Day two in Praha
After walking up at noon, it was cold, rainy and windy. "how it was when we met in England." we decided. Today was the day I was meeting up with Milos Neuman, my father's grandfather's brother's grandson or cousin Hahah Milos lives in Prague with his wife and they have a daughter and a son, who are both older than me.
I met him in the central square where he was looking for me in a group of students. I walked up behind him and said his name, he laugh an showed me the picture I had sent him so he could identify me. I laughed as well and we started to walk. We went through the city again, bu this time I got to learn about the history of the city which was really amazing! We went to the top of the town hall, the building with the astronomical clock, and we got to see a 360 view of the city. When I get to a computer one of these days I'll upload all the pictures. We then went across the bridge again and we waited at a pub that used to be horse stalls, for his wife. We each had a large pilsner and warmed up. He brought with him an old fily album, so i got to see pictures of my dads family. It was really amazing and special. After, we started walking to the castle but it was rainin again so we waited at another bar where hee sometimes plays music. This time I had coffee to wake up fr the cold, dreary day. When the rain slowed, we headed up the hill. Most of the castle was closed and it started raining again so we rushed down the other side to a restaurant where his son was waiting. I had beef goulash and another beer. After, we went to the bar where he sometime plays music because he thought some music was playing, but it was just a practice so we had one more beer an headed back home as it was late and he had to work the next day. Ales, his son, walked me back to Corey and Thea's where we had a slow night and fell asleep early.
The next day Tom and his nephew came to Prague and I met up with them. We left the day after to Bavaria to see his family.
After a 4 hour train ride, we arrived and got a taxi to his cousins house. Welcomed with open arms and delish food, we filled ourselves, and then went out to the city of regensburg. We had some drinks, and went home after the horrible service at one club.
The next day we went hiking on Grosse Osser, a large but not to large peak in the Bavarian region. We were six total; Tom, his nephew (Greg), his cousin(M) and wife and his cousins sister ( so cousin as well) Veronica, and myself. Mind you I am not using names as I cannot write them properly and don't want to be rude an eff their names up. So while we started the hike, Tom and M's wife saw some mushrooms on the side of the trail. After discovering that these were good, we had ourselves a mushroom picking time during the climb up and down. M found one that was huge, I'm gonna say like 1-2lbs. Veronica and I are around the same age as me and we hit it off. She doesn't speak Polish either, so we would practice some German and English. We reached the top and had some food and drinks; the beer garden is one of the highest in Germany.
The next day we went to Spatiel ( I think) beer garden and had some delicious schnitzel! Nom nom! I have pictures (well Tom does), an I'll hopefully get them up before we reach Australia (again I'm writing on my iPod). But I know everyone is more excited about learning an hearing about Russia and Mongolia. So let's go!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
End of Greece, Praha pt 1
The name of that seaweed like item in the salad was wild rock fennel by the way.
The last few days Of Greece were calm and perfect, a nice vacation from traveling. On Chios we went to the beach early and found a remote spot which was dirty but beautiful; surrounded by cliffs and caves. We also visited a small Greek village which is known for their architectural designs of small roads and bridges between buildings; they also have their walls decorated with black and white designs. It was very beautiful.
The return back to Athens was much different from the trip there, however still by ferry. I was on the deck, so no TVs, no luxury seats, and no heat. But it was wonderful! Which se of you might think is hard to believe, during a cold wet night, but I got to hang put with a dog! Her name was peanut and her owner had a seat inside. Unable to bring her in, he was tying her up to a table and asked me to look after her. He was around my age, and I guess I looked harmless and trustworthy. I was concerned he was goin to leave her with me, but he pulled out food and water for her in nice dishes so I knew he loved her. I snoozed on and off, cuddled with the dog a little, and read. He ce back halfway through the trip, asking if I needed anything, which I didn't. Some people might find it weird that I looked after his dog for free, but I got to hang out with a cute dog for 8 hours! It made my trip!
