TOPDECK Lauterbrunnen Day 2

WOOHOO!!! What a day!! I've never seen so much snow... and it was the soft powdery type... This morning we rode an old cog train up from Lauterbrunnen to Jungfrau which is affectionately known as the "Top of Europe" and rises to 4158m or 13642ft. We could only go to the Jungfraujoch but even thats at 3454m of 11333ft. Since it was snowing so heavily our views were only about 100m but even in this low visibility we still got game and went out in the -15 degree C wind to get nude out on the viewing platform... You'll have to wait for the photo's on that one... =)

We then got the train back down to Kleine Scheidegg 2061m 6762ft for lunch and some tobogonning... Soooo much fun getting completely covered in powder but my clothes are now really damp and I'm off to go get dry now.

Tomorrow we're up again early to start our long drive to Florence...

P.S - We didnt really get nude... the boys backed out coz it was too cold...

TOPDECK France & Switzerland

Friday - London to France
Woohoo - I left London today with 20 other twenty somethings on my Top Deck tour. The other travellers are mostly Aussies with a couple Kiwis, a Mexican and one Korean. Great crew of friendly and like minded people. I apologise if the following seems rushed but internet is €5 for 30 mins and I got lots to write and theres people waiting too....

We drove to Dover and saw the white cliffs before boarding a ferry to France. We reached our hotel in Paris pretty late and Matty our bus driver took us to Montematre for dinner and Sacre Cour for a look see of this beautiful chapel. An early night was had so we had lots of energy to walk around Paris the next day.

On Saturday Emma and I walked at least 13kms around Paris visiting the usual tourist places like the Lourve, Notre Dame, Napoleons Tomb, Rodin Museum, Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower etc. Took sooo many photos and my feet nearly fell off but its sooo worth it. Paris is a stunning and clean city. Very impressed. Even drunk some genuine French Champagne under the Eiffel Tower. =) Noice!!!

Dinner that night consisted of frogs legs, snails, crepes, french onion soup, blue cheese and mousse. Mum and Dad will be very proud - their fussy daughter got adventurous and had some frog and snail but I did feel really guilty eating the poor froggy... Tastes kinda like chicken for the uninitiated =)

Following dinner, we went to a Cabaret Show... We didnt go to Moulin Rouge but it was brilliant all the same. Even the waiters got into the action on stage!!

Today we`ve driven about ten hours to get to Lauterbrunnen which is near Interlaken. Switzerland is fffreezing but so pretty with huge snow capped mountain ranges and lots of little rivers and lakes. We`re off exploring tomorrow and here again tomorrow night so will try update more then.

London Day 4

Another gloomy day in London saw me forking out another £5.10 for the daytripper tube fare. Nothing is cheap in this place and thats an offpeak rate!!

Todays first tube ride saw me off to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museam. You have to queue for everything in London so I thought I'd be smart and prebook my ticket online so I could jump the queue... Well, everybody else had the same idea so surprise surprise when I get there I still had to line up for 40 minutes to get in... This place was a blast however the experience was somewhat ruined by the incredible overcrowding. You could barely move while in there and I had to wait 10 minutes just to get a pic of Spiderman. For some reason nobody cept me wanted a photo of Elvis and ofcourse I couldn't resist Uncle Mel... There was also something similar to a Chamber of Horror's and I managed to get the bejeebers scared outta me in a pretend dark alley full of ghoul's...

After this I caught two more trains to my next destination - the London Eye. Once again I had to line up for half an hour before boarding my flight and it was raining (hard to believe i know...) but it was fun anyway.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around again and I think by the end of the day I'd caught about 12 different trains... It would have only been about 8 if Westminster station didn't catch on fire... The tube is so reliable... NOT!!!

Tonight I'm getting ready to leave at 7am and this time tomorrow I'll be in France!!

London Days 3 & 4

What a busy two days I've had!!

On Tuesday I went to the National History Museum in the morning and then the Palace Theatre in the afternoon to see Monty Python's Spamalot. What a brilliant show!! If you liked Holy Grail you'd love this!! When I got home Elisabeth & I had a drink at the bar with former roomy Leon while I did my laundry and we met our new roomy from Hong Kong.

Today (Wednesday) I boarded a bus tour to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge was awesome and luckily the sun came out to give me some good pic's. And when I thought London was cold, I got a rude shock at Stonehenge!!!

Bath was a truly typical historic English countryside town. We went to the Roman Baths however you're not supposed to touch the previously miraculous healing waters these days as it's kinda festy =) ... After the Baths tour, we were left to our own devices for a couple hours so I wandered the streets to the Bath Abbey and beyond to get some more great pic's. Can't wait share these with you all.

