Jody and Josche Overseas

Japan, Osaka and Hiroshima

2010-10-25T21:32:00.001-07:00

The first day in Japan was in Hiroshima, the day was spent learning more about the atom bomb, a short visit to Miyajima Island off the coast of Hiroshima and we also got a chance to visit Josche's friend Noako in Okayama.

Reading about the atom bomb was very sad I had a lump in my throat reading about it in the museum. The children's monument below was particularly heart felt with children still sending paper cranes from around the world to be placed here.

We then left to go to Miyajima Island, there were lots of friendly deer here and the best grilled oysters I have every tasted! The island is famous for it's shrine that is in the water unfortunately the tide was out so it wasn't quite as spectacular.

Next stop on the train was Okayama to visit Naoko. Naoko took us to a beautiful Japanese garden and for some local Ramen noodles mmmmm...yummy.

Final destination for the day was back to Osaka to see the night view from Osaka tower.

Tomorrow Kyoto.....

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Location:Japan, Osaka and Hiroshima

South Korea, Jeju Island

2010-10-25T21:28:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Jeju Island after a very short flight from Busan, we took advantage of our lunch time arrival and booked ourselves a ride on the local submarine tour.

The tour was made up mostly of Koreans so there were no English guides, because of this we got treated like royalty ( we think that is the reason anyway). We were first onto the submarine and seated right up the front with the driver. This was much to some of the older Korean ladies dismay who were trying to get ahead of us by going under our arms or pushing us aside. They were promptly told by the crew to get back in line though.

For dinner we tried some of the local black pig at a Korean BBQ, absolutely delicious!

The next day we hired a taxi driver Mr Ko to drive us around the sites of the eastern part of the Island, he was very funny and a budding photographer who loved Josche's camera so he spent most of the day climbing into weird positions to take photos for us. Below is just one of the many positions.

The women on Jeju Island traditionally dive for food for there families and to sell. We got to see some of the women in action the oldest one was 82!

The following day we climbed Mt Halla and holy crap was it hard work! It took us about 3 hrs return we did the shorter track and our legs have been sore for days but it did have amazing views.

Next stop Osaka....

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Location:South Korea, Jeju Island

South Korea, Seoul & Busan

2010-10-21T17:55:00.001-07:00

Arriving in South Korea was like a breath of fresh air (literally) everything was so clean even from the moment we stepped off the plane. I was so excited to go to a clean toilet that wasn't a hole in the ground :-).... Small things right.

We spent the first two days in Seoul exploring the city and experiencing the food and the people. Everyone is very friendly and very helpful. The food is awesome, we were lucky enough to be staying near fantastic Korean BBQ restaurant where Josche and I learnt the fine art of cooking a Korean BBQ from the locals.

The highlight of our Seoul trip would have to be the DMZ. We crossed into the DMZ and also got to see the demarcated military line between north and south Korea. We saw the North Korean soldiers on the other side, it was quite an eyry experience. It was also interesting to hear the South Koreans point of view. They are all very optimistic of a future unified Korea and have built various buildings and train stations in preparation. An example is the pictures below of the train station that they have built, it is totally empty and ready to go.

After our Seoul adventure we jumped onto one of the new KTX trains to Busan. These trains are super quick reaching speeds that exceed 300km/hr. While in Busan our first stops were the fish market and Busan tower.

I couldn't leave Busan without sampling some of the fresh prawns so we found a fish and grill for dinner. Busan city is a very happening place lots of bars and restaurants and a hell of a lot of character.

Next stop Jeju Island.......

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Location:South Korea, Seoul & Busan

China, Beijing

2010-10-16T16:21:00.001-07:00

The last leg of our Trans-Siberian journey took us from Mongolia to Beijing. The trip took about 36 hours, however 6 hours were spent at the border moving the carriages onto a different set of wheels as the tracks sizes are different in former USSR states compared with most other places in the world. We actually remained inside the carriage while this was done.

After checking in our first walk lasted about 5 minutes before Jody tripped and took out a chunk of her big toe. This was made worse when we couldn't explain at the chemist we were after something to put on the wound.

Our first two days in Beijing consisted of heavy smog which was a little disappointing as we went to the great wall on the second day. The third day cleared up however and we were able to take some great pictures of the Summer Palace which was based around a huge lake on the outskirts of the city.

Of course Jody was able to get into some "knock-off" shopping, however we found the locals unwilling to go to the low low prices we had seen in Schenzen. Beijing however is still a very cheap city with the exchange rate fixed at such a low rate it was possible to eat a two course meal with beers for under $10.

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Location:China, Beijing

Mongolia

2010-10-16T16:19:00.001-07:00

We took an overnight train across the Russia border into Mongolia. This particular train was full of Mongolians, most of which carried several large bags they would roll around the carriage. We later found they would roll the bags off the train at stops and set up little stalls to sell their items to the locals. As the train was about to leave they would quickly pack up and roll the bags back onto the train ready for the next stop. The really dodgy part was when they stored the bags in the roof and under the floors of the train when we went across the border and through customs.

Arriving in Ulaanbaater we were taken out of the city into the countryside where we spent the next few nights in Mongolian Ger's (Tent) where to this day a lot of Mongolians still live. Jody was able to fit in a few squatting exercises while we were here with the traditional hole in the ground toilet. Our driver tried to drive through a sand bunker with a regular bus and managed to get bogged. We had to walk the rest the way.

The area we stayed was beautiful and amazingly quiet to the point where you could hear the flapping of wings from an eagle high in the sky. We also had a chance to see the milky way at night time being so far from any city lights, and did some horse riding and other activities (take a close look at Jody's archery skills in the photo below). Oh and also checked out a big arse statue of the national hero Chinnigis Khan.

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Location:Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar

Russia, Tran Siberian & Listvyanka

2010-10-16T16:17:00.001-07:00

The first leg of the Trans-Siberian involved a four day train trip with short 10-20 minute stops here and there from one side of Russia (Moscow) to somewhat the other side (Listvyanka).

The train trip itself was an interesting experience and this particular train was actually the worst of all the trains we end up catching in terms of it's condition. There were no showers (this was the same on all of the trains however), the toilets smelt, it was at times hot and stuffy and smelt of smoke. We slept in four bunk rooms with two of the nights being stuck with a very overweight, smoking, snoring Russia who smelt of smoke and BO.

On the up side we would get a free meal each day (however to quote Jody "I now know what food would taste like in prison") and met a few interesting people on the train, most of which did not speak a word of English. The food cart staff were always very friendly, and we got to know them over the four days using our hands and translator guides to communicate. Our days were spent looking out the window, reading, playing cards and talking to the locals, which without fail would always include on a daily basis a drunk Russia speaking to us in Russian and not seeming to understand "Nyat Ruski".