When I arrived back to Athens, I found his sisters apartment with ease. After sleeping for a while, I went out and explored the tourist section, found some ouzo and gypsy pants and went back. His sister Vinia and I went out that night, having some good and not so good cocktails, and gyros and wine. It was a fun girls night for both of us and she and I are very much alike. It was also nice to see her dog ginger again.
Leaving early the next morning, I made it to the airport on time and successfully. Once arriving in Prague, I got to the metro station to meet up with my friend Thea, whom I wad staying with and had met in England. Unable to find her for about an hour, I was about to go find a taxi when Corey showed up! Corey and Thea are dating and are working as English teachers in Prague.
Corey and I bought food for lunch and after we ate, we went for a walk around town. It was a very warm day, so seeing everything was very nice! We walked along the King Charles bridge, by the john Lennon wall and the locks of love section of town. After feeling a bit tired, we headed back and met up with Thea at the apartment. She and I went to the store to buy food for dinner and we made some salads with chicken, avocado, blue cheese, and a balsamic dressing. It was nice to have some real food. We went out late to a dark, dank bar which was really cool, as there were tunnels and bars deep inside, an old bomb shelter I think. After I almost fell asleep in my beer, we headed home and passed out.
The last few days Of Greece were calm and perfect, a nice vacation from traveling. On Chios we went to the beach early and found a remote spot which was dirty but beautiful; surrounded by cliffs and caves. We also visited a small Greek village which is known for their architectural designs of small roads and bridges between buildings; they also have their walls decorated with black and white designs. It was very beautiful.
The return back to Athens was much different from the trip there, however still by ferry. I was on the deck, so no TVs, no luxury seats, and no heat. But it was wonderful! Which se of you might think is hard to believe, during a cold wet night, but I got to hang put with a dog! Her name was peanut and her owner had a seat inside. Unable to bring her in, he was tying her up to a table and asked me to look after her. He was around my age, and I guess I looked harmless and trustworthy. I was concerned he was goin to leave her with me, but he pulled out food and water for her in nice dishes so I knew he loved her. I snoozed on and off, cuddled with the dog a little, and read. He ce back halfway through the trip, asking if I needed anything, which I didn't. Some people might find it weird that I looked after his dog for free, but I got to hang out with a cute dog for 8 hours! It made my trip!
When I arrived back to Athens, I found his sisters apartment with ease. After sleeping for a while, I went out and explored the tourist section, found some ouzo and gypsy pants and went back. His sister Vinia and I went out that night, having some good and not so good cocktails, and gyros and wine. It was a fun girls night for both of us and she and I are very much alike. It was also nice to see her dog ginger again.
Leaving early the next morning, I made it to the airport on time and successfully. Once arriving in Prague, I got to the metro station to meet up with my friend Thea, whom I wad staying with and had met in England. Unable to find her for about an hour, I was about to go find a taxi when Corey showed up! Corey and Thea are dating and are working as English teachers in Prague.
Corey and I bought food for lunch and after we ate, we went for a walk around town. It was a very warm day, so seeing everything was very nice! We walked along the King Charles bridge, by the john Lennon wall and the locks of love section of town. After feeling a bit tired, we headed back and met up with Thea at the apartment. She and I went to the store to buy food for dinner and we made some salads with chicken, avocado, blue cheese, and a balsamic dressing. It was nice to have some real food. We went out late to a dark, dank bar which was really cool, as there were tunnels and bars deep inside, an old bomb shelter I think. After I almost fell asleep in my beer, we headed home and passed out.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
It's all Greek to me! Pt 2
Living on the water, on the port, is a blessing and a curse. For one, I got to wake up to a beautiful view and was close to everything! Bad thing was that it was loud! All the time! Moto bikes have loud exhausts, meaning you could hear th miles away plus under you window. Also there were clubs right below, and with people not starting to go out til 1am, the party lasted all night. I was usually exhausted from the day's adventures that I usually had no problem sleeping but no one cares about that. What you probably want to know is what I did during those adventures.
