NYC-Fall 2014

New York City. What a place. You are in danger of acquiring Stendhal Syndrome- the psychosomatic disorder that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to an experience of great personal significance. It is something that will affect everyone to some extent when they get to NYC. There is just so much to do and see and watch and drink and eat and just get your head around…My stay began with the cab ride to mid town and after some confusion as to where I was actually wanting to go I was deposited on the sidewalk with a little over an hour to kill before meeting up with a friend. Fortunately it is NY and there was a bar directly under the apartment where I could wile away the time, drinking some fine Brooklyn lager and eating some very tasty bar food. It was the perfect reintroduction to the close proximity of everything in Manhattan. Within the block of the apartment there were numerous restaurants, bars, shopping, hotels, cafes, Laundromats not to mention Central Park-that most beautiful urban forest. Staying in Midtown is the New York of cinema and TV and Mid Century architecture. North by Northwest and Madmen assail you by the second. Drop into the Plaza or the St Regis for a martini-and to look at the extraordinary Maxfield Parish mural. Saunter to Carnegie Hall and see where the photographer Bill Cunningham lived, and to imbibe an old-fashioned cocktail and cigar at he Carnegie Lounge. Wander over to Park and see the iconic Lever House. On the way back drop into Little Collin Street café on Lexington for an espresso or flat white and fresh pastry. My first day here I walked from 56^th Street through to the Lower East Side by way of Midtown, Flat Iron and Gramercy, Union Square Park, Washington Park, West Village and the East Village. On the way back Chelsea. You quickly realise the neighbourhoods are totally unalike. I spent part of everyday traversing a different part of Manhattan. Upper West Side, Upper East Side with their extraordinary houses and architecturally astounding apartment blocks-one in particular in the Upper West Side built in 1913 was designed by J E R Carpenter and each apartment is soundproof. It has been in demand from musicians ever since as a place to live and work. He is considered the creator of the modern apartment. These apartment buildings are beautiful. Hells Kitchen is the latest reinvention-there are numerous restaurants, bars and cafes here. Rex on 10th avenue is a lovely small café where you can pull up a chair, or in my case a milk crate and spend some time off your feet and watching the world pass by. East Village still holds onto to its Bohemian character, although it is rapidly changing. Manhattan property has become frighteningly expensive. 

The quality of entertainment is just inspiring. Over the course of my stay I was fortunate to see the Masterworks performance by the NYC Ballet at the Lincoln Centre and to watch Wendy Whelan’s second last performance, Carmen at the Met, Cabaret in the studio 54 building with Michelle Williams and Allen Cumming-with table tickets in the Kit Kat Club, Hedwig and the Angry One Inch with Michael C Hall from Dexter fame in irrepressible form, Chicago, Listen up Phillip at the Lincoln Film Centre with the director Alex Ross and Jason Swartzmen in attendance, John Waters in Through a Glass Onion at the Union Square Theatre, the Ace Hotel where there is music every night in the foyer, the Bowery Ballroom, the Mercury Lounge, the Village Vanguard, Blue Note, the Sebastiao Salgado Exhibition Genesis at the International Centre for Photography, the Thomas Moran and William Turner etchings and chromolithographs at the New York Library, the Cubists at MOMA to name a few. The walk to Cabaret took all of 10 minutes. The magical vistas along the avenues and their iconic names-5^th Avenue, Madison Avenue, Park Avenue, Avenue of the Americas. When you visit NYC there are some must see places-the Empire State Building, The Flatiron Building, Central Park in Fall, Grand Central Station, the Chrysler Building, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Woolworth Building, Tiffany's, Shopping on Madison Avenue, Museum Mile, The Frick, The Gugenheim, Broadway, eating at the bar, The Rockerfeller Center, The Natural History Museum, the United Nations Building, the extraordinary Tudor City Apartment Buildings, the view to the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry-and it only grows from here. On this trip I ventured into Brooklyn for parties, dinners and music. Brooklyn alone would be the fourth biggest city in the USA. A train trip upstate to Poughkeepsie and the enormous converted rail-bridge across the Hudson. The views to the hills and the colours of NY in fall as the trees begin to change.

