Corinne's Something Something

More Adventures - South East Asia style!

2009-12-21T20:24:00.000-08:00

Ah South East Asia....the last month has been a blur of hectic cities, beautiful nature, happy food and many, many buckets. Let me see if I can recall the crazy randomness that is travelling in Asia...

After leaving Thailand and my time volounteering, I jumped on a flight to Saigon, Vietnam to meet up with three amazing friends from home; Gabbie, Rhian and Kate, who happened to be travelling in the same area at the same time. Saigon was ridiculous. I've been in a lot of busy cities and this one was definitely right up there! Everyone rides on scooters, and the roads are always clogged up with them, rushing from this place to that. We checked out the Cu Chi tunnels while we were in Saigon, left over from the Vietnam war. I think my favourite sight in Saigon, though, was a naked man defacating in the middle of a 8 lane highway while the hundreds of scooters heading his way dodged him. Aaahhhh memories.

From Saigon we made our way to Rach Gia, in the hope of making it to the beautiful Phu Quoc island. But alas, it wasn't to be. We couldn't make the crossing due to bad weather. Next stop!? Cambodia...

We made it to Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on the South Coast. It was a really nice beach town, if not a tad touristy (nothing compared to the southern islands of Thailand i'm sure!). The immediate change in the attitude of the people was really tangible as well, comparing the more withdrawn cool facade of the Vietnamese to the warmth and openness of the Cambodians. It was really interesting! Anyway we spent a few days chilling out by the beach, snorkelling and feeling generally happy (they happen to make great pizzas there!). We went on a hike to a pretty unimpressive waterfall, but made friends with a lovely local dog who jumped in out tuk tuk and travelled with us all the way from Sihanoukville town to the walking track and hiked with us to the waterfall. Aaaaaawwwwwww.

What next? Pnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. Although it was a big city, I did really like Pnom Penh. We spent a couple of days here, and educated ourselves about the revolution and the awful things that happened in Cambodia while the Khmer Rouge were in power. We visited the killing fields. Although it was a really hard experience, and not particularly pleasant, i'm still glad we went and acknowledged these awful things happened.

We left Pnom Penh for Siem Reap, home of the amazing Angkor Wat. The ancient temples here are stunning, and most people probably know of them as being made famous by Angelina Jolie and Tomb Raider being filmed here. We had a fun party time in Siem Reap, we even had the dead skin eaten of the bottom of our feet by fish. That was until the fateful evening where I had a certain Chicken Tom Yum soup for dinner, and spent the next 24hrs in the agony of salmonella food poisoning. I think it was the worst i've ever felt, it was indescribable. Luckily Kate was sick at the same time, so we watched bad HBO movies and suffered together :) It made it a bit hard to really give Angkor Wat our all, but we managed to get to the site and see most of the main temples. We had these gorgeous puppies at our hostel in Siem Reap as well. They made me happy post salmonella :)

Next on our hit list was none other than the lovely Laos! We got to the 4000 islands in the South close to the Cambodian border at night time, which was fun as we got to take a river boat to our chosen island of Don Det in the pitch black with no light. The stars were phenomenal...We had a lovely time on the 4000 islands, chilling out, cycling and checking out the gorgeous waterfalls there. I even learnt how to play Poker which i'm very happy about :) I wish we'd had more time, but we had to get going to Vang Vien...

Ah Vang Vien. It was quite an adventure getting here catching many buses, including crazy night sleeper buses that actually had bunks in them. But we made it. Vang Vien is a small town set in a really beatiful area, on the river with gorgeous mountains surrounding it. However, most people head there for the crazy party. There are lots of bars set on the river and people go tubing all day down the river from bar to bar. They also go zip lining and down slides. While drinking. It gets messy, but it's good fun!!!

We had our fun in Vang Vien and got out while we could, before we got sucked into its traveller vortex. We made our way to the chilled Luang Prbang, in the north of Laos. There are some really gorgeous waterfalls here that we spent the day at. They have a really lovely handcraft night market, and an amazing view from the temple in the middle of town as well. Not much night life to speak of (the bars close at 11 due to curfew!) but we made our own fun at the after parties - a random seedy club, and my personal favourite, a bowling alley! I really love Laos, the people there are so chilled and friendly, and the scenery is stunning!! We were very sad to leave for Vietnam, our last stop!

We flew into Hanoi, and in less than 24 hrs in Vietnam I managed to have a fight with a Vietnamese guy at our hotel and completely shamed him (it's a very bad thing to yell at the Vietnamese - very culturally sensitive Corinne). He did deserve it though!! We lost Rhian to China, and then there were 3...

We made our way straight to Halong Bay, about 3 hrs from Hanoi and jumped on a boat for a 2 night cruise of the bay. It really is just so amazing there, the water is so calm and and an amazing colour green, the tall limestone islands loom over you and the sea hawks fly over head. We checked out some amazing caves, and made our own fun on the boat by way of drinking card games. We spent the next night on the freezing Cat Ba island (it was REALLY cold in the north of Vietnam), and went on a cool hike up the top of the mountain there.

The next day we made it back to Hanoi and as a treat got the executive suite in one of the fanciest hotels in town. We didn't do much in our last few days together but chill out and partay. Hanoi was really crazy and cold, and we weren't the biggest fans. Kate left us for Australia on Saturday, and Gabbie and I parted ways yesterday.

And here I am in Bangkok, again, ready for home!! Tomorrow I take a flight back to Sydney. This year has really been phenomenal. From living and working in New York City, to more Latin American adventures in Central America, volunteering in Thailand with the Elephants and experiencing random South East Asia. I've met the most amazing people along the way, and had the most profound experiences. I'm very, very lucky, and grateful.

And what does the next adventure hold in Sydney? Stay tuned!

TTFN xo

2009-11-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

It feels as though an age has passed since I last wrote. I'm in a completely different time and space. This blog finds me in Bangkok, Thailand surrouded by a myriad of people, cars, motorbikes and some very, very tall buildings.

The last 6 weeks have been a bit of a blur. I left Guatamala for Los Angeles, where I spent a couple of days (mainly at Disneyland!) before I left for Sydney. Most excitingly I got upgraded to Business Class on my flight from LA to Sydney - the first time it ever happened in my flying career. It made a big difference on such a long flight!

I spent a few weeks in Sydney catching up with everyone and working a little, and before I knew it it was time to leave for Thailand! I flew into Chiang Mai, a really lovely city in the north of Thailand. I spent the weekend here, and took the ride up to Doi Suthep, and amazing temple on the top of a hill overlooking the city. That weekend happened to be Halloween and Loy Krathong - a festival that occurs once a year in Thailand where people let off paper lanterns into the sky and decorative floats down waterways and rivers. It was really amazing sitting in Chiang Mai watching everyone letting off their laterns into the sky from the local rooftop bar. I really like the symbolism of the whole festival as well - floating the raft away is symbolic of letting go of any grudges or anger, and starting fresh.

On the Monday I left Chiang Mai for Elephant Nature Park to start a week of volunteer work. Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary for Elephants that have been rescued from really dire straits - some had come from trekking camps, circuses, as pets and a lot from street begging. And all had their maladities - some were physical such as broken backs, hips, absycess where their tusks had been removed. But most of them were psychological. These elephants had endured a really hard lives - all you had to do was look in their eyes to see their pain. Most people aren't probably aware, as I wasn't, that elephants are thought to have the intelligence of a 12 year old, and have actually been found to be self aware. They are also highly social creatures.

Elephant Nature Park was started by an inspirational Thai women named Lek, who wanted to create a sanctuary where these poor animals (who have no animal protection or rights in their country) could just be elephants, eat a lot (and I mean a lot!), play, bathe in the river and enjoy each other's company. The week I spent at Elephant Nature Park was a really amazing. I learnt so much about these amazing creatures. As volunteers we got the pick up the elephant poo, prepare and wash food for the elephants, and even go out into the fields to cut things like corn and sugar cane for them to eat. We even got to walk with a family goup of elephants up to Elephant Haven - an area of land set outside up a mountain for the elephants where they get to be free overnight and learn how to be wild again.

It was an interesting week for us to be there as well, as there was some controversy involving Lek, another ex volunteer who has set up her own foundation in Thailand to suport the elephants and the government and media. In the face of struggle and adversity it was really amazing to witness how the organisation and local community pulled it together for the sake of the elephants. We were even lucky enough to be a part of a buddhist ceremony calling for protection for Lek and Antoinette, her ex volunteer.

I took a week off volunteering and went travelling in the north for a week with Anton, one of the other volunteers at the park. From Chiang Mai we took the winding road up through the mountains to Pai, a lovely little hippy (if not a bit touristy) town. We had a really fun time there taking in the local vibe, and spent a day riding our push bikes around the surrouding area which was really beautiful and swimming in waterfalls. Next stop for us was Mae Hong Son, a futher windy trip into the mountains of Northern Thailand, quite close to the Burmese border. We took a hike here up the hill overlooking town, and chilled out out the temple at the top.

I had some time to spare in Thailand, and decided to take the road less travelled here and not head down to the infamous touristy south islands. Instead Anton and I met up with some of the volunteers in Chiang Mai and headed down to Surin, in the South East of Thailand to work on Elephant Nature Park's affiliated project, which is quite new and needed lots of volunteers and help. Surin province is the main area in Thailand where the Elephants are from, before they leave for lucrative work in the field of street begging and the like.

Here the foundation is trying to work with the province to bring back a lot of the Elephants back to the area, and trying to set up a large sanctuary where Elephants can be enjoyed by tourists in their naural surroundings, bathing and eating, rather than painting for them or taking them for elephant rides. We were only the fourth group through the project, so there was a lot of hard work to be done. We worked with elphant mahouts to cut food for their elephants, water the crop growing for the elephants and we even built a shelter so people can enjoy watching the elephants frolick in the lake in the shade.

Emotionally, it was really tough few days at the sanctuary. As the project is so new we only had a group of 7 elephants to cater for, however there are many elephants there not involved in the Surin project. These elephants were stuck on short chains most of the day, some had their two front feet tied together, and all they had to eat was a small ration of dried grass - their ribs and backbones were really pronounced and you could feel their desperation.

Toward the end of the week we left the sanctuary for the city of Surin, where they were hosting the big elephant round up which happens every year to celebrate Surin as the home of Elephants. Elephants from all over the country are required to come home and participate in the festivities. We stayed there on the military site (with most of the elphants and mahouts from the festival), camping for a few nights with our mahouts and their elephants. Every day we walked with our Elephants into town and tried to promote the foundation, during the festivities such as a big elephant buffet and show.

It was also a really hard few days, as I'd never seen so many elephants being forced to do so many unnatural things all in the one place. In particular, the elephant show where the elephants were made to do headstands, paint and throw darts. The experience was amazing though and something we were all really lucky to experience and take away with us, in the hope of further helping the cause of the asian elephant.

I'm in Bangkok now, and today I head to Vietnam. My travel in Thailand is over for now, but I know i'll definitely be back to help the cause of the elephants.

If you're interested here are the web address of the projects I was working on:

Chiang Mai - http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/

Surin - http://www.elephantnaturefoundation.org/

TTFN xo

Adios Centro America....

2009-10-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I have come to the end of my Central American adventures. Tomorrow I leave for Los Angeles, and then after a couple of days, Sydney. I´m looking forward to coming home, but am going to miss Latin America so much. I really love it here. The last couple of weeks in Guatamala have been amazing...

When I last wrote I was in Copan, Honduras. Due to all the political business going on there it was a bit touch and go. Nothing too bad, but the night I wrote my last blog we were sitting eating dinner when the power in town was suddenly cut and everything was pitch black. All of a sudden Pro Zelaya supporters (of the ex president) performed this big demonstration down the streets. It was completely peaceful but we were a little wary walking back to our hotel in the pitch black!! The next day we left for Guatamala, and they actually closed the borders to Honduras, so that we had to physically walk through and then catch another bus from the other side. Anyway, we got to Guatamala safely and all was fine, it was a bit of an interesting experience!

First stop in Guatamala was Antigua - a lovely colonial city surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. It´s a very pretty place, but not the real Guatamala, it feels a lot like a nice movie set or something of the like purely constructed for tourists. Needless to say i´m not really a fan of it, but, you can do some really cool day trips from here like the one I did to Volcano Pacaya. We left in the afternoon and climbed to the top of this active volcano. Naturally, I took along some marshmallows to roast on the running lava we found at the top. Possibly not the smartest thing i´ve ever done but definitely one of the coolest experiences! It was so hot up there that our shoes started to melt a little, as well as plastic bags! We stayed to watch the sunset which was GORGEOUS and then stumbled our way down the volcano in the dark... Fun!

My next stop was Tikal ruins, in the north of Guatamala. It was all very Indiana Jones like, lots of amazing pyramids and ruins scattered amongst the dense jungle. There were lots of animals I saw there too - Toucans, Spider and Howler monkeys amongst many others. I had a really fun day there exploring and chatting to the local guides.

I left Tikal for Semuc Champey, a little to the south. Most people go there for the caving, where you can swim and squeeze through caves with only a candle to guide your way. This I could not do - being a little claustrophobic and all. But Semuc Champey is really beautiful for it´s nature and bright turquoise river. We spent a lovely day exploring, swimming in the gorgeous lakes and jumping off rocks. Fun Fun Fun! That night we also went to some local caves to watch the bats that live there fly out at dusk. There were thousands! It was really very cool.

Almost last, but very not least, was the time I spent in San Marcos de Laguna, a really lovely little village on Lago de Atilan - this amazing, huge lake set in the middle of the jungle. It really was stunning there, you could swim in the beautiful clear water of the lake, and look up at the volcanoes and jungle surrounding it. There was a lot of holistic medicine in San Marcos, and people go there to meditate and do yoga as they feel the place has a special energy. I decided to do my Reiki II certificate there, met some lovely people and had a really special time :)

Yesterday I returned to Antigua and spent a frantic afternoon in the markets bargaining away and doing a last stock up before I head home....I´m looking forward to seeing what LA is like on the way home, and if I have the money I may even pop into disneyland on the way!!!

I´ve had a really amazing time the last couple of months in Central America. I´ve met some really special, amazing people and pretty much just immersed myself in beaches and nature for 2 months, heaven!! Latin America definitely hasn´t seen the last of me, I´m going to be back for sure!

TTFN xo

More Central American Adventures....

2009-09-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

I write this blog from an interesting time and place...at the moment I'm in Copan, Honduras. There has been a lot of political upheaval here lately, the president who tried to change the constitution so he could remain in power unelected was made to leave by the military about 3 months ago. Now, this ex president has somehow made his way back into the country, and everybody's a little worried about the ramifications of this! Luckily i'm leaving for Guatamala tomorrow!!

Ah the joys of travelling....it's been an amazign few weeks since I last updated. I was in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica when I last left you. Unfortunately I went there to surf, and neither the surf was up or my ear cooperating for that matter as I managed to get an ear infection!!! So I left there quick smart for the amazing Monteverde Cloud Forest in the mountains. I had an awesome time there hiking through the forest and wildlife spotting, in the day and night! I managed to see a quetzal (with the help of our guide) which is a really rare native bird rarely spoted, we were very lucky!! I also saw a sloth, a tree porcupine (!), hummingbirds, tarantulas amongst lots of other cool animals. Fun!

Next stop was Tortugero, otherwise know as the mini amazon on the Carribean Coast of Costa Rica. I got to see turtles (green) laying eggs again which was really amazing. The green turtles were qite abit bigger than the ridleys I was volounteering with on the pacific coast so that was really cool. I also did a canoe trip through the river there and spotted lots of monkeys, birds and crocodiles. I was all animaled out! I met a couple of lovely girls from Belgium there (you know who you are!!) and we travelled down to Puerto Viejo de la Talamanca together.

