Travel writing when you’re not travelling

This year will not be a year of passports, aeroplanes and foil-wrapped food. It’s a shame because, to my mind, there is not much that rivals international travel in the fun stakes. Still, this is the year of the new house and the new work situation so … you can’t have everything (apparently).

 Because I’ve been thinking of travel and, ok I have booked three days in Daylesford with my gorgeous Mum, I decided to dredge up a travel story I did for The Age last year after one of the most enjoyable adventures in recent years.

24 hours in Austin

March 28, 2009

 Caption: Austin … a city for lovers of tattoos, Tex-Mex and triathlons. Photo: Holger Leue/Lonely Planet

 Jacquie Byron finds tortilla, ribs and honky tonk in the Texan capital.

The live-music capital of the United States and the spot Lance Armstrong calls home, Austin is a city for lovers of tattoos, Tex-Mex and triathlons.

 10am

 Austin is a fit city – just ask the joggers along Town Lake – but if you’re holidaying then late nights and slow starts are on the cards.

 Kick off with a coffee at Jo’s in South Congress Avenue, where you’ll get the closest thing to an Australian-style latte in the US, before heading up the road to Magnolia Cafe. Breakfast is served all day: the pancakes are a must, or settle for a breakfast taco.

 Jo’s Hot Coffee and Good Food, 1300 S Congress Avenue, Austin, see joscoffee.com. Magnolia Cafe, 1920 S Congress Avenue, Austin, see cafemagnolia.com.

 11.30am

 Not many towns can offer stand-alone travel guides to vintage clothing, homeware and ephemera stores. Austin can.

 Quirky stores go hand-in-hand with the city’s official slogan: Keep Austin Weird. -You’ll see it on T-shirts and bumper stickers everywhere. It was adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance in about 2003 to promote small businesses in the area.

 Don’t miss Uncommon Objects and Tesoros Trading Company in South Congress and Hog Wild Texas Vintage in the northern part of town.

 Uncommon Objects, 1512 S Congress Ave, see uncommonobjects.com. Tesoros Trading Company, 1500 S Congress Avenue, see tesoros.com. Hog Wild Texas Vintage, 100 E North Loop Boulevard.

 1pm

 Austin’s sizeable Mexican population means it’s easy to find authentic dishes. A “sopa” (tortilla soup) at Tacodeli features fresh chicken broth, shredded chicken, onion, tomatoes, jalapenos, coriander and tortilla strips. If that doesn’t suit, try the thing Texas is famous for – barbecue.

 At Ruby’s BBQ, with its low ceilings, autograph-covered tables and generous servings of sliced white bread, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better serve of brisket, ribs or chopped beef. And don’t miss the Dang Pie – a fabulous mix of tinned pineapple and coconut that could come directly from a CWA cookbook.

 Tacodeli South Austin at 1500 Spyglass Road or North Austin at 12001 Burnet Road, see tacodeli.com. Ruby’s BBQ, 512 West 29th Street, just off Guadalupe, see rubysbbq.com.

 2pm

 Work off the food with a walk along what locals call Town Lake, a stretch of the Colorado River that winds through downtown and gives you lots of different views of Austin. The vegetation is lush but heed the warnings about poison ivy and don’t miss the turtles sunning themselves on the rocks.

 On the south shore of the lake is a life-size statue of Austin guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan. If you prefer politics to ponds you can walk into town and visit the Texas State Capitol, an opulent 1883 building, and the Capitol Visitor Centre in a restored 1856-57 building.

 See texasoutside.com/townlake.htm; texasrowingcenter.com.

 3.30pm

 By now you’ll need a drink. The Belmont has indoor and outdoor drinking and dining. Its decor is based on Las Vegas and Palm Springs of the 1960s and once you snuggle into one of the dark-green leather booths you may never want to leave. Make sure you try the Belmontini, an unexpectedly delicious mix of vodka, champagne and pineapple juice.

