I am now in a state of indecision, which city to live in? Budapest or Prague? I love them both equally! Budapest is all about the Danube, flowing so regally through the centre of the city. St. Gellert watches over the city from the hill on which he was martyred and people go about their daily business in beautiful buildings of baroque, gothic and all the other styles which I can never remember (architecture was never really my thing...). Prague has winding streets and a jolly atmosphere that infects you. I had a random person offer me some of his bread roll - however I don't think the Czechs are as weird as the Finns. Prague is full of music, it is everywhere you go, all types. I saw my first ever opera singing busker yesterday.
I hope you are all well, take care1
Love Sarah
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
It's 4.15am and I have just made the hideous mistake of waking up. This means I cannot get back to sleep, so the sensible thing to do appears to be getting up and doing something else.
I am currently in Budapest in Hungary. I think that without question this is the most beautiful city I have been to so far on my trip, Tallinn was quaint and beautiful in a crumbling kind of way, but Budapest has the lasting memory of the Hapsburgs in the form of spectacular architecture just about everywhere. Got to love those Austrians and their money.
So, in the last few weeks I started in Russia, then moved on to Finland (there was a blizzard in Helsinki while I was there but I think the locals would refer to it as a slight autumn storm - snow was hitting my face from all directions and it stung!), hopped a boat to Estonia and Tallinn, the medieval city, journeyed on to Riga in Latvia where I went on a bobsled, cool runnings style - 110km/hr and it was terrifying! I was glad that the driver was part of the Latvian Olympic team... After Riga I continued in the Baltics to Vilnius in Lithuania. And now I am in Hungary, tomorrow I go to Prague.
I have so many stories and experiences to relate that I don't quite know where to start. In Finland my tall, elegant Russian room-mate mimicked a kangaroo, and the beaches were covered in snow. Tallinn's old town can be walked around in a day, it is so small. The streets are all cobblestone and winding, you can get lost very easily if you aren't paying attention - unfortunately I wasn't so I saw a lot more cobblestone streets than previously planned. I went to the opera in Estonia, unfortunately it was entirely in Estonian and didn't have subtitles. I still enjoyed it though. Riga is a city of guilds, a trade city. It has the undelible mark of merchants from many countries over the centuries - there is even an English church built by the English merchants so they could feel at home. These cities are all so very old, and slowly extricating themselves from the dark mark of soviet rule. Over the centuries everyone has wanted to control this part of the world, and it is a great relief to me that they are finally ruling themselves.
Budapest and Hungary have interesting stories to tell, I just wish I knew more of them. Hungary has a few points to be told. Every revolution they have ever had has been crushed, and every war they have joined has been on the losing side. They currently have a difficult political situation with the government. I don't really know enough to take sides but I can feel the anger whenever locals talk about the current administration. Recently was the 50th anniversary of a peaceful demonstration against the Soviets in Budapest during which the soviets fired into the unarmed and mostly female crowd killing 150 people and leading to one of Hungary's failed revolutions. The people of Budapest (a measly 300,000 of them or so) who wished to congregate at the location of this significant part of recent Hungarian history were disappointed as the government decided not to let them into the square, and the police used tear gas and violence on the mostly peaceful crowd. It seems a bit odd that a peaceful rememberence of their history resulted in a near repetition of that day 50 years later. Apart from politics, I quite like the story of poor old St. Gellert who the pagan Hungarians got tired of listening to, so put him in a spiked barrell and rolled him down the hill into the Danube. Not a very pleasant way to go, but these days half the city is named after him so he didn't do too badly from it. I went to the Gellert Bath House yesterday and soaked in the warm and wonderful thermal waters. Budapest is famed for it's baths and thermal springs, and the water is considered to be medicinal. The doctors prescribe spending time in the thermal waters to patients which gives them free access. I really think we need to consider taking on this attitude towards healing in Australia, that and find some thermal springs to build bath houses around.
I trust you are all well, and I will see you again soon.
Take care,
Love Sarah
I am currently in Budapest in Hungary. I think that without question this is the most beautiful city I have been to so far on my trip, Tallinn was quaint and beautiful in a crumbling kind of way, but Budapest has the lasting memory of the Hapsburgs in the form of spectacular architecture just about everywhere. Got to love those Austrians and their money.
So, in the last few weeks I started in Russia, then moved on to Finland (there was a blizzard in Helsinki while I was there but I think the locals would refer to it as a slight autumn storm - snow was hitting my face from all directions and it stung!), hopped a boat to Estonia and Tallinn, the medieval city, journeyed on to Riga in Latvia where I went on a bobsled, cool runnings style - 110km/hr and it was terrifying! I was glad that the driver was part of the Latvian Olympic team... After Riga I continued in the Baltics to Vilnius in Lithuania. And now I am in Hungary, tomorrow I go to Prague.
I have so many stories and experiences to relate that I don't quite know where to start. In Finland my tall, elegant Russian room-mate mimicked a kangaroo, and the beaches were covered in snow. Tallinn's old town can be walked around in a day, it is so small. The streets are all cobblestone and winding, you can get lost very easily if you aren't paying attention - unfortunately I wasn't so I saw a lot more cobblestone streets than previously planned. I went to the opera in Estonia, unfortunately it was entirely in Estonian and didn't have subtitles. I still enjoyed it though. Riga is a city of guilds, a trade city. It has the undelible mark of merchants from many countries over the centuries - there is even an English church built by the English merchants so they could feel at home. These cities are all so very old, and slowly extricating themselves from the dark mark of soviet rule. Over the centuries everyone has wanted to control this part of the world, and it is a great relief to me that they are finally ruling themselves.
