Well, we're home.
Thanks for taking the time to follow our journey.
Everyone's comments were greatly appreciated. It meant a lot to us.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Baby went to Amsterdam.
After 5 months abroad -
I am looking forward to home.
(And Amsterdam....................christ.)
I am looking forward to home.
(And Amsterdam....................christ.)
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Well, Ive changed my flight to the 4th.
More than halfway through our Europe trip I finally find the time to blog. Im sitting in the Ibis hotel lobby of Prague, in the Czech Republic. Brad and I, opting
for a few hours of doing
nothing, skipping a river cruise on one of the canals of the
city, where the majority of our contiki group stuff their faces
with a buffet lunch.
We've done alot of travelling in the past 14 days. From London, we went straight to Paris, where both of us would agree that Paris is perhaps one of the most beautiful,
structured and amazing citys of the world.
From Paris we went to Lucerrne. A major city of Switzerland, that to our surprise, was perhaps just as beautiful as Paris. A lot smaller, but surrounded by snow capped mountains, with a running river that divides the town with crystal clear, blue tinged fresh water.
After Luccerne, we went back to France to a place called Lyon. I tried frog legs and snails. Despite what people say - I wouldnt rate them. Stick to chicken nuggets. At Barcelona, we night clubbed (despite my resistence) and actually had a pretty good time. Next it was Nice (also France). We went to what was described to us, as one of the best pubs in all of Europe. called Waynes Bar, a band started kicking, and we moved from dance floor to table, and didnt step down for another 4 hours (except to buy drinks.)
From there we went to Rome which for me was a major dissapointment. Dirty, unsafe, lots of crime, shitty hotel. Ancient Rome, which I was really looking forward too (I had
the image of
Gladiator in my head) was basically non-existent, and rarely seen - but always talked about. However, we ate perhaps the best pizza of my life (Square pieces not Round) and saw the pope speak from his comfortable deck-chair. Viewed the Cisteen chapel and Michaelangelos paintings. Accidently used the name of Christ in vain because I was so impressed with
what I was seeing. Eg. "JESUS!"
and then I'd realise what I just said, and follow it up with "GODDAMM!" which is equally just as bad.
Venice was incredible. The water in the canals is a light Green, and doesnt appear to be polluted in the same way Londons "Thames" is. There are pigeons everywhere. And thy're honestly just as bad as the rats of london. Brinn and Chad actually kicked some across the courtyard. This is one of the places in the world, where you will see hundreds of pigeons jumping on each other in the attempt to eat the seed below them, and
where people are
covered from head to toe in squirming pigeons,
being photograhed by amused
parents or partners. I walked into the crowd of pigeons, amidst probably 2000 of them, and the overwhelming smell was that of wet dog.
Vienna was like a smaller Paris. Beautiful and clean. We had coffeee, trying to escape the cold. There I saw a Mozart concert with Brad and the majority of our tour. It was fantastic. A woman Opera singer performed with a voice christened by God. Vocal Acrobatics. Incredible.
Then to Munich, where we visited a Beer Hall. They serve the beers in the fmous Steins (1 litre glasses) I had three, missed the bus, and had to catch a taxi home with Will, a new mate of mine. Along the way we got distracted, and ended up walking into a Strip joint. And there...well, all I could drink was water.
From Munich, we've arrived in Prague. And the weather here is colder than Kevid Rudds sense of humour. I amlost lost toes last night. The plan tonight is to have a drink or two tonight. As Czech republic have thier own currency, it means its heaps cheaper to drink. Isntead of payin 6-9 Euros for a beer. Its only 2.
From here its Berlin, then after Berlin, Amsterdam, where the general idea is to see the infamous Red Light district and sit in one of the alternative cafes there. And then London, where Ive arranged for my flight home the very next day, and where Brad I believe is organising to stay in London before he hits up some Jobs.
We are well. A little smelly (our room smells like socks apparently,) and excited about the things to come. I look forward to seeing all of my family and friends very soon. Its an exciting prospect.
With all the love in Paris, Joel.
for a few hours of doing
nothing, skipping a river cruise on one of the canals of the
city, where the majority of our contiki group stuff their faces
with a buffet lunch.
