Skype sessions

just skyped these lovely creatures ♥

and worked out where the snapshot photos get saved. beware skypers. i will secretly snapshotting our conversations from now on :-)

down the mountain

i think the best way to describe the way i am thinking right now would be that of metaphorically climbing a really big mountain. i came here with the intention of getting to the first big peak and being satisfied and then going back down. but just recently, i made it all the way to the top and now i have to get down.
i dont think that climbing down will be any easier, but maybe it will be easier and maybe it will go by faster.
i'm on my way down and my family and friends are waiting for me down the bottom. and so is the life i left behind.

i cannot wait to have my car again. i cant wait til i can drive around listening to triple j, knowing the roads and having a ten minute errand actually take ten minutes instead of an hour waiting for / on public transport. i cant wait for the relief of knowing i dont have to rely on public transport. i'm even looking forward to those days where motivation comes out of nowhere and before you know it, you've got the car radio on, the windows down and you're cleaning the car as if you're detailing it to be sold.

i cannot wait to be sitting at a cafe by the beach, watching the ocean and having coffee catch ups with friends.
i cannot wait for those rare, random nights when neither my parents, sisters or i have anything planned and it turns into a night of thai take out and a movie marathon.
i cannot wait to visit the local green grocer where you know that your produce is locally grown and will last longer. i cant wait until i decide to go shopping on a weekday night and the shops arent swimming with hundreds of people doing their shopping as well and stopping in the middle of aisles so no one can get past!! (i'm not even exaggerating. grocery shopping here stresses me out)

i cant wait for long sushi rolls and wasabi that actually has a kick to it, tim tams, kraft crunchy peanut butter, strawberry oak, gloria jeans iced chocolate, aree's pad thai, mum's pea and ham soup, cold rock, the large selection of good/real yoghurt, special k advantage, iced coffee, noodle paradise and frozen yoghurt.

i miss my amazing couch and my dvd collection.

i miss you australia. i'll be home before you know it. x

I'm feeling a tad nostalgic tonight...

... Even though I'm sitting here working out how much I should be able to save for my trip around Europe next year, I'm still caught up in missing home and looking at the photos of the weeks leading up to my departure and the headspace I was in at the time.

I tried to cram in as much as I possibly could with as many friends as I possibly could. I had something on every weekend. It was great, but it just made it that tiny bit harder to say goodbye to everyone.

About a week or two before I left, I had a pretty amazing day with some pretty amazing ladies.
Bel, Ali, Jacie and I packed a picnic on what turned out to be a gorgeous and warm Winter day and caught the ferry to Dangar Island. We didnt walk all that far until we found a nice grassy patch by the water. It was pretty much someone's yard but we sat there anyway and ate goodies from Harris Farm Market and listened to Phoenix. We ate until we were all sporting food babies and we drank sparkling wine out plastic cups.
My lovely wifey Bel took a photo of herself (below) for me so that when I missed her, I could look at that photo of her (and yes Bel, I do look at that photo when I miss you, along with many others :)).
The day was nothing less than perfect.

of all the things i miss the most...

More than anything, I miss my Mum and Dad. These two are the most amazing parents I could ever ask for. They let my sisters and I get away with so much and still love us at the end of the day, no matter what.
I have by no means been an angel or a star daughter. I've done things that I am not proud of... so many things...
Its funny how I came over here for some sort of independance but guaranteed, most of my actions, I wonder what my parents would think of the choices I am making. I know they are proud of me and the guts it took to leave my life back home that I had spend 24 of my years building for myself.
I miss quiet weekends at home when we'd sit around watching movies and Mum would sit at my feet while I played with her hair and I miss Friday afternoons when I'd sit and have a beer with Dad and we'd stay up until it got too cold or the mozzies would start to bite.
I miss when I'd have friends over and they would sit up talking to all of us.
I just miss being around them.

I love you Mum and Dad...

One year anniversary

Happy anniversary London!
Its been a year since I arrived here in the UK. I cant decide whether it has gone by quickly or not. The years seem to go by faster and faster these days anyway so I dont know that its gone any faster than the last 3 years since it feels like last week that I was 22.
I must say though, in this one year, so much has happened!

I've lived in 4 rooms in 3 different houses and next week it will be 5 rooms. Next week I will also have had 56 roommates.

I've prosted at Oktoberfest, hopped around the Greek Islands, celebrated St Paddy's Day in Dublin and Queens Day in Amsterdam and just recently sailed around the Dalmatia Coast of Croatia.

I've done event staff work for weddings and served high tea at 5 star hotels. I've been a movie extra and I've worked my ass off on minimum wage as a bartender at a sports bar. I've worked in the finance department of a medical college and I've worked for a law firm who were working on a case for a German submarine company. And now I work in an office inside an airplane hangar at Heathrow airport.

I've laughed and I've cried, been certain and uncertain. I've eaten way more chocolate, Ben & Jerry's and curries than I would in any other year and I think I've tried most of the cider flavours out there.

