Category Archives: travel

the way home to toronto (usa)

13 Monday Jun 2016

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I have to say we were getting a little travel weary by the time we arrived in NYC (again). We had 3 days in Brooklyn and seemed to enjoy hanging out in the comfort of the hotel, the brilliantly named Dazzler, for most of it despite being in one of the best cities for doing anything but staying in your hotel room.

It was about now the amount of travel we had chosen to undertake in such a small amount of time was catching up with us and we were ready to be stationary having to remind ourselves that this was New York and we should get the hell out and enjoy it. Lucky it was St Paddy’s day! We parked ourselves at a nondescript Irish bar and sang and drank ourselves silly waiting for our friend Rhenise to finish work. Of course this was all done the day before we had to leave leading to painful hangovers while needing to navigate our way to the train station. We thought we were leaving from Grand Central but it was actually the other one that no one cares about and isn’t in movies – Penn Station. So on we hopped for a rather convenient ride down to D.C. (minus us disembarking somewhere random and almost getting stranded due to Tash misunderstanding the directions………)

 

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It’s always good to stay with friends when travelling and makes for a much more personal experience. It had been less than a year since staying with Casey and Liam and the boys and we were happy to be back in familiar surrounds with our good friends. It was a lot colder this time! One of the great things about D.C being the nation’s capital and all, are all the amazing museums and the like. This time we hit up the National Air and Space museum. It was rad. All the museums have the best of the best shit so there’s always a lot of “no way” moments. I also do love myself a bit of aeronautics. During our stay we had a fun night out on the town and hit up a cool high tech golf driving range getting our asses kicked by L & C. The bloody mary bar took the edge off the low scores and the after effects of the night before. Til next time Acklands!

Nashville was a bit of a random last minute choice but we thought, why not cram in another city. There’s a lot mentioned about southern hospitality and it sure rings true, especially in a place like Nash which is full of tourists yet everyone loves a good old chat. I managed to get myself a bit of man flu for most of the time there but I pushed through like a true soldier. We spent a day in the Honky Tonk bars as I ordered up extra whiskeys to try and put the sickness to bed. One of the bars we frequented had toasted cheese sandwiches on the menu, more please! We made it to the Country Music Hall of Fame, something I never thought I would be doing, but neither did I think I’d be dancing and singing to songs being played while we were out and about. We squeezed in a Canucks vs Predators game, of course we lost but it went to a shootout so was at least entertaining.

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And with that we we’re on our way to Toronto after bang on a year since arriving in Vancouver to become a permanent resident. Time to put it to use and stay still for a while!

J & T

hakuba, kyoto & tokyo, japan

07 Monday Mar 2016

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Here we are back on the road again after taking a “short” layover in Australia to be a part of Adrian & Cathy’s marital celebrations. It was a 5mth rollercoaster of summer vibes, 3 cities, time spent with family, friends & pets, shitloads of flying, a fantastic wedding, a small amount of routine and a chance to solidify our move to Toronto where a work transfer was the final sign that this was the right city for us…for now!

A strategic plan to land in Canada at the beginning of Spring means that we have just under 6 weeks to make our way back around the world, beginning in the incredible Japan.

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Hakuba

Thanks to Jaymin’s recently acquired point hacking skills (www.pointhacks.com.au) and a large amount of new credit cards we booked the first few of our 15 flights in business class. It was everything we’d hoped it would be and landing in Tokyo ahead of schedule at 4:30am was the last thing we wanted. 12hrs & 4 trains later we arrived in frosty, snow covered Hakuba to be greeted by the gorgeous Harper, Jess, Phil, Ali & Sean and our stay for the next 3 days was filled with snowy adventures and unlimited amazing food and sake.

Two days on the mountain was enough to get a taste of how the Japanese do things. Dirt cheap lift tickets, free coupons for lunch (hello ramen!) and nobody about, even on a bluebird day with fresh snow!

As well as dining out each night at a differently delicious restaurant, including Sumo Tei where we ate like Sumo wrestlers, Jess, Ali & I took a cooking class where we learnt to make sushi with the sweetest of teachers, Sirasa before heading home to feast on our creations in front of the fireplace.

Hakuba was a beautiful introduction to our time in Japan, enhanced by the exceptionally awesome company of new & old friends.