Tonight Elisabeth (the chatty German) and I went into Oxford Circus and had a couple beers with her friends. The pub we went to was named - wait for it - The Cock... =) I dont think the Poms understand what we aussies refer to as a "cock"... heehee... Anyway, we proceeded into the bar and into the upstairs area which was basically a disgustingly thick cloud of smoke!! People are still allowed to smoke indoors here and with the shockingly huge amount of people who smoke here the air was so thick you could part it... YUCK!!

Tomorrow I'm off to visit Madame Tussaud and then have a flight on the London Eye before packing up again and getting ready to leave on my tour first thing on Friday Morning... Yeehah!!!

London Day 2

Another day in London and its f f f frecking f f f freezing!!! I was on a tour bus today and even decked out in scarf, gloves and beaneenie, it was very, very cold... my teeth are still chattering!!

I also had a cruise down the Thames this arvo and over the course of the day managed to get a zillion photo's... When I eventually get to a PC with a USB port I'll upload some of them...

The Spanish guys I was sharing my room with left this morning and in their place is a young German lass who can talk your ears off... But that's cool coz I've only been sharing with guys so far...

Tomorrow I'll be finishing my bus tour, visiting a couple more museums and going to the theatre to see 'Monty Python's Spamalot' at the Palace...

Oh - after a couple people told me they couldn't put in comments, I've now fixed it so non members can. Cheers!!

Ta-ta Singapore, Hello London

I was a little sad to leave Singapore - even the airport was so pretty and comforting... There's tropical gardens and fishponds everywhere amd it's got more shops than most the malls in Perth!!! I even found a georgous sunflower garden on the roof before I grudgingly got into the plane for my 14 hour flight...

I arrived into London last night in the cover of darkness and jumped straight into a taxi to my hostel... £40 later (ouch!!!) I checked in to the Globetrotter, claimed a bed and went straight to sleep. I'm currently sharing with two Spanish guys and a guy from the Gold Coast. His Aussieness was a giveaway thanks to his Bronco's shirt!!

Hmmm... I wish I had nice things to say about my accomodation... Being a Hostel I wasn't expecting too much but for a place that claims to have won awards, the service has been appalling, I share a room with three other people and there's not even one power point available!! Plus, there's no USB port on this PC so I can't upload any photo's for ya all. BUT, I'm here until Friday and I'm not gonna let this place drag me down...

I caught "the tube" this morning and had a wander round Picadilly Circus today. You could get endless photos of the old buildings and statues and there's plenty of shopping to be done too. I need to do some research tonight to find some things to amuse me for the rest of the week... Any suggestions??

Singapore Day 2

Whoa... What a day!!!... Woke up at 7am and believe it or not it's still dark here at that time and if it wasn't for my alarm going off, I'd have rolled over, slept in and missed my tour!!

My first tour today was called "The City Experience" and we had a wander round Little India, Chinatown, the Esplanade, a gem factory and the Botanic Gardens. The Esplande is where the Theatres (funny buildings that look like flies eyes...) and the Merlion are. The Merlion (above) is Singapores half lion, half fish mythical beast. The Botanical Gardens are filled with orchids and frangipanis and all sorts of tropical flowers. One could easily spend hours in this tranquil part of Singapore - partly coz it's so pretty but also coz there's so many meandering paths and very little signage and one gets lost very, very easily... =)

The gem factory was fascinating. Besides the usual display cabinets of gemstone buddahs, dragons etc the walls of this place were covered in pictures similar to the one above. The pictures are made from the small, offcut pieces of bigger gems and are really beautiful.


The preparations for the Chinese New Year are in full swing here. This year is to be the Year of the Pig and there are beautiful, bright decorations adorning buildings, trees and on the streets. The traditional colours of red and gold feature predominantly and contrast well with the lush greenery.


This evening we went on a Night Safari tour. We saw giraffes, hyenas, bison, tigers, rhinos, elephants and deers however it was very dark and therefore very difficult to get any decent pictures from a moving vehicle. I was a little disappointed at this however found solace watching some semi naked men running round and playing with fire... and I had my first taste of Ben and Jerry's... and I bought a little giraffe with magnets in his feet...

So - all up a grand day!! All I gotta do now is repack my bag and be ready for a 14 hour flight to London tomorrow... Eeek... =)

(that eeek was specially for you Stewie... )

Singapore

oh my god... I can't believe I'm actually here... Singapore is beautiful. Vibrant colours, lush gardens, clean streets and friendly people. The cab drivers are all suicidal and there's karaoke tearing holes in my eardrums right now in the hotel foyer but it's all part of the package and aside from turning the volume down, I wouldn't change a thing. Even the thick humidity fogging up my camera lens isn't gonna bring me down!!

