Switzerland, Liechenstein, Munich and Austria

Sorry but there really are not many places with internet where we stop. I am having a fabulous time not too many crazy things to report. Switzerland would have been beautiful except we had terrential rain and fog the whole time so were not able to see any of the alps. however we did go to a cool cultural show lunch with accordions horn blowers cow bellers and fondue yummmmmm. liechenstein was cute and had beautiful sculptures everywhere. The beer fest was a great time I think everyone should go atleast once in their lives. More like a carnival with rides and games and the best part is all the locals get dressed up in leiderhausen and the dresses. I managed to make it through half a litre of beer which is pretty good for me. Met a group of 20 german guys from the airforce they were very interesting to talk to and taught us all the beer songs. I am now in Austria which is just simply stunning clear blue skies surrounded by mountains very scenic and peaceful.

eidelweiss

i am standing on the top of mount pilatus right now writing as there is no visability but it was still exciting going up the cable car and we could see the view right until the last leg of the journey.

i have also been through amsterdam and germany which were both great will tell more soon and sorry to dissapoint no hash taken as ran out of time

Brussels and Contiki

Well apart from the fact that I am struggling to kick the jet lag I am having a wonderful time. Joint my contiki group this morning and it is predominantly Aussies and Canadians with a few kiwis, japanese and americans. All seem nice so thats a good start.

Our first stop was Brussels and as you would expect I am loving it waffles, chocolate, haagen daas icecream what more can a girl ask for and all set in a beautifully romantic setting - Grand Place is definately all it is cracked up to be.

Anyway am off to bed now before I drop dead. see you in Amsterdam.

Jet Lag in London

Well I am now in London and feeling very tired after a gruelling time in San Francisco Airport - All I can say is avoid travelling to either UK or USA at the moment as it is truely painful.

My last day in USA was beautiful clear blue skies beaming sun and atleast 30. a little too hot to stay out for too long so I went and did the tosh tosh cultural thing and viewed modern art at the MOMA. it had so many of the works I studied in Art History so was cool to see the real things. Also had a Ben & Jerrys icecream which was great on a hot day.

London is definately more funky in summer and romantic in winter so many more people on the streets which makes it a bit more fun only I am experiencing jet lag for the first time and its horrid feel like a cross between a space cadet and a dopey dog.

Oh and the backpackers listed me as Australian as my licence was that and the perth born staff member decided that trumped my passport so funny you can't even escape it across the tasman.

I apologise for my lack of photos but the internet speeds I have been using are super snail speed. as soon as I have a faster one I will send some more.

I'm off to bed now at 3:30 so I won't look even older than the oldest on the contiki bus.

sore feet and sunburn

Well its day two in the USA and I am really enjoying it. Apart from the saddness at seeing quite alot of poverty and an amzingly high number of black teenagers that have scarred legs and limps it is all good. I still haven't managed to see the bridge out of fog but went on a cruise under it which was kinda fun in the fog as made it spooky - aparently 1400 people have leaped to there deaths off it not nice. also saw Alcatraz from the outside as couldn't see the point in queing for two hours to just see the inside of an abandoned prison. Also had the famous boudin bakery sourdough (They claim to have invented it). Also got propositioned by a black beggar saying he could work for me for a penny an hour and once I went black I would never go back - I unfortunately had to decline as was short on cash myself te he he :). Anyway back at the hostel now for my free dinner and to rest my feet and apply lotion to my sunburn as forgot to reapply my sunblock.

first pics

attached is the famous bridge shrouded in clouds which is apparently very common. I got to see its sister the bay bridge though and apart from being grey it looks the same.

San Francisco

Well I have made it finally left Melbourne after 3 metal scans and xrays 1 full bag search(of which they did everyone) and alot of throwing out of liquids later. And it didn't stop in OZ as had to be fingerprinted and photographed on entering the states ah the joys of post terrorist travel.

on the upside my wireless is working as I am sitting in my dorm room at present on the net in not the cleanest or easiest hostel ever as you have to trawl all your luggage up 5 flights of stairs (sorry sis as know you liked it). But it makes up for it with free internet, breakfast and dinners.

The weather is amazing 30c and bright sun so after settling in for a bit I am off out to make the most of it.

speak soon and I might even have a pic or two to share.

Wednesday 4 days to go

In the morning I got to hang out with Sara and Daisy which was fun so hard to say goodbye. Daisy was super cute too and kept saying Tanna - oh how to make a girl feel special.

Then in the evening I had the pleasure of catching up with Chanty(my sister). We enjoyed a beautiful dinner at Florentinos on Bourke Street in the city. I had a beautiful Savignon Blanc from NZ called Huia.

