Tuesday Tunes {the rediscovery of Trance}

I suppose it was natural progression that after last week's featured tune and exposure to several electronic shows at SXSW - I've rediscovered my love of Trance.  This couldn't have come at a better time actually, because with the purchase of my Mini - I've found a new sense of freedom in just hopping in, zoning out to the music and letting it put in me in a delightful state of, well... trance.

Everything seems possible and life seems in divine, perfect order when I'm seated behind the wheel and a song like Burn The Sun begins to play.

Or My Heaven:

Or Kingdom of dreams: (somewhere in the middle is my fave part)

Or Goodbye.

Some people meditate in complete silence.  As for me, I need this kind of music to reach those hidden places within.  That is my happy place.

celebrate the small things | Mar 27

This week I'm celebrating:

- my new car!!
She's not technically 'new' - she's a 2009 model Mini Cooper S, but she's new in my life and I adore her!

Isn't she pretty!?

- two new friends and catching up with two old ones
I met two awesome, empowering girls at SXSW // and on Wednesday had an 'old-school' cocktail evening with my old neighbours!

- the enriching experience of SXSW
learnt several things about human nature, threatening situations, shock and myself.

- my vegetables seeds growing like crazy!

- getting organized
Will was gone all week, which enabled me to complete all the washing/ tidy the house/ organize scattered paperwork and rearrange a few stray decorating items that have been doing my head in.  Now I'm sitting here, with a coffee, looking around and feeling a proud sense of accomplishment.

- the weekend
We've got quite a few exciting things planned this weekend: breakfast downtown/ the local markets/ visiting friends/ a nature hike and detailing my new car.

midweek afternoon walks

Is there anything more heavenly, rejuvenating or relaxing than a walk through nature after a stifling day in the office?  I've been skipping out of work earlier and earlier this week, putting leashes on the puppies and heading down to the neighbourhood pond - where spring is well and truly underway.  I've been enjoying sights like these all week:

My favourite thing, no question, about Texas is spring.  Not only are the wildflowers ridiculously breathtaking - but wild berries grow all around, often in the oddest places!  Nowhere else have I seen raspberries, blueberries and mulberries growing so matter-of-factly and, well, blatantly!  In road islands, sidewalks, forest trails, unsuspecting garden bed and children's playgrounds!  Here is a small sample of what the neighbourhood pond currently looks like:

And the forest trail around the pond:

Tuesday Tunes {King by Years & Years}

Well hi!  I survived and I'm back from my week working SXSW!  It was a blur consisting mainly of bands, rappers, crowds, exhaustion, Schlotzsky's boxes and broken sleep... But boy, was it fun!  

Aside from making several, awesome, new friends; I discovered a bunch of new music and today I'd like to share one of my fave new discoveries - a British, electronic band called Years and Years.  These guys were incredibly sweet (they waited in my queue one night) and oh! so talented.  

This song is called King but I highly recommend checking out some others if you enjoy it, since I had a hard time choosing just one!

Tuesday Tunes {SXSW}

This week I'm listening to SXSW (South by Southwest)'s live radio at 

 http://www.kgsr.com/promotions/sxsw

and getting pumped because I'll be working at different venues all week as part of the festival!  

Starting tonight!  YAY!  Can't wait!

For those of you who don't know, SXSW is one of Austin's largest music festivals (there's a film component too...) where bands and industry professionals spend five full days and nights showcasing new talent.  Will and I were recently discussing the irony of living in Austin - America's music capital - and never having been to so much as a concert, so I decided to rectify that by signing up to work as a cashier at this year's SXSW!  Countless new bands to love, coming up!  I sort of can't wait. Definitely won't be much blogging this week though. 

A day in Belize

The second shore excursion on our Norwegian Dawn Cruise was a day in Belize!  Will and I chose to take a cruise along the Old Belize River, eat a traditional Belizean lunch and then visit a Mayan ruin site, called Altun-Ha.

Since Belize City doesn't have a port, we had to be tendered over from the cruise ship - which was super exciting for me and set a jubilant tone for the rest of the day.

Once on land, we met our tour guide and waited for the rest of our group to assemble before getting on another boat that took us down to the river.  While waiting, Will and I wasted no time trying something local and bought a coconut to drink.  Yep, an actual coconut with a hole on top and a straw inserted!  Three things I never knew about drinking real coconut water:

1. coconut water is cold!  it tastes like it's been refrigerated, even when it hasn't
2. it's more hydrating than plain water
3. it's delicious! and tastes almost nothing like bottled coconut water!

Moving on!  

Once the entire group had gathered and boarded the boat, we began our journey through the coast into the Old Belize River; the guide pausing sporadically to point out local wildlife or geographical facts.  Major highlight was in the mouth of the river, where we observed a group of manatees (that's dugongs, to my fellow Aussies!) coming up for air!

We sat there, engine idling, for quite some time - just taking it in.  Most of us were already beaming blissfully before we even entered the river, where we witnessed more breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime encounters with local wildlife, such as monkeys swinging off tree branches right along the banks:

(admittedly not the best photos, but if you look closely at the last pic, he's staring right at me!)

We saw many iguanas, but look at this guy, lazily sprawled upon a tree branch:

One rule about anywhere in the Caribbean: don't forget to look up!

There were a few crocodiles to see that day, but here are my best pics:

<---- to the left

Then there were these weird, tiny fruit bats unique to the area:

Many beautiful water birds:

But everyone's highlight was the dolphin that rode along with us for a while, gathering attention and excitement.  Then, when he was absolutely sure that every eye was upon him, he gloriously leaped out of the water as we cheered!  

This river cruise was a.m.a.z.i.n.g.  I can't think of a better way to experience native jungle and water animals, or get so close to them!

We'd traveled many miles up the Old Belize River (whatever an hour and a half with frequent stops equates to), before docking at a quint restaurant right on the bank.  Here we ate a traditional Belizean lunch, consisting of oven-baked chicken drumsticks, a black-beans and rice variation and tea.  The locals were sweet enough to include the American favourites of caramel cheesecake and fudge brownies as dessert selections, but being full from lunch, Will and I chose instead to lounge in the hammocks beneath a fig tree canopy, get lost in the moment and await the bus that took us to Altun-Ha.

Along the bumpy bus ride through a jungle road to the ruins, our guide explained that Altun-Ha wasn't the biggest, the oldest or most impressive Mayan site in Belize, it was a mere baby compared to many others, but when we arrived: it blew our minds!  Dating back to 900 BC, it was the biggest, oldest and most impressive Mayan temple ruin Will or I had ever seen and we were sorry not to have more time there.

One hour with a guided tour really wasn't enough time to take it all in, or climb everything - since, amazingly considering it's age, this is one of the few sites where they allow that!  We barely had time to mount the sacrificial pyramid, take photos and walk the perimeter of the main plaza, before being called back to the bus that took us to Belize City once more. :( Major bummer, but...

As we took the streets on the way back, we had a wonderful opportunity to see Belize City and our guide explained many interesting things about the way of life of the people, the political systems and economy of Belize, before returning to the dock; drinking from one more coconut and being tendered back to the cruise ship.

This lovely man chose the biggest coconut for me <3 

 (this time, the coconut contained the most potent pina colada I've ever had! 

Will and I split it and were both still drunk afterwards!) 

It was a marvelous day we had in Belize.  I felt sorry for the people we spoke to that went zip lining, or chocolate making.  They didn't get to see the wildlife - or make the connection - we did.  We got to leave feeling like we'd taken a real piece of the country with us and we're glad we took this tour.