The famous New York City… where do I begin?

When we were in primary school, we were always asked what we wanted to be, where we wanted to live and where we could see ourselves doing when we were older. Mine was always to live in a penthouse apartment in NYC, with the fire exit escape to sit on in the mornings with my coffee and notebook etc… you get the picture. Therefore, I had very high expectations of this city, and of course, it exceeded them.

On our first day we arrived into the hotel, The Roosevelt. With a fantastic location and iconic history, I was more than happy with my choice. Even more so when there was a bathroom fault, so we got moved to a top floor suite! It felt like something out of a movie, swanning around in my suite with views of the surrounding skyscrapers. This was definitely a highlight in itself!

After a quick freshen up, mum and I headed out into the city. Of course, Times Square was the first attraction on the list. Seeing this iconic area got me so excited for what was to come from this trip. It really did feel magical.

Unfortunately for our bank accounts, there was a TKTS booth for Broadway shows, and within 10 minutes of being in New York, we had booked to see Mean Girls (one that had been on my list for a while). It was safe to say that it was absolutely amazing, and for a theatre buff, to see the original broadway cast too was the cherry ontop. Prior to that, we went to a little Thai restaurant in hells kitchen area which did the most authentic food I have had since going to Thailand itself. We may or may not have gone back again a few days later for the Bao buns…

Despite our fuzzy heads from a late night already and adjusting to time differences, we headed out for our second day in the Big Apple. The best way to start this slightly rainier day was at the 9/11 memorial museum. I don’t think you can explain the chill that goes through you when you see the stunning waterfall memorials that used to be the twin towers. The museum hit even harder with the half burnt firetrucks, letters from children to the emergency services and the murals in memory of that tragic day.

After this, we decided to get on the ferry that took us all around downtown, under Brooklyn bridge and to the Statue of Liberty. Despite the freezing cold and wind, the Robert De Niro lookalike tour guide and his music taste (yellow submarine on a boat is always a good choice) paired with his knowledge of the landmarks gave us good bearings to get around New York a little easier. Once we had done the sightseeing, we decided to try some local cuisine- cheesecake.

Now, I have had some good cheescakein my life, but Juniors carrot cake layer cheesecake has to be the best thing I have ever eaten, no exaggeration. Although I could only get through half of it, I persevered for the next 2 days and finally finished it as an after show snack.

To finish off our day, we went to see Chicago on broadway. This is the one show I have always aspired to see on broadway and I am so glad we managed to see it. The set, the dancing and the band were everything I wished for it to be and more. The actress who played Velma had been in this production on broadway for 19 years, so to see this talent was astonishing.

Our 3rd day of New York had come, and we knew it was time to do some serious sightseeing to make use of our city passes. Therefore, to start with we went on the open top bus all around the main city, visiting the the neighbourhoods and districts, and nothing the different vibes and quirks of each place.  It was so interesting to see the varying architecture too, with some landmarked buildings having new skyscrapers coming out of them!

After that, we agreed that warming up was the best option, so we did the backstage tour of Radio City Music Hall. As a big lover of theatre (if you haven’t noticed yet) and the Tony awards opening number, standing on the stage and walking in the footsteps of so many icons was definitely a memorable moment.

We then went to the Top of the Rock to get a new perspective of the city, and then finished our extravaganza at Madame Tussauds. I am embarrassed to say that I was so tired, I mistook a stranger standing still for a celebrity, and whilst searching around him for his name plaque, he started moving. Of course, I screamed and ran, and him, in true New Yorker fashion, sipped his drink, put his airpods in and carried on with his day…

Our final Broadway show was nothing to particularly shout abut, however it was still amazing having the experience of visiting  broadway 3 times in one trip!

The penultimate day of our New York extravaganza was filled with another 20,000 steps and more icons. We walked up to Central Park with a view to cycle round it, however we were both so achy and tired, we were swayed by a rickshaw tour. Our guide, Cameron took us all around the park in an hour, letting us get off at the highlights and pointing out all of the film and TV spots from over the years. It was exactly like you have seen in the films, wide open spaces, joggers everywhere and horse and carts. It was a real slice of peace and community in the midst of a crazy city.

