I Love Paris! Day 1

When I was in 3rd grade, I had a Social Studies project where I could pick any one famous thing and build a model and write a paper on it. I chose the Eiffel Tower. My mom helped with the paper, and mom and dad helped me with the tower. We used popsicle sticks and it took us a whole week. We bought craft wood glue, and my hand got tired from holding the hair dryer for so long trying to make it dry. The last step was to spray paint and draw a thermometer for the top. It was our best creation ever :)

Now I am 26 years old and am finally able to see the real thing. Dreams really do come true!

We began our Parisian tour at our beautiful borrowed apartment in North Paris. We can see the tippy top of the Tower from our window!

Our sweet host for the week greeted us with coffee, chocolate crossants, and a bottle of red wine. This is the life!

We put down our stuff and were off to conquer Paris. First stop, the Arc de Triomphe!

It was beautiful, and right in the middle of the famous street, Champs Elysees.

After strolling around, we received an email from our host, inviting us to a flat party at her friend's. Now I don't know how many of you have seen the great film Breakfast At Tiffany's (if you haven't go rent it ASAP), but there is a party scene where they shove about 50 people into a tiny apartment where everyone is smoking and drinking and just being posh. Take that scene and subtract the size of the apartment and people, and that's what it was like. The host was even in a little black dress! She had cheese, baguettes and wine galore - plus a killer view of Paris.

We hung out as long as we could, between the cigarette smoke and jetlag we were spent, and then headed back and called it a night.

China Tour

China was a blast and a blur. Matt and I enjoyed a relaxing and fun filled 5 weeks, but are happy to enjoy the non-blocked internet elsewhere. We will not spend 40 pages telling you every detail, but we wanted to post a fun list of things we acknowledge and learned from the wonderful country.

*This list is not to offend or piss off anyone from China, related to someone from or in China or anyone who loves Kung-fu movies.*

1. After 5 Cocktail dresses are appropriate anytime anywhere...

2. Along with #1, heals are expected to be worn by all women, with any outfit, day or night. *Exception only being Chucks*

3. Smoking is allowed everywhere.

4. Spitting is allowed everywhere. On a bus, in a memorial museum, visiting a temple? Spit away!

5. "If you ain't first, you're last" The entire population of China is in a hurry to be first for everything. Trains, planes and operas with assigned seats are no exception. People will run and push over small children to be first. If you don't join in, then you will be last. I will take this time to apologize to lil Zhou for the subway incident, but I wanted to be first… and another tooth will grow in its place.

6. No one is fighting, they are just on their cell. People in China enjoy cell phones like any other country up to date with technology. Unlike other countries, the language of Mandarin and Cantonese sound like people are fighting, even if speaking at a normal tone. Add the insecurity of the other person possibly missing a word of what you said, and you have people screaming "angry" sounding words everywhere - restaurants and buses included.

7. Look both ways - and then look again. As many of you know I have learned this lesson already in the streets of San Diego. What you may not know is that bicycles and Vespas are just as dangerous, if not more, than cabs in China. No matter what color a light is, look 12 times then run!

8. Shopping Rocks! Everything is cheap and made to look like it's not. Enough said :)

9. You are the main attraction. Be it Lama Temple or the biggest amusement park in China, nothing is more interesting than the white person near by. Hope your hair looks good, because they want a picture with you - holding a peace sign.

10. "Hello" - you will hear this one word more times then you can count. People see whitey and think about it while you walk by, then shout it back to you when it comes to them, "HELLO!" Feel free to say it back, or say "Hello" back in Mandarin to really mess with them.

Pictures from this incredible journey are now up on Facebook… Enjoy!

New Zealand - Part 1

New Zealand was incredible! The sights, the people, the sights, the food, the sights! The natural beauty of this country was so underrated, I felt overwhelmed at every turn. Australia was pretty, very beachy and fun, but NZ had this small town feel with mountains, greenery and beaches galore.