How do I describe Puerto Viejo....rasta heaven. A mini Jamaica on the carribean coast of Costa Rica. Walking down the street, every bar pumped reggae music all day and all night long. Bob Marley here was religion! We had a great time here, partying, surfing, biking along bumpy dusty pot holed filled roads while howler monkeys and birds sang above us. What a chilled place :)

I left my friends from Belgium behind to travel to Bocas del Toro, Panama. Bocas is a lovely little island also in the Carribean, and it was here I met my Canadian friends (you also know who you are!!!). Bocas also had the same chilled out vibe as Puerto Viejo. We parted ALOT. We also went dolphin spotting, snorkelling, surfing on deserted beaches where the only way to get there was to take a boat. I think my favourite place though, was Bocas del Drago, an amzing beach on the other side of the island filled with starfish. We played starfish farmer herders. Fact - starfish do not like to be stacked on top of on another. Needless to say we had lots of fun!!!

From Bocas my Canadian boys and I made to looooooong trip up to the Bay Island in Honduras. We crossed Costa Rica and Nicaragua to get there. It took many many hours of painful bus time and random border crossings. But we got there, and it was so worth it! We all opted to stay on a tiny island off the main island of Utila, in the carribean. Jewel quay was amazing, imagine a tiny island dotted in the Carribean with only 500 inhabitants, no cars, surrounded by stunning reef and crystal clear aqua water. Sound like heaven? It really was.

We all went there to get our open water diving cert. I unfortunately couldn{t hack it, after the first day got a bit claustrophobic and freaked out. So I opted to snorkel for the next couple of days instead, which was still AMAZING. I think Jewel quay is really one of my favourite places. I had a great time there with some amazing people, and it was very hard to leave yesterday!!!

And here I am in Copan Honduras. We're off to see the ruins here tomorrow and then straight to Guatamala and then I hit the home stretch - 2 weeks until i'm back in Sydney!! Looking forward to seeing all my lovely Sydney people :)

TTFN xo

Pura Vida!

2009-08-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

What an awesome couple of weeks it´s been! I started my Costa Rican adventures in San Jose, but got out of the city as soon as my luggage (which was a little slower than I was) finally arrived.

First stop, Montezuma, a lovely little hippy town on the beach, surrounded by rainforest. It was exactly what I had been pining for for months, so I was pretty content :) I met some lovely people there, and hung out by the beach alot, listening to the howler monkeys calling to each other in the rainforest by the beach. One day I went on a snorkelling adventure to Isla Tortuga, and although the snorkelling wasn´t that great (it´s rainy season here at the moment so visibility was really low) we spent the day by a gorgeous secluded beach. We also hiked through a river to an amazing waterfall, which was fun!

Next stop was Santa Teresa, a surf beach up the coast. The surf was a little crazy for me there, so just chilled out with lots of long walks up the beach and yoga. So nice!

I just came from Playa Ostional, where I was volounteering with an amazing project involving the Olive Ridley turtles there. The trip there was a 12 hr encounter, which ended with me jumping on the back of a motorcycle and crossing suspension bridges of rivers in the rainforest, whilst it was raining at night! It was so worth it though! Ostional is one of the most important nesting sites of Olive Ridley turtles, and is one of the only beaches were these turtles have their Arribada (mass nesting). The project was really interesting, as we were doing research as to finding a balance between the local people collecting the turtle eggs during arribada and whether them collecting a certain amount was actually beneficial. It was a bit of hard work, digging up old turtle nests, but on the most part we got to patrol the beach at night looking out for turtle tracks and collecting data from the turtles when they lay their nests. While we were there we got to see hatchlings, and set them free (I think this was possibly one of the most awesome moments of my life!). And of course, seeing the turtles land on the beach and dig and lay their nests was just amazing!!

I left Ostional today, and now am in Tamarindo for a little surfing. Stay tuned for more Central American adventures as I make my way up to Guatamala!!!

TTFN xo

A long overdue update!

2009-08-14T16:33:00.000-07:00

Wow. Has it really been two months since I last wrote!! I really can´t believe it. Well it has been a pretty crazy couple of months....here is a very brief overview....

I ended up going back to London to visit. It was a really lovely week catching up with old friends, and the weather there was lovely that week :) When I got back to New York my friend Sando came and stayed with me for a couple of weeks, which was really fun. A couple of highlights of our time together was A bit of a pub crawl through the city on Independance day and seeing the fireworks on the Hudson River (they were never ending!). We also managed to get tickets to David Letterman, which was reall cool.

My last few weeks of work were really busy. Trying to look after the kiddly winks and pack us all up was hard, luckily Adam was there and did a lot of the work. I was also studying a lot then and getting ready for exams so it was a pretty crazy time! Anyway we got all packed up and away fine. It wasn´t so hard to say goodbye to New York City as I was kind of ready for a change, but it was hard to say goodbye to Jess, Adam and the kids!!!

I left for Montreal at the end of July with a friend of Anna´s who happened to be driving up to Canada. I even had a go of driving myself on our little road trip!! Was a bit scary though as I was driving a van, on the wrong side of the road, in the mountains at night, in the rain and fog. Not the best combination!!!

Montreal was a really lovely city. I had my birthday there, got a new tattoo, and my highlight was going to see Coldplay at a music festival. In the middle of their concert they came out to a stage in the mddle of the crowd and did an acoustic set right next to me. It was so amazing!!!!

Next was Toronto. To me, just another big city (a nice one though!). I went to Niagra falls from there which was really amazing!!! I did a lot of study in Toronto too, and stayed with my lovely friend Cynthia :)

A week ago I returned to New York to meet up with mum and dad who came to visit! We had a a great week together, taking in the sites of New York, lots of live music, comedy, and went and saw Avenue Q again. Good stuff!! And I did my exams so now am free from study for the rest of the year, yay!!!

Yesterday I left New York for Costa Rica!!! At the moment i´m in the capital San Jose. I arrived safely but sadly my baggage did not. So i´m waiting here patiently at my hostel for them to deliver it, so I can get out of the city and straight to the beach!!!!

Vamos a ver......

So there is my update. Stay tuned for more updates with not so much time in between!!!

TTFN xo

NYC Cheescake = Yum

2009-06-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

Another few weeks have passed by so quickly! I figured it was about time for another update. It's actually been a fairly chilled out time here, Summer is finally getting into full swing, things are good!

I'm actually still studying here (only a couple of subjects) so have got myself into a routine of lots of study, yoga and work. There have been a few highlights though! A few weeks ago I went to see the Bodies exhibition, which had lots of interesting information about the human body, and real human bodies to illustrate all this info. I found it really cool, although some squeamish people may have found it a bit much! I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge - that was a really cool experience. It's always amazing seeing Manhattan from a different perspective.

Jess had the Tony Awards to attend - as well as getting a personal nomination for her performance in The Norman Conquests, the play got 7 nominations! The kids and I stayed up and saw her and Adam on the telivision - it was quite the treat. The play ended up getting the award for Best Revival!

Last week I got to go and see PJ Harvey (a great musician) play. She was fabulous, and it was great to go and see some live music! And last but not least, yesterday I ventured out of the city on a day hike in upstate New York. It was so nice to get out of the city into some nature - I was really craving it!

This week I get a bit of a break as I head to London for a week! I'm very much looking forward to visiting my old home and catching up with lots of old friends =)

TTFN! xo

Oh - and the most exciting thing, I finally tried some cheescake here. It's to die!

Another reason why I love New York...

2009-05-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

Everything seems to happens here. It's easy to see how some people could view it as the centre of the universe...Take yesterday as an example. As I was strolling to my yoga class in the early evening, I noticed there were a lot of police around and road closures in my neighbourhood. Strange I thought...and then I noticed all the dressing rooms on the footpath, the lighting trucks...apparently they had shut down downtown to film Jennifer Aniston's new movie - 'The Baster'. I just love that I run into random stuff like this here, especially on a not especially special Tuesday evening. It's great!

The last few weeks have been fun. Well, i'll take it from where I left off last time. My Auntie was in town that week, and luckily we got to spend a lovely day together taking in the American Folk Art museum. It was really interesting and they had some amazing pieces there. The following day I had a couple of friends, Rachel and Rebekah, arrive from Mexico, escaping from the Swine Flu. They stayed at The Loft for a couple of days before heading off to a hostel uptown. That Sunday we had a bit of an adventure together - we made our way into Harlem and randomly into a Gospel church with the whole big choir. It's just how you imagine it to be....all including the money hungry minister demanding 20% of your income....hmmmmmmm. It was a great experience though, the songs were amazing!

That afternoon we checked out the Natural History Museum- right up my alley. It's HUGE there and they have some amazing stuff!! It was fun. After we were museumed out that night we went out to see some live music in Greenwich Village at a jazz club, which was also lots of fun =) The following night we took in a Poetry night in the East Village which was really powerful - a one woman show all about growing up in Brooklyn in a multi-racial family.

Later that week I met up with a friend of a friend and spent a lovely morning wandering through Central Park. No matter how many times I go there I still seem to discover somewhere new I haven't been yet!

I was very lucky to have 4 days off the following week, and so I took off to Boston for a couple of days just to get out of the city and check another out. Boston is really lovely and much less fast paced than NYC so it was a lovely change. I was lucky enough to do a walking tour of the Freedom Trail there where I was the only person on the tour! I got lots of great info on American History and how Boston was involved, such as, the Boston Tea Party of course! Also while I was in Boston I took a ferry out to one of the islands in the harbour. The Island I visited used to be a tip, and also a place where they made poor horses into glue....nevertheless it was nice to have a stroll around on - they've definitely done some work on the the place!

I met up with Rachel and Rebekah again on the Tuesday and we had an adventure in The Bronx, just having a general wander and taking it in. Then we got lost. It took us a while to get back to the Subway but we did make it back to Manhattan!! That night we went to the Arabic Comedy Festival and it was great to have a good 'ol chuckle.

Work has been good fun. We get to do cool stuff, like last Saturday, helping plant flowers in the local park. Just between you and me, I think I enjoyed it more than the girls did but anyway! Bee and Freda's older brother Gabriel arrived on Sunday with his dad, and Gabriel will be staying on with us until we're all done here. It's really nice to see their whole little family complete again even if it is just for this week while Adam is here!

My friend Cynthia arrived on Saturday from Toronto to stay for a few days. We went out on the town on Sunday night in search of a nightclub...we found a jazz club which was just as good! On Monday we went on a bit of a shopping adventure in Chinatown and SoHo before Cynthia had to leave Monday night.

And that's all for the minute!

TTFN xo

From snow to sun...

2009-04-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well, the last time I wrote a few weeks ago, it was snowing. And now it is incredibly balmy and beautifully warm here in New York. The flowers have bloomed, the tree's have leaves, so much has changed and happened in such little time...

True, I have worked a lot in the past few weeks. But the time I have spent working, although tiring, has been incredibly rewarding. And in my time off I have really begun (what I think) to be a solid, long lasting relationship with this city. Really! I think this could be it =) haha

One Sunday off, I found myself on a Sex and the City tour of New York. Yes, Ashamedly I am a bit of a die hard fan. So it had to be done, and it was great damnit! To top off that day I spent the afternoon wandering around central park, and window shopping on the fancy fifth avenue!

I've got to spend fun days out with the girls, wandering around SoHo, taking a row boat out on the lake at central park...

Last Sunday, feeling in need of some 'real' nature, I ventured off the island of manhattan to the Botanic garden in Brooklyn. It was so lovely wandering around there, the cherry blossoms of spring were in full bloom and amazing, and I even brought home a little nature to the loft in the form of a houseplant! That night I went and saw the musical Avenue Q on Broadway - an 'adult' version of sesame street. It was great! Highly reccomend it!

It wasn't until this weekend, however, that I felt myself really open up to the spontaniety and all that New York really has to offer. I think i'll remember the exact moment forever (at least I hope!). After spending a lovely Saturday in various parks with the girls, it was a beautiful 30 something degree afternoon. We were wandering home to the loft, when we spied a whole lot of cherry blossoms littered on the pavement, and lots of kids throwing the blossoms up, letting the warm wind take them and shower the blossoms back down on them. The girls and I stopped to partake in this happy event, and even as simple as it sounds, this small action was the beginning of an amazing weekend, and i'm sure, an amazing few months here in the city. It really was magical!

This Sunday I treated myself to a massage (excellent!) and spent the afternoon shopping, before heading up to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building to get a whole new perspective on the city. Wow! In the evening, I perused the local 'what's on' newspaper, before deciding to catch a late show at a jazz club on broadway called the Iridium. I went and saw Allan Holdsworth - a great guitarist, considered to be in the top 100 ever apparently. And he was very good!

Today after a lazy morning, I ventured out for some more shopping in SoHo (God help my bank account!). I also checked out China town here, which is HUGE! Lots of interesting things there! The Tribeca Film Festival is on here at the moment, and as I reside in Tribeca, I felt I should go and see at least one film. The Tribeca Film festival was created (in part) by Robert De Niro, in an attempt to revive the community after the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Tonight I went and saw 'Englishman in New York', a film about the later years of Quentin Crisp's life in New York. It really was a phenomenal and touching film. To add to the experience of such a great film, there was a red carpet, papparazi and after the screening they had a question and answer section with the cast - including John Hurt, Cynthia Nixon and Jonathon Tucker. I love New York!!!

This week my Auntie Margaret will be in New York, and i'm really looking forward to seeing her. Also a few friends, including a couple who are going to crash here at the loft for a couple of nights, so it should be an exciting week! The adventure continues!!!

TTFN xo

A New York Beginning...

2009-04-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am some time later from my last post, sitting in a cafe in New York staring outside as the SNOW falls on the pavement. Yes, I have embarked on my next adventure, and this time I find myself in New York! I've taken a job nannying for the lovely family I used to work for in London, while Jess acts in a play on Broadway - i'm looking after little Bee and Freda in our amazing loft apartment!

I arrived in New York almost 2 weeks ago. It was a bit of an adventure getting here, having some trouble in customs getting into the country and subsequently almost missing my connecting flight from LA to NYC - I found myself running for my plane in my socks!!

I did make it though, and the first couple of days here I chilled out in my hotel room in Midtown while I awaited the arrival of Jess and the kids. We moved into our amazing loft apartment in downtown Tribeca - I really lovely little area in downtown - it's clame to fame as being Robert De Niro's 'hood'. I still haven't seen him yet but am determined to track him down by the end of my time here!

The first week was a bit of a blur - it entailed a lot of long hours of work while Jess rehearsed and got ready for her play. We did however manage to get to Central Park for a lovely afternoon with the kids, taking a horse carriage ride through the park. It really is amazing there, such a large park in the centre of Manhattan!

We hung out with Jess at her theatre, and while there unbeknownst to me I sat right next to Kevin Spacey (one of the producers of her play) !!!! Haha, really I WAS just playing it cool!

Another highlight of last week was a visit to Broadway to take the kids to see Shrek the musical. I was slightly perturbed by the man dressed as Shrek - the whole ogre suit thing on a grown man was a bit off putting! It really was a great show though.

On Sunday I had a lovely day off to take in the city. I took the ferry to Staten Island and got a whole different perspective on Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Amazing!

This week has been really busy too, with Jess working alot doing alot of press and the opening of the play last night. Hopefully things will settle down soon and i'll be able to write about more exciting adventures in NYC!!!!

TTFN xo

Crazy Jungle Adventures........

