Pictures

I have uploaded all my pictures to facebook, and for those of you who do not have facebook I uploaded pictures to Picasa. Here is the link to my pictures from my trip: https://picasaweb.google.com/100176757605999802368/AUSTRALIA2012 

I am still in the midst of unpacking, however I got home Monday evening at 5:30pm and went to work Tuesday morning! I am finally 5 days later, no longer jet lagged, but am still trying to settle back into my everyday life. I've already started trying to decide where my next big trip might be. I know I want to go back to do the rest of Australia's east coast, see the Great Barrier Reef, but it costs so much to get over there, that I might go back to Europe and see the parts that I didn't see last time for my next big trip. I'm sure between now and then I will go on some small ones, like to visit the Canadians or a cruise in the Caribbean. We shall see what comes my way...

Bye for now <3

Some things I've noticed about Australia or Australians (or been told by locals)

Some things I've noticed about Australia or Australians (or been told by locals) 
Bogen-bum 
Daro-bum (hipster-I think)
Heaps-lots
I reckon- I reckon I'll be back to Australia sooner than later. 
Cupper-coffee/tea
Ute-truck (utility truck) 
Brekkie-breakfast
Cheers-hello, goodbye, thanks 
Take away-to go
Bottle shop- liquor store
I need to go to hospital- I need to go to THE hospital.

People are extremely friendly here, going out of their way to show you the way or make sure you understand. The food is much better here, portions are smaller and the food tastes fresher. I always forget how processed America's food is, even the things you think are more natural are still process, like milk. Staying is hostels is a pain, but I've met a bunch of people from all over the world. Through my journey I have stayed in rooms with English, Irish, Canadian, and French. Ive also met Germans, Norwegians, Israeli, Scottish, and I'm sure other counties i just cant remember. I have met heaps of English and Canadians doing the year work/holiday visa, and I have to admit I'm going to look into that, because I've always wanted to live in a different country for a long time, and from what I've heard it's much easier getting a year visa here than anywhere else.   I just started getting used to driving on the opposite side of the road and getting into the passenger side of the car/bus from the other side. As their cars are driven on the left side, they also yield while walking towards the left. I frequently stepped right when someone was coming towards me, and have just started getting us to stepping left when walking. Also sunscreen is used religiously here, where I feel like back home there is a stigma, like oh I don't have to where sunscreen, I don't burn, when burning isn't th only at to damage your skin.  The ozone layer is thin and/or gone over Austrlaia is its extra improtant they use sunscreen.  If I think of more from my trip I will update again. All in all, I really enjoyed my trip, and Australia and I can't wait til I can save up and do the top half of the east coast, seeing the Great Barrier Reef and the beautiful looking islands!

Bye for now <3

Day 12-13

The next stop is Byron Bay, and everyone we have met along the way or that live in Australia say that Byron Bay is THE place to go! I will be spending the last part of the trip with the girls in Byron Bay, and it is the weekend in Byron Bay too so it should be alot of fun!  Looking forward to the last few days of my trip in this great place. I will continue onto Brisbane alone on Sunday, then Monday morning head home. 

Day twelve, Byron Bay was a lot of fun! we arrived around 7:30pm checked into our hostel and headed out to dinner. Since earlier that day we were surfing, we had to shower and get ready for the evening. We went to a cafe for dinner, cafes are common here, and they serve a variety of things, I got a steak sandwich, the girls both got pasta specials. Yet again the food was great. After dinner we went to the nightclub across the street from our hotel, called Cocomangos. It was interesting. Everyone around us was plastered, spilling drinks on us, and knocking into us. We danced for a bit, but couldn't stand the drunkards so we left soon after. After sleeping in the next morning we went to the beach and enjoyed the weather, however even with clouds (fluffy white ones) we were baking, literally it felt like our insides were cooking. We stayed out for an hour maybe, but even with frequent trips to the water it was too hot. Due to Max's toe nail being removed, she couldn't get into the water, so we couldn't just go sit in the water while enjoying the beach. The girls went back to the hostel after the beach, but since it was my last day I wanted to enjoy it a bit more, so I wandered down the beach and then around the little city a bit. That night we went and listened to live music during dinner, then out to the nightclubs. We tried one called Cheeky Monkeys, we were told that it's where all the tourists go, and that although it's over crowded, it's a must visit. Their bar is so small that they have bleachers for you to stand/dance on, so they could fit more people into the bar. It was a fun last night with the girls. 
Day thirteen, I said my goodbyes too early in the morning to the girls and caught a bus up to Brisbane, which is in Queensland. Throughout my travels I have been to three of the states (Victoria, New South Wales, & Queensland). I wandered around Brisbane for the day, seeing the South Bank where an outdoor market was going on, and thy had tons of fun little shops and cafes. I spent the evening in, because Sunday evening there isn't much to do besides go out to dinner or bars, and I didn't want to go alone. It was nice to stay in and relax a bit, Queensland is on a different time zone, one hour ahead, and then tomorrow with the crazy time change going home, my body is all messed up. The hostel in Brisbane has a tv in a common room, so I was able to sit back, relax, an watch some tv. The flight home will be wicked since, I'm going back to reality I don't have the excitement of my trip anymore, and the whole trip I will travel alone, so the 25hr trip will feel much longer than the 30hr trip on the way there. The only good part is that I leave Monday morning, and get back to NC Monday evening! I don't loose any days like I did on the way to Oz. 