Budapest and Hungary have interesting stories to tell, I just wish I knew more of them. Hungary has a few points to be told. Every revolution they have ever had has been crushed, and every war they have joined has been on the losing side. They currently have a difficult political situation with the government. I don't really know enough to take sides but I can feel the anger whenever locals talk about the current administration. Recently was the 50th anniversary of a peaceful demonstration against the Soviets in Budapest during which the soviets fired into the unarmed and mostly female crowd killing 150 people and leading to one of Hungary's failed revolutions. The people of Budapest (a measly 300,000 of them or so) who wished to congregate at the location of this significant part of recent Hungarian history were disappointed as the government decided not to let them into the square, and the police used tear gas and violence on the mostly peaceful crowd. It seems a bit odd that a peaceful rememberence of their history resulted in a near repetition of that day 50 years later. Apart from politics, I quite like the story of poor old St. Gellert who the pagan Hungarians got tired of listening to, so put him in a spiked barrell and rolled him down the hill into the Danube. Not a very pleasant way to go, but these days half the city is named after him so he didn't do too badly from it. I went to the Gellert Bath House yesterday and soaked in the warm and wonderful thermal waters. Budapest is famed for it's baths and thermal springs, and the water is considered to be medicinal. The doctors prescribe spending time in the thermal waters to patients which gives them free access. I really think we need to consider taking on this attitude towards healing in Australia, that and find some thermal springs to build bath houses around.
I trust you are all well, and I will see you again soon.
Take care,
Love Sarah
Monday, November 06, 2006
Running Behind now....
Okay, so I haven't written anything in a while so I apologise... I am currently in Helsinki and outside this lovely bar (it is quite odd to be drinking whisky and listening to house music in a smokey atmosphere while on the computer...) it is ridiculously cold - it's about minus 5 degrees celcius to be precise. I am getting better at dressing for the cold so it doesn't cause me so much running around in circles and complaining about loss of feeling to my nose.
I'm going to go roughly backwards in time here and tell you what I've been up to...
Scotland:
I stayed with Anna Petrie in Edinburgh, now I'm not sure if Anna and I had ever met back in Australia but her father was kind enough to offer me her spare room (aren't dads great at that sort of thing?) and luckily we got along like a house on fire. Anna was brave enough to accompany me on a tour of the vaults in Edinburgh... I thought it was going to be a silly theatrical ghost tour like the one in York, but oh no, this was down right scary. Those rooms are teeming with something, now I'm not going to say for sure whether it's paranormal activity or highly effective lighting techniques and low pitched sounds, but I was terrified and could not get out of there fast enough. Edinburgh was lovely, it rained the whole time I was there so we had to spend lots of time inside drinking. Okay, not as much time as you may think, but it was much fun - and they had sleemans at Anna's local pub!
After Edinburgh I journeyed through Falkirk in order to demonstrate what a true nerd that I am so I could ride the Falkirk Wheel... this contraption is basically a big connector between two canals which are unfortunately at different heights. Go to www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk if you're fascinated with these sorts of things... Then I went on to stay with my parent's good friends Ed and Elizabeth Petrie (Anna's parents) for a night in the beautiful town of Blairgowrie. I quite like countryside Scotland, I could so move there and be happy.
My next stop in Scotland was with my father's cousin (and therefore my first cousin once removed), Russell and his wife Sandra. They live 23 miles outside of Aberdeen in a town called...ummm... Oyne I think. It's gorgeous! They both work at Aberdeen University so are clearly keen on commuting. Russell and Sandra were wonderful hosts and took me galavanting around the area to see the granite of Aberdeen and the neighbouring town of...ahh.. Kingsbury? my memory is starting to fade I'm afraid... On the Sunday Russell and I climbed Bennachie which is the presiding peak in the area with the remains of an ancient Pict fortification at the top. It was a spectacular day so we encountered many walkers and their dogs on the way down. The view was quite impressive and the wind reminded you to wear your coat... It was lovely to meet some more of my extended family, it's nice to know I have relatives out there considering I grew up with basically only my 6 person immediate family unit due to my relatives refusing to relocate from New Zealand to Australia ( I mean honestly, the audacity!).
After Scotland I journeyed to Ireland. It was hardly what you could call an extensive journey through Ireland. I stayed in Dublin for one night, hated Dublin (I recognise that many will disagree with my feelings about Dublin, but the city certainly pulled out all the stops to unimpress and disgust me so it'll be an uphill battle to convince me otherwise), but loved Kilkenny, where I stayed for two nights. I had a drink at the bar with an Irishman called Pat (a necessary experience in Ireland I feel), had a drink in a pub that has been around since the 14th century, and wandered around in a generally touristy manner. I went back to Dublin because I had to as Kate was flying in from London and we were going to Russia! yay!