2008-01-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

We finally arrived in Bogota, Colombia, after a long overnight bus ride on a Friday morning. We wandered around the city and checked it out - we were feeling a bit funny as Bogota is at 3000m or so, the altitude defintely got to us!! That night we met up with a group of Colombians (who live in Bogota) but who we met in Taganga. We went to a cool local pub which was lots of fun =)

Saturday we went out with our Colombian friends again and they showed us around town. We took the fernicular up to the mountain in Bogota for a really cool view of the city (see picture above). We had a nice luch and checked out an art gallery also - a very cultured afternoon!!! Saturday night we went out with the Colombians again, another cool night in another local bar =)

Sunday we did a bit of shopping before jumping on a plane to Quito, Ecuador!! We arrived late at night and went straight to bed. The next day we had decided to go to this town called Baños where we could do a jungle tour from. One slight problem - the volcano that towers over the town was erupting, and although we definitely are thrill seekers and considered it for a little while, in the end we decided to go to Tena instead (Although it could have been fun!!!). So we spent Monday on the bus there.....

We got up early Tuesday to start our jungle adventures into the Amazon basin. We arrived in our really lovely lodge in the middle of the jungle, dumped our stuff and went off into the jungle for a 6 hr hike. We learnt about alot of the medicinal plants in the jungle which I found really interesting!! We also painted our faces with the sap from trees (why not! see picture above). Its the rainy season here at the moment so it was a ver slipper, wet walk but we still enjoyed it. We had lunch in the local indigenous village and had fun with the kids there - they were really intrigued by us!!

Wednedsay we went for another walk up to a Lookout over the jungle - really beautiful!!! We also ate ants (as you do) and covered our hands with termites!! In the afternnon we went tubing down the river which was really relaxing =) Thursday we did a bit of bird watching, and visited another indigenous community. In the afternoon we went to another town close by to visit the monkey island there - they were really cute until they tried to attack us for our afternoon tea!!! We got back to Tena that night and out Jungle adventures were over =(

Friday we caught the bus back to Quito and went out that night - it was interesting to say the least!! Anna managed to get herself caught on fire - long story, anyway its not as bad as it sounds but it was pretty freaky!! Yesterday we had a nice afternoon looking at the street art in town and wandering around markets in the main park of town, very nice. We went last night (my last Sat night in South America!!) and found a really fun club where we danced the night away.

So I have today in Quito, and tomorrow morning I fly back to Buenos Aires and then the next day I fly back to Sydney!!! Cant believe my trip is almost over!! Looking forward to seeing everyone at home though =)

The Carribean Colombia.....

2008-01-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

Hi guys!

I think I left you last updated on New Years Eve - we had a lovely day that day as a group of us took a boat out to Playa Blanca - a beautiful white sand beach close to Cartagena. It was a nice day to finish of the year! That night we went out with everyone for a nice dinner and then saw in the new year watching fireworks over the water (although i´m sure theydidn´t compare to Sydneys!). We spent the first early hours of 2008 dancing away.

New Years day we chilled out and treated oursleves to a yummy lunch. We strolled along the Malecon and took in a lovely sunset. Wednesday we had an adventure in a mud volcano! (see picture above). It was a really wierd sensation being in there but very cool =)

Last Thursday we travelled away from Cartagena (although we really like didthere, a very nice city) to Taganga. Taganga is a small fishing village with a real chilled out hippy vibe. We spent a few days there partying and chilling out on the beach which was nice.

Monday we travelled to Parque Tayrona - a beautiful national park where the tropical jungle meets beautiful beaches (see last 2 pics above). It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip, we had a great time there. We spent our days wandering along the beaches, exploring the jungle and slept in hammocks at night!!!

We got back to Taganga yesterday and are just killing time waiting for our bus to Bogota, the capital of Colombia. After that we´re off to Ecuador! Colombia is really amazing though, and we´re really enjoying it here....

A Cuban Christmas!

2007-12-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys!

Well what a crazy couple of weeks it´s been!! I´ve just returned to the ´real world´ after spending 2 weeks in Cuba.....

We arrived into Habana late on a Monday afternoon and arrived to our Casa Particular. In Cuba tourists mainly stay in the houses of the local people as it´s a lot cheaper - these are the casa particulares. It´s really good as you can really get to know the local people. We had our first night out in Habana that night, which was very interesting!!

Tuesday I was a little hungover, too many mojitos!! So we just chilled out in the day and in the night we checked out a local jazz club which was really good!!! Wednesay we went for a little history and checked out Museo de la Revolucion which was also really interesting! We just wandered around in the night and took in the sights and sounds of Habana´s night life. Very cool.

Thursday we had an adventure at the local market buying some fruit and veges (good fun) and after this treated ourselves to a lovely lunch in a cafe with a great band. We really got into the music in Cuba (it´s hard not too, its everywhere!!) - Salsa, Afro Cuban, Jazz - it was great! That night went and saw a salsa band play and danced the night away!

Friday and Saturday we went and checked out Habana´s closest beach. It was really lovely and relaxing after being in the city for so many days. We went out Saturday night with some of the local Cubans we kept bumping into.

Sunday we jumped in a taxi to Trinidad, on the south coast of Cuba. It was a really lovely Colonial town with a beautiful beach, and we really enjoyed our time there. We had a lovely family we stayed with there as well =) Monday night we spent in the main square of the town where they have live salsa music and dancing every night. It was really cool to see - the Cubans dance amazingly! We met a magician too (random) who showed us some magic tricks - not your typical Christmas Eve thats for sure! Tuesday (Christmas Day) we spent on the beach which was lovely =)

Wednesday we did a tour to Toppes de Collantes - and hiked through the jungle to a beautiful waterfall. We swam in the pool by the waterfall - ah it was so nice! That night we checked out the main square again and randomly bumped into our friend Pete from Mexico. So we danced the night away in the local night club with Pete and his mates, good fun =) We met the magician again and he helped us to talk to a Mute man we met. Very random!

Thursday we chilled out and checked out Trinidad. We went out in the night and ended up in the local disco - which was in a cave. It was SO cool!! Friday we jumped on a bus back to Habana and Yesterday we flew out of Cuba!

I had such an amazing time in Cuba - it´s so interesting. The people seem so opressed - they aren´t allowed to speak with tourists, they can´t go on the internet (only email) and they can´t leave Cuba - among many other things. But they are some of the most happy, warm and genuine people i´ve ever met. It´s such a strange place! It´s a place you hate and frustrates you so much at times, and place you love and don´t want to leave. A land of contradictions....It was really the highlight of my trip so far.

We arrived in Cartagena, Columbia last night and we´ll ne here for the next couple of weeks. We haven´t seen to much of the city yet but so far it looks really beautiful =)

Happy New Year Everyone!!! xoxoxoxo

Enchilladas with green sauce are DELICIOUS =)

2007-12-16T19:03:00.000-08:00

.....and overnight bus trips suck!

As you might guess weve had quite a travelsome week (again!). After spending a few days on the beac at Puerto Escondido, which was beautiful, Wednesday night we jumped on an overnight bus to San Cristobal. We arrived to this lovely little town bleary eyed on Thursday morning and found a nice place to stay with a resident dog - che- who I loved!

We spent Thursday checking out the town, and in the night went to a jazz club for some live music (finally!) and then a club after with some of Annas friends from school. Friday we jumped in a car and a collectivo and 3 hrs later were at Agua Azul - some beautiful, bright blue waterfalls in the middle of the jungle. It was really lovely there! That night we said goodbye to Roland, Annas friend who had been travelling with us the past couple of weeks. A very sad day =(

Saturday we checked out the markets in town and then jumped on another overnight bus, this time to Cancun! We arrived this morning and quickly got ready at our hostel for the beach. Cancun is really famous for hosting americas Spring Break and is very gringo orientated. But it has a really beautiful beach with white sand and crystal blue water. We had a lovely time there today =)

Tomorrow were off to Cuba for Christmas!! And then Columbia for New Years! Exciting times =) If I dont write before, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Mmmmmmmmm Chilli............

2007-12-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

So its been a couple of weeks!! Ive been a bit lazy =L Sorry!! Well I spent another day in Cuzco after I last wrote just seeing a bit more of the town. Then I jumped on a 24 hr bus ride to Lima! Lima is the capital of Peru and really big and quite western, so I really just chilled out there for a few days, ate lots of fast food, drank lots of starbucks and saw a few movies. It was nice for a change =)

I stayed the night in Lima airport waiting for my early flight to Mexico. 3 flights later I arrived in Monterrey and met up with Anna! It was really lovely to see her again =) We spent the next couple of days getting organised and checking out Monterrey. Its a nice city but also very western.

Last Monday we jumped on an overnight bus to Guanojuato, a colonial town in Central Mexico. We chilled out there for a couple of days and while we were there checked out Diago Riveras house where he grew up and housed some of his works. Very cool.

We left for Mexico City Wednesday night and arrived late at night. Mexico City is crazy!!! Its HUGE and there are SO many people there. Its a nice place though. We checked out the biggest church in latin america there, an ancient aztec ruin in the middle of town and Frida Kahlos house. We also bumped into some naked men on the street protesting (see pic above). We took a day trip out to some ancient pyramids too which was cool.

We hopped on a bus to Puerto Escondido (where we are now) Sat night and arrived here Sun night. Its a really small town set on a few beautiful beaches and really amazing. Today we lay on the beach and took a banana boat out on the water and saw some gorgeous huge turtles and manta rays that were jumping. Ah its so nice to be at the beach again =)

Machu Pichu!!

2007-11-26T09:27:00.000-08:00

And so it was time for my next adventure.....a 4 day jungle trek to Machu Pichu. We left last Wednesday from Cuzco and drove high into the mountains, and then spent the 1st day downhill mountain biking. Good fun! We stayed the night in a little town and spent the next day trekking for about 8 hrs or so, along part of the actual Inca trail to Machu Pichu. It was a bit hard going at times with the altitude but good hard work! The Jungle was amazing! We picked fruit along the way, crossed rivers on scary old cable cars and then as a reward for all the hard work chilled out in some hot springs at the end of the day.

Friday we trekked to Agua Callientes (the town you stay in right near Machu Pichu) and had a bit of a rest. Then Saturday was the big day! We got up at 5am to beat the big tour buses and caught a bus up to Machu Pichu - an amazing preserved town of the ancient inca civilisation - perched on the top of a mountain at about 2500m (see last 2 pics above). It was really amazing, and the setting was gorgeous. It was a bit rainy for us but the mist and cloud really added to the atmosphere.

We got back to Cuzco Saturday night and spent the night dancing away. Good fun and a good reward for our hard efforts! Yesterday had a bit of a sleep in before going to see a local shaman here who read the coca leaves for me (just like you would read tarot cards). Very interesting! To top the day of had a nice massage as well =)

Doing a bit of sightseeing around Cuzco the next couple of days before heading to Lima tomorrow night. Then Im flying up to Mexico on Saturday to meet up with lovely Anna and were going to travel together for a while. Yay! Cant wait xo Ps. The 1st two pictures are of Lake Titicaca.

On the gringo trail......

2007-11-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

Hola Everyone,

Well what a busy week! Last Tuesday I went mountain biking down the worlds most dangerous road. Its just outside of La Paz and you go from almost 5000m and ride down the mountain on paved (and mostly unpaved) road into the jungle at 1000 and something metres. It was really crazy! As ive never really been mountain biking before it was pretty full on, I stacked it a couple of times, but got back on the bike and kept going. Lots of fun!

We were supposed to leave La Paz on Wednesday but there was a transport strike and road blocks and so we couldnt get out. So we decided to have a chill out day, went and saw a movie and enjoyed La Paz =)

Thursday hopped on a bus to Copacabana, a lovely, chilled out town on Lake Titicaca - the highest navigatable lake in the world at something like 4000m. On Friday we took a boat trip out on the lake to Isla del Sol (Island of the sun) and trekked from one side to the other. It was a great trek and the views were amazing!

Saturday we left Copacaban and Bolivia behind - and travelled to Peru! We stayed in Puno the night, which is also on Lake Titicaca. Sunday we took a local boat and visited the floating islands - islands made entirely of reeds floating on the lake where people live in houses made of reeds. Very cool. We then vistited another island on the lake and stayed the night with a local family. We also partook in a bit of traditional dancing which was fun!!

Yesterday we visited one of the other islands on Lake Titicaca and had a beautiful sunny day. Lovely! In the afternoon we got back into Puno and then hopped on a bust to Cusco - tourist central. Got into Cusco 2am this morning! Today just wandered around Cusco and checked out the city. Its nice but very touristy as all people visiting Machu Pichu use Cusco as a base.

Well im off tommorrow on a 4 day mountain biking and jungle trek to Machu Pichu! Should be really fun! Unfortunately I cant put pics from the last week on this computer but next time I promise lots of pics from Lake Titicaca and Machu Pichu!!!

The Pampas......

2007-11-12T14:41:00.000-08:00

Hola!

Well I have just come back from a lovely few days in the Pampas (Wetlands) of Bolivia. From La Paz last week (can´t remember the day!) I took a 18 hr bus ride along an incredibly bumpy dangerous road to Rurrenbaque, the town close to the Pampas. The next day I left off on my tour.

The first day we cruised down the river and had a look at the wildlife basking at its edge - like the Capybara, the worlds biggest rodent, and black caiman´s (see pictures above), alligators, monkeys - the list goes on!

The next day we went wading throught the pampas, through waist high water at times in the search of anacondas, but alas, none were to be found =( That afternoon we went swimming with the pink river dolphins. That was the best part of the pampas for me. Really amazing!

On our last day we went fishing for piranhas (see picture above of one caught) before heading back to Rurrenbaque. Not suprisingly I opted to fly back to La Paz from Rurrenbaque yesterday. Had a relaxed day checking out the city and met up with some friends for dinner and a few drinks.

Today went on a bit of a shopping spree at the witches markets here - where they sell among many things - llama foetus´s (wierd! supposed to be good luck). These weren´t on my shopping list but I finally got my own hammock so I can string it up anywhere I like now and rock myself to sleep. Aaaaahhhhhhh.

Off tommorrow to cycle the worlds most dangerous road....Will keep you posted!

2007-11-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

Photo´s:
1 of my lovely macaws, me and one of the monkeys (please ignore fat neck!), one of the spider monkeys, Quirqui one of the puma´s and I, and the bird girls - me and courtney at halloween.

Hi all =)

How are you all going??

Well yesterday was my last day volounteering in Villa Tunari. Although I´m still here today as unfortuntaley I´ve got a bit of an upset tummy and need to rest before I head off to La Paz tomorrow....

The last week has been really cool. The animals have a routine and so we are doing the same thing every day but something exciting always happens. Like when Courtney and I were going to feed our birds and got ambushed and surrounded by the head guys of the capagan monkey gang, and had to hide in the office until they went away =( Or when we got a new boa constrictor to look after!!! We did have an anaconda but he escaped into the jungle somewhere =L Anyway our boa is BEAUTIFUL and almost 3m long. We had to force feed her the other day as she wasn´t eating and it took for of us to hold her and get her to eat. She´s so strong!! Amazing.....

We had a couple of fun parties the past week too, especially halloween where everybody really got into it and dressed up. Fun!!

Have fun! Chau xo

Some more pIctures of Bolivia.....

2007-10-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hello =)

Thought I´d pop some more pictures on while i´m on a fast computer. They are from my trip round the Salt flats in Bolivia. Still having a great time in Villa Tunari except yesterday I was cutting down trees in the jungle with my machete (fun!) for my birdies and little did I know there was a HUGE wasps nest right near me so I got stung a couple of times, hurt a lot but could have been a lot worse!! All I can say is I´m glad I brought my first ad kit =P

Chau for now xo

Viviendo el Sueno....

2007-10-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hola People!

Well I arrived in Villa Tunari late Thurs night from Cochabamba after a much longer bus ride than initially expected (this is Bolivia after all!). I managed to find Inti Wara Yassi (the organisation im volounteering through) and got settled into one of the houses =)

Friday was my first day and I was assigned the avery. Im looking after the Macaws, a turkey and until today a few turtles (they went to the other park today). By the end of the first day I had seen a cockroach as big as your foot, patted and played with a puma, had monkeys crawl all over me AND sprained my ankle. It was all very exciting!

