Bridget's Adventures

2009 Review (thanks Facebook!)

2010-01-02T01:58:00.001+01:00

I just found the coolest application of Facebook, it shows all the status updates I've made for all of 2009! It is pretty fun reading back at them all! Kind of like a little diary really.

The year that started with an Goan dance party in India, then working back in Ireland, language learning in Spain, European summer travels, exploring spectacular Central America and ending the year dancing under the blue moon at Falls with friends in Tassie.

Oooooh, 2009, You have been amazing!!!

January
is enjoying Palolem beach and associated new year fun!
is farewelling Anna from India...and about to go solo to Bombay!!
is loving cosmopolitan Mumbai...but alas has still not made her Bollywood debut!
is enjoying homecooked meals, hot water non-bucket showers and sleep-ins in Shropshire, after an amazing month in India!
is heading to Bristol for a Teirney girls reunion!
had a fun day at Stonehenge (even though Steph thinks it's way overrated!)
is reminiscing on her amazing time in India...
is heading back to Galway tomorrow!
is hoping her sickness goes away before starting back at work tomorrow!
has a house! ...goodbye Claddagh :(
has self diagnosed, and is pretty sure it's sinusitus
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February
is wishing all the snow would come just a bit further west!
is heading off couchsurfing in the Ring of Kerry!
is bringing back the travel blog! www.bteirney.blogspot.com
is pulling out her dancing shoes and heading to London for Goodnight Sweetheart!
is still zinging from an amazingly awesome GNSH swing camp, and from dancing with Max Pitruzzella!!
is zinging from an awesome GNSH swing camp, and dancing with Max Pitruzzella!!
is back on her bike!
is missing her Uncle Tobys Muesli Flakes.
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March
feels very industrious after converting her jeans into a skirt, using only nail scissors and needle and thread.
is chef extraordinaire…wow, my housemates are so lucky!
had a very Irish weekend. She drank tea and it rained.
starting the Paddy's day celebrations a few days early!
says Happy St Patrick's day from Galway!
Loves the happiness the sun brings!! ...best Paddy's day. Ever.
is excited about exploring the Irish countryside with Steph this weekend!
found red food dye in the cupboard, so created LOTS of pinkish looking biscuits with cream cheese icing. Yep, goood!
is tour guide extraordinaire again this weekend!
loves spring time and cherry blossoms and t-shirt weather!
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April
had a weekend full of outside coffees, German themed dress-ups , eating too many sweets and friends :)
it's Easter, give FreeRice!! www.freerice.com
it's Easter, help to end world hunger, give FreeRice!! www.freerice.com
is heading to Scotland for some haggis this Easter.
I heart the Scottish Highlands.
got sunburnt yesterday! Yep, in Ireland, and by the sun!!!
ummm, chewy or crunchy ANZAC's? it's a toughie.
wishes she was with Steph when she saw Prince William at Tesco!
is looking through rose coloured sunglasses
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May
Is all booked for her Spanish course in Granada! Hazzahh!!
has the gift of the gab, officially.
is not a fan of the Gulf Stream...yep, the rumors are true, Ireland is the wettest country in the world.
fabulous Friday, oh how i love thee! Especially when followed by the swing workshop weekend...yiipppeee!
Ahhh, Veliko Tarnovo! I miss you ledge-nds!!
is making the most of her last 2 weeks in Ireland!
is very glad the rain has stopped and she can enjoy the outside greenness and flowers that it has created.
is super excited for the Indian themed dinner party tonight! Curry and Bollywood, an amazing combination!
pack pack pack it up.
last day of work in Ireland today, flying to Spain on Sunday, start language school on Monday! A little sad. A little nervous. A lot excited.
feels like she has just changed planets. An awesome weekend to farewell Galway, and have now arrived safely in Granada!
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June
class, eat,study, confussion, tanning, sun, study, eat. Muy Bien!
is all about Granada. Not so all about irregular verb conjugations.
tip. when in Southern Spain always wear sunscreen.
heading to see the toros and matadors in the ring tonight!
goes to the beach when it´s 40 degrees.This status contains special characters. It won't display properly in the collage.
nearly melt into a puddle tracking up to the Alhambra today - but so worth it - AMAZING!
is slightly confused when she keeps hearing Waltzing Matilda on the radio. In Spain?!?
enjoyed her yummy Spanish experience of chocolate con churros. But is now finding it hard to move.
thanks for all the awesome dance floor memories MJ.
Saturday in Cordoba sunshine. ahhhh. I heart Andalucia.
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July
passed her first Spanish exam...woot!
was oh so American last night in Sevilla!
is reapplying the aftersun gel...yep, i love summer beach weekends!! (and only 5 days until I get to hit the beach again with STEPH! woot!!)
hello loooong weekend Malaga beach fun!
mi última semana en la escuela español...This status contains special characters. It won't display properly in the collage.
hasta luego Granada! Hola Madrid!
thinks every city needs a Parque del Retire, my most favorite place in Madrid!
is super excited about heading to the Basque Country and seeing her favourite basque girls today!!!
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August
is sad this is her last day in the Basque country...but looking forward to some Teirney time with Tui in Galicia!
hello Portugal. I can tell already we are going to be good friends.
was reading Night Train to Lisbon on the day bus to Lisbon
made it to Casablanca! (only minus half a big toe-nail that got ripped off whilst getting pushed for the train!)
Fes medina. Crazy, Amazing!!
is spending her last day in Morocco drinking too many fresh juices from stand 53 in Marrakech's Djemaa el Fna! Goodness!!
Who knew swimming in a river of 100,000 kg of tomatoes could be so much fun?
too much of an awesome week with friends in Valencia and Barcelona! ...now for the essential travelling recovery; sleeping in a hammock and clothes washing.
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September
Is back in 2003 and has a strong case of film photo anxiety! I can't wait for my disposable camera photos to be ready!
is relaxing with friends in Galway for my last four days in Europe!
is goodbye Europa...jetting to San Diego in the morning! :)
is in San Diego, California!
Mexico City, I'll be seeing you in the morning!!
is celebrating Mexico Independence day in Mexico City. Viva Mexico!!
saw Mayan village people sacrificing chickens in a church today...craaazy!
Is practicing her salsa moves before heading to Cuba tomorrow! look out Havana nights!!
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October
The best thing about not having internet access for a week is that when you do check you feel extremly loved :) Thanks for the lovely birthday wishes everyone!! xxx
Is back in Mexico from Cuba... and with my new found love for capitalism I'm heading to Wal-Mart!
is soaking up all things Caribbean in Belize!
Guatemala, you are definitely living up to your high praises! Tikal Mayan ruins in the middle of the jungle...A-mazing!
wore reef shoes when climbing an active Guatelaman volcano. probably not the best idea.
learning to dive in Utila, Honduras!
thank you baby oil for keeping me sandfly free! and hooray, I'm now an Open Water Diver!
has discovered that I´m not the most skilled Volcano boarder in Nicaragua!
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November
$2 a night accommodation, yes please!
knows the way to San Jose...Costa Rica!!
is heading to a cloud forest to go two-toe sloth hunting.
is enjoying lovely and sunny Panama! ...only two weeks until the biiig journey home. Huzzah.
is getting her engineer on and checking out the Panama Canal...ohhh yeah!
next Saturday....TASMANIA!!
pumkin pie doesn't really taste as good as it sounds. but that may have been because it was the supermarket brand type. (PS... TOMORROW!)
is jetting to 42 degrees south. Huzzah.
3 unexpected stopovers, 10 hours of delays and a yellow fever quarantine later, I'm home with my family, yey!!!
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December
Hobart Sunshine and drinks at Salamanca...yeessssss!
has faced facts. the tan is definitely fading. boo.
is a page 55 glamour girl, woop.
is rediscovering the art of layering.
'tis the season for mince pies and lazing in the sunshine. huzzzaaahhh with jingles!!
just opened up the last advent window!

I have loved you 2009. You are possible my most favourite year yet!

My 15 seconds...

2009-12-14T01:45:00.002+01:00

My little blog and I had our 15 seconds of fame last week.

We made it to page 55 of The Sunday Tasmanian. Woot woot!

I forgot to mention...

2009-12-07T04:12:00.005+01:00

I'm Home!

It's actually been a little over a week now. weeiiiirrrdd! I've been hanging with my family, caught up with friends (although full time work is annoyingly inconvenient!), watching the cricket, signed up for Newstart (fancy word for the dole!) and apart from vaguely beginning the job hunting and CV fixing up process, I've been doing a lot of not much!

I've decided that I'm going to go and make chutney.

Pumpkin... a new taste sensation??

2009-12-04T13:12:00.002+01:00

The day before the evening I flew out of The States for home, I got to experience all the love and pumpkinness of Thanksgiving!

It started with a morning of pumpkin spiced latte on the 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica, at yep, the US loungeroom-away-from-home, Starbucks. I think the pumpkinness would have actually been quite alright in this if it wasn't for the overwhelming amount of cinnamon they included in my take-away cup. But then again I think cinnamon is just as American as peanut butter, so I drank it anyway. ;)

And then I experienced some of the Thanksgiving love by partaking in the hostel $4 Thanksgiving feast. It was gooood. I was especially thankful to the seconds of homemade cranberry sauce and cornbread 'biscuits'. :)

Then the much anticipated Pumpkin Pie! ...and it came with a huge dollop of pre-packaged imitation whipped cream out of a bucket! ummmmm. Now I'm hoping it was just because it was a supermarket bought pie, but I actually didn't rate it that highly. But being a dessert, and mixed with imitation whipped cream and ice-cream, I still enjoyed it all!

** Ahhhh my hair, I miss you! I wish I didn't have you chopped on Tuesday! I finding that new hair takes time to love. (even if it's not heaps different!)

20 months later...

2009-12-04T01:23:00.005+01:00

29th March 2008

26th November 2009

changes much??

Day one and day last of my travels (which is a lot of days later!) I took a little stroll down Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles.

The pier looks like it hasn't changed much, but the pics show that in 20 months I've managed a pretty fierce tan, longer hair, maybe lost a few kg's, and the traveler clothes may have changed a tad ;)

But I'm still Bridget!

Plus you'll all be happy to know that I did graduate from the 'novice' look of clipping my camera case to my shorts buckle. **phew, they all sighed**

Farewell Central America

2009-11-24T16:15:00.010+01:00

I made it through Central America!

From Mexico City to Panama City and eight fascinating and beautiful countries along the way. Huzzah.

So as for me now, I´m off to the airport jetting back to Los Angeles (where it all began 20 months ago!). For shopping and US Thanksgiving (and I´m surely going to hunt me out some pumpkin pie!)

And then I´ll be 42 degrees south on Saturday. Can anybody say just-a-tad-bit-excited!!!

helpful hints for travelling in coastal areas.

2009-11-16T20:45:00.007+01:00

So, as I only have until next Thursday before my flight home from LA (I arrive back in Hobart Nov 28th!) I'm currently relaxing by the Panamanian seaside (Bocas del Toro). It is a well known fact that you haven't really been travelling unless you come home with a super awesome tan and too many hippy things tied to your writes and ankles. So I'm spending my days busily trying to conform.

A few tips for backpacking by the beach:

Headscarfs are essential. They help to give you that hippy/ traveller/ I'm so confident look, whilst also hiding your greasy/ salt watery hair. Score!

Bracelets. Muy importante! especially when travelling in developing countries. don't be an amature and travel with empty wrists. It looks like you've come right off the plane, which is not cool. What you're trying to go for is the 'I've been travelling all my life look'.

The tan. Soooo necessary! You really don't look like you've been travelling unless you come home with a good tan. And I mean a few shades darker than you would possibly ever go at home. So you'll have to share your time wisely between actually seeing stuff in the local area and laying on the beach. I found that you have to be creative on the beach if the clouds come over or the wind is blowing too much to enjoy lying down and reading.

or alternatively you can just hang out with really white people. It makes you look way darker, so therefore way more traveller like. I personally tend to go with both these tanning options. ;)

Yes, there are many unwritten travelling rules. These are just some beachside starting essentials. Any other hot tips?

