a listy and lizardy one...

just wanted to say, that as i am writing this, just saw a MASSIVE lizard roam the streets outside.. crazy.

anyways, just a quick one:

i am very jealous of all the boys backpacks. they are small and compact. and jealous of people with wheels...oh my god, such a great idea. i will never take a backpack again.

Things i miss from south america:

alfajoras
dulche de leche
empanadas
fried street food from bolivia
bon o bons!! (my absolute fave!)

Things i miss from home:

marmite
good cheese (particularly goats cheese)
beans - although i finally had beans on toast!! its been 4 months...
mums lasagne
dads curry
reading festival - even though its not on yet, I CAN'T WAIT!!

and i miss everyone!!

ok so im off to visit matthew and his family on the gold coast, so sleep well and i'll speak to you all soon.

muchos love xxx

One for the ladies...

Girls of mine, I am very sorry to declare that the mission has been abandoned. It's just no good out here.

For those who are uninformed of said mission - a few friends of mine decided (pretty much for me!) that I was to come back from Australia with an Australian husband (or suitor) and to already be carrying his child.

I was always a little sceptical of this plan - it just didn't sound like a great idea. But I can now announce that it's definately NOT happening, for the sad truth is ladies, we have been deceived.

The Australian men are not all golden, buff with sunkissed locks. They wear vests, board shorts and even if they are good looking, they know it. Thats not an attractive quality.

But, surprisingly, the nicest guys I have met on my travels so far, happen to be English. Would you believe?!? You come all this way to meet nice English guys. Typical.

So for the ladies at home, there is hope. I think all the nice English guys are just travelling, that explains alot huh? But they will come back to the UK and all will be good again.

Also, more travel tips from a girls perspective...

You just can't wear make up out here - its too hot, it just melts right off your face. I recommend a mineral powder based foundation - nice, light and a life saver!! So it's possible to look a little less sweaty in this insane heat!!

And you just miss wearing heels - so bring a small, compactable pair that go with everything. I miss that - you try and dress up out here, but your always in sandals..not as glam as it could be...

And you will get beach girl envy. Inevitable. You just hope that these surfer style girls, with tiny bikinis and super slim bodies are just holding it all in as they swan down the beach. We can hope.

And take some tips from my lovely Racheroo - bring lots of pedicure type instruments - you will not regret it!! Especially Nivea cream - where would I be without it now? An actual life-saver for my feet.

So an actual update on what I'm up to at the moment... leaving Byron Bay tomorrow to go to Surfers Paradise and stay with some family for the next few days. Hoping to catch up with Dave, who I met in Peru, in Brisbane, but have to see how that goes as they've still got serious flood issues over there. Sunday I fly out to Airlie Beach to do the Whitsundays - on a pirate ship!!! Tres excited about that!! Then magnetic island for a few days and Cairns - where this will be the last stop on my Oz trip. I'll just have to come back with a bag of money and when the weather is better.

So literally just been on the beach and swimming in the pool the last few days. Went out to Cheeky Monkies on Saturday night, where the goon was a flowing, and the tunes were a pumping, and come sunday, the hangover was definately hanging in there! But we still managed to walk around the Byron Bay market - which is a major hippie fest (always reminds me of macca!!). But nice to be in a place where there's no judgement and everyone is so chilled out.

Just what I needed.

So hope you're all well and all that!

Keep you updated soon.

muchos love xxx

Tassie Tales and Fears of the Flood

So, my current location is Byron Bay, Australia, which is a cute and chilled hippie town. Where people wear rainbow dresses and walk around with no shoes. Where there are actually golden blonde Australians who can surf. Its a cool little place.

Anyways, so I really enjoyed Tassie - was amazing to meet Gemma, her partner Fluffy and the kids Joshua and Jacob, they are the sweetest boys - they remind me of our Max and Jack! And Gemma reminds me of a very Australian version of my  mum! They really must meet one day.