After spending near an entire month exploring mostly South Island, Matt and I still have a long to-do list of things for our next trip back.

We arrived in Christchurch on April 2nd and immediately picked up our new home on wheels: Jucy Chaser Camper aka Vinny the Van.

It was from there with our new friend Vinny that we proceeded to a small town called Methven to meet up with Matt’s friend Bobby. Bobby moved to NZ from the States a little over a year ago and hasn’t looked back since. Now that our journey is complete, Matt is extremely envious of him.

We stayed with Bobby for a few nights and set up the camper. He is a geologist, Dr. Dirt, so he was happy to take us on a nice hike towards Mt. Sunday. This was the mountain where some of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was made. Aside from its nerdy interactions, this area was our first peek of NZ’s natural beauty.

We packed up our stuff, said “Cheers” to Bobby and began our second road trip of this world adventure.

Our first loop was to cross over towards the west coast using Arthurs’s Pass, up the coast exploring Hokitika - Westport, then back to the East Coast through Murcheson, then down to explore the Hanmer Hot Springs and head back towards Christchurch. This entire loop took about a week.

Arthur’s Pass is a skinny road that winds you through the mountains, all around the forest and drops you at the sandy coastline. In the beginning of the Pass you can stop at a look out and find a Kea hanging about. Bobby described these birds as “flying monkeys”, and we were warned multiple times not to wear shiny things around them.

We camped out a few nights and made it to the tiny fun town called Hokitika. This area was right on the sand and had much natural beauty, but little nightlife. Thanks to Matt’s handy dandy tour book, we discovered that this city had a privately owned movie theater with couches for seats. We entered into this one room building and enjoyed a nice comfy showing of a movie called Get Low with Bill Murray. The owner was very friendly, and the experience was a perfect ending to a long day of driving.

We woke up the next morning ready to go, looked at the map and saw the next stop was the Pancake Rocks. Hearing this I became extremely hungry and couldn’t wait to stop there… They didn’t taste as good as I’d hoped but were incredible to see up close.

Up next, we headed north and found (Matt’s words) THE BEST CAMPING SPOT EVER!! It was free, which was great, and right off the beach. And according to a sign, we might see a penguin (we didn’t, unfortunatey).

We parked in and decided to take a nice stroll on the beach before making some dinner, when all of a sudden…I locked the keys in the van. Now in the last van, Matt let the battery die so everyone makes mistakes. We calmly and rationally (and loudly) expressed our plan of finding a house – the next one was 2km away – and asked to use a phone. Well the one house that was semi-near was vacant. So we walked to the street and Matt eagerly flagged down a sweet woman in a tiny car and asked for her cell phone. Tina introduced herself and offered to take us to her house around the corner. She graciously allowed Matt to look up the AA number (just two As in NZ, not AAA) while she made us a nice cup of coffee. The pop-a-lock guy came and all was well. Matt made us Van-rittos for dinner that were YUM!

The next day we were heading straight to Hamner Springs where I could enjoy some warm hot springs before dark. On our way we found this:

You can’t just not go on there… So we explored this long bridge and the fun areas around it. It was at this time I saw that you didn’t have to just walk back on the bridge, you could fly! Matt was chicken happy to walk back and take my picture.

We finished up on the bridge and headed straight for the pools. Now I didn’t take any pictures of these pools, mostly bc I was submerged into sulfur water, but also because I wanted to relax. This was like an adult water park filled with five different pools, all at different temperatures. And did I mention there were three different water slides? It was a great birthday eve for me ☺

I woke up the next morning in our RV park, headed for the outhouse showers and noticed my birthday gift from the RV Park owners.

