Maastricht - Berlin.

Arrive in Maastricht late afternoon. Stay OK is a brand spanking new hostel which is great but it has zero character. There are 3 other girls in my dorm and later that evening one came with me for a big walk around the city. It's a very beautiful place, right down the bottom of the Netherlands...it's so beautiful I could imagine living here very happily.

The next morning I get up a bit earlier and walk around the city again to take some photos and see the city in the daylight. Beautiful sunrise. I go back to the hostel to have the yummiest and biggest brekky ever, before catching my train at 11am. Bad point, for about an hour before catching my train I was fruitlessly searching for an internet cafe with my big pack on my back. The library didn't open until half an hour before my train left so ended up going there to check my email then running to the train station, with 15.7 kgs (my life!) strapped to my back.

I have to catch 4 trains to Berlin, the first two are only short and on the last two I have company from one of my roomates from the night before. Anya is 20 and spent last year in America as an au pair and although is German speaks perfect english with an American accent. She came to Maastricht to find a flat as she is studying at university there in the new year. We chat the whole 6 hours to Berlin and she invites me to her town about 1 hour out of Berlin. Sadly, I don't go as there is way too much going on in Berlin!

Once in Berlin I'm straight to the hostel, it's again a great choice and I have a whole dorm all to myself on night 1. 7 requests for couch surfing here have all been denied - it's pretty tuough handling all these denials but people already have guests, are travelling or not able to host. Oh well!

I walk al day Friday from noon til 10pm. Come back to the hostel to relax, it's been a good, but LONG day exploring. In the afternoon I did a walking tour which went for just under 4 hours and took in Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Hitler's Bunker (well we stood on top of it), Luftwaffe HQ, the Holocaust Memorial, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin Wall, SS HQ, Checkpoint Charlie (even though it's all replica now and surrounded by souvenir shops), Bebelplatz and the book burning memorial, Museum Island and Gendamenmarkt. It was really good (for free! The guides work on tips...don't worry I gave him a few euro) but feel like I need to go back and visit a lot of these sites again, especially the Holocaust Memorial. After the tour I tried to get a last minute, cheap student ticket to the opera 'Aida' but alas, it's all sold out. I'll try for whatever's playing the next night. I wander around the city, stumble upon a few cool things but felt like I was missing something. This is the one city Jen and I need to visit together, and being there without her is just not as cool as it would be with her...can't wait to see you in Perth, my darl!

On Saturday I take an 'Alternative Berlin' walking tour. It's a good group of about 10 people (yesterday was over 25) and we all get along well. Again, the guide works on tips, but instead of seeing monuments and historical stuff we see things like street art, graffiti and the districts that make up Berlin. We use the public transport as well so we can get further out. Had lunch at Curry, cheap and filling German nosh. We visit a vintage shop called Colours where you buy clothing by the kilo! I finally found an awesome beanie and it was only 1 euro 20! I also bought a silk scarf for 1 euro, noice :)

Visited Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, Prenzlauerberg and Mitte. We visit Eastside Gallery, a 1.3 km stretch of the Berlin Wall (and climb it - see photo) but walk along it on the other side, so have it to ourselves instead of tussling with tourists on the other side! In summer the tour would have finished here at a daytime rave! Instead, we escape from the Berlin Wall by crawling under a fence at the end...it's all very funny and really interesting to be going around town with a local. Amazing sunset. Great diversion from seeing monuments and cathedrals (not that there's anything wrong with that).

End up at this place which I've forgotten the name of which is a famous space for artists. Have a beer here and finish the tour.

Oh, and we also broke into an abandoned building (seriously) and climbed up onto the roof. This is all part of the tour (and the guide has his lawyer on speed dial should anything happen. Apparantly we wouldn't get in trouble if we got spotted by the cops because there is no sign on this building saying "no trespassing".

I decide I need a bit of culture to make up for my breaking the law (this photo is my bemused face at the top of the building and the one above it is another Aussie making his entrance). I head to Opera House half an hour before performance. I nab a ticket for 12 euro but it's the state ballet tonight (Jerome Robbins 'Balletabend") and not opera. It was lovely although completely weird to go to such a beautiful building in a hoodie, jeans and sneakers. It's Berlin so no one cares, at least that's what I keep telling myself.