Two-toed Sloth Hunting in Costa Rica

2009-11-14T14:42:00.007+01:00

Costa Rica, is a mystical land in Central America. It feels very different to the other central American countries in that mass-tourism has most definitely arrived, things were noticeably more expensive and the US influence was sometimes just a little too much. BUT, it is also home to some beautiful rain and cloud forests and volcanoes, and rare animals - including, yep SLOTHS!

So even though I felt a little out of place without my zip-off chino's, college sweatshirt and hiking boot combo (sometimes even coupled with the dreaded bum bag) I ventured into the Cloud Forests of Monteverde to search out the illusive Sloth! (even though, let's be honest, I had no idea what a sloth was or did before I went hunting them out in Costa Rica!)

Steph and I with our excited Sloth hunting faces on

Steph (my English friend who came out to meet me for 2 weeks, yey!) and I forked out the extra dosh and had our own private guide to increase our chances of spotting one. Plus he was a little like the Steve Irwin of the Costa Rican cloud forest world...so even if we didn't see anything, he was totally worth it!

But guess what?? We did see a sloth!

We were told that it is quite rare to spot them during the day because they like their sleep. So even though it was hard to see without the binoculars, we spotted one! (and yes, our fearless guide assured us that this is indeed a sloth and not a stuffed animal that someone placed in a tree as a joke!) He is facing away from the camera..shy little thing.

On the trek we also saw 3 rare Quetzal birds and humming birds!

I am so David Attenborough.

(although I don't think he gets to travel to the forests in an old school bus!)

Caribbean Diving Love!

2009-11-05T22:55:00.001+01:00

The last week of October I was diving in Utila, Honduras! I really wanted to upload the 10 min awesome video of fun highlights from my course...but blogger really doesn´t like uploading big things :( So photos will have to do! Unfortunately I don´t have an underwater camera so they are all from above the water.

The week of diving got me really hooked! And learning in the Caribbean sea just happened to add to the pot of awesomeness! The trials of the week were having a permanent mask mark on my head and a Rudoff red nose from too much sun!

I completed the PADI Open Water Diver qualification, and went from the idea of diving making me nervous, to absolutely loving it and not wanting to leave!!

...and I had a great course group and instructors to enjoy the experience with.

Plus, Utila was also the place for discovering the Super Baleada goodness. Sarah and I lived on these for the week! Here is a particularly scary photo of me enjoying my last Honduran Baleada on the ferry back to the mainland.

Days that change days

2009-11-05T15:45:00.010+01:00

´It was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a long moment of the long chain of iron and gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on that memorable day.'

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Thanks for that coffee in Oomph this time two years ago Hayley. For me, this was one of those 'life-would-have-been-different-if-it-wasn't-for-that-day' sort of days.

this was not actually the Oomph coffee day, but the Florence, Itlay coffee drinking day. close enough!

It's always the end in sight that makes you think back to the beginning. And from the beginning to the end, I've been humongosly blessed :)

3 weeks and counting!

Volcano boarding!

2009-10-30T23:56:00.005+01:00

Yes folks, you heard it correctly, Volcano boarding! and it is pretty much exactly as it sounds!

I´ve just arrived in Nicaragua, which I´m love love loving! just for you ;) and I had to try out the craziness that all Central American backpackers are raving about!

Step 1:

Find a Volcano and a ute with a crazy driver...

Step 2:

Climb said active volcano *this bit requires all the work, especially when having to drag a board with you!*

Step 3:

Admire amazing views, smell the sulfur, get scared looking over the edge of the 41 degree slope you're about to board down, then suit up in gorgeous orange protective suits and goggles!

Step 4:

Find someone with a speed gun and grab a partner to race against, sit on the board at the top of the volcano and gggooooooo!!

NB: If your racing partners happens to be a crazy Dutch girl who gets up to 69kph (as opposed to poor me who only managed 30kph...I just couldn't stay on!), a bit of love and bandaging could also be required!

Nicaragua is shaping up to be a very cool country!

PS. I've come back from spending a week diving and generally relaxing in Utila, Honduras. I have a fun video of a few of my final dives that I'm trying to upload and share if blogger will only let me. It's been loading for over an hour now, umm...crossing fingers and toes!

Mayan family homstay

2009-10-18T22:49:00.005+02:00

My last two days have been some of the most humbling and rewarding I've experienced. I stayed with a local Mayan family in a small village on Lake Antitlan in the highlands of Guatemala. The village has just started a 'homestay' experience with some of the local families, so we stayed and slept and ate with the local families for two days. It was amazing, but also very confronting! I have been in a lot of countries with poverty and where the way of life is very basic, but actually living it for a few days really made the reality much more real.

I stayed with the Piatz family, who live in a simple concrete/ corrugated iron house. They have electricity, but no fridge, hot water or running water in the kitchen.

But they have the sweetest kids, Ingrid, 6, and Daniel ,6 months, (plus heaps of cousins who live upstairs) who were so excited to play with us! They were especially excited when we gave them some small gifts and Tasmanian souvenirs!

One of the highlights was dressing up in the traditional dress and having a special dinner with the different village families who had us 'gringos' to stay. It was fantastic, and the kiddies are just sooooooo cute!!! (Hayley you seriously would have melted!) ...Plus I got to feel like a giant for a few days ;)

Sometimes adjustments take a while.

2009-10-10T01:10:00.007+02:00

but I still love you sweet blog!
.

It's just over the last two and half weeks I've had to start adjusting to poke-your-eyes-out super sllllloooooowww internet or way too expensive internet that my traveller budget can't stretch to, or just no internet access at all. I am adjusting. slowly.
.

But stay tuned, cause I've been up to too much excitement not to share! The week in Cuba was crazy amazing and but I'm now thanking God I live in a capitalist country! I celebrated my 25th birthday smoking Cuban cigars, drinking mojitos, driving around in a big 'ol 1950's American car and of course, *trying* to dance salsa! I've beached it up on the Mexican Caribbean coast, snorkeling with sting rays, manatees, dolphins, sharks (the non people eating kind) and lots of fish and coral off the Belizian coast, and now feel half Latino/ Caribbean African when I sing along to too much Bob Marley with the Caribbean air blowing through on the Belizian buses
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Yep. I do love Central America. (and that's even though I missed out on caving through Mayan cave ruins here in Belize today cause I had the yuckiest of yuck tummy/ bowel problems. Damn you San Ignacio chicken burrito.)

** and sorry about the silly full stops between the paragraphs. blogger is being funny and if I don't put them in it won't leave me a space there. investigation needed.**

Letters from the typewriter return...

2009-09-22T04:30:00.008+02:00

wearing practical footwear and fake RayBans on a bench with a fast-food-junkie turtle in Mexico City.

Dear ugly practical footwear,
I know that I do need you in the wet season and humidity of Central America, it´s just that it takes a little time to adjust to you being not so streamlined and a little too obvious. But then again, I do like that you are kind of pink.

Dear Yougurtland,
I fell hard for you in San Diego, I think you should get talking to some Tassie franchisers about opening a shop in Hobart! Ummm, self serve gourmet frozen yogurt with everything on top. Bliss with so much less guilt!

Dear Tassie friends,
I cannot wait to see you all very soon! I´ve finally booked my flight home and arrive back on the 28th of November! yippe!

Dear aching muscles and cough that sounds like I have smoked a-pack-of-day for 20 years,
You have exactly 12 hours to go away, cause you will certainly not be welcome with me in Cuba!

Dear boat guide at the Sumidero canyon in Mexico,
Thanks for guiding our boat through the most beautiful Sumidero canyon on Tuesday. It was magical! But next time if you could possibly not suddenly yell from behind me to point out the crocodile on the shore. I know it´s not your fault, but it gave me a fright and my trendy fake RayBan sunglasses fell off my head and into the water. Yep, so I´m now back to two.

Dear future perfect job,
Just letting you know that you can arrive anytime around the mid December/January time. You´ve been on my mind a fair bit lately and I´m quite excited to see what you actually look like!

Dear 25,
Ok, so I know you´re coming up really fast and I´ve been a teeny bit tepid about your arrival. But I´m just letting you know that I am now fully ready and waiting for next week! Even though you really are part of the 'mid twenties' group (and the next tick box), every year so far has just been getting better, so I have total faith that you will be no different :)

Love from Mexico,
Bridge xx

Viva Mexico!

2009-09-18T22:06:00.001+02:00

Think of every Mexican stereotype possible......got it? Ok, now this is exactly what I was confronted with when I arrived in Mexico City on Tuesday afternoon! But these were real life Mexicans playing out the scene! Because Tuesday just so happened to be Mexican Independence Day eve!

Did anyone say parrrrtaaay (oh, and shaving cream, fake bushy mustaches, Latino-hip-jiggling music, sombreros and fireworks!)

Such a fun introduction to Mexico!

Then Wednesday was Independence Day proper, I watched the parade with other friends from the hostel. I think being Australian has tainted my view of a national day, I was expecting fun floats and school children, but instead it was pretty much a display of the Mexico military power - tanks, guns, thousands of solders marching, fighter jets, but there was a very cool marching band :)

Viva Mexico!

*ps. Mexico City is nothing like I'd expected, it's clean, safe, modern and the people are uber friendly!

New Glasses!

2009-09-15T03:35:00.004+02:00

Travelling with a backpack doesn't allow you to have too much variety with the wardrobe, so for me accessories have become essential to mixing things up and not feeling like I look the same in every picture! (exciting note: I have now gotten my pack weight to below 14kg! My back is loving me!)

Soooo. this is all justification, cause I just bought my 3rd pair of sunglasses! They're Big and Red!

So the new sunglasses reminded me of these ultra cool glasses I had fun trying on at a street market in Barcelona.

Yep, I'm bringing in a whole new kind of trend!

It probably pays to read the fine print.

2009-09-12T18:04:00.002+02:00

I made it to San Diego. Huzzah!

...although, it wasn't with out the tiniest bit of drama, a substantially lighter wallet and with first hand experience of US Homeland Security and the little room with the one way glass!

I got to the airport in Shannon (Ireland) and was asked questions by the US security people before going to the check-in counter. I had only booked a one way ticket to San Diego and my intention was to bus down into Mexico (as San Diego is right on the boarder). But they said that I wouldn't be aloud into the States unless I had a ticket booked to leave within 90days of arriving. This was probably my fault, as I've been a bit blase about the whole immigration thing being in Europe for too long!

So i rushed to the Internet kiosk in the airport and booked a flight from San Diego to Mexico City for Tuesday the 15th Sept. Phew! I came back and was able to check in, but then found out I also needed the address of where i would be staying in the US. You guessed it, I didn't have it! So i went back (I was down to my last 2 euros at this stage) to the Internet cafe and was looking frantically on Facebook for my friends address, then I saw some friends from church in Galway who are Americans and who have family in San Diego (praise God!) and they gave me their contact details! Saved!

I then rushed upstairs to the US Homeland Security immigration people (in Ireland the US immigration is on the Ireland side). When I got through the zillions of scanners and to the counter, I explained the situation, but he sent me into a room at the side to show them the booking on my email. But then the American lady in the unflattering navy blue uniform said that a flight to Mexico or Canada wasn't good enough, that I needed a flight out of at least out of Mexico as well for her to aprove me! I was getting quite worried by now and the time was pushing on, but thankfully they let me go back out of security and back to the Internet kiosk (with the last 1 euro that I had!) and I booked a flight from Mexico to Guatemala. It was all very rushed, and I didn't have time to shop around, so unfortunately it ended up being quite expensive.

Back in the little room with the one way glass, after checking my flights they processed my stamps quite quickly (hooray!) and after running to the departure gate I made it onto the flight! The older lady next to me got to share in my destressing and desweating for at least the first hour of the flight!

