European Adventure 2008

Italy: Venice and Naples.... mmmm Gelato!

2008-12-15T17:39:00.000-08:00

Small canal in the maze that is Venice!

Grand Canal

Me on our romantic (and overpriced) lunch by the canal

Emma wants everyone to know that she was sick when this pic was taken!

Water taxis

See what I mean by the traffic in Naples?

I was hoping this guy would back into the scooter, but alas; he didn't

Naples again

The harbour

Venice was a very beautiful city but I’m sorry to say that was about it. Most places you go to see things in the city, but with Venice you go there to see just the city, so once you’ve walked around it (which doesn’t take very long) there’s not much else to do... well apart from stuff your face with pizza and gelato which isn’t such a bad thing! ;P Trust me we did a lot of that!!

Emma and I stayed at a camping place, which I didn’t think was too bad (apart from the mozzies) but Emma started complaining as soon as we got there! We did however have our own little cabin, which was soon covered in all our stuff!

The train journey to the city from Hungary was quite interesting though. We had out celebrity encounter – in Vienna train station we saw Pete Doherty (the British kinda rock star who is more famous for being off his face on coke then his actual music), but anyone he and Emma both waited together in the pharmacy together – Emma to get her cold and flu drugs and Pete to get his.... methadone maybe? Lol

And on the train we sat in a cabin with this young Italian guy who didn’t speak a great deal of English, which proved to be quite interesting. Us, of course not speaking any Italian, attempted to have a conversation with my Italian phrasebook and he with his English one. It must have looked so funny! He did manage to tell us though that he had been on holidays with this mum and dad in Austria and after the second day he had decided to leave because he couldn’t stand it any longer!! Ha ha... ahh the good ol’ family holiday! He did also tell us that he was very ‘sad’ that he couldn’t have a proper conversation with us... awww =)

After stuffing ourselves on enough Pizza and gelato to last a lifetime in Venice, Emma and I went to Naples which I didn’t think was a scary as everyone says it is, I didn’t get pickpocketed, nor did I see anyone else – but I have to admit it is a very dirty city, and it was soo hot and muggy. I mean obviously I know hot, because we all know the high temperatures that it gets to back home, but the heat and humidity in Naples was unbearable – especially when our hostel only had a ceiling fan in the dorm, every morning you would wake up in a pool of your own sweat! But I must admit we did get a taste of Naples that most other ordinary tourists don’t because we were lucky enough to be shown around by locals. Those locals happened to be a group of Italian guys (Maurice, Stephanio & John Paolo) that didn’t want to part take in our beauty night at our hostel in Hungary, who offered to show us around the city when we went there. They were seriously the nicest bunch of guys that we met on our trip. So on the first night that we got to Naples the guys showed up at our hostel and took us out for ‘real’ Italian pizza (pizza was invented in Naples) and then in Stephanio’s little red car, look us zipping around the streets of Naples showing us around (which i will admit was a little scary). Driving in Naples is crazy. And that is no understatement. The streets are small, cobbled, crowded with rubbish and people, and usually one way. Now driving in Naples is dangerous, but even more dangerous is just walking around the city. The traffic stops for no-one, not even old men with their granddaughters, and there are sooo many people on scooters, forget around Rome, all the scooters are in Naples! Although funny to watch at night when drunks decide to cruise the city, during the day most scooters can’t seem to decide whether they are traffic or pedestrians so frequently take to the footpath. The thing that I have learnt in Europe, especially in Italy, is when crossing the road simply have no fear and just go for it, cause it’s the only way you’re going to get across that road! The guys took us to the spot where all the youth of the city hang out at night drinking and partying, and a few nights later they also took us to these all night cafe/bar things. It was quite funny because the old man that owned the hostel wasn’t too keen on the idea of us going out with the guys so late at night so he made them come up and meet him before the let us out!

to be continued.....

Budapest, Hungary

2008-12-15T17:06:00.001-08:00

Emma and I overlooking the Danube

Budapest city street

See why it reminded me of Lord of the Rings?

The Danube from the 'Pest' side of the city... I think

Hmmm.... lol

Castle in the city centre

Heroes Square

Ok I haven’t written in this blog for months! The events in this entry and the ones that follow actually happened about 3 -4months ago! So thats how lazy/busy (depending on the way you want to look at it!) I have been. So I am probably going to miss some this out!

