Dave Matthews Band @ the HORDERN pavillion - WOW

The hosts of Sunrise with Missy in between them

In Sydneys WildLife Park

Oh what a cutie!

Dutch Decorations for QUEENSDAY April 30th!


A beautiful sunrise this week over Sydney

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Auckland Warriors

Being Dutch I am not all that familiar with rugby, although having shared houses with Australians, Irish, worked with English & South Africans, I have gained some familiarity with this rough sport. I can even admit I like it. Not sure why, maybe because I think the sport could be an example of how to progress walking even when you have people holding both your legs and try to neck wrestle you to the pitch. Compared to our fragile soccerplayers who fall over in the penalty area when you look at them... this is.... more uhm...manly I think! My Dutch flatmate was interested too and suggested a Sunday match between South Sydney Rabbitohs & NZ Auckland Warriors at the Telstra Stadium.

Telstra Stadium

A great opportunity to be inside one of the Olympic Stadiums and it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day too. Three more friends joined and in the end the Dutch were strongly represented, and UK Dave seemed to be the most verbal Sydney supporter out there. Russel Crowe was also shown on mega screen supporting his Rabbitohs team to a win,.... well untill the last 3 minutes. Us Sydneysiders lost 16-18 in the final minutes with 2 tries against us.

Whose ball is it anyway?

After the game we had a walk around the Olympic Park, and then hopped on the train back to the city.

Royal Easter Show & Blue Mountains

Royal Easter Show @ Sydney Olympic Grounds.

On Easter Sunday after an Easter breakfast Amanda and I went to the Royal Easter Fare - it couldnt me more non religious Easter atmosphere, we were surrounded by horses, ponies, cows, goats, sheep, dogs, and various activities like dog obedience, horse high jump, dressage, a rodeo and various crafts exhibiotioned. There were contests and awards, and you could view the animals up close. Like going to a really big farm. I reall enjoyed the rodeo, the first time I saw something like that. It was quite busy, but we had a real good time.

The cow contest

Kermit passed out

Me in front of Olympic Stadium @Homebush


Jump! Over the Habour Bridge, an attribute used during the Sydney Olympics

Doesnt the Olympic Park look beautiful!!?? The swing reminds me of Dave Matthews Band CD Under the Table & Dreaming...

DMB CD Cover

Merry go round at Easter show

BLUE MOUNTAINS

On Monday we drove up to the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. The weather stayed dry, we walked around, enjoyed the views of forest, valleys and blue-ish mountains. A nice getaway from the city and unfortunately we weren't the only ones having a break as it took us 3 hours to get back due to one long traffic jam.

Tourists loooking to the Three Sisters formation

Checking out the neighbourhood

Me near the 3 Sisters.

Viewing blue mountains

One Love

Had a little session of One Love this evening. Mr Ziggy Marley was performing at the Great Escape Festival where I went with a Dutch friend Lindsey, ...... and wow... was I happy I got to see him. The music & lyrics were beautiful and inspiring. To see Ziggy jamming his own tunes and 2 of his dads (Jamming & Is This Love) was simply amazing.

Love is My Religion

*Love is My Religion*


Top that up with Missy Higgins performance and you have a stellar night. She had a perfect mix between her new album and the previous one and it all sounded more than good! She enjoyed being back on stage with new material, and letting the crowd singing along to the more familiar songs.

The Coat Hanger turns 75

The Sydney Harbour Bridge, a 75 year old Sydney icon celebrated its birthday with a day off from cars, motors and buses, and instead the Sydney siders took over by feet and walked over it. A great opportunity for special photos, and being a 'part of history' of the bridge that is nicknamed the Coat Hanger - or in Dutch KLEREHANGER (just a funny Dutch expression!) Sound recordings of the last 75 years were played amidst a light and aboriginal smoke ceremony.


The Light Show from Circular Quay!



The lights give ~real~ special effects! Everyone survived!

THE BRIDGE


The Banners on the bridge

A photo from NYE when the BRIDGE showed the Coathanger in the middle

Like a fish in the ....

Today there was an Open Day at the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Center in Ultimo, near where I live. It was supposed to have opened a few months ago, but they are a little behind schedule... Lost of locals showed up, and even though we had to wait in the rain ( not everyone brought an umbrella) people stayed and enjoyed the 15min tour we got. It looks like a great venue, for social and competitive swimming, and a great view of the city skyline from the terrace.


The wave over the 50M lanes.