So my 'cheap' flight (280 euros!) from Shannon to San Diego, ended up being not quite so cheap after all!

La Tomatina!

2009-09-07T11:42:00.009+02:00

La Tomatina is one of those European backpacker experiences that you hear about long before planning your European travels. So, yep I heard the call of the biggest food fight in the world and answered by planning my Spanish summer of travels to make sure I was there! And it was....

more crazy than I ever thought possible!

I went with Jono and his friend Erika (another fellow Aussie!). It was really hard to find cheap accommodation in Valencia for La Tomatina time, so we decided to go fully Aussie and do the festival with Fanatics. It was more Aussieness than I had experienced in a lonnnnnng time! (one of our highlights was playing 'spot the Southern Cross tattoo'!! ...and just so you know, there were way too many for comfort!) But the beach camping with 250 other Aussies (with a sprinkling of Kiwis and South Africans) added to the fun and crazy times!

We met the very fun Carmen and Jacques from Cape Town, over Sangria and dancing at the campsite. Carmen is the new Tyra Banks, so we had the funniest time trying to 'smile with our eyes' ...ummm, I think the evidence suggests we need a little more practice!

The actual hour of La Tomatina in the teeny town of Bunol was total scary madness! 50,000 people packed into one street. Then driving 6 huge trucks down said street, carrying 100,000kg of (mostly!) ripe tomatoes. Think of the craziest mosh pit you've ever been in and times it by 10. I thought I was going to die several times, but at the same time it was one of the most exhilarating things I've ever done! Hello La Tomatina!

But I was relieved when the big buzzer sounded and the hour of mayhem was over. Because this meant....play time!!!! Ever dreamt of swimming in a river of cold tomato soup? I realised that dream and it was gooooood!

Playing in the muck...

[sorry about the blurry shots, disposable cameras are hard to hold still whilst being pelted with tomatoes!]

I am so hard core

2009-09-05T23:04:00.003+02:00

The final photo in my last post reminded me of this little experience I had in Marrakech...

I ATE LAMB'S HEAD!

...and it was good!

Amazingly it just tasted like lamb, but the back of the tongue was the tastiest! Dad, you would be so proud ;)

Market Days

2009-09-05T12:11:00.011+02:00

My two most favourite things about new cities are riding and figuring out the Metro and checking out the local markets. Oh how I love love love fresh fruit and veg! Spain, Portugal and Morocco were all fantastic for cheap, yummy and fresh markets, woo hoot! (like, 1 euro/kg for big juicy nectarines and peaches - heaven!)

Markets are also the best for people watching the locals! And yep, you know I love people watching! Here are some of my favourite market snaps from along the journey...

Boy with his melon cart, Fez, Morocco

With the cutest Portuguese nanna possible in Nazare. It was impossible to go into her little store without buying something! And trying cactus fruit for the first time in Rabat, Morocco.

Market lady doing the serious grocer face in Nazare, Portugal

Anyone for shoes? Meknes, Morocco. Yummy & cheap fruit stall next to my hostel in Porto, Portugal.

Fun times at Stand 46 at the Djamaa El Fna market square, Marrakesh Morocco.

Yep, you can buy EVERYTHING at the markets in Morocco!

A yellow scooter that sounds like a lawnmower. The FUNNEST way to see Barcelona!

2009-09-03T12:17:00.019+02:00

I do love the Sound of Music, but this time I´m not going to stick with Maria´s advice and start at the very beginning...I´m starting at the end of the travels and working back! (the newstuff is too fresh in the brain!)

After the tomato fight of all tomato fights, La Tomatina in Valencia (my disposable camera pics from the fight should be ready tonight, I cannot wait to share the photos!) Jono (Tassie friend) and I trained north to check out the famous Olympic/pick-pocketing/going out/Gaudi city...Barcelona!

And we just happened to explore the city on the coolest little two seater lawnmower sounding scooter thing ever invented! It´s a little scooter with built in GPS routes that tell you where to drive and about all the places along the way! so. much. fun!

Posing, posing, dock/beach area and trying not to get lost!

Fascinated with the African illegal handbag sellers/ police chase, more Barcelona beach, Roy Lichtenstein´s face, Barca streets

Me taking to the driving for the first time around the Olympic area - I needed the wide streets and fewer cars!

Gaudi´s ginormous and wacky Sagrada Familia church, which is still being constructed more that a 100 years later! It was kinda impressive! Oh, and of course the giant girkin building!

La Rambla shops and the awesome view looking out over Barca.

Waving at horrified bus drivers, chatting with people in the cars next to us AND working on the tan, all whilst seeing Barcelona! Such a great day!

Post Granada summer fun!

2009-09-02T18:57:00.002+02:00

So I have taken an extended hiatus from my blog..oops!

From the 25th of July I have been travelling around Spain, Portugal and Morocco and creating a life-times supply of amazing memories!

This is just a little map to show you all the places I have stayed in the last five and a half weeks!

View Post Granada summer fun! in a larger map

(you can click on the map to zoom in a little)

Ahhh, good times!

Stay tuned as I'm going to try to share some of the fun and a few of the zillions of pictures (I think I have taken more photos than a first time mother!) to share some of the adventures with you!

Letters written on my imaginary typewriter

2009-08-10T11:43:00.007+02:00

Dear Facebook,
I know that I speak about you behind your back sometimes, but I really do love you. Mainly because you help me to keep in touch with my friends so easily while being miles away from them. And truly it's my friends who I love the most.

Dear Girl in the bunk above me in my dorm last night,
I know you probably had a very important reason for getting up so early, turning the light on and pulling sticky tape slowly off the roll while taping bottles to plastic bags, but it was kind of irritating while trying to sleep. So it would be lovely if possibly you could hold off on that tomorrow morning.

Dear Time,
Is it possible for you to stand still? Life is pretty good right now and I want to enjoy every second!

Dear Portuguese coffee,
I am currently obsessed and can't wait to meet with you again soon!

Dear Oporto Poets Hostel
Thank you for employing the most lovely and helpful staff. And also for providing a big grassed lawn where I can munch on passion fruit from your vine while sitting on the cushions in the sun. I kind of really like it here.

Dear Language learning part of my brain,
Sorry that I neglected you for pretty much my entire life. I really appreciate you now and will try hard to exercise you more from now on. Our friendship is a complicated one, and I think we'll have to work together on this one.

Dear Jesus,
You have been my true and closest friend throughout this whole entire adventure. You know everything about it and about me. I'm just so thankful for that.

lots of love,

Bridge xx

Smoky Madrid Jazz

2009-07-29T19:52:00.005+02:00

Just a little post to let you know that I´ve got my pack on again, I said hasta luego to Granada on Sunday, and am now currently in Madrid!

It was sad to leave my little Granada home, but I´m getting back into the travelling mode and am loving trying to put some of my Spanish into practice!

Last night I went to the funkiest live Jazz and Blues bar I´ve been to this side of the rocking one in Amsterdam. So pretty much is was fantástico! Blues and Jazz music, an improv saxophonist, dancing and more dancing and enough smoke to cook your fish on. Ahhh, I loved it! (well, all apart from the skinky smell of my clothes and hair in the morning!)

It also really really made me miss dancing, I haven´t been swing dancing in nearly 9 weeks! That´s so long that I hope I haven´t forgotten how!

Beaching it up in Malaga!

2009-07-23T22:35:00.008+02:00

Last Thursday after school I packed up a little bag and headed off to Malaga! (close-ish mega touristy city on the BEACH!) This was very exciting, because not only did I give myself Friday off school (is it still called wagging when you´re 24?) but also Shropshire lass Steph came for a long weekend in the sun to visit! Yey! It was all sun and umbrellas and swimming and drinking Fanta limòn and playing the ´guess which country those tourists are from´game. We even splashed out and hired a sun lounge one day. It rocked and although I´ve been to the beach in Spain before, 3 days in a row made it feel like a real holiday type holiday!

And our not-so-considerate hostel room mates didn´t even ruin the weekend! Ear plugs were required. Seriously sooooo not cool.

After we were beached out, we headed back to Granada for Steph to do some exploring (and I had to return to school!). We had a little house dinner and dance party on the Monday night which was the best kind of fun! Home made paella and dancing in the lounge room, yeeeehhhaa!

I can´t wait!

2009-07-21T15:23:00.010+02:00

My favourite book read of the year so far has been The Time Traveler´s Wife. You should definitely read it if you haven´t. One of those stick with you books - love story mixed with quirky fantasy and pretty much a can´t-put-down type of book. (and I promise it´s not just a girlie book!)

And I´m so excited because the movie comes out on August 14th!!! I just watched the trailer and now I can´t wait!

Umm, now I just have to search for a cinema that shows films in their original version... I just don´t think I will be able to take Eric Bana seriously with a Spanish voice! (and the likelihood of understanding would increase rather dramatically!)

happy summer weekend

2009-07-12T18:02:00.010+02:00

I think I have actually forgotten what it´s like to wake up and look out the window to check what the weather is like for the day. Or when I´m on the internet the second thing I check (der, you all know Facebook wins!) is the weather forecast. Past. Forgotten. The weather forecast for a southern Spanish summer is just the sunny icon. everyday. for three months. Yep, it´s pretty amazing!

On Saturday I went to the beach with my new housemates Helena (English) and Mariana (Brazil) to make the most of the weather. We shared the rocky stones with a few thousand other beach goers, it was a great day eating ice-cream and swimming and getting too much sun. But it did make me appreciate (again!) how awesome our beaches at home are. Tassie I miss you!

It was also a happy summer weekend, because today I booked my flight to San Diego for the start of the my Central American adventure! I´m leaving Europe from Shannon in Ireland on the 9th of September! (it was way the cheapest and this way I get to say hi to my Irish friends again, yeey!)

It´s exciting, but scary and unknown as well. Travelling is a funny feeling sometimes.

4th of July funnies in Sevilla

2009-07-06T15:46:00.007+02:00

I´m just came back from a fantastic weekend in Sevilla! The city is full of beautiful architecture and parks and orange blossoms and is typically Andalucian and hot hot. I stayed at a hostel on Saturday night a met some great gals from NZ, who I had loads of fun pretending to be Toros and cooling down with Sangria with!

After finishing our sangria on the terrace of our hostel in the evening, we wandered around the old streets of the city, from where we proceeded to have a very random 4th of July evening!

A young guy Pepe Martinez (how´s that for the coolest Spanish name!) approached us asking if we could sing the American national anthem. Umm, after the first few lines we were stumped and couldn´t help him out. A few streets later we ran into the desperate Pepe once again.

"Please can you try and sing it, this is my initiation challenge; I need to find a group of American´s who will come and sing the national anthem to my musical fraternity!"

"But we´re not evening American" said the three Aussie and Kiwi chicks. "It´s ok, just tell them you´re from Boston" said desperate Pepe.

Some more girls from the hostel were walking by (2 of which were actually American!) so we roped them in and went to help out Pepe!

It was the funniest event, we went and met the rest of the dressed up mandolin and tambourine carrying musical group in a quite street and 6 of us girls sang the American national anthem to them! Pepe passed the challenge and as a celebration was swiftly covered in eggs and water (and best of all got to change his green 'uninitiated member' tights to the snazzy black ones!).

We then went to a bar where the musical troupe entertained us with their Spanish music. The whole evening was with us using our broken Spanish and them their broken English, it was a preiceless July the 4th!

my freckles have come out from hiding

2009-06-29T19:20:00.006+02:00

...but it´s ok, cause it means that SUMMER is here! (sorry Tassie people for reminding you!)

