in riches live dismal lives of drug and alcohol abuse, yet you see starving children in Africa become talented football stars because they put the effort and passion into what they love to do. Why can't those who've lost a loved one just be satisfied that their loved one can now 'rest in peace?' 'Rest' without worrying if their children are going to be ok, 'rest' without knowing where they will get money to pay the bills, 'rest' without worrying if they have actually reached God's arms and an eternal life, 'rest' without judgment, bullying, hunger, politics or environment concerns, 'rest' knowing that they had fulfilled their lives with purpose, joy and love here on this Earth... Aren't they the most important things in life?
But so many people on this world worry so much about (or look forward to) dying and spending their eternal life with God. And they live their lives, that if they don't do good in this world, they will not be granted that opportunity, so they live in 'fear' that they had better always do the right thing, and essentially that means, by living their life as per the Bible, Koran or Torah (which are all written with contradiction). Why is it that people can't live their lives in this world by their own set of moral values, rather than that of a structured religion, and be fulfilled by the good they are creating for the joy they receive in THIS LIFE (not an after life)? Isn't that more important?
And what's this business of 'praying?' Ricky Gervais summed it up in a recent Tweet: "I'll pray for you" = "I want some credit for caring, without actually having to do anything that takes any effort or that actually works." Why pray for others when it is only their own personal belief, strength and courage that will bring them the goodness they seek. It's the power of positive thought... if you look at the good in things, good things will happen for you... If you look at the bad in things, only bad things will happen. BUT ONLY YOU CAN DO THAT FOR YOU! You, as an individual, must strive to do what's right for you, and if tragedy hits, or things don't turn out as planned, then maybe the timing isn't right and the reasons will show clarity in the future. Because in essence, we have to stop focusing on the life we plan for ourselves to make room for the life that is waiting for us. 'Praying' for our own situation is really positive affirmations to ourselves, or if you will 'the God within ourselves'... we are our own God. Our parents are our creators. Praying for others makes absolutely no rational sense at all, except being a form of self-righteous egotism. (I know those who have been brought up with deeply encrusted religious thought will be deeply offended).
So as I wrote in yesterday's post, the one thing that I really learnt from this trip is that I need to trust my own intuition more and stop relying on other's perceptions of what's right, what's good and what's going to happen. We walked the grotty streets of Naples without being approached by the Camorra (Naples mafia) as we were pre-warned, we had a cleansing in the shape of a thunderstorm as we entered Austria, we had the most perfect weather in the United Kingdom, the only hotels we booked with pools in them were the hottest days on our trip, we have had a balanced trip of seeing tourist attractions, seeing small towns, driving on motorways and tiny lanes, meeting people from different places, staying in bed-bug ridden beds and a palatial chateau... we have had a trip of balance, of privilege and purpose. I have the best boys to travel with and I am ever grateful that I have been able to give them the opportunity to be the best Mum I can be for them. But it's ALL because I believe in 'no reward without effort' and I believe in myself and the life I live on this planet.
I live life without fear... some might say it's ignorance, courage or stupidity. After all, I am driving 6800kms around Europe, not understanding most words on the street signs, gradually getting an idea for the road rules as I am going along, driving on the wrong side of the car and road than I am used to, finding the tightest streets squeezing my car between hard stone walls and tour buses and having no idea how we drove past each other without trading paint, and driving on some of the fastest motorways in the world when our country's fastest speed limit is 110km/h. I was told I was very brave to attempt such a mission, but I didn't think it's brave at all... it's taking on the adventure! (and even 5300kms into the Europe side (plus 1800kms in the UK) I am still enjoying the drive. Some even said to me when I decided to get a divorce, it was the bravest thing anyone could do... and I really didn't comprehend what they meant until a was in the true depth of all the hardship it created. But it also made me realise, that the people who say that divorce is a brave thing to do, and have themselves had serious issues with their own marriages, just showed me that they are weak and cowardly for not being strong enough to make the change that could make them happy and actually turn their lives around.