I knew it was going to be a good day. We headed to Christchurch to meet up with our friend Kelly who we met in Sydney. He and his son joined us for lunch, and told us about the best places to see in the South Island. Now I don’t know many 13 year old boys--if I did that would be weird--but Kelly’s son Connor was the coolest kid ever. He knew all the band members to Led Zeppelin, quoted Family Guy and South Park, loved chocolate – Matt said that this just reaffirmed he married a little kid, lol. We said our goodbyes and back on the road

This still being my bday, Matt asked me what I wanted to do? I said, in these exact words, “I want to drink with a bunch of really old guys so I feel young.” Matt waved his wand and poof we were in a tiny pub in a tiny town called Amberly, in a pub filled with old men who just got off work. We made great friends, and the owner offered us a spot in the back to park over night.



By the end of the night, the back was rocking out to the juke box, everyone sang me “Happy Birthday” and I got a Kiwi Trucker hat and a drink on the house. Definitely one for the books.

The next morning we pulled out of the bar lot, and headed for a nearby beach parking lot to make breakfast. We finished our eggs and headed to Wine Land. No this isn’t an amusement park… although that’s a good idea… it was the land of different wineries. We picked the biggest one and strolled inside. Matt informed the wine expert that this was our first tasting. This gave this man a chance to roll out the big guns. We smelled, swirled, tasted and swished over 12 glasses of wine! Thank goodness we could chill in the camper afterwards. It was a blast, and the wine guide was drinking right along with us. We sobered up, had some lunch and started back toward Methven for laundry and relaxation.

On the way we stopped at Castle Hill Station so Matt could use the climbing shoes and chalk he borrowed from Bobby to scramble around on some big boulders. He got high enough that he had to turn back (or climb up over the top) since he didn’t have a rope.

Safely back on the ground, Matt found a shortcut in the form of a skinny, 10-mile dirt road that cut almost an hour off our drive back to Methven.

Road Trip!!

We landed in Melbourne mid-afternoon, and checked into our “being renovated” hostel. The room looked like a nice hotel – which was a great upgrade from the two bunk beds in a shoebox before. We walked a few blocks and found Little Italy, and enjoyed free wine with a 3 course pasta meal. When I tried to order water the waitress looked at me strangely and said, “Wine?” so I tried to then describe water (very hard) and then settled on the wine.

Day 1 of Road Trip

Matt and I took a train and two buses to the Wicked Camper lot to pick up our new home on wheel for the next few nights. The “fun” aspect of this brand of campers, is they spray paint interesting pictures (or ugly and inappropriate) on the side of their vans, to make them distinct. Ours wasn’t too horrible.


The inside had a table that converted into a bed, and that was about it. Matt said this will be great practice for the “luxury camper” we will get in New Zealand… This was an understatement.

There is a sticker on the dash of the van that says, “Every great journey begins with a flat tire.” Our great journey began with a dead battery in the Kmart parking lot. After picking up our new auto, and trying to drive on the left side of the road, we found a mall and stocked up on pillows, blankets and food for the week. Matt left the headlights on (ha!) so we came back to a no-go vehicle. Luckily Aussies (and Kiwis) are more hospitable than Southerners – and I would know – so a man with a family near by offered to give us a jump.

A quick laugh and some directions to the freeway later, we were on our way to the Great Ocean Road!

Our first stop was Torque, where it was a beach park, complete with sunshine and crashing waves. It was here that Matt realized our two front tires were almost flat. We made a quick stop to the gas station to fill them up, then back on the road.

Now van troubles aside, this drive had the most fitting name. The road curved along the cliffs and made one with the mountains surrounding it. Only for moments were we too far to smell the salty air and hear the roars of the water. It was truly a Great experience.
I will post the pictures on Facebook, because I cant pick the top pics. The drive straight through can take a day or two, but we stopped probably every couple hours because it was so breath taking, it became distracting to drive.

The first night in Ole Besty (if you name a car, they will last longer) we stayed in a small town called Lorne by the river. This campsite was filled with other campers, and interestingly enough full sized Cockatoos swarming around the trees, happy for any scraps. The next morning we packed up our stuff and hit the road again.