Russia:
My first travelling dramas occured when we went to check in for our flights... we were meant to go from dublin to riga and from riga to moscow, however our flight from dublin to riga had been cancelled... so, after some great confusion and stress on the part of the lady at the check in counter, we were sent to vilnius in latvia, then to riga, then to moscow. it was a gruelling journey, but the worst was yet to come... It turns out that road rules are really only a formality in Moscow. I thought I'd seen bad driving before, I thought I'd experienced near death experiences on the back of my older brother's motorbike. Oh no, nothing I had ever done compared to being driven from the airport to the hotel in Moscow by a Muscovite in peak hour... The trip took an hour, and in that hour we drove on the wrong side of the road around blind corners at 70 km/hr, created new lanes when the traffic was backed up, dodged around numerous car accidents and generally almost died. It was a sign of my exhaustion that I actually dozed off for a while... When I woke up the driver pointed out our hotel to us and it was like a ray of light shone down and a chorus of angels started singing... the hotel was quite impressive from the outside. If she could, I reckon Kate would move into that hotel permanently... http://www.ukraina-hotel.ru/ the site can be in english if you know how...but I'm not going to tell you...
Kate and I slept from the moment our heads hit the pillow. We had a brief wander around 10pm to have some dinner and get our passports back (the hotel registers you with the local authority, a necessity in Russia it seems - I'm getting used to parting with my passport, they like to take it off you in Russia... don't worry, I have it back now), then slept through breakfast and didn't appear outside our room until 2pm on Saturday the 28th October...
Now I am tired of being on the computer so I will continue this exciting narrative later. I hope you are all well and not quite so cold as me... take care and all my love!
Sarah
I'm going to go roughly backwards in time here and tell you what I've been up to...
Scotland:
I stayed with Anna Petrie in Edinburgh, now I'm not sure if Anna and I had ever met back in Australia but her father was kind enough to offer me her spare room (aren't dads great at that sort of thing?) and luckily we got along like a house on fire. Anna was brave enough to accompany me on a tour of the vaults in Edinburgh... I thought it was going to be a silly theatrical ghost tour like the one in York, but oh no, this was down right scary. Those rooms are teeming with something, now I'm not going to say for sure whether it's paranormal activity or highly effective lighting techniques and low pitched sounds, but I was terrified and could not get out of there fast enough. Edinburgh was lovely, it rained the whole time I was there so we had to spend lots of time inside drinking. Okay, not as much time as you may think, but it was much fun - and they had sleemans at Anna's local pub!
After Edinburgh I journeyed through Falkirk in order to demonstrate what a true nerd that I am so I could ride the Falkirk Wheel... this contraption is basically a big connector between two canals which are unfortunately at different heights. Go to www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk if you're fascinated with these sorts of things... Then I went on to stay with my parent's good friends Ed and Elizabeth Petrie (Anna's parents) for a night in the beautiful town of Blairgowrie. I quite like countryside Scotland, I could so move there and be happy.
My next stop in Scotland was with my father's cousin (and therefore my first cousin once removed), Russell and his wife Sandra. They live 23 miles outside of Aberdeen in a town called...ummm... Oyne I think. It's gorgeous! They both work at Aberdeen University so are clearly keen on commuting. Russell and Sandra were wonderful hosts and took me galavanting around the area to see the granite of Aberdeen and the neighbouring town of...ahh.. Kingsbury? my memory is starting to fade I'm afraid... On the Sunday Russell and I climbed Bennachie which is the presiding peak in the area with the remains of an ancient Pict fortification at the top. It was a spectacular day so we encountered many walkers and their dogs on the way down. The view was quite impressive and the wind reminded you to wear your coat... It was lovely to meet some more of my extended family, it's nice to know I have relatives out there considering I grew up with basically only my 6 person immediate family unit due to my relatives refusing to relocate from New Zealand to Australia ( I mean honestly, the audacity!).
After Scotland I journeyed to Ireland. It was hardly what you could call an extensive journey through Ireland. I stayed in Dublin for one night, hated Dublin (I recognise that many will disagree with my feelings about Dublin, but the city certainly pulled out all the stops to unimpress and disgust me so it'll be an uphill battle to convince me otherwise), but loved Kilkenny, where I stayed for two nights. I had a drink at the bar with an Irishman called Pat (a necessary experience in Ireland I feel), had a drink in a pub that has been around since the 14th century, and wandered around in a generally touristy manner. I went back to Dublin because I had to as Kate was flying in from London and we were going to Russia! yay!
Russia:
My first travelling dramas occured when we went to check in for our flights... we were meant to go from dublin to riga and from riga to moscow, however our flight from dublin to riga had been cancelled... so, after some great confusion and stress on the part of the lady at the check in counter, we were sent to vilnius in latvia, then to riga, then to moscow. it was a gruelling journey, but the worst was yet to come... It turns out that road rules are really only a formality in Moscow. I thought I'd seen bad driving before, I thought I'd experienced near death experiences on the back of my older brother's motorbike. Oh no, nothing I had ever done compared to being driven from the airport to the hotel in Moscow by a Muscovite in peak hour... The trip took an hour, and in that hour we drove on the wrong side of the road around blind corners at 70 km/hr, created new lanes when the traffic was backed up, dodged around numerous car accidents and generally almost died. It was a sign of my exhaustion that I actually dozed off for a while... When I woke up the driver pointed out our hotel to us and it was like a ray of light shone down and a chorus of angels started singing... the hotel was quite impressive from the outside. If she could, I reckon Kate would move into that hotel permanently... http://www.ukraina-hotel.ru/ the site can be in english if you know how...but I'm not going to tell you...
