Helsinki

Helsinki was our recovery stop. After weeks of continuous travel it was lovely to find ourselves in the beautiful capital city of Finland. It was easy, clean and expensive. We were lucky enough to visit in 'Aparagus Month' (one of my favourite veggies) and had several amazing meals. Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art and the green open parks kept us entertained. It was the perfect place to recharge before we embarked on our journey through Turkey.

Russia

As you know I loved Siberia, it was the highlight of our adventure for me. The rest of Russia was also a very interesting.

My first time inside a Russian Orthodox Church was in Suzdal and it was breathtaking. The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin was highly decorated with paintings and decked out in gold. The spires and domes gave the village a feel of a deserted fairy tale. We had dinner at a local lady, Eliena's house where she cooked blini (pancakes) and we drank vodka within a glitter wallpapered room while techno was playing.

Standing in Red Square, Moscow with the amazing St Basil's Cathedral behind us was surreal. It was cold which was just as it should be. We saw Lenin's body glowing like a glowworm, wandered through Guum (although it has not retained its Sovietness) and had a guided tour through the Kremlin where we were lucky enough to view the beautiful Faberge eggs.

St Petersburg was pretty (with an icy cold wind) and reminded me very much of the beautiful European cities. The Hermitage was amazing, the collection extensive and hard to fathom. I loved standing in the room of Matisse's paintings.

We watched Russian women running for their bus in stiletto heals on ice, were told to be quiet in Lenin's Mausoleum and were served hot chips for breakfast. Russia was intriguing and bizarre. Moscow is the city I would choose to return to as it had an amazing energy and I would love to explore more.

Four x shows

I had a fabulous weekend visiting galleries and seeing shows.

I popped along to my cousin's exhibition opening at Oh Really Gallery, Enmore 'Interupted Focus', paintings by six artists. His work was of course the best (I may be biased but I also have an art history degree and have worked in the arts so I think my opinon counts for something!). I purchased a piece and can't wait to take the new addition home and add it to my collection.

 
Ad and I popped over to the Opera House to see Bell Shakespeare's production of 'Much Ado About Nothing'. It was enjoyable (not ground breaking) and it was great how we identified with the Italian elements of the play that this performance emphasised - it's amazing how travel can assist you with relating to different things!

Then it was off to some stand up comedy at the Comedy Store. Not really my thing but Ad persuaded me to go along with him and his friends. It was surprisingly ok and I laughed a fair bit!

On Sunday I visited White Rabbit Gallery with two of my lovely friends. It was so great to catch up over dumplings at the Teahouse and then wander through the amazing contemporary Chinese art. It is really difficult to fathom that it has all come from one family's collection.

Works on paper

A few artworks by very talented young Australian artists that I would love to own.

 

Laith McGregor

Dear Mister Mystical Man  2009

biro on paper

250 x 150 cm
from Sullivan and Strumpf
 

Kirra Jamison 

Cosmic might and sunset rider 2011

gouache and vinyl on paper

148 x 143 cm
from Sophie Gannon Gallery

Mongolia

Mongolia was desolately beautiful.

The capital, Ulaanbaatar was freezing, contained one unfinished skyscraper (the funding ran out before it was completed) and several statues of Chinggis Khaan. We ate horse, slept in a ger, made buuz (traditional dumplings), shopped in The State Department Store, lingered in Gandantegchinlen Khiid monastery, listened to Mongolian throat singing, visited an orphanage and wandered around in -9° temperatures.

In 2010 there was a terrible drought in Mongolia so nomadic families who had lost all of their live stock (the skeletons lined the railway track) set up their gers on the outskirts of the city to try to find work. It was an interesting contrast with the concrete and brick houses next to the tradition round ger.

The highlight for me was visiting the Natural History Museum. Not only did it contain the dinosaurs found in the Gobi Desert but it also had the most interesting taxidermy with plastic goggle eyes stuck on some animals!

Next time I would like to find the worlds largest Chinggis Khaan statue. I don't know how we missed it the first time!

Liberty + Nike

I love these! Already out of stock. Exclusively at Liberty.

China

Visiting China was not what I expected. The inevitable modernisation of the country is well underway particularly in Beijing. The food was great, especially the dumplings. Finding the old hutongs and wandering through them was fantastic and I feel that I was very lucky that I was able to experience this before they all disappear. Climbing the Great Wall was awe-inspiring.

I enjoyed visiting but my view of China has been shifted by the recent disappearance of a Chinese-Australian writer (which has since been denied) and detention of other prominent dissidents including the artist Ai Weiwei.

Ai Weiwei's beautiful works have been shown extensively in Australian and his installation Sunflower Seeds  is currently on display at the Tate Modern, London. Weiwei's works explore society, culture and history from the perspective of a Chinese dissident. He is now The Artist as Political Hero.

I am not sure if China is high on my list to visit again but I think that the dramatic craggy countryside, terracotta warriors and lights of Shanghai may lure me back.

Samantha Robinson ceramics

For my birthday I serendipitously received several porcelain pieces by the talented Sydney based ceramicist Samantha Robinson. Three couples bought me vessels from her collection!  I love them all and as they are handmade each is unique.

The two vases (or illuminators if you place a candle in them) are similar in construction but have very different patterning.  One is Samantha Robinson's signature style, a detailed leaf design in charcoal that will work perfectly with fresh flowers.  The other vase is a limited edition piece that was commissioned by the Historic Houses Trust and is based on a fantastic 1930s French wallpaper design.

I was also given a beautiful tea set.  The teapot is red with dragons and a characterful Indian cow amongst spiral designs and two teacups, one blue the other green to compliment it.

These stunning creations will be ever treasured by me forever.

Hong Kong

Today was the day we left on our adventure last year. It was such a wonderful experience for Ad & I. We had the most fabulous four months traveling and discovering new places and cultures together.

However we can't drop everything and do such a big trip again so I am going to relive our adventures by flicking through pics and thinking of what I would like to experience next time. Here I go...

Our first stop was Hong Kong.

The bustle of Hong Kong was magnetic; neon signs, rickety open trams, scrumptious food and markets were wonderful.

Next time
♥ Aim to have a little more room in my luggage to do a bit of shopping in SoHo.
♥ Wander through the squishy bric-a-brac shops where all sorts of treasures can be found.
♥ Sail Victoria Harbour on a Junk at dusk.
♥ Travel to The Peak on a day that isn't foggy to see the view.