The Great Ocean Road

Matt and I decided to take off down the Great Ocean Road. We left Melbourne with our final destination to be the whale watching lookout at Logan's Beach in Warrnambool. The drive to the ocean and on down to Otway was breathtaking....in natural beauty and curvy roads. If I had done this trip as a child there is no doubt I would have thrown up atleast twice. It was a drizzling outside but the sun was still shining or as my mother used to say "the devil was beating his wife." I said that to Matt who looked at me like I had a screw loose. I did a little research and found this saying is pretty much a dixie thing. We southerners are not the only ones to have a weird saying for a sunshower. In Arabic cultures people are known to say "the rats are getting married". In Polish the saying is "the witch is making butter." Regardless, sunshowers are perfect weather for rainbows. We saw atleast five one being a double bow.

Our first stop was supposed to be a famous rock formation in the ocean called the Twelve Apostles but we started to see signs for the Otway Tree Top Walk. This sounded like a great idea to me. It's funny how when I am sitting happily on the ground events that take place high up in the air sound fantastic! The reality is always something very different. We turned away from the ocean view and headed into the rainforest. I returned the unexpected nature hike favor to Matt as we headed down in to the forest. This part was very enjoyable actually. There is no better smell than a rain forest. So it was a little slippery and steep and wet but the smell was fantastic. This was the former stomping ground of William Buckley. He was an escapee from an English convict camp who ended up living with the Aborigines for 32 years. His story has lead to the Australian saying "Buckley's Chance" (equivalent to "a snowball's chance in hell"). To read his whole story check out this http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/C/ClarkeMarcus/prose/OldTales/williambuckley.html

When we got to the tree top walk it didn't seem too scary. The walk way itself is built a bit like a cage so there is a good feeling of enclosure. As we got higher I was ok if I didn't look down. Not looking down is a bit like not touching a steaming plate that a server warns you not to touch because it's hot. I can't help but do it. I was quite proud of my courageous behavior until we got to the tower. I was determined to go to the top so up the stairs I went. Up and up and up until things started going a little wobbly. I held onto the pole in the middle of the staircase with both arms and tried to keep going. The earth seemed to tilt in the wrong direction and the dizziness was so bad if you asked me right then I would swear I was going to fall backward over the railing while being sick. I squeaked out to Matt that I couldn't do it and started back down the steps never loosening my death hug on the middle pole. I put a little a little red marker on this postcard at the point I think I made it up to on the stairs. The tower is 154 feet up in the air so I still think I did ok. I felt a little better when I got back to the regular walk...well, better until I started to feel the swaying. Evidently the walk was built to sway I however did not enjoy the swaying...at all. It was a wonderful to see the trees and all the other plant life that lived high up in the top of the forest but I would be a liar if I didn't say I was perfectly happy to get back to the bottom of the rain forest and take pictures of all the flora down there.

Our next stop was the Twelve Apostles formerly known as The Sow and Piglets. The name was changed in the 1950's to lure more tourists even though only 9 of the limestone stacks were left. A product of natural oceanic erosion these stacks are one of the biggest tourist draws in Victoria. The small pile of limestone rocks in the front left of the photo used to be an "apostle" but collapsed in 2005. Now there are only eight left. Eventually the ocean will erode away more of the cliffs (approx one inch per year) making new apostles and claim the 8 that are left standing by eroding away their bases.

Just a mile or so away is Loch Ard Gorge named after a famous shipwreck that took place there in 1878. There were only two survivors both aged 18, Eva Carmichael, an Irish immigrant and Tom Pearce an apprentice crewman. Tom was swept into the gorge and later rescued Eva from the water. He sheltered her in a the cave and revived her with some brandy that had washed ashore. Eva, who had lost both her parents, two brothers and three sisters returned to Ireland and later married. Tom became a sea captain and survived two other ship wrecks.

Matt and I could actually walk down to the water in two places. One in the Grotto which is a wonderful limestone formation that made a small still pond of water with the ocean breaking behind it. We went for a walk on the beach at the Bay of Martyrs which was filled with huge clumps of seaweed and the back bones of cuttlefish (squid like animal). We almost got soaked when a huge wave snuck up on us. I have never seen Matt move so quickly...don't want to get the man's shoes wet. And he makes fun of me for loving shoes. The color of the water is incredible changing quickly from green to blue depending on where the ocean floor drops off.