To combat my freckles, I have acquired this very spunky sombrero from my old housemate! I love it! I am definitely now set for the rest of my Spanish/ Portuguese/ Moroccan summer adventures!
.
.
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My course finishes up here in Granada at the end of July, then I´m heading up to the Basque country in Northern Spain to visit friends there, then off to Portugal and Morocco before joining the other thousands of pilgrams heading to La Tomatina (the huge annual food fight just out of Velencia!) on the 26th of August! I´ve heard that it´s not the easiest for girls to travel solo in Morocco, so I´m currently contemplating this tour (the dates fit in perfectly) or just waiting and seeing if I meet people along the way who are keen to head there with me (which would save $$). Any suggestions??

School Time

2009-06-24T22:38:00.002+02:00

So i´m into my fouth week at Spanish school! It is going muy rápido!

I love school one day and I´m so frustrated the next! Ok, so I love learning the language and the fantastic people that I´m meeting. There are people from Holland, the US, France, Mongolia, Japan, Italy, UK, Austria, Korean and a fellow Aussie! We have loads of fun hanging together and enjoying beautiful Granada, the Tapas (which i know I´ve already mentioned!!), and exploring Andalucia on the weekends. I feel such a buzz when I can understand things and actually have a (albeit very broken!) conversation.

But then it is seriously hard work! I´m in the beginner class with two Frenchies and another Aussie, who are all rad. But I´m the only one who hasn´t had anything before, so it feels a little like catch up all the time. Plus, it´s hard and frustrating not understanding things in class and not being able to express myself! Sometimes I want to ask things in class or share in the conversation, but by the time I´ve constructed the sentence or words in my head the moment is waay gone! But I´m just pushing myself to get over all my mistakes and broken spanglish and just speak! It sounds so easy...ummm, not! It is a trap to just speak English with everyone after class, although comforting at times, it´s not always helpful!

The understanding and reading is coming a lot more quickly, so yey! a positive with that! I have my first exam next Thursday, eeek! It´s not that big a deal and I´m actually here just for me and the experience, but it´s funny what happens when they stick the word exam in there!

So this week I´m busy loading my brain up with Spanish grammar, (well in between enjoying chocolate con churros that is!)

Granada. Where air conditioning and ceiling fans are a luxury.

2009-06-21T21:54:00.006+02:00

Hand fans have long been assoiated with chic and cool and trendiness. Well, that may true for people not from Granada.

Here, where air conditioning and ceiling fans are a luxury, everyone has a hand fan, and they use it! And they are not purposed to be trendy, but as a necessity. Kinda like drinking tea in Ireland really.

...that said, I still feel a wee bit chic and lady like when I pull mine out! ;)

40 degrees in hot

2009-06-13T20:54:00.005+02:00

Yep, it´s been over 40 degrees the days this week and it´s only June! This pic shows the irony of Granada. It´s 40 degrees and hot winds blowing in the city (and that was at 7pm in the evening!) and there is snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background!

I had a very traditional Andalucian experience this week and went to a bull fight complete with 6 Toros and Matadors to boot. I must admit, I was very naive before I went and didn´t quite realise there was more involved than just the red cape waving and the Matadors sparkling gold suit! They kill the bulls...all of them! It was interesting to see the spectacle and atmosphere of it all, but at half time I had had enough. I´ve now seen it once, and that was enough for me.

Estudios de español en Granada

2009-06-08T20:02:00.004+02:00

This past week you could probably find me in one of the following three places:

1. Language school, confused and concentrating. Man, this language learning is full on and tiring! I´m beginning to realise the importance of the Spanish siesta!

2. In the park ´taking the sun´(as it translates litrally in Spanish!) and estudio, estudio, estudio! Lucky I have some very cool flatmates that also love to take the sun and are ultra cool teachers!

3. Eating (FREE!!!) tapas in the city, exploring the albayzin (Arab area) and side streets of Granada, enjoying cafe con leche with class mates. (ok, so that´s more than one, but it is my blog!)

New beginnings!

2009-06-02T14:01:00.007+02:00

I have arrived in extra sunny and extra HOT Granada in Southern Spain! I arrived on Sunday late afternoon after a very eventful bus (and taxi) journey from the Malaga airport. Yep, one to add to the travel stories, it ended up taking 5hours longer than anticipated, BUT when I did make it on the right bus the scenery along the journey was absolutely amazing, huge barren mountains with terrocota coloured villages and olive groves speckled along the countryside - a sure contrast to rocky, green (and in my last week spectacuarly sunny!) Ireland! (I´ll be sure to add photos just as soon as I have some time at the internet cafe)

So, as far as the Spanish school is going... I´m two days in and it´s all pretty overwhelming! Nobody speaks anything but Spanish , so I give a lot of blank stares most of the time at the moment, but I´ve picked up heaps in just two days, and I´m actually motivated to study - amazing! Plus I´m living in an aparment with really friendly girls from Croatia, England and Holland who are fun already! My head may possibly explode from overworking by the end of the week though!

22 Palmyra Park family enjoying the Volvo Ocean Race festivities

I didn´t realise how hard it would be to leave Galway. It was definitely culture shock and saddness when I left for the airport and arrived here. I will post about my awesome last week and wonderfilled Galway friends soon. It was a rad way to leave and I already miss you guys!!

I am excited about the new challenege in the coming months and I´m so blessed to have so many great friends that have made all the adventures pretty much spendifforous!

Once upon a time in the West.

2009-05-27T13:20:00.005+02:00

Weather for Galway, Co. Galway

- Add to iGoogle

12°C

Current: Drizzle
Wind: W at 34 km/h
Humidity: 100%

Wed

13°C | 12°C

Thu

20°C | 11°C

Fri

21°C | 13°C

Sat

19°C | 11°C

This is the forecast for the next three days. Ok, so if you scrap todays not-so-awesome weather, 21 degrees and a sunny icon is absolutely amazing for the west coast of Ireland. It will be the highest temperature I've experienced since I arrived in mid September. Please Lord, let the weather-forecast-men be right!

I finish work on Thursday, and leave on the bus for the Dublin airport at 1:30am on Sunday morning, so I will have Friday and Saturday to bask in the loveliness of Galway sunshine, Huzzah!

Galway Sunshine = Spanish Arch beers. a bazillion buskers. strolling along the prom and watching the jumpers off black rock. every single local is outside. feeling the sun of your face. plus the extra excitement of the thousands of people in town for the Volvo Ocean Race stopover. smiles. bliss.

Hmmm, and I heard some locals complaining a few weeks ago at 17 degrees; I think they may actually just melt.

[And on something completely unrelated...Happy Birthday for tomorrow James! 26! you are getting old! Your older younger sister wishes you a splendid day :) ]

why yes, I did have a rad weekend, thanks for asking...

2009-05-25T15:19:00.004+02:00

well, it was mainly awesome because of my friends, and really had nothing particular to do with the weather.

Yes a weekend of jazz hands, the Volvo Ocean Race, busker's galore on Shop St (including the amazing kids playing trad pictured), dinner with awesome friends and cups of tea. I would recommend it.

2 days in the life...OR.. I love weekend randomness!

2009-05-21T13:49:00.002+02:00

One of my most favourite things over the last little while has been enjoying very random weekends. I love when Friday afternoon rolls around and you don't have any specific plans, and by Sunday night you sit back with a cup of tea, recapping all your amazing weekend antics!

The past rainy weekend was one of them!

On Thursday night I went to a little farewell for my beautiful friend Orla. We drank wine out of huge glasses and pretended to be classy and talked about how we would miss her when she goes to Australia for the year (yep, so luckily for me, I'll be seeing her again!)

Friday night Alana, Tara, Melanie and friends went all out on the romcom session and got a chocolate, popcorn and Matthew McConaughey fix as we went to see 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past' at the movies. Twas a class rainy Friday night!

Saturday morning I went out for a full-Irish (breakfast for those not in the know!) with Julie, as she is packing her bags and heading home this week. (yep, it's true everyone is leaving!). It's not like at home where there are loads of scrumptious breakfast cafe options, oh no, we went to the pub at 9:30am for our black & white pudding, lightly cooked bacon, fried egg, potato, beans and cup of tea! De-lish.

Did i mention that it rained the entire week?!? Yep, that amount of rain can cause anybody to become a little silly! But in our defense, we were in front of Galway's finest eating establishment...ahh Griffin's, you will be missed!

I then had a really encouraging afternoon at the university Christian Union (CU) planning day. It's the end of the uni year over here, so the current and future committee got together to plan, brainstorm and pray for the coming year. I went along to share my experience and suggestions from my 'outsider' position and share the kinds of things that we did at UTAS. It was super encouraging, especially since the group doesn't have a staff worker! God is using them to do awesome things at this Galway campus.

I vegged with Niamh, Jessie and Ryan on Saturday night. They totally rock and we had an awesome night watching hilarious youtube videos and then The Phantom of the Opera on DVD! (Niamh & Jessie also love musicals, we are soul mates).

Sunday was also full of random bliss. After church in the morning I was well entertained by all the kids running around (especially Zoe, Emma and Miz pictured). Too cute! After church Julie and I had lunch at La Salsa (to prepare me for Spain), she introduced me to Renzo (my new favorite Galway coffee shop) and we wondered the streets amazed at the new 'tourist signs' that have suddenly appeared everywhere. Somehow we killed 5 hours.

Ok, so I'm going to blame it on the rain again, but to top off the weekend, I was also experimenting with red lipstick...it's gas! I felt it was actually quite impossible to capture the look without posing! And well, I feel so like... European ;)

I will miss our random weekends with friends Galway!

Important advice about the Electric Friendship Generator.

2009-05-19T15:23:00.000+02:00

Hehe.

I won't be Irish for very much longer.

2009-05-18T12:40:00.001+02:00

Actually, this time in two weeks I will be sitting (most likely to be totally daunted and massive confused!) in a classroom at my language school in Granada, Spain!

My Irish working holiday visa is up on the 1st of June, so I only have until the 30th May left in the emerald Isle! That is a weird thought. I have been here in Galway for 7 months, (just under 3 months before Christmas and just over 4 months since I got back from India). I have had a totally savage time and will be very sad to leave my awesome Irish friends :( I will miss you all!!

So what's up next in the world of Bridget's adventures? the current plan is...

Granada, Spain. Spending June and July at the Spainish language school and general enjoyment of sun, tapas, oranges, bull fighting, flamenco dancing and sangria!

Spend August travelling around Spain (and visiting my Basque friend Maitane and Ixtasne!), Portugal and Morocco!

Departing Europa for Central America, starting the adventure in San Diego, US (to visit my American/ Irish friend Julie) then travelling south for a few months and see how far I get!

ETA back to Australia around November is the current plan. I think I will be well ready for a bowl of muesli flakes* and my Dads curry and delectable lemon delicious by then!

When I left home in March 08 I thought I would be home in Feb this year, I really had no idea of what excitements and adventures and amazing friendships would be in store! Everyday is not perfect and worry free, and it's still normal life and all that that brings. But I'm praising God for His goodness and having a fantastic time and for all the amazing people I've met along the way! Cause people are definitely what make the journey.

* I went on the Uncle Toby's website to link to my beloved Muesli Flakes (or Flakes Plus as they were renamed) and I couldn't find them in the 'Plus' range or anywhere else on the site! (I even checked under different names or branding!) Can anyone confirm this??
Wait. does this mean that *shock* after 16 years I'm going to have to find another favourite breakfast cereal?

Drinking tea in Ireland isn't trendy, it's a necessity. Life could not go on here without it.

2009-05-13T15:19:00.013+02:00

Images: JenniPenni & yvetteinufio

When you're feeling sad & blue
And have no clue what to do
Sit down and have a cup of tea
And a hug or two or maybe three
Feel those troubles melt away
And start you on a better day.

- by Paulette
found here

A very swing-tastic weekend.

