tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34871798271990276042024-02-19T06:31:57.108+00:00Warn The Town, The Beast Is Loosea lot about nothinggodzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-73423535904800111542022-12-28T21:31:00.004+00:002022-12-28T21:31:56.375+00:00End of year roundupI thought I had an entire year to update on, but I forgot I did a post back in July - to be honest not much has changed since then. It's currently 10am on one of the most beautiful weather days we have had in ages, but I can't enjoy it fully as I'm laid up with a sore throat, achey body and cough - annoying timing! I've been beating my body the last few months so I guess it's to be expected - my first proper break in a long time and my body's like nah- enforced rest, lie in bed all day. So where did we last get to...<div> <div>I went back home for August, which was an....interesting....experience. I never quite feel like I belong now - the UK doesn't feel like home, but it used to be home, so it's not like a holiday because you're stepping back into a life you used to live but it's moved on without you, just as you've moved on without it. It costs so much money and takes so much time to go back that it should be a holiday, but it just isn't - there's nothing new and exciting to experience, and you're imposing yourself on someone's daily life and they're not on holiday, so there's a disconnect. My main takeaway from the time away was if I go back next time, I need to try make it more into a holiday, not stay with family or friends for an extended period, and that New Zealand and the life I have built here definitely feels home now. </div><div>We spent the first week back catching up with cousins I haven't seen since they were little kids, away in Gloucester for my birthday, then I headed to Suffolk to see Amy Cesca and Sepha which was wonderful if a little overwhelming being the only child free single person, then off to Bristol (and randomly Tenby!) to catch up with Bex Mark and Lisa. </div><div><br /></div><div>I headed back to New Zealand and to be honest I haven't done anything that exciting since, mostly because the trip back took up a lot of money and annual leave leaving me a bit restricted for time and money back here. </div><div><br /></div><div>I managed a long weekend away in Nelson staying with Shanyn and Gina where my biking improved dramatically - we rode every day and they were so encouraging/bullying and made me go down stuff that I've been scared of for ages - steep corners!! And something just clicked, I now can do stuff I would usually walk down and it's made me so happy!! The last few months have been filled with biking and biking buddies - I've been biking at Wanaka, Mt Hutt, Hanmer, Nelson, Craigieburn and new tracks in the Port Hills - it's been pretty epic and my fitness and technical skills have improved a lot. It's made me realise so much of it is in my head - I'm scared of the possibility of falling (not actually falling, as I still haven't had a big big crash! Closest I got was in Halswell with Topher and I slipped down a bank and came off). I've got a nice biking crew now which is nice, though it's often me driving the trips which makes me feel like a nag - it would be great to have more friends who are organisers! Strava does a reminder thing and it reminded me that in Oct 22 I went riding at Halswell with Emily and got very scared and didn't even like going round flat corners - the ride was 1.6km and I was shattered, and on that day it reminded me, I had just gone down a technical blue at the bike park and the ride was 22km - a bloody great improvement if you ask me. </div><div><br /></div><div>I went snowboarding a little bit when I got back to NZ too, and something clicked with that as well and I finally felt confident and semi competent - I even went up to the top of Mt Hutt at my suggestion and came down the blues to get to the bottom. Sadly the Hutt price has gone up loads and I just didn't get up enough this year, so I've decided not to get a season pass and instead hopefully will round up a group to have a weekend at Dobson or something. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've done heaps of squash - I entered the Summer tournament (and lost every single game) but my games improved as I went on - one girl beat me 15-6 3 games in a row and I played her a few weeks later and she beat me 15-13 3 games so I was stoked with that. </div><div><br /></div><div>I had a fun bikepack trip with the girls to Hurunui Hut - it's been on my list for a year now so I am glad I finally found people to do it with. We had the whole 15 bunk hut to ourselves which was epic, and then trekked to the hot pool after - a natural hot pool! Bloody love this country. </div><div><br /></div><div>I guess if I had to pick a highlight and a low light of my year, it would probably be the same thing - my ex boyfriend. It was wonderful to feel like I was able to love again and be loved, and he revived something in me that I didn't know I was missing - I don't want to attribute too much to him but I've rediscovered my love of drum and bass, I now have a hobby I'm in love with, he opened my mind to some other things, and I feel like I'm becoming the person I always wanted to be. Conversely, the break up put me into a depression for a while, and I feel a bit broken inside - something's snapped and I can't summon up any enthusiasm or hope or even a want to fall in love in the future. My sex drive is non existent. I have been on a few dates but they've felt like chores and it feels like I've lost my ability to even find a guy attractive or sexy. You could be reading this and saying 'ah you just went on a date with the wrong person' but it feels more than that - I think there's something fundamentally broken inside me, it's like my radio receiver for human connection is broken. Maybe it'll fix itself with time, but for now it's like that part of me is just dead and will need something bloody massive to revive it. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've written some intentions for next year again as I quite enjoyed it last time. I want to get stronger, I want to do black diamonds on the bike, and I want to continue to work on my self esteem and mental health. </div><div><br /></div></div>godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-32081118008115538272022-07-28T08:36:00.003+01:002022-07-28T08:47:05.612+01:00Mid year update because why not<p> Bloody hell, sorry haven't updated for a wee while and there is so much to catch up on! </p><p>I did a slightly different year in review last year, based all around boys - a bit weird but they did play a large part of my life and at the end of 2021 I made a commitment to myself to 'not focus on getting a boyfriend for next year'. I literally never write new year resolutions but this year I did - I decided to write in my journal (that the lovely Emily got for me a year ago), read more books, gym 3 times a week, do more bike packing, cycle up Rapaki without throwing up, take more vitamins and probiotics, spend less time on my phone, do macrame, investigate setting up a community shed and get out more. It's safe to say that some of these I haven't achieved, but most of them I have done - go me!</p><p>I spent Christmas at Amy and Colin's, with a very preggo Amy so it was a lovely relaxed one. We had egg nog, a huge lunch and spent the afternoon on the beach. I then headed down to Christchurch where I felt pretty miserable with no NYE plans, but Emily came to the rescue and I ended up having one of the nicest evenings in a while - we had dinner at her house and deep and meaningfuls with her flatmate, before continuing the convos the next day at Camp Bay - getting there early to beat the crowds, breakfasting on the beach with a camp stove and swimming when it got too hot. It was absolute bliss and in my opinion the best possible way to spend new years day. </p><p>After that I packed up and headed off to Tekapo to meet Shan and Gina where we were going to do the Alps2Ocean cycle trail. A five day bike ride from Tekapo to Oamaru, I (in advance) decided to only do 3 days because I know I have a silly tendency to sign myself up for things I haven't trained for and suffer through as a result. I needn't have worried - the 3 days were easy (turns out riding my bike every day to work has done wonders for my bum) and I sorely regretted not continuing - silly me! It was an epic introduction to bikepacking and more enjoyable than my previous foray (the Timber Trail - which I definitely was not bike fit for!) and I committed to doing more this year. </p><p>I drove back very excited - because in the process of deleting all the dating apps from my phone (remember - no more boys for this year....), I had received a nice message from a dude who looked OK and had a cat picture in his profile. We had struck up conversation and I had told him I was about to delete the app, we swapped numbers and talked nonstop for two weeks. It was magical but I was wary - he'd just come out of a 13 year relationship, and I've spoken to people before for weeks and liked them but the actual real life version of them was disappointing. But - we agreed to meet anyway - nothing to lose right? And so began a whirlwind three month relationship which started with an epic five day date - a day on the beach, dinner, exceptional sunburn on his behalf, a bike ride, hanging out at eachother's houses and a weekend away camping and 4wd where I got his car stuck in a river and flooded it and some little drunk kids tried to jump into our roof top tent whilst we were sleeping. It was SO MUCH FUN and we got on brilliantly and really fancied each other and had loads and loads to talk about and loads in common. </p><p>Sadly it was too good to be true - we had some amazing times including my first packrafting experience where I nearly died (well not really but I could have), lots of mountain biking, a long weekend road trip down to the Catlins, a hiking camping trip - we even went to a rave, but ultimately he wasn't ready for a relationship. I was totally and utterly gutted and to be honest it really did a number on me the past few months, sending me into a spiral of 'what's wrong with me'. The logical part of me understands it's not me - it's him and the timing, the emotional and irrational part of me is utterly devastated as he honestly appeared to be the best thing since sliced bread and I have not felt that way about someone in a very long time - it was pure magic. I trusted him implicitly, felt like I had known him for years, and my heart would bloom when I saw him. Part of me hopes that in time when he's ready maybe we could pick things up again - it seems like such a waste of a connection - but I know I can't hold out for that, so I'll just keep doing me and my life and not seek anything out from him and if it happens it happens and if it doesn't it doesn't. </p><p>I've done some pretty cool adventures this year - I did another bikepacking trip with Sam, Dan, Emily, Shan and Gina - we did the West Coast Wilderness Trail which I think is MUCH better than Alps2Ocean - the scenery changes heaps and it's got some incredible sections and is just beautiful. It was such a fun trip - it happened to be Dan's bithday too, so we all wore party hats for the journey and got lots of toots from passing motorists. We stayed in a bach on Lake Kaniere, had a huge shared dinner and Dan used his birthday priveleges to get us to perform a skit for him - genius idea to be honest. It was very random but very funny and part of me wishes it was on video (the other part is exceptionally glad it isn't!)</p><p>I hiked up to Lake Angelus hut for the second time with Em, Colin, Nancy, her friend, Jo and Steph and Si. It made me wonder why anyone hikes when you can bike!! </p><p>I've done HEAPS of mountain biking. It's so easy to do here in Christchurch - there's tracks a 10 minute ride from my front door, and a bike park, and nearly all my friends bike in some capacity, so it made sense to get into it. What began as a 'I'm too scared to go over cattlestops and I'm going to puke cycling up Rapaki' has turned into 'how do I learn to jump and do drops and what other hills can I go up'. Its amazing the change I have seen in myself - don't get me wrong I am still terrified, but stuff that used to scare me such as a cattlestop or a big hill I now revel in, and I've noticed so much improvement - it's really satisfying. I even spent $2500 on a full sus bike - something only two months before I vowed I would never do. I love her so much, she's called Molly because she makes me high!! I've even bought a pass for the bikepark - and it's helped me make more friends too. I'm actually slightly worried about not being able to bike when I go back to the UK - it's become somewhat of a crutch for my mental health as it fills all the buckets - it's social, exercise, adrenaline, and it's outside. And it's so easy to do - as I said tracks from my front door, or I can drive to the mountains for heaps more tracks, and all you need is a bike!</p><p>Speaking of mountains - I also had a Hutt pass this year, so have been going snowboarding a wee bit, and finally finally finally cracked the whole heel toe thing and did an entire run heel toe without falling splat. Yay!! Snowboarding is really fun when you're not falling over and hurting yourself every 2seconds. I just really hope I remember how to do it when I'm back in September.</p><p>Dan and I headed to Great Barrier Island for a long weekend to hang out with Lu, Matt and their new baby Iluka on their boat. It was pretty magical - Lu worked some magic in the kitchen and even got the Gods to put on an incredible bioluminescence and meteor display - wicked! Boat life however is not for me - you have to be so prepared and forward thinking!!! I love having friends like Lu though tho prove that you don't need a house and a 9-5 rat race job - it's very awe inspiring. </p><p>For Easter this year I was in the midst of heartbreak induced depression, but headed away with Emily and two of her friends to Wanaka. I wasn't the best company, but overall we did have a great time - it was a very active weekend with 2 40k bike rides and a 13k hike up Isthmus Peak. For the biking we did the Lake Dunstan Trail which was a bucket list tick - though actually I found it a bit dull as the scenery doesn't change very much despite it being very beautiful, and the most magical ride of all along the lake to Albert Town and then the Deans Bush track. It was a really fun flow track with rollable features and parts were covered in golden autumn leaves, it was like cycling through Narnia and absolutely stunning. </p><p>A few months ago I begrudgingly partook in TWALK - a 24 hour orienteering race. I was accidentally signed up, then the girl who signed me up didn't even do it because she got Covid, and I went into it with a really bad attitude. I even felt slightly anxious about it and felt like I used to feel like on school trips I didn't really want to go on - it was a weird feeling to feel something that used to happen very frequently when I was a child but I haven't felt in years. Anyway it ended up not being as bad as I thought - it's a 5 section race held over 24 hours and you can do as many of as few of the portions as you want. I ended up doing 2 sections, from 11am to about 10pm before heading to bed. Gina and Emma did the next two sections till 4am and Ben, Will and Shandog did all five, staying up for the full 24 hours. Madness. It was quite fun doing the portions in the dark and navigating using head torches, and it was eye opening to me how mental exercise can be - I was steaming up hills that in the daylight I would be very slow up, mostly because my eyes would be able to see how steep it is and my brain would automatically switch to 'I can't do this'. Actually that's something my therapist has said I need to work on - changing my mindset from an 'I can't' to an 'I can'. Must do better. I've still got a grim big toenail from where I stubbed my toe on a rock in the river. </p><p>I spent another lovely weekend in Hanmer with Steph and Si doing little hikes in the snow with Awa the dog (my other godson), and Steph and Si were kind enough to invite me and Emily to Matai Bay hut the weekend just gone. It's a boat access only DOC hut in Malrborough Sounds, so we took Friday off work and drove up north to Havelock to meet them and hop on their fishing boat. We did some fishing, had blue cod tacos for dinner, saw dolphins every day, did some walking, lots of talking, and life filling ten hour sleeps - it was really really lovely.</p><p>I'm off back to the UK for the whole of August. I am SO EXCITED. I can't wait to see everyone again. It's nice to be coming home in better circumstances too - last time I was back I was heartbroken and running away pretty much. It's going to be so good to catch up with friends and family and I've got some nice weekends away planned.</p><p>Work's going really well too - it's tough at times but we're finally progressing with our project. My boss had to head back to the UK unexpectedly for a month and a bit so I was left in charge which was quite stressful at times, but it also forced me to step up - I'd got into a bad habit of defaulting to my boss on decisions and other things, but him being away made me have to step up and take responsibility which whilst terrifying was also really good for me and I feel like I've broken through a bit of a mental barrier. </p><p>Barkely is honestly the best cat. He's so funny. The only bad thing he does is scratch the sofa and has a smelly bum - other than that he's so affectionate, adorable, funny, always announces his presence, every morning gives me a cuddle, isn't food motivated, plays loads - he's currently attacking the doormat and diving underneath it. He gives me such pleasure and I am so so so glad I decided to keep him.</p><p>Anyway that's a brief overview on the last 7 months - yikes! </p>godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-81572094903090938712021-12-02T10:12:00.000+00:002021-12-02T10:12:00.882+00:00 year in review - 2021<p>This year in review is a bit different to the others, mainly because it's all about BOYS. After a two year break (not really enforced, more circumstantial), this year was full of boys and dates and sex. I thought it might be a bit crass to write about boys, but fuck it - it's my blog, I can write what I want. Besides only mum reads it anyway (hi mum, sorry for what you're about to read).</p><p>I may do a more serious year in review at a later date, as it has been a big year - moved cities, got a new job, bought a house, made new friends, went snowboarding lots, got a cat. </p><p>But the things that have brought me most joy, and sadness, and actually pretty much every emotion under the sun, have been boys. I don't know why I'm built this way - why I crave the attention from them and why I am so obsessed with them. Perhaps it's 'daddy issues'. Perhaps it's societal moulding. I don't know. All I know is I want a boyfriend, and I have tried my darned hardest this year to get one. I failed. </p><p>Let's take a trip down memory lane to March (I think) when I rejoined Tinder after a wee break. </p><p>First there was the hot Irish guy. After very brief but hard and fast banter on Tinder, we met up the next evening at Smash Palace (cue lots of jokes the next day about getting my palace smashed). It was a great date, we had a lot of fun and it felt like I had known him for ages - I ended up back at his house on the proviso that we would see each other again. The following day I ended up looking after his car - he had a 100k bike race he semi forgot about and was running late for so I dropped him off and took his car back to mine for safe keeping. He came to pick it up, had dinner, stayed for games and left. I never saw him again. Prick. Actually that's not true - I saw him about a month later in the cafe, the same weekend I saw three other boys I had also come across on Tinder. Christchurch is a small place. </p><p>Next there was Triathlon Tom. I had previously matched with him but he was living in Wellington and moving to Christchurch in the near future. His chat was a bit dull, and I got annoyed with Tinder, so deleted it. A few weeks later, I re-downloaded it (this has been a recurring theme). And matched with him again - I didn't realise it was the same guy as he had changed all his pictures. He said 'hello, nice to see you again, I've moved down now, let's grab a drink'. I liked his forthright nature so agreed to a lunch date during work hours - that way if I was horny and fancied him, I couldn't have sex with him and end up with another one night stand under my belt. See mum - I take precautions. </p><p>The date went surprisingly well - I was shocked to find out he was from the UK (we hadn't got that far in our tinder chat) and much better looking and talkative in real life. I ended up telling him I was surprised at how much better he was in real life which weirdly got me another date?! Honestly these boys keep me on my toes with what they like (remember Aric and how I laughed at him as he kissed me on our first date? Maybe I just need to be more mean to boys).</p><p>I'd also been talking for a while with, let's call him, Architect. He wasn't one but was training to be one. We had some really good chats and I'd arranged to meet him after my second date with TT. I was upfront with TT which I was quite proud of - I don't want to mess people about and give them the wrong idea. I was fully expecting to like Architect more than TT. Well I was wrong. He was very nice, but despite being older than TT, seemed so much younger. And looked nothing like his pictures. I spent a pleasant day with him wandering Christchurch and looking at buildings, but he wasn't for me, much to his disappointment and TT's joy. On my third date with TT, we had really bloody good sex. So much so that Dan and Sam would not stop talking about it because they heard it all. Oops. We had cute dates for a while - the boardgame cafe, the Antarctica Centre, a walk in the bush, but it soon fell into a pattern of staying at each other's houses, watching a bit of TV and a good shag. It got boring quite fast and the more time we spent with each other, the more we both realised that actually we weren't that interested in anything other than sex. As it faded into the ether, I had struck up conversation again with another guy I'd matched with ages ago but conversation had run dry - he seemed nice enough but the chat wasn't that great. </p><p>I was talking to Sam one day about single men and she said she had just come back from brunch with an old friend of hers called D who was single and was moaning about Tinder. Something about him rang a bell so I showed her his profile and she confirmed it was her mate. See - small world. I rekindled the conversation out of curiosity, and one day when we were talking he invited me round his house for a cuppa. Figuring he wasn't an axe murderer as Sam had vouched for him, I went - and it was weird but good, we had a good chat and there was a lot of sexual chemistry. Nothing happened, but as things were fizzling out with TT, we semi became bang buddies for a while. I felt kinda bad about essentially seeing two people at the same time, but I also felt quite cool to be honest - if blokes can do that to me, I can do it to them - D knew about TT and didn't care, TT didn't know about D but I don't think I actually saw him again after I saw D, so I didn't end up feeling too bad. Plus TT was still very active on Tinder so who knows what he was up to. </p><p>Things with D fizzled out as fast as they started - I got busy buying a house and he got busy with work (and another girl I think) and I didn't hear from him again. </p><p>In the meantime, I went on a date with a guy I knew I wouldn't be interested in - weirdly another D, let's call him the Meditator - for no other reason than he was obsessed with meditating and has basically dedicated his life to it. See, I told you I wouldn't be interested in him. But, we did have a lovely date - he was interesting enough and we both moaned about Tinder and our experiences. Turns out he knew hot Irish guy, and my friend Ben's girlfriend. Gotta be careful about what you say about people in Christchurch eh. We both agreed we had nothing in common and didn't want to date, but he said he would happily be my wingman if we wanted to be mates which I thought was really bloody lovely. We swapped numbers and have met up once as friends and randomly bump into each other in the street. </p><p>This brings us to July, where I matched with hot Irish guy number 2, and Sad Guy. Hot Irish Guy 2 had great banter and made me literally LOL. I really wanted to nail him down for a date but it was hard - he was extremely non committal. In the mean time, I got talking to Sad Guy. I didn't know he was sad at the time, but I was feeling bold and invited him on a date after a day or so of Tinder chat. Then I couldn't be bothered to go on the actual date, and nearly cancelled, but it was at a pub round the corner so I forced myself to go.</p><p>Sad Guy spent the entire three hours talking about his ex girlfriend and how broken he was. Red flag you say!! Yes, I know. But weirdly I had quite a nice time. I felt extremely sorry for him - having been there when my last relationship broke up, I was empathetic. I could tell he was a lovely human going through a rough time and I had a motherly instinct toward him despite him being 8 years older. Weird. </p><p>I went home, and messaged him to say that I didn't want him to feel bad about talking about his ex the entire time, I understood, but perhaps it was best he got off Tinder because he clearly wasn't ready, and I didn't want him to do that to another girl who wasn't as understanding as I was and ended up hurting him or being mean. He agreed but a few days later was still there. We messaged back and forth a few times and ended up going for a walk along the beach one early Sunday morning (mainly because I wanted to hang out with his dog). And so began quite a lovely friendship. Yes he mostly talked about how sad he was, but every now and then I could see progress and he was a really lovely human, and a handy human, and offered to help me with some DIY bits round the house. I gratefully accepted, and he came and did a bunch of stuff. I baked him gingerbread to say thank you and cooked him dinner. We continued to talk and it was nice having someone caring about me. In the meantime I continued talking to hot Irish guy 2 and managed to pin him down for a date, the same day as I had a date with another guy who seemed quite intentional about dating which appealed to me.</p><p>I had a shitty week and wanted to get away from Christchurch, and told Sad Guy. We ended up jointly deciding to go to Hanmer Springs for the day - mountain biking in the morning and going to the springs in the afternoon. On the drive up there I told him I had two dates the next day, and asked how he felt about it. We discussed that we both did quite like each other now, but he wasn't ready and didn't want to stop me dating others, but he was liking me more. We decided to keep it casual and just see where things went. After a fun morning biking, I decided I really fancied him and I'm pretty sure it was mutual. We ended up kissing in the pools and had a magical afternoon - the stars came out and the lights came on and the pools were practically empty. It was the most relaxed and content i had felt in a while. On the way home we had some rather vulnerable talks about stuff in each other's lives and my heart opened to him a little bit. He stayed over. Oops. Yes, you can see that it's not going to end well eh.</p><p>The next day I had the two dates. The first one was dull and no connection whatsoever. I turned down the offer of a second date. And then there was hot Irish Guy 2. Oh boy. It was fun and he was hot. He was cool. He kitesurfs and snowboards and reads books and plays piano and rides bikes. I wanted to see him again but I was confused about Sad Guy. Awkward. We agreed on a second date. Oops.</p><p>I told Sad Guy and he was cool about it all. The second date never eventuated - hot Irish guy 2 was just as useless as hot Irish guy 1. Thanks goodness I didn't go home with hot Irish guy 2.</p><p>Sad guy and I continued to see each other and it was lovely. We went away for my birthday and I made him promise me one thing - I didn't want him to get me presents or treat me specially, but I did want him to refrain from talking about how sad he was and his ex girlfriend. He said it would be hard but he would try. He managed all of three hours until we got to Oamaru and he started pointing out places he had been with his ex. Oh dear. He woke the next day in a deep depression. He had a freak out about us and what we were and the pressure of it all and his guilt at being down in my company on my birthday. Reluctantly I decided to call it off. Awkward as we had just arrived for a weekend. We both had a little cry then decided to stay and make the most of the weekend. That evening we got a bit tipsy and I saw a really funny, carefree side of him that made me want him even more. We made out and drove back the next day unsure of what was happening. I think we agreed to just take things very slowly. Lockdown got announced and he suggested we lock down together. I readily agreed. Turns out that wasn't a great idea. The rules meant we could both come and go to eachother's houses as part of our respective bubbles, but he didn't want me at his house despite my desperation to escape mine as he lived with his sister and wanted to escape. It really wound me up. He was also down a lot and didn't want to do much. Lockdown ended, and he had another freak out and told me he just wanted to be friends. I didn't want to lose him, so agreed. A few weeks later, he had another freak out and I gave up. I pretty much haven't heard from him since. I've got his TV though, so that's a weird uncomfortable win. Is it mine? Is it on loan? Who knows. </p><p>After that I took a wee break from dating. It is DRAINING let me tell you. Navigating a maze with many many dead ends. </p><p>I've actually had a mind blank about who I have dated next. Let me scroll through my phone. </p><p>Oh! At some point before me and Sad Guy started seeing each other, I went on another date with another guy who was SO LOUD. The pub was so quiet and he had this huge booming laugh that was a bit over the top and was a bit embarrassing. I didn't see him again. Not just because of the laugh, we just didn't click. </p><p>And then I went on a squash date with a Czech guy. That was nice enough but again, not much in common so we texted for a bit after and it fizzled out. </p><p>And then I went on a date with another guy. I was feeling vulnerable when we were messaging - I was drunk and painting the inside of a cupboard naked at home (the pros of being a homeowner living alone - you can do DIY naked to avoid getting paint on clothing, it's great) and he asked me out so I said yes. He barely had any photos of him on his profile and so seeing him in real life was interesting, but I didn't fancy him and we didn't really connect either. Well I think he thought we did, but I didn't with him, and he's a bit of a nomad which isn't really what I'm after. </p><p>Oh and then randomly, Aric got in touch, as did D, practically within the same day. That was a bit odd timing. D and I are now talking again and I went for dinner at his house the other day which was nice. He wanted to rekindle the bang buddy but I said no, I would rather be actual mates with him and he agreed so invited me for dinner. It was lovely. Hopefully we will be friends as I really don't have many boy mates and I really miss male company. </p><p>I had great banter with an Australian on Tinder and after a week or so we met up and had a great date. He didn't look like his photos but he wasn't bad looking, and he was very funny. We swapped numbers at the end of the date and he texted me that night. But when I asked him if he wanted to meet up again - tumbleweed. Fucking hell. I don't know what's wrong with people - just man up and say 'sorry, nah'. For all I know he could have died. (He hasn't - I'm a master stalker and can see his runs on Strava, he's very much alive and kicking). </p><p>And then I went on a date with another English guy. Turns out he has a daughter and is just looking for something casual, but he didn't tell me that until the next morning after probably some of the best sex of my entire life. So now he has got me hook line and sinker for a bang buddy thing - though that's if I can schedule to meet up with him again, child arrangements mean he isn't often free - hence not being able to do anything more serious. </p><p>Anyway. I'm not even sure why I wrote this. I guess as I said at the start - it's been a busy year and punctuated with many boys, some good some bad. One day I'd really like to find someone to settle down with. I'm not sure why I haven't managed it yet - as you can see it's not through lack of trying. I guess it's all a matter of timing and alignment of various factors - finding someone who wants the same thing, who has the same values, who wants kids, you both don't annoy each other, you both find each other funny, you both have similar sexual wants, similar levels of intelligence and life experience. It's a lot when you think about it. I think the older I get the harder it will be to find someone, because we're so moulded by our experiences and more set in our ways. I dunno. Maybe I'll get lucky. Who knows. </p><p><br /></p>godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-43879187815680200002021-10-25T09:05:00.001+01:002021-10-25T09:06:31.126+01:00A birthday blog for Mum<p>It's mum's birthday today, and the other day she requested a blog update - and since I've not sent her a birthday card in the mail, I can only oblige and update the blog! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMMA!</p><p>So I've been a homeowner for 3.5 months. I'm enjoying it! It's expensive, but I'm trying to do things as cheap as I can. I managed to furnish the entire place for less than $2.5k with majority of stuff being second hand from Facebook Marketplace, TradeMe, op shops and some free stuff from friends and colleagues. My most expensive purchase so far has been an $800 washing machine because the $50 one I bought just didn't cut the mustard. I sorted out all the plumbing myself with various trips to Mitre10 and Mico who were exceptionally helpful - just showed them photos of what I had and described what I wanted and they showed me the parts and told me how to fit them - bingo! </p><p>As stressful as it can be, that's the thing I'm enjoying the most - the independence and troubleshooting. My insinkerator wasn't working, so I decided to take it out - I went into Mico with a photo, and the guy said 'hey, try this, it might fix it' and gave me a special hex key and told me to press a button under the unit. I was skeptical but tried it and hey presto - my insinkerator now works! I've made my own shelves from pallets which I had to cut to size and stain, and put up the wall brackets (turns out I am SHIT at screwing in screws with a drill - I don't know what I'm doing wrong but they all get 90% of the way then stop. SO ANNOYING). I've made a little pathway to the shed using old slabs I found lying round the side of the house. I used some of the pallet wood to make a vege planter box which I'm trying to grow some things in. This weekend I bought an old clothes line from TradeMe for $15 (brand new they're over $200) and had to work out how to attach it to the fence. YouTube showed me how to install a brand new one so I had a vague idea of what to do, and went to Mitre10 to look at the fittings section and see what could work. I had to buy a new fence post and work out how to attach that to the existing fence (Lshaped brackets for the win) and cut it down to size, and ended up using the old fridge I haven't yet scrapped as a second pair of hands/platform to rest the clothes line on whilst i installed it as I had no one round to help me. Lots of troubleshooting and trial and error but its up and working and I'm pretty proud of myself for working out how to do it - pretty sure the family chat is getting annoyed with the random pictures and videos I sent asking how to do stuff hahaha. I'm slightly stressed at the moment as the other night we had terrible weather and my windows which had slight cracks in them developed into big cracks which let water through. Insurance sorted it, but the glazier showed me my beads were rotten and the sash was starting to rot too, which means that I need to get the windows fixed much sooner than I thought (double glazing too). I've got three people coming round to give quotes on Thursday and I'm sure it's going to be hideously expensive, but it's something that ideally needs to be done. I also need to buy a new fridge as my one can't maintain temperature and keeps freezing everything in the fridge. And each time I walk into a different room I can feel broken floorboards underneath my feet which is another thing to sort. I just need to remember that financially I am OK for now and in a good position, but it's always money I'd rather not spend - it could be spent on things like plants and paintings lol!</p><p>I was dating someone for a while who I really quite liked - we seemed to want the same things out of life and he was very kind and helpful round the house and very easy to just hang out with, but sadly it didn't work out. I also started having some anxiety issues - since February time I've noticed a tightness around my chest that I'm nearly always aware of, and every now and then my heart will flutter for no reason. I also have breathing difficulties where I feel like I can't get enough oxygen and have to take a big yawn - though I've had this since I was a kid. The relationship with the dude dissolving brought back unwanted feelings from my last breakup, and the heart pain got worse so I ended up going to the doctor who ran an ECG and blood tests which thankfully all came back normal. I think probably it's all just stress - new job, new city, new friends, feeling a constant pang of loneliness and not fitting in, buying a house, living alone and financing everything alone, covid and lockdown and thoughts of when the world will get back to normal has taken its toll! I'm trying to restrict how much news I consume, spend more time out in nature, do more exercise and make more friends to combat it. I've started going to a breathing physio too - turns out I've been breathing wrong my entire life which explains the yawning and near constant sighing - I'm a chest breather and we're meant to be belly breathers and I'm not getting enough oxygen, so I sigh or yawn to catch up. So now I have to re-learn how to breathe and it's going to cost me lots of money but I guess it'll be worth it in the end!!! I've spent a lot of money on my health recently - I also went to the dietician because I just got so annoyed with my constant bubbling body, and she reckons I have stress induced IBS and possible food intolerances. She recommended the low FODMAP diet but urgh....it is annoying. I barely like cooking at the best of times and having to prepare all food to a specific diet is my worst nightmare and I'd happily spend money on a foodbox/meal prep service but no such thing exists over here. </p><p>I tried it for a few days and to be fair had no symptoms, but then got invited to my student's house (can't remember if I mentioned previously but I signed up to be an English teacher to refugees and got paired with a young Bangladeshi girl called Romana who's very sweet and just given birth to her second child, so she invited me over to lunch and to meet her kid) and her hubby made the most delicious beef curry which most definitely wasn't low FODMAP, but it would have been rude not to have eaten it and I ate a lot because it was so delish. But also had no symptoms with that! And then the diet went out the window.....Since then I've had a few flareups but not worked out my triggers yet- but to be honest I think a lot is stress related, how fast I eat, the time of the month etc....</p><p>I've started playing squash - well I started a wee while ago, but I try and play at least once a week. I really enjoy it and I've definitely improved since I first started though I have probably plateaued a bit - but I have a few girls I play regularly with which is nice and I'm hoping we'll meet up outside of squash too!</p><p>Talking of things improving - my snowboarding has come on heaps!! I went twice last year, really liked it and committed this year to a season pass and bought all the stuff - board, bindings, boots, snow pants, helmet and goggles. Obviously all second hand!! I've been up maybe 7 or 8 times this year which isn't as much as I'd hoped, but I spent the first half trying and failing to heel toe, each time I tried to go on my toe I would fall so I just gave up trying and relied on heels to bomb down the hill. The last two times I've gone I decided that I just need to force myself to do it, and I managed to do it!! wooohoooo!!! I did however then start falling over again which I haven't done in a while and ended up really hurting myself - last time I hurt my elbow and couldn't move it for a day and duffed up my hip and neck and had to see a chiro and a physio, and this time I fell heavily on my tailbone and it's super sore and hasn't felt right for four days. Oh well! I've googled it and there's no treatment if it's broken except time so..........Can't wait till next season :) </p><p>Oh another thing I've been doing - something I've wanted to do for ages and was my number one reason for buying a house - was fostering cats!!!! It's great - all the fun of owning a cat and none of the expense and responsibility. My first foster I fell in love with - Jazzy, a big fluffy shy girl. She spent ten days hiding under the bed but would let me stick my hand under and stroke her and she'd purr, but after ten days she suddenly got really brave and started exploring the house and joining me in the lounge. Then she started curling up next to be in the crook of my leg and would sleep all night on my bed - it was so adorable. I had her for about a month and it was tough giving her away when she got adopted, I cried when I drove her back to the SPCA! But it would have been silly to keep my first foster - then I wouldn't be able to foster again, and it's hard finding someone to look after a cat if I went away.</p><p>My next foster was called Chai - I didn't like her so much, she was just a boring standard tabby cat who was very shy and only came out of her shell a few times. I think she also pissed all over my spare bed - at least I'm hoping it was her, because I had guests stay in that bed whilst I had Jazzy and hopefully they weren't staying in piss stained sheets!!! I think I had her for just over two weeks before she got adopted and she was pretty easy to say goodbye to. </p><p>I expect I will end up adopting a cat eventually, a 'foster fail' as they call them, but I am still stuck with the issue of what I do with it if I went on a long holiday. But there is something really lovely about having a pet at home - something to say hello to when you come back after work! But it just has to be the right cat - something like Keira (aka best cat in the world) but slightly less needy at night time (KB used to wake me up at 4am every morning wanting food, and if you didn't shut her in the dining room she would scratch at your bedroom door and miouw until you let her in. but on the plus side in winter she would snuggle up under your duvet and keep you warm, or you'd wake up to her lying on top of your tummy, and every house party we had she would go from human to human getting pets until she got tired and would go hide on someone's bed. So cute. </p><p>Ok I think I've covered everything that I've been up to.....it hasn't actually been all that much really, just house things and health things and squash and snowboarding. Oh and I'm finally fully vaxxed!! Sore arm on both jabs but no other side effects. </p><p>Good bye!</p>godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-10904458984942504632021-06-30T10:20:00.002+01:002021-06-30T10:24:38.186+01:00I guess I'm an adult now<p>As per usual, a long overdue update is needed.</p><p>Just re-read the last post - I survived the Kepler Track, woohoo! And I've survived my first six months living in a new city - so much so that I've gone and done something pretty big....I accidentally bought a house!</p><p>So to back track.....I got offered a job almost immediately after I finished up at my old one. Funny really - I spent my first week of unemployment run down, stressed out and beating myself up about not having a job, the following week was spent walking the Kepler track and getting a job, and then safe in the knowledge I had employment, I took a final week off to actually relax and do nothing. I'm my own worst enemy, honestly.</p><p>My new job was only a three month contract with the potential for it to be made permanent, as a Communications & Engagement Advisor for a tiny little company - tiny as in there's only my boss and I! Luckily we get on really well and he is super chill and very relaxed about things like working from home and flexible hours so it's pretty darned awesome. I knew him from my old job - a lot of employment in New Zealand is all about who you know!! I still don't know what I am doing half the time but I give it a good crack, and one of the things I'm proudest of was building us a super cool website for the company as we didn't have one - in the first week of it being published I had four enquiries, I was stoked!!! </p><p>I recently got made permanent, and one of my goals this year was to buy a house if I liked Christchurch - it's also the only place in the country that's a city and still relatively affordable and liveable!! So when my contract came through, I got pre-approval for a mortgage just to see what my budget was, and vaguely started looking but not really. I've got friends who had been looking for months and months and losing money on builders reports and lawyers and the housing market is insane at the moment and I really wasn't looking forward to the process at all. </p><p>One Friday evening, my friend called me to say that the house next door (which I had been coveting since I visited her last year and she'd shown me over the fence as they were doing it up to sell) was finally going on the marked. I sensed an opportunity, got the name of the Vendor and texted him to see how far down the track he'd gone with listing it with an estate agent and whether he'd be interested in a private sale. He was conflicted and I did make him think, but ultimately he'd gone too far down the track with the estate agent contract to pull out, but did tell me that he was expecting anything from $480-$520k. Which quite frankly is insane, it's a nice house but not $520k nice, and I was prepared to offer $480k. Ah well. I decided to put in an offer anyways conditional on builders report and other due diligence, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that though I loved the house, I wasn't going to be successful in this stupid crazy market with my conditional and lowball offer. </p><p>So, I had a look to see what else was out there, and out of pure curiosity went to an open home a few days later for another house round the corner from the one I'd put an offer in on, to check out the competition. It was a perfectly nice house, I didn't much like the layout though - whilst marketed as a three double bedroom house, it was only two bedrooms and a tiny room that's a weird shape, a long skinny bathroom, and a separate kitchen to the lounge area. But, in a nice area, seemed solid, and recently redecorated so needed little work. I bumped into a friend at the open home which was nice to see her, but also brought home the fact we are all competing against the same houses which wasn't a nice thought!!