From Vienna we made our way to Budapest in Hungary. It was actually a bit a spare of the moment decision on our behalves. While on the train from Copenhagen to Berlin I think it was, Emma and I started to talk to this guy and he said how amazing eastern Europe, and after loving the Czech Republic Emma and I just went to each other; “You wanna go to Hungary??.... Sure lets go to Hungary!”
I don’t really remember what my first impressions of Budapest were, I think it was that it was really actually quite dirty. I kinda felt like I had really entered Eastern Europe, which is silly when i think about it now, because my room mate is Hungarian, and really from what I’ve seen of where she grew up in Budapest’s suburbs its nothing like the city centre. But even she herself will admit that the city centre is quite a dirty, run down place, that needs a bit more TLC.
We stayed in a great hostel, owned by a bit of an eccentric guy. He was really nice, and a little bit weird at the same time, but the place was great. It was basically an apartment in an older building that he had converted into a hostel. He didn’t live there though, so similarily to Prague, the backpackers had the run of it! Something Emma and I were getting to like =)
Looking back I can’t say we really did a hell of a lot in Budapest mainly I think because it was so hot! And coming from inland Australia that is saying something. I was so surprised by the intensity of the heat that was quite dry as well. The first day Emma and I walked around the city and over the Danube to where the Hungarian Liberty Statue is (so Szilvia my Hungarian flat mate tells me now) at the time we had no idea what it was. This statue is huge and on the side of a cliff that overlooks the city and the Danube, the statue as well as the place it is located actually reminded me of the place where Frodo is attacked by the Ringwraiths in the first Lord Of the Rings film!
Towards this end of our backpacking adventure I had started to notice that Emma and I had started to forgo most of the tourist-y things to just walk around the cities and places that we visited – which was the case here. There were a few people that had mentioned baths that you could go to to swim in, but Emma and I being us opted to have a girly night instead and buy facemasks, among other things. It was actually quite funny because a group of Italian guys that we met at the hostel thought it was the most hilarious thing they had ever seen. We even tried to get a couple of them to join us, and at first they seemed a bit interested, but afterwards they were happy just to laugh at us. Their loss I suppose, we were the ones that had nice supple skin afterwards! Ha ha

We did however make it to a castle in the middle of the city which was quite beautiful, and we did go to a place called ‘heroes square’ where all great men of Hungary’s past are in statue form. On the way back from heroes square we noticed that in one of the huge parks next to the castle crew were setting up a stage in an area that would mean that the concert would have to be free, as it was highly accessable from anywhere (there were no gates or barriers or anything like that) and later on that night we went there which was great. It was a free outdoor concert hosted by nokia and there were heaps of people there. The atmosphere was great, and Emma and I were jumping up and down like crazy and dancing like idiots to music we couldn’t understand. All great fun.
The next we left for on our longest train journey of the whole trip i think to Venice in Italy, via Vienna. About 11 hours I think. But as Emma and I joked about after we left Budapest (and by this mean absolutely no harm towards people from Budapest) but the one main thing we took with us from our trip to Budapest was.... Budapest foot scum! Yes, disgusting I know, but walking about the city in thongs the whole time didn’t do our feet too good, and out heels were filled with black scum from the city. Lol I think it took us about 2 months to get it out! So my advice for anyone going to Budapest – were proper shoes!

Vienna, Austria

2008-08-25T15:44:00.002-07:00

One of the Royal Palaces that is now a museum

Emma eating traditional Wald Viertal food

And Me eating traditional Wald Viertal food - a potato thing which was really nice!

An old guy drinking beer

Biggest Pretzel ever!

We got into Vienna not expecting much, but had a great time!

The city is beautiful and really laid back.

After walking around the main street for a while.... yes we wee shopping..... Emma and I made it to the circle district which contains all the old buildings from Vienna's goldern age.
While we were walking along we happened to stumble upon a mini festival called the Wald Viertel which celebrates a region in Lower Austria... according to a local.

It was really cool, like a mini Oktoberfest kind of.
Lots of people sitting around drinking beer, eating and being merry - and wearing traditional costume.
Emma and I sampled some traditional Wald Viertel food while we listened to corney live music! l
Also had the biggest pretzel ever made, about as big as Emma's head!

Afterwards we sat in the park near the old palace and city hall and just chilled. That was one thing I loved about the city, the laid back atmostphere. There were heaps of people just laying around in the park, or playing frisby..... and the weather was beautiful, actually quite hot.

Although Austria is a lot like Germany I found the people more relaxed, laid back and friendly. The sandwhiches here still suck, but i can get over that!

Prague - We Love U Martin!

2008-08-25T15:44:00.001-07:00

View from the River of Prague Castle and the old section of town

View from Prague Castle

Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock

A Random building with pretty purple flowers in front

The Bone Church, Kutná Hora

Coat of Arms made from human bones, Bone Church, Kutná Hora

Out on the town - Emma, Alice, Karl, Me

By the river side

View from the National Museum of the main street in Prague

We got into Prague later on in the afternoon. After coming from the very modern and technologically advanced Berlin it was a bit of a shock to get into the city - we definately felt like we had entered Eastern Europe.
After catching a tram - but in the wrong direction - we finally got to our hostel, the best one I've stayed at so far! It felt like we had rented a holiday apartment. Reception was really only there like 5 hours a day, so they basically gave us the keys and told us to lock up whenever we left. The other backpackers and us basically had free run of the place!
We spent 5 nights in Prague, and did a lot of sociallising. We met 2 cool Aussie guys; karl and Domonic (the later whom Emma and I played mum to one day as he was sick with the flu!) lol
There was a pub across the street from the hostel which we spent many a night in drinking cheap beer and eating good pub food. Because we were out of the main tourist section of the city, none of the staff spoke English so you kind of just had to point!

Of the sight seeing that we did do we went down by the river side and saw Prague Castle, walked across the Charles Bridge, caught the spectacle of the astronmical clock. We also went to (the free part) of the national museum which at the time was remembering the 40th aniversary of the Soviet Invasion of the Czech Republic. Not knowing much about the event it was really interesting to see footage from it, espeically footage of tanks crashing into buildings that we had walked past only minutes previously. If you walk outside the museum you can still see bullet holes in the museum exterior caused by the Soviet tanks.