Kate and I slept from the moment our heads hit the pillow. We had a brief wander around 10pm to have some dinner and get our passports back (the hotel registers you with the local authority, a necessity in Russia it seems - I'm getting used to parting with my passport, they like to take it off you in Russia... don't worry, I have it back now), then slept through breakfast and didn't appear outside our room until 2pm on Saturday the 28th October...
Now I am tired of being on the computer so I will continue this exciting narrative later. I hope you are all well and not quite so cold as me... take care and all my love!
Sarah
Saturday, November 04, 2006
London, York and Edinburgh Photos
Okay, so all of these pictures are thoroughly out of order time wise, apologies...
Me and my father's cousin Russell at the top of Bennachie in Scotland (we were most proud of the climb, and look what a beautiful day Scotland turned out for me)
Inside the cave underneath the entrance to Dunnotar Castle
Dunnotar Castle
Mons Meg, the cannon at Edinburgh Castle - it was rather large (although I've seen one bigger now that I'm in Russia - and a bigger gun is a more exciting gun...)
They had Sleemans at Anna's local in Edinburgh!
The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland...
Me and Kate at Wimbledon Common (we took Womble to the home of his ancestors)
I was quite proud of this photo, a Raven having a bath at the Tower of London
The York Minster at night
One of the many creepy streets at night in York...Monday, October 23, 2006
New York City Photos
The Metropolitan Opera House:
Me with Alice from Alice in Wonderland in Central Park:
Me in a New York City cab... with the window down:
Me eating Spongebob Squarepants:
Me on Brooklyn Bridge:
Friday, October 20, 2006
London, York and Beyond..
Okay, where to start... hmmm... London is as big and grey and foreboding as it always has been, I cannot see that changing any time soon. However, I was staying with my cousin Fiona and her husband Steve in Deptford and it has a lovely green and a bit of purple.
I don't think I'm quite in the mood to pour out a page of descriptive comments regarding my travels in the past fortnight, as I am in Edinburgh, it is raining outside in the lovely manner of Scottish rain and I have just managed to entrance myself with a few hours in the Edinburgh Castle. I think I need a coffee...
I met my wonderful and gorgeous niece, Nicole, and her wonderful and gorgeous mother, Jessica, while I was in London. We went to lunch, we played barbies, we had a miniature tea party. It was good. I learnt the hard way, twice, not to sit next to Nicole at dinner - the first time she was stealing my food, the second time she was feeding me hers... It was lovely. I had a wonderful time playing and I look forward to my one night in London in December to see them again!
Oh dear, this isn't happening for me today... I'll come back another time and try to write far more entertaining things!
Take care,
Love Sarah
I don't think I'm quite in the mood to pour out a page of descriptive comments regarding my travels in the past fortnight, as I am in Edinburgh, it is raining outside in the lovely manner of Scottish rain and I have just managed to entrance myself with a few hours in the Edinburgh Castle. I think I need a coffee...
I met my wonderful and gorgeous niece, Nicole, and her wonderful and gorgeous mother, Jessica, while I was in London. We went to lunch, we played barbies, we had a miniature tea party. It was good. I learnt the hard way, twice, not to sit next to Nicole at dinner - the first time she was stealing my food, the second time she was feeding me hers... It was lovely. I had a wonderful time playing and I look forward to my one night in London in December to see them again!
Oh dear, this isn't happening for me today... I'll come back another time and try to write far more entertaining things!
Take care,
Love Sarah
Monday, October 09, 2006
New York and other exciting tales...
So, I'm in Reading in the UK so it seemed a suitable moment to catch up on my activities between Salem and this delightful corner of England.
Boston:
Johann and I adventured down to Cape Cod (their very own version of the Gold Coast, only in Massachusetts, only it's not quite the same...) and although we intended to go swimming it was a wee bit cold (and there was a sting ray washed up on the beach and we all know what that means, yes, documentary makers). So instead we took photos of seaweed and a dead crab and went to play mini golf at a Pirate mini golf place. If you don't believe me go here: http://www.piratescove.net/location/9. I was winning most of the way, then I messed up on the last hole and we tied. After numerous tied tie-breaker rounds, the guy gave up and we both won an ice cream. Yay for Massachusetts mini-golf! And pirates who play mini golf of course.
I got to see Johann fly on the trapeze. It looks like fun but I was far too comfortable in the bean bag on the ground to have a go (that's what I tell myself at least...). The website is here: http://boston.trapezeschool.com/
We did a bit of touristy stuff including walking through Fanuel Hall and seeing street performers, going to the Cheers bar (I know I know, very tourist, but they made good Boston cream pie!), and seeing the Blue Man Group. On the Friday I went into town by myself as Johann had to study and walked the freedom trail - I went into Paul Revere's house and got a free history lesson from one of the helpers in there. There is a bridge in Boston called the Charlestown Bridge. It is the ugliest thing I have ever seen:
I don't think we spent as much time bar hopping as had been planned, however we did manage to go go-karting with a number of pints in us, and I had a few interesting phone conversations with Johann's family members (Johann is convinced that his family loves talking to me when I'm a tad under the weather for some reason...). We went to a piano bar in Boston called Jake Ivorys (http://www.jakeivorys.com/) which was incredibly cool. We should so have piano bars at home.