My Melbourne farewell at Anglers

First of all thanks to Kevin, Nao, Ellen, Coral-Lee, Chris, Isabel, Christopher, Regan, James, Michelle, Monica, Sara, John, Andrea, Darren, Cara, Melissa, George, Amanda, Gab, Greg, Rachelle, Damien, John and last but not least Nancy for all making my last visit to an aussie pub and my farewell such a memorable and great night. I really enjoyed myself and it made me realise just how much I am going to miss everyone when I am gone - will definately have to allocate one weekend every season to come back for a shopping/catchup trip I think. I had a parma as my last supper te he he what else could be a more aussie fare.

I'm outta dis joint

To coin the phrase that was written on a giant badge for me by Nancy - I'm outta dis joint. Friday the 1st of september 1st day of spring last day at Whirlwind kinda a weather theme going on. I was not the only one to leave on this day my good friend Monica also had her last day so it was a nice shared experience and we had our final dressup to honour it. The theme was black chilli. Black as in all blacks for me and Chilli as in hot food and passionate gal for Monica and I am proud to say that we almost had full participation (apart from a mysterious group of green wearing staff who swear it was fluke but I am still sold that it was a planned conspiracy :0) ). It was a very emotional day and had some great moments like my great pal Sara's daugther daisy coming in and saying "Hello Tanya" its was the cutest and most touching thing ever. I also got helium balloons, bubbles, chocolates, mini suitcases, red and black licorice, mullah, and a charm bracelet with my first charm to start the collection so needless to say I was very spoilt. The final meeting was a happy/sad affair too many lasts and way too many goodbyes. Anyway I am looking forward to Monday morning and not waking up to the train and work it will be weird. Only a couple of pics sorry as too many to put them all online.

Thankyou to everyone at Whirlwind that has made my time there over the last 4 years special and a whole lot of fun (you know who you are).

Spring Flowers

Well there is not much that I can say about the new location of Whirlwind as it is a bit of a cultural oasis - however it is surrounded by some of the prettiest Australian folliage. In spring especially out come the most beautiful blossoms and magnolias and my absolute favourite jasmine I think I drive all my fellow train walkers crazy with my ravings about the sweet smells and all my snorting noises trying to get as much as possible into my lungs along the way.

Moving House

Sorry for the un-uptodate blog as we have been moving from St Kilda to Essendon and have had the worst luck with the whole process ranging from no power for a week to door handles that come off to no phone or internet for 3 weeks but as you can tell by the blogging now we are finally 90% settled. I think in future I will just pay what ever the cost to get someone else to pack and move it - it is definately worth the expense. On the upside though the moving forced me to finish my packing and get all my stuff ready to send back to NZ when I get back from my holiday in December.

Catchup with Holly

Last night I got a visit from the lovely Holly as she was down for a business trip from Sydney. We had a yummy dinner at Chocolate Buddha (probably my last :( ) and then enjoyed a south african red wine with cheese at her hotel. I am also glad to report that she loves Federation Squares buildings as much as me. The best thing of the whole night was a conversation about her fab hair that brought about an appointment with her hairdresser Lenny in one of his 6 week visits to melbourne to get my hair straightened before my trip which will hopefully mean that I won't need to do much to look fabulous everyday. Thanks Holly.

Farewell, Welcome and shots

Its been a busy week for me this week as Tuesday morning Kevin and I sadly farewelled Grant at the Airport on his way back to live in NZ. Then on the theme of NZ I got the wonderful present of a visit from my good friend Debbie who was over for the weekend on a shopping trip. Finally today I got 6 vaccinations (Typhoid, Hep A, Dyptheria, Measles, Polio, Tetanus) needless to say I have a dead arm and can expect to feel the symtoms of a cold in a weeks time. I just have to remind myself its a bit of pain for alot of fun.

Ceramics Class

Isabel and I spent most of today at a fabulous cafe in Camberwell that allows you to paint your own ceramic item whilst relaxing with a cup of coffee and food. Both Isabel and I opted for mugs mine large and round hers tall and thin. tommorrow we get to see the finished fired product. Its great fun as you really don't know what you will get in the end. attached are some pics of the works in progress.

Grants Farewell on the Tramcar

Grant Kevin and I went on the Melbourne Tramcar Restaurant as a final fun goodbye for Grant before he departs for Auckland. It was a fun night with beautiful food and some funny happenings. Grant and Kevin decided the lady in the chair behind us looked like a pirate so had some laughs about that and we also had a sudden stop which caused some of the ladies in the rear to be covered in their drinks but overall everything went smoothly. I would recommend this experience to anyone atleast once.

Sunrise in St Kilda

Here is a photo of one of the many beautiful sunrises I see every morning as I leave for work. I also get to see some pretty nice sunsets but can never seem to get a good pick out the windows of the train.

