Rome. We seriously wanted more time here, but we're running a tight schedule. Still, we managed to fit in a lot of sightseeing. We toured the Colosseum (after dodging the 'unofficial' tour guides). Amazing stuff! As our guide said, watching Gladiator really gives you a feel for the place. We also looked through the Museo del Risorgmento (half art, half museum) and stood in awe of the giant monument to Vittorio Emanuelle II. We had a long walk around Palantine Hill , where the old rich families lived. I think the main house was built into the hill or something, we [View Full Entry]

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The French Alps were just spectacular! More photos when I can get a PC with working USB... Each day the sun was caught behind the mountains until around 10am, so until that time the temperature hovered around -5. Defenite glove-jacket-beanie weather. After the sun comes out you need a serious pair of sunglasses because the snow just blinds you. I just hope the photos come out all right. I also found out very quickly which kinds of snow you can walk on. The white puffy stuff is fine, so long as its been compacted before you walk on it. When it [View Full Entry]

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When I left off, we were walking down the Avenue Des Champ Elysees. This place has 3 or 4 lanes each way for traffic. Then it has about the same room either side for the pavement, and its always packed. People everywhere. And thats because of the shops. Think of any boutique shop you know, triple the size and quadruple the prices, these places are Exclusive! We had a brief look through them, just a bit of window shopping. The whole time we walked, the Arc de Triomphe just loomed larger and larger until we hit about the biggest round-about I've [View Full Entry]

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Yay, internet again! The past few days have been utter madness. - 6th February: Today we toured London. Dave (Ozy was busy, but extremely apologetic) led us to as many sights as we could see. We started near the Millenium Eye and headed over the bridge to Big Ben and Parliament. From there we walked up to the Palace (not as pretty as I thought it would be). We watched squirrels stealing food from pigeons, then headed over to Trafalgar Square. To top it off I got a head cold about halfway through the day. Still, today was amazing and too [View Full Entry]

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To be honest, I was dreading the flight. Previous to this, the longest I'd been on a plane was 2 hours. We had no problems at Brisbane airport and managed to get four seats between the three of us (thanks Les!). We watched the takeoff through a camera on the front of the plane, and then we were off to Singapore. I found out something important at this point: I can't sleep on planes. There's too much noise. A couple of movies and some Top Gear later, we landed in Singapore at 1am, local time. No hiccups through security, and we [View Full Entry]

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Sorry I haven't uploaded any photos yet, I'll do it as soon as I can. We're staying in Rochester with Stephen. Everything is so English! Little narrow cobblestone streets, shops and building built in the 1600's. They even have their own castle ruin! I'm sure Stephen is getting sick of the whinging Aussies. We just can't believe how cold it is here: a brisk 5-10degC during the day! Winters in Brisbane barely dip below 15. We've visited Canterbury, ducking from pub to pub to escape the cold. A large part of the English day revolves around pubs and the consumption of [View Full Entry]

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Alrighty then! I'm typing this on the night before I fly out of Australia. I still can't believe I'm doing this. I am about to embark on an 8 week adventure around Europe and the UK! Sure, it doesn't look like much in a sentence, but last night I had a look through my plans so far, and I just can't fathom what I've gotten myself into. Anyone who knows me knows that my comfort zone extends about 2 feet out from wherever I'm standing. I've always been a very safe, cautious person who just doesn't do exciting things! Not things [View Full Entry]

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