The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 23 July - 7 August 2001
This fortnights update is a rather short one, basically we are around 12,000 metres above sea level in the Andes ...it's the middle of the night and we are all exhausted from two days of zero sleep...hence the extra mistakes...sorry.
July 23rd
Monica Lewinsky finally gets her blue dress back, she paid $50 for itat GAP and is expected to score $2 million usa at auction-Go Monica.Finish the text for BANG today-huge relief it's done on time-well almost. Feels good, has a rather weird ending, not sure if I'm happy with it.
The new Bardot single ASAP hit the stores in Australia today, soon know if there is still the fan dedication. You really can only do so much, the rest is up to the fans. Girl group or Neil Finn the formula is still the same...
July 24th
City today get all the extra bills paid, Amex is a pain in the butt, they forgot to cheque that we were a month ahead with payments....love it when they are wrong.Head into Valis art studio for the last time, she's home in a few days ..glad to have her energy back in the building.
July 25th
We have to take Cosmo the bunny many miles out to the animal Motel.. no where in Melbourne looks after small critters. Find a funky cage, the rabbit knows something is up, he's acting weird.Becky cooks us dinner and it's really yummy, have to rush home and finish work which is a bummer. A nice night though.
July 26th
Little Bongo Starkie from Skyhook turns 49 today.! Not long till the big fifty Bobby boy!!!!!!!!The extra security is up and it looks amazing, not like a scene from Prisoner afterall, the house and office now have some many security devices, some peace of mind though-the best crime detector is Amazing Grace who lives out back, she always knows when Suss bastards are on the street.
July 27th
We leave Melbourne today for the big holiday, bet the girls are excited. It's Mark's birthday so he gets to celebrate it twice, cos of the date line.Rosemaree god bless her gets us to the airport on time, she looks after all my extra mail, because the Melbourne airport post office is no more...
We all are upstairs in the hubb, so thats more comfortable ...still wish Qantas business class had sleeér seats...
Arrive San Fran via L.A.-mail two sacks worth of cds and general postage. watch "first look at Planet of the Apes" on cable-its great, this movie will be huge. Go Tim Burton.
San Fran is lovely, not too hot.
July 28th
Miss July arrives and it feels very good, do some lovely walking in the Sun. Head to "Builders book source" at Giradelli Square-oink out far too much on their cherry chocolate sunday-energy level jumps around and I am not too well. Leave Mark in the trusting hands (!) of Miss JUly and magically call in a free cab....drink a full container of Odwalla Micronutrient drink and take tabs. Buy some Michael Schwab cards-they will look great framed. No sleep.July 29th
We watched BLOW on tv last night-another good movie from the DEpster!Nicole arrives and she kindly gives us the Ellis Tour....buy a huge Afro wig at Ardvarks and some Elvis style glasses...ok more Bono ish. Have a plan to do some photos in the dester with the wig and those lovely Joshua trees. Nicole is the best tour guide, some incredible shots of the bridge,and sneaky parking spots. The girls love her,even though we almost get in a pileup on a street corner...
A gaggle of school girls is on the corner of Haight-Ashbury,screaming and freaking out, Marks says its the Gryphon but he is wrong, Robin Williams himself is taking a walk and the girls are all excited. Robin and Miss JUly show us his "interesting" San Fran home...they are trying to grow a hedge dinosaur (dont ask) wonder if Mark stole any tips for the Doubtfire band!!!
July 30th
Take Malaria tab -Urgh.Today is our mystery hotel stop-Robin gets the call right and suggests the small town of Lone Pine-this town is sensational, the last stop before Death Valley. We stay at Dow Villa Motel. Lone Pine rocks!
Watch Tim Burton epose' on Biography com show, fantastic unreleased footage and I loved the private Vincent Price stuff...Tim filmed the last ever footage of Price before he passed away.
July 31st
Driving down the highway lookin for a show......see the Joshua Trees a rustling, Big Wigs are the go!!!We wig up in the lovely Death Valley national Park...stroll across the desert towards a lovely batch of Joshua Trees...I have this HUGE AFFRO on and the Elvis glasses and my new green bowling shirt, the cameras are a rollin and the dester creatures are a runnin'! Yes fun...and rather bizarre looking to the odd driver crossing the desert...a new mirage!