Defining Melbourne

With the knowledge that I will soon be leaving Melbourne and returning back to Auckland I decided it would be nice to define what it is I love and hate about the city and try and take photos of some of my favourite icons. here are a few that I took today but there will be more to come.

Things I love & Hate (I leave it up to you to guess which are which):

Streets - Acland, Fitzroy, Lygon, Brunswick, Chapel, Smith
Yarra River and the daily rowers
Wogs (Italian, Lebanese, Macedonian, Greek, Croatian, Serbs) brought in great food
Milk Bars
Local Pubs
Footie, Melbourne Cup, Grand Prix, Tennis
Screaming Adverts for clearout sales
Hughsy, Rove, Burt Newton, Sam Newman
Expos and Exhibitions for everything and anything
Water Restrictions
Fed Square free entertainment
Bikers along Beach Road
Trains, Trams and Buses "Connex apologises for any inconvience caused"
Luna Park
Flinders Street Station
Graffiti and Stencil street art
Bath Showers
Walls with vents
Channel Ten, Nine msn, Yahoo Seven
Big Brother
Victoria Markets
Bonds
St Kilda Markets
Hot Air Ballooning

well thats a start anyway.

Christies Farewell

This Friday saw another fav soul from Whirlwind Leave. We farewelled Christie in great fashion with a general British theme. She arrived to an office full of union jack coloured balloons her queenly crown and so on. I will hopefully get the chance to catch up with her when I am in London in the next few months.

Superman vs Tristram Shandy : A cock and Bull Story

I have been to see 2 movies in the last three days and both were fantastic. The first was superman which started and ended with a bang. Great visuals, sounds and story. Only criticism would be the casting of Lois Lane as she was devoid of her usual edgy crossed with feminist kinda personality - this time she actually looked scared most of the time. Other than that I loved it the crystal caves in the arctic were incredible and I loved all the crazy shows of his strength from air land and sea. On the funny side Kitty (Parker Posie) hair styles are very amusing.

Tristram Shandy was also brilliant a great english romp on post modern film showing a movie at the simultaneous time of showing its filming and creation. My favourite part was the dialogue at the begginning and end that talks about the co stars teeth its stomach achingly funny.

would give both 5 stars and recommend seeing them.

Monicas 30th Birthday

Well another of my friends has now hit the big 30 and survived. only 22 months till its mine and not too worried. Monica organised a dinner to celebrate the occasion at a lovely Italian restaurant in Hardware Lane in Melbourne. It was a fun night over all but the highlight for me was my main meal of lamb shank which literally melted off the bone - I was in food heaven.

At work with no work

It is occurring to me how annoying working in an open plan environment is when you are completely out of work. It means you actually have to do a good job of acting like you are working whilst achieving nothing. My last desk space in the old office was great as my back faced a wall so in down time I could spend it on the internet researching my next trip.

I'm so excited... and I just can't hide it

I only have 11 weeks until I go now I paid the last of my trip off yesterday so its really happening now. I have no where near enough savings but will just have to live on crackers and vegemite.

Uncanny Similarities between life and movies

Have you ever sat in a movie cinema only to feel like the story unfolding on the screen was based on your life. Well I have and not just once. I remember in my late teens watching the three movies clerks/mallrats/chasing amy and thinking oh my god as My best friend was obsessed with comics I was working in a video store and most of my days were filled with pseudo-intellectual debates about unimportant topics.

Then in my twenties I watched the first Bridget Jones Diary film and almost cried it was so close. I had the pink fluffy PJs, lived alone, wrote diaries, was overweight, had a crush on a guy at work and even had the red heart cushions.

The latest was a movie called the breakup. The arguments they have are so similar at times to mine and Kevs its funny especially the one that began about the dishes and ended on ballet. Also the fact hat he spends too much time devoted to computer games.

Anyway thought I would put it out there. I have had more than this but these are the scariest.

Dereks Farewell

It seems that it is another spring cleaning time at Whirlwind when a mass group of staff go their merry way. In the coming weeks along with myself there is Christie, Cara, Cam, Rene and Derek all fav staff members. On friday I went to Derek and Rene's farewell at the Vic in Richmond. It was fun and we even had the token superman(dails son). However the highlight and now one of my favs is going for the vine wrapped minced beef rolls wrapped in asian mint and iceberg lettuce - at one of the many Vietnamese restaurants along Victoria Street. These are soooooooo good I can't believe it has taken me so long to discover them.

Only 12 weeks to go

Well I am finally getting excited now as it is within breathing distance until I go on my 4 month world tour. I have almost booked everything now so all I have to do is make it onto each plane on time. so from now on I will be making regular updates so by the time I leave I have this thing called bloggin sussed.