I heart ... Antwerp?

I do, though. It's so charming! Its teeny, curving streets, old buildings, and crazy bike riding culture - I could eat it up! We had a rare day off in Antwerp, so we had a chance to relax and take in the city. Scratch that - I spent the morning in a Belgian laundromat trying to figure out how to read instructions written exclusively in Dutch. Luckily, a lot of Dutch words are similar to English words with extra letters in them minus some of the normal letters ... so in that way, they are not like English words at all and I'm just a genius who figured out how to wassen and drogen our clothes. I walked out of that laundromat like I'd just won an Oscar... proud, thankful, and ready for champagne.

Instead of Champagne, I settled for Belgian waffles, a walk to the diamond district, and almost getting frostbite. I suppose this does not need to be said - but Belgium in January will freeze your tootsies right off. Even the promise of diamonds couldn't keep our mood up. We finally succumbed to the weather, stumbled into DelRey & got Rp a bag of belgian chocolate. I don't care for the stuff, but I will admit that this was pretty tasty. If they added salt to some of the pieces I may have been a full blown fan. You almost had me, Belgian chocolate... almost. Sooooo, right. We finished our Antwerp adventure with a belgian dinner of moules frites & Trappist beer.

The biggest downside was that when it snowed we couldn't tell what was the street and what was the sidewalk... so we ended up driving our rental car on the sidewalk one night. And not just an "oh, no, we sort of drove on the sidewalk a little" - a "we just drove a mile down a pedestrian walk way and now we can't go any further because there are concrete dividers... and we now have to reverse down this small European street... at night... in the snow." Oops. I'd say that was more our fault than the city's but I'd really rather not take the blame on this one, k guys?

enjoy below: oldness, cuteness, bikes on bikes on bikes, deliciousness, and my reaction to Trappist beer. 

SO MUCH MORE TO COME!

-b

mmmm, melbourne (food part 1)

As a New Yorker, I hate and love to say that I'm a food snob. Everyone in New York calls themselves a foodie, which I refuse to do since the argument has been made that everyone on earth is a Foodie. We all love food and must to survive... big, giant, DUH. I don't call myself a "sleepie" because I love sleep and know the best kinds of beds. Foodie is also not a job title, people... do you think Adam Platt tells people he's a foodie when they ask what he does? NO - he's a professional restaurant critic. Back to my point - regardless of being a "foodie" or not, if there is one thing we know, it's that New York has the best cuisine in America - HANDS DOWN. Therefore I am a snob about it. If you don't agree, you have never visited. If you have visited and don't agree, your tour guide/friend was clearly terrible and took you to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in Times Square. No other explaination. And before you come at me with all sorts of nonsense about the best BBQ place in Texas or the best cuban place in Florida - I'm saying as a whole New York food is head and shoulders above any other city. GAH, you're not even fighting me and I can already feel the backlash.

So, I was more than pleasantly surprised that Australia has RIDICULOUS food. I even found out that when people travel to New York they expect the food to be BAD - whaaaa??? Yeah. So, confusion aside here are my top picks! (and one miss):

MoVida (Melbourne) - spanish amazingness

After a failed attempt to go to a recommended spot, Mamasita (the line was out to the street), we ended up at MoVida. It's busy with a post-work, yet cool crowd. We waited about 10 minutes before being seated at the bar. They really hit the nail on the head with their spanish tapas style menu. We nommed on a spanish pork + pepper sandwich, a beetroot salad, an out of this world spanish meat board and various other delicious things. PLUS, a really nice rioja to tie it all together. As far as the location - while it is downtown, it's tucked away on this cool little side street, so it doesn't have the corporate vibe that might normally go with downtown resto. GO. Go, now!

Pelligrini's (Melbourne) - Hole in the wall Italian

After a SECOND failed attempt at Mamasita's (ughhhh! conquest for next time), we went with our back up recc of Pelligrini's. I honestly wasn't sure if we made a mistake when we walked in. It's a dingy little diner style restaurant. No one offers to seat you and there are no menus handed out. The noise level is a bit above minimum as almost everyone has their head down in their pasta bowl with a pink drink to their right. Whatever, we were starving so we gave it a shot. Turns out the pink drink was watermelon juice and they serve some of the best lasagna I've EVER put in my mouth (and again... coming from someone who is well versed in an Italian kitchen). I can see how it does get negative reviews - it's not a normal restaurant experience. You go in, you eat, you pay, you leave. No fluff. I don't know about the rest of the "menu" - but a stop in is well worth it for the lasagna. 