We've done alot of travelling in the past 14 days. From London, we went straight to Paris, where both of us would agree that Paris is perhaps one of the most beautiful,
structured and amazing citys of the world.
From Paris we went to Lucerrne. A major city of Switzerland, that to our surprise, was perhaps just as beautiful as Paris. A lot smaller, but surrounded by snow capped mountains, with a running river that divides the town with crystal clear, blue tinged fresh water.
After Luccerne, we went back to France to a place called Lyon. I tried frog legs and snails. Despite what people say - I wouldnt rate them. Stick to chicken nuggets. At Barcelona, we night clubbed (despite my resistence) and actually had a pretty good time. Next it was Nice (also France). We went to what was described to us, as one of the best pubs in all of Europe. called Waynes Bar, a band started kicking, and we moved from dance floor to table, and didnt step down for another 4 hours (except to buy drinks.)
From there we went to Rome which for me was a major dissapointment. Dirty, unsafe, lots of crime, shitty hotel. Ancient Rome, which I was really looking forward too (I had
the image of
Gladiator in my head) was basically non-existent, and rarely seen - but always talked about. However, we ate perhaps the best pizza of my life (Square pieces not Round) and saw the pope speak from his comfortable deck-chair. Viewed the Cisteen chapel and Michaelangelos paintings. Accidently used the name of Christ in vain because I was so impressed with
what I was seeing. Eg. "JESUS!"
and then I'd realise what I just said, and follow it up with "GODDAMM!" which is equally just as bad.
Venice was incredible. The water in the canals is a light Green, and doesnt appear to be polluted in the same way Londons "Thames" is. There are pigeons everywhere. And thy're honestly just as bad as the rats of london. Brinn and Chad actually kicked some across the courtyard. This is one of the places in the world, where you will see hundreds of pigeons jumping on each other in the attempt to eat the seed below them, and
where people are
covered from head to toe in squirming pigeons,
being photograhed by amused
parents or partners. I walked into the crowd of pigeons, amidst probably 2000 of them, and the overwhelming smell was that of wet dog.
Vienna was like a smaller Paris. Beautiful and clean. We had coffeee, trying to escape the cold. There I saw a Mozart concert with Brad and the majority of our tour. It was fantastic. A woman Opera singer performed with a voice christened by God. Vocal Acrobatics. Incredible.
Then to Munich, where we visited a Beer Hall. They serve the beers in the fmous Steins (1 litre glasses) I had three, missed the bus, and had to catch a taxi home with Will, a new mate of mine. Along the way we got distracted, and ended up walking into a Strip joint. And there...well, all I could drink was water.
From Munich, we've arrived in Prague. And the weather here is colder than Kevid Rudds sense of humour. I amlost lost toes last night. The plan tonight is to have a drink or two tonight. As Czech republic have thier own currency, it means its heaps cheaper to drink. Isntead of payin 6-9 Euros for a beer. Its only 2.
From here its Berlin, then after Berlin, Amsterdam, where the general idea is to see the infamous Red Light district and sit in one of the alternative cafes there. And then London, where Ive arranged for my flight home the very next day, and where Brad I believe is organising to stay in London before he hits up some Jobs.
We are well. A little smelly (our room smells like socks apparently,) and excited about the things to come. I look forward to seeing all of my family and friends very soon. Its an exciting prospect.
With all the love in Paris, Joel.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
The name of our carer: Contiki.
After finishing our 2 months of work at Fort William, Scotland. Moving forwards, to better things, we stayed approximately a week at Edinburgh, the beautiful captial city of Scotland - relaxing, drinking, eating out, reading - collecting ourselves after too long a time working under stressful hospitality conditions.
Its Friday (we're a day behind Australia) the 9th and we've moved to London, taking an 8 hour bus journey to get here, we're spending our last night in London before taking the Contiki tour-bus to Paris early in the morning.
We're with Brin and Chad. Two mates we met while working at the Alexandra Hotel in Fort William. As I know I have mentioned before, they're coming with us. Or we're going with them. Depends upon whether you look at the glass half-full or half-empty.