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Kyoto

Somewhat improved JR rail skills under our belt, we travelled to Kyoto efficiently, arriving at our hotel Sakura Terrace in the early afternoon where we promptly undressed and utilised the public baths and saunas. We headed to the train station for dinner where we spent our evening scanning the grocery stores, book stores & endless eateries. The following morning we were greeted by my friend, Marina who I met while we were both living in Vancouver. Her husband, sister & boyfriend kindly spent the day with us showing us the Fushimi Inari Shrine, introducing us to ginger sake, taking us out to lunch and gifting us with traditional desserts and much desired heat patches.

Next we visited enchanting Nara, shrouded in pagodas and deer. It was cold, but well worth the trip to be surrounded by rich history and cute & incredibly tame animals. Before bullet training it back to Tokyo, we spent our final morning visiting the Geisha district of Gion.

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Reuniting with Ali & Sean at the Granbell hotel we prepared ourselves for a fun-filled 4 days. Night #1 started with $1 Suntory highballs, a ramen to rave about & a cat paraphernalia filled record bar. Ending at Rock Bar Mother we got to choose punk and metal tracks from the CD filled walls and we danced, air-guitared and sang (yelled) the night away.

There are too many good things to say about our time in Tokyo! We visited the Shinjuku Gyoen garden, Calico cat cafe, Harajuku & Shibuya and celebrated Jaymin’s 36th birthday arcade gaming, maidreamin, and got our Lost in Translation fix at twilight time at the Park Hyatt  and singing our hearts out at Karaokesan. Happiest of memories made in such an exciting, shocking & magical city. See you in Vegas Ali & Sean xx

T & J

We shall call her ‘resting bitch face’

santosa, phuket, thailand

22 Monday Feb 2016

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Malaysian airlines managed to fly us safely over the eerily stark Middle East to Phuket where we completed a week long raw food detox at Santosa, a wellness retreat set upon a mountain. Each day consisted of 6am yoga, an afternoon massage and twice daily self-administered colonic irrigations. Bliss. Jaymin struggled tremendously on his first attempt, emerging from his chamber incredibly frazzled after more than an hour (3x the time it took the rest of us). He managed to get it figured out and within no time he was cleaning out his bowels like a pro.

Our stay at Santosa proved to be a very calming experience, enabled by the beautiful surroundings, staff and fellow detoxers.

The raw meals were delicious and impeccably presented. Yum!

Our already busy schedules were completed with various classes of exercise, meditation & nutrition and in the afternoons after our final colonic we would sit in the herbal sauna and work up enough of a sweat to go out and jump in the ice bath.

We left the resort only a few times, to visit the beach and the Big Buddha but were quick to return to the tranquility.

My adopted pet in Thailand was named Turtle. She would visit our apartment every evening for a few hours and cause havoc running around jumping on things and chewing through chords.

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Before long it was time to say goodbye to new friends (and cats) and head back to Australia with bright eyes and bushy tails.

T & J

istanbul, turkey

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

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I have a lot of love for Istanbul and even more for the area just north of the Golden Horn known as Beyoğlu. To use a clichéd term, it is the beating heart of Istanbul and where all the action happens. Istikal Cadessi (Independance Avenue) is the 1.5km main street that runs right through the middle and we were staying on an adjacent street and spent most of our time here and in and around the alleyways between.

If you like cats then this is the city to visit, they are everywhere and are well looked after from biscuits and water being left out to scrapings of chicken from the kebab vendor. Some streets and parks even have cat houses. So for a cat lover like Tash this was heaven and had made the trip worthy in itself. It also made for very slow progress when venturing anywhere as you couldn’t go 5 metres without having to stop for a pat or a photo. One was given the name Fritty on a night out (friend who is a kitty), there were numerous return visits to say hello. Fritty also liked icecream.

Delicious meals from street vendors all the way through to a fine dining rooftop degustation as well as shopping, wandering and hanging out on our hotel’s rooftop made for a superb week. I even had a stint dj’ing at a mate’s mini club. Plans to return again next month prove just how much of a pull this city and it’s charms have.

J

Tash & Fritty

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Cats! Everywhere! Living like kings and queens, having become accustomed to the life they deserve, adored by all, eating copious amounts of food and claiming anywhere and everywhere as their own territory and a place to nap.

For this reason alone, I will return again and again to this great city.

T

ostuni, italy

22 Friday Jan 2016

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Our last week in Italy was in beautiful Ostuni where we rented a renovated stone house that came with a rooftop terrace overlooking the city and out to the ocean. If our love for Italy wasn’t cemented already, our time here sealed the deal, and 5 months on we still wish we were back there. Most of our exploring of the city was done at night and in the days we would go on adventures to neighbouring cities to beach or wonder at architecture.

