Living low in the highbrow

I went to a writers festival over the weekend. I always get inspired listening to other writers, hearing about their creative process, their advice, their failures, their characters...It's also surprising how much of creativity and writing is a mystery. For a lot of the questions, the answers the writers were giving were "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" but they ended up having a really personal way of writing. It was quite humbling to think that there is no perfect guide to writing.

The other thing was that my workmate and I ended up having political/life discussions over the weekend. Our main concern was that in our generation we seem to be caught between a world of pop culture and the political/social world. The lowbrow VS highbrow. The mainstream VS the intellectual. It's so strange to think that we have to choose sides, when really pop culture, the Paris Hilton/Britney, branded, capitalist, marketability is unavoidable. Consumerism is what we've been brought up with. It's difficult to fight it. It doesn't mean that we can't both be informed and be consumers, like gossip columns and like world news. As a young person, we feel like we're being pigeonholed. Choose your category and stick to it.

T

P.S. Here is a few of my favourite travel photos.


The Full House terrace houses in San Francisco.


Central Park in December.


Nice, pebbled beaches and laid back French charm.


Venice is a tad smelly but, makes up for it with its romance and the bottled bellini.


Mozart lived here in Vienna.


Mt Pilatus and its mountain goats who appear unaffected by the altitude.


In Lucern the temperature was so cold that I had two hot chocolates in one day.


Book burning memorial in Berlin.


The Vlata River in Prague.

Rigamarole

Rigamarole: a set of confused and meaningless statements

Sometimes you have one of those amazing weekends when you know that you'll look back on it in say five, ten years time you'll think...wow what are the odds, how did that happen, I was so happy in that moment.

I've learned more to enjoy those moments and try not to pinch myself when I'm in them.

What happens on contiki...

I've been home for about 10 days now and I feel like a part of me has slipped back into old Tash ways. I think you're always a different person on holiday, more open to new things and experiences. When you're home you realise that everything around you has stayed the same and you gradually morph back into your old self.

Eg. I caught so many trains overseas, countless times. I come back home and my anti-train sentiment creeps back in and I won't even catch it by myself. Why is that?

Anyway, the holiday was, as expected, phenomenal, exciting, incredibly fun. All positive adjectives may be applied to describe it. It was single handedly the best thing I have done in my life thus far. I love how I can say outrageous things like that being only 21.

Highlights of the USA:

San Francisco - walking down Lombard Street (crookest street in the world), seeing 'sidewalk' garage sales, unknowingly tramping through the tough Tenderloin district, seeing the Full House townhouses, being asked for directions and feeling like a native...

New York - seeing the Nutcracker on my birthday which lived up to the hype, unwittingly eavesdropping on a hilarious first date conversation where the female New Yorker talked about herself nonstop, walking through Greenwich Village and finding a yummy Italian patisserie, the beautiful Christmas markets especially all lit up at night and watching ice skaters, learning that takeaway coffee cups have "sleeves" so you don't burn your hands and listening to drummers on the subway...I heart NY!

Also spent a little while in London, I liked the city but the vibe feels pretty much like Melbourne/Sydney with everything being incredibly expensive. The hotels we stayed in had tiny rooms and even tinier bathrooms. I did enjoy going to the Tate Modern museum though.

Contiki, contiki, contiki. Where to start with the story of Contiki? Well let's just say that some things on contiki are only inevitable such as: being drunk, partying hard, getting Contiki cough and being sick as a dog, early mornings, trying to sleep on the bus unsuccessfully, making new friends, hook ups and gossip and commissioned shops.

That being said, we had an awesome tour manager with an incredible love of history and insider knowledge (eg. take the stairs down to the Lourve and avoid the front entry queue), there were only a few people out of the 50 on tour that were annoying, everyone else was really nice, we went to places that weren't on the itinerary like the Mauthaussen concentration camp a harrowing but necessary experience, the hotels were pretty decent and the Europeans were really nice. After awhile Contiki is pretty much like a high school camp, you have your inside jokes, a theme song and gossip that travels like a bushfire...but the experience is once in a lifetime.

Favourite places on tour...

1. Venice
2. Paris
3. Nice

But every place is unique in its own way. Barcelona for example was dirty and kind of reeked but the food was amazing and the nightlife was crazy fun, getting free shots and free pours...Amsterdam had its seedy side (sex and drugs) but the shopping was great and visiting Anne Frank's house was moving.

I'd definitely go back to Italy and the French Riveria, and probably Paris too. I'd like to learn another language though before travelling again.

What do you learn about yourself from travelling?

You learn to trust your instincts when it comes to directions and to always ask when in doubt, not to leave your valuables lying around even in your suitcase...you learn that you're more independent and mature than you realise and shock horror you're "grown up", that it is unwise to drink a huge cocktail when you've had two glasses of champagne, mulled wine and a shot, and finally you learn that it's okay to take a chance with someone, even if you don't know where it will go.

T

Will post pics soon!