sweet sounds : a night at the opera

on this date, thirty-seven years ago, Queen's fourth studio album was released. as the album that catapulted them into superstar-dom, a night at the opera boasted a closing track that utterly shattered the mould for rock and roll radio hits - bohemian rhapsody.

i'm currently reading (and loving!) an intimate account of the life of freddie mercury. over the past year, more than ever, i've been touched, amazed and inspired by the music of queen, and the enigma that was mr. fahrenheit. today, i am so, so grateful for queen's music, in all it's quirky, glam-rock glory... it makes me come alive.

get lost! : new york city, part two! afropunk fest 2012

afropunk fest 2012 - brooklyn, new york city

one day during my nyc adventure, my friend's sister tipped me off to a free music festival, where, among many other artists, gym class heroes were meant to be playing. i do enjoy me a little gch, and love a live show, so i decided to head on down. knowing very little of what to expect, i navigated the subway system, and got off a stop or two too early, and wandered through brooklyn towards commodore barry park - on the way i got asked for directions... mistaken for a local! every traveller's dream. 

afropunk fest with brooklyn as a backdrop

i joined the colorful queue of people entering the park through a single space in the bordering chain link fence. filing into the park, i fell into a sea of incredibly stylish people... it was obvious that this festival was definitely not just about the music, but clearly a place to see and be seen. 

while a dj pumped an eclectic mix of hip-hop and rock, i found myself part of a large group of people encircling an impromptu dance-off. it was super fun and friendly, and all kinds of awesome! i took quite a few pics, cause it was a moment in time that i certainly didn't want to forget...

when the dj stepped aside, to make room for one of the event organizers to take the stage, we found out that due to illness, gym class heroes would not be playing tonight. i was a bit disappointed, but was presently distracted by the fact that they'd brought in pharrell williams to introduce the headliner... nbd.

pharrell turned up to say hey... 

janelle monáe

prior to afropunkfest, i'd only heard of janelle monáe as the lovely voice featured in fun.'s debut hit, we are young. i was absolutely blown away by this lady's incredible voice, seasoned showmanship, and her sneaky ability to turn me into a fan within minutes. i had an absolute blast at her show - a highlight was when she covered the jackson five's i want you back, which suited her voice and style perfectly. check out this girl's music here, you won't be disappointed, i promise :)

much love to brooklyn, janelle monae and afropunkfest for one of my favorite afternoons in nyc :)  

still a few more nyc pics to come! 

get lost: new york city, part one! chinatown & little italy

new york! 

back in september, after my summer job packed it in, i squished a sleeping bag and two weeks worth of clothes into a carry-on suitcase, and caught the early flight to nyc. half that time was in new york, and the other half was in maine, and i've got a ton of great photos from the adventure - have just had a chance to sit down and pick out a few of the best... here's the first few!

my dear friend jessie, whom i had ventured east to visit, happens to be awesomely chinese, and knows of all sorts of hole-in-the-wall places to eat in chinatown, and i was spoiled with amaaaaaazing food for the entirety of my trip. bubble tea! vietnamese sandwiches! soupy dumplings! i definitely developed a healthy addiction to rice noodles with peanut sauce, which i have tried in vain to reproduce since returning. it was invaluable to have a cantonese-speaking guide, especially one who enjoys eating as much as i do... 

chinese sausage cassrole... sounds weird, tastes AWESOME. 

elizabeth street arcade, chinatown. 

one of my missions while in chinatown was to track down a hello kitty cell phone case.... when in rome... jessie and her sister led me to elizabeth centre, a little underground arcade with a handful of shops selling, well, everything you'd expect an arcade shop in chinatown to sell - all sorts of electronics accessories, hello kitty toys, hair clippies, matchy-matchy stationery, kawaii trinkets, you name it. i was spoiled for choice, and found the perfect cutesy phone case, as well as a number of chinatown-esque gifts for some of my favourite ladies in new zealand :) 

street wares in chinatown

souvenirs for dayz! 

i do enjoy a good wander, and on my first day in nyc, i wandered through chinatown, north into little italy and on to soho. the photo below is a one of the streets where chinatown blurrs into little italy... i love how the 'no parking' sign on the right has been italianized...

the cafe-lined streets of little italy

soho!
i was totally enamoured by soho... just so classy an exactly what you'd expect from manhattan, i guess. i wandered the streets and the pretty little shops, and just when i was getting a hankering for a latte, i asked the clerk at an amazing little card shop where i could find a good coffee nearby. she said, well, there's a starbucks about a block away, but balthazar is across the street and they are the best around. balthazar it was. and it was divine. the service was fantastic, the atmosphere was dreamy, and the espresso was delicious. i only had a coffee, but if you find yourself peckish when walking down spring street someday, do indulge yourself - i doubt you'll regret it!

balthazar, soho

stay tuned for more photos from the new york adventure, coming soon :)