Day 1 on Chios (he-ose)
We arrived on the island at 4 am so we promptly found my room for the next few days, Giannis went home and I fell asleep. We began our day around 1130 by walking around the city. The city called Chios as well, which is a large port city on the eastern side of the island. We saw the large, beautiful church, the center square/park, the mainly pedestrian only shopping street and his father's office. His dad is an optometrist and must be one of the few on the island as he helped me get the room. I literally met him for 5 minutes and that was it. After walkig around, grabbing some lunch which included a Greek salad ( tomatoes, onions, olives, feta, cukes) and mosaka, which is similar to a meat lasagna but with eggplant and fluffy béchamel cream on top. it was much heavier than I expected, or needed in the hot Grecian weather. After eating, we went back to our separate places to get ready for the beach. He said his friend Peter (which is his English name, I forgot what it was in Greek) would be joining us. He also said he was slow with times. We decided to leave at 4 for the black pebble beach, the nicest beach on Chios, even though there is no sand. Excited, I got changed quickly, and was surprisingly ready ny 4:05. I waited in my room until 420 and then headed down, thinking he had his car waiting outside. Another 30 minutes later they finally showed up. I wish they knew what Patty 4 time was as I would have known then to be ready an hour later. But we made it out to the beach and it was gorgeous. We only had about 30-45 minutes of swim time as the beach was shaded by the large rocks surrounding the area. But it was fine. I asked about sharks and couldn't get a straight answer but when Giannis said no one has been attacked, that's all I needed.
After swimming we went back to town, around 830 where we split up again to get ready for dinner, they said pick up around 10. I was barely ready this time when they knocked at 1030, but we headed out to Lansgard ( I will have to double check that name, but it's more north). By the time we got there, the restaurant we wanted to go to wa closed, but the other good one was opened so we sat, ordered ouzo, and feasted. Grilled octopus, fried squid, Greek salad (with capers and arugula this time! Yumm!), grilled cheese, bread, fries, potato choquettes( like breaded mashed potatoes) and tzaziki sauce. If there is more I can't tell you now as my journal is currently stowed away. We feasted and they gave us orange cream little ice cream sticks which were perfect to finish the meal. We went out briefly, with me seeing and yelling at a cockroach, but we went to bed early (3ish).
Day 2
Day two started the same way as day one, sleeping in late, and walking aroun the city to find me some pants. Unfortunately since the summer season wa ending, a lot of their cute summer pants were put away until next year. I knew I could find some in Athens, but we went on an adventure anyways, going to a nearby tourist trap to look for some. To no avail, we left empty handed so we heeded to his house for lunch. His mom made fried meatballs, a mosaka like dish ( which honestly tasted and look almost liked meat lasanga) and a Greek salad again. Hers had home pickled capers and wild sea fennel I think it is called, which reminded me of well seaweed, but crunchy. Either way it was delicious.
Afterwards we drove out to cave olympi which is the deepest point on Chios. The cave was originally used to dump dead animals, but when they discovered them on the beach below, they discovered the cave. It is still a growing cave, meanin that the lower regions are getting deeper and stalactites and mites are growin as well. Then we went to the beach late again and as we were trying to leave, a dog started following us, even when we switched directions, move ahead quickly, and whatever. I of course wanted to play with the dog, but giannis said that then I would want to take it home. Which I did. By the end, there were three dogs and we lefts without them :(
I'll post day 3 and Prague soon, but I thought you would enjoy at least one post!
