May 11, 2008

More pictures from sailing

DSC_7636

IMG_2959

DSC_7552

IMG_2965

Posted by crispin at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)

May 05, 2008

Sailing pictures

IMG_2910

Eve at the wheel

IMG_2915

we caught sharks!!

Posted by crispin at 09:36 PM | Comments (0)

May 03, 2008

Palm Island

DSC_7619

DSC_7632

DSC_7664

IMG_2924

IMG_2932

IMG_2931

IMG_2937

IMG_2938

IMG_2944

Palm Island is a beautiful place full of friendly people, while walking around we saw horses lying on the beach, the fire truck came past and locals on the loud speaker announced "Welcome to Palm Island Lovely People"

Posted by crispin at 10:21 PM | Comments (0)

April 25, 2008

Townsville

IMG_2874

We started our sailing trip with a couple of days in lovely Townsville

IMG_2875

DSC_7492

DSC_7331

DSC_7332

DSC_7436

Posted by crispin at 09:28 PM | Comments (0)

August 28, 2007

Tooby Foxes

DSC_2109.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)

Bendigo Lion

DSC_2158.jpg

We celebrated Eve's birthday in Bendigo including a visit to the Chinese Dragon Museum.

Posted by crispin at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)

August 27, 2007

Bendigo blossoms

DSC_2134.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

August 26, 2007

The tooby pub

DSC_2055.jpg

DSC_2047.jpg

DSC_2044.jpg

DSC_2038.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)

August 08, 2007

Eve took a work trip to Palm Cove and this almost the only picture of water

IMG_2298.jpg

I didn't get to go but it was work after all!

Posted by crispin at 11:09 PM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2007

Dominque Portet

DSC_1389.jpg

The wall of the french winery Dominique Portet in the heart of the Yarra Valley

http://www.dominiqueportet.com/

Posted by crispin at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)

May 20, 2007

Found in Chinatown

Found in Sydney's Chinatown

Posted by crispin at 12:38 PM | Comments (0)

April 16, 2007

Camp dinner

IMG_2058.jpg

A couple of weeks without taking new photos and look what has happened, I am recycling past events - we took this while staying in the Grampians in March.

Posted by crispin at 09:26 AM | Comments (0)

March 22, 2007

Eve looking up at Beehive Falls

DSC_0793.jpg

in the Grampians

Posted by crispin at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2007

Grampians

DSC_0726.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)

McKenzie Falls in the Grampians

DSC_0643.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)

Grampians - Kangaroo Tail

DSC_0628.jpg

when we were young, they were known as black boys but today its grass tree's or kangaroo tails...

Posted by crispin at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2007

See the Currarong Video

Posted by crispin at 09:37 PM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2006

Cremallera (steep train) shown here with village idiot

img_1219.jpg

Posted by crispin at 09:45 PM | Comments (0)

January 01, 2006

Andorra

img_1062.jpg

Posted by crispin at 04:36 AM | Comments (0)

July 23, 2005

Snow Snow Snow

snow.jpg

Just had a lovely few days on the mountain (hotham that is) and the weather was excellent.

I did not however take a camera and this is the best I could muster out of the phone, it records the event but only just!

Posted by crispin at 04:11 PM

June 12, 2005

Lisa

While we were at Hamilton we met a new friend Lisa

Hamilton Lisa

The kids climbed all over her

Hamilton Lisa

Posted by crispin at 03:58 PM

June 11, 2005

Hamilton Island

The boys and I are back from our brief sojourn north to Hamilton Island ("the island that is spoiling australia...") here is the first sampling of the 200 odd pics I took.

hamilton isle

hamilton isle

hamilton isle

hamilton isle

hamilton isle

hamilton isle

hamilton isle

hamilton isle

Posted by crispin at 07:11 PM

November 28, 2004

bagels

Here is a pic from the archives (I think it pre-dates this website) from an earlier trip to NY - guess it shows that I havent taken any interestig pix in the last couple of weeks.

Anyway I love these bagel carts, they are part of the essence of NY for me.

cheers

Posted by crispin at 08:28 PM

October 23, 2004

I love the firestairs

soho2.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)

Soho Streets

soho.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)

New York Streetscape

cbny.jpg


ok so this picture was taken in March - however I realised that I had a few that I liked and had not published so they follow this one.

Posted by crispin at 10:46 AM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2004

Cigar Man

cigarman.jpg

This guy was sitting watching the bay in San Francisco (down by the ferries at the end of Market) - I just love the cigar ash..

Posted by crispin at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)

October 03, 2004

Met Dog

dog.jpg

This popped up on my screensaver, so I thought I should share it online.

Posted by crispin at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2004

Some more pictures of Mt Hotham

mt hotham

the view from spargos back to mary's slide

karnalurra lodge - mt hotham

karnalurra lodge - hidden in the snow

mt hotham

digging out the car

mt hotham

the effect of the bush fires

mt hotham


Posted by crispin at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)

August 08, 2004

an amazing week of skiing

Just returned from Mt Hotham and here are the pic's a fantastic 8 days of skiing...

skiing mt hotham

skiing mt hotham

skiing mt hotham

skiing mt hotham

skiing mt hotham

there are lots more pictures (I took over 100) so I will be putting more of them up over time (makes a change from madrid!)