</p><p>I didn't think much else of the house but got a phone call that weekend from the Agent, who asked me what I thought about the house. I told him I'd already put in an offer on another house, but he continued to tell me that despite it being popular at open homes, no one had registered for the Auction the following Wednesday, and if I was interested then I may be the only one there and be able to get a deal. I took all this with a pinch of salt, him being an Agent and all, but it did pique my interest, especially as I wasn't feeling positive about the other property. I arranged to look around the house again on Monday, and started reviewing the property documents. Sometimes auction properties will provide all the documents you need to help you buy the house - the council LIM, builders report and so forth, but sometimes they don't and you have to pay for it all yourself, then potentially lose out at auction and you've spent all that money for no reason. So I was super grateful they had provided all of the documents. At the second viewing, the agent again confirmed that no one else had registered for the auction. So on Tuesday morning, with one day to go before auction, I sent all the documents to the lawyers for them to do due diligence on everything and speak to the bank to get preapproval for this property, and call AA to sort out potential insurance. Good job I have a very understanding boss....!!!!</p><p>The due diligence comes back OK, including some weird cross lease rules that state all of the land owners pay 10cents to each other each year for the lease - haha!</p><p>Wednesday rolls round and I am freaking out and googling 'how do auctions work'. I turn up and walk into this big room which slowly starts filling with people, and register myself and the property I am bidding on. I look round and my heart sinks - my friend who I bumped into at the open home is there!!! Fuck!! I'm going to be bidding against her!! I run up to her and say hi and 'please tell me you're not bidding on 147!' and she shakes her head, she's here for another house, phew!!!!! Honestly it would have been the worst to be bidding against your friend!!!! So we can support each other instead!!</p><p>My friend Matt who I worked with on my old job also turns up - he's a bloody legend. He used to be an estate agent and gives no fucks about anything and offered to help me negotiate if I needed to. </p><p>The Auctioneer comes up to me and is very sweet - she explains that I'm most probably the only one bidding on the property, and explains the process, and says 'I'm here to help you buy this house'. I am almost fooled, until I see her in action a few minutes later selling the three houses before mine - man she is MEAN!!!! Preying on the masculinity of the guys in the room to get them to bid higher and higher, it's astonishing to watch and if you want an hour of free entertainment - go to a property auction! The houses all go for crazy amounts, including the one my friend was bidding on - a two bed in an area only 1km away from mine, which starts at $550k and ends on $590k. The other houses which are much larger go for $900k and over $1mil. There is NO WAY I am going to get this house. </p><p>Suddenly it's my turn and I look around the room and there's still heaps of people there. Surely they are all here to bid on my house - why else would they be here? The Auctioneer introduces the house and asks for opening bids and I freeze. The Agent comes up to me and nudges me, and I blurt out $400k. He repeats what I said louder, the Auctioneer goes to $410, and I say $420. No one else bids, so I'm taken into a back room for negotiation - exciting!</p><p>She cuts to the chase, "Look, they're looking for $480,000, what can you offer". </p><p>Without thinking I blurt out "$470,000" and Matt pinches my arm - I look at him apologetically because I was meant to be consulting with him and totally forgot, oops.</p><p>She leaves the room to discuss my offer with the vendors and I turn to Matt, "sorry, I got too excited!". he tells me to stick to $470 - I'm totally unconditional and they want to sell so I'm in a good position.</p><p>The Auctioneer comes back to tell me they have received a conditional offer of $500k, and they're wanting me to go to around that price. I laugh and say "sorry, $470k". We do this a few more times, me sticking at $470, her leaving the room, until I eventually budge to $475 and that's my final. She comes back, shakes my hand and says "they really want $480, but they'll take $475, well done". I make a little surprised noise and am led back to the auction room in a bit of a daze, so much so that i nearly walk into the wrong room.</p><p>She announces to the room that negotiations have gone to $475,000 and are there any other bidders who want to advance on this? I look around the room and nervously shoot glares at everyone in case they're thinking of undoing all of my hard work haha! Luckily no one offers up any money, so she bangs the gavel once, twice, three times, and the bloody house is mine!!!! Matt hugs me and a little tear escapes from my eyes - it's all very unexpected and I'm not sure how to process the information. I am also very relieved because honestly house hunting is a full time job! The agent hands me a red box containing champagne and chocolates, I sign a form and promise to pay 10% of the house deposit today, and walk away in shock, so much so that I can't do anything else for the rest of the day and end up having to go for a run to get rid of some of the adrenaline pumping around me.</p><p>I've since done loads of admin - sorted insurance, contacted the bank, decided on mortgage rates, sent all the details to the lawyers, and they're all working hard in the background doing stuff ready for settlement date on the 7th July (it was a quick two weeks!). I've researched and worked out I'm eligible for a warmer homes grant to put towards insulation and a heat pump which is fricking awesome, and I need to find a builder to sort me out subfloor access as there's woodworm that I need to sort out. I've gone through the builders report with a fine toothcomb and written myself a to do list of stuff I need to sort, things I need to buy, and last weekend spent a fun Saturday in the second hand stores where I've picked up various bargains including a couch for $25! I have pretty much nothing so having to buy everything - and I'm setting myself a target to furnish the entire house for as little as possible by getting everything second hand, both for environmental reasons but also because it'll be bloody expensive otherwise!!</p><p>It seems super surreal that in seven days time I'll have keys to my own home that I can paint what I like and drill holes in to and get pets without anyone's permission......so weird!!!! but also terrifying - can I afford it? What happens if I get sick? Will I get lonely? What if someone breaks in? Lots of what if's! It also doesn't seem fair that I only started looking a month ago, with no real intentions, and bought a house on my first go, when I've got mates who have been struggling for over a year to get on the ladder. Very very bizarre and weird and I can't make any sense of it. I'm hoping to god I haven't bought an absolute dunger of a house and that's the reason no one else was at the auction!!</p><p>I was super proud that I did it all by myself - I've been saving since I was 16 and I'd class myself as good with money in terms of frugality, I've not used any inheritance or money from sources other than my own, and no partner to split costs and deposits with - but the truth is I haven't done it alone. I've had family and friends and people to ask for advice the entire process, and it's been wonderful. I couldn't have done it without those people!!!</p><p><br /></p><p>Some resources I used when house hunting:</p><p>- <a href="https://canterburymaps.govt.nz/" target="_blank">Canterbury Maps.</a> These are AMAZING and have so much information in them - in Christchurch it's very important to check the land the house is built on, my house is on TC2 which means it suffered some damage in the earthquake and if I ever rebuild then I need to do more due diligence in terms of structural integrity etc. There are liquefaction maps, maps which show you property boundaries and rates and the RV (rateable value) and how many EQC claims and consents the property has had. SO GOOD and all for free! </p><p>- One Roof.co.nz, Homes.co.nz, Property Value.co.nz - gives you an idea of how much your property is worth</p><p>- <a href="https://lrs.linz.govt.nz/search/">LINZ</a> - you can pay for your title if you know what you're looking for for $5 but the lawyers will also do this for you</p><p>- <a href="https://canterburymaps.govt.nz/map?webmap=4e2002e69399460f96d3ac5a94dfb131">Listed Land Use Register</a> - you can check the address to see if the land was every used for storing hazardous waste (mine's built on a landfill......)</p><p>- Your bank! Your mortgage advisor will be super helpful and give you information on the property you want to buy - they'll run a valuation search to tell you a rough valuation and any public data held on the house eg sqm and bedroom numbers etc and other sold prices in the area</p><p>- In Christchurch, many insurance companies won't insure or quote you for a property if it's built before a certain time period unless you provide a builders report - though AA Insurance don't seem to do this, so I went with them. </p><p>- I recommend getting a lawyer who quotes fixed fees. No financial surprises that way!</p>godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-33729782517692937192021-02-05T07:22:00.000+00:002021-02-05T07:22:01.268+00:00Tuesday Blues<p>I've had a funny old week. It was my first week of unemployment as my contract finished. I was definitely ready to leave, and I already felt like I'd said my goodbyes at the end of last year, so it was a little bit weird coming back just for three weeks to write one newsletter and tie up some loose ends - though it was a sound financial decision at least. </p><p>People have spent the last few months asking 'what's next' and 'how's the job hunt going' and I now HATE that question. The last few months of work were so busy that I literally couldn't think of anything else, let alone job hunt, and I genuinely don't understand how others managed to get jobs so quickly. But I have always been one for struggling to let go of things and move on, so maybe that's part of it. </p><p>Anyway, so I finished up jobless and to be honest, really quite looking forward to the break (despite the fact I had literally just had three weeks off over Christmas). I had all these plans - each day I was going to go to the gym, then go the library and research jobs and companies for a few hours, then spend a few hours upskilling myself by doing some online learning, then I was going to come home and do some embroidery as I've neglected that for the last wee while.</p><p>Instead, I ended up rundown and a little bit sick. Sunday was spent avoiding people in case I had any germs (I don't want to say the C word but these days you can't be too careful eh) and Monday much the same. By Tuesday I felt so stressed out that I hadn't done anything productive and I was feeling down and negative and I was totally over the week already. I then got rejected for what felt like the millionth time on a dating app. In reality only the third time (this time round anyways), but honestly what the hell is wrong with people? I was talking to this one guy for over a month and tried to meet up with him three separate times, each time he came up with a reasonably valid excuse so I let him off, but then when I finally moved to Christchurch and was living down the road from him, he just stopped talking to me. He was the one always initiating conversation so it's not like I was being creepy and chasing after him. The next guy bailed on me the morning of our date but with a valid excuse, but also never spoke to me again to rearrange, then the latest guy invited me out for a drink then cancelled the very next day because he had to work. These rejections, combined with some job application rejections and the fact that I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to actually relaxing and living in the moment and not freaking out about the future, put me in a very bad head space indeed and I was in a bit of a funk. I mostly do not mind being single, and if all my friends were single and being with someone wasn't much of a thing, then I probably wouldn't even try and date anyone - I'm happy with my own company and doing my own thing the majority of the time. But when I look around and literally everyone else is paired up and in this little love bubble, it makes me feel very frickin lonely and like I don't fit into society because I haven't managed to get myself my own little love bubble with someone. Even Donald fucking Trump has a wife and he's the most despicable person on the planet. And I know you shouldn't compare yourself to other people, but it is hard not to, especially when society is geared toward couples and marriage and family units. </p><p>Anyway that was a bit of an unexpected rant. Since then, I've started an online course which I'm quite enjoying but need to finish ASAP within the free trial otherwise I'll have to pay for it and it's not worth that much; I've 85% managed to secure a new job (I'll write more about that later in case I jinx it and it doesn't come to fruition) and I've had another lady call me up this morning about a potential opportunity in a few weeks - and she heard about me from the recommendation of two others - so that's boosted my confidence a wee bit. I do feel like a bit of a fraud at work though. People think I am awesome, but I REALLY do not feel awesome - I just turn up and do my job. I think it's because I'm quite funny at work and get on with everyone and make people laugh and somehow that convinces them that I'm good at my job and know what I'm doing. I literally have NO IDEA what I am doing half the time. Like I could barely describe to you what I've been doing this past year. I reckon the bar is really bloody low and because I turn up on time and get some stuff done it's magical. </p><p>I've really changed in the last year. I think I mentioned this in the last blog post but I get socially tired really easily these days, and need to spend time on my own. It actually kind of freaks me out how much I need my own space these days - it's a total 180 to how I used to be. I'm living with Sam and Dan at the moment and it is awesome - I couldn't ask for better housemates, but I also find I don't get anything done now - when I was alone I was far more productive as I had no distractions but now there's always someone to talk to and it's my default to hang out with people rather than go lock myself away. They're both out at the moment and it's lovely having the house to myself and there's literally no way I'd be writing a blog if they were here right now. </p><p>Just realised I skipped right to this week and not what else happened in January. To be honest not that much actually happened, but I did have a cool few days in Punakaiki after New Years. I spent a day or two in Dunedin, got bored of being alone and came back to Christchurch then joined Sam, Dan and my friend Ricki in Punakaiki. I have been there a few times, but always just driving through it on the way to somewhere 'better' - but my God it's beautiful and well worth stopping. We camped and did some stunning walks - the area just feels so Jurassic and you can imagine a Pteradactyl just sweeping down at any point and picking you up. In the mornings the steam rises from the black tea rivers, overlooked by karst cliffs with all variety of green bush hanging from them. It is truly epic. Ok that's January over with!</p><p>Lu and her partner are in town after sailing down from the Bay of Islands where I last saw them. Today we did an incredible hike - probably the best free thing I've done in New Zealand ever. I'm going to try and write about it like I'm doing a GCSE English exam because I think it'll be fun - though you can be the judge of that:</p><p>Anticipating the cold, we entered the large cave mouth already wincing at the water temperature - which in reality really wasn't that bad. We plunged into a large pool at the exit of the cave - if the pool is above your torso then you know it's too deep and shouldn't continue. Luckily for us, it came up to our belly buttons, so we continued onward, turning on our head torches as we left the natural light behind us. The cave quickly narrows, instead growing tall, and the claustrophobia I was worried I'd experience does not eventuate. </p><p>Navigation is easy - go in the opposite direction of the rushing water that's pushing against your ankles, at times up to your waist. The cave walls are smooth, worn away from thousands of years of erosion, and we are reminded of the ferocity of mother earth when we catch glimpses of worn away holes above our heads, filled with precariously balanced rocks stuck from previous floods. At times it is easy to imagine you're inside <span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Papatūānuku</span> - the rushing water her blood pulsing through her arteries, the strange gurgling noises her belly. At other times, it feels like you're in a theme park - your headtorch catches glistening rock above you, the scoured cave walls creating perfect hand holds to steady you, the picture perfect waterfalls and bubbling eddies a feature of some hidden man-made pump. </p><p>For the most part, the going is easy and you can meander on up the stream, marvelling at the rock formations above you, following the twists and turns the water has carved through the limestone. At parts, you need to haul yourself up small gushing waterfalls - not an easy feat when you're my height and the water has smoothed the rock bed to create nature's perfect waterslide. </p><p>But, we made it. Almost over too soon - suddenly the roar of the water gets louder as a stream of light comes into view. A thick lip of white limestone is illuminated and provides one final waterfall to ascend - a perfect overflowing cup of the clearest, smoothest water. This is easy to climb up on to, giving you access to some iron rungs up the side of the cave wall which take you above ground, then some final slithering along some deeply uncomfortable pitted and slimy rocks before you can stand up and stretch in the warmth of the sunlight.</p><p>It was a really awesome experience - and one that continues to make me believe that New Zealand is just a huge man made theme park. Anyone who comes to visit me in Christchurch will be taken to do it immediately! Though I do recommend wetsuit booties - mine have a great rubber grip on the bottom, and are warm, flexible and dry quickly unlike trainers or hiking boots. </p><p>Ok that's enough GCSE English from me - next week I'm heading down to Te Anau to do the Kepler Track - I'm hoping I'm fit enough as I haven't walked with a pack for a wee while and when I did the 2.5hour hike with a pack on at New Years I found it a bit tiring - eek! Wish me luck!</p>godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-40979894092588702612021-01-02T08:01:00.001+00:002021-01-02T08:01:57.417+00:002020<p> </p><p><br /></p><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">I learned a whole heap in 2020. Lockdown was both my highlight and lowlight. It was tough, but I coped well considering and managed to occupy myself so I didn't go insane. It made me appreciate the little things i completely take for granted like freedom and variety. I was incredibly grateful to be living in Kaikoura at the time and have housing sorted and a job I could do from home, and for Emily for volunteering to move in with me so neither of us would be alone. Most mornings I'd go for a walk to the waterfront and sit and admire the view, and we would go for lunchtime walks and notice new things each time. I am exceptionally grateful to be living in a country where the government are competent, caring and courageous and the people mostly follow the rules and use common sense. Life has been back to normal for the best part of 6 months for us and it has been wonderful. I almost think we should lockdown for a month every year, to take that opportunity to slow down and appreciate the things in life we take for granted. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">This year I learned that my own space is a requirement for me to be happy. I'm not sure if this is a new development, or something I've always needed but have never really done, but I have got to the point that if I had to choose, I'd rather live alone than with flatmates. Which is laughable when I look back at the time I house sat for 6 weeks in Auckland about 4 years ago and would call my friends every day asking them to come round because I was lonely. Haha. There is something so sacred about having your own little space to retreat to and hide in - when you're not feeling great mentally, or you want to wander round naked, or you want to cook and sing your heart out at the same time, or you want to fart or poo with the door open- it is just lovely having your own space to do that!!! </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">The last few months have been exceptionally busy and I could feel the stress inside my body. I was wound up very tight and was worried I would snap at times but I managed to hold it together. Work was infuriating for a variety of reasons but we made it to the end. I worked nearly every weekend in the last month - we had four events in two weeks that we were in charge of. In our last week we had a poroporoaki, where the runanga (local Maori council) said goodbye to us. It was quite emotional, no one knew what to expect and we were asked to say a few words in front of everyone. There was an awkward few moments where people looked around to see who was going to speak - we were unsure if it was an open floor or more aimed at senior staff. After a few people had stood up and spoken, I jumped up. I wanted to thank everyone for their help with the community event I was project managing - I was blown away with the amount of staff who volunteered their time to help with it and people just get shit done and help out - it is amazing. I ended up getting very emotional and had to sit down quite quickly and made others cry too, oops!!</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">The staff party was eventful- a medical incident where a guy needed CPR and a defibrillator, a friend getting so wasted she turned into a bowling ball and was knocking everyone over, another friend who was so drunk she slept with a boy even though she's gay, and all the boys being extremely pervy and gross. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">I finished up work on the Friday, had the most wonderful evening in the pub with some new local friends (seriously where were they the last year?!) packed up my house and drove down to Christchurch. I thought I would feel sadder than I did, but I think because of the stress of the last few months and the amount of goodbyes I've said, I was a bit over it. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">I unpacked a bit, and the following day headed to Auckland to meet Lu. Conveniently Amy was about too so I got to see her, Colin and Dylan before driving up to the Bay of Islands for a week on Lu's partners boat. It was pretty lovely- mostly great weather, fabulous food from Lu, lots of swimming and hiking on different islands and a bonus pod of dolphins came to join on the last day. Nature count included:</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">1 ray<br />2 little blue penguins <br />1 lonely dolphin <br />1 shark<br />A saddleback<br />A north island Robin</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">A brown teal duck <br />A whale carcass <br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">A pod of not lonely dolphins</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">I then drove down to Auckland, emptied out my storage unit ready for the stuff to be transported to Nelson, caught up with Rosie and flew back to Chch. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had one day to unpack and repack before driving to Wanaka the next day for Rhythm and Alps - a music festival where Fat Freddy's Drop were playing. I was actually quite disappointed - maybe its because I was the sober driver, but I just didn't have a great time. People all around me were wasted - I saw people rubbing cocaine onto their gums and passing pill bags around and the music was so loud it hurt my ear drums. I realise this all makes me sound like a nanna, but I'm glad I went and know not to go again. Haha. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">For new years we hiked into Mt Aspiring hut, only a 2.5h hike from the carpark. It was beautiful and we were very lucky with the weather. We struggled to stay awake till midnight and went to sleep shortly after countdown! A chill day in Wanaka followed, and now I'm in Dunedin because Wanaka weather looked crap for the next week - though it isn't much better in Dunedin and flooding on the highway has me trapped here for the next day. I havent spent much time in Dunners - apart from one time 5 years ago when I was travelling and went on a night out during freshers week, got drunk and made out with my travel buddy in a local park. Not my proudest moment but one I fondly remembered when I drove past said park earlier! I was slightly horrified at the lack of tree coverage though...maybe they've cut down some since I was last here?!</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">Resolutions for 2021 include less overthinking, less social media/phone time in general, more self care, more reading books, more exercise, more adventures, more friends and more permanence. I'd also like to try and do something new every quarter- maybe the ukulele, wood work, pottery etc. I'll do some research and see what's out there! I'd also love to get on the property ladder so once I have a job sorted I'll speak to a mortgage advisor. Prices are creeping up every day though so I'm trying to not get too wrapped up in the idea incase it isn't tenable. Only time will tell! </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've gotten really into learning recently. On the boat Lu had a bunch of New Zealand Geographic magazines and I fell in love with them - they are beautifully curated and very interesting and I learned heaps. I've treated myself to a year subscription and I'm looking forward to getting them in the mail every few months! I've also downloaded some episodes of The Psychology Podcast which I am finding interesting. There is a whole bunch of stuff I find fascinating now but when I was at school it bored me, mainly because I couldn't see an application for it. I guess as I have got older I can see how all these things fit into life and how they can help. Psychology is especially interesting- from a personal perspective when I had my breakup, I turned to a lot of self help books which really helped me understand some of my thoughts and feelings, and from an external perspective I can see how psychology can help in things like the covid response and how different communication styles have led to different outcomes in different countries. So 2021 I will keep learning and keep listening to podcasts that interest me. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ok that's enough of an update for now! It actually didn't take as long as I thought it would to write, so maybe I'll try update the blog more often?!?!? </div>godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-90691670792948258372020-07-28T10:59:00.001+01:002020-07-28T11:02:53.080+01:00The Best RoomI'm sat here in my 'new' room in Kaikoura, propped up on the pillows in bed. Heated blanket is on, hair's wet and my finger is throbbing and has gone slightly poisonous because I'm a child and don't know when to stop biting my nails. <div><br /></div><div>As I look around this room I'm reminded of all the bedrooms that have come before it. My shoebox child's bedroom with a bed on a high frame to create space for furniture underneath it, the walls covered in posters of Ricky Martin, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lara Croft. My uni dorm room that I had to paint over blood spatters on the wall with tippex (there's a story there, but maybe not one for the blog), the variety of disgusting bedrooms in Hatfield that followed it with awful wallpaper and single beds and no sound insulation. My two rooms in my house in London - both large considering our rent, cold and creaky and the floor wasn't flat so all furniture would wobble. </div><div><br /></div><div>My favourite room of all is my first room in New Zealand. I'd arrived in Auckland six months before, and Amy was living in a cute wooden villa on Paice Avenue - a surprisingly quiet, tree lined street wedged between two busy roads in Sandringham. Well - there was debate as to whether we were in Sandringham or Mt Eden - we were smack bang on the boundary line for both, so we liked to say Mt Eden as it sounded fancier. I spent the first 3 days sleeping on the floor of Amy's room, and she'd shown me round her house, pointing out the tiniest room I ever saw (bar my childhood room) and saying that if I decided to stick around, that room would become free in a few months or so as the current occupant was heading back to the UK. It had a double bed, a small built in cupboard, and space for not much else. I laughed and dismissed the thought immediately.</div><div><br /></div><div>I spent the next 6 months living out of hostels, my car and then a tent, travelling the length of New Zealand, stopping when I needed a break and some stability and comfort to wwoof.</div><div><br /></div><div>I eventually came back to Auckland, and Amy again presented me with this tiny room - there was a couple living in it temporarily whilst they found a more permanent house, and I camped out on the lawn for three weeks whilst I house hunted for myself. I resisted the tiny room at Amy's house - I wanted to strike out on my own, the room was so small, I wanted to make new friends. But I couldn't find anything else I liked, and her flatmates were lovely, and the rent was cheap, so I ended up moving into this room that I had scoffed at 6 months previously.</div><div><br /></div><div>I foraged industrial estates for pallets and found 2 mismatched ones as a bed base, bought a very old lumpy mattress off Shanyn for $60, and searched op shops for bedding and a book shelf. I found a tiny kids chair for $5 which I used as my bed side table, and a little woven rug for $2. Clemence gave me a spare lamp she had, and I filled up the built-in wardrobe with my backpack full of clothes, barely making a dent in it. I lay down on the bed and looked up at the high ceilings and felt immensely proud and happy - I'd moved to the other side of the world, I was paying rent, I had an address, and a door, and a window! No more zipping the tent up. I had wooden floors, a view out into the garden, a gorgeous Kowhai tree right outside that the Tauhau's and Tui's loved, and got the sun most of the day through the two big windows. </div><div><br /></div><div>It may have been a tiny room but I filled it to the brim with memories. </div><div><br /></div><div>Shanyn coming in on the weekends to see if I wanted pancakes for breakfast. </div><div>Waking up to the room shaking because the couple 2 rooms away were having such energetic sex it made the house move. </div><div>Being forced to listen to everyone's toilet habits because it was literally right next to the bathroom.</div><div>Having 8 people come sit on my bed during a house party for no other reason than people like to gather in weird places at house parties. </div><div>The various boys who stayed over. One of them came over on his motorbike and there was barely any space for his helmet and motorbike clothes. Getting annoyed at another boy who woke up early at 5am to go and kite surf rather than spending his morning in bed with me. The first night my ex boyfriend came over to stay and I was so nervous about him meeting my friends that I got really, very drunk and I tried to do the worm on the kitchen floor, before taking him to bed and passing out on top of him half way through, then waking up at 2am busting my guts for the toilet and waking him up with the sounds of my toilet explosions - the very thing I would laugh at everyone else for suddenly became my turn to experience the embarrassment. Not my proudest moment and definitely a make or break situation for him, but I guess he decided he liked me enough to continue for another few years. </div><div>The night I cried myself to sleep because I was about to turn 30 and thought everyone hated me and I didn't have a proper boyfriend and there were so many milestones I should have hit by now and I hadn't and I was just a loser that was living in a tiny shit rented room in a country far away from home when I should have a husband and child and my own house by now. </div><div>The time we got burgled and the people used my room to get into the house, but my room was so small and bare it had nothing obviously worth stealing, so they bypassed it and nicked everyone else's stuff instead. </div><div><br /></div><div>It was so small it had the added benefit of forcing me to spend more of my time in the lounge, or on the deck in the Summer. We had an open plan kitchen/dining room/lounge and so I would spend most of my time here, curled up on the sofa on my laptop or in one of the rattan chairs reading a book. One of our housemates discovered that the fire was usable and not ornamental, so that added excitement one winter. Sometimes Shanyn would bring out his computer monitor and we'd gather round it to watch Game of Thrones or the occasional movie. Most weekends were spent on adventures away or hiking in nearby regional parks, Shanyn whipping up pancakes in the mornings to the sounds of Fat Freddy's Drop on the stereo and friends dropping by to say hello.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a very nice period of my life that I think back very fondly on. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-46048308460492596292020-05-19T09:50:00.001+01:002020-05-19T09:50:46.713+01:00Lockdown<div>As this is such a weird moment in history I thought I ought to record it in a blog post. It's been surreal, but also very quickly, normal - it's crazy how quickly humans can adapt to new situations. </div><div><br /></div><div>NZ went into lockdown on Mar 26<sup>th</sup>. Lockdown. It sounds like something out of a computer game doesn't it. We heard about this crazy new virus in China around January time, but as with SARS and Bird Flu I figured it wasn’t anything to worry about –initial reports seemed like it
was a bit like the normal flu, and China was really far away, and the previous virus's hadn’t really got out of hand. In early February time, more reports were coming of people outside of China having contracted it. My colleague Adele
was meant to be heading off to Australia and Singapore for a holiday in March, and was religiously checking the daily infection count. I thought she was over reacting a little bit, but I like to underplay stuff, mostly I guess for my own sanity. We were planning a work event on Mar 22<sup>nd</sup>,
and I really didn’t want the event to go ahead because I am lazy and thought it was going to be a waste of time. Some other countries were starting to lock down and people were panic buying toilet paper in other countries - which to this day baffles me because the
virus doesn’t often present with diarrhoea, but, people are crazy. That week, our government announced that elderly people and vulnerable people were to stay home because the death rate for them was much higher than it was for younger people. They also announced a 4 stage alert system - zero being normal life, 1 being a bit aware, and each level had more and more restrictions until Level 4 which was a total lockdown. I though it was a bit ridiculous and didn't pay much attention to it because I just assumed it was the government playing it safe and being seen to be doing something. But, the plus side was we made the
call to cancel our event because we were aiming the event at families and the elderly and didn't want to seem irresponsible. I was soooo happy it got cancelled!! </div><div><br /></div><div>Then, on Monday 23<sup>rd</sup>, Jacinda did a live press conference, where she announced that we were now at alert level 3, and in 2 days time, we would be moving to alert 4 – a total lockdown. We would only be able
to visit the supermarket, petrol station and pharmacies, had to practice social distancing, had to ‘keep within our bubble’ and not travel anywhere. This would be for at least a month. </div><div><br /></div><div>I watched the announcement in the office with my colleagues, and we
were all silent when it finished. Suddenly, what was something that seemed very distant and a global over-reaction, was very real. We had been given 48 hours to make our way to our homes and form our bubbles. I realised this would mean I would be living alone and working from home for a month - I had no where else to go. A WHOLE MONTH! I was going to go crazy. We all looked at each other, and our HR Manager asked me if I would go home or stay in Kaikoura, and I burst into tears as I had nowhere else to go and felt so alone. </div><div class="gmail_quote"><div><br /></div><div>My colleague Emily was also in a quandry as to what to do - she didn't really want to go back to her family as they lived a while away and she didn't want to isolate in her existing flat as she wasn't sure she'd be able to cope with her current flatmate. In the meantime Amy offered me to stay with her (thanks Amz!! I really appreciated that!) but there were no flights available to Auckland. To my absolute delight, Em decided to move in with me for the month. It was a bit of a risk given that we'd only known each other for a few months and we would be living and working together 247 but it worked out really well. We have similar hobbies except she loves cooking and I don't, and we seemed to know when to give each other space and when we wanted company.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lockdown was mostly spent eating, drinking (we got through 2 bottles of gin, 4 bottles of wine and some beer and cider and Baileys), creating - I did some really awesome embroidery, she did some cool drawings and sewed herself some tops, reading, and exercising. I subconsciously put those things in order of how much we did them - I've put on 4kg in lockdown so clearly should have swapped the eating and exercising priority. </div><div><br /></div><div>Work initially was slow, and we were able to crack on with tasks that we usually put on the backburner, but soon it ramped up and I was working 10-11 hour days to get comms out about Covid stuff. We usually do a team presentation at the end of the week to update people on the project and starters and leavers etc, it's called Friday Comms (original eh), and wanted to continue this in lockdown, so had the bright idea of recording our voices to power point presentations and Adele would turn it into a video. It was a hit and we made them as funny as possible and featured videos and memes. That was really fun and now I want to be a radio presenter.....</div><div><br /></div><div>Life was bizarre. Only one person could go to the supermarket from your bubble, and when you went it was a bit like in The Handsmaid's Tale - not allowed to talk to anyone, move quickly, keep your distance. I kept getting told off because I'd forget to keep my distance. Most days I'd go for a little morning walk down to the sea, or a bike ride just to get out of the house. Sometimes we went foraging for wild flowers and plants you can eat - under Emily's guidance. Did you know you can eat dandelion leaves and fuschia buds? </div><div><br /></div><div>The roads were empty so it was so nice cycling everywhere. We started a sourdough starter and named it Brian after our IT guy. Emily made loads of delicious food. We saved loads of jars for making food stuffs. To be honest reading it back it looks very quaint and idyllic. It did get boring though. I ended up taking a mental health day towards the end because I couldn't face sitting at my desk, in my lounge, again after 40 days straight of doing it. Instead I walked to the peninsula and sat for 2 hours trying to spot whales and listening to podcasts which was wonderful! (no whales spotted)</div><div><br /></div><div>Emily decided to record what we called our 'cracks'. Each time she identified a crack she'd write it on a post-it note and stick it on the wall. She didn't announce she was doing this and one day I walked past and was nosy and laughed so hard at them. I've listed them below and they're probably more of a 'you had to be there to find it funny thing'. Remember that lockdown started on March 26th....LOL</div><div><br /></div><div>4.02pm 26th March - Naomi cracked (no further detail provided)</div><div>5.06pm 26th March - Naomi cracked again (complaining of boredom)</div><div>11.38am 27th March - Emily cracked during recording Friday Comms podcast and went crazy swatting flies</div><div>5.15pm 27th March - both cracked into Ros's Gin after terrible internet issues</div><div>4.26pm 30 March - Emily fell off chair backwards and clicked back. No incident report filed. </div><div>4.53pm 31st March - Naomi not coping with IT issues. Chips solve everything. </div><div>12.04pm 1st April - Naomi announces she's worried people will shun her for coughing, but it's just Emily in the room with her (and the voices in her head)</div><div>12.07pm 1st April - Naomi announces she wants to call the cops on the neighbours as they're having too much fun</div><div>1.56pm 2 April - Both cracked. Naomi vaporised a fly with the fly swat. Parts of the body were found up the walls. We could not stop laughing.</div><div>7.30pm 2 April - Emily. Hit her head in the morning and forgot to record it as a crack, and now just spilled risotto all over herself. now worried she has a concussion. </div><div>10.05am 7 April - Not exactly a crack, but we were having a meeting outside on Zoom, and Ros asked "how is the hot son" just as the hot son walked past. He probably heard. We were embarrassed.</div><div>12.06pm 9 April - Having a long standing burping competition. This feels like a crack. </div><div>10.58 am 14 April - 1st day back after Easter. Emily eats ginger slice for breakfast and hunts down flies. </div><div>12.01pm 14th April. Still 1st day back after Easter. Naomi announces 'OK I'm bored now'</div><div>9.44am 15 April - Both cracking. Cry laughing at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUXAHc-ABoY" target="_blank">the beaver. </a>This becomes a Friday morning watch, every Friday morning to celebrate getting through the week. </div><div>24/7 19 April - Naomi. Completely OVER IT!!! (Also, secretly Emily but holding it together a bit more)</div><div>4.43pm 20 April - Naomi. Hears a helicopter and gets over excited and runs outside to seek help from it. It doesn't spot her. </div><div>3.31pm 22 April - Emily. Smashes 3 bits of ginger slice in a row and cried on phone to mum. </div><div>4.37pm 22 April - Naomi. She offers to work through the public holiday?!</div><div>24/7 27 April - Emily ALL DAY. So clumsy. Has period accident. Spilled or dropped toothpaste, coffee, paint, water and tomato puree. Worked 3 hours unnecessarily due to a miscommunication. Should have gone back to bed quite honestly (Naomi's words)</div><div>10.30am 4 May - Naomi. Rages in Comms team meeting over the injustice of not being allowed to get takeaways in Level 3. This results in a wellbeing call from Robbie where she rages again at being the subject of a wellbeing call. </div><div>4.25pm 7 May - Naomi. Goes into the bathroom for a wee and comes out with a fringe and holding a large chunk of her hair.</div><div>11.06am 13th May - Naomi. Goes into the bathroom again and keeps hacking away at her hair whilst yelling 'this is what happens when the Comms Team meeting gets cancelled!'</div><div>4.34pm 13 May - Both. Naomi recorded a burp for Friday Comms, and Emily offered to fart for it too, but Naomi didn't want her to fart onto her phone. The burp never made it into the Friday Comms recording. It's a good job Adele has higher standards than we do. </div><div><br /></div><div>Haha. I giggled remembering those!!! It looks like I cracked a fair bit more than Emily but as she was recording it I guess she was a bit biased....