WELL, I'M NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN! these trips always look do-able six months in advance.
Up at 4a.m. after a perfectly pleasant night in the crappiest hotel room i'm ever seen. the bed and aircon were fine, the rump steak was good and the chips were a highlight.
i got over an hour of travel in before the sun came up right in front of me, blinding for about an hour. but the sunrise was beautiful and i'm now in country on the edge of the blue mountains so it's hilly, beautiful trees, and that gorgeous lavender blue of the mountains in the distance.
Got to Katoomba, left my car at Varuna and did a quick change in the carpark behind a tree :0) just my top half ;o)
then walked up very steep streets pulling my bag over bumpy roads, they don't believe in a lot of nature strips in Katoomba.
got to the station already hot, but had two luxurious hours dozing and playing Words with Friends on the train. another train to the airport and a one hour flight. more dozing.
got to the Hilton with 1/2 to spare, so quickly freshened up.
this hotel is swish but annoying, i think every last detail has been designed by corporates around a board table.
i got dropped off by the cab at the front door (i thought) and waited and waited at the desk, getting twitchy as my time was running out.
then a valet informed me i was at the concierge's desk, and reception was on the 6th floor.
up i went to a huge glossy floor with restaurants, heaps of glass and space and those tubular glass lift up to the 20+ floors of accommodation.
couldn't get the lift to work and you feel like an idiot standing on full display in a glass tube unsuccessfully pressing buttons. then realised it has a pad to read my room card but that didn't seem to work either.
then another person got in and of course it worked perfectly. i think it read my agitation :0) it's worked ever since
so, another quick splash, tried to do something with my hair (unsuccessful) and then had to walk to the Brisbane Town Hall. I knew it was only 6 minutes away but i obviously got in a different lift from the 6th floor down and walked out into the middle of George ST Mall. i had no idea which direction to head and with time so tight i just asked a friendly face to help me. it was just around the corner when you knew which direction to head and i made it with 10 minutes on top of set up time. not bad eh?
the talk went well and Peter Williams, a lovely man who collects children's illustration and has many of my original artworks, made the trip in from a distance away. lovely to see him, and Megan Daley who writes a children's literature blog. she came with her mum, and today her kids are doing my drawing workshop. two session today, the second one is scarily called a master class even though i asked them not to do that.
we have a ballet dancer to pose for us, so it's just drawing in charcoal with adults who regularly do a class here at the museum, which is housed upstairs in the magnificent town hall. I'll get lots of pics of it today - it really is
beautiful and magnificently restored.
It's Saturday morning, i'm staying in bed and catching up on rest, i have a new book to start and it's been therapeutic just putting this all down in words. i feel i'm sorting out my head for today.
i'll be finished by 4.30 then tomorrow i fly out at 2. i'll probably get to varuna about 7 or 8 o'clock monday - can't wait.
more whinges about this hotel, there's a long flash glass topped desk placed next to the bed, it's super long so the glass corner is right in your path as you head to the loo in the night - ouch! and the wide door that houses the bar fridge is about 1" off the floor so the very pointy corner scrapes across you foot !! i think they should come and stay in their own rooms and experience the pain :-O
comfy bed and lovely sheets though.
Up at 4a.m. after a perfectly pleasant night in the crappiest hotel room i'm ever seen. the bed and aircon were fine, the rump steak was good and the chips were a highlight.
i got over an hour of travel in before the sun came up right in front of me, blinding for about an hour. but the sunrise was beautiful and i'm now in country on the edge of the blue mountains so it's hilly, beautiful trees, and that gorgeous lavender blue of the mountains in the distance.
Got to Katoomba, left my car at Varuna and did a quick change in the carpark behind a tree :0) just my top half ;o)
then walked up very steep streets pulling my bag over bumpy roads, they don't believe in a lot of nature strips in Katoomba.
got to the station already hot, but had two luxurious hours dozing and playing Words with Friends on the train. another train to the airport and a one hour flight. more dozing.
got to the Hilton with 1/2 to spare, so quickly freshened up.
this hotel is swish but annoying, i think every last detail has been designed by corporates around a board table.
i got dropped off by the cab at the front door (i thought) and waited and waited at the desk, getting twitchy as my time was running out.
then a valet informed me i was at the concierge's desk, and reception was on the 6th floor.
up i went to a huge glossy floor with restaurants, heaps of glass and space and those tubular glass lift up to the 20+ floors of accommodation.
couldn't get the lift to work and you feel like an idiot standing on full display in a glass tube unsuccessfully pressing buttons. then realised it has a pad to read my room card but that didn't seem to work either.
then another person got in and of course it worked perfectly. i think it read my agitation :0) it's worked ever since
so, another quick splash, tried to do something with my hair (unsuccessful) and then had to walk to the Brisbane Town Hall. I knew it was only 6 minutes away but i obviously got in a different lift from the 6th floor down and walked out into the middle of George ST Mall. i had no idea which direction to head and with time so tight i just asked a friendly face to help me. it was just around the corner when you knew which direction to head and i made it with 10 minutes on top of set up time. not bad eh?
the talk went well and Peter Williams, a lovely man who collects children's illustration and has many of my original artworks, made the trip in from a distance away. lovely to see him, and Megan Daley who writes a children's literature blog. she came with her mum, and today her kids are doing my drawing workshop. two session today, the second one is scarily called a master class even though i asked them not to do that.
we have a ballet dancer to pose for us, so it's just drawing in charcoal with adults who regularly do a class here at the museum, which is housed upstairs in the magnificent town hall. I'll get lots of pics of it today - it really is
beautiful and magnificently restored.
It's Saturday morning, i'm staying in bed and catching up on rest, i have a new book to start and it's been therapeutic just putting this all down in words. i feel i'm sorting out my head for today.
i'll be finished by 4.30 then tomorrow i fly out at 2. i'll probably get to varuna about 7 or 8 o'clock monday - can't wait.
more whinges about this hotel, there's a long flash glass topped desk placed next to the bed, it's super long so the glass corner is right in your path as you head to the loo in the night - ouch! and the wide door that houses the bar fridge is about 1" off the floor so the very pointy corner scrapes across you foot !! i think they should come and stay in their own rooms and experience the pain :-O
comfy bed and lovely sheets though.
