Back to the Blog...

So I've been exceptionally nerdy recently... Besides the whole Scott Pilgrim fest and whatnot, a couple of weeks ago I went to see Neil Gaiman (of Sandman, Coraline, etc fame) at the Opera house. He was doing a live reading of a (decidedly average) short story of his accompanied by the fourplay string quartet. That was very cool... I need more books read aloud with a string quartet in the back ground...
The day after I then went to see Akira with a live music score played by the Gurge! That was awesome. The gurge did an AWESOME job... the music was bang on and not intrusive at the least... You'd forget you were listening to a live band... and they went NUTS during the fight scenes which also kicked ass. I'm not the biggest anime fan in the world (is there any anime in the world that doesn't leave you thinking "that was really fucking weird") but I'd watch more if there were live bands playing the music score...
And Last weekend I went back to the Opera house (the first two where there if I didn't mention it earlier) and saw Joss Whedon (Of Buffy, Firefly and Dr Horrible fame) just talking... It was kinda interesting, but clearly I'm not the tragic fanboy that most of the audience was. I did like the jokes Wil Anderson and Joss where making about the "Dick and Balls" comic they made up there... I think that would work surprisingly well as a webcomic... On the vein of that lame dinosaur clip art one. So not just dick jokes but rather the joke is in the inane banter with the extra kick coming from the fact it's two crudely (pun not intended) drawn dicks talking... This is the interweb and I'm sure there is a market for it.

On top of that I've bought/read a LOT of comics recently (and have a list of more to buy... added at the bottom if you really care). I've also finished the Scott Pilgrim game twice and Fallout 3 once (again).

This is all instead of doing my uni work... not that there is much of that yet... I'll start it tomorrow I promise. I've also not done the photo sorting from my trip or the scrapbooking I wanted to do... Oh well.

The other thing I've been doing since I got back is frisbee and training (pissweak) for frisbee... My favourite thing about this (which will be my last AUGs) is that we (mac uni) have gone the full circle and are back to playing in Red... Officially this time. To get the full story you'll need to jump into my time machine with me...
Back in the day (my first Uni Games, circa 2003) Mac Uni played in red... because we'd "ALWAYS" played in red. No other reason (although Liz Drummond does have a blue mace shirt with the same rear design as my first red one and a different front... pre dating red perhaps?). This was pre dating all this "frisbee shirt" crap when we just played in screen printed cotton tshirts (or spandex for the girls) and had the Goodies font on the back. Anyway some clown from the sports association turned up to watch frisbee being played by mac uni (for the first time probably) and said "why're you all in red?"
"we're ALWAYS in red"
"But Macquarie plays in Green and Gold"
"But we play in Red"
"The uni colours are Green and Gold"
"Oh... Did we mention these are the shirts we ALWAYS play in and they're red?"
Fast forward to 2004 and someone at the sports association decided that we needed to have a GREEN uniform so they gave the team some surplus soccer or hockey gear (one of the REAL sports)... We didn't look AWESOME, but we were finally the "correct" colours.
That started a pattern (for the years I had off... aka the "Matt Dowle" years) of Mac playing in red (because we ALWAYS play in red... See the ultra cool hayley drawn barbarian shirts) all the time except at Uni Games themselves. Then last year in a fit of brilliance (or we need to burn some money) Mac uni hired a VERY VERY VERY expensive consultant to "change/fix the corporate image". Apparently the lighthouse upset people because we're not near the beach... Part of this involved a change of colours from Green and Gold to Burgundy and Charcoal... Which meant new uniforms for all the sports teams (sucks to be in the hockey club that just bought new kits less than six months before this). This is why last year Mac took to the field in the Rory organised (praise be unto him) White and Charcoal numbers (that took a LOT of dicking around to get approved). So what is happening to Mac Uni this year? Well in my last AUGs mac uni is back to a Red shirt with black shorts... just were I started... what a nice complete circle.

The other thing I'm going to write here (for those who read it) I'm seriously thinking about getting a tongue piercing this Friday... Or Microdermals behind my ear... or both (dependant on cost and feasibility). Anyone have any thoughts?

Love, Hugs and Kisses
ANt

PS. Comics I want to buy (presents for me if you want =P)

• Box Office Poison
• Too Cool to be Forgotten
• The Goon (maybe)
• Bone (maybe)
• Zombies vs Robots
• Mercy Sparx (maybe)
• Death the High Cost of Living
• Possessions (maybe)
• Lost Girls (maybe)
  

So yeah... I'm home

So I've been REALLY slack since I got back and haven't updated this at all...