Finally arrived at Listvyanka, a beautiful little village alongside the largest lake in the world, Lake Baikal. The view from our room was over the lake with snow cap mountains in the background. Next couple of days were spent exploring in and around the village and included a long hike over the mountains and along Lake Baikal.

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Location:Moscow - Listvyanka

Russia, Moscow

2010-10-13T19:20:00.001-07:00

It took us all day to get to our hotel in Moscow and the majority of that time was spent in a car getting from Moscow airport. The traffic was horrendous!
The next day we had a morning tour of Moscow with a local Russian guide, after a short trip on the Moscow subway she took us around the Red Square to see the Kremlin, St Basils Cathedral, changing of the guard and then onto the cathedral of Christ the saviour.

The subway in Moscow is something to see it is all made of marble and very expensive looking. Apparently Stalin wanted Moscow to be the best city in the world which included having the most expensive subway stations.

The Red square is definitely something to see it is surrounded by Russian culture and history. After spending a bit of time in Moscow it soon became apparent that I was a little under dressed Russian women spend all there money on clothes and shoes. But because it is very expensive in Moscow they often travel to Italy and France to by designer clothes!

The changing of the guard was cool to watch they can lift there legs extremely high! If you get a chance have a look at the video in our web album.

After our morning tour we walked to the Arbat street for some lunch at a sushi restaurant and yes you did read correctly sushi in Russia! It is apparently very very popular with the Russians. Arbat street also has a lot of street performers and souvenir shops and if the sign hadn't of said souvenirs I would have called the shops vodka bottleo's :-).

Then it was back to the Red square to wait for the sun to go down so we could get some night time photos of St Basil's church all lit up.

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Location:Russia, Moscow

Turkey, Istanbul

2010-10-12T17:11:00.001-07:00

After a short plane trip from Cairo we arrived in Istanbul, late that evening. With a good night's sleep under our belt we got up early to begin our day of sight seeing. Istanbul is very easy to walk around so there was no need for public transport, our for stop was Topkapi Palace and a gorgeous little tea place that had a fantastic view of Seraglio Point and the ferries doing there trip between Europe and Asia.
After our morning tea we did our walk around all the church's including Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.

Next stop was the place I was looking forward to the most the Gran Bazaar! Shopping! We spent an hour browsing and looking around, it is massive and I am pretty sure we didn't even get to do half of it!

We were starving from all that window shopping so it was straight to the kebab house for a big meal of Turkish food.....meat :-). The view from the restaurant was amazing just like the food:-).

After lunch we went for a walk along the river, it was all happening along here with cool little restaurants in particular the ones in the photo below had there kitchen on these rocking boats.

We promptly found a comfy couch to pull up at for an afternoon beer and sheisha as the sun set. After the sunset our next mission was to go and get some of the best baklava in Turkey and it was delicious!

We spent the evening walking around the Tophane district and finished with a cocktail at a bar that had an awesome view of Istanbul.

The next day we had booked a Bosphorous cruise, it was very cold and very windy and not very exciting but it was a day out on the water doing something different and we did get lunch :-).

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Location:Turkey, Istanbul

Egypt Part 3

2010-09-24T09:27:00.001-07:00

The next day we jumped on a boat to head to Gifton Island for a snorkel in the Red Sea. We spent the day cruising around, swimming, snorkelling, lying on the beach, eating and drinking. We snorkelled in boat groups as there were thousands on tourist and boats every where, our guide would call out Ramses so we all knew which way to go.

Once we had a snorkel and a lie around on the beach it was time to head home. On the way back on the boat the crew made us all towel hats to keep us entertained.

When we got back to the hotel, we had a few well earned beers and dinner before the girls hit the shops!
After a six hour bus ride to Cairo wew freshened up for our final night in Egypt, the sound and light show then dinner. The sound and light show was ok but not great a little bit on the long boring side, but dinner was enjoyed at a restaurant by the Nile river.

The next day we said our goodbyes as we left to catch our flight to Istanbul.

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Location:Egypt

Egypt Part 2

2010-09-24T09:22:00.001-07:00

Once we got back to the cruise boat we set sail up the Nile towards Luxor, we travel overnight until we arrive in Edfu. Early the next morning we had horse and carriage ride (with a very excitable driver) to the temple of Horis which is one of the most preserved temples in Egypt.

Once we had finished exploring the temple, we found our horse and carriage and made our way back to the cruise boat. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun with a few beers watching the magnificent views of the Nile go by.

We arrived in Luxor that afternoon, where we had dinner and had a good night sleep in preparation for our site seeing the next day.

Luxor was amazing! Our first stop of the day was the valley of the Kings, we had a look in 3 tombs and learnt about the Kings and how the tombs where found. The scenery was amazing unfortunately we couldn't take any photos whilst inside.

After the valley of the kings we ventured to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, by this time it was the middle of the day and bloody hot! Mind you we were in the desert :-).

After all the big tourist sites there is always markets on the way out where you need to just put your head down and power through other wise you will get chased and hassled to buy something.

The next temple of the list was Karnuk, this temple spanned over 20arces and was amazing! A lot of this temple was unfortunately ruined due to a big mistake which caused the temple to be flooded by the Nile. It is also unexplained how they where able to stand the giant pillars up, Aliens????

After the temples and lunch we packed up and said good bye to half of our group who where headed back to Cairo and the cruise boat. The staff on the cruise boat made little towel animals for us every night which was really cool!

We stayed in Luxor for the night before getting on the bus in the morning for our 4 hour bus ride to Hurgada a town right on the Red Sea.

After we checked into our hotel we got prepared for our quad bike safari in the desert. Once we all learnt the in's and out's of a quad bike and were properly attired we all jumped on and cruised single file across the desert.

After a few incidents along the way, we had a half time break where we could rest, have some water and take in the scenery.

On the way back to base the sunset behind the desert the view was stunning the photos don't do it justice.

It wasn't long before we made it back very dirty and exhausted. It was time for a beer, dinner and a good nights sleep.

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Location:Egypt

Egypt Part 1

2010-09-24T01:53:00.001-07:00

Early Sunday morning on the 12th of September we got up to catch the train from London Paddington to Heathrow to begin our adventure home. Our first stop on our 7 week journey was a 10 day tour of Egypt.

As our plane flew over Cairo we got our first glimpse of the Giza Pyramids. We arrived in Cairo on Sunday afternoon where we were picked up from the airport and taken to our Hotel in Cairo. As we were driving through Cairo we were amazed by the sites and the traffic, we drove through a particularly dodgy area when I said to Josche that it's lucky where not staying here, then the bus turned round and pulled up, that's exactly where we were staying :-).

