Danish - not just a delicious breakfast pastry!

Better late than never right? In the interests of posterity it's time to blog about this years travels. Been back a month, so let's see how much I can remember!

So my travels began on a coldish, July morning. In my infinite wisdom I had decided going travelling the day after finishing school would be a good idea. So I hopped on my fun little flight to my favourite airport (love Schipol - how sad is it I have a favourite airport?) and then another little hop over to Berlin!!

Gotta love the window seat

First thought - okay I don't speak ANY German. When we were learning basic German in school I had 4 weeks off with chicken pox, so when I came back I had to take an exam which I failed of course and got stuck in the bottom class - which equals spending a year learning colours (which I forgot) and how to say a cup of tea - eine tasse tea! So anyway, turns out Berlin airport is horrible, stood around for an HOUR waiting for bags til some dude says we are at the wrong belt . . . in German, but I worked it out. So finally got bags, jump in taxi and make to to Plus Hostel Berlin.

Plus is a pretty nice hostel, apart from the fact it is literally across the road from a nightclub. The thud of base until 6am takes some getting used to. I met my first Contiki there, Rachel from Sydney, we had some Italian food at a restaurant with a cooky little owner and later that night got our final roomate Avneet from Canada.

Next morning was day one of Contiki Scandinavia and Russia. An earlyish start on the bus, everyone was really quiet on the bus which I found hard! I like to make a friendly welcome, the vibe of this trip was becoming clear early on. We drove to the Baltic Sea and took the first of many ferries on this trip. Ferry thoughts - Danish people LOVE shrimp sandwiches, sausages and pretty much nothing else. More foreshadowing.

We made it to a rainy Copenhagen in the early afternoon which gave us time to settle. In (yet more) foreshadowing they had messed up the rooms and tried to fit 3 girls plus big luggage into a tiny room. So I got to repack and move rooms. Yay. I hate packing.

First night was a buffet dinner and sightseeing tour - the Royal palace, little mermaid etc. It was still raining so we played dodge the raindrops. We ended the nights with some drinks at a cosy bar on Nyhavn- once haunt of sailors and prostitutes and now a cosmopolitan and lively spot for locals and visitors alike. And yes, alcohol in Scandinavia is very expensive. But more on that later.

Day 2 in Copenhagen started with a city tour - got to see the City Hall which is apparently heavily featured in the TV show 'The Killing', which is apparently really good so I'll be looking out for that. Next a few of us headed to the Amalienborg Palace (or 'Slot' as they call palace) where you can go underneath and see ruins of the old palace. The Danish royal family were pretty careless with their palaces in the past - this one alone burned down twice previously. 


After this we headed to the Church of Our Saviour which is one of the tallest buildings in the city. Yeah, was a bad idea . . . you have to climb a million stairs and then these wooden ladder type things, the staircase is very narrow and all the while people are pushing in each direction. Once you reach the top the balcony around it is only about 70cm wide. The foolish can choose to walk up the spiral bit (see below) to the very top. But I decided to decline on this occasion.

Next we went to a place called 'Christiania' a so called 'free town', it essentially governs itself and considers itself not part of Denmark (or even Europe). It's full of artists and odd types selling canabis everywhere. I wasn't a fan but some people loved it, it felt a bit dodgy even at 3 in the afternoon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_Christiania


That night we visited Tivoli which is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. It's full of rides (old style and new style), bandstands playing music and drama, restaurants and little side show games and shops. It's very pretty and fun to wander. But wait, I forgot about the scouts . . . Ever since the ferry over to Denmark we had been seeing Scouts everywhere, like whole troops of them. Turns out the International Scount Jamboree was being held in Sweden in a few days time. So we get to Copenhagen and they are like swarms of locusts, worst was Tivoli, there must have been at least a 1000 of them - if I'd have paid for a ride ticket I'd have been annoyed as the queues were massive - and full of scouts. Anyway, minor moan over! We rounded off the night with amazing icecream in freshly made cones, ready for a morning at the brewery.


Okay, last stop Copenhagen as to be CARLSBERG!! Okay few facts, Carlsberg was named after the owners son (Carl funnily enough!), famous symbols are the elephant and crazily enough the swastika (pre nazi of course) and they don't actually sell Carlsberg in Denmark -it's Tuborg. The brewery museum is fairly dull, but you get to see the worlds largest collection of beer bottles :) At the end of the tour you also get 2 free drinks, which can never be a bad thing!


So on a slightly tipsy note, we leave Denmark and head over a really big bridge for a Swedish pit stop and then onto amazing Norway!

Hello 2011, I've been expecting you!

