The Island of Santorini

So, we finally made it to a place with internet!!! woohoo!!!! the last few days we didnt have any :( but it was made up by the beauty of the place so i was happy enough haha... any way this new Island or cluster of islands is even more beautiful if that is possible :) we have had not long on the island so not much to say but here is some photos :)
enjoy
love you all xoxo

The island of Mykonos

The beauty of Gods creation must have peaked here. The only way to help you understand the serenity and peace and relaxation of this place. It is a paradise among earth. At this very present moment i am sitting right next to the crystal clear waters of the ocean on a rock, sun bathing :) and i look up across the water and i see a little church on the hill. i look the other way and i see a small island with some buildings on it, and i look finally the third way and i see what you would imagine to see on TV as to what Greece looks like :) the buildings are all white and close together with the little ally ways in between. they are all square and uniform but all unique at the same time. Our hotel lady, Maria, is the nicest little old lady you would imagine. She is funny and loud and just plain cute, with out much English though. When we arrived we were greeted with the biggest of smiles and friendly help up the steep stair case, than she had to make sure that we had everything, replaced a light globe for us, showed us how to lock the door and where everything was, and finally she went away and 2 seconds later a little knock at the door and she was there smiling with a vase of flowers for us. gorges :) Our little hotel is right on the edge of the ocean, we look out our door and we are over looking the bay. it is absolutely gorges!!! I just took a photo of quite literally what i am looking at while typing, i turned my camera on and took a photo with out moving the ipad :) i will put it on the bottom. Tonight we are planning on going to watch the sunset so i will make sure to show you that also.

ATHENS!!!

So first day in Greece was very awesome :) I'm not gonna say much because I am really tired we have to get up early so gonna let the photos say most of what I am going to say. But I will say, we accidentally found a museum when we were looking for the ruins of this place, so we went in and looked around than eventually found what we were looking for.. Than we went shopping :) so eventful day :)

Love you xxx

following on...

After some MUCH needed sleep, and i will express that again by saying i hit the pillow and the next thing i remember is getting a wake up call from reception haha, but as i was saying after a much needed sleep we all met in reception for breakfast and talking before we made our way back to the ferry to go back to anzac cove for a proper look. And what i learnt about what happened at anzac i will never forget, things such as it was more devastating for the turks than the Anzacs, they lost a lot more men than we did; how close they fought, that they even threw each other food and cigarettes and hang gran aids (which they would try to catch and throw back to the other side) we got to walk in the trenches that are still there, original and untouched. We went to the original intended landing beach, than to the actual landing beach. We went back to the place where we had the dawn service, than to all the cemeteries, than to all the different memorial sights. What a view they have, just spectacular and amazing. Every place we went to had a view of the beach. i will let you see what i mean by photos.
After that we went to have lunch and than were personally delivered to the airport where we could catch our flight to Greece. It was dark when we landed so havent seen much yet.
Good night all xox

Lest we forget ..

If ever there was a place on earth I would strongly recommend a fellow Australian to go it would be turkey.. Even If its not on Anzac Day it is just a beautiful place, every which way you turn there is a new beautiful awesome sight.. Everything is green and hilly and just beautiful. We arrived on Wednesday morning after a long night of travel on the train with a very nice couple of Scottish people :) they were doing the whole few months travel too, we couldn't have chosen a nicer couple to share a room with. But any way after a night of broken sleep and going over the boarder with several passport checks and getting out visas, we made it into Istanbul for the morning to soak up some sun rays and be in dire need of a shower and a bed but knowing that wasn't going to happen we sat in the park for the morning to wait for our tour to start. Getting to the spot where our tour started was not too hard, we literally walked to where we thought a bunch of Aussies were haha.. We just listened and laughed as we heard all the typical Aussie sayings and accents its funny to think that's what we actually sound like haha, things like "mate" and "how's it going" and "just hang in there.." Was so funny to hear that I actually miss it, I didn't realise how funny we sound haha. Any way we made it on the bus and tried to get some much needed sleep in before we got to our spot in the dawn service place, after a few stops and some dinner we got our breakfast packs (we actually don't know what was in them as we accidentally lost ours under the seating stand thing whoops) we made our way to seats to spend the night, a night of no sleep and very uncomfortable seats and very cold weather we made it through the night. There was entertainment through the night, the navy band and choir played a few times and they showed a few documentaries about the war so wasn't so bad a wait, just long and cold. Than the service started, and it was just like any other service until the sun started to rise and we noticed that we were right on the edge of the water, the moon was reflecting off the water on one side and the sunrise on the other, what a sight! I don't remember much about the service that is different to what we do at home, but was good. After the service we made out trek up the steep hill to where the battle field is and where they hold the Aussie memorial service. We got there a few hours early so they had so very good entertainment, very Australian music and a good speaker, who was very funny and knowledgeable about everything. It made it tolerable waiting there for the service. And what a service.
I have never been so proud to be an Australian as what I did standing there in the battle field where thousands fell for our land, just an overly emotional time, I could feel the emotion of every one who was there for the memory of a loved one, they were there for the one reason of their memory, the wreath laying was the most emotional, the old veterans giving their respect and the fathers with their children in memory of their great grandfathers and so on. I had never cried during the anthem before and I did today, it was hard to sing and when they give the blessing at the end and say lest we forget and we all repeat, I couldn't even talk. What an experience.
Any way I am in dire need of sleep right now so good night and photos maybe tomorrow :) xxx