The next day we were up early for breakfast and to see the sites of Cairo, first stop of the day was to the Egyptian museum, then the obvious highlight of Cairo the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx. While we were here we learnt that nothing is free in Egypt, so don't let anyone take photos of you or take photos of them you will be asked for money.

After we spent a few hours checking out the Pyramids and the Sphinx, taking many photos, we got to go on a camel ride through the desert. This was quite the experience, despite the sore butt and chaffing, our camel guides where very keen to get as many tips as they could out of us!

By this time we were all starving and very hot and sweaty but we had one final stop before our 4pm lunch, the papyrus shop. We learnt all about how papyrus was made.

After lunch it was back to the hotel to freshen up before we boarded the bus for our 13hour London overnight bus ride to Aswan.

We arrived in Aswan in time for Lunch on the Nile Star which would be our cruise boat up the Nile to Luxor. Josche and I took the opportunity to have a nanna nap that afternoon before our ride on the felucca (meaning boat).

We cruised down the Nile at sunset in the felucca, were we had a few Egyptian children visit us by holding onto the side on the boat whilst being dragged along on skid boards as they sang to us for a few Egyptian pounds.

The scenery was amazing at sunset, as we motored down the Nile. We eventually came to our swimming hole where we had a swim in the Nile, and yes it is safe. It was extremely refreshing!

After our swim we continued on to a small Nubian village where we had hibiscus tea and learnt some more about the Egyptian history.

The next day was a 2:30am rise to board the bus for our 4 hour journey to Abu Simbel. The early wake up call was well worth it as this temple was amazing, they actually moved the temples 80 metres higher due to the flooding of the Nile.

On our way back to the cruise boat we stopped via place that made essences and perfume bottles, we were showed how glass bottles where made and had sample of some essences.

To be cont.... See part 2

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Location:Egypt

Valencia

2010-09-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

Our last long weekend in the Northern Hemisphere we escaped to the sunshine and warmth of Spain... Valencia! After a very early 3.30am wake up call we all (Kitz, Sam, Josche and I)jumped into the Ford KA to head out to Stansted Airport to catch our very early flight! We arrived in Valenica on time and in good spirits ready to hit the beach!

We met Em and David at our awesome! Apartment with a Jacuzzi on the deck! Jumped into our togs and we were off to the beach for a Paella, Sangria (and keep it coming :-)) and a swim. Thank god for David who is spanish he translated and ordered everything for us the entire time we were there!

After this in true spanish style it was time for a siesta under an umbrella on the beach.....Heaven!

After our siesta it was back to the bar for some ice cold beers for a few hours then more food... Tapas!!! And more Sangria :-).... In case you haven't noticed I love Sangria.

A well deserved sleep in was in order on Sunday before we walked into Old Town for lunch (yes you are seeing a pattern here we did a lot of sleeping, eating and drinking). Then out to a place that is famous for this awesome milky thing that is made off nuts ( I am so sorry David I have forgotten what it was called I will google it) soooo yummy.

After our siesta we walked down to the beach for some drinks and dinner we were all exhausted so pulled the pin early and got some ice-cream on the way home.

Unfortunately the next day was our last day so we said goodbye to Em and David who were going back to Madrid. Kitz, Sam, Josche and I took on the Aqua park the biggest one in Europe and spent the whole day there exploring and watching a dolphin show.

From 2010-08 - Valencia

That afternoon we were back at the airport for our trip back to London after a weekend of sun and fun we were all exhausted.

Devon

2010-08-16T04:44:00.000-07:00

For one of our final weekends in England we ventured down to Devon, we had not seen any part of this side of England so it was a great exploring weekend. After work on Friday I jumped on a train to meet Josche outside of London so we would miss the Friday afternoon rush out of London.

After a 4hr drive and some extremely windy small roads we arrived in a small town called. Thurleston a beautiful little village on the coast with views of the ocean. The next day we went to a coastal village near by called Salcombe were we hired a small dinghy called a Wayfarer and went for sail. There was not wind and a bucket load of tide, but I didn't care I was just happy to be out on the water.

From 2010-08 - Devon

After our sailing expidition we were starving and thirsty so it was beer o'clock and for me a fresh prawn sandwich was on the menu. We had a wonder around town after lunch through all the sailing shops it was awesome!!!

We headed back to the hotel where we had a swim and several cocktails, before heading off to the local pub for dinner and some drinking with the locals.

The next day we packed up early so we could drive back to London slowly and have a look around some of the beautiful village's and town's in Devon. It was a very scenic route we even had to drive onto a ferry to cross a river.

From 2010-08 - Devon

Cambridge

2010-07-25T04:50:00.000-07:00

For our next weekend of England exploration we jumped on a train to Cambridge, to sample the life of a university student.

When we arrived we promptly pulled up pew a pub right on the canal where all the punter's were taking tourists up and down the canals. We spent a good couple of hours watching tourists try punting for themselves rather than hiring one. It was hilarious, there were alot of people swimming. :-)

From 2010-07 - Cambridge

After we had a few beers and watched the entertainment we went for a walk around town and through the markets. By this time Kate had arrived so we bought a couple of tickets to go punting, with that we promptly went to the closest bottle'o to buy Champagne for our journey up the canals.

From 2010-07 - Cambridge

After our punting adventure which was a lot like bumper cars on water, we had an awesome Italian meal at Jamie Oliver's restaurant and caught the train back to London.

The next day we drove out to Cambridge to grab Kate's bags (long story but we couldn't get them before we left on Saturday). After we grabbed the bags we drove out to a very small town that had a pub (obviously) that boasts the best Steak and Ale pies in England. And...........they were awesome!!! The pubs name is Chequers very worth while taking a visit!

Paris - Anniversary

2010-07-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

For our 2 year anniversary Josche surprised me with a trip to Paris for the weekend, he booked us Eurostar tickets on Saturday morning ( Not to early so I could sleep in a bit) for our weekend trip.

We arrived in Paris and checked into our hotel, and promptly went for a walk to find a nice place for dinner. We found a cute little cafe where we sat down and had a lovely bottle of wine and an awesome meal. There service was a little bit to be desired but the food well and truly made up for it.

From 2010-07 - Paris Anniversary

After dinner we went to Moulin Rouge to see a show, we got a bottle of Champagne with the show and sat with a lovely dutch couple. The show was amazing!!! Even Josche enjoyed it, although I think it was the lack of clothing he enjoyed more than the show itself :-). Once the show had finished we started walking home and came across a live bad so we sat and listened to the band until they packed up.

The next day I got a sleep in and an awesome breaky before we headed off exploring the sites we hadn't yet seen Sacre Coeur and Montmarte were the first point of call in the morning before walking down the the Arc de Triomphe to have a lovely lunch and have a look at the magnificent views.