Head back to the hostel and decide to call it a night but my dorm mates invite me out, I can't refuse. We leave the hostel at 1 am and head to Weekend, a club on the 12th floor of an office block overlooking Alexanderplatz. It's a crazy, Berlin nightclub and we dance until 5 am and then decide to go...and it's snowing outside! I feel giddy from the excitement of snow but that quickly disappears when I have to walk thorugh snow and slush in my 5 pound ballet flats with holes in the soles. They go in the bin on arrival at the hostel and my feet surprisingly defrost quickly.

What an amazing day that was! Graffiti, abandoned buildings, climbing the Wall, ballet, electronic music and snow. And that's just the main things I remember! I'm satisfied with my time here in Berlin and decide to head to Krakow a day earlier than planned.

Clearing the backlog of posts...a current update

Hi All,

Just a quick note to say my travels are going really well and so far I've been handling the last three days of snow...real snow!!!

Journey so far after Ireland has been Brussels, Brugges, Maastricht, Berlin, Krakow, Osweichiem (Auschwitz). Tomorrow I leave Krakow for Olomouc, then Prague, then after that it looks like Cesky Krumlov, Munich, Lucerne, Venice and Rome. I have bought a cheap flight from Rome to Madrid as i will be pushing it too much to travel overland to get there by 7 December in preparation for my english teaching.

By the way, yes, i am aware I am completely shunning France on this trip. How rude! No real reason why other than I'm just running out of time. I'll get there another time, perhaps when I am able to shop in Dior and wear high heels, Carrie Bradshaw style.

Until then I will be a dag doing silly poses like this (picture) on the side of the Berlin Wall where rave parties are held in the summer.

Slowly i will add photos and updates from my trip, over the last few days i've been clearing the backlog of older stories I've been wanting to share. Scroll down and happy reading!

Belgium

Monday 19 November

Up at 5.15am and a quick taxi to the Dublin airport. We are waiting on he tarmac for 1 hour before the plane takes off to arrive in Brussels. Brussels Chaleroi Airport is about 40 minutes away from the city centre so I jumped on the local bus to take me to the train station to christen my interrail ticket. Weird feeling to just get on a train and not have to pay for a ticket, ah the joy of prepaying!

Brussels Midi Station, I left my luggage here and walked into town. Saw Manneken Pis, Grand palace, Parc De Bruxelles to the Australian Embassy to vote in the federal election (see photo, yes it is the wrong way but I don't know what rotate is in Polish!). After 3 solid hours of walking, (no rain though grey skies) I treated myself to a Belgian waffle with hot melted chocolate on it. Amazing. Caled 'jolie' by a French boy wanting a light for his cig - I told him smoking was bad for his health.

Walked back to meet my Couch Surfing host Jemiro, just after 6pm. It is the first time I have been in a left hand drive car and it feels weird! Jemiro's place is just outside the city and he rents the second level of an older ladie's gorgeous flat - she is scared of living alone. the house is 4 levels and there are paintings al in the hallway and I assume all throughout the house - the women's father was a famous Flemish painter. I feel as though I am in Europe totally.

Jemiro and I get along great, he is such a polite, friendly, nice guy and gives me a great rundown of Belgian history - much more interesting hearing it this way than from some guidebook. We go for a ride around Brussels and he points out the European Parliament, Royal Palace and the Atomium (picture, also sideways), amongst other things. The Atomium is the weirdest thing Ive come across since travelling but I guess that's one of the quirks of Brussels.

We bought some vol au vents and made tea. Jemiro sneaked off and also bought some frites (fries) which we had talked about earlier. Had a great chat all through the night before retiring on the comfy couch.

The next day we head to the local bakery for a croissant and a chocolate croissant(!) for brekky. Jemiro drops me off at Centraal Station and I take a day trip to Brugges on the train. It's a beautiful medieval (I think?) city with a small, gorgeous layout. One of its main squares has Belgium's oldest Stadhuis (city hall). In the same square there is the Basilica of Holy Blood where a few drops of Jesus' coagulated blood is kept. Make of that what you want, the basilica was closed for lunch, when I arrived, as is most of the town until 1.30pm. I go for a big walk and fall in love with the little apartments and their lace curtains.