But yeah, I got home safe and sound... a few hiccups with the flight home as mentioned... the cancelled Florence to Amsterdam flight was a pain in the hole, but I got stuck on a flight to Paris leaving "now, can you run" and then to Singapore and then home... Big bonus was the lack of stopover which meant I actually got home FASTER than initially planned. Minor hiccup at Singapore airport where the chick at the transfer desk wasn't super willing to recognise my transfer because she didn't know the weird ass airline that cancelled on me initially (yes madam transfer there ARE airlines you don't know... like dodgy italian one that was SUPPOSED to fly me to Amsterdam). So she called Qantas (who I was flying with) and they dragged their feet as it was the Air France quota I was on... so she called the Air France desk and he was all "I'm French" *Shrug* but eventually I got on...

So in summary I had a great time, met some cool people (thanks to all of them too) and did have a mental shut down when I got home...

But back to life now

Love, Hugs and Kisses
ANt

Hayley is making me fat... Oh yeah and the girls won in Florence

So I said I'd be blogging up Florence in Bangkok... spoke to soon... am writing this in Paris instead and I'll explain why later.

After a long line and a short sprint I made it onto the last train from Rome to Florence and I met Max, Hayley and Nick at the station shortly after they watched the showcase game. We then headed off imediately to "the best Tiramasu in Florence" for dinner (good pizza), beers (good micro brewery beers) and dessert (the aforementioned tiramasu that was really fucking good).

Deciding to forego the early U23 games we met early early (like 8ish or so) the next day to go and see Dave... and it was AWESOME. We saw Dave really early before he got crowded so we got the full affect and even managed a sneaky photo. He really is very very impressive. We also got to see some other stuff... highlights being seeing/hearing a hurdy gurdy and a trumpet marine... The hurdy gurdy being the bastard lovechild of a violin, guitar, piano and angle grinder and the trumpet marine being a single stringed bass type thing that somehow sounds like a trumpet being played underwater... google them.

Oh and we also went to "the best granita place in Florence"... once again not lying...

A trip to Pisa where there is A TOWER THAT LEANS with Max and Nick followed that before a regroup with Hayley to go to the fields just in time to find out the U23 boys lost their quarter to Germany =(
We then got to see the girls win before we headed off to dinner at "the best restaurant in Florence" this time with Nat and Liz in tow. Again no lies... it was AWESOME... the pizza kicked ass and so did the hot tomato pasta. Amazing gratis lemon granita and credit card roulette (with me winning the pot) made that probably my best italian restaurant experience... Even with the waitress nearly in tears because she felt so bad hayley had to pay for everyone because that's the card she didn't pull out. Oh and the top shelf gelato across the bridge was pretty sweet too...

A bit of a sleep in and then we got our disc on the next day (amongst granita/gelato/tiramasu trips of course) and we especially got to see the girls win their semi. Then another trip to the restaurant followed and this time the waitress refused to play credit card roulette and instead went to get her boss to do it... very funny... she was pissing herself laughing at us as we left ("oh you crazy aussies" style) and then it was off to the mixed final and party... the party was at a pool... kinda cool... but had a slightly odd vibe for me.

Sleep in again and it was finals day... The girls won... it was an awesome game... I took a shirtload of pics on TG's camera so I don't have many but the game was really tight and very cool to watch and cheer them along with the boys. Seb's juice moose song and the blatant cheer stealing (not to mention the japanese hate/love backflip between womens and mens finals) were quite fun. All the girls played well and deserved their win over japan...
Mens final was ok too... but being less emmotionally invested meant I payed less attention... I did get to hear some sweet heckle calls on Canada though.
And obviously following the win there was a fairly big (if informal) party at one of the hostels... Max, Hayley and I first had to have yet another italian dinner though... this time with free wine. We saw the sign and were a tad curious... especially after we still saw reasonable prices on the mains... So we guessed it was just a free glass... but then got told it was UNLIMITED free wine... so we asked what the catch was... The owner made the wine himself...
But it was still pretty good, the red better than the white...
Off to the party (where for a change I was barefoot...) and party party party till it was home time when Max and I discovered we were locked out. This is where I saw the main difference in how Max and I deal with things... He threw grapes and rang doorbells till we got inside... I slept on the doorstep...
Breakfast and packing my bag today and then Max, Hayley, the Birthday boy Nick "I'm going to read my book on the pooper" Dousett and I went to the Florence leather market to get magic wallets (amongst other things) and then Nick and I went to the aeroporto... We met the HoS boys there for all our flights to Amsterdam, which was cancelled... much lining up and waiting and frustration followed with those fellows off to a hotel for flights tomorrow whilst I lucked in and had my Florence-Amsterdam-Bangkok-Sydney flight changed to a Florence-Paris-Singapore-Sydney flight that I THINK gets me home faster than I would've originally...