Speaking of crazy, we then went on THE RIDE. This is essentially a bus tour, but made interactive with street performers, and comedians narrating it all. The highlight was sitting sidewards with panoramic windows so we could wave and dance at unsuspecting tourists. Mine and mums mouths ached from laughing so much.

The final stop for the day was the Empire State building at sunset. We got up there early to take our spot, and we watched quietly as the sun went down over the city. As a huge sunset lover, this really was the perfect way to finish off the day.

 

The next day was an early start- our first experience of Canada was on the agenda. Mum and I have kept in touch with my year 1 teacher from my first primary school, and as she lives near Toronto, we kept to our promise from years ago that we would go over and visit if we were near. We had an action packed day, and went to visit Niagara Falls which were stunning. You could go through tunnels to get under the falls too which was a real highlight.

After demolishing some Poutine (nicer and a Canadian version of cheesy chips and gravy), we went to the nearby town of Niagara on the Lake. It. was very quaint, full of independent shops, which gave it a very New Zealand/Hawaii vibe which we all loved. After that, it was time to get back to the airport for our final day in New York.

The last day was essentially a food tour through SoHo. I had huge list of bakeries and dinner places I wanted to try, and top of the list was Georgetown cupcakes and the famous Joe’s Pizza. We intertwined this with another 20,000 steps (it balances the calories) through Greenwich village and their edgy vintage shops. We never want to see anything sweet again but it was well worth it.

Unfortunately, it was then time to eat to the airport. Watching the city get further away from us in our posh Limousine, it really struck me that although I haven now seen New York, this will definitely not be my last trip, and who knows, maybe I will get that apartment with the fire escape steps, an one day I’ll be writing my travel blog from there.

Thanks for reading as always, and get ready for a new instalment very soon…

Izzy x

 

Buenos Dias! It’s the last instalment of Izzy’s travel blog for 2019, and it’s a big one.

After having a rough couple of months, I decided to do something for my self- solo travel. This is something I send clients on and they have a great time. However I was always very apprehensive of trying it for myself. After visiting Venice for the day on my own, it gave me a taster of what it may be like.

I booked a small group tour for 18-29 year olds, for a week in Argentina and Brazil.

Yes, I am crazy and yes it is a very long way for just a week- but what a difference a week can make…

After taking off from a very rainy, cold and Christmassy Heathrow, I took my connection to Buenos Aires through Frankfurt and arrived to sunshine.

Arriving at 11, I still had 2 hours before I met the group. This meant that I could go and get food and settle in my room before exploring. Walking down avienda de Mayo, I stumbled across a big university/library building advertising food. With poor Spanish skills and some pesos in my pocket, I came out full and excited for the day ahead.

After our orientation walk with Emilio, our guide originally from Argentina, we got on the hop on hop off bus to get to La Boca. Being with 3 boys meant that of course we went round the Boca junior stadium and I did my best to recall everything I know about Maradona.

We then went to see the colourful buildings and the market streets which were beautiful, and ended the night with a tango show and steak dinners. As much as the tango was amazing, I think that steak outshone it. I can never eat steak again unless it’s in Argentina!

The next day, we headed out on the bus again, and made it as far as the ice cream shop- rapanui. We sat in the sunshine with a milkshake and then headed for steak sandwiches for lunch (naturally).

After this, la Recoleta was on the agenda. This is the home of where the very wealthy families bury their loved ones. I say buried… they put them in coffins in these HUGE buildings with spires and statues- none of them are just head stones.

After popping into the bakery on the way back to pick up snacks, it was time to head to the bus station for our 19 hour coach journey.

Now, after being in Vietnam and on one of their sleeper buses, I had very low expectations. Fortunately, we were all very pleasantly surprised by business class style flat bed seats, meals and comfy pillows etc. I think the tiredness had caught up with me as I managed to sleep for 14 hours of it!

Iguazu falls was the destination, and what a destination it was. Visiting the Brazilian side first which is just 30% of the falls, we were bowled over by the sheer vastness of this wonder of the world. It’s quite indescribable so I will let the photos speak for themselves:

The day after we did the 70% in Argentina in the wind and rain. We then took a boat underneath them which was incredible, we got so close!

