I've spent a fair few hours on buses and planes over the last few days... and I got to thinking...
Travelling makes you realise a few things.... here's 10 of my most very random thoughts....
1. You never need as many clothes as you think you do
2. Every place you visit is unique and has its own 'on of a kind!'
3. When you look at a map, Australia really is at the end of the world :)
4. It's very hard to get 'proper lost' (as the English would say)
5. Mental maths is a very good thing (especially for currency conversion)
6. Everything costs more than you bargained for, even if you tried bargaining
7. Even if you think you can't, you most definitely can
8. When you are travelling you will do, say and wear things that you most definitely would not at home - and if you do it overseas you may as well just do it at home too. In the end, who cares?!!?!? (watch out for me when I get back.... !)
9. People are the same everywhere and 98% of them are really friendly
10. Everywhere you go there is a fantastic mountain to climb!
There's plenty more randomness to add here but that's my list for today.
Now.... off to make sure I don't get proper lost in the massiveness that is Dubai International Airport! Better check on me in a few days to see if I made it to South Africa :)
Have a great day everyone!!
xxx
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Who woulda thunk it?
Hello all,
Guess what? I have VERY big news! I have actually caught up on my blog. That is quite an achievement. I'm super pleased! It kinda feels like I've done all of my homework. Or like I've fully cleaned up my room. Or fully cleaned up my room, car and house. In a way it's the same kind of rush as completing programs for school. Good stuff!!
I hope you enjoy all of my hard work :) :) :) :)
Have a fabulous day and week,
God bless always,
Love Sarah xxx
p.s Now I just have to catch up on my diary..... I'm over a week behind.... ARRAGAHHARHAHA!
Guess what? I have VERY big news! I have actually caught up on my blog. That is quite an achievement. I'm super pleased! It kinda feels like I've done all of my homework. Or like I've fully cleaned up my room. Or fully cleaned up my room, car and house. In a way it's the same kind of rush as completing programs for school. Good stuff!!
I hope you enjoy all of my hard work :) :) :) :)
Have a fabulous day and week,
God bless always,
Love Sarah xxx
p.s Now I just have to catch up on my diary..... I'm over a week behind.... ARRAGAHHARHAHA!
Paris to Edinburgh, the end of a journey
We left Paris on the Eurostar which took us to London so we could catch an overnight bus to Edinburgh. The Eurostar travels through the English Channel and surprisingly there was no fanfare at all. Just a tunnel that was very black. I tried to take a picture and all I got was my reflection :)
Arriving in Edinburgh, after a very long night :) Quick stop at hostel to 1. dump bags 2. eat 3. shower 4. figure out a plan of fringe attack before heading out. The Fringe Festival dominated the streets - the Royal Mile was chock-a-block full of performers, street entertainers and people passing out cards to encourage you to attend their show/s. So much to do! So little time!
A VERY clever magician we saw. Somehow he managed to get a five pound note inside a lemon. A little girl in the crowd had drawn a face on the note so unless she was involved somehow, he was pretty magical!
It wouldn't be Scotland without bagpipes, now would it?!!?
We visited Room 65, which is a Christian Church that is doing outreach work during the Fringe Festival. They offer free coffee and live music, was fantastic!
Haggis balls. So good! Haggis is way, way, way better than I expected. I don't understand why it has such a bad reputation....
Enjoying our haggis a lot!
Playing with fire; the street performers go until late!
All ready for a little hike to Arthur's Seat which overlooks Edinburgh
Arthur's Seat - conquered!
Some street entertainers I listened to for a while
Grabbing a cider before watching some free fringe comedy
Haggis nachos - not bad at all!
The magnificent military bands
The band forming the cross of the Scottish flag
My bus out of Edinburgh.... the start of a very long journey to Burmingham complete with lots of delays. This marked the end of my trip with Mel and what a trip it was! So many amazing sights and so many incredible experiences. What a blessing!
Mel, thank you so much for your company, it was a blast! God's blessings on all 'home' brings xxx
Couldn't resist....