Day 2 of Road Trip

Today was the day we left the Great Ocean Road and headed into the jungle area. There was a cool park Matt read about called the Ottway Tree Top Walk, where they had a steal walkway that took you through the different levels of the trees. Sounds nerdy, but it was awesome! We we nearly a football field in the air on a steal tower “swaying like the trees do”, it was a little scary, but very fun.

We completed out cool walk through the jungle and decided we needed to find a place to park the camper. We didn’t want to pay again for a cold shower and noisy neighbors, so we found a free spot with just a Port-o-potty around. It was there that we met the true Aussies!

Benjamin is a grocery owner, and his girlfriend Sue is the Deli Counter Manager (super cute!). Ben was like an Aussie Ken doll that came complete with a giant Machete knife, rough leather hat, and a black thick jacket. Oh and an awesome “Croc Hunter” accent and swagger.



Matt and I are not seasoned campers, as most of you know, so when we were shopping for food for this adventure; Matt thought it would be fun to let me take charge. So as I am like Lucille Ball in the kitchen, I got the “Can’t Fail” meals: soup in a can, beans in a can, bell pepper, cheese and of course hotdogs. So when we joined the Aussie Pro camp, where we were offered a nicely cooked roast with carrots and potatoes; I was able to throw soup in a pan and offer that as a dessert. It was hilarious, but they appreciated it. Oh and we brought wine, so maybe that’s why they liked us ☺ We played cards and relaxed, swapped stories of the States. All in all it was a good night.

Day 3 of Road Trip

We woke up on this day and said farewell to our new friends, and headed back to the Great road that was calling our names. On this day, we saw a lot of named sites – more touristy stops – The 12 Apostles (which there are only 8, there was 9 but one fell – talk about good marketing), the Gibson Steps (awesome beach that ends at a cliff. Matt said it was like Inception), The Bay of Islands (we liked it better than the Apostles) and finally the Grato (awesome hidden pool down below the cliff top).

We were stopping and starting so much, you would have thought were a city bus; but it was worth it because every stop was better than the last! We completed our day of visits and headed for a spot recommended by Ben called Blanket Bay. On our way to this secret free camping spot, we pulled over because we spotted about seven Koalas just hanging out in the trees! I couldn’t reach them to play, but I did snap a pic or two of them sleeping.



We got back in the car and continued down the unpaved road to our campsite, when all of a sudden I stopped the car completely. Matt asked why, I was slapping him and yelling get the camera, and then he looked up. There was a 6ft Kangaroo in the middle of the road staring my van down. Now sidenote: These are NOT the cute kangaroos that I hand fed and played with at the zoo. We were warned that these animals will run into your car and smash you up with kicks and punches if they feel threatened.

So Matt grabbed the camera and I flashed my lights (it was during the day, but I thought he would get the hint). The Kangaroo then turns to our left and waits, then 3 other Kangaroos follow him (2 babies so flippin cute) hopping about 4 feet in the air into the brush away from the van. Now that’s what I call an Aussie experience.

We finally made it to Blanket Bay, and set up camp right on the beach. Our neighbors were two Aussie chefs who were happy to share a brew and their thoughts on “good food.” With the fire still burning and the ocean calming down, Matt and I called it a night.

Im sorry to make you all go to two places, but because internet is either not available or $5 for 5 minutes, I will post all pics on Facebook, for your enjoyment instead of on here. I apologize for any inconvenience :)

Sydney - Take Two

Matt and I left the beaches of Collaroy and took a nice bus into central Sydney on Monday morning. After checking into our great 4-share (two sets of bunk beds with a bathroom) we checked out our to-see list. Matt looked at my #1 to-do and suggested we go to the Koala Park!

I was excited...

After a train, a bus and a long walk we finally made it to the Koala Sanctuary! Matt immediately made friends with three birds that loved to follow him around.