That day we also went out to Kutná Hora, a small village outside of Prague. We all thought that it might be like a 20 minute train ride out the the village, but it was actually a 60 minute one in an old, hot train compartment. lol
It was worth it though because once we got to the village we got to see 'The Bone Church' which is a 14th century church filled with sculptures, emblems and pyramids made out of the bones of 40,000 Czechs... mostly plague victims. Its really ghastly to see, but really interesting at the same time.

The person who really made our stay really enjoyable ws the weekly receptionist, Martin. He was such a cool guy - akways up for a chat and wanting to know everything about where you were from. He would come in everymorning at like 11am and wake us up if we were still asleep then offer to make us tea or coffee in bed!

Anyways onto Vienna in Austria next.Will see what mischief we get up to there!
Sarah

Berlin, Germany

2008-08-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

The Brandenburg Gate

Above Hitlers bunker... which is now just a random parking lot

Whats left of the Berlin Wall

Cant remember what that was.... a cathedral I think?

Pub Crawl - Me, Jesper, Thomas and Emma

Pub Crawl - Me, Sebastian, Emma

After not being able to get into anywhere in Sweden Emma and I decided to go straight to Berlin.

What can I say about Berlin?

Apart from when Emma and I did a free walking tour of the city we didnt really see that much.... the space is so huge I wouldn`t know where to start.
The hostel that we stayed at was very interesting - it used to be a childrens orphanage so if felt like we were sleeping in an assylum or hospital! Emma nearly freaked when a cleaning lady dressed in what look liked nurses clothes came into our room! ha ha

The reputation of Berlin as a party city is very correct. On our second night in Berlin Emma and I decided to do a pub crawl - one of the best decisions ever!

Lots of randomness throughout the night, starting from when we met this group of Danish guys (Jesper, Sebastian, Thomas, and Lars) in the train station and they got us lost... not once or twice, but three times! Emma remarked it was like a bad joke..... "How many Danes does it take to read a map?"
If anyone goes to Berlin I would highly recommend a pub crawl. You meet so many random people throughout the night and everyone always wants to strike up a conversation.

We ended up spending most the night with the Danish guys and at like 6am in the morning they made sure we got home safely, lol, we didnt get lost this time!

The next day, mild hangovers and all, we decided to suck it up and go on a walking tour.
We saw the Brandenburg gate, whats left of the Berlin Wall, as well as the site where Hitlers bunker stands... which is now just a carpark in Eastern Berlin.

We were going to do a Thrid Riech Tour which was to take us to all the main Nazi and Gestapo headquaters etc, but it wasnt running the day that we wanted to go so we ended up going to Berlin zoo - bad decision.
It was so depressing, Emma and I were nearly crying the minute we got in there. The animals all looked so sad and their enclosures were tiny. The chimps and apes were the worst to go and see because of the sad looks on their faces, I guess they were just sick of having cameras shoved in their faces all day.
But yeah, other than that Berlin was great!

Although the one thing I disliked about Germany was the the food.
I am so sick of German food! All the meat is processed, there is literally every type of salami or deli ham imaginable. They eat capsicum for breakfast... eww, and all their sandwhiches have no lettuce but gerkin! And from what Emma told me, they have the weirdest eating habits.... but yeah that is definately one thing I wont miss about Germany!

Copenhagen, Denmark

2008-08-15T13:40:00.001-07:00

The Little Mermaid Statue

Docks

River/Lake that runs through the city

Town Hall and Town Hall Square

The Bridge that leads to Christania

At the Ripleys Believe it or Not! Museum... good times

Ice Bar!

Me and Emma freezing our butts off'

Drinking out of a glass made of ice

Emma with her gigantic beer

Probably... who hired that advertising guy?

Oh my god, all I can say is that Princess Mary had it right. Copenhagen is hottie central! I swear i didn't see one ugly Danish man (well maybe that's an exaggeration) but still!

We were only supposed to stay 2 nights Copenhagen but we loved the city and the people so much that we decided to stay 4. On our first day in the city we went and saw some sights with another Aussie, Michael, that we met on the train to the city.
Went to the 'Ripley's Believe it or Not' museum which was funny, lots of amusements were there which kept us entertained for a couple of hours - espeically the mirror that made us all look like dwarfs... funniest thing ever! lol We also checked out the King's park before it started to pour down rain and went back to our hostel.

Our hostel was hilarious as Emma G and I were the only girls in a dorm full of 7 other guys - which was quite funny as we would wake up in the mornings and ther ewould be these guys just sleeping or walking around in their undies! The 2 Aussie guys in out room were quite funny, although i swear that one of them hadn't been sober since he left home in February!
In our dorm there were 2 Italian guys from Milan, Paulo and Meli, who were great to hang out with. We sat outside the hostel in the beer garden one night eating pizza, drinking beer and playing 'Scopa' an Italian card game which the boys taught us. Needless to say now we both have just little a crush! lol

On the 3rd day we walked around Copenhagen, found a pair of black shoes for Emma and saw the little Mermaid statue in the harbour... which is quite crap! its soo small.
We didn't go the Christarnia, which is an alternate settlement in the city, although we did have an offer from a guy on a bus (that has obviously smoked way to much weed) if we wanted to go and join him for a joint, neededless to say we didn't take him up on his offer. (Now mum and dad you mights want to skip this next paragraph! Especially dad =P)
That night we went out... one of the best nights out of the trip in my opinon! We ended up staying in a bar in the city with these 2 Danish guys that we met outside when asking for a good place to go, Kristian and Mads. They were the best guys to talk to (intelligent boys, yay!), and when the bar closed, we ended up buying beer at a 7/11 and sat on the steps of city hall for another couple of hours. Now who else can say that they sat on the steps of Copenhagen city hall drinking at 4 am in the morning? lol
They were going to join us the next night but apparantly Mads spent the next day with his head in the toilet!