Another movie just for fun and also just in case you like bagpipes as much as I do.... heee heee
The City of Love and Lights
This one speaks for herself :)
Paris is a beautiful city. It has such a welcoming atmosphere. There are so many gorgeous side walk cafes and plenty of quaint streets that are perfect for wandering in. Mel and I had a marvellous few days seeing the sights at a fairly relaxed pace. As I look through my photos, I've realised that I didn't really take many 'people' shots, so it's mostly scenery/buildings etc this time. Enjoy!
Locks of love - found on bridges all over Paris - if you're with someone you love in Paris go and buy a lock, write your names on it, lock it to a bridge and throw the key into the Seine. Result = your love will be locked together forever :)
The Arc de Triomphe - the light wasn't the best for photos at this time of day, unfortunately
The Moulin Rouge - tickets sell out apparently, which is absolutely crazy because the cheapest ticket comes in at a measly $300!!!
The tower that we all go to Paris to visit
Climbing up to the second level. Boy, there were a lot of stairs! The view was fabulous though :)
Us on the second level
Just another perspective
The Louvre - the most MASSIVE museum I have ever seen. We spent nearly 5 hours there and we only just touched the surface. There are 35,000 pieces of art in these buildings... impossible to take in during one visit
Crowds in front of the Mona Lisa - this is quiet apparently :)
The golden gates of Versailles - which cost about 9 million euros, only, might install some at 6 Birch Avenue...
The gates aren't very long, considering their value
The beautiful gardens of Versaille, with the Palace in the background
A music and water show - it was incredible!
More beautiful fountains
On Saturday evening we went on a bike tour of Paris, which was loads of fun! Fletcher, our guide, showed us many cool areas of Paris that we hadn't yet explored. As a huge bonus, our tour included a boat cruise on the Seine, with complimentary wine :) This cruise was fantastic because we saw the whole city light up. A magical experience
The church of Notre Dame
Looking down the river
All lit up Saturday, August 21, 2010
Morocco shows us its magic
Hello again,
Barcelona - tick, Madrid - tick, catch a plane and have backpack come in under 20 kg - tick, arrive in Morocco - tick, be greeted by intense heat - tick, get through passport control quickly and easily - tick, start chowing down on fruit so you don't get in trouble at customs - tick, find that customs has disappeared due to the fact the customs officer saw one of his mates - tick, bring fruit into Morocco?!?!? - tick, have a transfer from the airport to the hotel making life incredibly easy - tick, stay in a hotel and not a hostel?!? - what? - did you say hotel? - tick!
Arriving in Morocco was a delightful experience! After spending months on the road, arriving in new places and then beginning the search for our accommodation, it was pretty special to have a transfer from the airport and even more extra, extra special to be staying in a hotel. That was amazing. I did feel a little out of place at first - especially considering I had smelly clothes on and my big, dirty hiking boots :) Saying that though, it was absolute bliss to have our own bathroom and fresh, comfortable beds.
We had THE BEST TIME in Morocco. It was such a contrast to all of the other countries we'd visited - especially considering that the country is so strictly Muslim. This meant that, despite the heat, we did have to cover up. For me this meant t-shirts, long pants and hiking boots. Boy, was that hot! Especially considering that the temperature was above 40 degrees every day. On the second day we were there it even hit 48 degrees. Yes, you did read that right - 48 degrees! Nuts! I felt every thread in my clothes warming me up :)
During our stay we explored the souks (markets), saw snake charmers, monkey tamers and turtles everywhere, went on a 4WD trip to the Atlas mountains, saw a Berber village (the indigenous people are the Berbers) and generally experienced as much of the Moroccan life as we could. A real eye-opener!
Enjoy the photos - it's quite a story!
Love Sarah xxx
Walking off the plane - the heat engulfed us
Our 'Welcome to Morocco' drink at the hotel. This was our first experience of real Moroccan mint tea, it was so delicious!
The alley ways of Marrakech - they form quite the maze! (We didn't get lost though!!)
