maya's little adventures......

The Swedish Wedding

2008-09-10T23:31:00.005+01:00

So it was my first experience of a Swedish wedding, and here are a few details:

The background - The happy couple are Fredrik and Elina - Fredrik is an old High School friend of Adams, and Elina is his lovely Fiance who have been together for years! I met them last year, and they have always been very warm to me, and I have enjoyed their company both in London once and in Sweden. So I was looking forward to the day.

The Wedding was to be held on the djurgården island in Stockholm, which has on it a museum, theme park, zoo, cathedral looking building, a few conference buildings and this wonderful church.

This is one section of the church which was amazing. The church is actually from the South of Sweden, and was taken apart and re-made once brought to Stockholm. It was all wood inside, and painted ceilings. Candles were lit, and the outside of the building was the Deep red colour of many Swedish country houses. Was so cute and romantic!

To interupt the story before we left the house we saw that it was slighty drizzling outside, so Adam suggested an umbrella. The colourful piece of equipment was all colours of the rainbow, yellow, red, blue, green, and with my elegant outfit I rejected it. Bad move. As you can see below, it was needed.

Mr & Mrs............after the ceremony it is tradition for the newlyweds to stand out the front of the church and have photos taken. Fredrik is in his Military uniform from his service over 10 years ago....it used to be compulsory for all men to perform their service, and if they meet a certain level (I believe officer), they usually wear their uniform to the wedding. Adam wanted to as well....typical Navy boy! Elina's dress was amazing, the red detail was beautiful, and the embroidary was beautiful.

Going to the reception we had an outdoor task. There were questions posted about the couple on the trail on the reception hall, and we were given a table to record the answers. When we reached the destination we handed in out question papers to be marked. The results were revealed later in the night. Was a very cute task. Luckily we were able to borrow an umbrella!

So during the reception I started to see the biggest tradition of all - the speeches. There were about 10 in total. From all different people, friends, family etc. But it was handled in a tactful way, during courses, and each individual saying their own peice, so lasting no longer than a few minutes. Adam too made a speach (any excuse), however I was the only one who could'nt understand it. Oh well the others laughed.

So here was my dress that I wore:

Of course in the colour I love, but on the day it proved to be...............not sure what to say, but I was considered part of the bridal party..........purely due to the colour of the dress........and the hair:
(Me with the two bridemaids - Louise and Sara)

Another tradition I learnt was that if you are married you are split from each other on the tables, so that you mingle with others. Was a great idea, to make sure people talk, and kindly my table was very obliging to the language of English.

Well here are some more happy snaps from the night..................

Adam and I:

Peter, Fredrik, Adam & Karsten (All school mates from over 15 years ago! hahaha:

Me with the happy couple and bridesmaids:

The four girls:

Adam and Sara on the dancefloor............. I will spare you with the rest of the funky moves.....haha

Well that was the night, and so Adam and I headed off home, to have two hours sleep before getting up to embark on a 7 hours trip home. Not recommended for anyone after a wedding!

But thank you to the beautiful couple, it was a lovely experience for me!

some more photos

2008-09-10T00:00:00.000+01:00

Palma & Faro

2008-08-03T19:50:00.005+01:00

So the summer adventures have started again. First trip was Palma (Mallorca). Its our second time there, but still enjoyable. The lovely beaches, clear water, amazing food, beautiful weather....and well the list goes on. Here are a few little snaps from the journey.
May I just add that every dish ended up looking like this:

Empty!

Our next trip was to Faro in Portugal. Again, our second time there, but this time we opted for the West side. Destination: Lagos. neither of us new much about the area, but when we got to the airport I went through passport control and the guy asked me where I was going. I answered 'Lagos', to which he just laughed at me and said that all the aussies go there. Little did we know the place would be infested.....with Aussies surfers. Was quite fun to see. Boardies and Thongs everywhere!!! Nice to be home again, ha ha.

We first headed to a little town called Aljezur which is on the West coast, North of Lagos. the town didn.t have to much to offer, but the beach we found blew us away!!! To get there you can to walk down the steep roads on the cliff side, but oh my god what a beach. You felt like you were all by yourself, and the water was amazing. A bit windier and colder than the Mediterranean, but I guess it was nice to see the Atlantic.

The next day we headed to the south wast of portugal, and found a few more beaches. Each nicer than the one before.

On the final day it was the East of Lagos, beach after beach we explored the area. Even checking out the housing developments, which might I add were great!!! Seems to be booming.

Here are just a few photos, I will add the rest onto facebook.

Keep in mind, England was wet and cloudy whilst we were in 30+ degress. Totally worth it!!!

More photos................

2008-08-02T08:57:00.000+01:00

Even more.....this is from Stockholm in July.

2008-07-07T09:04:00.000+01:00

A mix.............

2008-07-07T08:00:00.000+01:00

and then there were more

2008-07-01T09:24:00.000+01:00

Its amazing.....there really is a sun!

2008-05-06T08:35:00.005+01:00

Well we started our spring adventures yesterday and it looks like it will be a beautiful summer! YAY! We decided to drive around, and look for whatever we come across, when we saw several car parks beside a woodland. About 50 metres down the road we stumbled on the bluebells. My brother warned me about them, but oh it blows you away. So pretty! One suggestion though - do not wear thongs in the woods anywhere in England, unless you enjoy muddy feet ;)

So I will try to post a few more photos from the past 6 months, as I know its been a while, but until next time.........

Paris - a little trip to meet family + a few others

2007-09-20T11:29:00.001+01:00

A day on the boats

2007-09-08T11:58:00.001+01:00

A few of sweden

2007-09-08T11:52:00.001+01:00

Inside the house

2007-09-08T11:40:00.001+01:00

HERE IS THE TOWN OF MARISTAD

2007-09-08T11:32:00.001+01:00

the long awaited blog

2007-08-14T17:10:00.000+01:00

Ok so about 3 months since my last blog.....how lazy am I!!!! So here it is, it has been a busy time, so I will just take it slowly, and try to remember everything.......Last update was in Thailand, I was staying with Asha, and reffered you to her blog. We had a great time - shopping, eating, catching up, and seeing the ever so exciting Bangkok - great city!

Then came home. Australia again. Finally! Started off at the Gold Coast, venutured up to Brisbane, then to Canberra, back to the Gold Coast, Brisbane and finished off in Sydney. Was great to catch up with everyone, eat good food, live a quiter more simpler life (than London), and have the great Aussie culture around you again. Being away for so long, you forget how great we are...hahaha here are a few happy snaps.......including Gold Coast, State of Origin, and the Swans game.....which we lost :(

Cant get out of the air

2007-08-14T16:49:00.000+01:00

So I get off a 24 hour trip from Australia, arrive into Heathrow to be met by my fiancé, travel to Luton, pack a bag and hop on another plane to Faro. I just cant get enough of flying what can I say!

So I didn’t know many details of what our plans were, but when we arrived we went and picked up a car and started driving to our destination. We went slightly east of Faro, to a place called Tavira. The hotel we stayed at was like a little resort stuck in the desert:

It had a pool, bar, restaurant, church, what looked like a school, and offered many adventurous activities. We opted for a relaxing, drive around, lay on the beach type of trip though.

Here is a little glimpse of the town of Tavira, which was so beautiful and peaceful. We went in for dinner, and managed to come at the perfect time as it became quite busy and has a nice atmosphere to it. Was also nice to be along the river, which might I add had fish in it, a lot of fish – ewwww!

We drove up to the Spanish border, crossed over then turned around and went home. One night we planned on going out for dinner in the town of Tavira, however fell asleep at about 7ish, then woke up too late to do anything, so relaxed and ordered room service. Nice way to live!

The beaches were beautiful, however very crowded, which many many tourists. The weather was amazing for us, averaging high 20’s, low 30’s – just what we wanted.

Next destination : Home to Luton : (

The question was asked..............

2007-08-14T16:00:00.000+01:00

After we got back is when everything started to happen. Adam and I knew we were going to get married, so things had to be organised, we went and registered our wedding (takes two weeks), booked our wedding day, and found a new apartment by ourselves to move into (great feeling!!!). The apartment is great – 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, brand new, modern, furnished, close into town, close to the airport etc. But still in Luton….oh well!

So Adam and I were working together (our last shift together before leaving easyjet), and were going down to Rimini, Italy. When we got to Italy, we offloaded all the passengers, and were a bit early, so we were all up the front of the cabin. I then sat down, however was quickly told to stand up by Adam, who started to make a speech. Afterwards he got down on one knee, pulled out a ring, and asked me to marry him. Of which I answered yes….it was very sweet, as he was shaking the whole time! The captain was our photographer, and here are some pics…..

Afterwards we boarded all the passengers, and I was up the front, waiting for the senior, Ajay, to complete a head count. Ajay decided to be cheeky and make an announcement that I just got engaged, and all passengers clapped and requested to see my husband to be – so out Adam came, and kissed me in front of everyone….It was very cute! I thanked him for not doing it mid air in front of passengers!!!

After work we ran off to celebrate : )

Sardinia

2007-08-14T15:30:00.000+01:00

So my contract ended with easyjet on the 17^th July, and Adam conveniently had 4 days off, so we thought we should head off for another little escape out of Luton. We had just moved into our new place the night before, so unpacking had to wait until we got back. This time we thought we would venture to Italy, to Sardinia. We flew into Olbia and hired a car, and drove up North. We crossed over to the West coast, and stopped overnight in a little town called Cappe Teresa, on the map it looked quite small, but on the water.

We dropped our things off and headed for dinner. The guy at the hotel suggested a restaurant, and we trusted his instruction.

Oh dinner was gooooooood!! I had pizza, and wowow Italian pizza is amazing!!!! So afterwards we walked back, and this little town was packed with people dancing in a quadrant in a line dancing fashion:

The atmosphere was amazing, old, young, locals, tourists, dogs, cats etc. But most people were speaking Italian, so I would say Italian tourists. In the hotel I became friends with these little fellas:

Oh they were cute!! Reminded me of my turtles, although mine were better! After Teresa we headed further south along the west coast. The countryside was amazing. Up in the North west side of the island they had these type of rock formations along the coast:

Including one rather interesting one:

But we had fun climbing and exploring the area, and admiring the crystal clear water.
The beaches were amazingly packed with people, and really you have to get there first thing in the morning to find a comfortable spot. But this once again was filled with mostly Italians.

After these little stops, we continued further south, however slightly inland to find a little town. It was so packed, and looked so different to anything you would ever see in Australia. Looked very similar to Greece, Spain, Portugal and defiantly fit the Mediterranean surroundings. Nice feel. Afterwards we crossed over land to find ourselves once again on the East coast. The mountains which we had to drive through were amazing – to think that we were on such a small island. Adam said it reminded him of driving through the Alps. This side also provided amazing views, and on one outlook neither of us could get over the deep navy blue waters – it was a beautiful time of day to see it (adam's photo shows it the best).