The begijnhof is home to a 13th century religious community of unmarried/widowed women, known in Belgium as Begijen. It has gorgeous grounds and you are welcome to wander through these in silence. I almost die when I go past the giant door to the church and it opens from the other side. Try expressing shock to the person on the other side when you can't go "Jesus, you scared the bloody hell out of me!". I think I did well. The place is lovely and it's good to know if I never get married, I can always head here and hang out with all the sisters who run this place.

In the evening, Jemiro met me back at the Centraal train station and we walked through a lot more sights including the Guild Park which around its perimeters has a statue representing each of the trades represented by a union at that time (a few hundred years ago???) ie baker, blacksmith. Didn't notice a nurse up there, I must get the RCN to do something to change that!

On the way to this we came across something SO strange, one of the universities was holding a night for its students, they line the streets and drink in a convoy of trucks and semi trailers which dispense the beer. Realy weird site and apparantly alumni come back and do it every ear. There were thousands of people there, i swear. Jemiro says it is the end of 'initiation' for the new students as they lead into exam time. An absolutely giant pissup, me thinks.

While we leave the students to continue debauchery in the streets, we head to Delirium Cafe, a bar with over 2000 beers on its menu. Jemiro thinks he does the right thing and orders for me a strawberry flavoured beer because "that's what the girls like". Not me, unfortunately, it's too sweet and I've had something like this in the past and not liked it. Oh well, 1 down at least 1999 to go.

Later, Sounds Jazz Club is where we meet up with two other local Couch Surfers (photo). Clare is originally from France and George from the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. Great company, food and of course music. The band playing was really "groovy" and the club had a really nice atmosphere, full of people. We shared a giant plate of pasta and lots of red wine as well.

Ireland. In all fairness, like, it's pretty beautiful...

Stories to accompany these pics coming soon!

Leaving Edinburgh

After returning from London on a Sunday night, I had only a few days left before leaving the flat to start travelling again on the Friday. Each night after work was filled with catching up with friends, going out, packing and reminiscing. I'd also like to add I had a massive cold which is still lingering, weeks later and involved me blowing my nose every 5 seconds. Seriously, not a good look. I moved out of my room for the new girl, Nat to move in on Wednesday and spent the next two nights dossing in my own apartment on the couch. Weird feeling! The new housemates seem cool and I'm sure will be happy in the next chapter of 53 (2f1) George IV Bridge. Diana and Marcos (picture) left on Wednesday to move back to Madrid, with bulging suitcases and smiles about going back to family, warmer weather and Marcos' beloved Spain. I will visit them in December and can't wait to hear how they are going and also to indulge in copious amounts of nutella crepes and chat.

My last day at the RCN was Thursday and I was spoilt rotten by the great colleagues I had come to know over the last seven months. I will miss in particular my "team" - Alan, Pat, Jilly and Aileen. They are a great bunch of people and I hope to keep in touch with them. On my last day we held the obligatory afternoon tea where we ate yummy cakes and chatted over cups of tea for a wee while. Alan (my boss) made a lovely speech which I really didn't expect and gave me a card signed by the office staff and a bag of goodies. I couldn't believe that they had gone to this amount of trouble for me. I'm going to list what I got because there were some really funky things in there, they'd had a good old brainstorm on what to get a travelling wilbury!
-Swiss army knife (which I christened about five minutes after receiving it by slicing my finger nicely...still have a little scar)
-A lipgloss in the shape of a Ferrero Rocher...mmm chocolate.
-An Edinburgh cosmetic bag, which now houses my first aid kit in my backpack.
-A hammock - thanks Jilly! I am so taking it with me to Thailand...there will be photographic evidence of its use.
-A gel handwarmer in the shape of a heart, it has a great saying about listening to your heart and not your head but I haven't got it with me right now.
-A hot water bottle with a knitted cover with hearts on it (are you sensing a theme here of my complaining about the cold?)
-I also got a considerable amount of Euros which helped my budget in Ireland no end and also saved me a trip to M&S to change pounds over.

