More Vancouver Pics

Hey I thought I would just update my Vancouver pics. To show you some more pictures of Vancouver on a lovely sunny winter's day. (Also note that this is a 5% chance of a day like this most of them a grey and rainy and you can't see in front of you).

(North Vancouver and beyond)

(Photo from Kitsilano beach near our house)

(Downtown)

(Downtown mountain and park at the end of our street)

My New Home

Well I have been in Canada for nearly a month now.

After going to Toronto for Christmas, I have started to settle-down in Vancouver. New Years was a quiet affair but I had a nice time. During the day Carolyn's friend Jason drove us up to Cypres which is a mountain resort in North Vancouver, we went snow-shoeing. you go along set trails and it was very beautiful with all the trees covered in snow. It was great to be out-side. It's like bush-walking but with snow instead.

(Carolyn and Jason walk ahead on the path)

(Rocking out in Snow-Shoes)

That evening I went out to dinner with Carolyn and Bucky and we had a great meal topped off with lots of wine and champagne.

I now have an apartment which is in a great area and close to my friend Carolyn's. I've had my first week of work which was mainly computer training. But everyone I work with seems really nice and I think I will enjoy it there. It is a temporary job for 9 months to cover a maternity leave.

While Vancouver lacks the excitement of London in ways and the warmth and fun of Australia. It is a great city and I am happy to be here, it has a great outdoorsy feel to it as well as being a big city. It is just so nice to have clean air, a great vibe and lovely scenery.

(a picture of north Vancouver)

(Downtown and mountains from Kitsilano)

The rain gets you down and it feels like I have forgotten what the sun looks like, but I can't wait to be able to go snowboarding at Whistler on the weekends!

Ontario For Christmas

After flying from Australia I spent two days in Vancouver trying to recover.

I then flew to Toronto where I met Will at the airport. I spent a week at his mother's house. I met lots of his family who were all lovely to me and despite Will's worries none of them managed to scare me off him ;)

Will took me to Niagra Falls which was great, it was freezing and raining but that meant there were not crowds at least. I thought it was just falls but it turns out there is a huge tacky side to it, with the major street of Clifton Hill (funny for those from my home neighborhood in Australia) being full of fun parks, celebrity museums and themed restaurants. It's like Vegas but more pathetic. Sounds bad but the falls are cool.





We went into Toronto for a day on Christmas eve and it was very quiet in town and we went up the CN Tower and I got to sit on the glass floor.

(look out below)

I didn't get to have a white Christmas on the day but there was still snow on the ground so that counts for something.(Willy shoveling snow)

I got some lovely gifts and Will's family were very generous to us giving us stuff to take to set up our home together.

After a week it was another sad goodbye to Will as he headed back to Saskatoon and me to Vancouver.

Visiting Home

In mid-November I headed home for the first time in nearly two years! My had the time gone quickly and a lot of people were shocked themselves to know that I had been away for two years.

After a long flight, I managed to stave off bad jet-lag and had a lovely few quiet days with my family going out to lunch and having lovely dinners with them. On the Saturday after my return, I had a great party with all my friends which was a load of fun and it was great to see everyone again and get rather drunk and have lots of laughs and it was great to remind me why I miss them all.

(Bye-Bye Johnny)

To top it off, it was election night and after 11 years we have finally got rid of our right wing government so there was much celebrating in my household, which was capped off by our smashing of John Howard pinatas.

I then headed to the Central Coast to visit my aunt and her partner in a small beach side town of Sawtell. It was the relaxing holiday I needed. Even though I was up at the crack of dawn with the birds I would go for a long beach walk every morning, which would start me of my day of good coffee, lunch a swim and then a relaxing dinner and early to bed. It was perfect to recharge my batteries and get some lovely sunshine. It's such a beautiful area which is tropical with lovely beaches and a gorgeous estuary. After being such a big city dweller for such a long time I love the whole feel of it there, with all kinds of Australia animals to be found, including the now famous green tree frog that lives in my Aunts toilet. Yes I know that would freak some out you out. Occasionally visits to the garden were required when he was floating in the bowl, but he spends most of his time hiding in under the rim.

(Froggie chillin' in the toilet)

It was great to see my aunt and her partner again and also to play with their new puppy Patch who greatly annoyed their more senior dog Bobbie.