</div><div><br /></div><div>We were also a bit naughty and burst our bubbles a few times- we'd go for bike rides over to South Bay, and a colleague would spot us and invite us in for a mid afternoon gin. I'd sit there anxious we were going to get in trouble whilst Em and Robyn would yarn away and this then became a semi regular Sunday afternoon thing which was nice. On Easter we went over to Robyn's for afternoon tea and she'd made us a basket of Easter Eggs which was so nice and thoughtful it nearly made me cry!! Robyn's our HR Lady and the most un-HR HR lady I've ever met, she's bloody brilliant. I digress but one thing I've loved about working for this project is the people I have met - it's totally normal to hang out with people much older or younger than you and you realise we're all the same people going through similar things just at different ages and you can be friends with anyone of any age which is super cool. </div><div><br /></div><div>After a month, our numbers of infections had dropped significantly and we were told we could go to Level 3. This meant a few more businesses could open, so we could get takeaways and I could take my car to the garage to get a new tyre. People went mental for McDonalds and KFC and there were news reports of huge queues at both - insane. Me and Em got a takeaway burger from the local joint and sat on the beach to eat it. It was a bit of a disappointing burger to be honest, I wanted it to be this delightful, novel experience but it just wasn't. We still weren't allowed to travel, but we could do a few more activities if we socially distance still. Our company told us we weren't allowed to get takeaways or go to the supermarket anymore because of one annoying local who shouts super loud on FB and causes huge issues and wanted all of our returning workers Covid tested. This aspect of my job is worthy of a blog post in itself one day. She orchestrated a road closure and a protest and stopped a lot of work and cost us a lot of money. Madness. This is where I got super annoyed and raged about the injustice of the decision of us not being allowed takeaways, and eventually it was reversed. Yay! But between it being reversed, we still went for 3 other takeaways just to break the rules, but had to pick them up wearing hats and scarves in case we got recognised and told off, haha. </div><div><br /></div><div>We were at Level 3 weeks, and now we're at Level 2. That was weird. It was like I had stockholm syndrome. I had gotten used to my new normal and didn't want to go back to real life. But equally, I really missed my friends, and being able to get out and go to places - the monotony of getting up, going for a walk in the same spot, sitting at my desk that I saw 247, eating dinner in the same room and going to bed was draining me. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have my next weekends all planned out to make the most of Level 2, which is almost back to normal - we're allowed to travel again, we can have gatherings but only of up to 10 people, and we have to keep a record of where we have been and who we went with - every cafe you have to sign in to, even a takeaway. It's a bit weird and I am looking forward to no restrictions - but obviously until the rest of the world sorts their shit out, our borders will be shut for a long time and we more than likely won't be able to travel outside of NZ or Aus without having to face lots of quarantine coming back. It's a weird thought that I may not be able to see my family in person for a very long time. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lockdown has made me realise how alone I am. I mean I guess I knew it before, but it really highlighted it to me. I feel like a domino that's still standing up, and the dominoes to my left and right have fallen over on their dominoes. All of my NZ friends have their own support systems - be it a partner, their families, their own friends they live with. My family are stuck in the UK, and have their own lives anyway. I'm stuck in Kaikoura, a 2.5 hour drive to my nearest friends who are brilliant, but have their own lives and families and flatmates and friends. I know people here but the people I like also have their own families and friends. If I moved back to the UK, my friends have all dispersed and now have their own families and friends. So I feel a bit lost. Fuck I said families and friends too much in that paragraph. Even my writing is trolling me! </div><div><br /></div><div>This weekend was a weird one. I found out that Aric has got married and my friends knew but kept it from me. He got married 7 months after we last slept together, 6 months after we had any meaningful contact. This is the guy who actively baulked when I suggested we be engaged by the time we did long distance, the guy who told me he was breaking up with me because he didn't want to take anyone to Lebanon because it was dangerous and stressful and he didn't want the responsibility. I fumed and raged when I first found out but now I've had time to think about it, I find it hilarious. It's just so absurd and it's not his first time in a whirlwind romance and toying with marriage. I guess it's kind of offensive he never considered marrying me, but he's also clearly very fickle with his feelings and plays hard and fast with emotions. He's not who I remember and I wonder if I ever really knew him, which is a sad thing to reckon with. But, his life is his life, and he can make all the questionable decisions he wants, and there's nothing I can do, or want to do, to change that. Now I can finally move on. I don't think I quite realised how emotionally unavailable I had made myself because he never gave me proper closure. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's funny though, lots of people have been saying 'he didn't deserve you, you deserve someone much better'. I just don't know if it's about that, about deserving something. I still don't think he's a bad person. Maybe that's because if I did, then it means I'm stupid for dating him for so long. I don't know. I can't quite articulate what I mean. For example, sometimes it's really clear cut - sometimes good people do date real douchebags and they really don't deserve it - the person doesn't seem like a douchebag but turns out to be a huge gaslighter and mental or something, but sometimes it's a muddle, and the people are both good but it isn't the right time or place for them. I don't know, maybe I'm being too nice. In the end its his life and he can do what he wants with it. I'm disappointed in the way it played out - he could have told me himself, rather than putting my friends in a very awkward position, and my friends could have told me at the time, but I guess he wasn't thinking about me at all, and my friends were thinking about me too much. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, that's enough of an update. I think my writing is a bit flat tonight and I'd like to make it read a bit nicer but I really cannot be bothered. I am feeling a bit flat all over - winter blues I guess, and just generally feeling stuck and unfulfilled with life. But as that phrase goes, 'this too shall pass' (I'm seriously considering getting this tattooed on my forehead).</div></div>godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-21740884313852582912020-03-28T03:13:00.002+00:002020-03-28T03:13:54.267+00:00Are we in a movie?The great pandemic of 2020! Isn't this crazy? Never in my life would I expect that I would be in a government enforced lockdown, stuck on the other side of the world, away from my family and most of my friends, being forced to live 24/7 with someone I have only known for 3 months. But - I am eternally grateful for the circumstances I find myself in - for now, I have a house I don't need to pay rent or bills on, I still have a job, I am able to work from home, and I am in a beautiful part of the world where I step out my front door and am a stone's throw away from a stunning beach, mountain views, and accessible walking tracks.<br />
<br />
I guess I haven't updated in a wee while, so I'll run through the last few months quickly.<br />
<br />
I am much more settled in Kaikoura now. My wise mother has always said 'give everything 3 months, if you don't like it after that then it's OK to quit, but it takes time to bed into something'. It worked with my ex, and with every job I have ever had - the 3 month mark is when things start looking up.<br />
<br />
At first I really struggled - everyone already had their own friend groups set up, the locals are friendly but don't want to be your friend, lots of my co-workers headed back to their hometowns every weekend, and my specific role didn't really allow me to meet many colleagues anyways. So I felt trapped and lonely and like I'd made the wrong decision. Thank God for Dan and Sam, I spent lots of weekends down in Christchurch doing cool stuff like rock climbing and bike rides and getting my fix of board games and socialising. <br />
<br />
I joined a local tramping club and when I showed up realised everyone was over 70. But, they were very friendly and had so much local knowledge - AND they're insane hikers and are fitter than me. It's pretty awe inspiring! Last weekend's hike involved a track that had been closed since the earthquake, and we had to climb/scramble up a muddy spur and traverse over 15 slips which were scary and possible life-enders. These guys are extreme and I want to be like them when I am older!<br />
<br />
I have also joined the local badminton club and I LOVE IT!! I had forgotten how much I liked badminton - I never really found the time for it in Auckland and all the clubs were of a very high level - this is much more varied abilities and I've picked it up really quickly again and am not bad if I say so myself. Whilst I doubt I'll be on 'invite me round for dinner' levels of friendship with the people who go, at least I can say hello to them when I see them in the supermarket now which is nice and making me feel more like a local.<br />
<br />
I've had some other really cool experiences too - I got to go up in a helicopter to take photos of the work we have done on the project, I have been boating with dolphins, I have been out kayaking with seals and been on a biscuit off the back of a boat - all for free!<br />
<br />
I cycle to work most mornings along the most beautiful route - a quiet road and the sea and mountains and I see dolphins sometimes. Life is pretty sweet.<br />
<br />
My mental health is mostly OK - though I did have a weird wobble the other day. I often think of my ex still, much to my brain's annoyance - little things remind me of him, like Tuis and Starwars and letter stamping kits (?!). I don't follow him on any social media, but realised I could still see his Spotify profile and he had a playlist of love songs, and a playlist called 'wedding', and my brain went from 0 to 1,000mph and decided that he'd moved on and gotten married. Highly unlikely given his aversion to commitment, but anything's possible - and it hit me like a bullet train and my face got all hot and I felt sick and couldn't concentrate for the rest of the day. I was really angry at myself that I reacted like that so booked a counselling session to talk it through - it just seems such an overreaction to something I thought I was nearly over.<br />
<br />
Anyways I hope this isn't going to be some sort of prelude to an apocalypse, where I am happily yarning about how good life is and 10 weeks later I have no food, no home, no internet and everyone around me has succumbed the the virus. It's pretty crazy how so much has changed in such a short period. I was pretty blase about it for a long time, especially when I was reading it was mostly old people and people with underlying health conditions affected, and the seasonal flu kills more people (I've never even had the seasonal flu, so no idea what it's like). I was definitely in the camp of 'wow we're being so over the top about this, what the heck' and so I shed a little tear when Jacinda (our incredible Prime Minister) announced that New Zealand was going into lockdown in 48 hours. It seemed very surreal and something that was happening to other countries, not us - and now it's here, and we're curbing our freedom to prevent the spread. But it makes sense, and I am glad our government is being proactive about it not reactive like many countries - the UK to name but a few! I am also weirdly excited to have some enforced down time - I am living with my colleague Emily who's very wholesome and loves cooking and arts and crafts, so I'm going to try and get back into making things again and do all the stuff I want to do but my brain is too fried to attempt after a working week.<br />
<br />
Here's some nice pictures of some recent things to jazz up the post...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9V0oJiV4IO4O4Qfm1myOZWGxTlyd_q93yYp2BMWQk4Yy8AzDH24PtytX3fg2Zmx4lBvFcr4iOrGl1JGgbkuCi-Gv0DY_ZhdILOP8NHY2TDI-LgD_yyHXz2CB3nd4Mlb4xyums_0gjQTg/s1600/IMG_20200325_220708_370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9V0oJiV4IO4O4Qfm1myOZWGxTlyd_q93yYp2BMWQk4Yy8AzDH24PtytX3fg2Zmx4lBvFcr4iOrGl1JGgbkuCi-Gv0DY_ZhdILOP8NHY2TDI-LgD_yyHXz2CB3nd4Mlb4xyums_0gjQTg/s640/IMG_20200325_220708_370.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">seagulls and surfers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHF1D1cMpasFX4IWQvMYOIuG4smERX939Y-HHfMLDkD1pzf_6txFhLSv5VrPTbadsYwHQUG23h6yie-t3NRaFWbvt0v-gW_Qx4cNpT_NNgqqgtvFnLozXcFgeXdCoReKX2duF-Is4oL78/s1600/20200324_082517%25280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHF1D1cMpasFX4IWQvMYOIuG4smERX939Y-HHfMLDkD1pzf_6txFhLSv5VrPTbadsYwHQUG23h6yie-t3NRaFWbvt0v-gW_Qx4cNpT_NNgqqgtvFnLozXcFgeXdCoReKX2duF-Is4oL78/s640/20200324_082517%25280%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">woke up to snow on the mountains - this is the street I live on </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBT1_ucPNSt-N4SoR-oLST-7wXiXCHF23AlqEBEhCzCS0I-ama1otL3dfiVRltMJzYTfWsvDtpWNC-tyEuYV8v56e4LcVEydXJwMGW2ifqJvy1cLFLbje-_jekZwFP1C3X_GxoulSCJwc/s1600/20200323_193413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBT1_ucPNSt-N4SoR-oLST-7wXiXCHF23AlqEBEhCzCS0I-ama1otL3dfiVRltMJzYTfWsvDtpWNC-tyEuYV8v56e4LcVEydXJwMGW2ifqJvy1cLFLbje-_jekZwFP1C3X_GxoulSCJwc/s640/20200323_193413.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">an eerie but beautiful sunset on the last day of freedom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKRkCbz2NqDgkTYxqbQ_Nj72IZfZrLFjVr-QKIfdF5ZLRyZvz6L4e44M8gPHG5GtSMcKbBlFuVgIPHMpbywU-OpbrjmIJmEmm6O-hOlKl0RhA8oCpiAEypsRUOH3YHU0ehm8u-226a2Q/s1600/IMG_20200322_182028_034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKRkCbz2NqDgkTYxqbQ_Nj72IZfZrLFjVr-QKIfdF5ZLRyZvz6L4e44M8gPHG5GtSMcKbBlFuVgIPHMpbywU-OpbrjmIJmEmm6O-hOlKl0RhA8oCpiAEypsRUOH3YHU0ehm8u-226a2Q/s640/IMG_20200322_182028_034.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down at Half Moon Bay from the track </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5SmpWkzFEmCyoNSUOKbgwQ02hi4gqEwCCjKavqVgn48ofamfnzRtUkjkrklw1Bd8ywXOHiGy7H64_fGtZteletF3YvVyQpN9Tk0hUj1rd0K76xJaR9QFdLd2FAwyD71Up8lHSsVrWy0/s1600/20200318_080726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5SmpWkzFEmCyoNSUOKbgwQ02hi4gqEwCCjKavqVgn48ofamfnzRtUkjkrklw1Bd8ywXOHiGy7H64_fGtZteletF3YvVyQpN9Tk0hUj1rd0K76xJaR9QFdLd2FAwyD71Up8lHSsVrWy0/s640/20200318_080726.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sunrise on the train track</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsIc_MBtCSzHIxrSVkuGIUD4IbLywxnzaDHCeBw20cQGyKhylGFvBfyIEC3NXECivcMGG0IhWx67RD0q6J0ZNHjXffQePDTNZNMWzTPglWDWSiD0tSUg4Z4UNXChyKzFi_4gAdUNs2So/s1600/20200316_180618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsIc_MBtCSzHIxrSVkuGIUD4IbLywxnzaDHCeBw20cQGyKhylGFvBfyIEC3NXECivcMGG0IhWx67RD0q6J0ZNHjXffQePDTNZNMWzTPglWDWSiD0tSUg4Z4UNXChyKzFi_4gAdUNs2So/s640/20200316_180618.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a gloomy kayak</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvW92ZWCpmL1jkHX4G_itI-EPjsRX06yPPpdLVo2uVQe82sGrLCiRXCv6G_v7G0IAKe-coqoDp6kEagyScoRZZDEQdPLCo9Gbl5VfJQfVcNN2KANqbM-EfOOoS7HKFxLpqrn6nyTmAg4/s1600/20200314_152740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvW92ZWCpmL1jkHX4G_itI-EPjsRX06yPPpdLVo2uVQe82sGrLCiRXCv6G_v7G0IAKe-coqoDp6kEagyScoRZZDEQdPLCo9Gbl5VfJQfVcNN2KANqbM-EfOOoS7HKFxLpqrn6nyTmAg4/s640/20200314_152740.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">swimming in New Zealand's newest lake, formed by a landslide blocking a stream during the 2016 earthquake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-KX8GjCnIo5Ujh1tYW_yi9_NvIHfihLxpl1eARxYVVCrP9l0eua72i2M-GahhtjYMrymrLCPX8aZGZ52VN4HjVfw2E_E7gkeHQe7LNNMEffgZWVu91IMp8kntzxT9dec1euwtLkhKp8/s1600/20200314_133533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-KX8GjCnIo5Ujh1tYW_yi9_NvIHfihLxpl1eARxYVVCrP9l0eua72i2M-GahhtjYMrymrLCPX8aZGZ52VN4HjVfw2E_E7gkeHQe7LNNMEffgZWVu91IMp8kntzxT9dec1euwtLkhKp8/s640/20200314_133533.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down the Hapuku river</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8LMkqtWn7lH-83-G-8DFBhyphenhyphenBH54YgbPrezgtfwJBi9FdrxDbb5AWfI8jnusmwSRUcKj-NkzYOpx49nQiHAiRoVG2MMJyChrWkiRtLC8XQvnQLkbO4uDUjfb7_1SJvYjBSmaq_VSSHHf8/s1600/20200314_112808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8LMkqtWn7lH-83-G-8DFBhyphenhyphenBH54YgbPrezgtfwJBi9FdrxDbb5AWfI8jnusmwSRUcKj-NkzYOpx49nQiHAiRoVG2MMJyChrWkiRtLC8XQvnQLkbO4uDUjfb7_1SJvYjBSmaq_VSSHHf8/s640/20200314_112808.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">work friends</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjisoOAbRwmk8FVwWzmOvYEVnTeiC40fbJjM3SQasjL7ms3USdxxFgzTazmTQut_tP_6DN7A4tcVC4ZMRJhe2BJUQXXCg_xSY22AojuX-IQB2YnAZgB3YeyQLvCVbVwnw1HHPXjrnPbROQ/s1600/20200312_193448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjisoOAbRwmk8FVwWzmOvYEVnTeiC40fbJjM3SQasjL7ms3USdxxFgzTazmTQut_tP_6DN7A4tcVC4ZMRJhe2BJUQXXCg_xSY22AojuX-IQB2YnAZgB3YeyQLvCVbVwnw1HHPXjrnPbROQ/s640/20200312_193448.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one of the most beautiful sunsets I have witnessed (I say this about every sunset)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFnz30_rsjJxudFYrT48U2u_fkz6f1DloJqZyqc_0vMB3woIXXE4dEMNUPCUfH96gBrNGuUtjQh8iPvXI0aIP6Ll1IYJXbK74qR5bAhyg6sBMgonTkaYR35mUYDfRz_Eus3z-x7EuWJk/s1600/20200308_132422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFnz30_rsjJxudFYrT48U2u_fkz6f1DloJqZyqc_0vMB3woIXXE4dEMNUPCUfH96gBrNGuUtjQh8iPvXI0aIP6Ll1IYJXbK74qR5bAhyg6sBMgonTkaYR35mUYDfRz_Eus3z-x7EuWJk/s640/20200308_132422.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">out on the Inland Road</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfswDike9J5k1qeV9-8y_elF-i_RzpwyMkotiBicIcRsbkpJCyKYpw9e-lKxyIGIECiZiUMOXMXVUyR28TwvpySxlGDpT-U4yRzjV-xFhHf5XaSQ8VTKLq5Lmzkar7Hun-dnRcvy3X030/s1600/20200301_141921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfswDike9J5k1qeV9-8y_elF-i_RzpwyMkotiBicIcRsbkpJCyKYpw9e-lKxyIGIECiZiUMOXMXVUyR28TwvpySxlGDpT-U4yRzjV-xFhHf5XaSQ8VTKLq5Lmzkar7Hun-dnRcvy3X030/s640/20200301_141921.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">touching some rocks in the Port Hills</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbpqnEcB7MJ6wITkJxybbIjbf2rQjC4oEMdYh__jGF_bHQvUSF6fv7YYnBeRqOcsCqB8bPtTePXZdS5uB0sMwioH8MHNpxEm7elB_OvdN9L1DppK7SzfPawKLF2KhM14xMkSya9Gk7GM/s1600/20200228_135101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbpqnEcB7MJ6wITkJxybbIjbf2rQjC4oEMdYh__jGF_bHQvUSF6fv7YYnBeRqOcsCqB8bPtTePXZdS5uB0sMwioH8MHNpxEm7elB_OvdN9L1DppK7SzfPawKLF2KhM14xMkSya9Gk7GM/s640/20200228_135101.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lunch with a view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkFbgUaW3QJjDBMaelRmCUAdU0bbKFDr60atSLEocTS4JAS226wtYcSmxzRzRyhwKjtgctXpnV7cZTOb4zpZ2gfjozVOVHKFpcVNuQowWWj-1w1XRPzxqyv5S3XbWTJFA3M67ePD-ukc/s1600/IMG_20200226_224340_163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkFbgUaW3QJjDBMaelRmCUAdU0bbKFDr60atSLEocTS4JAS226wtYcSmxzRzRyhwKjtgctXpnV7cZTOb4zpZ2gfjozVOVHKFpcVNuQowWWj-1w1XRPzxqyv5S3XbWTJFA3M67ePD-ukc/s640/IMG_20200226_224340_163.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">up the Mt Fyffe track </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuExijkVebB9CshR2UvewJJr5VCGSkbG7cpk0P-zE1fOPlAhZIGykDvGFg0MoxAK4TZiAV_G77qcIVUT-oUeVLY01emUEwRPfo92XidNjA8R-eGmLp9mLr9kOA4Oplhzae8IUkDCfatHU/s1600/20200223_141833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuExijkVebB9CshR2UvewJJr5VCGSkbG7cpk0P-zE1fOPlAhZIGykDvGFg0MoxAK4TZiAV_G77qcIVUT-oUeVLY01emUEwRPfo92XidNjA8R-eGmLp9mLr9kOA4Oplhzae8IUkDCfatHU/s640/20200223_141833.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">in my happy place</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8fBHhhlhaJOoe2_41uLt5rAhIbocjf8i0tknkrI_TKmKSefGzKuY_ITin_XVW2l7BcwTN23mGmdJ7Wr8LYDGP1HknvGK4Or2I0W0oQ7k2zo-nONTOI-fDGMBzLXzG7GggLczMIfMw94/s1600/20200223_134353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="1600" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8fBHhhlhaJOoe2_41uLt5rAhIbocjf8i0tknkrI_TKmKSefGzKuY_ITin_XVW2l7BcwTN23mGmdJ7Wr8LYDGP1HknvGK4Or2I0W0oQ7k2zo-nONTOI-fDGMBzLXzG7GggLczMIfMw94/s640/20200223_134353.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt Fyffe track</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-16457497584798389102020-01-17T09:30:00.001+00:002020-01-17T09:36:15.639+00:00Euro trip finale - a shitty start to Scotland that ended in me falling in loveI'd been back home for all of a week when I got itchy feet and booked a train to Edinburgh. I booked 3 nights in the city, then a bus from Edinburgh to Glasgow, and then car hire for a week so that I could do a bit of a roadie whilst up there.<br />
<br />
Edinburgh was awesome - bloody cold, but awesome. It was so chilly I ended up having to buy extra clothes!! There is so much history and the streets are incredible - tiny little secret alleyways with exciting names like World's End Close, cobbled streets, spired buildings - it's easy to see where JK Rowling drew her inspiration for Harry Potter from.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOmtjXIXkHQXvktnWMoCveDQlDgJtcV-T17Y8BInZ_yhmAxTt_CvaFawEGWVrJNdc_91G0aiye_tNmRLSFpEG8cuamsTS5kFTWrpGjmYnA8th-qBrsb2xkJ1_JTqjtVx_UbuDNcFLU2w/s1600/20191002_170156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOmtjXIXkHQXvktnWMoCveDQlDgJtcV-T17Y8BInZ_yhmAxTt_CvaFawEGWVrJNdc_91G0aiye_tNmRLSFpEG8cuamsTS5kFTWrpGjmYnA8th-qBrsb2xkJ1_JTqjtVx_UbuDNcFLU2w/s640/20191002_170156.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVDNxnbwM5zwzzJTeOfzr0kKgLZWEYAP4JAXGm86n-q8wXGSGO6owfehiqKOk7xuqVRgPKTBvEal0P4zoCdgVbC-Xk5OIMuz1B-yF_usAUUIJjy6oHZvPF_1ZiBi0xwdUdoIydMrZpySo/s1600/20191002_170820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVDNxnbwM5zwzzJTeOfzr0kKgLZWEYAP4JAXGm86n-q8wXGSGO6owfehiqKOk7xuqVRgPKTBvEal0P4zoCdgVbC-Xk5OIMuz1B-yF_usAUUIJjy6oHZvPF_1ZiBi0xwdUdoIydMrZpySo/s640/20191002_170820.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquG4VlWLgdCFiExl4wht_4NBFzEI74G-ifyYRmUiyAZ0Il2frW8qLiGqlokxiFetgvunwBHZIZxP8E1KMSWI-SqIFQwSvDiYZfILTaDJjXC-KSXUby4-ZKz4nv0EnGdh-BxonXMjlrb0/s1600/20191002_173726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquG4VlWLgdCFiExl4wht_4NBFzEI74G-ifyYRmUiyAZ0Il2frW8qLiGqlokxiFetgvunwBHZIZxP8E1KMSWI-SqIFQwSvDiYZfILTaDJjXC-KSXUby4-ZKz4nv0EnGdh-BxonXMjlrb0/s640/20191002_173726.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEOzhXPRC9H9LnWIGn4owPeorQH0F7nJVmNDAwtQJfBGViQg32d8R2m0ab1uImtBivNGsk9FSKuwTYkBlpuCcGnMedG1TZVf6EaW1ZpmZqh2HR1sWHezbmHovce-_mrNAXcmu-f0DT4Qo/s1600/20191002_180226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEOzhXPRC9H9LnWIGn4owPeorQH0F7nJVmNDAwtQJfBGViQg32d8R2m0ab1uImtBivNGsk9FSKuwTYkBlpuCcGnMedG1TZVf6EaW1ZpmZqh2HR1sWHezbmHovce-_mrNAXcmu-f0DT4Qo/s640/20191002_180226.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9dZFOWdBpMmRD7X5usgtvi76ZoTTbE69UwAsuUhORiu8mo3ULlBySArvUqpWaSETgZpprZOFf-0kJRqYCGTMj29oeq6PMF6O8Hc24Bn5kNRyn8LBn89MBQKmLOoZrEt6j5v-4steWc9A/s1600/20191003_094355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9dZFOWdBpMmRD7X5usgtvi76ZoTTbE69UwAsuUhORiu8mo3ULlBySArvUqpWaSETgZpprZOFf-0kJRqYCGTMj29oeq6PMF6O8Hc24Bn5kNRyn8LBn89MBQKmLOoZrEt6j5v-4steWc9A/s640/20191003_094355.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkslo6Gu-o0BABk4hfR52JjH4Ry8rG69ItboQfJLKu60Y3h_jFGhB-e6SyEcwPT90zYZ7n_rMdq5VKJqAkvquQcfV4Cl_1D6ek7eilB4NvoaRXCOhiBtL0FTHSEiwLB1IC0Bj8gXX1Xc/s1600/20191004_111638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkslo6Gu-o0BABk4hfR52JjH4Ry8rG69ItboQfJLKu60Y3h_jFGhB-e6SyEcwPT90zYZ7n_rMdq5VKJqAkvquQcfV4Cl_1D6ek7eilB4NvoaRXCOhiBtL0FTHSEiwLB1IC0Bj8gXX1Xc/s640/20191004_111638.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGGHccyhsWGS7mQtSvwwNAguGAAjmGz5q8jnPKcpO4bNKoxKKoam-ze0Q2VJelp5FDGa-nybOU9EixWs44rv9nTjw-JX17Uz1GML4LvsHqZ5qwIPW1Op0A0pXSdrts_VQ4wEGY73LUxE/s1600/20191004_165746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGGHccyhsWGS7mQtSvwwNAguGAAjmGz5q8jnPKcpO4bNKoxKKoam-ze0Q2VJelp5FDGa-nybOU9EixWs44rv9nTjw-JX17Uz1GML4LvsHqZ5qwIPW1Op0A0pXSdrts_VQ4wEGY73LUxE/s640/20191004_165746.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I did the free walking tour and really enjoyed it - there was heaps to learn such as the haunted cemetery in Greyfriars, and a water fountain that they used to pin criminals to by their ears - all pretty gory stuff!!<br />
<br />
I met a real nice girl called Salma on the tour and we hung out a bit, meeting up to go to a comedy show (when in Edinburgh!) where we got a gift at the end of some lipstick and a condom, a bit random... I hiked up to Arthur's Seat, checked out the museum and went to some art galleries - it was a pretty chill few days.<br />
<br />
The hostel I was staying at wasn't the best - it was comfortable enough but a bit of a party hostel and not very friendly. I was woken up at 4am on my last night there by loads of noise, and I was about to moan about the noise when I tuned into what they were saying....they were talking about poo....on the floor.....my brain slowly clicked into gear and I tentatively took a sniff, and OH MY GOD SOMEONE TOOK A LITERAL SHIT ON THE FLOOR!!!!!! I was in shock and didn't know what to do so I buried my head under my covers and tried to pretend nothing had happened whilst the rest of the dorm room complained about the smell and called reception to come and clean it up. Ah man. City hostels. Urgh. The room went from smelling like poo to smelling like bleach and I struggled to get back to sleep.<br />
<br />
I woke a few hours later to catch my bus to Glasgow, and from there caught another bus to the airport, and from there, called the car hire company for a transfer to their office to pick up my car. After my shitty (literally) morning, I was excited to get on the road and explore - I had a hostel booked in Fort William where I was planning on doing some hikes.<br />
<br />
At the car hire place, they were being extra nice and gave me a free upgrade, which I was slightly suspicious by as we were in a dodgy gravel parking lot in the middle of nowhere, and then I realised why they were being so nice...<br />
<br />
I didn't have a credit card, and they needed one to secure the booking - the only way they'd rent me a car was if I paid £300 on top of what I'd already paid and took out the additional insurance. Annoying. Being the <strike>tight</strike> savvy person that I am, I phoned the broker I'd booked through and asked them if there was anything they could do, and they rather wonderfully agreed to refund me and rebook me with another car hire company who didn't need a credit card, for pretty much the same price - cool!<br />
<br />
So I headed back to the airport and settled in for a 3 hour wait whilst they got my car ready....only for them to tell me 3 hours later that they couldn't give me a car, because my UK license is now invalid because the address on it is out of date. And no, there was nothing they could do...<br />
<br />
At this point I just burst into tears. The day had started awfully with the shitter, and I'd gone from Edinburgh to Glasgow to Glasgow airport to the car hire place to the airport again only to be told I couldn't hire a car, even though the previous company had no issues with my license and the new company made me wait 3 hours before telling me I couldn't hire a car. I was annoyed, tired, flustered, and had to be in Fort William that evening - a 3 hour drive away and it was already 3pm. That's lots of 3s! <br />
<br />
Even though I am a fully grown adult, sometimes you just need to cry on the phone to your Mum, so that's exactly what I did and we considered my options - I was already at the airport so I could fly home, I could stay the night in Glasgow and work out what to do tomorrow, or I could try and make it to Fort William and hitchhike or bus my way around the country.<br />
<br />
Flights home were very expensive and felt a bit defeating, there was no cheap accommodation left in Glasgow, so I looked at busses, saw there was a bus at 6pm to Fort William from Glasgow, and so duly got back on to the bus to the city centre and settled in for another 3 hour wait....sigh.<br />
<br />
In the mean time I called the broker to ask for yet another refund on the car hire (which they gave me - rentalcars.com are AMAZING) and posted in a facebook backpacker group to see if anyone was doing a similar route to me and wanted company - a long shot I know!!<br />
<br />
After leaving Edinburgh at 730am that morning and six bus trips later, I FINALLY rolled into Fort William at 930pm and fell promptly asleep.<br />
<br />
In the morning a miracle happened - an Aussie called Will saw my FB post and had picked up a car the day before and was doing pretty much the same route I wanted to do and was happy to take me with him - SCORE!!!<br />
<br />
So he came to pick me up, I checked he wasn't a serial killer, and we trundled on up to the Isle of Skye - which, by the way, is mind blowing.<br />
<br />
The weather wasn't the best, but it didn't really matter because the place was just so frickin beautiful. We did a hike up to a waterfall which was stunning, and had a lot of drives because it was too rainy to get out - when the rain did stop, we went to Neist Point lighthouse where it was so windy the waterfalls were flying back on themselves, a really interesting sight.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1IQRw3XYLdu8AJsS0KZkIHcg8aM_lbReATQtHDAT10WXKSheB44AejA3neCxaUUTS0Yfi-PepHq8UX03T8cU0v8tfxSel62XqTj1S-a75hEu7CiDZk-dTT9K8kgzAFSUYXU_KfUC5cY/s1600/20191006_120814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1IQRw3XYLdu8AJsS0KZkIHcg8aM_lbReATQtHDAT10WXKSheB44AejA3neCxaUUTS0Yfi-PepHq8UX03T8cU0v8tfxSel62XqTj1S-a75hEu7CiDZk-dTT9K8kgzAFSUYXU_KfUC5cY/s640/20191006_120814.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCQ2gFDlisyxUxBNIwHQ65dW6EHXfq2crND_sSs_VtlhJYrMnVLr2QvJQtV3GrxYc4aCpILOmvh8FHWCFTOLjB5ea5a4ggn9fDwRkE_sS0IjIMWbQ0Lid6MLfAV_DEApU68E1rqbMOJg/s1600/20191006_121546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCQ2gFDlisyxUxBNIwHQ65dW6EHXfq2crND_sSs_VtlhJYrMnVLr2QvJQtV3GrxYc4aCpILOmvh8FHWCFTOLjB5ea5a4ggn9fDwRkE_sS0IjIMWbQ0Lid6MLfAV_DEApU68E1rqbMOJg/s640/20191006_121546.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqozbh9PGxOcAc6HOKyNLUzD05WDT409MLW9R-CzZ_Cvg-RXt02Rp6-bJl0YXXmRKFAf89fmXOP_EE-8IggProSwmf8xUhzt_Ayhrfv8NiGNpfNaUs1d9DMWRU7Y1TwBFpRcr6nZWDedo/s1600/20191006_123442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqozbh9PGxOcAc6HOKyNLUzD05WDT409MLW9R-CzZ_Cvg-RXt02Rp6-bJl0YXXmRKFAf89fmXOP_EE-8IggProSwmf8xUhzt_Ayhrfv8NiGNpfNaUs1d9DMWRU7Y1TwBFpRcr6nZWDedo/s640/20191006_123442.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHH0Vt3GYhhfNtQrSg4b1UGcdny1GV6cWnWAVlP10aoX_VDz044tgHmWvWwNGnAgfoVbAnPOhbvwXdBV-iMsfJoUFXrdiytA4N1YEcV_rSjUAlRso-ZHnGb8xE-JUyMoqqNXgtEVfovX4/s1600/20191006_133025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHH0Vt3GYhhfNtQrSg4b1UGcdny1GV6cWnWAVlP10aoX_VDz044tgHmWvWwNGnAgfoVbAnPOhbvwXdBV-iMsfJoUFXrdiytA4N1YEcV_rSjUAlRso-ZHnGb8xE-JUyMoqqNXgtEVfovX4/s640/20191006_133025.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstILffUgnVsVvLhLL9vTdJk46hHTLAcvr1xirobx5jcz6LLNrnLNS54cBxZo2IS1r6KOl-mOyvsMp_2nOfFy4IvNAyIPCBmn3IK5eJHkA4FZa4SLeah7hz2k7eogxwVbWTNrzA3zA53I/s1600/20191006_151413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstILffUgnVsVvLhLL9vTdJk46hHTLAcvr1xirobx5jcz6LLNrnLNS54cBxZo2IS1r6KOl-mOyvsMp_2nOfFy4IvNAyIPCBmn3IK5eJHkA4FZa4SLeah7hz2k7eogxwVbWTNrzA3zA53I/s640/20191006_151413.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXw_vVaMPb4kziZ6sgFQzVFyV_DFd3yOFfgDjbNXSZpSKJwnzd_mQbaRoF56g6IxP4tLxeuN7myrZEPbaeADNtXRI2CGy3rWRsYyDKSNwpMzeFORdS5c7v8XUya4bVwmD84tKjCS0AVeM/s1600/20191006_155638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXw_vVaMPb4kziZ6sgFQzVFyV_DFd3yOFfgDjbNXSZpSKJwnzd_mQbaRoF56g6IxP4tLxeuN7myrZEPbaeADNtXRI2CGy3rWRsYyDKSNwpMzeFORdS5c7v8XUya4bVwmD84tKjCS0AVeM/s640/20191006_155638.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYY2gEbwLhI2x7eO6okF_N_qEOXY3I_bNUTDzSDdxnZHdNB1r3mzPH2KZnguZtKGOWeNyOuROWjPqD59GKIcdDQYQIECte2FFZqlXiTdX3UVSgZOU5V6GVUaiyLYW1ooG7dIDr70SSyTE/s1600/20191006_160725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYY2gEbwLhI2x7eO6okF_N_qEOXY3I_bNUTDzSDdxnZHdNB1r3mzPH2KZnguZtKGOWeNyOuROWjPqD59GKIcdDQYQIECte2FFZqlXiTdX3UVSgZOU5V6GVUaiyLYW1ooG7dIDr70SSyTE/s640/20191006_160725.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8l_dNjJvL4j4DlX2DxWpsGokJnN3rH0LItj-mt1ks2WyFdmlz35-jRokD0qanwlEIY_l44o5qdp7fQwzHRd6P7homcVBuJEkz2em8dYYokZpTvUoK0rbYZkXOLZBLeyxskIpigkHaRcQ/s1600/20191007_120215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8l_dNjJvL4j4DlX2DxWpsGokJnN3rH0LItj-mt1ks2WyFdmlz35-jRokD0qanwlEIY_l44o5qdp7fQwzHRd6P7homcVBuJEkz2em8dYYokZpTvUoK0rbYZkXOLZBLeyxskIpigkHaRcQ/s640/20191007_120215.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBEmg4BuEMvVZxJX1Rc-eVtK0CBS1fSEyBegYLvhOy4YSO2TVzwMn0bHmLU7ERugm9SO5I0TURX8jcq4etEgekzM9IHpkTvrgT2ULpdvhFdWcVCpK0ajLIa_uhsE8uvNRlxlTlMrKIYQ/s1600/20191007_124013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBEmg4BuEMvVZxJX1Rc-eVtK0CBS1fSEyBegYLvhOy4YSO2TVzwMn0bHmLU7ERugm9SO5I0TURX8jcq4etEgekzM9IHpkTvrgT2ULpdvhFdWcVCpK0ajLIa_uhsE8uvNRlxlTlMrKIYQ/s640/20191007_124013.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The next few days were spent dodging rain and lots of car time, but the journey was absolutely stunning, even in the rain. We drove to a hostel in the middle of nowhere - Achvraie, taking the scenic route along the NC500. The mountains were insanely beautiful and made me well up inside. The hostel was adorable - no internet, very cosy, thick stone walls and bathrooms you had to go outside to get to - very old school. I'd love to go back there with a bunch of friends, booze, board games and food.<br />
<br />
We carried on to Inverness and stayed at a youth hostel there that felt very horror movie vibes, then the Cairngorms, and eventually back to Edinburgh where we hit a comedy club before parting ways.<br />
<br />
Scotland was BEAUTIFUL and I cannot wait to go back and spend more time there.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRF_Ce6RhZ9znpjvnj8idX_HrPauhCYdxX89Ic-I7WqAb2vFoVdMjQzMmwoJwBXuYREWzLJyaF4KFroNVBQUAHEeRjRUepXk3MMJznuYQpBNtz0qSVnjiO9Mr08_E-U0VxVxFDUBsxguw/s1600/20191007_143908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRF_Ce6RhZ9znpjvnj8idX_HrPauhCYdxX89Ic-I7WqAb2vFoVdMjQzMmwoJwBXuYREWzLJyaF4KFroNVBQUAHEeRjRUepXk3MMJznuYQpBNtz0qSVnjiO9Mr08_E-U0VxVxFDUBsxguw/s640/20191007_143908.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGdf-Rq31wn3aDj8flen8Da0fc0BjhGOUY0SHzCDlTqQiAES-pJkucAfAQ8HPj26jBH9NbFIlvmugxRocN6fucCkx8xNJNF8IAKHBgwqi5DQQEYnhV28kTbNvvLRXuroRng3_0A1eBFk/s1600/20191008_115040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1325" data-original-width="1600" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGdf-Rq31wn3aDj8flen8Da0fc0BjhGOUY0SHzCDlTqQiAES-pJkucAfAQ8HPj26jBH9NbFIlvmugxRocN6fucCkx8xNJNF8IAKHBgwqi5DQQEYnhV28kTbNvvLRXuroRng3_0A1eBFk/s640/20191008_115040.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnPPLz7FXxwsOuji5bGCPJbty4W8uy2nQaMxOicR12bqLNr3603dHj8u2Vvv_x6fP68-jG3TZyYzpJ_kLZTn0Smq8hCc2in_YkyLeK9rDcW1_TygCYXsAyDkKn5XfKWBttGk0DFv96S0/s1600/20191008_122342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnPPLz7FXxwsOuji5bGCPJbty4W8uy2nQaMxOicR12bqLNr3603dHj8u2Vvv_x6fP68-jG3TZyYzpJ_kLZTn0Smq8hCc2in_YkyLeK9rDcW1_TygCYXsAyDkKn5XfKWBttGk0DFv96S0/s640/20191008_122342.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimr5EmiQ1_V-oFpKWsVcC1ONsffNtoCsm2ematVvo6vx52FLwn7jpP-fir-A_OjFJxgqgF87NSSbkgwuO340HxmgWms7-CkLAG5ODrzCxgp5ZEVFVYsE6nfL84D5Mf87USdhC24PP7nsA/s1600/20191008_151507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimr5EmiQ1_V-oFpKWsVcC1ONsffNtoCsm2ematVvo6vx52FLwn7jpP-fir-A_OjFJxgqgF87NSSbkgwuO340HxmgWms7-CkLAG5ODrzCxgp5ZEVFVYsE6nfL84D5Mf87USdhC24PP7nsA/s640/20191008_151507.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhK7hFaxvMwQfEirRFeY_BdDPoLmUvXiD9kpt9tqoe0yFPObB3Nvclr-b2cw5qxXbVxRHK3JhVyJFYaNrvnTQT5j5hdr2t6GidN5gTFBYyMfEjGa_PnbDuwSN5HaDbD1Oq77gJfe2oq8w/s1600/20191008_175548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhK7hFaxvMwQfEirRFeY_BdDPoLmUvXiD9kpt9tqoe0yFPObB3Nvclr-b2cw5qxXbVxRHK3JhVyJFYaNrvnTQT5j5hdr2t6GidN5gTFBYyMfEjGa_PnbDuwSN5HaDbD1Oq77gJfe2oq8w/s640/20191008_175548.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9sNR2DxY2hWPZtPiZ1OXRBJ6cGJK_WjGCp1QL7meDKP9vLus7MbAb3tdcfFmWeslVmg5fS7mYuGvq8WYYCGTqwWUiZLC_on7yDmU6EdGZsgabBUuwv2gGf1ZcmlzJaMocwAilrh0D2c/s1600/20191008_192341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1112" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9sNR2DxY2hWPZtPiZ1OXRBJ6cGJK_WjGCp1QL7meDKP9vLus7MbAb3tdcfFmWeslVmg5fS7mYuGvq8WYYCGTqwWUiZLC_on7yDmU6EdGZsgabBUuwv2gGf1ZcmlzJaMocwAilrh0D2c/s640/20191008_192341.jpg" width="444" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCu47V_jc65170-oefGZ2zx6GC2-zE2BSheRjQch0-I3F1SdxpnYPeOlCX1RE0foyr8fSvFGKfVIjVH4L-B1lNUqI9ulhv_fteObRM38VyboaNBBMZd8uCrD3p2XAPH58gdKfAOopx9UQ/s1600/20191009_095910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCu47V_jc65170-oefGZ2zx6GC2-zE2BSheRjQch0-I3F1SdxpnYPeOlCX1RE0foyr8fSvFGKfVIjVH4L-B1lNUqI9ulhv_fteObRM38VyboaNBBMZd8uCrD3p2XAPH58gdKfAOopx9UQ/s640/20191009_095910.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReJ-xOmqcU95x5BsdGRx3Ua2O78XEBydJbt2k6dTf8mlXqaWbmxkPv0mNngTGHa9cO_MIUATqrulZfXg4hAHPIVokwbEFzQMvQnO8T-FovLloR2VCDRXbHq6H6dBa3tsE8svuVCiMQJc/s1600/20191011_104238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReJ-xOmqcU95x5BsdGRx3Ua2O78XEBydJbt2k6dTf8mlXqaWbmxkPv0mNngTGHa9cO_MIUATqrulZfXg4hAHPIVokwbEFzQMvQnO8T-FovLloR2VCDRXbHq6H6dBa3tsE8svuVCiMQJc/s640/20191011_104238.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I used BlaBlaCar to find a ride to Manchester to stop off and see my good friend Cesca - I haven't seen her since she had her kiddo Joseph so was very excited to meet him. BlaBlaCar is pretty awesome - you sign up and say where you want to go, and it matches you with people doing similar rides to you (also works if you're heading somewhere and want to share the car). I ended up paying £25 for a door to door car ride with some wonderful Greek people whereas I could have got a train for more than double that and it would have taken even longer.<br />
<br />
It was SOOOO nice to see Cesca and David again - and to meet the little human they created!! Honestly it blows my mind how my friends now have kids. The weekend was spent catching up in the company of good friends and dog walks - it was pretty wonderful.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLlyhFFmHYTdzvxAHgdD9srlTKDiNqvjZnQuC6jBZUj_awDJTCqc69e-wTEeLPzhPrqDERlHQVbOtGb9fH84paxrbyc7SSnd4RWz9vZ5Iz6iaBOvye_ynLxYJ_o5yfAXJD7TwCoU6tLo/s1600/20191012_211447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLlyhFFmHYTdzvxAHgdD9srlTKDiNqvjZnQuC6jBZUj_awDJTCqc69e-wTEeLPzhPrqDERlHQVbOtGb9fH84paxrbyc7SSnd4RWz9vZ5Iz6iaBOvye_ynLxYJ_o5yfAXJD7TwCoU6tLo/s640/20191012_211447.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Then back home to Kent, where I spent some more time with family and Sepha, a quick weekend in Paris to visit Becky, before hopping back on a plane to Auckland.<br />
<br />
I was nervous to go back - I was going back to nothing - no job, no house, but also very ready - I'd had my fill of family and England and bouncing from place to place, and was looking forward to some stability. I was also interested to see how it would feel when I landed - I distinctly remember last time that it felt like home, and I wasn't sure how much of that was tied up with Aric. But I breathed a sigh of relief when it still felt like home when I landed this time too - so that's a nice sign.godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0Scotland, UK56.490671199999987 -4.202645800000027547.764661199999985 -24.856942800000027 65.216681199999982 16.451651199999972tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-3237991152076847962020-01-05T09:03:00.003+00:002020-01-05T09:04:05.245+00:00Looking back and going forwardsBack in 2017, I wrote (in my opinion) a <a href="https://thebeastisloose.blogspot.com/2017/01/2016-year-i-finally-got-to-sing-no.html" target="_blank">really awesome post</a> summing up 2016. 2016 was a ROCKING year. It was all shiny and new. Everything was an adventure. I made some great friends and did some really cool shit. I challenged myself a lot.<br />
<br />
2017 was good. Not as new, but still good. I was messed about by a boy. Things in my flat started to fall apart and so I moved out. I was in a bit of a flux regards visas and jobs and had to take a job I wasn't sold on to stay in the country. I met Aric and fell in love. Things got quite stable.<br />
<br />
2018 was also good, but less shiny. I moved in with Aric, and experienced what I presume being an adult felt like. We had a joint bank account. We did "couple" things. I was incredibly happy with our relationship. But, our future was uncertain because of his job, which kind of hovered above us like a cloud. And my job - well, it fucking sucked. Hated it. Had to do it for visa reasons and hated it. Ugh. It made me cry and doubt myself as a decent person. I got residency and left as soon as I could. I took a solo trip to Sydney and remembered that I was brave and able to travel alone. I was meant to take a few months out and work out what I wanted to do with my life, but I got scared about being unemployed and took a job almost immediately. The role wasn't great but the people were amazing. I had some fun adventures with friends, but they weren't as frequent or as exciting and relaxed as they had been in 2016. Maybe I was looking back with rose tinted glasses. My passion for sustainability grew. Aric decided not to continue our relationship. In hindsight, a sensible decision, but a heartbreaking one. I moved out. I wasn't in a good place for a long time.<br />
<br />
2019 has been the fallout from the last few years. It's been a year of finding all my broken pieces and putting them back together again. It's been a messy one. I haven't known what direction I was going in. I guess the direction was just forwards, because that's how time works. I spent 6 months in a daze and in denial about my relationship being over. Then I went to Europe for 4 months. I guess I was running away. It was good though. I set up my nai_sees_green instagram after being saddened by all the litter I saw. I did some cool shit, met some cool people, and broadened my horizons. I spent lots of money - luckily money that I could afford to spend. I was a basic bitch and got a tattoo to remind me of my travels. I explored more of my home country. I met my friend's babies - actual little humans they created. Madness.<br />
<br />
I anxiously returned to New Zealand, to nothing but a country I loved and friends I missed. I managed to avoid ghosts of the past. A good friend saved my bacon and put me up for a month. Another good friend got me random jobs to help my travel debt - pizza truck, pizza shop, supermarket sampler. I got rejected for some jobs. I reached out to people and got a sustainability internship with a consultant. Lasted 2 weeks before I was asked to go down to the South Island for a 3 month contract in a comms role, all expenses paid. Barely had to think twice, though I did feel very bad ditching the sustainability guy - though I have kept the door open. Went to the South Island, knowing no one and not really knowing what my job was. Feel very lonely and wondering if I made the wrong decision.<br />
<br />
Headed back to Auckland for Christmas and travelled with a friend from home. Slowly started to feel more 'me' again. Did a very long drive down to Christchurch to spend New Years with old friends, they took me rock climbing, on a hike, on a swim. Felt more 'me' than I have done in a very long time. I think I might be put back together again.<br />
<br />
I feel calm and collected and like I am heading in a direction now. I know what I want out of life. I want a job I enjoy, I want a house to call my own, and friends to invite round for boardgames and drinks. I want a pet to make the house a home. I want to nourish my hobbies and get relatively average at somthing, rather than trying something once and stopping because I am not good at it. I want to find someone I love and can share my life with. But if I don't do the last bit - that's ok. I don't mind being single. For all of the above, I don't need a guy to make me happy - I just need me and my mental health to be OK.<br />
<br />
So I reckon 2020 is all about building the life that I want to lead. Earn money, get a nice job, surround myself with wonderful people who build me up and energise me. Buy a house, settle somewhere. It may take longer than 2020 as life likes to throw curve balls, but at least I have something to aim for.<br />
<br />
Happy new year :)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzeoW_NkbHuBn2ZCm4ZMoYKMVe5ANqYU7xIU3NnCfKjTV0y_dfLUsg80urJTsXlAKMmbUobo_n1qpw2jYF2hiqkQotVQxGdmqgdIRyK_QQ7vcag_qvFy8baRuP-UiRe52PuwGb5RfjpI/s1600/20191231_205911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzeoW_NkbHuBn2ZCm4ZMoYKMVe5ANqYU7xIU3NnCfKjTV0y_dfLUsg80urJTsXlAKMmbUobo_n1qpw2jYF2hiqkQotVQxGdmqgdIRyK_QQ7vcag_qvFy8baRuP-UiRe52PuwGb5RfjpI/s640/20191231_205911.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-21667467957853605902019-12-19T08:30:00.001+00:002019-12-19T08:30:07.100+00:00Euro trip - Austria, Czechia and Slovakia, Germany<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Speeding through the rest of my trip as, with no pictures because a) wifi is still terrible and b) I am so far behind and soon it'll be 2020 and I want to do one of those emo sentimental yearly roundups, and I am super anal about blog order so gotta catch up!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So....</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We then headed to Vienna, making a couple of pitstops
on the way, including at an amazing ice cream place where they have cows on
site that they milk and turn into icecream there and then so it’s super
fresh. Having said that, I ended up with
a vegan icecream because I am limiting my dairy – but it was bloody delicious! We
also went to Georg’s grandparents place in Durnstein, a very quaint old town
where King Richard 1 was help captive.