So I was very well looked after - being wined, dined and champagned pretty much everyday! Went to Port Arthur for the day to see where all the convicts from the UK were sent. This was really interesting as its a part of our history that we don't learn about, I guess because England wasn't very proud of what they actually did. They basically used to send all the convicts that they didn't want in the UK, over to Australia where they lived in prisons and were made to build ships, builing etc - kind of like slave labor. Except for a lot of people, their crime was petty - like stealing a loaf of bread to feed your family. That kind of stuff.

I also went to a couple of exhibiton openings, hence my face in the paper: 

Tassie News Pic

NOT - my face literally stuck to the paper whilst out drunk, like some people thought...tut tut! Seriously guys, what do you think I'm doing out here?!?  ;)

So yes, now in Byron Bay, deciding what and how I'm acutally going to manage my trip - as Queensland (the north east state) has had major floods - some places up to 9 metres and lots of people have died. So that's quite scary and that is supposed to be where I'm heading - even Brisbane has been flooded now (good thing you got out Jo!). So my new plan is to whizz up super quick in the next few weeks, have a few stopovers and do the Whitsundays - as I was told that I HAVE to do it by a few people - so I'm going to do it on a pirate ship!! Awesome!!

So now I have moved my flight out of Oz to the 4th Feb to go to Bali - save myself a few weeks and an absolute fortune! Will do as much of east indonesia as possible, before meeting Jess (yay!!) to do Bali and the Gillis, and then Sarah and Maccas wedding - super exciting!!

So lots to look forward to, which is good, as I wasn't sure on Australia when I first got here. It reminded me too much of home, which then made me miss everyone, especially as I was sad to leave south america and all the friends I made there. I guess I'm just looking for something very different, interesting and challenging, which isn't Australia, as it so easy to travel.

I also feel old here. Everyone travelling here is super young.

So thats the plan, hopefully the rain will stop so the floods will go away and we can spend some more time on the beaches.

Thats all for now, as I realise I have used the word 'so' to start my paragraphs 6 times in this blog - I won't bore you anymore.

So goodbye for now!! ;) muchos love, as ever xxxx

Shock! Horror! Last post of 2010...

So, I would like to wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Even though its 6 hours away in Sydney...

This year, wow, its gone fast hasn't it? I never would have thought in January, when I was stuck at home in the snow, with no heating as I couldn't get to work - that I would end this year in Sydney. Just goes to show that anything can happen I guess...

This has been a weird year I think. I started a new and exciting job, then decided I was going traveling, then had my heart broken, then went traveling, had the best time in South America, met the most amazing people, got over it and flew to Sydney, where I shall end this weird year and start the most amazing year! That's the dream.

But obviously this year got significantly better and I have an idea of where I might be going when I get back home...we shall see.

So theres the reminiscing for 2010. Looking forward to 2011 - have a good feeling about it. Despite being homeless and jobless when I get back - I think it will be a great chance for lots of new things!

Here's a picture of a chrismassy Llama, don't say I never give you anything.

Anyways, so Sydneys treating me fine. Went to Manly yesterday for the beach and a bbq at a friends house, which was awesome!! And tonight I am going with Dee, Sheila and Michael to a bar near the harbour to see the fireworks, drinks, food etc. Should be a wicked night.

Anyways, best wishes and all that jazz to everyone and Happy New Year, when it comes around to where you are.

Missing you all as ever, muchos love xxxx

Crazy Chris's Christmas...

 

This is Chris, observing the drinking games from the corner of the room.

...ok, so I have to tell you guys about this crazy guy thats sharing a room with us. He's called chris, 25 from Florida and is a mechanic engineer. He also says things like:

Did you know that the perfect bottle of water whould be around PH7 which is neutral.

They've done studies to show that women who only show 30% of their body are more likely to find someone.

Have you been eating lettuce? Because lettuce contains vitamin K which stops you from bruising.

If you mix zinc in your drink you wont need to pee.

This bottle of wine lasts 3 days as you only drink 2 units a day, thats the recommended allowance.

