All posts tagged: America

Northwest North America

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In June last year I went on a road trip through Northwest USA, into Canada and back down into the American Midwest, and it was one of my most favourite trips I’ve ever taken. America is such a vast, beautiful and rich country geographically – there’s so much to see and do and the landscape constantly changes meaning that every day is different from the last. Throughout the trip I kept thinking about that great Krakauer quote from Into The Wild, “the joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun”. The trip started with a few days in Portland, Oregon which was just enough time for to absolutely fall in love with the city. I stayed in a beautiful Airbnb and ate as much vegan food as I could fit in my face – it was delightful! Driving up the West Coast from Portland through upper Oregon and Washington …

American pictorial

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Here are some of my favourite photos from my USA trip :) Seattle Pike Street Market Fremont, Seattle Fremont Street Markets Space Needle, Seattle View from top of the Needle EMP Museum This thing was three storeys high! Worn to be Wild, leather jacket exhibition The mirror man who scared me! The Gum Wall Sea Shepherd Gallery Seattle Public Library Bryant Park, New York City Grand Central Terminal View from The High Line New York Public Library View from my hotel rooftop terrace View of the city from the East River Ferry Greenpoint, Brooklyn Brooklyn Flea Markets Prospect Park, Brooklyn Brooklyn Public Library Brooklyn Museum This was the most incredible exhibition. These beautiful handmade sculptures by El Enatsui were all made in Nigeria out of recycled materials like cans, tins and old copper wire. They were gigantic and graceful. Brooklyn Bridge Central Park Top of Times Square Working on the roof terrace Museum of Natural History The top one is a koala! Mineral exhibition (aka heaven)

Thank you.

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I’m sitting in LAX right now waiting for my flight to Sydney, about 12hrs into my 35hr trip home. In my last post I was naively hopeful that I might still be able to make some of the appointments I had in Washington despite being sick but it wasn’t to be. I had to cancel all of them. I spent the three full days I had in DC bedridden, only leaving the hotel once to go to the pharmacy for more medication. Such a shame and such horrid timing but these things really can’t be helped. I’m really disappointed mostly that I didn’t get to see the people I had meetings lined up with rather than visiting the actual institutions, they are a really impressive mixed bag of talent and knowledge and enthusiasm and I know it would have been a great learning experience for me. I’m confident that I will still be able to arrange some kind of meeting with most of them through video chat on my return to Australia so all is …

New York v2

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How things can change in just a few hours! In my last post I mentioned that I had been feeling unwell but that I was hoping some cold and flu tablets would stop it from getting worse but alas, it got worse. I woke up in the middle of the night last night to find that one whole side of my face had swelled up dramatically, so much so that my eye was nearly swollen shut. After some frantic Googling of symptoms and local emergency doctors I decided I wasn’t dying and to wait until a more godly hour to go to the local medical centre. I went to see the doctor thinking I must have had a sinus infection but it turns out that I have actually caught shingles. On my face. Yep. Gross. The shingles themselves aren’t actually that bad but to make things grosser, the virus has gotten into my eye, hence the swelling and agonising pain behind my eyeball. What fun! I got a script for antibiotics and some eye drops …

Hello Seattle!

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I’ve arrived! The trip was long and a little tedious but after the Canberra:Sydney:LA:Seattle round trip of about 30 hours I arrived in one piece. By the time I got to LA I was already exhausted. During my flight to Seattle I was falling in out of sleep (I really struggle to sleep anywhere that’s not a bed! Especially sitting up) but in the last twenty minutes or so of the flight I was reinvigorated as we flew over all these incredible frozen lakes and snow-capped mountains. I wasn’t expecting to see that and they were so beautiful to look at. Pretty much anywhere you’re standing in Seattle you can see in the far distance these beautiful snowy peaks. The city is surrounded by them! They’re so clean looking and pretty. I think that’s part of what gives Seattle it’s cosy charm. It almost feels just like a large fishing village or mountain town. I like it a lot. I spent the day roaming around the city. I’ve never been to Seattle before so I …

Travelling Fellowship

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Through my work, the National Library of Australia, I was lucky enough to win the 2013 Kenneth Binns Travelling Fellowship (thank you!). I have been awarded a grant to undertake an overseas trip that will enhance my current and future projects in Web Publishing here at the Library, as well as to help develop my own personal growth as a professional and as a human. I will be traveling to the USA in April 2013, three different cities, to attend a conference, visit a range of incredible cultural institutions and meet with a range of practitioners and experts in a variety of fields. From this trip I hope to be learn from and by inspired by industry world leaders in the areas of web publishing, social media, mobile content, content strategy. and ePublishing. I will be documenting my travels through this blog as much as I can, check out my posts tagged with Travelling Fellowship. Below is my initial itinerary, including what institutions I am visiting, who I will be meeting with and what I hope to gain by …