The terracotta buildings everywhere - all of the buildings are this colour - it was really cool to see the blocks of terracotta from the air as we were flying in
The souks - full of jewellery, scarves, bags, clothes, spices, nuts, oils, food & drink and lots of trinkets
"Come into my store and I will show you some magic clothes!" This gentleman was very eager to show two Aussie tourists his magic clothes. "They are magic!" he said. Intrigued, I went in. These clothes magically made me look hilarious!
"You look so Moroccan! Beautiful! You can have them for 600 dirham!" Yea right! That's $120
A gorgeous little turtle - we saw these all through the souks - a whole bunch of turtles in a box. Moroccans must keep them as pets. I can see why! They are so, so cute
Soccer - you can even play it in an alley! Just goes to show what you can do when you're willing to try
Snake charmers - pretty insane to watch!
Cactus fruit, or prickly pear as it is known here. Quite an interesting taste. It had lots of pips inside
Enjoying Moroccan mint tea.... we loved it!
Overlooking a part of the souks at night. This was before it got busy - when it's busy you can barely see the bitumen between all of the people
Fishing for soft drinks. If you catch one - by putting a little ring over the top of the bottle - it's yours to keep. I really loved this, especially considering there were so many people, mostly men, playing for soft drinks - in Australia it would have to be beer for people to get involved....
A gentleman selling spice cakes and tea. The tea was really strong - cinnamon and ginger. It surprised me how much I enjoyed it! (Sharene, are you amazed?!)
On our trip towards the Atlas mountains. Mel's clothes were perfectly matched to the Moroccan landscape :)
A Berber village
Learning how to make mint tea in a Berber village. We were horrified to realise that the tea is made with HUGE amounts of sugar beet - I reckon the equivalent of 8 tablespoons is put into one tea pot.... unbelievable!
DONKEYS!!!! We saw heaps of people travelling on donkeys and using donkeys to transport their goods. Our guide called them Berber 4x4 :) We also saw a donkey park close to one of the local markets - instead of a car park! A huge hill choc-a-block full of donkeys. Pretty unreal to see
A Berber house
Tagine - our delicious lunch of vegetables and meat (underneath), flavoured with plenty of Moroccan spices
A view over a village - it almost blends into the hillside
A pretty spectacular view
Camels :) Mel and I had a camel ride; was lots of fun! They are pretty bumpy and it's quite tough at times to maintain your balance, especially when taking photos :)
Up close to a friendly camel
Nicely in a row
View from the top!
Taken by our camel guide - he had a few tries before he managed to take one with our whole head in the photo :)
The Moroccan flag - red background with a green star (it's a bit tricky to see....)
A view over the roof tops
Arabic - I would never be able to read it
A little glimpse into the crazy drivers of Morocco
Our dinner from stall 117 at the markets...
Muslims heeding the call to prayer
Mel and I with Rachid and Hicham, two friendly Moroccan guys who took us around the souks for a bit and then shouted us a drink at a terrace overlooking all of the souk action! So nice of them. A drink = a soft drink, very few alcoholic beverages are consumed here 
Our hotel - aptly named :)
Barcelona - tick, Madrid - tick, catch a plane and have backpack come in under 20 kg - tick, arrive in Morocco - tick, be greeted by intense heat - tick, get through passport control quickly and easily - tick, start chowing down on fruit so you don't get in trouble at customs - tick, find that customs has disappeared due to the fact the customs officer saw one of his mates - tick, bring fruit into Morocco?!?!? - tick, have a transfer from the airport to the hotel making life incredibly easy - tick, stay in a hotel and not a hostel?!? - what? - did you say hotel? - tick!
Arriving in Morocco was a delightful experience! After spending months on the road, arriving in new places and then beginning the search for our accommodation, it was pretty special to have a transfer from the airport and even more extra, extra special to be staying in a hotel. That was amazing. I did feel a little out of place at first - especially considering I had smelly clothes on and my big, dirty hiking boots :) Saying that though, it was absolute bliss to have our own bathroom and fresh, comfortable beds.