Posted by crispin at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)

July 31, 2004

A lady I met at the met

nygirl.jpg


just a pic from the archives but a nice one of the many many many statues found in the new york metropolitan museum of art

Posted by crispin at 12:13 AM | Comments (0)

July 27, 2004

paris facade

a paris facade

Posted by crispin at 07:30 PM | Comments (0)

July 23, 2004

Madrid windows

windows.jpg

Posted by crispin at 07:28 PM | Comments (0)

cafe

cafeconleche.jpg

Posted by crispin at 07:16 PM | Comments (0)

The main hall of the Prado

prado2.jpg


When it comes to museums with amazing history and plenty of gore, religion, and religious gore, the Prado stands alone - become a pilgrim and make the pilgrimage to Madrid

Posted by crispin at 07:14 PM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2004

Jamon in Madrid

pigs.jpg

The enormous array of proscuitto on display, different qualities at different prices a wonderful sight

cbmadrid.jpg

Posted by crispin at 09:59 PM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2004

Paris Paris Paris

metro.jpg

The metro entrance near the Louvre..

fountain.jpg

Took this picture at about 3am, there were two girls dancing in the fountain singing loudly while their friends slept on a nearby bench.

goldhorse.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)

July 11, 2004

small sailing boats in paris

boats.jpg


I loved these little boats, the kids take them to one side of the fountain pond and the wind carries them across, with each boat somes a solid 'poking stick' to help turn the boat around and send it back

boats2.jpg


boats3.jpg

Posted by crispin at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)

July 10, 2004

Hotel Costes Paris

Paris

Famous Bar Hotel owned by the Costes Brothers who have now opened a number of other fashionable, bars, restaurants, cafes and clubs.

Hotel Costes has been made famous worldwide for the CD compilations made by the resident DJ

Posted by crispin at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)

Assorted pix from Paris

Paris


Paris


Paris

Posted by crispin at 01:32 PM | Comments (0)

back streets Madrid

madrid10.jpg

Posted by crispin at 01:27 PM | Comments (0)

smaller plaza Madrid

madrid11.jpg

Posted by crispin at 01:24 PM | Comments (0)

Paris from on high

galaxy.jpg

the view from Sacre Couer

Posted by crispin at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)

July 07, 2004

More Madrid

madrid7.jpg

I am still bringing out the great shots from Madrid (did I mention that I took 700 pictures...!)

Posted by crispin at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)

on the dedge of a gallery

madrid6.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

June 30, 2004

The crowds in the old town

stockholm5.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)

More Stockholm

stockholm4.jpg

Posted by crispin at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2004

a selection of pix

above the golden gate..

the lions at at trafalgar

the london eye

some sculpture on the bank of the thames (on the way to the Tate Modern)

Posted by crispin at 09:17 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2004

San Francisco

I took this picture from the plane coming in to land at San Francisco

Posted by crispin at 08:59 PM | Comments (0)

The coop one.


The coop at a grunge bar in London

did I mention you can visit coop online at his new site http://robcooper.blogspot.com

Posted by crispin at 08:58 PM | Comments (0)

Stockholm

The changing of the palace guard

a beer after work in the old town

an evening sign


its nearly midsummer in Stockholm and this photo was taken at midnight!


love this phone booth

Posted by crispin at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)

June 26, 2004

Outside the pyramid

louvre.jpg

Posted by crispin at 01:09 AM | Comments (0)

The inverted pyramid

louvre2.jpg

Posted by crispin at 01:08 AM | Comments (0)

A Fresco roof in the Louvre

frescos.jpg

Posted by crispin at 01:06 AM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2004

Snog

Why is the europeans, find themselves and lovely setting and then settle down for a public snog - its happening everywhere!

Posted by crispin at 04:24 PM | Comments (0)

Madrid window

madrid3.jpg

What is the obsession with fluro colours in Madrid? Greens and Pinks that make you reach for the sunglasses are everywhere - yo CHOOSE LIFE!

I love this guy just hanging out the window, it is so hard to just grab the shot when you see somebody just being a local.

Posted by crispin at 03:54 PM | Comments (0)

Lari

lari.jpg


I love these signs so big and thick La Ri was just the beginning ..

Posted by crispin at 03:42 PM | Comments (0)

June 21, 2004

boys on the left bank

dave.jpg

Posted by crispin at 07:30 AM | Comments (0)

The crowd in front of the small pic

smallpic.jpg

Everyone who visits the Louvre will always tell you how small the picture is and the many people in front of it taking pictures,

Posted by crispin at 07:22 AM | Comments (0)

Norm's place

norm.jpg

The Norm (otherwise known as the Normandy Hotel) is where we spent the last few nights, not special but convenient.

Posted by crispin at 07:17 AM | Comments (0)

June 20, 2004

Roof top view from the Normandy Hotel

roof.jpg


The view from my room at the Normandy is the best thing about the place (its not exactly at the level you would expect for a 4 star hotel!)

Posted by crispin at 02:48 AM | Comments (0)

Paris Patisserie

patisse.jpg

Posted by crispin at 02:44 AM | Comments (0)

Jazz Cave

jazzcave.jpg

So local with the everybody dancing....

Posted by crispin at 02:35 AM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2004

Spaniards

madrid2.jpg

Posted by crispin at 01:13 AM | Comments (0)

Madrid

madrid1.jpg

Posted by crispin at 01:12 AM | Comments (0)

June 09, 2004

the Paris painter

painter.jpg

Posted by crispin at 09:35 PM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2004

A garden full of brooding nudes

statues.jpg


This is another of the pictures that was on the crispin.org 2.0 (I am slowly bringing the good ones back when I am short on new material) taken during the march 02 trip, this is a park in paris (rest of the details now lost...)