Its really beautiful here. The weather is tropical, the town is lovely, the jungle is amazing and the other volounteers are really lovely. There´s a party every other night so lots of fun! I also work with the monkeys as well as the macaws which is lots of fun. They are capagan and spiders, and so intelligent! And they love cuddles =) except for the one who is going around attacking people´s ears and giving them stitches. They are trying to catch him!

We have mostly Bolivian tourists coming throught the park too so its good practice for my spanish! Im having an awesome time. This place is really special =)

I cant take photos in the first week here, but next week I promise some amazing photos!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Bolivia Photos.....

2007-10-17T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well here´s my favourite picture from the Salt plains. Unfortunately Bolivian computers are poos so I cant put any more on at the moment.

Chau for now xoxo

Bolivia Pictures

2007-10-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

Aaaahhh I have some awesome pictures but stupid blogger wont let me upload them! Will try again tomorrow xo ps. I miss you Derrick! Happy now =)

Bolivia...wow....

2007-10-16T13:17:00.001-07:00

Hola Chicos!

How are you all going?? Lately Ive got quite a few emails from you all saying that youre keeping up to date with my blog......thanks guys!! Its nice to know Im not just writing this for me......you guys are the best =)

Well as you may have guessed from my title I am now in Bolivia!!! I arrived here last Thursday with Thelma and Eileen after a looonnnnggg day of travelling. Its so bizarre, as ssoon as you cross the border from Argentina to Bolivia it is totally different. I really feel like im in South America now, Argentina was fantastic and I loved it, but it is very westernised. You walk down the dirt roads in little villages here past small thatched roof houses, little kids playing on the streets and women with huge petticoated skirts and bowlers hats on, carrying babies on their backs. It really is amazing!

We (Eileen, Thelma, Catherine, Jim and I) took off from Tupiza (in the south of Bolivia) on Friday for a 4 day tour of the desert, volcanoes, lakes and salt flats all nestled high in the Andes. We had a great tour guide and cook for our trip who spoke NO english and so I tried my best to translate being the only Spanglish speaker. Friday was alot of driving, climbing into the mountains and checking out the barren desert scenery. That night we stayed in a little village and had a llama wandering around our room (very friendly little guy!). The altitude started to affect us that night, as we all froze and struggled to breathe as we were trying to sleep! Kinda scary!

Saturday we had a bit more of an exciting day. We warmed up in some hot springs in the middle of the desert (sssoooooooo nice) and we saw loads of beautiful coloured lakes full of Flamingos! We also went and checked out some Geyseirs (spelling?) bubbling mud and sulfurous gas. Cool. That night we stayed in another little village at 5000m, and were all pretty knocked around by the altitude. It was REALLY FREEZING and the whole night I felt like my head was going to explode. Anyway luckily we survived through the night!

Sunday we saw an amazing red coloured lake (which also had flamingos in it) and the local volcano. We saw a bit of the salt plains and stayed in a hotel made of Salt. SO cool. Monday we got up before the sun rose and headed to the Salt plains to watch the sunrise. So beautiful. We spent the day driving through the salt plains and taking some really cool pictures (see above).

We arrived in Uyuni Monday arvo and last night had a nice farewell dinner as all my lovely Irish people are headed to Potosi today, and Im off on my own to Cochabamba and then Villa Tunari where Ill be for a couple of weeks volounteering in an animal refuge. Should be something really special and different, this is the web page if you want to check it out:

http://www.intiwarayassi.org

It should be amazing!! Keep posted for future blogging about this.

Take care guys, missing you all from home and all you lovely people Ive met travelling so far!!!!

xoxoxoxoxxo

Almost time to leave Argentina....

2007-10-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!

Well Ive had a busy week! Last thurs Andrew and I left Igazu and travelled for 26 hrs on a bus (yep 26!) to arrive in Salta, in the North of Argentina, on Friday morning. We met some lovely people on the bus and followed them to an awesome hostel in town, very friendly. Salta is a really nice little city nestled in a valley with mountains on either side. Over the next couple of days we sampled the nightlife (excellent!), wandered around town, ate the most DELICIOUS steak Ive ever tasted, and did a hike up the hill overlooking the town.

Monday a group of us from the hostel hired a car and took off for a couple of days just south of Salta. The landscape here was very different, amazing mountains, seas of cacti, rock formations, desert......All very cool! We stayed in a couple of nice little towns too and met some lovely local people (see group picture above of us at a very local restaurant). It was really nice to have the freedom to just take off where and when we wanted for a change! We checked out some great ancient ruins yesterday too. The only problem was when our back tire literally blew up on one of the many dirt roads. Anyway we managed to change it and keep on going. All part of the fun!

Im heading off to Bolivia tomorrow with a couple of lovely irish girls we met on the bus here. Were heading to the Salt plains first, they sound amazing!

Oh and pictures above are; Igazu falls, a few people at school (Andrew, Gonzalo, Steven and me) and the last two are pictures from our road trip!

Take care guys, ill write again soon!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Igazu Falls.....wow.....

2007-10-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

I hope you´re all well =)

Well my last week in Buenos Aires was quite fun. Besides school I took an exciting trip to the airport to go and pick up my camera that my family sent from home. First it was an adventure to actually find the place at the airport, and then once I found the place I had to go from office to office a great many times before finally paying the releasing fee and getting my camera. The nice man who took my money gave me some cake though which was nice, and the experience really tested my Spanish! Very random.

Friday was the last day of school and so of course we went out to celebrate and ended up out on a marathon 12 hr drinking session. Fun!

Saturday Andrew and I hopped on a bus very hungover to Port Igazu, Argentina. 20 hrs later we arrived early Sunday morning and managed to find a hostel. We went to visit the falls Monday and Tuesday, on the Argentinian side. I was really speechless. The falls are just absoulutely amazing, definitely in my top 10 things i´ve seen. Unfortunately I cant put pictures up on this computer but when I get to the next one I promise I will. They´re awesome! We did a cool boat trip up the river that took us under a couple of waterfalls, lots of fun. We also did a lovely walk and saw lots of wildlife - and yesterday, even a Tucan! Ooh and we went out for dinner to a Parilla and got a mixed grill (very done here) with yummy intestines and kidneys etc. mmmmmmmmmm.........

Today we ventured to the Brazilian side of the falls (the falls are the border between Argentina and Brazil). I got waylayed at the border so unfortunately the bus left without me and left me all alone =( Luckily I met a lovely couple and we checked out the falls from Brazil. They were just as amazing from Brazil!

Andrew and I are heading off tomorrow (hopefully) for Salta and then Ill be heading off on my own into Bolivia and Peru!

Take care guys,

xo

Another week, another blog!

2007-09-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Well another week has passed SO quickly!! Time is really flying here......

I managed to catch a cold last week, so the beginning of the week was just a lot of school and going to bed early =(

By Thursday I was feeling a bit better so we ventured out to the famous Ricoleta Cemetry here in Buenos Aires. It has lots of famous people buried in tombs there, Evita being among them. It was a really cool place (for a cemetry) and there were some really beautiful tombs (see the first 2 pictures above). Thurs night had a big drinking session with my classmates after school in the evening. Lots of fun =)

Saturday we all went and had a look around La Boca, a suburb here where the working class live. Tango was invented there in a brothel - interesting hey?? The touristy part was very bright and touristy (see colourful houses and me picture above) and the rest of Boca is actually quite dodgy. That night we had a nice dinner at Gavins apartment before heading out to a bar. Good times.

Sunday was recovery day and in the evening Andrew and I went and saw a movie again, this time The Bourne Ultimatum. Very good (the bits I saw anyway, I kept falling asleep!).

Last night we had a farewell dinner for our classmate Claudia who is off to Bolivia today. We had yummy steak at a really nice Parilla here (like a bbq steak house). It was DELICIOSO. Best meal Ive had in ages!!!

So I finish up at school this Friday and on Saturday I should be heading off travelling, yay!! First stop, Igazu falls.

Btw, the other picture above is of Ave 9 de Julio, which Argentinians claim to be the widest road in the world. With 16 lanes, it takes a while to cross! Thought you might like to see it...

Take care guys, missing you lots xoxoxoxoxo

Rain Rain go away!

2007-09-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys!

How are you all going?? I was wondering how you were all doing, you can all see what im doing from this page but I have no idea what youre up to! Send me an email and let me know how you are when you get the chance!

Well things here are very wet at the moment actually. Its been raining for almost a week and so we are hanging out for a bit of sunshine and nice weather!

The past week has been fun though. Alot of school and study actually. I got 68% for my first Spanish test which was ok, I thought I failed it for sure. Its quite difficult and tiring this whole new language thing, but definitely worth it in the end. Have been hanging out a bit with my classmates which is fun.

Last Friday night Claudia and I went to the theatre to see the musical Cabaret - in Spanish of course. It was such an amazing and powerful show even if we could only understand a few words (we got the idea). Its a show all about the Kit Kat Klub in Berlin and how the war affected the lives of the people involved with the Club. It was great!!

Saturday Claudia and I did a bit of sightseeing at MALBA (the modern art museum) and then the lovely Japanese Gardens. In the night we met up with our classmates for some mojitos in a funky bar before heading to a really fun club close to the hostel. We danced until daylight and stumbled home at 7am. Lots of fun =)

So Sunday was a bit of a write off but in the night Andrew and I went to see Die Hard 4 (in english, yay!!) before heading back to the hostel for a yummy pizza party. Thats all really, have just been at scool and studying so far this week.

Im starting to plan my trip as Ill be out of Buenos Aires in a week and half. Im thinking of heading to Igazu Falls first (supposed to be the most amazing waterfalls - perhaps on earth?) and then Ill head up to Bolivia and Peru and possibly Coulumbia.....not sure yet but very excited and looking forward to heading off as im feeling a bit restless atm.

Sorry there wasnt any pictures this week - having some camera issues =(

Take care guys, missing you all lots xoxoxoxox

A Bad Day to be an Aussie in Argentina.....

2007-09-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!

Well, another week in Buenos Aires has gone by so quick!! Am Having lots of fun and learning a lot of Spanish =)

I spent most of last week going to Spanish School and Tango Lessons. Tango is lots of fun!! We haven´t gone to a Milonga (tango dance hall) yet, but I think we´ll work our way up to it this weekend. I also spent a bit of time at my hostel with the people here and going out for drinks.

We had a big night on Thurs night @ Club 69 - this really cool club that has shows on a Thurs night, lots of fun. I didn´t end up going to school on Friday unfortunately as I got home at 6am and was supposed to be at school at 9am. I have now changed to the afternoon classes that start at 2pm! Buenos Aires really comes alive at night, everybody eats dinner around 10pm and then has a few drinks at a bar before heading to a club at 2-3am. Very fun but very tiring!!

Saturday did a bit of sightseeing (see the Pink House above - Buenos Aires equivalent to the White house) and a nearby church. Had a Salsa lesson in the afternoon (so much dancing!!) and then had a walk on the river. We all went out to a club called Pascha that night - it´s quite a famous chain around the world. It was quite good, we had a fun night.

Sunday I slept in and the in the afternoon went to another soccer game. This time it was Riverplate vs Velez. Riverplate is the other big team here in B. Aires. The atmosphere at this game was even better than last week´s game where we saw Boca Juniors play. It was a home game at Riverplate stadium and the crowd was a sea of Red and White supporters (see picture above). They went ballsitic (seriously!) and won 5-0. What a great game!

Speaking of, I got up early this morning especially to watch the friendly soccer match between Australia and Argentina. What a shame, we lost 1-0 if you didn´t see it. And so......it is a bad day today to be an aussie here =(

Anyway that´s all for now, take care xoxoxoxoxo

2007-09-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hola Everyone!!!

Well welcome to my first blog all the way from South America!!!! I have been in Buenos Aires, Argentina for almost a week now. And what an amazing place!!! I´m having a ball =) Let´s see......what have I been up to......

It took me a couple of days to go here as my flight was a bit all over the place and we had to stay a night in Auckland. I met a fellow aussie on the plane, Andrew from Canberra, who was doing the same thing as me and so I already had a friend. We arrived last Wednesday morning, jetlagged and bleary eyed, to a bustling metropolis!! It was a bit overwhelming at first but the energy of Buenos Aires is quite catching. After catching up on sleep for a day or so, I checked out my Spanish school where I´d be studying and then had a walk around the city with Andrew. We checked out the busy and touristy Florida Ave and then bumped into a protest by the ´Pink House´(argentina´s own version of the white house).

Friday I went to my school for a Choripan BBQ and met some of the people studying there. Everyone´s really lovely!!! Marcia (a girl from school) and I went and had a tango class in the arvo which was lots of fun and not too hard!! Saturday was a very busy day, spent sightseeing around one of the main streets here Ave de Mayo (it has all the important parliament buildings on it) and then Puerto Madero, the local port, which wasn´t all that nice but good to see! We all went out Sat night for a late dinner and then to a club in the wee hours of the morning. Good fun =)

On Sunday Marcia and I had a look around San Telmo, the artistic suburb that have great markets on a Sunday (See picture of street above). That night I went out with the boys and we checked out a soccer game between La Bocca (the big local tem here) and someone else.....can´t remember which. What an adventure that was!! The streets getting into the stadium were packed with revellers and police blocks. We came across these super elite riot police on huge motorcycles wearing balaclava´s and carrying battons - they were definitely above the law and very scary! But there was no trouble and the game was excellent. The atmosphere was amazing!

I started Spanish classes yesterday and so far so good. We´re doing 4 hrs a day and have started picking up a bit already. They really don´t speak english here at all so it is very necessary!!!

Overall, i´m having such an amazing adventure already. Buenos Aires is such an amazing city, its very European but still with that earthy latin american feel. It never sleeps and there´s always something to do! The people here are really warm and helpful. Its a really interesting place =)

Anyway i´m off to do a Tango class and so until next time, Hasta Luego!

xoxoxoxoxo

Happy Birthday!!!!!

2007-08-12T05:37:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Well it has been a while!

Just thought i'd pop a few photo's up of my recent birthday. I was lucky enough to be able to spend it with my friends and family back in Sydney this year so yay! On my birthday my family and I went to the lowenbrau (german pub) for a yummy lunch and then went and saw the Simpson Movie. I went out with my friends the Saturday night before in the city - twas a fun night! See pictures above of Me, Gabbie, Rhian, Jared (my little brother) and Row.

This is my last week of work!! I leave for South America in just over 2 wks and am VERY excited! I'll be there for about 5 months or so so there will be plenty to blog about i'm sure. Keep checking soon for exciting new adventures. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thermal Wonderland...

2007-06-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

Just 2 wks ago, I was sitting watching I was sitting watching a bunch of scary Kiwi guys do the Hacka. Yes......I took an adventure to New Zealand, land of the long white cloud. I went to visit Penny, one of my best mates and travel partner in crime. Although I only spent a week there, we really packed in the sights!

I flew in to Auckland on Monday and Pen and her mates picked me up from the airport. We spent the day sightseeing around Auckland - and got an amazing view of the city from 'One Tree Hill', an extinct volcano.

Tues we went and had yummy sushi for lunch in the city with Pen's lovely friend Justine, and had a look out some gorgeous lookouts of the city. Auckland really is a beautiful city, set on a bay looking out over islands, the main one, a volcano! We drove to Tauranga and stayed with Pen's sister that night.

Wed we checked out a couple of beaches in the area and did a spot of shopping. Then we drove to Penny's home town, Taupo, to stay with her mum and dad. Thurs we spent the day seeing the sights of Taupo with Penny's mum. We had a look at a gorgeous little bee farm, Hooka Falls, and 'Craters of the moon' - this amazing thermal park full of fumaroles spewing sulfurous smoke. Amazing! We also caught up with Jen, who was a mate from London. 'Twas lovely to see her!