There were times when I thought I could quite happily stay here forever, times when I didnt miss home at all... But I'm ready for the next 365 days and everything that will happen between today and the day I fly into Kingsford Smith Airport. I'm ready to see my friends and family and I'm ready for Australia - after I conquer Europe :)

my latest addiction

ebay.

I used to be all about the 'Buy It Now' options coz I couldnt be arsed with bidding, but lately I've been getting a thrill from going to war with others over items of clothing. I havent done too badly either if I dont say so myself! 3 tops, a cardigan and a jumper and if you take away the postage costs, it hasnt even cost me £10. Winner!

Pučisca and Split

It was a chilled day sailing along and arriving in Pučisca. Its a small island so there wasnt all that much to do.
Tanya and I walked around the town and went for a swim down at the beach and then went back to the boat to laze around in the afternoon sun before getting changed into our sailor / pirate outfits for the captains dinner.

Our captain, Zoran, and the cook had prepared dinner for us on this night. As we finished our dinner and sat with our wines, he told us the story of Delia (our boat) in Croatian and Ivan, our sailor, translated it to english for us.

Half of the people on the boat went to the only bar in town while the other half of us stayed on the boat. Some of the remainder, including myself, took our party to the upper deck where we belted out power ballads until the noise curfew and then joined everyone else downstairs where a few more drinks were consumed before going to bed.

We had a late departure and sailed to nearby Omis where we stayed for 3 hours. I didnt get off the boat to explore. I fell asleep while reading at the back of the boat and by the time I woke up, it was nearly lunch/departure time.
We departed from the port for the last time and sailed back into Split.

Most people went their own separate ways for dinner and then met back on the boat to setlle our bar tabs, pack our bags and then spend our final happy and night out together.
It was this night when I learnt a drinking game that should be played by all when you're trying to get everyone to hurry up and finish their drinks before going out. Half of the group is 'Roxanne' and the other half is 'red light'. Play the song and everyone takes a drink when their part is sung. Quick and effective!
We went out for cocktails and only a few people stayed out. The bar we were at got kind of boring so we ventured back to the boat where Hayley, Tanya and I fell asleep under the stars.

The next morning we had our final breakfast and said our goodbyes.
The girls and I had some time before we could check in to our apartment so we dropped our bags off and explored the street markets and Diocletians Palace again and then checked in and rested in the comfort of airconditioning. The temperature was sitting aroun 37 degrees outside.

We caught up with a few people from the boat for dinner and had a final drink on the Riva with some of the friends we had made. I wish I had more energy to take full advantage of the live music and activities on down at the Riva, but I know I'll go back one day :)

Pučisca beach

Captains dinner

Power ballads action shot

The back of Diocletians Palace, Split

The Riva at night, Split

Makarska

Today was an exciting day. Makarska was the place where we were to receive our bags, finally!
It was such a hot day. The swim stop was a little longer this time which was very welcome.
We got to the mainland and had a browse around the markets. Of course these markets were overflowing with all sorts of dresses, board shorts, bikini's and towels - all the stuff we could have had in one general area for the past 5 days to make a few necessary purchases.
We werent at the markets for long though. The girls were all tired and still recovering from the night before so they headed back to the boat for a nap and I followed not long afterward, but I took to the upper deck to read in the sun before sitting at the back of the boat to watch and wait to look for any vehicle that looked like it might be delivering our bags.
The hours wore on a little and I was beginning to lose all hope of getting our bags, but just after 5pm, our sailor Ivan came and found us to tell us they were 15 minutes away. I've never been so happy to see that backpack.

For dinner we all went to the supermarket to get some cheap drinks and got some take away from the beachside to have for dinner as we all set and watched the sunset.
We went back to the boat for happy hour and I changed my clothes because I could :) and then we went to the 'rave in a cave'. It was a cave that had been transformed into a nightclub and you could walk along the outside of it along the water. You could go for a dip too, if you wanted to brave the sea urchins. It was lit well enough to avoid them though since they were mainly on the rocks.

While I was waiting for the girls at the front of the club, a couple of locals were drinking out of a goon sack before going inside. Ah, goon....

Korčula

The next day I woke up a little shady and possibly a little still drunk. However, it wasnt a bad hangover.
As the morning wore on, the sea got choppier and it wasnt long til I was feeling sick. During the first course at lunch I was violently ill and had to retire to bed for a few hours. It did a world of good though and it was long before we got to Korčula.
For those who dont know, Korčula is the apparent birthplace of Marco Polo, but this has never been proved. However, this doesnt stop the island from naming every hotel, restaurant, bar and gift store after him!

We walked around the town and browsed the shops before finding a restaurant along the water to have dinner. I got a pizza with... wait for it.... sour cream on top!! WIN! (I love sour cream).
After dinner, we all went for sunset cocktails on the top of a turret! You had to climb a ladder one-by-one to get up and the drinks were made downstairs and then sent up via a pulley system! We only stayed for one drink though. Too many cocktails and backing down a ladder isnt really the best mix!