New York:
In order to make things that extra bit more exciting, we went down to New York on the China Bus. Otherwise known as the dodgy method. It wasn't so bad, I didn't see too much insanity surrounding us - although after a week with Johann my perception would have been suffering somewhat (hehehe - sorry Johann...). An entertaining journey through chinatown in New York and an introduction to the subway and we were at our hotel on the upper westside of Manhatten (not quite the upper east side Mum, but it was still very nice and I didn't get mugged!).
We saw two comedy shows, went to the opera (oh my gosh, the Met is amazing and the opera was brilliant and I want to go again...), climbed to the top of the empire state building (with the assistance of an elevator of course), took the Staten Island ferry (which is free - we were cheap what can I say?) to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty, ate hot dogs from a hot dog stand, went to Times Square, meandered in Central Park, and walked on the Brooklyn Bridge (which I fell in love with and wanted to take home but couldn't really fit it in my back pack). Oh, and Liz, you'll be so proud - I got a manicure from a little Chinese lady in New York! After I got the hang of the subway I felt increasingly more comfortable in New York. I don't think I could live there, but I'd certainly visit again. Although, word of advice, leave plenty of time to get to the airport, the traffic is ghastly!
So, I am now in England - I saw my lovely Kate again (yay!), we had lunch (I met Kermit - http://kermitthefrogblog.blogspot.com/) and had lunch, and Kate gave me a lift to Reading. I'm staying with Sarah and her friend Lisa in Reading and I'll tell you all about that another time as I am now quite sleepy...
I hope you're all well and healthy,
Take care!
Love Sarah
Boston:
Johann and I adventured down to Cape Cod (their very own version of the Gold Coast, only in Massachusetts, only it's not quite the same...) and although we intended to go swimming it was a wee bit cold (and there was a sting ray washed up on the beach and we all know what that means, yes, documentary makers). So instead we took photos of seaweed and a dead crab and went to play mini golf at a Pirate mini golf place. If you don't believe me go here: http://www.piratescove.net/location/9. I was winning most of the way, then I messed up on the last hole and we tied. After numerous tied tie-breaker rounds, the guy gave up and we both won an ice cream. Yay for Massachusetts mini-golf! And pirates who play mini golf of course.
I got to see Johann fly on the trapeze. It looks like fun but I was far too comfortable in the bean bag on the ground to have a go (that's what I tell myself at least...). The website is here: http://boston.trapezeschool.com/
We did a bit of touristy stuff including walking through Fanuel Hall and seeing street performers, going to the Cheers bar (I know I know, very tourist, but they made good Boston cream pie!), and seeing the Blue Man Group. On the Friday I went into town by myself as Johann had to study and walked the freedom trail - I went into Paul Revere's house and got a free history lesson from one of the helpers in there. There is a bridge in Boston called the Charlestown Bridge. It is the ugliest thing I have ever seen:
I don't think we spent as much time bar hopping as had been planned, however we did manage to go go-karting with a number of pints in us, and I had a few interesting phone conversations with Johann's family members (Johann is convinced that his family loves talking to me when I'm a tad under the weather for some reason...). We went to a piano bar in Boston called Jake Ivorys (http://www.jakeivorys.com/) which was incredibly cool. We should so have piano bars at home.
New York:
In order to make things that extra bit more exciting, we went down to New York on the China Bus. Otherwise known as the dodgy method. It wasn't so bad, I didn't see too much insanity surrounding us - although after a week with Johann my perception would have been suffering somewhat (hehehe - sorry Johann...). An entertaining journey through chinatown in New York and an introduction to the subway and we were at our hotel on the upper westside of Manhatten (not quite the upper east side Mum, but it was still very nice and I didn't get mugged!).
We saw two comedy shows, went to the opera (oh my gosh, the Met is amazing and the opera was brilliant and I want to go again...), climbed to the top of the empire state building (with the assistance of an elevator of course), took the Staten Island ferry (which is free - we were cheap what can I say?) to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty, ate hot dogs from a hot dog stand, went to Times Square, meandered in Central Park, and walked on the Brooklyn Bridge (which I fell in love with and wanted to take home but couldn't really fit it in my back pack). Oh, and Liz, you'll be so proud - I got a manicure from a little Chinese lady in New York! After I got the hang of the subway I felt increasingly more comfortable in New York. I don't think I could live there, but I'd certainly visit again. Although, word of advice, leave plenty of time to get to the airport, the traffic is ghastly!
So, I am now in England - I saw my lovely Kate again (yay!), we had lunch (I met Kermit - http://kermitthefrogblog.blogspot.com/) and had lunch, and Kate gave me a lift to Reading. I'm staying with Sarah and her friend Lisa in Reading and I'll tell you all about that another time as I am now quite sleepy...
I hope you're all well and healthy,
Take care!
Love Sarah
Sunday, October 01, 2006
USA - Photos
Me and Samantha Stevens - the first mainstream witch...
Carly, Tucker (the big dog) & Lilly (sort of hiding behind Carly) in front of one of the most silly souvenir shops in Salem.
The barn attached to the Salem prison - that building is incredibly creepy. Apparently when Ghost Photographers come to the prison they get the most activity at the barn... yet no-one knows what happened in there..
Johann, Womble & Seaweed at Cape Cod.
Johann eating "Boston Cream Pie" at the Cheers bar (I know, touristy, but hey, I'm a tourist!)