29th Apartment (St. Kilda, Melbourne) - bar food perfection

On one of our only days off, we wandered down to St. Kilda to walk around the bay. We were there at an odd time, but were STARVING. Our eating schedule is severely off due to our non-stop travelin. It can be a real hassle. We found a spot that was JUST opening and sat down at the bar to grab some food. Turns out they were going for an "American" vibe, which I still find funny since very little cuisine is really ours. We got a dip plate, a caramelized onion pizza, and a burger. ALL exceeded expectations! It tried to be messy, I could tell, but they were just too good at putting it all together. The decor tried to look like a messy New York apartment with oddly match furniture. For the most part, it succeeded. They also were setting up to have a vintage/young designer market that evening - so bummed I couldn't stick around for it. Looked like some amazing stuff. Ch ch ch check it if you have the chance and tell me how it is!

Papa Gino's (Lygon Street for Italian food, Melbourne) -  OUR MAJOR MISS

One of our first recc's in Melb was Lygon street for a Little Italy type atmosphere. We were DYING for some good pasta, so we were all about this experience. Except... it sucked. The pasta was overcooked, the parm was terribly breaded, the sauce was potentially from a jar, the antipasto left a lot to be desired. MAJOR BOMB. To sum it up, here is how my wonderful partner in life described the meal (to our server, much to my dismay).

Server: "So, how was it?" (hands us the bill)

Ron: "Average; I'd say mediocre at best"

 - Insert me with my head down looking anywhere but at this poor server - 

Server: "Oh..."

Ron: "I mean, I'm from New York - we have the best Italian food outside of Italy there"

Server: "So... it wasn't good."

Ron: "No... um, just... no. Sorry, man"

Gotta love him for speaking the truth! 

That's it for now. Be back soon! Commence the comments!

love,

b

so many thanks!

this is from last year in the Hamptons. I have not seen ONE pumpkin or squash in Australia. 

Well, here we are - another Thanksgiving has come 'round again. Last year I was in Mexico... this year I ended up in Australia. WHAT THE HELL. I almost never know where my life is going to take me, but no complaints so far. I still have multiple Aussie posts just waiting in the wings, but since the holiday sprung up without much warning where I am, I'm going to take a short detour for a minute.

What was intended as a "break" after the tour, has turned into our normal schedule of working, stressing, and making sure everything runs smoothly in the world of RP Music. While I could complain about never getting a real holiday or vacation, I'm going to relax & take in the moment (as they say to do). This is what we chose - I love my job and wouldn't pick one other way to run our life. PLUS, in an effort to celebrate the holiday, we just wrapped up a day of surfing (or doing our best trying) and now I'm sitting out on the balcony of our hotel room. I am SO fortunate that I had the opportunity to leave behind a career that was less than fulfilling and move on to one that I am not only invested in, but wake up everyday ready to make a difference. I get to work in music, I get to travel with my love, I get to be creative, I get to see the very real effects of my influence, I get to work with people from all over the world and make new friends every day. Our life isn't conventional & I suppose a lot of people question it, but I'll take it just the way it is.

There is one gaping hole that can't be filled, though. The fact that we are constantly away from our loved ones and miss holidays with them hurts in a way I can't explain. I miss the feeling of waking up on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning and knowing that I am going to smell certain smells and hug certain arms. While I've only had two years of it, I already ache for the sound of my nephew's laugh and his semi screaming "AUNT B!" - it's decidedly, the best. I'm also missing one of my favorite aunts who is going through a tough time (send up an extra prayer if you have one!) - she's not going to have the best day and I would do anything to make it better for her.

So that's that! Before I move completely away from my snarky self, I'll wish you all a very HAPPY (and maybe drunk, if you take it that way) THANKSGIVING! Thanks for hanging out with me these past few months... much more to come!

xxoo
-b

Australia, we've arrived!