Posted by crispin at 12:39 PM

May 19, 2004

Peep a boo

sophpeep.jpg

Sophie needs a little more colour in her cheeks - she seems a little washed out.

Posted by crispin at 09:28 PM

May 18, 2004

Your Fired.....!

trump.jpg

This is a picture of the Trump Tower - home of donald and the apprentices

Posted by crispin at 10:36 PM

May 10, 2004

Peep

peep.jpg


This picture was taken peep thai cuisine a place I went for dinner with Sophie if you go to Peep - you must check out the toilets (they play old black and white movies) and you can see out to watching diners as you pee.

Posted by crispin at 11:19 PM

May 09, 2004

Leaving on a jet plane

qantas.jpg


Actually I am not going anywhere at all - but I love this picture which I happily stole from the Qantas website (for personal use only).

Posted by crispin at 04:53 PM

May 08, 2004

Liberty Lost?

liberty.jpg


This is down in Tribecca at a bar / club / restaurant / place called 'stain' I didn't go there as they were in the midst of fairly major renovations, however I just the love the crown from the statue of liberty popping over the top of the building, the only question is what is that guy doing up there?

Posted by crispin at 04:02 PM

May 05, 2004

The hall shot ~ isn't she thin?

Another picture taken at the met...

Posted by crispin at 10:51 PM

NY Hussy's

nyhussy.jpg

Funny that as you walk the streets of SoHo, there is always a photo shoot, a bunch of models posing infront a grafiti covered doorway, trying to look like the street trash that left that same spot only a few hours before - if life imitates art, does commercial imitate real?

Posted by crispin at 12:03 AM

April 28, 2004

Sophie

soph.jpg


Picture of Sophie at the Australian Artists in Manhattan Exhibition

Posted by crispin at 01:59 AM

April 26, 2004

New York Guide


The most important thing to know when you are in Manhattan is that the roads run on a north south and east west axis, this means that people talk about uptown (arround central park) upper west side (the west side of central park), downtown (tribecca, soho, noho, little italy, grenwich village etc), midtown (the business district close to times square). The roads from East to West start at first avenue and go to twelth, it is important to note that many of the roads have multiple names ie fifth is also park avenue...Avenue of the Americas is sixth and Broadway breaks the rules by running diagonally across the island.

The other important thing to know is that everyone will expect you to know the closest cross street (yes you do need a map) see all the addresses below for an idea. To make it easier often the streets will be named east or west ie west 42nd Street means west of 5th avenue or east 42nd Street means east of 5th avenue.

One general item to note: tipping is not customary in the US, it is required. In NY 15% is for poor to fair service. Good service warrants 20%. An Aussie accent will usually get a warm welcome in NY, unless you tip poorly, then look out.

With help from Rob & Xan, I have put together a longer guide click here..

Comment from Rob

"I noticed that you are soliciting comments on the NY guide from those of us who know and love Das Apple. Generally, I think your guide is smashing, the first bit is probably the most useful for the clueless traveler. The whole streets vs. avenues thing is also important—you might want to mention that streets run cross town (east-west) and avenues run the length of the island (north-south). Also that taxi shift change-over time (roughly 4-5 PM) is an impossible time to get a cab. Otherwise, its quite close to what I would have put together myself." - I have added Rob recommendations...

Online Guides

Must see new york - this is one of many sites that do online discounts for tickets to shows etc.. (this is with out doubt the cheapest way to do anything in the US and the later you buy the lower the price seems to be)

http://www.mustseenewyork.com/index.html

The L is a gig guide (both printed and online) for the funky parts of NY including SoHo TriBecca and includes DUMBO and Brooklyn I quite liked it.

http://thelmagazine.com/

A great blog based on NYC

http://www.gothamist.com

A great photo blog by Japanese photographer Rion based in NYC

http://www.rion.nu/

The best bars (the L has its own version..)

http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/NewYork/

http://www.hottraveltips.com/newyork/limo.shtml

http://www.key2newyorkcity.com/

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/index.htm

http://www.ny.com/

http://www.papermag.com/
Paper Magazine is one of the institutions for what is hip and happening in NY. In the late 80s and early 90s I used to buy copies in Sydney just to keep intouch with what the hip scene was really doing.

The website has a shopping guide, an eating guide, a clubbing guide, art, action (gym's etc), stage, music, video, film and the list goes on and on - its also a good read.

Things

A disturbing New Yorker...

http://www.subservientchicken.com/

Must Do Places

it is a good idea to call ahead as a number of the museums close one day a week - better to be sure before you venture out! Many of the museums are on Central Park and a couple can be combined into a great day.