From 2010-07 - Paris Anniversary

At the end of the day we caught a nice leisurely train home, train is definitely the preferred option for transport!

Wimbledon

2010-06-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing you have to do whilst you are living in London it's Wimbledon! So we packed up our sleeping bags and headed over to get in line for tickets to the first day. We arrived at the Wimbledon camping grounds at 3pm the day before the tennis, the line already had about 500 people in it. Once guy had been there since the day before and he wanted tickets for day 2!

We organised our tents and camping through the Fanatics so we were surrounded by fellow Aussie's all there to cheer on Leyton and the other Aussie's. We promptly helped pitch all the tents and bought our fantantics T-shirts and hats, painted our toenails green and gold (even Josche). We had a long night ahead of us but we did have beverages and food so we were all happy.

From 2010-06 - Wimbledon

At about 11pm we were told by security that we had to go to bed so all the Aussie went to there tents to try and get some sleep before our 4.30am rise.

At 4.30am we all rose to pack up our camping gear and store it away, the whole morning consisted of queues, queue to store gear, queue for tickets, queue for food. But at midday we were finally at the tennis drinking pims and eating strawberries and cream.

From 2010-06 - Wimbledon

We managed to watch Stozer, Hewitt, Clijsters and Tomic. Lots of War crys came out from the fantatics throughout the games and we even got our selves on Sunrise and the news here in London.

From 2010-06 - Wimbledon

The Hewitt game finished at about 9pm so it was a massively long day and I was a bit worse for wear at the end of it, thank god we had a day off the next day!

Cardiff

2010-06-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

As part of Josche's job he does a lot of travelling around England and Wales, as such we try to make the most of it by seeing the sights for a weekend where he had to visit a client on the Friday. This weekend it was Cardiff.

I jumped on a train from Paddington station in London to meet Josche in Cardiff Wales, after a 3hr train ride I arrived in sunny Cardiff, Josche drew himself away from the bar long enough to come and pick me up at the train station and take me back to the hotel to have a few beverages and chat with an Aussie couple (yes aussies are everywhere!).

The next day we bounced out of bed (OK maybe not me:-) ) and went to visit the castle, because it was the Queen's Birthday we got to watch the cannons being fired- very cool.

From 2010-06 - Cardiff

After celebrating the Queen's birthday we went for a walk and came across the Welsh Beer and Cider festival this was something we just could not walk by so we bought our cider and beer drinking glasses and proceeded to try as many beers and ciders as we had time for. We met a lovely welsh couple and spent a couple of hours chatting to them about the Rugby whilst listening to a welsh choir.

After our beer and ciders we went for another walk down to the marina where there where heaps of restaurants and bars. We also found Cardiff sailing club where there were lots of dinghy's out racing!

Once we had finished our exploring we headed back to the Train station for a trip back to London.

Amsterdam

2010-06-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

Yet another bank holiday for us to spread our wings!! We had a 3 day weekend so we scooted off to Amsterdam!!

To start our weekend in true style we were able to utilise the British Airways lounge thanks to our Qantas gold membership something that we aren't able to use on our usual cheap flights on easyjet and ryanair. So we made the most of a few quiet drinks and a feed before our flight.

We arrived in Amsterdam late Friday night, so it was straight to our B&B for a good sleep so we were ready to explore the next day.

Saturday was a jam packed schedule, we had a fantastic bike ride through the country side, where we visited a little dutch farm where they made cheese and wooden shoes (clogs). We were also very lucky to have Darren from Powderfinger on our bike tour, something I didn't realise until the very end and then made an idiot of myself because I call him Bernard.....ooops :-)...

From 2010-05 - Amsterdam

This was our tour guide.....Check out the shoes!!!

Then we were off to the Heineken Factory!!! We got to sample the beer and learn all about Heineken. If you ever visit Amsterdam be sure to book your Heineken tickets online to jump the massive queue!

From 2010-05 - Amsterdam

That night we took a lovely canal cruise with cheese and wine through the Red Light district, we always had in our mind what to expect but it was really different to what we expected. Josche was impressed with the quality of some of the girls :-).
After the cruise we had a few drinks with some locals who insisted some local dutch shots were sampled!!

The next day we rose early, poor Josche had a bit of a hangover :-). And set off to visit Josche's friends Rutger and Jenny in a small town called Goor. After the 2 hour train ride Josche felt much better and hooked into a few local and Belgium beers with Rutger. We had a fantastic lunch with the family thanks Jenny!!

The next day we spent walking around Amsterdam seeing all the sites we didn't see on Day 1 it was great and we were very lucky that the weather was kind to us most of the weekend considering it rains 200days a year in Amsterdam!!

From 2010-05 - Amsterdam

Bath, Bristol & Stonehenge

2010-05-17T05:35:00.000-07:00

We decided to see a bit more of England so we did a weekend trip to the west to check out Bristol and stopped viaBath on the way and Stonehenge on the way back.

Bath was a beautiful little village, we checked out the famous Roman Baths and had a bit of lunch and a walk before venturing onward to Bristol.

From 2010-05 - Bath & Bristol

Once we got to Bristol we decided to go for an explore, it was a beautiful day sunny and warm! So we walked along the docks and had a few quiet ciders on the water side. We found a cool little pub on a boat to settle at for an afternoon in the sun.

From 2010-05 - Bath & Bristol

The next day we started our journey home with a quick stopover at Stonehenge, it was quite amazing but a little concerning that it was so close to the highway!

From 2010-05 - Stonehenge

Norway

2010-05-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

The first bank holiday in May we decided to go to Norway (wasn't a hard decision it was the cheapest flight and we hadn't been there yet). We flew into Oslo early on Saturday morning, and spent the afternoon exploring Oslo.

Whilst Oslo was cool and very expensive, there wasn't a whole heap to see. The next day we jumped on our train and headed up to Norways's highest point. The train ride was awesome, everything was white and the higher we got the colder it got. At the highest point (Finse) we were lucky enough to be greeted by Darth Vader and Snowtrooper and Stormtroops from the 501st Legion (can you tell I got that from Josche :-)), Josche was very excited and took several photos and a video which you can see below. Later we found out that it was the place where they flimed planet hoff in Star Wars.

From 2010-05 - Norway

Shortly after we arrived in Mydral where we got on a gorgeous little train that took us through and down the mountains to a beautiful little village called Flam, where we had a lunch and a beer in amongst the Fjords .

From 2010-05 - Norway

We then jumped on a boat in Flam and ferried through Fjords to Gudvangen, the boat ride was absolutely stunning I have never seen anything like the scenery we saw before in my life! The photos definately don't do it justice! There were beautiful little villages along the way, the only way to get to them was via boat!