We explored the park for a little while and came across the Grey Kangaroos. Now before I left my mom suggested I get a little saddle and try to ride one. I was skeptical at first, but when I saw them up close, I think she was on to something.

After hand feeding Kangaroos (video on FB soon) we went on the main event, the Koalas!! I named him Carlos but the woman in charge called him Shawn. So Carlos the Koala and I hung out for a little while. Matt and I were able to snuggle him, pet him, rub his ears and scratch his back. All in all I have to say it was a very successful trip to the park.

When we arrived back to the Hostel in central Sydney, Matt and I were introduced to our roommates Mic and Mac. They were fun Swiss-German boys who were ready to party, with fun accents :)

Day 2 of Central Sydney was a warm sunny morning. So warm in fact that Matt wanted a hair cut to help him cool down.

Before:

Since we are on vacation, Matt decided to experiment, and told the guy to just take it all off...

After

I loved it! and so did Matt :) It gave him a cool edginess to his boyish face and made him look more manly.

We completed our barber-shop-duo and headed to the ferry port. Matt loves boats (as most of you know) so I got to pick the island, as long as it required a ferry ride. I did some research on the nearby islands and picked Cockatoo Island for our adventure.

This island, in Matt's words, is a combination of failed experiments by the British. Cockatoo Island used to be a shipyard, an orphanage for misbehaved girls, a prison and now a tourist site.

We were just about the only people on this deserted island, wandering around like we owned the place. Its the perfect venue for paintball or a horror film... But either way we had a blast. There was even two freaky caves that lead you through the middle of the island, where prisoners sought cover during the bombing of Sydney Harbor.

Day 3 was a day of beaches. Matt read in our guide book that there was a killer walk from Bondi Beach to Coogie Beach - about 5 Kilometers (3ish miles). Little did he mention it was all on the cliffs. The sites were beautiful, though the trek was tiring. We did get a great tan, and worked off any fatty foods we had eaten in the past week. While on our adventure, we passed 3 different smaller beaches and a hidden bay that backed up to the street.

It was worth the journey, and I recommend it to any and all that are near Sydney. After our long walk, Matt and I chose a rocky pool where the ocean waves splashed over the rocks and added fresh chilly water to the area. It was refreshing and the ocean waves were powerful.

We concluded our evening with a relaxing stay at the hostel where Matt ran into a current Irish Stanford Bus. School student named Paul. We quized him about married life as a student, then called it a night. The next morning we headed straight for the airport and were off to Melbourne, Australia.

Timing is Everything...

I have had many moments where I have thought to myself, "Man this was just perfect timing!"  Either walking into a restaurant that is instantly crowded after I am seated, or getting tickets outside of a sold out show that were front row center.  Call it luck, call it fate or call it a "Higher Power" something is on my side.

Matt and I chose a nice beachside hostel for our first few days in Sydney.  What we didnt choose was rainy weather.  We were first put in a room that looked like this:

Twin top bed, Double bottom bed and we had to walk down the hall for the bathroom.

The next morning we got a note about a free upgrade - which we happily took - to this:

But what we were super excited was the free soap!

We spent the first two days exploring the near by restaurants and beach, while trying to stay dry.  Sunday we had plans with an Irishman and a Canadian to go to a Rugby game, but when the rain came down, the boys said that they thought the game woud be cancelled.

Matt read about a nice walk that required a bus ride, so we changed clothes and packed a bag.  As we approached the bus stop and Matt was reading the bus map, a nice older man waiting for the bus asked me how I was doing.  After about three sentences of small talk, I was invtied to a real rugby game in the Sydney Olympic Field.  I grabbed Matt and we hopped on a different bus and off we went.

We saw some great sites on the way:

 Our new friend Mick (just like Crocodile Dundee) told us some of the rules of rugby and who was playing.  We took a bus for an hour, then two trains past central Sydney.