His grandparents were super friendly and gave us lots of fruit they had
growing in their garden.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anja was an incredible host and took me on a 2 day tour
around Vienna – it’s a pretty city but very big so I was graeful to have a
local! She also introduced me to lots of local foods, including her favourite
dumplings – in Austria they can be sweet or savoury, so I was surprised to be
served up chocolate dumplings – my dumpling experience has been the Asian sort
or the stodgy British sort. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On one of the days I snuck across to Slovakia as it was only
1 hour bus ride away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went to
Bratislava and did a free city tour and learned a few random things including
cat fish is a Christmas delicacy and they catch it a few weeks before Christmas
and keep it alive in their bath to get the mud taste out, and at Easter they
have an odd tradition where they spray girls with water and whip them gently….<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also got a tattoo!! I have been thinking about it for aaaaaaages, and always been too scared/unsure of what I wanted on my body for the rest of my life. However a thought struck me - I was with Anja when she got her first tattoo, and thought it would be nice if Anja was with me for when I got my first tattoo - so did some research and decided I wanted to feature my favourite things on my body - the ocean, mountains and forests. I also wanted it somewhere not too obvious, so if I didn't like it then I didn't need to look at it all day, haha. I googled tattoo artists in Vienna, went to a few to check out their vibe and compare prices, and booked in for the next day - woo!! I made a rookie error of not getting them to draw it out on paper first - he drew straight onto my body in felt tip then went over it in ink, and so it's not entirely the style I wanted - however I do really like it and hopefully it doesn't look tacky and I'll love it forever. Also - it didn't hurt! Well a little, but not half as much as I was expecting. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I knew it, it was time to wave goodbye to Anja and
Georg and take the train to Prague!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By this point I was getting a bit over cities, and it was
more of a stopover as I had time to kill before meeting Franzi in Berlin. My
time in Prague was spent wandering the streets, taking photos and trying not to
get distracted by the copious amounts of naked people sunbathing in the
parks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a very cool city but I spent
a lot of the time wishing I was with someone else – spending time with Anja
made me miss traveling with someone and I was eager to meet up with Franzi. I
wasn’t staying in a super social hostel and spent my time avoiding a overly
eager older gentleman who showed way too much interest in me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would however like to go back to Czechia
and explore a bit more – there are parts that look beautiful, and it’s a cheap
country to travel in. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think I might have cried when I saw Franzi, I can't remember, but it was SO NICE to see her - capital letters to extra emphasise how nice it was to see her!!!! (and some exclamation marks for added measure).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Again, my stars had aligned as they had with Anja - Franzi had a couple of weeks off before uni began and I happened to be nearby, so we arranged to meet at Berlin airport and then go on a 2 week road trip down to Bavaria in her parent's campervan - I was SO FRIGGIN EXCITED.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the airport we went back to her parent's house in Potsdam to spend the night and pick up the camper, then headed to Braunschweig where she now lives. She gave me a bicycle tour of the city and we went kayaking, then headed south to Bavaria with her friend Sarah, who we were dropping off on the way down. Sarah lives in a tiny little town called Reid near Ingolstadt, and her parents have an awesome farm where they grow grapes, apples, their own veges and a whole lotta corn. I learnt a lot about farming in the 2 days we were there - it was cool!!! We were looked after very well and ate lots of homegrown food, it was delicious. We went for a hike along the Danube and did some geocaching, then waved our goodbyes to her parents and carried on our trip. We stopped off in Munich to go to the Deutsches Museum, which was brilliant and I wish we had more time in there - it is so interactive and well worth the entry fee! They had some very interesting exhibitions on climate change and sustainability and renewable energy! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Southern Germany is beautiful - the alps are stunning and to be honest this blog nor my pictures will do it justice. I had been so smug about New Zealand being so beautiful, but Europe is just as stunning, if not more so when it comes to mountains! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The beginning of the trip was pretty chilly and I had to borrow some clothes from Franzi - living in a van is cold and I only had summer clothes, oops! We explored some of King Ludwig's castles - corr he had a good eye for design, they were beautiful!! We went to Lindenhof in the rain and did a free tour of the gardens, Franzi kindly translating what the tour guide was saying :) We then drove to Fussen via Austria which was a very stunning drive along huge mountain lakes which felt very magical with the low cloud and little traffic. We also checked out the famous Neuschwanstein castle, which I think has inspired many a Disney castle! It is very impressive, perched on top of a hill, surrounded by mountains! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The rain finally stopped after a few days so we made the most of it, having alfresco breakfasts (I discovered THE BEST cereal by Dr Oetker, I miss it so bad, can't get it here) and reading books in the sun - basically being lazy lizards. Living out of the van was awesome - I loved having kitchen and lounge on wheels - everywhere is home!! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On one of the days we did a super cool hike - Walchensee to Herzogstand, and across to Heimgarten. Again - absolutely stunning. We walked along a mountain ridge that had a high grading and we were a little bit scared as from a distance, it looked like a knife edge - but in reality it wasn't that bad. Randomly we met an old guy on the ridge who started asking us 'young people' about his new mobile phone contract and he wanted to know if he had got a good deal or not - bless him. Both peaks had beer gardens on top so we indulged before heading down to the lake for a quick, very chilly dip. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before we knew it, it was time to head back North, so we broke up the journey by stopping at Dachau Concentration Camp. Morbidly, I have always wanted to go to a concentration camp - I guess we studied it a lot at school and so it's a part of history I wanted to explore more. The camp is incredible - they've struck a really good balance of respect for the victims and educating the public. It's harrowing what went on there and for the most part we walked around in silence absorbing it all, sometimes in tears. Unfortunately I was shocked to see people taking selfies there - I truly don't understand why people do this. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Franzi dropped me off at Berlin airport, we shed a few tears of goodbye, and I jumped on a plane to Bristol where I had a long overdue catch up with Lisa and Mark and my brother and his girlfriend. I love Bristol, it's definitely a city I could live in. Me and Lis did a nice walk and I had dinner with Jord and his girlfriend - it made me realise I have never in my entire life hung out with him as a friend, only as a brother as part of a family gathering - and it was really nice!! It's weird to think of him as independent from the family narrative but there he was, being all grown up in his own flat that he shares with his long term girlfriend, I was proud! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mum and Tim came up too so we had a family dinner and I hitched a ride with them back to Kent. I was home for maybe 2 weeks before I got itchy feet again, so booked a train to Scotland - more on that in the next blog post! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-59828863159856833612019-12-16T07:50:00.002+00:002019-12-16T07:50:52.485+00:00Eurotrip 2019 - Slovenia** My internet is terrible so I'll upload photos to this post another time.<br />
<br />
A bloody long overnight bus ride (I'll do anything to save some cash!) took me from Sarajevo to Ljubljana, a place I immediately fell in love with. After the rough around the edges Balkans, Ljubljana was clean, tidy, had fresh air, no traffic, water fountains, free and clean public toilets, was very green, lots of public spaces, loads of recycling facilities including composting, heaps of bike transport, lovely architecture, I loved it!!<br />
<br />
I didn't really do much as it was super hot and the hostel I was staying at was a bit far out of town, so I would leave in the morning and just walk around the city for ages, stopping every now and then for an ice cream and a Byrek. As usual I did the free city tour which was OK, wandered up to the castle, walked along the river, and generally just soaked in the atmosphere.<br />
<br />
I headed to Bled a few days later which I was SO EXCITED about. I have wanted to go here for the longest time, and was so glad I was finally making the trip. It's a very small town dominated by a very big, bluest of the blues, lake, with a charming little church in the centre on an island.<br />
<br />
On my first day I hiked up into hills behind the lake to get a good view of the lake and town below - I highly recommend this hike, look for Mala Osojnica on a map and basically take any of the routes up - steep but so worth it!<br />
<br />
The second day I gathered some fellow hostel guests to swim with me to the church in the centre of the lake. The water was warm and clear and tasted so fresh (I accidentally drank some) and an absolute luxury to swim in. The amount of times on this trip I have said 'I wish I had a gopro', I really just need to buy the bloody thing. I spent the afternoon doing some geocaching with a girl I met in the hostel and eating the famous Bled cream cake - which I surprisingly didn't like very much. Was kinda like a custard slice but not as nice.<br />
<br />
The next day was very exciting - Anja came to meet me!!!! <a href="https://thebeastisloose.blogspot.com/2016/04/nz-heading-north-with-anja.html" target="_blank">Remember Anja</a>? I met her when I was working at Kinloch Lodge, and we travelled new Zealand together for 3 weeks. She lives in Austria so I dropped her a message to say I was in Europe and would be cool to meet up, and she said she was going to be in Slovenia around the same time I was - cool!!! She booked some accommodation in Kranjska Gora in northern Slovenia, picked me up from Bled, then we drove north via Lake Bohinj and an expensive waterfall called Slap Savica - I didn't really rate either of them to be honest, after seeing Lake Bled it's hard to beat.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the weather didn't play ball for most of the time we were there, so our dreams of hiking the Julian Alps were smashed to pieces when the storms came rumbling in, but we did still get out and explore.<br />
<br />
We visited the Planica Nordic Centre, which has huge ski jumps which you can walk up - they were so high the clouds covered them - those ski jumpers are brave! We checked out the Slovenian Alpine Museum, which is great for a rainy day (and a sunny day too actually - I learnt a lot!) and when we were there they had an exhibition on female Alpine climbers - bad ass! There is a free coach that takes you from the Alpine Museum up into the Radovna Valley, so we walked a bit to a waterfall - this one was really awesome, Slap Pericnik, and free!) then got the bus the rest of the way to the top of the valley and all the way down again. One night we drove to Italy for a pizza, just because we could (my mind is still blown at the fact that in central Europe you can visit 4 different countries in one day).<br />
<br />
My favourite day was when we thought the weather was still going to be lame, so we took a drive over the mountain pass in Triglav National Park over to Trenta and the Soca Valley. We left in the cold and rain, and as we got higher the skies cleared and the rain was left behind, and we ended up in a super sunny spot - with no sun cream or sunglasses, oops! But we did a cool little hike to the start of the Soca river, which ended up in a scary scramble along a waterfall, and later on a beautiful walk along the river gorge. It was a stunning day!godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-85910525931682900432019-11-13T03:53:00.003+00:002019-11-13T03:58:57.036+00:00Eurotrip 2019 - SarajevoRight, Sarajevo. It's all a distant memory now!<br />
<br />
I got a train from Virpazar to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, where I then had an hour or so to kill before getting a 7 hour bus to Sarajevo. The journey was beautiful - we drove alongside a stunning gorge that rivalled anything I had seen in New Zealand, though the ride was slightly terrifying because the driver was on his phone the entire time, there was only a small barrier on the side of the road then a huge plunge into the river, and we went through hundreds of tunnels that had no reinforcements inside. But we made it!<br />
<br />
<br />
From Sarajevo bus station I took a tram into the city centre then went and found my hostel, dumped my stuff and headed out for a wander. I don't know what was wrong with me but I was feeling really dazey and tired, and at one point as I was crossing a car park a whole bunch of men were shouting and creating a commotion. I ignored them as it's a loud city and assumed they were all talking to eachother when I suddenly came to my senses and out of my peripheral vision I saw a carpark barrier coming down straight for my head. I ducked away just in time , witnessed the men all shaking their heads at me and realised they'd been trying to warn me of my impending head injury. Oops.<br />
<br />
At that point I decided it was probably time to get some food inside me and have an early night.<br />
<br />
I really liked Sarajevo. It has a lot going on - heaps of tucked away bars and clubs, secret alleyways, restaurants, galleries. It was a lot more westernised than Mostar, and had a young population. I was lucky to coincide my visit with the opening night of the Sarajevo Film Festival, and watched 'stars' walking down the red carpet (I had no clue who they were).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Hpouwm5j4tLxVHhcroo8D8vF6NmvEENOVR5CzPytuJ9xnpFiZEFGjKf3l6eWSCvWPZPPezw7DcBNDz3DxTndA3U8lN3M5sLZkupL1BDOFUPsK5w3VB5zNCocblMh7yBSoG8ihn64aXw/s1600/20190816_202019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Hpouwm5j4tLxVHhcroo8D8vF6NmvEENOVR5CzPytuJ9xnpFiZEFGjKf3l6eWSCvWPZPPezw7DcBNDz3DxTndA3U8lN3M5sLZkupL1BDOFUPsK5w3VB5zNCocblMh7yBSoG8ihn64aXw/s640/20190816_202019.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Eugif4lzERd3J7Ey6i_2XRfZWbGpDQplUd4yGRjELU6mmr-fahMMYAnHwUUoBZjgGpMpKQkGlz0HGBQShv5F34BfX6sHXJH_VMibxEakos3MDVMaI-YCmFuyZd-TlUKC5bQkmWCSemA/s1600/20190816_202036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Eugif4lzERd3J7Ey6i_2XRfZWbGpDQplUd4yGRjELU6mmr-fahMMYAnHwUUoBZjgGpMpKQkGlz0HGBQShv5F34BfX6sHXJH_VMibxEakos3MDVMaI-YCmFuyZd-TlUKC5bQkmWCSemA/s640/20190816_202036.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RlcPn4KkouUAAZQqDgRcJ9H0PK_z8tM2tgWssOL8RcuafjPZ4G7FmIxV6vhw439OUt7cAOmZcLBv3vod5rOZBZUAIw7NrcZ-y7LGxoJEEiOJ5VpXpLArSaHq3ay3R_0vuJkj3HHQWoc/s1600/20190817_112236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RlcPn4KkouUAAZQqDgRcJ9H0PK_z8tM2tgWssOL8RcuafjPZ4G7FmIxV6vhw439OUt7cAOmZcLBv3vod5rOZBZUAIw7NrcZ-y7LGxoJEEiOJ5VpXpLArSaHq3ay3R_0vuJkj3HHQWoc/s640/20190817_112236.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTakztiHmdzX9p9WW15qKPJhkD9o3c31XDsw8DH6J6L9yA_3lOrserV66i88TcWLU1US5ykid2935eAIz5GPLkUbPpQpM5dJPH_hhHhhzIOV7mw4SrAxY7869GyNsv2kTOW2f6Eu86l8g/s1600/20190817_112538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTakztiHmdzX9p9WW15qKPJhkD9o3c31XDsw8DH6J6L9yA_3lOrserV66i88TcWLU1US5ykid2935eAIz5GPLkUbPpQpM5dJPH_hhHhhzIOV7mw4SrAxY7869GyNsv2kTOW2f6Eu86l8g/s640/20190817_112538.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently the ugliest building in Sarajevo - I loved it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7k1VZCi5-aPVzT03lN9gIQHaVXsCC_ueyPkFMhk8XcfOV7MZtH8NFm8zBzjN2uEoSlRrMLtL-AW3sxtRi2m_uSFG98TErhhNAJHYRT41Klo5hJavfMc0Qddf57qA746E8ScVpkVxNP7g/s1600/20190817_114851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7k1VZCi5-aPVzT03lN9gIQHaVXsCC_ueyPkFMhk8XcfOV7MZtH8NFm8zBzjN2uEoSlRrMLtL-AW3sxtRi2m_uSFG98TErhhNAJHYRT41Klo5hJavfMc0Qddf57qA746E8ScVpkVxNP7g/s640/20190817_114851.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bridge that Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPoDTwvEgOJsYSnV4_1XnPmewl2lAfsCSTKH4mj7cOADc6NJcrEBZyn3jpXWBbLwc1Nun5MAcufOXcrLdUQyMDQ78PV0ZH1jScFOhSznk71baGeUl2l0cpDEG10Tz86DbXzBQrUWfVdM/s1600/20190817_122126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPoDTwvEgOJsYSnV4_1XnPmewl2lAfsCSTKH4mj7cOADc6NJcrEBZyn3jpXWBbLwc1Nun5MAcufOXcrLdUQyMDQ78PV0ZH1jScFOhSznk71baGeUl2l0cpDEG10Tz86DbXzBQrUWfVdM/s640/20190817_122126.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarajevo's brewery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrAL1FXWo6sRI4k6tX9-l5PJF5SDQgVu-xMQHmnVZa5xdTNIMnq8IQ2aiLb5S7fXvWwRkq5AvGr3QtZWAVhUfslia0viVaO50UtUU0ryAphVu4izdTwm9-G3OFBL2BugfrEj60RkEgUew/s1600/20190817_132226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrAL1FXWo6sRI4k6tX9-l5PJF5SDQgVu-xMQHmnVZa5xdTNIMnq8IQ2aiLb5S7fXvWwRkq5AvGr3QtZWAVhUfslia0viVaO50UtUU0ryAphVu4izdTwm9-G3OFBL2BugfrEj60RkEgUew/s640/20190817_132226.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and the beer that comes from it - nom nom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheu1MxnowrkjUt7g99s5UMQSQMqJqR1bOJbG1CijKOw6vCkijWt2RGXYJInEseWngdgaRygxwRdt8eg6Np-htXf7Zl0Eygt3AYqsdod1fsCoyMobd2B2rYW3T4X3rpNoAw1ukb689ciZ8/s1600/20190818_161705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheu1MxnowrkjUt7g99s5UMQSQMqJqR1bOJbG1CijKOw6vCkijWt2RGXYJInEseWngdgaRygxwRdt8eg6Np-htXf7Zl0Eygt3AYqsdod1fsCoyMobd2B2rYW3T4X3rpNoAw1ukb689ciZ8/s640/20190818_161705.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tufahija - a traditional dessert, an apple stuffed with nuts, soaked in honey and topped with cream - delicious but oh so sweet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I did 2 tours with Neno and Friends, who run a variety of tours focussed on different aspects of Sarajevo's history. The morning one I did was a city tour focussed on the broader aspects of the history, such as where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, and the afternoon tour was focussed on the 1992-1995 war. Both are well worth attending, firstly to get your bearings around the city and secondly to understand the nature of the city. The lady who gave the tour was 11 when the war finished and was very open about her experiences as a child. It's really moving - you're taken to places of absolute tragedy, such as the food market where a mortar bomb was dropped onto civilians queueing for food rations. The bomb killed over 60 people and injured hundreds more and you can still see the scars of the bomb in the ground today. In fact you can see where a lot of the bombs fell - instead of filling them up and concreting over them, an artist has painted them red as a stark reminder of this terrible time, and it's a weird juxtaposition that they're now tourist attractions when they were scenes of death and suffering. Another spot you visit is Sniper Alley, an innocuous main street lined with shops, but back in the early 90s it was the only way out of the town, and people would be shot dead by snipers on the hills as they tried to escape.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zL8k-PB9RV5Js4vCN8noFmQfS5BxopX_gT_u1GSCw0tytNg8hoaAC3PM7bLPPSUBuWhKSpCFQRpmaqDAUjs3WYptZ4evLPXEVeVvAVqk_xHcSVYEMvmJvyv5k8ZkEwzj0LLQ7bQVjUM/s1600/20190817_161119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zL8k-PB9RV5Js4vCN8noFmQfS5BxopX_gT_u1GSCw0tytNg8hoaAC3PM7bLPPSUBuWhKSpCFQRpmaqDAUjs3WYptZ4evLPXEVeVvAVqk_xHcSVYEMvmJvyv5k8ZkEwzj0LLQ7bQVjUM/s640/20190817_161119.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the fruit market where the mortar bomb was dropped, killing over 60 people</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnLNxli1DnbwrLmgVPcQ4Q7sdtqFKvIr7y6JeqR1H_ZerG0qXTa7kDPZPCtcSzYCNmeeJWb3LrKU-dmz59TchONJvAXA33YY5zbM8orGk32HCSNartrGbZgc6dIWdhOeScQ3ro5E8Iq0/s1600/20190817_161623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnLNxli1DnbwrLmgVPcQ4Q7sdtqFKvIr7y6JeqR1H_ZerG0qXTa7kDPZPCtcSzYCNmeeJWb3LrKU-dmz59TchONJvAXA33YY5zbM8orGk32HCSNartrGbZgc6dIWdhOeScQ3ro5E8Iq0/s640/20190817_161623.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a 'sarajevo rose' - where the mortar bomb landed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKTi4c7ftD4FuOuqURwfF5nl5m43aGvSgjshLrrBDoMNub5j952ueFSNG4qOoeoHoP7YHFqTwpIM4J7CilFbWi-qVTazcz0VgA3fobJxEhfaFeaN_80onLJHIlZ27xFS2w2ob7Uu4c0s/s1600/20190817_173031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKTi4c7ftD4FuOuqURwfF5nl5m43aGvSgjshLrrBDoMNub5j952ueFSNG4qOoeoHoP7YHFqTwpIM4J7CilFbWi-qVTazcz0VgA3fobJxEhfaFeaN_80onLJHIlZ27xFS2w2ob7Uu4c0s/s640/20190817_173031.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bullet holes still riddled in the building, this was near sniper alley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNyn6WS38v3kaX53FGIGmDVzDbBCP4pW1WvDAhOwwCEpOSJ9PY4L_GSHzBbjAiOT7ncq8PaNUpDT02fM3-M04-B8THC2pvjE03K6HB958LY7wdtnOyeEh3rWwIjYf9bBjDbwaN9v93B0/s1600/20190818_104854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNyn6WS38v3kaX53FGIGmDVzDbBCP4pW1WvDAhOwwCEpOSJ9PY4L_GSHzBbjAiOT7ncq8PaNUpDT02fM3-M04-B8THC2pvjE03K6HB958LY7wdtnOyeEh3rWwIjYf9bBjDbwaN9v93B0/s640/20190818_104854.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
There's a sense of anger and shame over what happened, but also hope - there's still buildings riddled with bullet holes, and mountains lined with landmines, but there's fancy skyscrapers, shisha bars, music venues, festivals and great street food. I took a trip up the Avaz Twist Tower as it was only a few euros to get to the top and you have a 360 degree view of the city. On another day I took a cable car up the mountain to check out the 1984 bob sleigh track, which has been left in a a state of disrepair and covered in graffiti. It was kind of eerie wandering along it and at points I was the only one there, it felt like the beginning of a horror movie!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtmWuhe8wufxv40aPPoBi02UlThfRfpqLrkpnjdoFPNDkP7cI3W-5AsKbTZ1aWfHEpgrRhaVIvE-D1FlVXNJN4wdtdI9UE2X2gklYI2k0wzbljqV1DahO28hFioub6QRVWAvCT9bvDAg/s1600/20190817_094146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtmWuhe8wufxv40aPPoBi02UlThfRfpqLrkpnjdoFPNDkP7cI3W-5AsKbTZ1aWfHEpgrRhaVIvE-D1FlVXNJN4wdtdI9UE2X2gklYI2k0wzbljqV1DahO28hFioub6QRVWAvCT9bvDAg/s640/20190817_094146.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avaz Twist Tower</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyC2_8tU-ZUx5OkYo1t4nvYMnIClXyydI74iNf3ItSDgSvnnnI9JU176BlId9XYerA3ShmI-UXiiFWysMfztaln8ZU_qhPAm0TllJp2Lp_prT7wXdEXAKIIy5OrOb8kMBK8AnHt2e09II/s1600/20190817_092423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyC2_8tU-ZUx5OkYo1t4nvYMnIClXyydI74iNf3ItSDgSvnnnI9JU176BlId9XYerA3ShmI-UXiiFWysMfztaln8ZU_qhPAm0TllJp2Lp_prT7wXdEXAKIIy5OrOb8kMBK8AnHt2e09II/s640/20190817_092423.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio11zGuk3GCvv8IqnVfz3AGcPLwXMcqkJPvS5rsc-rFluhnNxkPIvgIkBUpJUo8lrh3xsMbWgH5NRTJm59oqlsQaTByBwzJqlRcoN8NvzoJPEoRKj1Bi2VO-NAMhraZ4ajBML3q8O8l8Q/s1600/20190817_094931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio11zGuk3GCvv8IqnVfz3AGcPLwXMcqkJPvS5rsc-rFluhnNxkPIvgIkBUpJUo8lrh3xsMbWgH5NRTJm59oqlsQaTByBwzJqlRcoN8NvzoJPEoRKj1Bi2VO-NAMhraZ4ajBML3q8O8l8Q/s640/20190817_094931.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from the top</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtW6koxAdeb5tNTaDgrw6TA0mqVLZyEjUXZ0gSiK-BtNu6PvKhed0EfI2vi2_6iar9VkEprGpfzxRBu8nTIQZRwtNSq6P0uKpBe4CMxvNulKApX5wIrf5U1WvwIWOdyvMh5I_IUQvd6to/s1600/20190817_100425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtW6koxAdeb5tNTaDgrw6TA0mqVLZyEjUXZ0gSiK-BtNu6PvKhed0EfI2vi2_6iar9VkEprGpfzxRBu8nTIQZRwtNSq6P0uKpBe4CMxvNulKApX5wIrf5U1WvwIWOdyvMh5I_IUQvd6to/s640/20190817_100425.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibx82DwKhCSPDRTImBgaZx5qnXmBAToahyphenhyphen74nyUq_RgMKisaZ1YNMVYhLCeFqf4rriRpsyhLH4S-8ewSDrfOZwesW8GpIpGbROltcT_KMblpMDNnbFwd4pLtgSHrf6ag1_w0wz7-q8Ixo/s1600/20190818_113946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibx82DwKhCSPDRTImBgaZx5qnXmBAToahyphenhyphen74nyUq_RgMKisaZ1YNMVYhLCeFqf4rriRpsyhLH4S-8ewSDrfOZwesW8GpIpGbROltcT_KMblpMDNnbFwd4pLtgSHrf6ag1_w0wz7-q8Ixo/s640/20190818_113946.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7Pi5JuQNJRY_X6WQMVr5p_UG7wWYeF3xCv_OXrYMiTl2CytV4wcUyQar4hlFhvvWmsROJDa7qW3i6aGU_LDXC7qhIfnZBe2ixjil-BEmalFtLmlcOzeNVBcxfUCIRCHjhzcNri6o3TU/s1600/20190818_114537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7Pi5JuQNJRY_X6WQMVr5p_UG7wWYeF3xCv_OXrYMiTl2CytV4wcUyQar4hlFhvvWmsROJDa7qW3i6aGU_LDXC7qhIfnZBe2ixjil-BEmalFtLmlcOzeNVBcxfUCIRCHjhzcNri6o3TU/s640/20190818_114537.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41z0e9RqKKPc5UJ8cFDqV0P61KIAUuDx06ZtD12I5Fclx6wqFyrE7w58ANjB1BM6Tle5JcJhhf_RoATF_-x1LyToOvwcSn6T7_HNP9ZHTyYDPkj9dQp8X83RuIcd2x7-jP_M-NgsdYKo/s1600/20190818_115046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41z0e9RqKKPc5UJ8cFDqV0P61KIAUuDx06ZtD12I5Fclx6wqFyrE7w58ANjB1BM6Tle5JcJhhf_RoATF_-x1LyToOvwcSn6T7_HNP9ZHTyYDPkj9dQp8X83RuIcd2x7-jP_M-NgsdYKo/s640/20190818_115046.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCIU2hMvck9DE1mdcqjuiEkCa8m-0ZqKNISIHAnV6PxSA8eGP0eTz9st_OJfY5WJevn0SJfcZx95VHWdgoVs3zZQL4HuL3a-yEbmTHnBHeA-PxJmackWmm302yyvVrLFFy5an3x7AzCw/s1600/20190818_115131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCIU2hMvck9DE1mdcqjuiEkCa8m-0ZqKNISIHAnV6PxSA8eGP0eTz9st_OJfY5WJevn0SJfcZx95VHWdgoVs3zZQL4HuL3a-yEbmTHnBHeA-PxJmackWmm302yyvVrLFFy5an3x7AzCw/s640/20190818_115131.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlKLNyrtacRGp4w3SIRCHxrmOCOhnY5iPopaBajnmIFJ3m5O2JM4xpPQe07lQ4H3D9REpF0oSvhNQzsyWrWIyviq5I8qydJ_YDAtxQcDMdYF2kOgAMJ7BlBcBy_0n0z8zZzAIf5FHZXI/s1600/20190818_120139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlKLNyrtacRGp4w3SIRCHxrmOCOhnY5iPopaBajnmIFJ3m5O2JM4xpPQe07lQ4H3D9REpF0oSvhNQzsyWrWIyviq5I8qydJ_YDAtxQcDMdYF2kOgAMJ7BlBcBy_0n0z8zZzAIf5FHZXI/s640/20190818_120139.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It's a great city and I would definitely return and explore more of Bosnia & Herzegovina - I am sad I didn't have longer in the country!godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-72812277077136329172019-10-23T18:58:00.002+01:002019-10-23T18:58:25.363+01:00Eurotrip 2019 - Hiking with dogs in Virpazar, MontenegroAh man there is so much to write and it's a little overwhelming. I'll try keep it short and sweet and only write about the things that stick out in my mind, starting with me freaking out about leaving Berat.<br />
<br />
As much as I was ready to leave, I was equally comfortable, and the thought of travelling again was freaking me out, which is weird. I think it was mainly because busses in Albania aren't the easiest to work out, and I had foolishly booked my accommodation in Bar already (and booked it for the wrong date, so had already called them up to move it), and so knew I had to make it to Bar by that evening. I don't know why I do this - everywhere I had been, even in the height of season, still had beds free, so I could have done it all on the fly, but the sensible side of me always makes sure I have a bed booked for the night.<br />
<br />
Anyways after talking to Miri at the hostel, he had said that I would need to get a bus from the hostel to Berat bus terminal, then get a bus from there to Tirana, then a bus from there across Tirana to the north terminal, then a bus from there to Shkoder, then a bus from there to Ulcinj, then a bus from there to Bar. PHEW. All in one day, assuming that all connections worked out. 6 busses!! And I couldn't find anything online or prebook anything. I was REALLY STRESSING OUT.<br />
<br />
But, as luck would have it, I had been chatting to a nice French couple earlier on in the day, and had asked them what their plans were. They said they were driving to Shkoder the following day - lightbulb moment!!! I cheekily asked if I could grab a ride with them, and they were more than happy to take me, and refused any petrol money too - so nice of them!!! This cut out 4 of my 6 busses and saved me a lot of time and money and stress. Just as they dropped me off, the bus to Ulcinj was just about to leave, so I did a quick transfer, and then when I got to Ulcinj, the bus to Bar was also just about to leave, so the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I made it with ages to spare in Bar! All that worry for nothing.<br />
<br />
Bar was rubbish - I stayed in a bit of a hippy hostel that had bad beds and squeaky floors, but a very cute rescue kitten. The town was dull and the beach was filthy. Thank goodness I was only there for one evening.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FstIsl5rvjNFqkc95OOuSUW_SvIqo0JW5cjQXgCR_hXssvVb9gNbzCTz7IM5gucpF8QbL8v7fafl68-NXjyiP2SfLi-QpMLzI-iRWkDiLSK8-Xv1nDIeMtNEJ8LsRJJes0DdqgEbWEE/s1600/20190814_104140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FstIsl5rvjNFqkc95OOuSUW_SvIqo0JW5cjQXgCR_hXssvVb9gNbzCTz7IM5gucpF8QbL8v7fafl68-NXjyiP2SfLi-QpMLzI-iRWkDiLSK8-Xv1nDIeMtNEJ8LsRJJes0DdqgEbWEE/s640/20190814_104140.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-DIPZiw2wFiqUlFmai6-75k6nW9L6M5flzekJ2yd3HMtATGlT9q9aTPQza2PLTZERT8s4u1nG7SSvZZ5EO8ALxPAJoVn_HpeItACAaVawZw3c58N-EEBp0_yq2SJ8aqynYvcMT1RpLc/s1600/IMG_20190813_220118_259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-DIPZiw2wFiqUlFmai6-75k6nW9L6M5flzekJ2yd3HMtATGlT9q9aTPQza2PLTZERT8s4u1nG7SSvZZ5EO8ALxPAJoVn_HpeItACAaVawZw3c58N-EEBp0_yq2SJ8aqynYvcMT1RpLc/s640/IMG_20190813_220118_259.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very small sample of the trash on Bar beach (all this picked up from where I was sat)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz94W5pTVY64gxK5AXtZUMTq-mpN2YF2fB4PEbqnH-xnMcHUSLx_IWSt0glEr6eZp87WreSDaje3R3eFHyFKmRRL07OJG7hZ8eejnX_q095UKNXr9ilYGB0pGM9qXyjYnggVbr9X3SCm8/s1600/20190814_114528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz94W5pTVY64gxK5AXtZUMTq-mpN2YF2fB4PEbqnH-xnMcHUSLx_IWSt0glEr6eZp87WreSDaje3R3eFHyFKmRRL07OJG7hZ8eejnX_q095UKNXr9ilYGB0pGM9qXyjYnggVbr9X3SCm8/s640/20190814_114528.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The next morning I got the train to Virpazar, one of my favourite places of the whole trip. Virpazar sits on Lake Skader, the largest lake in Europe. Photos had looked stunning and I was not disappointed. I stayed in a very cute hostel I found on AirBnB (accommodation was quite scarce and hostels virtually non existent) - this was a very small family run hostel, run by a man and his daughter and their 3 very friendly cats - I'm talking 'don't understand personal space' friendly, I was in love!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLljm7S-g1hEvFJyeiP0GW4bA1o7UQ0MhWUYYNVG6wxg5YJeN3COw046f1uAVzUuOny29f4Ca8fkikvnxwJkdyrK9CaOjKvplKpzlQUtGQe9LcVfSnUWKLETjyIESWFNR7_ipWBrsgMk/s1600/20190814_155715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLljm7S-g1hEvFJyeiP0GW4bA1o7UQ0MhWUYYNVG6wxg5YJeN3COw046f1uAVzUuOny29f4Ca8fkikvnxwJkdyrK9CaOjKvplKpzlQUtGQe9LcVfSnUWKLETjyIESWFNR7_ipWBrsgMk/s640/20190814_155715.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0XgfXb4oeoDXJ4nHuW8XlelE-wpjesG_kouAcS5tR0dtl-4rHVfvTCDzZUkL1wZP4Fz3keWOhDKQdg-EDsBuFKZ5nBNjhoSI597wI6__IYN6-u2BHH8f5dv5q-BazqCjz_wNtJuEPew/s1600/20190814_155828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0XgfXb4oeoDXJ4nHuW8XlelE-wpjesG_kouAcS5tR0dtl-4rHVfvTCDzZUkL1wZP4Fz3keWOhDKQdg-EDsBuFKZ5nBNjhoSI597wI6__IYN6-u2BHH8f5dv5q-BazqCjz_wNtJuEPew/s640/20190814_155828.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmKlTDK-cjRnv1qALTr5HPQ5mDy_vilqXhc0cs7rDSJCee_mnPCUXS7524vf2gfYys8npRcmZdnzzzDFb7lPQXtlCJ3OpkrC9U92le5s3AUZxSYn2wL71IkYTsx0H3ReQlOe_QOCkQDE/s1600/20190814_163805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmKlTDK-cjRnv1qALTr5HPQ5mDy_vilqXhc0cs7rDSJCee_mnPCUXS7524vf2gfYys8npRcmZdnzzzDFb7lPQXtlCJ3OpkrC9U92le5s3AUZxSYn2wL71IkYTsx0H3ReQlOe_QOCkQDE/s640/20190814_163805.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9EUMK_WVsdW2FZ88JYNB_ZNEvVHbk-Q1tewwRze2_a-an4CrP71KrnuhJ6MIqr4Nj0UJlbTIdI6F607w5aZ6uAwuqMSr64ml7J3gTX5L1Ko1ejS6E_c_0qWEkwuNXl95WSFEJCxF7k44/s1600/20190814_170213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9EUMK_WVsdW2FZ88JYNB_ZNEvVHbk-Q1tewwRze2_a-an4CrP71KrnuhJ6MIqr4Nj0UJlbTIdI6F607w5aZ6uAwuqMSr64ml7J3gTX5L1Ko1ejS6E_c_0qWEkwuNXl95WSFEJCxF7k44/s640/20190814_170213.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The first day I took a wander down to the lake and for a little walk before the heavens opened. It was really cool, I sat and watched the lightning fork across the sky over the lake, and the squalls come in, until it was too late and I was caught in a storm. An old dude who didn't speak any English pulled over and gave me a lift back to the town, which I was very grateful for!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4lT8WJd82_g5CGvuFbE0FGuhvWQDKfUvgMZS1cSxD7oqztYCBdCJIXZUlEz_0BKpn2vCpNWEab_oFRcTcQc4ViIewyW8KuSX7UoSf9ywaagSrHVAnnV5y3TBEbRHnMvHApv_O-1WwxJ8/s1600/20190814_145413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4lT8WJd82_g5CGvuFbE0FGuhvWQDKfUvgMZS1cSxD7oqztYCBdCJIXZUlEz_0BKpn2vCpNWEab_oFRcTcQc4ViIewyW8KuSX7UoSf9ywaagSrHVAnnV5y3TBEbRHnMvHApv_O-1WwxJ8/s640/20190814_145413.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSzOo-o5jrH9yvuRr3lGJjQ6PE1LQr388MeCUk4p3RQy8Ll5YnSywFVg_z6n_zhbvsgdczqe2iANVy7wv2mMuqK84tmlBqB1fXs6BuSkksp9-AW99eRnPOYBVgfnQ86uQwL7E1lxaGdA/s1600/20190814_150922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSzOo-o5jrH9yvuRr3lGJjQ6PE1LQr388MeCUk4p3RQy8Ll5YnSywFVg_z6n_zhbvsgdczqe2iANVy7wv2mMuqK84tmlBqB1fXs6BuSkksp9-AW99eRnPOYBVgfnQ86uQwL7E1lxaGdA/s640/20190814_150922.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvloCLqpfycwgfIqOzzDuZPUyYNps-_RQly40roTSf-RiBjz7Ac9Z6ZnE1tr2-1ZHakqOHA3tmJ4ix5HDjq6UBehmeL_PYVGrBXqC4Tcd56YUrqu2HtYGDCfqQ1MrnL89WqGKVR8c0TsI/s1600/20190814_143253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="1600" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvloCLqpfycwgfIqOzzDuZPUyYNps-_RQly40roTSf-RiBjz7Ac9Z6ZnE1tr2-1ZHakqOHA3tmJ4ix5HDjq6UBehmeL_PYVGrBXqC4Tcd56YUrqu2HtYGDCfqQ1MrnL89WqGKVR8c0TsI/s640/20190814_143253.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJT7brNaDAMMwfIkZ8TD7sFqzdUGdGp9WhkQwQ5fiCuAfsb7FheJDMbe_oBGTSkafFsox5E0D3O8-zXjCZ_y_OBM0uWM7NwzOxAkGBHmM8gbKOYOfqU5-NcxZ5fvPUQdWAC9mPrTz2a9I/s1600/20190814_140457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJT7brNaDAMMwfIkZ8TD7sFqzdUGdGp9WhkQwQ5fiCuAfsb7FheJDMbe_oBGTSkafFsox5E0D3O8-zXjCZ_y_OBM0uWM7NwzOxAkGBHmM8gbKOYOfqU5-NcxZ5fvPUQdWAC9mPrTz2a9I/s640/20190814_140457.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWj_RbrPmeciVcyFztuMl-h9v6FMVr1Z7PL_qL2z-mchX1tnel9_z81aAkb1nlOxCOCoD4K6-xD9huyPwvwPYA0ElvRRHJEFIX3NM26uBE98uIWigg1zPd-nj-kQZMPx8cEeyiZJWxRZ4/s1600/VideoCapture_20190814-174958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWj_RbrPmeciVcyFztuMl-h9v6FMVr1Z7PL_qL2z-mchX1tnel9_z81aAkb1nlOxCOCoD4K6-xD9huyPwvwPYA0ElvRRHJEFIX3NM26uBE98uIWigg1zPd-nj-kQZMPx8cEeyiZJWxRZ4/s640/VideoCapture_20190814-174958.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The following day me and the rest of the hostel (all 6 of us) got up super early to go on a boat trip on the lake organised by the hostel owner. He had recommended doing it early before all the crowds as it's the most peaceful - it was a great recommendation. Despite being half awake, I really enjoyed it - there was only one other boat on the lake, and the wildlife was amazing - so many birds all just chilling!! We also had a quick swim, and the water was bathwater warm much to my surprise. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJIAfEcsc1hpqdxHFZP1XDNsQB-WB1e9YARyKrdSk2Xq0rGfdRtp88NFrgW95H7AmXpbGaKceLd4RY1Rh3-ioM6OStjZBnIfmwvCli06ipEymbniVCmtGuPVORZ_1ITvR49Cy-5xHtUM/s1600/P1200334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJIAfEcsc1hpqdxHFZP1XDNsQB-WB1e9YARyKrdSk2Xq0rGfdRtp88NFrgW95H7AmXpbGaKceLd4RY1Rh3-ioM6OStjZBnIfmwvCli06ipEymbniVCmtGuPVORZ_1ITvR49Cy-5xHtUM/s640/P1200334.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl77yS3PPk0oUr_bNSVL64tgVVhG8cPxLvAULuZt7jszJ145HDEOxIccQPpVcRQoiG7kuwLYEaz9dSnnhurgaZEkn9acmC6cpo1bdDGE1Pdnqehzfw20A6h0R52tTKTcLjttJv-ris0VM/s1600/P1200337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl77yS3PPk0oUr_bNSVL64tgVVhG8cPxLvAULuZt7jszJ145HDEOxIccQPpVcRQoiG7kuwLYEaz9dSnnhurgaZEkn9acmC6cpo1bdDGE1Pdnqehzfw20A6h0R52tTKTcLjttJv-ris0VM/s640/P1200337.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbk2k4_q92neLB1te_j5Gcrhq9KCdzZYXApwUMFfwNmzm18rszqLfnP9sJR27WN4AzFBkjHKacdtFr2o55sTBc6t0DoiEo1nL6GmZfNIeEoHSRGOB5gdmYvHlM7H8NGMA_yHcrF9emRg/s1600/P1200349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbk2k4_q92neLB1te_j5Gcrhq9KCdzZYXApwUMFfwNmzm18rszqLfnP9sJR27WN4AzFBkjHKacdtFr2o55sTBc6t0DoiEo1nL6GmZfNIeEoHSRGOB5gdmYvHlM7H8NGMA_yHcrF9emRg/s640/P1200349.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmO5u_aVn0YwCJEB5gW8A3EBwO6o-_83n_iUF79AL5JHZFL1IT1s5zk_5ChpkuEZkS0-h3D3M9S3LJumPqgfhfnrRvcv1VpB2_AR2VSLK-eVJGouSZYPytfiLSr__a7eDjK1l0ZTxC_PI/s1600/20190815_081231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmO5u_aVn0YwCJEB5gW8A3EBwO6o-_83n_iUF79AL5JHZFL1IT1s5zk_5ChpkuEZkS0-h3D3M9S3LJumPqgfhfnrRvcv1VpB2_AR2VSLK-eVJGouSZYPytfiLSr__a7eDjK1l0ZTxC_PI/s640/20190815_081231.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Gw4a8fcpeSiA6WhYnS2xaowqgApM3tKYKpbxYZH1PXcyMXYYjvax9amF8KoVN2LqCbqILT1QLKLV5hMZp_lb3SQEI0weQoarKvBh333MZZp5n4O8FYM1sQIkqi8fHwZNJ3XLoIRmZ5I/s1600/20190815_082556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Gw4a8fcpeSiA6WhYnS2xaowqgApM3tKYKpbxYZH1PXcyMXYYjvax9amF8KoVN2LqCbqILT1QLKLV5hMZp_lb3SQEI0weQoarKvBh333MZZp5n4O8FYM1sQIkqi8fHwZNJ3XLoIRmZ5I/s640/20190815_082556.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ30Z1MrTceH6TXszJEnaw7yG-61xlQaULuhWts0cf1g4NQjXk-ZZySI9b9_-DM_f2NPxFqcKUg1P8n2rwDRWrNjTwhd2YQwPEN6qjnpjNL-0cPObPukrruLybA8hNCGvQl9REd7VSG9w/s1600/20190815_085316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ30Z1MrTceH6TXszJEnaw7yG-61xlQaULuhWts0cf1g4NQjXk-ZZySI9b9_-DM_f2NPxFqcKUg1P8n2rwDRWrNjTwhd2YQwPEN6qjnpjNL-0cPObPukrruLybA8hNCGvQl9REd7VSG9w/s640/20190815_085316.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTx2snJxDG_SI5B3sKA2k1JeNVCcMvgQ26ZNSvOzXfIm-CeIg44-kIDLdubizgHIzyIeg7bzBkCIYQndw9OmUSF4Azii4AGIGVfvGEj9QiEYVPAPegVcxVQ172cfqmI3zPbIP2-FzCFg/s1600/20190815_092119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTx2snJxDG_SI5B3sKA2k1JeNVCcMvgQ26ZNSvOzXfIm-CeIg44-kIDLdubizgHIzyIeg7bzBkCIYQndw9OmUSF4Azii4AGIGVfvGEj9QiEYVPAPegVcxVQ172cfqmI3zPbIP2-FzCFg/s640/20190815_092119.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