Our Eating habits since leaving the Alexandra has perhaps dropped only slightly. We're wiser now, you see. By doing the backpacker thing for the first month and a half, has given has invaluable experience and where to go to eat. Where to stay. Where to go when we're lost. Carting the backpacks around today from Picadilly to....um, well, another place in London (4 - 5 k's) with significant less pain and discomfit, its good to see that we've grown. Become more resilient, more worldy, stronger.
I remember my Dad saying to me before leaving for University in 2006 "I think we're going to see so much difference in you. Uni's going to make you stronger. You'll come back changed. But after University, when I returned home, I think the change was very subtle, perhaps dissapointing. Comparatively with this trip, I think the difference will be profound. 2007's the year Dad. Im not sure about Brad, (we all take our own inner journey), but after nearly 4 months away, moving from place to place, forcing yourself to talk to people, socially and for survival, work expeirience, knowing when to bite your tongue, there's a larger difference. A good one. A change.
Im really looking forward to home. SometimesI think of how much Im enjoying my self here and the idea of home sounds ridiculous. Scary even. But other days it seems like the best thing in the world. I think of all the friends I'm missing so much and the lack of time I have to contact each and everyone of them, even though its my time they deserve. I have best friends I havent been able to talk to since being over here. And some of my other thoughts revolve around how exactly they will all take to me when I return. It's naive to think that everyone and everything is going to be the same when I return, even though change is actually a good thing (despite how I feel about it), I wouldn't really mind if Laurieton, Camden Haven, Port MacQuarie, the Mid North Coast just went on hiatus until I returned.
Its Friday (we're a day behind Australia) the 9th and we've moved to London, taking an 8 hour bus journey to get here, we're spending our last night in London before taking the Contiki tour-bus to Paris early in the morning.
We're with Brin and Chad. Two mates we met while working at the Alexandra Hotel in Fort William. As I know I have mentioned before, they're coming with us. Or we're going with them. Depends upon whether you look at the glass half-full or half-empty.
Our Eating habits since leaving the Alexandra has perhaps dropped only slightly. We're wiser now, you see. By doing the backpacker thing for the first month and a half, has given has invaluable experience and where to go to eat. Where to stay. Where to go when we're lost. Carting the backpacks around today from Picadilly to....um, well, another place in London (4 - 5 k's) with significant less pain and discomfit, its good to see that we've grown. Become more resilient, more worldy, stronger.
I remember my Dad saying to me before leaving for University in 2006 "I think we're going to see so much difference in you. Uni's going to make you stronger. You'll come back changed. But after University, when I returned home, I think the change was very subtle, perhaps dissapointing. Comparatively with this trip, I think the difference will be profound. 2007's the year Dad. Im not sure about Brad, (we all take our own inner journey), but after nearly 4 months away, moving from place to place, forcing yourself to talk to people, socially and for survival, work expeirience, knowing when to bite your tongue, there's a larger difference. A good one. A change.
Im really looking forward to home. SometimesI think of how much Im enjoying my self here and the idea of home sounds ridiculous. Scary even. But other days it seems like the best thing in the world. I think of all the friends I'm missing so much and the lack of time I have to contact each and everyone of them, even though its my time they deserve. I have best friends I havent been able to talk to since being over here. And some of my other thoughts revolve around how exactly they will all take to me when I return. It's naive to think that everyone and everything is going to be the same when I return, even though change is actually a good thing (despite how I feel about it), I wouldn't really mind if Laurieton, Camden Haven, Port MacQuarie, the Mid North Coast just went on hiatus until I returned.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Hi Boys and Girls
Hey Hey Everyone!
Sorry its been a while since the last post, i have been too lazy, surprise surprise!
At the moment we are in Edinburgh and we DON'T HAVE TO WORK! Woohoo! Its such a good feeling being able to bum around again! Love it!
We are in Edinbourgh for the next week, which is a great place to be. Such an awesome city with a fair bit of stuff to see and do. We are back in an awesome hostel aswell, although after staying in a hotel for 2 months it takes a bit of getting used to again. Arrgh people getting up at 7am! Its a time for sleeping not walking around the room packing at 10000decibells!