I am lucky, I will say, as I have been close to tragedy numerous times, stuck in it, had family surrounded by it and almost lost everything I had to my name, but nothing stopped my spirit - the spirit inside me, not an external force, from fighting for what I want, what I need to seek fulfilment in MY OWN LIFE.
So in saying all of that, I cannot understand how people seek comfort in knowing that if a loved one passes away, that they are 'in a better place,' 'are in the arms of God,' or have been 'granted eternal life' for all the good they have done in this life. Why does it matter? Why aren't they concentrating on THIS LIFE, to make THIS EXISTING LIFE better? There is no certainty that God even exists and there is an after life, so why can't they concentrate on what they know is true - their own life NOW. We are all in charge of our own destiny if we were born in poverty or privilege. You see so many born in riches live dismal lives of drug and alcohol abuse, yet you see starving children in Africa become talented football stars because they put the effort and passion into what they love to do. Why can't those who've lost a loved one just be satisfied that their loved one can now 'rest in peace?' 'Rest' without worrying if their children are going to be ok, 'rest' without knowing where they will get money to pay the bills, 'rest' without worrying if they have actually reached God's arms and an eternal life, 'rest' without judgment, bullying, hunger, politics or environment concerns, 'rest' knowing that they had fulfilled their lives with purpose, joy and love here on this Earth... Aren't they the most important things in life?
But so many people on this world worry so much about (or look forward to) dying and spending their eternal life with God. And they live their lives, that if they don't do good in this world, they will not be granted that opportunity, so they live in 'fear' that they had better always do the right thing, and essentially that means, by living their life as per the Bible, Koran or Torah (which are all written with contradiction). Why is it that people can't live their lives in this world by their own set of moral values, rather than that of a structured religion, and be fulfilled by the good they are creating for the joy they receive in THIS LIFE (not an after life)? Isn't that more important?
And what's this business of 'praying?' Ricky Gervais summed it up in a recent Tweet: "I'll pray for you" = "I want some credit for caring, without actually having to do anything that takes any effort or that actually works." Why pray for others when it is only their own personal belief, strength and courage that will bring them the goodness they seek. It's the power of positive thought... if you look at the good in things, good things will happen for you... If you look at the bad in things, only bad things will happen. BUT ONLY YOU CAN DO THAT FOR YOU! You, as an individual, must strive to do what's right for you, and if tragedy hits, or things don't turn out as planned, then maybe the timing isn't right and the reasons will show clarity in the future. Because in essence, we have to stop focusing on the life we plan for ourselves to make room for the life that is waiting for us. 'Praying' for our own situation is really positive affirmations to ourselves, or if you will 'the God within ourselves'... we are our own God. Our parents are our creators. Praying for others makes absolutely no rational sense at all, except being a form of self-righteous egotism. (I know those who have been brought up with deeply encrusted religious thought will be deeply offended).
So as I wrote in yesterday's post, the one thing that I really learnt from this trip is that I need to trust my own intuition more and stop relying on other's perceptions of what's right, what's good and what's going to happen. We walked the grotty streets of Naples without being approached by the Camorra (Naples mafia) as we were pre-warned, we had a cleansing in the shape of a thunderstorm as we entered Austria, we had the most perfect weather in the United Kingdom, the only hotels we booked with pools in them were the hottest days on our trip, we have had a balanced trip of seeing tourist attractions, seeing small towns, driving on motorways and tiny lanes, meeting people from different places, staying in bed-bug ridden beds and a palatial chateau... we have had a trip of balance, of privilege and purpose. I have the best boys to travel with and I am ever grateful that I have been able to give them the opportunity to be the best Mum I can be for them. But it's ALL because I believe in 'no reward without effort' and I believe in myself and the life I live on this planet.
Friday, 5 July 2013
Austria and on the home straight...
Over the last 3 days we have been visiting Austria. Our first stop was in Graz, and whilst a pretty city that is predominantly populated by university students thanks to the six universities in the city, we didn't get to see much of it due to a fairly busy work week in Melbourne (yes I am still continuing doing my day job as we float around Europe!)