2009-05-13T12:42:00.005+02:00

I'm leaving Galway soon *sob* (I'll be sure to post about the future plans soon!), so one of my last Galway weekend pleasures was the Galway Swing Workshop Weekend! I think I've mentioned it, like.... a million times but I kinda LOVE to swing dance! So this weekend was fantastic as we had amazing and inspiring teachers Nejc & Katja from Slovenia and Graeme* & Anne from the UK. It was really refreshing as most of the classes were in Blues, Balboa and 20s Charleston (usually the focus is Lindy), so we had much more fun and variety on the social dance floor!!

photos from Steffi and Phil

If was also beautiful Spring weather on Saturday and Sunday, so between the many hours of classes we sat outside on the on the grass, next to the river in the sun. This was totally happiness. I love hanging out with the other swing dancers, they are great friends that I will miss loads.

**Please pray for Graeme. He had chest pains after teaching a class on Saturday arvo, thankfully Gabrielle (who is a doctor) was in the class and took him straight into hospital. He needed an 8 hour operation, I'm not sure of the exact details but a valve or artery into the heart burst, pretty serious. Thankfully he is doing ok, but has to stay in Galway in hospital for at least another two weeks.

Long weekend happiness and how I obtained the gift of the gab!

2009-05-06T11:46:00.010+02:00

Monday was a public holiday, so I enjoyed 3 days of no work bliss! My original plans to head up north fell through on Friday, so I instead decided to head down to Cork and Blarney, as my weekends in Ireland are fast running out!

The plan was last minute, so there was no room in any Cork hostel inn, so I just went for the day. I left on the 5am bus, and came back on the 6pm bus (it's a little over 3 hrs each way). But it was a fabulously fun, packed full day! Plus the sun was shining! Yep, Sunny! Praise God! (I'm getting very over the grey grey skies, wind and rain of late)

The Blarney castle and grounds were beautiful, and I avoided the likely bus loads of tourists, as I arrived bright eyed at 9am and there were only a few others wondering the gardens and kissing the famous stone, bliss!

I climbed the steep spiral staircase to the top of the castle, where the famous Blarney Stone resides. They had an old guy at the top to make sure you didn't die whilst leaning back to kiss the stone, and he had the strongest Cork accent, I'm sure they just pulled him in for the tourists! My other favourite thing was that they had a bottle of 'spray and wipe' disinfectant to spray on the 663 year old stone every few tourists, hilarious! But I kissed it, and it was a hoot, and I now (as the story goes) have the gift of the gab!

There is a stone there,
That whoever kisses,
Oh! That he never misses
To grow eloquent.

- Francis Sylvester Mahony

The Blarney gardens around the castle were beautiful and I spent over an hour wondering around! Ahhhh, I love Spring time!

I then spent the rest of the day in Cork. I'm not sure if it was because it was a bright sunny day, or because it was a long-weekend-Saturday or because the Munster v Leinster rugby match was on that afternoon, but the city was buzzing and I had a great time in Cork!

I spent Sunday and Monday back in Galway, enjoying Church, catching up with friends and experimenting cooking FUDGE! Goodness :)

I like this

2009-04-29T15:31:00.003+02:00

I found this awesome little print on etsy.com.

I am becoming slightly addicted to this site. When I get home from my travels I think I may just buy up loads!

What are Irish men really like?

2009-04-28T12:50:00.001+02:00

Hardy Bucks follows the lives of four lazy but likable lads from Castletown, Co Mayo as they try and make enough money to make a fresh start in the 'big shmoke' - Galway.

Just click on this link** cause I can't get the box to appear on the blog...ummm.

Sorry to dash your fantasies girls, but this show (Hardy Bucks) is hilarious because it is just so true! The sayings and language is exactly what the locals come out with!

Watch it for a glimpse of some real Irish 'culture'! Plus my friend Clare makes cameo appearences (she's the one in the black turtle-neck in the picture above).

**does contain bad language

You take the high road and I'll take the low road...

2009-04-22T15:42:00.009+02:00

And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love
Will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

When in the Scottish highlands over Easter I got to sing that song whilst driving by the Loch Lomond. I love visiting places that have songs named after them, the song (and sometimes the place!) just become way cooler! (I blame this on my parents and our 3 month US family road trip!)

I had a fantastic five and a bit packed days in the land of haggis, kilts, whiskey, beautiful scenery and mythical creatures! (and I experienced them all!). I was also pleased to see that Scotland is still very much Scottish and proud of their culture and heritage, and that that hasn't been lost-up in the 'empire', as in my opinion, has happened to Wales.

I started off in Edinburgh. Loads of friends have raved about this city, and I have to agree, it's the perfect size, with beautiful architecture, Castles, parks, loads of street performers and loads of buzz, just awesome! Also, I stayed at the best big hostel I've ever stayed at - CastleRock. If in Edinburgh definitely stay here! A highlight was going on the hostel pub crawl, making some great friends and by the end of the night, Brittany (from Indiana), Karen (California), and I winning the karaoke competition singing a karaoke classic, 'I Will Survive'. Yep, the other competitors didn't stand a chance when we pulled out those choreographed dance moves!

toasting to sweet victory with the winners bottle of champagne (or, sparkling at least!)

I then headed for a 3 day tour of the Highlands and the Isle of Skye. As the highland public transport is about as good as in Ireland, and as I was on my own and had limited time, I went on the MacBackpackers tour. The highlands were definitely the Scotland that I will remember and rave about! I really didn't expect the scenery to be as dramatic, there were Lochs at every turn (including the one with the famous Nessie!) and big mountains and Castle ruins. Why do photos never do scenery justice?

When you see me next, you will see that I am now in fact, eternally beautiful. Legend has it that the waters running through Lake Sligachan on the Isle of Skye are enchanted, and because of a great Scottish warrior woman and an Irish giant being involved in a tremendous battle (or something along those lines!), it is said that if you hold your face under the waters for seven seconds you will be granted eternal beauty. As it was a beautiful showery/windy day and the Sligachan water temp was at least 8 degrees I had to try it!

And as the Scottish are famous for all things deep fried (apparently they invented the deep fried Mars Bar, and not the Campbell Town Roadhouse) I tried the traditional Haggis, deep fried! And followed by a sip of Scotch, my Scottish Easter was complete!

A new meaning to Jump Shots!

2009-04-17T15:00:00.003+02:00

I read this article in the Edinburgh 'Metro' newspaper on Tuesday morning, on the bus on the way to the airport. I just had to take a photo!

I've said before that I love jump and action shots...but this guy is taking it to a whole new level!

How cool are the photos!! ummm, yes, new inspiration! But maybe this guy is just a little crazy!

I'll blog about my AWESOME time in Scotland soon...it's been a short week, no time! It was rad and the highland scenery reminded me heaps of the NZ South Island, beautiful!

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye

2009-04-07T09:26:00.000+02:00

My German friend Melanie has finished her studies in Galway and is heading back to Berlin. And whilst I didn't break into the Sound of Music classic (well, she isn't Austrian!) we did have a very German farewell party to say the sad goodbye. I dressed as a Berliner Punk, quite convincing don't you think? ;)

Some of my other favorite outfits were the matching Barvarian couple, the clock and the black forest gateaux! My, how I love a good dress-up party! We played German kids party games (involving blindfolds and bratwurst!) and I over indulged in too many sweets!

I met Melanie on my second day in Galway and have shared lots of fun road trips and time chatting over university canteen mixed vegetable soup together :) She has been one of my closest friends in Galway. I will miss you Melanie!

It has been a week for goodbyes, as last week when I farewelled my Basque and French friends Maitane, Itxasne and Saphyr. Saying goodbye to new friends is one of the hardest parts of travelling. But I am already planning a summer visit to the girls in Spain in August!

I have Thursday to Tuesday off work for Easter, so am making the most of it and heading to Scotland (Edinburgh and the Highlands), which I am very much looking forward to!!

Have a lovely Easter break :)

who said white man can't jump?

2009-04-01T14:11:00.001+02:00

The past two weekends I've had the pleasure of having friends come to visit me in Galway!

Two weekends ago Steph, came for a long weekend (that very same week the sun was shinning!). We explored the Irish countryside and in three days road tripped around Connermara, visited the Cliffs of Mohr and biked around InishMohr (Aran Islands). Plus we managed to watch the Rugby and hang out in Galway town. I think the weekend was all up, a very Irish experience!

Then last weekend Jono came for a flying visit, as he flew in and out of Dublin it was pretty much just two nights and one day in Galway, but we managed to pack full the 36hours! We visited the vicious swans at the Claddagh, indulged in Zatzuma crepe goodness, and spent a fair wack of time inside traditional pubs, with Guinness in hand and trad in the background. A highlight of the weekend was getting lost in the rock-walled countryside and finding it the perfect place to practice our jump shots!

(you can click on the pics to make them bigger)

yep, ok so Jono showed off a little bit with getting massive air, but I also like to think it had something to do with my ultra fast reflexes and photographic skills ;)

Jump shots may be getting a little overdone, it does appear that in everyones facebook profile these days there is at least one obligatory jump shot. But I still like them!!! I like that in the photos it kinda looks like I'm a superhero!

I HEART Shantaram

2009-03-31T13:37:00.007+02:00

photo taken when I was in Leopolds Cafe, Mumbai. Jan 09

"a man has to find a good woman, and when he finds her he has to win her love. then he has to earn her respect. then he has to cherish her trust. and then he has to, like, go on doing that for as long as they live. until they both die. that's what it's all about. that's the most important thing in the world. that's what a man is, yaar. a man is truly a man when he wins the love of a good woman, earns her respect, and keeps her trust. until you do that, you're not a man." - Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram.

Shantaram is a veritable treasure trove of great quotes. But this is one of a few that made me dog ear the page. Said by Prabaker, the ever smiling Indian taxi driver, to Lin.

I finished reading Shantaram en route to India in December, and on arrival realised that you were certainly in the minority of travelers if you hadn't read or were reading the book! It is written very poetically, and has a lot about "spirituality" which I'm sure appeals to the traveler who goes to India to 'find themselves'. But I think it's more than that. Lots of the books ideas about transformation and love have really stuck with me, plus as Anna will tell you I found it a more handy reference to India than the Lonely Planet!

So I was very pleased to read today that Roberts has three more (a prequel and two sequels) in the pipeline!

I am now a rugby fan

2009-03-23T13:00:00.003+01:00

Love the totally Irish headline!...PLUS note that Daniel O'Donnell really exists outside those cheesy Australian TV ads!

I watched two whole games of rugby in a week. That is impressive. I didn't understand a lot of things, and it took quite a while to actually concentrate on the match and not how weirdly unattractive and warped half the teams ears are, not cool boys! It's apparently a result of the srums, I would definitely be opting for the helmet!

But after that...I actually quite got into it (shock!).

Granted the two games were Ireland v Scotland and Ireland v Wales in the recent 6 Nations cup and I only watched them because that's what every other person in the country was doing. Ireland won all their matches of the 6 Nations, and the 'Grand Slam'. The first time in 61 years. The whole country celebrated, it was a pretty big deal!

Rugby is in no way as cool as AFL, but as I am a Melbourne supporter and living in Ireland I am currently exploring different options!

[My friend Julie is trying to explain to her American friends why the win was such a big deal. She links to this video for highlights of the Ireland v Wales game.]

Lá Fhéile Pádraig!