Pat also gave me a silver necklace with an amber pendant. I think it looks great and was such a nice pick, very special. Pat sure does have an eye for great jewellery.

Lugging all this down to Bierex after work finished, we had a great crowd come down for dinner and drinks. I had my first Hot Toddie (whiskey, hot water, lemon, sugar and cloves) courtesy of Emma, I don't know if I'd rush to have another any time soon. It was good to have some laughs outside of work and again being spoilt rotten by my generous colleagues. this picture isn't from my farewell do but I think this picture of Jilly is hilarious. Did someone say 2 for 1???

Friday I spent packing, finishing last minute jobs and catching up with people. Nic met up with me for a pot of tea and a huge chat, we hadn't seen each other in ages and I am glad she's heading back to Australia over Christmas (she'd be on her way now!) and then back to Edinburgh a little bit into the new year to start a new job. I hope it's a lot more creative than her last one for her sake. Blast from the past, after tea with Nic I met up with Rachael, who I worked with back at Myer. We always talked about meeting up in the UK as she was going on a roadtrip with her cousin and Aunty around Britain...and we did! It was great to hear her stories about Contiki in Europe and how the roadtrip was going so far. She is going to live and work in the UK for the next year I think which is awesome, sad I won't be there to catch up with her again. We went to Monster Mash for a good, stodgy meal.

Soon enough it was time for me to leave to pick up my bags, say goodbye to the housemates and catch the bus with Noni to the airport to take off for Dublin. As usual, an uncouth Ryanair flight took place with rowdy, loud, disgusting drunk Brits. I loathe low cost flights on Friday nights, peace and quiet on the plane is out of the question. Post about Ireland coming soon!

Mum and Dad's visit

At the beginning of October Mum and Dad left for their first overseas adventure. And what an adventure it was - at the end of their trip they'd visited more countries than me!

After a few days in Singapore, they came straight to Edinburgh to see meeeee! I was very excited to see them and had been missing them so much - more than I ever thought I could. They arrived at the airport looking exhausted after a bloody long time stuck in aircrafts, and of course the first thing Mum pointed out was her flat hair - like mother like daughter, always on about the important stuff!

They were in Edinburgh for 7 nights but really only 5 days to sightsee. I stayed with them in the apartment they rented and we were very comfy on the fringe of the city. We had full on days doing lots of touristy stuff and seeing the sights.

My favourite part would probably be our visit to the Botanic Gardens, it was a lovely afternoon for a late picnic lunch and enjoying the surroundings. This was also Mum and Dad's first peek at squirrels which delighted Dad no end. The pidgeons were so well fed we were amazed they could even leave the ground to fly. Being Autumn, the gardens were alive with colour as the leaves have started to turn.

Amongst other things, we

-had dinner with briony at the Tower Restuarant at the royal museum. Dad ordered the yummiest white wine I'd ever tasted (it was German, that's as much as I can remember), and I had pidgeon as a starter. i finally got my revenge on my worst enemy over here!
-went to the Royal Yacht Brittania. The Queen has simple taste when it comes to decorating her boats!
-Holyrood Palace, the Royal residence in Edinburgh. The Queen was last here only a month before.
-Edinburgh Castle
-day trip to fishing village Anstruther and a few other towns in Fife. Spent the afternoon in St. Andrews, very nice.
-went to a scotch whisky exhibition and I now know the 5 steps to appreciating whisky:
1.Colour. Is your whisky light gold, bright copper or rich amber in colour?
2. Body. Does your whisky have a light, medium or fulll body?
3. Nose. Which aromas do you recognise when you nose your whisky - is it malty, smoky, fruity, chocolatey?
4. Palate. What characteristics do you notice on the palate - is it softly sweet, rich and fruity or peppery and spicy?
5. Finish. Does the flavour remain for a long time or does it disappear quickly?

It was great to show them around the place I've called home for the last little while and see the sights, but the best part was just relaxing with them at the apartment in the evenings. We'd just sit around and talk and nibble yummy things from Peckham's.

