Leah1
Leah Dryland Joined: February 6th 2007
Logged in: April 12th 2009
Logged in: April 12th 2009
Travel Blog Posts
As I look through my yearly planner page of my 2007 and 2008 diaries I see big blocked out sections named Italy, Spain, Egypt, France, Germany... places I've dreamed about going to for years. And then I see places like Morocco, Cesky Krumlov and Canada... places I was not expecting to go to but loved all the same. Firstly I feel a sense of pride that in my time in Europe I could travel to more places than ever expected. I feel fortunate to have experienced what I have. Secondly it gives me a thrilling feeling when I think back on all the new experiences and the history I've learnt. I now know so much more and feel very wordly. Haha, I think I grew up! Thirdly when I think back on all those places it ... read more
Gorgeous!
In the Rockies everywhere you look the scenery is amazing. It was a great idea to have a hire car. The roads are wide and hardly anyone on them. We saw so much over the 6 days and were there at such a perfect time. The Autumn leaves were really gorgeous. There were so many yellows lining the lakes and rivers and yet so many green fir trees - they even grow in rocks. The road passes huge snow capped mountains and lines rivers. We were on lookout for wildlife the whole time. We saw elks, bears, deers, and a wolf, no moose! Our first stop was Banff. What a lovely town it is. I could so live there for a ski season. The main street has a dramatic backdrop - a huge mountain that sort ... read more
Typical San Fran houses
San Francisco is a really nice friendly city. It's not too big and busy but big enough to have some cool sights. Best of course is the Golden Gate bridge. It's so long and is very attractive. We saw the sun setting over it while standing next to the pier 39 famous sea lions. There are hundreds of them lying on the pontoons making a hell of a noise and smell! Pier 39 is tourist town with lots of nice shops. The houses in San Francisco are so sweet, just like in Full House (remember that programme guys?) The terrace housing with bay windows, all nice pale colours. There are trams in the middle of the streets with people hanging off them. The streets are so steep. We found the buskers to be especially good in ... read more
Me feeling on top of the world!
The Grand Canyon suits it's name. I could not believe how utterly huge it is! Apparently the whole of what we could see was in fact only 1% of the entire thing! Holy Moly! It was magnificent and awesome. The drop is pretty steep, would be freaky to discover it. We drove along in the bus and all of a sudden bang! There it is. It is so dry looking with lots of crevices and peaks. The rim is very flat - like a table top. There are different shades of brown and brick red. Random bushes are spread around the higher parts. I stood on top of this rocky part that isn't actually an official looking point but easy enough to climb to and I literally felt on top of the world. We watched a ... read more
Some of the flashy lights
Las Vegas was pretty much exactly as I imagined it. The Strip is a busy street, casino's everywhere (even in the airport and petrol stations), big hotels... I can't believe there's enough business for them all. And more are being built now. The wedding chapels are exactly as I'd pictured it, TACKY! Themed weddings, even drive thru weddings - surely this is promoting, if not encouraging drunken weddings?? I'll have a cheeseburger and a husband please! The hotels are really well-themed. There's a Venetian one with gondola's and canals. Caesar's palace is full of Roman pillars and statues. Paris has cobbled streets and an Eiffel tower replica at the front. Luxor has a big pyramid and hieroglyphics everywhere. The Excalibur has castle turrets inside. New York has a Statue of Liberty replica and even a rollercoaster ... read more
Times Square
New York is such a buzzing place, it's so exciting, there's so much to do and the views are awesome. The night Mum and I arrived we took ages to find our accomodation, we got so lost, and yet after 1 day we felt totally confident getting our way around. The grid system is the way to go. It's so easy to get used to. We sussed our way around thanks to the sightseeing bus which took us on a route downtown. The big attraction of this area is to see Ground Zero. It's just a massive construction site, you can't see a lot but there's a good but small memorial museum on one side which shows what the site will be like - they're building the 'Freedom Tower' which of course will be massive and ... read more
Plitvice Lakes
Croatia is beautiful beyond words. I flew into Zagreb and caught the bus the next morning to Plitvice Lakes... stunning, stunning, stunning! Picture this: You're walking through dense forest in peace, marvelling at the maze of knotted roots on the forest floor whilst alongside you is a gorgeous emerald green lake. As you keep walking round the corner you hear the sound of rushing water and a waterfall (sometimes a group of them) cascading down into the next emerald lake. There are 16 lakes connected by waterfalls (some large and powerful, others sweet and small). You walk along wooden bridges and paths admiring the most beautiful scenery you've ever seen. For me the wow was in the colour and clarity of the water. So emerald, so tempting to jump in. I then caught the bus to ... read more
Cathedral in the main square of Prague
Prague is magical. It looks just like a fairytale city, especially with the buildings lit up at night. Hannah had another weekend in Europe and joined us in Prague. We started off on a bike tour around the city which gave us good insight into Prague’s history as well as famous buildings and places of interest. My favourite place in Prague is for sure the main square. The photos don’t really do it justice, it was so beautiful with 2 churches and a town hall, and all the buildings were lovely colours, again a buzzing place. I loved all the bike and walking tours we did. The guides were all interesting so it made it a great way to see the city and learn a lot. After our tour we wandered along the very majestic Charles ... read more
Berlin's parliament building
I feel like I have only just scratched the surface when it comes to the history of Berlin. And yet in my 4 days there Rowena and I packed so much in. We went to 5 museums, plus a day trip out to Sachenshausen Concentration Camp, plus two 5 hour walking tours! We also went up the TV tower for a posh lunch in the revolving restaurant while looking out to the great city. We walked along the East Side Gallery (where some of the wall remains and graffiti artists have covered it in symbolic paintings.) While walking along there I actually felt quite caged in and nervous and I actually felt a little relief when we got to the gap in the wall and could see across the river. It is unimaginable what it must ... read more
Vienna's town hall
Vienna has so many beautiful old buildings… in fact I’m sensing some repetition here… all of Europe seems to have the wonderful old buildings but Vienna seems to have a lot! As soon as we got there we joined up on a night bike tour which proved to be a wonderful idea. Vienna is a big city and we saw a lot that night not to mention being amazed at its beauty when lit up at night. I have loved the biking - such a cool way to see a city and easy in Europe with bike lanes on every street. Now I want to get into bike riding again. The next day we wandered the streets some more after sitting on the ‘ring road’ tram which was also a nice way to see the city. ... read more