I have an annoncement to make as well! I bought a jumper, no more coldness for me! haha!
But really there isn't too much to say, we head to London on the 8th of November with Brin and Chad, two of the Aussie guys we meet in Fort William, and from there we start our Contiki tour around Europe which should be good fun!
Thats about it from me, just a quick one to let you know we are still alive! Ill leave you with a photo of Joel i took the other day, he hasn't changed too much...
Take care everyone!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
There once was a mushroom named little jimmy...
Hey Guys,
Just a quick one to let you know we are still alive! 6 more nights until we leave here... Woooohooo! Cant wait! I have been giving away alot of my shifts at work so that i dont have to work as much, and the only thing keepingme sane at the moment is photography and drinking! Anyways here are a couple of shots i took today, i have a laptop so i thought i would upload them.
ciao...
Just a quick one to let you know we are still alive! 6 more nights until we leave here... Woooohooo! Cant wait! I have been giving away alot of my shifts at work so that i dont have to work as much, and the only thing keepingme sane at the moment is photography and drinking! Anyways here are a couple of shots i took today, i have a laptop so i thought i would upload them.
ciao...
I call this one "chair on a hill" ha!
"La Tele phona"
Something also Noteworthy.
Aahh....actually,
Im arriving home on the 9th of December at 7:25 am.
not the 8th, Oops.
Terminal No. 1.
Sorry for the stuff up everyone.
Mark that one on your calendar.
Im arriving home on the 9th of December at 7:25 am.
not the 8th, Oops.
Terminal No. 1.
Sorry for the stuff up everyone.
Mark that one on your calendar.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
10 days and counting....
Hey Guys,
How is everyone. Not too much has been happening here. We have survived the busiest week of the year in Fort William..."The Mod". It involved us being kicked out of the hotel into a B&B for 8 days straight which had its good and bad points. We have also been pulling 10-13hr shifts until 4am in the morning behind the bar, but its all over wooooooo! We also have 10 days left of working here!!!
The 17th of October was our 3month anaversary overseas, and we decided that we needed to do something special, however we had the small delemia that we were both working in the bar until 4am, so we accommodated this into our plan. By the end of the shift, we were prety much legless, and counting the till was a 2hr mission! It was a good night though, free drinks on the house!! haha
Anyways apart from that we are just biding our time until the contiki tour starts. Should be good fun!
Anyways this isnt a very structured post, im ust typing whatever comes to my head, so ill love you and leave you and i hope everyone is ok!
Take care...
How is everyone. Not too much has been happening here. We have survived the busiest week of the year in Fort William..."The Mod". It involved us being kicked out of the hotel into a B&B for 8 days straight which had its good and bad points. We have also been pulling 10-13hr shifts until 4am in the morning behind the bar, but its all over wooooooo! We also have 10 days left of working here!!!
The 17th of October was our 3month anaversary overseas, and we decided that we needed to do something special, however we had the small delemia that we were both working in the bar until 4am, so we accommodated this into our plan. By the end of the shift, we were prety much legless, and counting the till was a 2hr mission! It was a good night though, free drinks on the house!! haha
Anyways apart from that we are just biding our time until the contiki tour starts. Should be good fun!
Anyways this isnt a very structured post, im ust typing whatever comes to my head, so ill love you and leave you and i hope everyone is ok!
Take care...
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Something Noteworthy.
Im heading home, arriving in Australia on:
The 8th of December. Sydney. Australia.
Mark it on your calendars.
The 8th of December. Sydney. Australia.
Mark it on your calendars.
Monday, October 8, 2007
The Hogwarts Express is now departing...
Hey Everyone, How is everything going? I hope everyone is ok and not missing us too much. i know me and Joely are missing you guys back home!! This is hopefully going to be a long post with lots of photos, so much to tell! Firstly i hate the weather in the UK, it sux! Alhough we have had some sunshine in the last couple of days, its nothing compared with Aus, but anywho there is nothing i can do about it until i finish building the weather changer 5000 but thats another story...