 For some old-world southern charm, don’t miss the Driskill Hotel. Built in 1886 by a cattle baron, this place is all marble floors, stained-glass domes and cowhide sofas.

 The Belmont, 305 West 6th Street, see thebelmontaustin.com. The Driskill Hotel, 604 Brazos Street, see driskillhotel.com.

 Sunset

 Austin is the home of North America’s largest bat population. About 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats roost under Congress Avenue Bridge from March to October. At sunset they take off en masse in search of dinner. Take in the view from the Lone Star River Boat.

 See lonestarriverboat.com.

 7pm

 Austin is billed as the live-music capital of the world and on any night you will find great bands, especially in the roots, country and blues genres, firing up amplifiers in 200 or so venues. Make sure you pick up a copy of The Austin Chronicle (out every Thursday).

 South Congress has some classic venues such as the Continental Club (country, blues, burlesque) and Trophy’s (beer only). Take a taxi downtown to Antone’s, which over the years has Muddy Waters, B. B. King, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Junior Brown and Jimmie Vaughan.

 The Continental Club, 1315 S Congress Avenue, see http://www.continentalclub.com. Trophy’s, 2008 S Congress Avenue, see myspace.com/trophystx. Antone’s, 213 West 5th Street, see antones.net.

 10pm

 No one sees just one band in a night in Austin and it’s important you get a feel for the kind of venue Texans call honky tonks. Take a taxi to Ginny’s Little Longhorn, where shows go from 9pm to 1am. This place is tiny but it doesn’t stop folk from dancing. And if you really want to see Texan two-stepping, head to The Broken Spoke. An old-school Texan dance hall, the floor here fills with steppers aged 21 to 80. Buy your beer by the pitcher, try some chicken fried steak or just soak up the atmosphere.

 Ginny’s Little Longhorn, 5434 Burnet Road, see ginnyslittlelonghorn.com. The Broken Spoke, 3201 S Lamar, see brokenspokeaustintx.com.

 See the article on line at http://www.theage.com.au/travel/24-hours-in-austin-20090325-99×0.html

Sneak preview of GET CREATIVE QUARTERLY

While I can’t show you the magazine, I can show you the media kit!

http://getcreativequarterly.com/email/

Spending Saturday with Bryce Courtenay

Photo taken from Penguin website, thanks (:

I always treasure a day or so spent at the Melbourne Writers Festival. As usual there were a number of things I wanted to attend this year but the clock and the piggy bank limit me to choosing a full day’s workshop with bestselling author Bryce Courtenay (I am madly listening to the audio book of  The Potato Factory at the moment) and an intriguing seminar called ‘The Amplified Author – Exploring New Business Models For Writers’ with Cory Doctorow.

The spiel about the Courtenay workshop is unnerving: “The Creation of Widely Read Fiction – Join Bryce for a writing workshop with the gloves off. Participants should come armed not with drafts of their work, but with a desire to write and to produce clearheaded, hard hitting fiction. Bryce warns the day will be intensive and results driven, cautioning that ‘feelings will inevitably be hurt, blood spilt, being precious banned, and habitual writing workshop attendees should think twice before attending’. Participate if you dare!”

OK, I dare!

A new source for the busy writer

Whilst searching for a trend forecaster to comment on a story I was writing recently I decided to try Source Bottle, a service I had learned about earlier this year at an MEAA course. I was delighted with the response … I had about 12 people contacting me within four to six hours and have used two in the article.

Often journalists bemoan the fact that they are constantly reaching out to the same network of contacts when looking for participants for stories. This is, of course, most relevant to the softer, ‘colour’ type of stories so Source Bottle can open up a whole new pool of voices to consider. And, I did notice that quite serious topics were being researched on this site too, from homelessness to unwed mothers.

Did I mention I can write web text?

Visit the Beach Hotel, Byron Bay to see an example.

Bowens Newsletters

See http://www.bowens.com.au/resources/i/news/builders_bulletins/July_2010.pdf to see the Swenrick company profile from yours truly.

