AMSTERDAM!

Well HELLOOOO AMSTERDAM! One of the biggest party capitals of Europe! When we first arrived, we all hired bikes and rode them around the country town! It was so relaxing! We then dropped off our bags at the hostel and got ready for a big night ahead! Roxy, our tour guide took all of us to the red light district zone. It was.... interesting. Women would just stand naked in the windows waiting for men to go in and.. yeah. Can't believe that actually happens in this world! Well it most certainly does in Amsterdam! While walking the streets, there were sooooo many sleezy, horny men it just wasn't funny! Personally, I think Amsterdam is really dirty and I feel really unsafe here. I did have a fun time but I wouldn't really choose to come back here. Had an awesome last night! I am sooo sad that my contiki tour came to an end! :( I had such an amazing time! Would have to say it is a trip of a lifetime! I started the trip knowing no one and finished it having met people that would be life long friends! Will never forget this trip! :)

If you would like the juicy goss of what really happened in Amsterdam I'll let you know via email! ;)

Rhine Valley

Most of you probably have never heard of the Rhine Valley, I sure didnt until I got there! hehe There wasn't much here, only a small town that took about a minute to walk from one end to the other. But how it was situated on the edge of a mountain just made it so beautiful! This is where you get those famour coo-coo clocks! We had a pretty quiet night as we had to prepare for our last nights in Amsterdam! Rhine Valley isn't a must see place, but it is still really beautiful :)

Germany!

And then there was Germany! On our drive to Germany, we drove through the AMAZING Austrian Alpes. I was so tied on the bus but I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop starring at the beautiful mountains. They are so massive! Probably like 4 times the size of the Dandenong ranges! with white caps on the top. I have made a promise to myself that some time during winter, I going to Switzerland and skiing the Alpes!
We finally arrived at Munich and had a walk around the town. There isn't much in Munich, just lots of people and beer! That night we went to the famous beer hall and had a beautiful traditional German meal- Pork knuckles with a litre of beer! (of course I had a Radler- sprite and beer mixed together) Like every 15 minutes we had to stand up and do a big cheers and clashing of glasses! On the way home, we had a dance party on the bus! It was so much fun! I forgot to tell ya, our contiki had a song, it was 'Hello' by martin solveig so whenever it came one we just went crazy!! We got back to the hostel and partied hard down underneath in the basement! At 3am, Jasmine and I did a maccas run!! So now I can say I did a maccas run in Germany! :) In the morning, I was extremely hungover and on our way to the Rhine Valley, we stoppped at the concentration camps... Saddest most eeriest place I have ever been too.. I went through the museum and they had such graphic pictures and videos of all the dead bodies. I couldn't believe thay actually did this to them.. I also had a look where they gased and cremated all the jews. It was just so inhumane.. On a happier note, I would love to come back here for Oktoberfest! :)

Venice!!

Well there aren't enough words to describe Venice! It is just beautiful. As you may or may not know, Venice is surrounded by water, so in order to get to it, you have to catch a boat. When we arrived, the first thing we did was go on the gondolas! So there I was, cruising along with my bottle of champagne through the amazing City of Venice. It was one of my favourite things I had done all trip. We went and had (another) beautiful Italian dinner. In the main square, they played music so I taught Alex how to do a little of Ballroom dancing! The best gelati I have ever tasted was here in Venice! This place is a must see guys! It is famous for a reason! :)

Roma!!

Oh my goodness, Rome would have to be one of my favourite places!! We drove around the city and saw all the spectacular sights! I just wish I had more time here as there is so much to see! My favourite place was the water fountain where you throw coins into it and make a wish! I also really loved the Colossium. The Vatican City on the otherhand, yes it was beautiful but oh my god all that walking!- I thought I was going to die and that my feet were going to fall off. This trip is so exhausting! For dinner I had the best cabonarra and gelati ever! :) I have eaten so much pasta and pizza it's ridiculous! I had my first coffee here.. oh o! I hoped i don't become too addicted! Just can't believe I am in this beautiful city! I will defenitly come back here again!

Italy!