Eating and drinking in Manhattan you are spoilt for choice. By far the most small bars and restaurants are in West and East Village, Soho and the Lower East side. This is an area you can wander around and explore-it is intimate and mostly free of the sea of people making their way on the avenues. Soho and the Lower East Side are alive with smaller boutiques and new designers and artists. Orchard Street in the Lower East Side has over 10 new art galleries. I was fortunate to have some great people to hang out with and to share their NYC with me. It made the trip a fantastic time. Thankyou. 

If you enjoy Midtown like I do and have ever watched Breakfast at Tiffany's you could do worse than read the fabulous Fifth Avenue, 5am by Sam Wasson. It is an exquisite look into New York Midtown and the social complexities of the 1950's and into the private lives of Truman Capote and Audrey Hepburn. My apartment was a gentle stroll from all of Holly Golightly's New York. Even better,  go to Tiffany's on 5th Avenue at 5am-the first scene on the first day of shooting. Make a date when walking back from some bars on the Lower East Side like I did.

"So smart and entertaining it should come with its own popcorn" 

Below is studio 54 waiting to be seated for Cabaret. The floor was an absolutely brilliant place to see the performance.

Some other places sampled-there are really too many to name

Viceroy Hotel Bar-29^th floor with views over Central Park and Midtown complete with mohair rugs for the chilly evenings

The Campbell Apartment Bar-Grand Central Station

Hudson Hotel-up the escalator and through the foyer to a great bar/lounge where you can sit in front of the fire and relax.

Casalulla Restaurant and Wine Bar Hells Kitchen

Betony Restaurant

Pizzarte

Joes Shanghai

Quality Italian

Blue Hill-Washington Place

Mahmouns Falafel-McDougall Street

The Dutch-Prince Street

Mangia Deli and Cafe

Lillies Bar-great before or after a show 49^th and 8^th

Little Collins Café-Lexington Avenue

Orchard Street-Lower East Side

One Fifty one Bar-Lower East Side

Ace Hotel

Union Square Café

Trattoria Del Arte-classic Italian after a show

Almar Tapas Restaurant Dumbo Brooklyn

Attaboy Cocktail Bar Lower East Side

The Dove Parlour-Thompson Street
Schillers Liquor Bar-Lower East Side
Temple Bar-NoHo for a quiet cocktail

Zibetto Café-a 3 minute walk from my apartment-stand up Italian style

Blue Bird Coffee Shop-East Village

Gimme Coffee-Mott Street
Rex Café-10^th Avenue

Keste Pizza-Napolitan Pizza Bleeker Street
Warby and Parker glasses at a reasonable price-named after characters in a Jack Kerouac novel

Worth and Worth Hats-chat to Orlando Palacios for some ideas on the best hat for you-he has a great story 

 One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years. 

Tom Wolfe

View to Manhattan from Dumbo

Santa Monica-some musings

The 2014 USA fall trip has again surpassed all expectations. LA, San Francisco, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Sonoma and New York City have all provided a richness of travel and experience, both celebrating the epic history of these locations and the fanciful way the US has of reinventing itself. I have been mightily impressed by the improvement in food and coffee and the embracing of fresh ingredients. California in particular does grow virtually everything. When you combine this gastronomic play with the superb attention to detail in design then you create a wonderful ambience. The USA is no doubt still grappling with the long-term effects of the GFC and of course the very large wealth gap.

Los Angeles has changed so very much in the time I have been visiting. Firstly, the air quality is astounding. My first trip to LA the hills were obscured by a tobacco brown haze. Now the skies are ultra marine blue and the visibility razor sharp.