Whilst in the city we also went to the Ice Bar which was really good. After we got geared up with out thermal coats and boots we went into the bar and drank vodka cocktails out of glasses made of Ice and sat in the bar were everything was made out of ice.
We couldn't get anymore nights in Copenhagen, or in Stockholm in Sweden, so at the momet we are in Berlin for a few nights! Should be fun!

All the best, Sarah

Amsterdam and Hannover

2008-08-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

Tram way near where we stayed

Bikes, bikes, bikes! Apparantly there is saying in Amsterdam "When you hear a bell, run like hell!"

Canal

The Sex Museum - Nicolien, Me and Cassie

Cassie and I stayed 3 nights in Amsterdam which is a great city despite the fact that most tourists just go there to get high.
On our first night in our hostel there were 2 Brazilian stoners in our room which was quite funny!
As most tourist do, Cassie and I went for a walk in the Red Light District. I always thought that the girls in the windows were in a centralised area, but no. You are just walking around the district and all of a sudden you are confronted by half naked girls in the windows down random alley ways. It was always funny watching guys coming out as well, as they would look around to see if anyone had seen them go in and out! lol
While Cas and I were in Amsterdam out Dutch friend that we met in Scotland, Nicolien, come to visit us. Amoung other things we did, we went to the sex museum which was hilarious. I won't go to much into detail, I think the pictures will explain it all (when i put them up), but they had many annomatronics and a pictorial history of porn from the 1800's!
We saw Anne Frank's house and a few other things before Cassie and I split up.

Cassie was dying without her laptop and wanted to grab a few things from her aunties in the UK and I wanted to visit my friend Emma who was au paring in Germany near Hannover.
It was really great meeting up with her again, and I think she was just as excited to see me too!
The night I got to Walsrode - were Emma was we stayed in a motel room (thanks to Emma's mum - love you Mrs Griffith!) and hung out.
Emma informed me that she hated the family that she was au paring for and that she had quit, so.... now she is travelling around with me!
yay!!

We are off to Copenhagen next, not sure what there is to do but I'm sure we'll find something!

J'adore Paris!

2008-08-05T01:59:00.000-07:00

Looking, looking, Lost

Me, Moulin Rouge, Paris

Cassie, Moulin Rouge

The Lourve = excited!

The arch de triomph

The Lourve

The Eiffel Tower

Quickly learning French!

Bonjour from Paris!
Flew in wednesday from Belfast to find lovely weather – 30 degrees! Yay
Had to walk 8 blocks with 18kg (yes the scales at the airport weren’t nice to us!) backpacks to out motel after we got off the subway.
Our motel is a very charming old place, our room looks straight out onto the street and we have a terrace/window, as well as a fresh fruit market right below us.
On our first day in Paris Cassie and I walked 13 kms around the city (yes I did work it out)! The maps are very decieving – they make the city look smaller than it actually is.
As for the language barrier, I am actually quite proud of myself as I can order things in French, and understand when people ask me how I am and reply. But everything else I pretty much have no idea.
Whats really funny is that a lot a of things like signs, store names, road signs, etc were really easy to read because a lot of french words for things are very similar to the english words, its just when they say it in a thick, fast french accent that we have no idea! My pocket French book I must say is one of the best things I’ve ever bought – it was a god send when we needed to look up what certain words mean’t – especially when buying food.
On our first day as well as strolling around, and getting lost in random Parisian streets, we went to the Effiel Tower and the Arch de Triomp which was absolute chaos. The largest round about in Paris, whre 9 or 10 streets diverge – it has no marked lanes, and the cars on the round about have to stop and give way to those coming onto the roundabout (trust the French to think of something so idiotic!). They reckon there is always a few accidents per day, and apparantly no car insurance company in Europe will cover you for any mishaps that occur on the Arch de Triomph – so yeah the best advice would be not to go it, apparantly people have run out of petrol trying to get off it! Lol

