Pictures of Eire

Helloooo! Day 3 of the Shamrockers bus tour through the noble and ancient land of Ireland. It is a beautiful country. Over the last couple of days we have visited some absolutely stunning sites of scenery. Today we experienced the famous Cliffs of Moher. (you might recognise them as the Cliffs of Insanity from The Princess Bride or Tom Riddle's cave from Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince) Unbelievably beautiful and dramatic coastline, with birds soaring through the skies all around the cliffs.

It's amazing being up this far north, last night it didn't actually get properly dark until after 10:30pm. It's been mainly overcast (which Ireland is, 90% of the time) but as of now (almost 7pm) the sun is shining and it's absolutely beautiful T-shirt weather with a slight chill in the breeze.

What I've loved most about the country so far though, is immersing myself in its history and culture. Our tour guide Dave is a historian and archeologist by trade so let's just say he knows what he's talking about. Ireland's history is absolutely fascinating (and for the most part horribly tragic) and since I've only ever heard the basics (which I suppose is so be expected living in the British Commonwealth on the other side of the earth) I'm really loving hearing all of the stories, the myths, the legends and the heroes. I'm slowly beginning to understand why Ireland kinda hates England so much!... Not so much in the modern day. The Queen actually visited Ireland for the first time only last year, the first time a British monarch had set foot in the country in 100 years, and the first time since they became a republic. A strong step towards a harmonious future. But there's a lot of healing to do, it's a long and bloody past between them.

It's going to get even more fascinating (and possibly disturbing) when we go up into Northern Ireland in a couple of days. Not quite sure what to expect there...

Tonight I'm staying in the city of Galway which has taken me a bit by surprise in how awesome it is! Unlike the last few towns which have been quaint and sleepy little villages, Galway is bursting with culture and activity! It seems like a hive of creativity and modernism, while still maintaining the sense of history with its old buildings and stoned streets. Very cool place!

Tomorrow we're spending the day on the island of Inis Mór, where the residents all speak native Irish! If the weather's good I'll be hiring a bike and riding myself around the island. Should be cool!!

I'll blog later, t'be sure.

Top o' de mornin' to ye!

So I be here in de land of Ireland, t'be sure. (Oh man, I'm even TYPING in Irish...) It was a long day yesterday. I got up fresh and early, ready to catch my 12:50pm flight from London City Airport. (smaller airport in the other direction than Heathrow, but still easy to reach by train) I got there about 10am, happy that I had plenty of time before my flight... ... ...

Plenty of time, all right!! When I went to check in my luggage I discovered that the flight had been changed... to 5pm! (cue internal screaming) Let this be a lesson to every traveller... REMEMBER TO CONFIRM YOUR FLIGHTS THE NIGHT BEFORE!!! I couldn't even check my luggage in until 3, so I was basically stuck there in this tiny little terminal with a shop and... not much else. I read an entire magazine and played a lot of Professor Layton. It was a long, slow, frustrating day.

Anyway, the flight eventually happened. It was quick and painless, and I found myself in the land of Eire.

It's true what they say, the place is very, very green. Rolling hills, lush foliage, it's all green green green. I'm on a bus tour that's going all around both Irish countries in a week and I've already learned a lot about its history and workings thanks to our very informed tour guide Dave. (imagine an Irish-accented version of Tony Martin with long hair and you get the idea)

Today we did quite a lot of driving, we've come from Dublin to Killarney where we've stopped for the night. We stopped off on the way to check out the castle at the Rock of Cashel, as well as stopping for lunch at Blarney. Got to climb right to the top of this ancient castle, hang upside down over the edge and kiss the Blarney Stone. So now I officially have the gift of the gab! All right!

Tonight we're going to watch a real Irish story teller (!) tell ancient Irish folk-tales! (although Dave warned us, the guy has a filthy sense of humour. Should be a good craic...) Then it's off to the pub! Because, y'know, going to the pub and drinkin' in Ireland is just like breathin' in and breathin' out! (Oops, I'm typin' in Irish again...)

I'll blog again when I've got more news, t'be sure.

Farewell London

It feels like my feet haven't stopped since I arrived here a few days ago! Tomorrow I'm waving goodbye to London and hello to Dublin.

Last night I saw Ghost. Really cool show. There's nothing particularly surprising about the story or script for anyone familiar with the film, but the staging is really, really clever. There's heaps of moments where you sit up and go, "Holy crap, how the hell did they do that??" Like Sam walking through a door, or just materializing out of thin air. Amazing stuff, I was stumped.

Today I had a tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre which was really cool, and tonight was Matilda. Out of the nine shows I've seen in the past couple of weeks, I think this would have to be my favorite! Even though I was very familiar with the soundtrack beforehand, I was so happy to find lots of surprises in the show that I knew nothing about. Incredible show with incredible cast. I'd see it again in a heartbeat. And Amanda Thripp threw her school report-turned-paper aeroplane in my direction so I've got a memento!

Stay cool everyone! See you from Ireland!

More Butterbeer!!

Yes, I have once again sampled the nectar of the gods. And although it definitely tastes better in the proper mug, it's still amazing even in a plastic cup.