We're half way!!

Hey so we were officially half way our trip last Friday I do believe :) that was the day we went to the concentration camp.
So Saturday we went to the berlin dungeon, which it turns out does English and German shows separately, it turns out we were the only two english people that day. We waited for about an hour or more, we get free lollies, lots of friendly conversations with the staff and we played a game of monopoly and than decided that we would just do it together. It turns out that it is alot easier to get lost in a maze with only two people. And they only have two people to chose from so they had to alternate between picking me and picking Camille. Some bits were scarier and some were just not. It was pretty funny though. Than after that we went and got lunch at Andy's diner, an American diner, which serves American portions... they are huge haha... Than we went back to the Hostel to do our washing and just hang out before going out for dinner and a movie, Django..
So, Sunday, we slept in, nearly past breakfast time. And than we found a sermon to listen to, we sat in the lounge to listen to it. Than we went for a walk to a nice peaceful Cafe' and sat there for a good 2-3 hours while we just chatted and relaxed. We than made our way back to the Hostel and lay in the sun to listen to another sermon. it was a nice and chilled out sunday :)
So that brings us to today :) We went to Potsdam a town outside of Berlin that is very pretty :) We first made our way to a really old tower so we could have a look at the sights but we couldn't go up because we didn't have enough cash and they didn't take card. So we walked around the bottom and went down and went to a animal/dinosore/fish thing, it was really fun but there was nothing in english so we had to sort of follow people around so we knew where we were going. We than finally found some lunch and went back to hostel for dinner and blogging. We have found an American to talk to so thats what we are doing right now.. :)
So here are some photos :)
till next time xoxox

Jew got enough Concentration???

Sorry for the really really really bad pun but i just had to do it...
So as the title pretty much sums up we went to the first concentration camp today called (i can't remember haha ) but it was so eery to go into the bunks and hospital and kitchen of this camp, the original place. To walk where these people were beaten and tortured, killed and starved. We stood in the place where every morning they had to line up to be counted, dead or alive, you had to be accounted for.. When they were counted they had to go off to the work places, starving, freezing and sick they had to meet their daily task, if they didn't they were beaten, sometimes to death. It really struck home because of the book i had just read from Jodi Piccoltt called story teller, i could quite literally see these poor starving bodies in the bunks, laying there or standing for their line ups every day, twice a day. We were cold standing there but i felt so wrong even mentioning that i was cold seeing how these people had to deal with it every day, with the bear minimum of clothing and food. Just was a real eye opener.
We thank God for putting an end to that era, and that we now get to live in freedom and peace (in Australia)
So next time i will hopefully be bothered to put photos up :)
xoxo

sunburnt in berlin??

Yes its true.. i got burnt.. well my skin hasnt seen the sun for ages!! so at first sight of it it burnt.. just a little tho (i may come home with a bit of a tan :))
So today we did a lot of walking.. we went on a tour that was about old Germany and when the Nazi's had power, we got to see alot of really interesting and emotional stuff, all the war memorials and even where Hitlers bunker was where he eventually committed suicide. After the tour we went to get lunch than went to Checkpoint charlie, the last checkpoint that the US had to pass to get into Germany. I got to have a photo with the guards there, (just actors) and than we went inside the museum. Man they know how to hide huge buildings. We walked in and went from room, to room thinking wow this is really cool... than to room to room to room to room to room to room to room to room... than thinking holy shit this is huge!! when does it end?? than we quickly walked through and found the exit. We than decided to go shopping, we found a market that was close by and had a field day with all the smells and cool things that they sell in markets, and than we found the shopping centre :D Camille found a new cardi and i didn't find any thing. The shopping centres aren't anything like they are back home, here its just one big building starting off with food, bags, perfume etc, than next floor all womens clothes like one huge whole floor of it, second floor mens, third floor kids, fifth floor bags and accessories and a cafe/restaurant. We than decided to go home but than we found a really cool shop :) i found some awesome jeans and bikinis (for Greece and Venice ;)) and Camille also found some bikinis haha :) than home time.
And that is that.. tomorrow going to go see the concentration camps, which should be really interesting :)
till than xxx

