Edinburgh, Scotland

Pics:
1) Edinburgh Castle
2) Royal Army march
3) Holyrood (Queen's home in Scotland)
4) The hike to Arthur's Seat
5) View from Arthur's Seat
6) Me at old church ruins

Despite the fact that this is where I missed my flight from, I really enjoyed Edinburgh. It was much colder than London, but I didn't mind. The castle on the hill was amazing, the valley parks in the "Loch" that used to be swampland are beautiful, the people are surprisingly friendly (something you don't always get in foggy Londontown), and you can't walk a day in the city without hearing at least one guy in a kilt playing the bagpipes. The hike up to Arthur's Seat offer's unbelievable views of the city and the ocean (cold water I'm sure). Anyway, I'd put more photos up of this great city, but some guy's bugging me for the computer (free internet at this hostel). More updates soon!!

Goodbye Party at Planet and Casino

Pics:
1) My Saffa girls and I
2) My sirloin dinner with a Bulmers cider
3) Jorge and I
4) Christel, Iris, Maria and Erika
5) Me drinking cheap Spanish 'sparkling wine'
6) Ladies Man Brady (yes, still no tan haha)




I finished work at five, got a sirloin for my last meal (delicious!), and started my goodbye party in the Planet bar. We stayed there until some more people got off from work, then we headed to one of the casinos in Leicester Square since they're open late. It was kinda funny, there were three tables in the casino bar: one belonged to TGI Fridays, one to Hard Rock Cafe, and one to Planet Hollywood. We had a laugh about that, because we all know each other from around town. I met some random guy from Edmonton who bought me a drink, we had cheap Spanish bubbly, and all in all had a great time. I was really happy to see how many people actually came out.

Random London

Pics:
1) Planet
2) Timmies in London (I KNOW!!!!!)
3) View of the London Eye from St. James'
4) Jana and I in St. James'
5) Erika and I at Buckingham
6) Changing of the Guards at Buckingham
7) Picadilly Circus


As you probably all know, I've been working at Planet Hollywood again since I returned to the UK in February. I've really had a good time here again, though I think I made even better friends this time than last summer. I'll really miss everyone. It's a pretty busy lifestyle at Planet, but whenever I got the chance, I tried to get out and enjoy what the city has to offer. I got to see the changing of the guard again as my friend Erika and I just happened to be walking past at 11:00, good timing! I also enjoyed my last few weeks in London with great weather, ironically. I hung out with friends in St. James' park, and just enjoy the sunshine.

Cardiff, Wales

Pics:
1) Millenium Stadium
2) Millenium Center
3) Cool modern art
4) Welsh dragon
5) Me in front of the Keep at Cardiff Castle
6) Cardiff Castle

I know I haven't put much up lately, mostly because I've been working and not much has been happening, but I also just didn't get the time. I took a 2 day trip out to Cardiff, Wales a while back. It was really nice to get away from the rush of London for a while. Cardiff was a beautiful city, the castle was spectacular, the people were friendly, and the weather was good. It was a nice town to just wander around in.

Back to Sydney

Pics:

1) Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge

2) Wayne (Edmonton), Eva (Sweden) and I

3) Harbour Bridge with the Opera House in the background

4) The Darling Harbour with view of Sydney Tower

5) View of St. Mary's from Hyde Park

6) Famous Bondi Beach

7) Arriving at Bondi Beach

8) Me on Bondi on Valentine's Day

9) Wayne (Edmonton) and Eva (Sweden)

10) Opera House at night

11) Opera House looks better in the sun

12) 'The Rocks,' the earliest settled area of Sydney with a view of Harbour Bridge

So I know I didn't like Sydney the first time, but this time I had better weather, so I liked it a bit more. I was also in Sydney the day the Prime Minister said sorry to the Aboriginal people for the lost generation. I met a guy from Edmonton who knew a few people from back home, so we hung out my last few days, as well as a Swedish girl we met in the hostel. Went to Bondi Beach finally, attempted to get my last bit of tan before heading back to wintery Europe, but as you can see I'm still nice and pasty. I wouldn't say I love Sydney now, but I have a better impression than I first did. I still get a better vibe from Melbourne, but Sydney's an alright place if you're with good people and have good weather.

New Zealand (Taupo, Rotorua, Tauranga and Wellington)

New Zealand was a great place to visit, I just wish I had more time. I didn't get a chance to get to the South Island at all, but my main reason to go there was to visit my friend Mel (who I met in Germany at the Beck's Brewery, hung out a lot last summer in London, then ran into each other randomly in Chiang Mai, Thailand at the night market). It was really nice, her family was amazing to meet, we went on a North Island road trip up to Taupo where we met some of Mel's friends and went to a natural hot springs, we went to Rotorua where we went to a Thermal Maori village (the native people of NZ) where we saw traditional dances and ate a hangi (a traditional Maori food cooked in the ground like a slow cooker), and all of this on Waitangi Day, Kiwiland's national holiday signifying the day the settlers and the elders signed a treaty.

We then went up a chair lift on a hill to try our hands at the luge, sleds you can drive down the hill, and also a bungy swing which was good fun. After Rotorua, we went up to Tauranga to meet Mel's friend Leyton and his family, we had a bbq, then spent the next day on the beach. I got burned expecting the sun to be similar to that in Australia (and I've learned what I can tolerate by now), but I was wrong. Apparently the hole is moreso above NZ than Oz, so I burned.

Then we headed back to Wellington, went to a free concert in the park with 4 Kiwi bands, went to a bachelor party for one of Mel's friends (she was at the hen night, so it worked out for me to go out with the boys), then said goodbyes and headed back to sunny Sydney. Oh, and as for Kiwi culture, look up the show Flight of the Conchords. It's hillarious.

Pics:

1) L&P, famous pop in NZ

2) River in Taupo

3) Cooker for 'Hangi'

4) Geyser at thermal village

5) Maori common house

6) The Maori people and I

7) Maori performing poi

8) Mel and I on the gondola in Rotorua

9) Look Mom, no snowboard!

10) Sky Swing

11) Rotorua from above

12) Kiwis are really big in NZ

13) Elemeno P on stage at a free concert in Wellington

14) Me in Wellington