Me and my beer at the Cheers bar.
We went and saw the Blue Man Group - they were so funny. I recommend it to anyone who gets the opportunity. The blue man gave me an autograph (see the blue paint on my face...)Saturday, September 30, 2006
Guest room
I'm sleeping under the dining room table... I've only banged my head a couple of times...
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Salem
Johann and I went a journeying to Salem today. Salem as in witches of. A friend of Johann's, Carly, and her two dogs, Tucker and Lilly, gave us a tour of the town. Carly does the wardrobe for the cirque de soleil, and she grew up near Salem so has the whole history in her head.
Anyway, Salem is fascinating. There were 19 people hanged for witchery in 1692, over 200 were accused, one was pressed to death with stones for refusing to recognise the authority of the court, four died in prison and the youngest person imprisoned was four years old, she was released at the old age of six, but spent the rest of her life in institutions as she went mad as a hatter from the experience. The trials stopped because someone accused the Governor's wife of being a witch. The governor allowed the trial, however no spectral evidence (hearsay and "I had a dream and it was the devil" style stuff) was allowed so of course there were no more hangings due to there being no evidence. Interestingly, after that the governor passed a law ensuring the separation of church and state and the disallowment of spectral evidence in trials - this was later used in writing the bill of rights when the USA was created. All so very interesting. Sorry, I really enjoyed the history of Salem.
It was also a major shipping port without a navy, so there were numerous pirates. The third famous thing about Salem is the author Nathaniel Hawthorne (the direct descendent of the hanging judge in the witch trials - neat hey?) who wrote "the scarlett letter" and "the house of seven gables". So, witches, pirates and literature. Oh yeah, I loved Salem.
We went past a few of the more famous sites, including the harbour where there are tunnels that used to be used for smuggling, the old cemetary with graves from the 17th century, and the old prison which was only shut down in the 1980's due to crimes against humanity. That place was seriously creepy, you wouldn't have been able to convince me to go inside that building for love or money.
Yes, so Salem. Most cool - go there.
Sarah
Anyway, Salem is fascinating. There were 19 people hanged for witchery in 1692, over 200 were accused, one was pressed to death with stones for refusing to recognise the authority of the court, four died in prison and the youngest person imprisoned was four years old, she was released at the old age of six, but spent the rest of her life in institutions as she went mad as a hatter from the experience. The trials stopped because someone accused the Governor's wife of being a witch. The governor allowed the trial, however no spectral evidence (hearsay and "I had a dream and it was the devil" style stuff) was allowed so of course there were no more hangings due to there being no evidence. Interestingly, after that the governor passed a law ensuring the separation of church and state and the disallowment of spectral evidence in trials - this was later used in writing the bill of rights when the USA was created. All so very interesting. Sorry, I really enjoyed the history of Salem.
It was also a major shipping port without a navy, so there were numerous pirates. The third famous thing about Salem is the author Nathaniel Hawthorne (the direct descendent of the hanging judge in the witch trials - neat hey?) who wrote "the scarlett letter" and "the house of seven gables". So, witches, pirates and literature. Oh yeah, I loved Salem.
We went past a few of the more famous sites, including the harbour where there are tunnels that used to be used for smuggling, the old cemetary with graves from the 17th century, and the old prison which was only shut down in the 1980's due to crimes against humanity. That place was seriously creepy, you wouldn't have been able to convince me to go inside that building for love or money.
Yes, so Salem. Most cool - go there.
Sarah
Photos - Canada
Lizz & Me!
Adrian & Me
Me & Lizz' brother, Ben
Ryan & Lizz
The horse and buggy warning sign
Me & Marg
Oh Canada
Right now is probably not the right moment for me to be writing this as I have finally succumbed to the illness my brother Stephen and then Lizz were trying to infect me with. Yay for Johann who gets to put up with sick Sarah...
So, Canada. It is big, it is pretty. Only I didn't leave southern Ontario...
My flight out of LA was delayed by three hours (I can assure you, LA airport really loses it's appeal after a few hours) but I made friends with a lady at the bar, and tried not to laugh at the outrageous American accents I could hear around me (I'd just come off a twelve hour flight with no sleep - my political correctness skills were somewhat lacking I fear...).
Lizz and her mate Ryan collected me at the airport in Toronto and I made illogical and often un-interpretable comments from the back seat on the drive back to Kitchener (Lizz' home town, that's really a city but town sounds so much cuter). Lizz woke me up at 1pm the next day, I think I needed a bit of a sleep...
I joined Lizz while she looked after the twins, Ben and Alex. They are adorable. We played dinosaur monopoly and danced to funky music (well, the boys danced, I watched) while Lizz did laundry.
As Lizz was working I had much fun wandering around Kitchener taking photos of the outrageously cute houses! I want to move here, this place is spectacular. Lizz works at a theatre called Theatre & Company, and I went to see a show on Friday night - "Barefoot in the Park" by Neil Simon. Adrian (another house guest at Lizz' place who bakes (yay!) and taught me how to do cryptic crosswords - thanks Adrian!) played the male lead and it was all very entertaining. Oh, I got to have some more Sleeman's Honey Brown that I'd been craving ever since I left Canada four years ago!
