Farm Magic

Managed to capture this moment with my shit camera. Lamb outside, dishes done after a cuppa with family. Farm Magic.

Europe and UK Adjectives

So you (or me) dont get bored reading about EVERY SINGLE PLACE I went, I thought limiting myself to 3 words for each place which seemed more fun, and also a very thought-provoking way to remember experiencing these places.

1. London, England: unknown. overwhelming. nuts.


2. Paris, France: glamorous. exercise. neat


3. Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland: spellbinding. fresh. like NZ.


4. Avignon, France: touristy. walls. meh.


5. Barcelona, Spain: architecture. suspicious.


6. Nice, France: relaxing. homely. retire there.


7. Monaco, France: rich. glamour. boring.


8. Verona, Italy: boutique. scam.


9. Venice, Italy: maze. water. thunder.


10. Pisa, Italy: stopover. dirty.


11. Rome, Italy: in awe. unreal.


12. Vatican City: holy. artistic.


13. Ignomennessa [bad spelling], Greece: calming. little.


14. Sailing Boats, Ionian Sea: relaxing. sun. sleep.


15. Corfu, small fishing village, Greece: traditional, smelly


16. Mykonos, Greek Is: beautiful. blue/white. quad biking.


17. Athens, Greece: chaotic. historical.


18. Delft, Netherlands: bikes. relaxing.


19. Breda, Netherlands. family. modern. comfort.


20. Dinteloord, Netherlands. quaint. harbour. family roots.


21. Amsterdam, Netherlands. vibrant. young. pretty.


22. Berlin, Germany. alternative. exciting. spreadout.


23. Prague, Czech Republic. fairytale. touristy. cold.


24. Vienna, Austria. classical. gorgeous.


25. Munich, Germany. beer. Dachau, quiet sadness.


26. London, 2nd time. cozy. happening. chilled.


27. Dublin, Ireland. music. friendly. guinness.


28. Killarney, Ireland. 3:1. fun.


29. Kilkenny, Ireland. castle. cute. rain.


30. Cushendall, Northern Ireland. cold. annoying. out of the way.


31. Belfast, Northern Ireland. developing. friendly. edgy.


32. Edinburgh, Scotland. beautiful. big. Fringe festivities.


33. London, 3rd time. relaxed. cider. happy. friends.

So that just about sums it up! I covered a lot of ground within 3 months solid travelling. I was on a budget but I had the best time. The longest I spent in 1 place was 1 week (in Delft) so on average I was changing places every 2-3 days. I feel this is a HUGE achievement for me in my life as I got the courage to just go.

A picture of a picture

Road to Athens 2011 Highlights - Topdeck

After 3 days in London doing the usual touristy things, I was ready to embark on my epic Euro tour. Since this tour was go go go from the start, I did not get the chance to update my blog! Also because this tour was so epic, it is impossible to write about every bit of the tour, so this is a summary of the best/worst/interesting/historic places.

• Paris was the first port of call but I must say it has left an impression on me. I got one hell of a work out (walking from The Louvre to the Arch De Triumph to the Eiffel Tower, Metro to the Opera house and back to the Eiffel). We finished the day off with a picnic dinner and a very 'interesting' cabaret show.

• A highlight from the trip was quad biking around Mykonos in the Greek Islands. Finding little beaches, driving into oncoming traffic (driving on the right side of the road!), squeezing into the little stone walled roads and attempting to keep up with the other maniacs I was convoying with - was all part of the fun. The warmth of the Greek sunshine and the magnificent views made it a highlight for me. Awesome stuff!

• Best history place was Roma! I was in awe at practically everything. The maze of streets led to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum and the Colosseum. Hay now, this is what dreams are made of! It was sweaty and hot but it was worth it. I could imagine being a Roman whilst walking amongst the buildings and ruins.

• Best Beauty? Was Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. It had a magical feel to it. Misty waterfalls, lush greenery, snow capped mountains and faggots (perfectly stacked wood piles) everywhere. It was a great time too because it was when we where getting to know everyone on tour, it was lighthearted and fresh.

• Worst place. That would hands down be Pisa, Italy. Thank goodness it was a quick stop for a photograph at the leaning tower. There are sooo many souvenir shops, dodgy people and a generally questionable place. -Second worst would be the random arse fishing village we stopped at in Corfu on our 3 day sailing in the Ionian sea. It had haggard looking stray cats everywhere, an awful indescribable stench wafting and whole little octopuses for my dinner (I thought itd be calamari rings but no) haha.


• Unexpected cool place. Athens, Greece! Chaotic and historical. Going to dedicate a whole post to it - watch this space!