Here we had an interesting little stopover. We stopped as a coastal town, which we both found quite toursity, however it was in a good location for us to continuing our trip in the morning. We parked the car at the hotels little car parking area, went and ate a nice meal, and fell asleep directly. In the morning we had breakfast on the rooftop and got a nice view of the little town. I totally forgot the name however I know it began with 'A'. So when we went to collect the car, we had a slight little collision with the pillar in the car park. Big oops. But we didnt want that to ruin our trip so off we continued down south.

Along the way we found a few strays:

Oh these little pigs were so cute!!! We found their mother not far away on a farm - she was one big mamma. Other animals we saw included goats, horses and cows (all along the road apart from the goats on a hill next to the road – amazing what angles they can climb!). But we had a lovely drive. We also saw several marble mines, which is a very big industry for Italy. We ended up settling down south next to Cagliari.

The next day we saw the most amazing waters. The beaches were the most packed here, and the water was the most amazing colours – I will let the photos speak for themselves.

LOOK AT THAT WATER BABY!!!!!!!!!!! ---->

So amazing!!!! Next stop was the airport to return the car...oops. Home time – back to Luton.

Then 'I do' comes.....

2007-08-14T15:00:00.000+01:00

Next was our wedding day……we had no idea what to expect, apart from that it was going to take about 15 minutes. But when we got there we got a pleasant surprise that it was quite formal, we had to stand up at the front of the room:Exchange rings:

Say I do and kiss……I would love to show you a photo of us kissing, but none were taken, so no can do.

All that was left to do then was sign:

So here are some from after…..which include our guests – Emily, Christian and Adam(second Adam):

It was short and sweet……………and now officially Mr & Mrs! I’m keeping my surname for the moment, but will change that next year, so will become Mr and Mrs Elmstedt : )

bubbles for mummy

2007-08-14T14:30:00.000+01:00

So one final addition........bubbles all around

Ok here is some more for you Ima

'Meet the Parents'...and the friends

2007-08-14T12:00:00.000+01:00

Straight after the wedding we headed to Heathrow and jumped on a flight to Stockholm, Sweden. My first time there. And it was to meet the parents. Bit of a strange order, married then meet the parents, but this is how it happened. We went to a lovely restaurant, which gives a great view of Stockholm and has amazing food. Had a wonderful night, talking, catching up on the day, and drinking a little, his family is a champagne and wine family!

Afterwards we headed back to the apartment, my first time seeing Adam’s place. He was slightly nervous as the week prior we were at Ikea and I kept pointing out things I didn’t like, which he happened to have in his place, but my only concern was a dead dried up evil looking piranha on his shelf (don’t ask me why!)

The next day we were to have a look around the city, catch up with some of his friends (none of which I had met), and go out for dinner. So walking around the city I started to think hey, this is going to be my second home…..very strange. But what a beautiful city, all on the water, spread over I think 14 islands – it was so different, nice and peaceful on the street. We didn’t get to see much as catching up with friends and family preoccupied us for most hours of the day. But here are a few photos….

So where we were was on one of the Island's of Stockholm at a bar/restaurant called Josephine's. It was a very cool place - big, lounge style chairs, all outdoors, had cushions, blankets, good food, good music, and a great bar : ) Plenty of people, even found a couple of Aussie tourists, which made me happy.

So now we are back in London, settled in to our new place, and starting married life together. Have more photos, so will post them tomorrow.

Hope this catches you all up.....once again sorry for the slackness.....

talk soon......puss puss (kiss kiss in swedish)

Wedding gifts

2007-08-14T11:30:00.000+01:00

Here are a few things that were went to us - very creative

'where's adam?'

Orland (o with two dots on top) - Sweden

2007-08-14T11:00:00.000+01:00

So our latest trip was to Adam's parents summer residence on an Island off the Swedish coastline, called Orland, pronnounced Erland. We only had a two night stay, with 12 hours of travel each way - note to travellers - Swedish trains are hopeless!!!!

So here is Adam's parents with his sister and partner - Adam, Hannah, Johanna, Thomas and Johan

The family fishing boat - which I actually went out on!!!! Scary - but what an experience - I was told we would go out about 100m, however a further 400m was where we would set up the nets - they tricked me!! But a successful event - 36 fish were caught. Not as impressive as the week before when they caught 80 in one night, but a fair effort I thought.
So this was part of our daily activity - trying to throw stones along the water so that they bounce. So a little Swedish for you - Smorgos (o with two dots on top) means sandwich - direct translation Smor - butter, Gos - goose - so sandwich means butter goose....great logic!!! But then this throwing rocks along the water is called casta smorgos (i totally forgot what it is or how to spell it, so I will return to correct myself when Adam comes back and reminds me) - but the point I was going for was throwing rocks on the water includes 'butter' and 'goose' - weird Swedes. Anyway I think I need to perfect my throwing action as mine just seemed to sink straight to the bottom upon impact : (

This was our own little precious harber, ha ha so impressive:

This is a typical stone fence, specifically known from this island. Must say it provides a nice feel to the area as it is so relaxed with everything.Very patriotic nation - the blue and yellor flags are plastered everywhere!

Adam looking after his belly.......
So a rush back to the airport, made it home by 1am! Was a great little getaway.

easy option

2007-06-04T17:53:00.000+01:00

So here is my great grand effort at an update......check out asha's page for all details.....haha what a cheat am i???

be home in two days people.....u better be ready!!!!

Palma

2007-05-08T15:37:00.000+01:00

So another few weeks past and another little getaway from Luton........this time to Palma (keeping the Spanish theme). So we ended up going back to the area I went to last year....El Arenal......

So here are a few snaps from our one night stay (yes yes only one night......but totally worth getting out of Luton!!!!)
A question that always gets me thinking.......more stars in the universe or more grains of sand in the world??? I dont care who thinks what........there is definately more grains of sand.......check out this picture.............there are probably a gazzillion pieces of sand in my hand alone!!!!So here are the posing photos...................

This is one which I thought was a cool photo..........keeping it in the black and white theme.....

So I am thinking my next little holiday will be Australia.....June 1st I leave here, so I shall try and get back to you before then.

Talk soon xx

Alicante

2007-04-22T10:11:00.000+01:00

so why stay in Luton on days off? Why not hop on a plane for two and a half hours and run away to a different country with sunshine, a beach and some goooooood food??? Our thoughts exactly! So Alicante it was - southern Spanish Coast, just for two nights, Adam and I : )

Neither of us had been before, apart from at the airport of course, so at least we could discover it together. I was warned that Adam did not know any Spanish, so I was prepared to get around using broken English and body language, however off he goes speaking only Spanish (liar!!!!), even mixing a bit of French in there at times (show off!!!).

So day one we got there late - 11pm late, so it was to the hotel, talk and bed time, needed to save our energy for the beach the next day (my plan anyway - think Adam wanted to mix in some shopping, but I assured him that it would be spent at the beach, and the beach only - I am white....not going to miss out on a tan!)So next day off it was to discover Alicante.....only 5 mintue walk to the beach too - and an enjoyable walk along this little street above.....it was soooooo cute!!! Anyway after a quick coffee it was beach time baby......here are a few happy snaps:
ok so not too many photos from the beach.......but we had a great day -laid on the rocks, then had lunch, then moved onto the sand.......I stepped in the water, highest up to my knees, but i did see fish, so it scared me a little and I had to run away (not good with moving creatures in the water). We also bought a matkot set (matkot in hebrew....no idea in english), but its like ping pong i guess, but no table, so just hit it to eachother. Was quite fun, Adam certainly learned he was not as strong as me : ) maybe more skill, but he needed to learn how to to belt that ball!!!! haha

So we then walked along the cute little streets, saw a few little market stalls selling all that junk I love to look at, so I was amused, Adam was very well behaved and acted amused....haha

Below you can see me on a chair, everywhere there were just chairs, for anyone to sit on.....along this street all the old men were there, and I thought I should try it out . Was quite ok, but had no idea what to do whilst sitting other than stare at people, so I got impatient, so off we continued....

For dinner we went to this cute little restaurant, and had the BEST veal steaks - oh baby oh baby it melted in my mouth.....after that I died........as you can see:
So day two we decided to walk up this hill as it wasnt so sunny. Off we went We found a comfy little place, with a nice view, and it was so nice not to have many tourists around so it was just us : ) But here are some photos from our final little outing.......

Then it was to the airport, and home back to Luton. Must say its enjoyable flying with a pilot to explain all the flaps and gears as they go down......the mechanics, the problems, the next move, the height, etc etc........a little geeky on his behalf, but i guess a little interesting for me too....haha

so thats it from me for a while again, I will be sure to write again in the next few months, but be patient......love you all xx

Spring time

2007-04-04T23:41:00.000+01:00

So adventure time for Adam and myself...we opted to go for a short drive and walk through the woods. The destination we decided on was around the corner of my bro's old place in Oakwood. It is on site of Middlesex Uni.....It has a nice manor house, and outside a garden full of daffodils - which was so beautiful. My first picture below is the best though....just how cool is that tree!!!!!!!!!! Oh man i was obsessed. Twas good fun :) I did almost get in trouble for muddy feet in the car....oopsie

something to talk about

2007-03-27T12:58:00.000+01:00

So.....mother dearest was in town for a few days, so we opted for a little out of town journey to Bordeaux.......was a nice little city(/town??), lovely buildings in the old city (dating back to 1056!!!!), based around a river, and great shops : )

So in a new edition to this post I wanted to add this photo - i love it:

Here are a few little happy snaps from mummy's trip: (what a little poser is she???)

a long time coming

2007-03-01T10:41:00.000Z

Ok so I can see I have been quite slack with updating, so I thought its about time I say a few words. So I have been a little quiet recently, no travelling etc, so staying the the ever exciting Luton.

For some official news, I have a boyfriend, for those of you who dont know. His name is Adam, and I met him through work......this is he:

So yeah thats that at the moment, great guy, will tell more as things go on.....

Ok time for me to go, we are going to St Albans today, a little village which I was told was the old Capital....not sure if there is truth behind that but shall discover.......

Ok farewell

xx

no more sam.....

2007-02-12T15:37:00.000Z

Well Sammy boy left yesterday :( Was great to have a familiar face around, and good company, never a dull moment.

He is now in Bangkok texting me evil messages of how nice and relaxed he is, sleeping by the pool, going shopping, to Pat Pong etc....not fair!!!

To everyone else out there, I am lonely, come over and keep me company. It is ur duty as a friend.....!!!!

Thanks for all the laughs Sammy xx

ok its been a while.....appologies

2007-02-12T15:04:00.000Z

Well I must admit I have been a tad slack.....oops......but I am back now and here is the latest. Not much exciting stuff I must say, but a little has happened. Firstly I am only going to put two photos up from the rest of the trip in Portugal.....it was in this little town on the coast line....This is me on the boardwalk at the beach. Was great, sun was out, no one around, it was all ours!!! however as u can see from my attire, it was cold :( Oh well, we laid on that boardwalk looking out at the water, and ended up falling alseep. That is until this cyclist same riding past.....silly man!

Second photo are the cool houses around the place, making it stand out as such a little tourist destination.....so cute though :) love the stripes. Was dead at the time we went, however we could tell that in summer time it would be awesome!!!