The final train dropped us off right at the stadium, and immediately we heard the cheering from kick off.  The red and green Rabbitohs vs the blue and white Bulldogs.  Incredible game! and Matt and I found out that the Rabbitohs' owner was present at the game.....Russell Crowe!!!! (no pics sorry)

We also got a sneak peak of a known and loved hair style - the rat tail

The game ended and the bull dogs won.  We said goodbye to our good friend Mick and went on our way.

TTFN
Elka

3 Nights in Auckland

We left LAX airport at 11pm on Sunday March 13th.  The entire 747 New Zealand Air Plane barely had 40 people, even though it could have easily held my whole high school.

So with the plane being somewhat a ghost town, Matt and I grabbed our own rows and stretched out for the 13 hour flight.

We arrived at 8am on Tuesday March 15 (skipped right over Monday) and caught the shuttle to the hostel. We stayed at the Lantana Lodge in an area called Parnell.  As soon as we checked in, and were escorted to the common area, Matt and I made friends with a New Yorker and a few good Brits.  We dropped off our bags and joined our new friends on a stroll through Auckland.

We grabbed a burger on the way and I was surprised to get some version of chunky salsa on mine instead of ketchup. Weird but decent eating.  The locals were a mix of super thin pale blondes, and SUPER tan, thick, husky people where dred-locks and barefoot is good anytime.  Even when they were in the middle of downtown, no shoes required...

First Stop Sky Tower
The Sky Tower resembles the Seattle Space Needle, offering a fantastic panoramic view of the city and nearby islands.  Fun Fact:  The Sky Tower is the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere rising to the height of 37 buses back to back.

After an eventful day around the city, we turned in to the Hostel with our friends for a deliciously cooked meal by a Canadian.



Volcanoe
We woke up the next morning ready to conquer the world, so Matt suggested climbing a volcano.  At the top of the Sky Tower, we were able to see a huge green hill with a giant crater inside, and that was the next adveture calling our name.  We took the local bus, and hiked over 7 miles up and down this beast of a hill (looked smaller from the tower).

Waiheke Island
On our third and final day in Auckland, Matt and I planned a fun day just for the two of us.  We took a bus to the pier and booked a round trip ferry ticket to Waiheke Island.  This island can be compared to Coronado Island, for you San Dieagans out there, where people live out there all year around, and you can barely afford to look at their beaches.  Be that as it may, we enjoyed the relaxing 40 minute boat ride with a killer view from the water.

After arriving on the island we took a 30 minute stroll and found a Fish & Chip place over looking the beaches.  The owner was excited we were from Cali and told us she visited every summer for good LA shopping (who knows what that means...) so we stayed a while and had a beer.  I instantly made a friend names Sydney, who loved to be scratched :)

We were relaxing and enjoying the day, when all of a sudden we were overcome by five happily brewed (drunk) Aussies who wanted us to join tables.  An hour, 2 bottles of wine and 2 beers for Matt and I later, we made best friends with these mates from down under.

Sandy, one of the wives, loved to take our pictures, so I let her.

We then all agreed that we wanted to take the 6pm ferry back to Auckland, and the senior partiers had scheduled a cab and invited us to join.  Delighted to skip the 30 minute hike back to the ferry, we agreed and walked to the street with them.  Just as we were all looking around for the said cab, Nevel (Sandy's hub - 3 sheets to the wind) runs in the street and holds his hand up to stop an empty bus.  They bus driver stopped (he had no choice) and told the drunk man, "Fine! Hurry! Get on! Im late for the ferry!"  The seven of us get on our own private bus and haul butt down a windy road, throwing our New Zealans money at him as we go.  We make it to the ferry just in time, and were immediately escorted by the Aussies to the bar.  One guy in front of us was buying 35 Heinekens and Nevel was worried they would run out.  So he began shouting (which he thought was joking) and also introducing me (like that will get us a beer) and the man laughs and proceeds to tell us he owns the ferries.   Best afternoon so far :)

We are now in Sydney and ready to have the next adventure!  Bring it on!