Austria is a little bittersweet for me... as a child growing into a teenager, I was bombarded with classical music from this sweet country from my Mum, but also from playing the violin for ten years. In that time, I really wanted to visit and be inspired by the music that came from this richly cultured country, and maybe that led to me actually marrying an Austrian... which grew my passion for the country more, but we all know how that ended. So coming here now, with my now, lack of passion for classical music and more so lack of passion for the Austrians I know, I feel it's a good opportunity for my boys to understand some of their heritage, but also good for me, to accept that the country is more than just classical music and bad marriages.
Our first impressions of Austria (after being completely beaten up in a thunderstorm as soon as we entered the country) is that it's clean... especially after being in Italy which, in general (especially the west coast) is extremely dirty. I will call it 'conservatively pretty.' It's pretty for all its evergreen forests, geraniums in planter boxes on window sills, the homes that are all plain but house proud and the Villages with the mountains in the background make it chocolate box sweet. The roads are all perfectly maintained and the rivers are crystal clear. It truly is amazing the contrast a border can make between countries.
I really didn't want to get into the 'classical music' scene, as it's not in my heart anymore, and my boys have no idea about it, so it would be difficult to get them excited about going to a museum about someone who lived two-three hundred years ago. So we started in Graz, and the last couple of nights we've been in Vienna in this gorgeous little self contained apartment literally fifty metres away from an outdoor piazza of restaurants and beyond to a street market, surrounded by 19th century buildings which are so damn cute. One of the buildings on the corner has a headstone of Josef Schubert, the composer, so I guess I had my 'touch' of classical music in Vienna. I was struggling to work out what to do with the boys in the country's capital, but I found the ultimate playground for them... The Prater.
The Prater is considered to be the oldest amusement park in the world... with documents suggesting that its mentioned as early as the 12th century. It was made an area that was free to the public in 1766 as a retreat area, that soon attracted taverns, coffee houses, swings and carousels. In 1895, the giant ferris wheel was erected, similarly for a world event like the Eiffel Tower, and for some reason, has never been pulled down. It is considered to be the oldest ferris wheel operating. It also has the tallest chairoplane in the world officially reaching heights of 117 metres, giving you spectacular views of all of Vienna. It has a Madame Tussauds, a 5D Vampires of Vienna show and is free to enter, open 24 hours, 7 days a week. That's what the program states... which in reality is true, but the rides and restaurants don't start opening until 10am and really don't kick in until about 11.30am. Our mistake... we got up early to avoid the crowds (as you know how much we 'love crowds' cough cough), and after getting lost for about 20 minutes circling around the massive parkland that surrounds it after we struggled through the peak hour traffic, we arrived there at around 9am to what seemed like 'not a lot happening.' At least we didn't have the crowds!
So while we waiting for everything to open, we walked around the giant amusement park to work out which rides we would go on. Most the rides the boys wanted to go on were for 12 years and over, or had height restrictions of 150cm or more... And my policy with amusement park rides is that if one can't go on, then they both don't go on. Some of the rides said 10 years and over, and we managed to get away with my youngest by not saying a thing (he's 10 next month).
Once the boys got on the rides, their faces were beaming with excitement.
Austria is a little bittersweet for me... as a child growing into a teenager, I was bombarded with classical music from this sweet country from my Mum, but also from playing the violin for ten years. In that time, I really wanted to visit and be inspired by the music that came from this richly cultured country, and maybe that led to me actually marrying an Austrian... which grew my passion for the country more, but we all know how that ended. So coming here now, with my now, lack of passion for classical music and more so lack of passion for the Austrians I know, I feel it's a good opportunity for my boys to understand some of their heritage, but also good for me, to accept that the country is more than just classical music and bad marriages.
Our first impressions of Austria (after being completely beaten up in a thunderstorm as soon as we entered the country) is that it's clean... especially after being in Italy which, in general (especially the west coast) is extremely dirty. I will call it 'conservatively pretty.' It's pretty for all its evergreen forests, geraniums in planter boxes on window sills, the homes that are all plain but house proud and the Villages with the mountains in the background make it chocolate box sweet. The roads are all perfectly maintained and the rivers are crystal clear. It truly is amazing the contrast a border can make between countries.