Ok so last week I am sure you all heard about the snow over here.....and let me just tell you it wasnt as good as they said.....it was better!!!! Haha I got woken up to my room mate holding this:

Quite scary may I add.....but how excited was I???? We then started to make our own snowman.....haha we had a lot of fun...even managed to fall down the hill a few times :) But here are some happy snaps from the day :

Now onto the great quality of living in the UK. Every house I have been too had this same problem......Ok to explain the the sink in the kitchen......you can have hot water and cold water....you have two handles to decide how much of each you want (same as in australia), however when it comes out this is what happens:

Two streams of water....one hot, the other cold.....hahaha idiots!!!!

Work...I have been working the past few days after a month off, firstly Nice, then Amsterdam, Geneva, then Krakow yesterday....a lot of delays, a lot of little brat kiddies.....even a cute baby I was tempted to steal....haha

Now three days to relax, catch up on sleep, and meet some friends.

Love to all
xx

Just for sam's sake......

2007-02-05T10:03:00.000Z

So I thought I should share some happy snaps of Sam. Firstly him on Australia, having a good old dance!!!

Secondly his little dance routine in each country, I have several others of these....it is his 'happy dance'.

Finally these two show Sam's eating habits.....what a pig!!!! haha

Photo time.....from spain and portugal

2007-02-04T18:54:00.000Z

So now at home, having spent the day yesterday driving from Salamanca to Madrid, and having a brief look around Madrid, we hoped on a plane, got home and fell into a deep sleep! Thank god! The two nights before were spent in the car, at about 0-2 degrees!! Not fun, but an experience.

Not too sure where I left off, and it would be easy for me to check, but not much energy, so thought I would skip to photos......photos are taken around Barcelona, Sam in the supermarket with on the fancy shmancy baskets they have, a few buildings designed by Gaudi (which I was most impressed with), the markets, and of course the game : )

Ok well thats it for the photos for now anyway, will be on again tomorrow.....

The energy did come....finally

2007-02-01T00:16:00.000Z

Well I have to appologise for the last post as at the time I was dead, couldnt move, didnt want to move, and all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and go to sleep. However that all changed :) I finally got energy, and then everything was all good. We walked into the city which was great, nice to have more shops around, more buzz to the streets and of course more tourists who looked like the idiots we were....ha ha.

We stumbed on cool buildings, awesome food markets (reminded me of the ones in Adelaide) more sex shops (which by the way I think could compete with Amsterdam as it even has a sex museum), and buidlings designed by Gaudi. Now my brother was the one who insisted I went on a mission to find such buildings and artwork, and it turned out to be worth it. If ur keen google it, if not wait until I post photos, but how cool it was, it blew me away.

The highlight of the night however, came at 10pm - kick off of the soccer, only a five minute walk to the FC Barcelona football stadium, we saw the home team take on Real Zaragoza. The locals unfortunately lost, however great experience. The downfall was the rain, as the downpour lasted pretty much all night, not fun when its freezing cold!!!! But luckily we survived, the walk down the stairs after the game however was an effort, ad our knees were so stiff, felt like an old old woman!!!!

Anyway now I need to retire to bed, as we have a long trip ahead of us tomorrow.....Portugal....YAY, will update u later
byeeeeeeeeeeeee xx

Barcelona

2007-01-31T14:03:00.000Z

Well we made it....in fact we made it last night, but thought I would wait until today to update you. Today we have just been walking a bit, admiring the architecture, the old school buildings, and the shops of course. We have booked tickets for tonight for the Soccer - Barcelona FC´s stadium, so that should be fun. Tomorrow we then pick up the car and start driving baby! : )

The weather is nice and mild, however I am freezing for some stupid reason.......maybe something to do with wearing thongs...oops

Anyway not much else really to say, we are both really tired today and lack energy - what a waste!!!!

Oh best bakeries and pastries by the way, I have been very well behaved and have stayed away : (

byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Australia Day

2007-01-27T10:26:00.000Z

So as you all know yesterday was Australia day, and I never picture it a big thing back home, however over here its nice to celebrate what a cool country it is! So thats what we did. We all dressed in our Australian attire (that includes thongs thank u!!!), and went to an Aussie pub (walkabout). We had great fun.

Sam and I went in with Emily and some other Aussies from work, but we split as Sam and I wanted to go to the Borough markets at London Bridge. The food there blows me away every time. All the cheeses, the salami's, the fruit, the cakes, the falafel, the sandwiches etc etc....it can go on! Afterwards we went to one Sam's friends place, James. They worked together at the Labour club back in Canberra, and he has just moved over here. Anyway we went round there, had a few drinks, had some pizza then headed into Shepherds Bush. Here are some photos from the night.....

Frist photo are the boys, second (as you can see then a bit better) are Sam, John, myself and James. Other people include two girls with the 'Aussie Aussie Aussie' tops on are some girls we met on the tube on the way in. The other girls (one with fosters cape on) were friends of James. The one on the left of me, Olivia, I went to school with her sister which was pretty cool. Her brother, Alex the guy in the photo with John and James.

Overall was a fun night, lots of laughs, and heaps of Aussies - I met one kiwi there.....haha poor fella!

spot the difference

2007-01-24T12:12:00.000Z

Local Behaviour:Sam trying hard to fit in with locals......

Ha ha

Sam with his 'Green beer':

Sam in the toyota ad:

Finally a photo of Sam and I looking quite..........serious:

Amsterdam

2007-01-24T11:48:00.000Z

So a few snaps from Amsterdam....mostly from our little adventures on our ride around town...was great fun......One of Sam from the Red Light District, from outside the Sex Museum, and from my favourite little sign, an the city's advertising campaign 'I amsterdam'.

Basel

2007-01-24T11:37:00.000Z

Not so much to see here......the little river, which was awesome at night, Sam at the markets out from of the coolest building in Basel (we thought anyway), and Sam trying to make his meal last......our last supper....haha

Berlin

2007-01-24T11:14:00.000Z

Ok so in Berlin, we walked around a few places.....some of the photos include - these cool little take out places.....I think probably open mostly during peak tourist season..... Then we have the Berlin Wall, a photo of me at Checkpoint Charlie, the memorial of the murdered jews, the Brandenburg gates and some markets we found.....

Delphi

2007-01-24T10:59:00.000Z

So this was our little trip to Delphi.....u can see some scenery, the cute little village we found on the way, and the archaeological site which we saw......was a great day......

photo time - athens

2007-01-24T09:53:00.000Z

Ok here are some snaps from our little trip......first up...Athens...this is the view from our hotel......from the roof of the hotel, looking at the Akropolis.......the first night of our trip.....the rest are some snaps from around our time in athens.......

Home sweet home

2007-01-24T03:12:00.000Z

Well usually after a great holiday its easy to get down. You have to go back to routine, work, cook, clean etc etc...........For me I dont care about the previous three pointers made because.....r u ready........its snowing!!!!!!!!! Snow....its set on all the cars, its white everywhere, no nice to see! So I am all happy again, I have been waiting all winter, and here I finally get it...in Luton of all places!

So I dont quite know where I left things last time, so I will pick up from Red Light District Amsterdam. Took as a while to find, cause the map we had, and the directions given to us were useless......but we found it. I must say I was expecting more from it. Maybe as it wasnt high tourist season, there weren't many people....but it was still a site to see. Buildings all along the canals with girls dancing in the windows, multiple floors, multiple buildings! ha ha

After our little wonder through there we carried onto to an area near central station, which was also very touristy. Many people approached Sam (haha to him), in a sly fashion, to offer cocaine....was very different to see I must say. Along with all the 'coffee shops' you get a real feel for Amsterdam......and the difference in laws....haha

Anyway after a few hours of walking, we finally made it back to the hostel, had a broken sleep due to more snorers in the room! Breakfast was quite impressive I must say, considering he cost of the place, so we thought we would eat to carry us through the day. The gingerbread load was the highlight might I add. Anyway then we decided to go and get our bikes for the day...so off we went. The lady at the bike hire place became obsessed with the Aboriginal flag in gold on the front of our passports......we thought that was all a bit weird, but each to their own I guess.

The bikes were typical Dutch bikes.....high handle bars, think wheels, high seat, basic frame......I dunno if that makes any sense, but its not a mountain bike, put it that way. Took us a bit of getting used to, especially adapting to road rules regarding bikes, how to turn, which direction etc, but he had a ball. We rode around for hours, stopping at markets, look at interesing buildings etc etc....It was so cold that ur face and fingers became numb. The puddles on the paths were ice!!!! Thats how stupidly cold it was......but lucky I had my jacket! So I survived.

Highlights for the day included: taking a photo with the 'I amsterdam' sign, the ice-skating rink outside the Reijks museum, almost getting hit by trams, cars and other cyclists etc etc. My best memory of the day was riding through one of the parks, going at our own pace, riding side by side, when I decided to start singing 'do-a-dear' (sound of music for those who dont know), must to sam's disgust. Ha hs I had so much fun, was a perfect picture.

Anyway we ended up returning the bikes, having dinner there and flew home.........now back in Luton......where if u had forgotten...its SNOWING......yay!!!

Photos will be coming up tomorrow, too busy watching the tennis at the moment (go clijsters, boo hingus).

But must run off to bed, its 3:36am.....not bed yet infact, more tennis, but must not type anymore!

Bye bye xx

Amsterdam

2007-01-22T18:25:00.000Z

Havent seen much here yet, but already I love it. Falafel = good makes Amsterdam = good, like my logic? Ha ha

So after crying for an hour whilst reading my book last night, I found myself awake at 8am not able to sleep (thats 7am UK time....not good peoples!!!!).....We left the hotel at about 10ish, went and bought some food from the supermarket which would satisfy us for breakfast and lunch, had a little wonder around the town centre of Basel.....(note town centre, not city centre....its so small). We hoped on a tram, Sam got all excited that he saw the Basel Football Club team.....so for those of u back home he will brag I'm sure of it!!!

After a quick look around we went to the airport, and checked in and then positioned ourself in front of Nadal V Murray in the Australian Open....of course Nadal won :)

Then we got into Amsterdam....what a buzzing place. First the buildings are soooo cool.....so old and everything, and then u have all the shopping, restaurants, bars etc etc....its great! We are now going to wonder over to the red light district.....then maybe head out for a drink. Tomorrow I cant wait for......we are going to hire bikes.....how cool???? Last time I rode a bike was in Brisbane....over 6 months ago!!!

Anyway shall update u tomorrow when I get home on how Amsterdam was.......but so far so good.......one complaint.....its freezing!!!!!!!!!! But I have my jacket.......which keeps me warm.....Sam has my gloves, so my fingers will freeze, but who needs them!

Talk soon xx

Quick one

2007-01-21T19:18:00.000Z

Ok so in Basel now......nice little place, cool buildings.....but the biggest thing is the cost of everything!!!! 180 CHF for a dodgy hotel room - oh my god!!!! So we are supporting my company and staying at a easyhotel. Not too bad, ok location, cheap which is the main thing, our pockets are almost empty!!