The French are also the most random people I have met. Lots of guys will approach you on the street and try to flirt with you which is quite different from home. But if you let them know you’re not interested most of them will just wish you good day and leave you alone. One thing that Cas and I have noticed here is that men just stare – they will full on just stare at you, even when they know that you have realised they will still continue to. Most of the time you just ignore it, but sometimes it is a bit unnerving.
Went to Notre Dame and other places around the city. Visited the Lourve – it was absolutely packed! I could have spent all day in there but unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to – I did see the Mona Lisa (as well as many artoworks by Da Vinci and Raphael) – and it is a lot smaller than you think it would be! We both got lost trying to get out, the place is huge and it is like a maze!
We also went to the catacombs and met up this Aussie girl that we had met a few days earlier on the palce to Paris (small world hey?)
It was really surreal and quite eerie. The catacombs are old quarries so for about 15 minutes you walk around in tunnels underneath the city until you come to the catacombs where the bones of a few 100 thousand Parisian’s lay. In the late 18th century Paris’cramped cemeteries were creating big hygiene problems so thousands and thousands of bodies were exhumed from a few cemeteries around the city and placed in the unused quarries; they are stacked (mainly leg and arm bones with the skulls on top), some are even arranged into artistic designs, like a love heart arrangement we saw in one section.
I found it really interesting that some of the people whose bones are down there include; Charles Pernault who wrote Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Red Ridig Hood and Puss in boots, as well as other writers, composers, lawyers, etc along with the normal people of Paris society. Even some of the famous names in the French revolution – Georges Danton and Jean Baptiste – for example are amoung the piles of unmarked bones.
All up Paris was good, and it was pretty much what most people imagine it as – lots of cafes lining the street, little bakeries, and more.
The stereotype of the French being rude and arrogant I think is quite unfair – most of the French people that I met were really nice and hospitable.
One thing I did notice though is that as soon as they knew that we spoke english they automatically thought that we were either English or American – and when we told them that we were actually Australian they were really surprised and like “They’re Australian!” – like they had never met an Aussie before!
The only downer of the city that I found is that a lot of places smell like pee – like really stale male pee, it some places it is so disgusting that you gag. But other than that the cleanliness of the city was n’t too bad, still not a clean as London though.
But all up Paris was really good.
I’m off to Amsterdam next, so we will see what that’s like!
Photos of Paris coming soon!!
Sarah

Cork & Blarney Castle

2008-07-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

Blarney Castle

Kissing the Blarney Stone

Cassie and Castle

Cassie

Faerie Garden beside the Castle

From Doolin we went to Cork, from where we went out to Blarney Castle.
We waited in line in the castle and slowly made our way up to the top - and holy crap! I don't know how the servants and occupants of the castle didn't fall down the stairs and break their necks, as the staircases are so cramped and steep.
At the top we got to kiss the infamous stone that many hundreds of others had already kissed that day! Did I get the gift of the gab? I dunno.
The most enjoyable part of the castle was exploring 'Castle Rock' - the gardens and woodland surrounding it, that the occupants of the area believed were enchanted & occupied by faeries & other mysterious folk. We did find the witches kitchen which was an interesting little cave under a trees roots.
This being our last stop in Ireland I decided to jot down a list of things i found really different/interesting or odd:

All the cities have relatively the same layout. Belfast, Dublin all have river running through the centre with various bridges running over them, and the city spreads out from there. You get dejà vu everytime you go to a new one.... "Have I seen this before?"
Ireland is expensive! The UK (where our exchange rate is worse) is way cheaper. All the French/Dutch/German people that we have met have informed us that mainland Europe is much cheaper - phew!
Northern Ireland feels just like England which is rather sad if you ask me - its like they donùt want to be Irish.
North is in miles & yards, whilst the south is in kms & metres - which you have to watch out for when you cross the border!
Police in the the republic are called Garda - the Gaelic word for police.

Flying to Paris from Belfast, will update soon!

Sarah

Galway & Doolin, West Coast Ireland

2008-07-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

Galway Bay

Galway Bay Houses

Cassie on the bay

Video: Lovely Irish Weather

Cliffs of Moher from Doolin, Co. Clare

Cassie in Doolin

Me with a Donkey in Doolin

Me harassing a cow in Doolin, lol

Cassie... see the buildings? That's Doolin!

Me out the front of a pub in Doolin

Cassie

Old guys in the pub playing one night

Galway is on the west coast of Ireland and supposibly it is the hub of Irish culture as well as the arts and all I can say is... I loved it!
Dublin was good, but Galway was soo much better.
Every night in the streets there were performers, and fire dancers and one night there was even this band that created a huge dance party in the streets!
Galway is still a city, but it felt quite small which was good, and unlike Dublin you didn't have to fight other people for room on the footpath which is always a welcome change.
The first night we got into town Cas and I stayed at a B&B because everything else was booked out - its was expensive but worth it! We got our own shower and TV - hallalujah!
We walked around town the next day, went down by the Port and bay. We didn't realise it, but when we got down to the port a heap of sailing vessels were just pulling into port and a piper was playing music to greet them - turns out they have just sailed around Ireland for charity and they were returning that day.
The bay was very pretty and there were even a few people swimmng in it - but not for me, too cold!