This is a bit haphazard, apologies. I also went and saw another show with Lizz that her friend Ryan was in - he did a magic act! I haven't seen magic in years, I was most entertained. We saw some old order Menonites in their horse and buggies too. I was a bit too embarrassed to take a photo though so I got a photo of the warning sign that there are horse and buggies about...
Lizz is wonderful, I had a marvellous time in Canada and thanks! Much love to Lizz, her Mum Marg, her siblings Ben and Bek and of course to my cryptic crossword champion, Adrian. Take care all!
Love Sarah
Ah, almost forgot! Lizz gave me my first ever manicure... I feel most girly and pretty...
So, Canada. It is big, it is pretty. Only I didn't leave southern Ontario...
My flight out of LA was delayed by three hours (I can assure you, LA airport really loses it's appeal after a few hours) but I made friends with a lady at the bar, and tried not to laugh at the outrageous American accents I could hear around me (I'd just come off a twelve hour flight with no sleep - my political correctness skills were somewhat lacking I fear...).
Lizz and her mate Ryan collected me at the airport in Toronto and I made illogical and often un-interpretable comments from the back seat on the drive back to Kitchener (Lizz' home town, that's really a city but town sounds so much cuter). Lizz woke me up at 1pm the next day, I think I needed a bit of a sleep...
I joined Lizz while she looked after the twins, Ben and Alex. They are adorable. We played dinosaur monopoly and danced to funky music (well, the boys danced, I watched) while Lizz did laundry.
As Lizz was working I had much fun wandering around Kitchener taking photos of the outrageously cute houses! I want to move here, this place is spectacular. Lizz works at a theatre called Theatre & Company, and I went to see a show on Friday night - "Barefoot in the Park" by Neil Simon. Adrian (another house guest at Lizz' place who bakes (yay!) and taught me how to do cryptic crosswords - thanks Adrian!) played the male lead and it was all very entertaining. Oh, I got to have some more Sleeman's Honey Brown that I'd been craving ever since I left Canada four years ago!
This is a bit haphazard, apologies. I also went and saw another show with Lizz that her friend Ryan was in - he did a magic act! I haven't seen magic in years, I was most entertained. We saw some old order Menonites in their horse and buggies too. I was a bit too embarrassed to take a photo though so I got a photo of the warning sign that there are horse and buggies about...
Lizz is wonderful, I had a marvellous time in Canada and thanks! Much love to Lizz, her Mum Marg, her siblings Ben and Bek and of course to my cryptic crossword champion, Adrian. Take care all!
Love Sarah
Ah, almost forgot! Lizz gave me my first ever manicure... I feel most girly and pretty...
Friday, September 22, 2006
Photos from NZ - North Island
Robert (my older brother) and his girlfriend Kimmi in Auckland.
Stephen, Lyn (Mum's sister), Nana and Gerry (Lyn's husband) after dinner at the RSA.
Steve balancing six-month old Ethan on his lap (Ethan is our cousin Toni Pawson's baby)
Stephen demonstrating how much taller he is than Nana.
Tina's boys and their chickens - Jack, Jarrod and Andy
Stephen scared the lambs away... I had nothing to do with it, I swear!
All the cousins - Jack, Stephen, Andy, Jarrod, me and baby Amy
Cousin Tina with her daughter Amy and Stephen in the background.
My lovely cousins Fiona and Toni (not the one with the baby, don't stress). Oh, and girls, one of the boys over here in Canada was complaining that he wants good looking cousins like mine!
The gang. Back row: Stephen, Grandad, Nana Peggy, me, Fiona. Front Row: Toby the man hating dog, Toni, Jack the overly excited dog, Sharyn and her baby, Hamish.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Photos from NZ - South Island
Lovely family - Shelley, Andy, Sam and Jack
The family portrait - Uncle Ray, me, Stephen and Uncle Frank (did I mention that they're actually great-uncles? My dad's father is the middle brother)
While we were staying with Ray & Linda. L-R Stephen, Peter (Ray & Linda's grandson, therefore my second cousin), Aunt Linda, me and Uncle Ray.
Stephen's salmon looks a lot like Stephen...
Andy's 7.5 pound trout, hard won prize. Stephen helped by netting it - all most exciting
My salmon - it was kind of icky to hold it - and incidentally, salmon have fascinating teeth.
Shelley proudly displaying her rainbow trout
Saturday, September 16, 2006
New Zealand
Dear All,
I hope you're all well, enjoying work and all that... I'm enjoying being on holidays - I really do recommend it! (hehehe).
I've been in New Zealand for the last week with my younger brother, Stephen. Strangely I didn't get pulled aside and strip searched when we arrived in Christchurch - every other time I've entered this country I've been searched (once I had to take my shoes off...). We went down to Lake Benmore on the first weekend and my uncle took us fishing. The south island of New Zealand is so incredibly spectacular! I just cannot get over how much there is down here - I reckon we should plan a top to bottom trek of the south island some time - I reckon we could fit in some skiing and some ridiculous acts of insane activity (like bungee jumping).. okay, this is supposed to be what Sarah has done, not what Sarah wants to do...
So, Andy and Shelley took us to Lake Benmore and we went fishing. I caught a fish! I know, who'd have thunk it? Stephen caught two - oh, and we went on three separate outings in the boat, the only one the womble did not accompany us on we didn't catch any fish. Andy reckons that if they catch no fish next time they go out, I should send him a part of the womble for luck - don't worry Dan, I won't amputate anything from the womble!!