We headed back to the boat for a more tame happy hour as everyone was still pretty wrecked from our efforts in Dubrovnik.
Half of the boat still headed out. including the four of us girls since it was Tanya's birthday.
The bar had a pole which a few people tried their efforts on. After a cocktail or two, more people were more game to give it a go. I dodged the oppurtunity at the right time. I went to the ladies room and when I came out, I realised that the pole was filmed on CCTV and projected out onto the wall outside for everyone to have a laugh at!

The girls and I ended up staying at the bar until it closed, mingled with the locals and decided this was another place we'll have to come back and visit.

Dubrovnik

I've got so much time for Dubrovnik. But like all of our stops, we just had the afternoon / night there so its somewhere that I want to visit again before I go back home to Australia.

We visited the war museum first. Its not like those museums with artifacts and loads of information to read about. It was more like a photography exhibition with a small blurb about each of the photos and what was happening / had just happened in each of them. Not gonna lie, I got a bit choked up and cried a little while looking at some photographs in the books. It was a different kind of surreal than that of my previous visits to Dachau. Perhaps because the Yugoslav wars were so recent and I have met people who were affected.
Its prompted me to learn more about the wars in that area before I visit places like Bosnia and Serbia.

After the museum we went for a walk along the Dubrovnik wall. It wasnt really busy which, can I tell you, is such a great novelty in a touristy area, especially when you live in London where its never quiet. Seriously. Even grocery shopping is such an effing chore.
Anyway!! The landscape was amazing and the water was so clear that you could see the bottom from the top of the wall in some areas.
Along the way is a cold drink stop where people are able to jump into the Adriatic for a cool-off swim. It was a pretty amazing sight.

That night we had happy hour on the boat before dinner. Things got a little wild. I think there was about 3 bottles of alcohol bought from the bar that were shotted and completed within the space of an hour by all of us. Add "I'm on a boat" at maximum volume and you had a pretty rowdy boat full of 20-somethings. We caught the bus into town caught the attention of locals and tourists when we did a group plank on some stairs in one of the main plaza-like areas. At least 15 people had stopped to take a photo of us being idiots.
After dinner we went to a bar where we all cocktails served in sandbuckets... they were free-poured as well. By the time we'd all had one to two buckets each, we moved to a nighclub which is built within the Dubrovnik wall.
Hayley and I left at some point of the early morning and began walking the complete opposite way to where the boat was. On the way back we ran into two of the Canadian's from our boat which made for a pretty humourous walk home to the boat as Pat voiced his constant complaints about how long the walk was taking.

Mjlet

Mjlet is an island which is mostly national park, so upon arriving we went for a walk and then caught a boat to a really tiny island within the national park to have a look at the monarstry there and have a swim in the turquoise water.

The captain and his crew cooked us an epic BBQ for dinner as there wasnt really anywhere on the island to go for a feed. We stuffed our faces and watched the sun set over the horizon. It had the potential to be a quiet night but we all still managed to put a couple of drinks away and pull out some drinking games.

Hvar

My new home for the next 7 nights was onboard a boat called Delia and just after 1:00pm we departed Split and sailed along to the island of Hvar.
We had our first 3 course lunch as we started our journey and went to soak up some of the sunshine on the upper deck afterward before approaching our first swim stop.
I sat the first swim stop out. I wasnt the only one so that was okay. The clouds had come over and the temperature dropped a little. I didnt have a towel and without the sun, the drip dry option probably wouldnt have been the best option when we were so close to Hvar already.

The girls and I went for a bit of a shop to get some clothes for the next few days. The only clothing store close to the boat and where we were going for dinner was a hippy shop so I stocked up on a dress, kaftan, top and fisherman trousers. Stylin.

I had some pretty amazing grilled calamari for dinner, accompanied with half a litre of white wine to get warmed up for our first happy hour.
The saloon where we had our breakfasts and lunches on the boat transformed into a disco as we all danced around, sipped on party cocktails and played limbo with gigantic straws.

We headed out to Kiva Bar for some free shots - one of which ended up on the back of my dress and unluckily for me, it wasnt a clear shot. I'm pretty sure there was black sambucca in it so it was dark and sticky. The bar was crammed, my top was covered in liqour and while sitting at the top of the stairs I saw about 3 girls squatting in plain sight taking a leak. Classy! I think the full frontal vag shot was the cherry on the cake for me to call it a night. Besides, it wasnt going to be the only night we went out!

Split

Its been a week since I got back from Croatia so I figured its about time I wrote about it in here. Apart from the baggage delay for half of the holiday (thanks austrian airlines), it was a pretty epic holiday and such an amazing place to visit. I definitely recommend it.

Tanya, Tash and I flew in to Split in the afternoon and met Hayley down at the harbour who had flown in that morning and we spent the dusk hours walking along the Riva, finding a nice waterside restaurant for dinner and exploring Diocletian's Palace by night.

I spent my time looking for my 'lol tuesday' today since I feel like I'm coming down off of a drug called 'Croatia'.