Ok where to start, work is crap and i am over it. I don't like management and i dont like being a waitor. I can't wait to get out of here and start our contiki tour around europe which looks as though it is booked for the 10th of November, woohoo! The light at the end of the tunnell! I have been homesick lately but thats mainly due to the lack of travelling i think! Also i am going to stay over here until next year some time, which means i am not coming back with Joely! Come on guys put those tissues away ill be home soon :P
Last week we hired a car with three other guys, Andy, Joanna and Moy and travelled to a place called the Isle of Skye. At first i thought we wern't going to make it 10miles down the road, Andy our driver hadn't driven for over a year and had never drive on the left hand side of the road before. So just coming out of the Hotel we almost had an accident at the round about and about 20mins down the road we hit the gutted and lost our hubcap! But apart from that the rest of the trip went reasonably smooth driving wise, i even got to have a crack at driving our Fiat Punto! The first day at Skye we had awesome weather!! The sun was shining and it was magical. The senery was amazing! We ended up climbing not one, but two mountains that day! The first mountain was just shy of 1000m and the second was about 700m. The veiws from the top were spectacular. Some of the most beautiful views i have ever seen! Although by the time we got to the bottom of the first mountain we were buggered, and then we drove to the second mountain and had to go again!
Now the second mountain is where it got interesting...We didn't start the trek until about 4pm (The sun doesn't go down until around 7pm) and as it was a smaller mountain it was goiong to be a bit quicker, weeeelllllll we ended up losin the track, so instead of turning around we decided to keep going and try to link up with the track...First mistake. The Second Mistake was that we were still on top of the mountain when the sun went down (although i got some great sunset piccies) and the third mistake was that we tried to scale a cliff face! This was one of the scariest things i have ever done in my life. We were walking along the top of a sheer vertical cliff, that had a rocky drop of about 100m along a narrow sheep track on slippery rocks/grass with our back packs!!!! There was also limited light, but if we bactracked it would mean that we would be on the mountain for at least another hour or more. SO as we scalled along the cliff face it got to a point where it became impossible to keep on going, so we had to turn around. It was at this stage becoming increasingly darker and me Joel and Joanna decided to backtrack, because we at least knew the way, However Andy and Moy were adament they could keep pressing foward on a different track and it would be quicker. Mistake number 4, we split up! As the three of us back track on the path it turend to darkness, and we found ourselves joggin along the path to make up time, and i know the only thing keeping me going was adrenaline. It was getting cold and everynow and then we would stray off the path due to darkness and we had to find our bearings again and dind the track! By some miracle we made it down the mountain and arrived at the car at Exactly the same time as Moy and Andy, it was unbelievable. Cold and Hungry we high tailed it to the supermarket and stocked up on food and alcohol, relieved we were in the warm! Looking back on it it was a great adventure and a great story!! The next couple of days we drove around Skye which was great, soo good to get away from work!!
Also lately the Warner Bros team has been staying in Our hotel as they are filming Some parts of the new Harry Potter movie which is cool! Its pretty much just a small division shooting parts of the film, no stars or anything BUT Fort William is the Home of the Hogwarts Express!! Its not open to the public, However one of the Guys we work with, Sterling, also works at the local railway station. So at 11pm one night, me, Joel Sterling and the two drivers of the Hogwarts Express went down to the train yard...Sterling sweet talked the security gaurd and we were let in. There in front of us was the HOGWARTS EXPRESS!! Still steaming from the days filming! It was awesome!!! We even got let into the drivers cabin!! The train was huuuuge aswell! Looks so much bigger in real life!! But yeh was awesome!!!
Anyways thats really all that has been happening, the next week we are going to be very busy at work which im not looking foward to... Well thats enough rambling from me, so here are the photos, hope everyone is good back home! Missing you all!!