After the trip, we arranged to walk to a 'beach' on the lake, about a 2 hour walk away with the other hostel guests. I wanted to do a bit more of an interesting walk than just the road, so Joe and I planned a back route along a trail that we found on maps.me, and arranged to meet the others at the beach.<br />
<br />
The walk was very pretty, made all the more special by 2 random doggos following us the entire way - all 22kms! We assumed they were strays and just being friendly, though one of them did have a collar on her. We also assumed at some point they'd get bored and stop following, but nope - they even followed us when we went off the track to climb a little rocky outcrop to get a good view - it was a bit hairy and I cut myself quite badly on the sharp rocks, but the view was worth it!!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2TjuNaBqvgKo2vM0KTzfOHTqQh39wQvumKtFX3gg-BzBlhHm0lZCiHiN7Ygs9RkWH0NRv0sVDzD7_ApXwDwFSeulKB4yQAspStjIRhTFXZyUjIpEA7Cguk5WLvM9QbhcI8Fd9ey2OYG0/s1600/20190815_115845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2TjuNaBqvgKo2vM0KTzfOHTqQh39wQvumKtFX3gg-BzBlhHm0lZCiHiN7Ygs9RkWH0NRv0sVDzD7_ApXwDwFSeulKB4yQAspStjIRhTFXZyUjIpEA7Cguk5WLvM9QbhcI8Fd9ey2OYG0/s640/20190815_115845.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59JNy6jlEGVB-IJtROcWzas_SiqEJsvI7s2cRcJmZDDlZyEsfzC-_rD-bxaowHUKAdOKbucmu_Znz17IR1Gv5bquYq4q6mfMJby2xLqqw9Maww8nd-8GxlUsuYZoh-Nh0ShJccY9O3DE/s1600/20190815_121824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59JNy6jlEGVB-IJtROcWzas_SiqEJsvI7s2cRcJmZDDlZyEsfzC-_rD-bxaowHUKAdOKbucmu_Znz17IR1Gv5bquYq4q6mfMJby2xLqqw9Maww8nd-8GxlUsuYZoh-Nh0ShJccY9O3DE/s640/20190815_121824.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnFKHPpHssnhFqp8zzQen7pX-4Tjk3qRWQnyH6xW1EF66C4QAUEZlwYaaS6-8aFMWGXsUeMe0_aS7uTF35qL6O8PbR3QLO9ytWw4gYRTdiJgzCzeoZZ9ImPEq45L4gd0sKn906ZAcKMw/s1600/20190815_122048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnFKHPpHssnhFqp8zzQen7pX-4Tjk3qRWQnyH6xW1EF66C4QAUEZlwYaaS6-8aFMWGXsUeMe0_aS7uTF35qL6O8PbR3QLO9ytWw4gYRTdiJgzCzeoZZ9ImPEq45L4gd0sKn906ZAcKMw/s640/20190815_122048.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6I5cdvh4d4yP-lnfYAmNUHB-k7dkwdG-gnR43EMne_CC43vyxaAN8XkcOVv54fOs4_g1pgZ5xgubDkrDWjtDYVzOzZPKBa1PbaEWmyhnxh5ti4IdW4qUIjCtlcVvRkU1drc6VlFWXpRc/s1600/20190815_123651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6I5cdvh4d4yP-lnfYAmNUHB-k7dkwdG-gnR43EMne_CC43vyxaAN8XkcOVv54fOs4_g1pgZ5xgubDkrDWjtDYVzOzZPKBa1PbaEWmyhnxh5ti4IdW4qUIjCtlcVvRkU1drc6VlFWXpRc/s640/20190815_123651.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgTxSatlQKn3cv2WVuhquqr5UwJcTR0yByPYzMQa8N6kv5yZ7tPAHf6J5hC4SFezSAJo9-afir5EzV5ckdZN0posmpTUxTUHELpTSrmJ3QVRsiySk0IsZVuqkPlujic7qNGAyv4WaUjU/s1600/20190815_134228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgTxSatlQKn3cv2WVuhquqr5UwJcTR0yByPYzMQa8N6kv5yZ7tPAHf6J5hC4SFezSAJo9-afir5EzV5ckdZN0posmpTUxTUHELpTSrmJ3QVRsiySk0IsZVuqkPlujic7qNGAyv4WaUjU/s640/20190815_134228.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqcx2ewvWo349fafPPNye_BBlG_seW5S1EvORWAiILWyV4GiwDSP6vHUubP0LXm0Ql6LjKhgJeoV5j-n-wMylfUndqljV5Y14_PhgtstskMoQssjvgn_kfmaEW7YNXRJrTzXrADsCmdK0/s1600/20190815_145146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqcx2ewvWo349fafPPNye_BBlG_seW5S1EvORWAiILWyV4GiwDSP6vHUubP0LXm0Ql6LjKhgJeoV5j-n-wMylfUndqljV5Y14_PhgtstskMoQssjvgn_kfmaEW7YNXRJrTzXrADsCmdK0/s640/20190815_145146.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
When we finally made it to the beach, we were told off for bringing dogs and refused entry. After pleading with them and explaining that they weren't our dogs and they'd followed us the entire way from the town, they reluctantly let us on the beach on the condition we kept the dogs under control and cleaned up any poop. So we had a nice chill afternoon swimming in the lake (until I saw a snake and got out of there as fast as I could) and playing with the dogs before the long walk back to the town. One of the dogs dropped off and stayed in the town and the other followed us all the way back to the hostel, much to the cats' dismay. Luckily this was the dog that had the collar and a phone number, so I called the owner who laughed and said that she does this all the time, and he'd come pick her up shortly. I was kinda sad to see her go to be honest!!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIbbSJ8npPvkGx1xC92ZQ_cuaik-RUAtTQpOX9KRbTR61dq7RSCXVVBbS39Yv903FRDuxOijDBdtAK7FjxBhLRBAMRPs3XyZjorSxuLfFcyCqbujW4eYFbbsYfyW16oX9WwVTt_fBRdQ/s1600/20190815_152039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIbbSJ8npPvkGx1xC92ZQ_cuaik-RUAtTQpOX9KRbTR61dq7RSCXVVBbS39Yv903FRDuxOijDBdtAK7FjxBhLRBAMRPs3XyZjorSxuLfFcyCqbujW4eYFbbsYfyW16oX9WwVTt_fBRdQ/s640/20190815_152039.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">enjoying the beach with new friends and dogs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FVILhAVRgWi8B9mISfKByFezUBUdoEwOVDgm1aO2gV8-71467n9lkznvYcwdwTTkn6dV-uchCIELo1I8ikoOaxQUILI8T13PvFb63byv46mJa-dlNfaIZCJ9wlTXqcRw5v2H3LzZmA4/s1600/20190815_152135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FVILhAVRgWi8B9mISfKByFezUBUdoEwOVDgm1aO2gV8-71467n9lkznvYcwdwTTkn6dV-uchCIELo1I8ikoOaxQUILI8T13PvFb63byv46mJa-dlNfaIZCJ9wlTXqcRw5v2H3LzZmA4/s640/20190815_152135.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLjghHZpm9wOvD0_PuFLL_85mD5Zt3VXkut27Kuo0_BD1aDl8kpcUm2Nhwab1Mh57zsZNhD-i_WtyvB_xutpRwZfRN2VV44NhYs136B92Wvt1FSfP7_4fBs74NCMBe2YhHxlU_yc3_Hk/s1600/20190815_152748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLjghHZpm9wOvD0_PuFLL_85mD5Zt3VXkut27Kuo0_BD1aDl8kpcUm2Nhwab1Mh57zsZNhD-i_WtyvB_xutpRwZfRN2VV44NhYs136B92Wvt1FSfP7_4fBs74NCMBe2YhHxlU_yc3_Hk/s400/20190815_152748.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my poor bloody legs from the hike</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9UtR0kCf7IlC7vUMA7tqCdwaiAj5hymzjKUNx4H2GVTE8fvKqT4Fw0Amw-Dr9D3fscbfw7N1dhSNN_IqnPVb2FuC5R7b__Gb9ZywRQIbxEZNMGiZVxQfHupvF1MI0JoBYhrF5T3e2ZQ/s1600/20190815_162458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9UtR0kCf7IlC7vUMA7tqCdwaiAj5hymzjKUNx4H2GVTE8fvKqT4Fw0Amw-Dr9D3fscbfw7N1dhSNN_IqnPVb2FuC5R7b__Gb9ZywRQIbxEZNMGiZVxQfHupvF1MI0JoBYhrF5T3e2ZQ/s640/20190815_162458.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0vDfrOg-FmMa8cMB-zSNOTURt1ZhCJ6_vVjbYMgMNzATJZyRt8At-mynrRMmXIho-TYf2gfONLV-ZX_-WtU681lT5Dy_uW3APQH19teRWyAnah8RZhvnpJZdSiWSaSvg9-PksxuRYjY/s1600/20190815_162930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0vDfrOg-FmMa8cMB-zSNOTURt1ZhCJ6_vVjbYMgMNzATJZyRt8At-mynrRMmXIho-TYf2gfONLV-ZX_-WtU681lT5Dy_uW3APQH19teRWyAnah8RZhvnpJZdSiWSaSvg9-PksxuRYjY/s640/20190815_162930.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIUEI_WTpErctgsL3U8n4BpVdKL_U6BIUH9VmGw8d-MnPTbMcZtUNkPJqu8n1PH0hN-EpB0mpf9HL1EFmfGW7A5g27qEqKmszDT7led4X_NLSbTKZeGbgJnradnCDk35qLF7LtE77vLk/s1600/20190815_170728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIUEI_WTpErctgsL3U8n4BpVdKL_U6BIUH9VmGw8d-MnPTbMcZtUNkPJqu8n1PH0hN-EpB0mpf9HL1EFmfGW7A5g27qEqKmszDT7led4X_NLSbTKZeGbgJnradnCDk35qLF7LtE77vLk/s640/20190815_170728.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
That night we had a shared dinner and were entertained by JeanLuc and Charlotte, a Lebanese French couple who showed us how to do Lebanese dancing. Even the hostel owner joined in, it was great!<br />
<br />
The next day I had an all day bus ride to Sarajevo, which I'll write about in the next blog post!godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-48499983714157044842019-09-30T20:27:00.001+01:002019-09-30T20:27:58.957+01:00Euro Trip - working in AlbaniaI treated myself to a private transfer (well, I say private, there were 4 of us plus the driver) from Kotor to Albania because it was 2 hours quicker and only 5 euros more, what a bargain eh. <br />
<br />
I began my time in Albania in the capital, Tirana. I had 3 days here and I was very fond of it. It felt like a 5 year old had been allowed to design the city whilst high on sugar - it was great. There were random sculptures dotted around and interesting architecture and colourful buildings, it was weird and wonderful. Also - a really interesting history! Gotta say, this trip was really opening my eyes and making me realise how naive I was when it came to European, well, everything. <br />
<br />
I stayed in a 4 bed dorm in <a href="https://www.tirana-mosaic.com/" target="_blank">Mosaic Home, Tirana</a> which was awesome - really friendly, great chill out spaces, free breakfast, nice layout, everything was swish and new and lots of lovely little touches like pouches next to your bed to put your phone and other little things. The first night I had the room to myself too - anyone who's ever stayed in dorm rooms will know what an absolute score this is!! And then Rohan decided to spoil my peace and quiet and came to join me for the next 2 days.<br />
<br />
I did a free walking tour which I HIGHLY recommend, from memory it starts at 10am outside the Opera House and we had Eri - he was probably one of the best tour guides I have ever had - so funny and knowledgable. I had no clue that Albania was basically Europe's North Korea in terms of communism and secrecy until as recently as 1992, and they were pretty much isolated from the rest of the world from 1945 - how insane is it to think that up until '92, there's a whole bunch of people who didn't know any Michael Jackson songs, know that Ikea furniture existed, or Kentucky Fried Chicken was a thing?! In fact, KFC only recently opened up its first restaurant in Tirana, and to date there isn't a McDonalds. We visited the main bunker 'Bunk'ART' in Tirana, which is very eerie - the dictator Enver Hoxha was massively paranoid and ordered 750,000 bunkers to be built throughout Albania (I believe just under 175,000 were completed). Bunk'ART is the largest of them all, built to house the government in the event of nuclear attack. It never ended up being used and so now it's a museum you can visit and go get lost in all the dark tunnels - super creepy! Albania's history also made me understand Tirana's weirdness a little bit more - basically because they were so oppressed, all of the art and sculptures and colours and architecture is all about demonstrating their new found freedoms and they're celebrating it as much as they can, pretty cool huh!<br />
<br />
Albania also wants to join the EU (sigh, maybe they can take our spot) and so I was super happy to see in Tirana they had electric police cars, loads of rubbish bins, and loads of electric car charging spots. But, they also would put out a new table cloth each time someone ate at a restaurant, and bin the existing one....win some lose some I guess.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVHhZv-4pyaJrPlSrbi3_w6QgQSesEz82TUsTw-qffEakgJ9_dj4o-ygdZ9Y7cEvNhrOErlPdMsPuZoboCGlnl59GCZKuwtepyhHfou1jg8-C4cagHMleQLbg3u49QL_EHDbJZAaMKmE/s1600/20190728_095915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVHhZv-4pyaJrPlSrbi3_w6QgQSesEz82TUsTw-qffEakgJ9_dj4o-ygdZ9Y7cEvNhrOErlPdMsPuZoboCGlnl59GCZKuwtepyhHfou1jg8-C4cagHMleQLbg3u49QL_EHDbJZAaMKmE/s640/20190728_095915.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXfJEinSx4bjCVgV9mXnYuJDmTZQFQr9P0xfrAml0oI63n0cIvfg2hrFjQ5SD-waXBIfK-r4fqkfUlp9FPrny6zCfgCZPdA5-TV77OYaaSLAsLL488QPypAd8fkCDrStq9LwnoOXX62o/s1600/20190728_104714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXfJEinSx4bjCVgV9mXnYuJDmTZQFQr9P0xfrAml0oI63n0cIvfg2hrFjQ5SD-waXBIfK-r4fqkfUlp9FPrny6zCfgCZPdA5-TV77OYaaSLAsLL488QPypAd8fkCDrStq9LwnoOXX62o/s640/20190728_104714.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWOWAxwUcEwBZqFHUus1uOGcqNBuU7JEKDiN7-_UvwGp_aW2OzFkMEw99aFgdnO1Ou859cs_JXP3QbnJn30DAxXsnI3vbbPcT3mikOw1Ak8JwQJ_WCdPSpPXMI6fiUKXiC17I9twndXw/s1600/20190728_121059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWOWAxwUcEwBZqFHUus1uOGcqNBuU7JEKDiN7-_UvwGp_aW2OzFkMEw99aFgdnO1Ou859cs_JXP3QbnJn30DAxXsnI3vbbPcT3mikOw1Ak8JwQJ_WCdPSpPXMI6fiUKXiC17I9twndXw/s640/20190728_121059.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWQlF_AYLkcSIkcovyEUr8ZsaoF_UNDac7o93MsvuzNRFlLoxuWUWpLUrLYpKWrfIOGlR74kYTufxjt4Bnh9B45H8036qG8wFWrQ7pGYFogRzj9ItUzI8dspraKlIHnPGqASStH9bjhw/s1600/20190728_125916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="1366" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWQlF_AYLkcSIkcovyEUr8ZsaoF_UNDac7o93MsvuzNRFlLoxuWUWpLUrLYpKWrfIOGlR74kYTufxjt4Bnh9B45H8036qG8wFWrQ7pGYFogRzj9ItUzI8dspraKlIHnPGqASStH9bjhw/s640/20190728_125916.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwXBZ6JsAnXEvGk8gljSzlk40lFQSXLJVZ6rgtdhQbmEkBOhe0nR-boyolgKt5qJH4cV528eMtgCTtGip036yank1GrSKcRhyphenhyphenyPuW3cspJE9HRRW4L2kNL3vBk_AdnkJH8Peqerb1ROs/s1600/IMG_20190729_220628_714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwXBZ6JsAnXEvGk8gljSzlk40lFQSXLJVZ6rgtdhQbmEkBOhe0nR-boyolgKt5qJH4cV528eMtgCTtGip036yank1GrSKcRhyphenhyphenyPuW3cspJE9HRRW4L2kNL3vBk_AdnkJH8Peqerb1ROs/s640/IMG_20190729_220628_714.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCn1GWv4LHaGjrBI_XFx4Cccj9a9fuVzyFYS-BFHkN9IdCZosaDXYurDttxeej0HuY6Yii07u8X9vxJ0Gvrwf7FIc6H9ALJAugfSTSxoeBMZCzLvBMJYPhiHi8qx7_Q8SMgK3xDGUG7o/s1600/IMG_20190729_220628_759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCn1GWv4LHaGjrBI_XFx4Cccj9a9fuVzyFYS-BFHkN9IdCZosaDXYurDttxeej0HuY6Yii07u8X9vxJ0Gvrwf7FIc6H9ALJAugfSTSxoeBMZCzLvBMJYPhiHi8qx7_Q8SMgK3xDGUG7o/s640/IMG_20190729_220628_759.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPwgTlz7QPUNWgvTYmjBVn-gpXCop5vbO98nTgTNmwp-zzJlb8P0FP9kkNZXUj9CXD_vQ0vvKSyQV1EgSB5LsrZSPCE28nNPAzwpseapxYNARl9pG20ZK04c1QDxtBbEjHPjmE6KoSp-k/s1600/IMG_20190729_220628_761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPwgTlz7QPUNWgvTYmjBVn-gpXCop5vbO98nTgTNmwp-zzJlb8P0FP9kkNZXUj9CXD_vQ0vvKSyQV1EgSB5LsrZSPCE28nNPAzwpseapxYNARl9pG20ZK04c1QDxtBbEjHPjmE6KoSp-k/s640/IMG_20190729_220628_761.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
From Tirana I made my way to Berat, a UNESCO world heritage town. By this point I was getting a bit travel weary (I know, I know...I'd been away less than a month at this point!) so applied to work at a hostel for 2 weeks. I was looking forward to being in one spot for a bit and being able to make meaningful relationships with people rather than the 'hey, where are you from, where are you going next, ok cool good to meet you bye' you get with the transient nature of travels.<br />
<br />
Berat was....nice... for a day or so, not so good for a longer term stay. I was drawn in by the pictures of the beautiful river, with the delightful Ottoman style houses in the background - but don't be fooled, this is literally Berat, there's nothing else nearby unless you have a car (I didn't) and the river is polluted so you can't swim in it, and the temperatures whilst I was there were in the high 30s, so it taunted me daily!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0O02X6b7KSAV-V36PFt7YDIfaTPNQeCMX6GsRWjmqjdjU87ZdjavySleSKU3us46L1IyNKunxR_6oWPhJRBkHyKolsoxChMzEPIVckSfrRgwe9GuzeLhFXbzrZq8w7g74PrrrMTrVkC4/s1600/20190730_141223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0O02X6b7KSAV-V36PFt7YDIfaTPNQeCMX6GsRWjmqjdjU87ZdjavySleSKU3us46L1IyNKunxR_6oWPhJRBkHyKolsoxChMzEPIVckSfrRgwe9GuzeLhFXbzrZq8w7g74PrrrMTrVkC4/s640/20190730_141223.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it looks so nice! but don't be fooled...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I was working with a girl called Kellina from Canada, and luckily we got on like a house on fire. The instructions given by the hostel owners were sparse to say the least, so we muddled through it together. I was left in charge the first day I got there for the night shift, 7pm till 12am. It mostly went without mishap...but I did manage to fill up their Raki bottle with water (Raki being a spirit drunk throughout the Balkans) because they'd asked me to fill up all of the water bottles ready for the next morning - and for some reason were also storing their Raki in guess what...a water bottle. I owned up to it and tried to pass it off as I was doubling their profits but I don't think they were too happy....the following day the washing machine also broke, and I begun to think I was cursed!<br />
<br />
All in all the experience was a good one, I really enjoyed interacting with guests and reading and having some down time, but there were definitely some frustrating parts too - there was nowhere really to 'escape' to, so when we weren't on shift, the only place to hang out in was the garden with the rest of the guests, so they would assume you were working and basically you were always 'on'. There also wasn't really specific guidance given to us regards working hours and time off - the advert said 5 days of 5 hours with 2 full days off, but we had to really push for our days off. We also didn't get any food (all the places I wwoofed at in New Zealand you got food and board), so we were essentially working for $2 per hour as accommodation was $10 euros a night in a dorm room. We had the choice of a dorm but swapping beds if the room got full, or sleeping on the roof, so we chose to sleep on the roof as at least we didn't have to keep moving our stuff every day. We also could only shower when the rooms were empty, which was kinda annoying. Basically there was next to no privacy for the 2 weeks I was there. If I were to woof in a hostel again (which I would!) I would do a bit more research and make sure it was in a place that I actually wanted to visit and had enough to do.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0W2Mp3-6oXLr_8jSyTGmR1d9JZ9ZhgpXRHVp8BQwGodrwdwT13EbiW9fsZa87g9X-PLZOHoA3Foz8ZYPajgQQGqAYBfRsCg6VPkoU2shljiTfffm0kpg2JW874F8QKZTgYYyQyFP1O-I/s1600/20190731_075545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0W2Mp3-6oXLr_8jSyTGmR1d9JZ9ZhgpXRHVp8BQwGodrwdwT13EbiW9fsZa87g9X-PLZOHoA3Foz8ZYPajgQQGqAYBfRsCg6VPkoU2shljiTfffm0kpg2JW874F8QKZTgYYyQyFP1O-I/s640/20190731_075545.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiic8wK6FVQ1GtqP_qNJJ13x7CAriKwrrrY7y7GRQFt804IDjY07L3it-gyhMqTpXr6vWhRJ7JQLUTp6fqCChMWRogHKBk4ekP8gIZdfUHlxcyq19DFHiBUAGmi993CBWg659PM3LBc5_E/s1600/20190731_082139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiic8wK6FVQ1GtqP_qNJJ13x7CAriKwrrrY7y7GRQFt804IDjY07L3it-gyhMqTpXr6vWhRJ7JQLUTp6fqCChMWRogHKBk4ekP8gIZdfUHlxcyq19DFHiBUAGmi993CBWg659PM3LBc5_E/s640/20190731_082139.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sweaty after a morning hike up the hill behind the hostel, Berat in the background</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixm9K7j2e1YEbgn03M4wCeIfYHF4NidpELAHRR3RzbJOEXAZSnRsIpzqGiTne43S8Ovp9Xnr9PTRhAOKeKinWbnCFBaJG6JkYmaRopVwHbMvI7yZM7BaABxjRN7A0cTbbvqhkT6Mu-Z8U/s1600/20190801_184147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixm9K7j2e1YEbgn03M4wCeIfYHF4NidpELAHRR3RzbJOEXAZSnRsIpzqGiTne43S8Ovp9Xnr9PTRhAOKeKinWbnCFBaJG6JkYmaRopVwHbMvI7yZM7BaABxjRN7A0cTbbvqhkT6Mu-Z8U/s640/20190801_184147.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7A64CAQgWrdivlCjnu81FmV5OD42Nph64Nl0vd4KY07TclbnffzHe3nCEDXQ-DhfSZ6KVVMaMp3RIcQWKfsGgo7JRnqIzaezb1mlWzU70OlJKUyqVP9WEu4kdH16SGfoC59gnsUfTu0/s1600/20190801_190640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7A64CAQgWrdivlCjnu81FmV5OD42Nph64Nl0vd4KY07TclbnffzHe3nCEDXQ-DhfSZ6KVVMaMp3RIcQWKfsGgo7JRnqIzaezb1mlWzU70OlJKUyqVP9WEu4kdH16SGfoC59gnsUfTu0/s640/20190801_190640.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtebdKWEbua7_AZoLpXO47DwM4oGxKl__k1IETs6lURcWgbmmm9228khMtCR15gw5DHe8lhVhaoClCgrXTbXISbyI4whEQSU0gy-sbBENGyyMg8OlmWPp9hVQAYCtTi7efJw9ekMV8T-o/s1600/20190806_182348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtebdKWEbua7_AZoLpXO47DwM4oGxKl__k1IETs6lURcWgbmmm9228khMtCR15gw5DHe8lhVhaoClCgrXTbXISbyI4whEQSU0gy-sbBENGyyMg8OlmWPp9hVQAYCtTi7efJw9ekMV8T-o/s640/20190806_182348.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfRJCbkiBcDu4nfxObh4-Yju1o5NciPL75iQxUCAw0E3spj9L-67r8la1eM5qUHSbrZM5ZyYWOvOsMJOO7QYvGoWDE1qXXcuhRz9rAUvcs8c8hqZDrF9vVottU91v5nhNAIndmXmlmpw/s1600/20190806_192409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfRJCbkiBcDu4nfxObh4-Yju1o5NciPL75iQxUCAw0E3spj9L-67r8la1eM5qUHSbrZM5ZyYWOvOsMJOO7QYvGoWDE1qXXcuhRz9rAUvcs8c8hqZDrF9vVottU91v5nhNAIndmXmlmpw/s640/20190806_192409.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIronf5iM9kYT8J-Rrtng-H6QURmqtAkekTlKWAgBlLPCqj3sUmWE1XvdT0wqzh-qnK9sdhaDvnU0KDMKbGAXw6Pymxm0uF3oGD1N-pjy4liglYUfE0lV2H0KxvJ1UfWZWROu4TwWTxTU/s1600/20190806_194252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIronf5iM9kYT8J-Rrtng-H6QURmqtAkekTlKWAgBlLPCqj3sUmWE1XvdT0wqzh-qnK9sdhaDvnU0KDMKbGAXw6Pymxm0uF3oGD1N-pjy4liglYUfE0lV2H0KxvJ1UfWZWROu4TwWTxTU/s640/20190806_194252.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAUDdKm8V8KDX8juI0JnbKhkKYbOIxPaOoPnHGkzfVmOfV2LbU3Wo39Vm9cFPRK1sOrbCqbOiSd4vVMQB0oXOjYbt6Md4phVGsHt8fmZCAXTIeaPsav1Cz7VbyFohyaoxXHgpbxdkKcw/s1600/20190806_200601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAUDdKm8V8KDX8juI0JnbKhkKYbOIxPaOoPnHGkzfVmOfV2LbU3Wo39Vm9cFPRK1sOrbCqbOiSd4vVMQB0oXOjYbt6Md4phVGsHt8fmZCAXTIeaPsav1Cz7VbyFohyaoxXHgpbxdkKcw/s640/20190806_200601.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
As mentioned before, Berat is pretty dull if you're here more than a day or two. The castle is nice and well worth a visit, but I'd recommend going up in the evening as the walk is steep and it's super hot in the summer. It's a great place to grab a beer and sit and watch the sunset as I did a couple of times. The Old Town is also nice to explore, though it's definitely not as large as the other old towns in Montenegro or Croatia. Berat is super cheap too - you can get main meals for around £4.50, what an absolute bargain!! The local dish is 'lamb with yoghurt', which I assumed to be literally lamb with yoghurt on top, but it turned out to be more lik an eggy lamb soufle with a bit of yoghurt in it. It was a bit strange but edible!<br />
<br />
We negotiated some time off and the hostel owner very kindly lent us her car, so one afternoon we went to Bogove waterfall - I'm glad we did this by ourselves as there's tour companies that do £15 tours to it and I would have been sorely disappointed to pay that! In the end it's a 50 minute walk to a nice (absolutely freezing!) waterfall but it's nothing spectacular, unless you've literally never seen a waterfall before.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu621KZCotRXKGqblqJfpvPbFHeTtcqPmE7-9q-GtCnZD8w4bzOPgpMa9OfFp65qQ3ZnwOvEAJDTV_t-LqLL9D4CvysiUdPlS9R7GlQM5R8SxCh_xxOrIhRJEgQVQFl3dnP9_CtbtTbwY/s1600/20190807_145829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu621KZCotRXKGqblqJfpvPbFHeTtcqPmE7-9q-GtCnZD8w4bzOPgpMa9OfFp65qQ3ZnwOvEAJDTV_t-LqLL9D4CvysiUdPlS9R7GlQM5R8SxCh_xxOrIhRJEgQVQFl3dnP9_CtbtTbwY/s640/20190807_145829.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the waterfall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On another day we drove to Dhermi, which is a beach town. It was so nice to get out of Berat and see a bit more of Albania - the drive was stunning, if a little hairy - the road quality is terrible so you'll be driving along at 60kmph and suddenly the road will dip and rise and dip and rise then there'll be a huge unavoidable pothole, then the person in front of you will suddenly brake and the person behind you is right on your arse and will swerve madly out the way to avoid hitting you, then later on the person in front will stop suddenly and open their car door so you have to swerve to avoid missing it, then you'll be driving really slowly up and over a very windy mountain pass and the people behind will be sitting on your tail and get annoyed at you being slow (safe!) and overtake on a blind bend, then later you'll have someone driving at you because they're on the totally wrong side of the road without a care in the world. Don't even get me started on roundabouts and junctions... Honestly I was a ball of nerves sitting at the wheel and very very grateful nothing happened!!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-R7rp9DusPmPHbiz5RnT9avFMrugtu5KJiBBGCXJ1uZRxjhj0oX_kJ1T53ddcJ5oKWOkp8olORl7QUjkgGSGIzKhyphenhyphenA5G-O9b8VtHrIlZYmVskupq-mn8bpcIq1ykodQOWslch-Ar7f4/s1600/20190807_172722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="1366" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-R7rp9DusPmPHbiz5RnT9avFMrugtu5KJiBBGCXJ1uZRxjhj0oX_kJ1T53ddcJ5oKWOkp8olORl7QUjkgGSGIzKhyphenhyphenA5G-O9b8VtHrIlZYmVskupq-mn8bpcIq1ykodQOWslch-Ar7f4/s640/20190807_172722.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aSV0ti2Pio5SDS7_fMRBAelvZEjkrczgA2OZfK1nP4oFOdNUOfA6tcwpWXHC3SIJESgFjH6wZpmf7X_q3w0Bqz2KomMHcnAkcSU6JDjPXFNzDOHEiD2odwRzHy5ch0iOyIR04AipyJQ/s1600/20190809_130102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aSV0ti2Pio5SDS7_fMRBAelvZEjkrczgA2OZfK1nP4oFOdNUOfA6tcwpWXHC3SIJESgFjH6wZpmf7X_q3w0Bqz2KomMHcnAkcSU6JDjPXFNzDOHEiD2odwRzHy5ch0iOyIR04AipyJQ/s640/20190809_130102.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Dhermi was nice but I think it had been hyped up too much (or perhaps I have been spoilt with the amazing New Zealand beaches). The sea water was incredible and warm and a beautiful colour, but the beaches themselves were crowded and a bit dirty and super touristy, the kind of place you have to pay to lie on a sunlounger. We also did a day trip to Gjipe Beach, which is meant to be a 'secret' beach - well let me tell you, that secret is definitely out!!!! A 10 minute drive down a single track road with few passing spots, then a 30 minute walk in the baking sun takes you to a beautiful beach at the end of a canyon, but it was super busy with boats dropping off and picking people up all day and 4x4s driving down. Personally I wouldn't recommend it, I didn't think the journey to get there was worth it but Kellina and Amelie liked it. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDLPdYRXwy2fge4KjNMftpfmBkt9tcV2QR11avHCDGD3SvoCTUe65uti-37TtrDhXaU1V5UaF0M7JaOi43pqnLuSmsyriVqpIKcnmoiI5AJGo4v42Mkvxr2vHSoHEhDpzX1G3QyIk_tU/s1600/20190810_095648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDLPdYRXwy2fge4KjNMftpfmBkt9tcV2QR11avHCDGD3SvoCTUe65uti-37TtrDhXaU1V5UaF0M7JaOi43pqnLuSmsyriVqpIKcnmoiI5AJGo4v42Mkvxr2vHSoHEhDpzX1G3QyIk_tU/s640/20190810_095648.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMjTAJzB90ZTYJxMfPtlMw29s2eXQt_ZvjTyp3-1l6qochFF6HxCEYdlzNdnhyphenhyphenEpHf1b4UXj5Y2pU1HX1A1F5S6K2M1tp8q5sgNSix0J-_C1aZehkywg0ZKD0Ub9Tz3RvycuPNMexSB8/s1600/20190810_112811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMjTAJzB90ZTYJxMfPtlMw29s2eXQt_ZvjTyp3-1l6qochFF6HxCEYdlzNdnhyphenhyphenEpHf1b4UXj5Y2pU1HX1A1F5S6K2M1tp8q5sgNSix0J-_C1aZehkywg0ZKD0Ub9Tz3RvycuPNMexSB8/s640/20190810_112811.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I also celebrated my birthday in Berat! As luck would have it, Kellina's birthday was the day before mine so we had a joint celebration :) We went for a team dinner on her birthday and the following day joined the hostel tour to the Osumi Canyon which was a pretty neat way to spend turning 32! We hiked/walked/jumped/swam along the canyon for 5ks and it was stunning! Such a cool thing to be able to traverse a river like that.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglX1ZempqLf7h7NLqZf0uCCsOEzoJYgUoyLYGE6mq3gQWFiOzkugU69jDmxletpknm6uEZcOas9mw1wz0MPmycj0bZF1sGuPsitecRDDIXBEHvn9gGKRxQvKkxFSgSaUGF_043QeUn5Tk/s1600/IMG_20190808_185534_644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="486" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglX1ZempqLf7h7NLqZf0uCCsOEzoJYgUoyLYGE6mq3gQWFiOzkugU69jDmxletpknm6uEZcOas9mw1wz0MPmycj0bZF1sGuPsitecRDDIXBEHvn9gGKRxQvKkxFSgSaUGF_043QeUn5Tk/s640/IMG_20190808_185534_644.jpg" width="510" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhB31LGbku37QuFziIwFaH2GzUrDZ5mf0vD4xx-NBpSBu-6QYPhKDz7knw8rOxBZVk9SXY0IntSoLnhJUpzKoxhNNe8t7pwo4mEDG9pKfQJiAr0uAhCr5fOB-_bqg9n2Nvf8kutwx1Akg/s1600/IMG_20190808_185534_643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="486" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhB31LGbku37QuFziIwFaH2GzUrDZ5mf0vD4xx-NBpSBu-6QYPhKDz7knw8rOxBZVk9SXY0IntSoLnhJUpzKoxhNNe8t7pwo4mEDG9pKfQJiAr0uAhCr5fOB-_bqg9n2Nvf8kutwx1Akg/s640/IMG_20190808_185534_643.jpg" width="510" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6eIipascANpbQcNLwM40v6fsMx-1SAlak89U0Je62TiG2G0leZOr-L7hlY2SbpQJE-DWrKyoHdXnVE_JPY1cVQnX17UtcCiFjKiecP9jR_ujW2-5Qj_CGu4HC4gBp2vkdtc2mypkfak/s1600/IMG_20190808_185534_716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="486" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6eIipascANpbQcNLwM40v6fsMx-1SAlak89U0Je62TiG2G0leZOr-L7hlY2SbpQJE-DWrKyoHdXnVE_JPY1cVQnX17UtcCiFjKiecP9jR_ujW2-5Qj_CGu4HC4gBp2vkdtc2mypkfak/s640/IMG_20190808_185534_716.jpg" width="510" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
My final days in Berat were spent playing with Djielza the hostel puppy and the unnamed cat and drinking beers and having shared meals with Kellina and the owners - it was lovely and just what I needed, I was definitely itching to get back on the road after 2 weeks off. godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-42443144034326551052019-09-26T15:41:00.000+01:002019-09-26T15:41:07.134+01:00Eurotrip 2019 - Mostar & KotorI made a Split decision (ha, see what I did there) and decided to head to Mostar from Croatia. I have always wanted to visit and it was easy enough to get to from Split - a 7 hour, 20 euro bus ride.<br />
<br />