So! Last night was the Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium. The show is very good, well staged, and the new Lloyd-Webber / Rice songs are inoffensive enough (the Wicked Witch gets the best new song, Glinda gets the worst) even though they don't really match the style of the originals. I really appreciate how they've tried to step away from the movie; they're not trying to just recreate it on stage. I just wish they'd taken an extra brave step and done a complete rewrite. Keep all the beloved songs, sure. But there's some scenes that while they can approximate on stage, it's just never going to work as well as it does in a movie. And let's be honest... This is a story we've all seen about ten thousand times. I'm sure if I was 10 years old I'd probably think it's the most amazing thing ever. It's definitely a good production. But even with new songs and occasional new dialogue, it still just seemed a bit too familiar to me with very few surprises. The star of the show was little Toto. Cutest. Dog. Ever. I couldn't watch anyone else when he was on stage. 7/10 for this one.

Today was the trip north to see the Harry Potter Studio Tour. Amazing stuff, I was there for about 3 and a half hours. Unlike the theme park in Florida, this is an actual tour. You get a cool visual headset with Tom Felton's voice in your ears, and as you wander around all the setpieces at your own pace he narrates for you, and you can stop whenever you want and watch video interviews on your little display. Really nicely presented and there's lots and lots to look at. I can't imagine any Potter-fan being disappointed.

Okay, time to head off to the theatre again!! Tonight it's Ghost. Watch this space!

'Ere, whassat you say?

New day, new country. New continent, in fact! But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Where did I last leave off? Ah yes.

After having a horrendous time trying to post a simple parcel at the post office (seriously, I spent an HOUR in there getting dicked around) I made it to the Ground Zero memorial site. It's very nicely set up, very thoughtful and sensitive. In the exact spots where the twin towers once stood are hollows in the ground with water cascading down into a hole in the middle that you can't see the bottom of. Then there's the names of all the people who died surrounding each pool. There's one special tree there they call the "survivor tree." After the rubble was cleared away this poor little guy had been reduced to an 8 foot stump but it was still alive, the only living thing to survive. It's now got a prominent position in the memorial site. They're building the new World Trade Centre buildings around the site, which will eventually be a central courtyard for the complex.

That night I saw my final Broadway show, Newsies. Really great show, thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone loves a David and Goliath story about the little guys taking on the giants. This is about the kids who sold newspapers in New York at the turn of the century going on strike, and their battle against the newspaper giants. The majority of the cast seem quite young (mainly early 20s, and some who'd be no older than 15 or 16) and the dancing is amazing! It's a favourite to win all kinds of Tony. Awards next month, and it would be week deserved. I didn't think it was quite as good a show as Sister Act or book of Mormon, but definitely one worth seeing. 8/10.

The next day (Tuesday) in New York was POURING! And stupid me went out to wander the streets. Got pretty drenched, with occasional coffees in Starbucks to avoid the rain. Luckily guys on the streets were selling cheap umbrellas so I bought one.

That afternoon was probably the most stressed I've been on this whole trip. I had booked for a shuttle bus to take me to the airport at 2:15, which I thought would give me plenty of time before my 6:50 flight. Well, I waited and waited. At 2:45 I got the hotel to ring the shuttle company and ask what the heck was going on. They said he'd be there in 5 minutes. The rain was apparently delaying things. Well, he finally arrived at 3:15, an hour late, and then we had to go through standstill New York traffic to THREE other hotels across town to pick people up, and by that time it was peak hour on the freeway. (sigh) Internalizing my inner stress is not good, but there wasn't a single thing I could have done. I could jump and shout and make a fuss, but there isn't any way we could have rot there sooner, the traffic was just horrible. I would not have the patience to drive in traffic like that. I swear I'll never complain about the Monash again! By the time I got to check in my luggage it was about 6:05, 45 minutes before scheduled takeoff. And then there was a 20 minute queue just to get through security! Rrrrrrrrghghgh!!

But I got on my plane. True to form, didn't get a wink of sleep (although British Airways flights are so cool with your own screen and about 20,000 entertainment options to choose from!) I watched Chronicle (very cool), Happy Feet 2 (meh), a BBC doco on the queen's upcoming jubilee (fascinating) and the first half hour of Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince.

Which brings me here to London. So tired, but forced myself to wander around and get my bearings. London is another WORLD from NYC! It's so quiet! So dignified! So... "nice."

After an afternoon nap I went to Her Majesty's Theatre and met up with Jimmy who's been spotlighting there for a year and a half. It's so nice to have a familiar face to talk to after a week on my own. He gave me a personal backstage tour of the theatre, which has been playing Phantom of the Opera for 25 years now! Then I got to watch the show sitting at the sound booth! Awesome experience! Thanks Jimmy!!

Then I went back to the hotel and BOMBED. For 11 hours. Which brings me to now! London calls, so I'll wrap up now. Hope Australia's all fine. Catch ya next time, wherever that may be!

And the Broadway-a-thon Continues!

Hello again from NYC! I'm beginning to feel like a local now. Especially in the Broadway scene! Five shows now and counting! Check out all the programmes in the picture below. My case is suddenly getting a whole lot heavier...)