The 8 hour flight here was totally bearable as I had an exit seat and oodles of legroom. I even managed to sleep which was a personal best for me as I dont like strangers watching me purr and drool =)

Tonight, I was sposed to go on a Night Safari but the wrong bus picked us up and we all missed out. Dammit... At least we can try again tomoro... =)

I got the whole day here tomoro and have a day tour planned already with the arvo free to look around. Hopefully I can get in touch with Patrick to show me round. Patrick is a friend of my glorious travel agent cousin Mary. She's helped me organise this adventure and is an absolute legend. Ta luv!!

The attached pics are the frog from the Singapore Airlines check-in foyer in Sydney and the view from my hotel room.

Last night in Newy..

Well, here I am with one more sleep to go before I head off on my big adventure. Who am I kidding? As if I'm gonna sleep tonight... My taxi arrives about 4am and it's nearly 1am now so I'm gonna try get a couple hours of shut eye in but I have a feeling shutting my eyes is all I'm gonna be doing...

I surprised myself with my packing abilities today. Somehow, my back pack's only weighing in at 15kilo's (i'm allowed 20) and I have very little carry-on baggage... I keep thinking surely something's missing but it all seems to be there - and I don't normally pack light... =)

Pictured here is my back pack all ready to go. The little yella fella is a bear I made about 10 years ago who re-surfaced recently. While he's not as cool as Wasabi Duck or Tigger, he's just the right size to keep me company when I feel home sick... He doesn't have a name yet but I'm open to suggestions...

Manilla

The last five days have been spent at the NSW Titles hang gliding comp in Manilla, NSW. I wasn't flying but was happy to head up, help out and have some fun. It's been a great week with lots of flying and the comp being a success. Comp organiser Monica has done a fantastic job and should be very proud.

The weather during this week was a mixed bag and even had the experts guessing. I got to Manilla on Wedneday arvo after driving through bucketing rain and later that night we were treated to a spectacular thunderstorm and lightning show. Most afternoons for the rest of the week saw a good downpour in the evening returning a touch of green back to the dry paddocks and some smiles on the locals faces. I think that in the grand scheme of things this rain was welcome by all parties even if it effects our flying.


By Saturday arvo, a touch of the sillies had set in with Monica and I taking Tigger out on some adventures... On the left, he's ready to pounce from some long grass at the airport where Keiro landed. The shed there was full of all sorts of goodies for Tigger to play on including a jetski, a tractor and a ride on mower... Tigger also accomponied us to the presentations that night and may have participated in a few too many bevvies as evidenced in the pic below...

Four more sleeps before I leave this country for the first time... The excitement is starting to build but so are my nerves... And as for packing - oh my god... I haven't started yet but if I had a car boot full of goodies for five days, how on earth am I gonna survive with a backpack for three months???... Eeeeek.....

Almost in the air...

After spending a few days with the folks, I headed back up to Newy again today. About an hour into the six hour trip I got an SMS from Stewie about going for a fly at Catherine Hill Bay. Now, in my brief flying career this site has proven to be by far my favourite so after making some arrangements for a glider and with my excitement rising by the second, it seemed I couldn't get there fast enough... It also seemed every possible Grey Nomad and their oh so slow caravans decided to be on the road too... Grrr... =)

I did eventualy get there though and it was a little too windy for me but we set up anyway and I had some ground handling practise inbetween Stewie mucking about in Jamies Fun190. The pic here is Stewie coming in for a top landing.

Huge thanks to the magnificent Stewie for his time and patience and also to Jamie for his Fun. You guys rock!!

The good life...

Have I mentioned yet how much I'm loving life these days? Since making the decision to sell up, leave work and take off, nothing but good things have been coming my way. Subconciously I'm dreading the day I have to return to the 9-5 working life but until then I'll try not to think about it and will do whatever I can to delay that day for as long as possible.

We had yet another beautiful day today so Mum, Jan and I went for a surf at Mackenzies Beach (pictured here). I'm sure anyone watching me would have had a good chuckle at me trying to stand up and my mum being gracelessly dumped on the shore...

This afternoon I caught up with longtime gal-pal Michelle. This georgous girl has a huge heart and always makes me smile. Keep smiling honey and I'll have some more juicy stories for ya when I get back!! =)

Batemans Bay

Well, here I am in sunny Batemans Bay. My folks have lived here in a pretty little A-frame dolls house for the last 16 years and I've driven the six hours south from Newy to spend some time here before I go O'seas.

Today has been nice. Mum and I went for an early morning swim and boogie-board before heading into town for a magnificent lunch. We then mosied on to Holmes Lookout where the attached pic was taken overlooking Batemans Bay.

This evening saw Mum, Dad and I heading to the local golf club for dinner. I was lucky enough to catch up with a friend I havent seen or heard from for a couple of years. She was as beautiful as ever and hopefully she will venture overseas soon and I will catch up with her again too. Best wishes AC!!

A big "HI!!!" to J O'B. The adventures of Wasabi Duck are high on my favourites list... =)