New York

I spent a day travelling to NYC and arrived exhausted at my hotel around 6pm. It was a great walk especially because it led me right through times square to my hostel which is in a great location, pretty much on the corner of 63rd West and central park west. I was up early and caught the subway downtown and got on the Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I enjoyed seeing the statue of liberty up close but I had seen it before as this is my second visit to NYC. However I was very impressed by Ellis island. Ellis island is basically a tiny island off Manhattan used to process the immigrants but holds so much history and really tells the story behind America's reputation and why it was given the name "the land of the free". After this I decided to once again visit little Italy but I was once again disappointed in the fact that china town is over running the place. Also the fact that I believe Little Italy is not as authentic as China town but more a tourist attraction. Because when you enter china town you could actually feel like you are in china and I wish I could say the same for Little Italy. That afternoon I visited ground zero and was very impressed with the memorial. The memorial is two giant cube waterfalls in the ground where the towers once stood and around the outside it has the names of the lives lost. After a full on day I headed uptown to have dinner at a restaurant recommended by Connie. It was really good apart from eating by myself. The next day I went to the high rise which is an old rail track(suspended above ground) that has been converted into a boardwalk/park and is full of art and surprises as you walk and I would defiantly suggest to anyone who visits NYC to go check it out. That afternoon I met up with Mary and her friend Elizabeth. We grabbed some pizza for dinner and then headed into Brooklyn that night for a party. It was good fun and what was even better was that overnight we stayed in Elizabeths friends apartment on Park Avenue! The next day we just hung out, ended up back in Brooklyn so the girls could catch up with a friend and then in the afternoon the three of us went our separate ways. I went back and packed and had an early night as it was an early start to fly out of JFK and back home to Perth!!!


This was the trip of a lifetime and I can not wait to get out and explore the world again!

Maine

After reuniting with Connie and Ed my host parents we had dinner in Bangor and then drove straight out to their holiday house(camp) just under an hour away. I spent the next couple of days relaxing, eating good healthy home cooked meals and having fun in the lake. There are so may fun things to do at camp and I spent my time swimming, kayaking, lying on the giant water trampoline and sailing Ed's little boat. I eventually made it back to town, went to a party and caught up with old friends and crashed in Mary's basement for the night. The next day I was straight back out to camp and had a great day with everyone and was joined by my host sister Cami, her husband Sam and their new cute puppy Tank. It was just another day in paradise with sun and water, good food and fun people.

After two more nights at camp I headed down to Bowden university with Mary to see our mate Karl who is working there over the summer(thanks to Connie who was driving south and went out of her way to drop us off) we stayed two nights in his small apartment on campus and had heaps of fun. During the day we explored the town and in the evenings we caught up with his mates for some drinks and had some fireworks as they had just become legal in Maine. It was sad to say goodbye especially after such a short visit but my next stop was NYC for four nights.

After all my travelling I have realised how much I like Maine. It is one of the places in the world where I feel a similar comfort I have from being at home.

Reggio Emilia in Italia

I was met at the Reggio Emilia train station by Lucas and Gabriele. After a quick shower at Gabriele's place we drove over to Daniele's house where his family was having a barbeque as it was lucas' last night. It was great to catch up with old friends as the last time I had seen Gabriele was half a year ago in Australia and Daniele the same but it had been a few years. The food at this barbeque was great! We started off with different cheeses(all local) and really good quality prosciutto. As for the wine Gabriele and Daniele's fathers buy the wine by the barrel from the winery's and bottle it themselves and it taste delicious. Like many barbeques we had too much meat, a whole mix of sausages and meat cuts and everything was great quality. We ate, drank and talked until late and finished with some grappa and amazing ice cream!

The next morning we prepared Lucas as he would be departing that afternoon for Milan and then begin his travel back to Australia. Before he packed we went to buy some cheese to bring home and I also purchased some and am looking forward to eating it when I arrive back in Australia. That afternoon Lucas and I said goodbye once more and Gab and I relaxed the rest of the afternoon. That night we went into town and caught up with Gab's friends and they showed me around the different Piazzas in town and their favourite bars. We spent the next few days sleeping in late, eating good food and catching up with mates. On the Sunday Gabriele, his parents and I traveled to Lake Garda which is a couple hours north. It is beautiful there with the warm sun and bright blue water surrounded by green hills. We met some of gabriele's family including his grandparents and ate out at a restaurant for lunch. The rest of my time there was spent socializing and just eating amazing food and practicing my Italian. My time in Reggio Emilia was great and I'm so glad I got to catch up with a good friend and I hope he can make it back to Australia soon. I said goodbye to Gabriele after staying 4 nights and caught the train back to Milan. From there I flew to London and then the next morning took a flight to Boston in USA. Once in Boston I caught the bus up to the state of Maine to the city of Bangor where I was reunited with my host parents Connie and Ed!

