http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/matt_australia/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from matt_australia en-us Sat, 05 Dec 2009 10:18:50 +0000 Sat, 05 Dec 2009 10:18:50 +0000 10c fine 22c warm The last stop of the 'Matt road show' was Amsterdam. The mere mention of this city instantly conjures up sordid images of coffee shops 'window shopping' and... windmills okay that's not sordid.. but you get the idea. It's all true you'll find whatever it is you're looking for in Amsterdam. I'd liken the parts of the city to a theme park in your face loud and noisy. Mo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Brabant/Breda/blog-148252.html 10c fine No expectations and no plans Finland was an open book from the beginning. I knew little about Helsinki and my first encounter of a Finnish person was the Finnair hostesses saying lsquoheyrsquo as I boarded the plane. Wow.. Thatrsquos really casual for an airline welcome I was expecting a ldquowelcome aboard.. blah blah blahrdquo. Even the pilot came on the intercom and was http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-148214.html 4c rain and wind Ie bloody freezing I could pretend that I experienced a lot of Danish culture and saw the majority of Copenhagen but thatrsquod be a big fat lie. I had merely 24 hours in between flights from Iceland to Finland that didnrsquot allow for much lsquoDanish timersquo but I did get to see Copenhagen.. just.. Go easy on me if this entry doesn't exactly set the world o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Denmark/Region-Hovedstaden/Copenhagen/blog-147453.html 2c light showers Forget whatever you think Iceland would be like. Itrsquos more full on more understated more touristed and more isolated than yoursquod ever imagined. I had a fascination with Iceland ever since I had to do a project on it in primary school. The people donrsquot look like Bjork and the landscape is more Greenland than Iceland. The temperature is not as cold as would be http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Iceland/Southwest/Reykjavik/blog-146182.html 22c Fine Itrsquos amazing how you can check in your luggage on a small Caribbean island like.. say.. St Lucia and it makes it all the way to Nice France isnrsquot it I waited in anticipation at the baggage carousel in Nice and watched everyone pick up their luggage. I waited and waited until the carousel was empty and got a sinking feeling in my stomach before Iberia confirmed the worst http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d--Azur/Nice/blog-146113.html 35c Fine The bumpy 3 hour ride from Dominica to St Lucia via catamaran was highly uneventful. I wished something had of happened because I had this sinking feeling in my stomach that I wasnrsquot going to like what St Lucia had to offer either that or I was worried Irsquod be kicked out. I had no CARICOM visa and St Lucia was a big player in the cricket finals which were a few days away http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Saint-Lucia/blog-145906.html 30c Mainly fine with isolated thunder storms lsquoThe Natural Islandrsquo thatrsquos the tourism slogan for Dominica and it fits perfectly. This is not the Dominican Republic this is Dominica where tourism is still a buzz word and the main international airport is called lsquoCane fieldrsquo. There are no direct flights from anywhere outside the Caribbean and it remains the regions http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Dominica/blog-145074.html 32c Fine Someone is always on strike in France and itrsquos overseas territories. In New Caledonia it was the bus drivers forcing me to rearrange my travel plans. On arrival in Guadeloupe it was complete and utter chaos... the trolley pushers were on strike baggage carts to our US friends... how would the country cope There were placards in French saying lsquodeath to the trolleys de http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guadeloupe/Grande-Terre/blog-144460.html 36c Fine Boarding the flight to St Maarten from New York I immediately knew I wouldnrsquot be your typical tourist on the island. All the other passengers were well to do elderly couples kitted out in the latest fashions from insert name of fashionable elderly store here and ready to sip Pina Coladas on the beach. Fair enough I just hoped Irsquod fit in somewhere on the island because it http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-143885.html 15c Fine If someone had told me that one day Irsquod be arriving in New York on my own via the subway from a dodgy part of New Jersey and walking up Broadway through the busy Times Square.. well.. Irsquod tell emrsquo there dreaminrsquo Aussies reading this will get that.. translation crazy. But thatrsquos what I did and I felt very