The next day we flew to Rio. With not long left of the day after lunch at a great bakery and a trip down Copacabana, we took the trip to Christ the redeemer. My expectations weren’t too high as I thought it would just be a big statue on a mountain. Then I saw this.

It was the most overwhelming experience. It was just stunning, and as the sun was setting, it made the whole setting even better. I have never seen anything like it in my life, and I’m so glad it exceeded all expectations.

After an evening of dancing the Brazilian way in a traditional club, the next day was for sugarloaf mountain. With a terrible fear of cable cars, I got up there to a wonderful view of mist! It was still a great experience seeing Rio from below so it wasn’t a wasted trip!

The rest of the day was for walking round the most of Rio, taking in the atomosphere and the little gems of the city. The evening was finished with the whole group going on a club night in Lapa which was great fun.

And now I’m home, ready for Christmas, still reminiscing on the amazing things I’ve seen, the beautiful people I’ve met and looking back on whole experience with a smile on my face.

Here’s to what 2020 holds!

Izzy xx

Hello, long time no speak!

With the time passing by, I would’ve been writing my Thailand blog this time a year ago. However, I am now a lot further down in the Indian Ocean- the Maldives!

After it being a dream of mine to go on honeymoon here, but then realising I am still 19 and very impatient, I decided to just go for it.

With much apprehensive soon of the long flights and transfers ahead of us, jade and I arrived into stansted already forgetting things and realising that our stop over in Dubai was going to leave us with 30 minutes to leg it through the airport.

Fortunately, we touched down in a male after our second leg of Emirates flights.

Speaking of which, due to my job, I had the ability to be shown round the brand new emirates aircraft to get a feel of the different classes.

After looking through the business cabin and almost ‘falling’ into one of the chairs by ‘accident’ I got taken to the sky suites- first class.

These were such stunning pieces of architecture with not a detail missing. Window seats even if there weren’t any windows, zero gravity chairs (tested in space), hydration pyjamas, personalised Bvlgari goodies, and the native UAE trees textured on the sides. Ahhh if I only I had a spare £15k that flight eh!

Finally, after 3 flights, a coach and a 30 minute speedboat journey (or just 2 flights and a seaplane if you’re feeling brave), we arrived into Vilamendhoo island. Greeted by sparkling turquoise waters and a man playing the bongos, we instantly felt that we were somewhere magical.

We were shown to our room- a large modern bed with pristine white sheets, light oak furniture and an open air bathroom laid out in-front of us.

I can not describe the feeling of then opening the curtains to see the sparkling sea again- only this time it was about 50 metres from our own room- accompanied by a large stretch of cotton white sand.

Along side stunning beaches, the amazing room and the warm weather (this vitamin D was needed)- we thought it couldn’t be beaten until we hit the restaurant.

If you know me well enough (or not at all quite frankly) you will know I love my food. As I’ve never done an all inclusive before, I was very sceptical, thinking I’d be bored with the food that was on offer after a few days.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

2 stations full of meat and fish, marinated in arrays of flavours- different every day; the curry station; the show cooking where I would get my omelettes, noodles and even freshly made risotto on Italian night. Surprisingly, I even hit the salad bar a few times!

This, however, was to balance out the delicate desserts they served, my favourite being their chocolate mousse and brownies (obviously).

I couldn’t help but notice the amusement on our fantastic waiter’s face everytime I had to leave my main food because I was too full, but still return with a plate full of desserts.

Most days were resting our food baby’s; bathing in the heat of the sun; reading books and escaping our phones. For somebody that hadn’t read a book since since GCSE English year 10 (does ‘Of Mice and Men’ really count?), getting through 4, 400 page books in a week is a pretty big achievement for me. As for jade, I couldn’t prize her away from the crime novels she was engaged in.

When we didn’t have our heads stuck in books, we rented snorkels and swam around the house reef, spotting rainbow coloured fish and even a baby reef shark.