The 24 day tour was so massive and so epic that I could write essays on it. So to limit myself I have tried to pick out a few words to describe what each place was like :) Enjoy...

1. Paris, France: glamorous. exercise.


2. Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland: spellbinding. fresh. like NZ.


3. Avignon, France: touristy. walls. meh.


4. Barcelona, Spain: architecture. suspicious.


5. Nice, France: relaxing. homely. want to retire there.


6. Monaco, France: rich. glamour. boring.


7. Verona, Italy: boutique. scam.


8. Venice, Italy: maze. water. thunder.


9. Pisa, Italy: stopover. dirty.


10. Rome, Italy: in awe. unreal.


11. Vatican City: holy. artistic.


12. Ignomennessa [bad spelling], Greece: calming. little.


13. Sailing Boats, Ionian Sea: relaxing. sun. sleep.


14. Corfu, small fishing village, Greece: traditional, smelly


15. Athens, Greece: chaotic. historical.


16. Mykonos, Greek Is: beautiful. blue/white. quad biking.

I will no doubt come back and add to the list as I remember stuff . So that is the sum up of the crazy 24 day tour with an awesome group of peeps, from London to Greece.

Let the Euro Trip continue!

WOW Hard to upkeep a blog on the road

Hello!

Sitting in a Greek Cafe at 10.30pm and very sunburnt from 3 days of napping, eating, swimming and sunbathing. This travel blog is so hard to upkeep! Its all been go go go for the last 3 weeks. When I get off the group tour I may be able to update the blog a bit more. I have 4 days left on this amazing tour . So I better go as I am feeling very anti-social but I will upload a photo as a tie over. If you are friends on Facebook with me I have uploaded a few pics as well.

Cheers!

Dee

Me in the Roman Forum in Roma - 30 degree heat!

Dee's Adventure Maps

The plan of my journey.





Rough plan of my few months in Europe.

• From London to Spain,Italy and ending in Greece on Topdeck Tour (Road to Athens)

• Wwoofing in Italy in Naples and Tuscany


• To Netherlands to meet relatives and check out where the Verhaart Grandparents come from


• Back to UK and explore


• Melbourne city break


• Back to NZ

Cant wait!

x

Interesting Words of Advice

Watching the news today, Michelle Obama the first lady, said some amazing advice to young girls at Oxford University. Relationships between friends, family and lovers take up a lot of thinking time and it is nice to gain some insight from a highly distinguished women in our society. The following phrases are great pieces of advice;

" But the lesson, particularly I think for women, in this is, reach for partners that make you better, you know?  Do not bring people in your life who weigh you down.  And trust your instincts.

You know, good relationships feel good.  They feel right.  They don't hurt.  They’re not painful.  That's not just with somebody you want to marry, but it’s with the friends that you choose.  It’s with the people you surround yourselves with.  And that's just as important as the school that you choose.  Who’s in your life, and do you respect them, and do they respect you?  And are you respecting them.  Right? "

Love it.

Point A. Home

I was hmming and haaaing about where and when to start my travel blog posts and I realized there is so much to see at my home!

So I have decided to start at point A on the map. My home for the last 20 years (we have never moved!).

I have to show you my room as it is my girly space. Every morning the sun shines through my bright yellow curtains and lights up the room and as my mother comments, ‘It's like being dropped into a big pool of custard!.’

Our beautiful home is the pride and joy of the family. We have lived in it for 20 years and is so inviting and warm to everyone. My friends used to comment how homely it was and that they felt comfortable there. Positive feng shui people!

..and this is where I start my travels. Point A.

Travel Quotes

• 'The trick is not to rid your stomach of butterflies, but to make them fly in formation' - Pacific Crest Outward Bound School, Book of Readings

• 'I like the feeling when I'm travelling that I am responsible only for myself and my few possessions. In some ways I am in complete control of everything I do. In other ways, I have no choice but to surrender myself to the hands of the fates. The blending of these two states is romantic, enchanting, intoxicating' - Laurie Armstrong, vice president, San Fransisco Convention and Visitors Bureau

• 'When was the last time you did something for the first time?'

• 'A traveller not a tourist - Serenity not loneliness'

Unknown Gem Cuba Street, Wellington - Dance Studio

Unknown gem on Cuba st, Wellington, NZ. Dance Studio 

My haven for doing adult ballet classes throughout University. It was situated halfway up Cuba St and just oozed character. You could just imagine the many years the room had been used to rehearse productions and ready the young for their ballet exams. The ceiling was leaking occasionally so we had to dance around the buckets, there were to beautiful and big disintegrating paintings in the room that depicted dance scenes and inspired you to dance better just by looking at them.

Enjoy..xx