Day 1 on Chios (he-ose)
We arrived on the island at 4 am so we promptly found my room for the next few days, Giannis went home and I fell asleep. We began our day around 1130 by walking around the city. The city called Chios as well, which is a large port city on the eastern side of the island. We saw the large, beautiful church, the center square/park, the mainly pedestrian only shopping street and his father's office. His dad is an optometrist and must be one of the few on the island as he helped me get the room. I literally met him for 5 minutes and that was it. After walkig around, grabbing some lunch which included a Greek salad ( tomatoes, onions, olives, feta, cukes) and mosaka, which is similar to a meat lasagna but with eggplant and fluffy béchamel cream on top. it was much heavier than I expected, or needed in the hot Grecian weather. After eating, we went back to our separate places to get ready for the beach. He said his friend Peter (which is his English name, I forgot what it was in Greek) would be joining us. He also said he was slow with times. We decided to leave at 4 for the black pebble beach, the nicest beach on Chios, even though there is no sand. Excited, I got changed quickly, and was surprisingly ready ny 4:05. I waited in my room until 420 and then headed down, thinking he had his car waiting outside. Another 30 minutes later they finally showed up. I wish they knew what Patty 4 time was as I would have known then to be ready an hour later. But we made it out to the beach and it was gorgeous. We only had about 30-45 minutes of swim time as the beach was shaded by the large rocks surrounding the area. But it was fine. I asked about sharks and couldn't get a straight answer but when Giannis said no one has been attacked, that's all I needed.
After swimming we went back to town, around 830 where we split up again to get ready for dinner, they said pick up around 10. I was barely ready this time when they knocked at 1030, but we headed out to Lansgard ( I will have to double check that name, but it's more north). By the time we got there, the restaurant we wanted to go to wa closed, but the other good one was opened so we sat, ordered ouzo, and feasted. Grilled octopus, fried squid, Greek salad (with capers and arugula this time! Yumm!), grilled cheese, bread, fries, potato choquettes( like breaded mashed potatoes) and tzaziki sauce. If there is more I can't tell you now as my journal is currently stowed away. We feasted and they gave us orange cream little ice cream sticks which were perfect to finish the meal. We went out briefly, with me seeing and yelling at a cockroach, but we went to bed early (3ish).
Day 2
Day two started the same way as day one, sleeping in late, and walking aroun the city to find me some pants. Unfortunately since the summer season wa ending, a lot of their cute summer pants were put away until next year. I knew I could find some in Athens, but we went on an adventure anyways, going to a nearby tourist trap to look for some. To no avail, we left empty handed so we heeded to his house for lunch. His mom made fried meatballs, a mosaka like dish ( which honestly tasted and look almost liked meat lasanga) and a Greek salad again. Hers had home pickled capers and wild sea fennel I think it is called, which reminded me of well seaweed, but crunchy. Either way it was delicious.
Afterwards we drove out to cave olympi which is the deepest point on Chios. The cave was originally used to dump dead animals, but when they discovered them on the beach below, they discovered the cave. It is still a growing cave, meanin that the lower regions are getting deeper and stalactites and mites are growin as well. Then we went to the beach late again and as we were trying to leave, a dog started following us, even when we switched directions, move ahead quickly, and whatever. I of course wanted to play with the dog, but giannis said that then I would want to take it home. Which I did. By the end, there were three dogs and we lefts without them :(
I'll post day 3 and Prague soon, but I thought you would enjoy at least one post!
Monday, September 10, 2012
It's all Greek to me! pt 1
Sorry for the delay on the post. My iPod could not host this site, so I was unable to post. Luckily, my friends have a computer that I am able to use. So let's start from the beginning.