We also did Yoga on the beach which was definitely a first for either of us, and was surprisingly relaxing and not too complex (even if I couldn’t keep my balance on the uneven sand sometimes).

Although all of this was wonderful, the best thing was the Sunset cruise. This was included in our package and we thought it would be a nice little boat tour taking us around the sea to watch the sunset. However, once we boarded, we were told we were going to find the dolphins and that we had a good chance at spotting them.

As we sailed further out into the deep blue, the crew made shouts of ‘dolphin’ as we headed closer to their pointing.

Eventually, we ended up with a 30 minute show of large groups of dolphins, jumping right out of the sea, and swimming so close to the sides of the boat you could almost touch them.

It is safe to say I was like a little kid at Christmas, and did not refrain from shouting ‘look!’ and ‘another one!’ every time I saw another one of the stunning creatures.

With our final day upon us, and a dodgy burn on my front and still pasty white on my back, the rest of today is to sort that out (despite the quick rain storm), pack my things and play a final game of cards with Jade.

With not being in education anymore and having a long summer with no big trips like my past few years, this trip felt very needed, to just relax and enjoy soaking up the sun and the sea.

Thank you to whoever has read these ramblings, and if you do like the sound of the Maldives, and think it is for you- please do not hesitate to contact me. Hopefully I could give you this magical experience too!

So here it is- the last official travel blog from the trip. What better way than to spend it in the land of the famous- Los Angeles.

We started the day with landing at 4.30am (2.30am hawaii time) and made our way to Anaheim. After finally finding our hostel, we headed to Disneyland for the day. It was utterly magical, and after begging ted for 2.5 Y E A R S- we finally made it. We went on the big rides, I bought sparkly Disney ears (obviously) and I met Pluto and saw the other characters and princesses. It was the most perfect day and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

However, it was going to get even better when 2 hours after, I was headed to go to see ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ at the theatre. After striking me with the most amazing music and storyline, raising awareness for men’s mental health and the impact of being a teenager in today’s society, I was hooked after 30 seconds. I might have cried… a bit…

The next day, we headed to Hollywood. Our hostel was fortunately right on the walk of fame so we went along for a while finding all of our favourite stars. We had an In-N-Out burger which was so good and then headed up to the Griffith observatory. After quickly realising that it was a lot colder than we thought, we looked at the panoramic view of low Angeles and the Hollywood hills in awe. That night we went out along the walk of fame again and watched street performers and sampled American McDonald’s.

Our penultimate day consisted of heading to Santa Monica pier. It took a lot longer to get there then anticipated and the train was full of crazy people but it’s all an experience! The pier was cool, rides, hotdog stands, steel pans playing in the background. I hopped on a scooter whilst Ted skateboarded and we went along the road that lead to Venice beach. Venice was mad, full of quirky people and weird stalls. The famous skatepark had some amazing skaters zipping around so we watched for a while until the sun started to set. When it started to go down, we headed for the sand dune and sat to watch our last sunset of the trip.

The next two days were a blur of excitement to come home and stress of organising everything. We got on the plane easily and had a smooth flight. My favourite moment was seeing our mums run towards us at the arrivals. It was a mixture of love actually and the gavin and Stacey airport scene. After making it home, we chatted the night away with friends and family and had real food(!!).

Everything about this experience was magical. Yes, there were down days and scary moments but I wouldn’t be what I am now without them. I’ve grown in confidence, spoken to so many people and heard the craziest stories, laughed the night away and smashed everyone at beer pong with deathbed tonsillitis (I’m prouder of that than jumping out of a plane!).

Ted has been amazing, and pushed me to do things I’d never have dreamed of. Yes, we drove each other nuts sometimes but showing each other different things and experiencing stuff together made this trip what it was.

Thank you to anyone reading this, it’s been a pleasure to share snippets of my time away with you. I hope it won’t be too long until I can start this again!

Lots of love, Izzy xxx

When we first flew into Hawaii I was apprehensive. I thought I’d seen it all, islands, beaches, sunsets and sights. As I arrived in Kona at our beach house, let’s just say I was wrong.