2009-03-19T13:13:00.004+01:00

Tuesday was St Patrick's day, the day the Irish celebrate their patron saint. But as Guinness advertise "everyone is Irish on March 17th!" It was a national holiday here in the Ireland, and just a few people were celebrating all things Irish! All week you had to listen closely to even hear an Irish accent in Galway as thousands of Americans, Spanish and the rest (plus a load of Dubliners who come to escape the tourist influx there!) headed to town for the celebrations.It was a fantastic day, and not just because I got to dress up (any excuse!), watch the parade and have the day off...but the sun was actually shinning! It was the best weather I've had in Ireland since that one time long ago in September! Unless you have experienced the misery of a European winter you can't imagine the change that happens when the grey lifts and the sun shines! Savage! (as the local lads would say)Blue skies!! Heading to the arch with housemates and some of their friends
I headed with my house mates, Maria, Emmett and Dave to watch the parade at noon. We watched it near the bridge mills, about 5 rows back and jammed either side, thousands of people were watching and celebrating, and there were too many kids dressed as leprechauns to count!Hilarious float at the parade
After the parade we heading down to the Spanish arch (along with about half the population of Galway!) to celebrate and enjoy some drinks in the sun down by the Corrib river. One of my housemates Emmett took his hi-fi and a CD of traditional Irish pub classics, so there was lots of crowd singing of 'Galway Girl', 'Whiskey in a jar', 'Molly Malone' and many more that I learnt during the afternoon! Another friend Fiona lives in an apartment right above the river so it was nice to get a view of the action from up high!Celebrating with the girls outside Fiona's apartment

Emmett and Maria dresses up as Michael Flatley and Jean Butler from Riverdance and just for the craic showed off their, ummm...'talent' by performing 'Puddledance', Riverdance's much poorer distant cousin! Jean & Michael (aka Maria and Emmett) riverdancing under the Spanish Arch

When the sun finally set we headed for the Salt House pub for a few pints of Guinness. the Salt House is a fairly small pub, and it ended up that we pushed all the tables together and everyone there were singing Irish traditional pub classics together! I joined in, even if I didn't know most of the songs and it was a fantastic atmosphere!We then headed to the Gaelic speaking club, Arus Na NGael, (thankfully people who speak Irish, usually always also speak English!) where they had a fantastic trad session. Lots of fun was had as I learnt the Irish set dances, definitely not as easy as it looks!

The Irish culture is certainly it's own, and as much as it's tried to be emulated in Australia and the USA etc, the experience of sitting in a dimly lit poky bar, enjoying a Guinness (or cider) whilst either talking over, singing along with, or dancing to a traditional Irish music session is certainly uniquely Irish. Happy St Patrick's Day!

Countryside, swing and the weather!

2009-03-09T13:00:00.005+01:00

I have been in Galway for the last 3 weekends in a row! Wow, I think that is actually a record! But fear not, I have not become a hermit, but am instead enjoying life and friends here in Galway.

Last weekend I went to the Cliffs of Mohr, about an hour and a half south of Galway in County Clare with two ladies from work. The cliffs were pretty spectacular, even with the huge grey clouds looming overhead! But I equally loved the drive there! We drove through the bleak craggy grey rocks in The Burren, and the rugged West Ireland coastline and surf capital Lahinch. By the time we arrived at Lahinch the gray clouds had opened, it was blowing a gale and freeeezing! I felt pretty sorry for all the shivering souls that were standing half naked getting changed out of their wetsuits...hard core!

On Saturday night we had our monthly swing dancing social. It was a great night of dancing into the early hours with plenty of opportunity to practice my new moves and style picked up at GNSH! (although unfortuantely no chance to pull out those aerials!)Spring is starting to spring in Ireland, and the weather is totally unpredictable! Sun, wind, rain, hail, sun, snow (that unfortunately didn't settle), showers...and that's all on the same day! When the sun is shinning it is mandatory in Ireland to be outside, because if you miss that 1 hour time slot you could be waiting a long time for your fix of vitamin D! The promenade along the Atlantic coastline to Salt Hill is always packed with families, bikers, walkers, mums, prams and scooters in that hour window! Tara, Alana & I on the prom
But just when I was getting used to the warmer weather...it snowed! Unfortunately not enough to settle, but it was still pretty exciting to see! So we ventured back into the warmth of the log fire and Guinness at the pub! With Melanie and our Guinness listening to trad at Taffes

You know you've been in Ireland for a while when you write a whole paragraph about the weather!

Pancake Tuesday

2009-02-26T13:00:00.000+01:00

Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday, which is the day before the start of Lent. In Catholic tradition it is often just know as Pancake Day! This is originally because pancakes were made to use up ingredients like fat and eggs, which were traditionally restricted during Lent. From what I saw in Galway on Tuesday, this isn't really the case anymore! But everyone still loves eating their pancakes! I ended up eating pancakes for a few days before and after the Tuesday! On Sunday I went back to the hostel, where the French girls Marie, Marina and Saphyr cooked crepes (well, they are French!) for the Claddagh crew. On Tuesday I enjoyed pancakes with my morning coffee at work, and in the evening we cooked up pancakes with my housemates and a few of their friends at home! Plus more pancakes last night at the University Christian Union weekly meeting! ...Yes, it's been a good week ;)

I have been in my new house now for 4 weeks. I haven't got a photo of my housemates yet, as all 5 of us are rarely home at the same time! The house is going really well, we're all getting on well and the house is warm and damp-free (essential on the west coast of Ireland!). Outside shots of the house below: My place is in the middle of this block.

The view from my bedroom window. Yes, that's our BIG trampoline!

Goodnight Sweetheart!

2009-02-18T13:50:00.003+01:00

On the weekend I flew to Hertfordshire, about 20miles outside London for the swing dancing camp, Goodnight Sweetheart. The camp was at Haileybury School (where parts of Harry Potter were filmed!). GNSH was huge, with over 500 people, from 28 different countries, plus amazing swing teachers from around the world, including: Dax Hock (USA), Max Pitruzzella (France), and my new favourites Daniel & Sandra from Sweeden. A highlight was getting to social dance with Max (last years winner of the International Lindy Hop Championships)...I was totally starstruck! ;)

'Hanging' with Max & Annie!Dinner time at Haileybury

I went to the camp with Allan and Gabrielle (fellow Galway swing dancers) and Jono (friend from Tassie, now living in The Netherlands). We had classes for about 6 hours a day and social dancing well into the early hours of the morning! The music, standard and atmosphere were fantastic, I had an excellent time and have come away totally inspired!! Dressed up for the 1940's ball

We had classes in Lindy Hop and Charleston, plus I did taster classes in Blues, Hip Hop Lindy and Aerials! I'm a new Blues dancing convert and am on the look out for more workshops and camps around Europe! And after getting over my initial fear, I really want to get into more aerials! The video below is the aerial routine we learnt in class. (although we did it much more slowly and we used spotters!)

Max & Annie aerial class

The Euro Jack 'n' Jill Lindy Hop competition was held on the last night of the camp. Great to watch and gives a good feel for what the camp was like. Swinging fun!!

Back in the Emerald Isle

2009-02-10T00:47:00.002+01:00

I've been back in my Ireland home of Galway for 2 weeks. After India I flew into London and headed straight to the Shropshire village of Prees to relax with my English friend Steph. Unfortunately on the way there on the train I encountered a not-so-nice train ticket inspector. Before boarding the train I purchased a ticket from the machine at Euston Station, so when the inspector was in my carriage doing the rounds I presented my valid ticket with confidence. But unfortunately what I presented the inspector with was the ticket receipt, not the actual ticket. When I purchased the ticket, the machine spat out a card, which had the destination and money paid printed on the card. I assumed this was the ticket, and ran to catch the train. The not-so-nice inspector told me I should have waited for the second card to be spat out of the machine, as this was the actual ticket. I pleaded my case in my assertive, but not aggresive way, but unfortunately the inspector just replied that if I wanted to continue on the train I'd have to fork out £30 for another ticket, and that he would give me a complaints form for my dissatisfaction! Grrrr, that and the -1 degree and heavy showers and extreme lack of sleep from the 11 hours sitting in a plastic seat on my stop over in Abu Dhabi did not make my first few hours in England entirely pleasant!

But when I arrived in Shrewsbury I was greeted by two huge friendly smiles waiting for me on the platform! Sam, (an Aussie traveler who I first met in Bulgaria at the same hostel as I met Steph and Sarah!) was also hitting up the bright lights of Shropshire for the weekend, so it was great to catch up with him and Steph again. During my 5 days in Prees I enjoyed home cooked meals, cups of tea, vegging on the couch and long hot non-bucket showers! The relaxation was fantastic to recharge after the month on the go in India. Steph and I managed to squeeze into our hectic schedule a day trip to the Victorian sea side town of Llandudno in Northern Wales. We enjoyed eating our picnic on the benches and chasing the ugly birds away from stealing our cheese. No ugly birds here, just two girls and a self timer

I then headed down to Bristol for a week, where I stayed with my Kiwi Teirney cousins Hira and Tui. Hira has been living in Bristol for the past 4 years and Tui has just come over a few months ago. It was fantastic catching up with them, as the last time I saw Hira was 10 years ago and Tui 2 years ago! We enjoyed lots of cousin catch-up time over endless episodes of Scrubs and multiple glasses of wine! (oh, and our road trips to Stonehenge, Bath and Thornbury!) Cousins at Stonehenge...yes, it was FREEEEEEEZING!

Since being back in Galway I've started back at the university as a temp doing administration type work in the research department, so back to enjoying my morning coffee breaks! I've moved out of the Claddagh hostel and enjoy no longer living out of my pack! I'm living with 4 local guys/ girls who are in their mid-late 20s, they are a great craic and it feels very homely :)

Hostel Friends!!

Although many people have moved on, it has been great coming back to some familiarity and friends here in Galway. I have enjoyed a few nights out at Massimo (my favourite Galway dance spot!) with Hostel friends. And last weekend went on a road trip to the Ring of Kerry and Dingle with friends Melanie and Tara, and Tara's two French housemates. On this trip I tried out couchsurfing for the first time, and they weren't weirdos, so a great success!

Ring of Kerry

And there are more adventures to come, this weekend I'm heading to Hertfordshire (just outside of London) for a HUGE swing dancing weekend camp, Goodnight Sweetheart...which I'm just a little excited about!!!

“…Excuse me lady, can I have a photo with you?”

2009-02-04T14:03:00.006+01:00

Yes, during my month in India I pretty much got to live out my childhood dream of being a celebrity! As those who know me would know, I have a keen eye for spotting famous people, and just happen to have no inhibitions about going up and asking for a photo! So India turned out to be my chance to see what being on the other side is actually like! Imagine if Brangelina decide to take a stroll down Elizabeth street mall and go into Subway for lunch…this is pretty much the type of stare action and attention that Anna and I received travelling around most parts of India! It was totally crazy!!

We decided to head to Wynad National Park, in the far north east of Kerala to try our luck at seeing some Elephants and Tigers in the wild (we unfortunately didn’t see either!) but while staying in a smallish town off the tourist trail we had some of the craziest experiences! Firstly we booked into a local (budget…naturally!) hotel where they had obviously never had two young white girls stay on their own before. We were a totally source of bewilderment for the check-in staff (of which there were about 10!)

“..so it’s just the two of you? (pause) …no men?”
“no, it’s just us”
“so…you’re not married?”
“…ummm, (thinking desperately of what to say to end their curiosity!) Married, Yes! Our husbands are at home!”

Just to be sure we didn’t get any uninvited guests knocking on our door, I put on my Indian “wedding” ring for the rest of the time we were in that town!

Later that arvo we decided to go to a nearby lake that is part of the national park. So after a yummy masala dosa for lunch (with obligatory stares and photographs included for FREE!) we caught a local bus which stops about 1km from the lake. Naturally the bus was chockablock full, so we got to sit up front next to the driver! The bus conductor (and every other local sitting around us!) told us when to get off, and we started walking through the small village toward the lake. There were a group of men and women mixing concrete next to the road and when they saw us, the women (who looked about 40) started laughing hysterically, pointing and then they became amazingly embarrassed but chuffed when we saw them and smiled and waved. It was like they were reduced to 14 year old school girls!! Then everyone started waving at us and giggling from their houses as we walked by. It was the strangest feeling!

Another experience happened when I was in Mumbai. I went to the Taj Hotel, a famous spot for Indians to hang out and tourists to take pics etc, I was walking around by myself and a group of about 5 10 year old Indian boys came up to me with their cricket bat and asked if I could please sign their bat! I had to let them know that (unfortunately) I'm not famous and that they probably didn't want my signature! But by this stage there were about 20 people surrounding me, and they insisted that they did, so they all lined up and I signed away 'Bridget from Australia'! It was the craziest thing!!!! So even though I didn't find my fame in a Bollywood movie (I'm getting over it) I did end up having my 15 minutes of fame!

