Bare with me! I've been back in Canada for a little over a month now, and memories of this last year seem to be fading fast. It's strange but I almost feel like asking, did it really happen? In truth, this travelblog was as much about sharing my adventures with the people at home, as it was for me. As I add this last entry, I look ahead to printing off all my entries and binding them in a book so my memories of my year become something more concrete. And instead of bruising myself with pinching, I can just look [View Full Entry]

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From Cairns, I ventured into the Northern Territory of Australia, and flew into Alice Springs, determined to take a 3-day tour of the "Red Centre." When I first began planning my trip to Australia, I seriously contemplated not visiting Uluru, previously known as Ayer's Rock. But, Stacey, I thought to myself...going to Australia and not seeing Uluru would be like going to China, and not seeing the Great Wall...It was decided! To the Red Centre, and more specifically, to Uluru, I would venture! I decided to play it as economical as possible, and booked the lowest priced three day tour that [View Full Entry]

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After my 4-day stint in Sydney, I decided to head further north to the state of Queensland, and more specifically to the city of Cairns. In summary, my entire trip was based on the Australian trinity of amazing sights: harbour, reef, and rock. I had seen the harbour, and now I wanted to see the reef! My first day in Cairns was spent exploring the city, which did not encompass much to be honest. After all of the excitement and hustle and bustle of Sydney, Cairns had a much more laid-back, relaxed feel to it. It's said that Cairns's strength comes [View Full Entry]

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July 30th got off to quite the interesting start for me...I had arranged to meet Dob outside our apartment building at 7:30 sharp so we could catch the local train into Hiroshima station, and have time for one last breakfast at our beloved Doutour Coffee (you would have to drink it to understand, I guess...). I was awakened at 7:30 by Dob ringing my bell! After a frantic rush to scoop up last minute things, we caught a taxi to the station, and still had time for a quick breakfast, before I was dramatically swept away at the speed of light [View Full Entry]

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It always amazes me how easy it is to step into someone's life by saying a simple "hello, nice to meet you" and how incredibly difficult it is to say that final goodbye. I guess really it should come as no surprise...when that goodbye is said, so much time has passed and so many experiences have been shared. I said my "sayonara" to Japan on July 30th, and my heart is still mending a bit. I had a wonderful, incredible year, that I would trade nothing for. How do you say goodbye to a year of excitement, a year of travel, [View Full Entry]

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This past weekend, I experienced my last long weekend in Japan. With still many, many places on my “Sites to See in Japan” list, and time running incredibly short, Dob and I decided to visit the city of Nagasaki for the weekend. Nagasaki is in the south of Japan, and of course is most well-known for being the second city affected by the atomic bomb. However, much like Hiroshima, Nagasaki is a thriving, lively city today. Our first part of sightseeing began with a visit to the Peace Park and its surrounding memorials, as well as the Peace Museum. The central [View Full Entry]

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Tokyo...impossible to describe in one word! Exciting, bustling, bright, loud, serene, traditional...12.2 million people! It is described as city that everyone must see once in their lifetime. I agree! Those of you who know me well, generally know that I'm not a big fan of large cities. I find them intimidating and overwhelming, an assault on your senses and peace of mind. However, I had a fair idea of what I was in for before I visited Tokyo. When I first arrived in Japan last August, I spent three days in one of the busiest areas of Tokyo, Shinjuku, in a [View Full Entry]

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With a little over a month left here in Japan, my weekends are numbered. Add to this fact, the endless "Places I Want to See in Japan" list of mine, and they're really limited! This past weekend, I crammed in a couple of day trips that I've been wanting to do for a while, and visited the city of Okayama and Mount Misen on Miyajima. Okayama is the neighbouring prefecture of Hiroshima, and the highlights of its capital city are its castle, nicknamed the "Crow Castle" due to its black colour, and Korakuen Garden, which is said to be one of [View Full Entry]

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The title kind of sounds like a fable, doesn't it? A lone samurai warrior goes on a great quest, seeking the Phoenix rising from the ashes, and the mysterious and elusive White Egret (What is an egret? Apparently it's a type of bird...learn something new all the time!). However, this title basically sums up my weekend visit to the city of Kobe and nearby Himeji Castle. Although, I am far from being a samurai, and for most of my journey, I was among friends! Dob and I took the shinkansen from Hiroshima on Friday evening, and arrived in Osaka in a [View Full Entry]

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Japan: a land of contrasts. A blending of the old and new, the serene and the chaotic, the quiet and the brash, the arctic and the tropical....eeeeeeh? (This is the sound Japanese people make when they are really surprised about something. I love it when a whole classful of students will do this in unison! Just say "eh" and draw it out for a long time, making your intonation rise at the end...try it! It's very Japanese and very fun:) Okay, back to the confusion that is the tropical climate of Japan! In the north of Japan there is Hokkaido, home [View Full Entry]

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