Jerome Parisse's Blog, page 2

Ballooning over Melbourne

A few companies offer hot ballooning over Melbourne. This is a fabulous experience. The only drawback is getting up very early (4am or so) to reach the taking-off site before dawn. The site varies every day and you get an early call to let you know where it’s going to be or if it’s going to happen at all! Because of the wind it gets often cancelled, so you have to keep trying. Having said that, it’s worth the wait and you won’t regret it. It takes a few minutes to be up in the air and from there the view over the city, the beaches, the bay and the suburbs is breathtaking. You don’t know where you’re going to land before you’re up because it depends of where the wind will take you. Quite an experience. I often get up in the morning to see a few balloons flying over our place, so I was happy to see our house from the air for once. Loved every minute of it! Certain companies follow the flight with a beautiful breakfast/brunch at one of the city’s international hotels. A real treat. Highly recommended.

Mona Yes Mona No

We finally managed to make it to the Mona, the Museum of New and Old Art, in Hobart, Tasmania. There’s quite a bit of hype about this new museum Down Under, and it is certainly different from what we are used to in Australia. The museum is the baby of David Walsh, a millionaire  from Tasmania who made his fortune with gambling systems and owns a private art collection. He decided to give something back to the place he is from and built a museum to his image. The museum itself is quite different – the architecture is amazing and worth the trip itself. To get to the Mona you can drive, but what I reckon is the cooler way to reach it is by using Mona’s private boat, painted camouflage-style and with cool stuff inside – you can also enjoy food and coffee and the half-hour ride is very relaxing. Upon arrival, a flight of stairs takes you up to the museum. Watch out if you are going on a weekend, it gets very busy – both the museum and the boat, so book in advance. What I liked about the museum is: the eclectic art collection; the theme is definitely sex and death, but the variety and originality in the pieces of art is quite amazing; the architecture, as I mentioned before; the fact that it is in Hobart; and how everyone gets into it. There are however a few things that didn’t gel with me: the space is quite narrow, and when it is busy, it gets really hard to walk around and the atmosphere gets stuffy (it’s all underground too, very dark and with no windows); there is no signage next to the art: what you are supposed to do is use an App or your phone or get headphones (they are available) – the problem I see with that is that if you are with someone and want to talk about what you are seeing, you can’t do that with headphones, and you don’t necessarily want to listen to a recording; when I looked around I could see many visitors reading their App instead of looking at the Art; there is no other way to know what you are looking at and this is annoying; there is also no visible logic in how the art is exhibited; and finally, because it is a maze, you end up missing some of the art. It’s still a great experience. There are also bars and restaurants and cafes to relax and enjoy a glass of wine of the nearby wineries. There’s even a brewery. If you get there early, you may get a seat!

Review of Inferno, by Dan Brown

Dan Brown uses the same formula for all his books, and Inferno is no exception: a search for something mysterious or dangerous based on symbolism, a setting in an Italian city, a mad chase, Robert Landgon the academic who is an expert in symbology, short chapters to guarantee a page-turner etc. Inferno features Robert Landgon, who is amnesiac and finds himself chased by dangerous individuals while trying to solve a puzzle. Langdon and a few other characters try to avoid the release of a plague, supposed to kill half of humanity – nothing else! The plot is all right, I suppose, although it’s more than unlikely. The need for certain individuals to use symbols (and complex ones) to hide simple messages is annoying – it feels too much like just a silly plot for the novel. This story is not as good as The Da Vinci Code, or Angels and Demons and the formula needs to change. It’s not new, it gets boring, and you feel like you’ve read it before. I’m not saying the story is painful to read, it’s a page turner after all and it is enjoyable, but you will forget it as soon as you’ve read it. The one thing that really didn’t work for me with this book is that Brown turned it into an Italian art lesson. There’s nothing wrong with that, except the way it’s done is just ridiculous. Picture this: Langdon is chased by a large number of people who want to kill him. They’re shooting at him, he’s seen them kill people, they involve the police, and what does Langdon do? He (constantly) stops in front of pieces of art or architecture to marvel at how beautiful they are, think of the artist who’s created them, tell their story to whoever he is with, and take his time to take it all in. Plain silly if you ask me! I believe Brown’s readers need a little more respect than that.

The Infinity Pool at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

During a weekend in Singapore recently, we stayed at the new, much talked-about, Marina Bay Sands Hotel. I was interested to see it because on top of having the most amazing pool, its engineering design was done by the company I work for, Arup. I was a little disappointed by the hotel itself. The lobby is too big and nondescript and is really more a tourist place and shopping plaza than a lobby. The service is not great either (and when you know how much a night cost, you have the right to complain). Having said that, the rooms are very nice and spacious. But of course, most people stay there for the pool, at the very top of the building, across the three towers. It has to be one of the highest pools in the world, and it really feels like you are swimming in the air. Fantastic!