When we were at the B&B the guy that owned it told us about this little fishing village near the Cliffs of Moher that was really nice to visit in County Clare - on the west coast as well.
We stayed there one night which was great - the town has a population of 200 people and has 3 pubs, it reminded me a little of Tomingley because it was soo tiny!
Most of the land surrounding it was farm land, and all the paddocks were fenced off with stone walls. I even made friends with a cow, a donkey and horse! =]
Two German girls that we met in Belfast were also at the hostel, as well as a French couple, Melanie and Oliver, whom we met in Galway. We went out to one of the pubs that night, had another Guiness and listened to these 4 old guys just jamming on a fiddle, concitina and whistle around a table. One of them even sang a few songs in Irish Gaelic which was nice.
Melanie gave Cassie and I a few French lessons, and even to show us around her part of France when we go there! And who said the French were't very nice?
While we were in Doolin the weather didn't hold up and it rained most of the time that we were there, but compared to Tullamore in the southern centre of Ireland we didn't do too badly - read the paper today and apparantly it flooded there!
Got the bus from Doolin to Cork today - had lovely old jolly bus driver who was great.
Am currently in an internet Cafe in Cork. Have already made a new friend in a Israeli in out room, and with the hostel's dog Rielly an Irish cocker spanial - he is soo cute!!!

Dublin, Ireland

2008-07-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Pub in Dublin.... the sign says it all

Dublin again... at night

All the signs are in Irish as well as English

The Liffy in Dublin

It's official - I love Ireland!
Dublin is really cool modern city (and very, very busy!) - and the weather there is really nice! Can even get away with wearing shorts and t-shirt - well some days anyway.
Went out in the Temple Bar district the other night. Found an Irish pub that had a traditional Irish band playing which was great. I don't know how much Cassie enjoyed it, but I was in heaven That is my idea of a good night out - not a night club or a dance venue - just somewhere where you can sit down listen to great live music and have a good chat.
I even had my first pint of Guinesss (although I have had a few since then!) - which amazingly wasn't too bad considering I'm not a very big beer drinker.
Went to a club afterwards where we tried to find Mac and Tom - the 2 Aussie guys that we met on our travels, we didn't find them but we got into the club for free which was good.... its actually the second time we've done that now! How clever are we....? =]
After we couldn't find teh boys we were there for another hour or so, and I had to sit there listening to this drunk Irish guy profress how much he loved me, etc, etc - poor bugger, I don't think he quite grasped the concept that it wasnt't going to get him anywhere!

The next night Cas and I just walked around the city and by the Liffy which was good, Dublin is quite pretty at night. Also went to the Irish National Museum which was good.
Onto Galway next.......

Belfast, Northern Ireland

2008-07-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

Wall Mural in Belfast near where we were staying

Crossing Carrick-a-rede bridge

Me at Giant's Causeway

Randoms at Giant's Causeway

Woke up early in Glasgow and got the train to Stanraer harbour and then the ferry to Belfast. Now I expected the ferry to just be like a bigger version of the Sydney HArbour ones... but no.
These ferry's were huge and inside it was like a casino! There were bars, food stalls, games areas, pokie machines, internet acess, manicure services, etc, etc! It reminded me of a big cruise ship minus the pool and sunny weather!

The first thing that I have to say about Ireland is... that I love the weather. Now if I had of flown AUstralia to Ireland I would have a differnt opinion but, after spending a week in Scotland the weather here is like heaven. Hasn't rained once yet and its acutally sunny! Praise the Lord!

We got into Belfast harbour and couldn't be bothered waiting for a bus so we got a taxi. The taxi driver was so nice! He basically gave us a little tour of the city - drove past the Harland and Wolf shipping docks where the Titanic was built and pointed out various monuments around the city.
He even got out and rang the doorbell at our hostel for us - much nicer than any other Aussie taxi driver I've encountered!

Didn't do a great deal in Belfast because the cold that Cassie had aquired somewhere had now been passed onto me!
Did go a day tour to Carrick-a-rede bridge, the Giant's Causeway & Derry which was good - and got the whole low down on Northern Ireland's troubles.
The two Aussie guys Mac and Tom that we met in Inverness were also on the tour - they even tracked down our hostel the first night we were there and asked if we wanted to go for a drink with them!How sweet, but at that time I was too out of it with the cold to be bothered.
Didn't get a chance to do a black cab tour, so hopefully I can do that some other time.
Am leaving Northern Ireland today on the bus headed towards Dublin!

Loch Ness

2008-07-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

Me at the Loch Ness!

Me and Cassie at Urqhart Castle on the shores of the Loch

Cassie getting close to Nessie!

Cassie on the Loch

The Loch Ness

National Park

Everything in Northern Scotland and Ireland is in Gaelic as well as English

The Scottish Highlands

Oooh, where do I begin with this saga of my travels?
On sunday morning I missed the train to Inverness. That morning I happened to make friends with a bunch of American travellers and we decided to go out on an islandof rock that had been exposed by the low tide to fill in the time before the shuttle bus from our hostel left.
When we got to the tisland we discovered that the rise wascoming back in and the sandbar we had just walked over was cut off.
So after walking through the very cold sea water (which ruined my joggers - hence the reason why I'm now wearing a new pair) I got back to the hostel and I just missed the shuttle bus and Cassie with it.
But not to worry I thought - I'll just get the city bus into town.
A trip that should have taken half an hour took 50minutes and after running to the train station I literally missed the train by a minute and a half. Cassie had gotten on the train because I told her not to wait if I wasn't there.