I think my highlight of the trip would have to be my adventure on the Fri. For some unknown reason, I got really keen to do this 8hr hike up to a volcano and over the mountain. It was called the 'Tongariro crossing'. And yes, I thought I was going to die. Clawing my way up slippery volcanic rock and a path only 2m wide to the peak of the mountain, with the wind so strong if I stood up I would have been carried off into the canyon below was not my idea of fun. But what an achievement. And the view was STUNNING (see last 2 pics above). That night I soaked my sore muscles in the natural hot pools by Pen's house. Aaaaahhhhh. I needed it! I was sore for days after.

Saturday Penny and I went and checked out another thermal park called 'Wai-O-Taupo' near Rotarua. It really was amazing - bubbling mud, geisers, fumaroles, and vibrantly coloured mineral water, all set in the midst of the rainforest. Then we drove to Whakatane to camp the night on the beach with Penny's mum and dad. In the morning we did a spot of fishing before I say goodbye to Pen and her family and jumped on a bus back to Auckland.

Before I flew out that Mon I walked up to Auckland Museum and saw a traditional Maori Performance. Aaaahhhh the hacka, gets you every time!

What an amazing country and amazing trip. It really is just so beautiful, more so than everyone says. Go check it out!!!!

I only have a couple of months now to go until I embark on my next adventure - 5 months in South/Central America. So keep your eyes peeled!! I can't wait!! Btw - anyone who wants to join in and meet me any point along the way - you're very welcome!

Until next time! xoxo

It's been a while!!

2007-04-16T00:57:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys!

I apologise, for again, it's been a bloody long time!! Doesn't time just fly when you're having fun =)

Ok, let me give you a brief run down of the past few months......

1. I have been promoted! They've moved me from being assistant manager for tree of life at our liverpool store, to manager at our cambeltown store. It is a little further to go but I do get a bonus and hey, it's good experience eh?

2. I had to get my wisdom teeth out! This was a recent venture of mine, and I had to go into day surgery and go under general anaesthetic. I was a bit freaked out about it at the time, but actually it was really cool going under GA. 1 minute you're there and the next *poof* you're out. The aftermath was not so much fun though. A week of a drug induced panadeine haze and too many soups and custards certainly took its toll. But I'm much better now!!

3. My overseas plans have changed ridiculously! Forget India and Germany and bring on South America!! Long story - but now I'm heading to South America to salsa, learn spanish, and get eaten by scary animals in the amazon. I should be leaving late August all things going well and be back for my cousin Janelle's wedding in February. Should be the most exciting adventure yet. Watch this space....

Well they are they major things that have been happening in my little world. Other things include marching in the mardi gras (fun!), learning a lesson or two in love, and just getting out there and having fun (21st season has its ups and downs)!!

I may be heading to New Zealand next month to visit my partner in crime, penny, to get up to some more mischeif so watch this space...

Bye for now kiddly winks xoxo

All the way to the top

2007-01-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

Well well well it has been a while!!!

You know, I don't know that anyone even reads this page anymore. Never mind, I will just write for myself. I figured it was about time for an update of my Australian Adventures......

First off work has been pretty good. It puts money in the bank anyway!! Christmas was very busy in our little shop, but we got through it and now it's all over its very quiet and nice for a change =) I'm enjoying it anyway, it's pretty cruisy. I also got another job nannying for a little boy on one of my day's off a week, and that starts next week. It'll be nice to have a little one to look after again, and also, it'll be great for the old bank account!!

Christmas and New year were lots of fun and a great socialising time. See picture above of Boxing day festivities, where I hung out with the gang and we spent the day drinking, lounging in the sun and swimming. I do love an Aussie christmas!! I went to a party for New Years at my mates house and ending up drinking a little too much and spending the first few hrs of 2007 passed out on a toilet seat. Classy stuff. But I figure if you start the year at the lowest point possible, it can only get better from here on in!!

Speaking of the new year, I have plans to head to India for a month or so in May with my cousin Janelle and her friend. V. excited about that. After that i'm toying with the idea of working in Germany for the summer there and then after that either doing the trans-siberian train journey or south america. Not sure yet, we'll see what happens.

I went away last weekend with my fam to a lovely place out of Sydney called Barrington tops. It was really nice to get back in to nature, our cabin was on the edge of the rainforest and we spent the time bushwalking and hanging out with all sorts of different animals. See pictures above. It was good fun =)

Well that's about all for now. Stay tuned for another update in the next couple of months!!!

xoxoxo

To feel wanted....

2006-10-20T05:10:00.000-07:00

'Travelling, if I was to put a label on it, is (like life) a shizophrenic chameleon. It's a party, it's an escapist, it's lonely as hell and it's beautiful'

Paul Harrington

Spend a little time in Dubai on the way home (picture above - me chilling out in the desert.....yeah right). Wasn't particularly impressed. Egypt was enough of the Middle East for me. Although I did buy a lovely water pipe. Happy days.

I also stopped over in Brunei on the way home (In Malaysia). Wasn't overly impressed there either. I think I just wanted to get home. The sultan of Brunei lives there (used to be richest man in the world) and they have a cool village with houses all on stilts.

Since I got home last week have been busy busy job hunting. And it all payed off. Got offered a job today to be Assistant Manager at Tree of Life Liverpool. It's my old hippy store that I used to work for just a different place. So yay for me! I am no longer unemployed and start next Wednesday training.

Other than that have been spending lots of time with my family and friends and enjoying being back. Had a 21st to go to which was fun!

And so this is the end of my travels for now. Until the next adventure....

Feelin' hot hot hot!!

2006-10-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

Yello.....

Well well well. From the drizzling, windy and cold streets of London I've now been subjected to the total opposite. I am in Dubai!!! Been her just a couple of days stopping over back to Oz. Went on a desert safari the other arvo, we went dune driving in a 4WD which was wicked fun! Checked out the markets here and just generally wandered around.

And no....I'm not staying in the 7 star hotel. Just slightly out of my price range!

Leaving tonight and on to Brunei!

Ciao for now xoxo

Ps. Missing all you guys in London already! Was lovely to catch up =)

Berlin Piccies

2006-10-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Aaaah Berlin photos. They are in order (top to bottom) - The Brandenburg Gate, Partners in crime on a pub crawl, Inside the building of the artist/squatter bar, Penny and the East side Gallery on the Berlin Wall.

Our last day in Berlin we went and had a look at some flea markets, Went to the top of the Parliament Building for some great views of Berlin, and went and had a look at the exhibition 'Topography of Terror'. Set on the grounds of the hotel where the Nazi Party used to meet, it displayed a lot of history about the horrific things the Nazi's were responsible for in the war.

We left Berlin Monday and trained it to Hamburg where we flew back to London (cheaper!!). Got back into London last night. Strange to be back here actually, I forgot how crazy it was!! Just here for a couple of days catching up with everyone and then i'm off the Dubai and Brunei and then Sydney!!!!

See you all soon!

xoxoxoxo

The world is too small for walls...

2006-09-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

Hello from crazy berlin!

Lets see since I last wrote......

We went and checked out Fussen, this lovely little town in Bavaria. We went up and had a look around Neuschwanstein Castle, built by Ludwig II. This castel was amazing. If youre ever going to go and visit a castle, I reccomend this one. It was the inspiration for the disney logo (castle at the beginning of the films). As we walked up the mountain to it, through the misty forest, it was atmospheric....so disney. We half expected snow white to walk around the corner. The castle was amazing inside with decorations and artwork on the walls. It even had a man made grotto built inside between rooms. Crazy!

We made it to Dresden and had a look around there. Although it was heavily bombed during the war the town still had its old town charm with an amazing opera house, church and so on. We were staying in a very funky hostel in the cool part of town so that was nice.

We got to Berlin Thurs and that afternoon went on a walking tour around this city. And im glad we did. The history here is so dense, with so many layers. From Medieval times so modern 20th century history we learnt a lot and saw a lot - The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charlie amongst many many other things. So interesting.

Yesterday we went and had a look at the east side gallery, a collection of artworks displayed on the old berlin wall. Really interesting stuff. We also had a look at some monuments and memorials, and the Olympic stadium (where they played the world cup final). Last night we went out on a pub crawl which was good fun. Amongst many cool bars we went to this one in particular which was in an old building up to 5 levels filled with squatters and artists displaying their work. It was really, really cool.

Having a quiet day today. This is penny and my last stop before we head back to london on monday and then I start to make my way back to sydney. Im so glad we made Berlin our last stop though. It really is a fantastic world in itself. You HAVE to come here.

I promise photos next time!

Ciao Ciao xo

Oktoberfest Pictures

2006-09-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

Prost!!!!!!

2006-09-25T02:27:00.000-07:00

I SURVIVED OKTOBERFEST 2006

What a fun fun fun time. Before I got to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany I was not a beer drinker. Well I could do it if I had to but never really enjoyed it. Well I am converted after drinking many many steins of beer (1 L each)! German beer is awesome. Yum!!!

We got to Munich onThurday night after a 12 hour train trip from Warsaw, Poland. Not much to say about Warsaw really, was not particularly impressed. The city was basically flattened after WWII and so all the old buildings have been rebuilt. Good on them for that but when walking around the old town it just felt like a movie set really. It was very grey there and no one smiled. I obviously did not fit in.

Our first day in the beer halls was Friday and we went into the Augistina tent (I think thats how you spell it). We were reccomended it by germans and it was great, loads of germans and good beer!! I cant really paint a picture of the halls, you kind of have to go and see for yourself.

But imagine... a huge, huge hall, an oompah band playing traditional german songs and tacky english 80s love ballads, bavarians dressed up in the lauderhousen (sorry for the spelling!!) traditional get up and everyone dancing on the tables after a few too many steins. The steins are 1 litre each and huge!!! The beer wenches can carry like 12 at a time. Crazy!!!!

You drink from 10 am in the morning until 10 pm at night when they stop serving beer. As you might imagine it gets a little messy!

We had saturday off and had a look around munich at another church, another amazing old building (im not over europe at all!!). No, Munich is actually really nice and the bavarian people here are loively and very chilled out.

We had another big day in the tents yesterday and did basically the same thing but tried a few different tents which was good!! Were off to Fussen today to see the castle that inspired the disney castle. And then Dresden and Berlin. Cant wait for Berlin should be great!

Ciao for now and Prost (Cheers!)

xoxoxoxo

Some of my favourites....

2006-09-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

Finally my life is complete. My Blog has pictures! I love free internet =)

They are of :
Baths in Budapest, Hungary (top left)
Me in Budapest (top right)
Queen of the Alps in Innsbruck, Austria (middle right)
View from our hostel in Granada, Spain (middle left)
Meet Penny my partner in crime - enjoying tapas in Barcelona, Spain (middle right)
Striking a pose at the Royal Palace in Vienna, Austria (bottom left)
Plaque commemorating lives lost at Auschwitz, Poland (bottom right)

We are currently in Krakow, Poland. We left Budapest the other day planning to head to Slovakia for a bit, but changed our minds on the train (aahhh the joys of having an interail pass) and had a night back in Vienna before we came here yesterday. Had a nice meal last night (3 courses, chinese) for 3 euros!!!! It's very cheap here, we like very much!

Today we went and had a look at Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. Phew - what an emotionally draining experience. What can I say. It was an interesting experience - you do learn a-lot and see a-lot of what happened in these places. It was absoulutely horrific, and to stand where some of these events took place was really chilling. It really makes you question humanity and the cruelty of people. Heavy stuff.

On a lighter note, Krakow is a really nice city. It was the only major city to have buildings survive the bombing in WWII. We're off the see the castle tomorrow before we head to Warsaw. And then it's Oktoberfest this weekend in Munich!!!!!!!!

Ciao xoxo

The Best Cure....

2006-09-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hello alll!!

Finally we got our pictures back from la tomatina, and yay they worked on the computer!!!!!! Note the before and after shot. Crazy times.

Since my last blog I have been quite busy actually. We went to Vienna, Austria for a few nights. It was lovely there, lots of amazing buildings and architecture. We pretty much just had a look around at the different sights and sampled the local viennese coffee culture (yum!). One day we rode bikes round the ciy which was so much fun!!! Nice to feel like a local (all the locals ride bikes - they have special bike lanes all over the city). I also went to the ballet for 3 euros which I was pretty chuffed about! Had to stand up but had a great view!!!!

We have been feeling a little 'europed out' - as in, a bit over seeing just another church/amazing old building and so on. So we decided to go totally against our plans to head to germany and headed to Budapest, Hungary instead. We got here yesterday and it's really nice to see something a little different for a change, its an interesting mix between eastern and western europe. We had a big one last night after going to some really cool outdoor clubs and so today decided to mix in with the locals and go to the local baths. It was really nice and just what we needed. Did the whole sauna and then jump into icy cold water thing which was fun!!

Anyway were of to Slovakia tomorrow for a night so hopefully more interesting adventures to write about. Until then xoxox

Pictures....Finally? Nooooooo

2006-09-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Still in Austria, Salzburg at the moment (where they filmed The Sound of Music). We got here yesterday, wandered round the town which is really nice but touristy. Watched The Sound of Music last night as you would. Today we went and checked out the biggest ice caves in the world just out of the city up in the mountains. Was a mission to get there but they were awesome!!!

Here are some of my favourite pics from my trip so far (fingers crossed they work!)

Not working....bah...I give up =(

The hills are alive...

2006-09-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

Hellloooooooo from Austria!!!

Ok let me think back to where we have been over the past week.....

Last weekend we left Valencia (Spain) for Barcelona. Had a great time there, I really love that city. We had a look at the sagrida familia (my most favourite piece of architecture in the world), Gaudi´s masterpiece. We also had a look at the Gaudi museum which had lots of stuff on all of the buildings he designed over barcelona. We had yummy tapas, one of the best things about spain. Checked out some great flamenco dancing and chilled out on the beach as it would be the last one we would see for a while....

Beginning of this week we left Spain behind for Switzerland. First we checked out Bern, the capital, which was really nice. We had a look and climbed up to the top of Switzerland´s tallest church for great views of this lovely city. Snow capped mountains as far as the eye could see....amazing. We also had a look at the bear pits there and had a walk along the river before hopping on a train to Zurich. We weren´t too fussed on Zurich, which seemed like just another big city. Although it does have a lovely huge lake you can chill out by....we found the swiss franc to hefty for our budget and left the land of Swiss cheese and chocolate for greener pastures.

We arrived into Innsbruck, Austria a couple of days ago. Although our hostel has resident rats and the doors don´t lock, we are having an amazing time here. Innsbruck has a lovely old town and every where you look amazing mountains take up the sky. Yesterday went for a hike up to 2200 m (no we didn´t hike the WHOLE way, just most of it). It was so lovely to get out in nature and leave the city behind. And what a view!!! After meeting some lovely people at our hostel we went out for a few drinks last night and yes I drank german/austrian beer and yes, I liked it very much =). This afternoon I went white water rafting which was something Ive ALWAYS wanted to do so im quite chuffed. It was beautiful floating downstream through a picture perfect valley...and then you had to paddle hard and cross fingers no one fell out over the rapids. Luckily no one did cos the water was freezing!!

We´re of to Salzburg tomorrow to see if the hills are really alive with the sound of music. Stay tuned for the verdict.....

Tomato in the eye...

2006-08-31T02:54:00.000-07:00

Hola!

Have you ever got tomato in your eye? Not likely....perhaps you got just a little squirt when you chomped into a tomato in your salad. Let me tell you know, that is nothing compared to having a whole, over ripe tomato pegged at ur face and landing in your eyes.

