London // Europe Part Due

London, England // The land of grey skies, great sneakers, clipped sentences, cobbled lanes and the best pre-mixed gin and tonics I've ever put my lips to... // Every morning on the way to the tube, I'd rug up, stroll past Westminster Abbey and marvel at the beautiful, Gothic architecture of the church. I love the history of this town.  // £2 of joy at the end of a long day in the studio + several episodes of Chatty Man with three flamboyant men = pure joy. // Supermarket toast, fresh OJ and a long flick through the Sunday paper at the Portobello House Hotel (which I'd highly recommend a stay at if you want a superbly comfy bed, lovely service and a short stroll to the famous Portobello Rd Markets). Although a downgrade on the much loved Australian classic, Marmite was the closest thing I could get to Vegemite after weeks of salty breakfast spread deprivation. (Don't want you thinking I'm actually into that stuff)  // Terrace living // I developed a sickening Nike + New Balance OBSESSION whilst away (I wore sneakers to a club one night in Stockholm, and now I fear I'll never turn back) // A close up on my favourite Petite Grand bracelet (I haven't taken it off since December) + my first and only night in a comfortable bed whilst in London...The rest I spent on a fold out mattress in a room the size of a toilet cubicle (which I surprisingly didn't mind)...//

Hey London, your city is great, innit?

x

E

Stockholm // 1

 

  

Week Uno. Stockholm, Sweden // Clear, blue skies + icy temperatures + more walking than I've probably done in the last four months combined // Beauty lighting in the bathroom + a commitment to more smiles even when I'm not feeling particularly smiley = the start of my #100daysofhappy Instagram series // Long strolls around markets brimming with vibrant blooms and antique treasures // Abrasive yet cheeky Italians + good coffee (a miracle in this city) + inspiration for my dream of developing an organisational OCD //  New socks from H&M + goosebumps (don't sleep with the window open, folks) // Even more walking + bad (giggly) Japanese buskers on the bridge to the Old Town + glistening channels of rushing water // Kitsch decor (cute, not sickening) + three hotel moves in the span of seven days (why are Stockholm hotels booked out and the streets so quiet?)...Don't let it's effortlessly hipster appearance fool you, this one (HTL) had no windows in either of the rooms I stayed in - torture. // Guitar noodling at the studio in my Pharrell hat (I wore it first, okay?)...// More updates on the way (prepare for an overload of good looking food (and hopefully people - these Swedes are rather attractive))...

Hotel staff are looking at me suspiciously as I've been sitting in the lobby bar for two hours, bobbing my head to Youtube choreography videos of Usher's new song 'Good Kisser'. I'm on the move again! No rest for the adventurers...

x

E

LA Day One.

You know you're delirious when a bag of baked snacks gets you excited about life.

Well well well, here I am in the big smoke - Los Angeles: The city of broken dreams. It's 2129 (I have to use 24 hour time or else, in amongst my jet lag/migraine hangover I will get extremely confused) and Hollywood Blvd is still abuzz with activity. I know this because I'm residing directly behind it for the next month in a little studio filled with all white furniture, a random orange elephant on the desk, a large gold foot stool shaped like a head (also quite random) and a mink throw on the bed (just to spice things up a bit). Apartment number 5 - all part of a charming block of flats owned by a super friendly guy with all the classic symptoms of anal retentiveness. (He had a check list of EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING in the apartment and insisted on me signing off on each item...including the knives and forks). Bless.

Beside me I have a half-devoured pack of Goldfish crackers, which were a cheeky treat in amongst the $150 worth of groceries I just unloaded into my tiny kitchen. Uh oh, here were go, don't get me started on the supermarket...I can't believe how cheap organic produce is here...and how they're allowed so many magical super strength painkillers on the shelf...and how many types of yoghurt they have. It's amazing! I could go on for days about the wonders I found in my local Ralph's, but I'll just let you in one bit at a time.

In amongst all the vegetables I bought, I also snuck in a cheeky box of corn pops too (my childhood dreams were shattered when they stopped shipping them to Australia...). Can't wait to get into those bad boys in the morning. (Mum, if you're reading this, don't freak out - I'm not going on some kind of sugar/wheat/salt binge).

2200: I'm going to eat a cucumber, drink my body's weight in Aqua Panna, take a bath and go to bed. Best to get straight on LA time, methinks. Tomorrow I brave the drive to Santa Monica for my first song writing session...Wish me luck!

P.S Wolfgang Puck has his own brand of pasta sauce here. Of course I bought it.

P.P.S I was tripping out big time as I drove myself from LAX to the apartment this afternoon, on the wrong side of the road, in the wrong side of a car...Not gonna lie, I had a few heart attack moments whilst turning corners.

xx ELB