I really didn't want to get into the 'classical music' scene, as it's not in my heart anymore, and my boys have no idea about it, so it would be difficult to get them excited about going to a museum about someone who lived two-three hundred years ago. So we started in Graz, and the last couple of nights we've been in Vienna in this gorgeous little self contained apartment literally fifty metres away from an outdoor piazza of restaurants and beyond to a street market, surrounded by 19th century buildings which are so damn cute. One of the buildings on the corner has a headstone of Josef Schubert, the composer, so I guess I had my 'touch' of classical music in Vienna. I was struggling to work out what to do with the boys in the country's capital, but I found the ultimate playground for them... The Prater.
The Prater is considered to be the oldest amusement park in the world... with documents suggesting that its mentioned as early as the 12th century. It was made an area that was free to the public in 1766 as a retreat area, that soon attracted taverns, coffee houses, swings and carousels. In 1895, the giant ferris wheel was erected, similarly for a world event like the Eiffel Tower, and for some reason, has never been pulled down. It is considered to be the oldest ferris wheel operating. It also has the tallest chairoplane in the world officially reaching heights of 117 metres, giving you spectacular views of all of Vienna. It has a Madame Tussauds, a 5D Vampires of Vienna show and is free to enter, open 24 hours, 7 days a week. That's what the program states... which in reality is true, but the rides and restaurants don't start opening until 10am and really don't kick in until about 11.30am. Our mistake... we got up early to avoid the crowds (as you know how much we 'love crowds' cough cough), and after getting lost for about 20 minutes circling around the massive parkland that surrounds it after we struggled through the peak hour traffic, we arrived there at around 9am to what seemed like 'not a lot happening.' At least we didn't have the crowds!
So while we waiting for everything to open, we walked around the giant amusement park to work out which rides we would go on. Most the rides the boys wanted to go on were for 12 years and over, or had height restrictions of 150cm or more... And my policy with amusement park rides is that if one can't go on, then they both don't go on. Some of the rides said 10 years and over, and we managed to get away with my youngest by not saying a thing (he's 10 next month).
Once the boys got on the rides, their faces were beaming with excitement.
The great thing about the Prater, is that it doesn't matter if you are the only one wanting to go on the ride, they will put you on and get the ride going, without waiting for others to make up for numbers, essentially giving you the whole ride to yourself. The boys rode on the dodgem cars three times, we went on the Dizzy Mouse, the Pratertrum (the 117m chairoplane), the Voltare, the Megablitz, the water drenching Eisberg, Funball and the Skytrail. I'm sure there were a couple of others too. And compared with Australian rides, the rides actually go for a fair amount of time... you really do get your money's worth.
We had lunch in one of the taverns of a traditional Wiener Schnitzel, and once I ran out of money (which is what happens when you put my boys and an amusement park together), it was time to go back to the apartment and have an afternoon siesta (as I had a terrible headache from being shunted around in one of the rides).
So, as we have one more week before we leave the continent, I was going to mention what we are looking forward to when we get back home, and what we appreciate from our trip.
10 Things to look forward to:
1. Washing clothes (Paris was the last time I found a laundromat 3 weeks ago).
2. Not having dirty feet from wearing thongs/flip flops all the time.
3. Finishing my book! Really eager to get back into it.
4. Birthdays - we all have birthdays over the coming months, including my 40th.
5. Checking the mail... hopefully some good news.
6. Consistent internet!
7. Seeing if we have any new neighbours, as out of the five apartments in our block, three were vacant/vacating when we left.
8. Enjoying winter... rugging up in layers and cuddling up on the couch with the boys for our Friday night movie nights.
9. Listening to some English!
10. Catching up with family and friends.
10 Things we appreciate from our trip.
1. Each other... I love how my boys are the best of friends and they support each other, make each other laugh, ask each other if they are OK, they even ask if I had a good sleep at night, cuddle each other in appreciation, give massages to each other (and me) if someone needs one and most of all, they give the sweetest most genuine hugs to me.