From 2010-05 - Norway

From Gudvagen we jumped on a bus and set off to Voss where we jumped on a train to Bergen.

We arrived in Bergen at about 9.30pm the sun was still high in the sky :-)..... We made our way to our accommodation which was called "City Box", it was the cheapest accommodation in town, no reception it was all electronic and basically you get a little white room with a bed. We were exhausted so that was all we needed. We checked in and then went to find some dinner, and I must say it was the most expensive chinese I have ever had!

The next day was filled with exploring Bergen, Bergen is a beautiful little fishing town with fresh fish markets everyday on the Jetty, so fish was definately in store for lunch!! Fresh fish and beer can't get any better than that!

Also at the markets they sell all there furs and other fresh seafood, I have never seen Crabs so big!!

From 2010-05 - Norway

Norway was absolutely stunning, the people where awesome and extremely helpful and friendly but it was very very expensive.

Ireland

2010-04-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend we decided to head to Ireland, my mum was over visiting us in London and she was keen to head over to the land where the leprechauns live!

We left on the Good Friday Morning from London Gatwick and arrived in Dublin just before lunch, what we didn't take into consideration was that Ireland is largely Catholic and most places where shut on the Friday and there was definitely no Alcohol served anywhere!

So we grabbed some lunch and explored the city, churches and castles. Tucked in early for a good nights sleep.

On Saturday we rose early and headed off to the Guinness Brewery before we hit the road to Clifden!!!! The Brewery was very cool and the Guinness tastes magnificent! I didn't like Guinness but this Guinness tasted great! Mum loved the Brewery too but wasn't much of a fan of the drink itself. After our tour we sat down had a Guinness with a hot roast roll what more could you ask for!!

From 2010-04 - Ireland

After the Brewery we jumped in the car and travelled through the middle of Ireland to a small town called Clifden were the Abbeyglen Castle (http://www.abbeyglen.ie/) was.

From 2010-04 - Ireland

Mum was very excited that we were staying in a castle overnight, when we arrived we had a look around then some drinks and dinner. The staff at the castle were lovely and when we went to Breakfast in the morning the Easter Bunny visited and gave us all an Easter Egg!

After Breakfast we jumped back in the car for the long drive to Cork! We drove along the back roads along the coast, to see all the little villages and the spectacular coast line along the way.

From 2010-04 - Ireland

We arrived in Cork Easter Sunday afternoon and ventured into the city to find somewhere to eat on a public holiday, the next day we went site seeing in Cork and ventured out to Blarney and Blarney Castle.

From 2010-04 - Ireland

Blarney Castle is famous for its Blarney Stone it is said if you kiss it you will get the gift of the gab. I was the only one brave enough to give it a go :-)... The Photo below is of my coming up from kissing the stone, the stone was actually underneath, so you had to bend backward lying down to kiss it.

From 2010-04 - Ireland

After the Castle we drove to where Nano Nagle lived so Mum could see one of the Presentation Sisters from Australia and also where Nano grew up.

From 2010-04 - Ireland

Brussels

2010-03-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Just after Josche got word that he had a job, we booked a train trip to Brussels for the weekend. We arrived on Saturday morning at the Brussels train station, and due to my lack of research we didn't arrive at the train station I suspected. But after we figured out where we were it was a quick cab ride to the hotel.

We spent saturday exploring the city and tasting the food and beer. First on the agenda was Frites and mayo for lunch mmm.....

From 2010-03 - Brussels

Once our bellies were satisfied we checked out the sites of Brussels including the town hall and the comic book museum.

From 2010-03 - Brussels

After we checked out the museum we ventured to the famous pub that carried the most types of beers in the world - Delirium Cafe - we sampled as many as we could but couldn't quite get through 2000+ beers they had to offer!

From 2010-03 - Brussels

After many beers it was time to sample the famous Mussels from Brussels :-).... And then onto my favourite waffels!!! Basically the whole weekend all we did was eat and drink! With a bit of sight seeing in between!

From 2010-03 - Brussels

Bordeux, Bilboa & San Sebastian

2010-01-03T05:47:00.000-08:00

After we spent a few relaxing days in Laret we took the Green Frog (The Claytons Car) for a drive to Bordeux, Bilboa and San Sebastian. We decided to treat ourselves for New Years Eve and put ourselves up in a 5 star hotel in Bordeux, it was a beautiful town so we explored Bordeux for a day spent New Years Eve there.

The next day we got up to continue our drive down south over the boarder to Bilboa, when we arrived it was obviously still new years day so everything was closed. So we had an early night and ate at the hotel and had a quick walk around. The next day we got up and went for a walk to check out the Guggenheim adn then it was back in the car and heading for San Sebastian.

From 2010-01 - Bilboa & San Sebastian

The drive down the coast was amazing you could definately tell the difference once you crossed the boarder. We stopped at a few coastal towns along the way for a look but it was very cold and very windy and raining so we didn't venture out of the car.

That afternoon we arrived in San Sebastian and found our way to the beach, we had a lovely meal at a resturant right on the beachfront. It was all in spanish so we quickly learnt how to say "What do you recommend?" and our meals arrived as a surprise!

From 2010-01 - Bilboa & San Sebastian

We spent the next few days exploring San Sebastian, enjoying the Tapas and Sangria and the wonderful wine selection.

From 2010-01 - Bilboa & San Sebastian

We then got back into the Green Frog and travelled back to Laret to meet the Claytons off the train. Our 3 month Adventure was over and we had to fly to London to start looking for work :-(......

Christmas in Larret

2009-12-31T08:13:00.000-08:00

After our time in Paris we were lucky enough to be invited to spend Christmas with the Claytons in the country cottage in Laret France. We jumped on a Train to Angouleme where the Claytons met us. Soon after we arrived the Brady's pulled in on there train and we all piled into the cars and headed for Laret which was about an hours drive.

The drive home was a very interesting drive along with the small windy roads plus driving on the right side! So we had a little trouble with the car on the way home but after all the drama we were safe inside our gorgeous and warm little cottage in the country side!

From 2009-12 - Xmas France

We spent a lovely week hanging out in the country going to Christmas markets, visiting the local hardware/post office/pub. Eating way to much food! It was so great being surrounded by chef's for a week! Lots of beautiful home made food! We had a fantastic time!

The highlight for Josche I am sure would have to be the fireworks, it is legal in france to use fireworks, so Josche went crazy and bought lots of them and the boys had a fabulous time setting them off in the back yard.

From 2009-12 - Xmas France

Unfortunately due to my now lack of drinking ability I was ridiculously hungover on Christmas day but I did manage to have some Christmas lunch eventually!

