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Hi all! Well the Olympics have been and gone. Did you all watch the Olympics coverage on Channel 9? It was certainly an interesting time to be in Vancouver! Speaking of Channel 9, as I exited my building the other week, Grant Hackett was standing outside chatting on the phone. I wouldn’t have noticed him except for the Channel 9 Olympic gear he was wearing. I didn’t really do anything exciting for the Olympics, but I did make it to one event - Men’s Curling. There were three matches played at the same time: USA v China, Great Britain v Germany and France v Norway. You can laugh at Curling (even some Canadians do), and it isn’t really a sport, but it was fun to watch. The crowd were crazy (although consisted of too many yanks ... read more

Well it has been a few months my last update. As my trip back to Perth is fast-approaching (one week to go!), I thought I’d say hello (HI!) and give a run-down of the past six months of my life in Vancouver. June 2009 A quiet month for me. The event of the month was the Scotiabank Half Marathon. My second half marathon and I completed it in 1 hour 27 minutes and 19 seconds. July 2009 I played host to another Couch Surfer this month, Paul from Brighton is a travel writer so was able to score us a free dinner at Rain City Grill and tickets to Bard on the Beach (The Comedy of Errors). A rare treat in Vancouver this month - a lightning storm! We had gone to Trout Lake Park for ... read more

Well I’m almost about to take my flight back to Vancouver (via Seattle - always on the hunt for the cheapest flight options!). I’ve had an amazing four months since leaving Vancouver but I’m super excited about my return, the chance to return to a more relaxed lifestyle (travelling will become few and far apart) and the prospects of a Vancouver summer. Upon my return to London from Paris, I had a hectic Easter Sunday making a return to the stunning Natural History Museum to catch the Charles Darwin exhibition to celebrate what would have been his 250th birthday. The exhibit was fascinating showing various specimens he collected on his life-changing five year journey on the Beagle. Stories of eating Armadillo and shooting trips were less appealing! I also went to the nearby Science Museum to ... read more

March - four weekends and four trips … hey, something sounds familiar there … Keeping with tradition, I spent my weekends *in* Manchester, mostly not actually in Manchester! Biggest excitement of the month was my first flight since the start of January with a three day trip to Finland’s capital of Helsinki. Main attraction for me was a concert by Antony and the Johnsons, an amazing band (well singer) who I have obsessed over for a few years now. The concert was truly amazing and Helsinki itself was definitely worth the visit - very similar to Oslo, lots of lovely buildings, super expensive (Aussie $13 for beer, $15 for my compulsory morning latte and pulla pastry) and damn cold. A special treat were the harbour areas that were partly or fully covered in ice. Given that ... read more

Well I’m well and truly settled in Manchester. I arrived on 8 January, met my new housemates, brought a few necessities had a night’s sleep and then early the next morning I bussed it down to London to catch up with Vaughan and Lucy. That night we caught up with their friend Catherine, Michelle Dean (ex Mallies) and Michelle’s boyfriend Jeff, to catch ‘Le Clique’ a circus/cabaret/burlesque show that has toured around the world. Not my usual cup of tea but it was a great show - favourites being the bendy ‘Captain Frodo’ who contorted his body through a 12 inch then a 10 inch tennis racket; the ‘Freddy Mercury’ juggler and ‘the English Gents’ who did amazing acrobatic feats such as a one hand handstand on a guys head whilst he stood up! I also ... read more