Hallo aus Deutchland

So, apparently my last post didnt work, all it said was basically that we arrived in Berlin with out much fuss, i didnt feel too well and i put some photos up... haha sounds like you didn't miss out on much than hey??
So we are in Germany :D is a really cool place, if ever you get the chance its one place you should go to, it is quite laid back and every one is really nice :)
So far we have done not much of any thing really haha, running out of steam i think, but in all seriousness, on the first day we arrived it wasn't until bout dinner time and i wasn't feeling so great so we had dinner, i went to bed and Camille went for a walk. The second day we got our welcome to Berlin passes so we have free transport and discounts on most attractions, we than went to the bus so we could go see the oldest part of Berlin and than we went out for lunch, came home so we could talk to family, than sorted out our time here, we decided to cancel Czech (much to our sadness but we just too full on to be able to do it with out extreme stress) and extend our stay in Germany for a few days. We than had dinner and went to go see the panoramic tower, that happened to be closed so we went to the big shopping centre complex near our hostel, found out that they show English movies, so we booked a 10:30 showing of 'the identity thief' very good movie, mad us laugh and cry so very good there... we were basically the only ones in the theatre, but before than we went to go have a drink and some ice cream before the movie :) turns out they put alot of alcohol in their cocktails haha....
Next day was very hard to get out of bed after minimal sleep, but we had planned to go see the concentration camps, but Camille couldn't find her Berlin pass, and we didn't exactly know where we were going so we didn't make it on time for the tour, so instead we went to the lego house :D and got to see some amazing works of lego art, and practise being a ninja going through a room of lasers haha.. than we went and had lunch and went to the panoramic tower for a look around, turns out its very high (203 plus metres high) the lift gets that high in 20seconds so your ears hurt by the time you are at the top (it hurts more on the way down). We than went to go see the croods (yes another movie but they incredibly cheep here haha) and we had nothing else planned to do.. and than home for dinner and a well needed early night :) the beds here are not much good, the pillow cant hardly be called a pillow :( but none the less it is a bed :)
Love you all xox

HEY from Amsterdam

So i am on another computer so no photos at this time...
but i last left you before we were going to go on a night time canal cocktail cruise. So we departed at 9pm and were supplied with nibblies including chips, dips and garlic bread toast things (very yummy) and a glass of wine to start. No sooner had we finished our glass of wine we got a first cocktail. and we got to see the sights of the canals at the night time. Very pretty :) all the lights and buildings that had be lit up for all to see. than we got served our second cocktail and so on until we arrived back at the port. :) what a way to spend a night :)
So the next day after nearly missing breakfast, we hired some bikes and headed into the city, which it turns out is not so far away. We went to the maritime museum, we got to embark on a sea voyage, and learn about all sorts of ways the Dutch were involved on the seas, including trading of goods and passaging people across the seas. Well worth the trip :) so glad we don't have to travel like that any more, we would still be on our way to london if we did. Than we made our way to lunch, at the Dam Square, and wrote out our post cards so that they could be sent :) than we went to a little house where we were dressed up like little old Dutch girls for a photo shoot, what fun that was. Apparently i am not so good at playing the accordian (but i was better than camille) haha... and than it was back to the hostel to pack our things, do some washing and recover from the bike riding...
Next morning, we went for some more riding (all camilles idea haha) and than gave our bikes back, checked out of the hostel, went to find some droppies and than made our way to the train so we could go to Enschede to meet up with Camilles great auntie who lives here and has kindly let us stay with her for a few days. It is so nice being able to live in a house again, even if it is still out of a suitcase and for a few days. But still, with home cooked meals, and not many people around it is the break we needed i think.
We were taken for a walk around the neighbourhood, and around the beautiful park near her house, and what a park it is... so big and green, with a lake in the middle.. it was like walking through a rainforest in one part than walking over a board walk the next.. very nice.
Today we we went to the local markets, where we could walk around and see all the things up for selling, they had literally everything there, from fruit so fresh and juicy to fish, to clothing, and back to food again. was quite busy but very cool. I bought mum and Jo birthday presents (they are awesome you will love me when you see it ;)) and than back home for a relaxing arvo, reading and catching up on paper work like my blog... haha...
Any way see you all next time
miss you all xoxoxo

Scared much??