After Christmas the Claytons and the Brady's went on an adventure to Paris, Josche and I stayed behind to relax in the country and go for a drive down to Spain.

Paris

2009-12-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

Paris was freezing cold and snowing which made everything look beautiful!! As Paris was a quick stop over before we headed south for Christmas, we wanted to ensure we saw as much as we could.

On the first day we put out walking boots on and checked out the Louve, Notre Dame and the Effiel tower.

From 2009-12 - Paris

We took one look at the lines to go up the Effiel Tower and decided it was way to cold and to long to wait. So we headed over to the Christmas Markets.

On the second day in Paris I go to go shopping! Window shopping anyway which was really cool there are so many beautiful shops! We finished up the day by heading back to the Christmas markets to have a hot wine and a sausage on bread whilst watching the Effiel Tower's light show.

From 2009-12 - Paris

Nice & Monaco

2009-12-20T05:53:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Nice via train late on the Friday night, we arrived at the backpackers and some awesome dinner that the Backpackers cook had prepared for that night.

The next morning we woke early to discover that it had been snowing all night and there was ice on the ground everywhere! On our way down the hill we were trying not to go arse up on the ice, we saw many cars attempting to drive down the hill, they weren't exactly driving they were sliding!! Very scary!! Once we made it down the hill we bee lined down to the beach to have a look around and up to a look out point with a fantastic view!!! The beach was covered with snow which looked really cool and definitely something we never see in Aus!

From 2009-12 - Nice, Eze Village, Monaco

We then jumped on a bus and headed up towards Eze Village and Monaco, unfortunately the village was closed but we had a bit of a look around then jumped back on the bus to get to Monaco.

Once we got to Monaco it was instantly evident how rich it was!! We probably needed to be a little more dressed up but it was all good.

From 2009-12 - Nice, Eze Village, Monaco

We went and checked out some boats sailing and then down the Christmas markets for some Churros mmm... The Boats in Monaco are Massive and very expensive I was like a kid in candy shop looking at them all!

From 2009-12 - Nice, Eze Village, Monaco

That night we went back to the backpackers and had another fantastic meal from the cook! Before we caught the train the next day to Paris!

Grenoble, Chamonix, Annecy & Les Deux Alps

2009-12-15T05:03:00.000-08:00

After we sorted our passports out in London, we ventured over to France to catchup with Trudy in Grenoble. We arrived in Grenoble on the Friday afternoon and the lovely Trudy came to pick us up from the Train station.

The next day we went for a drive, Trudy took us up to Chamonix and gorgeous little village at the base of Mont Blanc (White Mountain). It was now snowing consistently so we walked around the markets then got a bite to eat for lunch.

From 2009-12 - Grenoble, Mont Blanc, Annecy

After lunch Josche just had to have a snow ball fight completely one sided as you can see below!

From 2009-12 - Grenoble, Mont Blanc, Annecy

Once Josche got over throwing snow balls at me, we started to make some snowmen mine was so much better!!!

From 2009-12 - Grenoble, Mont Blanc, Annecy

This is Josche's Snowman

From 2009-12 - Grenoble, Mont Blanc, Annecy

This is my snow man!

From 2009-12 - Grenoble, Mont Blanc, Annecy

TADA!

After Chamonix we drove back dow towards Grenoble but took it a bit slower to see some of the amazing scenery on the way!

From 2009-12 - Grenoble, Mont Blanc, Annecy

On the way back Trudy took us to another beautiful little village that was situated on a massive lake where they go sailing in summer and the up the mountains to ski in winter, sounds like heaven! It was also known as the venice of France as it had beautiful little canals. It also had the Christmas markets going!

From 2009-12 - Grenoble, Mont Blanc, Annecy

The next day was Sunday, Josche was feeling a bit sick so Trudy and I decided to venture up to have a look at the Les Deux Alps (The 2 Alps). The scenery up here was amazing I have just put a sample of the photos below. Whilst we were up the mountain we had some lunch at the ski resort and a bit of an explore around before heading home.

From 2009-12 - Les Deux Alpes

The next few days Trudy had to go back to work :-(, so Josche and I explored Grenoble, and some of the towns near by in the Alps. Grenoble was a great town for Christmas shopping markets and Vin Chaud (hot wine)!! The day we ventured up the Alps it was freezing cold I thought my toes were going to fall off! We tried to stay inside with a hot chocolate where we could. Basically we walked until we got to cold.

From 2009-12 - Grenoble

After our few days in Grenoble it was time to catch the train to Nice! The day we left it was snowing still so it was on with the backpacks to hike in the snow!

From 2009-12 - Grenoble

Wales, England & Scotland

2009-12-03T01:05:00.000-08:00

We arrived in London to meet Trudy and started our road trip off to Wales, we managed to get a GPS that took us along a goat track which was apparently very beautiful but because it was dark we weren't able to see much. We stayed in a small seaside village called Treaddur Bay. It was very cold and very windy, but a beautiful little coastal town.

We headed to the local pub to join in there trivia night and to our surprise we didn't come last!!! And there were even some Australian trivia questions :-)

From Wales we travelled to northern England and stayed in a little town near Newcastle called Morpeth and did day trips to towns nearby, visited beautiful castles and gardens through northern england.

From 2009-12 - England

One of the castles we visited was Dunsborough castle right on the coast of England it was beautiful but VERY cold and windy, we got some great shots of the castle with a rainbow.

From 2009-12 - England

We drove into Scotland for an overnight trip to visit Blair Atholl which is where Josche's family comes from (the Stewart side), it was a quiet beautiful little town and it snowed overnight which was really cool we went out and played in the snow then did a pub crawl (to all 2 of there pubs).

We did a tour of the Blair Atholl Castle the next day before we headed up to the old farm where his Great Great Great Great Grandfather once lived.

From 2009-12 - Scotland

Italy - Florence, Venice & Verona

2009-11-22T07:03:00.000-08:00

After Rome we jumped on the train and headed to Florence, Florence was a beautiful city. We spent our day there walking around and admiring the architecture, we also went and had a look at David of course and climbed to the top of the hill to see Florence by night.

From 2009-11 - Florence

I found this shop while wondering around thought it was too funny not to take a photo of!!

From 2009-11 - Florence

Next stop was Venice, it was pretty cool with all the little canals and shops but it did smell! :-) We met a few aussies in Venice at an Irish pub who were able to give us a few travelling tips along the way. The Food in Venice was awesome so we stuffed ourselves every day and we found these awesome cocktails that we could wonder around with whilst site seeing.

From 2009-11 - Venice

We were in Verona for only a day so we checked out Juliet and touched her boob.