Yes, yesterday I took part in the biggest food fight in the world. Approx 40 000 people (i think) piled into the little town of Bunol just outside Valencia in Spain to throw tomatoes at one another. Its a tradition that´s been going sfor about 60 years, and the fight doesn´t begin until someone climbs the greased up tall pole and retrieves the ham of the top. Once they do the cannon sounds and the trucks pull in and drive by and dump the over ripe tomatoes and its on.

It was SO much fun. It only got a little scary at times whn you thought you were literally going to be squashed from all the people (especially when the trucks drove by) or when the spanish boys started chanting "tomatina" and tried to rip your shirt off (didn´t happen to me luckily).

Not much else to tell, except before valencia checked out almeria and allicante for a couple of days. Both are on the beach and so we had a bit of a break and chilled out by the waves in the sun. Met some lovely random people on the beach and had a little party one night and learnt to use poi´s (think thats how you spell them?) good fun!!!!!

We are in valencia now and checking out the town today. Flamenco dancing tonight and then off to Barcelona tomorrow.

xoxo

Sunny sunny Spain

2006-08-26T05:54:00.000-07:00

Hola!!

I am in lovely, fun and sunny spain!

Yes, Italy was good fun and is nice. Our last day we checked out Pompeii, the village that was preserved from almost 3 thousand years ago after Mt Vesuvious erupted and encased it in ash etc. Was awesome!!!! Its actually really big (44 ha) and you can walk through the streets into the houses and shops, and theres still painting and artwork left over. Very cool.....

It was brought to my attention that I say amazing and awesome alot when describing all these places I see. But they really are!!!!! There is no other way to describe them.....so im sorry but you´ll have to bear with me over the next month or so.

We got to spain on wednesday and flew into madrid (scary flight, my seat wasnt attatched to the rest of my chair...so when everyone clapped when we got there...well i was relieved). Next day I went and checked out Toledo which is this cool little medieval town about an hr away. Very hot!!!!!

We hopped on a train to Granada yesterday and just had a look around the town centre. Had a nice bbq at our hostel last night, and then got up at 5am this morning to go and line up and visit the Allumbrah. The Allumbrah is this amazing ancient arabian palace from when the arabs occupied spain (or at least part of it). It really was amazing! One of the greatest things Ive seen!

So we´re of to Almeria and Allicante for a few days for the beach and then to La Tomatina the tomato throwing festival! Stay posted....

xoxoxoxoxo

Best thing about Italy.....

2006-08-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

Another week another country...you know how it is. This week is Italy! And the best thing about Italy besides the amazing views, the great wetaher, and friendlyish people is of course the food. Namely the gelati.....mmmmm. I think Ill be leaving Italy at least 5 kg heavier!

We got to Italy last week from the overnight ferry from Greece. Took a whole day to train it to Naples and met up with Jen (Pennys mate from NZ). Didnt see much of Naples, although, what I did see was grubby and dodgy so kind of glad we werent there for long. We took a train down to Palermo, Sicily (the boot of italy).

Sicily was great (despite the mafia and ocassional gunshot). There were NO english speaking tourists anywhere so that was nice for a change. We checked out the city of Palermo that has amazing architecture, interesting, because it has influences of Spanish and Arab culture as well as Italian. Also went to a nice beach on the SW coast to meet up with a friend of Jens and saw inside a real italian house. We went to Lipari, one of the Aeolian islands which are all volcanic. Was really pretty there and we had a mud bath which was lots of fun!!!!

Went back up the coast (after much trouble with transport and speaking minimal italian) and now we are on the Amalfi Coast. We are staying high on a cliff in a hostel and walked for an hr and a half this afternoon down to the lovely city of Amalfi. Absoulutely amazing gorgoeus views (if the internet connection was better i could show you photos). Its really lovely here.

Tomorrow we are going to try and get to Pompeii and then Rome. Wednesday we fly to Madrid for our next country adventure.

Happy days!

Took a train back up the coast

2006-08-15T05:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry cant get pictures on aaaaaahhhhhh so annoyed.

Until next time xoxoxox

Island Hopping

2006-08-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Wow what an amazing week. Feels like I say that all the time, but really, i'm having such a great adventure. Hmmm where did I leave you last. I believe on the Island Ios. Well we had great fun on Ios, partying the night away and chilling out on the beach on the day. Getting an hour or so of sleep before hopping on a ferry to the gorgeous Santorini.

Santorini was great. First we actually did stuff beside just laze around and drink at night which was nice! We took a boat tour out and climbed up a live volcano and saw the gases and heat coming out of the ground. After that we swam through the sea to get to hot springs and swam in them, aahhh so warm. Then we rode donkeys up an amazing hill to a small village perched on the top. To finish off the day we watched supposedly one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world, and yes, it was actually pretty amazing.

Caught an overnight ferry last night back to athens, and a train today to patras where we're catching another overnight ferry to Italy!! On to naples and sicily then, bellisimo!

NB: Sorry about the lack of pictures. Slow internet connection and silly blog site = not all my pictures. If the Greece ones I tried to just put on work out they are of me and the acropolis in athens, and then penny and I and the sunset in Santorini.

Some Pictures...

2006-08-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I'm on the Island of Ios in the greek Islands having a great time! So far in Greece we checked out athens for the day and the ancient acropolis there which was awesome. Then we headed to Mykonos (one of the islands) for some sunbathing, swimming and partying. Just got to Ios this arvo so will keep you posted on that one.

The pictures in order are of - Brighton, St Ives, Wales, Newquay, Ireland and Greece. Enjoy!

Happy Days of the Craic

2006-08-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Wow what a crazy crazy week. Ireland is amazing, been having a great time here. Drank for 7 nights in a row and every day went another great adventure.

It all started saturday last week when I took the ferry here from Wales. Met up with Janelle and Naomi here in dublin and we went out for my 21st. Had a great time actually, it was quite a themed night. We started off at a 50's style burger bar with ice cream floats and burgers and progressed on (eventually via another pub) to a funky little club playing lots of old rock and soul music. Had a great time and especially thanks to lovely naomi and janelle who made it an amazing night!

Sunday was a bit of a recovery day, although Naomi and I went out that night and had a few drinks while watching an Irish band play traditional songs amongst others, and then a performance of Irish dancing. Good fun!

I started my tour on monday (my birthday) and met up with lots of new friends. We checked out the preserved head of Oliver Plunkett, Slane castle and some amazing celtic crosses dating back to 900 AD. We drove to Belfast (Northen Ireland) and did a black cab tour of the Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods HAVE to be seperated and segregated by around 29 or so huge 20m high walls still. I didn't realise that the conflict between these people was still going on. But as we toured the protestant area a British Armed Forces helicopter hummed overhead to remind us of their presence and that there is still a lot going on there as we speak. Interesting and depressing, and quite scary.

Tuesday we crossed a rope bridge in 50 mile and hour winds to walk out to a lovely little island off the coast. After that we check out the Giants Causeway which is this amazing magical/volcanic occurence that is a rock formation that juts out into the sea towards scotland. We checked out Derry that evening where the Catholic and Protestants are seperated by the river that runs through town. This was the town where 'Bloody Sunday happened'. Went out that night for some great irish music also.

Wednesday saw Keats' grave and had a celtic seaweed bath which was absoulutely heavenly! Checked out the funky little town of Galway which was filled to the brim with people due to the races. Lots of fun. Thursday saw the amazing cliffs of moher and went down to the dingle peninsula. We walked on Lynch Beach where supposedly Coldplay filmed their clip for 'Yellow'.

Friday we checked out dingle (lovely seaside town) and then moved onto Killarney and took a horse and carraige ride through the national park there. Gorgeous! Went out that night and saw a local cover band play and they were great! Good times. Yesterday kissed the Blarney stone and made our way back to dublin.

I'm just detoxing and chilling out today before flying to Athens tonight for the next adventure in the greek islands. Phew!

Badgers, Foxes and Chicken Dinner

2006-07-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

Hello there

I am writing to you from a lovely farm in the North of Wales, surrounded bu sheep, cows, numerous chickens and cats. But first let me tell you about Newquay and Swansea...

Well there's not that much to tell about Newquay actually. It has lovely sandy beaches and decent surf so I definitely took advantage of this and spent my time laying in the sun on the beach reading. The also have a cute little harbour where I wintnessed seals harrassing boats coming in and out for fish. Interesting....

The next night I spent in Swansea in the South of Wales, just to stop over. Its actually quite a nice little town on the water and I had a bit of a walk around the bay. I had to stay in the B &B as there were no hostels, but it was so nice, the room was GORGEOUS.

I got up at 3.30 am yesterday to catch the train up to Colwyn Bay in the north of wales to come and stay with Jessica's mum, Jane. She lives on a farm and as I mentioned has chickens and cats. Yesterday I asked her if she named her chickens (as those of you who know me well know I have a preoccupation with naming EVERYTHING). She said she didn't as they sometimes didn't last long ie. they became the foxes dinner. And wouldn't you know when we were eating lunch Fantastic Mr. Fox stole a little red hen right from under our nosees. Sly thing.....

There's also a resident badger here, although I haven't seen him yet. Yesterday we went for a walk around Mt. Snowden, in the big mountain range and national park up here. It's absoulutely stunning up here, and quite different scenery to england. The welsh people are nice as well, and they speak welsh which is quite cool.

Of to dublin tomorrow for my 21st tomorrow night. Let the good times roll!

Sunsets over the Beaches (from now on...)

2006-07-25T05:10:00.000-07:00

Hiya!

I am writing to you from lovely Cornwall, in England's South West. Who would have known that old blighty would actually have some lovely beaches ie. no pebbles and surf. I was suprised I have to say...

After spending a couple of days in brighton I was definitely ready to leave. There's actually not that much to do there besides lay on a pebbly beach and eat fish and chips. Oh and shop, but do I have the money for that? No...... I caught up with my friend Maya though, and she made a quite dismal rainy day a bit brighter for me, as we sat in a bar on the beach and shared a jug of PIMM's. MMM yummy!

I moved on to Cornwall a couple of days ago, to St Ives. St Ives is a lovely ancient fishing town with some amazing golden sandy beaches. And people actually surf there!!! Although the waves I saw where only about a foot.....
Lazed on the beach and went swimming in the FREEZING water. I'd hate to try and swim there in winter...Also went for a ncie walk along the coast and last night went on a ghost tour of the town. It had to be done.

I just arrived in newquay and i'm waiting til 2pm so I can check in to my hotel. So i'll let you know what I think of it in a couple of days. Tomorrow I'm off to wales for a few days and the Dublin on Sat for my 21st! Wooohoooo!!!

Again, sorry for no photos. I have some really nice ones to show you if only my camera would work!

xoxoxoxox

Red Hot...

2006-07-22T02:48:00.000-07:00

Well Hello!!

What an interesting week I've had!!!! It all started last sunday where I had a little farewell at a place called 'The Church'. The church is a day club in North London, starts at 12pm lunchtime. It was lots of fun although coming out at 4pm in the arvo a bit under the weather was an interesting experience!!!

Caught up with Anna on Monday night and we wandered around the sights of london at sunset. Lovely.

Tuesday...The day I fell in love with Anthony Keidas. We went and saw the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. We managed to get into the golden circle by lining up early. I was like 4 people from the front, it was amazing!!! Best concert I've been to. Ps. English people don't know how to mosh. Sorry.

Thursday night went and saw Van Morrison. He was great!!!! It was really nice, and yes he played Brown Eyed Girl. Ahhh good stuff.

Yesterday I took the bus down to Brighton where i'm at the moment. Brighton's quite a cool hippy town on the water. It kinda reminds me of Byron Bay, minus the amazing beach. I'm sorry but pebbles and no surf don't equate to a beach for me.

In any case today I'll be lying on the pebbles in the sun and having a dip. It's been really hot (for over here). The other day it got to 36 degrees!!!!

Anyway sorry about a boring blog with no pictures...my camera is playing up =(

Anyway til next time xoxo

Whoa...

2006-07-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Well what an eventful crazy time. I moved out of my house today, finished up work this week for good, amd am about to embark on a crazy adventure for 3 months around Europe.

I played at another open mic again! Yay for me. It went well and I enjoyed it. A few mates came down to support me as well which was lovely.

We had my farwell last Sunday. The family, and some friends went bowling and then had a bbq back at our place and watched the world cup (damn you Italy!!!). It was so lovely and a really fitting end to a great year.

This week has been a bit crazy doing last minute booking, packing my boxes to ship home and trying to pack lightly to go around Europe. The latter didn't seem to work so well. Although I am getting better Europe is just so damn temperamental you need to cover all bases!

So the next week Is quite exciting. Having a farewell at the church tmorrow, and going to see the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Van Morrison before leaving london for brighton next friday. I'm staying with my lovely friend Natasha for a few days, and then Penny so that will be fun too.

Anyhoo better go. look out for more exciting stuff over the next couple of months!!!

xoxoxo

London's 31 degree HEATWAVE!!!

2006-07-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Well well we are currently experiencing a 'heatwave' here. Well yes I guess it is hot compared to the freezing temperatures we experienced in winter. But come on, the day I left Sydney in January it was 43 degrees. Ok that is a heatwave.

So yay! I finally got my tattoo (featured above). It actually didn't hurt too much at all which is great!!! My artist was great and it really turned out nicer and better than I expected.

And look how little Freda's grown....awwwwww.

I got to go and see the BBC last week, as Jess had to go there and so I was looking after Freda. Saw the stages getting set up and rehearsals and so on. It was great!!

Other than that it's really been business as usual, working, extra baysitting, not doing much to save $$$. But yay!!! just under 2 weeks and i'm off. How exciting!!!

Anyway better choof hope you're all well xoxo

Three more weeks to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-06-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

Hiya!

Wow I'm really excited. I have three more weeks of work and then I'm free and off on my adventure. I can't wait! So a lot off my time the past week has been spent on the computer booking things. Its doing my head in but I'm getting there!!!

I've been doing a lot of extra babysitting as well so it's all keeping me nice and busy! Yesterday though I did a bit of shopping and actually went out for a few drinks for a change. Felt like I hadn't been out in ages!! Anyway had a few too many glasses of wine at the local and let me tell you, i'm feeling the effects today =(

More exciting news is I'm booked in to get a tattoo next saturday. Don't worry Nanna and Poppa/Nan and Ray its not that big and its quite tasteful. I promise. Keep on the look out ill post a picture once its done.

Oooh and I've actually been really good and writing quite alot of songs at the moment. I don't know what it is, the lovely weather, my impending freedom....but the creative juices are definitely flowing! I plan to play at an open mic nite next fri as well so wish me luck!!

The picture is of Camden Town - where all the goth/punks hang out ad shop and so on. An amazing place!!!

Til next time xoxo

I Hate Brazil...But I love Big Brother

2006-06-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey!

How's it going everyone???

*Sigh* Well things were going well with me until, yesterday afternoon while sitting in an irish pub in covent garden, my heart was broken. What I witnessed was so painful words can't describe. All you soccer/football fans know what I'm talking about. Our beloved soceroos tried their best, and they played a bloody good game too, but alas the brazilian team got the better of us =(

Its hard not to get dragged into the world cup, especially over here. Another thing that I've been dragged into that I thought would never happen was the British Big Brother. Help me I'm obsessed!!!!! My favourite is lovely Pete, the boy with turrets (is that how you spell it?) Who randomly bursts out with 'WANKERS!' every now and then. Aww but he's so sweet.

Checked out Portobello road markets on the weekend. They're really funky hippy markets right near Notting Hill. Anyhoo I found a lovely dress and great hat and although I shouldnt be spending my money I was happy with my purchases.

Sunday we lay around in St James' Park again do nothing and spending no money. I think its our Sunday thing now. Lovely when the weathers so great!

Ohhh I went and saw Pete Murray last week. He was great!!! A taste of home, there were so many aussies in the crowd it was awesome!!