Our apartment had a well equipped kitchen that we used most days before taking our fare up to the terrace to eat before the sun became too hot, or to dine on as the sun descended. We tried out some of the local bars, one with a see-through floor, and another that made ridiculously good and well presented cocktails. Of course we ate gelato frequently and even attempted a 2 day watermelon cleanse that ended at around 2pm on day #1 and was promptly followed by a mass purchase of wine, cheese and bread.

 

We drove down to Otranto where we indulged in a lavish lunch overlooking the turquoise water following this with swimming and walking around the centro storico.

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We also drove over to the west coast to check out Porto Cesareo which looked to be a stunning beach but in reality and on the one rainy day we’d seen it was murky and unappealing. No photos passed the quality inspection.

We also checked out Martina Franca one day…

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The highlight of our week was going to see Nils Frahm in a magnificent outdoor setting at a masseria in nearby Locorotondo. It took a few trips back and forth during the week to ensure we’d actually get in on the night, including one on the day of the event where Jaymin busted in on the soundcheck. We had a lovely dinner in the city and drove back out amongst the fields to a truely enjoyable and unforgettable experience.

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Our flight to Istanbul was leaving out of Bari so we bid a sad farewell to Ostuni and drove north to spend our last night in Italy. We went out for lunch, ate way too much, made a makeshift vessel to transport the print purchased in Polignano a Mare and closed our eyes for the final time in Italia.

T & J

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italy, secondi parte

16 Wednesday Dec 2015

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Trulli houses, Alberobello

We left early the next morning and took the train back up to Bari where we obtained to the keys to a very basic Citroën. It was not the mint coloured Fiat we were hoping for….

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but it was awesome! Hot, delayed trains would be no more, replaced with air-conditioned, nail biting high speeds and constant dangerous overtaking. We stopped along the way to visit Alberobello and the trulli houses. The weather was super hot so after a quick walk around and a gelato to cool off we headed off to our destination for the next 2 days, Matera.

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Lessons from Polignango a Mare not learnt, we still didn’t have phone or internet credit and spent hours trying to find some wifi to contact our host. Stopping at a bar for a Campari on ice would fix this, and we were on our way to our next apartment, eclectically decorated and surprisingly cool in spite of the oppressive heat. We spent our time cooking up local delicacies and checking out the incredible architecture and scenery.

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An Eco Resort, on sale. This was going to be amazing! Or not. Impossible to find due to the place not having an actual address, and being represented completely differently in the photos than in reality, we were in for a disappointing 2 night stay. Driving around aimlessly where we thought the resort would be we were lucky enough to spot a sign with an arrow facing towards what seemed like nowhere. After driving for a km or so we knew we were on the right (or wrong) track.

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The place was incredibly awkward. We were welcomed into the ‘eco’ resort with incredibly loud generators surrounding the reception area and a dog drinking from the heavily chlorinated pool that was unavailable for use without a swimming cap. At 4pm each day a bunch of teenagers would gather around the pool to perform a choreographed dance to some ridiculous song. It would’ve been funny if it wasn’t so woeful. All was not lost though, we found the answer in a car trip that took us hours away to the beautiful, warm beaches of Calabria. It was a long day of intense driving for Jaymin. Being 1 of 2 cars overtaking at the same time in opposite directions was definitely a highlight but by this stage he was an expert Italian driver. The day was dotted with stops at random beaches that all turned out to be beautiful, crystal clear and refreshing, finishing in Caminia which made the long day of driving well worth it.

Safe to say we weren’t too sad to leave and we got up early and headed back east to Lecce, checking into the Masseria Costarella for 3 nights where we were treated to traditional breakfasts each morning by our very accommodating hosts. We used this as our base for even more beach hopping including Otrantro and a place a little further south where we went swimming off the rocks.

Evenings were spent under the stars with home-cooked meals made from ingredients picked straight from the garden each day and local produce acquired from the grocer down the road. We were entertained with games of scrabble and our adopted family of kitties. On our last day our hosts gifted us with a book about the Salento area and some homemade crafts rounding out our stay with warm memories and promises to return.

T & J

 

 

 

italy, prima parte

18 Sunday Oct 2015

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So long Croatia!

