twentytwelve

Slack [slak] adj: Negligent, Indolent, Remiss

What can I say? Yup, I’ve been slack. A lot has been happening in the last few weeks, some good, some bad. However, I will push forth into the abyss of the unknown and inform you of the imminent bossing Europe trip I have fashioned for myself.

I will be embarking on a hop on-hop off system of buses throughout Europe, starting in Paris. After selecting a croissant, I will push forth into Amsterdam where I’m Gonna Ride My Bike Until I Get Home, and onto Berlin for the Sausage and Potato.
Here I will jetset through the sky to Athens, where I get to see run down buildings, and onto the Greek Islands, where I get to see the bottom of a cocktail glass.
Once recovered, it is jetset time again over to Venice. After being serenaded by the Gondola driver, I will make my way to Croatia, where I’ve heard Split and Dubrovnik are well pretty.
This takes me to Rome, Italy. After chatting with the Pope, I trek up to Florence. Especially looking forward to Cinque Terre, with all it’s beauty and stuff.
From there I’ve heard Nice is nice and Milan has some cool clothes, but it’s Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland that the extreme happens. Bungee jumping and canyon swinging. 
After this there is a welcome stop in Barcelona. This is where I will stuff myself full with Paella and Tapas. Cuz I can.
On my way to Valencia, I will practice with my throwing arm, cuz I will be throwing TOMATOES at people. La Tomatina is one big giant tomato fight.
Sightseeing through Madrid, San Sebastian and Tours, I will make my way to Oktoberfest, which needs no explanation.
Following this, I will be moving onto Dresden, then Prague, which I’ve been told is a must do. Vienna is the fullstop.

Can I get a hell yeah? 

That’s Brilliant

A few weeks into London, and spring has arrived. Lovely shining sun emerges from behind the grey clouds, and Londoners group together en masse on the parks and commons situated around the city. 

As we soak up the vitamin D and get some colour back into our pasty skin, we wander past the vibrant and abundant galleries, cafes, clothing shops and department stores. It would be quite safe to say there are two pubs for every local in London. With names such as The Queens Arms, The King’s ear and The Prince’s nose, it’s pretty hard to stroll past and not feel the urge to stop in for a pint. 

Managing to secure a job in one 5 minutes walk away definitely lifted the spirits and consequently my bank balance. I came to London fearful that it would be extremely hard to get a job, due to the amount of unemployed here at the moment, but The Long Room, the pub I work at, was the first I walked into. After getting to know a few of the locals, I found myself saying quite a lot ‘No I’m from Australia not New Zealand, I have never been to New Zealand,’ or another favourite, ‘No, Aussie not South African,’ also ‘No, every girl in Australia is not called Shiela, please don’t think that I am.’ Surprisingly, I have been asked quite a bit ‘Why come here?,’ I reply incredulously ‘It’s London!’ they give me a strange look and proceed drinking their beer. 

So far the London experience has been cider, fish and chips, discovering fashion is affordable (G-star jeans $120 Aussie dollar-wtf?), sunny days, pouring beer that’s not cold, art, a bit of nostalgia and the fact that fashion is completely individual.

A big thumbs up at London and probably the 1/8th I’ve seen of it so far. Looking forward to more hidden treasures.

Too right mate. 

Wurst and Pretzel

Our next leg is in the land of wurst, pretzel, pomme frites, beer with a ridiculous amount of head and a disconcerting home to the second world war. 

We arrived in the snow, and the initial 24 hours is spent in awe at how a city scene can look in a blanket of white. The adjective to that is…

Stunning.

After this shock, comes the temperature. Yes, it is freezing. From your nose to your toes, everything turns a lovely shade of blue, and I recommend any Aussie who comes a-travelling to Germany, actually add in the whole of Europe there, in winter, to bring:

1. Thermals - Top to bottom
2. Beanie - Ya head gets cold
3. Gloves - If you want to be able to use your hands again
4. A ridiculously puffy, cuddly, figure disguising coat
5. And, depending on how long you’ll be residing, solid shoes 

Visiting the Dachau concentration camp was a depressing yet moving experience. We were taken around by an American tour guide, who knew quite a lot about the going’s on at the time of the war. It’s a must see for everyone. 

On a lighter note, we took a swift weekend road trip to the famous Amsterdam. Sights seen were Van Gogh Museum, Coffee shops for…Coffee and the effervescent red light district. Amsterdam was an extremely busy place, I would love to see what it’s like in summer. 

Can’t wait.

Dubai - The Desert City

Dubai.

A home of Burqas, Hummus and malls.

LOTS of malls.

Dubai is a beautiful, organized, extremely clean city, that welcomes tourists as an ant welcomes sugar. It is relatively cheap and there is plenty to see and do. 

Our first outing was to the ‘smaller’ mall in Dubai City centre. It was pretty big, with a few levels and a fair walk to each end. As a seasoned peanut butter and chocolate fan, here we savoured a fine treat from ‘Cold Stone’ - Peanut butter and chocolate icecream with reese’s peanut butter cups mashed into it. Yes that actually sounds quite disgusting.

We decided to take a trip to a bigger mall to check it out, so we took the metro to the Emirates mall. One word. 

HUGE.

And we were informed that there was a third one that is bigger. 

The highlight of the third day was the desert safari, a MUST for anyone that is travelling to Dubai. Starting at 3pm, we went dune bashing in a luxury 4wd, through to our destination of a secluded desert getaway complete with camel rides, Quad bike rides, falcon show, bellydancing, shisha smoking, bar, henna tattooing and a Middle Eastern BBQ to top the night off. Here we discovered Louqaimatt, a ridiculously yummy deep fried dumpling doused in sweet syrup. 

Another highlight is Ferrari World. A two hour trip to Abu Dhabi centre then a cheap taxi ride to Yas Island, where it is situated. Basically it is huge and filled with everything Ferrari - go figure. But walking through this huge complex I found myself immersed in the world of racing culture, and the sense of pride Ferrari have for their cars. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Please, please, please go on the fastest roller coaster in the world. It is effing crazy. 

To sum up, Dubai can be cheap (try the local food beside the road - delicious), cheap taxi, tube station, and markets are great. The locals are so used to tourists they won’t bother you, unless you are a woman and fair you may get a few smirks or gawks. Women actually get treated rather well, with allocated spots on public transport and cue jumping, we couldn’t complain. 

A big shout out to Hummus. The Arabian people have out done themselves with this chickpea dip. Apparently the secret is in tahini. One try of the dip here and you’ll realise it’s what you’ve been missing all your life. 

Dubai. Lovin it.

Todd's Eurotrip