I arrived to Athens on the 5th, 9 hours after driving up to Montreal with my mom. It was a direct flight which was nice on a big plane. Exhausted and tired, I found Giannis (John) pretty easily after the flight at the airport. After catching a train to his sister's apartment, where we met her cute puppy Ginger, a maltese. After dropping my stuff off, we ended up walking around the city. We went to Ermou, Kolonaki and Monastiraki. Monastiraki is the tourist trap location, with flea markets, bargain prices and silly souvenirs. We were going to go to the Parthenon/Akropolis, but it had closed at 3 and it was 2:45, not nearly enough time for us to reach the top and enjoy our time there. So we went to the Akropolis Museum, where the original parts of the Parthenon are, but since I was so tired, I ended up almost falling asleep. We decided it was best to head back and I could take a nap and be ready for the evening. After getting some food, we headed up towards the university section of Athens, to see what the night life was like. If we had arrived an hour earlier, we would have heard the Red Hot Chili Peppers play, but we arrived when everyone was leaving the show. Being as it was, the streets were filled with people, as were the bars. unable to decide on which loud, smokey bar to go to, we decided to buy some beers and drink them at home. Well unfortunately, the trains all stopped at 15 past midnight. We were trying to leave at 12:20. So we decided to walk part way and then get a taxi home, to decrease the price. After walking around for 30-40 minutes, beers gone or mostly gone, (it's legal to drink in public), we finally got a taxi home and promptly went asleep.
The next day, we woke up late as I was still jet lagged, and got ready to go to the Akropolis. And yes, I know I am spelling it with a K as that is how the Greek spell it. We ended up taking the back root up, and after the long-ish hike (I wore my comfy shoes, Giannis did not) we finally arrived. And well, the views are amazing, but the structures themselves are ok. They are trying to put it back together, using marble and original pieces still on site. Mind you, most of the buildings have been scattered (mainly the British Museum). Giannis told me it has only been within the last 2 centuries that the Parthenon has been destroyed, and it was actually blown up. It was where the Greeks kept their ammunition and gun powder and one night a Turkish man came and blew it up! So if you ever go or if you ever see a piece and it has a round fragment missing, it was actually from cannon balls. After hiking down and taking a bus into the city, we met up with Giannis' friend Nikos. We sat down at a cafe and had some drinks. I had a Freddo, which is an iced cappachino, which was quite nice. Dad keeps telling me that the Greeks don't have good coffee, but obviously that has changed in the last 40 years.
We headed back early, as we were catching a ferry to Chios at 9 in the evening. Now when I think of ferries, I think of small, dirty ships that carry cars and people; they are relatively small, and not more than 2 stories. Well, I almost shat myself when I saw this one. It was a cruise ship sized ship, 3 levels for cars with the bottom floor being for cargo trucks, 2 floors of airplane seats, and the top floor was the deck. Now we had airplane seats, which are nice, leather seats in 2 rows of 3. There were a few TVs, but the shows were in Greek and Turkish, so I couldn't understand them, but Giannis had his computer so we watched a movie. From there, it was trying to sleep that was the problem. I am usually pretty good at falling asleep on planes, but with not tray table, I couldn't fold over like I normally do, so falling asleep was a challenge. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well.
We arrived at the Chios (pronounced He-ose) at 4 in the morning. Giannis got a snack, while I just wanted to sleep, we found my room (which was right on the port), Giannis went home and I fell asleep. 7 hours later I woke and we started on my second part of Greece, which I will describe more later, along with pictures. Giannis parents got the room for me, as their house was "messy" and the room I was to stay in was"unfit" for a guest. Which was untrue, but they were kind enough to get me a room with the view of the port, a full sized bed, and a restroom. So it was perfect. But I must go. We're going out, Vinia (Giannis' sister).
Alright must love! Joya
I arrived to Athens on the 5th, 9 hours after driving up to Montreal with my mom. It was a direct flight which was nice on a big plane. Exhausted and tired, I found Giannis (John) pretty easily after the flight at the airport. After catching a train to his sister's apartment, where we met her cute puppy Ginger, a maltese. After dropping my stuff off, we ended up walking around the city. We went to Ermou, Kolonaki and Monastiraki. Monastiraki is the tourist trap location, with flea markets, bargain prices and silly souvenirs. We were going to go to the Parthenon/Akropolis, but it had closed at 3 and it was 2:45, not nearly enough time for us to reach the top and enjoy our time there. So we went to the Akropolis Museum, where the original parts of the Parthenon are, but since I was so tired, I ended up almost falling asleep. We decided it was best to head back and I could take a nap and be ready for the evening. After getting some food, we headed up towards the university section of Athens, to see what the night life was like. If we had arrived an hour earlier, we would have heard the Red Hot Chili Peppers play, but we arrived when everyone was leaving the show. Being as it was, the streets were filled with people, as were the bars. unable to decide on which loud, smokey bar to go to, we decided to buy some beers and drink them at home. Well unfortunately, the trains all stopped at 15 past midnight. We were trying to leave at 12:20. So we decided to walk part way and then get a taxi home, to decrease the price. After walking around for 30-40 minutes, beers gone or mostly gone, (it's legal to drink in public), we finally got a taxi home and promptly went asleep.
