Well, it's been a while since we last posted. Lots of interesting things have happened since then.
Firstly, I managed to find a job. Back at the same place (but in a different lab). I am really enjoying it so far - the lab is friendly and the work is interesting. It has also been good to catch up with my mates from my former lab.
Secondly, my Dad and Eleanor got married last Saturday. It was threatening to rain but it managed to stay dry for the park ceremony then bucketed when we arrived for the indoor reception. It was a good night - the bridal party all looked pretty spiffy and it was great to catch up with some family that I haven't seen in years.
Thirdly, Bron and Ben are off to Canada tomorrow. They have an early flight so we will all be out there at the crack of dawn (just about) to see them off. I am very jealous that they are going into cold weather. We are going to miss them heaps.
That's about it for now. I'm not sure if anyone actually reads this still but ah well! Good for a diary anyway.
Love El and Geoff
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Post Travel Depression
Hi everyone,
Well, the title is actually a lie but I thought it sounded cool. :-) We are slowly settling down to the real world. Pretty amazing that we have now been back for 3 weeks! We have both done the Centrelink thing to get us by until we find jobs. No luck yet but something's out there I hope. Last week we went down to Geoff's parent's place. It was good to catch up with the family. Geoff's Dad really liked the Ulu knife we bought for him from Alaska. The weekend before last Christine and Nigel got married. They both looked beautiful and it was also good to catch up with the old uni friends. :-)
Not much else to say really. For those reading this that we haven't seen yet - sorry for being slack and we will get round to seeing you soon!
So bye for now,
Love El and Geoff.
Well, the title is actually a lie but I thought it sounded cool. :-) We are slowly settling down to the real world. Pretty amazing that we have now been back for 3 weeks! We have both done the Centrelink thing to get us by until we find jobs. No luck yet but something's out there I hope. Last week we went down to Geoff's parent's place. It was good to catch up with the family. Geoff's Dad really liked the Ulu knife we bought for him from Alaska. The weekend before last Christine and Nigel got married. They both looked beautiful and it was also good to catch up with the old uni friends. :-)
Not much else to say really. For those reading this that we haven't seen yet - sorry for being slack and we will get round to seeing you soon!
So bye for now,
Love El and Geoff.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Home Sweet Home
Hi everyone,
Well the time has come (very quickly I might add) and we are back in the good 'ol land of Oz. After saying our goodbyes to Rob and Chrysa, we jumped on a plane that took us to Bangkok. The flight was pretty long but there was plenty of movies to watch and the seats were pretty comfy so no complaints here. I would recommend Thai Airways for sure. We landed in Bangkok at some ungodly hour like 5am and then proceeded to wait at the airport for... wait for this... 18 (and a half!) hours for our final flight into Brissy! We had been warned though (and therefore cannot complain too much) that we should book a hotel for the day for some sleep and to freshen up. However we decided to do the stingy thing and just stay at the airport. I am not really sure how we managed to stay sane for the day! We were both dead-tired and found the hard, bumpy rows of plastic chairs at the viewing level VERY uncomfortable to sleep on. I ended up sleeping on the floor for a bit but even that wasn't too good. We got some weird looks from people (including a cleaner trying to sweep the floor!) but we didn't care. I'd like to say at this point that we observed an awful number of planes landing and taking off! Eventually the hours ticked by and we checked in, did some duty free shopping and finally got on that plane at some time after 11pm!
The flight home was really empty and everyone in our section got 3 seats for themself. It was awesome to stretch out and get some shut-eye! Needless to say, this flight went really quick and before we knew it, we were home.
Geoff is currently crashing on the floor of his brother's place. He tells me he got his meat pie fix and a few beers to wash it down with. :-) I went home with my brother and suceeded in surprising my parents who thought we weren't coming back until September. The looks on their faces was priceless. We are now starting to get over the jetlag but everything still feels not real and it may take some time for everything to sink in.
We are glad to be back but also feel sad that our trip is over.
Hopefully we can keep this blog going and keep adding interesting stuff.
So for now, that's all folks!
Love El and Geoff
Well the time has come (very quickly I might add) and we are back in the good 'ol land of Oz. After saying our goodbyes to Rob and Chrysa, we jumped on a plane that took us to Bangkok. The flight was pretty long but there was plenty of movies to watch and the seats were pretty comfy so no complaints here. I would recommend Thai Airways for sure. We landed in Bangkok at some ungodly hour like 5am and then proceeded to wait at the airport for... wait for this... 18 (and a half!) hours for our final flight into Brissy! We had been warned though (and therefore cannot complain too much) that we should book a hotel for the day for some sleep and to freshen up. However we decided to do the stingy thing and just stay at the airport. I am not really sure how we managed to stay sane for the day! We were both dead-tired and found the hard, bumpy rows of plastic chairs at the viewing level VERY uncomfortable to sleep on. I ended up sleeping on the floor for a bit but even that wasn't too good. We got some weird looks from people (including a cleaner trying to sweep the floor!) but we didn't care. I'd like to say at this point that we observed an awful number of planes landing and taking off! Eventually the hours ticked by and we checked in, did some duty free shopping and finally got on that plane at some time after 11pm!
