A Canuck in Europe! Part 1

I'm sure most of you know the story by now that Tim and I were lucky enough to have a winning bid on two return flights to London at a MUCH lower cost. We decided to make it a 3 week trip through Italy, Greece and England. Our first day was in London, we landed around 6:30 in the morning and our next flight was to Venice the following day around 1 in the afternoon so we decided to cram in the tourist sightseeing things that day. Obviously Tim had seen most of the sites and I had too when I was really young but I couldn't remember much and he hadn't done a few things so it was still fun! We started out at Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard (by coincidence, we didn't actually know what was going on!). Next, we were going to do the London Eye but instead went to Winston Churchill's War Rooms under the Parliament Buildings. It was a really well planned museum with lots to do and see. Tim loves all that war-stuff (like most guy I guess) and I actually found it really interesting. However I made the very un-wise decision of wearing boots with heels after getting swollen feet on the plane so I was in a LOT of pain by the end of the day. We went back to the room for a quick nap and then set out to the Comedy Store for a show. It was really funny and I recognized a few of the comedians from Whose Line is it Anyway which was cool! There was a golf match on that night, Dad/Michael/Niall help me out here, Europe versus the US? Anyway, it was a Sunday night and all the bars had to close early but a big group convinced one bar to stay open and let us all watch which was good since Europe won! We went back to the hotel after that and crashed, next stop Italy!

The past month in photos!

I haven't had much time to catch up the blog but here are some pictures I've taken since I've been back from my holiday at home. I'm back to being busy with homework at Uni and I got an internship at a media agency! So I am one busy bee at the moment, I will post anything exciting that comes up though! Let the pictures begin...

Chocolate chip banana bread made by yours truly! (second attempt...)

Skating rink on Bondi beach

Hanna made a friend while we picnicked by the beach

Rugby game - Go Rabbitohs!

Patzy in our law class - teacher brought her wig

Classmates - David and Shani

Got up at 5:30 am to watch Olympic opening ceremony! Go Canada!!

 Tim's birthday up the coast - Avoca Beach:

Alpaccas!

Mom - that's the billabong at the bottom!

Avoca Beach

The Brit's first time on skates!! Partially successful...

Out with the girls - Johanna, Hanna and Sophie

Photobooth with Hanna

 Our friends Jack and Nicola's engagement party!

Katie and I

The infamous Coca-Cola sign in Sydney's Kings Cross

Group shot!

The happy couple - Nicola and Jack

Better Late Than Never... Perth!

Whoops, just came back to add some pictures today and realized I've missed a lot! Sorry guys, here's a quick recap of my trip to Perth in May (yikes!). Tim took me to Perth for a long weekend away as my birthday present. I've never been anywhere on the west coast of Australia so I was excited to check that off my list! We mainly stayed in the city, it was warmer over there but still not hot yet. The first day we went to a beach that looked to be pretty close to another beach down the coast so we decided to walk down. It ended up taking AGES to walk and we were so tired by the end of it but it was gorgeous. We also went out to Swan Valley which is a big wine area, lots of vineyards and restaurants. We rented some bikes and stopped off at different ones to have tastings - the best way to do wine tours! There was this chocolate factory at the end too with free samples and ice cream, yum! On our last day we wanted to get the ferry over to this island called Rottnest Island that's supposed to be amazing but we ended up missing the last ferry! It wasn't bad news though we went to a bar that also brewed its own beer/cider and walked around Frematle, a really cool part of Perth. Perth is a cool city but I couldn't believe how quiet it was! Even on the weekend it wasn't busy at all which was weird. Overall a really nice weekend away though!

Scarborough Beach

Sun setting on our LONG walk

Breakfast in Fremantle

Super attractive - I'm a keeper!

Mmmm

Double Mmm!

21st Birthday Down Under!

Apparently in Australia, 21 is a big year. I'm not really sure why since they can drink and do everything else at 18 but I figured, when in Rome! I wasn't planning on really doing anything big for my birthday this year but after everyone told me about turning 21 being a big deal I had to do something. I got a group of my friends from University and some friends I've met through Tim as well as my roomates together to go out on the Friday before my birthday. We went to a bar called the Norfolk Hotel in Surry Hills which coincidentally also did five dollar tequila shots! Who knew.. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and it was good to get everyone together. My actual birthday was on a Tuesday which is when I have classes all day (economics followed by accounting, how fun!) but Tim took me out for dinner at my favourite sushi place in Coogee and surprised me with a trip to Perth in a couple of weeks! I haven't been anywhere on the west coast so I'm really looking forward to it. Plus, its starting to cool down a lot in Sydney as we head into winter so hopefully Perth will stay a little warmer! Here are some pictures from my 21st, they're from my phone so not the best quality!




Sophie and Hanna

Iphone flash is a little bright but thats Rachael and I

Johanna and her date, Tim and Matt

Birthday cupcake on the actual day



Sophie and I



Tasmania

Tim had some time off from work this past week so we decided to book a trip to Tasmania. We rented a campervan and drove around Tas for 6 days, 5 nights. It was such an amazing place, so different from other parts of Australia but still somewhat similar. Tasmania is considered Australia's weird cousin but it is definitely one of the most underrated places I've ever been too. We started off in Hobart, the largest city in Tasmania but still not really big enough to actually be considered a city. We stayed in a hotel here but before we could check in we drove down to Port Arthur which was a convict settlement originally (like a lot of Australia) and now is just a historical site for tours. It was raining but we managed to stay out of it for most of the time. After the tour we went back to Hobart for dinner and drinks.

Port Arthur

Hobart from Mt. Nelson

After Hobart we started to make our way up the east coast to Wineglass Bay, one of the most famous attractions in Tasmania. Basically any time you see a picture of Tasmania it shows this bay. We did a hike (read: completely all uphill) to the lookout over Wineglass Bay which was amazing. The water is so blue and the beaches are pure white. Definitely worth the walk. We camped out in our van, which we named Pedro, at a beach just north of Wineglass Bay called Friendly Beach. The next stop was Bay of Fires, further north along the east coast. It's a long stretch of beaches where we found another campsite to stay at for the night and we were directly on the beach with amazing views.

Wineglass Bay

Wallabies everywhere!

Strange sand, more like tiny white rocks

Sunset on Friendly Beach

  After Bay of Fires we drove for about five hours across to the west to Cradle Mountain. As we were getting closer we noticed snow on the ground which was so cool and different from the beaches we'd just left that morning. We decided to book a cabin for the night because sleeping in Pedro (the van) might have been a little too cold. We booked a night tour in Cradle Mountain to see nocturnal animals, we saw wallabies, wombats and possums in the wild then went to a conservation centre for Tasmanian Devils where we got to pet them and watch them being fed along with quolls. The next day we went for a hike around Dove Lake which is just under Cradle Mountain with amazing views. After the walk we headed to the second largest city, Launceston, for the night and our flight back the next day. Launceston is pretty quiet but we had a good time. It's built near a gorge so we stopped there when we first got there then went for dinner in town. We flew back to Sydney the next day, regrettably, we weren't ready to leave!

Our cabin at Cradle Mountain

Dove Lake