Santorini - Suzanna and Jude's wedding

After a few days in England unpacking and trying to find some shoes for the wedding. It was time to pack again and head off down to London. I was in a rush to get ready that I was thinking on the way to the train station 'what have I forgotten?' It was my evening outfits but it was too late to turn back and get them! I arrived at Suzy's and we tried to piece some outfits together. We then went to the pub for dinner and a pub quiz. There was 8 of us on the team and we had 3 rounds; general knowledge, name that cartoon character and name that song. It was very much a whole team effort, we got 55 marks out of 64! We won and got to choose the first box, a mystery what we would win! We got the highest prize £40, that was £5 each. 

We finished late into the night and ended up going to bed at 12.

With about a 2 hour nap, the alarms rang and it was time to get up and head to the airport for our flight to Santorini! When we got air-side it was time to grab some breakfast before the flight. I ended up swapping with Peter so I could have a window seat and he could have the aisle. As soon as I got in my seat I was dead to the world so much so that I kept waking, looking out the window and we hadn't moved. I thought, 'this is a long time we are taking or was I only asleep for 5 minutes!' It was then announced that someone was ill so we missed our take off slot so had to wait for another one...back to sleep I go. Finally after about 2 hours we were on the runway and taking off. 

I sleep some more meanwhile most the people on the plane was the wedding party so everyone was having a great time chatting to one another. I did wake up in the end and join in in conversation. After landing we had a group photo and I got a transfer with Fay, Eloise and Colette.  I was sharing a hotel room with them. Upon arriving at the hotel...the lady said she only had 3 down on the booking not 4, we had to start ringing the company to find out what had happened and get the most communicate we had booked for 4. This was not really what we needed after the delay with the plane. We mange to sort it and had a little time to chill by the pool before having to get ready for the evening out at a meal with everybody. Delicious food was followed by drinks out on the town. As the girls and I were quite tired we had an earlyish night.

The next day the girls and I spent it just relaxing by the pool. We had wine tasting booked for the evening but before that we went to grab some dinner. Our hotel recommended the restaurant at a sister hotel which was only down the road. We took a short walk there and asked a shop keeper the way, they opened the back of the shop and we headed down step...turning the corner it opened out on a magnificent site with cliff views.

It was still so hot with the sun beating down on us we had to sit inside but it still manged to follow us in. After a huge meal we made our way to wine tasting. When everybody had arrived we had our platter of wine served. We had 3 white wines, 1 rose, 1 red and a dessert wine with bread sticks to cleanses the palette. 

I tasted a sip from each then drank it with the least favourite first...although I couldn't drink the red wine so I swapped it for someone else's rose (that was my favourite) . Considering I don't like wine I did a good job of polishing them off! We didn't want the night to end so it was off out to a bar, we got the private area...I really enjoyed talking to people and getting to know them more. Was it time for chicken nuggets?!

Last day before the wedding, this day was spent with girls and boys separate (bit like another stag and hen). The men went off on a boat for the day then headed out to a bar. The ladies spent the day at a pool party.

We arrived and got shown to our beds for the day then we got waited on. Ordering drinks and food...this was a very chilled day dipping in the pool and sipping drinks. 

Later on a famous Greek DJ came and started a set but as the sun set we all headed back so we couldn get an early night ready and rested for the wedding. On the way back Suzy wouldn't walk to the taxi rank as she didn't want to bump into Jude at the bar they were are...some people went ahead to bring the taxi back but it wouldn't come so we had to make our way but luckily they had bumped into the boys and they locked Jude in the toilet so that they wouldn't see each other before the wedding!

Hong Kong with Anna-Maria

Day of travelling 

Spent most of the day travelling to Hong Kong from Sydney. Had quite a long flight of 9 hours so I just watched many films. When I landed it was strange to see Anna-Maria waiting for me land-side! It was so nice to see her looking well and ready for an adventure in Hong Kong. She is moving out there to teach at an international school, in fact she only just landed there only a few hours before I did...so she was not settled in yet. She helped me carry some of my many bags to hers on the MTR (tube) and then down the street and up about a thousand steps before we reached her temporary accommodation. We went out for a quick bite to eat at McDonald's and spent the whole night chatting and catching up.

Day 1
For the morning we went to a shopping centre so Anna-Maria could buy some stuff that she needed for the flat; which contained a double bed, a wardrobe, a shower room and a "kitchen"! This kitchen only had a fridge, a microwave and a kettle.