Do British girls shave their legs? Because yours has fuzz on them (to Danielle).

I hate Italians.

I didn't have a good night. It was full of muslims and lebonese.

And so on. He also has a printed spreadsheet of his 5 year plan which includes:

Finding a wife and getting married.

Having 4 children.

Being rich and successful - earning around 42k.

Building up the body mass as least 0.5%.

Obtaining charisma - oh no, wait, he's already got that.

He's such a strange guy and comes out with random facts about vitamins, statistics and women ovulating. I am a little bit scared that I will wake up and see him staring at me. Or him killing me. Its totally possible. He ziplocks everything he owns and brought his own christmas penguin themed kitchen roll. hmm....

anyways, I dont want to sound too bitchy, but he is a nutter who creeps us all out and is actually really rude to us and totally  narrow minded and racist towards everyone who isn't Australian.

So, apart from crazy Chris, I've actually been having an awesome time in Sydney. Christmas day was beautiful, so hot and sunny. I met up with Dee and Heidi and we went for  Christmas swim (better than our last near drowning attempt) sunbathing and having a bbq. How can it get better than that?!? I also discovered that Christmas in Kent was not a white one, which makes me feel a bit better :)

And I got to speak to the whole family and hear them opening their presents...which was nice to hear them all, bit jealous of the presents though ;)

So now Sydneys been a bit wet, we got lucky for Christmas. Its cloudy alot of the time and still warm, but wet. Damn. Should've stayed in BA.

Apart from my jetlagged days, I have been out pretty much every night since my arrival, so no stopping from BA....although I have actually managed to catch up on my sleep a bit more, I dont feel like the living dead.

Today I walked through China town to Darling Harbour, went to the Maritime Museum which was actually really interesting with a shark exhibition and about the children from the uk in the 19th centuary who were shipped over to oz against their will. Then I walked over the sydney harbour bridge and got some beautiful panoramic shots of the harbour.

Beautiful huh?

And I am a very lucky girl, as I have been talking to my great uncle Patrick and he's flying me out to Tazmania next week for a visit, to meet family that I've never met before. Am really looking forward to it.

I also have realised that Australia is a super expensive country. You actually can spend 100 quid on nothing. I bought a train ticket, some food and a few drinks and thats literally about it. And that is still me living off noodles and salad. Insane.

Anyways, think me and the girls are gonna do the Sydney Tower tomorrow and the botanical gardens, as i dont think it'll be another beach day. Damn. I will also buy baked beans tomorrow, actually been craving them for months now. Can't wait. It really is the simple things...

He's a complimentary shot of me in Sydney...

Enjoy. Muchos love as ever xxxx

Merry Christmas from Sydney!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! I MISS AND LOVE YOU ALL LOTS!!!

ok, so my christmas has started well - champagne breakfast to follow a hectic, christmas themed night out in Sydney. This has gotten much better, especially as my first few days in sydney was pretty bad. I was put in a room of 7 english 'lads on tour' and it was actually worse than 'that night' in the salt flats. Thats saying something!!

I literally lost days of my life - travelling, the date line and bad jet lag meant that i just wanted to sleep, instead at 4pm, i was woken up by the 7 horribly drunk guys, walking around totally naked, jumping on me whilst i was in bed and trying to take my covers off me. This i could tolerate, to a point. then we had a party in my room with around 30 other people i had never met, whilst i was still in bed. still tolerating.

The final straw was when one of the guys trying to kick the door in as he forgot his key, and brought a girl back, demanding that she get naked. then i left and demanded to change rooms. which has actually worked out much better, as the people in my room are much nicer and more my kind of people. We even make dens in our beds when we get back from a drunken night out and sing christmas carols. Everything works out in the end.

So i actually havent seen much of Sydney yet, met Dee and Heidi yesterday who I met in Argentina and spending christmas day with them on Coogee Bay Beach for a bbq, which will be awesome as the weather is beautiful today!