I have about 200 other stories from the month in India…it is such a crazy, irritating and fascinating place! A country that is less than half the size of Australia, but has one sixth of the world’s population has to be a little nuts!

For me, India is…

- the head wiggle
- men combing their hair in public constantly
- the dusty/ sewerage/ humid/ burn-off smell
- crazy driving and honking every time they overtake/ pass/ go round a corner/ saying hi/ slow down/ see a cow …yep, constantly!!
- Having cold showers out of a bucket
- No lines or personal space: he with the biggest elbows wins!
- Marsala, parotta, curry, lassi, tali
- Playing cricket in every available space
- One handed right handed eating
- “excuse me mame, can I have a picture with you?”
- Nobody EVER has change! 10 rupees notes are a precious commodity!
- Men being overly affectionate (by western standards) with each other in public
- Babies having a black mark on their forehead and on one cheek (and therefore not perfect) to ensure the gods won’t snatch them away
- Children dressed in their balaclavas for the ‘winter’ (ie. Less than 30 dgrees!)
- Smiling saree wearing women
- “It's my special morning price, just for you!”

They only give a tiny taste of what India was actually like, but for those who are interested I've uploaded some pictures on my facebook. Ahhhh, I want to go back!!

Goodbye Hayley!

2008-12-01T21:02:00.003+01:00

The start of my new journey is the end of another. After 250 days and traveling 23 countries together Hayley and I are parting ways. While I am flying to Paris tomorrow, Hayley is planning on staying in Ireland until the end of December and doing a month of travels before heading home. Hayley has been a fantastic travel companion and an awesome friend to share this journey with, I am going to miss her! Hayley writes here about our special last day together...which included seeing the Swell Season!!!! The best live music I've ever been to, every song was totally captivating!

I finished up my job at NUI Galway on Friday with a lovely farewell lunch from my office. They will even hopefully they will have me back when I get back from this bout of travels!

Today is my last night in Ireland until February, as tomorrow I'm heading off traveling again! I'm heading to Paris and Amsterdam for 10 days before flying to India for 4 weeks travel around southern India with Anna! Anna has been super organised and been fantastic in planning a bit of an itinerary for our travels. This is our proposed route:

View Larger Map

The last 3 months learning to live as a local (well..kind of!) in Galway have been fantastic, and I will be back in February, but I'm also really excited about the next few months travel! Obviously India is going to be quite a change from winter in Paris so I'd love your prayers for safe travel and being able to adjust to the sights, smells, colours and public transport of India! Christmas this year is going to be rather exciting!

Weekends are weekends in Ireland!

2008-11-19T15:21:00.013+01:00

When I was on the road travelling, everyday was a Saturday and every night a Saturday night! No time frame, no schedule, no limitations (well, apart from the budget of course!), so weekends were really irrelevant, because life was an endless weekend! Quite often Hayley and I would catch ourselves saying, "What day is it today?" and only needing to know so we wouldn't be waiting for hours sitting in a bus shelter or on a train platform!

Initially I was worried that coming and settling in Ireland would be hard to get used to, especially the adjustment to working again and loosing the spontaneity and freedom of going wherever whenever. But I was also looking forward to establishing some friendships and having some money coming in instead of out for a change! And God has blessed me with a stress-free full-time weekday job! This has been great so the weekends really do feel like weekends again 'cause I'm making the most of them and trying to see as much of Ireland as I can! This does help in keeping the feeling of 'travel' while still having € coming in!

In the 2 months I've been in Galway weekend fun has included:

• Derry, Northern Ireland with Hayley and Sarah, seeing the Giants Causeway and free Derry murals and the site of the Bloody Sunday massacre.

• Halloween Partying Shenanigans, Galway, dress-up party at the hostel followed by shop street fun...with no costume organised you can tell I just went to town on the hair and makeup!

• Clifden, Connemara (1.5hrs north of Galway), enjoying a pub lunch and roaming the cute country village and surrounds

• Swing Dance weekend, dancing/ work-shopping the weekend away with Slovenian instructors Katja & Nejc (awesome night of dancing and dress-ups on the Saturday night!)

• Belfast, Northern Ireland (and stopping Sligo on the way) with Hayley and Melanie, one of the highlights of my time in Ireland so far! Beautiful city, fantastic company, learning political history that is still very real (as shown by huge barricading walls dividing parts of the city!) and eating way too much good food!

• Newcastle, England, thanks to Ryanair €20 return flights last weekend Hayley and I had a fantastic weekend exploring this beautiful northern England city! Going to our first Premier League soccer match (Newcastle V Wigan), seeing the HUGE 'Angel of the North' sculpture (the wingspan is 54m!) and catching up with friends met while travelling, Bert from York and Novocastrian Stu.

But I have also enjoyed using a few weekends for what they were intended...chillaxing!!

There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama

2008-11-11T15:20:00.005+01:00

The Irish people remind me a lot of Tasmanians. They are both fiercely patriotic and claim everyone who has an ounce of their heritage in them as their own (and in Tassie's case they are always referred to as "Tassie's own (insert name here)").

In Ireland I think it's even worse! The Irish can't get enough of "Irish" Barack Obama! And while he does have Irish roots (one of his great-great-grandfathers emigrated to the US in 1850) you'd think from the amount of media attention it is given he had lived here all his life!

A group, Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys from Limerick wrote this song proclaiming Obama's Irish roots...watch it, it's hilarious!

Eyes on the stars 'n' stripes

2008-11-04T13:59:00.002+01:00

Today American decides on their new president. Although I'm Australian and currently living in Ireland, this election is a big deal! Along with millions of others around the world, as the polling booths close and the votes are counted, my eyes will definitely be on the stars 'n' stripes and hoping change (and Obama) are in the air.

But whoever wins, I'm hoping they dance like this in their acceptance speech!

Wordle-ing

2008-10-23T17:12:00.003+02:00

I have just discovered a new website, http://www.wordle.net/, where you can link to a blog or enter text and it automatically generates a Wordle for you! Yes, it sounds weird but the result is quite cool don't you think?!?

Here is my blog "Wordle" style!

Life in Galway

2008-10-21T15:31:00.011+02:00

I have been in Galway on the west coast of Ireland for 6 weeks! Quite a change from my nomad life of the previous 6 months!

The united colours of Galway! (Quay street)

I have been blessed with a great job working in the Engineering Placement department at the National University of Ireland, Galway. I'm a temp doing admin type stuff, the other staff are lovely, I have my own office plus i LOOOOVVVVEE the hour long paid coffee breaks every morning!

NUIG sign with Quad in the background

Galway city is quite compact, but to get anywhere outside of the city center my preferred mode of transport is my purple and silver bike! It is an easy 15min bike ride to work each morning, but it is getting harder and harder with winter approaching (and all the rain!)! But I have invested in some thermal waterproof over trousers, a hat and waterproof jacket...I think I'm also going to have to give in and get some gloves, I currently defrost them on the office heater each morning!

Biking along the city canals in Galway

I have finished the house sitting stint and I now call the Claddagh Hostel home. As I'm only here for another 6 weeks before leaving for India I'm enjoying the fun and hassle free hostel living! Sharing a room with 9 other people does have its moments, but over half of the 40 other people are long termers so it's like a big international share house! Hayley and I are two of the few native English speakers here so in exchange for helping them with English we are trying to pick up on a bit of French, Spanish and German! Meal time is always fun and those Europeans sure know how to cook!

My corner of the dorm, practically luxury...take note shelf & window!

Maitane, Almudena, Itxasne and Hayley hanging in the lounge

The hostel crew enjoying Spanish omelette's!

24th Birthday = Stari Most*!

2008-10-08T12:32:00.016+02:00

Last Wednesday I celebrated my 24th birthday Irish style! (...well, by Irish style I mean I went to a pub that played Irish music, drank Guinness and it was raining and very windy all day!)Sarah cooked up a big feast for 10 of my Galway friends, followed by yummy birthday cake and party hats! I felt very spoilt :)

After dinner we continued celebrating at the Quays pub, Shop Street Galway, where we drank a few pints of Guinness and I was serenaded 'Happy Birthday' Irish style by the band, it was quite a craic!
The birthday fun continued into the weekend. Hayley and I had planned a 3 day trip to Derry, Northern Ireland from Friday - Sunday. It was a HUGE birthday surprise when English friend Sarah had flown over for the weekend and was waiting outside the Galway bus station on Friday morning to join us! I LOVE surprises and had no idea that Hayley and Sarah had concocted this one! So my 25th year is off to a pretty good start!

**For those of you not fluent in Yugoslav, Stari Most means 'Old Bridge'!! It has stuck since Bosnia!

What have I been up to in the last two months?

2008-09-23T17:35:00.012+02:00

I love traveling. I love meeting new people, learning new public transport systems, learning about a places history by being there and talking to locals, reading maps, trying to communicate without words, hunting around in new supermarkets and not being able to understand the labels, looking up old friends (and friends of friends!), being stimulated by new sites and sounds, and not wishing any day away.

Some of my favourite memories of the last few months since Poland include:

Being changed by visiting Auschwitz, Poland

'Rafting' in Chesky Krumlov, Czech Republic...joining the locals on the river and docking in at the beer huts!

Visiting the Reichstag and Berlin wall in Berlin, Germany

Being hosted by the Blavec family in Carqueiranne, France

New friends that feel like old friends in Shropshire, England

(Steph and I in front of the worlds first Iron Bridge! - Telford, Shropshire)

The contrast of bustling Bangkok (and eating grasshoppers!) and relaxing Ko Samet, Thailand

(ummm, deep fried grasshopper! and I ate the whole thing!)

But with all these amazing experiences, nothing can compare to being home in Tassie for 10 days being with family and friends again! Especially having the privilege of being the maid of honour to my best friend, Alicia, when she married Tim at the end of August :) It was a fantastic day and the dance floor was particularly noteworthy!
For those interested more photos of the wedding can be seen here.

Enjoying the craic to be sure to be suuuurrrreee!!

2008-09-23T15:31:00.013+02:00

Top of the mornin' to ya! I've made it to Ireland! I arrived on the 8th of September into Dublin on the ferry from Holyhead, Wales. Hayley and I had a great time exploring Dublin and the surrounds! I had never experienced the goodness of Guinness before arriving in Ireland, and I experienced my first at the famous Temple Bar...surprisingly really good!! A local Irish guy told us that apparently the most intimidating thing for a guy is to see a girl drink a pint a Guinness...yes I am very intimidating ;)

After Dublin we headed west to Galway. The plan was to settle here, so thankfully I love this place! It is right on the Atlantic coast and there are seagulls and swans everywhere...after 6 months in continental Europe it is a weird feeling of 'home' seeing seagulls again! Galway has a really buzzy student vibe and for a smallish town (90 000) there is heaps going on. The Galway Oyster and Guinness Festival is this weekend, which should be quite a craic!

In my 2 weeks in Ireland I have had SOOO comments about my name and family history "Oh, Bridget Teirney, that is such a strong Irish name! You MUST have Irish heritage! Are you hear to trace your family heritage?" Yes, I feel quite loved hear in Ireland, from the bank teller, to the phone shop to every person in my office, the Irish are very into their family history!

I than I have joined the local Baptist church (Galway City Church), it is a small (mostly international) congregation and everyone has gone out of their way to make me feel welcomed. It reminds me a lot of my Middlemount church family! I have also signed up for temp agency and have my first assignment as a receptionist for a pharmaceutical company. It's good to give the savings a rest for a bit! I'm also excited to have joined the happening swing dancing community in Glaway, who would have thought the Irish would be so into their swing! I'm a bit rusty after not having dancing for over a year, but it is good fun! I also get extra exercise riding there and back on my brand new purple and silver mountain bike!! The buses are really irregular here (and quite expensive!) so the bike gets quite a work out :)

One thing I've learnt more and more traveling is that (as we said it Samoa) "someone has always got your back!". Nothing is so big I need to stress over, some sticky situations in the past week, have turned out to be quite a craic!