Bye for now <3

Day 10-11

Day ten was spent on the bus.  The trip from Sydney to our surf camp, at Spot X, (Arrawarra, NSW) was 10 hours!  So we spent all day on the bus, literally all day!  We met a few cool guys that are headed to our next stop in Byron Bay and thy helped pass the last few hours on the long trip.  Spot X is all inclusive, feeding us dinner, breakfast, and lunch.  The accommodations were shacks, well shacks may be too nice, it was a cargo box that they would use to ship cargo on ships.... I unfortunately did not eat dinner, everything had garlic, except the salad, which I don't do either...so I had two dinner rolls for dinner!  Luckily breakfast and lunch I could eat on day eleven.  
Day eleven, we woke up early go dressed in our suits and after breakfast headed down to our 2hr surf lesson. Since I have been a handful of times surfing, my goal was to catch my own awe and stand up.  I've always had a difficult time, needing someone to push me in order to catch the wave. I was the only one in our group who had ever been on a surf board, so it was fun to watch the Canadians, and all the others stand up and catch their first waves!  And i was able to catch one wave all by myself and ride it in!  I caught others, but with the help of the instructor. Amongst the fun of surfing, Max somehow ripped her left big toe nail up! Thankfully it was near the end of the lesson, and they took us into town to the doctor for her to get her nail removed.  We spent the afternoon enjoying the calm, laid back atmosphere after being exhausted from the surfing. We caught the bus that night, which was much more crowded than the first one, luckily we only have a few hours on this bus. The next stop is Byron Bay, and everyone we have met along the way or that live in Austrlaia say that Byron Bay is THE place to go! I will be spending the last part of the trip with the girls in Byron Bay, and it is the weekend in Byron Bay too so it should be alot of fun!  Looking forward to the last few days of my trip in this great place. I will continue onto Brisbane alone on Sunday, then Monday morning head home. 

Bye for now <3

Almost over :(

I am only a few days before I have to head back to reality, and the Canadians are starting to plan their second half of their trip to all the amazing islands, and beaches, and the Great Barrier Reef!  It definitely is making me jealous and sad that I can not continue on with them, however I already know I will be back to do the second half of the east coast.  I just have to start saving again for the next trip.  As they plan I am paying attention of what places locals say are good to go and what places an be skipped, and what companies are best/cheapest to use.  I will be well educated in Queensland for my next trip, and cannot wait til I save up enough to come back and see the wonderful beaches Australia has to offer! 