Am gutted to be missing a white christmas and missing making mince pies and mulled wine with mum, and decorating dads tree. next year.

So anyways, I'm off to the beach - dont be too cold back at home!! haha!!

miss you all tons and sorry i'm not there with you guys. muchos muchos muchos love always and forever xxxx

One hell of a christmas catch up...

Okay, so Laura, you were right, sorry I actually haven't written anything in like forever. So this is gonna be a long one... (just as well you're on christmas hols by now!)

And apologies if its just not interesting. I lost days of my life this week travelling and am still quite jetlagged.

so...argentina....we went to mendoza for wines tours on bikes, courtesy of Mr Hugo, the nicest old man I've ever met- I could hug him forever!

(Ali - def get the Empress 10 bus from Mendoza bus station to the wineries, its like 1.80 pesos and easy to get to. confirm the route number at the info desk, they speak english and DO go to the olive and choc place, its awesome.)

We had a lot of fun in Mendoza, bbq, lots of drinking, Rach actually getting up the next day to do the wineries with me again! and Laura getting quite drunk and demanding Pink from the dj. awesome.

After a few days of this we got on yet another bus to Bariloche, the lake district of argentina. Absolutely beautiful. We stayed in Hostel Inn - highly recommended- with a view of the lake and snow topped mountains. And they specialise in chocolate, so i spent a lot of time in the cafes trying it all out. And we saw Sarah and Macca again! which was a surprise as we were sure they'd have left. Me and rach cycled the circuito chico, and did all the beaches and the swiss village for chocolate cake -we are professional cyclists of course. so in the end, it was like a killer 36km cycle, but on the most beautiful day. We attempted a swim in the lakes, i got up to my waist but then thought that my legs would fall off from the cold. And we saw one of National Geographics top rated panaramic views in the world, and did a bit of tobogganing, where i burnt my hand. I also had the most comfiest bed ever here. :)

So after Bariloche, we hit Puerto Madryn for a bit of whale watching, and not much else. Me and rach befriended 2 other english guys, Michael and Ian, to hire a car to do the Peninsula, where you can see penguinos, seals and whales. It was a rush of a day as you cant drive fast as the roads are all gravel, so you can easily flip over. But we saw the penguins and the seals, before heading back to try and get on the last boat of the day to do the whale watching. I think we got very lucky, as we were running a bit late and managed to catch them before they went out. Which was totally worth it. The whales are sooo huge, and they're all mothers and calves. There were so many of them, so graceful and they come really close to the boat. You can feel the whole boat rock when they swim underneath. But theres basically not much else to do once you've done that, so onto BA!

We were there for the weekend before we went to Uruguay for the beaches. We saw Dee, Laura, Sarah and Macca again, reunited! We went to the worst club on the saturday night, Crobar - but the highlights definitely were Maccas dancing and sitting on the dancefloor to do his show, and Rach's speedy moves ;) and Dees level of general drunkeness!

Amazingly, after a shit night and a bit hungover, we all met to do the San Telmo markets, which was cool and had the best sushi lunch. Yum Yum Yum (as Rach would say!)

Monday morning we went to Uruguay for a week of beaches, as you do need a good holiday when you're travelling. We went to La Pedrera which was super small and quiet but had a beautiful beach. Unfortunately, this is where i got the worst sunburn ever, as the wind makes it deceptively cooler. classic mistake. Then we hit La Paloma, which i didnt rate and then we lost Dee as she had to go to Chile. We finally arrived in Punto Del Diablo as its better than Punte del Este ;) - which was worth the wait. Its such a cool little hippy town full of locals and backpackers, just chilling out on beautiful beaches. So we spent a few sangria and twister fueled days here. But i also lost my favourite jumper here, which was devastating to me at the time as i got it at the last FFAF gig with the last original line up and the whole of casually dressed..from front to back. but i guess it makes my awful awful backpack lighter. You learn quickly to hate your backpack.

anyways, after this it was back to BA (for anyone who is unaware of travelling terms, its Buenos Aires) for my final week in south america :(

it also turned out to be the best week of my entire trip.