Pics are of Portobello road and Pen and Peg in the Park.

Ciao for now xo

Aaaah lovely sun

2006-06-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hello chilly Aussie people

Ha ha. So the tables have turned! While you are all shivering and cuddled in your blankets it has been amazing on this side of the world. It has been gloriously sunny and hot for over a week now and so obviously I'm enjoying every minute of it (while it lasts!!) I spent most of the weekend roaming the various parks in London - Regents park, walked up Primrose Hill at night for a great view of the city, Fell asleep in Hyde park in the sun and yesterday lay around in St James' park and Kensington gardens. London is amazing like that. Although it's a huge city there are still loads of wide open green spaces to lay around in and soak up some rays.

I also checked out Temple Church this weekend - the one on the Da Vinci code to do with the knights templar. And no no I didnt go there just because of that. It happens to be a very lovely church!

I am finding it wierd it being so warm and not being able to drive to the beach to cool off!!!

Pictures are of Hamburg (below ones) and the parks of london.

Btw - Nan and Ray - I finally caught up with Ray Fernandez!

And yay for Australia! We won our first world cup match agains Japan 3-1

Lots of love xoxo

Hamburgers really do come from Hamburg!

2006-06-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hellooooooooo

Just got back from a few days in Hamburg, Germany. And yes, rumour has it, that hamburgers were really invented there. The story goes they have always made these fish burger type roll things. In WWII American soldiers tried these, thought they were brilliant, and decided to steal the idea and make 'Hamburgers' back in the states. So know you know where your cheesburgers originated =)

Had a great time in Hamburg catching up with Anna and staying with her friend Zayda and other friends. It's an interesting city, not the prettiest, but it certainly has its charm. Hamburg is fundamentally a port town so a lot of its architecture and so on is based on this.

We checked out the port and warehouse district which was quite interesting. When visiting the town square we stumbled upon some world championships in beach volleyball of all things. Random but hey it was good fun. We checked out a couple of the churches, one of which had been bombed in the war. The gothic style tower was basically the only thing left standing. It was quite a stark reminder of the price of war, it would have been such an amazing church all together.

The last night we went out to the red light district to a latino club and danced all night. Then straight from there we went to the fish market, one of the main attractions in Hamburg. They sell everything there from flowers to souveneirs to *gasp* fish even. They also had a huge beer hall there with live music. Keeping in mind this was 7 in the morning. You got to hand it to the German. Any excuse...

SO all in all a top weekend. Unfortunately my cameras not working so I can't show you pictures =(

Ciao for now anyway xoxo

One year Anniversary

2006-05-31T07:08:00.000-07:00

Ello ello ello.

Wow. Exactly one year ago I left Sydney for my overseas travels. Its hard to believe that it has actually been that long. In some ways it feels a-lot longer because so much has happened, but on the other hand it feels like just yesterday I was boarding that plane, waving goodbye to you all. And now this blog is a year old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORINNE'S SOMETHING SOMETHING!!!

I've just got back from a road trip with my Aunty Marg and Uncle Geoff and Janelle. We had a GREAT time! So a big thankyou and hello to my aunty and uncle who made it all possible. Safe trip home!

I took the overnight bus from London to Glasgow which wasn't too bad really as overnight buses go, and met up with everyone on Saturday morning. That day we visited the Falkirk wheel, an engineering wonder which took out the need of some locks in the canals near Stirling. After that we went and visited Stirling castle which was lovely. I love little Stirling, such a nice place, and where my Grandfather grew up and his family live now. I had a go at a little braveheart action (see picture).

We checked out Gretna Green just on the border of scotland and england where back in the day lots of english kiddies under 16 could go and get married. I'd never heard of the place but im assured it's quite famous to the older generations =)

We stayed in lovely little Penrith. Nothing like the Sydney kind by the way. From there we had a look arond the amazingly beautiful lake district and the famous lake windemere. Think amazing winding green hills, sheep dotted here and there, quaint little towns.

We visited and walked on Hadrian's wall, built by the Romans back in the day It was a wall that went from coast to coast in Northern England to keep all the 'blue faced heathens' in Scotland out of the extent of the Roman Empire. A lot of it is still standing today amazingly and we got to walk on it!

We also saw Long Meg and her 12 daughters, a kind of mini Stone henge which was quite interesting. We dropped into Beatrix Potter's house where a she wrote and based a lot of her stories. The vegetable garden was gorgeous! But no Peter Rabbit to be seen....

On our last day we also stayed in Haworth, where the Bronte Sisters lived in the parsonage. Checked out their place and the creepy graveyard and surrounding moors. Very dark indeed!

Lastly on our may back to london we visted Pemberley (any Jane Austen fans out there?) and Limehall where they shot the BBC's production of Pride and Predjudice. We also took a pilgrimage to the lake where Mr. Darcy dives in and surfaces looking rather wet and appealing.....

A great trip all in all!!! I'm off to Hamburg tomorrow to hang out with Anna for a couple of days so that'll be very nice. Looking forward to it!

Corinne's Second Debut....Wait that doesn't work

2006-05-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

Bit has happened since I wrote last! As you can see from the pictures above I had another go singing at an open mic nite. And about time too!! Anyway it was fun and went well, everybody liked me (yay!) and we all had a jam after. Good times.

Last week I got to go to the set of Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix as Jess was doing a voice over and I had the little uns. I saw Privet Drive where Harry lives. So cool. No sign of Harry though.

Caught up with my Uncle Geoff and Aunty Marg who are visiting which was nice. Hung out with Janelle as well and we all went and saw Confetti again. Twas good the second time as well!

Oh yeah...also I'm finishing work sooner than I thought. Ill be finishing the end of June now - long story. Anyway so I'm doing extra babysitting an saving my little bottom off so hopefully I wont have to find any extra work before setting of in July. We'll see...

Heading to the Lakes Distict soon and then Hamburg to visit lovely anna. Looking forward to it!!

Ciao Ciao xoxo

Slimelight

2006-05-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

Howdy

Well the last week has been quite eventful. Jess had the premier of the movie she's starring in called Confetti. She did loads of press as well last week so it was rather busy for me looking after the little chickadees.

Janelle and I went and saw Confetti on Friday night. Its actually really funny and touching - a brilliant film. I definitely reccomend it. It comes out July in Australia. Jess is the one in the musical couple. You'll understand when you see it =)

Saturday night I went out for my friend Natasha's birthday. We went out to a club called Slimelight which is this underground gothic/punk club. It was so great. We dressed up a bit (see picture above) but we were nothing compared to some of the people there. Think tight black pleather pants, huge mohawks, long fluro green dreds. It was fabulous. Had an excellent time boogying the night away.

Had a planning session with my travel buddy Penny. We had to cut down our list of like 13 countries - but if all goes well this July we will be heading to:

Ireland
Greece
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Austria
Croatia
Poland
Germany

Yeah...cut it down loads. Hey we have 2 months!!!!! Plenty of time......

Ciao for now xoxo

Bita Blues

2006-05-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hi there

How's it going guys? Still enjoying 30 degree days and 5 ft swell? Damn you all!!

Spring is definitely here which is nice. The trees all got their leaves back and ther are gorgeous flowers everywhere. We walked into the park the other day and it smelt so nice...like freedom. Hard to explain. But i've never appreciated spring more!

Been going out quite a bit here which is nice. Friday night went to an 80s party which was good fun (see photos). Everyone likes a good dress up and the 80s dress up is definitely one of the ultimate! Saturday night met up with a friend from Egypt and went out for some dancing which is always fun. Last night headed to the jazz bar up the road and had a lovely dinner and listended to some great jazz/blues from an aussie singer actually (dont think shes particularly famous) so that was lovely. Was missing my jazz!!

Anyway thats bout it guys. For all of you in the UK go and see Confetti. It comes out this week and Jess (my boss) is starring in it. Speaking of work last week I gave in my notice I guess, and I'm finishing up here on the 21 July. Yay! Off for more travel and then back home to see you lot =)

Until next time xoxoxo

The Walkabout....

2006-04-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hello down there in the land of oz!

Just a quick little update. Finally moved back into my house last Thurs, renos are still being done, but mainly finished now. Still feel like a bit ofa gypsy though, stayed sat and sun nite at my friend Penny's place (she works in a lovely little hostel). Anyway just did a bit of travel shopping this weekend, and then last night went to the walkabout.

Anyone who has lived in the UK or visited here would know about the walkabout......Its basically a place for all the aussies/kiwis staying over here to go to a local authentic 'aussie' pub with sports and best of all snakebites. It is renowned for being EXTREMELY trashy but still very popular (go figure..) So how I managed to avoid heading there until now was a great feat. Anyway just to let you all know had a BIG trashy night there which im quite ashamed of. But shhh don't tell anyone, secretly I had fun =)

Hope alls well. Lots of love xo

Egypt photos

2006-04-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Here are some photo's from Egypt. I'm back to london now. Slightly homeless as we are getting renovations done on our house. Luckily my very kind cousin Janelle has agreed to put me up for a couple of nights. Bless her.

Ciao xoxo

Crazy Ciaro

2006-04-12T02:39:00.000-07:00

Helloooo there

Still in Egypt and having fun =)

We rode donkeys at sunrise into the valley of the kings the other day. Was so much fun. I named my donkey wilbur and he was great!! Always wanted to lead the pack. The valley of the kings was great, its the site where loads of kings were buried in their tombs, most famous being tuttenkahmen (excuse the spelling!). We actually didnt go into his tomb because it apparently wasnt as great as the ones we did see - a few king ramses i think the 1st, 4th and 9th. All were really cool, all the heiroglyphs and paintings were preserved from 3000 years ago. We hiked in the heat over the mountains of the valley and also visited to workers tombs which were lovely too.

The last few days we spent on the red sea coast town of hurghada. We went on a great snorkelling trip out on the coral reef yesterday which was lovely - so many fish and pretty coloured coral. Not a good as the barrier reef im sure but great all the same!!! The water was turquoise and amazingly warm. Lets just say we all got very suburnt!!!

Back in Ciaro now for a few days then back to cold london =(

Why do holidays always go too fast???

Ciao people take care! xoxo

Walk like an Egyptian...

2006-04-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hello from afar!

Hope you are all happy and well lovely people =)

I am in Egypt!!!!! How excitement. Been here for almost a week now, but it's gone so fast!! Having an amazing time and lots of fun. Egypt is such an interesting place, the collision and fusion of east and west, old and new is just so in your face, but so interesting. There is definitely no place in the world like it.

First day we went and visited the great pyramids of giza and the sphynx. Its funny because you think you'll never get to these places ever and you just see them in photos and when you actually get there its quite wierd. But good wierd. So they were great. We've visited loads of temples along the way, like Abu Simbel, Edfu, Com ombo, Karnak and others I can't remember the name of off the top of my head! All are just mind boggling, looking at and being able to touch these huge and elaborately decorated structures is amazing. They are so beautiful and so fascinating!

We just spent three days cruising down the nile on a traditional egyptian felucca (sail boat) stopping at little Nubian villages along the way and otherwise lying around in the sun and jumping in the nile for a swim when it gets too hot. The nile is gorgeous and actually quite clean. At night we had bonfires and just lay watching the stars. Very sad to get off but quite a relief to have a nice shower!!!!!!

We've all got a bit of a dodgy tummy atm from yucky hygiene but hey, its all part of the fun travelling in a 3rd world country. Everyone on the tour is great and gets on really well which is nice =) We're off to the valley of the kings tomorrow getting there by riding donkeys at sunrise!! fun!

Best be off but hope you are all well and I promise pictures next time. I'll be home after a week so will write again soon.

Love you all xoxoxo

Smells like washing powder.....

2006-03-27T07:47:00.000-08:00

Hi all

Phew! What a crazy week. Went to a photo shoot with Jess last week which was good fun. Interesting to see how it all works. Also went with her and Fredo to the BBC! She was going to appear on a telivision show and Freda and I just hung around in the dressing room. As you do. All the kids have been/are sick with a yucky virus so its a but subdued in our house at the moment!

I just got back from Paris last night. We went there for 3 days which was fun. Friday we arrived and went to the catercombs under paris, otherwise known as 'The Empire of Death'. Basically its this underground passageway under Paris filled with old skeletons arranged in interesting patterns.....and it smells like washing powder. It really does! We wandered around paris for the rest of the day, taking in the siene and the eiffel tower 'doing its thing' lit up at night. Magical. We went to this jazz club which was great! A band was there playing blues brothers type stuff, dressed up in suits and hats. It was SO good.

Saturday we went to Eurodisney. What can I say. We had fun running around like little kids screaming, going on roller coasters and eating fairyfloss. My personal favourite was the aerosmith rock and rollercoaster. Imagine hurtling throug a roller coaster in the dark to blaring aerosmith. Awesome stuff. Scariest ride was the 'Its a small world'. So cute is was actually starting to get evil and scary.

Sunday we did a tour of the village of Montmarte, the bohemian/artistic quarter of the city. It was so lovely and ended up the top of the hill that the church sacre cour sits on, looking out over paris. Amazing.

Next adventure is egypt. Leaving this Saturday for about 2 weeks. So I may be out of touch with my blogging but i promise a long one when I get back.

2006-03-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here comes the sun 3

2006-03-19T14:47:00.000-08:00

Ok I suck at putting pictures on this thing. One more try....

Here comes the sun 2

2006-03-19T14:11:00.001-08:00

Mr Flibble's Adventures (as mentioned above):

Here comes the sun

2006-03-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

Hey party people!

Whats new?

Guess what. It was actually sunny today. No..I hear you all gasp. Yes, Yes it was. I ventured out without a coat today (it's just not done!) and spent at least an hour or two enjoying a lovely pub lunch OUTSIDE. I'm sure tomorrow will be horrible and bitter but hey, we enjoyed summer while it lasted! he he
No, we are slowly edging our way towards spring and warmer weather...slowly....

Busy week as usual. Jess has got a film coming out soon called 'Confetti' you all have to see it. Anyway she's been doing lots of press stuff so we've been busy here. Went out in central london Friday night otherwise known as St Pattie's day, and bravely pushed through the crowds of Irish with their little Pints of Guinness hats, very cute. Saturday we went to a travel show which was fun and helpful! Went to a talk by a guy who travelled around the UK/US on 5 pound a day!

This week should be an interesting one. Going to a photo shoot with Jess tomorrow to look after little Fru Fru as I like to call her. Otherwise known as the baby. Going to see a 'political' play tomorrow night with janelle, catching up with friends from out of town tues night. And FINALLY. Friday we leave for Paris for 3 days!!! Eurodisney here I come!!!!!!!

Oh, and I can reveal the secret operation that took place a couple of weeks ago was indeed a present for Jared's birthday. Please enjoy the pictures of Mr Flibbles adventures around london =)

A small addition...

2006-03-12T12:21:00.001-08:00

A small addition...

2006-03-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

Slack old me

2006-03-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone

Been a bit slack on the old blogging. I know you're all waiting with baited breath so here you go......

Been nice and busy as usual, however a little down. London really has a way of testing you i've found. When you dont see the sun all week and its dark and drizzly all the time and bloody cold - it kinda puts you (and everyone else in london) in a bad mood. Hopefully we'll see some sun this week (fingers crossed!).

Anyway last weekend went on a top secret adventure around london. I can't divulge anymore information about this until the end of the week - but i must say it was a bit of fun! Saw the film 'Syriana' as well, not so good to see on a fuzzy brain sunday but very good all the same.

Saw some good old aussie rock with wolfmother during the week. Nice. Went out drinking and dancing as you do on a friday night. Bumped into a few people from home, who went to peakhurst highschool and live in lugarno for goodness sake. We're on the other side of this small old world!!! Had a much needed sex and the city night last night with lots of pizza and ice cream. Fun!!!