We met Connie, our next door neighbour- a dress maker (her Etsy is paisleycowboy Hawaii- she makes amazing pants and dresses) with an insanely cute malamute/German shepherd cross called Serena.

We woke up to discover a huge banana tree under the house, where we could eat as many mini bananas as wanted, completely freshly picked and delicious.

We wandered up to the local store full of American treats and realised we are not going to come home skinny like we anticipated (twinkies are too good not to!).

My favourite part of Kona was hopping on the notoriously un-punctual ‘trolley’ bus that takes you into town. For $2 you can ride as long as you like with loads of adorable old couples and dads in Hawaiian shirts while the crazy bus lady tells you to make friends and squeeze a 4th person on your 2 person bench.

We explored coconut grove market where we met some lovely people with great stories, found the manky skatepark we walked 30mins for in 32degree heat to find an old abandoned ramp in a carpark (never again) and I went to my first proper American supermarket.

I know I sound like a weirdo, but you couldn’t wipe the smug grin off of my face when walking round the calorie ridden isles, seeing all the food and products I’d seen in movies and tv shows all my life. Who knew I just needed to see a pack of jolly ranchers to put me in a good mood! However, this whole experience got even better when I got a BROWN. PAPER. GROCERY. BAG. Yes, I said it. I got excited over a bag. As useless as it is in the rain, or with any heavy items, again- I was living my American dream. I would venture on to talking about my wal-mart experience but I’d be here forever. Let’s just say, when you ask an American where the TOILETS are in a grocery store, they get a little confused… (I still can’t get my head around restroom).

If we decided to head out, we’d potter around, sit on the sea wall and soak up the sun. If not, waking up at 11am, getting straight into a bikini and playing cards on our private beach access was absolute bliss. We’d play fetch with serena and sometimes Connie even made us a banana split.

Kona is in my top favourites for many different reasons. But to relax after being constantly on the move and not having a proper bed for a month, we really really appreciated 7 days of nothing (and jolly ranchers!)

After our first island, we then flew to Maui. We landed and headed to our town in Makawao (fantastic name) and went for an explore. Being an old country town, it was pretty much full of old clothes shops, trinket stores and the one general store (they did cracking hot meals). Although it wasn’t very ‘happening’, it had a lovely feel to it and we enjoyed wandering through in the sunshine. The next day we popped to a nearby village and had a look round there too. Obviously, it ended in us going to the skatepark, but fortunately I had cupcakes and a beautiful sunset to watch. After both of our phones dying and it being dark, we had an interesting game of ‘catch the bus’ which wasn’t enjoyable, but we made it back!

Our final day, we decided we had to do the one tourist thing: the road to Hana. After renting a bike (the Asia in us), we headed on the Hana highway. It took hours, and we got laughed at by many smug tourists in their comfy wranglers and mustangs, but climbing The winding roads with the wind in our faces (and the rain eventually) made our final road trip perfect.

Only LA now to go and the trip will be over, can’t wait to see what California has in store!!

I’m tucking into my final square of hokey pokey Whitaker’s (travel to nz just for that- trust me) and I’m feeling pretty impressed with everything we accomplished in 3 weeks- especially when living and sleeping in a Nissan tida!

Let’s start off in the South Island- the most beautiful place ever. Every drive you’re surrounded by mountains and snow melt rivers. Even on a cloudy day, the mist hangs low over the mountains making you feel like you really are on the lord of the rings set.

Our first stop was Lake Tekapo, possibly the most stunning place I’ve seen this trip, cast mountains huddled round a crystal clear but turquoise blue lake, with water straight from the glaciers (we never had to use a tap!). We camped just overlooking it and woke up for sunrise which was breathtaking. We then headed to wanaka and then queenstown, which was similar, but we didn’t tire of the views.

In Queenstown we decided to go buggying 7,000ft up the Mountain opposite the lord of the rings set and mountain owned by Peter Jackson which was absolutely terrifying for me (especially as I got hit by every tree and bush imaginable) but amazing for ted because he got to drive like a maniac 🙂 we went to book our skydiving for the next day but after a rainy day and it being cancelled, we moved onto Franz Josef glacier, ready to skydive there the next day.