We made one more little unexpected stopoff when we saw signs for the Historic Boggy Creek Pub. The pub was built in the late 1800's and originally known as The Sportsman's Arms Hotel. This area is also known as the Whiskey Trail due to a large number of Irish who settled here and distilled then illegal whiskey leading to many illicit raids. There is a family named Delaney who came over from Ireland in 1855. There are two plaques for the family near the pub. One celebrates a family reunion of nearly 1600 members. The other marks "Delaney's Corner", the spot where family members were arrested for the illicit distillation of whiskey in 1881. The proprietor of Boggy Creek was very friendly and told us about the three resident ghosts that haunt the pub. He also pulled out the local paper to give Matt and me some bad news. The whales hadn't really shown up in mass this year.

We pushed on to Logan's Beach hoping some whales would show. Unfortunately the barkeep was correct. No whales anywhere to be seen. There were alot of surfers out and it was fun to watch them catching waves. Evidently, the whales in this area were hunted almost to extinction. If I was a whale I probably wouldn't want to come back to this spot where so many had been killed either. In reality the paper said they would probably appear just later than usual and they don't hunt them here anymore either.

We took the highway back to Melbourne which is must faster than the Great Ocean Road and MUCH less curvy (better for my stomach). We drove back through Camperdown which reminded me a bit of Ireland. The town is built on an extinct volcano. When the area was first settled the paddocks(aka fields) were covered with volcanic rocks. The rocks were collected and made into rock fences much like the walls on Irish land.

I am still gathering info about Ned Kelly and I am also working on a food post by special request of Colleen.

The Doyles

I was so excited to be able to catch up with Cormac's family! Cor's sister Fiona is lucky enough to be married to an Aussie so she lives here in Melbourne with her husband and three children. Cormac's mom, his other sister Anie, her husband Brian and their kids are all over from Ireland visiting. We went out to dinner and had a great time. I love the Doyles!!

This is Cor's Mom and the newest member of the Doyle clan, Harry. He is Fiona and Craig's newest and the wise old age of three weeks.

Canberra

Matt and I started out our day in Canberra at the National War Memorial. I must say the Australians are quite impressive with the intensity of gratitude they pay to their people in service. EVERY town we went thru had a memorial for their fallen soldiers. ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day seems to be celebrated much more seriously and traditionally than I myself have ever celebrated Memorial Day. April 25 is their day of remembrance which is the date the ANZACs landed on the Gallipoli coast of Turkey in 1914. What was supposed to be a quick overthrow of Turkey turned into a bloody stalemate resulting in the deaths of 8,000 Australians and 2,700 New Zealanders. After WWI, ANZAC Day became a day of remembrance for fallen soldiers from all wars. Each April 25 begins with a Sunrise ceremony at the war memorials of every town in Australia. My favorite sculpture was of John Simpson Kirkpatrick and his donkey. He took part in the landing on Gallipoli and became famous for his bravery and compassion. Under constant fire he and his donkey carried water into the front line and wounded men off. He was killed in action and has become the embodiment of the Australian spirit of self sacrifice in war.

I must say there was also a very nice security guard at the war memorial. Well, you all know how much I love animals. If you could see the wild birds here...they are so beautiful! Trees are FILLED with wild cockatoos. Well, at the memorial Matt and I spotted some Rosellas and Galahs. I popped out of the car armed with my camera and a nacho flavored rice cake (very popular with native Australian birds) determined to get a decent picture. As I headed off to snap some photos of the Galahs I yelled at Matt to make sure he locked the car. As far as my nature photographs went I failed miserably but we can all pretend I took this picture and not someone from Wikipedia. So Matt and I walked around the sculpture garden until he noticed someone hanging out around his car. For all my yelling about locking the car I just happened to leave my window WIDE open with my purse and passport and phone sitting right there on the front seat. Luckily for me the WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC security guard stood by Matt's car until we came back. Silly CB!

I had a bit more luck on the way to the National Gallery. We spotted a big group of wild roos. I should probably wait for Matt to stop the car completely before I get out to take pictures of them...what can I say? Animals make me very excited!! Especially the mama roos with their Joeys. The third roo from the left has a baby in her pouch.

Canberra itself, as Matt had warned me is a bit sterile and devoid of character. It is really modern and minimalistic. I am sure some people would love it but the city was a bit cold feeling for me (the temperature was pretty cold too). However the view from the war memorial to Parliment house was quite beautiful. Another little interesting fact about Canberra, the city was actually designed by Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin and his wife, Marion Mahony Griffin. They won an international contest for the city's design and construction commenced in 1913.