After my visit I headed back to Melbourne and spent another two weeks there. I spent every night catching up with friends and family and I still feel like I didn't get to spend enough time with everyone. It was so nice to see friends of old and new. I had a nice time bike riding with my dad, I went to the soccer with my brother and had some lovely dinners cooked for my by friends. (nice dinner with my family)

It felt a little strange being back nothing had really changed but I guess it had in relation to me. Melbourne was still the great city I remember it being, possibly even busier. Not much had changed except for the docklands and the area there is definitely expanding.

(Melbourne by the river)

My time went by so quickly I was a bit sad to leave but also excited about starting a new life in Vancouver.

Leaving London

Well it’s my time for me to leave the UK. I have been here just over 17 months which is hard to believe. In some ways it has gone very quickly and in others it has gone slowly.

I had a great last few days in London I was staying at my friend's Matt and Suzanne's house. I wandered around London appreciating it with the time I had. I made sure I did some very typical English things, I finally went to Knightsbridge and went to Harrods. Matt's brother Andy had a few days off, so he and I had high tea at the Dorchester Hotel complete with cucumber sandwiches, cake and scones. After that Andy we went to Tate Modern to see the latest installation also Andy being a member we went to the members lounge to have a drink and get one of the most spectacular views of London. It was a very posh day. My last dinner in London was some very humble fish and chips with mushy peas at the local chippy!

(Andy poshing it up at high tea)

I have very much enjoyed my time here and have had some of the greatest experiences of my life. But at the same time I’m not sure it’s the place for me. I seem to have a love hate relationship with this place especially London. I’m either having a great time or am feeling a little miserable (sometimes I don't think the weather helps)

Even though I have been a little horrified with some of the standards of audiology here. I have had some great jobs and have been given a lot of variety in my areas of work and opportunities to really broaden and consolidate my skills.

I love the city I think it is fantastic but at the same time I can find it a little suffocating and it’s hard to visit the countryside as it is so expensive.

I’ve compiled a list of things I love and hate about the place so enjoy!

Things I will miss:

The red double-decker buses. They’re so iconic and I love to sit up the front of the top and see all the interesting sights the city has to offer. Much better than being stuck underground! Although I do strongly dislike the route 77 which was the most inconsistent route and often never showed up and made me late for work.

The Thames, the river it self is murkey and does not look inviting at all. But I love the area along the river including the art galleries, performance spaces, halls restaurants and bars

l miss living in a city that has such amazing sights and buildings that you start to take for granted. I sometimes used to walk home along the river and often marvelled at the sights. I love Tower Bridge, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s, Battersea PowerStation and Trafalgar Square.

Being able to meet my friends after work and jumping on a train then ending up in Paris for the weekend. I love the proximity to Continental Europe.

The English culture of binge drinking, I know that Aussies are big drinkers but back home we have some stamina. The English have perfected the art of drinking as much as possible in the shortest amount of time and then end up wasted in record time. Funny to watch and sometimes fun to join in.

My jazz dance classes at Pineapple with Michelle, It’s Britney Bitch!

Earning pound, travelling with the pound is great suddenly every thing seems a real bargain!

Most of all my friends, who I feel are hard to make in London. But the friends I have made there have been fantastic and I have had many a great night out with them

Things I won’t miss:

The tube, you love it at first then you develop a hatred for it. It can be fantastic and the frequency of trains great. But peak out tube is a nightmare, trying to squish on a train with people pressed up against you in everyway possible. Frequent severe delays, part closures, to top off being stuck underground it a dusty ugly lair it makes not for fun commuting.

Coming home late at night: With the tube closing at 12ish, a free taxi a rare find coming home after a late night can be a disaster, especially when it is the other side of town. You may have a great boozy night out with your friends, then wind up waiting forever for a night bus, which you have to share with drunks and crazy people (night buses are either a party with lots of boozy people or can be scary and aggressive – I have seen a guy get punched in the face on one). So a couple of hours late you wind up home sober and tired and wonder why you ever went out in the first place.

How expensive it is. London is now the second most expensive city in the world. After living here I would completely agree with that statistic. For those that visit realise how fast your money disappears. Rent is unbelievable, I can’t tell you how much I paid for a tiny bedroom in a share house.

CHAVS. A Phenominon only to England but they exist all over the world with different names. It apparently stands for council-housed and violent. A Chavs best outfit would be their tracksuit that has matching top and bottom. They wear big ugly gold jewellery, have a pet bull-terrier, they live in a council house but still somehow earn money, they wear hooded tops or anything with the English flag on it, have a baby when they are 16.

http://www.chavscum.com/

With the above statement, you have to understand that London also has one of the hugest rich poor divides. That accompanied with other societal problems has led to an increase in violence, gang activity with the media splashing the latest headlines of the latest youth to be stabbed. Along with increases in “anti-social behaviour” and an increasing culture of fear. It’s all too sad in the end.