Finally arrived in the beautiful country, Italy! I never actaully realised but Italy has so many mountains! On the way, we must of driven through about 200 tunnels!! It was crazy! But so beautiful!
We first stopped off in PIZA! There wasn't much in Piza besides african men on the streets selling fake gucci handbags and of course, the leaning tower of piza! We had a compettion of who could take the best picture with it! We took a really good one of Alex doing a handstand with his feet leaning up against it so it looked like he was holding it up with his feet upside down. We came second.

Holding up the Leaning Tower of Piza! :)

I Love it!

After that, we arrived in Florence! I shared a cabin with Pru and Jasmine and boy it was bloddy hot!
We all went out for an AMAZING Italian dinner! Freshest pasta ever! soooooo yummy! After that, we went to an Aussie Kareoke bar! You could get 2 litres of whatever you want for such a good price! so, of course, I got drunk pretty quickly!.. and before I knew it, I was up on stage singing "I'm a barbie girl!" I must of sung it pretty good because I attracted a cute Italian Stallion! :) yay! After that, Jasmine and I were a bit... silly.. and had a dance party in the cabin! hehe such fun times.

Florence

Waiter at the Italian Restaurant. He's so cute!

2 Litre Drinks! woo!

The next day, I think all of us really struggled. We went on a walking tour around Florence and to be honest, I don't think I paid any attention to what the tour guide was saying!! I felt so bad nodding off when she was talking about something that she was really passionate about.. woops! Oh well! Florence is AY OKAY! :)

Bridge in Florence

French Reviera!

Man I can see why movie stars come here a lot! This place is absolutley amazing! The beaches are so magical and so relaxing! Today we got another free day to go exploring! Jasmine, Alex, Pru, Cody and I went to Nice. (Pronounced 'neese' not 'nice') It is one of my favourite places so far!
We went to the beach and believe it or not, there is no sand! Only pebble rocks. This makes the ocean so blue! It's beautiful. I may also mention, some people may have 'forgotten' or 'lost' there clothes on the beach... It was crazy how people feel that comfortable to just lie in public naked! I of course would NEVER do it! hehe!
We then went had and had a really nice lunch. After that we walked up this chateau that has a really nice view of the town. We then went and go some yum as ice cream and laid back on the beach again! (not topless) This place is amazing. I so want to come back here again!! :)

Paris!

After waking up super early, the contiki hit the road! We travelled on the bus for about 6 hours, aswell as the trip on the ferry. It went pretty quick! Did heaps of socialising on the bus so that we all got to know each other a bit more! We have a fantastic group!
I finally arrived in the beautiful city of Paris! It just blew me away! Everything about it is so incredibly beautiful! We dropped off our luggage at the hotel an then we hopped back on the bus and they gave us a tour around Paris! I couldn't believe I was actually in Paris... the city I have dreamed of my whole life!
The next day, we had the day to our selves to do what we wanted to do. I decided to climb the eiffel tower! It was pretty tiring, but when we got to the top, the view was sooo worth it!! We then went to the Louve and saw the Mona Lisa. (much smaller than what I expected, but it was still good!)
After a long day of walking and sight seeing, we went back to the hotel and got all dressed up for the night ahead of us! We all went out for a beautiful dinner, tried frog legs and snails and they weren't too bad! After that we all went to see a cabaret. It was absolutley amazing and to top it off we got heaps of free champagne! So as you can imagine, I was off my tree by the end of the show! hehe! And of course we all wanted to keep partying! So we went to a club in the city called sullys and had sooooo much fun! Hot french boys EVERYWHERE! May have kissed a couple, (amazing!) and I think its fair to say that by the end of the night I got quiet good at dancing with french boys! They are pretty forward and lets say.. very intimate. And to be quiet honest, I was kinda over french boys by the end of the night! We partied till the morning and of course the next day was the death of me. Massive hangover and very little sleep as we had to hop on the bus very early! and that was the end of Paris! But it defenitly won't be forever!

The Louve

Walking up the Eiffel Tower!

Yes I ate snails!

beautiful!

oo la la :)

Pru and I :)

Colleen, Courtney, me, Pru and Jasmin

La Catherine! aww i miss cat :(

french restaurant:)

Caberet night!