The next day came and after blaring ‘black betty’, ‘highway to hell’ and ‘from now on’ (bizarre mix I know), we arrived at the drop zone. I met my instructor who scared me just enough to make me nervous, where I wasn’t before. Poor ted went remarkably quiet ever since his instructor told him this was his work experience, and before we could do anything else, we were harnessed up and in the plane.

Ted went first (not by choice!) and my heart dropped when the door opened and all we could see was cloud and air. He went, then I went a few people after. We free fell without parachute for 60 seconds from 16,500feet and then glided around for about 5 minutes until we had a speedy landing (I almost landed on ted!). It was quite possibly the coldest, scariest but most beautiful thing I have ever experienced.

The next day, we went to venture up to the north island. We took the car ferry and met my auntie in Wellington for a few days of time with her and my cousin. We went to the war museum with huge realistic figures of fallen soldiers and stories from the WW1 involvement of the kiwis. We also went to a lovely market and had some real food (instead of campsite eggs). We then went back to a bbq with Claire, nonny and her friend Kim and enjoyed the sun and some Bavarian.

The next day, I had my first wagamamas with Nons and ted, walked along the front and saw crazy people diving into the marina water and had cocktails in the gale force winds.

We then left the next day and headed up north to Napier, a cute little town with a nice boardwalk and a good stop over after a long journey. Carrying on up the coast, we reached rotorua where we stayed on a farm with some very inquisitive alpacas and a cute dog. Because of the sulphur in rotorua, it smelt like the whole town had been eating vindaloos and you could see clouds of it everywhere.

The next day, we went to the luge up a mountain which involved a cable cart and ski lifts up (two of my biggest fears) and rode down over jumps and hills which was really fun!

The next day was Christmas Eve, so we checked into our suite and went to the hot tub even though it was non stop raining. We then headed out for a pub dinner, where we soon realised that no one in New Zealand goes out on Christmas Eve and drinks like the brits do! Christmas Day rolled around and it involved FaceTiming family, opening cards, chilling in the hot tub and watching Christmas movies. I even cooked Christmas dinner!

The next few days of New Zealand were just spent cruising up north, watching the stars and sunsets and then eventually heading back down south for our flight to Hawaii.

New Zealand all in all was beautiful, especially the South Island. However, I think we need a little bit of a break from always being on the move- especially when sleeping in a car!

As I sit here on the bus replacement service in the 37 degree heat and an old Vietnamese lady burping ferociously in my ear, I reflect on the past weeks we’ve spent in Melbourne.

The people I’ve seen and met have been incredible and the places I’ve seen have been beautiful.

I’ve connected with my 93 year old great uncle who is basically my Australian grandad and all round legend. I couldnt believe how sharp and funny he was, and the stories from the Dday landings were incredible too.

We chatted away to Ian (my cousin) and Jenny and stayed with Peter (my cousin) and Effy and ate the best food ever- she even taught me how to make hummus!

We went to a beach party with the Pai gang and some other amazing people where we drank cast wine out of old sandy beer tins and all cuddled in the sand happy and drunk listening to music in the 30 degree heat (the first hot day we’ve had in 4 weeks!)

We shopped, got new shoes and a few bits in the Black Friday sales, and on the way we obviously had to pop into cupcake central to have the best cupcakes in the world (buying jeans after was an uncomfortable experience).

My other favourite part of the city was Southbank where we shared food and made use of happy hour with the most amazing view of the river on a sunny day.

Teds mastered tricks on his skateboard and dragged me to every skatepark he could find and I mastered his mum’s spag Bol recipe (a necessity in order to live a good life).

We took all public transport and met some characters, including a rampaging woman who jumped off a moving bus because she was late for her shift at the cheese deli, a 60 year old guy with a black eye claiming he not only wrote Lala land, but also wrote lyrics for the spice girls AND was next in line for the throne; a racist man complaining about immigrants when he WAS an immigrant (and potentially illegal) and finally Michael, the Lancashire grandad, pissed as a fart, 70 years old and sounded exactly like Barry chuckle but was a good source of entertainment after a few beers.