Writing this almost 3 months after the fact, back in Perth, we have the most wonderful memories of our travels from the next portion of our journey, Italy. It was completely unplanned but maybe the lure of good coffee, wine and cheese had too strong of a pull to consider any other path. Knowing that we were taking an overnight ferry, which struck fear into every cell of my body meant that our last day in Croatia would be filled with copious amounts of alcohol including a vast array of cheap cocktails. Pushing off into the great, wide Adriatic sea I was extremely happy to find our cabin above water level. Watching Croatia whittle away in the distance while night fell, it was time to bunker down and get through the night knowing that land was nowhere in sight. Arriving early in the morning we stepped off the ferry and into the welcoming arms of Italy, hauling our butts and backpacks to the nearest café to indulge in the first of many espressos and croissants for breakfast.

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There could have been no surer way to solidify the redirection to Italy as being the perfect choice than staying with Nico & Pietro in San Giovanni. A couple of trains and a few hours from where the ferry dropped us in Ancona we arrived at San Vito Lanciano where Pietro picked us up and drove us along the coast, through vineyards, up a hill and to our home for the next 3 days. It was such an incredibly calming environment and the apartment was decorated to perfection, painted in whites and aquas, chandeliers contrasted with rustic furniture, bookshelves filled with Italian books and a patio overlooking a postcard of tranquility. We were provided with a breakfast hamper each morning that was so extensive and indulgent that we didn’t even need to leave the property to eat or buy a thing (what else to expect from 2 chefs?). We went to swim in the warm pebbled beach only once as we found ourselves drawn back to our home amongst the vineyards and olive trees where we wiled away the days reading, playing scrabble, planning the rest of our journey and colouring in our newly purchased colouring in book. Nico & Pietro’s hospitality was incredible, particularly noticed when they popped down one evening with a pitcher of mojito. Who could resist? The weather was warm, but not unbearable and the air was calm and fragrant, and we were excited to be in Italy.

Polignano a Mare

No better end to a torturous day of 3 delayed trains taken in extreme heat and stifled communications with our next airbnb host due to our lack of wifi access, than arriving at my absolute favourite place on our Italian journey, Polignano a Mare. It was next level perfection. Glassy water smashing against cliffs filled with quaint homes and beautiful hotels and restaurants, an old town that set the bar so high for any of the many other ‘centro historico’s that we visited and a beautiful home to rest our heads for the 2 short nights that we were there. Claudia met our weary selves out the front of her beautiful home and led us to our garden apartment, garnished in crisp white furnishings and nautically themed decorations, opening out into a tree filled courtyard. She provided us with a customised map referencing all of the essential bars, restaurants, gelaterias and attractions. We rested, donned our Sunday best and set off for arguably one of the best dining experiences we’ve ever had. Jaymin had researched where we should eat and I had another place in mind, so ensued a little argument as both establishments featured on Claudia’s map of highlights.

I wanted to go here…(photo courtesy of google!)

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Reviews were so so, it was an expensive place to dine, service was allegedly average and so to the cuisine. I allowed myself to give in to Jaymin who was heavily influenced by trip advisor reviews and we headed out to Mint, the #1 rated restaurant. The food was right up my alley, predominantly vegetarian with vegan and raw options and an endless flow of Prosecco. We received impeccable service from Liu, one of the owners, who, an architect, had decorated the space in such a way I spent the entire night taking photos for inspiration. We had such an enjoyable evening enjoying every morsel of food, drink and atmosphere and when Liu’s partner, Fabrizio presented us his passionfruit cheesecake in person we closed the restaurant out, talking and being inspired to open our own version of Mint on the Canadian side of the world. After dinner we wandered the alleys of the old city, drawn into an art exhibition where it became absolutely essential we purchase a print that surprisingly made it back to Australia after 6 flights, housed in a makeshift triangular vessel, almost being left behind too many times to mention.

Polignano was an absolute minx of a city, it couldn’t step a foot wrong. After our fabulous first night we spent the next morning at the stunning cliff engulfed (and painfully rocky!) beach, ate lunch high above the water and sampled local delicacies for dinner (from the not a word of English speaking grocer down the road) out in our courtyard. We took a final walk through the old city and prepared ourselves to wake up to a new day, a day in which we would once again have wheels.

T & J

opatija, zagreb & split, croatia

25 Tuesday Aug 2015

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Croatia was supposed to be our slice of heaven with endless beaches and plenty of relaxation. As it turns out it was the start of many painful travel hiccups and ended with us chucking in the towel and heading for Italy.