The American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West and 79th Street
The Museum is open daily, 10:00 a.m.—5:45 p.m.
The Rose Center remains open on Fridays until 8:45 p.m.

http://www.amnh.org

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10028-0198
Phone: 212-535-7710
http://www.metmuseum.org/

The Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fith Ave at 89th
Phone: 212-423-3500

The SoHo Guggenheim Museum (little brother)
575 Broadway
at Prince Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 423-3500

http://www.guggenheim.org/

The Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison at 75th Ave
http://www.whitney.org/

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) (closed for renovations till Nov 04)
11 West 53rd NYC and

MoMA Queens
33 Street at Queens Blvd.
Long Island City, Queens
(212) 708-9400

http://www.moma.org/

Smaller Galleries
grab a copy of Art Now Gallery Guide which has maps exhibitions etc $3
www.galleryguide.org

OK Harris Works of Art (sculpture +)
383 West Broadway
New York NY

212-431-3600

Socrates Sculpture Park (where Robyn curates)
Broadway at Vernon Blvd
Long Island City Queens 11106

718-956-1819

Other Must Do's

Staten Island Ferry across to the Statue of Liberty - cross the Hudson River and see Manhatten from the water

Central Park - do the ice skating in the park (you can also ice skate open air at the Rockafella building) a walk along the main paths is quite safe but heading onto the trails into the centre of the park is still dangerous - just stick with the people.

The Rockafella Building - go inside and wander about to look at the murals on the walls and ceiling - they were commissioned by Rockafella as part of his capitalist statement - but the message is pure socialism.
link

Dakota Building - the place John and Yoko lived and where he was shot
Northwest Corner of 72nd and Central Park West
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dakota_building

Flatiron Building
175 Fifth Avenue, 23rd Street, Manhattan
http://www.popartuk.com/photography/flat-iron-building-pp30031-poster.asp

Rainbow Room
30 Rockafella Plaza
link

Times Square
Broadway and 43rd
link

Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue, between 33rd and 34th Streets, in midtown Manhattan.
New York, NY 10118
http://www.esbnyc.com/

Chrysler Building
405 Lexington Ave. (between 42nd and 43rd streets)
New York, New York
link

Robs Must Do's

World Trade Center Site
I don’t classify this as a must-do—quite the opposite actually—but I know that a lot of visitors want to see it. And I suppose now that it is a historical site, like an old battlefield or something, but if you must go see it, don’t ask anyone for directions. You are likely to meet an unpleasant response. I used to have a place with an amigo down on Church St. about two blocks away and I know that I have more than once sent camera-toting tourists asking for directions in the neighborhood on a wild goose chase around Battery Park and Hell’s Kitchen just because their morbid curiosity seemed offensive to me. Also, please note that many New Yorkers find the term “Ground Zero” distasteful as well. It’s a sad topic, so I won’t dwell too much on it, but most New Yorkers lost a friend or relative or acquaintance that day so it’s a subject that will likely come up, but it is still a very sensitive one.

Skating at the Rock.
Don’t know if you mentioned this, but skating at the Rockefeller Center (5th Ave between 49th and 50th) is great fun. It’s better during the day as it can be crowded at night. Given what I’ve seen of most Australians’ ice-skating skills, this may be a better spectator sport, but there are plenty of bumbling amateurs on this rink, so if you don’t mind falling on your ass a lot, I say give it a go. You’ve seen it in a million movies, but if you can find your way to the rink on a snowy evening before Christmas, it really is entrancing.

Stores

MoMA Design Store
44 West 53 Street, New York, NY
(212) 767-1050
Saturday–Thursday 10:00 a.m.–6:30 p.m.
Friday 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.

MoMA Design Store, Soho
81 Spring Street, New York, NY
(646) 613-1367
Monday–Saturday 11:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.
Sunday 11:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.

Dean and Delucca
This is a NY institution - food glorious food and one of the only places you will find decent coffee, still ask for a double shot or you will find your latte is much too weak. look at the cheese, the bread, the books, it is just the most fantastic place - heaven. I've not been to the Madisson store, and I am sure it is not as great as the SoHo store which you have to go and visit.

SoHo

560 Broadway (Prince Street)
New York, NY 10012
Tel: 212-226-6800

M-S 9:00 am-8:00 pm
Sun 10:00 am-7:00 pm

Madisson

1150 Madison Ave.
New York, NY 10028
Tel: 212-717-0800 M-S 8:00 am-8:00 pm

http://www.deandeluca.com/

Evolution
Evolution is a bit of a SoHo institution - a place where you can find one of a kind jade jewlery or just the skull you have always been looking for, part freakshow part shopping culture, very Manhattan and well worth the visit.
120 Spring St.
NYC, NY 10012
Phone: 212-343-1114
Fax: 212-343-1815

website link

Moss
Moss Stores Inc
321 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10017-5101
(212) 867-3771

http://www.mossonline.com/

The Apple Store Soho
Probably the best Apple Store in the world and if you are an apple fan (who isnt) you can play with digital camera's and scanners and iPods and every toy you can imagine - digital heaven.

103 Prince Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 226-3126

http://www.apple.com/retail/soho/

before you shop its well worth reading the paper mag shopping guide

http://www.papermag.com/guide/shop/shop_index.html

Rob's Other Music
http://www.othermusic.com/

Fantastic record shop down in Chelsea (25th btn 6th and 7th). Superb Indie, Soul, Trance, House and whatnot. A true NY music connoisseur’s paradise. My favorite record shop on the East Coast.


Food

Peep - Thai Canteen
177 Prince St. (SoHo/NoHo/Little Italy)
212-254-7337

http://www.peepsoho.com

Space Unlimited Gallery
133 Greene St,
SoHo, Manhattan
212 674 1524

Not quite 'unlimited' in space, but it's a sizeable cafe, with regularly-changing exhibitions on the walls. It hasn't got the biggest selection of food, but it's a popular cafe and a good place to meet friends or catch up on some work (there's lots of power outlets for laptops). Recommended by Xan.

reviews of other eateries at urban 75

http://www.urban75.org/newyork/cafes.html

DinersI love going to american diners and having the classic fare - there are heaps in NY head downtown and look for some good neon.

