taxi bus donkey

Conversations at the kitchen table, mothers day 2006.

I sit at the kitchen table after the mothers day lunch clutter has been cleared, mum is as per usual busying herself in the kitchen, Dad is also comfortable in his particular role of being sprawled out on the couch in some state of sleep. Mum produces a platter, a large cake considering there are only four of us and several small meringues.

“What did you get your mother for mothers day?” My father asks,
“Chocolates..” i reply after a slightly too long pause.
“Chocolates..” he says with a well prepared tone of disappointment “chocolates, she gave birth to you, grew you into a man and you get her chocolates? you should be ashamed of yourself”.

My dad is right I should be, but not because of the mothers day gift, more likely due to the fact that I spent as much on a bag of chocolate coated raspberries to eat on the tram ride over to mum’s as i did on the gift i gave her. And please dont think i was buying provisions for a long train ride, i caught the tram from camberwell junction to warrigal road… it’s about 12 stops. I thought it best to conceal my shame by making something up. (more…)

True to form after 3 days in a town the local bums and regular faces started saying hello to me, and me in my effort to be conspicuous placed myself in one of the main town squares and happily “buona sera”d passers by.

After a while a local gent came and sat on the wall near me, didnt say hello, but sat so close to me that it would have been rude of me not to make the initial effort…. “sssseeeera” i said… dying to be taken for a local. “Sei straniero?” was his reponse,.. hmm.. guess that pretend to be a local approach lasted an entire 0.0 seconds.. but he seemed to be ok with the idea of me not being frrom these parts and so i gave him my abbreviated life story. (more…)

It usually takes around 3 days for the town drunks to start to speak to me. This formula held true in bologna. (more…)

Venice is not the city to head for if you are on your own and the type of person that enjoys the company of members of the opposite sex but is unable to acquire said company at the drop of a gondolier… however, it is a pretty place so for those out there who plan to spend some time here, learn from my finite but poignant wisdom (more…)

All i wanted to do was get lost in venice, it didn’t take long, in fact i am typing this right now thinking hey its dark out… how the hell am i going to get back to my 189 euro a night cupboard for a nap?

But what better city to get lost in (more…)

OK so i am going to owe a lot of favors for this trip, and the karma meter i have been talking about is now so far in the red that i understand a small committee has been formed some place to try and find the most efficient way that my debt can be repayed and the just order of the universe restored. (more…)

Some journeys seem to take longer the closer you get to your destination.I left Roma’s beautiful (cough) Termini Station early on Satuday morning, having secured my ticket the day prior and even remembered to reserve a seat.

A 3 hour train ride to Ancona Falconara on the Adriatic coast was the first leg.

At Termini station I was that guy that always gets those looks from yourg girls or older ladies who are having or are anticipating having trouble freeing up a baggage trolley… and being the all round nice guy (read sucker) that I am … I helped out when I could, even with a rather large backpack strapped to me, … and to answer the question… no,.. not all the ladies I offerred assistance to were good looking… some of them were great looking, I think one of them may have been a model, although for what who could say, but there was at least one who was rather plain. maybe… (more…)

Basically a day on bloody planes or around them or within the centres that cater for them.

Most of you know that I am not petite,.. I am “rather large” so the prospect of sitting in confined space for some time is a bit hard to deal with.

First leg was melbourne singapore, Thanks to the silent killer SARS. Iraq and all that other good stuff the flight was empty. I exchanged pleasantries with the guy sitting near me and enjoyed 7 hours of lounging around, empty seats everyplace… watched “Adaptation” several more times,.. great movie … glad it won zero oscars however. (more…)