So today we decided to just wonder the streets and see where we ended up, it was really nice to just see the typical streets of Holland :) so cute, we even found some local koffee shops haha ;) we didn't go in tho so no drugs for us, but we did happen to notice that they sell cannibis pops, like lollie pops just with hidden agendas haha..
So we ended up at a shopping mall, camill went to yet another art exhibition and I went shopping :) just wondering around the shops was quite relaxing, I got me some moisturiser and stuff for my skin as its soooooooo dry and sore, and a nice back pack :) so when we fly I'm not over the weight limit like I have been the last few times :)
Than we found the way back to the Main Street to go to the dungeon of Amsterdam, very scary... Actually more funny than scary, I got to hold a poo bucket for on the 'ship' and Camille got to help pull out some organs of a not so dead body.. Any way all in all a very fun and exciting place as I ended up on a roller coaster haha.. We gonna go back into town soon so we can go on our cocktail cruise :)
Xxx

Spreken Nederlands???

Haha I don't..
So we are in Amsterdam and it is the first country we going to that doesn't have English as a first language and it is pretty fun with the very limited amount that we do know to try and translate what signs and menus say.. But when it comes to public transport we were totally lost haha.. Ill come to that later..
We decided to do a hop on hop off tour again, its a very good way to see the city and get off where it sounds interesting :) so we saw lots of sights today, but the weather was pretty shitty and Camille didn't feel to well so we decided to call it a day at about 5ish.. Haha.. So we made our way to the bus and than to the train station.. We learnt from yesterday how to purchase tickets to the station we wanted, but we didn't learn how to know what platform to go to, so we asked an information officer and she told us 'platform 10b' so off we trotted, to platform 10b. We waited and we waited for 'our' train to come.. 20 min later we got on the train.. As we took off I asked Camille 'are we going the right way??' Turns out we were, as the train drove straight past our stop.. We just stood pointing and looking at eachother with confused looks on our faces, so we just shrugged our shoulders and said that we'll get off the next station and go back the other way.. Well turns out the next station was the next city, half hour away haha.. We just had to laugh and hope that no ticket inpectors came our way.. They didnt and we got off, went back to where we started and finally we made it back to our hostel, about 1 1/2 hours later haha..
Any way.. That's the highlight for today..
Tomorrow we gonna see some more sights, go to the Amsterdam dungeons and go on a night time canal cruise :)
See you than :) xxx

second times a charm

Hi :) so apparently my last post didnt load up so i have to try again....
So i last left you before we went on our ghost bus tour, and man was it worth the penny ;) We were spooked and scared and left with shivers running down our spines, not from the cold but for the very talented story teller. I was often left with tears running down my face because of the tingles running down me. We got to see things that we other wise would never have got to see, abandoned churches and walk the steps at night that not many people dare to do... Especially the superstitious people.
So Friday, we left to go to Belfast, after a 2 hour train ride and getting use to the new street names we found our (dodgy) hostel.. If any thing the accent is much cooler and the people nicer (if possible). We decided that since we in Ireland we needed to go to at least one pub, so we found one that the guy at the reception of our Hostel recommended and settled in.. And what a night that was :D the people were awesomely nice, we even got a free drink out of one of them, needless to say the locals made sure us newbies were well looked after and I made a discovery haha.. Umm alcohol does make the world go round.. Very fast actually ;) got a wee bit tipsy I did. And didnt feel the best the next morning..
Which brings us to Saturday :) never go on a bus tour feeling like crap, especially when every time you move the world spins, believe me, the bus makes it worse... Any way after a few hours of half sleep half trying to tell my brain that the world isn't spinning, we made it to our first destination, the rope bridge :) very high, and I crossed it :) I was very brave :) haha.. Any way back on the bus we trotted and after a few little stops, lunch being one of them (at a whiskey distillery.. No I didn't have any...) we made it to our big destination.. The Giants Causeway.. And what a sight!! (Pictures will be below) such awesome sights we saw there.. It was well worth the trip...
And than some well needed sleep on the way home that night..
Which brings us to Sunday :) we had a nice relaxing day... Not much to say sept for it was a relaxing day, cold.. But nice :)
And now we in Amsterdam... It's weird to think that we have made it in to yet another country.. Even tho we did miss our actual flight due to unforeseen traffic incidents, we have made it yet again, safe and sound :)
So there you go mum :) I finally did it xxx

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