After enjoying a fun night out dancing away to Irish music at a local pub in Galway, Hayley and I strolled the 200m to our hostel, where upon our arrival at the front door remembered the doors are locked at 12am....and we forgot our key!! After several attempts to wake the entire hostel by buzzing, yelling through the mail slot and calling the office phone (all to no avail), we tried sleeping in the foyer of another hostel...but got politely asked to leave! So tired and weary we wondered the streets of Glaway thinking of an action plan, when we ran into a guy who used to stay at the same hostel and was now staying with a cousin in an apartment in the city! Hooray!!, so after some pleading promising we wouldn't steal anything from the strangers house, we got to crash on his couch for 4 hours until the hostel opened!
A great German chick who I met at church had a room going in her apartment right in the city centre and asked if I wanted to move it. Fantastic! (I thought to myself), cheap, central and with a fun, friendly German girl. I had looked through it before moving in and knew it was grotty, but the benefits seemed to outweigh that, so I took it. Unfortunately when I moved in I realised just how grotty the place was!! The other 2 guys that live there smoked inside the tiny common area and I wasn't going to lean on the kitchen bench, let alone cook in there! And the bathroom...well, I can deal with lots, but YUCK-O!! The hostel was seeming like a very good alternative! I was really worried about telling the landlord and my German friend, but they were both great about it. Then when Hayley and I arrived back at the hostel, a NZ girl we had met there earlier invited us to house sit with her for 2 weeks! God was certainly in control as everything just worked out!
As I said earlier I bought a brand new mountain bike on Friday! It's the first new bike I've had since I was 10! An hour after I bought the bike I had a job interview about a 15min ride away, but about 1 minute into the ride my peddle broke off!! And to add to it (not surprisingly!) I was running late! 2 American tourists saw my quandary and stopped to help, they were so friendly, but unfortunately a spanner was required. But they helped me hail a taxi and lock up my bike to get me to the interview on time. The kindness of strangers :) ...someone has always got your back!

Sorry, that was a really long post! It has been a while :) The adventures kept continuing in the time between Poland and Ireland, so I'll post a few snippets in another post!

17 weeks and 15 countries later...

2008-07-24T18:44:00.005+02:00

This one's for you Nigel, I know you're still checking ;)

I did say way back in post one that i was going to keep you all updated on my European adventures...ummm, for those that were wondering I'm actually NOT still in El Paso Texas!

In the three months since my last post I have visited Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Slovakia and am currently in Krakow Poland!

So in 17 weeks and 15 countries in I have...

Done way too many overnight bus journeys
Been yelled at by nasty train ticket inspectors more than twice!

Perfected the art of sign language and pointing and saying hello, goodbye and thank you in about 7 languages!
Become an ever BETTER master at sticking to a budget (yes, hard for some of you to imagine!),
The regular daily menu consists of: corn flakes for breakfast, banana or cheese on bread for lunch and cous-cous/pasta with a mix of tomatoes, carrot and zucchini (it may be boring, but it's cheap and tasty!), I do however have quite a vice for Gelato and after taste testing at least 30 flavours in the last 4 months would have to say Lemon Gelato and Chocolate is still the best combination :)
Felt like I'm on "The Amazing Race" a few times when trying to find the hostel from the train station. Arriving in a new city, catch bus A, get off at stop 6, turn right, follow the stair up 200m etc
Learnt that I still enjoy Hayley's company :)

Been canyoning, Ice Climbing AND driven on the right hand side of the road!
Felt history at Dachau and Auschwitz, the Balkans and ancient history in Italy and Turkey

Been blessed to meet some AWESOME fellow travelers
Learnt that one year is not actually that long!

For those of you wondering I am actually still heading to Ireland! I'm planning on starting work (well searching for a job at least!) at the beginning on September. The current plan is to try out Gallway on the west coast of Ireland. But all that seems like the start of a different adventure!

17 weeks...wow...so many good memories and the adventure is still continuing!

Stop #2 - El Paso, Texas

2008-04-09T16:38:00.008+02:00

The United States is such a land of contrasts, and I don't think Hollywood, California to El Paso, Texas could get much more different! El Paso is on the far west tip of Texas and is a total mish-mash of cultures. The greater metropolis sprawls across the barren desert into Juarez in Mexico (only a barb wire fence separates the two countries!) and Las Cruses in New Mexico. The reason that Hayley and I included this on our 3&1/2 weeks mission of the US is because Hayley's brother and wife are living here for a few years working at the US army base, Fort Bliss. Unlike Hollywood we didn't find any other backpackers touring around, but we got to experience a bit of Southwestern American culture from a locals perspective, which was fine by us :)

A definite highlight of the week was heading to White Sand's national park in New Mexico, a few hours drive away. The pure white gypsum sand dunes just spring out from the barren flat desert, it's pretty amazing to see! It totally felt like there should have been a beach just over the dune...but unfortunately it was thousands of kms to the closest beach! The closest we came was racing up the dunes and flicking water on ourselves cause it was hot in that sun!

Downtown El Paso is not like most regular Australian cities that are the 'hub' of the city. El Paso has so many shopping malls and industrial estates around the suburbs that the city is really only office blocks and a few shops that are geared toward the Mexicans that come across the boarder. The area kind of reminded me of a cleaner version of Apia in Samoa, which is really different to the rest of El Paso! But Hayley and I did a self-guided walking town of the downtown area and check it out. For our last stop at a historic hotel we were joined by Hayley's brother Richard, who was in uniform as he had just come from work. Halo and I went to use the 'Restrooms' in the foyer and when we got back Richard was standing with a big group of people, the Australian Army uniform attracts all sorts of comments so we thought it was a group of Americans saying hi, but it actually turned out to be the blue and red members of the Wiggles!!! They started talking to Richard when they saw he was Australian!! So we got to meet the wiggly stars in person in downtown El Paso! (As a side, the blue Wiggle has a big tattoo on his arm down to his elbow...now I understand why they wear skivvies!!)

El Paso was a relaxing and chilled out stop on our adventure. We visited lots of places around El Paso (for more about the places we visited, jump over to Hayley's blog) but we also had lots of time to soak up a bit of Texan vitamin D, observe a bit of the Southwest American way of life, eat loads (the Mexican food looked like a train-smash but tasted good!) and become regulars at the Target across the road (particularly for the 0.57c chocolate bars and Ben and Jerry's ice-cream...yum-o!).

We said goodbye to El Paso after a week in the desert sun and headed east to 'The South' (Atlanta) for yet another totally different culture (stay tuned for updates!). Two weeks in and the excitement and anticipation is still high, I'm enjoying the people and places and everyday is an awesome blessing!

Beginning in the US of A...Hollywood!

2008-04-01T03:31:00.010+02:00

Sorry It's been so long between posts (the dial-up internet at home was too hard!), but to fill you in... I made it safely to Tassie on the road trip and had a great time catching up and saying goodbye to everyone. It was also awesome seeing my newly engaged best friend Alicia (who is engaged to Tim) and as i'll be away for their entire engagement it was great actaully having a bit of time to hang out flick though bridal magazines and get excited!

Back to now... on the 27th of March the first part of the adventure proper began and I have arrived safely in the USA! We stayed at the USA hostel in Hollywood, California. LA was a massive sprawling city, but our little hostel was ultra friendly and for 3 days Hayley and I were part of the fun little community which I think made our time Hollywood. We had a random experience on the second day we were in LA. After sleeping in and missing breakfast and the hostel Beverly Hills walking tour, Hayley and I decided to head down to Santa Monica and the beach area as it was a beautiful Los Angeles day. When we caught the train the previous day a few stops earlier we passed the Vermont/ Santa Monica station, so Hayley and I confidently walked the 5 blocks to the station with no map or directions and got off at the Vermont/ Santa Monica station. Unfortunately for us, Vermont/ Santa Monica meant the station was on the corner of these streets, and Santa Monica Blvd just happened to be really REALLY long! We started walking, thinking it wasn't that far, and when we started noticing there were not many other people walking on the "sidewalk" and the ones that were were a tad, umm... different and the shop fronts looked pretty run down and seedy, so we realised maybe we weren't at the beach and it was time to ask for directions! A lady pointed us to the bus stop, and 1.5 hours later (yes, really!) we arrived at the beach! We learned that natural instincts only get you so far, then it's time to ask for directions.

The hostel had heaps of organised activities and the Friday night Hollywood pub crawl proved to be a top night of a few cheap Coronas and fun dancing. But we were informed that you can't be too dressed up in Hollywood and thongs or lace-ups won't cut it. This unfortunately created a bit of a Cinderella story for travel buddy Hayley, as being a faithful backpacker she didn't have appropriate footwear, but thanks to our awesome #113 dorm mates, Amy from Scotland's silver shoes were a perfect fit and we changed Hayley's shoes from rags to riches so that she didn't change into a pumpkin at midnight (or not get allowed in!). As a side, Price Charming may have been delayed at a prior function and wasn't able to make it!

We've now made it to El Paso, Texas so you'll have to keep checking for more updates! But the first 5 days of the trip have been adventure filled already and I'm excited each morning about what new things/ experiences await. Keep praying for Hayley and I and that the rest of the trip can continue to be this good :)

Goodbye Middlemount

2008-03-12T03:31:00.010+01:00

On the 15th of February 2007 I left my familiar world in Tasmania and set off for the working world, a graduate job at a coal mine in Middlemount, Central Queensland. Now 13 months later I'm putting my career on hold and setting off again - but this time on an overseas adventure! (with thanks to my work for granting me leave without pay!)

But saying goodbye is always sad, and I'll miss all the fantastic people that have made this year so memorable. Some of the things I'll miss:

Making a fashion statement at work,

work mates and friends,

awesome housemates Calee and Emma
my Middlemount chruch family, (the Dendle's and Atkinson's pictured below)

Friday night BBQs and other random grad events, weekends away exploring Qld and summer all year 'round.

Some of the things I won't miss so much, the mosquitoes!! (no one can really understand unless they've been to Middlemount after the rain!), car troubles, the beef road and my work uniform.

The plan is to return to Anglo after my travels for my second graduate rotation in 2009, but the site and location is yet to be determined. So at the moment I say: Bon Voyage Middlemount, and thanks to all my great friends for so many good times :)

In the beginning

2008-03-10T11:11:00.011+01:00

This is the start of a big adventure. Eek, it is SO exciting! On the 27th of March I'm starting an adventure with my travel buddy and beautiful friend Hayley to discover distant lands and foreign cultures (...ummm, if the US and Europe even count!). I'll be posting about some of the people I meet, places I see and some of the adventures along the way!

In true backpackers style, the itinerary is pretty sketchy, but the plan thus far is....

Driving the Magna from Middlemount to Hobart with my gear (yes all 3300km!), then Hayley and I fly out of Hobart on March 27th for the US of A for 3 weeks (visiting LA, El Paso, Atlanta and NY and Boston) then fly from NYC to Istanbul, Turkey, where we have a week Turkey tour with the highlight being ANZAC day at Gallipoli! From there we are going to work our way across Europe for 2-3 months. I have a working holiday visa in Ireland so the plan is to land a job there for a few months partly to supplement the savings and partly to put down some roots and meet some locals! Then the plan is to spend about 4 weeks immersed in the colour and excitement of India on the way home! Currently the plan is to be back in Aus around end of Jan 09 :)

(zoom in on the map or click on the link below and it shows the main places planned to visit and some dates)

View Larger Map

So make sure you keep in touch and check in now and then and see what I'm up to.