From 2009-11 - Verona

Rome - The Second Time

2009-11-18T06:57:00.000-08:00

There was not meant to be a "Rome the second time" but due to some unfortunate circumstances we were stuck in Rome for a quite a few days.

It did give us a chance to go check out Vatican city and also catch up with Mez!!! Which definitely brightened our stop over in Rome. :-)

From 2009-11 - Rome (the second time)

Athens and The Greek Islands

2009-11-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

We flew into Athens after Berlin to start our 8 day cruise with a tour of Athens, good old Jody had booked the cheapest cruise she could find on the internet so we were expecting real quality :-).

Josche was joking around with me the day before saying that he thinks that we will be on a tour with a lot of retired americans I just laughed it off. When we got to the bus for our tour Josche's joke wasn't so funny hehehe.....

The tour of Athens was quite an experience, we couldn't help but laugh when the tour guide said that we weren't going to go up the stairs to the Acopolis we would take the path and there would only be a few stairs at the end, the oldies started to winge that they had to go up stairs at the end to see the Acropolis :-) .... lets just say it was a very slow paced tour.

After Athens we boarded the cruise ship to see the Greek Islands - Mykonos, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Crete & Santorini, lets just say the Greek Islands are absolutely stunning! The cruise ship was a blast and it was so good to walk around in Tshirt boardies and thongs!

Our favourite Island was Santorini, the town is built up the top of the hills, so you either walk up, catch the cable car or go via donkey. So we chose to go via Donkey it was heaps of fun, the donkey's would just wander on up at the own pace stopping to eat, and go to the toilet every so ofter. I beat Josche up on his donkey though :-) The sunset from Santorini is stunning also an very romantic ;-)

Rome - The First Time and Berlin

2009-11-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

We left Innsbruck and jumped on another sleeper to Rome (we aren't real big fans of the sleeper), once we got to Rome the first thing we realised was that it wasn't easy to navigate and battling with the traffic was like playing frogger.

Once we had finally found the hotel we took off to check out the colosseum before it started to rain, by the time we had finished the tour it was well and truely raining and every Indian in Rome was out selling umbrellas.

The next day it was still pouring down rain. That morning We watched a car literally bump the car in front and behind to fit into the car park. We learnt this was ok in Rome and that leaving your hand break off was common practice so this could occur. We decided to catch a tour bus to have a look around so we were warm and dry, so we got see or the Rome sights, Trevi, Pantheon etc... By the afternoon it had cleared up and turned out to be a really nice day.

From 2009-11 - Rome

That night we caught another sleeper to Berlin we arrived mid afternoon and it was snowing!!! And might I add bloody cold!!! Josche ran outside so he could stand in the snow while it was snowing and after that we found our way to our hostel.
We were roomed with 2 other aussies which was quite funny one was very talkative and snored but we survived. :-)

We checked out the history museum, Checkpoint Charlie and whats left of the Berlin wall. It was an interesting time to be in Berlin as it was approaching 20 years since the wall came down so the city was ramping up for celebrations.

Innsbruck, Austria - the engagement story

2009-11-01T08:59:00.000-08:00

Innsbruck by far has been the best part of our trip, for the obvious reasons which I will explain but also because it was just absolutely beautiful. Outside of our window we could see the Austrian Alps, the weather was beautiful, blue sky's and snow capped mountains.

On the day we arrived Josche found out that he had graduated from his Masters, so we went out to celebrate it in true Jody and Josche style.... at the pub. We had several beers and glasses of wine which ended up slightly messy, more so for me :-) A photo below.

From 2009-10 - Innsbruck

The next day I woke up with a mighty hangover and a craving for pizza and my lovely now fiance went out into the cold to get me some. I was determined not to let my hangover ruin the day so we went exploring up into the Austrian Alps via Cable Car. The Zoo was the first stop to have a look at the bears :-). I was feeling much better after the Zoo so we continued on our way up higher to have a look at the view.

We got to the next level and had a look at the tickets to go right up to the top, we hummed and haaaaed for a while and decided it would be worth it so we jumped on the next cable car and ended up at a beautiful little restaurant and a whole heap of snow. We occupied ourselves for ages running around throwing snow balls at each other (Josche won that game, I was a little bit uncoordinated to stay standing and through a snowball).

After this we got back in the cable car and made it all the way to the top, it was spectacular the weather was so perfect blue sky's against snow capped mountains it was stunning. We hung around up here for a couple of hours because it was so relaxing and perfect. It also meant that we had stayed long enough that everyone else had left Josche started to ask strange questions like "Do you think this would be a good place to propose?", but me being me still had no idea what was about to happen. The sun started setting and I said we probably should head back so we don't miss the last cable car and got up to go. Josche took his time and came over to me and handed me a small box, I looked at it still confused and still unaware of what was about to happen. He took a photo of me holding the box with this confused look on my face. He then got down on one knee and said that he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and ask me to marry him. I then of course burst into tears and said Yes. :-)

It could not have been a more perfect proposal and it something that neither of us will ever forget.

Graz & Salzburg - Austria

2009-10-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

We did Graz and Salzburg in 2 days both of these cities are beautiful plenty of parks and trees. Because it is autumn here we have taken a lot of yellow autumn leaf pictures as you can see below.

Graz we checked out the armoury museum, climb alot of stairs to get to the clock tower and had a drink at a bar in the middle of the river.

From 2009-10 - Graz

Salzburg we walked up to the castle which was about 1km walk in a gorgeous park. In the old town square we watched some guys play life size chess. I had my first Austrian Apple Strudel and it was awesome! Josche also tried to find himself a nice Austrian Hat.

From 2009-10 - Salzburg

The train ride between Graz and Salzburg was awesome there are a lot of cute little towns in between and plenty of snow on top of the mountains to see. We did get a photo of the towns because we were on the train and it was very hard to take a photo.

From 2009-10 - Graz

Koln - Germany

2009-10-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

From Prague we went to Koln, after a bit of trouble getting on the wrong trains we did finally end up in the right place.

We stayed with some friends of Josche's and they were awesome, we had home cooked dinners and a nice warm comfortable bed. Not only were they top hosts they were top tour guides :-)

We visited Koln's most treasured tourist point - the cathedral - and climbed all 509 stairs to get to the top! By the time we reached the top the warm winter jackets were off.

From 2009-10 - Koln

We had bratwurst and currywurst for lunch and I ordered it in German and got rewarded with a bag of lollies for my german speaking skills.

That night we went to a german beer hall/resturant were we were only aloud to drink Koln beer (Kolsch)we have never seen a town so proud of their beer. As soon as we sat down the beer was put in front of us you didn't get a choice and they just kept on appearing in front of us until you put a coaster on the top of your glass.
Josche ordered some horse for dinner which is a traditional german dish, which was chewy and a bit dry but was enjoyable enough.