So I'm in Paris now writing this and next time I get net-side I will be home... Not sure how I feel about that. I'm tired of living out of a bag and would like a relax for a while. But I think I will also get antsy at home within a week or so to be going new places and to museums etc... oh well...
Also not looking to the long haul flights... I hate flying... not from fear just the fact I can't sleep and the aircon screws my sinuses... oh and the cliche of shitty airline food will only be stronger with the gastronomical delights I've had the last week or so...

Oh well

See you all soon

Love, Hugs and Kisses
ANt

"Do you think they know we're arguing about ninja turtle and not artists?"

Ahhh Rome the gentle sound of the ambulence and police siren every two minutes...

Ok so it's been a while since the last post... I hopped onto a boat in Dubrovnik at like 11pm and got off it in Bari around 8... it wasn't as bad as people said it would be. The trick is to sleep on the floor rather than the chairs... I'm claiming credit for starting that trend in the section of the boat I was in. I was first to lie down on the floor and when I woke up nearly everyone was doing it... I was coughing up an absolute flem storm though (yeah I know you think I'm gross... but as I've said before I'm not really gross I'm Rock & Roll).

I then got a train from Bari (down south somewhere) to Rome... the train was actually pretty good... The italians may be chaotic and out of control but they do their trains well. It also wasn't packed in the slightest so I got to sleep easily.
Got into Rome and decided to stay two nights to fit in all the Rome touristy stuff. I decided to do it all in walking tour type things rather than faff about alone and try and do it... mainly because I didn't want to have to plan it out I just wanted someone to show me where it all was (yeah it's lazy but gimme a break). I did a night tour the first night that concentrated mainly on the fountains and stuff that looks good at night... It was pretty cool and I saw a lot of things and got told stuff I wouldn't have seen or found out if I was alone. Things like the bitchy "war by sculpture" that was conducted mainly by Benini (or whoever he was that sculpted most of Rome). The guide knew heaps and ironically there was a bogan aussie on the tour whinging about bogans... I also got told about another Bone church and saw what I thought was a magic shop I wanted to go back too.
The Yellow hostel I stayed at was a "party" hostel... which wasn't really my scene... I don't really appreciate the "lets get wasted" mentality of some travellers... especially when it affects your ability to see the sights etc that you're travelling for in the first place... Stupid seppos...
I also wore shoes for the first time since halfway through WUCCs because I put on my long pants the next day and went off to see the pope... or at least visit his house.

...He wasn't home...

But the Vatican tour I did was pretty interesting, although I do cringe everytime I meet a new "Aussie" travelling. Although listening to selfish people try and justify their selfishness is kinda amusing.
One part of the tour was going to "the best gelato shope in Rome" and yes it was AWESOME. I had a caramel and a lemon on (not together I got two)... The caramel rocked my socks... but it meant the lemon one tasted like the sourest of sour sours...
I saw some old buildings and the 10 angels bridge (hearing all about the passion of the christ along the way) and then in the line to the Vatican museum I bumped into Max and Nick and aranged to meet them for dinner.
So the vatican museum was pretty cool... but even I was gettting over italian rennanisance scultpure and (especially) painting by then. The sistine chapel was kinda cool though... I didn't realise it was lots of little pictures though. I think the irony of a little man shouting for everyone to be silent (not to mention the loudspeaker telling everyone) was a bit lost on most though. And talking noises... sistine chapel, best venue for a penis game EVER... Due to all the people I completely lost my tour group though so I headed off to St Pete's Bassilica by myself... Only to re find them there after I left it. That's the nicest church I've been in... which is would want to be given it's like god's house etc.... I then climbed the dome after a brief fight with the ticket man (why the fuck would I want 4 tickets you retard... I'm alone)...

I then returned to the hostel to find my new room reaking of BO... yuck...
Then I went to dinner with Nick and Max... finding out in Italy you apparently need a passport to access the internet to stop the terrorists or something. We booked our accom for Florence together there and then crossed town to a restaurant that the Lonely Planet recomended...

and they were right...