Now a list of some things I have done which I will never forget

Seen a Shakespeare play at the globe theatre.

Slide down some giant slides with my friend Adam at the tate mondern

Picniced at Primrose hill

Been on the London Eye,

Stood in the west and east hemispheres at Greenwich

Been to see two football games The second being my team Arsenal

Been to the theatre, to see Stomp and the Fiddler on the roof

Some memorable nights in Camden pubs and other nights out in London

(meeting a knight on a night out)

Been to one of those giant club nights the UK have perfected

Saw the Tour de france begin in London.

Become like the Brits and spent afternoons lounging in various parks to soak up the sunshine.

Seen the Queen as she drove out of Buckingham palace

Switzerland

So I headed on to Switzerland.  I had been to Geneva before

 but no-where else.  I arrived in Zurich late at night and then headed straight to bed.  The next day I wandered around town.  The hostel that I was staying at and the city are very similar in a way that they have everything you need or could want, perfectly clean, the people friendly and intelligent but it just lacks a little soul.

I walked around, and had a nice lunch, looked in some shops, walked around the lake a little. Had a nice hot chocolate.  I splashed out and bought myself a nice watch and the coolest thing I saw (for those of you that went to year eight Macleod High School German Class) check out what play was playing at this theater.

I then headed to Interlarken.  It is in a beautiful part of Switzerland, with lakes and surrounded by mountains.  I was planning on doing some walking but when I did arrive, I walked the long walk to the hostel in the snow.  Winter has come very early to Europe this year and several of the mountains and small towns are already covered with snow.  So that meant no-walking (my water-proof boots are on their way to Canada), so I met up with some others at the hostel, checked out the town and had cheese fondue for dinner, it was as it is cheesy and you feel rather full and tired after eating it.  It is quite a work out and one I wouldn't want to do on a regular basis.

The next day, Kate a Kiwi girl I met at the hostel decided to go Canon-Jumping.  Which was the only activity going on at the time. It involved jumping of a ledge then letting a rope catch you and swing you through the Canyon.  I was not up for it, but I became official videographer, which earned me a few drinks later on.

The next day I headed to Basel, but just for the night before flying home.

I was nice to travel again but this time it felt a little empty as I didn't have Will with me and also it lacked a bit of thrill as this time on the other side was not going back to work, but I will be heading home and then to Canada which I am very excited about.

Germany - Freiburg & Fussen

So I moved on from Munich. I then headed to Freiburg a town in the middle of the southern balck forest. I wanted to see this area as I heard it can be lovely but the wweather was misserable, the hostel full of old German hippies and some students waiting for their apartments to be ready. Apart from a lovely American woman Barb who was visiting her daughter there was no-one much to chat to. So I cut my time there short.

I headed out one morning when the rain had cleared to an area where there was a lake and some walking trails, but after a very scenic and nice train ride there I got out and it started snowing then my feet got went so then I grew rather dispondent.
So I treated myself to lunch and headed back. I walked around Freiburg which is a very sweet town and it a university town so there are many people. It is very pretty and very typically German. The streets are all cobbled and I think it is very sweet the stonework outside each shop depicts what the shop is see the photos when I put them up.

(This is the paving for a book shop)

I treated myself to a piece of Blackforest cake and a coffee to hide away from the rain. It was very nice and when you are in the Blackforest it is a must to do.

I shoreted my time in Germany so I was looking for some things to do, so I did a big back-track to Baveria and when to see some castles.

I took a long trainride to a little town of Fussen which is adorably sweet. The pension where I was staying had a lovely owner. The town is overfun with Japanese tourists even in the middle of winter but for good reason. It is home to two very impressive castles, one of which inspired the disney castle.

After a good nights sleep I headed up to the castles and took a tour of one the Neuschwanstein, meaning new-swan stone. It was built by Ludwig the II the king of Baveria, it is stunning and the interior was magnificent with oak carved ceilings, painted murals on the walls, the castle was in-fact dedicated to Wager Operas. There were secret doors and eve the srevents digs were nice. Kind Ludwig lived in for around 120 days off and on during his reign then he died so it was never 100% finished.

I walked over a brige for a fantastic view of the casltles, still cold at least my spirits were better after the lousy black forest. 

Now it is off to Switzerland