So Berlin yesterday was amazing, so much to see and do, and the buzz of the city was great - I really loved it. We went to most of the attractions, the most interesting which I enjoyed were Checkpoint Charlie, the Memorial of the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Berlin Wall.....so much histroy, and u really feel it all over the city. Last night Sam wanted to have a good night and have a drink with dinner, so he ordered a beer, which had berlin in the title, so I think he was proud of himself for that. The guy asked if he wanted green or red, so he asked for green. Ha ha not knowing what to expect we kept thinking the best.......until it came.......came in this huge glass (wide!!!!!) and fluro green.....with a pink straw.....anyway he had a sip, and his facial expression told the rest.......I tried a bitm, and let me tell u it was a green cherry-flavoured beer......I hate beer anyway, but this was just rotten!! ha ha he finished it.......

Today has been our most laid back, long wait at the airport, short flight, card in mcdonalds cause we are trying to budget, and now going to head back and play chess and more cards......will be nice. Must say the weather is much nicer.....I am enjoying it.

Ok well I have to run, will talk soon.....

miss u all xx

I'm in berlin baby

2007-01-19T21:43:00.000Z

So today I find out that the weather in Europe has been a bit shocking, even two people died cause of winds etc. We had no idea!!! Wil get back to the weather, firstly lets get back to last night.

totally off the point - if there are any 'z' characters instead of 'y' characters, I have to appologise as the key boards here are screwed up!!!! And vice versa of course......

Ok so last night, we got some dinner, and then decided to go out for a quick drink. We found these two cool looking bars....very modern, cool furniture, but no one was in then, so I told sam that I saw this other cute little cosy bar before. Now the onlz problem with this bar was that opposite was this restaurant, that had this guy working out the front, trzing to get people to sit down and eat. Anzwaz for the past 2 nights we were there he tried to stop us, and even remembered Sam cause of his stupid Liverpool t-shirt. We felt sorry for the guy, so we agreed that if he was there we would go in for ice-cream after our drink.

Anzwaz we entered this little bar, high ceilings, not a large room at all, but full of people. No chairs for us to sit even, so we opted to stand. Anzwaz we tried to decide on what drinks to get and as we were doing so this guz asked where we were from......we replied Australia...and that started us talking for hours. There were 3 of them, all school mates from the north of Greece, but all living in Athens now. We had great fun with them, a few drinks, a few shots (oh my god Ouzo is potent), but it was all cut short cause we had to be back in the hotel by 1 :( They were planning where to go and have dinner at this point...ha ha crazy!

Today I stayed in bed, whilst Sam was all exctied and had energy to return the car etc, and then we had to pack and head to the airport. On the way out we saw a factory outlet right next to the airport, so we thought we would waste some time as we were a tad early. Nice mall, but nothing there, so then we had to make our way to the airport. Being typical backpackers and trzing to cut costs, we opted to walk.....this meaning along the highway!!!! Twas very shmart of us!!!! But we got there, made our flight and thats when the news came about the weather.

I recieved a message from my landlord saying 'how bad is the fence?', but I had no idea what he was talking about, still dont infact but thinking it could be linked. Anyway getting on the plane, first thing I noticed was it was an Airbus - way more room and technology on those one, so it was nice to see. Then we had a message from the captain saying about how the weather had been bad so we have to go the long way......oh well that didnt bother me. We cruised to however high - normal altitude I guess, but it got soooo bumpy it wasnt funny. Poor Sam was asleep and I woke him up to hold his hand cause I needed calming down (I hate suddenly falling). Anyway they then dropped altitude and cruised at a far lower height the rest of the way - took us 3.5 hours!!!! And now we are here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its cold.....and windy......and a bit wet I guess......but mainly I want to complain about the cold! We managed to find our hostel without too many dramas, and now about to go to sleep :)

That it for me....my eyes are closing on me.....so will not bore u any longer!

Ta ta, farewell, laylatov xx

Day 2, and the weather is still perfect : )

2007-01-18T18:15:00.000Z

Today was hiring a car day. Once again a challenge, as the Greeks too are crazy drivers, and drive on the stupid side of the road!!!! BUT we braved it, and survived which is always good news. We had a little Hyundai old crappy car, so it was a struggle, but once u get used to the gear box shaking continuously u can relax and drive.

So getting out of Athens was a struggle. We had a map in Sam's little book, and a bus map indicating the main metro and bus stations, neither all that useful. I like to just drive in the direction I feel we should go, but with Sam next to me, that would prove a difficult task. His huffing and puffing kinda telling me he was getting a little frustrated and worried, panicked, stressed etc etc Oh well we made it. We got to Delphi after 3 hours on the road (maybe a bit more), and went through some amazing countryside. Two things I loved were - One set of mountains with a lake at the bottom. There was a bend in the road where u hugged the lake and u saw the mountains reflecting in the water to make a perfect picture......after that we drove through this little village. It reminded me of Genova as it was built on a mountain, but driving through it was like a little Swiss village. So cosy and warm feeling, trees with no leaves, nice white houses with the brown trimming, stalls selling fur and rugs etc. It has a cute little ambiance to it.

After that we found Delphi - I'm not too good with my history, but that was the site that they claimed to be the centre of the earth, there were a few archaeological sites to see, however all the museums etc were closed, I guess cause it was not tourist season. So this made us stand out as well!!! We walked around the sites, looked at the spectacular views, admired the detail of work, and how they constructed such things. My favourite part was the lack of noise. There was silence with only sounds from nature - birds singing, water running etc......was beautiful. I really appreciated it. Took many photos again, so once I'm home I will post them up.

We then just made our way back to Athens, on the outskirts, ditched all maps, and headed towards the Acropolis - which worked : ) Ha ha to Sam, he so wanted to prove me wrong.....he was all emotional....ha ha but we made it.....!!!

Tonight then, we are to relax, soak up more night life, have a few drinks, and get ready to go to Berlin tomorrow.....

So until then.....love u all xx

Athens.....

2007-01-17T17:18:00.000Z

We finally arrived last night - couldnt see much BUT we were both on the edge of our seats the bus ride to the hotel trying to find....I dunno really, whatever we could!

On our way to the hotel, keeping in mind we didnt have a proper map AND I am travelling with a person who has crap sense of direction, we didnt make too many mistakes : ) One guy saw us struggling and gave us a hand to find it, then off him we scored his business card for a restaurant that we later ate at, and gave us a free plate of fruit (good fruit too!!!)

Our hotel is nothing really to write home about, a little Greek man let us in, and with his broken English explained that there was a roof upstairs. After dinner we came back and went upstairs and wow what a good view. Have taken photos, so dont panic, but it looks at the hill with the akropolis on top....I was blown away. Hotel is also in a good location, close to restaurants and main city area, so quite safe to walk around etc. Last night we found the cutest restaurants!!! They are all tucked away, with candles and greenery everywhere, each place tops the last, and I can just picture wedding after wedding there.

Anyway today....today we got up with an alarm (just!!!), but decided to get up and at it. So off we went, with the little map inside Sam's 'Inside Europe' book....Looked around the Akrolopis, the city, markets, gardens, and then headed for a long walk to the Sea. After a few death stares from Sam going into the 3rd hour of walking, I thought I should offer him the tram option. So we hopped on that which took us to the port where the cruise ships depart from. I have never seen that many cruise ships EVER!!!! Was amazing to see. Although there weren't many people there I could just imagine summer time - oh my god - that place would be a mad house!!! Started to get a bit cold there, so we left.

Before I go on, have I discussed the weather?? Oh my god, it was sunny!!! I saw clear blue sky!!!! I was in a singlet top!!!!! AND NOT COLD : ) How happy was I???? One complaint, not quite hot enough for a tan....oh well....the fact I saw the sun, and got to wear sunnies again thrilled me.

Tomorrow we are planning a driving trip to Delphi, for more sight-seeing. After that, if time permits, head down south, along the coast line, Sam has it planned (I hope).

Anyway I shall be off for now, dinner calls, I'm thinking more Greek food : )

Love to u all, update u soon xx

A sneak preview

2007-01-15T23:44:00.000Z

So peoples....time for me to set off on a new little adventure. A preview for u all......Athens, Berlin, Basel, Amsterdam, home for a few days then Barcelona. I am way too excited!!! I will probably run away, and never come back ;) Not packed yet....so thinking I should go and start that, but the cricket is on and keeping me a little occupied. Oops...

Last few days have been a little relaxing....worked a few days here and there, but other than that been admiring the quality weather - wind, clouds, rain etc etc......although I can claim a bit of sunshine yesterday before work, which was a nice change. I am just praying for some snow at some point during this little break!!!

I will try to get to a comp when I have a chance to update u on whats happening, but until then, have fun : )

Belfast

2007-01-13T12:28:00.000Z

So last week I went to Belfast to meet up with Sam. Belfast has changed sooooo much from what I remember of it, however the weather was the same......cloudy and miserable. I was only there for two nights, so we wanted to make the most of it, but first stop was a pub to watch the football (oh my god I automatically typed that - shoot me now)....the soccer sorry. So had a nice pub dinner there, and then after that we came outside and it was dark :( so off to the shops it was. Ireland (north/south) has the best fashion - more smart casual than anything else, but good clothes, so Sam bought a few things.

Anyway after that we wanted to go see a movie (boring people we know), so we stopped this couple to ask for directions, and they started explaining to us where to go....after a few minutes the guy goes, are u going there now, so we replied yes,........they then go we can give u a lift, our car is just round the corner and we are going there anyway.....so we hopped in - who does that kind of thing?????? such nice people - the cutest couple!!! They were planning their wedding...awwwww

Anyway the next day we decided to hire a car and drive outside Belfast, up the coast to Giants Causeway - a few hours later we got there - the countryside was beautiful - the rain continued to pour, and the clouds never left (damn Irish weather!!!). Once we got there we had to leave our car and walk - not nice at all!!! But it was amazing to see.....firstly we walked along the cliff top until we realised it was going nowhere, so then we hopped on a bus which took us down to the shore....It was amazing......great to go to.....After that stop we went to a little town and had fish'n'chips for dinner.....

We continued on until Londonderry, better known as Derry I believe, and then turned around and drove back, in the dark of course, as it was 4:45pm!!!!

Overall was a great little outing......look forward to the big trip next week - Athens, Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona etc etc......

Some extra photos

2007-01-10T20:24:00.000Z

So I thought I would put up some random photos right now...so here goes.

Sam's first night in town, and Em's birthday celebrations.....a good night out @ the exchange. Em, Adam, Adam and Dan

Me and Lisa ages ago now.......I am on the phone to lisa at the moment, and she is angry with me for that photo!!! Ha ha fun times : )

Another photo from a night out, Pilot Pat stealing Lindsay's cigarette....

So another one from New Years, Adam and I on the walk home....

clinging to hope.....

2007-01-09T16:32:00.000Z

So the coverage of the 20/20 match between Australia and England started like this: "England have a few things to be happy about still.....1: Shane Warne is out, 2: Michael Vaughan is back and 3: they have a 100% record against Australia in 20/20.