We had a few night just across the border in Gorizia, Italy, where we had high hopes of checking out the Prosecco region. That didn’t end up happening due to there not being any real winery tours to be taken so we spent the day in Trieste with expectations that it would be cool due to it’s mix of Slavic, Latin and German cultures. Turns out it was just another city with a few nice buildings and large amounts of cruise ship tourists.

We said goodbye to Tash’s parents and then caught the train down to transfer to the bus and onwards to Opatija. We hadn’t printed the tickets which turned into a saga and ended with us having to re-buy the tickets with only seconds to spare. It was a short journey so not too bad.

Tash found this beautiful boutique hotel right near the beach and we spent a few days relaxing by the coast, walking the Lungomare, swimming in the Adriatic and sucking back some cheap Croatian beer.

Next stop was Zagreb and what should have been an easy journey turned into a right shit one. We booked our bus tickets and showed up at the stop (admittedly I didn’t exactly check the correct place the bus might be picking us up) and saw it pull up in the distance at the last minute, running over only to have the driver pretty much give us the finger and shut the door in our face before driving off. We then had to get another bus to Rijeka and buy our tickets again (is there a theme building here?). We arrived late and in Zagreb’s stifling humidity had to trek to our airbnb which was in an old Soviet looking building that looked like it may have actually been bombed. The plusses were: stopping for a beer to use the internet and realising they were only A$1 and the hosts being really cool and hanging out with us for a couple of hours when we arrived. Although, they were massive Croatia haters who were heading to Ireland the following week as that’s the only place that would take them (their words).

We spent the next few days taking the bus out of Zagreb to Velika Goricia to hang with more of Tash’s family, the Slavs this time. The hospitality of Anna, Mario, Ivan & Luka was above and beyond and they treated us to a wonderful meal at a local restaurant where Mario and I got stuck into some Croatian whiskey. Feeling a bit dusty the next day we were back at their place for lunch and Mario was cracking open the homemade whiskey from the coke bottle at 11.30am, oh dear. More meat for lunch, it’s the Croatian way! We then went and visited Tash’s great aunt Bara to catch up on the local family gossip.

During our time in Zagreb we did a brief walk around the city but the 38 degree heat was rather oppressive so we spent what little spare time we had in our Soviet bunker in front of the air-con which unfortunately didn’t reach into the bedroom.

We thought it would be nice to catch the train down to Split but upon arriving at the train station in the morning we were advised that the train wasn’t running and we would be taking a replacement bus, not really problem but yet another slight travel annoyance.

We arrived in Split and it was HOT. And we had a 30min walk to get to our next airbnb pad. After getting lost, we arrived at our next soviet styled shitty apartment block that was conveniently not represented in the photos. The apartment was nice but the a/c didn’t reach the bedroom (again!) so it was beyond uncomfortable at night which had me sleeping on the couch with a towel for a sheet. That was kind of the last straw and we decided that that was enough for Croatia and we would be back when we had planned it ahead of time and it wasn’t peak season. Split itself was beautiful and a joy for eating and indulging in bargain priced ice cream. We did a day trip down to the stunning Brela beach and finished up with some amazing burgers and beers by the beach before jumping on the overnight ferry to Ancona in Italy.

J & T

this is the entry to our apartment in Split!
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schaffhausen, flims & locarno, switzerland

17 Monday Aug 2015

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So after 3 days of not showering and 2 rather efficient trains we arrived in Schaffhausen in the north of Switzerland right near the German border. This is where Tash’s granddad grew up and to be honest, it probably looks like it did back then. We had an amazing night of rest and a wonderful shower to scrub off the festival grime before meeting Tash’s parents Sonja and Robert the next day. We hopped over the border into Germany and stayed at this quaint little hotel that had cows and pigs tied up in the barn next door much to Tash’s disgust. The butcher was right across the road and we ate at the hotel restaurant so you could pretty much see the circle of life right there.

A few days were spent looking around Schaffhausen and surrounds. Europe’s largest waterfall, the Rheinfall was just down the road, it’s no Niagara but still impressive. We also stopped by the beautifully named Stein am Rhein which is a medieval town that popped up in the 1000’s – just a little old.

We then moved on to visit Sonja’s old school friend Wilma who lived in this cool little village, Trin-Mulin up in the hills just out of Flims which is better known for the ski resort of Laax. This was about the time Switzerland really starting cranking up picture perfect postcard views wherever you looked and I found myself going “ahhhhhhh c’mon really” every moment we were outdoors. Not only did we swim in some amazing lakes but Wilma took us on a hike up through the trees above her house that looked down on the valley below and the lake we we swam at the day previously. There was also a guy playing one of those big mountain horns or alpenhorn ticking off another cliché.