It was so hot at this time of year in Hong Kong and humid. As soon as you step outside you are wet from the humidity. Going into shops the air-conditioning was so cold that if you needed to warm up you just had to go outside...normally in the UK it's the other way around!

In the evening we went out for Dim Sum at a very local restaurant the menu we got was all in Cantonese. 

We order and hoped for the best. It was delicious but we ordered way too much. We took a quick trip over to Hong Kong Island for some drinks in central; this wasn't a late night, I just took Anna-Maria for a quick look around the night scene.

Day 2
The days were flying by and this one was the same...we started off by visiting the Chi Lin Nunnery. It was a fascinating building with magnificent gardens...you seem to be transported into another world right in the hussle and bussle of the city. 

After lunch we went to meet my friend Luke for a drink and his friend Nathan. It was great to catch up, we invited them to continue the drinks later on but Nathan was too drunk by that point to continue. It was time to head back to get ready for the night out. 

Anna-Maria and I went out for Dim Sum again but met up with some of the other new teachers that she will be working with. Afterwards we headed out on the town. 

This was a very interesting night. We started off in a few bars with good drinks and music, then we tried to look for a club but stumbled upon a bar that was playing some tunes, so in we go! In this bar we met many guys that just wanted to dance with us all night, especially a local called Walter. I also spoke to an American that looked a little lost at the bar with his backpack clipped to him with a drink in hand. The next thing I notice that he had disappeared but I was just enjoying the music. It was finishing time at the bar so we started to make our way home when we walk outside the bar and saw the American holding on to a pole swaying. Some guys walked past and started laughing - Anna-Maria wasn't having that so she told them off and we went to see if he was OK.  His backpack was laying there on the ground and he kept knocking into a moped. The worker from the bar started having a go at me saying that he was knocking his moped...I replied with 'I don't know this person, he is very drunk and we are making sure he gets home safely.' The bar tender really was not happy about his bike and made me look at it. I responded with, 'there is no damage with your bike so what is the problem?' To that he just drove off. We eventually got the American to come along with us to McDonald's...which may have even taken us an hour to get there as we kept stopping to talk to random people and dance in the street. Finally we managed to get in the taxi queue after our burgers and all jumped in one. We were hoping to get the man to say his address to the taxi man but he was insistenting we got home safely when we were the ones trying to get him home safely. Instead of arguing with him we got home, leaving him with the taxi driver...hoping he was going to have more luck getting his address out of him!  That was a great night out arriving in the bed at 6am!

Day 3
Having a short nap that morning we then got up and went to meet with Rachael for brunch. It was nice to see her again, catch up and was a chance for Anna-Maria to have another contact in Hong Kong. 

Afterwards we took the Star Ferry over to Kowloon and walked along the promenade, saw the view of Hong Kong from that side which was even more stunning then from the Island side. 

The statues from the promenade had been moved to a nearby garden as work was being done on the paths. Saw those statues and went for ice cream before earlyish to bed.

Day 4
My last day in Hong Kong...spent the morning packing! Then joined with other teachers flat hunting in Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island, I quite liked going around and seeing what accommodation Hong Kong had to offer. Afterwards Anna-Maria and I went to Ikea so she could get some more bits for her flat. After grabbing a late lunch it was time to head back grab my bag then off to the airport for my flight home. I had such a great time again in Hong Kong.

The flight home was fine with a short stop over in Dubai.

Sydney with Auntie Helen and cousin Elliott part 2

One of my favourite things I did in Sydney was a tour of the Opera house. We got to take a look inside; visiting the corridors, rehearsal studios and all the stages. Some rehearsals were going on and we got to sneak in and see a snippet. 

It was a very interesting place and was amazing to see inside the structure. Later that evening we went to see a small light projection on the side of one of the sales. This was like a mini version of the huge vivid light show they project over the whole of the Opera House. 

We spent some time with Susan's mum Janet for coffee. She came over with a cake for Susan and lots of photos albums for us to look at; these were mainly of her family over the years. 

That afternoon we went for a wonder around The Rocks Market. Then for the evening we spent it at Luna Park. 

We had great fun acting like children again on all the rides. 

One went upside and it didn't make me feel well at all! Never again!