Well what crap that turned out to be.....ha ha

New Years

2007-01-04T14:42:00.000Z

Well I figured it was about time to update u on my whereabouts for new years, and the nights events. So we had planned to go into London, have a few drinks, stay on the river, watch the fireworks and head home, however this was all scrapped. Plan B then saw us staying in Luton, getting a bit more dressed up, going into the White House with a few of the other Aussies from work. But this was also scrapped. We then opted for Plan C - 'the flying club' . The Flying Club is the place cabin crew can drink in uniform, and is the hangout after a shift, however New Years was there last night of operation as they are closing down......so the croud there was purely airline crew - 90% easyjet......I was not willing to stay at the crappy little flying club, however it turned out to be a great night : )

So a few for u all now.....first photo - the Aussies - myself, Em, Sam, Krystal, Adam, Lee and Nikki (Lee is a local boy)....

Second photo: Dan, Sam, Em and Helen(I think helen anyway)

Third Photo:Just mucking about....John(fellow Canberra boy), Myself, Ben, Adam and Em

The night ended quite early as I was on standby from 7am - Em and Sam stayed out a little longer with the others though.....

Since new years I have been working a fair bit.......yesterday I had a fun day, and was called off airport standby after 5 hours to go to edinborgh, then on the way back was asked to go to Belfast.......so ended up landing at about 12:12am......got home by 1, was a fun day though.....A lot of laughs onboard : )

Em's Birthday

2006-12-31T00:23:00.000Z

So the 28th was Em's birthday, however work prevented us from celebrating on the day, so plans were shifted to the 29th. Sam arrived in the morning, and after spending two days by himself in Dubai, and not speaking for several hours, so he made up for lost time, ha ha. So we got home, ate, did some shopping and then ventured into the exciting Luton nightlife.....first stop the exchange - one pound drinks.

Company by the way was Sam, Emily, Dan, Adam and another Adam (Dan and first adam cabin crew as well, the other Adam a pilot). Then moved onto Chicago's....and let me tell you this place has my kinda music!!!! Bit of Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Guns and Roses, 'I want to dance with somebody' by Whitney and the all so important Dirty Dancing soundtrack - I was in heaven baby!!! Ha ha had a blast!!! Was great fun, however all things come to and end, and in Luton that end at 2am!!!! Not fair at all, but we ended up all going our own ways, and ended up crashing into bed @4/5ish......was a fun night.

New Years tomorrow and so far the plan is to go into London, to see the fireworks, then come back to Luton as one of our friends is having a party - Em and I are both on standby from 7am on the 1st (boo hoo).

Anyway off to bed,

laylatov xx

Lets turn our attention to work...

2006-12-25T19:23:00.000Z

Ok so I started work a few weeks ago, and its been good fun. Met a lot of people, landed in a few a few different countries, and by now completed my fair share of safety demo's! So here are the two snaps I took whilst working. The first one being on Airport Standby, of which you really do nothing but sit in the room, shop in duty free, have the opportunity to fall asleep on the very comfrotable couches, and eat. Not such a bad life.....

Next we have the crew I flew with down to Barcelona. Was a very fun day, nice passengers, never got bored etc etc. Always nice to finish a days work though, you just leave the plane there with new crew to start their shift (ha ha).

I know that whilst reading this you are just thinking how great the uniform it. The orange is just so hot right now.....BUT....sad news for you, we are changing uniforms. I believe sometime in the new year we shall be adopting a more formal approach, and be given suits......yay I get to be a suit* again. Until then we have to grin and bare the current one. (My favourite is the hi-viz vest).

*In reference to a colleague of mine in Brisbane, Arthur- as he so fondly reffered to me as a 'suit'
....cheeky boy!

Nothing beats a roast

2006-12-25T12:56:00.000Z

So after preparing my lamb last night, I woke up this morning and put it straight in the oven. I was so impatient waiting for it to cook, but the movie Antz kept me occupied whilst I restrained myself from opening that oven and eating it all.

Was it worth the wait or what!!!! The lamb melted in my mouth......have a very happy tummy now.

Now going to relax, will be on later to put some more photos on from work.....

Merry Christmas, and happy Hanukkah

Christmas time is upon us.....

2006-12-24T14:09:00.000Z

Well In Brisbane 10 minutes ago it clicked over to Christmas, Canberra an hour or so ago......Here westill have another 10 hours to go.

So what are my plans? I am going to the shops now to buy my final little ingredients which is going to be the best Christmas lunch. Roast lamb, thinking of changing from roast vegies to my sweet potato/normal potato mash, with my broccolini - I am obsessed what can I say. Going to get some expensive fruit for dessert - maybe strawberries or something so delicious like them......cant wait!

As for my ideal qhite Christmas, I think it will only be in my dreams as it is set to be a stinking hot 3 degrees!!!! Cant wait (NOT)

Went to Barcelona on a fun flight yesterday, going to Edinburgh and Amsterdam next on Wed/Thursday, then Sam shall be here Friday. Then New Years baby!!! Will keep you all posted on what I shall be up to then - no set plans as yet.

Merry Christmas to you all,

speak soon xx

First night out in sooooo long

2006-12-21T07:49:00.000Z

Ok so for me - officially the coldest day so far!!!!! Have a look at that - it was 3:30/4pm!!!! Sun is starting to go down - frost has stayed on the footpath ALL DAY!!!!! I stupidly went in a T-shirt thinking I would brave the cold for five minutes, and warm up as I was walking, however this was NOT the case, I can assure you! My arms became 'goose flesh' (love that term), then became numb, and my fingers turned purple - a nice purple, but purple! Not nice.

So didn't end up walking for long, and went and hung out at Rachel's place for a bit (Irish chick, you will see further down).
Then it was time to get ready and go out. First thing - dress warm - I took this on board and used my doona jacket as I call it (left)- twas gooood I took it!

Emily and I wondered to a few places, first Somerset, near our place, then hopped on a bus, went to the White House where we met Rachel and Lindsy, then moved onto Yates as it was too packed, however they weren't showing the soccer (Chelsea V Newcastle) so off we went to 'The Park' - was a bit lifeless, but the soccer was on so we stayed.

The boys then joined us (pilots we met on training, they are Dutch, however based in Belfast). After Chelsea beat Newcastle, we relocated back to the White House, where the night began. Had a few drinks, a little dance, and a great night overall.

During the night we wanted to teach the boys a few things....To the left is how to strike a 'I'm thinking about something very serious and important pose'. Emily grasped it perfectly, Olaf (left) going for the model shot, Patrick (right) has the 'I'm quite pathetic' look about him......ha ha

Secondly was how you cant tear Australian money - Rudy did try his best, as you can see, however was unsuccessful in his task! [Let me just take the opportunity to say, Aussie money is the coolest money in the WORLD - no denying it]

Third little thing, not quite a lesson in anything, however this was a 'try to pinch Patrick's fat' - an ex Judo player, so no such thing - pictured is extra material.

We even had a proposal for the night - Lindsy asking for Rachel's hand in marriage......awwww how sweet!!

After that closed, we were due to move onto the next place, as it was an early 1am, however after a few strange boys tried to pick us up, we bolted!!! Boys here are a tad strange if I may say so myself. This guy I let trip over the bin, ha ha, tried to leave him there, but he did get up and follow us again.

So then we jumped in a cab, and were headed home. For a nice surprise we came home to witness this......
No explanation to give really.........luckily I took some form of evidence, as waking up this morning I wouldnt have believed it!!!! ha ha

Was a fun night!

The Ashes

2006-12-18T04:41:00.000Z

Its now gone lunch on the final day of the Ashes, Flintoff and Panesar left to defend only the most important title of the sport - and they are sooooo going to collapse! ha ha ha

Today I had a visitor - the lovely Lisa. After watching the cricket, and having the morning to myself, I opted to go for a walk, and what a nice day it was. The sun was out, probably only the one cloud in the sky, a few birds singing (although it was a horrible tune), however it was still freezing!!!

Played a few card games, kicked butt which is always nice : )

Ok well back to see the pomms go DOWN baby!

byeeeeeeeee

Best day so far

2006-12-16T04:28:00.000Z

Yesterday I had the most fun at work so far......granted its the best out of three, but anyway!!!

Went to Poland (Warsaw) and back, tested new selling techniques - of stuffing a teddy down my top!!!!, was given chocolate as a 'thank you' from one of trainers for letting him fly with us (how sweet), and got 5 pounds for selling 100 scratch cards, and a bottle of Kenzo perfume (worth 25 pounds), for reaching above our spend per head. Not a day I can complain about I must say.

However it continued, found out about 25% off duty free for easyjet staff (YAY), so went and bought myself some alcohol(a chocolate mint baileys) and my DKNY perfume as I ran out. Then I arrived home to my Sydney Swans 5 disc collection from 2005 series - all of the finals games, plus highlights of the season - how cool????????

So after being on a high I cooked - Steak, with mash (combination of potato and sweet potato) and broccolini with garlic and oyster sauce -whoooaaaaa it was good! Crashed at 6:30 in my warm bed (loving the electric blanket), and woke up perfectly at 2am in time for the cricket :)
Clever girl I am!!!

Well going back for a quick little nap, before getting up to watch the rest of the cricket, and go for my Airport Standby :)

Laylatov xx

funny talk

2006-12-13T22:58:00.000Z

Emily says - "Aussies speak so lazy" - thinking it makes sense, then follows up trying not to make sense by saying "I speak good English" instead of, I speak English good ......ha ha

had to chuckle

3 days off, come and gone

2006-12-13T22:25:00.000Z

Today is my last day off, however I'm hoping for my phone staying quiet in the morning, as I am on Standby from 7-9, so if I escape those two hours, I will be free to watch the end of day one of the third test :)

Got back from London today, having said goodbye to my brother, who leaves for Australia on Sunday :( I managed to score all of this old things, blankets, electric blankets (needed), towels, first aid stuff, webcam, lights etc etc. So with all this stuff, I managed to squeeze the blanket and a bit of the first aid stuff into my backpack - everything else I had to carry in bags - ended up with 4 extra heavy bags - full of stuff! Going on the tube, EVERYONE was looking at me - quite embarassing. Was lucky to squeeze into the train from Kings Cross to Luton - was packed. But I survived and I know have a messy room once again.

Now I am relaxing, watching TV, whilst my roommate is snuggling up to her new man - so funny, but quite cute. they so want me out of here, but they will have to wait for an hour or so until this is over....ha ha

okies I'm signing off - go the Aussies in the cricket!!!! Lets hope we put Freddie and the boys back in their place :)

and now I'm good to go

2006-12-11T20:50:00.000Z

Ok as requested - a more detailed explanation......the 12 hour day consisted of checking in to work, having a meeting, getting tested on questions, checking all the safety equipment on board etc etc, seating passengers, flight to Faro, Portugal, then back to luton, then to aberdeen back to Luton again, where we then go for a final meeting to discuss the day. So by the end it all racks up time!!

Day two was on Sunday, which was my check flight - so someone following me around, making sure that I do everything correctly. Anyway after only two and a half hours sleep, I had to get up at 4:30am!!!! Not fun......but it was a great day - Amsterdam and Geneva today, quick flights, nice people, and it all went rather quickly which was great for me. Managed to answer all questions correctly so now I am ready to fly solo baby!!! Next flight on Friday to Warsaw....yay!!! Its fun, although i can see it getting pretty boring - oh well......staff travel :D

So getting home last night, I put myself to bed at 6:30pm after falling asleep in front of the tv, and stayed asleep until 9:30am!!! Felt quite refreshed really.