Yama Sushi
http://www.sushinyc.com/show_rest.asp?pants=fuzzy&restid=59

My favorite sushi in the city. Superb fish, though the waits can be long especially on the weekends. Worth a visit though.

Nobu
http://www.myriadrestaurantgroup.com/Restaurants/nobu/Nobu%20Main.htm

Damn. Fine fine food. Sorta pacific fusion food with a definite Japanese tilt. One of my top ten restaurants ever (it beats Tatsuya in Sydney by a whisker). It’s been hard (like impossible) to get a table here for the past several years. So unless you know a serious A-list star (or are going with me), it’s probably not worth the effort. LA and London locations are equally good and equally hard to get into.

And here is a good review:

Roberto’s

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/pages/details/8579.htm

"Should you find yourself in the Bronx, in Little Italy near Fordham University, you can do no better than to dine at Roberto’s on Arthur Ave. Goddamn. The pasta fagioli soup is absolutely out of this world. And the veal marsala. And the carpaccio. And the bread is crusty and amazing. And the veal ravioli. Basically, just ask the waiter what’s good and take what he brings out. They have never steered me wrong.

Interesting story about this place. I was visiting an amigo at Fordham and stopped in there because of the name (I’m Robert Arthur, the restaurant is Roberto’s on Arthur Avenue—seemed cool at the time.) Anyways, John Gotti Jr. (big NY mob boss) was eating at the corner table. Now that’s a good indicator that it’s a truly wonderful Italian restaurant. Basically, wander around the neighborhood, pick a restaurant that is staked out by the feds, and enjoy a sumptuous repast…

The other places you have to mention are the delis and corner pizza joints. Every New Yorker has a favorite “slice” and swears that their pizza is the best on the planet. I find NY pizza to be not-too-good myself, but the delis more than make up for it. Belly up to the counter (best are the Kosher delis on the upper west side) and order a giant sandwich and enjoy. Damn fine easy eating. Cheap too."

Drink

There are so many bars, all the big hotels (like the W) have groovy bars but I am not the expert so try worlds best bars (link above).

Hotels

As above but the hotels I have liked include:

The W
there are 5 of them in NY
http://www.starwood.com/whotels/index.html

Tribecca Grand
where I stayed last trip - great bars underneath funky grooves at night

SoHo Grand
http://www.sohogrand.com/

Rob:
"I agree with the W assessment; good all around hotels and some of the most comfortable beds around. My New York favorites though are both smaller boutiques by Ian Schrager:"

The Royalton
http://www.ianschragerhotels.com/home_search.html?royalton

Supremely cool and comfortable and the bar is also a favorite (though very sceney and quite pricey, but worth it for the wildlife). Another fantastic Ian Schrager Hotel (like the Clift in SF, the Mondrian in LA and St. Martin’s Lane in London and Morgans (below) also in NY). Book one of the upper floor suites with a balcony and fireplace if you’re feeling flush, it’s one of the best stays in NY.

Morgans
http://www.ianschragerhotels.com/home_search.html?morgans

See above. A little further downtown. Their restaurant, Asia de Cuba is also superb. And the bar in the basement is a great experience. Dark and ornate, it has a delightfully schizophrenic feel: 19th century New Orleans brothel meets Spanish Inquisition dungeon meets Blade Runner-esqe Tokyo, but carpeted wall-to-wall with beautiful people, and I love beautiful people, don’t you?

Live Music Places

Blue Note Jazz Club
performers include Meshell Ndegeocello
131 W. 3rd St
New York, NY 10012 (Grenwich Village)
212-475-8592
http://www.bluenote.net


Birdland Jazz Club
315 West 44th Street between 8th and 9th
212-581-3080
http://www.birdlandjazz.com

Arlene Grocery
http://www.arlene-grocery.com/

Eclectic rock, folk, country, jazz, poetry and beat happenings. Very comfortable.

Mercury Lounge
http://www.mercuryloungenyc.com/

Rock and jazz and all kinas of good staff.

CBGB
http://www.cbgb.com/

Legendary Punk venue. A must see just because so many important shows have been played here.

Knitting Factory
http://www.knittingfactory.com/index.cfm

Truly great jazz venue.

Zinc
http://www.zincbar.com/index.html

More good jazz. Great Room.

Getting About

New York Limo
Want to arrive in style? Traveling with a large group of friends or family. Visiting a number of sights in a short period of time? A limo may be the most efficient and cost effective way for you to see New York.

Limos are price competitive with Taxis - and sometimes work out cheaper because you don't pay extra for traffic and never have to worry about paying extra for going on an indirect route or making multiple stops.

Limos are often referred to as Towncars (normally a black licoln or cadillac) and they can be more efficient over any kind of distance as you can negotiate the price up front (in fact it is essential as they do not have a meter).

New York Taxi
Taxis are best for three or four people or for short distances especially going uptown or downtown (cross town traffic can be difficult)
JFK is a set price fare to Manhattan of $38 + Tolls + Tips (about $42 + Tips 14-20%)

Out of Manhattan there are other cheaper taxi services (the downside is they often dont have much english) - but if you go to brooklyn, get hold of the phone number for eastern as they will get you a car quickly and the fare will be quoted upfront normally about $15 + tip

New York Subway
Subway fare is $2. One day, one week and one month passes are also available. The subway is the best way to travel long distances and is most cost effective if you have only one or two people - the most important thing to know is uptown and downtown north of the park is Harlem which can get a little unsafe so make sure you are taking a south line from 72nd downtown.