Sister Act was really great. Knew it would be! It's just a real crowd pleaser. I had a big stupid grin on my face for the whole show. I'm annoyed that I just missed seeing Petina Miller. Her replacement, Raven Symone, was good (her singing was great) but I think she was a bit miscast here. She comes across as quite young, kinda cute and sweet. Which is endearing, but Deloris Van Cartier is supposed to be sassy! She's supposed to be a bit rough, she's been around the block a few times. Anyway, the show was still really great. Apparently it's coming to Aus soon, so highly recommended. 9/10.

Next up was the backstage tour of Wicked! Me (and about a hundred others) got to get up close and personal with some of the costumes and props (the detail is staggering!) as well as chat to a couple of cast members. One of then, Kristen, is currently on maternity leave, but she's been with the show since the very beginning, about 9 years now! We also got to sit in the theatre and watch the tech guys maintain Elphaba's Defying Gravity flying device. And they didn't seem to mind photos... You'll also see a picture of the hugely pregnant Kristen attempting to work the flying monkey wings. Funny!

Then that afternoon I saw Spider-Man. You know, I'd heard a lot about it and wasn't expecting to think much of it. But I actually thought it was awesome! Don't get me wrong, the story, the script, the music... They're all okay without being great (although it's apparently much better than its original version last year...) But it's the visual spectacle that makes it a must-see. You're just constantly going "woowww." And you'd hope so, the thing cost $80 million to put on! The way the sets work with perspective is just really, really cool. And of course, there's Spidey and co. flying around the theatre. Which I actually surprised myself how excited I got when I was watching it. Especially since I was RIGHT down the front in the middle, and on Spidey's first flight he landed RIGHT in front of me (I could have reached out and high-fived him!) and then covered all of the people around me with webbing. Awesome! I kinda hate to admit it, but it actually is one of the must-see shows on Broadway, because it just looks amazing, and there's nothing else like it. 7.5/10.

Then just a few hours after Spider-Man I caught a show of Memphis. I was so excited to see Adam Pascall on stage! Last time I was on Broadway, I got his understudy in Aida. And last night... I got his understudy... >:-( The guy was actually really good, but I can't believe it happened to me twice! Memphis won the "Best Show" award at the Tonys a couple of years back and I can see why. Great music (by David Bryan of Bon Jovi) as well as a touching story with similar themes to Hairspray (emerging racial equality in the middle of the 20th century) But this one's a bit of a love story. Beautifully staged; the lighting and the dancing were really good. It also had a bit more humour than I was expecting. Great show, and I was able to buy the DVD in the foyer too, so while it'll probably never make it to Aus, it'll always be watchable at my house! ^_^

Today I headed uptown to the Bronx. Yankee Stadium, in fact! I went to the baseball! Check me out in my Yankees cap! The Yankees lost, but it was still a great experience. They've made it much more interactive for the crowd then ball games in Australia. The screen will light up at times, encouraging everyone to clap or chant or pose for the cameras.

Tonight I'm having a night off the theatre. (gasp!) Not really by choice, it's just that very few shows play on a Sunday night. It was basically Priscilla or nothing. And since I wasn't excited
enough to see Priscilla back in Melbourne, I think I'll give it a miss here too.

Tomorrow I'm visiting the Ground Zero Memorial Site and then seeing Newsies at night. After that it's farewell U.S.A. and hello England!

Start Spreading The News...

Well, Naomi's gone back to the real world and I've gone North. On arrival I was a bit culture-shocked by New York. Even though I've been here twice before I just wasn't quite prepared for the scale, the noise, the crowds and crowds of people!

After the first day I was exploring the city like a pro. The trick is, don't look like a tourist and no one will glance at you twice. So it's grumpy-face activated, cameras hidden and look like you know exactly where you're going!

My Broadway marathon began on my first night. I saw Leap of Faith, Broadway's latest huge flop. It's closing in just a couple of nights, after only 30 performances. And I was at one of them! The show was decent, but not particularly memorable. Apart from the fact the cast ended the show completely soaked, there was nothing to make it stand out among the millions of others shows playing here. It had a great gospely Menken soundtrack though. I hope they release a CD. I'd give the show 6/10.

Yesterday I went to a recording of the Dave Letterman show which was a great experience. I hope everyone was watching last night and looking out for me in the audience!

After that I saw the Book of Mormon last night. Believe the hype, the show is fantastic! So, so funny. The biggest surprise for me was that besides all the crude humour and bad taste was a whole lot of heart. It's really quite a touching story. Brilliant staged and the two leads, Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, are just so, so funny. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing these roles, but Josh told me at the stage door that he's finishing in 3 weeks. Lucky I got to see him in time!!
I'd give Book of Mormon a 10/10. I really can't fault it.

Tonight it's Sister Act. I'm a bit bummed that original leading lady Pettina Miller just finished up on the show last month. I hope her replacement is good. Tomorrow it's a double-whammy with Spider-Man then Memphis. On Sunday I'm going to the baseball (go Yankees!) and on Monday night I'm seeing Newsies. Hardly and time to rest! Hooray for Starbucks and free wi-fi!