Day 8-9

Day eight, beach!!!!  It was so nice to spend some time in the sun, since it is summer time here.  Today we checked into our hostel in Sydney and headed down to Bondi Beach. We spent the afternoon on the beach, enjoying the sun and the cool water. Dani and Sarah came and met up with us at the beach, where we said goodbye to them. :( In a few short days, I was able to make some really good friends! After frying....well actually somehow i was the only one that walked away with barely any burn, we went to dinner in Darling Harbour, near our hostel, we're we yet again had a great meal. (Australia has some amazing sunscreen, the one I bought also has zinc, which helps alot!) I plan on bringing back a few bottles.  
Day nine, due to issues with our bus pass (booking the first leg of our trip too late) we are staying in Sydney a day/night more than anticipated).  Since its summer and peak traveling time you must book things far in advance, and we were unable to get 3 seats on a bus up the coast until Thursday. We will unfortunately be skipping Coffs Harbour due to the delay, however according to all the locals, aka our friends and their family, Coffs Harbour is not a need to see place. We will be stopping tomorrow (day ten) in spot x surf camp, where accommodations and food is already included in our bus pass thingy, and a 2 hour surf lesson!  Super excited to get more time on a surf board, and maybe after two hours I will no longer need someone to push me into the wave in order to catch it. Enough about tomorrow, today we spent the day shopping in Sydney, and due to our sunburns decided not to spend as much time at the beaches, although it was another beautiful day. We really wanted to check out where the locals go though and head out to Manly beach.  We ended up deciding that sun today would not be our friends, so we went to their big shopping center and did a bit of shopping, only going into Australian stores. We also decided to go low key tonight, staying at the hostel bar for dinner and drinks ($5 meals and $3 drinks!)
Side note: We have noted that food courts here are not food courts like back home. They do not have McDonalds or Burger King in them, they have gourmet restaurants, and they have a wide variety of choices. You also do not have to tip here, in restaurants, which I feel bad about, but their hourly rate is SO much higher than ours back home for retail or restaurant jobs.  All the food we have had, has been so good, even in the food court, having a meal on a plate with real silverware in a mall food court is just not something I have ever fond in the states, nor has the Canadians in Canada. We have all been really impressed with their food, and the quality of their food.  Enough babbling about food, I will try and write soon to update about our surf lesson (day eleven).

Bye for now <3

Day 6-7

Day six, as said before was spent in Sydney. We stayed in a hotel, a nice one, right on Darling Harbour. We were celebrating Sarah's birthday, where we went out to dinner on the Harbour. We went to a great steak restaurant where we all had good food, drink, and company. We were actually the last party to leave at 11pm, they were packing up the tables around us.  After dinner we went out to the Kings Cross area to have a night out on the town, but after all the rich food we gave up quite quick. 
Day seven, we spent the day traveling to see koalas and kangaroos. There is a wildlife sanctuary outside the city center, so we took a train and bus out there. It poured all the way out and during the whole visit at the wildlife sanctuary. However, we were able to pet, feed, and take pictures with the koalas and kangaroos. We saw several other animals there, but getting to interact and be up close and personal with the Aussie animals was so fun. The adventure was trying to get back to Sarah's house, where due to rail work, we took several trains and buses. The weather was gorgeous and finally no cloud, so we spent the afternoon out laying around the pool.  Sarah's mother made a wonderful dinner for us that evening, with roast, potatoes, the works! It was amazing, as most of the food we have had here in Sydney, actually all over Australia.  The food is fresher, and just so much better tasting. That evening was spent planning the rest of the trip and figuring out our days. Instead of flying by the seat of our pants, we started to plan a bit since we now have to book our bus trips and accommodations for the other days. The evening was relaxing and a well needed break from the go go go we have had.  
Day eight, tomorrow, we are going to the beach!  More than likely Manly beach (where the locals go), and possibly Bondi Beach (which is the really touristy place to visit).  Update in a few days, It possibly may not be for a week.  The rest of the trip consists of:surf lessons, beaches, beaches, and more beaches. And several evenings out in the beach town. ;) 