New York Bus
Some people prefer the bus to the subway because they are above ground and can see the sights, its about the same price as the subway but you have to have coins


Posted by crispin at 11:46 PM

another body from the met

body.jpg

Posted by crispin at 11:15 PM

April 22, 2004

Fake Venice

Posted by crispin at 11:31 PM

Bookmark this for the next trip to NY

soho.jpg

This place looks fantastic - the Soho house in the meatpacker district of NYC is a private club and hotel, looks great check out the website

http://www.sohohouseny.com/

Posted by crispin at 11:26 PM

April 12, 2004

Ghandi in the carpark

ghandi

what on earth is Ghandi doing in this carpark?

Posted by crispin at 10:58 PM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2004

Outdoors

outdoor ads

slightly parisien

Posted by crispin at 10:55 PM | Comments (0)

April 07, 2004

SF Lamp light

Posted by crispin at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)

April 06, 2004

New York Flags

everything in america has a flag

Posted by crispin at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)

Friscy Pix

adagio doors

the front door of the Hotel Adagio on Geary

Posted by crispin at 05:44 PM | Comments (0)

April 04, 2004

New York Stories

quite radiant - times square at night

Posted by crispin at 09:42 PM | Comments (0)

April 03, 2004

New York G

love this guy

Posted by crispin at 10:43 PM | Comments (0)

April 02, 2004

New York Love

snip..

Posted by crispin at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)

San Francisco has gone to the dogs

dogs.jpg


As I took this photo the guy pulls away from the phone and shouts "hey thats $5 buddy..."

Posted by crispin at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)

Medussa's head - and modest too

modest.jpg


as seen at the NY met

Posted by crispin at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)

April 01, 2004

New York Skate

I want to say skating on thin ice but since this is the rockafella centre the ice is probably quite thick

Posted by crispin at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)

March 30, 2004

The Met

met.jpg

The Met - wow I loved it thanks to Sophie for suggesting that I spend my Sunday afternoon wandering the art, sculptures etc.. This is my idea of a great museum

Roy - you would love this place.. 2 hours and I hardly saw a quarter of the exhibits

Posted by crispin at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)

NYPD

nypd.jpg

There was this amazing greek parade (hundreds of thousands of people marching up 5th / Park Ave) and many of the streets were closed (no cabs) and the NYPD were perfectly positioned ...

Posted by crispin at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)

March 28, 2004

Vote damn it

vote.jpg

I noted in today's NY Times that a man who requested the personalised numberplate "DUMPBUSH" was refused as it might be offensive to the political candidate, apparently they will only allow positive political statements....

Posted by crispin at 04:28 AM | Comments (0)

Turtles

turtle.jpg

The turtles were in West Hollywood

Posted by crispin at 04:26 AM | Comments (0)

Olive

olive.jpg

Here is Olive at the Australian Artists in NY exhibition in DUMBO

Posted by crispin at 04:25 AM | Comments (0)

March 27, 2004

Swatch the advertising

swatch.jpg

The blur of images in NY is custom made for this sort of pic

Posted by crispin at 08:33 AM | Comments (0)

NASDAQ

nasdaq.jpg

The highs and lows...

Posted by crispin at 08:31 AM | Comments (0)

Tribeca Grand

tribeca.jpg


I have found my newest most perfect hotel. After much of the week staying at the Sheraton Towers Manhattan (Mid-town), I am now down-town at the totally excellent Tribeca Grand - if you are here you must do yourself the favour

www.tribecagrand.com

Posted by crispin at 08:25 AM | Comments (0)

March 26, 2004

NY NY

times2.jpg


ok so it is late and I don't have the energy to put in a heap more pictures at the moment but here is a pic from times square this evening! Bright isnt it?

Posted by crispin at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)

March 22, 2004

Coffee and Sympathy

venice3.jpg


Finally someone who understands that the coffee here does deserve sympathy.

Posted by crispin at 12:51 PM | Comments (0)

VB architecture

venice1.jpg

I guess if you live here you have money to burn and this place is a great example of the plain weird stuff you see, the turret out the front is not really connected to the main house, well there is a set of stairs up to the single room, its something between a viewing room and a retreat, featuring its own chandalier.

Posted by crispin at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)

Venice Beach

venice2.jpg

Venice Beach the one time home of Arnie and the body pumpers, probably the only place in the world you will find a full weights gym literally on the sand, together with basketball courts, volleyball, raquetball and the skaters and body glamours of LA.


Posted by crispin at 12:45 PM | Comments (0)

Marina Del Ray

marina.jpg

All these yachts and no-one sailing.... this is the view from my appartment window - the Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Ray.

Posted by crispin at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2004

On my way to the USA

I am off to LA on Saturday , I will be in NY from Tuesday 23rd to Sunday 28th and then back to San Francisco on Mon 29th and home to Melb on Tuesday 30th

if you are there or have friends there drop me a line or call my mobile

Posted by crispin at 08:04 PM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2004

Coonawarra

vines in the fine terra rosa of the coonawarra

Posted by crispin at 06:38 PM | Comments (0)

These pix from our Robe weekend


Callum and Harry at the 12 Apostles viewing post

Megan and the boys somewhere along the coast road

Posted by crispin at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)

March 12, 2004

my travel itinerary

http://www.continento.com/sendmap.php?mapid=1400

Posted by crispin at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)

March 11, 2004

Big Guy

he is very very big (at naracoorte caves)

and the amazing Mt Gambier Blue Lake in the crater..

