Extranjero blog

So I've started up a new blog for the South America trip starting in two weeks. Hopefully this time I'll get round to updating it. Though given I'm going to Patagonia in the middle of winter, there'll be lots of nighttime hours to do so...

Anyhow, I've put a rough itinerary for those of you interested and will try to blog along as I travel through.

The address is http://extranjeroontheestancia.blogspot.com/

Ukrainian boomerangs and one giant sausage

Bison at Elk Island National Park

After San Francisco, I flew to Edmonton in Canada, home of the McLeod’s – my sister-in-law Andrea’s hometown. It would have been colder than at home in Sydney (where it was getting on for winter) but for someone who is unnaturally attracted to the cold, it was great.
Last time I was here it was summer, with sunlight until 10pm or so. April is a different matter. It’s cold, the snow has only just melted, so everywhere is brown and muddy. But, I loved it all the same. For me it was a novelty that we could go to the national park (Elk Island) and still see snow on the ground and the lake half frozen over. This time too, I got to get that little bit closer to the bison. Probably as close as I’d like to get.

Frozen lake at Elk Island, and as close as I wanted to get to those guys

Alberta is also the province of Canada well known for its ‘big things’. This time, Lash took me to the towns of Mundare and Vegreville to see the Giant Ukrainian Sausage, and the Giant Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) respectively. The area was favoured by many Ukrainian settlers, hence there is a large Ukrainian community still in the area from which Lash is descended. I found the Pysanka very pretty, however the giant sausage was not. Still I did get to taste some – it wasn’t bad.

The giant Ukrainian Sausage, and the Giant Pysanka

I also got to take a ride along with Shirley, Andrea’s sister, who is an officer with the Edmonton Police, while it was somewhat of a quiet night for them, we did speed along the Edmonton streets, arrest an unruly teenager, comfort a little boy after a stranger offered him candy and visit the hospital, all in all a really interesting night

The real joy of the visit was seeing the MacLeods again, including grandchildren Riley and Haley who latched on to ‘Aunty Claire’ and her funny accent. In addition, Riley, drawing on his heritage introduced me to the idea of one of the older Ukrainian artifacts, the Ukrainian boomerang. “But Riley, I thought boomerangs came from Australia!”. “Well not this one. This one is from North America”. I guess I’ve been educated. And of course the biggest kid of all, the gorgeous black Labrador, Koda. She'd certainly grown since my last visit

Wearing flowers in my hair (or - designer jeans in San Francisco)

So finally I am getting around to posting my world trip for 2007 (this way I can be all prepared for a new trip in 2008!)

Anyhow, on April 20, 2007 at around 12ish, I flew out of Sydney. An hour later, I arrived in San Francisco. The international date line certainly makes for one quick trip. It did feel somewhat longer on the plane though. I blame it on the plane seats.

Arriving in San Francisco, I went straight from the airport to my hostel at Fisherman's Wharf. By straight, obviously I mean that I took the scenic tour of San Francisco and suburbs, but given I was slightly jet-lagged, it didn't bother me too much. In fact it was great, as it gave me my bearings of the city. We drove straight through the centre of San Francisco (and additionally past some shops that I immediately placed on my visit list). After an hour or so, I got to Fisherman's Wharf and settled into my room.

Sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge

After dropping off my bag and showering, I realised that I was famished. Plus I had a number of things that I needed to pick up from the supermarket, so I headed down to the local Safeway. Amongst other items including Oreos and wintergreen tic-tacs, and browsing all the strange and wonderful things that one may find in an American supermarket, I picked up some deodorant. Not just any deodorant, but Chai Latte scented deodorant. Aah I love America. Following that, however, and very un-Californian of me, it was back to the hostel for a nap. I blame the jet-lag. I did wake up, however, for an early evening wander of Fisherman's Wharf.

The San Francisco Center

Day 1 in San Francisco - it was raining. While this meant that I couldn't do much sightseeing, it did give me the opportunity to get some shopping out of my system. I headed into San Francisco city centre, and it didn't take long for a seasoned shopper such as myself to find the places to go. All my old favourites! Bloomingdales, Victoria's Secret, Gap and lots lots more. I bought myself a pair of designer jeans. Quite fitting - San Francisco is the home of jeans, in particular Levis. When I entered the Levi's shop to buy a pair for my brother in law, I had never seen so many pairs of jeans in the same place before!

Left: The Golden Gate Bridge, Right: San Francisco terraces and the view to the city centre

The next morning, after partaking in my usual American breakfast of cream cheese bagels as it was a gorgeous day, it was a perfect opportunity to walk to and over the Golden Gate. This is one of the absolute must do's in San Francisco. From someone who walks over the Sydney Harbour Bridge frequently... this is a long bridge. And when I got to the other side? I just kept on walking. Marin County was pretty, and it wasn't far to Sausalito, a really cute bayside town. I spent a couple of hours here, wandering around before I caught the ferry back to San Francisco. Then I just spent some time wandering around, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, Nobb Hill!