Contiki!

The time had come for my contiki tour aroung Europe to start! The night before our depature, we had a meeting with the contiki crew and we got to know everyone on our tour. The first person I met was a girl name Jess. She is quiet the character! She nis from Canberra in Australia and works for Telestra. I then made friends with a girl named Pru. She is a from the Sunshine Coast and is a Lawyer. I then met a brother and sister named Alex and Jasmine from the United States in Arizona. Really lovely people! And they were only just the beginng! We had some drinks at the bar and then had to go back to our hostels as we were leaving at 6am in the morning! Paris here I come!! :)

A taste of London

I looked forward to this day for so long. You hear so much about London. It was only 2 weeks ago I saw what a beautiful city London was on television when Prince William and Kate Middleton got married. And now, I was finally here to see it for myself. Robynne and I took the train in and she taught me how to use the tube. (So much nicer than the trains in Melbourne, although so much more expensive!)

Red Double decker bus.

It was just so overwhelming seeing all the old buildings in the city. Truly beautiful. Robynne and I went on the double decker tour bus that had no roof. We were able to see all of London from a fantastic view. I wouldn't be surprised if I did the tour a hundred times! London is quiet difficult to take in as it is that big! But I'm sure I'll get used to it. Other than it being an extemely windy day and the milllions of people (might I say half of the million were extremely hot, good looking boys!Yay!) we had a great day.

Big Ben.

Some of the highlights were Big Ben- even more beautiful in person. St Pauls Cathedral where Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married, (where I would love to get married! hehe). The Buckingham Palace- where my husband Prince Harry is, the London Tower Bridge and the London Eye (which is the beautiful ferris wheel)- hopefully I will go on it on a date one day! :)
Saw black cabs and red double decker buses everywhere! and the tube which is the train that runs a long way under the ground! quiet scary actually...
It is going to be the best place to live, I cant wait!

London Tower Bridge

St Pauls Cathedral.

"Who said fairytales weren't true..."

During my first week in England, Robynne showed me a number of unforgettable places.

Whaddon Manor was where the Duke of Bedford's lived and still lives today. It is over hundreds of years old and it was just spectacular. We were able to walk through the house and the garden surrounding it. Australia has nothing like it. It was fascinating to see how much history England has. After we walked through the house, Robynne and I had a delicious lunch in the tea room and eventually went home.

"Doe, a deer."
Deer were everywhere in the yard.

Whaddeson Manor was even more breathtaking. The Rothschild family were from France and built this chateau as a holiday home. The garden surrounding it reminded me of the movie 'The Secret Garden'. (Robynne and I ended up buying the movie and watching it) This house reminded me of my barbie house that I had when I was little. It is defenitly fit for a princess. Robynne and I had a wonderful lunch, I tried my first creme brulee, (absolutley amazing!) and eventually had to drive back home.

One word- fairytale.

...Like a princess

Just so pretty...

I would also like to add- We went to the local shopping centre in Milton Keynes and they had a massive indoor ski slope where people could hire ski's or snowboards and have and ski down all year round! Great hang out place for the teenagers! The shops here were amazing! Places like Top shop, H&M and Zara are the favourites and if you went shopping in England you would see why! So many 'quality' clothes, great fashion and not too expensive! I was in heaven.

Can't wait for winter.

The beginning...

"Hardest thing in the world was to say good bye to my family and friends and go through the international gate, alone."

After weeks of organizing and packing, the day had finally come for me to leave Australia. Didn’t get off to the best start! When I arrived at check in, I had to unpack and re-pack my bag as I was 14 kilos over the limit and it was going to cost me $1500.

I then had to say good bye to my family and friends and walk through the international gates, alone. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. The plane flight was pretty good, well for a 21 hour flight anyway! When I flew over England, my first thought was how green it was! It was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't believe I was actually all the way across the other side of the world. Robynne picked me up from Gatwick Airport and drove to Waddon where they live. The house is absolutely gorgeous. Jet lag was starting to kick in! I couldnt sleep straight away because I was so excited that I finally was in England!

The view I had on my morning walk.