This year's Eurovision reached maximum excitement in the Pham household since our adopted (and much beloved real own) country, Australia got to take a real part. Plus for the first time Eurovision was broadcast in Grandpa's home country of China. So many levels of woohoo!
Eurovision can be a bit much if you don't looooveee it the way I do. Three hours of pop melodrama, traditional folk music, rock anthems, power ballads and feel good multi-culturalism with highly entertaining European English accents. Nine hours if you count the semi-finals and the pre-semis shows on SBS.
I've narrowed it down to my seven favourite songs. Well, two favourites, three to give you an idea of what Eurovision can bring to millions of viewers and then the stranger ones you just have to see to believe.
Russia - Only at Eurovision can six Russian Betty Whites make you laugh and love the way these babushkas can.
Italy - I actually seriously, really, for reals, genuinely like this song! I have it on my ipod and it's had a few spins already. Have a listen.
Turkey - This guy's indie/alternative in his country and Eurovision trends toward P-O-P so he stood out for me. Then there's his fantastical use of 'props' which Eurovision is usually renowned for, though there wasn't enough reveals this year. He did this very well!
Romania - This song just made me happy. It's a classily done, singing dancing female pop song. Cyprus did quite well too. For the classless pop tart, look up Greece 2012 Eurovision final for some crotch action.
Albania - ...just watch it. You'll be impressed. Or scared. Or both.
Ukraine - Next year's Mardis Gras anthem if there's any justice. This song makes me so happy! Love it. If the programmers had been clever enough to end the song contest on this number it would have been such a high instead of the weirdo circus butcherman and his trumpet song that left me feeling confused.
I'm going through a phase of reading instructions and manuals lately. It turns out I've been doing a lot wrong all my life. But some things I get right. Like prioritising the Eurovision Song Contest over sleep and sustenance. And like always, it's totally worth it. Denmark put on an amazing show - the staging and lighting has to be the competition's best in history. So beautifully done.
I normally LOVE the Eurovision Song Contest and look forward to it every year and I still do. However, I must admit I found Eurovision 2013 to be underwhelming. My favourite thing about Eurovision is the over-the-topness, the desperation to stand out and impress - it should be a giant music circus! This year was just meh though the host Petre Mede nailed it with her cheeky/charming humour.
I blame the tasteful winners of years past like Loreen's Euphoria in 2012 and bloody Lena's Satellite from 2010 for Eurovision's demise. Damn you ladies and your simple staging and decent songs! Too many countries are sending inferior versions of these subtler songs and performances and it's booorrrring and painful when they don't nail it.
2013 Eurovision didn't have anywhere enough ridiculousness, "reveals" and outrageous songs for my liking. Greece sent a 'novelty' act probably expecting them to BOMB but no, they were fantastic! Romania hurt Tigger Pham's ears but they were entertaining in their own way. Moldova's dress and hair was an exception in this year's contest when it should have been the standard!
I did thoroughly enjoy Loreen's Interval Performance. If more of Europe could send this calibre of artist into the semis and final I wouldn't complain about the performances being too normal/respectable. It's just this half-assed middle ground that's ruining the Eurovision I know and love.
I blame the tasteful winners of years past like Loreen's Euphoria in 2012 and bloody Lena's Satellite from 2010 for Eurovision's demise. Damn you ladies and your simple staging and decent songs! Too many countries are sending inferior versions of these subtler songs and performances and it's booorrrring and painful when they don't nail it.
It's the most wonderful time of the year! And this year it's made better because Austria invited Australia to be a wildcard entry into the grand finale as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations and 'Building Bridges' theme. Best news, guys this means our votes count this year...I am SO excited.
It's Phamly tradition to sleepover at Dad Pham's house for the Eurovision finale. This year it happened to be Dad's birthday weekend so it was double the fun. On Saturday, he invited his siblings over for lunch and Little Sissy Pham and I made Vietnamese Pancakes - it's the only recipe I've ever posted on this blog because writing recipes is too much like my day job and blog writing is self indulgent fun. For 70 and 80 year olds, they sure know how to party. My Aunty rocked up with more beer than she could carry. Lunching, drinking and chats went for 4+ hours - Little Sis bowed out and went home before any of the elder folk. Dad Pham was exhausted by the time everyone left but he had a blast because it's rare for him to see his siblings all together.
After lunch, I sat with Dad for a couple of hours just chatting. It's been a long time since I've had proper downtime with Dad. Mostly we grocery shop, and cook so our hangs are chore driven. I'll save his stories from today for another time.
That night, I made more pancakes for Big Brother Pham and Sister Not-in-Law. It was a fun time. I was so pooped after a whole day of cooking and hosting, I feel asleep early that night. I slept in the lounge room because Big Brother Pham's tools have taken over what was once my bedroom. Guess that's what happens when you leave home, your room becomes storage.
The next morning I awoke to Dad Pham beaming down at me at 4.40am. He woke me up early because he expected to have to come back and wake me up again like he usually does. But this time, I popped right up - went and made a coffee and set up snacks on the coffee table. Then we settled in for 3.5 hours of Eurovision glory.