The next day, we woke up late as I was still jet lagged, and got ready to go to the Akropolis. And yes, I know I am spelling it with a K as that is how the Greek spell it. We ended up taking the back root up, and after the long-ish hike (I wore my comfy shoes, Giannis did not) we finally arrived. And well, the views are amazing, but the structures themselves are ok. They are trying to put it back together, using marble and original pieces still on site. Mind you, most of the buildings have been scattered (mainly the British Museum). Giannis told me it has only been within the last 2 centuries that the Parthenon has been destroyed, and it was actually blown up. It was where the Greeks kept their ammunition and gun powder and one night a Turkish man came and blew it up! So if you ever go or if you ever see a piece and it has a round fragment missing, it was actually from cannon balls. After hiking down and taking a bus into the city, we met up with Giannis' friend Nikos. We sat down at a cafe and had some drinks. I had a Freddo, which is an iced cappachino, which was quite nice. Dad keeps telling me that the Greeks don't have good coffee, but obviously that has changed in the last 40 years.
We headed back early, as we were catching a ferry to Chios at 9 in the evening. Now when I think of ferries, I think of small, dirty ships that carry cars and people; they are relatively small, and not more than 2 stories. Well, I almost shat myself when I saw this one. It was a cruise ship sized ship, 3 levels for cars with the bottom floor being for cargo trucks, 2 floors of airplane seats, and the top floor was the deck. Now we had airplane seats, which are nice, leather seats in 2 rows of 3. There were a few TVs, but the shows were in Greek and Turkish, so I couldn't understand them, but Giannis had his computer so we watched a movie. From there, it was trying to sleep that was the problem. I am usually pretty good at falling asleep on planes, but with not tray table, I couldn't fold over like I normally do, so falling asleep was a challenge. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well.
We arrived at the Chios (pronounced He-ose) at 4 in the morning. Giannis got a snack, while I just wanted to sleep, we found my room (which was right on the port), Giannis went home and I fell asleep. 7 hours later I woke and we started on my second part of Greece, which I will describe more later, along with pictures. Giannis parents got the room for me, as their house was "messy" and the room I was to stay in was"unfit" for a guest. Which was untrue, but they were kind enough to get me a room with the view of the port, a full sized bed, and a restroom. So it was perfect. But I must go. We're going out, Vinia (Giannis' sister).
Alright must love! Joya
Friday, August 31, 2012
Packing it all up
With my large, LL Bean white Mountain pack, it's really tempting to fill it up with some fun things. Like my pretty Steve Madden boots, cute dresses, and a lot of jewelry. Unfortunately, if I did that, I would probably break my back and the whole trip would be ruined. Luckily, going to Goggle and typing in, "what to pack on a world backpacking trip" find a lot of good sites. The first one was okay; it contained long lists of things for a basic trip and the "other stuff you might need." But when you tell me to pack 3 shirts and 4 pairs of underwear; that's not very helpful. Should I bring t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, running shirts, dress shirts, tight shirts, loose shirts, or tank tops? Seriously, I have all these shirts and trying to pick three seems silly to me. And 4 pairs of underwear? In less than a week all my panties will be dirty, and I'm gone for how long?
Needless to say, I left that site and moved on to another one.