Here are some photos from Edinburgh:

After they toured Europe and Ireland, I took a few days off work to meet them in London before they went home. I caught the train up (down!) which was pleasant enough although halfway through the trip dad rang to tell me that the hotel Andy (their travel agent) had booked for us was like Fawlty Towers. It was certainly that and not a nice ending to the trip for them, more like a B&B than a hotel. We were that close to finding another nicer hotel but we ended up sticking it out and just having a laugh about the incidents that included:
-Reception that seemed baffled upon Mum and Dad's check in
-Weird staff
-Missing lightbulbs in the breakfast room
-An extra bed appearing in the room for no apparant reason
-A bathroom the size of a cupboard.
-The electricity mysteriously going off in our room one afternoon
-only 2 cups for tea/coffee, despite there being 3 of us (and beds for 4!)

That's London accommodation I suppose! On the bright side, it was a great location, right in Paddington and quiet at night.

On the second day in London it was Mum's birthday and as Mum and Dad's birthday presents for this year I bought us all tickets to go to the London Eye and a Thames River Cruise. We had a nice lunch and later in the evening I caught up with a mate of mine in London and saw Picadilly Circus all lit up at night. I went back to see Mum and Dad and drag them out to see it, so iconic.

The next day we did a bus tour around London and saw more sights, got tickets to the tower of London but arrived to late to enter. Got in touch with Jas Luteria, a family friend who's been living in London for a year and a half. We went to dinner that evening and it was really good to see her again.

Saturday was jam packed. We went back to the Tower of London to see amongst other things, the Crown Jewels. Amazing. not the sort of stuff you'd see down at Bevilles!

A small relax in the afternoon (that's when the electricity went off) and then off to a matinee performance of Les Miserables. We all admitted to nodding heads in the first act, but a Haagen-Daaz icecream at the interval perked us up and we all really loved it. The voices of the cast were so powerful and the theatre space so intimate, it was very moving.

Lots of yummy lunches and dinners, a little bit of shopping, bought cara's birthday present and time was up. We spent a few hours at Heathrow Airport together, Mum and I were absolute messes before they went through the gates but it won't be long until I'm home again.

London:

Scottish roadtrip. You pay in haggis at the toll booths...

On the long weekend in September, Cheryl, Noni and I hired a slek car to do some touring of what has become our home country. The Friday and Saturday nights are quiet, Noni and I watch Sex and the City again while Cheryl works. On Saturday evening after a completely lazy day I knew I needed to go for a walk otherwise I´d be as restless as anything all night! Great 2 hour walk, went down to the Water of Leith for the first time. It´s a stretch of water going through Edinburgh all the way down to the City of Leith (sister city Rio Di Janeiro. Hilarious.). beautiful scenery, many statues and footbridges along the way. I giggled as I watched a dog go fetch sticks from the water thrown by its owner. They both looked like they were having a great time. Edinburgh is raised on a hill from the water so when you walk under a bridge like the Dean Bridge, it´s a really lovely sight.

The next morning we woke up early and headed down to collect our rented car for the next two days. On Sunday the city branch of the rental company is closed so we headed to make our way down to the airport. Despite feeling a lot older these days, I take heart that I still have to pay a ýoung driver´surcharge. I suppose I should enjoy that while it lasts! Slight hitch, the lady behind the counter thinks to hire an automatic car you need to be at least 26. Having read the terms and conditions a million times before booking I know this is bull. She becomes adamentand rings a colleague who agrees with her. She talks us into getting a manual when another lady comes in and happily butts in to say the girl at the counter is wrong. And off we go!

It´s started raining now, and continues for most of the day, which means we do a lot of driving but not much sightseeing or getting out of the car to explore.

We head to Perth, Dundee, and Aberdeen. I am surprised (and shocked at my assumptions) at how big these cities are. I laugh at how Aberdeen looks all one colour - grey! Our drive from Aberdeen to Inverness is a lot less fun for me as I announce I am feeling carsick. Feel gross for half an hour before pulling over and throwing up, do it all again a few towns after. Yuck! I am instantly reminded of when i was younger on trips to port Pirie and having to pull over on the side of the road...I would never be allowed to have an iced coffee at Port Wakefield for years!