I was SO glad I went. I originally booked 2 nights and ended up staying another as I love it so much. It was hard picking a hostel to stay in because they all had such good reviews (not a bad problem to have!) so I went for the cheapest, Hostel Lovely Home at 8 euros a night. It was basic but the owner was so friendly, happily answered all my questions, booked me onto a tour, exchanged my money and gave me a delicious glass of juice when I arrived. He didn't have space for me for the extra night, so I moved to Hostel Musafa for my last night, 12 euros and slightly further away from the Old Town but it had a really nice outdoor area. I made friends with a guy who was travelling Europe on a motorbike called Rohan, and he met me after my first Old Town exploration for dinner and drinks watching live music by the river - not a bad first night in town!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dor4W0ekRFMV0skZaVqvg2sDYjMlerzX6i_S_kmY-0xk-a7nKEo6Nf7puICFSRSeEKDY6iMdJpR79HvRTmRh4rlGbnkK28TtVEDehWhzOuUOjMU-uF8OIRbSTkfhTpvIFKPiSa6aK1U/s1600/P1200304+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dor4W0ekRFMV0skZaVqvg2sDYjMlerzX6i_S_kmY-0xk-a7nKEo6Nf7puICFSRSeEKDY6iMdJpR79HvRTmRh4rlGbnkK28TtVEDehWhzOuUOjMU-uF8OIRbSTkfhTpvIFKPiSa6aK1U/s640/P1200304+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The tour I booked was the standard tour all hostels seem to offer in Mostar - 35 Euros for a day trip to Blacaj to see a Dervish House, Pocitelj to see the fortress, and Kravica Falls for a swim and lunch. But - as much as I like to support local business, you could book for 20 Euros in the centre of own with the tourist company and it was exactly the same tour...so if you're wanting to save a buck or two, do that instead!! The tour was O-K, nothing spectacular, and Kravica Falls whilst beautiful were SUPER busy and a bit commercialised, on the river front is a big restaurant selling unspectacular food. But the best bit was I met some really awesome girls from Denmark who became my Mostar friends - Jensia and Ida, and Yuchen who lives on the Isle of Man and who I ended up bumping into in Kotor a few days later. I later met up with the girls for dinner, and hung out with them the following day. We went to the Genocide Museum, which is well worth a stop. It is very inexpensive and you'll spend around 2 hours in there - it is very...confronting....and moving, and we left wondering how humans can be so cruel to each other.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7X7uepreXiWPKyfYb_mEJVj4BXXqKTE4lIa6cGdngVi5boh4LYnNqyd9sgmOVZdjU908BlSdJkfMQpWVgcinPpvQ7eQXaLdDBn6s72EqtaVpSrgHuxfCePZAOapDNn3VYJPBaUpR17E/s1600/20190723_125247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="811" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7X7uepreXiWPKyfYb_mEJVj4BXXqKTE4lIa6cGdngVi5boh4LYnNqyd9sgmOVZdjU908BlSdJkfMQpWVgcinPpvQ7eQXaLdDBn6s72EqtaVpSrgHuxfCePZAOapDNn3VYJPBaUpR17E/s640/20190723_125247.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdFrKX_HJ3e480bZ00OYFXZta0G5cO9_AkU6oCnQBjwZzf2SpTACbw3krYjJsx3ntDr-CEXOVqXJcPH6Te6lKKjLZzShkDHYepnbZp7u_DLwx0kp8M_h2a85f6vlaMFylbChtJzc1wIU/s1600/20190723_140031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="811" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdFrKX_HJ3e480bZ00OYFXZta0G5cO9_AkU6oCnQBjwZzf2SpTACbw3krYjJsx3ntDr-CEXOVqXJcPH6Te6lKKjLZzShkDHYepnbZp7u_DLwx0kp8M_h2a85f6vlaMFylbChtJzc1wIU/s640/20190723_140031.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Mostar is very raw - if you're only staying in the Old Town you probably won't notice it so much, but if you wander to the outskirts you'll spot crumbling, bullet riddled buildings and a variety of graffiti. It's a strange juxtaposition to the quaintness of the Old Town. I also went to a war photography exhibition which gave me much more of an appreciation of how much of the Old Town has been rebuilt - Stari Most, Mostar's famous bridge was only rebuilt in 2004, having been blown up in 1993 by Croat paramilitary forces during the war. If buildings could talk, they've seen a hell of a lot.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdJ8KjKtJiaMmJaRm97O1Ce5nGQvPSEiRf1xkbqmG0dhcY7Bx4B3saDGRWo0jm1UBIdXifcNGiH2FwOIpD5aiE9ZFLPiKyL7A5KPgfRBV33634d4XJTlicuDqM7FNI3yFCOy8wzPUTWo/s1600/20190724_063914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdJ8KjKtJiaMmJaRm97O1Ce5nGQvPSEiRf1xkbqmG0dhcY7Bx4B3saDGRWo0jm1UBIdXifcNGiH2FwOIpD5aiE9ZFLPiKyL7A5KPgfRBV33634d4XJTlicuDqM7FNI3yFCOy8wzPUTWo/s640/20190724_063914.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL66HJzqrMhuOcVSMMgD-ncGwUXlvcBmgFfWY-3EdFL4ZAcztbp7MKLBGkA7TN8Pe_acEzPH9NFXZYrInQ81gAQTpEuNVWNpk9LT4oAEeH9DYjZnfFHMQSREqWYC68M_kq5V2lk842NJg/s1600/20190724_070501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL66HJzqrMhuOcVSMMgD-ncGwUXlvcBmgFfWY-3EdFL4ZAcztbp7MKLBGkA7TN8Pe_acEzPH9NFXZYrInQ81gAQTpEuNVWNpk9LT4oAEeH9DYjZnfFHMQSREqWYC68M_kq5V2lk842NJg/s640/20190724_070501.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMP1uWrc_4vbDndavgtBskyeFngbf3gLuDxdqkrbdMnqHeWPC-ChNNYlICkIKYlRD4UokpPKcCQfzAY6Sdz4vT_GGR-vA-e8MHJxiCmY2Vk1OmfgKd2yPhl94TZedZtMnYkqOhc9MkMbI/s1600/20190722_193348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="811" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMP1uWrc_4vbDndavgtBskyeFngbf3gLuDxdqkrbdMnqHeWPC-ChNNYlICkIKYlRD4UokpPKcCQfzAY6Sdz4vT_GGR-vA-e8MHJxiCmY2Vk1OmfgKd2yPhl94TZedZtMnYkqOhc9MkMbI/s640/20190722_193348.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GGQMP4807Ey63wxt3iC5k1CgrkcCyKO7P16tWf9ARBj4_oADeBSl4B2_i8sMvNn_FpbWDff6faDePfqhVNp9vxGUAYx3Rvw5GSkdHl2GfaYNTYlrhj30_cqJj7Wnox5u6-Wi9U_66DY/s1600/20190722_193213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="493" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GGQMP4807Ey63wxt3iC5k1CgrkcCyKO7P16tWf9ARBj4_oADeBSl4B2_i8sMvNn_FpbWDff6faDePfqhVNp9vxGUAYx3Rvw5GSkdHl2GfaYNTYlrhj30_cqJj7Wnox5u6-Wi9U_66DY/s640/20190722_193213.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNa5bQDbsGJL66IVaxxrs7o7MOW5lQMmaEyNjuloBIOaqTElTtOejUsKfrS0aufyCMNMt1E-XYfr-AZrTSG5EBbQwkqccsDwB3wIYx0rchTcLg8fYeTzClXOsrL92mzlQ11X6aiqg_AMM/s1600/20190724_070600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNa5bQDbsGJL66IVaxxrs7o7MOW5lQMmaEyNjuloBIOaqTElTtOejUsKfrS0aufyCMNMt1E-XYfr-AZrTSG5EBbQwkqccsDwB3wIYx0rchTcLg8fYeTzClXOsrL92mzlQ11X6aiqg_AMM/s640/20190724_070600.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkP89gh3tquU4-MYo0G8QDPG3ILpv3QAmzAYx8nTOf-8XpmOQGMGZNZi2F516YaeaMPOEHL-Mwkt5GTq8bhwgvTcTXb31qoqctbXtuFcWEC3XL9nPMbecosXsLCxlKm0_n_QwmpwqoLY/s1600/20190724_201131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkP89gh3tquU4-MYo0G8QDPG3ILpv3QAmzAYx8nTOf-8XpmOQGMGZNZi2F516YaeaMPOEHL-Mwkt5GTq8bhwgvTcTXb31qoqctbXtuFcWEC3XL9nPMbecosXsLCxlKm0_n_QwmpwqoLY/s640/20190724_201131.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIbHg50OB0an1tMRboMOm4ORoP0i6HbdmOfAZdzV7DReyE4mQxhEuaN1uIgMtqKYBtUX-qEt4WBK-BsMsmZdBhYpKUZTOSQ401QRLM9q1D_8qrqY6ck_1FFxDmWP60PBfOJKB2I-maow/s1600/P1200307+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIbHg50OB0an1tMRboMOm4ORoP0i6HbdmOfAZdzV7DReyE4mQxhEuaN1uIgMtqKYBtUX-qEt4WBK-BsMsmZdBhYpKUZTOSQ401QRLM9q1D_8qrqY6ck_1FFxDmWP60PBfOJKB2I-maow/s640/P1200307+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It's only a small Old Town, but it is really lovely - the (slippery!!) cobbled streets are lined with stalls selling beautiful Ottoman style trinkets and nicknacks, I could have spent a fortune. There are street cats and dogs on every corner, gelato stalls, and the views to the bridge are like something in a fairy tale.<br />
<br />
My top tips would be to wear sensible footwear!! The streets are slippery - especially the bridge, so don't wear flipflops as you'll be slipping all over the place, especially if it's raining. If you want to take photos of the bridge, you'd best get up early - it gets very crowded from 9am onwards and in high season sometimes there's a bit of a queue to walk across due to people wanting to take selfies. If you want to get internet points, talk to the pros about jumping off the bridge. From memory it costs 35 euros and they take you to a slightly lower diving platform a little upstream to make sure you know what you're doing before they allow you to jump from the bridge itself. Mostar could be explored in a day, but I would recommend spending at least 2 full days here if you're wanting to explore a bit further afield too.<br />
<br />
The bus to Kotor was delayed by 30 or so minutes, which is always a bit stressful when you're in a different country and don't know the language or who to ask - but I trusted in the process and assumed it would come eventually! It was a pretty miserable journey, the AC didn't work - turning the bus into a sauna, and we got stuck in a lot of traffic so it took much longer than it should have done. I was excited to see Kotor as from other blog pictures I have seen it looked beautiful, but I was sorely disappointed. <br />
<br />
I think a lot of it was to do with my mindset - I felt quite at home in Mostar, I enjoyed hanging out with the friends I made, and suddenly I got off from a shitty bus ride and arrived in a super crowded, touristy city, it wasn't very friendly (I had locals push in front of me several times in queues), it was too hot to really do any exploring, and I struggled to find any hostels to stay in that didn't describe themselves as a 'party' hostel. I settled on the complete opposite of a party hostel, and ended up regretting that decision a little bit - it was tiny, hosting only 6 people, none of whom I saw in my 3 night stay there.<br />
<br />
I spent my time wandering round the old town, annoyingly by this point I wasn't appreciative of it and was angry at myself for not being more excited to be there. I think if I had been in a better mood I would have loved it, but by this point it was 'just another old town' to me and I was annoyed at myself for being so ungrateful at being there - anyone else experienced this whilst travelling?! But, as I said in my instagram post - don't let my negative nancying put you off, it is a beautiful city! However, as with Croatia - I wouldn't recommend travelling there in the height of season. It was very busy and I got the feeling some of the locals were frustrated at the tourists. On the day I left, HUGE cruise ship moored in the harbour and it looked ridiculous - it was larger than pretty much all the buildings in Kotor and it was so ugly and ruined the views.<br />
<br />
On one of the days, I went on a speedboat tour of the area, which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. Being a tour, I expected some commentary from the boat driver, but he said nothing the entire time unless I asked him a question. He would slow down for us to look at rock formations or random islands but not say what they were or why we were slowing down. However, it was undeniably beautiful, and I wish I had a GoPro when we stopped off at the Blue Lagoon for a swim - the water was luminous, it was quite incredible!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLB-S6DKBiUA6dDZSZ1_KPyuRHpjDcKn4mtGtVdwpTGQEcZx_uI4HEsgAuHGQ0Twjpf8BiRCSiFXtCptJtjjswqtebvhfcFm20mFrjDkZ024dDsq18odKPQLVgae8g9wowcZsYDReY9w/s1600/P1200319+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLB-S6DKBiUA6dDZSZ1_KPyuRHpjDcKn4mtGtVdwpTGQEcZx_uI4HEsgAuHGQ0Twjpf8BiRCSiFXtCptJtjjswqtebvhfcFm20mFrjDkZ024dDsq18odKPQLVgae8g9wowcZsYDReY9w/s640/P1200319+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbYXoy1b9ZYLPpDyKQeUrt6G_r7cY7bnMq-aGl_swnw8Wlx0pyQ5Ibj4uZsae2mMMOUGT7XyiUGay_SgaMezWtLVbN17AWgli25gm86OB_umcVxYwOmSSbWsNZqB3ufnsRQ9qi5KoPAw/s1600/P1200324+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="662" data-original-width="1600" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbYXoy1b9ZYLPpDyKQeUrt6G_r7cY7bnMq-aGl_swnw8Wlx0pyQ5Ibj4uZsae2mMMOUGT7XyiUGay_SgaMezWtLVbN17AWgli25gm86OB_umcVxYwOmSSbWsNZqB3ufnsRQ9qi5KoPAw/s640/P1200324+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Pke5pJKtA0Pu2MPvLfp5PycaPyL0CYUvmaj_6pVhj7vYuq4_mz8HbQExm3Qf_3xIKZuMszZI9IiemMlxllldPDXIFuHtQlF45jnbuzu4WE8qvT2i90G9YE2afyJBFUe1Ok7k_F5mxe8/s1600/P1200317+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Pke5pJKtA0Pu2MPvLfp5PycaPyL0CYUvmaj_6pVhj7vYuq4_mz8HbQExm3Qf_3xIKZuMszZI9IiemMlxllldPDXIFuHtQlF45jnbuzu4WE8qvT2i90G9YE2afyJBFUe1Ok7k_F5mxe8/s640/P1200317+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit1xvHnr9zHuh5XOdr3fR48cAiibSwx70HmxcKMQel6ZXTzn7N3FUqC-jICmWmgJsMTpRvOwLxjmNPRM2UFxmapzeQfFY8IVXezsYJ91aRW25rlYwGu8Nda8ffNGxvzpp_fVVWEhvcKw0/s1600/P1200314+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit1xvHnr9zHuh5XOdr3fR48cAiibSwx70HmxcKMQel6ZXTzn7N3FUqC-jICmWmgJsMTpRvOwLxjmNPRM2UFxmapzeQfFY8IVXezsYJ91aRW25rlYwGu8Nda8ffNGxvzpp_fVVWEhvcKw0/s640/P1200314+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Kotor is also known for its stray cats, there's a myth that because of the amount of the stray cats it prevented the plague from reaching the city because the cats killed all the rats, but I don't know how true it is!! It is crazy how many cats there are though (and no dogs!) - one night I walked up to the city walls via a free back route which zigzags up the hillside behind the town, and found a cat halfway up, purring away. They have a cat museum too which I visited as it was super cheap to get in, but I don't really think it's worth the visit, it's 3 rooms with old magazine covers and cartoons of cats displayed. I spent 5 minutes looking at the exhibition and 20 minutes playing with the 2 adorable kittens they had in there.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhY-txsBkW87ax9nYCdCAHe-tAQEg934_pfnZgNOYL4fG-gPrFCQPz1FAo12sUKaHnoobXaRDhYMtlWrzgPJhyphenhyphenO-Ix7A8JD27g6CXcn-YqnAJ_oiCcowKLv7FD1TaO3tZY87agZSDeHY/s1600/20190725_202427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhY-txsBkW87ax9nYCdCAHe-tAQEg934_pfnZgNOYL4fG-gPrFCQPz1FAo12sUKaHnoobXaRDhYMtlWrzgPJhyphenhyphenO-Ix7A8JD27g6CXcn-YqnAJ_oiCcowKLv7FD1TaO3tZY87agZSDeHY/s640/20190725_202427.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Ugh I feel bad, I don't want to write negatively about the place, but my heart just really wasn't in it - I have heard LOADS of good reviews about it though so don't take my word for it!godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-21981818415167521742019-09-23T19:07:00.000+01:002019-09-23T19:07:08.635+01:00Eurotrip 2019 - CroatiaI began in Pula, mainly because the flights were cheap and I needed to meet Jen who had flown into Zagreb. Pula is a seaside city brimming with ancient Roman ruins, including an ampitheatre older than Rome's own colosseum. I met a guy who seemed friendly but turns out he just wanted a shag despite my protests so ended up spending my time avoiding him. I wandered the old town, had a swim in the sea, watched a movie in the ampitheatre, and took a day trip to Labin, a very quaint medieval walled town. Personally, I wouldn't recommend Pula, I don't think there was enough to do, and if you stay in the Old Town it's a 30 minute walk to the nearest beach, and Croatia's got much better beaches than this one.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnmsS6Hq8epChglnKlEJZR0wXA4_xx79HO8atD0yBJh1TH7STqjkngNa5AsDFC1TACif2E8kYjINhCJ8MjSE5Ix8kf1vv6bt04A_XKNhz_LWFDTGBnq_3IkupWAhAPlFkoIUq238nwq8/s1600/pula+colosseum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnmsS6Hq8epChglnKlEJZR0wXA4_xx79HO8atD0yBJh1TH7STqjkngNa5AsDFC1TACif2E8kYjINhCJ8MjSE5Ix8kf1vv6bt04A_XKNhz_LWFDTGBnq_3IkupWAhAPlFkoIUq238nwq8/s640/pula+colosseum.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pula Ampitheatre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_oY8fapnO6s2fxT1iuCYcbLDrAcGYqVtYxBmXolwhSn33Mv_UtGH5QmJ3kroXxOwbTqZrPRmO35IadGRt1rLTH12omwu0BkfenBGAwpI5xnBbBcztQEehEAMjwMfw-ZG03sJNzYIjdis/s1600/20190717_130058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="1168" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_oY8fapnO6s2fxT1iuCYcbLDrAcGYqVtYxBmXolwhSn33Mv_UtGH5QmJ3kroXxOwbTqZrPRmO35IadGRt1rLTH12omwu0BkfenBGAwpI5xnBbBcztQEehEAMjwMfw-ZG03sJNzYIjdis/s640/20190717_130058.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Labin Old Town</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSzcbMM8wjJ5bXwRSPOnauCeLgx3sbSM0fogSeFCOFmTZhBky2S95CPuF9byhJ38FEzZSbJBicY3udFJ0LM1TcvnQuvtIaCz9Fx550CMqgDROPHXMBA6s5DkKeWgcGQpSIrLekl1YsJs/s1600/labin+umbrellas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSzcbMM8wjJ5bXwRSPOnauCeLgx3sbSM0fogSeFCOFmTZhBky2S95CPuF9byhJ38FEzZSbJBicY3udFJ0LM1TcvnQuvtIaCz9Fx550CMqgDROPHXMBA6s5DkKeWgcGQpSIrLekl1YsJs/s640/labin+umbrellas.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Labin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrMHvQSi_oxvJofKn5xsoCq9ucDRPY-j_qzNd0AgRaMBxP7-ILP6_eAHbPu1BZvI7dZ0_3bmPjmTTjgBQa85Ah_wDlUQRQm0Iw4myFXCB7nCuLLjbJl2Dd_Ciw-E0UrfxmJRH_ULYP3U/s1600/labin+butterfly+photobomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrMHvQSi_oxvJofKn5xsoCq9ucDRPY-j_qzNd0AgRaMBxP7-ILP6_eAHbPu1BZvI7dZ0_3bmPjmTTjgBQa85Ah_wDlUQRQm0Iw4myFXCB7nCuLLjbJl2Dd_Ciw-E0UrfxmJRH_ULYP3U/s640/labin+butterfly+photobomb.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Labin Old Town</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I got a Flixbus to meet Jen and we drove to the Kuterevo Bear Sanctuary. This was awesome and well worth a trip, though it's a bit in the wopwops so I only recommend if you're kinda near and have your own transport. It's free to enter and the guy who runs it is super passionate about rescuing bears from zoos and people who keep them as pets. The bears are very active (unlike most bears I have seen in zoos who tend to sleep all day and look sad) and the place is definitely a labour of love.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlR_eQYhoXkEyWUVK0skrfK5StBbZLO33aQn_fPX_nDpjzbf4ZVTqCA21qbVTlSsssJVnX50TYk1D3KUXW8PDeAlMFQSKTm3vpoSPxlT5qw0Iic8C-deTnWwMqHHrMDtyQsDZ1_dRCi_k/s1600/P1200258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlR_eQYhoXkEyWUVK0skrfK5StBbZLO33aQn_fPX_nDpjzbf4ZVTqCA21qbVTlSsssJVnX50TYk1D3KUXW8PDeAlMFQSKTm3vpoSPxlT5qw0Iic8C-deTnWwMqHHrMDtyQsDZ1_dRCi_k/s640/P1200258.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
We then headed down to Korenica where we stayed the night so that we could get up nice and early for our visit to Plitvice Lakes National Park. This has been on my bucket list for a VERY LONG TIME so I was excited to say the least. Top tip - if you want to keep your sanity, don't go in the high season. It's really expensive and really busy. If I were to go again, I'd go in shoulder season or even winter - much less people, and much cheaper to enter. In fact - I'd give this advice for the whole of Croatia - they bump up the prices of a lot of things in high season. If you do happen to visit in high season, GO EARLY and bring your own food and drink! We got there at just past 7, but the first tourist bus doesn't pick you up until 8am, but at least we were on the first bus. The bus picks you up from designated stops in the park for free - so we got the bus from the entrance to the top of the park and walked back down. You could have walked it, but it takes a while and we didn't see the benefit as by the time we would have got to the top, more people would have arrived in the park. It really is beautiful, the water is so clear and carves its own path down many waterfalls. It is the kind of place that if I were super rich I would pay to have the place to myself for a few hours, it's pretty magical. Unfortunately some of the magic was taken away when I spotted plastic water bottles stuck at the bottom of some of the falls, churning away for all of eternity. It blows my mind how places like this don't try and be more environmentally responsible - there were numerous cafes dotted about the place, all selling plastic bottles of drinks, and plenty of overflowing rubbish bins with no recycling bins in sight - imagine if they'd only sell reusable bottles with the Plitvice logo on it and there was water fountains to refill your bottle. One can dream.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTeWxLOinein4b6xQ7Tna5JhuQNDbpRcmMNEfCT1NVDqi8Z1TMuOAPHEa-Sn1n7rAZ7nW8_hoJb1P2-Ias9bG4riMQ52a6Aap4V9CVelQrlLHFfRUb7V7xWju9RNllWzc8iTLbGS_XzM/s1600/P1200264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTeWxLOinein4b6xQ7Tna5JhuQNDbpRcmMNEfCT1NVDqi8Z1TMuOAPHEa-Sn1n7rAZ7nW8_hoJb1P2-Ias9bG4riMQ52a6Aap4V9CVelQrlLHFfRUb7V7xWju9RNllWzc8iTLbGS_XzM/s640/P1200264.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglgIc11-B0HSozo3Gc6O0i2yR-VClECAfWehn-tZA5X_gax1d1NlDTQV0LlOS9BhLpcXGOwY01hnXmh6WM6P1LzEWiOH3JBgFQ88JsHrdSTd6kkZltx5ohORNijFonDwPZYoEHsrPtasg/s1600/P1200272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="901" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglgIc11-B0HSozo3Gc6O0i2yR-VClECAfWehn-tZA5X_gax1d1NlDTQV0LlOS9BhLpcXGOwY01hnXmh6WM6P1LzEWiOH3JBgFQ88JsHrdSTd6kkZltx5ohORNijFonDwPZYoEHsrPtasg/s640/P1200272.JPG" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cU64ziNmn8mVt0i33O6DCo_DBlYolgYndPPgvzdeHuYSgxs6Ed_ppU-af5CVg__EVc79mCt9d1CRUGf16wgFY0XE7p6-aRkZNM7k0kkyINhr2QHdvceVBGIVQdn8w1jxBIDZOOchpO4/s1600/P1200288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="901" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cU64ziNmn8mVt0i33O6DCo_DBlYolgYndPPgvzdeHuYSgxs6Ed_ppU-af5CVg__EVc79mCt9d1CRUGf16wgFY0XE7p6-aRkZNM7k0kkyINhr2QHdvceVBGIVQdn8w1jxBIDZOOchpO4/s640/P1200288.JPG" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFzt2VyrtHeetnE9RxFwwFzn5mzvpB920CABJdDXlI6QwuKbz4XnoUF5gn8aiIZI5LNZ9RhT0VagT1WQJ_KiC0G4nS22k1AuNkrCzG65YESwY6d8bhJo0zs_bB1Ae5YhleRlQh_2g9eo/s1600/plitvice+lakes+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFzt2VyrtHeetnE9RxFwwFzn5mzvpB920CABJdDXlI6QwuKbz4XnoUF5gn8aiIZI5LNZ9RhT0VagT1WQJ_KiC0G4nS22k1AuNkrCzG65YESwY6d8bhJo0zs_bB1Ae5YhleRlQh_2g9eo/s640/plitvice+lakes+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVHxnvNssvXQlUMKOz1sclEvmEMyl2HDmE8Do1v40StnkPSUJN3tzTA_2SL1XSQoi4XIb4ONUEn_onlr_57gzlrynlJDKVtN0R2a931iKY63ErmwJxpSCIQ2o-lUKoh5TJI5S0URNcYQ/s1600/plitvice+lakes+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVHxnvNssvXQlUMKOz1sclEvmEMyl2HDmE8Do1v40StnkPSUJN3tzTA_2SL1XSQoi4XIb4ONUEn_onlr_57gzlrynlJDKVtN0R2a931iKY63ErmwJxpSCIQ2o-lUKoh5TJI5S0URNcYQ/s640/plitvice+lakes+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJCbzu5K6gaePwrhrPzHTe71VrvsZOPNc58mA8ARBJoMFOCIah4zlayHAbK5sPv4kAYcn09iqGbHW9u71eh7m_pkihOBWubXEuJ79-CK8-3rTjWeaa_kkaLus0yTEAIh9Drryu5LgE4k/s1600/plitvice+lakes+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJCbzu5K6gaePwrhrPzHTe71VrvsZOPNc58mA8ARBJoMFOCIah4zlayHAbK5sPv4kAYcn09iqGbHW9u71eh7m_pkihOBWubXEuJ79-CK8-3rTjWeaa_kkaLus0yTEAIh9Drryu5LgE4k/s640/plitvice+lakes+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUXIHNZ7l_Xy0qtvWTjBldnDSE1iE92oiyKQCotD7uUmZeejbxFPAKFUUZxsr3VWPJ6mty5Ji3RXRgpswvxFKWx-BfD6o4Bkm7fo67yRLWEsJHaUDhyxWC12GdpdSqkjW3uqGKx1OVqQ/s1600/plitvice+lakes+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUXIHNZ7l_Xy0qtvWTjBldnDSE1iE92oiyKQCotD7uUmZeejbxFPAKFUUZxsr3VWPJ6mty5Ji3RXRgpswvxFKWx-BfD6o4Bkm7fo67yRLWEsJHaUDhyxWC12GdpdSqkjW3uqGKx1OVqQ/s640/plitvice+lakes+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYuJ8xy8Fy3okiN0oFmuttKMt5zIzGZayvdHhMGqLS3xYt_y_kl53OC7krQo36z2fk0W3rbaMDMJ0YIvH3RL77osRMEMMtUl2VkrYosprI7Cv2tkmDHmG7qNBV0KjlGlzywd-kCbLVSjg/s1600/plitvice+lakes+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYuJ8xy8Fy3okiN0oFmuttKMt5zIzGZayvdHhMGqLS3xYt_y_kl53OC7krQo36z2fk0W3rbaMDMJ0YIvH3RL77osRMEMMtUl2VkrYosprI7Cv2tkmDHmG7qNBV0KjlGlzywd-kCbLVSjg/s640/plitvice+lakes+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKJyViuGROqkvRZRt29QisSrElhVBHhjmC85vkuD1JvUkMBCHvztQmkYIIjHrGBfRJ-9a9KoA7m-A4AF9S5YXhFFcRUr8XuzhDVJrTpIA0adugrZrwtBYgWrPwr2RE_XG82WOvbftys8/s1600/plitvice+lakes+people+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKJyViuGROqkvRZRt29QisSrElhVBHhjmC85vkuD1JvUkMBCHvztQmkYIIjHrGBfRJ-9a9KoA7m-A4AF9S5YXhFFcRUr8XuzhDVJrTpIA0adugrZrwtBYgWrPwr2RE_XG82WOvbftys8/s640/plitvice+lakes+people+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFBXBWSS-PAOBcKavXNvrdSuR4uViFJM5aTMHPgDVtgp9zRjiXqciNFeXhmioT602w32JSEdpPNZezqhA3GVcx2W4nRaSX3gdRHAwbGsWe_CRxVK7-s6arLFOOmCPoRhA4RjT7ONAZ9I/s1600/plitvice+lakes+people.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFBXBWSS-PAOBcKavXNvrdSuR4uViFJM5aTMHPgDVtgp9zRjiXqciNFeXhmioT602w32JSEdpPNZezqhA3GVcx2W4nRaSX3gdRHAwbGsWe_CRxVK7-s6arLFOOmCPoRhA4RjT7ONAZ9I/s640/plitvice+lakes+people.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
After Plitvice we drove to Zadar, I think my favourite city in Croatia - having said that, I was only there one night and one morning. But the night I was there was really enjoyable - I wandered down to the Old Town and there was heaps of live music and street entertainers, including an old lady with a tiny monkey, some dudes with pretty parrots, an incredible brass band doing energetic covers of popular songs and a live band on a stage set up in some Roman ruins. It was awesome. Zadar also has an LED light installation near the sea, and a 'sea organ' created from holes cut into the sea walls, which emit eerie breathy notes when the waves roll through them. I took a video and it's saved on my insta highlights in Europe (@bloonoo)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXk1VNALmYAY0ZaAUi9MOHHSlhR9GaWW9Qs49JKWi7fqU7GILdcoRsXAK39vnXsXsKI4GXSrKmGSNwaHxWm04PFetWiS_9hX1mqqPzSuGoQ31ofk4l7soz4LRTRNjeqf76gaSJvTBE1Ok/s1600/split+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXk1VNALmYAY0ZaAUi9MOHHSlhR9GaWW9Qs49JKWi7fqU7GILdcoRsXAK39vnXsXsKI4GXSrKmGSNwaHxWm04PFetWiS_9hX1mqqPzSuGoQ31ofk4l7soz4LRTRNjeqf76gaSJvTBE1Ok/s640/split+2.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePNIqzHMpCkGAkGtRw6rFy3D0z_74CE4RR6TkEDyQP6RnSjJBINAIr3_srWnt45F-oPulgbpB921hFy20-fRdYPxEG2TvZ6t2o0CX1gXYYH0ZXr9agm1dr8Tx3QJQAhBfILMxVn331d8/s1600/zadar+city+gates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePNIqzHMpCkGAkGtRw6rFy3D0z_74CE4RR6TkEDyQP6RnSjJBINAIr3_srWnt45F-oPulgbpB921hFy20-fRdYPxEG2TvZ6t2o0CX1gXYYH0ZXr9agm1dr8Tx3QJQAhBfILMxVn331d8/s640/zadar+city+gates.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJF8AqyBvCpvDpWCeRr4TqLc3WkbGrgNfnXkMMqVXKKZSruTAHFXnD4SM5OSYNLm8UvvyiCk2dudu28h9khtKZQSGTFkc29JoxEKAbeH2I_46FcHE_qB7xkUcXrNA0JGmDLfNc-lZ6F_U/s1600/zadar+led+lights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJF8AqyBvCpvDpWCeRr4TqLc3WkbGrgNfnXkMMqVXKKZSruTAHFXnD4SM5OSYNLm8UvvyiCk2dudu28h9khtKZQSGTFkc29JoxEKAbeH2I_46FcHE_qB7xkUcXrNA0JGmDLfNc-lZ6F_U/s640/zadar+led+lights.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmKPRH2poC2jE2xVxPXpBfeOaqEp6GkF77j5RCBJQ0Zf4SCs_IX9eRqHEafMIWUniz3ZJbC6TqkrHE4urIiUNiJcm7uYqJ2G8Lg9wHsy3ZJjnntyzLB4hPkv9Rmd16BiZcDbI9XMjm14/s1600/zadar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmKPRH2poC2jE2xVxPXpBfeOaqEp6GkF77j5RCBJQ0Zf4SCs_IX9eRqHEafMIWUniz3ZJbC6TqkrHE4urIiUNiJcm7uYqJ2G8Lg9wHsy3ZJjnntyzLB4hPkv9Rmd16BiZcDbI9XMjm14/s640/zadar.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
After Zadar we headed to Split, a very cool Old Town, if a little touristy. You can spend hours wandering through the narrow alleyways imagining what it would have been like back in the olden days. We broke up our journey to Split with a stop off at a random beach we found, and spent a very enjoyable hour swimming in Croatia's famous blue sea. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-GVCiXG9OYNInKU0vyPbQG938xrzqY-kcdm45YNc2xPHIScbV5iH0ro568_5WulmXUVOAzt-zPxCusy-EmvCeJtDYa4h21zWFzlVa0XZ_j46qqecGtz0dO3k9RWlQ1UH6MMRcSFDWWA/s1600/jen+at+the+beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-GVCiXG9OYNInKU0vyPbQG938xrzqY-kcdm45YNc2xPHIScbV5iH0ro568_5WulmXUVOAzt-zPxCusy-EmvCeJtDYa4h21zWFzlVa0XZ_j46qqecGtz0dO3k9RWlQ1UH6MMRcSFDWWA/s640/jen+at+the+beach.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSCKuv5xsLlwKeVZba7nNvCYxpFpOQudhoqAb_bPY-wiBve5-o3lnRu3-ClQSNhic1QdRPoMb7NOIloi77rRY88jscfwjFtiIQAL1gewt-9EmqFFaTkgHs_ZZ5PhP655tj1P7KROEGE0/s1600/split+harbour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="1366" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSCKuv5xsLlwKeVZba7nNvCYxpFpOQudhoqAb_bPY-wiBve5-o3lnRu3-ClQSNhic1QdRPoMb7NOIloi77rRY88jscfwjFtiIQAL1gewt-9EmqFFaTkgHs_ZZ5PhP655tj1P7KROEGE0/s640/split+harbour.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDK7ysYzO8SJsl6EvL_YAsNTbSaOeMzmvg0__weL6SY9iuoUlO6Mm2TOUCdqvASIhoCN2Xq8xf0gBv0ichHpFcrOyDXFUfhIZAkzasrVjwc1fzqr3C9g8pnM740hktfZ1_xXM5lPb9_U/s1600/split+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDK7ysYzO8SJsl6EvL_YAsNTbSaOeMzmvg0__weL6SY9iuoUlO6Mm2TOUCdqvASIhoCN2Xq8xf0gBv0ichHpFcrOyDXFUfhIZAkzasrVjwc1fzqr3C9g8pnM740hktfZ1_xXM5lPb9_U/s640/split+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkAGFeWyvZlPAG71AFBR528qdFxNkQjHcuql4QJ8qjoUGZU1Tt2SlcR43s7cwKTGLP5baT-su9wlR5K8vPhTL5POGs1FqhLuI3PiuavFD7nt_Sa6_ewl3kFemLZw3oNnCNiYYxO2QNjk/s1600/split+city+centre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1081" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkAGFeWyvZlPAG71AFBR528qdFxNkQjHcuql4QJ8qjoUGZU1Tt2SlcR43s7cwKTGLP5baT-su9wlR5K8vPhTL5POGs1FqhLuI3PiuavFD7nt_Sa6_ewl3kFemLZw3oNnCNiYYxO2QNjk/s640/split+city+centre.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
I liked Croatia, but it didn't blow me away. Possibly I would have liked it more if it weren't so busy, or so hot - if I were to go again, I'd definitely try a different season, and I'd like to visit some of the islands. I deliberately skipped Dubrovnik this time round - the hostels were creeping up to $40 a night and I was a bit over walled Old Towns and tourists by this point. One thing we quite enjoyed was the changing of the landscape - Croatia's a long skinny country, in the north it is green and hilly, in the middle there's rocky mountains, and in the south it reminded me of Greece, it was quite arid with lots of olive trees and rolling hills.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;"><b><u>Transport</u></b></span><br />
Jen hired a car so we were driving around for most of it - there are lots of road tolls which at first seemed unnecessary, expensive and annoying, however since travelling in other Balkan countries, I realised and appreciated how good the tolls were in Croatia!! The roads were fast and well maintained on the whole, and I don't think Jen found the driving too difficult. I used public transport three times - to go from Pula to Labin and back, to get from Pula to Karlovac where I met Jen, and from Split to Mostar in Bosnia. It was easy enough, but the busses weren't the most comfortable and at Split it was mayhem - the busses were all delayed and no one seemed to know anything, I just had to trust it would all work out. Most bus stations had a left luggage section for a small fee but I had no use for them.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="color: purple;">Food</span></u></b><br />
We mixed it up by eating out sometimes and cooking dinner at other times, the supermarkets were reasonably priced and some offered bottle deposit schemes which I really liked. They also didn't have too many plastic wrapped fruit and veges. Whilst recycling facilities weren't prevalent, there were certainly more than I saw in the other Balkan countries. Eating out was reasonably cheap, though I wasn't a huge fan of the food - as in a lot of the Balkans, much of the food is centered around grilled meat, especially 'Cevapi', sausage shaped minced meat with onions and spices, served in this really tasty fluffy bread. But there were loads of bakeries (called Pekara) which were very cheap and did a variety of sweet and savoury foods which you could live off cheaply if you wanted!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="color: purple;">Accommodation</span></u></b><br />
We booked accommodation as we went, usually a day in advance. This seemed to work OK though sometimes we probably didn't have as much choice as we would have if we'd booked earlier. We used Airbnb and booking.com. With the exception of the fancy airbnb Jen booked in Split, most of the accommodation came in around £20-£25 per person per night, but it was basic - sometimes just a room and shared bathroom, other times a studio.<br />
<div>
<br />
Any questions or anything you think I have missed? Comment below :)</div>
godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-37964419763036694042019-09-22T21:03:00.002+01:002019-09-22T21:11:54.826+01:00Eurotrip 2019 - the logistics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7nOa2NCnQigg4jSU8-ZT02UsL89p5OC2C1y-1NbkFzDV8OQRW7JGvxDIdsI4uaH9bTqXQF2pyLEUqq8At_VKI1OpC55ySQDHxV-MclY1kT6yasX2TK-ijZFVHrvbmb-FNLOq17vFPUA/s1600/P1200336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7nOa2NCnQigg4jSU8-ZT02UsL89p5OC2C1y-1NbkFzDV8OQRW7JGvxDIdsI4uaH9bTqXQF2pyLEUqq8At_VKI1OpC55ySQDHxV-MclY1kT6yasX2TK-ijZFVHrvbmb-FNLOq17vFPUA/s640/P1200336.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stunningly beautiful Lake Skoder, Montenegro side (Virpazar)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Hello!!! I have all but abandoned the blog in favour of Instagram, but seeing as I am now home and bored and it's raining and gloomy outside, I thought I would jot down some notes from my 2 month Europe jaunt.<br />
<br />
I came back to the UK with no idea of what to do - well that's not strictly true, if anything I had too many ideas of what to do, and couldn't settle on any of them. However my friend Jen randomly booked flights to Croatia and wanted company, so this solved my indecisiveness - travelling Europe was on my list of possible things to do, and I didn't want to fly all the way to Croatia and back again then fly back to Europe at a later date as I wanted to keep my carbon emissions down. So, I booked a one way ticket to Pula and figured that I would work out a route as I went - avoiding planes where possible.<br />
<br />
I ended up visiting 10 countries in 2 months, using busses, cars and trains, met some great people and saw some beautiful things, and caught up with people I met in New Zealand who have moved back home. It was a fun experience and I think I learned from it - this was my first solo travel experience relying on public transport and in non-English speaking countries.<br />
<br />
This post is a summary of my travels, and the next few posts I'll break down into more details. I'll discuss where I went, what I did, and of course - how I tried to do it as eco-friendly as possible (it was hard).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22-JsPAJyNj-WzveZ_N9D1AdDb0Z543XZxQ_aBW2TRZJ8nIFNN8EGHTpzF4onG3E_7xBOoEhBp_CEjbgE541nvYXsfGn_wie1RlZ1RFS8FV8y_hZ3jESuvUCnrdmQ76I0wZ26gHS7nqw/s1600/europe+map.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="447" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22-JsPAJyNj-WzveZ_N9D1AdDb0Z543XZxQ_aBW2TRZJ8nIFNN8EGHTpzF4onG3E_7xBOoEhBp_CEjbgE541nvYXsfGn_wie1RlZ1RFS8FV8y_hZ3jESuvUCnrdmQ76I0wZ26gHS7nqw/s640/europe+map.PNG" width="512" /></a></div>
<br />
<b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">My route - as I was doing it on the fly, it's a bit random...</b><br />
(Croatia)<b> </b>Pula, Labin, Korenica for Plitvice Lakes, Zadar, Split<br />
(Bosnia & Herzegovina) Mostar<br />
(Montenegro) Kotor<br />
(Albania) Tirana, Berat, Dhermi<br />
(Montenegro) Bar, Virpazar<br />
(Bosnia & Herzegovina) Sarajevo<br />
(Slovenia) Ljubljana, Bled, Triglav National Park (and then Italy for one night for pizza :P )<br />
(Austria) Worthesee, Dunstein,Vienna<br />
(Slovakia) Bratislava<br />
(Czechia) Prague<br />
(Germany) Teltow, Brunswick, a couple of places in Bavaria, Munich, Dachau<br />
<br />
I knew where I wanted to go in Croatia from travel blogs and instagram, and have wanted to visit Kotor from a blog post I saw on <a href="https://thetravelhack.com/montenegro/a-day-trip-to-the-bay-of-kotor-montenegro/" target="_blank">The Travel Hack</a>, so worked that into my plans. I also have always wanted to visit Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina, so when I saw how close I was I sketched out a rough route. Albania was never part of my plan, but I wanted to work somewhere random and saw Albania was nearby so picked it. After Albania I knew I had to be in Berlin to see my friend Franzi at the beginning of September, so worked out a rough route north to take Sarajevo into account, having heard good things from other travellers. I also really wanted to go to Bled, and it happened that my friend Anja was also going to be in Slovenia around the same time I was, so we joined forces and that created my Slovenia and Austria plan. Then I had to kill a few days before meeting Franzi, so went to Bratislava for a day whilst staying in Vienna, and stopped off in Prague for a few days before meeting Franzi in Berlin. I've never truly appreciated the fact that living on the continent, you can just country hop in a day - it blew my small mind!!<br />