The next one I checked out looked promising, it had categories of useful tips, some I knew, some I didn't. until I found the packing list... Which ended up being a check list, which didn't help me, since I would check everything off.
The third site I found was absolutely amazing.Travel independent.info Not only did it give me a comprehensive list to pack, but it also gave reasons as to why I would or would not need it. It was easy to navigate, there was no ads, and it had fun sketches. Needless to say, I know now that I will in fact need a dressier shirt, a long sleeved shirt, and a a week's worth of panties are fine since well, I can roll them up really small. So seriously, I need to pack. At least now I know what I am packing :) and check out their site!
http://www.travelindependent.info/
Needless to say, I left that site and moved on to another one.
The next one I checked out looked promising, it had categories of useful tips, some I knew, some I didn't. until I found the packing list... Which ended up being a check list, which didn't help me, since I would check everything off.
The third site I found was absolutely amazing.Travel independent.info Not only did it give me a comprehensive list to pack, but it also gave reasons as to why I would or would not need it. It was easy to navigate, there was no ads, and it had fun sketches. Needless to say, I know now that I will in fact need a dressier shirt, a long sleeved shirt, and a a week's worth of panties are fine since well, I can roll them up really small. So seriously, I need to pack. At least now I know what I am packing :) and check out their site!
http://www.travelindependent.info/
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Less than a week!!!
I'm leaving in less than a week. People keep asking me how I am feeling, as I will be gone for around 16 months (plus or minus depending on how things go). I tell them I'm feeling a little bit of everything.
Anxious: Honestly, who wouldn't be? I'm leaving all my family and most of my friends for a good chunk of time. Traveling to strange places, won't know the native languages, worried about diseases (which the health clinics make sure you are aware of!), money issues, credit card issues, getting lost, getting things stolen, me getting stolen (Damn the movie Taken!). You know, things outside of the sweet, small state of VT.
Excited: I get to get outside of the sweet, small state of VT! I get to explore new cultures, meet new people, travel to exotic places, eat some amazing food and discover somethings that rarely people ever do (Trans-Mongolian rail!) And I get to see some old friends, which I am really excited for as we are all travelers!
Scared: I really hope this isn't another flop like Hawaii was. I know that I need to live on my own, out of Vermont and out of my comfort zone. Living in Australia for 9-12 months seems kind of scary, especially since I can't rely on my family to help me out in a sticky situation. For example, dealing with paperwork-whether it's taxes, apartment stuff, bills, etc, my parents have helped me figure out how to do it, or showed me what to do. I know it sound silly, but I'm kind of scared I might mess something up and get deported. :(
Proud: Not to many people can say that have traveled the world. Hopefully in 16 months, I can say that. I will have help from my friends along the way, and from Tom, but I a lot of it will be coming from me, and I am proud that I am doing it again, even after everything that happened in Hawaii.
Sad: I'm gonna miss everyone and VT. But not too sad, since I will have Skype, email, this blog and Facebook! Technology today is so wonderful. :)
Loved and inspired: Everyone have talked to about this trip has given me some good advice or good luck. It's amazing what stories people can tell you about traveling if you just ask them. I have friends who I haven't talked to or seen in years and they are willing to help me out, or even new friends I have just met telling me where to go and what to see. It's truly wonderful and I thank everyone!
Rushed: I have less than a week and I need to pack, sort out my phone, figure out my bank accounts, sell the car, organize my room, say goodbye to all of my friends and I feel like there is always more stuff! Ahh!
And on that note, I must leave you to start completing the things in the Rushed category!
Anxious: Honestly, who wouldn't be? I'm leaving all my family and most of my friends for a good chunk of time. Traveling to strange places, won't know the native languages, worried about diseases (which the health clinics make sure you are aware of!), money issues, credit card issues, getting lost, getting things stolen, me getting stolen (Damn the movie Taken!). You know, things outside of the sweet, small state of VT.