On Sunday we took a ferry from Circular Quay to Cookatoo Island. The ferry took us under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and was lovely to see the harbour from the water. Upon reaching the island we had our picnic...keeping it out the way of the seagulls. We then got an audio tour and wondered around the island listening to all the information about it being a prison and then it having shipping yards. 

Monty, Pablo and Dick enjoyed the tour too!

It was interesting but as all 3 of us were so tired we kind of switched off near the end (maybe middle) but I did listen to all the information but it was a lot to process. We jump back on the ferry and headed back.

As the weather was not looking good we decided to do a 6 mile  (10km) hike from The Spit to Manly. This was a costal walk around part of the harbour. We got the bus all the way to the Spit and first stated off by walking across the bridge then finding a spot for a lunch. It started to rain but like the true British we carried on, we sat and ate our lunch while we got to watch the bridge open so the boats could go through. 

It was only drizzling so we followed the path but upon turning the corner it started to pour luckily we were under a cliff hanging so we stayed under there for shelter. The rain started to lighten and we went to carry on but whoosh! A waterfall had started over the side and was blocking our way on the path, we continplated for a while and eventually we all made it through but we didn't make it without getting wet! The walk was lovely scenery but we would have appreciated it more on a sunny day. 

We had to keep our hoods up and just got soaked through! We finally made it to Manly and on to the ferry but wringing wet.

Beautiful sunset on the way back into the harbour. 

Bridge climb! This just had to be done...we all got suited and booted in our onezies, harness, headset, hats and parachutes (really these were fleeces in case we got cold). 

Then before we were alound on the bridge we had to have a practice on some ladders so we could have a feel for parts of the climb. Now we were all set to start the climb up to the top, it was an amazing structure. We started off going over a road then the water and up the ladders through the middle of the car lanes on the road to get to the start of the arch. In total we took 1,333 steps up and down. At the top we got to see a 360 degree view of Sydney Harbour, it was such an awesome sight. We had our photos taken on the way up and at the top before making our way down. Some facts I learnt about the bridge is that it has 6 million rivets, only 16 people died while constructing the bridge but only 2 died on the bridge (the other deaths happened in the workshops). The day we did the climb there were workers painting the bridge so we had to take a slightly different route down, this was exciting because we had to cross over to the other side which most people don't get to go on. Then we crossed over again on another section to get the ladders back down under the road and railway line. We had a fun time and we got to keep our hats afterwards.

This means that I have now actually climbed on the bridge, walked and ran over it, taken a bus and a train over, walked under it and been under it on a ferry. Just need to cycle over it now!

The last day I had in Sydney with my Auntie and cousin was mainly spent packing. We did go for a coffee with Janet and Susan to say goodbye and then met with Alex (someone my Auntie knows) for a drink then dinner before finishing off the packing and having a good night's sleep ready for the day of travelling.

Sydney with Auntie Helen and cousin Elliott part 1

I arrived in Sydney and made my way over to the international terminal to wait for Auntie Helen and Elliot to arrive. Finally they come through pushing their bags. It was so nice to see them and some familiar faces. 

We got in a taxi and made our way to Susan and Brett's house where we would be staying for the next 10 days. After arriving they showed us around the neighbourhood and we grabbed some food.

After a good night's sleep we spent the day chilling on the beach as it's 5 minutes from Susan's house. We found a lovely spot at a cafe then walked the length of the beach and found a great spot amongst the rocks to eat our sandwiches. 

Monty and Pablo playing in the rock pools with some fish and starfish.

On Tuesday we did the costal walk from Maroubra to Bondi. We started off clambering over the rocks then found our way around the streets to the path. 

The path went all the way round the coast till Bondi. It was such a beautiful day and walk, we came across many bays along the way stopping at Gordon's Bay for our lunch. Before reaching Bronte we got diverted through the grave yard as the path is under maintenance. 

As we reached Bondi we watched the surfers and headed back on the bus.

A long day spent on Wednesday visiting the Blue Mountains, these were so spectacular. We started off getting up very early so we could catch the 2 hour train to Katoomba. 

Upon arrival at Katoomba we got the hop on hop off bus so we could see as much as we could in one day. Our first stop was Scenic World, this is where we got the skyway (huge gondola) across the valley with a waterfall below. We rode on the steepest railway in the world down to the walkway through the bush. Then took the cableway (cable car) back up. 