We had THE BEST TIME in Morocco. It was such a contrast to all of the other countries we'd visited - especially considering that the country is so strictly Muslim. This meant that, despite the heat, we did have to cover up. For me this meant t-shirts, long pants and hiking boots. Boy, was that hot! Especially considering that the temperature was above 40 degrees every day. On the second day we were there it even hit 48 degrees. Yes, you did read that right - 48 degrees! Nuts! I felt every thread in my clothes warming me up :)
During our stay we explored the souks (markets), saw snake charmers, monkey tamers and turtles everywhere, went on a 4WD trip to the Atlas mountains, saw a Berber village (the indigenous people are the Berbers) and generally experienced as much of the Moroccan life as we could. A real eye-opener!
Enjoy the photos - it's quite a story!
Love Sarah xxx
Walking off the plane - the heat engulfed us
Our 'Welcome to Morocco' drink at the hotel. This was our first experience of real Moroccan mint tea, it was so delicious!
The alley ways of Marrakech - they form quite the maze! (We didn't get lost though!!) 
The terracotta buildings everywhere - all of the buildings are this colour - it was really cool to see the blocks of terracotta from the air as we were flying in 
The souks - full of jewellery, scarves, bags, clothes, spices, nuts, oils, food & drink and lots of trinkets
"Come into my store and I will show you some magic clothes!" This gentleman was very eager to show two Aussie tourists his magic clothes. "They are magic!" he said. Intrigued, I went in. These clothes magically made me look hilarious! 
"You look so Moroccan! Beautiful! You can have them for 600 dirham!" Yea right! That's $120 1. I would never wear them 2. They don't fit in my backpack 3. 600 dirham? What a joke!
Well worth it for a few photos and a good giggle though :)
A gorgeous little turtle - we saw these all through the souks - a whole bunch of turtles in a box. Moroccans must keep them as pets. I can see why! They are so, so cute
Soccer - you can even play it in an alley! Just goes to show what you can do when you're willing to try
Snake charmers - pretty insane to watch!
Cactus fruit, or prickly pear as it is known here. Quite an interesting taste. It had lots of pips inside
Enjoying Moroccan mint tea.... we loved it!
Overlooking a part of the souks at night. This was before it got busy - when it's busy you can barely see the bitumen between all of the people
Fishing for soft drinks. If you catch one - by putting a little ring over the top of the bottle - it's yours to keep. I really loved this, especially considering there were so many people, mostly men, playing for soft drinks - in Australia it would have to be beer for people to get involved....
A gentleman selling spice cakes and tea. The tea was really strong - cinnamon and ginger. It surprised me how much I enjoyed it! (Sharene, are you amazed?!)
On our trip towards the Atlas mountains. Mel's clothes were perfectly matched to the Moroccan landscape :)
A Berber village
Learning how to make mint tea in a Berber village. We were horrified to realise that the tea is made with HUGE amounts of sugar beet - I reckon the equivalent of 8 tablespoons is put into one tea pot.... unbelievable! 
DONKEYS!!!! We saw heaps of people travelling on donkeys and using donkeys to transport their goods. Our guide called them Berber 4x4 :) We also saw a donkey park close to one of the local markets - instead of a car park! A huge hill choc-a-block full of donkeys. Pretty unreal to see
A Berber house
Tagine - our delicious lunch of vegetables and meat (underneath), flavoured with plenty of Moroccan spices
A view over a village - it almost blends into the hillside
A pretty spectacular view
Camels :) Mel and I had a camel ride; was lots of fun! They are pretty bumpy and it's quite tough at times to maintain your balance, especially when taking photos :)
Up close to a friendly camel
Nicely in a row
View from the top! 
Taken by our camel guide - he had a few tries before he managed to take one with our whole head in the photo :)
The Moroccan flag - red background with a green star (it's a bit tricky to see....) 
A view over the roof tops
Arabic - I would never be able to read it
A little glimpse into the crazy drivers of Morocco
Our dinner from stall 117 at the markets...
Muslims heeding the call to prayer
Mel and I with Rachid and Hicham, two friendly Moroccan guys who took us around the souks for a bit and then shouted us a drink at a terrace overlooking all of the souk action! So nice of them. A drink = a soft drink, very few alcoholic beverages are consumed here 
Our hotel - aptly named :)
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