As most of you know I decided a bit over a year ago to go to Europe for my 30th birthday, or at least in the year that I turn 30. There are many places in the world that I still need to check off. I asked a few friends, and several family members if they wanted to meet for bits and pieces of it. No one could afford to go, or get the time off work. So I started planning a solo trip. Last year I limited my holidays so that I could roll over annual leave. So when I started planning the trip I knew I was looking to take about 4 weeks off (gotta love the Australian leave system). I have wanted to go to Croatia for over 7 years and have been so excited about finally getting there, so I knew that was on the list. From there I decided I wanted to check out Eastern Europe. After many hours of research and several changes I ended up with the following itinerary.
Croatia (Dubrovnik to Split-sailing tour)
Motor Bay, Montenegro
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Krakow, Poland
Budapest, Hungary
Vienna, Austria
Prague, Czech Republic
Berlin, Germany
Amsterdam, Netherlands
London, England
Wales
I will be away for 5 weeks, including the wonderfully long travel time from Australia to Europe.
The goal is to update this regulary-ish, so that family can read what I'm getting up to in Europe, and I have something I can look back on years from now.
Bye for now<3 3="" p="">
Saturday, June 3, 2017
Friday, January 27, 2012
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
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
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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
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
Monday, January 23, 2012
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 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
Saturday, January 21, 2012
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
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
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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 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
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