So I had to wait at the train station for 3 1/2 hours until the next one came. Quite boring really but I did strike up a conversation with a lovely old couple fromFalkirk who were coming back froma holiday.
So after the wait I got on the train finally, and you think it would have stopped there, but..no.
Cas rang me and informed me that the last bus out to our accomodation in Fort Augustas on the banks of the Loch Ness (half an hour out of Inverness) had left an hour ago - and it didn't help that both of us counldn''t get onto the hostel because they weren't picking up the phone!
But after Cas walking around Inverness for about an hour she found us some last minute accomdation so we didn't have to sleep in carboard boxes in the street - or pay £68 ($140 to get a taxi to Fort Augustas).

I'm kinda glad it worked out that way because in our hostel we met 2 Aussie guys, both my age and both who are going to Sydney Uni next year, who were really helpful and cool to talk to.
They are off Ireland going to all the same places as us but basically one day ahead - so we might catch up with them in the Emerald Isle!

Went on a bus tour and cruise of the Loch Ness. I didn't see Nessie but that was fine by me, the cruise of the Loch was well worth the money - and the Scottish bus driver was funny, especially when he kept referring to Cassie and how he had put her to sleep on the journey out. Also went to Urquhart Castle on the shores of the Loch - whose main fortifications were built in the 1500's.

Am currently in Glasgow and leaving for Belfast tomorrow....

Hello from Edinburgh!!

2008-07-20T02:49:00.000-07:00

Cassie, Paige and Me out on the town in Newcastle, England

Cassie and Milleneum bridge, Newcastle

The Royal Mile, Edinburgh, Scotland

Me + Edinburgh Castle = <3

Edinburgh from the top of the Scott Monument

Grayfriars Cemetery

Edinburgh Castle... again

Cassie and I with Bagpiper

Well where do I start???

Haven't written much in the last week or so, even though a lot has been happening!

Spent about 2 weeks with family friends in Surrey and with Cassie's auntie Marie in Margate, Kent. Spent most of the time in doors and over at Cassie's cousin's house watching movies and playing guitar hero! Cassie's aunt is really cool, so I reallt enjoyed my time there.

left Margate 5 days ago. I wanted to go to York to see the Viking museum as well as the other sites there but for some reason all the accomodation was booked out.... I think there might have been some sort of festival on there, but I couldn't really find anything out.

Because we wanted to spend somewhere in Northern England we decided to go to Newcastle and meet all the Geordies!

Newcastle was really fun. Met this really cool Aussie chick in our room, Paige, who is from Sydney - she has been in Europe for a few months now and had many interesting things to say. On the Tuesday night Cas, Paige and I all went out on our very own Newcastle pub crawl which was quite interesting - some of which i would rather like to forget happened! But yeah we stayed there for two nights - saw their mini harobour bridge; got into a funny argument with a heap of Geordie guys when we were out because we kept jokingly saying that ours was bigger!

Tip: Never make fun of the Tyne Bridge and say that its a mini harbour bridge - they get easily offended! lol

At the moment I am currently in Edinburgh, Scotland (even though this afternoon I will be in Port Augustas on the Loch Ness!)

I officially love Edinburgh - but i must admit the weather is quite shit. Its about as cold in Australia during winter as it is here during summer, and I think its basically rained at least once every day since I got here.

The city is really weird because its the capital of Scotland yet when you are there it feels so small, and really rural. You can be right in the middle of the city, and look through the buildings to see these huge mountain like looming over the city! Its really breathtaking.

The royal mile (the oldest street in Edfinburgh that leads up to the castle) is very interesting. Now most of the shops are tourist ones trying to sell souviners but all the closes and little alley ways every 10-20m that lead off to the couryards and places where the rich and poor of the city used to live are really interesting.

Went on another walking tour (like the one in London) which was good. Our tour guide was an American girl called Gaja who was really animated throughout the whole tour. She took us to where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter (and showed us the school that inspired Hogwarts), Grayfriars cemetery, Princes street gardens, and the grass market where the gallows of Edinburgh once stood.

Met a Dutch girl named Nicolene in our room, and her and I went on a guided nightime tour of Grayfriars cemetery (where they estimate approx. 400,000 Scots are buried - most in the plagues), and home of the natourious MacKenzie Poltergeist. Nothing really happened on the tour in regards to the Poltergeist but it was reallly interesting none the less. I even had to get up and demonstrate how a witch dunking was done, which would have looked hilarious to someone walking by - wondering why this random girl had her butt stuck up in the air touching her toes.

Went to the national Scottish Museum and the writers museum which is in a 17th century mansion along the royal mile.

Random fact that i found out:
In the old days in Edinburgh the waste of the day as allowed to be thrown out the windows into the street at 10pm. This also happened to be the time when all the pubs in the city closed their doors.
So, you would have all te drunks walking home whilst all the shit and waste of the day was thrown down below (usually onto them). Hence the term we use when someone is drunk "Shit Faced". Ha ha

Oh and Hayley.....

At the national museum of Scotland I found this big elaborate broach on display from 1500 that apparantly belonged to the 'MacLaines of Lochbuy, Mull'. Relatives of yours....?

Oh and by the way....

2008-07-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Forgot to say in the earlier posts that I saw Baz Lurman in Sydney airport. Baz Lurman as in the director!
He was on his phone, but I'm sure it was him. So that was my random star sighting of the year!

=]

Stonehenge and Bath...