Posted by crispin at 09:21 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2004

Some more french island pix

So I just realised I didnt put up a heap more of the French Island pix, not that we had any from sailing on the second day, but any way here are few more of Ravi looking heroic!

so heroic...

there is something a little camp about those glasses though..?

Posted by crispin at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)

March 09, 2004

Harry in Robe

robe4.jpg


Here is Harry with the Obelisk behind

Posted by crispin at 09:25 PM | Comments (0)

More Robe pix

robe2.jpg

This is the famous Pier that I tried to fish at the age of 12, here is Callum enjoying the sun.

We drove to Apollo Bay along the Great Ocean Road (past the Apostles) and on to Mt Gambier, Millicent, BeachPort and Finally Robe.

On Sunday we visited Coonawarra from Naracoorte to Penola and sampled some fine wine with visits to Wynns, Majella, Penley Estate and Brands

Back home via Mt Gambier again with a visit to the Blue Lake and a couple of caves.

Posted by crispin at 09:23 PM | Comments (0)

A lovely weekend in Robe

robe.jpg

Posted by crispin at 09:18 PM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2003

Sea Sand and Splash

all time great pic

Posted by crispin at 07:58 PM | Comments (0)

Mollymook

all time great pic

Here is a pic of me hanging out on the cliff above Narrewalle beach

Posted by crispin at 07:54 PM | Comments (0)

December 01, 2003

HK fishing

I am still finding the odd picture I really like from the HK trip, this one was Kowloon side at a market with hundreds of fishing rods and nets

Posted by crispin at 07:48 PM | Comments (0)

November 16, 2003

The Feather Boa Bar in HK

The Feather Boa Bar in the Soho district of Hong Kong is not easily recognised from the outside as being anything more than somebodies lounge room, and the actual bar is not much larger.

renowned for late night daquiris and other fine slurpy cocktails.

Posted by crispin at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)

November 11, 2003

More HK

hk.jpg


Here is another picture from the HK collection, this is just a typical back street, but it makes an interesting picture.

Posted by crispin at 09:40 PM | Comments (0)

October 29, 2003

chilli hot

img013.jpg


Peter & I ordered the chicken... it did warn that it was spicy. Small pieces of blackened chicken was found under the enormous bowl of chillies and between the burn on the lips the burn in the belly and the bones in the bird it was complex to eat but quite an unusual treat

Posted by crispin at 07:23 PM | Comments (0)

Times

img001a.jpg


While I was in HK they were completing the huge ad on the side of this building, this was completed over the couple of days I was in town. I captured a couple of others which were also outstanding.

Posted by crispin at 06:08 PM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2003

Bamboo

img044.jpg


Sophie asked me if Hong Kong still had the bamboo scafolding, it does and it is quite amazing to watch them putting it up.

Posted by crispin at 12:12 AM | Comments (0)

October 25, 2003

Shoemaker

img032.jpg

This guy has a stall making and repairing shoes in a narrow alley between shops in Causeway Bay it highlights the extreme differences in life in hong kong between the rich and poor

Posted by crispin at 09:11 AM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2003

My Hotel

img001.jpg


The Grand Hyatt in HK is a great hotel - (this is my room) they have a great club (the grand club) where the canapes and drinks are plenty to entertain you for breakfast and dinner. Outstanding.

Posted by crispin at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)

Honkers

img016.jpg


Been to Hong Kong this week and I am putting together a list of favourite places from the eastern trading hub. Great time lots of pix to come...

Posted by crispin at 11:17 PM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2003

In search of sun sand and a free moment to clear the mind & soothe the soul

Queensland - the holiday state - beautiful one moment, perfect the next and all that stuff.... that is until you decide it might be nice to get out of the cool melbourne winter and escape to some queensland warmth for a bit of a break, that is when the challenge hits you - where do you go?

The options appear endless Islands, Mainland Beaches, Coral Reefs, the best beach, the best sand, the most remote, the best family, the full resort experience, the appartments, the shopping.... what did you want again?

I tell you travelling with the family is all abit hard, last weekend countless hours were spent reviewing the many online websites for resorts and islands - hundreds of places and I came away much more confused than when I started the process. This was all supposed to be easy.....

Of course most melbournians make an annual pilgrimage to noosa, the sydneysiders prefer byron bay or surfers but for me Queensland is an enigma. Fleeting visits to Surfers Paradise are really all I have seen so its all new.

So we started planning for the 7 day complete package 2 adults 2 kids and a complete rest - just us and our sunburn.

Sadly it seems we are too late for the season, when Megan rang the travel agent she was informed that we were looking at school holidays and everything was booked out and that various nasty stinging things (some that are rumour to kill you) are going to be well out in force; that islands are expensive; that the mainland is overdeveloped and well they have been known to leave people out on the reef.

Megans alternative we take a week off to paint the somers house....

