Heading back to New York City from Washington D.C. was akin to heading back to Melbourne from Canberra. Whilst the capital city of each respective country has some interesting places to visit, on its own merits the city essentially has no soul due to being planned too thoroughly. This is such an obvious contrast to those cities which develop upon themselves and as their needs demand, providing the opportunity for diverse nooks and crannies to be uncovered during your aimless explorations. Such an atmosphere also seems to provide the right climate for art and creativity to bloom, not being retr [View Full Entry]

---

---

After the four and a half hour bus journey from New York City, we scoffed down some lunch, checked in to our excellent hostel and made our way to the White House. After taking the obligatory photo, we noticed that there were security cameras hidden amongst the low lying bushes - and there I was thinking what a lovely garden and lawn it was, but it's just a cover for the security! We resisted testing out whether they were actually watching us, deciding to walk towards the Washington Monument instead of scaling the fence. The Washington Monument is the enormous obelisk [View Full Entry]

---

---

Upon arrival at JFK Airport it was with stinging eyes (due to watching about four or five films during the flight from Melbourne, accompanied by a few splashes of red wine) that we boarded the subway to make our way to our accommodation in Soho. After what seemed like an unending journey, we finally arrived at our hostel, only to be informed by a giant of man in a black leather coat and hat who spoke in a deep baritone that the hostel had been closed down by the NYPD that day due to it being a fire trap! So, after [View Full Entry]

---

---

On the morning of my birthday we boarded a bus before 6am on a bitterly cold Krakow morning to make our way to Vienna. To make the occasion special, Marty had brought along some of my favourite foods for an early morning breakfast of cheese, salami and bread accompanied by some orange juice. I doubt the other passengers, many of whom had boarded the previous day in Lithuania, appreciated the rustling and the smell of salami at such an early hour, but I loved it! For my birthday, Marty had booked us a room at the Hilton! This was quite a [View Full Entry]

---

---

Upon arrival in Warsaw, I immediately noticed that the weather was markedly cooler than in Belgium, therefore raising my hopes of experiencing a white Christmas for the first time in my life. For our first full day in the Polish capital, we decided to visit the museum of the Warsaw Uprising which took place during the latter part of WWII. This was an excellent museum and I left there with an awareness of the spirit of the Polish people of which I was previously unaware. Despite their woefully outnumbered underground army, the people of Warsaw fought bravely in an effort to [View Full Entry]

---

---

We boarded our Eurostar train in London so early in the morning that when we emerged from the tunnel in France it was still dark - actually, it was darker than inside the dimly lit tunnel. Soon after, we arrived in Brussels and changed trains to head up to Bruges, the beautiful medieval city where we were to begin this second European jaunt. After dropping our bags off at our hostel, I set out on foot, happily wandering through the cobble stone streets and soaking up the Christmas atmosphere. Christmas in Europe has a magical feel, with Christmas markets in every [View Full Entry]

---

---

For my final full day in Egypt I decided to take a day trip to Alexandria, as its fabled history fascinated me. In order to pass the time without having to look at the manner in which our brazen driver was tackling the road traffic, myself and another guy from my group embarked upon game after game of cards. Before we could say, "Gee, how on earth did we get away with our lives in tact?" we were in Alexandria and the three hour journey went by in the blink of an eye. Our first stop was to visit some catacombs [View Full Entry]

---

---

After a tiring few days of seeing sights at a hectic pace, combined with early morning departures, it was a welcome relief to board our cruise boat that would be our home for the next few days. In a stroke of good fortune, we were upgraded to a five star cruise boat, so I felt very spoilt by the magnificent food and facilities, as they are certainly not what I have been accustomed to throughout my travels this year. Our first main stop was the temple at Kom Ombo at night, which looked splendid due to the flood lighting and the [View Full Entry]

---

---

Our final stop was Luxor, which is where the ancient capital of Thebes was situated. Our first site to visit was Karnak Temple, which has been one of my absolute highlights of my time here in Egypt. Karnak Temple is the largest in Egypt, with the entire complex spanning some twenty-three acres. I had heard that this was an impressive place to visit and I had seen many pictures of it, but nothing could have ever prepared me for this incredible temple. The Great Hall was designed by the same architect who designed the stupendous temple for Ramses II at Abu [View Full Entry]

---

---

After a 15 hour train journey, I arrived in Aswan and was immediately struck by the picturesque setting of the city on the easten bank of the Nile, with the hills of the Sahara dominating the western bank. After dropping off our bags we headed out to Philae Temple, which is located on an island in the Aswan Dam. This entire temple had been moved piece by massive piece onto this island from its original location due to the creation of the dam, which would have left this and many other temples submerged forever if it weren't for the help of [View Full Entry]

---

---