Belfast

Went to stay with my aunty in Belfast and had a personal 'Black Cab' tour with her. She drove us to an area where she encountered a bus being firebombed and in flames in the middle of the road, and also where she did her first teaching assignment at a high school to the sound of explosions and gunfire in the background. We drove along Falls and Shankill Roads and checked out the murals.

We then had lunch at an American Pub and then went to the Crown Liquor Saloon, a pub which has the somewhat dubious title of 'most bombed pub in Ireland during the Troubles'.
Absolutely amazing tangible history here, reminded me a little of Berlin with the wall...of course Belfast has their own version of that, the so called 'Peace Wall', which still has its graffitied check points and scorch marks from being firebombed. The areas between the roads are creepy, a kind of desolate no-mans land.

There are so many great cafes, pubs and restaurants to visit (they are very much into locally grown produce), and the bars and nightlife are amazing.

I loved Belfast, it was so gritty and defiant, yet at the same time such a welcoming and friendly city that I know will be flooded with tourists in years to come.

Paris Pt I

Day 1

Drove to Belfast Intl and said bye to our cute little rental car, we knew we would miss the complete freedom it allowed.  Met 2 lovely Aussie girls from Parkes/Orange and had a bit of a chat to them in the line for check in.

Came out of the arrivals area around 10.30pm and the thick, wet wall of humidity hit us. Struggled onto the Metro with mum and dad's suitcases, it was even packed at that time of the night, and were in quite bad, tired moods by the time we got to our hotel. We flopped into bed and fell promptly to sleep!

Day 2
We decided we would just go wandering around to get our bearings. Had coffee at a cafe overlooking an intersection in the Latin Quarter (it is quite amusing how all of the tables are positioned towards the intersection..there was actually nothing to see apart from cars, such is the national pasttime of France), and munched on a breakfast of baguettes as we strolled down to the Seine

We walked all the way from Place d'Italie, through the Latin Quarter to the Seine, the Notre Dame, then all the way to the Concorde and Tuileries, then back to Place d'Italie again!!! We estimated on the map we walked for 10km, I was so tired and literally flopped into bed again tonight with pins and needles in my legs from exhaustion!

Day 3

Mum's birthday was in June, but as I wasn't there, told her we would do something special for her birthday this year. I told her to get dressed up and I was taking her for a surprise day. We all got on the Metro and got off at the Champs Elysees stop. We had a nice wander down the street until we got to our destination, Laduree!! The most beautiful of the old Parisian tea shops, Laduree is world famous for their exquisite pastries and macarons. We walk in and secure a table for Morning Tea. Dad orders a coke, Mum orders a coffee, and I order one of their famous melted hot chocolates. We order a selection of cakes, pastries and a plate of macarons (2 x chocolate, 2 x salted caramel, violet, vanilla, mint, and red fruits)...heavenly!! Damage = AUD $98!!! An expensive morning tea indeed, but well worth it :)

After our time there, we head to the Eiffel Tower!

Day 4

Today we decided to do different things, Mum and Dad wanted to see the Louvre, and as I had seen it before, decide to visit the catacombes. After a leisurely sleep in, I arrive to the catacombes at 12pm and find the line stetching around the block. I line up and feel a tap on my shoulder...who could it be apart from the 2 Aussie girls we had met in Belfast a few days before, what a small world!! We walked through the catacombes together, and then went to McDonalds for lunch. Afterwards we bid farewell, they went to the Louvre, and I

went back home. Went out for pizza to a lovely place accross the road today. Dad was very impressed as it tasted just like pizza back home hehe! Have an early night as we are getting the early train to Tours tomorrow...

30 by 30

A 30th birthday is a huge milestone in someone's life, and when I was about 25 I decided I wanted to have a goal to work towards.  Something challenging that incorporated travel and my love of checking off lists. 

I decided I wanted to see 30 countries by the time I hit 30.  I have 6 months to go before my 30th birthday and am currently on 29 countries.  I do not include airports in my tally, as I do not feel I could really say I have been to that country. 

I'm so close...but I don't think I'm going to get there!! 

Ballymena & Derry

We spent a week with mum's family here.  It was sunny and not a cloud in the sky, surely this must qualify as a Northern Irish miracle?

We've just been scooting around Ballymena and the surrounds to visit family. 

One of the days we drove to Derry via the Sperrin Mountains (which was a stunning drive). The Sperrins are gorgeous, rolling green hills that look more perfect than any watercolour painting could ever depict, white ponies grazing and frolicking in the lush wild grass, abandoned grey stone cottages and stone walls in varying states of disrepair and neglect, old men in tractors tipping their tweed hats as you pass them on the laneways...what a perfect start to my holiday with my parents :)

Derry was somewhere I had been before and suggested to my parents would be a good day out

We were only planning to spend a couple of hours there, but after wandering around the walls and visiting the little cafes that lined them, decided to make a day of it. We wandered through the markets, grungy cafes along the walls, visited the famous murals, and had one of the most interesting days out of the trip.