Now, for the real reason we came to Canberra...Otto Dix. For those of you that don't know Otto Dix has been my favorite artist since I used his work as inspiration for a costume design project in college. I have missed his exhibits in New York and in Europe many times. One show in New York closed a few hours before my plane landed. Matt discovered The National Gallery had acquired a large collection of his work in 2003. Unfortunately for me the work was not on display but was going to be packed up for moving. Matt, my wonderful boyfriend, contacted the gallery many times and was able to organize a private viewing of Dix's work. HAPPY HAPPY CB!!! And just for fun a few George Grosz(a close second to Dix as far as my favorite artists) prints got thrown into the mix.

I was mostly familiar with Dix's paintings. He like Toulouse-Lautrec had a focus on the underbelly of life...nightclubs, prostitutes, gambling halls. He captures these scenes brilliantly in his self considered masterpiece, METROPOLIS (my personal favorite). He was also a veteran of WWI and after his experiences there very out spoken against war. His work became increasing political. So much so that when the Nazis came into power he was removed from his teaching post in Dresden. He was arrested in 1939 accused of being involved in a plot on Hitler's life. He was released and continued to paint until his death in 1969.

The work that Matt and I were so privileged to see was a collection of intaglio prints entitled Der Krieg (WAR). I found it fitting since we had just been to the war memorial that morning. Both Dix's art and the sculptures in the memorial garden were an individuals way of not forgetting what had happened during times of war. Granted Dix's work was by far more disturbing while at the same time unbelievably beautiful. We were able to see every little detail in these pieces. I always knew Dix was an incredible painter but never knew he was such a master print maker. The detail in the work was so delicate and intricate. It doesn't read over the computer or in books and I really do feel privileged to be able to get so close to one my biggest inspiration's work.

It is always very overwhelming to me when I have admired an artist for so long to actually be in a venue where the artist performed or be right in front of a piece he or she physically touched and worked on. When Angela and I were in Prague and went to the theatre where Mozart premiered Don Giavanni I bawled like a baby. This time I started to cry but just visualized big tear drops plopping on the I am sure very valuable prints and quickly pulled it together.

I also just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to Rose at the National Gallery!!! Rose organised our viewing, showed Matt and I all the pieces that were not on display then took us upstairs to show us some other pieces. She could not have been nicer!! THANK YOU ROSE!!!!

The titles of the Otto Dix pieces shown here are Suleika the Tattooed Wonder and Stormtroops Advancing Under a Gas Attack.

Road to Canberra

Matt and I took off down the Hume Highway on Sunday to go to Canberra and see the Otto Dix exhibit. Everyone had told him it was a horribly boring drive and ugly along the highway as well. If this is what Australians think is unattractive I can't wait to see what they think is pretty. I was affronted with such hideous scenes as this the whole way. Bright green mountains with twisted gum trees that would make Tim Burton jealous. Little creeks trickling through lush vegetation with lots of sheeps and fluffy cows. It was just awful(sarcasm). Driving along the Hume was absolutely gorgeous!!!

We decided to take a short detour around a gorge (aka canyon or ravine) which was beautiful even if a bit frightening for me who is used to driving on very flat land without major dropoffs on the side of the road. We also saw a wallaby hop along the road for a minute. Matt decided to stop off where there was a foot path to a waterfall. Here is a picture at the top of the gorge. Please note the gorge is high enough for a cloud to be floating below the top of it. So down we went and down and down and down. The down part wasn't so bad except I wasn't exactly in hiking boots and was slipping around a bit. Here we are at the bottom with the waterfall in the background and yes it was lovely. However, I may be smiling but all I am thinking about is the dreaded hike back UP the mountain. With a bit of whining we made it back up the mountain and for all my complaining it really wasn't so bad and I felt pretty good after my unexpected early morning hike. I just need to go get myself a decent pair of hiking boots and maybe I'll go see that waterfall again.

We stopped along the way in Albury which is right over the boarder of Victoria in New South Wales. From my understanding Albury and Wodonga are pretty much the same city just divided by the state boarder. We stopped to have lunch with Matt's Dad Barry and Stepmom Laurel. We had a wonderful time together. I am trying to convince them to come to salsa lessons with Matt and I some time.

There were loads of little towns along the way with such fabulous names as "Dookie" and "Wagga Wagga". They each seemed to have some special monument or characteristic no matter how small. Holbrook for example was very noticeable for the MASSIVE submarine in the middle of the town. Holbrook used to be named Germanton but was renamed for Lt. Norman Douglas Holbrook after WWI. There is a small scale model of the submarine he manned in 1914 in the town. He manned this submarine (even in 1914 considered an obsolete model) through minefields and sunk a Turkish warship. Even though his sub came under fire breaking the compass he managed to bring the craft back and all the men survived. He was the first submarine commander to win the Victoria Cross(equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor). The 90-meter HMAS OTWAY was imported into the town to keep up the submarine theme and honor service men who worked on subs.