Excited: I get to get outside of the sweet, small state of VT! I get to explore new cultures, meet new people, travel to exotic places, eat some amazing food and discover somethings that rarely people ever do (Trans-Mongolian rail!) And I get to see some old friends, which I am really excited for as we are all travelers!
Scared: I really hope this isn't another flop like Hawaii was. I know that I need to live on my own, out of Vermont and out of my comfort zone. Living in Australia for 9-12 months seems kind of scary, especially since I can't rely on my family to help me out in a sticky situation. For example, dealing with paperwork-whether it's taxes, apartment stuff, bills, etc, my parents have helped me figure out how to do it, or showed me what to do. I know it sound silly, but I'm kind of scared I might mess something up and get deported. :(
Proud: Not to many people can say that have traveled the world. Hopefully in 16 months, I can say that. I will have help from my friends along the way, and from Tom, but I a lot of it will be coming from me, and I am proud that I am doing it again, even after everything that happened in Hawaii.
Sad: I'm gonna miss everyone and VT. But not too sad, since I will have Skype, email, this blog and Facebook! Technology today is so wonderful. :)
Loved and inspired: Everyone have talked to about this trip has given me some good advice or good luck. It's amazing what stories people can tell you about traveling if you just ask them. I have friends who I haven't talked to or seen in years and they are willing to help me out, or even new friends I have just met telling me where to go and what to see. It's truly wonderful and I thank everyone!
Rushed: I have less than a week and I need to pack, sort out my phone, figure out my bank accounts, sell the car, organize my room, say goodbye to all of my friends and I feel like there is always more stuff! Ahh!
And on that note, I must leave you to start completing the things in the Rushed category!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Let's try this again... round 2!
Hello again everyone!
After a year hiatus, recovery from Hawaii and working my gluts off, I am back on a new adventure, this time accompanied by my wonderful boyfriend, Tom. We are both set off for Europe at the end Aug/beginning of Sept. Well, he's Aug and I'm Sept.
I'm leaving Sept 4th from Montreal and going on a direct flight to Athens to see my friend Giannis, whom I met while studying abroad in England. Then I will either be going to Vienna or Prague, depending on if my friends in Austria are able to house me. But I know that my friends in Prague will be able too which is very exciting at Corey and Thea have been there for many months and know the area pretty well by now.
From there I will be meeting Tom in Warsaw, where we will spend a few days before heading off to Moscow to take the Trans-Mongolian Railway to Beijing. We will be making two stops (one in Irkutsk, Russia and one in Mongolia) then staying in Beijing for a bit, then going to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau, and then who knows (we're thinking Thailand)! I'm hoping on arriving to Australia in November or December. From there I might go to New Zealand for a few days to see some friends. But that is the new plan! I don't know how much internet service I will have to update this, but I will try my best!
Until the trip!
xxx Joya!
After a year hiatus, recovery from Hawaii and working my gluts off, I am back on a new adventure, this time accompanied by my wonderful boyfriend, Tom. We are both set off for Europe at the end Aug/beginning of Sept. Well, he's Aug and I'm Sept.
I'm leaving Sept 4th from Montreal and going on a direct flight to Athens to see my friend Giannis, whom I met while studying abroad in England. Then I will either be going to Vienna or Prague, depending on if my friends in Austria are able to house me. But I know that my friends in Prague will be able too which is very exciting at Corey and Thea have been there for many months and know the area pretty well by now.
From there I will be meeting Tom in Warsaw, where we will spend a few days before heading off to Moscow to take the Trans-Mongolian Railway to Beijing. We will be making two stops (one in Irkutsk, Russia and one in Mongolia) then staying in Beijing for a bit, then going to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau, and then who knows (we're thinking Thailand)! I'm hoping on arriving to Australia in November or December. From there I might go to New Zealand for a few days to see some friends. But that is the new plan! I don't know how much internet service I will have to update this, but I will try my best!
Until the trip!
xxx Joya!
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