Dino and Tony's was a serious experience... I hadn't had awesomeness food experience until this restaurant... It felt a bit like eating at your friends parents' house... we felt like we should be carrying the dishes into the kitchen to help wash up against their protests of something... except the food was about the best I've ever had. Now (as you should know) Iàm not a "foodie" like a lot of my friends, but this place rocked my socks... We didn't even order... Dino (or perhaps Tony) just said "I sort you out" after we asked for antipasto...
This antipasto was so big and so good we started to think it was actually a main course too... then we got two pasta dishes each... A simple bologenese and an even simpler garlic, olive oil and basil number cooked better than I'd ever had before... followed by an "ice coffee" which was essentially frozen coffee shaved into flakes and covered with whipped cream... Coupled with the unique serving style (throw cutlery from a distance and slam plates onto the table) and a fight between dino and tony and it was amazing... A trip to a bar (after a post midnight dinner finish) and a watermellon on the walk home and you had a very full and very happy anthony.

The next day I did Justin's gore and violence tour of "badass" ancient rome sites... I saw the pantheon and the colleseum and circus maximus and other stuff like that... very cool, quite interesting and great to see all these legendary places I've been reading about for years... I also went back to the magic shop (which was an oddity, collectibles and antiques shop in reality) to get that statue I noticed of the devil for mum for her bday... only it cost 2000 euro... WOW... I guess her and I do have similar taste...

I then had a slight hiccup leaving town... 45 mins in a line getting pushed in on nearly blew my cool... especially as I nearly missed the last train to Florence because of stupid old people... I made it by 1-2 mins TOPS after sprinting in my pack. I really liked Rome and was happy I went to see ancient rome... but modern Rome and the people (and the rudeness) in it nearly ruined it for me...

Anyway that was Rome, I leave for home tomorrow and will try to blog up Florence on my stopover in Bangkok... but the summary goes Florence food is amazing, Dave is AWESOME and the girls won gold... YAY

Lòve, hùgs and Kisses
ANt

Croatia- "So where's your invitation?" "Same place as yours..."

So only one week left till I'm out of here...

Since I left Prague I've been in Croatia with TG. We started by flying from Prague to Split, where we spent a few hours looking at the palace before we jumped onto a boat to Vis Island. We got off the ferry to be greeted by people trying to flog accom off to us and we got a decent deal for a two bed flat with a nice view of Vis town.
Our first full day on Vis we intended to spend going to Blue Cave, but the trip didn't run due to numbers. So we hired a scooter instead and did a big lap of the island exploring the beaches. We ended up going to 5 lovely beaches and despite a minor toe injury and some slight sunburn it was an AWESOME day. And the sunburn really wasn't bad at all thanks to europe having and ozone layer.
The next day the blue caves trip was once again canceled so we hoped a early ferry back to split and then a bus to Dubrovnik... with a brief stop in Bosnia for some reason.

Dubrovnik is awesome. At first I got off the bus and I wasn't wowed at all but TG instantly started playing all the accom scalping Nannas against each other and we ended up with a bargain apartment in the old town. The Nanna then barged us onto a bus and checked us in. But as we hit the old town I understood why Dubrovnik is so popular... Words can't quite do it justice... you will need to see the pics. We went out with Max (the Byron kid we meet off the bus who stayed with us) and another English girl that night and started our night drinking free champagne at a jewelery opening/promo we somehow managed to crash (hence the cheeky where is your invite comment someone pulled on me) and then kicked on further... including a bizzare meeting with a group of very wealthy snobbish Russian girls who didn't want to associate with the inebriated Australians accosting them accusing them of being from Woolongong.

Next morning we went to "hole in the wall" beach/bar... which is the coolest swimming spot I've been to in a long time... My favourite spot in Dubrovnik by far (this is after a reasonable sleep in) and faffed around the rest of the day looking around the old town.
The next day we once again slept in a little and had a morning trip to hole in the wall (we have been going like 2-3 times a day) and then did the Dubrovnik tourist thing. Rector's palace and Maritime museum etc... and the really good one, the walk around the city's walls... Very scenic.
Today TG has hopped a plane to get to Florence on time for the U23s, I will hop a ferry overnight to Italy and spend a day or two in Rome before I skip up for the end of U23s and my flight home.

More general observations of Dubrovnik (and extended Adriatic Croatia) is that it really isn't sure what it is or wants to be... Is it a Coastal Resort? A Family holiday spot? Or a super expensive elite hang out... Or a backpacker town? There are aspects of all of it here...

In other news my sinuses have exploded since I've been in Dubrovnik... and I'm a little tired of living out of a bag... So home sounds kinda cool... but I'm sure within a week I'm going to want to be traveling again...

Love Hugs and Kisses
ANt