The Viceroy is an iconic hotel in Santa Monica-fantastically well-designed with a wonderful enclosed pool and restaurant area. Mid Century cool at its finest. You are indeed oblivious of the major roads that surround the hotel. This trip was spent in the confines of Santa Monica-beach, pool, coffee, walking, drawing, eating, drinking and reading. The weather was warm, the hotel sumptuous and cool. The pool and cabana areas inviting as a siren. While I was in Santa Monica I read the brilliant book by Canberra author Mark Renshaw "The Snow Kimono". A philosophical puzzle according to the Guardian review. A most intriguing, thoughtful and totally engrossing novel. Bravo! Sitting on the balcony reading and overlooking the Santa Monica beach, bathed in golden sunshine.

"But, much more provocatively, this could also be a case of the novelist abandoning linear, objective-driven logic for more open-ended philosophical structures, raising the question of what aesthetic progression we are heading towards, what kind of humanity we are seeking as a society, and what kind of moral constructions we wish to exist."

http://www.theguardian.com/books/australia-culture-blog/2014/aug/28/the-snow-kimono-by-mark-henshaw-review-a-philosophical-puzzle

Viceroy Hotel Santa Monica

some places sampled in Santa Monica

Cast Restaurant-in the Viceroy Hotel. Eating outside enveloped by the LA warmth. Great fresh food and atmosphere. Probably the best jet lag cure known.

Bar at the Viceroy-fantastic bar tenders and an excellent variety of whisky. Great entertainment Friday and Saturday night

Tar and Roses-just a fantastic restaurant. Food, design, service, ambience.

Dogtown Coffee-excellent quality both coffee and breakfast, a stone throw from the hotel. A perfect beginning for each day

My Father’s Office-ambient bar and burger place-perhaps the best burger in LA

Blue Taco-superb food overlooking the beach

Abbot and Kinney Boulevard-a paradise for the hipster in all of us. Food, wine, shopping, chilling, ogling
The Tasting Kitchen-food, wine, cocktails
Gjelina-excellent food, service and wonderful design on Abbott and Kinney Street. Make a reservation. No tomato (ketchup) sauce, soda or changes to the menu! How good is that. They know their food

Santa Monica beach-walk, ride or skateboard from SM to Venice Beach. A beautiful beach neighbourhood.  A kaleidoscope of humanity

Uber taxi app-brilliant!

the Venice Canals-So when do I move in?

Jane Rawson awarded Literary Prize for her debut novel

Contratulations are in order for my friend Jane Rawson who has just been awarded the literary prize for 2014 Most Underrated Book. Her book “A Wrong Turn at the Office of Unmade Lists” is, to quote the Sydney Morning Herald “an off beat, genre-defying, head spinning story that defies all the rules of Narrative, space and time. It’s a cross between The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next Series”

It is a fantastic novel, full of wit and character, and a magically in-tune imagination.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/jane-rawsons-debut-novel-named-australias-most-underrated-book-20141114-11k6rb.html