Weekend in Singapore

Singapore belongs to those places where I could easily live. I love the place, its efficiency, its cleanliness, its people, its underground… Everything works. The food keeps getting better, and you now have the choice between hundreds of different cuisines. Singapore is a convenient stopover on the way to Europe from Australia but it’s also great for weekends. Having friends there makes it special for me, and between catching-up with them, eating out, and walking around, there was not much time left, unfortunately. A new reclaimed area has appeared since the last time I was there, and the city landscape keeps changing. I highly recommend the orchid garden in the botanical gardens. Magical.

Stoker, the film

I had never heard of Stoker when I flew to Singapore last week. When I saw they were playing it on the plane, I was curious to find out what the story was about. The film features Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska, and Matthew Goode. Director is Park Chan-Wook and scriptwriter is Wentworth Miller. The movie has just come out in 2013. The story revolves around teen-ager India Stoker, who has just lost her father in a car accident. An uncle (brother of her late father) turns up, whom she has never heard of before. She is intrigued of course, and whilst grieving for her dad, is attracted by her uncle – she has to compete with her mother though (Nicole Kidman) a somewhat unstable and distant woman (one of Kidman’s classic roles). The truth behind the uncle’s story is very unsettling, to say the least. We learn quickly that he is dangerous, but his past is only revealed at the end, and it is chilling. A good story and for those of you who like slow movies, it’s perfect. It was little slow for my liking, but I realise this is how it was meant to be (It’s a psychological thriller after all). It does accelerate mid-way through. A good movie to watch on a plane, except that the way it is filmed, and some of the frames and pictures are stunning. I love the way India focusses on small things and insects, and how this is brought to life by the camera. The way the last frame of the movie links back to the first is perfect. Not the best movie I have seen, but a good one to watch (beware, there will be a number of dead bodies). Oh and Stoker is a family name, and it says it all…

Review of Poppet, by Mo Hayder

Mo Hayder has mastered the art of gothic crime novels – my favourite one of hers so far is Tokyo, but Poppet comes next. I was delighted to get it early on the Kindle and I read it fast. Well paced, with a plot split into three parts which eventually all come together, the novel features one of Hayder’s favourite characters, DI Jack Caffery. Police Diver Flea Marley is not far, as usual, but don’t think you need to have read the other books, this works well as a standalone novel. The plot is unnerving and stressful (don’t read it at night when you are alone). The story centres on a high-security mental ward where a number of sinister, surreal events take place, each leading to the unexplained death of a patient. All patients are very nervous and keep talking about a non-human entity which haunts them. AJ, one of the staff, feels something deep and sinister is playing out in front of his very own eyes, and he tries to talk his boss Melanie Arrow into action. When a patient is released – Isaac Handel who killed his parents in a horrific manner at the age of fourteen – all hell breaks loose… Who is the next victim going to be? Isaac stalks the ward’s staff one after the other. Naturally – it’s Mo Hayder after all – there is more than meets the eye, and as one character puts it, “all is not always as it seems”. Fabulous ending, scary plot, even a bit of romance… all the ingredients of a great novel by Mo Hayder.

Waikiki and Lanikai Beach

Post #2 about last week in Hawaii. After The Big Island we spent 4 days on Ohau – the famous Waikiki beach can’t be missed, even if a little too touristy for my liking. But it is probably one of the most famous beaches in the world. The colours are amazing. I much prefer Lanikai Beach though, in the North of the island, about 40 minutes drive from Waikiki. Paradise on earth. The colour of the water is absolutely magical. See for yourselves…

Flowing lava on The Big Island, Hawaii

This was a long awaited holiday, after many stressful months at work and at home: a week in Hawaii. We spent 4 days on The Big Island, and 4 days on Oahu (next post). We found a beautiful guest house in the Southeastern corner of The Big Island (also called Hawaii). As it happened (well, it was sort of planned) it was close to the most amazing active volcano. I had seen volcanos before, in Central America, Indonesia and Italy, among others, but never had I come that close to flowing lava. There is something magical and almost frightening to see the core of the Earth come to the surface and flow so freely. We were absolutely fascinated. After walking on old lava for about an hour and a half, we reached a place where the lava flowed from the top of the mountain. What an incredible sight. The lava is about 1,100 degree Celsius so of course you cannot stand too close for too long. We grabbed a stick and poked the lava – the stick burst into flames and the pressure that came out was incredible. You have to see how blobs of liquid rock form on top of each other to realise the power of the process. A few hundreds metres away the lava flow enters the ocean, releasing massive clouds of hot steam. Fire in water, not something you see every day. This amazing phenomenon creates beautiful black sand beaches. The pictures and video below do not make justice to the intensity of the experience.

The Killer Koala, by Kenneth Cook

Kenneth Cook is an Australian writer who was fascinated by the bush and died in 1987. A friend of mine gave me the French edition of The Killer Koala, published one year before Cook’s passing. I searched for the book online, but it seems to be quite a rare find these days. Amazon has got a few copies at an outrageous price. The Killer Koala is a compilation of short stories about animals from the Australian bush. Apparently they are true store which happened to Cook while travelling in the outback. Some of them are quite funny, others incredible, and they all tell something of the true Australia, this remote country at the heart of our continent. It’s an easy read, and for anyone who’s been here and enjoys the outdoor, a breath of fresh air – so to speak.