TravelBlog » Lisa Marvin

Lisa Marvin - Lisa Marvin

My name is Lisa and I am a senior at Penn State University. I will be spending my last semester of college studying abroad in Brisbane, Australia at the University of Queensland and I have to say I'm pretty excited to trade a Pennsylvania winter for five months on the beach! However, sun-worshipping is not the only activity I plan to do. While abroad, I will be working as a travel journalist for the new website Cafeabroad.com and spending my time exploring what Brisbane and the rest of Australia has to offer. I also plan to venture off the island to visit New Zealand, Tasmania, and hopefully Thailand and China. I plan to use this site to tell my family and friends back at home all about the crazy and fun things I hope to do. So continue to check my site for new adventures and also offer suggestions of what I should explore if you have visited these locations before!

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Joined on: January 24th 2007
Last Login: January 7th 2008

Blog Entries: 10
Photos: 195

TB Code: [blogger=30828]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Lisa Marvin, order by Date newest first.

By Lisa Marvin
June 22nd 2007

Sharks, Sea Turtles, and Star Fish...Best Class Trip Ever Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Great Barrier Reef

Massive sea clams
Spotted this during a reef walk, it had the most amazing colors

After I returned from the Outback, I had exactly 36 hours to wash all my clothes that had turned red during the week, repack my bags for a more water-friendly environment , and, of course, write a paper I'd done zero research for. But it was all worth it. My Marine Environment class was going on a Field Research Trip to Lady Elliot Island, a coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef. Originally, we were supposed to take an 8 hour bus ride up to Heron Island where there was an actual research center at our disposal, to make the [View Full Entry]

By Lisa Marvin
May 28th 2007

Back to Basics in the Outback Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory

Mini naps
trying to get some sleep during out layover in Cairns. Working the night before was not a good idea!

10 days and 9 nights traveling in the back of a 4WD and sleeping in tents with Dingos howling in the distance. Not how most college seniors spend their final Spring Break. But I'm not most college seniors. I arrived in Alice Springs without any sleep the night before - too busy finishing up papers and working until 1am at the Cricketer's Club. The things I do for travel! So I was not in the best shape to start one of the most demanding trips of my life. Our trip included swims in gorges, hiking everyday, visiting spiritual sites of [View Full Entry]

By Lisa Marvin
May 10th 2007

Trekking in Tasmania Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain

Headed even further down under to Tasmania for a weekend of more walking than I ever imagined. On our first full day we walked around Dove Lake which is at the bottom of Cradle Mountain. It rained off and on all day but when it stopped gorgeous rainbows stretched out across the water, making the downpours worth it. Around lunch time the rain had let up so our guide suggested we stray from the path to go check out a perched glacier lake. The way to get there consisted of a make-shift staircase made out of tree roots and slippery [View Full Entry]

By Lisa Marvin
May 5th 2007

Sydney/Jervis Bay Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Jervis Bay

Harbour Bridge
Sarah, Maggie and I spending the morning in downtown Sydney

We spent St. Patrick's weekend camping in Jervis Bay, New South Wales, a national park along the Eastern Australia coast. After celebrating our favorite holiday early at Scruffy Murphy's in Sydney and then waking up early enough to run 10 blocs to see the Bridge and Opera House, we drove 3 hours to the Park. This was my first camping experience and I was excited to meet the Aboriginal community that lived in the area and were organizing our camping trip. Much to my dismay, it ended up raining for the majority of the weekend and was much colder than [View Full Entry]

By Lisa Marvin
March 31st 2007

North Stradbroke Island Oceania » Australia » Queensland » North Stradbroke Island

Ferry to Straddy

Ok, so I realize I'm really behind in my entries and I sincerely apologize. The internet in our apartment is on and off and I have a small quote of bandwidth I can use on campus. So, I'm going to do my best to catch up on all the traveling I've done so far. Straddie is an island off the coast of Brisbane and we got to go there as part of our study abroad program with Arcadia. We had a blast! The first day we went sea kayaking in the ocean and actually got to see a dugong as [View Full Entry]

By Lisa Marvin
March 13th 2007

University of Queensland Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Brisbane

UQ
This is the Great Court, the original part of campus, and where I spend most of my days.

After two and a half months of sweet nothingness, I have finally started to attend classes again for (possibly) my last semester. Since I've completed all of my required courses at PSU, I have decided to take courses that are really of interest to me and will also give me a better understanding of the country I am living in. So, my schedule consists of Contemporary Australia, Indigenous Art, Anthropology of Indigenous Australia, and Marine Environment. Read: My schedule consists of watching Australian television, frequenting art museums, visiting a few Australian historic sights, and, of co [View Full Entry]

By Lisa Marvin
March 7th 2007

Brisbane!!! Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Brisbane » Toowong

Brisbane from the back of the City Cat

After four days of non-stop activities and seemingly endless flights and bus trips, we finally made it to our new home for the next five months, Brisbane. Also affectionately referred to as Brisvegas and Brisneyland because of the high rate of gambling as well as tourists making their way to the Gold Coast. Sounds like the perfect place to do a study abroad if you ask me! Above everything, I was most excited to finally be able to settle in and stop living out of my luggage. However, I grew even more excited when I learned that we would be living [View Full Entry]

By Lisa Marvin
March 6th 2007

Night in Melbourne! Oceania » Australia » Victoria » Melbourne » City Centre

Melbourne Skyline
Yarra River

On our last day of orientation we piled back onto the buses and headed to Melbourne where we would be staying the night before flying to Brisbane in the morning. Everyone was really excited to be back in civilization after being on the coast and to finally experience Australian nightlife. Luckily, our hotel, The Oaks on Market (which is a 5 star hotel!! The rooms were massive and very modern with a great view overlooking the city) was in a great location downtown so we could easily wander in the city. In the afternoon we took a walking tour with one [View Full Entry]

By Lisa Marvin
March 5th 2007

Orientation - Sorrento, Mornington Peninsula Oceania » Australia » Victoria » Mornington Peninsula » Sorrento

The Oceanic
This hotel is about 100 years old and is famous because it is so close to the beach. Buildings are not built so close anymore due to erosion issues.

I finally arrived in Melbourne, Australia after 15.5 hours on an airplane as well as an additional two hour emergency landing in Brisbane to refuel because of weather conditions. It was so painful to be in Brisbane, to be in Australia, and still be stuck on that airplane. All the students were restlessly walking up and down the aisles and trying to catch glimpses out the window since the majority of us would be studying in that very city. What a tease! We eventually made it to the Melbourne airport only to be ushered onto buses to drive two hours to [View Full Entry]

Bushwalking in Mornington Peninsula National Park

By Lisa Marvin
March 5th 2007

California North America » United States » California » Los Angeles

Hollywood sign
Had to get the billboard of Joan Rivers after we had JUST spotted her!

Before heading for Australia, my parents and I spent two days in LA where we met up with my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Norm. I've never been to LA despite traveling through the airport on numerous occasions so we tried to see and do as much as we could in the short time I had there. After settling into the hotel we jumped into our rental car to take in some sights. From my backseat window I saw the La Brea Tar Pits, Rodeo Drive, and street after street lined with Royal Palms. We stopped by the Santa Monica pier to [View Full Entry]

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Lisa Marvin - Lisa Marvin

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