safe. New York does that to you it changes the w http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/blog-143880.html Snow Flurries 5c Well... I've left I might have something interesting to write about from here on in it'll be a big few weeks before I finally arrive home exhausted. Leaving London was kinda sad. I'd grown used to not having to unpack my things and I met a great group of people who I'll miss. It's strange traveling because you can't really say 'see you later' because in all reality you know http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/Niagara-Falls/blog-140722.html Snowing 7cWhat to writeI'm confused. This is my first entry where I haven't travelled ANYWHERE and this IS a travelblog not a 'dear diary' entry. I haven't even visited Toronto again or left London Not because I'm not interested I've just been so busy working living and hanging out with fellow Londoners. People come go from the hostel snow storms come go the weather is getting a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/London/blog-133098.html Visited US States MapSnowing 26c bloody coldSohellip. Irsquom a travel writer I never planned it that way and Irsquove always had images of writers being obsessed Woody Allen type characters. You know raving nerdy loony and insane idiots. Is that what Irsquove becomeA lsquomajor Australasianrsquo travel magazine Irsquoll let u know if u ask took a liking to what I had http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/London/blog-124756.html Fine 5cWhere have I been Itrsquos a question that requires a long answer and draws blank stares from customs officials. When I think back to October it feels like Irsquove been almost everywhere and maybe I have I just clocked up 12000 miles on the car in North America. Think about that for a second. If you could drive from Los Angeles to Adelaide itrsquod only be 8000 miles. Thatr http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Illinois/Chicago/blog-121080.html Rain Snow 1cI could rave about how crap the last few days have been or I could take the positive approach. Letrsquos do that ldquoonly when things are at their worst do you see the best in humanityrdquo. That quote sums up what would seemingly be a simple trip thru the Canadian Rockieshellip or so I thought.The plan was a good one get the hell out of Vancouver and make my way towards http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wisconsin/Madison/blog-119326.html Snow 4cWhatrsquos worse than saying goodbye to someone you love Doing it twice and knowing how much itrsquos going to hurt the second time.Thatrsquos the sad bit. The happy bit is xmas and new years eve. Despite all my moving around in the past and traveling Irsquove never spent xmas away from family. This was a first not only were we far from home but it was also my first xmas with Mar http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-116606.html Fine 14chellip.. thatrsquos how the saying goes. But Irsquom not sure keeping our engagement in Las Vegas a secret is on the agenda. Especially since our families know the news and are all very excited Yes you guessed it Marg has arrived in the US if you didnrsquot guess that than shame on you for thinking Irsquod hooked up with someone random and proposed. More about lsquoth http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Nevada/Las-Vegas/blog-113692.html Fine Sunny 25cIrsquom a crazy driver Irsquoll admit but Irsquom not half as crazy as ldquoThe Crazy Germanrdquo. I donrsquot even remember his name but I remember the situation. The first stop after Lafayette was Galveston an ageing but cool in a fadedelegance kinda way beach city in Texas. I arrived to find any empty dorm room and settled down to the usual routine search for http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-Mexico/Roswell/blog-110527.html Mainly Fine 22cApologies in advance for the wordy blog entry. Just blame the Hollywood celebs for making it into MY blog.I was 2metres away from the ldquoitrdquo couple Brad Angelina PittYou know when you look at someone and they look familiar but you canrsquot quite place it Well.. thatrsquos what happened to me. I was getting a haircut in Uptown New Orleans when Brad Angelina just http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Louisiana/Lafayette/blog-108925.html Fine but windy 24c..but I was there.Why the hell am I referring to myself as the third personThat's what driving by yourself for 6 or 7 hours does it drives you crazyYou know how in cartoons sometimes the background repeats itself every few seconds Well that was me driving to Kansas barn tractor field bran tractor field etc etc.Who can blame me for talking to myself It felt like Irs http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Kansas/Wichita/blog-107805.html