Now in London - took my brother to dinner to celebrate his birthday which was on Saturday, and had Vietnamese food - was great!!!! Had Soda Chan (Nam manow - lime soda) which was the best!!!! Missed it.

Last week we had some Pilots visiting - some we met on training - Patrick and Dennis - Dutch guys, based out in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Was nice to catch up with them - Patrick and my room mate Emily have agreed to get married so Pat can work and live in Australia - so this weekend they got engaged - ha ha, we managed to find the perfect engagement ring - the famous Durex ring - the proposal was not on one knee, as we were shoved in the corner, but the thought was there - Em tried it on straight away!!!!!

anyway I'm off to watch America's Next Top Model - its in Thailand at the moment - nice to see it again - I want to be back there!!!! :'(

back at work baby

2006-12-08T23:21:00.000Z

So today was day 1...........I admit I was nervous, scared -ok I freaked out totally, but once there, all went ok. I passed my questions, I did the demo on my first flight (exits, seatbelts, lifejackets and all), I then got to sit in the flight deck for a take off and a landing. I got take off in Faro - looked like quite a nice place, then landing into Luton, which was great cause it just got dark, no clouds in the sky, and all I could see was lights. Landing definately beats take-off......but still I got to hear a lot about all the different gadets, switches, screens etc etc.

So after 4 months almost of literally doing nothing and not working, I kick start it with a 12 hour flight - suprisingly not even that tired (even though I only got four hours sleep).

So now a day off, and then Sunday I have my test flight - more training to do now.

ok i'm going to bed

laylatov

A taste from home

2006-12-03T05:39:00.000Z

So yesterday my flatmates and I were sitting in front of the tv, all craving something sweet. Emily then goes 'mmm......chocolate, lets go down to the shop'. I let it slip that I have chocolate in my room which I have tried to avoid opening. She then mentions that she has a craving for Tim Tam's (its been 5 months without them in sight even). I then confirm that this is in fact what I have - my mum brought them over for me. Anyway we decide to treat ourselves.

Having to introduce the local Kerry to such divine biscuits we opt to do so in true Aussie style (or how i used to eat them back home anyway). Out came the trainer in me. We were all prepared with our hot beverages, one tim tam each (have to make the pack last), and ready to go. So dunk first, turn around, and start sucking until u can drink the hot chocolate. Then devour whats left.

Was it good!!! Oh baby, oh baby. Very satisfying, so satisfying in fact Emily went into London today, and planned to make a stop at the Australian shop in Covent Garden.

ok thats it - bye

8th Dec

2006-12-01T15:41:00.000Z

The last comment I got was that I needed to post something more interesting - so here it is - my flight is booked for the 8th December - Yay I go to Faro and Aberdeen.......so this should be my new little adventure for the month - its only taken 4 months to get here, but at least its going to start : )

Anyway thats it - talk soon xx

Almost 8am

2006-11-23T07:40:00.000Z

So day one is over, and so is my day as it is almost 8 in the morning. I was impressed with my effort, however need enough sleep to get up and do it again tomorrow night, so laylatov all. Also Ponting played brilliantly - also Hussey (how cool is hussey???)

Night/morning, what ever u say

Today is the day

2006-11-22T12:23:00.000Z

So today is the day we start the Ashes.........and whats expected????????? England will crumble!!! And as I currently live in the UK, this better be the case so that I can run around and laugh at everyone here. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mum's last day

2006-11-19T14:51:00.000Z

So peoples, today I say goodbye to my mummy, who is off to home once again......so sad.

Last few days I haven't been doing much, went and visited lovely Lisa at her new place in Crawley, and then went to pick up my mum and brother from the airport. It was then that I encountered my first real delays with the tube. Lisa told me to give it an hour/hour and a half, but being the cautious person I am, I decided to leave over two and a half hours before they arrived - which didn't pay off. They ended up waiting for me!! Grrrr.....the rain and london underground do not make a happy couple!

So then we have been relaxing all together, going to my brothers ex-girlfriends grandmothers for lunch again, which was nice - even met the dad this time.

But today means goodbye - so it was time to squeeze in all the final chores she wanted to do. First on the list - hair cut & colour from maya - so having changed profession for the day, I was glad that it turned out quite well - she was also excited. Then she wanted photos of me and my brother, so out to the front garden (of Yoni's place) to take a few happy snaps..... And it was freezing!!!! Not nice at all.

So now getting ready to go to the airport :(

On my front, I am hoping to start work this week, and shall call them tomorrow to check if my ID has arrived (fingers crossed)

So shall keep you updated

bye for now xx

So proud to be Aussie right now

2006-11-14T02:16:00.000Z

Soooooooooo, why am I so happy right now - let me explain. Knowing there was a cricket game in progress I decide to log on to keep myself informed of the score. New South Wales declare @ 9/355, and England were chasing quite convincingly (not to my liking), and reached 5/289 with plenty of overs to go. So I keep refreshing the page to see whats happening......then a wicket falls, few overs later, a few runs scored then another wicket, and a few more runs and another wicket.......so you get where I'm going with this.......They ended with a final score of ALL out for 349 - so close yet so far :)

(and its only a state side)

the match was a draw however as a second innings was not completed I was informed. Oh well was a good fightback from NSW

Just a thought

2006-11-13T19:27:00.000Z

So whats your opinion - I recieved an email from work about nightstops over christmas and new years, this was her comment about the situation(keeping in mind they pay for a partner to go with you, hotel accommodation, and christmas dinner), and I quote: "I’m sure the majority of you would rather not go away… can’t blame you!!"

My thought - was stupid person would not want to go????? Come on, potential white christmas in another country - PAID FOR - I signed up straight away - so heres hoping :D

Patience is not a virtue - it is frustrating!!!!

2006-11-12T13:47:00.000Z

Ok so it has been a while since a proper update, so here it comes. My life over the past few days has consisted of waiting for a phone call from Easyjet to tell me that my ID is through and that I am flying : ) - but it hasn't come yet.....grrrr, hopefully tommorrow (fingers crossed)

Other activities of mine have included more experimenting with my cooking, watching greys anatomy (now I have every episode available and I am a happy little girl :D ), going for walks to the shops, caught up with a friend or two, and trying to keep informed regarding soccer (football) - I am currently watching Reading V Tottenham, however looking forward to Arsenal V Liverpool which is on @ 4pm!!!

I got my fix of cricket the other day through taking pleasure in watching the Pomms GO DOWN to the Primeministers XI, and now hearing that Jaques scored another century makes me even happier!!!

Now I have to focus on studying :( not an appealing task for me, but have to embrace it.

I shall let you know when I start flying peoples (very exciting)

byeeeee xx

two out of three = a winner!!

2006-11-08T12:47:00.000Z

Sorry andrew......always has to be LOSER :-> better luck next time xx

A sweeter victory

2006-11-08T12:18:00.000Z

a win is always good :)

Dublin.....where everything is green!

2006-11-02T18:59:00.000Z

So I'm here!!!! I'm finally here - over 12 years later, I return to this lovelly country. I know I havent finished off my Israel trip - but a run down, made it to Jerusalem, made it to the beach, Max Brenner again, Falafel again, and managed to catch up with David, French Canadian guy I met in New Zealand......

So now that thats done onto Irelan.....the very COLD Ireland. Today I opted for a trip down memory lane - my old dart station, Booterstown, my old school, St Andrews College, my old house, St Helens Wood, the new hotel I want to work at, St Helens Wood Raddisson, and all the other areas I remember. (This is mostly for my parents and brother - Monkstown, Blackrock, Dun Laoighrie, Dalkey, Stillorgan - ALL crossed off the to do list....)

Very very very nice to be back. Was a weird feeling as though I never left - the things I remembered hadn't changed which was nice. But a lot of walking was involved - left at 8:30 returned 6:30...had about one and a half hours break for lunch/a bit of a read.....so quite tired.

Might retire to bed early. However it is late night shopping, and I am determined to buy a warm jacket here for the Winter....

Ok talk soon

Maya xx

Sabbath

2006-10-27T21:51:00.000+01:00

Tov (ok), tonight we went to have Sabbath dinner with the whole kibbutz, at the chader-o-chel, which was great food! Vegetable soup for entree, marinated roast chicken with rice for main, along with salad, and desert then at home - fruit, fruit, and more fruit. Along with afternoon activies, the evening consisted of meeting a lot of other people, and catching up on where life has brought me. I think I have an idea - write on a business card all the answers to all the questions, and to every new person I meet, hand it out - would save a lot of hassle.....although I must say it is fun! One persom which we stumbled on was a classmate of my uncle, I dont think I have met her before but I was introduced to her as Koky - which is my mums nickname. It came from her teacher in kindi who explain that "Kotec" in Polish is kitten, and as my mum has green eyes she called her Koky cause it was cute. Anyway everyone in Israel knows her as that - the name Rachel is a secret. So I say my name is Maya, and she said that her daughters name is also Maya (spelt the same way might I add), so above is a photo of Maya & Maya, Koky & Koky.

My mums best friend from school, Tammi and her daughter Shira came to visit us, which was lovelly. Tami's brother works with the cows, so after dinner he took us for a walk to see how the cows live....haha

They were so cute - he showed me the system which they are fed on, which was quite interesting, as it monitors the drinking habits of each individual calf, and cleanses the nozzle after each one as well - quite smart. I fell in love with this little baby calf - only a week old!!! It was quite friendly. I saw one which was only one day old - and let me tell you it WASNT small......quite scary really - but also quite cute when it struggled to stand.

So after returned home, and now in bed. So until tomorrow......laylatov xx

Afula.......brief but tasty.....

2006-10-27T13:33:00.000+01:00

So today we ventured out to Afula, only for a quick trip to do a bit of shopping, eat falafel and return. So shopping = same same, Falafel = amazing....haha. Did rain, and Safta did get angry with me cause I wore my flip flops, however was very warm, so no complaints from me. When we got home it was straight to the Chader-o-chel (food hall, right). This is the place where all the kibbutz can eat every breakfast, lunch and dinner (these days only dinner on sabbath), so my mum gets quite scared too see everyone at once (200pax @ a time - 600 pax in the kibbutz). I was happy to stay at home, however I was dragged along as moral support. With my little hebrew, I could understand, but found it difficult to answer, but we managed. I sat down, and then everyone would come and say hello, so food was a bit cold by the time I ate it. But anyways, it was good to see everyone, as it has been over 7 years!

Then we went for a walk around the kibbutz (finally during daytime!!!) - so here are a few pics....

Ok now the pics arrive - read previous post

2006-10-26T20:41:00.001+01:00

So as promised (although I bet you guys will see photos first - BUT it took me a good few hours to upload them all.......tomorrow we are off to Afula - the little countrytown next to Geva to eat Falafel.....CANT WAIT baby!

Ima (my mummy) and Oori outside the army headquaters is Tiberias - with our sexy young soldier in the background.......quite a few cherrio's (hotties) around the place.

