By George!

The other night I had a dream about George Clooney. No! It's not what you're thinking! As my friends will attest, I am not a big fan of George, unlike millions of other women (who probably dream about him in the way you're thinking). And my friends will also attest that I dream very often...and very vividly. My dreams are quite colourful and often violent with lots of blood and guns (which I don't like at all and have never handled in my life). I'm normally being chased by unknown people or running towards something, typically seeing familiar faces as I pass them or step over them. My dreams are sometimes extremely sensual where I can smell the bright green grass that I've fallen on or feel the rough stucco walls of pink houses in the Caribbean. It's wild, I know, and I can remember many of my dreams... Anyway, back to George....I just don't get it. The hype I mean. I finally saw The Descendants over a month after the Oscars. I wanted to see it and the other nominated films before all the awards shows but I didn't have the opportunity. I have been catching up on all the films on my various transatlantic flights. Well, I just don't understand why there was such a fuss about his performance in this film relative to his other films. Don't get me wrong, he's a decent actor, just not a really great one. His range isn't extremely wide and his roles are not that diverse or risky. OK his most extreme role may have been the one in O Brother Where Art Thou...which I thought was pretty funny. I mean, compare his roles to say, Johnny Depp or Christian Bale or Javier Bardem or Daniel Day Lewis. So what's all the fuss about? Why all the Oscar buzz? I have to admit that I have watched some of the Oscar round table and other group interviews he's done during the road to the Oscars. He has such confidence and a dry sense of humour but tended to take over each and every discussion. I found it annoying for the other actors who couldn't get a word in. I found it funny, actually hilarious, that he seemed so obsessed with (the very sexy) Michael Fassbender and (the very dashing) Jean Dujardin. He seemed to try to take them under his wing...like they needed this? I heard he was giving them tips on how to handle themselves during awards season. What??? Wow. OK. Well. I suppose he is that ambassador for Hollywood. I also suppose he may be fearing his time at the top may be waning. I doubt it though. I do know this...there is a big difference between a Movie Star and Best Actor. What I don't know is why he was in my dream....I met him at a party and I was so enthralled and felt the need to follow him wherever he asked me. This is why it is called a dream and not reality.

Notes from Down Under

My trip to Australia seems ages ago but my memories run deep. The land down under is indeed full of beauty and spectacle and amazingly friendly people. 


Here are a few of my favourite places and things unique to Australia:

• First there's the delicious lamington! (Ha! Did you think I would start with the Sydney Opera House? Not focused on the uber-tourist trail with this little blog post. Besides food always comes first!) If you've never had a lamington, you must try one (or two) immediately...if you can find a place that makes them...or you'll have to make your own. Lamingtons are sponge cake cut in cubes and dipped in a light chocolate frosting and sprinkled with coconut. They are divine! 

• The spectacular Great Ocean Road! (Yes I know this is on everyone's list but there is good reason!) The highlight of my very long but incredible day was a helicopter ride to see the Twelve Apostles and Shipwreck coast from an unforgettable vantage point!

• Lots of great wine!  From the three wine regions (of which there are plenty!) that I visited across Australia and the few wineries that I was able to experience in each area, here are the standouts - 

Margaret River:
There are the bigger, more well known estates like Voyager and Vasse Felix that are consistently good so I will focus on the houses that offered me the most memorable experiences and wines that were fantastic in my opinion (not to mention some interesting names!)


+ Laurance - excellent reds in particular the Icon Cabernet
+ Evans & Tate - loved their whites and a beautiful pink Moscato
+ Wills Domain - excellent whites especially their Semillon
+ Knee Deep - fantastic, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc
+ Swings and Roundabouts - great reds and a beautiful Chardonnay


Yarra Valley:
+ Yering Station - this is a popular and quite commercial estate but they had a Shiraz Viognier (2008) that was amazing
+ Rochford - lovely, elegant wines especially their Chardonnay (2001)


Barossa Valley:
+ Schild Estate - very nice, smooth whites like the Semillon, Frontignac and Chardonnay and there was a fabulous blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre (GSM as the Aussies love their acronyms!)
+ Hentley Farm - fantastic Zinfandel and a Shiraz called The Beast (2010)! It was to-die-for...much more complex and interesting than The Beauty! 

• If you find yourself in Melbourne and you're a huge fan of sushi, then you must try Jamon (www.jamonsushi.com) which is a little sushi place in the charming suburb of South Yarra. The owner and master sushi chef (be prepared to meet Charles, a long-silver-haired Harley Davidson type dressed in black) prepares everything for you fresh that day - the menu is omakase so the chef will make whatever he chooses from the fresh fish, mushrooms and vegetables that he had gotten from the markets that day (you can just tell him what you may not prefer). It was like an opera watching him prepare the whole fishes and creating delicate pieces of sashimi from various parts of the fish, slicing the beautiful shiitake and enoki while grounding fresh wasabi root and sprinkling some of his homemade mustard. Oh, and in that tiny space of sushi bar for 7 and 2 tables for 2, they project Japanese animation on the large white wall in front of the bar. It was a lovely, spontaneous and unforgettable experience! 

• Kangaroo Island is a spectacular place where you feel like you're at the edge of the world...and you are! It's on the Southern Ocean and there's nothing between you and Antarctica! The island was bigger than I expected with so much nature to see...of all the beautiful natural surroundings, I would have to say that the Remarkable Rocks were a highlight and of the few man-made places, there is nothing more amazing than the Southern Ocean Lodge (www.southernoceanlodge.com.au) which is an eco-friendly resort that caters to your every whim! The rooms, food, guided tours, spa and hospitality are all absolutely second-to-none! If only we could have stayed longer...

• Finally, after seeing so much natural beauty, I was ready for a big dose of urban culture when I reached Sydney. And the Art Gallery of New South Wales didn't disappoint. The gallery is at one end of the beautiful Botanic Gardens and surprisingly had on view the works of some of my favourite modern and contemporary artists. It was the perfect closing to a fabulous holiday.