Jack Howard reveals five memorable travel experiences.

Author:  Julietta Jameson / Jack Howard, The Age – Traveller.

Date: 25 November 2016.

Original URL: http://www.traveller.com.au/five-places-that-made-me-jack-howard-musician-gss4cx

Article Text

Apollo Bay

My family spent our summer holidays there every year from when I was about five to the age of 15. Five of us in the old FJ Holden to start; and then with various cousins, friends and carsick dogs as the years went on. We bodysurfed, we burned, we trekked through paradise, we ate fish’n’chips, we trampolined, we scoured the rock pools of Marengo Bay for shells and crabs, we climbed Carisbrook Falls. I still love going back there whenever I can.

London

In 1983, Hunters and Collectors moved to London on a wing and a prayer and a record deal with Virgin. Fourteen of us shared three rooms at The Reynolds Hotel in South Kensington. It was my first time overseas and even though things went badly for the band, I have fond memories of tramping all over town, through the Natural History Museum, The Victoria and Albert, Camden and Portobello Markets. Reading constantly (I wore an overcoat in the cold, perfect for shoplifting books – we had no money) and sending a multitude of postcards home.

New York

In 1984, after an ill-fated (some may say daft) Philadelphian romance, I found myself alone for a week in a six-dollar-a-night hostel on the upper west side of New York. It was a week of self-discovery in the greatest city on earth. I had only $200 in my pocket so I walked everywhere on the island from The Battery to Times Square, spent hours and hours in the American Museum Of Natural History (free entry) and roamed Central Park befriending squirrels.

Barcelona

H & C played at the AFL Grand Final in 2012 and straight after the game, in rock-star style, my wife, Fiona, and I flew to Barcelona for an intense week of Gaudi, tapas and tempranillo. We took Movida’s guide to Barcelona and found some amazing places to eat around El Born where we stayed. We practically lived at The Boqueria Market.

Iceland

In 2015, Fiona and I embarked on a grand tour of Europe for 10 weeks, ending in Iceland. We stayed in an Airbnb in Reykjavik, owned by a man named Thor. Apparently, Reykjavik is ground zero for hipsters and we did find a great little single origin coffee house called Reykjavik Roasters. What an incredible country. We were there in the summer so we drove ourselves around The Golden Circle, down to the basalt cliffs of Vik and on to the breathtaking glacial lagoon, Jokulsarlon.

Jack Howard plays trumpet with Hunters and Collectors and in 2017, will be touring the world with Midnight Oil. He plays his Bacharach show with The Ambassadors Of Love on December 3 at The Flying Saucer Club in Melbourne. See flyingsaucerclub.com.au

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