On the road again ...

In Banksia, on the way to Dunedin ...

Blue on blue

Turquoise and blue. Yes, that's Sydney!

Cafés

I seem to be able to think best when I am in cafés and I understand authors who choose a café as their writing studio.

If I have the luxury of being in a café in the morning, I organise my day, or my week, then look around either for a newspaper to read to someone to paint.

At the Art Gallery of NSW

Saturday morning
at the
Art Gallery.
The children
copy paintings
and I
sketch the children.

The fun theory

Making sense of the world

You can almost hear
the neurons
collecting
and sorting
information
when you
watch a baby.
Watch a baby
watching you.

Bubby and her Kiwi

A Onesie

Bubby has invaded my world and I made a 'blue duck' Onesie today ... well, a virtual blue duck onesie actually. For the real thing (the real virtual blue duck onesie) ... click here.

Pink Waltz

Familiar haunts

Is a lifetime spent in cafes a wasted life do you think?

 

Cinque Cafe in King Street, Sydney - Newtown ..

 

and C Cafe just down the road.

I hear that another of my favorite cafes, Modaks in Dunedin is for sale. Will they continue making the best coffee on the planet I wonder, or will the world title be up for grabs?

Little hands

Little hands ...
help me eat my breakfast.

Little eyes, watch my every move.

Halloween

Back in Sydney

Sydney. Yes, it is warmer here than in Hamburg, but the real difference is the light. In Hamburg the sun is low in the sky already, even though there are two months until the shortest day. In Sydney the sky is wide and blue and the light intense.

Singapore airport

Where oh where are the orchids gone? Singapore airport was synonymous with orchids for me ... but not any more. Probably they are still there, but not in the new terminal. Instead there is a room full of butterflies...

 

a 'relaxing Koi pond'...

 

and quite a few leg and foot massage machines. Two nine year olds were trying it on their three year old brother and finding that his legs were too short. But they told me it was good ... so I tried it, and they were right.

 

Hamburg: Elbe Frolic

Late October, a sunny Sunday draws people out of their homes to catch the last late autumn sunshine on the banks of the Elbe. Dogs frolic, people meander and the mood is mellow.

 

 

Great enormous container ships grind their way along the Elbe ...

 

and a sailing boat drifts past.

Goodbye bike

I sold my bike on eBay. I was very fond of my bike and was sorry to see it go but on the other hand the girl who picked it up was delighted to have it and I am sure it will be happy in its new family. Odd how inanimate objects can steal your heart.

Hamburg Etchings

Finally I have some Hamburg etchings on artsmitten.com


The Town Hall and Michel Church, Swans on the Alster in front of the Town Hall,


and springtime in the woods in Rissen.

Gino's (Gallery and) Eiscafe in Rissen

Gino has served the most 'Italian' coffee in Rissen for as long as I can remember but only recently did I discover that he is also fond of art and has a professional gallery system in his cafe. Last week I hung some of my etchings and paintings at Gino's. The waitress Andrea (pic below), bright faced and twenty years old, tells me she works a 6 day week and is 'always at the cafe'. But it feels like a family and she seems to enjoy it. Gino is friendly and supportive and has a loyal clientele who drop in at all hours. There are now three artists with their work on Gino's walls so he could really change the name of the cafe to Gino's Gallery Cafe.

Autumn = Herbst

Autumn, autumn (Herbst, Herbst) and out come the umbrellas. Leaves are starting to turn,
and bright berries are everywhere.
Most leaves are still green in Hamburg but the days are noticeably shorter (2 minutes shorter each day) and it wont be long until everything is yellow ... then bare.

Cafes in Berlin

It seems to me that cafes say a lot about a city. Here are some in Berlin:

Under the railway at Hackischer Markt.


On the river almost opposite Parliament House.

Restaurant in Oranienstrasse.

Gendarmenmarkt Cafe.

In the arty Auguststrasse.

and in the unrenovated part of East Berlin. At this cafe your sausage, potatoes and sauerkraut costs Euro 4.95. Just along the street in the touristy Nicholaikirche area the same sausage costs you Euro 16.95. It pays to get lost in the East sometimes.