The flight home was really empty and everyone in our section got 3 seats for themself. It was awesome to stretch out and get some shut-eye! Needless to say, this flight went really quick and before we knew it, we were home.
Geoff is currently crashing on the floor of his brother's place. He tells me he got his meat pie fix and a few beers to wash it down with. :-) I went home with my brother and suceeded in surprising my parents who thought we weren't coming back until September. The looks on their faces was priceless. We are now starting to get over the jetlag but everything still feels not real and it may take some time for everything to sink in.
We are glad to be back but also feel sad that our trip is over.
Hopefully we can keep this blog going and keep adding interesting stuff.
So for now, that's all folks!
Love El and Geoff
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Lefkada
Hi everyone,
We are back after our 3 day holiday in Lefkada. This is one beautiful island. We visited 5 different beaches and were amazed with the beautiful shades of turquoise. The water was very pleasant to swim in and we enjoyed vegeing out on the beach as well. We also ate a lot of greek food and checked out the cool markets and shops in the main town. The island was packed with all the tourists and the roads were very windy, narrow and dangerous with lots of parked cars everywhere. Rob did a great job driving amidst the craziness of it all!
We stayed in an apartment close to the main town. The grounds were beautiful and it had a nice pool. We caught a few taxis into town for dinner and noticed how the cabbies had covered up the meters and then charged whatever they liked! Chrysa was on the ball though and stopped anything becoming too expensive!
Had a great trip - definitely worth visiting.
See ya,
Love El and Geoff.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Hot in Greece
Well we made it to Greece and are now staying with Chrysa and Rob on the outskirts of Athens in a place called Krioneri (or Kpyonepi in Greek). We have been here for about a week or so enjoying the sites, smells and tastes of being in Greece. We have almost overdosed on Souvlaki and olive oil but we are bearing it.
We have been checking out a few sites around Athens including Roman ruins dating back to 400B.C. or so. We also checked out the acropolis and the parthenon. The old temples are really cool.
We have been sampling a few of the local taverns( tabepnas in Greek) and various cafes trying to have the true greek experience. We are4 eternally grateful to Chrysa for all her translational skills. All we can really get by ourselves are tickets, bread and beer(not too shabby).
We went to a tavern that overlooks Athens the other night for a few drinks. We had a table but you have to buy a bottle of spirits to share. We had a few drinks each from it but Rob and I both felt ordinary the next day. We were suspicious because there were reports on the news about tampering that takes place in some establisments.
Anyway, we managed to recover ok and we went for a swim at a beach not far from Athens (near the site of the rowing in the 2004 Olympics). The water was really salty and quite nice. Lucky we had a few beers on hand to get the taste out of our mouths.
We are spending time around chrysa and Robs place. The days are really hot at the moment-the next few days are supposed to get up to around 40C.
We are going to one of the Ionian greek Islands-Lefkada this weekend. That should be really cool.
We are really enjoying our time here though the whole language barrier is a bit tough sometimes. As long as we can get beer and bread we should be able to get by.
Hope everyone is well.
Bye for now.
Geoff and El
Sunday, July 24, 2005
The Scottish Highlands
We are back in London after spending the last week travelling through Scotland. We were on a tour that took us up into the Highlands and the Isle of Skye. It was a really good week, learning about the history, seeing great scenery and most fun of all drinking scotch at the top of these magnificent mountains. We stayed at pubs, hostels etc and the others on the tour were really nice.
We saw a few famous battle fields like culloden and bannockburn and saw other cool stuff like Loch Ness and various castles.
Scotland was really cool, well worth a return visit in the future. It did rain a lot but thats typical Scottish weather for you.
We are jetting out to Athens tomorrow to catch up with Chrysa and Rob which should be great fun.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
We saw a few famous battle fields like culloden and bannockburn and saw other cool stuff like Loch Ness and various castles.
Scotland was really cool, well worth a return visit in the future. It did rain a lot but thats typical Scottish weather for you.