Bye for now <3

Day 4-6

Day four was spent all day on the road. Mel has now mastered driving on the opposite side of the road and opposite side of the car!  The drive reminded me of driving from LA to SF, very dry, with random trees along the way, sometimes hilly and sometimes flat.  The only difference is instead of seeing deer crossing, you see kangaroo crossing, and we saw several dead kangaroos.  :(. When we finally completed the 9 hour drive, we arrived and Sarah's house. Mel and Max met Sarah in Greece two and a half years ago, right after the tour I met them on. Sarah, as most Australians I've met, is super nice, and graciously welcomed  me (a stranger into her house).  Her parents are so hospitable, making sure our beds are made, that we have chance to do laundry, and constantly double checking that we don't need anything else, food, tea, etc.  Sarah's birthday was the day we arrived, day four, so she had a small party in h backyard where we were able to meet all her friends.  Her birthday is an all weekend celebration, ending Sunday night with dinner and clubs in, Sydney's Darling Harbor area.   Side note: Sarah's mom spent the evenings trying to convince all three of us that A) 4 days I not long enough in Sydney, and B) we should just move here for a year, because thats about how long it takes to see everything, and it is good learn about other peoples culture.  I told her several times I would love to live in a different country, and will hopefully, even for a year, live in another country, because the way other countries live fascinates me. 
Day five, was full of nature.  Sarah took us to a local spot for breakfast, one of my favorite things is to live like the locals. After that we took the rental car back, Mel has never been so happy to be a passenger, however by the end of the trip she had mastered driving on the opposite side of the road. Sarah then took us  up to the Blue Mountains. Ive heard thy are beautiful, however the weather has not been on our side, rainy, overcast, and windy since we have arrived. So by the time we got up the mountain it was foggy, and we couldn't see anything, but we drove up there so we at least wandered around the forest a bit. That night we spent the night at Dani's house, Sarah's best mate, who also met Max and Mel two years ago on their vacation in Europe, Greece to be exact.  We had a proper Aussie BBQ, with ribs, steak, chicken, sausage, the works. It was great.  
Day six, we took the bus into Sydney and spent the day wandering around, seeing all the sights. We went shopping, and saw the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, and Darling Harbour. Not too much to report, the city reminds me alot of NYC, jute a busy city. We are staying the evening at a hotel in Darling Harbour, going out to celebrate Sarah's birthday with dinner and a night out on the town Sydney Style. The weather today was yet again crappy, so we are hoping tomorrow is better so we can go over to Bondi Beach. At the moment I am sitting I am sitting in the hotel lobby watching it pour outside, and they are stating that this is the worst weather/summer weather, they have had in over 50 years. 

Bye for now <3

Day 2-4

Day two, according to the airport bag area they have no idea where my bag is.  It was suppose to be on a flight from LAX to Sydney, but it wasn't on the flight when they checked in Sydney.  :(. Sigh. So they said they would try and a track it down, between the three days of calling, I called the lost bag place 14 times! So basically day two my bag was lost again, they had no idea where it was since it didn't end up on the flight it was suppose to. Thank goodness I'm with my two Canadian friends, one wears the same size bottomed, the other the same size tops!  So I have been borrowing clothes, and hygiene products from them while trying to locate my bag and get it to myself.  Moral of the story, when traveling get travels insurance, and keep an extra set of clothes in a carry on!  Day two we spent in the city center.  We woke to pouring rain and 64 degree weather.  By the time we ate and got ready it was sprinkling, and by the end of the day it was sunny and windy.  We wandered around downtown Melbourne, which we were told by a friend is not called downtown, just the city.   Everyone is very friendly and whenever we got lost, anyone was willing to help point us in the right direction. Our observation is that Australians, or at least in Melbourne are very laid back and live life at a bit slower pace, which is amazing for being on "holiday". We went shopping and saw Federation Square, where at night they have lots of events, outdoor movies, etc. The city is very artsy, and graffiti is art work here. We met up with a friend for dinner, who we met two and a half year ago when we were on our Europe vacation, the ame trip i met Max and Mel. It was great to catch up in person. He took us to a "Melbourne dinner". In Melbourne they love Chicken Parms, but they just call them Parmas, they have several different options and combinations.  After dinner we went to a bar down an ally. Our friend said that the best bars in Melbourne are down random alleyways, it was a lab turned into a bar, so they had beakers, stools, and even syringes in the drinks. Note to self, aniseed  (tastes like licorice) is gross and used in many drinks in Australia!  It was so great to catch up and see Phill, and get a taste of how the locals live.  Day three, called about my bag and the man I talked to was the most competent, and helpful I haven yet to speak to. He said my bag would be arriving any minute on a flight into Melbourne and he would go check personally to see if it was actually there. He then called me giving me the best news, that it is here!  They will deliver it to the hostel that we are staying at tonight! Yay! Day three is driving. We did the Great Ocean Road, the best comparison is like driving up PCH. It's a road along the ocean with several cities along the way to stop to see the gorgeous ocean, beaches and cliffs. The only difference between the Great Ocean Road and PCH, is that the ocean is turquoise/blue.  At the end of the 6 hr drive of the Great Ocean Road is the Twelve Apostles.  I don't know the history behind them exactly, and the information center was closed by the time we got there (will have research that once I get back). Unfortunately there are only 6 of the 12 Apostles remaining. They were pretty. The whole day I was a bit stressed and looking at the clock, because the hostel we had booked, the hostel where my luggage was being delivered closed at 9pm. After another few hour drive, we got to the hostel at 8:30, and I finally had my luggage!!!! It was so nice to change clothes, brush my teeth with a toothbrush, and shower with my own products. The receptionist said "it's like Christmas morning all over again" and that would probably be an accurate statement to say!  Day four is dedicated to driving to Sydney. Today we have a 10ish hour drive in front of us. The only good thing is that Max and Mel have friends in Sydney that we are staying with while there. There hopefully won't be to much to report from today, just hopefully we don't get lost on our way to Sydney, that was half the adventure yesterday.   Bye for now <3