It really has been 2 weeks of random bits and bobs, relaxing and taking each day as it comes.

Australia has been incredible and I’m so grateful I’ve had the opportunity to see some of the most amazing sights and meet the most amazing people. I will definitely be back soon and I’m so excited already.

Ps, bonus points cos I didn’t see more than 3 spiders, a single snake and I didn’t get savaged by a kangaroo!

After the early morning sunrise, we headed south to reach teds uncles house in Kempsey. On the way, we decided to stop off at a town called Bellingen which had kept all of its old architecture and signs on buildings from when it was set up in 1930! It was like stepping back in time!

The next day we headed to Bobby and Allison’s- teds family. We arrived in the mid afternoon and after catching up, we headed to a bull riding competition. There were cowboy hats, bootcuts and cowboy boots everywhere. I’ve never seen such big belt buckles- and the steak sandwiches (big slab of steak between two slices of bread) were £3!! It was shaping up to be a great night. We watched people get thrown around on a bull and a few nasty accidents and then I got to drive home the pickup truck down dirt roads which was so much fun!

The next day we went to a few seaside towns with bobby and Allison and had a look at the beautiful national parks around. The boys (Pete who we met in Queensland) and his brother were coming home from time away working so they took us out the next day. We first went to a famous cowboy hat shop and got some beautiful hats and then we went for lunch in the sun with beautiful views over Kempsey. Sadly we had to leave the next day (the dogs frank and cooper were very sad about it and jumped in the van!!) as we were heading to Sydney!

We arrived in Sydney late and got to teds friends house (Matt) as that’s where we were staying for the few days.

The next day we were up at 6.30am to meet my parents!! Incase anyone was confused, my parents don’t live in Oz, nor did they stalk me.. they were on holiday in Melbourne when we were in Sydney so took the chance to come up for the day to deliver us all the hugs in the world, clean clothes and so much English chocolate (it’s all gone now..). We saw Sydney in the rain and went for lunch and dinner and even stopped off in a western vintage shop to get me some cowboy boots (coolest things ever). It was so sad to see them go but I know now that there’s only 8 more weeks til I see them again!!

The next day, we had grand plans of visiting manly, but instead got up at 3pm which wasn’t bad! We went for a walk with Matts Dad and their amazing little dog Mindy and saw some amazing views of the beaches etc. We also went to a lovely lookout for sunset so it wasn’t too much of a wasted day!

The next day, we headed back into Sydney city to go and relive the first time- but this time in the sun! We went to the attractions and then went shopping at Westfield and in the vintage shop where ted bought some cowboy jeans to match his hat (we have an obsession now..). That night we had a drink with everyone and ended up laying on the beach and watching the stars- it’s not a bad life.

Feeling a little bit worse for wear on the Saturday morning, we went to go and get a big subway to get rid of the hangovers and we headed up to north head in manly to see the view over the city centre, harbour and the rest of the sea. It was beautiful! After that, we went to Jump Rock which is pretty self explanatory. Unfortunately I didn’t jump off, but it’s probably a good thing as I actually sink in the water and there would be a long wait for me to bob back up!! Instead, me and issy walked to the little secluded beach while we waited for the boys to swim back. That night, we went out clubbing in Manly which was like being on a night out in Chelmsford.. but with less fake tan… I arrived in my leopard print play suit and cowboy boots which earnt me a few funny looks!!

This section of my trip was my favourite so far. Thank you so much to everyone that made it so special. Il definitely be back…

Lots of love,

Izz xxx

G’day!

After our beautiful time in Perth, we headed to brisbane for more exploring. We arrived at 5am, napped in the airport til 8.30 and then headed to go pick a van up.

We were hoping for a station wagon (£15 a day- good budget) but instead they lumped us with a 600,000km driven Toyota hi ace which guzzles petrol like a fat kid with a bottle of Mountain Dew. For double the price each day, we were skeptical, especially as it’s practically impossible to drive (watch out Aussies). She’s now been named Bertha the budget breaking bitch 🙂

After picking her up, we headed to the lone pine koala sanctuary. We saw platypus’, crocs, roos and Koalas! There were so many koalas and they were so cute and interesting to watch, they’re full of personality when they’re not sleeping for 22 hours! We got to go and pat one and he was very cute too.