In Gundagai there is the monument to the Dog on the Tuckerbox. A tuckerbox is another name for lunch box. The memorial is a tribute to Australian pioneers. There is a poem and a song about a loyal dog who guarded his bullock driver master's tuckerbox until death. There were quite a few people out to see the dog so he must be pretty important. To read the entire poem visit http://members.pcug.org.au/~stmcdona/tuckrbox.html

By far the classiest of spots we visited along the Hume Highway was the famous Ettamogah Pub. Ken Maynard started creating cartoons in the 1950's. He based his cartoons in the local pub. Hearing the aboriginal word for "place of good drink" he named his fictional pub ETTAMOGAH. His cartoons became very popular and he continued to create them into the 1990's. In 1994 the Ettamogah Pub was brought to life. We had a look around and managed to wrangle a very authentic hat for my brother, Dennis. The corks hanging off the hat are functional as well as fashionable. They keep the flies off your face. Don't worry Dennis! Matt just made me wear the hat for a photo. It is now packed safely in my suitcase and will be all yours when I get back to the states. And I certainly couldn't resist throwing Matt in the Ettamogah Slammer.

Just one other example of how "unattractive" the drive up to Canberra was. Matt and I had stopped for coffee when he told me to look out the window. There was the most beautiful sunset. I am normally not one for sitting in the car for a long time but I thoroughly enjoyed the drive to Canberra.

e.k. buckley

My wonderful friend and fabulous artist Elizabeth is leaving Chicago.

By the time I come back from Australia she and Chris will be settled in NYC.

She is having a solo show this Friday the 13th before she leaves and becomes crazy famous!!! Details at www.charcoll.com

Portrait of e.k. buckley by Zsofia Otvos

Day Trip to Beechworth

Matt and I decided on Saturday to take a little day trip to Beechworth, Victoria. Beechworth is a beautifully preserved gold mining town. Home to the famous Beechworth bakery, Chinese cemetery and burning towers and LOTS of Bushranger (aka Outlaw) Ned Kelly memorabilia. I myself had only heard of Ned Kelly a little from Matt. Now I know a bit more which I will share in a later post after I get a little extra info.

Beechworth is one of those places that feels like time stopped somewhere along the way. If the cars were removed everything would seem at least 100 years old. No neon or large modern signs are allowed here. The locals are all very friendly and no one seems to be in too big of a hurry to be anywhere. They even boast the busiest telegraph office in the world. I didn't even know telegraph offices were still in existence and I must say the constant tapping of the telegraph would eventually be enough to make me crazy.

One friendly local suggested we go down High Street to the gravel road to have a sticky beak (aka a look around) for some wild kangaroos. They evidently don't come out except for dawn and dusk. At first we only saw a few way, way off in the distance. It was pretty cold so I reluctantly left without a real kangaroo fix. All the sudden there was this beautiful roo just hopping along beside the car. He hopped along beside us for a while til he jumped right over a four to five foot fence with no effort and headed off towards the other roos. Now I was happy! In between these trees there is a tiny dot which is one of the roos in the distance.

Another interesting thing about Beechworth is the Chinese history here. Many people from China came out to this area of Australia to mine for gold. In 1857 over 2000 Chinese miners in nearby Buckland were attacked. Even though the Chinese were forced to mine some older, picked over mines they were successful in procuring a hefty amount of gold. This made some Caucasian men who had come out from North America jealous so they stared a riot against the Chinese. This outbreak of violence forced alot of Chinese to Beechworth where they continued to mine successfully. By 1860 there were some 5000 Chinese people in Beechworth. They built these fire towers in their cemetery. Papers with prayers were burned here as well as wine and pork to sustain the departing spirit. Exploding fire crackers were also burned to scare demons away. With the decline of mining and increase in some racial tensions came the decline of the Chinese community in Beechworth. The last Chinese resident was buried in 1932. Fortunately descendants have been coming back to the area. The Beechwoth Chinese Cultural Center has recently opened highlighting the contributions Chinese people made to Beechworth and the surrounding areas.

Speaking of racial issues, it is always interesting to me things I have seen overseas that make me and I would assume a fair number of Americans uncomfortable that don't even raise an eyebrow in other countries. For example in Ireland, Cormac took me to a pub called UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. None of the guys I asked knew the book or the impact it had on my country. Abraham Lincoln himself credited Harriett Beecher Stowe with actually starting the Civil War. Nor were they aware calling an African-American man an Uncle Tom was considered derogatory. I had the same gut reaction when I saw these dolls in various stores in Beechworth. Matt told me they called them Golliwogs. All I saw was Jim Crow/ Black face minstrel. I know these references to black stereotypes are probably not well known in country-town Australia but they surely make me uncomfortable and represent a lack of advancement in racial equality. Am I being overly politically correct?? I found this website about the "Golliwog" and the caricature's impact around the world. http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/golliwog/ Let me know what you think.