And the Adventure Begins.....

Where to begin.....first off I should warn you over the past 3 days I have gotten a total of 6-7 hours of sleep, on top of that I completely lost a day between travel time and time change.  My flight from North Carolina to Melbourne, Australia was a total of 30 hours travel time, my flight from NC was delayed, I hate Delta, and I made it to my connection with seconds to spare.  I ran through the airport and literally had them stop closing the door so that I can get on the flight.  I was able to see my parents on my stopover in LA, and then the Canadians and I got on our 15hr flight to Australia.  The flight was over night and due to the time change lost a day. I slept about an hour maybe two during that trip. When we got to Melbourne we spent an hour waiting to go through Customs and then when we got to baggage claim, guess who's luggage was not there!!  That's right! After another half hour I found out my luggage is still in America. Luckily they said my bag will arrive tomorrow afternoon, fingers cross it makes the couple connections it has to in order to get to Melbourne.  I'm the stupid one that didn't put a change of clothes in my carry on or have travels insurance. Sigh... We landed at 8:40am and didn't leave the airport until 1pm.  We have a hire car for a few days and it's quite interesting to watch Mel drive, because it's the opposite side of the car and road than what the USA or Canada are used to.  Once we made it to the hostel we wandered around the neighborhood where our hostel is,  which we got lost trying to find from the airport.  Due to sleep deprivation, we decided to stay in at the hostel and mingle with others staying here.  There is a bar downstairs in the hostel, so we are thinking about just going down there, trying to make it til 8pm before crashing for the night.  Tomorrow we are going to visit downtown, sight see around Melbourne, possibly go to a wildlife sanctuary, and then are having dinner and a night out on the town with a friend that Mel, Max, and I met in Europe two and a half years ago.  Off to force myself to stay awake a few more hours, it's 11:30pm 1/9 EST, it's 6:30pm 1/10 in Melbourne.   

Bye for now <3

Australia Here We Come!!!!

I am SOOOO excited to finally be writing on this blog again. It's been TOO long since my last travel adventure. I caught the travel bug almost three years ago in Europe and since then have been planning this trip to Australia. I am going with two friends, that live in Canada, that I actually met on that trip in Europe. We just clicked and spent most of the Europe trip together and since then they have come to visit me when I was in NYC, and I went to visit them in Canada. My friends will be gone for 2 months, I will only be "down under" for two weeks, and will try to update this blog as much as possible while over there with details about my days! We will be starting in Melbourne and traveling up the east coast of Australia. I will be leaving the Canadians (Maxime [Max] & Melissa [Mel]) in Brisbane to head back to reality, while they will continue traveling up the east coast to see the Great Barrier Reef, then jet off to New Zealand for a few weeks. I am sad that I cannot do the whole trip with them, especially see the Great Barrier Reef, however now I have a reason to go back ;) However, I am so excited that I can go, even if only for a little bit. We will be stopping in several beach cities, since it's currently the middle of the summer, hopefully surfing, and snorkeling along the way. We made several friends in Europe that live in Australia, so we will have wonderful tour guides, and in a few cities wonderful hosts, letting us crash at their houses. The trip is very laid back, we have a start and end point, and a few deadlines of dates we must be places, but if we love Sydney, we might stay there 4 days instead of 2! That's the great part of "backpacking" through a country, it's very flexible. I am SO excited for this trip, and to get to spend time with Max and Mel again. I will update the blog as much as I can while over there, but will defiantly give a full recap as soon as I get back! <3 Bye for now