I absolutely LOVED BA!!! its actually the best city after London. One week isn't enough! We went out every night and were out everyday and still i didnt get to see or do everything i wanted.insane. we went to:

La Boca - multicoloured houses

La  Paloma - street art and boutique shops (like east london)

Recoletta - famous and most interesting cemetery and fuerza bruta - more of that later!

Tango show, la bomba drum show, the best night out at Pacha, the worst night out in kika ( me and ali actually got mauled by Argentinian guys and had to be saved by aussies in vests) and a cool drum'n'bass night at Bahriem. I literally didn't sleep for the first few days, hardly saw my bed for partying so much and only had breakfast the first and last day. So. Much. Fun.

Fuerza Bruta - the BEST show i have ever ever seen! me and ali loved it so much that we saw it again the next night. Its like a club/interactive dance/light/water show. With flying boxes, confetti, girls dancing in a water tank suspended just above your head, a treadmill and being hit with stuff and getting quite wet. Doesnt make sense does it? cos you NEED to see it. thats really all i can tell you about that.

So basically, i ended my south america trip on a massive high, its been truely awesome. ive met the best people and made the best of friends and actually cried my eyes out when i left. bit awkward for the two boys i never met sitting next to me in the taxi.

so this is the part that is a bit soppy and lame...so please bear with me.

I would like to thank these guys for making my trip what it was:

Mark - thank you so much for taking care of me when i was so ill in cuzco, you're a star and im sorry i couldnt catch you up! i'll be seeing your awesome bar soon though!

Sarah - I LOVE it that you argued about 10p! And thank you so much for your endless spanish, i know it wasnt always easy for you and we all really appreciate it. and i had so much fun dancing to Ga Ga with you in an old church in a cemetary club...random!! See you at the wedding love - keep me updated!

Macca Pacca!! aka - Rebecca. You put up with alot of girly chat over the last couple of months. but im not sorry about that! you can be the most awkward person at times, which i absolutely love! i know we're not supposed to find you funny, but i cant help it! see you in march!

Laura - im so glad you're not going back to your job, you've made the best decision. enjoy the family, they mean so much to you. and ive had the best time with you - thanks for picking me up in uyuni and cleaning the kitchen!! and of course trying to explain who Pink is in spanish!!

Ali - I only knew you a week but it feels like we've been friends forever!! i miss you already! you need to come to london, you'd fit right in! And i love it that you hate paul!! have a wicked time in new york and maybe see u in Melbourne some time??

Dee - Sydney awaits!! cant wait to see you for lunch today, its been ages since we hung out!! and by the beach...mega jealous. lets get drunk and enjoy christmas! muchos love.

Ant - I had such a great time hanging out with you, even if you are a bit rowdy and you (or someone else!) kicks us out. Enjoy your time here, it wont be long till we're partying it up in Mckluskys.

Tom - should've hungout in the salt flats - but i guess you and ben were busy spooning tom! ive had the best week with you and am also a bit gutted. have a wicked time and i'll see you in the summer x

Rach - my Racheroo. How could i have done all of these things without you? I can't believe its come to an end and we were the last ones standing, as ever!! I love you so much - acutally devastated to have left you. But have a great time, enjoy Rio - the time of your life!!!

So that is that for south america. Me and ben got the plane together - where we werent sitting together so i missed the 19 hours of his face. but half our plane seemed to be people we'd met along the way. Everyday was a challenge and a surprise, better than expected but completely unexpecting. The best time of my life was in south america, but am looking forward to the rest of the trip.

So, its christmas eve over here now, with mariah carey playing on repeat it seems. Im off to meet Dee for lunch and makes some christmas plans, as its not sunny, booo!!!

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!! I love and miss you all, and gutted to miss my first white christmas at home. Typical huh? muchos muchos muchos loves xxxxxxxxx