And we are loving being on your shores. To be fair, we arrived almost a week ago***, but I haven't had time to post out our life yet.

We arrived in Sydney after a pretty uneventful 15 hour flight. I watched: Beasts of the Southern Wild (loved), The Lorax (obsessed with), a documentary about Koalas (um, duh, I loved that times 10), a documentary about the beginning of time (I fell asleep), and the Star Wars episode of Family Guy (best thing to happen in years).

Wait - I lied! Most of the flight was uneventful... then after we landed and I stuck my contacts back in my eyes, I noticed the most important piece of jewelry that I own was MISSING. After a frantic 10-15 minutes and ripping apart the entire row of Qantas seats... I found it.  A little piece of metal stuck in between other pieces of metal. In that time, I cried, died, and finally came back to life when I found it. It sounds so fine as I'm writing it. It wasn't - it was horrible! I'm still scarred.

From there, we hit the ground running. Cam picked us up and we went straight to rehearsals for The Morning Show. We finally got to our hotel room later that day, showered (how good does a shower feel after a long flight?? the best), and took a walk around Sydney CBD. This area reminds me a lot of midtown Manhattan... the area I managed to escape when I left corporate world! Blah. Nonetheless, we had a VB at a pub and went out for Thai food. We were recommended Spice I Am - great spot! However, the servers barely talk to you and rush you out of the joint. To be fair - it's super small & there is always a wait to sit, so I think that's just the environment there. Great food though.

By 7pm, our jet lag reared its ugly head. So, we bought some Tim Tams and went back to our hotel room to crash.

We stayed in Sydney 'till Sunday doing press & general touristy things. Now we're in Melbourne & I think I'm borderline obsessed with it! More to come. For now, take a look at some of these here pics!

OH - and watch The Morning Show clip! They did so well!

view of Hyde Park, the Harbor, and Sydney CBD 

Lovely tree in Hyde Park (taken for my Dad who loves parks)

colorssss!

... I forgot what this is. St. Mary's? I think? Sure!

we found the water!

my exploring travel partner. Looking out for fish!

This is a joke, right? Why would you have a boat if you can't have these things?

There she is! The opera house

a touristy, but lovely area!

having a drink at the Opera Bar

Oh, did I tell you my hair is navy now? well, it is. It usually looks better than this. I still want a pink/purple, but the salon in LA only had blue. 

Up next, I'll show you around Bondi Beach! Stay tuned, my loves

***CORRECTION: Ron just informed me that we have not been here even close to a week. We just got here 4 days ago. No idea what day/time/month it is.

eat: John Madden Mexican

somewhere in the middle of nowhere Texas we found this gem. 

no, it wasn't the best Mexican food I've ever had... but it WAS the only Mexican restaurant that I've ever been to that paid homage to one John Madden. Plus, we all know I love a good John Madden Haul. (what?)

I'd give this place a strong "decent" as a rating, but it earns extra points for being the only restaurant within 50 miles. 

road food: Buraka

food posts! I can't get enough. I am just now leaving LA, so I have things to say about that, but I'm going to take a step (couple weeks) back for this post. One of the best parts of riding around in a van across the country is trying out different non-chain restaurants. Trust me, I get enough of the chains also... to the point that Subway is literally making me gag just thinking about it. And it's far too early to be tired of Subway. Here's to another month!

However, when we land somewhere with something awesome, I'm gonna tell you kids about it. Enter, MADISON, WISCONSIN! One of my favorite college towns. I actually care nothing about the school, but the town is amazing. You've got your standard college bars, but they actually have above decent food also (woooo, happy crazy person dance in the street). PLUS, everyone is SO excited to be there. You can just feel college in the air. If you don't know what I mean, you haven't been to the right places.

I avoid sound check at all costs, so I took a walk from the hotel to meet Rp for dinner. I slid past the lovely capital building and successfully avoided harassment from their resident crazies that park themselves on benches outside of it. We discovered an Ethiopian joint, Buraka, so we were pretty content to try that out (as always).