That night we decided to leave brisbane because we don’t like cities that much, so I found a ‘great’ camping spot in a national park. Little did I know that it was 2 hours away- up a mountain. After 2.5 hours of doing 15kmph not going above 2nd gear, we couldn’t even find it- fortunately a dingo guided us in (Australia eh). The next morning we got to appreciate the views of the park more in the daylight and it was stunning.

That day, we went down the coast to surfers paradise and Broadbeach. Superman was skateboarding down the street and the place was bustling. It was a nice place, but we definitely prefer the suburban, more picturesque areas.

However we had to head back to Bris to meet teds cousin for a few drinks and slept overnight in a car park (so glam). After a fairly heavy night (ted tried to keep up with Aussie drinking standards..) we headed to Helensvale to meet my cousin and stayed there for the night.

After the huge hype of Byron bay, we set off to explore and was surprised from what we saw. Dreadlocks- everywhere. Tye-dye- everywhere. If you had a loose fitting dress and a penchant for avocado, you’d fit in perfectly. However, we don’t and struggled to fit in. Instead, we decided to go seek out the real hippies and arrived in Nimbin- half an hour north of Byron.

This was the place where all of the veterans of the Vietnamese war went to and are now all proper hippies. I won’t go into too much detail, but you can guess what was the main theme of this town was.. a few wizards and witch like ladies knocking about too. Very entertaining!

The next day was another national park where we ate dinner with the kangaroos and watched the most amazing sunrise I’ve ever seen, it was absolutely magical.

Stay tuned for New South Wales updates too, there’s so much more to see!!

Lots of love xxx

G’day!

Although asia was amazing and everything I hoped it’d be, boy it feels good to be in a more ‘normal’ setting.

We arrived in Perth in the afternoon in our shorts, vest and thongs (I’m a local now) to be greeted by 15 degree, drizzly weather… To any other expectant traveller arriving in Australia in the summer, this would’ve been incredibly disappointing, but for us- it was bliss. We whipped out the jumpers and jeans and got cozy when we arrived at our family friends house. They gave us the keys to their pick up truck and their house in the south of Perth, so that’s where we headed for 4 days.

We arrived in Augusta very late, so approaching a secluded house by the river with a tin roof which picked up every noise, we felt like we were in ‘cabin in the woods’! However, when we woke up to see clear blue skies and the woods surrounding the house with a distant view of Margaret river, I was so excited.

We went out to discover the tiny village which had a bookshop, DVD rental store (ancient history!!), 4 fish and chip shops, a salon and a little supermarket. Naturally, first on the agenda was fish and chips- our most missed meal from home. It was amazing! Instead of doing much for the rest of the day, we went back to the house, lit the fire and watched Austin Powers for the rest of the evening.

The next day, we visited Margaret river which was a much bigger town which reminded us of a country town in the north of england. It had little gift shops, surf shops and lovely local people (and free parking everywhere!!)

The next day we went back to Margaret river, but on the way, we stopped at ‘Jewel Cave’. After refusing flatly to step foot on the bush walk path which you could do while waiting for the tour as it warned for venemous snakes, I waited in the cafe! Going through the 20 metre high jewel cave, which has only been free of water for 30 years, we saw straw stalegtites which form over thousands of years, huge hanging crystals and rather phallic formations. It was a lengthy walk but was utterly beautiful and interesting. We even experienced real ‘cave darkness’

After that we headed to a chocolate factory and bought some amazing freeze dried raspberries coated in chocolate which were worth e v e r y penny. That evening, we sat on the tailgate of the truck and watched the sunset listening to country music (yes it was completely cliche).

The last day we had, we headed to Hamelin bay which was stunning but unfortunately we didn’t see any stingrays, which is what they are famous for. After that, we headed to the local (and only) pub for a freezing cold beer in the freezing cold weather with a stunning view of the river.

Perth, you were beautiful and the best retreat I could’ve wished for after crazy Asia.

Lots of love, izz x