We arrive at inverness around 8.30pm and quickly decide we are ready t settle down for the ngiht. It´s another half hour travelling beside Loch Ness before we find a nice, safe, carpark to stay in at Drumnadrochit (this could be misspelled). We are with a few other cars and there is a toilet block ajoining the tourist office that opens early the next morning. I´m still feeling crampy from being sick so am happy to listen and heryl and Noni chatter away. We retire about 11.30pm. I´ve scored the backseat of our Astra which is cosy but had to put up with the seatbelt buckles jutting into me all night. I´m also amayed my legs stayed in a folded position for 7 hours. It´s cold but my sleeping bag and slipper socks do the trick. It´s now 8.10 am, Iäve been up since 7.30am to go to the toilet, where I´m chatting to the cleaner - she´s quite a talker! She saw us rock up last night. I check to make sure we wouldn´t get in trouble for staying in a place with ´No Parking Overnight´signs. She said they had to put those up as they were having trouble with caravaners emptying their waste into the toilet blocks and the chemicals stuffing up the pipes. Mmm. The girls are still fast asleep in the front, npo doubt I´ll be the first to drive this morning!

Spend the day checking out Loch Ness and surrounds in the AM, then heading back to Edinburgh to return the car about 9pm. We drive along the Lochs and the scenery i beautiful, especially when the clouds break - we had amaying bits of sunshine coming out. it swapped from rainy to sunny all through the afternoon. Wish we have time to stop in all the little quaint towns along the way but we have a lot of ground to cover. We do make a stop at gorgeous Fort William where Cheryl shows us a place to have afternoon tea and scrummy strawberry scones with clotted cream. I don´t think Australians get clotted cream, in my opinion there´s just something weird about it. Could be the cream clogging my brain with fat, who knows...

After high tea, we took a walk along a creek that runs through the town, it´s a nice way to stretch our legs after being in the car so much.

back in the car we head through Loch Lomond National Park. It´s a fairly bland drive, the landscape doesn´t vary in this part as much as our drive earlier in the day. When our radio cuts out that doesn´t help the boredom either. Those not driving doze and awake to fighter jets letting off an almighty roar over our heads. It was like the Apocalyse coming and gave us a bit of excitement for the next half hour. A quick stp in Sitrling and we are back in Edinburgh, tired, smelly and looking forward to sleeping in a bed!

Looking back on this now I have left Scotland, I would have liked to have gotten off the route to do a little bit more exploring. This includes the West Coast and further up in the Highlands. Of course time didn´t allow for this, but it just means I´ll have to return to see it all again another time.

Final fringe recap

So, as you can tell i got a bit bored with typing up my blog over the last few months. It's all down on paper so slowly I will trough through it. I have a laptop to make use of over the next hour before I catch a train from Brussels to Maastrict so let's see how fast i can type on a European keyboard - apologies for the mistakes, especially if I put a 'q'where an 'a' should be.

Sunday 19 August 16.00 Umbrella Birds, WC.

Briony, Diana and Marcos and their visitor Marta finally listened to my continual cry of 'Go see Tom Tom Club'. While they went and saw that, I bought a ticket for WC. It had been sold out all week and I soon found out why...it's set in a portable loo. The audience of about 10 crammed into a toilet trailer and I sat, wedged next to a basin for the performance. It was 4 girls doing a sketch show playing lots of different characters and lots of lightening quick costume changes in the dressing rooms/shanty town set up just outside the toilets. Imaginitive writing.

After our performances finished, we all met up for a coffee afterward. I also went back to Spiegeltent lost property to see if my H&M scarf showed up but I think someone claimed it for themselves as it was not there. I also got a grand tour out the back of the Spiegeltent which was very interesting with VIP lounges and bars and lots of comfy couches in portable buildings.

On a side note, tonight was also a crepe night, much Nutella was consumed by all of us back at home. Mmm.