2. The value of different currencies and how those currencies (especially the Euro) can be so vastly different from each country. For instance, diesel fuel in France is around 1.47 Euro, in Italy 1.72 Euro and in Austria around 1.30 Euro. France has the most expensive toll roads, yet Italy unjustifiably has toll roads, as their roads are rough and unkempt (yet the toll roads are slightly better than the unpaid roads), yet countries like Austria have no tolls and are perfect to drive on.
3. An appreciation for those who know a variety of languages. I have basic French and German from high school, and I can get by with a few sayings in conversation, but I am literally hopeless. I am better with the written word, but I will confess, that I will plead ignorant if there isn't an English translation or I can't make sense of the words from my language lessons from 20+ years ago.
4. Finding unexpected places along the way, especially our hike in the Swiss Alps and the driving through Provence... experiences that could not be appreciated unless you were living it.
5. How nice it is to see my boys' faces light up with joy by appreciating the simple beauty of nature.
6. How efficiently the London Tube and the Paris Metro run, and wish we had those train systems in Melbourne.
7. That I was able to book some amazing places for us to go to (Mougins, Chateau d'Origny, Haute Nendaz, Falconara Marittima, the guest house we stayed out just outside of York with the small farm out the back), without speak to anyone who had been there before and finding new, undiscovered beauty in unexpected places. It was the places people insisted we go to that were disappointing... I will book my next trip based on my instincts... and it shows me that I should trust my instincts more.
8. Being able to catch up with some life long friends in London, Cambridge and Geneva.
9. That we have been to some amazing places that most only dream of seeing in real life. We are truly blessed to be able to share this experience together.
10. That we can ALL enjoy each other's company. I can honestly say that it's only about 10% of the time that there is a little bit of disharmony between the boys, but it is short lived. Considering we have been together 24/7 for 5.5 weeks now, that is truly an amazing effort.
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
The Beautiful Canals of Venice
Today we drove to Venice and it was the perfect day. The skies were cloudless, the sun was shining and there weren't too many crowds. We arrived in Venice around 1.30pm, caught the Vaporetto to our hotel in San Samuele and were in awe of just how much of a treasure Venice really is. It's simply beautiful... Makes you warm and fuzzy inside...
We arrived in our hotel, and behind a wrought iron door we found this...
We arrived in our hotel, and behind a wrought iron door we found this...
We walked through the narrow streets and discovered the lovely bridges over the canals... and then we found Mario. Mario was our gondola captain, who was 5th generation gondola captain and rode his Dad's gondola. He was sweet and told us some of the history of Venice, and pointed out palaces and buildings of interest, including Cassanova's house, Napolean's palace, Marco Polo's palace, the gondola factory and some 16th century churches.
We then went for a walk to San Marco, which was another over-supply of luxury wares, stunning jewellery and labelled brands, and people wanting to be seen paying 17 Euro for a gelato... but on the nice side, there were small quartets of musicians filling the air with light jazz and classical music.
We had a lovely dinner outside tonight in this tiny little street next to another Australian family and talked for about 3 hours before calling it a night. It was just a beautiful setting to be in.
Monday, 1 July 2013
Beautiful Beaches - Italian Style
Ok ok, so we have now found some pretty places in Italy. Yesterday, we travelled down the Amalfi Coast within the height of tourism on a Sunday! And today, we travelled over to the east coast of Italy and found a sweet paradise without the crowds in Falconara Marittima, near Ancona.
Unfortunately, even though we drove through the popular villages of Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi, there was no way we were able to get a park... but there were a few unknown towns in between the major three that had just the same beauty without the heavy traffic. We found a place called Praiano which was just delightful.
Unfortunately, even though we drove through the popular villages of Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi, there was no way we were able to get a park... but there were a few unknown towns in between the major three that had just the same beauty without the heavy traffic. We found a place called Praiano which was just delightful.
Then today, we had our first taste of Italian seafood in this beautiful beachside village called Falconara Marittima. It's about 5 minutes outside Ancona on the east coast, and it's such a gorgeous place for families. The boys had a swim in the pool before we ventured down to the foreshore for dinner.
Check out the sunset from our hotel room balcony :)
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