Posted by crispin at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)

September 09, 2003

Skiing Mt Hotham

I just put up the skiing website - well the few pix I took while we had our blizzard weekend up at mt hotham.

not a huge ski weekend but a couple of nice pix

[click here]

Posted by crispin at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)

September 02, 2003

Blizzard

snow snow snow


a weekend of excellent snow and miserable conditions. It looks like the season will be extended with the excellent cover, pity we missed the great weather. Callum & I got a good day and a half skiing, but with Harrison sick Megan spent most of the time in the appartment.

Posted by crispin at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2003

Sydney

The pix are up from this weeks CRISPY DRINKS held at the Bayswater Bra - a good night out - great to see all of you.


Posted by crispin at 08:25 PM | Comments (0)

July 31, 2003

Drawing to a close

this trip is drawing to a close with tomorrow being my last day in Seattle. It has been amazing weather here each day in the low to mid thirties (celcius) and people are out and making the most of it.

Tomorrow I start the haul back to australia via San Francisco so there maybe one more weblog based here in the US.

Snow has fallen in abundance in the australian snow fields which we are very excited about as it looks like the season will be good for our trip at the end of august [click here]

Posted by crispin at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)

July 29, 2003

Bellevue - Technology by Lake Washington


Travels in seattle today have confirmed that the wealthy folk here, really do have it good. There is an incredibly high proportion of boats and apparently on in every 5 people owns a boat. and with all the amazing waterways both fresh and salt, why wouldnt you - ok don't remind them that the weather is only great here for 2 months of the year, just enjoy it while you are here! Magic.

Above the view from my room at the woodmark hotel.

Posted by crispin at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)

July 28, 2003

Seattle - my wot a lovorly volcano you 'as

Tonight I am up in Seattle - staying at the the woodmark hotel [click here] what is amazing about the weather up here - it is light till late 9pm and it was still daylight / twilight and the view over the lake ...

from here you can also see the volcano mt st helens which is still covered in snow, as it is the middle of summer and a balmy evening about 24 degrees celcius shows how high it is.

more pix from the week end tomorrow

Posted by crispin at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)

July 27, 2003

San Francisco City of Lights

The interesting thing about San Francisco is there is always something going on somewhere and an amazing 6 degrees of seperation. Wherever you someone has some kind of connection to next person etc..


Bambuddha Lounge [click here] - for dinner by the pool - tragic motel 6 turns into groovy palm filled (bali style) dinning groovers - this is a real difference from sydney where you eat and drink in fairly different places but whatever. Thanks to Mere & Jason for introduction.

Posted by crispin at 07:40 AM | Comments (0)

July 26, 2003

Hotels

In my travels I have enjoyed a few different hotels - I am currently staying at the Hotel Adagio in SF check out http://www.thehoteladagio.com

Most of this week I have been at the Westin Palo Alto - plush but less so..

The Westin was housing a number of womens tennis super stars playing at The Bank of The West Classic

My favourite bit was that my room was only a couple down the hall from Daniela Hantuchova my she is tall..

Posted by crispin at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

July 25, 2003

exhaustion

Palo Alto can take it out of you after being here for 3 days I am feeling physically shagged by the pace... much of it has to do with sitting for hours in presentation, eating too much food and drinking too much wine then heading back to the email and the phone to catch up on the day...

early to bed tonight - for tomorrow it is time for the city

Posted by crispin at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)

July 24, 2003

"Welcome to beautiful down town Palo Alto"

Today is effectively my second day in 'bdtpa' or beautiful down-town palo alto as the hotel wake up call reminds me each morning and when you look at the rest of 'the valley' you can see why the affluence of bdtpa makes it stand out - so much.

Travels across the bay up and down the silicon strip and seeing the various players has been an interesting way to study the make up of how different citiy designs create the culture of a nation. The low density housing found through out the bay area leads to a requirement for a lot of highways and a sprawling expanse of housing and a lot of gas guzzling cars.

The general quality of road is very low - probably because of the very heavy use it gets and you are given to thinking of the differences between road systems, how drivers behave (road rage), the symbolic nature of a car in peoples lives its all a bit scary.

So back to bdtpa its all been pretty full on lots of long hours - out for dinner tonight and I will try to put some pix up after that.

Posted by crispin at 01:01 PM | Comments (0)

July 22, 2003

New York Story

So you will have to wait for the pictures from NY as I am just to tired to be bothered stuffing around at this stage, however rest assured I did manage to get a couple.

[click here for more]

You forget how far it is to get across the country and for that matter I am now back in San Francisco but that is another story and comes after Boston.

So anyway I arrived in NY late - too late in fact to do anything really by midnight all the jazz clubs and any other venue I could be bother thinking of had pretty much finished up so - I got up early (awake at 5am and unable to get back to sleep) and I ran all the way around Central Park - that was quite amazing (both that I made it and that there are heaps of runners out early on a sunday morning).

caught up with Sophie and Nick through the morning (pix later) spending the time wandering around the streets and parks of Brooklyn and then caught the train to Boston.

Posted by crispin at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)

July 17, 2003

Countdown

The days are counting down, and I am ready to get on the big silver bird on my way back to the USA. For those of you on that side of the world my schedule has me passing through cities on the East and West...

19th-20th - NY
20th-21st - Boston
21st-25th - Palo Alto
25th-27th - San Francisco
27th-30th - Seattle (Redmond)
30th-1st - San Francisco

So hope to see you 'on tour'

Posted by crispin at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)

January 06, 2003

paris city of nudes

all time great pic

This amazing city is full of statues and beautiful nudes

Posted by crispin at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)