<b style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /></b>
<b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Getting around</b><br />
I used a mix of transport. When travelling with friends I was luckily enough to be in a car (and campervan in Germany!). Otherwise I relied on public transport - I discovered <a href="https://getbybus.com/en/" target="_blank">Get By Bus</a> far too late in my travels, but I found it to be the best bus website, showing the most options compared to the <a href="http://flixbus.co.uk/" target="_blank">FlixBus</a> app or <a href="https://www.omio.co.uk/" target="_blank">Omio</a> app.<br />
<br />
Frustratingly, some of the bus companies needed the bus ticket printed out so I would have to head to the bus station either a day or two before I wanted to travel to ensure I had a seat, but other companies did electronic ticketing. Often you have to pay extra for your luggage, but you do this when you get on the bus - usually 1 or 2 Euros per big bag paid to the driver in cash.<br />
<br />
Busses between countries in Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro were easy enough to find - I found and booked via the Get My Bus app or FlixBus. Most of the bus stations were also easy to navigate - the people at the counters often spoke English, or you could look at a screen and see what stand you needed to go to (peron was the word for 'platform'). Most of the stations offered a left luggage service for a small fee, though I had no use for it. The busses weren't overly comfortable and often didn't have seat belts and sometimes the AC didn't work. They would stop off at random places every few hours so you could get off and stretch your legs and go for a pee. For longer journeys I would recommend buying food and drink in advance to bring on the bus as they often stop at random truck stops which don't have the best food selection. For overnight busses, bring a travel pillow.<br />
<br />
After a particularly long, hot and cramped journey from Mostar to Kotor, I decided to treat myself to a car transfer from Kotor to Tirana in Albania. It was advertised in the hostel I was staying at, and was only 30 euros for a 4 hour journey to the centre of Tirana, compared to a 26 Euro bus journey to the outskirts. There were 4 of us in the car plus the driver so I didn't feel too bad about the carbon emissions.<br />
<br />
Albania was more tricky for busses - there was little information online and the hostel I stayed in didn't know about the public busses, but instead booked me a minibus from Tirana to Berat for 600lek which took 2 hours, though if I had gone with public transport it was half the price - but again the minibus dropped me off pretty much door to door. When it was time to leave Berat, I managed to get a lift with a couple who I met at the hostel I was working at to Shkoder, then I got a bus to Ulcinj, then another bus to Bar in Montenegro. <br />
<br />
In Slovakia and Czechia, I found <a href="http://regiojet.com/" target="_blank">RegioJet</a> to be the best bus company - prices were comparable to Flixbus, but the service was way better - the busses had free wifi, a steward, free tea and coffee and tv screens in the seats. I used Omio to book trains, but I only ended up getting one train from Vienna to Prague - I would have loved to have got more, but a) trains are few and far between in the Balkans (I think a lot of lines were damaged in the war and they haven't got round to replacing them) and b) the trains I could get were SO expensive compared to bus travel! In fact, the only reason I booked a train from Vienna was because I wanted to experience the train, but the bus was only half an hour more and a little bit cheaper. When exploring cities, I would use the public transport, or more often than not, I would walk as I like to get a feel of the area.<br />
<br />
Border crossings were simple enough - always make sure your passport is in your hand luggage!!! Then hand it over to the bus driver when they ask for it and make sure you get the right one back!<br />
<br />
<b><u>Language</u></b><br />
I'd say that a lot of people spoke at least basic English, so it was easy enough to get by. Another bonus was the languages across the Balkans is very similar, so you got used to some words - except for Albania which was pretty different. <br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Money</u></b><br />
Revolut was my saviour here. It's a really awesome concept - a card and app that you load money on to, and you can hold the money in either USD, Euro or GBP. You link your current account to it so it's easy to transfer money to the card. I held my money in GBP. There is a free version and a paid version - I used the free one. You can apply for a card <a href="http://www.revolut.com/referral/naomi8olu!G10D21" target="_blank">here</a>, it's free! Once your card arrives, download the app to your phone and follow the security instructions - they take a recording of your voice and your face for added security. If you opt for the free version, you can make withdrawals from ATMs for free (though some ATMs will still charge you a service fee - especially the random standalone ATMs built into shops, try and use ones attached to banks) up to £200. After that, Revolut charges you but it's really minimal. I was keeping track of the exchange rates and they were excellent - often only 1 or 2pence difference to what google would say the day's exchange rate was. The app keeps track of everything - categorising your expenditure into sections like travel, accommodation and food, and tracking spend by country too - so really easy to work out budgets. You can also opt to save you spare change in a separate account! I saved up £32 by doing this. Another feature I really liked was the app would alert you to everything - each time you spent, if you input the pin wrong - it made you really aware of your card usage and if someone stole it you'd know the moment they spent something on it. You can also use the app to freeze the card, view and change your pin, limit your monthly spending, and turn contactless on and off - you are really in control from your pocket! It's so great.<br />
<br />
The frustrating thing was a lot of places, especially the Balkans, didn't accept card. Living in New Zealand, I'm used to a cashless society - so it was annoying country hopping and having to carry multiple currencies, I ended up buying a separate small wallet for my Euros. I was foolish and did zero research, I knew that Croatia accepted both Kuna and Euro (but Kuna is more widely accepted), but ignorantly assumed the other European countries would also accept Euro - they don't! Below is a quick run down of each country and their money situation:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Croatia - accepts both Kuna and Euro but Kuna more widely accepted. Euro used for things like accommodation and touristy things, Kuna in restaurants and shops. Cash is King.</li>
<li>Bosnia & Herzegovina - Euro and Bosian Mark, but depends where you are. Mostar widely accepted Euros for accommodation and gift shops and sometimes restaurants, but not in grocery shops. I also found some places would accept Kuna, though usually this was tourist gift shops. Both my hostels in Mostar would happily exchange Euros and Mark for me. Sarajevo didn't accept Euros at all. One of the cheaper countries I visited. Cash is King.</li>
<li>Montenegro - Euros. Cash is King. </li>
<li>Albania - Albanian Lek, though hostels accepted Euros for payment. Definitely the cheapest of the countries I visited, except for the beach! Cash is King.</li>
<li>Slovenia - Euros. Cards more widely accepted, but also use a lot of cash. </li>
<li>Italy - Euros. Was only here for one night so unsure about cash or card acceptance.</li>
<li>Austria - Euros, card widely accepted. </li>
<li>Slovakia - Euros, I was only in Bratislava and used cash. </li>
<li>Czechia - Czech Koruna. I used a mix of cash and card, some places didn't take card but grocery stores did. </li>
<li>Germany - Euros. Some grocery stores had a minimum card spend but otherwise card was accepted in most places. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
In total I spent £1,926 which is a rough average of £32 a day - but towards the end of the trip I wasn't paying for accommodation as I was bunking with friends.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Useful Apps</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://maps.me/" target="_blank"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Maps.me</u> </a>This app is a saviour and I use it regularly in New Zealand and the UK too. Free downloadable maps for every country, so you can use them offline. Often has walking tracks on it so makes it easy when you're out hiking too. And you can search for things like toilets, grocery stores, wifi, things to do - it's really, really good. And free!</li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.xe.com/apps/" target="_blank">XE Currency Convertor</a></u> What I should have downloaded from day one, haha! You can add lots of different currencies to you homescreen to compare.</li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://translate.google.com/" target="_blank">Google Translate</a></u> Download the language for offline use, some of them also have the camera function where you can hover it over a menu for example, and the screen magically turns it to your chosen language. </li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://flixbus.co.uk/" target="_blank">Flixbus</a></u> To book FlixBus, more friendly than the website for mobile phones. </li>
<li><u><b><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.getbybus.mobile&hl=en" target="_blank">Get By Bus</a></b></u> To book other busses including FlixBus. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<b style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /></b>
So if you're wanting to travel Europe, hopefully this was a little bit useful!!! Over the next few days I'll write up the actual travel side of things.godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-74653915120079659912019-05-27T11:15:00.000+01:002019-05-27T11:15:03.971+01:00Mental HealthI experience mild depression. I don't want to say I 'suffer' from it because I feel like that's giving it too much power and too much credence to something that other people experience in much greater volumes than I do. I guess also why I used the word 'mild'.<br />
<br />
I think it's only become apparent in the last few months. Triggered by the break up, but I think in reality it's sat there for a long time, a bit like British weather, an overcast day that I have just accepted as normal, but then there's a heatwave or spring or autumn or snow and everything is colourful and beautiful and exciting and then bam, it's back to overcast. <br />
<br />
The only way to describe the most recent bout is it feels like I am surrounded by dense grey fog, my brain doesn't feel happy and isn't functioning to its full potential. Things I used to get pleasure from don't excite me anymore and I don't look forward to anything. I struggle to pay attention to anything or recall things that happened at work or on the weekend. I wonder if one of the reasons I got so affected by the weather in the Blue Mountains over the New Year and had to leave was that it was like the weather was replicating my emotions so accurately it was scary. Maybe this is also why I hate the darkness and dullness of the winter. <br />
<br />
Growing up I've experienced periods of grey but I have always put it down to waking up on the wrong side of the bed, or hormones, or something more 'normal' and socially acceptable than depression. When it's bad it's always triggered by something. I've been doing some self exploration and trying to recount the times when it's been the worst. Bizarrely when I was 15 I had a really tough time with my dad being an absolute dick and so I have been trying to attribute it to that, but I just don't remember feeling bad about it. I was in the middle of my GCSEs and I think maybe I just used that as a distraction and powered on through and tried not to think about it too much. Or maybe I've just buried all the emotions I experienced at the time deep inside and never actually processed them. Or maybe I was just more resilient back then.<br />
<br />
I've not wanted to live three times in my life. There was a time in London when my relationship wasn't going well and I was bored of my job and stuck in a rut and generally not happy with my life and I would wait on the platform for the tube to come and I would imagine what it would be like if I just stepped in front of the train. Obviously I never did it as I'm still here and I don't think I was close to doing it, but it was scary to have those thoughts coming into my brain and to entertain them. The next time was the night Aric broke up with me. The devastation I felt that my life was crumbling around me was almost too much to bear and I knew he had a medicine cabinet filled with over the top USA prescribed drugs and I considered the possibility of taking as many as I could in the hope something would happen and I wouldn't have to survive the pain of the love of my life not wanting to be with me anymore. The only thing stopping me was I knew how disappointed my mum would be in me and I couldn't do that to her. The third time was maybe 6 weeks ago, again when the pain of the break up got too much. I found out that some of my friends had been hanging out with Aric (nothing nefarious was happening) and there were 2 events coming up that I was invited to and really wanted to go to but felt like I couldn't because he was going, and I built these things up in my head as the worst thing in the world and took everything very personally and felt like I was losing everything and everyone. I was walking home over a bridge and I had to walk next to the cars because I was worried if I walked too close to the bridge I would go over it. <br />
<br />
I'm the kind of person who wears my heart on my sleeve. I find it very hard to pretend everything is fine and hunkydory when I don't feel that way. The same when I am happy - the whole world knows about it, probably to the point I am actually a little bit annoying. This works both to my benefit and my detriment - when I 'm in a bad mood I'm horrible to be around and I know there's been times when housemates have had to put up with me in a foul mood and have probably wondered what was wrong and I just haven't been very pleasant to be around. But, with close friends, I am more open about what's wrong, and I think that's a good thing to show vulnerability and show that not everything is sunshine and roses all the time - maybe if more people were open and honest about what they were feeling, there would be less pressure on others to pretend they're happy when they're not, and suffer alone.<br />
<br />
Mental health is like physical health. You need to look after it and treat your brain well. I've been reading heaps of books and listening to podcasts about mental health and it's refreshing and freeing the amount of people who talk about their struggles - people who come across like they've got their shit together and are super happy and you find out they're struggling like you are. It does help a bit to know others experience similar to you. Things have definitely changed the last few years regards stigma with mental health issues, I guess that's why I am writing this too - one, for myself, because I find it therapeutic to write about my experiences, and two, for anyone reading this, maybe it helps? I hope it doesn't come across as narcissistic or a cry for help and I don't want anyone being scared or feeling sorry for me. <br />
<br />
Things are starting to feel slightly less grey. Slowly I am having fewer grey moments and more sunny moments. I try and get lost in things like bingewatching TV, drawing, reading, socialising. I'd love to be one of those people that gets lost in exercise but sadly for my tummy, I am not that type of person. I'm writing lists of things that make me happy so I can emblaze those things on my brain, so when I do feel down I can immerse myself in the things that make me happy as a way to combat the grey. I've bought a one way ticket to go back to the UK for a bit and I have handed in my notice and put my room up for rent. I'm anxious about going back home - I need to make it worthwhile, I can't just go live with my parents for 4 months as that will be a huge waste of time - I have the opportunity to go on a big adventure, so I just need to hold myself accountable and make that happen. I'm also anxious that if I am on a big adventure, I will most likely be travelling alone, and being alone is one of the triggers of the grey coming back - too much of my own company gets me antsy and paranoid, I am a social creature at heart and I need to fill my social bucket for my mental wellbeing. So I will need to connect with people, but I am also shy, therein lies the dilemma. I guess I just need to reassure myself that I always managed to make friends in New Zealand when travelling and I can do it again. I have been doing a self hypnotism course the last 4 weeks. Whilst I haven't learnt to hypnotise myself yet, they did teach me an affirmation which I quite liked:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Every day, in every way, I feel better and better. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-2944541041344501722019-04-27T09:38:00.002+01:002020-05-19T10:10:56.541+01:00Lost in SpaceI feel like I am lost in space. My home and relationship was a spaceship, a really nice one, headed for a difficult journey but I thought we would be OK. We weren't though, and there was a problem and we had to abandon our spaceship.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We both donned our spacesuits and tried to stick together as friends, but it was hard - it's not the same when you're wearing a bulky space suit, it's harder to communicate and you need to recharge at separate points and you're both floating in different directions and you keep bumping into each other and trying to grab hold of each other but things get in the way and it's hard to keep a good grip so you end up floating out in space again</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He's got a new planet to head to soon so he's managed to anchor up and wait it out until he gets to the new planet, but I am still floating around in space trying to find somewhere or something to grasp onto. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I feel so lost. I don't know what to do. </div>
godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-69262847545314683452019-03-26T09:57:00.001+00:002019-03-26T09:57:32.949+00:00Keeping busyYikes, that last post was a bit emotionally loaded, so lets start with something much more light hearted!<br />
<br />
I have been keeping as busy as possible over the last few months and have done some pretty cool things which I want to document. <br />
<br />
First off - the Timber Trail! Sam and Dan convinced me to join them on a 2 day mountain bike trip back in December. It's over 80km of hills and a variety of terrain through old logging routes, in the most beautiful landscape. I managed to persuade Rosie, Christo and Luise to come too and we had a whale of a time. Definitely type 2 fun though. We drove down on Friday night after work and pitched our tents at Piropiro campsite in the dark - hoping we had at least pitched them in a vaguely sensible place. My first night camping after a long while is never a good one and I got zero sleep, anxious about what lay before me. We woke up bright and early, sorted out our day and night kit and drove to the end of the track to leave our cars and pick up the bikes we were renting and hopped into the shuttle bus.<br />
<br />
An hour later and they dropped us off at the start of the track with a few bike tool kits. What took an hour to drive took 2 days of tough cycling. Day One was great - I took it slow, did all the hills in my lowest gear, and barely got off the bike. We even managed to climb a mountain 1/3 of the way in. 2/3 of the way in and I was done - my bum hurt, my shoulders ached, I was sunburnt, stinking and tired. I became focussed on getting to the campsite and stopped for nothing, overtaking my friends and zooming all the way back just so that I could collapse in a heap and know I could crawl into bed whenever I wanted. When the others joined me 5 mins later, we lay there for a good 30 mins, too tired to move, before heading to a little stream nearby for a very cold dip to wash off the sweat and dirt - it was very refreshing to say the least. We then joined forces to cook up a big dinner of bolognaise before pretty early nights all round. I managed to get a bit more sleep and then next morning woke up more refreshed, but also not in a great mindset - everything hurt and I really couldn't face getting on the bike again, my butt was a mess. We packed up all our gear ready for the shuttle to come and pick it up and waddled back onto the bikes ready for the long day ahead. I started off this day in the wrong mindframe - I already decided that I was going to get off and push when it got tough, which resulted in me getting off my bike almost immediately. After keeping with the pack yesterday I quickly dropped behind and got frustrated, but then got frustrated when I saw them waiting for me (man there's no pleasing me sometimes! sorry guys!). I nearly fell off a few times and I was just completely pooped. Everything hurt and I wasn't enjoying myself. I may have even had a little cry. But, the scenery did wonders at distracting me - we cycled over heaps of suspension bridges crossing over gorgeous gorges, forest that was something out of Jurassic Park, through an old railway tunnel, along old tracks carved out of rock - it was stunning and remote and wild. Christo had a bit of an issue wiht his chain at one point which was a bit worrying as we had no phone signal and we were on a one way track with another 15km to go - a long walk if we had to push his bike, but luckily he is a genius and managed to fix it.<br />
<br />
I have never been so happy to finish a bike ride (except maybe for when Sepha and I cycled round the Isle of Wight) and when the end was in sight I was again nearly in tears. We finished up by polishing off our food at the bike hire place and a long drive back to Auckland.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2CGgVj5GcK9iyjW6pMZgDMPzYxeOBtvMpqoChPUjVxwzmXSva05rk1mL1wiL_A_CbtgK0W_e7zVHHWldzlidrMxP0TgYa0l1OmSwpzJf33j5wcAh96VzPQ3sot-Opoq0HqgXdb9xEQo/s1600/20181222_114801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2CGgVj5GcK9iyjW6pMZgDMPzYxeOBtvMpqoChPUjVxwzmXSva05rk1mL1wiL_A_CbtgK0W_e7zVHHWldzlidrMxP0TgYa0l1OmSwpzJf33j5wcAh96VzPQ3sot-Opoq0HqgXdb9xEQo/s640/20181222_114801.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiam5WPFGyKp2pdGo54QNidy0XGksXy2qm3UJ9NG1fGtUoRfaSlveNAYACbGpdNFSuyO5tjUFbqA5davb11rrDBIlt7ln8Fu3vJEzMx51SozE6lxAgntNO8fypvTuV6UOLhdumjFvq0H9M/s1600/20181222_124728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiam5WPFGyKp2pdGo54QNidy0XGksXy2qm3UJ9NG1fGtUoRfaSlveNAYACbGpdNFSuyO5tjUFbqA5davb11rrDBIlt7ln8Fu3vJEzMx51SozE6lxAgntNO8fypvTuV6UOLhdumjFvq0H9M/s640/20181222_124728.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEY7Zb7hD9i-olcORa8SxxVRGrE6_2o4FEDHkyfR9Kafgd65s2_sy4ERIyxt7lvzH5FevlMo5duuhGJS2SJP4Z1YPY1BHe5uj_uIfMct5sPB9myWR-AjF7q9VfF54Tw9mG6iMfQm6bJs/s1600/20181222_114817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEY7Zb7hD9i-olcORa8SxxVRGrE6_2o4FEDHkyfR9Kafgd65s2_sy4ERIyxt7lvzH5FevlMo5duuhGJS2SJP4Z1YPY1BHe5uj_uIfMct5sPB9myWR-AjF7q9VfF54Tw9mG6iMfQm6bJs/s640/20181222_114817.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTk7oPXAl6avBvvz7HWdKGJsX_OEO0aCMSNWHsNBL3X7wp0Msp_oax-1VewH1M1ae2fgsdk-i6GT92e3JVdkxVphV65dDswYMsimBZv-8Zx_TgbgxXs-Pd4Nhhzq3Et018qvQk6WhBHs/s1600/20181222_153123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTk7oPXAl6avBvvz7HWdKGJsX_OEO0aCMSNWHsNBL3X7wp0Msp_oax-1VewH1M1ae2fgsdk-i6GT92e3JVdkxVphV65dDswYMsimBZv-8Zx_TgbgxXs-Pd4Nhhzq3Et018qvQk6WhBHs/s640/20181222_153123.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJPdna82o3lsqLeQHXJQ47LKG-Rakvc3smNYcYV1k8bYqgFSOMY5Nh2bAX8FjbOM4GwFrIFOoa_e7sReal8yfsMMBcqe8Hshkxm6wMOdT8WMUFGn0H6MWeYCGY7Jwx0Dz8Nl5pMfrJRo/s1600/20181222_153125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJPdna82o3lsqLeQHXJQ47LKG-Rakvc3smNYcYV1k8bYqgFSOMY5Nh2bAX8FjbOM4GwFrIFOoa_e7sReal8yfsMMBcqe8Hshkxm6wMOdT8WMUFGn0H6MWeYCGY7Jwx0Dz8Nl5pMfrJRo/s640/20181222_153125.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikByurg71ljpT0FKo5rLMKsJeixYnF50CbxXg75ui9KdVh4cDhBBXaiISn-LIZAXSD1Y4OXWd7MYP1HXz2MC55RF80S28Kd1rcKLsR-RZF6dS_ukm1IrjESOw6HYAYG3zKnW8EQa1kLBE/s1600/20181222_153738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikByurg71ljpT0FKo5rLMKsJeixYnF50CbxXg75ui9KdVh4cDhBBXaiISn-LIZAXSD1Y4OXWd7MYP1HXz2MC55RF80S28Kd1rcKLsR-RZF6dS_ukm1IrjESOw6HYAYG3zKnW8EQa1kLBE/s640/20181222_153738.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm4Kb8NwvpT0OuxcxKtoudobb5TjCqHo4aOL3EDSQ-fRnd8r9P1WkePKj68PVvGQw8Y-GPvid9iImmbBCefsvRue50lx7iH-0jfk6Tcs1D9x3kEawHyM4oRywZV69gCaHxtgFUIfRIpE4/s1600/20181222_173711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm4Kb8NwvpT0OuxcxKtoudobb5TjCqHo4aOL3EDSQ-fRnd8r9P1WkePKj68PVvGQw8Y-GPvid9iImmbBCefsvRue50lx7iH-0jfk6Tcs1D9x3kEawHyM4oRywZV69gCaHxtgFUIfRIpE4/s640/20181222_173711.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAaZH0VdpP3m2xOJQhJJFjMdMe2JWj8smJUxZr17uFPVrs6F4r0ylKwIzih0OCCCNQLaZHC4KqqaKDkOVeJyrilk8CZLDNVdg_VzOIGH_I6DtNjmFbRbYU1upwAmfs1H52HCM5bxdVwY/s1600/20181222_192421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAaZH0VdpP3m2xOJQhJJFjMdMe2JWj8smJUxZr17uFPVrs6F4r0ylKwIzih0OCCCNQLaZHC4KqqaKDkOVeJyrilk8CZLDNVdg_VzOIGH_I6DtNjmFbRbYU1upwAmfs1H52HCM5bxdVwY/s640/20181222_192421.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-uapiM_luNekgS0nAFBW3-1CeGcJSfOpj2q_nH6ZJElzon3lHz8Io1lZrVTEvIwTIb5mWU4aKGR-pkz7Of_yMsW6W__YNXqI95iB4VsDUold4Z8maQ_noyTAkxOj12B31FWRgOaR8m8/s1600/20181222_170829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-uapiM_luNekgS0nAFBW3-1CeGcJSfOpj2q_nH6ZJElzon3lHz8Io1lZrVTEvIwTIb5mWU4aKGR-pkz7Of_yMsW6W__YNXqI95iB4VsDUold4Z8maQ_noyTAkxOj12B31FWRgOaR8m8/s640/20181222_170829.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUnTnr-SUzQP9_g_ut0dzJ9tnTsSrrb7-wTF00jizDoHwqlUYC6gE8ax_4ICU7eVHKaScG6n_f89DDsU62f2YjH7Pn8Sl3eMCO8fSrbmBZ9a4fgbjfHOYH2gh0c9AN-q8J-4I1aNpDqM/s1600/20181223_094649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUnTnr-SUzQP9_g_ut0dzJ9tnTsSrrb7-wTF00jizDoHwqlUYC6gE8ax_4ICU7eVHKaScG6n_f89DDsU62f2YjH7Pn8Sl3eMCO8fSrbmBZ9a4fgbjfHOYH2gh0c9AN-q8J-4I1aNpDqM/s640/20181223_094649.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhDv66_zCCi07B63XDtiJ52eix-gwGssGXGhXbd6l42gkFj06P1fV9vrac9thr1FMPDl523L5ucYh6T7u0-WcTR40WIofV7j1R3f3WHtbrWusqHF8SqJUkkoc-AAAfbIyxwI2C4hBrYw/s1600/20181223_144516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhDv66_zCCi07B63XDtiJ52eix-gwGssGXGhXbd6l42gkFj06P1fV9vrac9thr1FMPDl523L5ucYh6T7u0-WcTR40WIofV7j1R3f3WHtbrWusqHF8SqJUkkoc-AAAfbIyxwI2C4hBrYw/s640/20181223_144516.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XbVfcyQ-tX-ZA7TuGN6-BH8z49QmLkXRnu0ry6LG5nz8NV1MiyJ8Gfb_ST50QVX7BdxpdxJ20ZM2y73ViNDjnBWbsVJwhkuGxSU1vkDYZ0d6I0TNGEa9uZykV5tOOSm5CxGViS2nUDg/s1600/20181223_145746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XbVfcyQ-tX-ZA7TuGN6-BH8z49QmLkXRnu0ry6LG5nz8NV1MiyJ8Gfb_ST50QVX7BdxpdxJ20ZM2y73ViNDjnBWbsVJwhkuGxSU1vkDYZ0d6I0TNGEa9uZykV5tOOSm5CxGViS2nUDg/s640/20181223_145746.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I spent my Christmas with Christo and Luise, the remaining orphans in Auckland who kindly adopted me. On Christmas Eve we had the most delicious dinner cooked up by everyone apart from me, followed by randomly going to a bizarre church where there was a live band singing religious praising God songs and everyone was swaying to the music and I felt like I was at a Justin Bieber concert, everyone seemed to be in a trance about the music. Then a preacher came on who riled me when he said that they'd just taken over the lease of the only nightclub in Whangarei and he was turning a 'house of sin into a house of prayer' Urgh. Then randomly they had hidden 3 envelopes under the chairs in the congregation, and so 3 lucky people won some money, a hug with the preacher, and an electric scooter. So weird. Then we went home, played scrabble and went to bed. In the morning we had an amazing pancake breakfast before heading to Piha and did a rainy walk, played games in the campervan, did an escape room and I headed home for a solo netflix binge. It was probably up there with my top 5 Christmases which is bizarre given the circumstances, but I really enjoyed the lack of pressure and traditional christmas activities.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SC7joTIgv-xES6knePjFaVcauKcggGKqvA1dKI0jvRXAky8Ojq3FZxPMGJ-Wx3moW2WRKEMKy4ixfnASn7Xs_blziFDp26SZbtPXWGK6PSBimJrWR8GNxHFASHb1yp1qLmitSn_pz-8/s1600/IMG_20190114_220822_153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SC7joTIgv-xES6knePjFaVcauKcggGKqvA1dKI0jvRXAky8Ojq3FZxPMGJ-Wx3moW2WRKEMKy4ixfnASn7Xs_blziFDp26SZbtPXWGK6PSBimJrWR8GNxHFASHb1yp1qLmitSn_pz-8/s640/IMG_20190114_220822_153.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
A few days after that I headed to Australia. I had 3 days in Brisbane which is a really cool city. I spent day 1 wandering around the city centre, they have a great south bank area which has been designed as a huge public space with heaps of cool things like a board walk, herb garden, tropical garden, art installations, a fake beach with lifeguards - it's brilliant. I think I walked 25k that day just around the city! The next day I took a train and ferry to Stradbrook Island. I did a nice walk around Point Lookout where I was amazed to see sharks, eagle rays and huge turtles swimming about in the sea - it was incredible, and 2 kangaroos lying in the shade. My final day was spent on Moreton Island which was a little disappointing because I joined a tour - it was super busy and they took us to the island for a kayak and snorkel adventure, but really it was just a 15 min snorkel in a big group - they even made you hang on to the back of a jetski to travel the 100m distance to the snorkel area for H&S reasons (it sounds fun but it's 12 of you hanging on for dear life on a rubber ring and you get petrol flavoured water up your nose and in your mouth) and a 15 min kayak in the same area, for the grand price of $200. So I was a bit irritated at that.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyFj1C0I9F_Wfkv0Tl4nN-nFdlXdf1gmRizA3K209eOd-HCmswbiRq7qOe3K66Nju0zPdS5j-TCyQNaN4nc95W9o8vYbd53HX6E35B-S_67dvVhRdcIjM1OoPNGTFTn1C_rAB6RDcPik/s1600/20181228_123533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="1600" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyFj1C0I9F_Wfkv0Tl4nN-nFdlXdf1gmRizA3K209eOd-HCmswbiRq7qOe3K66Nju0zPdS5j-TCyQNaN4nc95W9o8vYbd53HX6E35B-S_67dvVhRdcIjM1OoPNGTFTn1C_rAB6RDcPik/s640/20181228_123533.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeTENi0qU3q4SdAB1qOs4qaeiRWdYdAbUW7eGB2t3jar-JEIpaxY3TZqhAiYRggCuqp4OMs2P5qT6uu_gv0UstrD59_Hnssq1am8ynDUy-P9BUX93HZSPNxN1vJfBFpE1a6RRjM3_giA/s1600/20181228_125411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeTENi0qU3q4SdAB1qOs4qaeiRWdYdAbUW7eGB2t3jar-JEIpaxY3TZqhAiYRggCuqp4OMs2P5qT6uu_gv0UstrD59_Hnssq1am8ynDUy-P9BUX93HZSPNxN1vJfBFpE1a6RRjM3_giA/s640/20181228_125411.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPV06AwWHHrDGWiAJVb1lZZ-AtnXZXrvO9TlaeeydLQDYCD1ZVRYdC5N3sgUpDf50v7xMd-31iz_181F9z8v5wUbRMruDUkL3ZxEztU8itgfqRx4D5gSBIim0ftsWifczqROt8cLHOVs/s1600/20181228_140444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPV06AwWHHrDGWiAJVb1lZZ-AtnXZXrvO9TlaeeydLQDYCD1ZVRYdC5N3sgUpDf50v7xMd-31iz_181F9z8v5wUbRMruDUkL3ZxEztU8itgfqRx4D5gSBIim0ftsWifczqROt8cLHOVs/s640/20181228_140444.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCUUaftYkb55jpPaslJGg_ZaU5NmSXpcAJUNjxVlY2wcuDfNPMpgc3DIKRPu_5JvVjkWrvJVh5rRK68lKNUHi63cDTbriIuroEs1RzHcDkN0R9rVC4aSUA-NFZMAupRqdPUXUklev39nI/s1600/20181228_164937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCUUaftYkb55jpPaslJGg_ZaU5NmSXpcAJUNjxVlY2wcuDfNPMpgc3DIKRPu_5JvVjkWrvJVh5rRK68lKNUHi63cDTbriIuroEs1RzHcDkN0R9rVC4aSUA-NFZMAupRqdPUXUklev39nI/s640/20181228_164937.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYWCAE_gWC_T_L19KQgG96VQfXuoXPPfgZEkhRReAEHo_qkvU1gl7e6kYhCxJZvfedmypOLJzhCBf9TnfRG-qnxKUvMSsGtuRUC9m6tcCV0Cs_tgeaFuPs7OHC7raYvAsPIxLIqZeQis/s1600/20181228_174343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYWCAE_gWC_T_L19KQgG96VQfXuoXPPfgZEkhRReAEHo_qkvU1gl7e6kYhCxJZvfedmypOLJzhCBf9TnfRG-qnxKUvMSsGtuRUC9m6tcCV0Cs_tgeaFuPs7OHC7raYvAsPIxLIqZeQis/s640/20181228_174343.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKt7RVrO3w_GshnGh6_PLOoE1QiD5BK7DzqfU5PxhkY8DvBGQq2aekKQVFgCI-SOOrB3PpcoABBwTnTcKmfDoQ-DWmhDQTjn_4QJTXQZUmlHVKhLaHi0lHcmCzd2BbsyoTcJSS-A6EMXo/s1600/20181228_174347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKt7RVrO3w_GshnGh6_PLOoE1QiD5BK7DzqfU5PxhkY8DvBGQq2aekKQVFgCI-SOOrB3PpcoABBwTnTcKmfDoQ-DWmhDQTjn_4QJTXQZUmlHVKhLaHi0lHcmCzd2BbsyoTcJSS-A6EMXo/s640/20181228_174347.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LtQNMr6IrzxYzNJ04ig1E3Kf7CAmxb8wADoX4GM1kV6A3pXRbshojkG1yp3X0su5XkeMEqZd32H5xVW12YsCIKphtiXl9HgvraUfM105g5bUvwhDWVOMqnaTPhOpUUU3XxSox3HRBv4/s1600/20181229_100416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LtQNMr6IrzxYzNJ04ig1E3Kf7CAmxb8wADoX4GM1kV6A3pXRbshojkG1yp3X0su5XkeMEqZd32H5xVW12YsCIKphtiXl9HgvraUfM105g5bUvwhDWVOMqnaTPhOpUUU3XxSox3HRBv4/s640/20181229_100416.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0eOaG7beCLiMdtDVzCyB6xp5VVC312IJCc1Y-Fgkh048iAo9FzztuHNmABOFESAf8JKjNMJf_WU968h3Gu7jbpwhYi3r6eCzHPaNxXsOBUKobO0_GE6VGED2C2saq8Y7dEERbx7Qi2M/s1600/20181229_103714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0eOaG7beCLiMdtDVzCyB6xp5VVC312IJCc1Y-Fgkh048iAo9FzztuHNmABOFESAf8JKjNMJf_WU968h3Gu7jbpwhYi3r6eCzHPaNxXsOBUKobO0_GE6VGED2C2saq8Y7dEERbx7Qi2M/s640/20181229_103714.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_CYd-GRyHt93u8jBpMcNBm9l42aWyt9XGZ1BiLiNV2gJMAPdN0j-NskS80kla7WOmJ6j5Bp9JJw8WZwOqjlDNCvaOpBjErCCCRM07fb2XYIf7yW4dHnZDp6d0Zso41ftC5Icmzyb4ZI/s1600/20181230_100606%25280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_CYd-GRyHt93u8jBpMcNBm9l42aWyt9XGZ1BiLiNV2gJMAPdN0j-NskS80kla7WOmJ6j5Bp9JJw8WZwOqjlDNCvaOpBjErCCCRM07fb2XYIf7yW4dHnZDp6d0Zso41ftC5Icmzyb4ZI/s640/20181230_100606%25280%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84UdyEgOsN_hxl679CM1N80-INUKz9oZmUgNW2Zak7vgbcSnmxnZ9JdIQh0vWBk9UkINoFvnKSuoE4OftFZdRh_XuRT4tYvPtmTjgGLS1fV7-vgh8WJU5c7XhlOfuUfM6ZxYr3MliXBU/s1600/20181230_182806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84UdyEgOsN_hxl679CM1N80-INUKz9oZmUgNW2Zak7vgbcSnmxnZ9JdIQh0vWBk9UkINoFvnKSuoE4OftFZdRh_XuRT4tYvPtmTjgGLS1fV7-vgh8WJU5c7XhlOfuUfM6ZxYr3MliXBU/s640/20181230_182806.