So 2010 is finally over. For all it's trials and tribulations it has been an amazing year. I think the term roller coaster probably is the best description. But I've learned you cannot appreciate the highs if you don't know the lows ;)

I've travelled thousands of miles, seen and done some amazing things, met some incredible people and learned more than I could have dreamed possible this time last year.

I've finally found a job I genuinely enjoy, I've learned just how strong, brave and capable I am. I've realised I'm a risk taker, who doesn't want to wallow in an ordinary life.

I've learned that you can't rely on others to make your life great, you need to go out there and seize the day.

Mostly I've learned you can't plan your life and frankly if you do you are missing the point. It's not about the destination it's the journey.

I don't really believe in resolutions as I think they can set you up for failure. But there are some things I want to do/continue to do.

I want to get healthier again. I've gone a little crazy at times this year and now I'm ready to put my life on a more even keel. Eat/think/live better.

I want to cram in as many amazing experiences as I can. There are so many things I want to do!

I want to be less critical, of myself and others. Sometimes I see myself being a cynic and that's not who I want to be.

So who knows where I will be this time next year. How exciting!

xxx

Christmas thoughts . . .

Christmas:
Time of crowded shops and panic buying.
Time of overpriced gift sets that you know will be half price on the 26th.
Time of novelty songs and bad reality show singles.
Time of the same old movies. Again and again and again.
Time of party nights out when you find out a bit tmi about your work colleagues.
Time of karaoke and board games you play once a year.
Time of pointless DVD’s: Comedy, sport and ‘get fit’.
Time of crap gifts ‘oh thank you so much for that rose scented body lotion set – how ever did you know what I needed!?!’
Time of eating way too many sweets, feeling sick and promising to eat better (invariably failing by Jan 1st).
Time to tell the kids, ‘Of course he is real!’.
Time of families! (arguments, tears, tantrum, booorrreedddoomm)
Time to send cards to the friends and relatives you don’t see any more.
Time to hear the same songs. Over and over and over.
Time to be covered in itchy glittery clothes and tinsel.
Time to practice present wrapping skills!
Time to start making promises and plans for the new year ahead ;)

She was 29, going on 30 . . .

So as I advance towards the grand old age of 29, 1 year shy of the big 3-0, I find myself in a rather philosophical state of mind and entering the territory of Carrie Bradshaw as I ask:

What's the big deal about turning 30?

Okay, first some 'fun' facts about the number 29 (courtesy of wikipedia, so hopefully they are correct!):

It is the tenth prime number
The atomic number of copper
Saturn requires over 29 years to orbit the Sun
The designation of Interstate 29, a U. S. freeway that runs from Missouri to North Dakota.

In 365 more days I will be departing the land of 20-something which I have inhabited for the last decade and entering the unknown and scary world of 'the 30's'. So what are my issues with this age?

I suppose to be true, it's not really my issues but other peoples. Especially being female, there are so many pressures that come in the 30's. We are expected by some point in this decade to have great careers, been married, had children (the clock is ticking . . .) before we reach the barren land of the 40's. Because of course if these things haven't happened by the age of 40, we are on the scrap heap.

Who is to blame for this? Men play a part. I don't get the double standards of a man having a relationship with someone vastly younger than then and women doing the same. Personally I think dating/marrying/whatever someone (anyone) 20 years younger than you is a little icky and raises all kinds of psychological questions. But as a consequence of this, many women feel they are in some kind of competition with the younger members of their sex. And therefore we are also to blame. We gossip about our friends, place impossible pressures of perfections on ourselves, obsess over tiny details.

Age is just a number. I have friends of lots of ages and I appreciate the uniqueness of them all, we all need to see each other as individuals, not a summation of the number of years we have lived (or our hair colour/choice of clothing brand/how 'cool' we are). I wouldn't go back to being younger for any amount of money. I've learned so much 'growing up' and I still am.

They may say youth is wasted on the young, but it's only a waste if you don't use it. And I choose to squeeze every last drop out of mine.

But, after all that, I may start shaving a few years off now. Just a few :)

Jenna: Wait, listen to me. I'm 13!
Lucy: Jenna, if you're gonna start lying about your age, I'd go with 27.

(13 going on 30)

6 More Weeks!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells . . .
Er, yeah it is a bit early. But I'm so excited it is only 6 weeks until Christmas holidays and I get to whizz over to Austria for my second Contiki extravaganza! Christmas in the snow, can't wait. It may even make the oncoming Christmas onslaught of toy adverts and hearing the same songs over and over again bearable.
Fingers crossed I can remember how to snowboard and no injuries please (2 broken arms is enough for anyone) and I shall get myself some new wintery pictures of self, this one is soo old!
Anyway, that's all just wanted to gloat a little! Hugs and kisses xx

NYC – Big lady statues, disco fries, Geordie accents in America and tall buildings at night

So it’s almost over (until next time, more on that later!). The last night in DC closed in and the following morning we packed up and loaded up the gold bus for our final journey to the big apple.