The view, including the monorail and rainclouds ;-)





Also went to Paddy's market, which is where I get the fruit/veggies and meat every weekend. Its usually mad busy, many people bringing their carry trolleys, boxes, and pushing you away. Its luckily very close and usually everything is in stock. I always stroll passed the fish stalls. I certainly dont want to buy any, but find it intriuging to watch. Especially because they seem to have some types of fish that are un-common in Europe. Which reminds me to fill up the rest of my underwater camera so I can get the film developped from when I went snorkelling!

Dancing Nancies.........

I wonder whats behind Dave Matthews Band song - Dancing nancies... I have listened to it on my MP3 player this week and it instantly lifted me up, cheered me up, made me want to dance with my umbrella... (yes it rained) and sing along in public... I restrained myself to some less annoying sound effects.....

Well I just googled it....here you go;

Song meaning 1) Dancing nancies

Inspired during a trip to Zimbabwe, Dave (leadsinger) found himself in the middle of nowhere and devised the song. A Dancing Nancie (or more accurately Nancy) is a slang term for a transvite prostitute in parts of France, Belgium, and Spain.

GREAT! I certainly dont interpret it that way!

Song Meaning 2)

I believe that there is a famous story of a time he was in South Africa. He was in a taxi and drove past a park where he saw some women dancing. He commented on them to the driver who told them they were called Dancing Nancies, or in other words, prostitutes. So a lot is told when he says things like "could I have been a parking lot attendant, could I have been a millionaire, could I have been anyone other than me" after saying, "if I took a left turn instead of a right." In other words he's saying that we all make choices, we all have decisions to make every day. These seemingly unimportant decisions change everything that will follow in your ENTIRE life. So he is saying, maybe if he had turned left instead of right he would have never become a famous musician, maybe he would be a prositute.

OK I like the explanation... if I wasnt an accountant could I have been.... ??

Here are the lyrics,go to a CD shop and have a listen.. I hope it moves you.....whatever the reason behind the lyrics were...

Could I have been A parking lot attendant

Could I have beenA millionaire in bel air

Could I have beenLost somewhere in paris

Could I have beenYour little brother

Could I have been anyone other than me

Could I have been oh, anyone other than me

Could I have been anyone

He stands touch his hair his shoes untied

Tongue gaping stare

Could I have been a magnet for money

Could I have been anyone other than me

Twenty three Im so tired of life

Such a shame to throw it all away

The images grow darker still

Could I have been anyone other then me?

Then I look up at the sky

My mouth is open wide, like and taste

Whats the use in worrying, whats the use in hurrying

Turn turn we almost become dizzy

I am who I am who I am well who am I

Requesting some enlightenment

Could I have been anyone other than me?

And then I'll sing and dance and

Ill play for you tonight

The thrill of it all

Dark clouds may hang on me sometimes

But I'll work it out

And then I

Falling out of a world of lies

Could I have been dancing nancy

Dancing nancy

Could I have been anyone other than me?

Gotan -Tango @ the Opera House!!

It was a windy, rainy day today, but a very South American, temperamentful, melodical ending to it as Amanda and I enjoyed a concert at the Opera House. The Gotan project has only recently been introduced to me but they were really amazing. After the first 10sec I thought I want to see them again... still had another 90 min to go at that stage.




Me in front of a poster of the Argentinian Tango experimenters!




10 piece band, 3 violin players, 1 bassist, 1 singer, 2 DJs, 1 pianist, 1 bandeonplayer, 1 pianist. Great use of the screen behind them, sound was very good too.



Its like the stage is on fire!!!!!
What an amazing venue the Opera House is, the bathrooms even had a strange curve to their doors and sinks! I thought the sound was very good as well and we scored some pretty decent seats. Whats next???? Dave Matthews Band in April, not at the Opera House, but at Hordern pavillion

Its a kind of magic

Almost looks like it hit the big building....

What a beauty eh!?

Little Sunshine (State) and Any Other Business

Holiday
I am a week away in Airlie Beach, in the Sunshine State Queensland! I have NOT seen an awful lot of sunshine around Airlie Beach, but out on the water its been pretty good. I managed to tan nicely and not burn, I am getting better at this sunny weather, Sunprotection 30 thing!
I did a 2 day-night sailing trip out on the reef sailing around some of the Whitsundays islands. It was a proper sailing boat called the Boomerang,... oh how Australian!

It used to participate in races and was then customised for taking tourists around the Great barrier Reef. (83ft Maxi Racing Yacht, Boomerang is the winner of the World Maxi Series Race when racing under the name of "Ondine VII" her illustrious racing career also saw here racing in the USA, Japan and New Zealand.)

