AnnaBucks

Dear All, I’m now back in London. I’ve been away for just under 3 months, and have apparently forgotten how to drive (it took me 10 minutes to park today). It’s been an absolutely amazing experience, and I loved every moment of it. It’s far too tricky to pick out my favourite bit, but climbing the waterfall in Thailand, skydiving in Australia, bungy jumping in NZ and the night on Sunset Strip are definite highlights. I’m about to start work back at Sky News, and hopefully doing a course in photography (travelling has given me a new-found passion!) And, fingers crossed, I would like to go to Africa in the summer. Predominantly so I can say I have been in 5 continents in less than a year…now that’s an achievement! It will all depend on money ... read more

Hello everybody, Unfortunately this is going to be my last entry as I fly home to London this afternoon! I hope you have all enjoyed reading my blog, and I have loved all of your comments and messages - thank you so much for them. So what have I been up to over the last few days? Well Saturday saw Grant and I deciding to do a 22 mile cycle ride. Well…it was originally 22 miles. We planned to cycle from Fisherman’s Wharf, along the bay to the Golden Gate Bridge, over the Bridge to Sausalito, up to the Muir woods (with their giant redwoods) and then along to Tiburon. However, due to a slight time restraint (I spent most of the morning on the phone to STA, Qantas USA, Qantas UK and BA trying to ... read more

Hellooooooo my dears, I hope you are all well, and probably pleasantly surprised that I am writing my blog so soon after my previous one! I'm currently back in Auckland, but I have spent the week at the very tip of New Zealand, in a place called the Bay of Islands, which is absolutely stunning! I spent last Monday mouching around Auckland (it is still the capital of Nothing!) and, for the first time in my life, dared to have lunch by myself in a restaurant. After the initial embarassment of 'Yes, I really am a loner, with no friends to have lunch with", I actually began to enjoy myself, and ended up reading an entire novel (I made one cranberry juice last an hour and a half....) I went to bed at 9 that night, ... read more

Kia ora tatou a haere mai ki Aotaero! (Hello everybody and welcome to New Zealand!) And Happy New Year to you all! Before I begin, I should warn you that one of the reasons I decided to come to New Zealand is because of my slightly over-the-top obsession with Lord of the Rings (which, you may or may not know, was filmed here). Therefore, unless you like LOTR too, please ignore my excited comments. Wednesday night was our last night in Sydney, so we decided to watch a performance at the Opera House. The show was called “Not Yet New Year’s Eve”, and I thought it was good fun. My mother hated it, and spent the entire time complaining very, very loudly, and pretending to slit her wrists. Meanwhile my father talked continuously, in stage whispers, ... read more

Right guys, here’s part two! I was woken up at 5 by my roommates returning from their night out (how do people manage to be so unbelievably noisy?), so there was no need for my alarm. Dumping my stuff in reception I took the bus to the airport to meet my family. On arrival, I was just planning on going to the toilet and grabbing some breakfast, when I noticed their plane (which was scheduled to be delayed) had already landed. Frantically, I sprinted to the arrivals area, panicking that they might have already come through, and I would have missed them. No need to worry, of course. An hour later, hungry and bursting for a pee, I was still standing there waiting for them to come through. My main concern was, would I recognise them? ... read more

Apologies for the last blog. For some reason it only posted half of it, which was greatly annoying. So I am republishing the entire blog, with the bit on the end! So here it is again! What an original title! But frankly that is my current reaction to it! After my initial homesickyness and fear, I have come to conclusion that Sydney is a really cool place! It's like all my favourite places in the world (London in the summer, San Fran, Barcelona, cute French cities, Tuscany (ok maybe not so much the last one)) all rolled in to one. The people are genuinely nice - not like the fake 'have a nice day" Americans! So what have I been up to? Well, after being cheered up immensely by all your lovely messages (thank you for ... read more