Our first stop on this journey was in a place called Annapolis where we stopped at the United States Naval Academy. Those of us who had booked went on a tour of the facilities where we saw where the cadets trained and lived. The regime is so harsh, they get hardly any time off, have to do so much work, I wasn’t sure whether to admire them or think they were crazy. Our tour guide was very very boring and talked a lot. Not great since we were all a bit worse for wear and it was super hot (as usual on this trip). On a plus point we stumbled across all the cadets marching to class in their little white uniforms. Sailor boys <3.

How excited were we when we saw this???

We rebussed after the tour and headed onwards to the city or Philadelphia, home of Rocky, the liberty bell and philly cheese steak sandwiches. Our first stop was the Rocky ‘steps’ at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. No, I did not run up them, but I did walk up very fast (there are a lot of them!). There is also a statue of rocky outside the museum which you could take a picture with.

Whilst in Philly I passed on trying the infamous cheese steak and instead hit up the Liberty Bell (it’s a bit bell . . .) and saw Liberty Hall. Quite nice to see some real American History, especially after visiting Washington.

De de de de de de de de de de . . .

So onwards it was to NYC. We arrived late afternoon and got dropped off at the Contiki hotel and it was a bit of an anti-climax as we just kind of dispersed. There were plans to meet later thankfully. I headed off to my hotel, the Pod Hotel. It was about 10 blocks away so I got a cab. Check in was super quick and easy and it was a great hotel, such a good location. I did however start to feel lonely. After a month of having a roomy and constant companionship I was alone. Hard to get used to :(

That night I decided to walk to the bar to meet the others (concierge – 15 minutes walk, actually 40 minutes walk!) and happily lots of people had made the effort so we got a chance to say goodbye. My ex-roomy Erin was there and upon hearing how bad her hostel was, convinced her to take the extra bed in my room, I was no longer alone! I then directed a bunch of us to Times Square (since I went to NYC a bazillion time with Virgin) and saw the lights etc. We also checked out BB Kings, which was dead and no where near as fun as in Memphis. I then headed back for an early-ish night and arranged to meet Naomi the next day to sightsee!

NYC's finest (and me looking tres rough)

Day 2 of NYC Naomi and I decided to see lady liberty first. I had previously been over there but was more than happy to go back! We went down to battery park and with our tickets followed to massive queue, took 5 mins just to get to the end of it :( In the queue we saw Mark and his sister Vicky so we cheekily pushed in. Still was going to be a long wait. As luck would have it, a worker saw a couple of the guys had NYC City Passes which gives you a q jump. Mark and I didn’t but he said it would be okay, so what would have been a 2 hour wait became a 20 minute one. Happy days! We boarded Miss Liberty and headed to Liberty Island, got some photos with the lady and souvenired a little and then got back on the ferry and checked out Ellis Island, the place where thousands of immigrants first set foot on American soil. You can practically taste the history.

Post lady Liberty we did an emergency clothes shop ( 4 weeks in same clothes = bad) and visited Macys, Tiffanys and build a bear workshop where I treated myself (watch, necklace, statue of liberty bear!).

Trend setters!

Me and the statue of liberty bear!

That night I headed to the Contiki hotel and met up with a bunch of people. We got some dinner at an ‘Irish’ bar, where the menu included the interested, but ultimately gross Disco Fries and then hit up Times Square again. We then headed to the Empire State Building and went up to see the views at midnight. Very fun, there were quite a few people up there and no queues, and we bumped into some more Contiki’s! I called it a night at about 2am – no partying in NYC, Jill was partied out by now!

Strike a pose!

Last ever group shot at the top of the Empire State

The next day, Naomi wasn’t feeling great so we took it easy. We visited Wall St, the ground zero area, Century 21 and China Town. We then went to the TKTS booth at Times Square and waited in a ridiculous queue. We made a short list of shows and when we got to the booth plumed for Billy Elliot based on cost and what we hadn’t seen. Still cost $70 each for restricted views, Broadway is expensive!!!

After a chill out at the hotel (much needed!) we med at the theatre and had fun watching Americans try and do Geordie accents, with varying degrees of success! It was pretty amazing though and we were only about 7 rows from the front, only couldn’t see a foot or so of the stage on the left hand side, well worth it it seems! Afterwards we headed back to Times Square (AGAIN!) and had some famous NYC cheesecake at Roxy Delicatessan, yummy but HUGE uneatable slices. With that, my last night in the states came to a close

The next day, I did some last minute shopping and met Naomi for Lunch at Olive Garden and finally got myself a paper hat at Hershey World (the best freebie ever!). I then said a sad goodbye to Naomi, who had been my constant companion that past month. I am reasonably confident we will meet again soon (private joke ‘Omi!).