This is then the rare flower which we went in search for - total driving time 2 hours to get there!!!

Some of the food which we enjoyed today - keep in mind there were only 4 of us!!!! But how good was it.....in hebrew we say 'Mashu Mashu' (really really good)

This is me ......as a teapot..

This is at the river Jordan - you can see just one group going in, however there are many many others there. Please take note of the fish...they are also swimming where the silly people are standing!! eeek

This is a photo of the otters which we stumbled upon

Finally, my mum and I with the Kineret behind us, and the Golan Heights at the back to the very very right. This was at the memorial park which was great to see.

Update you tomorrow

day two

2006-10-26T20:06:00.000+01:00

So today we were up, ate breakfast and off. First stop Tiberias, to ensure that I do not have to join the army. But all was ok. Bit of road rage here from our driver however, the car infront of us was going a bit slowly, so after beeping (A LOT) and being side-by-side, our driver (Oori-brother of my mums best friend from the kibbutz) decides to give the driver a bit of advice and says the following (keep in mind the driver did nothing wrong, and was an old religious man with a white beard! - almost prohphet like): "you have to to the licensing department, to appologise to them for giving you a license, and give back your licence to them because you are a very bad driver" - hahaha, in hebrew 10 times funnier!!! This was just once incident to come.

The view from here (Tiberias) was amazing, reminided me a bit of Genova in Italy, as the town or city is built on a steep hill, so everyone has a view of the kineret (Sea of Galilee). Unfortunately it was a bit hazy, however it was amazing with all the banana trees, olive trees and date trees, hugging the road. So driving along, I did not know exactly what we were going to, as I was just told the Kineret, however once we arrived at this secret little location I understood why we went of the main road. Oori was in the army, and was positioned around this area, so he was familiar with the surroundings, and he knew of this 'secret' army base - so I found out we were going towards this. It was positioned at the top of this hill, so just as it was above us, there was another car parked on the side of the road, and here we pulled up. Nothing at all was there apart from the army base on top, the view and a little door within a wire fence. So we all hopped out, not knowing what exactly we were doing there, and climbed through this simple door like thing. Anyway we saw a family, sitting under a tree having a picnic (must have been their car), so we said hello and got to talking. Anyway I was rushed along by my grandmother (safta - grandmother in hebrew) and oori. They pointed out that we were looking for a flower which is only in this location - in the colour of a 'tsa-ov be-i-tsa'(yellow part of an egg - yolk). So we went looking - let me tell you, as we only found about 10 of them in total, it was amazing to see that amongst rocks these flowers grew. Stayed there for a bit, playing spot the flower, and then continued. Coming down the hill, the road is not very wide at all, so a big yellow line is drawn to ensure two lanes are kept. noticing that Oori kept wandering on the other side, I told my mum to ask him which side he was driving on, to which he answered the middle. Next thing came a tour bus. With little room already, Oori decided to stop right in the middle of the road, as if the bus was in the wrong (slighty crazy I tell you), and the bus stopped too. After a few seconds of looking at eachother, and hand movements, Oori hesitated, but finally decided to move to the right (Israel drives opposite lanes to Aussieland) - after a few beeps of the hawn from both parties, we were lucky to get through!

The kineret is situation right next to Siriya, and is actually the area that is wanted from Siriya to exchange peace, so during the independence war (and many many others) this area is was hit. So you can see the old arab villages which have been destroyed, and Oori explained that during war you are not allowed to target churches, synagogues, mosques etc etc, so you can still see the remains of such buildings.

Anyway on and on we went driving round the kineret, which by the way is over 300 metres under sea level (dead sea is lower @ over 400 metres below). It finally hits lunch time, we stop beside the first kibbutz made which was Deganya (Yardanit). This is where people are baptised in the River Jordan. So we eat a FEAST here, typical Israeli food, bread, dips, salad, dips, shishkebab, dips etc etc (just GREAT), and after ended with some tea- a flavour of mint & louise (some kind of herb thing), which was also tasty. Then Oori took me to see the people being baptised. The river is full of fish - huge ones let me add, and they all walk in their white gowns straight into it. So I, just to join in, took off my flip flops, rolled up my jeans, and went in (in the NO FISH zone - hahaha).

After this we went to the kibbutz where the restaurant was to have a look at their shop which was filled with dates, chocolate, dried fruit, avocados, halva, and everything else the kibbutz makes - nice to see. Then we moved on to a memorial, which was created by a wealthy woman whos son died. She bought the land, and greated a restaurant and gallery. Walking around, the sun was just started to set, so the scenery became slightly pinkish - really nice. Then looking down I spotted four animals walking together. Not knowing what they were I asked the adults - or whom first claimed they were porcupines, however they had a tail, and I commented they looked like giant rats - I was later informed they were otters. They were quite cute I must say, once it was cleared that they were girant rats.

Then we headed back. Now I want to go for another walk, so talk to you later.

Byeeee

xx

p.s. wait for photos - they will come!!!

I'm in Israel baby!!!

2006-10-25T21:39:00.000+01:00

So here I am, after 7 years of not returning I find myself back in Israel, and most importantly on my mums Kibbutz. After waking up at 4:30am, and the painful flight (oh my god I feel sorry for any staff who fly into Israel), I thought the worst was over, however a few little 'oohs' and 'aahhs' from the backstreet drivers made for an interesting trip. And only an hour or so later I was back in Geva.

We drove through Afula, the town where my mum was born, as it is only about a ten minute drive from the kibbutz. There I saw my favourite shops - my falafel joint.......oh it is soooooo good, and the chocolate shop - 'Elite' (Israeli chocolate).

Coming back to Geva really felt like home. By the way, before I go on, Geva is the kibbutz in photo. the row of trees from the water in the bottom of the picture is the road leading up to Geva. The trees are all Gum Trees, which is a nice reminder of dear Aussie Land. Then my Grandmother lives to the left of the road when you get to the Kibbutz - she overlooks the fields from her balcony.

So we caught up on old times, on my lack of Hebrew which I am really noticing now, and her broken English. Anyway had a lovelly Israeli dinner, and then went for a walk around. Although it was at night, so nice to see everything again.

Anyway I am off to bed, tomorrow we are going up North to the sea of Galilee, and surrounding areas. Areas around here, is towards the border, so should be interesting.

Ok shall update tomorrow

xx

wowee it has been a while

2006-10-23T19:10:00.000+01:00

Ok I know it has been a while, so here is my chance to catch you all up with me life. Since mummy has been here, we have been busy! Everyday trying to find something new, and do something different. So a few highlights including, Eltham (we were intending to go to the Palace, but instead we found some gardens, walked through, and stayed on the bus to check out the area), Greenwich, Alexandra Palace, Hampton Court (picture right), Muswell Hill and Wilmslow (a little village next to Manchester to see family. Have had a lot of fun I must say.

Hampton Court was amazing - palace of Henry IIIV, and King William. The grounds were amazing - they even had a maze (although it only took 3 minutes to crack), but we managed to stay for the whole day. We then wondered off to the park accross the road, in which we stumbled on some deers - noisy ones might I add.

Then Muswell Hill was a little little area (each suburb is like a little village), here we happened to stumble on Alexandra Palace, which was created as 'the peoples palace', however was left deserted after it was damaged after it caught fire. They have now established a portion of it as the BBC headquaters and an ice-skating rink. The remainder is used as an exhibition centre and hired out for functions. Lovelly view of the city from the top of the hill. As you can see from my mum (left), was a bit of a cold day.

So after these little outings in London, we decided to head to Luton on our way to Manchester. For those of you who know Luton, you can imagine how exciting it is to visit. The highlight for my mum was the great 'ASDA' supermarket.

Anyway next day we were off to Wilmslow, through Derby and Crewe. Had a nice train trip, and was greeted by one of my mums cousin. After meeting family, half of which I had NEVER met, the other half who I hadn't seen for up to 10 years, we were already on our way home. Only a quick trip, however nice to finally catch up. A lot of questions asked about my 'single' status, however I assured them that I am happy......

So now I am getting ready for my trip to Israel on Wednesday. A week of catching up with family, staying in the Kibbutz, travelling to the few towns surrounding, and indulging on FALAFEL (definately one of the biggest highlights of the trip).

So I shall be off - do have internet access so will try and keep you posted as much as possible.

Love to all xx

London with company......

2006-10-10T18:28:00.000+01:00

Another day in London. This time with the lovely company of my darling mother. We did A LOT. First stop, Israeli Embassy to get a new passport, however unsuccessful as they are not certain that I can obtain exemption from the army. Mum did try to persuede me to join, however I think I opt not to participate in such acts.

So after departing from Yoni, we were on our own to get lost in London Central. First stop, Kensington Palace and Hyde park. Behind me you can see queen Victoria. Then my mum with a bit of Hyde Park in the background
(auditioning for singing in the rain).

From there we toured Oxford Street, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, brief walk along the Thames river, stalked a paparazzi person (photo below), St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, hopped on and off buses, and finished the day on the tube during peak hours - that means pushing and shoving, standing, no air-con, a variety of smells, rubbish etc . But now home sweet home.

Now we await the arrival of Yoni to cook for us dinner - yummmmmmm xx

Such an exciting life I lead

2006-10-08T16:57:00.000+01:00

Well it has been a while since my last entry, whits doesn't resemble the 'busy' and 'exciting' life I have been having. In fact I have embarassingly been at home watching Dawson's Creek. I finished the sixth and finaly season last night/this morning, which left me balling my eyes out!

I am now at my brothers house, awaiting my mums arrival tomorrow which should be fun. From there on there is no agenda. Maybe check out some museums, go on a little overseas trip,hopefully get to Israel etc etc.....

Anyway just wanted to say a quick hi,

until next time....xx

A day in London

2006-09-29T11:19:00.000+01:00

A day in London spent with (once again) my fellow Aussies, Ju Ju and Emily. This was a little garden we found near Bartholemow's Hospital [no idea how to spell it so.......]. It was very cute..

more snippets

2006-09-29T11:06:00.000+01:00

Rachel,myself, emily and Lisa at the Easyjet bbq - free food and beverages. And no I still dont drink beer, was holding it for a friend ;)

a few shots from training

2006-09-29T11:04:00.000+01:00

Myself, Lisa and Emily starring as 'Easyjet's Angels' - in our ever so BRIGHT uniform

Sit back, relax and enjoy the music

2006-09-29T10:57:00.000+01:00

Last night I was spoiled to a night of music. My brother look me to the Belmont string Orchestra, which was really enjoyable. I was surprised that I new most of the pieces which I'm sure my dad would be impressed with. A bit of Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart and my favourite Pachabel. Was a great night.

But onto some exciting news - tomorrow is the day! Swans in the Grand Finaly once again peoples. Can't wait! if they win, I will be sure to give you an update, if they lose, dont expect anything for a while.

Love to you all xx

one last snap from italy.....I call it - the PIGS

2006-09-24T12:01:00.000+01:00

How can yo resist? When you smell this pizza you will understand. When you taste it - you will understand even more. YOU JUST DONT SHARE! ha ha

This was taken in Genova, sitting overlooking the Sea - great times!