Ok where to start, work is crap and i am over it. I don't like management and i dont like being a waitor. I can't wait to get out of here and start our contiki tour around europe which looks as though it is booked for the 10th of November, woohoo! The light at the end of the tunnell! I have been homesick lately but thats mainly due to the lack of travelling i think! Also i am going to stay over here until next year some time, which means i am not coming back with Joely! Come on guys put those tissues away ill be home soon :P
Last week we hired a car with three other guys, Andy, Joanna and Moy and travelled to a place called the Isle of Skye. At first i thought we wern't going to make it 10miles down the road, Andy our driver hadn't driven for over a year and had never drive on the left hand side of the road before. So just coming out of the Hotel we almost had an accident at the round about and about 20mins down the road we hit the gutted and lost our hubcap! But apart from that the rest of the trip went reasonably smooth driving wise, i even got to have a crack at driving our Fiat Punto! The first day at Skye we had awesome weather!! The sun was shining and it was magical. The senery was amazing! We ended up climbing not one, but two mountains that day! The first mountain was just shy of 1000m and the second was about 700m. The veiws from the top were spectacular. Some of the most beautiful views i have ever seen! Although by the time we got to the bottom of the first mountain we were buggered, and then we drove to the second mountain and had to go again!
Now the second mountain is where it got interesting...We didn't start the trek until about 4pm (The sun doesn't go down until around 7pm) and as it was a smaller mountain it was goiong to be a bit quicker, weeeelllllll we ended up losin the track, so instead of turning around we decided to keep going and try to link up with the track...First mistake. The Second Mistake was that we were still on top of the mountain when the sun went down (although i got some great sunset piccies) and the third mistake was that we tried to scale a cliff face! This was one of the scariest things i have ever done in my life. We were walking along the top of a sheer vertical cliff, that had a rocky drop of about 100m along a narrow sheep track on slippery rocks/grass with our back packs!!!! There was also limited light, but if we bactracked it would mean that we would be on the mountain for at least another hour or more. SO as we scalled along the cliff face it got to a point where it became impossible to keep on going, so we had to turn around. It was at this stage becoming increasingly darker and me Joel and Joanna decided to backtrack, because we at least knew the way, However Andy and Moy were adament they could keep pressing foward on a different track and it would be quicker. Mistake number 4, we split up! As the three of us back track on the path it turend to darkness, and we found ourselves joggin along the path to make up time, and i know the only thing keeping me going was adrenaline. It was getting cold and everynow and then we would stray off the path due to darkness and we had to find our bearings again and dind the track! By some miracle we made it down the mountain and arrived at the car at Exactly the same time as Moy and Andy, it was unbelievable. Cold and Hungry we high tailed it to the supermarket and stocked up on food and alcohol, relieved we were in the warm! Looking back on it it was a great adventure and a great story!! The next couple of days we drove around Skye which was great, soo good to get away from work!!
Also lately the Warner Bros team has been staying in Our hotel as they are filming Some parts of the new Harry Potter movie which is cool! Its pretty much just a small division shooting parts of the film, no stars or anything BUT Fort William is the Home of the Hogwarts Express!! Its not open to the public, However one of the Guys we work with, Sterling, also works at the local railway station. So at 11pm one night, me, Joel Sterling and the two drivers of the Hogwarts Express went down to the train yard...Sterling sweet talked the security gaurd and we were let in. There in front of us was the HOGWARTS EXPRESS!! Still steaming from the days filming! It was awesome!!! We even got let into the drivers cabin!! The train was huuuuge aswell! Looks so much bigger in real life!! But yeh was awesome!!!
Anyways thats really all that has been happening, the next week we are going to be very busy at work which im not looking foward to... Well thats enough rambling from me, so here are the photos, hope everyone is good back home! Missing you all!!
Ontop of one of the mountains
Starting the trek and already stopping for a drink ;)
Me Photographibg something ot other
Joely @ Skye
Hogwarts Express!
In The Hogwarts Expressssssss
And again...
And again..
And again...
Hogwarts Express @ night
Extreme Jenga! 
oo wants a cuppa tea n a bikkie
Outside a passenger car of the hogwarts Express
And another shot
And again...
ha! 
Somewhere in Skye
Sunset on a mountain - Isle of Skye
Ontop of the world...
Coming down the mountain
Awesome!
base of one of the mountains
The airforce does alot of testing around the mountain. Two planes flew so close to the ground over us, and it was extremely loud! Lucky i had the camera out cause they were cracking!!!
The Road ahead
me..
Joanna and Andy
Joel, me and Joanna
Sunrise from our bunkhouse - Isle of Skye
Loch Ness
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