Zadar & Kornati N.P.

Day 1
My immediate thought upon reaching Zadar was 'Oh no, what a dump', a thought which was strongly reinforced upon reaching my hostel and seeing its location.  It was across the road from a quarry and on the edge of Zadar, a good 45 min walk from the centre of town.
Caught the bus into town, and got caught in a wild storm!!!  The rain was coming in hard sideways with gale force winds, and nearly sending everyone flying across the bridge...scary! Bought a roasted corn on the cob for lunch and waited out the storm under the city wall arch with about 50 other people.  Once the storm was over I walked to a bakery and sampled a Zadarska Gibinica, a local cake with sour cherries, poppy seeds, sweet cheese and crushed walnuts.  Grabbed a pizza slice on the way home for dinner.  Not seeing much in the way of good food here surprisingly.  Headed out for drinks at the local bus station (unfortunately the only place open at night for a drink!).

Day 2
Set off to explore Zadar in more depth.  Got a pizza for lunch in the main drag.  Walked up the belltower to get a view over the city, went to visit the famous sea organ.  Accidentally got on the wrong bus and had an hour long drive to the seaside at Diklo which was actually a really fun, scenic way to fill in some of the afternoon.  Made my own dinner given the inferior offerings being provided at the food establishments in town.

Day 3
Had my Kornati Islands day trip today.  Cruised around for several hours with commentary around the starkly beautiful Kornati Islands (think white rock formations against the deep blue sea), followed by lunch (except for me and 2 other vegetarians on board, they 'forgot' my order despite it being written on my receipt when booking and it was seemingly outside the realms of possibility to make up a vegetarian dish for us), stopping at a private island for sunbathing...I got a choice spot under an olive tree...fell asleep..what a lovely afternoon!

Split

Day 1

Left on the 6am catamaran from Korcula Town to Split. Got on board and ate my grapes and Corny bar for breakfast, and had a little snooze too.

Got to my hostel in the lovely Narodni Trg (Narodni Square) at 9.30am and dropped off my bags. Went to have a coffee in the kafana in the sqaure, then quickly checked out Diocletians palace ruins before checking into my hostel at 11am.

Met up with S & L from my Intrepid tour at the same kafana as I had frequented earlier in the day (they obviously have good taste in coffee being fellow Melburnians), then visited Emperor Diocletian's palace

 ruins again (properly this time), then to a gorgeous hotel restaurant for lunch. After lunch I bid S & L goodbye, then went to explore the underground part of Diocletians Palace. The above ground part still has some ruins left, but the city pretty much was absorbed into it as they started building later on.   The underground part is completely preserved, and gives you an exact model of how the above ground palace would have looked back then.

Went out for dinner with some people from the hostel.  Later it was decided we would hit the pubs together. We visited 4 pubs and met lots of locals and stayed out til quite late!

Day 2

  

Woke up a lil worse for wear from the night before, and slept in til about 12pm. Went for a walk to get a slice of pizza from the Riva. Just sat on the Riva taking part in the national pastime of people watching. I went wandering around the city just exploring all the laneways and cafes.

 

Met up with the same hostel people again for a pizza dinner, and went to a few bars again. Didnt stay out that long because it was FREEZING, blowing a gale, and a storm was brewing!!

Korcula

Day 1

I woke up alone in my hostel room, as my roommate had already left for a day of sightseeing.  I went into the bathroom, and upon exiting, the door handle promptly falls off.

I try to insert it back into the door to open it, but it just pushes the other part of the door handle onto the floor on the other side. So, at this point being totally alone in the room and not really having any other options, I climb onto the toilet and poke my head out of the bathroom window. No one around. I call out for help, realising probably no one will understand that anyway. No one responds. I spend the next 45mins perched on top of the toilet, waiting for a passer by to help me out of this situation.

Luckily the owner walks by and sees me. He has lost the spare key for the apartment, and he isnt sure how to get me out without breaking the door or window down. He climbs into the bathroom from the toilet window and tries to fix the door, to no avail. He climbs up to the toilet window, and has one leg in the window and one leg on the ledge (omg) and somehow opens the bedroom window and jumps in and fixes the door from there. Hooray Im free again!!

I go on my way and catch the bus/ferry to Korcula. We stop in a lovely town for a food/toilet break, Ston. It has a castle and a beach, I intend to go back there one day :)

Arrived in Korcula and went out to get something to eat. Notice they have Lamingtons in the bakery so of course buy one. Made me laugh to see something from home so far away!!

Day 2

Got up early and headed straight down to get a breakfast wrap from Fresh, then onto to the beach where I spent the entire day! Found an amazing beach so decided to stay there, and just swam and sunbathed all day. Perfect day :)