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I then flew to Sydney to join Mum and Tim. We spent New Years Eve watching the fireworks from Birchgrove Park which was awesome, and just did lots of sightseeing. I tended to spend one day with them and one day on my own so that we gave each other enough space to not get annoyed at each other. We went to the Blue Mountains which the weather didn't play ball for - the clouds were so low so you were walking in drizzle the entire time and could barely see 10 ft in front of you, which is a shame as the views are meant to be amazing. I ended up leaving a day early as the weather was making me feel weird. I spent one of the days in the Maritime museum which I highly recommend - I ended up spending 4 hours in it exploring all of the exhibitions and visiting the boats. I also did the Spit to Manly walk which was great and we did the Coogee to Bondi walk again. All up it was a lovely trip and a good distraction from things back home.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCejJwCgjscHAPEA_fOpgz7-Ow8p1XDkViTU9HcweKf9x2e3ZzlM8_uAjTROUD3GyAA7TjnHxqQabndcJHbTl5JcVO12NlP4vGGLqeI-9Gj9Exi_Hij0oTMl1bx4Gzjb50-EbkIydZQfM/s1600/20190103_131041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCejJwCgjscHAPEA_fOpgz7-Ow8p1XDkViTU9HcweKf9x2e3ZzlM8_uAjTROUD3GyAA7TjnHxqQabndcJHbTl5JcVO12NlP4vGGLqeI-9Gj9Exi_Hij0oTMl1bx4Gzjb50-EbkIydZQfM/s640/20190103_131041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3gmfV5VCKCrvh9KicEyrLOedfKC_2kd89aUk3NoCMeDkl9OU0T2Hbq3gSnRiVSLpMLWD9DSH1O8VUy3-Rpt6WKUY4prZHRzUVV0MZ4PGqSoXXxyzfQzVvTVRKejVg_CuizqNp9c7ftM/s1600/20190103_130109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3gmfV5VCKCrvh9KicEyrLOedfKC_2kd89aUk3NoCMeDkl9OU0T2Hbq3gSnRiVSLpMLWD9DSH1O8VUy3-Rpt6WKUY4prZHRzUVV0MZ4PGqSoXXxyzfQzVvTVRKejVg_CuizqNp9c7ftM/s640/20190103_130109.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGeWZMyEbR2_emt4lSCfc4mY6YQwLV3SZgzITmiddQoqJ4W-ODBan5Q31OvIZuAqD1TbIQ41XRQPKY8Fkj7uTVX2bJQOddoMoegPZVg51ClXEoOrAOE6K-woakG4dmeQgWYVLNF7IKto/s1600/20190103_145718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGeWZMyEbR2_emt4lSCfc4mY6YQwLV3SZgzITmiddQoqJ4W-ODBan5Q31OvIZuAqD1TbIQ41XRQPKY8Fkj7uTVX2bJQOddoMoegPZVg51ClXEoOrAOE6K-woakG4dmeQgWYVLNF7IKto/s640/20190103_145718.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcsPYLNBq-jL31mRBuw_nBdVcrTdeA-lYTYgnesaCwIxhSod_4F28fEsmzSwUckrOgYPUkliFVtv3DJhenI9LqPc2EdhS__FBeNoTs5k0OJc5hdQXqc6fwkrpQluoRwU1hY8CkU5jS-0/s1600/20190104_083400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcsPYLNBq-jL31mRBuw_nBdVcrTdeA-lYTYgnesaCwIxhSod_4F28fEsmzSwUckrOgYPUkliFVtv3DJhenI9LqPc2EdhS__FBeNoTs5k0OJc5hdQXqc6fwkrpQluoRwU1hY8CkU5jS-0/s640/20190104_083400.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6AxNwQeSv0hB4QfDFKbulyHoyxHNyCapjnb43Yf0-I-ybVvHZKD81oDShr31JHD9KdBDGQWBllcOrloNyDRmy8OYtRfSwOVebjAk6pJMr0QcZZbAGm5_XwPNQrfHHctBpP8KLrH-GPk/s1600/20190104_083421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6AxNwQeSv0hB4QfDFKbulyHoyxHNyCapjnb43Yf0-I-ybVvHZKD81oDShr31JHD9KdBDGQWBllcOrloNyDRmy8OYtRfSwOVebjAk6pJMr0QcZZbAGm5_XwPNQrfHHctBpP8KLrH-GPk/s640/20190104_083421.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgij1bgosYOHdyJ6iPDNgaso4dW64YcoKG0mLb07e2RldgwPa612kVQ5EHX-AgRglpqkj9VWxOqnGmy5ilUSecUOPX3L-xa71Q4oXPpdEEpfykZ36U6FmwxjgJb2EmizgYVf1uVlgq9XNI/s1600/IMG_20190104_181305_537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgij1bgosYOHdyJ6iPDNgaso4dW64YcoKG0mLb07e2RldgwPa612kVQ5EHX-AgRglpqkj9VWxOqnGmy5ilUSecUOPX3L-xa71Q4oXPpdEEpfykZ36U6FmwxjgJb2EmizgYVf1uVlgq9XNI/s640/IMG_20190104_181305_537.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhbYlif4AtBhdGC_B2UcDOIlLyHILgSXnTlOfj96bfAlF_HWQdkFiAHG6qMMx0kKFoYw95QKLTnIRh40boHgMe44c0W76xcciZFZ7jSJHZEDxGJxeJ-BzPSwxEG2qotZo_VHJ8ld6RMg/s1600/20190105_151011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhbYlif4AtBhdGC_B2UcDOIlLyHILgSXnTlOfj96bfAlF_HWQdkFiAHG6qMMx0kKFoYw95QKLTnIRh40boHgMe44c0W76xcciZFZ7jSJHZEDxGJxeJ-BzPSwxEG2qotZo_VHJ8ld6RMg/s640/20190105_151011.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlI3I30EwTHcD8udqCr23KRl_JiIuignHYXxv9HIW-u8mztFWOXVbn-cuEjX6Q4KnhPJ2b6p3TunafNQpr0l1AZMhodoZlvcG8N98tMTljQc21ptzwg2-fmNDUWWo8zIFxdN90UDyaBH0/s1600/20190105_142535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlI3I30EwTHcD8udqCr23KRl_JiIuignHYXxv9HIW-u8mztFWOXVbn-cuEjX6Q4KnhPJ2b6p3TunafNQpr0l1AZMhodoZlvcG8N98tMTljQc21ptzwg2-fmNDUWWo8zIFxdN90UDyaBH0/s640/20190105_142535.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhecM7jUmsDNIp2PAEzoRT9_123m3VF3g_gR4_Dt8f7KEJMXeaenOeTd6d3Bn7RXn7OLqSQLm7_RiOblQYTyNNeSBAuY2PSajQxUwBaHUft4UnD5yT6FJveuwxo-NgNgCGaETj0dH4TK8w/s1600/20190105_150910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhecM7jUmsDNIp2PAEzoRT9_123m3VF3g_gR4_Dt8f7KEJMXeaenOeTd6d3Bn7RXn7OLqSQLm7_RiOblQYTyNNeSBAuY2PSajQxUwBaHUft4UnD5yT6FJveuwxo-NgNgCGaETj0dH4TK8w/s640/20190105_150910.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoB_nV8grqJExuLBwhBUilVKcZP47WfN2BXRAeabfe7-Vra7k6AGvDISVNTIV9V0n676SG-Vi3W3igYn3S01Cx0eJ_Sle7WnK2D6K_SlexCBu91r5d8cZuYCqjoTD6WOd0qP3jqg04kU/s1600/20190106_130624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoB_nV8grqJExuLBwhBUilVKcZP47WfN2BXRAeabfe7-Vra7k6AGvDISVNTIV9V0n676SG-Vi3W3igYn3S01Cx0eJ_Sle7WnK2D6K_SlexCBu91r5d8cZuYCqjoTD6WOd0qP3jqg04kU/s640/20190106_130624.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0SqalOmo2u7bhzRdTCCXn2DAMyUlvBYSlgvofnnSyM7o5RzTWi6npX-ylCSMpnT9BQ9ERD1mWN-swQWpziUjLU_aqUzCfiF_bjHSGUdcOmIr1GK3t0dDFH6GE-mZATjtG57Y7Kx-Y3E/s1600/IMG_20190108_205420_824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0SqalOmo2u7bhzRdTCCXn2DAMyUlvBYSlgvofnnSyM7o5RzTWi6npX-ylCSMpnT9BQ9ERD1mWN-swQWpziUjLU_aqUzCfiF_bjHSGUdcOmIr1GK3t0dDFH6GE-mZATjtG57Y7Kx-Y3E/s640/IMG_20190108_205420_824.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Mum and Tim then flew to New Zealand so I had a night or 2 entertaining them here before they set off for their big adventure around the country. It's such a comfort knowing they're in the same country.<br />
<br />
Below is a wee lazy photo diary of all the other things I have been up to recently:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1qGd_w6cObcdjiKkcNUGqGVI4FRE_9jmaMYYkZzutDxSBVvngLqNiK2YYdDvXqcqRJ1QIwO9OMrSQQ4zxNdN3uP-z9Pd8XPal-0d1ut6EqN5sJ4Ql623AAaO3bXZ81LWTRQ1eLxOIaQ0/s1600/20190205_195605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1qGd_w6cObcdjiKkcNUGqGVI4FRE_9jmaMYYkZzutDxSBVvngLqNiK2YYdDvXqcqRJ1QIwO9OMrSQQ4zxNdN3uP-z9Pd8XPal-0d1ut6EqN5sJ4Ql623AAaO3bXZ81LWTRQ1eLxOIaQ0/s640/20190205_195605.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Yann randomly is related to one of the girls in B*Witched and so got free tickets to go to the 90s reunion 'So Pop' at Spark Arena and invited me along - it was a lot of fun and I got to go back stage to meet Adele from the band. 11 year old me would be mindblown, 31 year old me not so much. Other highlights were Venga Boys, Eiffel 65 and Blue. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTnJePrSPci34gSPfcNbnJ0ohgQdDrcwaNkmTBlab4hv8MvbW-8IyFajAx1-ceGiXU5zuq8qD0GZswdvBS1gKakkinyFckqYeOKpfYQOODop4wnWbimYZnpMoV-2mIWgZlCpdFPdgbGU/s1600/20190206_133814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTnJePrSPci34gSPfcNbnJ0ohgQdDrcwaNkmTBlab4hv8MvbW-8IyFajAx1-ceGiXU5zuq8qD0GZswdvBS1gKakkinyFckqYeOKpfYQOODop4wnWbimYZnpMoV-2mIWgZlCpdFPdgbGU/s640/20190206_133814.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOs5apG5xzhQxozP2fiSsCqQ9HNa9bvViB1KSFIQHoK4YeZFSVEB-MEBUbh17pKAp_gYaBXr7KmxoKg9gCIO4V4N9yYf4Ld9Qh3FiNRaZ1AOqS58j9ff0Md7dHoA5M3gGNy8xi6hlCoRg/s1600/FB_IMG_1549488299314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="1080" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOs5apG5xzhQxozP2fiSsCqQ9HNa9bvViB1KSFIQHoK4YeZFSVEB-MEBUbh17pKAp_gYaBXr7KmxoKg9gCIO4V4N9yYf4Ld9Qh3FiNRaZ1AOqS58j9ff0Md7dHoA5M3gGNy8xi6hlCoRg/s640/FB_IMG_1549488299314.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5Vtm4hBr3DkqG9MLGtycm3kCj5vUlkGnGh35FH_Bjliw5LhBQ8JcIyEbTWzx0RAH3z_pPe1nxwOfzPhl_ho1zEEP2gKT0AD1v_eKGrX0AO0jDhHZ8DEVVgYrPRC9_W8haVBUrrHtJOs/s1600/FB_IMG_1549488307072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1080" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5Vtm4hBr3DkqG9MLGtycm3kCj5vUlkGnGh35FH_Bjliw5LhBQ8JcIyEbTWzx0RAH3z_pPe1nxwOfzPhl_ho1zEEP2gKT0AD1v_eKGrX0AO0jDhHZ8DEVVgYrPRC9_W8haVBUrrHtJOs/s640/FB_IMG_1549488307072.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We convinced Natalie and Tom to go on one of my favourite hikes - Mokoroa Stream Track. A 3km walk along a stream, stopping in swimming holes along the way, on a beautifully hot day. Perfection. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCHoH6RcGGSvG6VRC107c__q6jIRKvnJi6028LcPJmC7PMK7bMchG5cLlRw-Wc2CMRtNVoaCbsptYchOVD_uYMCqeBxjm6lcZhU93RlGfBRRNwLzyE1sHV9jZ_viG1HSXWn9FmjmzWRw/s1600/20190209_114627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCHoH6RcGGSvG6VRC107c__q6jIRKvnJi6028LcPJmC7PMK7bMchG5cLlRw-Wc2CMRtNVoaCbsptYchOVD_uYMCqeBxjm6lcZhU93RlGfBRRNwLzyE1sHV9jZ_viG1HSXWn9FmjmzWRw/s640/20190209_114627.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3AjW_RGoZW2y5BZzqRTxGsBl_wmXl9wXAoW0EMYpOLx11m8tsZ0uT9mbdUlB_GswoBMVkI0_fcW2DYvCCHfebcrwPuPcH9E9i_LK-YR7IrevX3S-zTOzXrelF-O61j_uwTODZYShmlUw/s1600/20190209_115223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3AjW_RGoZW2y5BZzqRTxGsBl_wmXl9wXAoW0EMYpOLx11m8tsZ0uT9mbdUlB_GswoBMVkI0_fcW2DYvCCHfebcrwPuPcH9E9i_LK-YR7IrevX3S-zTOzXrelF-O61j_uwTODZYShmlUw/s640/20190209_115223.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLbeWFI_e3Y2Ww7IfcMo63MIfA5vzhcPlAyieW2Dz6cqBm2RKM9JqP-TqFZJpDfsQyML0MH3Y3kGVvwJa_SLUsmQGiHxeUCsXM3ed4PI9E0z2hzWpPAE2ScTZQnXScbeOj6OJZHSR3Uxo/s1600/20190209_164320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLbeWFI_e3Y2Ww7IfcMo63MIfA5vzhcPlAyieW2Dz6cqBm2RKM9JqP-TqFZJpDfsQyML0MH3Y3kGVvwJa_SLUsmQGiHxeUCsXM3ed4PI9E0z2hzWpPAE2ScTZQnXScbeOj6OJZHSR3Uxo/s640/20190209_164320.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrA1FzZwm0jMtIo6StXU8TxFkE6MoJtaI9x1RRQ4z1eLVRMrlkVQW9-OxGxpCJlrCbyWhxmK6tRxdVubFbUD6WEtAIKAToP1nKxJ54fvUdOU-j-IYUCRM0YQC3u56BJ7KpnQoc2xVg7c/s1600/20190209_152655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrA1FzZwm0jMtIo6StXU8TxFkE6MoJtaI9x1RRQ4z1eLVRMrlkVQW9-OxGxpCJlrCbyWhxmK6tRxdVubFbUD6WEtAIKAToP1nKxJ54fvUdOU-j-IYUCRM0YQC3u56BJ7KpnQoc2xVg7c/s640/20190209_152655.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoT0XgHpy7Q4NX2tl7ci8W1EjPzWGclk51egcu5vuXbGZcOtI2ibVNvVRz16mv7ckjo24NSmH4WddP9v7R_Mz-aMfMw2eSmPb92JbLmHKGNXSz8EeQS1pPkWALF8FFR_eUd3tXCZHSnWk/s1600/20190209_164535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoT0XgHpy7Q4NX2tl7ci8W1EjPzWGclk51egcu5vuXbGZcOtI2ibVNvVRz16mv7ckjo24NSmH4WddP9v7R_Mz-aMfMw2eSmPb92JbLmHKGNXSz8EeQS1pPkWALF8FFR_eUd3tXCZHSnWk/s640/20190209_164535.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHp0N1K1AjNDJub1exxsj7hyKS-JhbTLHSHpzwJFwjQKgYCBVW3iAHrCcfnW1KPp3VhE_f0IYf6ZQX2YfV_YCP6vxTf5Ss4rzHWiCKxHcP8BHhyG1uiC-09GTx7Xp_7ppyfZ2euXwUnE/s1600/20190209_165859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHp0N1K1AjNDJub1exxsj7hyKS-JhbTLHSHpzwJFwjQKgYCBVW3iAHrCcfnW1KPp3VhE_f0IYf6ZQX2YfV_YCP6vxTf5Ss4rzHWiCKxHcP8BHhyG1uiC-09GTx7Xp_7ppyfZ2euXwUnE/s640/20190209_165859.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FBfkoRLslluG4Ltw8K_FpTw_fOmdfiaTnFYMXvBpUIiXvwkMNQYcCG3cA7J8gL0ba4LAmYHiqrzBHTyqk3I4ys1cC-HOaf9oIEQpYs_VczeSt30bVjYRLMH2bFEI0ILrgGt2WbSc6Qs/s1600/20190210_083806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FBfkoRLslluG4Ltw8K_FpTw_fOmdfiaTnFYMXvBpUIiXvwkMNQYcCG3cA7J8gL0ba4LAmYHiqrzBHTyqk3I4ys1cC-HOaf9oIEQpYs_VczeSt30bVjYRLMH2bFEI0ILrgGt2WbSc6Qs/s640/20190210_083806.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioNosexduWVGniEBoC-Vw9bdd3fgCJb4YzaQboClBli1Qx-B6s4TarJbbZmpQV8WVbldotnu0rdd_8onAhSEKkYc7PwCG0yPQ-oOOErTPoe0UVwxRWASvaH3VvKnO6qPV8skdDmorDcKo/s1600/20190210_072100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioNosexduWVGniEBoC-Vw9bdd3fgCJb4YzaQboClBli1Qx-B6s4TarJbbZmpQV8WVbldotnu0rdd_8onAhSEKkYc7PwCG0yPQ-oOOErTPoe0UVwxRWASvaH3VvKnO6qPV8skdDmorDcKo/s640/20190210_072100.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ao2vxpt9Bq-vTUAxtpfP568CWrY_fzUUOhKGCqM2-CBDJapVBgwdMoB-DWWv_ZhItKMSdMj5GrhC_ALegcVp-AoRTGmt6STaV0JzHlqAJhyaUoPlY0IuEhbfkq0SnYC4jVlYF3xjipc/s1600/FB_IMG_1549769068522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1080" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ao2vxpt9Bq-vTUAxtpfP568CWrY_fzUUOhKGCqM2-CBDJapVBgwdMoB-DWWv_ZhItKMSdMj5GrhC_ALegcVp-AoRTGmt6STaV0JzHlqAJhyaUoPlY0IuEhbfkq0SnYC4jVlYF3xjipc/s640/FB_IMG_1549769068522.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We caught the ferry to Rangitoto, hiked across to Motutapu and stayed the night - a lovely, quick weekend adventure. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3cpISXcC9yyyEzPszrf4vYxlruouw1zIkU_64Yar_jg6bEQ-a86Z3arlTYrMkwZjOuN75KQSAbvP4WX2Xn0E8c_whw_yrlEsQUOC1rO5POVp7B31babiLHWtZTQwM7Y4nKBI0nmDJpA/s1600/IMG_20190220_162313_690.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3cpISXcC9yyyEzPszrf4vYxlruouw1zIkU_64Yar_jg6bEQ-a86Z3arlTYrMkwZjOuN75KQSAbvP4WX2Xn0E8c_whw_yrlEsQUOC1rO5POVp7B31babiLHWtZTQwM7Y4nKBI0nmDJpA/s640/IMG_20190220_162313_690.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFr9F-CdPCW0DGIeGTrz1duoe6OFnZvsazs-_VM8kUrCZPGK0-2QV-PNlsMM7bYE2j4emxwDsuxU7zGENuykKOHJtuv-YXd3Bheyclhr4XClLNAFU0zAIQNbDo4hVDAKvvNQq1zXXojU/s1600/IMG_20190319_213347_325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFr9F-CdPCW0DGIeGTrz1duoe6OFnZvsazs-_VM8kUrCZPGK0-2QV-PNlsMM7bYE2j4emxwDsuxU7zGENuykKOHJtuv-YXd3Bheyclhr4XClLNAFU0zAIQNbDo4hVDAKvvNQq1zXXojU/s640/IMG_20190319_213347_325.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I have started (and nearly finished) an 8 week drawing class. I have done better than I ever could have imagined!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC90fBCi6cuHC8eXyePzFydT6wgUyJKMA5e3_LSgu409PkDG-6VemJ1LR0gYbx-4m_u6eypryu4CXBod7BBZz3WBPFwQ1JYIBk3AFJLX8cnfRWBhbEFBotlGhKKaYDvGuF3qyPXJcJNvs/s1600/IMG_20190224_195217_791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC90fBCi6cuHC8eXyePzFydT6wgUyJKMA5e3_LSgu409PkDG-6VemJ1LR0gYbx-4m_u6eypryu4CXBod7BBZz3WBPFwQ1JYIBk3AFJLX8cnfRWBhbEFBotlGhKKaYDvGuF3qyPXJcJNvs/s640/IMG_20190224_195217_791.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
KP (now known as Pete, apparently he doesn't like being called KP) visited NZ so we had a highschool reunion. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUtUwDZDNgq7REwzA7UAqkOhe1rFdMDgUx9XgzQGaA_taX-8TeHNHvn2x03wseEbY0lILDLUXHDoT7QDprVZk1YG-c_Pm0AwiaT6IRHdIhB3Bnc0Qs73mDCF6Tr49phmxfabIWl36Bj8/s1600/20190301_203830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUtUwDZDNgq7REwzA7UAqkOhe1rFdMDgUx9XgzQGaA_taX-8TeHNHvn2x03wseEbY0lILDLUXHDoT7QDprVZk1YG-c_Pm0AwiaT6IRHdIhB3Bnc0Qs73mDCF6Tr49phmxfabIWl36Bj8/s640/20190301_203830.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Christo took me climbing and I had fun and did good!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCRJQ4zM6oPkShZQskJ84CD7akHXr_ffRFNPyG8i6-gxSicyx7VZFdRUpk2IgEMPscnV3GlBGLm3fxfkZyx2dIcoDr0lSn5GtcNCUS1PvcfMLvIKQZHcrN5NAOdePtZsLCoZnzZy1hOk/s1600/20190302_222629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCRJQ4zM6oPkShZQskJ84CD7akHXr_ffRFNPyG8i6-gxSicyx7VZFdRUpk2IgEMPscnV3GlBGLm3fxfkZyx2dIcoDr0lSn5GtcNCUS1PvcfMLvIKQZHcrN5NAOdePtZsLCoZnzZy1hOk/s640/20190302_222629.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Yann took us to play indoor crazy golf for his goodbye party - much more fun that I anticipated, brilliantly adventurous holes!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsPY-zCzbQrqSgajHRFIR37AO87o19sQKzYh-h0JR2POOcWHyocm5DpUBl3N2YKLxHS7ZBsUn1nYA-X4zw_zLJXwcKYoH_DLeybf58jYrmGeyMpen2djX26pnPj7T7l3ksTHANUm6ntc/s1600/20190309_133542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="1600" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsPY-zCzbQrqSgajHRFIR37AO87o19sQKzYh-h0JR2POOcWHyocm5DpUBl3N2YKLxHS7ZBsUn1nYA-X4zw_zLJXwcKYoH_DLeybf58jYrmGeyMpen2djX26pnPj7T7l3ksTHANUm6ntc/s640/20190309_133542.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mpLHrRSin8F-LlARx04N6TD9alC0lJH20gQ8naji6sc2vVRLJOCdf3ovntN3b9iOzIz_HOyNfiVVWLHoh1VXRjv-LxI2odUEEl9D11t5eqVKjB164cgOpychyphenhyphen41uTBm0t3diSToYrfk/s1600/20190309_144934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mpLHrRSin8F-LlARx04N6TD9alC0lJH20gQ8naji6sc2vVRLJOCdf3ovntN3b9iOzIz_HOyNfiVVWLHoh1VXRjv-LxI2odUEEl9D11t5eqVKjB164cgOpychyphenhyphen41uTBm0t3diSToYrfk/s640/20190309_144934.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQi5xELXJkKS13991LsXz111CDFEG8lqYDGMrIldS9B5NdOZeq-QV8RTTXV50vXT_LOAlJHFY_sS7mZbL5UPZ8DgB9TwEagYuta2hMBX5uwBZi5PNpVyZVlj_jwFDI5hNUbg0PY2oxizQ/s1600/IMG_20190310_132052_839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQi5xELXJkKS13991LsXz111CDFEG8lqYDGMrIldS9B5NdOZeq-QV8RTTXV50vXT_LOAlJHFY_sS7mZbL5UPZ8DgB9TwEagYuta2hMBX5uwBZi5PNpVyZVlj_jwFDI5hNUbg0PY2oxizQ/s640/IMG_20190310_132052_839.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4V6IRwRrGMwIQ9NhjtRV35kMx1VjkUg41Op-RWqEiXwNH-4yGrYEXtnxONcshQvO5iWrXTpy8_nh-l5MmTfGBhY7j7zpQqs8j3PkYn59sH-j0i0F3_I527ZnV0i1RIx4YkmUeY7jtZk/s1600/IMG_20190310_132052_843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4V6IRwRrGMwIQ9NhjtRV35kMx1VjkUg41Op-RWqEiXwNH-4yGrYEXtnxONcshQvO5iWrXTpy8_nh-l5MmTfGBhY7j7zpQqs8j3PkYn59sH-j0i0F3_I527ZnV0i1RIx4YkmUeY7jtZk/s640/IMG_20190310_132052_843.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizU8Y-Sjk8mOmpFV7CVSIjNQKDJWO7av0KU34TO_pHcQ83f_bmgb_lmYYruxW67xqfp9mNFNfH3yzEL5n0Xzs2H0JLJJa7EqmPwpKU7-7pgxbBABiUhj1Gw_Eli9Jg7afylr_FLR0UkoU/s1600/IMG_20190310_132052_845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizU8Y-Sjk8mOmpFV7CVSIjNQKDJWO7av0KU34TO_pHcQ83f_bmgb_lmYYruxW67xqfp9mNFNfH3yzEL5n0Xzs2H0JLJJa7EqmPwpKU7-7pgxbBABiUhj1Gw_Eli9Jg7afylr_FLR0UkoU/s640/IMG_20190310_132052_845.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfs1OrB5IYBc8UOonDQkpTX_DFTJQfMji-2zlI9E-1_r-iZ6ackvz7cdsQAtFWh8307k2_CFvRfInnVQLyi1icQjpSzbHl65r6neUco2itzJVMquEhbEpMgVa98SRav4NCHyVzaVsrk0/s1600/IMG_20190310_132052_844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfs1OrB5IYBc8UOonDQkpTX_DFTJQfMji-2zlI9E-1_r-iZ6ackvz7cdsQAtFWh8307k2_CFvRfInnVQLyi1icQjpSzbHl65r6neUco2itzJVMquEhbEpMgVa98SRav4NCHyVzaVsrk0/s640/IMG_20190310_132052_844.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzv-i5OZxWXA5f-JGIz4hK-l8Aq6ZOCAEta6rI-nKY14gbthD9jwVR2Z-_th7NGit__029Bhph9DEQiAZalInWHBFOOFFMuqD36wp3OxWj8H7reWwe3gFgo3aGO2R3AJPSqDACwDjp_s/s1600/IMG_20190310_132052_849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzv-i5OZxWXA5f-JGIz4hK-l8Aq6ZOCAEta6rI-nKY14gbthD9jwVR2Z-_th7NGit__029Bhph9DEQiAZalInWHBFOOFFMuqD36wp3OxWj8H7reWwe3gFgo3aGO2R3AJPSqDACwDjp_s/s640/IMG_20190310_132052_849.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ben came to visit, so we went on a little adventure up north. Camped at Kai Iwi Lakes, a disappointing bucket list tick off. But climbed a little mountain (well, hill), found the most beautiful beach (Bayly's Beach) and visited Tane Mahuta, New Zealand's largest Kauri tree. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtp5ExMilM9Ysl7gvcV2r1Tk1aO0Aukb6r6s4Hs8EXM_0OypT7bOv6OJF14kahhPf6qvk7e6GGmk4JXtnbSpu08bSVcABqtcXE8kWNt8qwBHZnqCEs5VvAtr35P2vGvJE4lU8ikmAkeI/s1600/20190315_163507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtp5ExMilM9Ysl7gvcV2r1Tk1aO0Aukb6r6s4Hs8EXM_0OypT7bOv6OJF14kahhPf6qvk7e6GGmk4JXtnbSpu08bSVcABqtcXE8kWNt8qwBHZnqCEs5VvAtr35P2vGvJE4lU8ikmAkeI/s640/20190315_163507.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWKc8e8unXTlJNDbQMkt7o7mG4tQLeWHuw7sCQ_hqLBt9LbV9UGra6Pyrf_XfQsWNRS4m4rmivd9e5mxgufnD1BVNz3WLVWr6Yi_7WsytamOmAbvLEDG7MDIeP_CY_96zqG19iLSggfg/s1600/20190315_174028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWKc8e8unXTlJNDbQMkt7o7mG4tQLeWHuw7sCQ_hqLBt9LbV9UGra6Pyrf_XfQsWNRS4m4rmivd9e5mxgufnD1BVNz3WLVWr6Yi_7WsytamOmAbvLEDG7MDIeP_CY_96zqG19iLSggfg/s640/20190315_174028.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu4Rlq8n4ZP2lvlii7E3G5oiVRM1r0TSY6tJq4hARRqw3qC5HETB11EjBc7c8L2AmGrG0O45FC-8tZCqXy-I0SDuR_otQLj7d7p1rhkuHKXDiiTb7nl5NfVGnqsqmDTAxj-rFX38krJbU/s1600/20190316_115938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu4Rlq8n4ZP2lvlii7E3G5oiVRM1r0TSY6tJq4hARRqw3qC5HETB11EjBc7c8L2AmGrG0O45FC-8tZCqXy-I0SDuR_otQLj7d7p1rhkuHKXDiiTb7nl5NfVGnqsqmDTAxj-rFX38krJbU/s640/20190316_115938.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFf2l0bMaSzmo8KpiE6EEkIKL2J47a-xapFwVHaYnnNnvS2gZG6pzgP898YYy8hprKnUhkeYiQpIng-3es2zYPBQuEGdSmHjTdhwsmgFFZqhdG64gKu8LEBaqFB655uGRl4ee7zCnKxo/s1600/20190317_104326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFf2l0bMaSzmo8KpiE6EEkIKL2J47a-xapFwVHaYnnNnvS2gZG6pzgP898YYy8hprKnUhkeYiQpIng-3es2zYPBQuEGdSmHjTdhwsmgFFZqhdG64gKu8LEBaqFB655uGRl4ee7zCnKxo/s640/20190317_104326.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHIvYz3vlTEuxyvdwjjk_b4129OXuI7-LcyEBpUYQqSERW38vQkkcpfl4u1qDlsavgtyeHu3NGyWDMgduNsmTZ0J0kBnGWCCIFVkjxrzzQb53yQ69tEm9EZLF9QJV85_4K2UU8rz3NDI/s1600/20190317_105206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHIvYz3vlTEuxyvdwjjk_b4129OXuI7-LcyEBpUYQqSERW38vQkkcpfl4u1qDlsavgtyeHu3NGyWDMgduNsmTZ0J0kBnGWCCIFVkjxrzzQb53yQ69tEm9EZLF9QJV85_4K2UU8rz3NDI/s640/20190317_105206.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7j59qCOvmY0yEaNMkbb0qo-q-fCtme2nn8GSvDaFCNARMMC7IsX2OGcUsDzyKRuJPST5YD8xtkqElYNrWk0g8VhkewuF1kIGy5NIz63hBSG7UFUCMVEFLUdd5cNpKGZzXxj4LuDFYGwA/s1600/IMG_20190320_110441_721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7j59qCOvmY0yEaNMkbb0qo-q-fCtme2nn8GSvDaFCNARMMC7IsX2OGcUsDzyKRuJPST5YD8xtkqElYNrWk0g8VhkewuF1kIGy5NIz63hBSG7UFUCMVEFLUdd5cNpKGZzXxj4LuDFYGwA/s640/IMG_20190320_110441_721.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Dan and Sam moved to Christchurch :( But, Dan also turned 30 soon after so invited us all down for a 1930s themed party. We had high tea, played lawn bowls and games back at his house. We also went for a lovely exploration in Akaroa with his delightful Dad and Aunt, and a beautiful walk in Godley Heads. Sadly, we were also down there for the mosque shooting - on Sunday we visited the botanical gardens to pay our respects. Such a tragedy that such a thing should happen, but the reaction to it has been incredible with the majority condeming such an atrocious act and our Prime Minister being an absolute doll and supporting Muslims across New Zealand. I still don't really have good words to talk about it all as it is still so shocking - New Zealand is such a safe haven and it gutted me to my core that something like this should happen in a country viewed as safe and inclusive and peaceful by the rest of the world.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2cXHGKTTePo4NNPqcqjB6DBHGm04jq28j7NGoC6ldvSLMyhw3H81uP9QrFTCy8eCyr3dKHnYRHfJGwRW303bI7mWxltgemeEJogeoBub7INAhgIwgxFBsYyZMWiq8A2RzjHqSODxgOGw/s1600/20190323_133016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2cXHGKTTePo4NNPqcqjB6DBHGm04jq28j7NGoC6ldvSLMyhw3H81uP9QrFTCy8eCyr3dKHnYRHfJGwRW303bI7mWxltgemeEJogeoBub7INAhgIwgxFBsYyZMWiq8A2RzjHqSODxgOGw/s640/20190323_133016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2XGqOG8Nci2adsIuoaeOfxpOD3jqifEj_8QZcI5-7dU-MAkA9QdcpeVU7Ee4ANhfyVJNEc3GjTsrVGM7qbHK9ZX2PZO1PwVOH5z6w5ZnQsIOsFFbti-qnDSs3ldGHMFUfDaOxvvEn10/s1600/20190323_154651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2XGqOG8Nci2adsIuoaeOfxpOD3jqifEj_8QZcI5-7dU-MAkA9QdcpeVU7Ee4ANhfyVJNEc3GjTsrVGM7qbHK9ZX2PZO1PwVOH5z6w5ZnQsIOsFFbti-qnDSs3ldGHMFUfDaOxvvEn10/s640/20190323_154651.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHNqCr-ND0wlPEykV3dwmbKgLlh8ITANpusTvkj09in-vMu06vC_IXgRrPfWG64xAt9i-xpx3bj-jWp4AlHm03oKargyCCJfoXvWJGqhe6VrS5mqybd15akuNwwQLfNjzo7PHxYtn3Ks/s1600/20190323_160729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHNqCr-ND0wlPEykV3dwmbKgLlh8ITANpusTvkj09in-vMu06vC_IXgRrPfWG64xAt9i-xpx3bj-jWp4AlHm03oKargyCCJfoXvWJGqhe6VrS5mqybd15akuNwwQLfNjzo7PHxYtn3Ks/s640/20190323_160729.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hkCK_MUpGTlD4-PnKXtjOHKN5_KLduMW_O2Cp1peXd7bV4K2l8YSXXlLISKBcXfvK-Tpv1ldjpo2DOiEc_SygUuqMkO3Sf0XyUbx2WTK3OHCuzmYWDD-ugy0Mskg4cfjrtgB1reDXFI/s1600/IMG_20190324_212054_200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hkCK_MUpGTlD4-PnKXtjOHKN5_KLduMW_O2Cp1peXd7bV4K2l8YSXXlLISKBcXfvK-Tpv1ldjpo2DOiEc_SygUuqMkO3Sf0XyUbx2WTK3OHCuzmYWDD-ugy0Mskg4cfjrtgB1reDXFI/s640/IMG_20190324_212054_200.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We had a weekend away this past weekend in Whangarei Heads - we were meant to be camping but 2 members of our party chickened out because there was the slightest chance of rain. The only way I could convince them to go away was by getting an Airbnb, and I found a goodun!! It was beautiful and the hosts were adorable. We had a lovely weekend away with lots of walking and chilling out in the sun. </div>
<br />godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-90535086789222453742019-01-15T10:00:00.001+00:002021-12-02T10:22:49.582+00:00We need to talk "We need to talk". Those 4 ominous words that you never want to hear from your partner, that fill you with dread in the pit of your stomach and make your hands sweat.<br />
<br />
Aric broke up with me on December 4th. I felt like my life had ended. I cried - howled - for 7 hours straight, with an hour of sleep in between. The sleep was peaceful, and when I woke up, reality hit me that we weren't going to be together anymore, I wasn't going to live in this house anymore, I wasn't going to go to America with him, we weren't going to get married, his parents wouldn't become my family, I wasn't going to go to Beirut with him, I wasn't going to have kids with him, or a house, or a dog, or a cat, he wasn't going to be in my life any more. I howled again, and considered raiding his medicine cabinet for whatever pills he had so that I could sleep and never wake up and deal with this pain again.<br />
<br />
I didn't do that - instead I texted my friends, and went to work, all puffy eyed and red faced, and soaked in the comfort of my colleagues and friends. <br />
<br />
I suffered my first panic attack. I was packing up my stuff in his house and got so overwhelmed by it all. I started to shake and couldn't stop. I collapsed at the top of the stairs as I was scared I was going to fall down, and I felt dizzy. My face started to tingle with pins and needles and I couldn't breathe. He calmed me down and sat me on the sofa and held my hand until I felt normal again.<br />
<br />
I haven't been able to eat properly for 6 weeks. It's done wonders for weightloss, but the only things I have been managing to eat are sweet things, which isn't great fuel for my body. My sweat has also started to smell disgusting. I googled this, and apparently when you sweat from stress, it comes from different glands compared to exercise sweat. The bacteria prefer sweat from stress glands, which make you smell worse. I also wasn't able to sleep. I was waking up every day at 4am on the dot and not being able to get back to sleep. Luckily this has stopped now, and my sweat is getting back to normal. I am also starting to feel hungry again. <br />
<br />
Slowly but surely I am feeling more normal. My friends and family and colleagues have been incredible. Mostly people have been saying the right things. I don't want to hear 'you're better off without him', 'he's a dick', 'you'll find someone else'. None of these things help - I am not better off without him (nor am I better with him), he isn't a dick (he just isn't ready to make a commitment, and has legitimate worries about the future - I am not making excuses for him, and I am still very hurt he doesn't want to make things work, but I understand where he is coming from), and yes, whilst I will find someone else, that doesn't help right now when I still love the one I want to be with and felt so sure about and was convinced I would grow old with. <br />
<br />
But - most people haven't said these things. Most people have said 'time is a great healer', 'nothing that I will say will make the pain any less, but know I have been through it and have come out the other side stronger and you will too' and 'i love you', 'be kind to yourself'. Everyone is different, but I have found these things very helpful in my path to getting through this. I have especially been beating myself up over how terrible I have felt. This is truly the worst thing I have ever gone through - worse than my parents breaking up or any other break up. I felt like my world had ended and I didn't want to carry on anymore. The future I had been slowly warming myself up to and a few months ago, in my head, committed to, was suddenly ripped away with no warning. It was hard to comprehend, but in the end, it was another break up - I have been through many before, and I felt guilty and pathetic and weak at feeling so devastated by it and being knocked to the ground by it. But people have been kind and given me the time I need to grieve, and lent me their ears for when I want to talk about it, and let me know they care about me. It's been wonderful and a sunlight in the darkness of grief. It's kept me from losing myself.<br />
<br />
So if you're reading this and you're one of the people who have helped - thank you from the very bottom of my heart. I really, truly appreciate everything - even the simplest act of giving me your attention when I needed it helped more than you could ever know.<br />
<br />
I know I am not through it yet - after all, time is a great healer, but finally, I am feeling more human, and a little bit less broken. I know it'll get hard again and it probably won't get easier for a while yet, but I am writing this now so I can look back on it and realise that once upon a time, it was truly terrible, but over time it did get better - and so if it gets worse again, I know it'll eventually be OK.godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487179827199027604.post-73906005356272699672018-12-02T05:05:00.001+00:002018-12-02T05:05:20.993+00:00Being a bird mumWe found a baby bird!!!! (Well Aric did, I nearly trod on him). Aric spotted the helpless but feisty little thing on the pavement outside some shops. We looked around and there was a super tall tree above us - we had no chance of putting him back in the nest, and he was too young and featherless to survive on the floor. We made a decision to take him home with us and then work out what to do from there.<br />
<br />
Aric wrapped him up in his jacket and we walked home giddy with excitement - maybe we could raise him as our own and then The Dodo would do a viral video about us! (Literally my lifelong dream).<br />
<br />
We put him down on the sofa and he starts chirping away for food - doing that thing they do when they crane their necks as long as they can with their mouths wide open. We quickly made up some very runny weetabix for him (first thing that came to mind) and he was gobbling it down off my finger. When he was full, he closed his eyes and went to sleep - so cute!!! We found him a box, put a warm bean bag in it and a bunch of towels and laid him into his little nest, where he promptly woke up, shat everywhere then started chirping for food again. This was to be our life for the next 3 days.<br />
<br />
We did some research on the internet and discovered that you can feed baby birds with softened dog biscuits and egg, so we bought a bag of biscuits and blended them up with water, a hard boiled egg and some random nutrient powder I have and fed him using a pipette. Luckily for us, baby birds like their night time sleeps, so he was finished feeding by 930pm each night and sleeping, but ready for food at 6am every morning, for pretty much the rest of the day.<br />
<br />
We stumbled across a dilemma when we realised we would either need to stay home or take him into work to look after him - luckily my work is pretty laid back plus I am kind of hidden in a corner on a floor where no senior people work, so I snuck him into work and sat him by the window - for the first day no one knew he was there apart from my 2 work friends who sit next to me.<br />
<br />
The following day he garnered more interest as he was pretty chirpy and moving about a lot so I had lots of visitors to my desk, including some ecologists who were trying to determine what he was. From the research I had done, I figured he was either a Mynah, a Tui (our hope, but it's also illegal to keep them in captivity) or a Starling. The ecologists thought he could be a Tui.<br />
<br />
On Saturday, having looked after him for 2 days solid, I was pretty tired and ready to take him to the bird sanctuary, but Aric wanted to spend more time with him, so we agreed to take him in on Sunday - I was busy diving Saturday anyways and knew Aric would be ready to take him in after a day of looking after him, cute as he is!!!<br />
<br />
I was correct, though it was still hard to give him up. We had invested our time and our love into him and though he caused a little bit of chaos (literally there was poo EVERYWHERE and his food everywhere and we went through so many towels which are now stained with yellow poop) and the house seemed very empty when I came home on Sunday! However it has made me think about being a baby mum and has put me off the idea for the future at least....it's tiring to have something rely on you!!<br />
<br />
Here's some pics we took of him before we handed him over to the bird sanctuary, he's covered in food (it's super hard to feed him without getting him covered in the stuff)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9EygLgp342IWK0vEiDwHyk760pxYCnsKarel9ah8TY8XXn2-GONzX8WWywBYzpdgkzb-bIpvJ81P1gSMKk7BDxttkBdiXOFBgvRyCD7hqyHyaQk9OH1nqcHNHTx-6HYafwlMAaL7OYY/s1600/P1200086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="901" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9EygLgp342IWK0vEiDwHyk760pxYCnsKarel9ah8TY8XXn2-GONzX8WWywBYzpdgkzb-bIpvJ81P1gSMKk7BDxttkBdiXOFBgvRyCD7hqyHyaQk9OH1nqcHNHTx-6HYafwlMAaL7OYY/s640/P1200086.JPG" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRMhys9sJGT4nVUQZdwW8R0Em4j1Q5R3p3cEScId_09bHujYEcfuaD9uevt4QbLD6WQdHsEregjb4yavHxE_E9Xu_aMnT5nbrzHyIe64SS5RjE5rcbtkKPbAMXKfIJ0vVs6OAhmL1w3xk/s1600/P1200088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRMhys9sJGT4nVUQZdwW8R0Em4j1Q5R3p3cEScId_09bHujYEcfuaD9uevt4QbLD6WQdHsEregjb4yavHxE_E9Xu_aMnT5nbrzHyIe64SS5RjE5rcbtkKPbAMXKfIJ0vVs6OAhmL1w3xk/s640/P1200088.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilciNXfhlgpw0IQ0_sBGdVVkiSRoKATmgCvkTNPPSS10DXYBCUqANFen5KSIdp-ULvvPs5imsreNFeLHkbOQU4PLRXscmnV2iNypEH6E7agm_y7JWdYppIG9GjYg8cU86H2m8KKijQfZs/s1600/P1200092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="901" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilciNXfhlgpw0IQ0_sBGdVVkiSRoKATmgCvkTNPPSS10DXYBCUqANFen5KSIdp-ULvvPs5imsreNFeLHkbOQU4PLRXscmnV2iNypEH6E7agm_y7JWdYppIG9GjYg8cU86H2m8KKijQfZs/s640/P1200092.JPG" width="360" /></a></div>
<br />godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08982991641391817304noreply@blogger.com0