00.00 Ali McGregor's Late Night Variety Nite Night, Gilded Balloon, free tix.

The previous day I had entered an SMS competition one of the newspapers were running. I had wanted to win tickets to the last night of Silent Disco but instead won tickets to this show, which we had tickets to see later in the week. No bother as it is a variety show the guest lineup changes each night so we wouldn't see the same show twice. The room was all set up caberet style - small tables, candle light and great atmosphere. Ali hosted the night, sang a few songs, and was ably assisted by her comedy butler. this guy was an absolute hoot, and played his role of a bumbling, indifferent servant to the hilt. He even had his own spot where he hammered forks up his nose and also performed the 'sexy diablo'. Ah fringe. Other guests tonight included Andrew McClelland and Lawrence Leung.


Monday 20 August
00.00 Ali McGregor's Late Night Variety Nite Night, Gilded Balloon, 241, £5.50.

Gluttons for punishment or just a really good show? The latter tonight with our ticket proceeds going to an Angkor Wat orphanage. The difference with this show is that Ali got a bunch of performers to donate their time and instead of doing their usual act on stage, they sang a song of their choice, loosely based around the theme of 'lullabies at midnight'.

Stephen K Amos sang an African song by himself which his uncle sang to him when he was a child. Phil Nichol sang a song and played guitar, which he had written for his daughter. Adam Hills performed Clancy of the Overflow again and Geraldine Doogue and Casey Bernado also performed - they're the names I can remember.

Ali sang UNKLE'S Rabbit in Your Headlights, Sammy J sang (butchered) Crowded House. The finale could only belong to one group. Tripod did their AMAZING version of Radiohead's 'Paranoid Android'. Just three voices and an egg shaker have never made a more beautiful noise. Hundreds of pounds were raised and a beautiful sense of community was created that night - worth waiting up for.


August 21

9.15pm, Attempt 3.4 @ C Cubed (Royal Mile), 6.50pounds (no pound sign on this keyboard...the netherlands is just like home...le sigh!)

This was supposed to be a night off, but of course when an offer for a show comes up I take it. Just around the corner at a venue on the Royal Mile, Diana, marcos and Marta had tickets to a piece of theatre tonight. I didn't know anything about this piece and neither did they but i thought I'd go along and join them.

this was the craziest piece of theatre I've ever seen. Crazier than ''Killer Joe''! I didn't even udnerstand it as it was happening - let alone my Spanish friends with their language barrier. total weirdness. the cast greeted the audience as we entered the space to sit down, they were polite young English folk, getting changed into their work coveralls, hard hats and then the play began. They explained how they were going to build a city in 50 minutes, which they did by putting some sticky tape on the floor around them then reeling off a whole heap of lines like "a car travelling at 50 mph hit me head on. I died.'' andflicking on red and yellow lightbulbs when talking and if one of them stuffed up a line, they would turn all the lightbulbs off. A crazy audience member yelled at them throughout the play and then stormed off about two thirds of the way through. We think he was a part of the performance.

Pure craziness, but it made me think about the premise of the play for days after so it left a mark, even though we all left the performance going ''wtf!''


22 August, 00.00 Ali McGregor's Late Night Variety nite night (again!), 2 4 1 tickets, 5.50 each.

Tonight we were gluttons for punishment. And we struggled. By the third late night variety night nite Noni and I had heard Ali do her version of Creep on the harpischord one too many times. Plus, seeing a show at midnight required stamina we were fast running out of. I cannt remember the guests to be honest, except a guy from Tom Tom Club who did a flip off a tower with a goldfish in a cup. We ended up leaving a little before the show ended, eager to crawl into our bed for sleep before work the next morning and more fringe!


23 August, 5.45pm Andrew McClelland's Mix Tape, 8.50 pounds, Gilded Balloon.

A show I had missed at the Adelaide fringe, so I'd been looking forward to it for months. I must admit I had high hopes. I took my mate Nic along with me. The duo of Andrew McClelland and Lawrence Leung I had seen doing their 'Somewhat secret society show'' the year before and lvoed it. The geeky chic of Andrew solo and talking about music. How could it fail in my books? Festival fatigue, perhaps, both on his part and mine. His performance was shiny, happy, incredibly slick but I just wasn't laughing. Smiling yes, but not laughing. This show guides you through a mix tape Andrew put together and the story that follows is poignant and almost too genuine. Some songs featured include included work by Sigur Ros and The Postal Service. He dances, he sings, he pulls out dodgy record covers...a young Alan Brough? Definite possibility.