Koln was a lot of fun and great to see it with Michael and Kathrin thanks guys!!

Prague

2009-10-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Prague is a beautiful city, but probably its most appealing quality to us at the time was the cheap beer!! Best price we saw was 90cents per Pint....made for a very cheap night. We saw all the sites including the big castle on top of the hill which were all beautiful and amazing.

From 2009-10 - Prague

On the second last night we managed to find an aussie pub...fat boys....so we could watch Australia's first game of the four nations. An Aussie owned the pub so we had a a few beers and good chat to him about the footy and Prague :-).

Overall Prague is a beauitful ciy that from what we have heard matches any city in Europe but manages to be dirt cheap at the same time. At 90 cents a pint who could want more?

From 2009-10 - Prague

London & Vienna - 13th - 22nd October

2009-10-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

We arrived in London on the 13th October at 5am, and just let me say thank god for our Business Class flight!!! Care of Jody and Josche's hard earned frequent flyer points :-) We were able to hang out in the arrival lounge at the airport until lunch time where we could have a shower eat some food and check emails.

Once we got to our accommodation I was able to stay awake until about 6pm London time, which I thought was a pretty good effort for me and I proceeded to sleep for 14hrs straight so I got over my Jetlag pretty quickly. Josche had a little bit more trouble he doesn't sleep 14hrs straight with ease like I do :-).

Once both of us had woken up we went and had a look at the Natural History Musem, it was interesting but probably not the best choice after a 13 hr flight. But we hung in there and had a good look around. PS Josche told me to say how enthralling and exciting the musem was but I decided not to bore you with it.. :-) After the musem we caught up with my good friend Kitz at Covent Garden which was awesome to see a friendly face and have a local take us for dinner and drinks.

From 2009-10 - London

The next day we explored London a bit more and took a river cruise, did the tourist thing, visiting, Big Ben, Parliment House, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham palace. The cruise was very good we had no idea London Bridge was so plain. Tower Bridge on the other hand is very pretty.

From 2009-10 - London

Friday Trudy came too town in the arvo so we promptly found a pub to have a few beers at, this was the first chance we had to try the "warm" beer and suprisingly it wasn't too bad, I wouldn't drink it again but Josche certainly didn't mind it :-)

Saturday we had a bit of a look around Piccadily Circus and Soho with Trudy she was our tour guide :-) and took us to an awesome italian resturant for lunch! Since Sunday was my birthday we had drinks and dinner and Kitz's place, I had an awesome birthday party with Kitz, Trudy and Josche and even got a Birthday cake!!!!

From 2009-10 - London

Sunday was my birthday!!! Josche and I had pancakes for breakfast and had a wonder around Leicester Square, saw a movie and of course a few beers at our local pub what more could a girl want :-)!!

On Tuesday we ventured to Vienna by plane once we had checked into our Vienna Backpackers we were on our way to find some traditional Austrian fine food. We got to the corner and found a pub, where Josche had a 1L glass of beer I stuck with my Pint and had a Weiner Schnitzel.
After practising how to speak German on the plane and bus on the way into Vienna I was confident I could at least ask someone if they could speak english, count to ten and use my manners. This didn't last long when we got on the train to go into the city I had a few people yelling at me in German and I had no idea what they were saying oops....

The next day we caught up with a German friend of Josche's and his girlfriend they were fabulous tour guides and we had a great opportunity to have a look around vienna city. My poor boots didn't hold up though so I spent most of the day walking around with nappy pins holding my boots together. But it was a good chance to be able to go shopping and buy a new pair.

From 2009-10 - Wien

The next day was an early rise to get to Prague....to be continued...

Hong Kong, Shenzhen (China) & Macau

2009-10-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

The first week was spent in Hong Kong, with trips to Macau and Shenzhen in China. We had a blast this week and the highlights of the week were.

Day 1 in Hong Kong we hit Mong Kok to do a bit of shopping Josche Style so this included Camera's and electronics.. Josche has been to Hong Kong so he was not suprised by the cheap prices but to me it was all new and very exciting!

From 2009-10 - Hong Kong

We looked up the Lonely Planet Guide and went to visit Sam the Tailor to get some custom made suits, so we would look the part in London for our Job interviews.

On Day 2 We scheduled in our fitting this was a very interesting experience especially for me, I happen to like shopping and picking out clothes as you all know but I was put in place very quickly here they knew best so who was I to argue!! :-)

Later on that day I discovered the Ladies Markets, this was my first taste of bargaining and my first pair of Gucci Sunglasses :-)

After an afternoon of shopping and bargaining we ventured by tram up Victoria Peak from here we had an awesome view of Hong Kong at night time and Jody had.... and I quote "the best singapore noodles ever".

From 2009-10 - Hong Kong

Day 3 we decided to venture out to Ocean Park which is a Theme park in Hong Kong, the trip out on the bus was very interesting as neither of us new where to get off. But it did help once we got on the right bus! When we eventually arrived we admired the view on the Cable Cars and Josche had a go at the roller coaster and then we got wet on the Log ride.

From 2009-10 - Hong Kong

We also took about a thousand photos of Panda's but I just picked one with us in it below :-)

From 2009-10 - Hong Kong

Day 4 Shenzhen!!! I learnt very quickly in Shenzhen the difference between tourist price and normal price. I paid $70 for her first "genuine" jimmy choo bag, but buy the end of the day was paying $15 for a "genuine" prada bag. We also bagged cheap Ralph Lauren shirts and a Gucci watch. Josche thought it was only fair that I learnt the art of bargaining on my own so I had a pretty big learning curve but by the end of the day I was the bargaining queen!

From 2009-10 - Shenzhen

Josche also had a some fun with the locals trying to explain the ins and outs of Mpg4 Format :-)

From 2009-10 - Shenzhen

Day 5 saw us heading up to see the Buddha after a very painful hour bus ride to the top after one of the locals told us the cable car was "broken" we climbed 206 stairs to see the Buddha. I also took some happy snaps of the local hard hats for all the Rio people.

From 2009-10 - Hong Kong

While the buddha was interesting. The best part was catching the Cable Car home the views where magnificent!

From 2009-10 - Hong Kong

Day 6 and 7 was filled with the Lights and Fun of Macau!! The next best thing to Las Vegas we took the opportunity to stay the night at the famous Lisboa Casino the oldest Casino on the Island.

From 2009-10 - Macau

When we arrived we hired one of the local "taxi cyclers" to show us around, it was definately an experience. Once he had given us the bike tour we did our own walking tour and saw many of the historical sights the city is amazing combining Vegas with Portugal.

From 2009-10 - Macau