Prague and Pilsen

Karl and I got a train from Berlin and met Martin at the main station. It was so good catching up as it had been three years since we had all been together and decided to stop off for a beer on the way to our accommodation . We were so lucky as Martin had organised for us to sleep at some offices used for the young conservatives organisation of the czech republic which he is a member of and it has a few beds and a bathroom. We headed out that night starting at a whiskey bar and then continuing around town tasting many of the different beers Prague had to offer. The next morning we were up early as Martin took us on a tour of the city, we started at the palace and continued down past Charles' bridge and finished in the main town square. Prague is a beautiful city and really does make you feel like you have stepped back in time with all of the old buildings and stone streets. So then that afternoon we grabbed our things and Martin drove us to his home town Pilsen which is just under an hours drive. That night we went into town and drank delicious beer. I had never tasted beer like this before and all my questions were answered when Martin told us that this beer was connected to the brewery via a pipe line about 400m away and has not been pasteurised and was unfiltered. After that pub we went to another which is part of a chain of pubs were you sit at your table with its own tap and even a glass cleaner and every time you pour your beer you can select your tab which is heaps of fun. Once again we were up early and went into Pilsen to do some sightseeing of the town, we climbed the cathedral tower which is the tallest one in the czech republic, admired the old buildings and streets and most importantly went for a tour of the Pilsen brewery. There we learnt the history behind the beer and the impact it has today on most of the beers around the world. The best part of the tour was when we were brought underground into the natural fridges of the brewery that they use to use for the storage of the beer and had a glass of beer that had been brewed and stored in a barrel. That to date is the best beer I have ever had. After the tour we had lunch at the restaurant and ate more traditional czech food which consisted of meat with dumplings until we were stuffed. That night we were all so tired that we had a night in. After a sleep in and a BBQ lunch we were back in Prague and doing what we do best. Later that night we went into the 6 storey night club which was good fun, the different levels played different types of music so we spent our time going up and down the levels getting a little bit of everything. The next morning I departed for the airport and got a flight to Milan and then a train to Reggio Emilia. At the station I met another friend Gabriele who lives in Reggio and and is letting me stay at his places and also met Lucas who was staying his last night before he flew back home to Australia.

Berlin!

I arrived in Berlin airport after a quick flight and caught the train into the city. I got off at the wrong stop, gave Karl a call and waited for him to find me. It was great catching up with an old friend I had not seen since we both did exchange in the same town in USA three years ago. We travelled back to his place but ended up at a friends on the way and we relaxed for the evening grabbing some dinner, drinking beer and playing pool. The next morning I let Karl sleep in as I went into the city which takes only about 20 minutes by train to meet for a tour of Sachsenhausen a concentration camp just out of Berlin. This was not like any other tour I had been on, it was very serious and respectful to the prisoners of the camp. It was quite shocking hearing about the system in which the prisoners where taken in and how they were treated. It was also sad to hear about the physiological techniques that was used to torture and control these prisoners. No matter what you hear or read I don't think it can compare to actually standing in the place where all this history took place and I highly recommend visiting this concentration camp. That night we went to a party not far away and to my surprise nearly half of the party arrived on bikes just like us. It was a bit of a different experience then the typical party in the backyard at home this was in a small smoke filled room in an apartment and everyone only having a couple of beers with most of the girls drinking beer as well. The next day I was up early to join a free walking tour of the city. The sights of Berlin are very impressive, I really enjoyed seeing and learning about brandenburg gate, square where the book burnings occurred and my favourite sight of course the Jewish memorial. This has to be the best memorial I have seen up to date as it is simply concrete blocks that gradually get taller the further in you walk towards the centre. It is so impressive because you don't have to view this memorable from behind a gate or glass you can walk, run and climb through it.

My next couple days I spent in Berlin were meeting some of Karl's friends, riding around the city and preparing for my future travels. And today we are both of to Prague to catch up with another friend Martin from exchange.

We are both very excited, and can't wait to see Martin this afternoon!



Also we had Dunkin donuts!!!!!!!