My trip ended with a long journey to Newark airport, a thankfully decent flight back to LHR (and nice people sitting next to me!) and a hop up to Newcastle – and funnily enough Erin was on my BA flight to NCL.

So that is it. Over. Kaput. Finale. Or is it?? Come on, this is me!! Miss Itchy Feet herself. I’m off to Austria at Christmas and will be hopefully touring Europe next year. So this blog will continue and I hope you will continue to read.

As always, I am seeking a life less ordinary.

Love, Jill xxx

DC - Definitely Cool :)

So it was out penultimate driving day and it was fairly long. The traffic into DC was really bad and we also got caught up in the tropical storm again (the one that had been following us from Miami!). We got to our hotel in the afternoon, we were staying in a place called Cheverley, about 30 mins outside the city centre. Of all the hotels we stayed in this was the one with the worst location. But more on that later.

The first night we had an included meal at a restaurant next to our hotel. Hands down, worst food I’ve ever had. Some kind of over salted chicken dish and vegetables that looked like they had been nuked. Thanks for that Contiki. We then got drove into DC for a city tour. DC has a law that you can only do tours if you are a registered guide, which Justin wasn’t. So we had to pick up a lady to guide us and she was the worst tour guide I have ever seen. Kept saying, err and umm and had no charisma or charm and a complete inability to guide people which meant our tour totally overran. However, it was a great intro to the city in that we saw a lot. Went to the capitol building, the Lincoln memorial, Jefferson memorial, Korean war memorial and the Vietnam memorial. DC is such a pretty city at night, it’s built on a grand European-style scale. The buildings aren’t tall but the roads are wide and there is lots of lovely architecture. My favourite one was the Lincoln memorial – reminded me of Planet of the Apes : )

Me and Abe

That night some of us headed to a local bar which was soo busy, but we still had a fun night. We then got to deal with a taxi driver getting us home. No taxi drivers knew where out hotel was, they were all a bit useless. It ended in one of the guys putting the address in the cab drivers sat nav and we made it home eventually!

Next day, we hopped on the bus once more into DC. Our first stop was Arlington Cemetary which is where the military are buried. Anyone who has served in the US military can be buried there, and it is HUGE. Saw JFK’s grave and also the gaves of the unknown soldiers which are guarded 24 hours a day. We then headed to the Iwo Jima memorial, it’s the famous one where the soldiers are raising the flag which is pretty impressive. We then went into the city and Naomi and I pounded the city streets, we visited the Holocaust Museum, the National Archives (saw the declaration of independence and had a National Treasure moment) and managed to get ourselves to a mall and buy new clothes and make it back to the bus on time, yay us!

That night we were free to do our own thing, so a bunch of us headed into an area of town called Foggy Bottom (great name) and had dinner at a pretty awful restaurant (flies in the drinks!) and then went to meet the others in another bar. So that night I had way too much (the lovely Bruce decided to buy me a ridiculous number of drinks) and stayed in a club until we got kicked out – lights coming on and all. Then we got back to the hotel and the taxi’s dropped up off at the one place and we all had to climb a 10 foot fence with spikes on the top of it to get back to the hotel. To this day I do not know how I got over that fence.

(On a side note our group had so many taxi dramas in DC. One group were in a taxi when it got hit by another car and got stuck while they waited for the police. Another guy got dropped in the middle of nowhere when the taxi driver got lost, and another couple had a really scary experience in a service station. If you ever go to DC, stay in the city!).

I think this picture sums it up nicely

The fence

So, following day I woke up on time but made an executive decision that more sleep was needed and passed on the bus ride into town. A bunch of us got the subway into the city later and decided to have lunch at the classiest place – hooters! I had a ‘Strip Cheese Sandwich’. It was pretty gross but the name was brilliant! We then hit a few museums, Air and Space was first – lots of similar stuff to NASA, then very brief stops at the American History museum and­ National History Museum (where night at the museum is set!).

That night consisted of a lovely dinner at a pub in Arlington followed by a gold bus party in the basement of hotel. I learned how to play some interesting aussie card games, witnessed some very drunk boys wrestling and injuring themselves (and then fighting later resulting in a hospital visit : ( ), the very stupid decision to set off firecrackers and fireworks at 2am outside the hotel (you know who you are!) and general mayhem that makes me surprised we weren’t banned from there!

Arggh!

DC was great, would need at least a week to see everything. Next leg is a trip to the naval academy, a pit stop in Philly and the big apple.