24 August

6.00pm, Ali McGregor´s Opera Burlesque, Gilded Balloon, about 6 pounds 241.

Big night, my first Couch Surfer arrives. Pierre is a journalist from France and stays with us for two nights on our couch in the lounge room. He had just enough time to join Briony, Marcos, Diana and me for our final Ali McGregor show, her Opera Burlesque. It would have been a nice introduction to the fringe for him. Ali and two other singers do a number of costume changes and songs, the harpischord reappears as a mix of pop songs and classical/opera is the order of the day.

After the first show, I took Pierre to the Spigelgarden for a few beers and watched a radio show being broadcast from a caravan which entertains the crowds between shows in the tent. Crazy 70s dancing out the front of the caravan takes place. Great atmosphere again tonight, have some random chats to peple and also get to perve at Bernard Curry again. Cant believe he is running the Spiegelgarden.

Pierre and I have dinner and chat to learn more about each other, he pointed out that although his english was very good he could never be an english reporter as they write completely different to the French! We meet back up with Noni and line up for Amos´final weekend chat show. The guests included Ali McGregor (thought we´d seen the last of her!!!), someone else I cant remember and Christian Slater. How funny is that? Apparantly him and Stephen did some theatre last year in London and he´s back in town so came on to do this show at the fringe only. Didn´t have anything that interesting to say, but it was a spinout just listening to him and Stepen chat like it was old times. He´s a lot...stouter than you think in real life.


25 August

12.00 midday ´This Show Belongs to Lionel Ritchie´, Arthurs Seat, free.

Pierre and I leg it up (literally zoomed up as we were running late, but so were some of the characters so that was alright) Arthurs Seat to see this beautiful space be turned into an official fringe venue. We are rewarded with a very windy, cold amphitheatre. It was great though, the show was just a mix of sketches from various fringe shows including someone who has changed his name by deed poll to Lionel Ritchie and wants to own everything in the world. Stickers were placed around the town on everything during the fringe ie. a sticker on a public telephone/bus stop/small children/library books saying ´this belongs to Lionel Ritchie´. He even made his own merchandise including pens, badges and tshirts. Does part of your birthday present make sense now Cara?

In the evening we head to a Salsa night with Briony´s friend Letticia and a friend of hers, as well as Marcos and Diana. It was a fun, sweaty night and I felt so sore he next day I could hardly walk. Climbing Arthur´s Seat then dancing the night away did my body lots of good and no good at the same time!

26 August

As Pierre departed, my second Couch Surfer Tarek arrived. he stayed with us for under 24 hours, it was a whirlwind trip to go sharkdiving in Fife he had come from London for. Great guy. Because we went to Fife we didn´t fit in a fringe show but in the evening the Couch Surfing community put on a film night at the Brass Monkey and we headed along to that. A few short films and a feature length film that was based in Edinburgh, made in the 80s but can´t remember what it´s called. It was quaint. The night was packed, the room had at least 50 people all squashed in on comfy cushions to watch the movies.


27 August

9.10pm Lawrence Leung Learns to breakdance, Assembly on George St. 10 pounds.

It is a Monday, and the last night of the Fringe Festival. Briony and I can barely be bothered going to see one final show but we make it out just in time to catch Aussie Lawrence´s show. It´s a corker. He tells such a good story and it was the perfect way to finish the fringe. We go to talk to him after the show but he is so busy bumping out so the next performer can bump in s we dont say much more than congratulations. He, like us looks utterly exhausted but happy at what we have achieved during this monster of a festival, the fringe.

Life resumes back to normal a few days later as the arts festival wraps up and there is a fireworks spectacular in Princes St Gardens. We see the fireworks from our bedroom window. they are not spectacular. Tumbleweeds now blow across the street where thousands of people walked 24/7 only a few days before. I can´t believe it´s over. Time for my bank balance to start growing again!

My ticket shrine (picture): no paint was harmed in the stickytaping of the tickets to the wall, I promise!