The Main Event

Day 2 and 3 - Supanova is in full swing. I know this is my travel blog, and if you are more interested in my costumes, then you are best heading on over to http://poisonedkitty.blogspot.com.au/. But the rest of my weekend was spent at the convention.

At heart, I am a giant nerd. I love Anime, I love movies, I love costumes and I love dressing up. Supanova is heaven for me as it is the best opportunity I get to recreate movie, anime and television costumes. Sydney was no exception. I busted my arse to get reading for supanova - to make a Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones costume to wear on Saturday. And to re-wear my newly made Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck It Ralph on Sunday.

I spent all day at Supanova shopping my little heart out and awing over the geekiness of others' costumes. I got photos autographed by Alan Tudyk and Karl Urban, I sat in panels and listened to my favourite actors speak. All in all I had a fantastic time, and it really was my main reason for travelling to Sydney. That, and spending time with my fellow costuming pals.

Saturday night, we all got together for a spot of dinner at Ribs and Rumps out at Olympic Park. When an event or two are on there, they book up pretty solid, so we were very lucky to get a table. Last year was the first time that I was taken there and I was happy to return. The food is fantastic. There is a great range of food, including stuff other than steak and ribs, but I have to recommend the steak. They know how to cook it. And since I like mine blue, that can be a bit of challenge. The desserts were fantastic as well, setting me up with a layered chocolate sponge and mousse cake. It was too bad that I had the hiccups from hell stopping me from eating it all.

After two full days at Supanova, I hopped on the train back to the city to de-wig and pick up my suitcase before heading home to Brisbane. I checked in my luggage and tucked into airport dinner at Mad Mex. I gotta say, the QANTAS terminal at Sydney airport is pretty damn good - a great selection of food available (not just the usual trashy greasy takeaway) and yummy. With a full tummy, I said goodbye to Wendy and hopped onto my plane home. I crashed, only waking up for the free snack, which just goes to show what an exhausting weekend it was.

My flight landed in Brisbane at 22.05, and after collecting my luggage, my wonderful parents took me home to bed. I jumped in for a hot shower before crashing into bed. It's probably not the smartest thing to get up straight away the next morning and head to work after a full weekend away, but there you have it. And now, I have spent a number of days at home in bed recovering from the nasty con-cold that I picked up. After taking Wednesday off, I was sent home from work at lunchtime on Thursday and told not to come back until Monday. So here I am, holed up in bed, trying my best to get better.

Until my next trip... AUGUST!!!

Sydney in June Day 1

I admit it now, I have been slack. Here it is, Thursday and I am only just posting about last weekend. To be fair, I got home on Sunday night, crashed into bed, then was up at 6am for work. To top it off, I have been horribly sick this week. But onto that later.

I started out my trip to Sydney bright and early on Friday morning. In fact, I was up before the sun - which is never a good thing. But, I headed out to Brisbane domestic airport at any rate, ready to catch my QANTAS flight. I had picked up some cheap flights back in January for my trip, only costing me $160 return - which is a fantastic deal. It meant that I arrived in Sydney at 9am where I met up with the wonderful Wendy - my host for the weekend. She took me back to her inner-city bachelorette pad to settle in before I headed out for some touristy explorations.

First up was the Paddington Reservoir. It is a historical water reservoir from the 1880s that has now been converted into public gardens. On display are some local works of art. It's a wonderful use of the space and a great transformation. Unfortunately, some areas are blocked off due to graffiti, but the gardens are still wonderful. In fact they would be a perfect picnic spot. Wendy and I discussed how great a spot it would be to open up all the areas for a steampunk ball, I could really see it. All in all though, it's a great preservation of something so wonderfully historical. So, if you are in the Paddington area, on Oxford Street, it is worth a stop by for a look-see.

 Afterwards, I went for a wander up Oxford street. In particular, I was looking for a few shops in particular to do a spot of vintage shopping. But by then, it was well after 12 and my stomach was calling for food. I stopped at the Three Saints Cafe where there was a great selection of food on offer. I chose to sit down to a bowl of butter chicken and rice - and I am glad I did, dinner didn't happen until 9pm.

 

Further down Oxford Street, and around the corner, I came to the vintage store "Grandma Takes A Trip". The store had a great range of stuff, and I was very very tempted by a number of items, but alas, I walked out with nothing - the prices were quite beyond what I was willing to pay. I did however, grab a few shots of the shop for your viewing pleasure.

Later that night, I tripped out to Supanova at the Olympic Park to grab my weekend wrist pass. Of course, I dressed up for the occasion - wearing my K-ON uniform as Tsumugi. I snapped a few shots of my Sydney pals dressed up as well. I had intended to pick up a few tickets for autographs that night, but the line was incredible and would have taken about 4 hours to get from the end to the start. Worst of all it just kept growing.

Afterwards, we made our way back to the city, stopping by Circular Quay Train Station so that I could get the night view of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. I've seen them both before on a previous trip to Sydney as a child, but it was still nice to do the tourist thing and get a couple shots on my baby camera.

Off again

And I am setting off again, on another adventure. This time, though, only within Australia. I am heading to Sydney! The main purpose of my trip is the pop culture convention Supanova. Once again, I am heading down for the weekend. But, this time, I am flying into town early Friday morning, so that I have a bit of time on my hands to do the tourist thing in Sydney. The last time I was there for Supanova, that's all I did, so this time, I want to see some sights.

I will be staying with a friend in the inner suburbs, so while I am there, bring on the sights. Will keep you posted!