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After Flims we were on our way down to the Italian canton of Ticino and Lake Maggiore where Wilma had a sweet apartment overlooking the lake. We spent just over a week playing cards, swimming in the lake and catching up with Tash’s family, including the amazing Aunt Silva and Uncle Fritz. We also took a couple of trips across the border into Italy to visit the markets in Luino and to enjoy an Italian lunch in Cannobio.

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If you are ever in the area, and we highly recommend it, make sure you check out the Ponte de Salti (jump bridge) which is an old Roman bridge and to be honest something that I thought was not going to be as good as the pictures, again I was wrong.

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And that’s a wrap for Switzerland, glad that we got to experience all 3 distinct areas of the country and extra thankful for all the hospitality we were shown.

J & T

geneva & open air st gallen, switzerland

16 Sunday Aug 2015

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Next stop Switzerland and we started in Geneva for a 3 week stay to catch up with Tash’s family. We spent a couple of nights staying with Tash’s Cousin Lukas, Marie and their two kids Kay (the tassie devil) and Lea just across the border in France in a village called Ecorans.

They have a wonderful place up in the mountains looking down into the valley and Geneva with views to Mont Blanc off in the distance. Ticked off the first Swiss cliché of cows with bells (even though we were technically in France and so they were French bovines). It was nice spending a few days in the village, we saw Kay perform at his end of school play where he played the big bad wolf in little red riding hood and we went to a village BBQ/bonfire, complete with mobile bar.

We had to tick off the Geneva tour so we spent a few hours in the city (more like a quiet town), drove past the UN headquarters and saw the lake and fountain. Tash was also asked if she wanted to buy drugs from an old dude sitting on a bench who then went on to talk about his respect for Fred Hollows?! Then it was time for fondue in the red-light district, Pâquis. The ladies are out early in Geneva, Lukas said the older ones have to get a head start, baby got back!

Cheese, bread, beer, wine, grappa, limoncello, done!

And so we set off early Thursday morning, heading for St Gallen in the east of Switzerland to the Open Air festival. A motley bunch of 7 cramming into a van and on the beers before we had even left Ecorans at 7.30am! Due to sticking to Lukas’s strict timetable, we didn’t stop for a toilet break until just out of Bern. I now know what pregnant women feel like, I practically had to waddle to the bathroom.

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I’m not sure really how to explain the Open Air experience, in typical Swiss style it’s in a stunning location with snow topped mountains and a lovely river skirting around the edge of the site. Then there’s 30 thousand crazy people partying harder than I’ve seen in a while. OASG has been running for almost 40 years so it’s a bit of an institution much like Glastonbury or Meredith. It’s the first time we have used RFID tags also which was nice and also dangerous as you just topped up your wristband at a booth and then just swipe away. You were given a token for each cup, plate, whatever and it had to be returned or you were burning some serious francs, which was happening anyway. It was a heavily German themed lineup but we managed to checkout Rise Against, Royal Blood and the Chemical Brothers amongst a few other random bands

Most of the action was happening at the Stars and Stripes bar high up on the hill overlooking the festival and a short (convenient) walk from our tents. This bar was open from beginning to finish, not closing once, nothing like being woken up by the crew at 6am for a sunrise beer as the late night partiers were dying out and the daytime kickstarters were arriving. 8am signalled the Prodigy’s firestarter and a massive increase in volume and onwards we sailed into the blurry daytime. The bar, being on a hill had a rather precarious steep slope which provided great entertainment throughout the day as those boozed up bravados attempted to run, skate, surf or just walk past and fall down to their mud filled doom. Special mention has to go to the Turbojugends, a group of guys that bring no tent and spend the whole time at the bar in various levels of sobriety and drunkenness, anywhere is a bed, even the steep muddy slope.

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Euro festivals have a much more relaxed vibe, especially compared to the US and Australia. Some guys pushed a mobile bar into the river and we sat around drinking beers, someone was letting off large fireworks at random spots, there’s the bar and it’s on a non-fenced slope down to the tents below and there’s the large hay store where people go to buy hay to spread around the campsite and soak up the damp. Genius! Until the peeps in said camp somehow manage to set the whole thing alight! Might have been the large fire you had 5m from the tent??

A fantastically boozy slog which introduced us to one of the best festival bars around. Thanks to the crew; Lukas, Marie, Tania, Steve, Jonas, Alain and Super Steve for making it a cracker.

J & T