Monty found his own tree, which had been burnt and you could see right up the middle of the trunk.

You could really see why the mountains got their name...they looked so blue. The day was clear and pleasant but super windy. Our next stop was Honeymoon bridge, we did a cliff walk and made our way down to the three sisters. We got right up close and personal and even touched one of them.  It was a hard decision to make but we needed to choose between seeing Leura Falls and Wentworth Falls as we only had enough time to see one. We decided to head to Wentworth Falls. What a lovely walk over and under the cliff hangs, walking towards the waterfall...it was huge and so powerful. We headed closer and closer to the waterfall and ended up crossing it on the stepping stones. After so much walking it was nice to sit down on the journey back.

As we were all so tired the next day we decided to have a lay in and head down to the beach. Helen and Elliot took a dip in the sea while I sat on the beach wrapped up. Not sure how they went in the water...it's too cold for me! 

This was also the day of Susan's birthday, I hope she had a wonderful day and liked her present we got for her. We had an Indian take away for dinner.

Melbourne again - week 2 - 17.07.17 - 22.07.17

Highlights from week two in Melbourne:

Przemek wanted to go on a hike for his birthday. We all met at Southen Cross to catch a train to Little River. When we arrived we had to walk 5.4 km from the train station before we even arrived at You Yang Regional Park. Along the way we kept stopping to pat horses and take photos. Finally we reached the park and started our hike! We took a track; following it around, up and down until we reach a height that had magnificent views.

This is where we stopped for the BBQ lunch of kangaroo sausages. After lunch most people had to head back to the train station but Przemek, Andres, Joaquín and I headed further up and reached a peak. 

The views were even more spectacular from there, seeing Melbourne in the distance. It was then our turn to head back to the station; walking fast around, up but maninly down and straight on to the station which we arrived back with 5 minutes to spare. That was a tiring day but much fun was had.

I met Kate, Reggie and Kelly at the Melbourne Museum, this time we actually got to see the bug exhibition. The exhibition was very well done and planned out, it was very interactive for the children and had lots of facts to learn. I didn't learn many new facts I didn't already know but I did find it interesting how they are using bugs and their features to help design many things (like medicines, robot design and bank note security). Reggie and Kate had to go home.

Kelly and I took a wonder through the rest of the museum with Monty.

Joaquín and I tried bubble tea. I actually had a fruit juice but it was very weird at first to get "bubbles" of flavour that popped in your mouth.

One day when I was trying to update my blog at the hostel the power went out right before I was going to get some lunch...something had tripped a fuse but emargancy lighting worked. It was starting to get a bit chilly so I decided to head out to the acmi (Australian Centre for the Moving Image). I found it interesting to read about how moving photos started and then how they turnt into flims and video games we have today. Only as I returned to the hostel and was walking up through stairs the power came back on! Yeah food time!

In the pouring rain I took a walk along the river on the South Bank to Fitzroy Park where I met with Kelly. We went to see Captain Cook's cottage, this was originally in England and Cook's father had it dismantled, numbered and shipped over to Australia and reassembled. It was very small but interesting to learn about it, we got to play dress up in the garden too! 

Afterwards we found the fairy tree then headed off to a market...it was raining so much we had our picnic in the car first.

I visited the State Library and had a wonder around on all levels. 

Then met Joaquín after work for a delicious Indian and then to the cinema to watch Dunkirk. Great film...go and see it if you haven't already.

Went to watch "Supermax" a series from South America, it was all in Spanish...we got to watch the first 2 episodes. I'm not sure about it, I would like to watch the rest just to see how it ended. Afterwards Joaquín cooked the Chilian dish for me again and again it was delicious.

On my last day it was busy...first I had to pack all my things up then it was off to Kate's for a pizza day. Her boses had a pizza day where they invited friends and family. They needed help with making pizzas, looking after the kids and making sure the drinks were flowing. Kate, Kelly and I were super busy on our feet, I ended up making the pizza bases all afternoon.

I really enjoyed it! I also made my own four cheese pizza, it was surprisingly good! 

After all that hard work we headed out to meet Joaquín, Przemek and Tom at Section 8 and then went on to Father's Office for drinks and a dance before I had to say my goodbyes.

Had to get up early for my flight back to Sydney...said goodbye to Joaquín before boarding the SkyBus and jumped on my flight over.