Advance, Global Australians Global Network

BEEN TO AMERICA? ALICIA HAS …

For anyone considering a move to Los Angeles as a career boost, Melbourne’s Alicia Darvall has nothing but positives to say about the experience, despite the fact she was practically ‘taking coals to Newcastle’ by bringing an Australian cinema concept to what is internationally recognised as the movie world’s commercial heart.

“We used to laugh about putting the initials BTA, meaning Been to America, on Australian business cards, especially for doctors,” says Darvall who is married to medico, Tony White. He joined her in LA to complete a two-year Fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre. “Employers in the field just love to see it.”

The pair lived on the USA’s West Coast for around three years, even producing their first child, Gemma, there. Now back in her St Kilda home, Darvall says she’s returned with a broader mind, less concern over how others perceive her and a willingness to listen and welcome other people’s ideas.

“I think I’m actually less overwhelmed about approaching new business and I can see the pathways to new ideas more clearly. I guess I was buoyed by the knowledge my Australian business experience and principles had held me in good stead there,” she says.  

Darvall was General Manager of James Tutton’s Moonlight Cinema here in Australia, which screens at glorious locations like Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens and Centennial Park in Sydney, when the founder left Moonlight and got involved in Sunset Entertainment Summer Cinema, a joint- venture with Village Roadshow Limited. When the company was established to produce five to eight open air cinemas in parks and gardens in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Miami and Philadelphia it was Darvall who jumped on a plane to LA, six weeks before her husband, to get the ball rolling.

“We spent almost two years in Venice and loved it,” she says. “But in LA it’s all about living near your work and your friends. You have to find your ‘hood’. We were commuting more than 40 minutes to work each way.” Eventually they moved to West Hollywood where it was a walking, inner city lifestyle that reminded them of Melbourne.

Eager to find networks for business and professional purposes Darvall discovered the charm of online communities and realised there was no stigma about making friends via the Net in the USA. She recommends sites such as http://likemind.us. She also became Chair of the Los Angeles branch of Advance Global Australian Professionals and eventually started an informal Mother’s Group via the organisation.

Being located on the West Coast was a big positive both personally and professionally for Darvall and White as they could return home on a “one shot” flight and the time difference was often only three to four hours, meaning she could keep in contact comfortably with Australian colleagues.

She loved the healthy lifestyle of Los Angeles and soon got used to early morning meetings, exercising with friends and colleagues and the fact that the whole town went to bed at 9pm.

“It’s such a factory town,” she says. “In pilot season – September – you will always know at least one person involved in a new TV show so it’s like the AFL season here. You find your show and barrack for it.”

Darvall travelled on the E3 visa that allows Australian nationals to work in specialty occupations in the USA.  She met a lot of talented and enthusiastic Australian business people during her time in LA but noted that some returned home disappointed, surprised that business and retail concepts that had flourished in Australia were not as successful in the States. “Successful Australian businesses tend to have evolved over years here,” she says. “They need to be given the chance to do the same there. Runs on the board in Australia don’t really count for that much once you get to the U.S.” And, she says, nothing replaces face-to-face contact with Americans. “If you’re based in LA but you want to do business in Chicago then you have to go to Chicago,” she explains. “They like to see the whites of your eyes.”

See this article at: http://www.advance.org/en/art/4567/

Current clients – Get Creative magazine

For the past six years I have been the writer and editor of Get Creative magazine, a national (Australia and New Zealand) monthly magazine about craft and creativity. The magazine is owned by Australia’s biggest name in craft and sewing, Spotlight, and was sold in Spotlight stores, in newsagencies and via select Borders Bookstores.

As of May the magazine went into hiatus to be re-designed and launched as a big, glossy quarterly offered as a deluxe VIP Club member benefit to Spotlight customers in Australia and New Zealand. Packed full of interviews, columns, trend information, product updates and projects, this unique offering in the marketplace will be in stores on the 4th of November.

Visit http://www.spotlight.com.au/get-creative-magazine/ to find out more.