In Christchurch we stayed with our great aunt and uncle, Ray and Linda - who are lovely. We managed to catch up with a healthy serving of family on the south island, including two other great uncles and one great aunt. We also had Andy's boys, Jack and Sam around to Ray and Linda's for dinner on the Tuesday night - only so they could spend the evening with the womble of course. Jack finally beat me at cards (grumble grumble) but I think I still have more wins overall (muwahahaha!). Does that seem strange, me being so competitive against a nine year old boy?
Anyway, we've done more family visiting in Auckland - I finally met my older brother's girlfriend, Kimmi, who is lovely. Nana is so wonderful and little! Stephen did some gardening for her - we need to catch up for living in another country you see.
Down to Hamilton to see Dad's sister's family and our other grandparents. It was marvellous to catch up with everyone - and I still insist that Sharyn is the bad influence on me, I'd never drink that much gin and tonic on my own... Oh, and Fiona (my cousin) is a bad influence on Stephen, however he now knows the rhyme: Whisky after beer is risky... lesson learned hey steve?
Okay, so, back in Auckland and at the airport, about to set off to Canada. Hope you're all well and healthy and the sun is shining in a most friendly manner.
Take care!
Love Sarah
I hope you're all well, enjoying work and all that... I'm enjoying being on holidays - I really do recommend it! (hehehe).
I've been in New Zealand for the last week with my younger brother, Stephen. Strangely I didn't get pulled aside and strip searched when we arrived in Christchurch - every other time I've entered this country I've been searched (once I had to take my shoes off...). We went down to Lake Benmore on the first weekend and my uncle took us fishing. The south island of New Zealand is so incredibly spectacular! I just cannot get over how much there is down here - I reckon we should plan a top to bottom trek of the south island some time - I reckon we could fit in some skiing and some ridiculous acts of insane activity (like bungee jumping).. okay, this is supposed to be what Sarah has done, not what Sarah wants to do...
So, Andy and Shelley took us to Lake Benmore and we went fishing. I caught a fish! I know, who'd have thunk it? Stephen caught two - oh, and we went on three separate outings in the boat, the only one the womble did not accompany us on we didn't catch any fish. Andy reckons that if they catch no fish next time they go out, I should send him a part of the womble for luck - don't worry Dan, I won't amputate anything from the womble!!
In Christchurch we stayed with our great aunt and uncle, Ray and Linda - who are lovely. We managed to catch up with a healthy serving of family on the south island, including two other great uncles and one great aunt. We also had Andy's boys, Jack and Sam around to Ray and Linda's for dinner on the Tuesday night - only so they could spend the evening with the womble of course. Jack finally beat me at cards (grumble grumble) but I think I still have more wins overall (muwahahaha!). Does that seem strange, me being so competitive against a nine year old boy?
Anyway, we've done more family visiting in Auckland - I finally met my older brother's girlfriend, Kimmi, who is lovely. Nana is so wonderful and little! Stephen did some gardening for her - we need to catch up for living in another country you see.
Down to Hamilton to see Dad's sister's family and our other grandparents. It was marvellous to catch up with everyone - and I still insist that Sharyn is the bad influence on me, I'd never drink that much gin and tonic on my own... Oh, and Fiona (my cousin) is a bad influence on Stephen, however he now knows the rhyme: Whisky after beer is risky... lesson learned hey steve?
Okay, so, back in Auckland and at the airport, about to set off to Canada. Hope you're all well and healthy and the sun is shining in a most friendly manner.
Take care!
Love Sarah
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
6 days in
Quick post... possibly.
In Auckland, fished at Lake Benmore, caught a salmon, didn`t eat it but the extended family did... no more time, will post soon! Sarah
In Auckland, fished at Lake Benmore, caught a salmon, didn`t eat it but the extended family did... no more time, will post soon! Sarah
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Monday, September 04, 2006
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Friday, August 25, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
Music Cover
This is most cool:
http://trafficsau.de/stuff/heyya.mp3 or see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ioKEDgnfs8&mode=related&search=
It's an acoustic cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya"
http://trafficsau.de/stuff/heyya.mp3 or see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ioKEDgnfs8&mode=related&search=
It's an acoustic cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya"
Friday, August 11, 2006
Monday, July 31, 2006
Only thirty-nine days until I leave now.
I bought a camera the other day, a panasonic TZ1 - I think it is very cute and I'm looking forward to taking lots of photos with it then downloading them onto my ipod - I feel like such a nerd! Being that I know next to nothing about photography I asked my dear friend Esther to explain a few things. I have to admit, Esther mostly managed to confuse me. Ultimately I did manage to work out that optical zoom over digital zoom and megapixels determines the size of the photo when you print it.
You can see info about my new camera at: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmctz1.asp
In significantly less cool news my flatmate finally crossed the line of no return with his insults on the weekend so I am vacating my flat a bit earlier than expected. This means I get to save a bit more money and cross a friend off the mailing list. I must thank krista and esther who have successfully convinced me not to do anything evil in retaliation... I've come up with some delightfully cruel things though. Good thing I am not a nasty person hey? My pride and feelings were hurt and I'm turning my back and walking away...
But let's focus on more positive things shall we? I'm leaving in 39 days! That reminds me, I should ring my uncle and remind him...
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