2008-07-02T02:51:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 6.30am this morning (early for me I know).
We got on a tour bus about an hour later and started on our way. Why anyone would want to live their whole lives in London (even though it is a beautiful city) is beyond me - the English countryside is just so pretty!
Maybe its the lack of greenery at home that is influencing my thinking, but driving through the lush scenery made the 2 hour bus trip much nicer! The history of the countryside is breathtaking as well. At every little corner is a historical monument, most paddocks are still seperated by the same stone walls that stood there probably 400 years prior, and the way to stonhenge is littered with ancient burial mounds - not noticable to the unsuspecting eye, just mounds of dirt covered in grass and shubs popping up in the fields. HEAVEN!
I must admit stonehenge was breathtaking but a little bit underwhelming at the same time because its actually a lot smaller than photos lead you to believe, still impressive though. I mean don't get me wrong I found I had to pinch myself just to remember that I actually was there, but the ropes surrounding the stones and the 200 or so other tourists that were there kinda ruined the moment.
The 'druids' that were gathering at the site for a ceremony just as we were leaving were interesting - it would have been great to stay and see what they would do - but as our tour guide explained if they were "true druids" their ceremony would have been taking place on an ancient Celtic site at our next destination - Bath.
Possibly the most beautiful city I've seen so far, Bath is a bit of an odd mix of Roman, Georgian and Victorian architecture - all aspects of its history.
The Roman baths were pretty cool, the water looked nice and warm, I was almost tempted to drive in, the green tinge to it stopped me though, oh and the fact that i would have gotten thrown out as well.
Went to the house were Jane Austen lived for a while, also found a nice little park.
How do I say this in the nicest possible way? The sound of Cassie's camera nearly drove me crazy all day! The excitement of the photos taken at Stonehenge spurned her on and turned her into a crazed maniac with the camera. lol

In London we have been using the tube a lot, its a really good but i sucks when you are stuck in the train at peak hour squashed up against smelly people because the train has been suspended as a suspicious package was found on another train on another line. lol
We are catching the train to Yvonne and Clive's today in Surrey, its suppost to rain today (the second time since we've been here which must be a record for London) but luckily I have my Harrods umbrella with me!

Oh and I forgot to add - drove past Bristol and the Welsh border, sooo technically if anyone asks we can say that we've seen Wales; well fog covered mountains at least! ha ha

Love ya's all!!!!
Sarah

Still Jet-lagged!

2008-06-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

Camden

Outside Buckingham Palace

Me with an unlucky guard

Houses of Parliment

Russel Square Station

Tower Bridge

Chop House... ha ha

Cattle trough - thought dad would like this one!

St paul's Cathedral

Cassie and the guard

28.06.2008

I haven't had much chance to write on this blog yet as Cassie and I are still very much adjusting to England (or should I just say it's time zone?)
Where should I start?
The plane trip was very, very, very long and the whole time I only slept about 3 hours.
Stopping in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates was quite an experience, a little bit un-nerving (especially when a random bag was left near us in the airport and security was called), and the airport was quite small - not quite sure whether I want to stop there on my way back but I guess I don't have a choice ey?

We arrived in London at 7.30am - quite a shock to the system as out bodies were obviously still going via Aussie time. I waited in customs for about an hour while some random Indian dude that we met on the plane tried to chat me up and ask for our numbers! All the managed to get was our email addresses - and maybe that was a bad idea?

I must say being in England just feels like I'm in some other state of Australia - its not as different to home as I thought it would be.
I mean there are the obvious physical differences but for some reason at times I still feel like I'm not that far away from home!

London is a beautiful city, soo much nicer than Sydney, and a lot cleaner too! Cassie and I have been walking around and using the underground and amazingly we have only got lost like once! Its very easy to get around!

The hostel we are staying in isn't too bad, the showers a bit yuck but other than that its ok. Every night we are pretty stuffed from walking around all day so we haven't been down in the bar much, but we've already made friends with a girl in our room, Melissa, who is from Miami.

01.07.08
We have been spending most of our days walking around the city looking at the sites. So far we have seen; Big Ben, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, St Pauls Cathedral, Shakespeares Globe Theatre, British Museum.... and pretty much everything else!
We've been shopping in Harrods (bought myself an umbrella... I felt kinda cheap considering everyone else was buying Gucci, Channel, Yves Sait Lauren, Prada, etc, etc). Have also had my pic taken with a (cute!) guard outside Prince Charles' estate.
Been to Camden Markets which were pretty cool... Jane you would love it!
Also drunkenly took the tube the other night to some seedy bar full of Punks in Camden... apparantly its where Amy Winehouse drinks, but we didn't see her! lol Was pretty funny night though!

Even though I mentioned that it feels close to home there are still differences a few of which I'd like to note:

The sun rises at 5am and doesn't set until about 10.30pm in summer; something which sucks big time if you're trying to adjust to a different time zone!

Mars Bars here are so cheap! 36 pence (roughly 80c AUD) , way cheaper than the $2.20 we pay for them in Australia - maybe I should stock up on my way back?

Cabury's choccie here tastes like crap! Us Aussies need to teach the Brit's how to make good chocolate - or maybe they should look to their neighbours in Belgium?

Still trying to find vegemite!

Oh yeah, and I thought it was impossible but I got sunburn't really badly in London! I m mean London of all places! =]

Talk to you all soon,
Sarah