The right place at the right time...

As you would know, i like to party - no i LOVE IT!
So i was very excited to discover that when i arrived in Budapest on friday, that i had arrived for the biggest weekend of the summer. For saturday hosted the Budapest Parade (its a copy of Berlin's Love Parade).
Fantastic. So after an afternoon at some Turkish Baths and the saturday morning going on a communism tour i adventured out on the the main drag of Andrassy Avenue with a beer in hand.
You know how it is, after 1 beer, u just want another, after 2 you have to relieve yourself at the portaloo, then after the 3rd... well meeting people becomes the easiest thing to do ever! So i found an electrical box on the side of the road and had my pozzi there for the next few hours dancing, beer in hand with many new friends. When i got my star glasses out - well then i fitted in perfectly!
Hungarians are lovely people... and the girls are simply stunning!
Had a fantastic night, got a little messy - to be expected really.
Now, i'm off to Sarejavo for a few days before going to Belgrade, which i hear is THE place to party. Can't wait!

Some more pics...

On the beach... Check out my boya! (tan)
The gorgeous beach on Hvar Island, Croatia that i spent 3 days relaxing on...
About to sail off into the sunset, from Ancona to Split, Croatia
Pretty good pic hey? The bronze copy of David in Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset.
My awesome brother Jason and his gorgeous girl, Marie in Siena. They came down to Tuscany for 5 days.
La bella passagata... The stunning Teplice National Park in Northern Czech Republic. Very good energy here.
No guns allowed in when you enter the bank please...
Beautiful Prague by night...

Austwich

"The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again" - George Santayana

How true this statement is. Yesterday I visited Austwich, the Nazi concentration camp where millions of Jews, Poles and Gypsies were sent to their death in gas chambers. It is close to Krakow, Poland. An incredible, sad and moving experience that everyone should try to get if you are around the area. I really want to read up on WWII now, and the ideas behind the Nazi regime. I just want to understand what could possess so many human beings to be so evil. It's scary to think that this all happened only 60 years ago. And it's even more unbelievable to learn that the allies knew what was going on, and still let it go on.

Something in me changed a little yesterday...

Perspective

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends and family!

"Life is too short and friends are too few."

Going back

In India i dreamt
It allows you to explore
To feel deep within
To see things differently
And perhaps to begin
What is it that i discovered?
Something that is drawing me back
I can hear her calling me
There is much more to learn
So go, i must
A personal desire
Must fulfill the lust
Its the way it makes you feel
If only for a moment
But that moment is enough

Green

We've gotta look after her
She gives so much
Not just a fascade
Pure beauty, completely kosher
Pretty young things sprinkled all over
So why do we leave so much behind?
Take all you have with you
This is the only way.


Wrote that on a beautiful beach on Hvar Island, Croatia. Just after, i got a bag and proceeed to clean up the beach.

I'm writing again...

As a teenager, i wrote poems and songs (had a band with my best friend Ebony). After my time in India last year, with meeting Sam, i was once again inspired to write. I must say, i'm very proud of a few of those poems i wrote in December/January. But now, i once again am writing. Why is it that it takes something big emotionally to feel the inspiration?
Anyway, i have decided to now post them.


Waste

Yesterday he was here
Today he is not
What was it that i had to tell him?
Or have i already forgot?

Can you hear me?
I'm not sure what to believe
You would ask me this
This is how you would receive

You had a thirst for knowledge
Perhaps too much?
You wanted to learn a lot
From other's ideas, experiences and such...

What do you know now?
You crossed the line too soon
What is over there
Amongst the stars and the moon?

How can you tell us
We're supposed to work together
But now you've gone
And left us with this shitty weather!

Not so great news...

A few days ago, i heard some terrible news. A dear friend of mine committed suicide. He was the last person i saw when i left Australia, as he saw me off at the airport. I only knew him for a few months, but knowing him had a profound impact on my life. He was a great conversationalist and asked thought provoking questions that challenged me as a person to think about who i was, and who i wanted to be. He was beyond his years, and so the waste of such a young life is even more disturbing. Its a strange feeling when you learn such news. Shock and disbelief among the feelings identified, then comes the sadness as reality sinks in. Then the anger, life can be hard, but it is a gift and thus, should not be wasted. I am angry at him. I liked him a lot and valued him as a good friend, expecting him to be there when i returned to Oz. Maybe i should have been there more for him, caught up in my own little world of travel, fun and sensation seeking... But even more so, its his best friends and family who my heart goes out to now. I wish i was home now to be with them, to hug them all, get drunk and cry together.

Life is not that bad, you´ve got to be positive, optomistic. Out of every bad incident, something good will inevitably come out of it. This is how i believe the universe works. We are connected, this energy that strings everything together, always changing, being dynamic. When something bad happens, like this, it effects everything. Life will not be the same again for a lot of people, but an equilibrium must prevail and so, we work together to now embrace our friends and family, those which we love, and we must go on to live our lives a little fuller, now that one of our loved ones life is not present.

Live your dreams, don´t dream your life...

Rest In Peace Rubes xx

Il Bale Cappucino in Firenze!

My friend, Kel, is visiting me for a couple of days here in Tuscany. Having a lot of spare time, she decided to catch a bus from London to Siena! 29hrs later... Yesterday i took her to a cafe that produces the most creamiest, lushest, perfecto cafe ever! It also happens to be in my favourite designer's shop - Robert Cavalli.
So when you are in Firenze (Florence)- you MUST go here and for only €1.20 you can have a perfect cappucino served by skilled, gorgeous baristas.

Here is a pic of us enjoying our creamy delights!