LA-fall 2014 A photographic essay

New York City-Fall 2014 A photographic essay

Beijing-some thoughts

The kaleidoscope that is Beijing is intense. Everything in Beijing is built on an immense scale. In a very short amount of time Beijing has moved from a modest walled city to one encompassing a huge amount of space and an ever increasing roadway system. One driver in his early forties remembers a Beijing before cars and when the whole city was within the city walls-what is now the second ring road. People either walked or rode their bikes. Cars dominate the transport. There is a modern metro and some push bikes and many scooters. You need to be brave and constantly aware of traffic as it comes from all directions and rarely if ever stops for pedestrians. The easiest way to get around is by taxi-they are numerous-and mostly available. Although at times there is a peak demand that leaves you at the mercy of the relentless rickshaw drivers. Unless you have some Mandarin you do need to have a copy of the address you are going to. English is spoken rarely by the cab drivers. Taxis are very reasonable-most fares are between three and six dollars within the city. When I arrived my lovely friend who had dragged herself out of bed to meet me had to contend with a surfeit of taxis and a gnarled chaos of traffic. We actually took the metro to Dongzhimen. It was surprisingly fast and easy. I stayed in a modern and convenient complex, close to Sanlitun that abounds in restaurants, bars and supermarkets catering to the expat community. The Mesh Bar at the Opposite Hotel is a great place to wile away an afternoon or evening in architectural splendour. The apartment complex even had an outdoor pool, something of a luxury in Beijing. You do get attuned to luxurious shopping centres and apartment buildings being cheek by jowl with Hutongs of a variety of eras. Many of the Hutongs are now very popular to live in and are being modernised at an extraordinary speed. Twenty percent of the population of Beijing still live in the Hutong Districts and they make for some fantastic rambling, exploring and shopping. The area around the Bell and Drum Towers is in a particularly rapid improvement cycle and many of the original buildings have been demolished to be rebuilt in a similar style. There does not appear to be the same appeal to hold onto the exterior shell when remodelling buildings. The outskirts of Beijing are ringed by enormous apartment buildings.

On two occasions I hired an english speaking driver for a day. this was an excellent way of getting around to multiple sites. There was no time lost finding transport and Mike and Barry (the drivers' English names) were extremely knowledgable of the places i wanted to go and offered many ideas of their own. July is also hot and humid and having a driver on hand was brilliant. Many days were over 35 degrees and during the time I was in Beijing the pollution was very light, there was even a week of sunny days. Walking on these very hot days is taxing before you take into account the language issues and the crowds and of course the distances involved. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City are absolutely huge. Signs are not always available so there is quite some time working out how to traverse roads and indeed to find admission points and tickets. Pollution is a topic on everyones mind in Beijing. All appear to have an app letting you know the level for each day. During the winter the levels hit some rather extraordinary levels-upwards of 900-and the photographs of these days were quite daunting. I cannot imagine the harshness of minus 20 degree days coupled with impenetrable smog. 

Over the two weeks in Beijing I managed to visit many of the classic destinations-The Forbidden City, TIananmen Square, The Foreign Legation, The Temple of Heaven, many of the most interesting Hutongs, Hou Hai, Temples such as the Lama, Confucian and Taoist, The Great Wall, The 798 Art District, The Summer Palace, the Olympic area, Ben Hai Park and lakes, the Capital Museum-an amazing building and collection, the Shangrila for drinks and a magnificent view of the city-sans pollution, the Sanlitun District-where i was fortunate enough to stay, the Embassy district and many markets and shopping areas. The great changes in Chinese society are reflected in all these areas and the growing size of the city. 

Eating and drinking in Beijing takes some navigation. I was fortunate to have a wonderful guide that included a great group of people to go out with both for lunch and in the evening. I went to bars, restaurants and clubs, heard contemporary and indie music in Hutongs and went to parties in some very stylish modern bars. Restaurants such as Migas, Mosto, Capital M, Duck de Chine, Temple, Lost Heaven, Comptoirs de France bakery, Great Leap Brewing Taproom and Dadong offer a wide variety of both local and international fare. There are over 9000 listings for restaurants in Beijing in Trip Advisor. James Hooch, Atmosphere, Apothecary, Glen and the terrace of Migas are great bars-although there are again numerous temptations for a night out. It is though, extremely difficult to avoid the infamous Beijing Hangover. The quality of the alcohol you imbibe is always ambiguous. 

The two weeks seemed both to stretch forever and then in a rush it was done. I could easily have spent more time exploring wider and indeed within the city to find some more of the local cultural destinations and entertainment. The incredible fortune of having a wonderful friend who has lived in Beijing for three years was invaluable, and I could not have had a better companion. The luxury of being made welcome in a new country makes travel so enjoyable. For me it humanised my visit and gave me access to a most friendly and generous group of people to share time with. Beijing is intoxicating, maddening, confronting, and if surrounded by the right people quite extraordinary fun.

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

Confucius