Ciao for now, hope you are all well xoxo

Blister in the sun

2006-02-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hey there people,

Hope you are all doing good =)

Been busy over here!!! Little Bee's 3rd birthday was last week so we've been busy partying etc. for that. Friday night went to the Victoria and Albert museum for drinks and a dj and artistic media presentations (hip crowd, very london). Saturday walked down Abbey road and saw where the Beatles worked there magic, and bless, had a much needed kath and kim night. Sunday did some sightseeing, managed to somehow get into the houses of parliament and cabinet war rooms (janelle weaved her magic). You can only get in there in September they have like a week of open days, so we were really lucky! We got right up close to no. 10 and 11 downing st (unfortunately Tony wasn't there to invite us for tea and scones). Then to top the night off went and saw the Violent Femmes play. Awesome awesome stuff.

Can't wait to see what this week brings!!

Bubye lovelys!!!

xoxo

Chilly Cotswolds

2006-02-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

Just a little message to say hi and let you know what i've been up to. Been trying to save money so havent done too much!!!! Checked out an open mic nite uo the road last weekend and sat nite had a few drinks with friends. Went to the Cotswold Villages on Sun on a day trip. They are these really cute little houses in villages, saw the oldest inn in england, from the 900s!

Heading to Paris next month, mainly to go to Eurodisney!!! Cant wait! The week after that i'm heading to Egypt for 2 weeks which is going to be awesome!!!

Ciao for now!

xoxox

Cammo Tea

2006-02-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

Hey kiddies!

He he he I am stealing your sunlight. Every day we get an extra 4 minutes and you get less, Spring is on the way here, yay!!!

Checked out the London equivalent of Venice, aptly named, 'Little Venice' and had a latte on the canal of course. Undertook a self guided ghost tour of the West End which was fun, and I've seen two plays this last week thanks to my lovely cousin Janelle. We say Honour and another called Creeper, both were a little slow, but great acting. Had a bit of a music jam yesterday with a nice pommie boy and then saw Munich last night - heavy stuff - go the aussie actors tho! Ooooh also say Walk the Line. Go and see it. Great stuff.

Ciao xo

In the box....

2006-02-05T09:48:00.000-08:00

Helllloooooooooo!

How goes it?

What a crazy hectic week its been. The arrival of little Frieda into the house has made things a tad hectic. She's lovely though, and her and jess are both doing really well. Unfortunately I've been sick all week so didn't do much till the weekend came around....

Went and saw the movie Jarhead friday night which was actually really good. I reccomend. Sat it was Watangi day (NZ equivalent of Aus Day) so we went and saw the kiwis do the hakka in parliament square right in front of Big Ben, with their shirts off in the freezing cold.

Last night went out for a night of dancing at the Ministry of Sound club which was awesome! Had lots of fun =)

Ciao for now xoxoxo

Divamania

2006-01-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

Check out my dads band kids:

www.divamania.com.au

Support the local talent!

xo

The great london fire

2006-01-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

Hey there...

What a strange time. Last night went and saw a great theatre production called 'The woman in black'. It was this freak out play about this woman (dead) who haunted this guy. Whoever thought theatre could be that scary! Really good and a cheap ticket too!

I came home last night to find a house in my street on fire and 4 fire trucks there. They put it out pretty quickly but it was really freaky, and it was deliberately lit......

Crazy london. I saw 2 people get arrested last weekend, chased by the coppers and all for selling illegal dvds, just on the main road near my house.

And then Jess went into labour today and just had the baby and hour ago. A little baby girl, and they're both doing really well. How exciting!

Thats all really, well keep you posted on baby adventures as they develop (im sure the 1st nappy change will be a memorable milestone!)

Lots of love xoxo

Steve the whale

2006-01-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

Just do update you guys, if you haven't already heard the bad news. Steve the friendly whale of the thames passed away as they were taking him back out to sea. It was a sad day *sniff*. Poor steve =(

Having a whale of the time the thames

2006-01-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

What a busy year 2006 has been so far! Hope you are all enjoying it as much as I am, it's been awesome so far!

So for the last day there has been a whale in the thames river in the middle of london. How random, i love it! Who thought the thames could actually support animal life, let alone a whale! Anyway its on its way back out to sea with the help of some helpful londoners...

My other highlight of the week was my debut on the london music scene. I performed, just me and my guitar in front of a pub full of people at an open mic nite. I'm so proud! It went very well too, yay =) I've found myselfa bandto sing in as a back up singer too. Its all happening!

Went to stratford upon avon last sunday and saw shakespeares grave, tried some lovely english food in the local pub and went to warwick castle which was cool. For an interesting pic check out my cousin Janelles blog:

www.westjanellejoy.blogspot.com

Saw guys and dolls the musical last weekend which was also great!!!!

Busy busy busy. Jess is due mon, but no signs as yet....

Ciao my dears, take care xoxo

One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns!

2006-01-13T09:13:00.000-08:00

Hey chickadees!

Hope you are all well and having fun in the sun =P

Sorry for the lack of reportedness lately. I got back and things just went a bit mad really. Singapore was great - such an interesting place - due to the cultural mixing of the place. Very clean and pretty - but humid! Got back to london eventually fine. I was carrying my guitar case, overloaded suitcase and laptop bag mind! Made for an interesting journey =)

Anyway back to it now. Jess is due to have a baby in like a week, so things are gonna get very hectic very soon! I went to an audition for a band last night - no good but it was fun and good experience. I'me meeting up with another guy tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. I'm also looking for more work so I can save more mullah to go travelling again!

Heading to the musical guys and dolls tonight - front row centre nonetheless! And sunday i'm heading to Stratford Upon Avon to get all Shakesperian. Fun fun!

Until we speak again

xoxo

Monsoon dreams...

2006-01-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Well! I while since i've written on here. First off just wanted to say it was awesome to see you all and spend time with you in my whirlwind visit back at home. Whether it was laying back in the sun on the beach for the majority of the time, or bringing in the new year under the harbour bridge, i had an AWESOME time. Thanks for making it so fun =)

So i'm in singapore at the mo for a little 2 day stopover on the way back to cilly london (better not be snowing when i get there!). Today checked out sentosa island - butterfly park, beaches, the merlion, aquarium and pink dolphins! Lovely. Tonight did a night safari at the zoo which was kewl. Tomorrow will be a city day and then i fly tomorrow night.

Hope you are all well. Cant say i envy you if the weather is still 43 degrees!

Lots of love xoxo

A little place of chocolate heaven...

2005-12-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

Went to belgium last weekend! Unfortunately we only got to see brugge and not brussels as there were big delays with the ferry crossing the english channel and we ran out of time =( But brugge was lovely, and old medieval city. Had yummy flemish stew and tried rasberry beer (yum!). Did some sightseeing, walked 366 steps up the big bell tower, saw michelangelo's 'mother and child' sculpture and some great flemish art. Also did some shopping, especially, for amazing belgium chocolate. TO DIE FOR.

So i'm heading home to see you all this sunday. Looking forward to seeing you and the lovely aussie sun and beach!

Mwa xoxox

MY LUNCH : 1 hodog, 1 spiced bun, oj and a cup of tea.

2005-11-24T05:08:00.000-08:00

Hello there poppets,

How are you all?

Not much is new here really. Spent last weekend and the majority of this week sick as a dog from a coldy fluey thing the lovely little children gave me. Oh, i went to harrods though which was an experience. Think David Jones x 1 million at xmas. Crazed. Also went and say xavier rudd and also tim freedman play last week which was noice. This weekend will be spent babysitting all of friday night and saturday and night (fun!) but then Luke is coming to town which should be lovely. Looking forward to a big catch up sess Sunday. Going to belgium for xmas markets tho the weekend after this one, and then the weekend after that.......i fly home. Yay!! Beach here i come. You can all just visit me at the beach i will be parked there indefinitely for 3 weeks that is for sure. Aaaah sun.

Anyhoo thats about all really. It gets dark here at 3.30pm now and its freezing and frosty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bizzare.

Enjoy your daylight savings and warm weather!

Lots of love xoxo

Fairytales

2005-11-14T04:35:00.000-08:00

Dobry Den!

How you all going?

Well i just got back from prague early this morning actually. Was BEAUTIFUL - right out of a fairytale! It was freezing too, like 3 or 4 degress - brrr! Anyways missed my plane friday night as forgot my passport but got an early one sat morning. Got lost trying to find my hostel but when i finally got there it was so worth the trouble! Went up the fernicular railway for amazing views of the city, checked out the castle, saw the changing of the guards, checked out the old town square, tried some of the local cuisine - goulash, czech hot dog and also some wierd but very yummy cake thing (specific arent i!). Also did a jazz boat cruise on the river in the night which was lovely and meet an aussie couple from sydney (such a small world). Actually also ran into some friends from my top deck tour as well - again, small world!

Last weekend i went in the greenich tunnel under the thames - where the mean time is - not sure if i mentioned last time. That was cooL!

Anyhoo i'm off, this time next month ill be able to tell you all this face to face!

Lots of lovexoxoxo

Lazy Saturday Morning...

2005-11-05T02:17:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

Hope you are all well!

All is rather blustery and cool on my side of the world. All the tree's have turned golden, red and brown, and the leaves are all over the street! It's quite nice actually, except for the fact that it's getting colder and colder every day, and the sun dissapears at like 4pm. Its going too get worse too =( Lucky i'll get to escape it for a little while soon back with you guys at home =)

Haven't been up to too much, xmas shopping, looking for a band to sing with, working, spanish and singing, you know, this and that. Off this afternoon to do some more xmas shopping at the groovy camden markets, and then tomorrow having an adventure in an undeground pedestrian walkway and a nice little dinner party. And next week I'm seeing the white stripes play and next weekend i'm off to Prague, yay!

Anyways i'm off, have a noice weekend, ciao for now!

xoxoxo

Hairy Coo

2005-10-27T04:26:00.000-07:00

Hello friends from afar!

How you all going?

I just got back from scotland yesterday. Had an awesome time, it was absoulutely freezing up there! I was in Edinburgh for a couple of nights, Edinburgh is a lovely city, old gothic buildings mixed in with contemporary stuff. Went on a ghost tour in the underground vaults of the city where people on the tour had actually been attacked before by spirits - luckily we were fine, but saw and felt some interesting stuff down there. Went and visited some family in Stirling which was nice. Went on a tour on the Isle of Skye which was AMAZING. Right up there with Switzerland on beauty i must say. Paddled in loch ness, saw old ruined and restored castles, patted a hairy coo (cow), climbed a huge mountain for great views of all the amzing lochs and visited 'fairy glen'. Had the greatest time, love scotland. Def heading back there.

But nowback to work and reality really. Hoping to chill out over the next couple of days and then do some london sightseeing this weekend.

Hope you are all fab and enjoying the lovely warm weather in oz (im very jealous!)

Lots of love xoxo

Crunchy Apple

2005-10-17T05:01:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!

Hope you are all well =) Long time no speak! I've just been lazy =P

Enjoying old london town. Last weekend checked out the science museum and tate modern art musuem both of which were very good. Headed to bath for a day trip which was lovely. Saw the old roman baths which make bath famous, with the hot springs and so on. Very interesting! Also saw the street where Jane Austen lived which was kewl. This weekend just passed I met up with Anastassia's old friend from back in the day in russia, which was nice. Chilled out really, had a bit of a break from sightseeing, Checked out a Jazz Fes on the Thames, got a massage, watched some movies, babysat, celebrated a mates birthday. Nice and relaxing. Heading to Edinburgh this weekend till Wed next week to meet some family, and i'm going on a tour of the Isle of Sky, and get to see Loch Ness! I'm also going to Prague in early November which im really looking forward to! Before you know it ill be back visiting you all in the Land of Oz - there's no place like home!

Lots of Love xoxoxo

Grumbly tummy

2005-10-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Hope you are well. Just thought i'd update as twas about that time again. Had a brilliant weekend! Checked out the science museum and tate modern (art gallery) on sat, the sun went on day trip to bath - saw the old roman baths, where jane austen used to live. Lovely little place =) Well thats about all!

Without wax....

Cup of Earl Grey...

2005-10-04T05:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all ab fab. All is peachy here. The kids and fam are good and life as Mary Poppins continues as normal (tea parties on the ceiling and the like...). Last weekend caught up with some mates, went to the national gallery again (so much to see!), went and saw High Society the musical, twas ok. Sunday took a day trip to stonehenge which was actually a lot smaller than i though it would be, but still extremely impressive. We also went to Salisbury, a little medieval town with the tallest cathedral in the uk, and that was real noice too. Last night i went and saw salmonella dub (kiwi band) whith my kiw friends. Well thats about all, i'm off to put away some toys with a click of my fingers.

TTFN =)

Orange wooly jumper...

2005-09-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hi all!
Just a quick update: All is well here. Singing/Spanish/Work is all fine. This weekend checked out the inside of buckingham palace and had tea with the queen while i was there....had a look at the national portrait gallery. Today went to dover castle and canterbury on a day trip out of london - both which were very interesting and nice. I am coming home for sure to visit from Dec 12 - Jan 1 so get excited people =)

Take it easy, lots of love xoxoxo

Waiting in Wales

2005-09-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hallo from Cardiff!

Just waiting for time to pass so I can catch my bus back to London, thought id let you all know what ive been getting up to. Came to Cardiff in Wales to visit a friend with a couple of mates from London. Sampled the nightlife here fri and sat night and its quite happening! By coincidence we came here just in time for the world rally championships, so last night went to millenium stadium to check some of it out. Then met up with some irish boys at the backpackers who were driving to a stage today at 5am for a days car rally watching, so headed with them, but infortunately didnt get to see much as there was a really bad crash and a co-driver died and so the day was cancelled. Went and did some sightseeing this arvo of cardiff bay, the national museum and then cardiff castle which was awesome!

All in all a very busy weekend but dont want go home =(

Hope you are all well xoxo

Little old London

2005-09-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Hope you are all well and having fun =)

London and work are treating me well. Went to a salsa dance lesson last week which was fun, and found a good place to do some much needed yoga too. Found a singing teacher, and am starting spanish lessons this week, so keeping busy!! On the weekend checked out the tower bridge and tower of london which was quite interesting. Other than that just this and that. This weekend coming up im going to Cardiff in Wales with some mates to visit another friend we met on our tour so that should be fun too!

Anyways gotta go,

Love you all xoxo

Spoon Full of Sugar!

2005-09-03T08:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the other side of the world:

Just a quick update to say all is going well with my london family and home. Im living in with the family, getting yummy good nutritous food, and have a lovely room and nice bed. It is nice to be settled but im already planning my next adventures - hopefully will be heading to Munich for Octoberfest Beer Festival in a month's time and then Wales sometime after that and who knows what else...the possibilities are endless!

Anyway the kids are very good and i'm having fun. Saw Phantom of the Opera the musical this week and it was absoulutely amazing. Fantastic, way better than the movie - no comparison. Sussed out a couple of groovy places for live music last night and ashamedly i went shopping today......

London is treating me well. I hope you are all well too. Take care my precious people!

Love you all xoxo

London Home

2005-08-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

Ciao bella's and bello's,

Here are my London details:

88 Charteris st.
Queens Park
London
England
NW6 7EX

Home : 44 (0) 207328 6889

Mob: 44 (0) 7789232345

Now you can all come and visit me!

Got a job as amothers help living in with a family - 6 yr old bboy and 2 yr old girl, with another little one the way. Should be fun and a challenge. And so the adventure continues....

Keep your eyes peeled for photos over the next few weeks as i get myself sorted - took over 600...my bad!

Off for some salsa dancing tonight with my london buddies. Have great weekend whatever you do!

Mwa Ciao!

Number

2005-08-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

Helloooo!

I have a number, contact me on:

440789232345

Ciao!