Left: Coit Tower, Right: Marinas along the path to the Golden Gate

Then it came to my last day in San Fran. I didn't have too much time, so I just wandered into town. A little bit of shopping, and a cable car ride home before I had to head to the airport. No doubt about it, San Francisco is one of the places to go.

Aunty Claire and Lena

So not too much commentary necessary here - this is me with the lovely Lena Juliet in her pretty pink dress. Lena and I have been having fun bonding! Isn´t she cute!!

Eye candy

Left: Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Right: Bison at Elk Island National Park in Canada

Left: The Chicago Bean, Right: Central Park in New York

Left: High above Dubrovnik on the city walls, Right: Stari Most (Old bridge) at Mostar in Bosnia

So here is a teaser post for those of you who keep asking me for trip photos... As usual with me, I take photos at a rate at which I could represent Australia in the Olympics, so there will be lots to sort through.

Supetar on the island of Brač in Croatia

So far this has been a fabulous trip, I have been to many wonderful places, and have lots of stories to tell when I get back... Watch this space!

Left: Ivangorod Fortress in Russia (taken from Narva, Estonia), Right: The Hill of Crosses in Lithuania

Alive and well in Sarajevo (except for the cold)

So... this trip I`ve been somewhat of a slacker in keeping this blog updated. I expect I`ll get around to it when I get back, sorry guys!

This is just a quick post to let you all know that, yes, I am still alive and didn`t get apprehended by the Croatian mafia, and despite the annoying cold I must have picked up in Dubrovnik (only the hottest place I went in Croatia) I am doing well. I don´t have a clue what was in the medication I picked up in Croatia, but it seems to be doing the trick.

So currently I am located in the fascinating city of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo is in the Bosnia part). So far it strikes me as a bit of an oddball city, but I`m sure I`ll have fun here!! The Turkish style bazaar looks fun, and don´t get me started on the fantastic coffee here in Bosnia. I´m sure I even saw a roadside scythe stall on the way into town today!

In summary, alive, well and you`ll see some photos eventually!!!

Round the world Mark II

So most of you probably already know... but for those that don't, I enjoyed my round the world trip last year so much, that I'm taking another! This one is slightly smaller in scale, but over 7 weeks, I'll be taking in San Francisco, Edmonton, Chicago, New York, London, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, and the Western Balkans. I'm exhausted just thinking of it!

Watch this space for photos and stories coming soon from various places around the world!!

Picnicking at Point Cook

The purple scenery of Point Cook

The 2nd of Jan was Mum and Dad's Ruby Wedding anniversary, so since this was the last day that we were all together, we went for a picnic at Point Cook - a state park in Melbourne's south west on Port Phillip Bay.

Mum and Dad celebrating their Ruby Anniversary

We had a great day - in spite of the heat, and Tom gave us all a crash course in "frisbeeing". We slowly improved over the course of the day...

Left: Justine, Right: Rachelle and Tom

Following that, we took a nice walk along the beach, which due to all the seaweed and sea urchins etc washed up, had turned a pretty shade of purple.

It was a lovely day, and was enjoyed by all, as you can see from the photos.

Retail therapy in Melbourne

Left: The Block Arcade, Right: Rachelle and I with our day's

purchases (includes some of Justine's too!)

While down in Melbourne at Christmas, one of the things to do is go to the Melbourne sales... Rachelle, Justine and I set out for a "Girls' Day Out hitting the shops of the Melbourne CBD".

Those who know me well will know that I have a slight shoe addiction, so will take any opportunity to buy some new ones. Rachelle and Justine did well too - each of us found two new pairs during the course of the day. We all picked up a number of bargains for the day - nothing at full price!

Now just need to hold out till I get to New York!

Web Albums

As you all know, I love putting photos on my blog here.... But playing with Picasa tonight, I've become a fan of web albums. It's always so hard to pick the photos that I show to the world, now I get to show a few more. I will of course continue to post photos to the blog here... but if you want to see more... visit my web albums!

Boxing Day at the "G"

We had already won the Ashes... but we were yet to whitewash... the series was at a tense moment.

Aah... I'd been to the Boxing Day cricket test before, but never on Boxing Day itself, nor to the Ashes... So after pestering Rachelle and Tom for a while, they gave me one of the coveted tickets that would also hopefully see Warnie's 700th wicket.

It happened late in the day.... After we were partially frozen from the football-type temperatures. We watched Warnie get not only his 700th wicket, but he scored a 5 wicket innings, in his second last game before retirement...

Go Warnie!!!

Special mention should also go to "Cousin Glenn" - Glenn McGrath who Mum suggests is likely to be some distant relation of ours, who is also soon to retire from cricket.

Sydney summers on the beach

Waves crashing at Avalon

Of all the places I've travelled to in the world, the only beaches coming close to Australia's have been Hawaii's, and let's face it... much of the sand lying on Hawaii's beaches is from Australia anyhow! This summer has been an odd one, weather-wise, so my friend Claire and I agreed on a day, and said we'd go to the beach, rain hail or shine.