Have you tried Ethiopian food? Well ya should. This is, hands down, Ron's favorite food & is pretty high up on the list for me. So, let me walk you through this.

1. You eat with your hands. While they will give you a fork if you ask for it - don't. It's better this way. Have I EVER misled you???
2. It's served with the perfect scooping tool - spongey bread called Injera. Tastes similar to sour dough.
3. If you order meat, beware that there are little bones floating around! Nobody wants to do the heimlich at dinner.
4. The vegetables might look gross, but THEY ARE NOT. Trust me on this one. Nothing is weird about them and you won't be sick all night from them. GAH. Grow up and eat your veggies!

Another cool thing about eating Ethiopian in various places is that it isn't standardized. Every kitchen is a little different and takes different things from where they learned to cook the cuisine. For instance, this one put potatoes in all of their vegetable dishes, haha.

So if these pictures do not totally gross you out (and you aren't a total wuss), you should go! We've been in New York, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Columbus, and now Madison. Take my word for it.

love/hate/comments below.

Finally, Phoenix!

I really wanted to write a "ph" instead of the "f" in "finally" but I didn't want you to get all judgey. I know how you are.

As  you saw from our ridiculously long journey, we FINALLY made it to Phoenix! And, no, that last part of the last post was not a lie... there was a water slide at the hotel. I feel I should pose this question now... We stay in pretty nice hotels on the road, but I don't remember or know of ANY decent hotels where I'm from ever having water slides. Is this new??? Is this common? Seems it sort of is. I don't mind it & plus it helps keep Cousin Carl happy and that's all I care about.

Since I'd craved a pool ever since San Antonio, I woke up and took my laptop right outside and got all of my work done in just a few hours pool-side. It's amazing what a great motivator sunshine is. I think about all the time I used to waste working in corporate America. Eight hours a day was definitely not eight hours of work (most days). Now, working for myself, I bang it out! Lesssfaceit... when you work for yourself, you are basically always working since the advent of the glorious iPhone, but the day-to-day stuff I need my computer for gets done pronto. I love it.

Anyway - Did I mention Cousin Carl likes water slides? OH! Right, I did. So, while I was in adult land at the regular pool, Carl & Zach stashed their stuff with me & ran off to the slide. After 15 torturous minutes of them being gone, I finally got up to see what all of the commotion was about. This thing was AMAZING. I nonchalantly brushed off the lifeguard who told me the slide rules. Who was I? I was certainly not going to ride down that slide.

That lasted approximately three more minutes.

I took my grown-up girl butt to the top of the slide, held my bikini top to my chest, and swished & swooshed all the way to the water-going-up-the-nose ending. It was SO.MUCH.FUN. So much, in fact, that I coerced Rp to finally come down to the pool & do it with me three more times. We then spent the rest of the afternoon saving ourselves from the heat by working on the lift from "Dirty Dancing" in the pool. I don't want to brag, but we nailed it. He made all of my 5 year old dreams come true. I was finally Baby.

My own personal Patrick Swayze and I realized it was indeed time for the show... so off we went. As he set up, I got a manicure (my favorite way to skip sound check) & thought of places to go for dinner. So really quick, before I go, I have a recommendation for you who live there or are traveling through! Wooo, we love recs!

We ate at a new restaurant in downtown called Blue Hound. It was actually sort of reminiscent to one you'd find in a boutique New York hotel. The food was.... good for the road, but didn't stack up the same way. That's not saying bad though! New York just has the best. Anyway... I digress. As Rp tends to do, he ordered almost every single vegetarian dish available. I would say, we enjoyed about 80% of them. The cheese plate was not their best effort (who throws a hunk of cheddar on a cheese board?); the flat breads were incredible; the cocktails were delicious; and the dessert hit it out of the park. SO, yes, this is definitely a recommendation! Hopefully they'll work out the cheese plate by next time.

menus/lighting

"caramel" popcorn: butterscotch w ancho chili/green salad & basil risotto 

brownies + nutella milkshake/cheese board

I think it's time to wake Patrick Swayze up, so off I go!

I'm getting some good questions, so keep them comin! I'll do a couple of posts for them.