We used the sails almost the whole trip, sometimes one side of the deck submerged in water, luckily we sat on the high end.

(SEE THE RAINBOW???) There is a boat underneath it!

Very cool. The crew was very relaxed and friendly, made good meals and I also did some snorkelling, which was really amazing. I had an underwater camera, as soon as I have the photos developed I will post them online. Its just weird seeing such colourful fish and beautiful coral in such clear water. While we were sailing we even saw some dolphins jumping out of the water, so cute!

Pretty steep angle we were sailing at!

I still feel like I am on the boat when I close my eyes, its amazing how your head/legs get used to the rocking of the boat. We had a drink get together on Tuesday with the people that went on the trip which was a nice way of saying goodbye and enjoying an Airlie Beach night out. I have been on a few daytrips with my Canadian friend Amanda and friends of hers, or visiting my Dutch friend Nicole in Bondi beach, but this was a full week away. I flew from Sydney to Prosperpine which is about a 2 hour flight, and from there a taxi to my accommodation. They certainly seem to get alot of rain here at the moment, I think this morning was the first time I awoke to a bright sunny day. I also visited a shark expo by Vic Heslop aka the Shark Hunter, its made me even more wary and scared of these destructing sea-creatures. Here is a photo of one he caught and put on a car for comparison. Nice !

Job front
I have been applying for jobs for 3 months untill Mid january when Sony Australia finally replied to my numerous emails and invited me for an interview, in the mean time they have made me a job offer for the position of Management Accountant which is a new challenge for me, and I am now waiting for the business sponsorvisa to come through which normally takes around 5 weeks. I hope to start sometime in March, which will be a busy month as it is year end too. Sony is based in North Ryde which is like a big industrial park North West of Sydney city center. They are building a railtrack from the city center to this area, but right now I will depend on the bus which probably takes around 50min.
New Flat
After having stayed at Amanda's for nearly 3 months, she has been a great host, it was so kind of her as it was very convenient for registration interviews or any other business in the city. And of course having a buddy right there while I made this jump to the other side of the world. Its been wonderful getting to spend time together other than a few days which we were used to from holiday-visits. BUT, as my work visa application was lodged I started looking around for accommodation and in early Feb I got my own apartment, semi furnished, with a nice sized balcony overlooking the city skyline. I really enjoy Sydney, the weather certainly plays a big part, but I also enjoy the convenience of living near the city. Maybe London was sometimes a bit too big to get around. I miss my London and Holland friends so I hope you will visit sometime! Once my visa has been approved I will look for a flatmate to take the extra bedroom I have, and maybe join a club or gym. I do have a swimmingpool in the building which I intend to make use of, and there is also a nice big park suitable for running, teamsports etc nearby.

Other stuff
Darling Harbour is a 5 min stroll away and I always enjoy walking around there. Taking the bus to Bondi beach takes about 45 min. Or the ferry to Manly is a nice trip on a sunny day as well. Every time I see the Opera House I feel like I am seeing it for the first time, it keeps amazing me, and when there is a big cruiseboat docked on the opposite side of Circular Quay I am really in awe.... Both the QE2 and QM2 were in Sydney last week, I missed the QM2 because my back was acting up and I was not able to go but I went the following day to see the QE2 and it is just a breathtaking view... for some reason it doesnt appeal to travel on one of these cruiseboats... but I love watching them! I think the Mardi Gras parade this Saturday is the next big Sydney festival and then on March 17th it will be St Patricks Day!! There are always a lot of activities in and around the city center which are very well organised and worth visiting.

If you wanna know anything else.... ask away!
I got to go, this internet cafe has played MC Hammer U cant touch This, Vanilla Ice -Ice ice babe, I fear of whats next.... I wonder BTW what the obsession of Australians with MC Hammer is... I hadnt heard that song for a few years, 4 months in Ozz and I am pretty sure I have heard it around more than 5-6x already???

My musical recommendations;
The Cloud Room - Hey now now (its used in a Pepsi Add here in Aus.)
Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine (the whole album!)

Peace
Susanne

Some phone camera shots

The Dutch shop at Darling Harbour.... mmm poffertjes!

CHINESE NEW YEAR, the fireworks is ready!

Various photos

The monorail in Sydney is great for saving a bit of time or to avoid getting soaked in terrential rain. Or when you are just to lazy to walk! It stops in several places in the city and near where I live which is handy!

A stormy day in Bondi, rain, lightning, thunder.... and sunshine!