The beach at Dee Why

We headed north, to Sydney's beautiful Northern Beaches and ran into a bit of foul weather... It rained most of the way to Palm Beach, however we did get a bit of a break when we stopped for lunch at Avalon.

Claire relaxing on the beach

Then we headed back towards the city, and by the time we got to Dee Why (Just before we were about to give up and go to a movie at Warringah Mall) so we stopped off for a relaxing afternoon on the beach. It was great - one of those beautiful (however still cool) afternoons we get here in Sydney, just before summer kicks in.

Claire and I at Dee Why

Barefoot Bowls at Mosman

Left: Stormclouds rolling in, Right: Here I am with Jodie (Left) and Kate (Centre)

As our 'End of busy season' (implying that there was a quiet season that I've not yet seen) function for work, we had a barefoot bowls day at Mosman (conveniently in walking distance from my place!). It was fairly dicey weather, you can see above the stormclouds rolling in, however we still got a fair bit of play in.

A great day was had by all, and I even learned to bowl a bit!

Dashing through the snow...

Standing on skis

While I was sitting at work one day in England worrying about some hedge fund, I got sidetracked, and found I'd agreed to a ski trip on my return to Australia.

Tim and Pete before we headed out for the first day's lesson

It took place in September, for what was an already fairly poor ski season... We boarded the bus in Sydney at midnight, and pulled into Perisher resort just as the sun was coming up. We waited around for an hour or so before anything even opened to sort ourselves out with ski gear. We were all tired and grumpy, however it was a beautiful day - we just had to get out there and go.

Views of Perisher - Left: the village, Right: My "toddler" slope

As you all probably know, I'm not the world's most accomplished skier. This was my third time ever on skis, the previous times being once at Falls Creek where the weather was so foul we only gave it half a day, the second time being a day of cross country skiing with Greg at Lenggries in Germany, which I have discussed previously on my blog. This time I actually felt as if I ended the trip being able to ski... at least a little, meaning I could make it down the toddler slope (a bit more challenging than the baby slope) and also - (for me perhaps the greater achievement) ended the weekend having finally mastered chairlifts - i.e. being able to ski off them.

Left: Stacks on on the snow; Right: Grant and Pete during a game of "Thumb King"

We also had some great accomodation. Everyone returned after the day's skiing to have a short nap, before tucking into the great dinner and desert that was served for us. We had a great time, and it also gave me the chance to get to know some of the new faces around the office since getting back from England. One night we even headed into Perisher for a night at the pub. A great time seemed to be had by all!

Dinner at Barakee Lodge

Can't wait for next year's trip!

Flashback to Russia - and some feedback on decisions I have made

Before I booked my May 2006 trip to Russia I struggled with the dilemma of how I was going to get from Moscow to St Petersburg. Unfortunately I couldn't book an open-jaw flight, and had to fly both in and out of Moscow, so I was of two minds whether to train or fly the 700 odd kilometres between the two cities.

In the end with the help of a good friend in Moscow, Lena, I went for the rail option. After all - travel by rail in Russia is legendary. If it's good enough for Dr Zhivago and Anna Karenina... it's good enough for me. And my reading on the situation prior to travel suggested that Aeroflot was the best of the Russian airlines, call me prejudiced, but based on the airline's past, that wasn't quite enough assurance for me.

So today following some random browsing on wikipedia, one of my favourite websites, I discovered some scary information on the airline's performance... I think I made the right decision.

Incidentally, my cousin Robert who was also travelling in Russia at the same time, and whom I finally met up with in Krakow, Poland after some Fawlty Towers style communication problems, made the brave decision and flew Aeroflot... He suggested that it was an "experience", after he was advised to shrinkwrap his luggage and personally identify at the other end. (And that's before even considering the in-flight safety!) Maybe next time I'll brave it!

NB: Despite the above predicament I was in, Russia was an absolute highlight of my world trip. I'd be there again in an instant... if only the visa wasn't so expensive! And admittedly, when I look at the link, American airlines and United Airlines are almost as bad... Might do some rethinking for trip 2007!

2006 City to Surf

Left: A winter's day at Bondi, Right: Alison and I at the start line

2006 City to Surf was held on a beautiful winter's day. The City to Surf is held every year in Sydney, and consists of a 14km run or walk from Hyde Park in the City to Bondi Beach. I've taken part on a number of occasions, usually it's the work sponsored marquee at the end that keeps me going. The course goes through some of the prettiest parts of Sydney, and includes a landmark, the aptly named 'Heartbreak Hill'. It's quite a famous race really, and attracts many professional runners, as well as the cartoon characters and gorillas amongst families and corporate groups making up the 'Back of the Pack'.

Left: Gorillas on course for Bondi, and Right: A sea of red at the start line

This year, Alison and Cameron, some friends of mine were also doing the course so we ran (read 'walked') all the way to Bondi together. As usual, the marquee put up a good performance by supplying us with a decent barbecue and a few drinks at the end.

Band playing on the roof of Double Bay's Golden Sheaf Hotel, and Alison and Cam enjoying the barbecue at Bondi