We did visit a wonderful gallery called the Aboriginal Investment Art Gallery. They dealt in original Aboriginal art and artifacts. This gallery, besides having some beautiful pieces makes annual contributions to Aboriginal Health Services. There tends to be a high rate of kidney disease amongst the Aborigines. This was my favorite piece in the gallery by artist Doris Gibson. She depicts Doo-Boo (aka Ancestor's Spirits) who appear in our dreams in time of loss to comfort and bring good feelings. There are many more in the online gallery.

http://www.aiag.com.au/home.html

We visited the Burke Museum which had lots of wonderful historical memorabilia from Beechworth. There were hundreds of artifacts from the Irish, Chinese, members of several wars, the local masonic order as well as everyday life tools and clothes from the gold mining years. There was also a small collection of taxidermied local wildlife. Most impressive if not heartbreaking was the now hunted to extinction Tasmanian Tiger. Being an animal lover it made me very sad to see this beautiful creature (actually a marsupial not cat) who no longer even exists in this world. The last one died in the 1930's. http://youtube.com/watch?v=bwmhmAfcRt8 This is video of one of the last Tasmanian Tigers in an Australian Zoo. There is some belief that a few may still exist in Tasmania but this idea is widely denied by scientists.

Overall, I loved Beechworth. If you are ever up in Northern Victoria, Australia definitely stop by. More on the infamous Kelly's later.

CB

China Town and Salsa

Growing up in America through the end of the cold war I never heard anything good about China's communist leader Chairman Mao Zedong. The only time I ever heard him mentioned in a positive light was when I was reading about the life of Frida Kahlo. She always had a picture of Mao in her bedroom. I also love the Warhol piece of him in the Art Institute...looks like Mao with lipstick on. Besides those two semi-positive things Mao was always depicted in a less than flattering light to me. Just last week my friend Julie who recently returned from working in China was telling me about laws he instated that still affects China negatively. So it was definitely a new experience for me to visit this restaurant in Melbourne's China Town (which dwarfs Chicago's China Town by far) where Mao was obviously loved. I asked our waiter to take a picture and propped the menu up to show a picture of Mao on the menu. The waiter went one better and plopped a big golden bust on the table. He later guided us upstairs for a photo shoot with pictures and a long written list of virtues of the Chairman. The place may have been covered of pictures and statues of Mao but it was his master chef that was the real star of this China Town restaurant. The chef who ran the place had trained under Mao's master chef and if this is how Mao ate...Mao ate GOOD!!!

After dinner we went to HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE to see Miss Saigon. Matt was able to get amazing seats on the first row. We could see right into the orchestra pit and we were so close to the actors we could see their spit when they enunciated in song. I am a sucker for a big Broadway musical and Miss Saigon definitely did not disappoint!! The lead voices were fantastic and the costumes were wonderful (especially some of the masks). By far the most incredible affect was the in the evacuation scene. Through projection, sound and flawless staging it truly felt like there was a helicopter in the theatre. And of course I cried at the end. Even though I knew the story...I knew exactly what was going to happen in the end I still cried. It is always so embarrassing to cry in a crowded theatre especially when you are trying not to and and up making some weird choking squeaky noise when you try to hold it all in.

Matt and I have gone to 2 salsa classes now. It's funny, Angela and I traveled to Spain to hang out with Irish and English...I have to come all the way to Australia to really learn Salsa! Terry, our teacher, is incredibly sweet and great fun to learn from. He is also in the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS for dancing 147 hours straight. Dancing is one of the only "exercises" I ever enjoy....an hour of dancing is pure heaven compared to 5 minutes on a treadmill!

Last night I made dinner for Matt and his wonderful friends Alan and Cheryl. Cheryl was nice enough to take me shopping in the afternoon. Australian shopping centers are WAY better than American malls!! Everything is all in one building. Jewelers, clothing stores, regular grocery stores, pharmacy, fancy butchers and bakers...it's all there. I guess the main difference is the grocery and other food stores in the shopping center. There just seems to be much more variety and alot more available in one building. Cheryl and I spent a good amount of time in the baby store picking out cute teddy bear slippers and bed sets. She and Alan are expecting their first child in 3 months.

Sunday, Matt and I are making the drive to the capitol city of Canberra to see a collection of Otto Dix's work!! YAY!!!

I will post more on that later.

CB