Long day, Trudi takes over the driving somewhere during Yosemite Park, we walk and take photos and hang out with mother nature..so relaxed. Arrive at the Grand Canyon at night...a car kills a huge deer on the Canyon Rd and we are driving so sad and the car is full of sadness for both deer and driver...we are all on the Edge.
El Tovar is one of my fave hotels, its 100*years old and right on the South Rim of the canyon. We wander out at midnight and the sky is full of stars....you look in the blackness of the canyon and see one small light, it's like a star broke off and landed in the canyon.
Wrap alll my indian tiles, I called into DEAD COW (god all these dead animals), this one thankfully is a shop at Reno, they have these amazing indian tiles and we are going to redo the whole kitchen. Wolves,cactus etc, they weight a tonne.
August 1st
Film the live deer at El Tovar, and head back to Vegas and stay at Circu Circus, glad we pre booked they are turning heaps of people away. Dinner at Tres Mexica. Sleep well in Vegas, the artificial light from the 250 million globes is quite pleasant to my Vmapyre skin....August 2nd
Viva Las Vegas...Robin is in Elvis mode and has certain people singing in the car-.never Mark. VERY hot outside and we hike to Record City in the search for dvds and cds. Find a few mint Enz Mental Notes LPs still in the original shrink wrap.Play the Poker Machines and end up winning $350 US $$$ on one machine. A friend tells me that their Vegas memory will always be -myself being spirited away across Circus Circus games room,arms tightly holding 3 packed change mugs of silver dollars, overflowing.
I cashed them all in and hid those $100 notes in my wallet, shout everyone dinner.
The Cashier woman is rather godly, she tells me of her problems with her son,asks me if I believe in God..she thinks I must, she sticks in my mind all day.
August 3rd
Flight to Vegas today-Robin is ear to ear grin.Finally get to Memphis and we are stuck at the airport for ages, the heartbreak Hotel shuttle is a total loss and despite 3 calls just doesn't show, to make matters worse the hotel has messed up out booking. Heartbreak Hotel SUX. They guilt out and we are given the "Burning Love" SUITE..tac-a-rama all red velvet and mirrors...Its very late and I watch the silouette of Robin and Trudi sneaking towards the Graceland Gates! I stay in the room and watch Soundgarden and Rock videos on the Rock show.- How great is "Rusty Nail"-sorry Elvis.... I fall asleep to the sound of the Cults ELECTRIC.
August 4th
MemphisHmm they give us a free Conty brekky...banan and apple juice....maybe thats why its free. I watch the Elvis fans devour the food.
Sign up for the Gracelands tour, and as Mark and myself walk across the car park, a beat up old dodge arrives with 4 Elvis impersonators....fun or what. The Elvis fans errupt like the King has finally returned and cameras whirl into action...The Racquett Ball room on the tour is my fave and we are told that Elvis played on the lone piano in the room the day he died...all felt a bit sad.
Neil plays the Dublin Festival day, I send the Finns a postcard anyway...hope its going well for him.
Have to sign off and cut the diary short, there is am line up behind me for the internet, this one lone computer high in the Andes is in demand, I promise a bigger diary update next time. Yes am having a brilliant holiday, back very late August, no emails till then.
Love everyone..
Peter the mountain goat.......yoddling all the way.
August 5th
Well managed to get back onto a computer so I thought I´d quickly send Deb some more meanderings from the Andes..Memphis to Miami
Up nice and early for the flight to Miami, the mini van arrives on time-this scares us. It´s about 5.30 in the morning so I sit on the window sill and look at the Hotels heartshaped pool as the sun slowly rises.
I leave Mark in the room and head down to the breakfast area, I am the only person there, have some fruit and healthy stuff...need some energy today as it´s a 12 hour stopover in Miami and we are just not sure what hurricane Barry (Bazza to us aussies) is going to do...we could end up spending a few days there if it gets a bit hairy.
Flight is all a blur, think it was ok. Miami is stinky hot, with time to kill we cab it to South Beach, some amazing buildings, the girls head one way and Mark goes to the local cd/dvd store...super air conditioned so we take our time.
Stroll down near the beach, sit in the foyer of the Waldorf Towers, drink an iced margaritta and say no to the pretty girls trying to sell us cuban cigars.
Catch up with the girls and we go for a wade in the ocean, incredibly tempting. Huge black storm clouds are rolling across the skyline...bazza is on the way.