Some familiar faces

2006-09-24T11:54:00.000+01:00

Yesterday also had me catch up with some old friends. Dom and Julia from Canberra. For those of you who haven't met this happy little couple, now married couple, Dom was my roommate, and Jules was the girlfriend who would always be over at our house.

Great to catch up with them as they are now living here, so I made them aware that I would expect, as part of our friendship, a lot, a lot of pasta!!! (Dom's mums sauce is to die for!!!!)

I also caught up with an old friend from Thailand, Ling, and as it had been 6 years, great to catch up on everyone and their whereabouts from BPS.

A little walk in the woods

2006-09-24T11:46:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, Yoni opted to take me for a walk through the woods, its through a park near a University close by to where he lives. So we wandered through to a farmhouse on the other side to have some lunch, which was quite cute. It was so nice walking through as the day before it had rained, so everything was nice and fresh. And as it was day two of spring, you can start to see the leaves falling.

On the way home, on the outside of the grounds we found this pool, which as you can see is a beautiful GREEN colour. Not so attractive from my perspective!

London photos

2006-09-24T11:39:00.000+01:00

This is me at the borough markets at London Bridge - have been back three times in a week- so you can see I am quite a fan of the place. They even have falafel there!!!! mmmmm

more italy....

2006-09-23T11:20:00.000+01:00

tower of pisaT

Theatre

2006-09-23T11:17:00.000+01:00

My dear brother taking me to Mousetrap at StMartins Theatre

2006-09-23T11:12:00.000+01:00

Mr friends showing their true bogan colours - having a 'shower' in a park

more photos

2006-09-23T11:08:00.000+01:00

This was our little group - the Aussies. Lisa, Emily, Ju Ju, and me of course. Also in Venice.

Photo time

2006-09-23T11:04:00.000+01:00

Well guys - first photo on my blog- this was taken in Venice - a bit strange but pretty cool

Torino

2006-09-08T19:22:00.000+01:00

In Torino we opted for the relaxed day. We ate some pasta in a local cafe (delicious) and then went and laid in the park. We really wanted to get a tan, which we did slighty, burn in Ju Ju's case, but we found a little water fountain in the park. What a delight to 4 girls who have been sleeping in a car!!! Shower time baby! One of the girls had shampoo so they even washed their hair in public! how embarassing - the water at the bottom became all soapy!!!hahaha Anyway, we all felt a bit fresher after that.

During the night we drove around inspecting Torino's nightlife, which we didn't find all that exciting so we went and watched a local soccer game. A little stadium half the size of a soccer pitch, but it was great to see, and the skill they had was amazing.

Overnight in Torino we then had our morning in the city before heading home. We decided on the last day to actually use a map to find the Egyptian museum, which didn't really help us as it still took about an hour to find. But we went and checked it out. Our first touristy thing.

After that to the airport, and then home. Sad to be back, but am keeping myself busy looking after a hostel here, so quite fun. Get to meet a lot of people.

So now I have to start studying again for work, try and squeeze another trip in at some point (see how the finances work out), and enjoy time off a little longer.

Hope everyone is well,

keep u posted soon xx

to continue the story

2006-09-08T19:06:00.000+01:00

So we finally ended up finding a beach after a little more driving. We found a little fishing area, which had a barrier of marble like rocks dividing land/water. Close were fishing houses with wire catchments, looking a bit more lie south-east asia than Italy. Nevertheless it was nice clear water, and a beautiful drive with the road surrounded by trees arched over it.

After this little detour we opted to try and find a proper beach. After consulting our little railway map we opted for Genova as the next destination. So off we set. Driving through more beautiful valleys and mountains, I spotted a little village which looked to be supported by a brick wall. As all of us were a little curious we ventured off the highway in hope of finding some little backstreet up there. We continued along one road, finally finding a little street which looked to go towards this village. The road, paved and in good condition by all means, was more like an Irish road as it was so narrow. But with only once scare of a crazy motorbike we made it to the top. The view was just spectacular. The village was a bunch of houses built with a brick wall around it, little allyways with only car accessible roads around it. Was lovelly to see such an old place preserved, and you could tell it was old as retired locals were the only individuals to be seen.

After this we continued on our way to Genova. We could see along our drive the sea to our left, only ever so often through valleys as we were so far up. We just made the turn off, as some boys distracted us, however the drive down the valley into the main city was amazing. All houses and apartments built on the mountains, old buildings, even castles on the hill showed what a culture this town had. We drove from one side of the city to the other before we had some dinner. And what do you eat in Italy??? PIZZA - yummmm.....those of you from Canberra, quite similar to that of Cafe Ravello's in Dickson, however still out does that place ten million times! Was gooood. Night three we spent there in Genova, once again in our luxurious car!

Next stop Turin (to the english, Torino to Italians). This was our final stop.

I am so in love with this country!!!

2006-09-04T14:34:00.000+01:00

I know an update has been due, but we have been too busy soaking in the lovely country side to even think about finding an internet cafe. Until today of course.

So Friday we leave Gatwick, and fly into Milan, with no plans of what to see, where to go, the language or even any idea of what this country holds. So at the airport, we try and speak to a few people, one of whom was kind enough to give us his old railway time schedule, which had a little map on the front. So standing out the front of the airport, we decide to re-enter and enquire about hiring a car. A few quotes later, we find a place which was located in front of us, but we had to call the head office to book the car. So we did, and we got the car. A little Nissan Micra - never heard of them, but they go alright. First dilema - driving on the right side of the road - takes a bit of getting used to, but a few scares later we got used to it. Second Dilema was where to go. We really had no idea of what to do here, so we thought we would start driving around.

Julie (better known as Ju Ju) then brought up the city of Venice, which on the front of that little railway map seemed like a long way away. So off we went. We started one direction, and then through following signs of what we could make out in English ended up going in the opposite direction. What a mistake this was......so back through Milan, and up a little, we thought to go in the direction which we thought Venice was in. So quick detour of the main road, and we were in the lovely countryside, or whatever we could see as by that time it was dark. Anyway after a little driving around in circles, we managed to get on the highway again, and off we set.

A few hours later we came accross what we expected the outskirts of Venice to be like. So we thought to stop there for the night. Driving around looking for a hostel, or a cheap hotel room we spotted one hotel, which proved to be so dodgy, so luckily we drove off - as quickly as possible. Then we needed a toilet, and we saw a little bar open which a lot of people in it, so we pulled over and made a pit-stop. So after a little discussion we thought it would be best to stay put and sleep in the car. With only minimum sleep and sore backs we ended up leaving for the city of Venice at about 6:30am!!!

After a little circle we finally figured that we had to park the car, and catch a ferry in, and after complying with local ways we hopped on that ferry. Going down the canal for the first time we looked like the typical tourist - all cameras were out, and all we were saying was look here, look there - and nothing could have prepared us for how beautiful it could be. It was just amazing!!! We looked around all day, caught a ferry, went up to a lookout within a cathedral (which was just spectacular), and we all fell in love with this city!!!

So after consulting our railway map, we thought to head south, get on the coastline and then drive to our final destination. So off we headed through the beautiful countryside, driving through mountains, over valleys etc etc. We decided to stop in Pisa for the night. When we got to Pisa, I asked the question (very embarrassing moment for myself) of where actually is the leaning tower of Pisa, as there was no signage to make us think it was there. Lisa told us that it was definately not where we were, but the other three questioned this many times. We made was for the first hostel we saw, which was actually attached to a church - very cute, our window overlooked the countryside, and had grape vines surrounding it. So after we had a shower and felt a little more refreshed we decided to for a drive in the city. Emily spotted something that looked like the leaning tower, but these theories were brushed away by Lisa. Next sighting came from Ju Ju who also saw the same structure and at that point Lisa caught a glimpse as well. There was then hope! We continued driving around, looking for signs, however little was found. Anyway we finally saw it!!!! Oh we all had tears in our eyes.....so we went to celebrate over dinner, and then went on a mission to see it. It was night time, so it was dark, but it was still amazing to see. There we met some boys who were from Rome, but had never been to Pisa, we we had a drink with them, and stuggled with the translation form Italian to English. After went back to the hostel for a proper nights sleep!

So the next day, Sunday, was Fathers Day. I woke up, left the girls asleep, and went to find a phone to call my dad, as my phone had no credit. BUT nothing is open in Italy on Sunday, so an hour later I gave up and went to pick up the girls again. We then went back into Pisa to see the tower in light. It was just like the pictures - great to see. We then headed off to our next destination - the beach.

We ended up down one street which we saw sand the side of so we were reassured that we were going in the right direction. We had two cars infront of us, so we followed them. Then came a sign up, and a bar accross the road preventing you from going forward and saying something in Italian, we made it out to be something like divert and transit....who knows! So we see the cars infront of us made a detour through some trees. We thought of the quote "when in rome, do as the roman's do", so we applied it to this situation. We followed. We ended up in the middle of nowhere so we had to trek back!

Anyway I have to run, as my time is up, will update you with the rest shortly....

miss you all xx

London then....who knows

2006-08-27T15:50:00.000+01:00

Very exciting week for us new entrants - first pay week. YAY. I think we are all going to go away on the Thursday, as we do not have that much to do. On Monday we got a lovely little surprise of some friends popping in on us a day early, and since then its been more cards, some soccer (or football as they call it here) and more partying. Still been cooking a lot, which is always fun, but tonight I think it is time to treat myself with a Sunday roast!

Today, my friend Lisa and I are heading to her side of town, Wimbledon. We were meant to have left about 3 hours ago, but with a prolonged sleep such plans were forced to change. So our plans for the next few days include a few more walks around London, this time hopefully stopping at a few museums and galleries. Also hoping to go to a play, but we shall see how we go.

I just checked my updated roster, and it is looking pretty good - I have the 30th September off, which as you all SHOULD know is the AFL Grand Final. So I shall make my way to walkabout somewhere and have a great time. Am very excited....

Anyway time for me to run, hope all is well, keep you posted on where we go and what we do.

Lotsa love,

Maya xx

must remember to do this

2006-08-23T13:53:00.000+01:00

Well things have been so busy (not!!!) that I forgot to update you all.

So quick update - graduated on Friday, moved into our new house Friday afternoon, and party at our house Friday night. So enjoyable night, late one without going out even (5am!!!), had about 10 people stay the night, which made it interesting to fit everyone, but who knew that the corridor could be so confortable for some??? (honestly - I was jealous of her for sleeping on the floor).

Since then, went into London to see Yoni, who took me to see Agatha Christie's ' Mousetrap', which was amazing. Such an old school theatre, and it was so nice to see such a culture, which is pretty much non-existent in Australia.

So since then, have been trying to organise tv, phone etc etc. Hopefully soon should have a landline, so I can call u all. Until we have another form of entertainment (ie. TV) it has been cards after cards. Games we have played - Cheat, Big 2, Slaves and Masters, one from boarding school, snap, s***head, speed, spit, one that these polish guys taught us which we call ibis etc etc..... Gets quite confusing when trying to remember which one u are playing at the time.

Anyway I have to run

talk soon xx