Barcelona and Pamplona

After a sad goodbye and another flight the boys and I arrived at our large apartment in Barcelona. We booked this at the last minute for the price of a hostel. After getting settled we went our for dinner and explored the city a little bit. The next morning we really just took it easy because we all knew that that night was going to be a big one. We caught a train at 2:30pm to pamplona which took 4 hours and met an interesting guy called Marley who happened to live around the corner from us in Perth. He was doing the bull run with his contiki group so we decided it would be a great idea to tag along. So after about a 40 min taxi ride into the middle of no where we were rejected by the staff of contiki but not before Timm grabbed some free tacos and we had some sangria. So after a few failed hitchhiking attempts we got a taxi back to Pamplona and got dropped off in the middle of the festival. The first thing we did was buy the traditional clothing and store our bag at the bus station. Then the night began! The streets were crowded with white and red, there was music and there was cheering. It was so much fun to meet so many tourists there for the festival and also all the locals. We stayed out all night going from bar to bar and stayed up all night. At about 6am we went and had a look at what would be chasing us soon and that definitely scared and sobred us up, I don't think we realised how big the bulls would actually be. Soon after that Timm and I said our goodbyes to Lucas incase we didn't make it out alive, and then we waited. Waiting was the worst part and the last 45minutes of the wait felt like hours as we watched the hands of a clock tower go round. There was an extreme silence that was exaggerated by the noise of the previous nights fiesta. We met a few Australians and Americans before we ran, getting tips and exchanging our fear. It had finally reached 8am and the first gun was shot and everyone started to walk and then 30 seconds later the next gun was fired and everyone moved into a jog. After what seemed like minutes but was really only seconds we saw people sprinting their hearts out and throwing themselves against the walls trying to avoid the pack of bulls. They were soon approaching so Timm and I squished up against people who were squished up against more people who were squished up to the wall. When the bulls pass you feel such a relief but on your feet again so not to get caught by the steers who run a little while after the bulls.

We ran until we entered the arena which was packed with people screaming. Then we all stood around for a bit waiting for something to happen and next thing we see a bull charging! We cautiously stuck to the walls for the first bull and watched anyone brave enough try to slap the bull. After a while the bull was escorted out using a steer and then a minute later a bigger and more aggressive bull was realised and this was the pattern for the next 3 to come. By the third bull we were feeling more confident and when the bull trotted by while we were up against the wall Timm and I both slapped him. The bull stopped, turned to face us but we were lucky because this gave everyone a chance to slap him some more and cause more confusion. It was insane inside the arena, every time someone got hit by the bull or snagged on its horns the crowd would cheer and there were some big hits. A rule I learnt is never touch the horns or tail. We watched a tourist grab the bull by the tail and the arena started to boo, he was abused and then he received some punches from the locals and then they got him to leave the arena.

We got a 9:15am train back to Barcelona and spent the rest of that day sleeping and resting. For the rest of our days in spain we spent at the beach, exploring the city and doing some sight seeing. Spain was our last country together so we all said goodbye as we split up, Timm going to the UK, Lucas going back to Italy and myself going to Berlin to meet up with an old mate.

Spain has been a major highlight of this trip, it was filled with spontaneous fun I really enjoyed the Spanish culture. Another reason why I love Spain is because not as many people here speak English compared to Italy or France so it was so much fun learning a few Spanish words or using a mix of English and Italian and hoping for the best.

Next stop Berlin!

Greece- Ios and Santorini

I was very happy to meet up with everyone again even if it was at 2:30am at Athens airport. Then after another flight and a ferry ride we all arrived on the island of Ios. Ios is just how you imagine Greece, bright blue water, white buildings with blue trim and a very relaxed atmosphere, well until the nightlife kicks off. After hiring out a couple quad bikes(which were very limited being 50cc) we had a quiet evening and we tried to stay up late but with most people getting only a couple hours or less of sleep it didn't happen. After a sleep in we were at the beach and spent the day not doing much at all apart from hangout at the beach. That evening we went out for dinner which in Greece is always great and doesn't cost to much then came back to the apartment to sleep a couple hours and we were up at midnight ready to go out. As we discovered in Greece people go to the pubs and clubs normally between 12am-7am or so.

The following day we found ourselves hoping on another boat(thanks to our large group we had the boat to ourselves once again) and the day consisted of cliff jumping, snorkelling an old shipwreck which was a little disappointing and then the best part which was spending time at a little beach only accessible by boat.

The day after this we travelled to santorini for 2 nights were we just relaxed with our hotel being on the black beach, which was great to have such good access to the beach. On the second night we had one last dinner together and celebrated the end of the group travelling packed up our things as the following morning the girls spent one night in Athens then flew back home and the boys (Lucas, Timm and I) caught a plane to Barcelona Spain!