http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/DJA/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from DJA en-us Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:34:27 +0000 Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:34:27 +0000 After the best part of a year with each other Louisa and I prepared to bid each other farewellhellip but not without a romantic getaway to Sharm El Sheikh Egypt.Eating and living like royalty was a highlight as was our stay at the 5 Star Novotel made possible because of the supreme power of the English Pound. We spent our days lazing poolside under the warm Egyptian sun in a quest of unea http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Red-Sea/Sharm-el-Sheikh/blog-108273.html November had flown by. Much of it had been wasted teaching 'Football 101' to wannabe Arsenal Footballers. It dawned on me that my time on these lands were numbered so I decided to exploit the beauty of being a supply teacherhellip so I took the day offhellip and spent it in Paris.Unfortunately all the boys I had set out with were no longer on British soils and with Louisarsquos head buried http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-106962.html As it stands my 12 month residence in Britain will be interspersed between two very large and very well known cities Leeds and London.Currently London is where itrsquos at. I love it. And whilst delving into the infinite history of this place like tourists do has been left in Azzrsquos capable hands I have preferred to just experience what makes it tick. Midweek in London is just as turb http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-98109.html Here's another account of my work in this the London Education System. The Incident Report read something along the lines of Period 4 Physical Education Year 9 Boys Basketball A relatively simple lesson plan a game. A nearby gymnastic mat had not been put away so some of the students awaiting their game thought rather than sitting as requested class time could be better spent using the mat http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Wembley/blog-96683.html Strangely enough after 7 weeks off I welcomed Septemberrsquos start to the 20062007 school year. The travel I had done had managed to burn a rather large whole in my wallet and if my liver was worth salvaging it was going to take time.Finding daytoday supply teaching in London was easy and thankfully ensured a return of steady cash flow essential in this stupidly expensive city. Ive op http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Fulham/blog-75954.html ... No I'm not back in Melbourne. Although after what happened this weekend I really wish I was.All the destinations I've travelled all the memories I've collected and all the life experiences I've gathered over the past nine months almost pale into insignificance when learning what I missed.At 522am London time I learnt that the boys at Pantherland had knocked off a team that hadn't been be http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-89140.html Sipping Sangria by day and sculling it by night meant my planned detox and liver cleanse would have to be put on ice until I was out of the fast paced but ultra cool Barcelona. A city that would spell the perfect end to five weeks on the road.Since parting company with Jonesy and the cash strapped other both Azz and I had shared many of our travelling responsibilities. But as a general rule http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-85629.html San Sebastion is a largely arrogant city that knows it is good. The beaches exude cool and the nightlife is rampant. We hadnt had time to do our homework on this city but San Sebastion offered more bars per square metre than anywhere else in Europe... and we thought it was only fair to put that to the test.I learnt two things from visiting this northern part of Spanish coastline.Firstly that S http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/San-Sebastian/blog-83851.html Our final leg of Summer travel saw us hit the capital of Spain for some famed culture namely Tapas Madridian night life and of course a Bullfight. And with the recent strain of partying and travelling I have reverted to using dot points or bullets for Wordian lovers to illustrate the love that Madrid was able to provide.1. Azz and I walked the magnificent city seeing historic fountains statu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/District-of-Madrid/blog-75953.html It was our war torn livers that were most thankful of our escape from Ios to the scenic Santorini an island somehow shaped by the biggest recorded volcanic eruption of all time. Santorini is said to be the most beautiful of the islands a getaway from fast paced living with postcard perfect views a romantic retreat where honeymooners hold hands and sunsets are simply to die for I ventured to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/South-Aegean/Santorini/blog-82832.html The three words that come to mind when you talk about Ios are Fun Filth and Flesh... all in abundance. It is one of the most acclaimed party islands of the world offering two things hangovers and beaches to recover. On Planet Ios Saturday night is every night and with14 days of straight partying it is hard not to expereince a sense of de ja vu. Everyday looked like this11am Awake to the s http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/South-Aegean/Ios/blog-79888.html Few things in life are perfect Mykonos comes pretty close. Words pictures and scribes whatever they are will never do this island justice. Paradise Beach was populated with very beautiful people it is a sin to attend this place if you don't have fun in mind. Thousands of twenty somethings populate the sand to work on their tan so they can show it off by night. Paradise Beach was literally http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/South-Aegean/Mykonos/blog-75952.html Visiting Athens was initially a means of getting out to 3 weeks of love that the Greek Isles promised to deliver but after spending a few days there I realised it offered more than just just stinking hot weather and gorgeous Gyros. The draw card of Greece is undoubtedly the Acropolis and by marvelling at the scaffoldencrusted temple I was educated on several fronts. Firstly I learnt that this http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Attica/Athens/blog-75951.html I'd be speaking absolute sht if I said we chose Amsterdam as the destination to kick start our holiday for the purpose of visiting the Anne Frank Museum. It was a much more celebrated part of their culture that tempted us... the bicycles.Hiring a bicycle meant we could weave in between the beautiful city canals without fuss well as soon as we mastered the reverse pedal brake system. My two tr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-75950.html Sounds like a potential Herald Sun headline usually associated to the sporting rivalry these two nations contest. This however hit a little closer to home. The other night a rather large and certainly very daring intruder broke into our house and tried to make away with Petersquos laptop. Only trouble is he forgot to negotiate the four boys. Pete startled him Azz restrained him Jonesy stood o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/West-Yorkshire/Leeds/blog-40931.html Settling in at Langdale has been made relatively easy by Mr.Patell our Indian landlord. Mr.P as wersquove dubbed him also owns the local corner store which conveniently has a liquor license. We are quickly becoming his best clients. He promises to bring around a curry and in return we will cook him a traditional Aussie barbeque. Our body clocks have now adjusted to the time difference and bo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/West-Yorkshire/Leeds/blog-40000.html How time has flown. It feels like only yesterday that I boarded a plane bound for the UnKnown. A big step for me considering I was detaching myself from a lifestyle I liked removing myself from career comfort and sporting devotion and above all parting company with loved ones and likewise ones I had loved. Of late living in the UK has made me realise just how much I appreciate seeing the Engl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/West-Yorkshire/Leeds/blog-70320.html This time last year I would have smirked at you if you had have told me I would be attending the World Cup in Germany. Furthermore I would have scoffed at you if it was implied that I would show any form of real excitement towards a round balled game that quite often produces a scoreless draw. And wouldrsquove been absolutely shattered if told that I would turn down offers of more than 2000 f http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-66933.html You must experience Ayia Napa to fully appreciate the pleasures drawn from this paradisehellipEvery day saw us spend hours soaking up the atmosphere of Nissi Beach a spot I could almost certainly spend my entire life at and never really ever tire of. So much so that day trips to nearby islands were forgotten sightseeing was abandoned and plans on running amok at the 3rd biggest Watermark in E http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Cyprus/blog-64367.html Apparently the nightlife of Ayia Napa is becoming increasing typical of Ibiza only not quite as expensive. Not surprisingly I still found the time to spend a fair bit of coin. Every single building surrounding the Town Hall is a club or bar of some sort including the Town Hall itself. There are literally hundreds to choose from every one of them desperately vying for your presence. And despite http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Cyprus/blog-64368.html