We leave the beach in a taxi and head back to the airport. Eat,read, and lineup for what seems like years for our lan Chile/Peru flight...people everywhere, crazy spanish people, a weird bag man who plastic wraps all the luggage ..it spins around and he wraps it, we wont even think about what happens to all that plastic....but it was fun to watch him, bet he is great at wrapping the xmas presents.
August 6th
Flight sucks, arrive Lima at 5.00 in the morning and find out that my bag is missing...big joy on my face. The first time ever a bag has totally gone astray. Very pissed off as the flight people are as thick as two bricks, all they can do is shrug. I think they are scared by my mad look.....they give me some general lost bag details...to make it worse our flight is delayed by 4 hours....we are tired,hugry, exhausted etc robin keeps falling asleep, the pa system is very loud, we all look like we have been sampling the local cocaine for ten days straight...not a pretty sight.As we fly into Cusco I{m feeling better, the majestic Andes,snow capped and riding high above the plane, majestic and intimidating. Met at the airport, I have no luggage...
Arrive at the Monasterio Hotel and it is truely as incredible as I thought it would be. So calm, giant tree and water, lovely rooms and the best staff in the world...when darkness descends on Cusco the marching street band plays, all around the town...they celebrate everything here, birthdays, holidays, the rise and the fall on the Sun...the band sound like they are from New Orleans, the uptempo version of the band that plays at street funerals.
I have a gallon of Sorche tea, a slight case of alltitude sickness, Robin is really sick, Trudi Ok and Mark is a bit mad...in the head, sleep deprevation for us all.....but Cusco wonderful Cusco will see us through this....I just know it.
August 7th
I get a fax from Australia and our Bardot girls are charting well with their new single ASAP, debuted at 16 and moved up to 14...the state charts are much better, #2 in Sydney, ##4 in Victoria, #3 in Adelaide, so its all going to plan, the fans have shown their support, everyone must be happy. Means they are #2 on the Australasian chart-go girls.The Monasterio has a fantastic breakfast and its included in your hotel cost...everything super fresh and a wide variety- helps after a restless few nights. The dining room, wow where do I start, if you can imagine a huge stone abbey surrounded by 13th century paintings and the surreal chants of monks...calm. Wonder if I can sign these guys for a cd deal...yes I am kidding. The archbishop of Cusco owns the building, and % of money goes to these great charitys... The Monasterio was built in 1595, was almost destroyed by a major earthquake in the 1600's. Mark wisely pointed out that another major earthquake is overdue in this area, sad if this hotel crumbled,it really does contain all the calm of its previous tenants.
Robin is feeling a bit better too today, so the girls go out on the valley tour, we´ve done this one and I really want to walk around Cusco towns lovely worn stoned streets.
Go shopping take Mark to our new friend Mrs Vantura, her hubby Pablo paints lovely water colours of the local people and streets, incredible prices, yes we know more art....bring it on.
Mark gives the local economy a huge rush, buying teapots, plates, bowls, enough for several families, I do a super haggle and get the rug I wanted with a cusco beanie thrown into the deal.
Am sitting on the inca steps of the square, this kid comes up to try and sell postcards, this is a daily happening, he sits and talks, Jentra is his name, I think, he is on "vacation" from school, which basically means hes wagging to make money for the family. I say no to the postcards but give him a few sols, (its equal to about him selling 15 postcards) he has this incredible Peruvian smile, the best teeth in the world, tell him to get back to school. As he crosses the road in the square, he waves and then crosses himself in a thanks to the virgin mary for the kindness of strangers...I like that sort of thing. Hey thats my third religous thing...now if God would just intervene and rescue my suitcase....
I call the airlines bluff and they now think I am a major writer for Travel Australia magazine, which doesnt exist (does it???) so instead of no action, and my bag being lost forever, the airline now think they are getting a bad printed canning, and hey presto (with some help from up above) the main man calls and within an hour my bag is magically found, and being flown to Cusco from Miami and then couriered, sometimes you just gotta call the bluff.....Mark is now sane again, Robin healthy, have my loved blanket and given every coin I have to every street urchin in sight...its a good day for the Gryphon.
Find a few more cyber cafes in the square, some amazing Andes hippies now cyber junkies, they are funny bastards, but some play a mean flute....
The girls have a great day, and we all have dinner in our room, a mini feast, they had a fun day too, Inca fortresses and markets and shrines.
Off to Machu Pichu next, the first train out and some hiking, hopefully we'll survive.
On the road again.
PG