This year was not a disappointment. The majority of the songs were decent tunes and we couldn't pick who the top songs would be. Australia totally tanked this year - the novelty of having Australia in the competition is gone and while Jessica Mauboy's song was good, it didn't stand out against the stiff competition. I didn't love the winning song - I thought it was different and quirky, but so ridiculous. I guess that's Eurovision for you, though. Here are my highlights from this year.
Dad's top pick was Sweden's Benjamin Ingrosso with "Dance You Off":
I thoroughly enjoyed good old fashioned power pop from Lea Sirk from Slovenia with "Hvala, ne!" but it's way to cool to actually win Eurovision:
Once upon a time in a land far, far away (Germany), there lived a little princess (me) who had the magical ability to cry until her face turned blue and purple (true).
Her father, the king (Dad Pham), ruled the land (our apartment) with an iron fist (more likely thick, fluffy gloves - it gets cold in Germany). His way was the only way, and so football (soccer) was the entertainment of choice in the kingdom. Except for one special day each year - the Eurovision Song Contest.
When this contest of bright lights, cheesy music and spectacular spectacles was staged at court (on TV) the princess would not be distracted. If the king tried to sneak out for some football (change the channel), the princess would use her magic power (crying 'til she passed out) to strike fear in the king's heart and force his attention back to Eurovision.
Some things never change. This weekend, I'm watching the Eurovision Song Contest with Dad Pham. Semi-finals are on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th, then the grand finale is on Sunday 27th. Bring it on!
Her father, the king (Dad Pham), ruled the land (our apartment) with an iron fist (more likely thick, fluffy gloves - it gets cold in Germany). His way was the only way, and so football (soccer) was the entertainment of choice in the kingdom. Except for one special day each year - the Eurovision Song Contest.
When this contest of bright lights, cheesy music and spectacular spectacles was staged at court (on TV) the princess would not be distracted. If the king tried to sneak out for some football (change the channel), the princess would use her magic power (crying 'til she passed out) to strike fear in the king's heart and force his attention back to Eurovision.
Some things never change. This weekend, I'm watching the Eurovision Song Contest with Dad Pham. Semi-finals are on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th, then the grand finale is on Sunday 27th. Bring it on!
I visit Mum's grave in Melbourne whenever I am in town and have car to drive out west to lay flowers and pray to her. Mum was never big on flowers, but leaving food there to rot is against the rules and also just wrong. The memorial garden is peaceful and well-maintained. Flowers that begin to die are removed by the groundskeepers so the cemetery is kept nice and fresh for grieving visitors.
I make the trip and lay the flowers to show my respects, but I don't feel connected to Mum in the graveyard. I feel connected to her when I find myself standing with my hand on my hip while I stir food in the stove like she used to. I feel connected when I wash my face in the morning and glimpse myself in the mirror looking like Mum Pham - except that she looks a bit blind because she can't see much when she takes her glasses off to wash her face, whereas my LASIK laser eyes are tired from not enough sleep.
I feel connected to Mum on Mother's Day when we celebrate with Dad Pham because it always falls near his birthday. This year it happened to be his birthday. We celebrated by making Dad one of his favourite dishes - bánh cuốn. But then because he'd spent his morning mopping the kitchen for Phamly feast, he was fast asleep before we got to dessert. That's OK, I'll be back this weekend for our tradition of sleepovers, and 5am wake up calls for the Eurovision Finale.
And that's how I became the third wheel on my own vacation.
Wait, let's start from the very beginning. Little Sissy Pham and I were planning a trip to Europe in 2011 for when the Eurovision Song Contest was in Germany. Unfortunately, Mum Pham fell ill and we postponed our trip but life happened. Jobs came and went, boyfriends came and went, then the more responsible one (not me) bought a mortgage and suddenly it was 2017 and we hadn't gotten around to our trip. So we decided this year had to be the year.
Little Sissy Pham has a new(ish) boyfriend and they're still doing the cutesy new sweethearts crap so instead of wanting to get away from him, she wanted to invite him. So that's how I became the third wheel on my own vacation crashing on couches while they slept in cosy beds. And yet, they were the ones who needed naps during the day (no gumption)! It worked out since I liked going out exploring on my own since Little Sissy Pham couldn't walk fast or far in her cankles.
5 weeks in Europe nearly killed the sloth couple. I was pretty tired by the end too, though I could have pressed ahead for another week of trekking around. By the last stop in Prague they'd given up on exploring and just went shopping, which is a shame because Prague city centre is one of the prettiest places I've ever seen. Every which way I looked it was beautiful.
There's so much to explore in Europe. Our trip took us from Paris to Barcelona to Marseille to Nice to Rome to Venice to Milan to Geneva to our hometown via Frankfurt to Berlin to Prague. We traveled mostly by train using a Eurail Pass, then roamed the streets of every city visiting as many sights and destinations as we could. It was exhausting and exhilarating.
Expect a string of Europe travel inspired blog posts to come!
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EUROPE TRAVEL SERIES
Phamly Reunion