We are jetting out to Athens tomorrow to catch up with Chrysa and Rob which should be great fun.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
Sunday, July 17, 2005
London Town
Hi everyone,
Well we are here in London now. Our visit to Washington DC was fun, we went and saw lots of the president monuments, had a peek at the White House (from the fenceline) and also checked out Capitol Hill where the pollies live. It was unbelievably hot and humid, so we also spent alot of time in air-conditioned shops! We found the hostel where we stayed at to be a little too crowded and there wasn't any locks on the doors so we were a little concerned about our stuff... but there wasn't any problems as it turned out. We really enjoyed the backyard of the hostel... it was really leafy and there was a cool patio to sit back and enjoy a slurpie from the nearby 7-11 store. And they had hammocks in the yard which were very cool.
Early Thursday morning we caught a plane to London. Washington Airport was in shambles, millions of people everywhere, not enough signs and huge lineups for the security checks. The plane trip over the Atlantic was good though - we had little tvs in the backs of the chairs with lots of different movie channels. And the food was pretty good too. We got to London quite late in the evening and we were grateful to Geoff's mate who picked us up and directed us back to his place. The last couple of days we have done a fair bit of sight-seeing, we checked out Buckingham Palace (and saw the changing of the guard), walked through Trafalgar Square and got a look at the Tower Bridge from a distance. Yesterday we went to the Camden Markets and saw all the alternative people that we had been told about. Last night we went to a pool party over at Brixton. There was mostly Aussies, Kiwis and South Africans there and they were mad!
We are heading off to Edinburgh tomorrow on the train and we have booked with a tour group to see the Isles of Skye and other parts of Scotland. Should be fun. We will be back in London next weekend before heading off to Athens on Monday.
So that's about it for now. We have been a little surprised with the cost here in London. It's a good thing we aren't here for that long!
See ya,
Love El and Geoff
Well we are here in London now. Our visit to Washington DC was fun, we went and saw lots of the president monuments, had a peek at the White House (from the fenceline) and also checked out Capitol Hill where the pollies live. It was unbelievably hot and humid, so we also spent alot of time in air-conditioned shops! We found the hostel where we stayed at to be a little too crowded and there wasn't any locks on the doors so we were a little concerned about our stuff... but there wasn't any problems as it turned out. We really enjoyed the backyard of the hostel... it was really leafy and there was a cool patio to sit back and enjoy a slurpie from the nearby 7-11 store. And they had hammocks in the yard which were very cool.
Early Thursday morning we caught a plane to London. Washington Airport was in shambles, millions of people everywhere, not enough signs and huge lineups for the security checks. The plane trip over the Atlantic was good though - we had little tvs in the backs of the chairs with lots of different movie channels. And the food was pretty good too. We got to London quite late in the evening and we were grateful to Geoff's mate who picked us up and directed us back to his place. The last couple of days we have done a fair bit of sight-seeing, we checked out Buckingham Palace (and saw the changing of the guard), walked through Trafalgar Square and got a look at the Tower Bridge from a distance. Yesterday we went to the Camden Markets and saw all the alternative people that we had been told about. Last night we went to a pool party over at Brixton. There was mostly Aussies, Kiwis and South Africans there and they were mad!
We are heading off to Edinburgh tomorrow on the train and we have booked with a tour group to see the Isles of Skye and other parts of Scotland. Should be fun. We will be back in London next weekend before heading off to Athens on Monday.
So that's about it for now. We have been a little surprised with the cost here in London. It's a good thing we aren't here for that long!
See ya,
Love El and Geoff
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
U.S.A.
Hello. We survived New York City. We had a shared dorm in a so-so hostel that was really overpriced.We stayed in the upper west side of manhattan which was really good and close to most things in downtown new york. New York was a cool place to visit-but there are so many people that we started to get the shits with it all. We visited the statue of liberty and saw the empire state building. On the way to the statue of liberty on the ferry we had a coast guard escort, machine guns and all.
Any major tourist building that you went into you had to go through a series of security checks.
We rode the subway a couple of times and went to times square. Even on a sunday there were probably 4 times more people than you see in Brisbane on a weekday in peak hour. The drivers and the pedestrians are crazy-a lot of horn honking going on. There are even signs posted warning of a $350 fine for honking.
We caught a 4.5hr bus trip to Washington D.C last night and are staying at a hostel in Takoma Park, on the outskirts of the CBD. We had to do laundry in the heat yesterday(it is about 35C or so) and there is only so much recycling of clothes that you can do.
Today we are going to check out a few things in D.C, hopefully the whitehouse Etc which should be good.
We are due to fly to London in about 3 days and catch up with some friends so hopefully that won't be too scary for us. We are a little hesitant but we will visit and try to keep a low profile.
Besides the heat, America is expensive! Even without the conversion you pay a lot for a little. It makes you appreciate the cost of living back home. We are getting about 70 cents to the dollar over here so things can get quite expensive when they show up on the credit card statement.
Oh well, it might be good training for the uk.
Talk again soon.
All the best
Geoff and El
Any major tourist building that you went into you had to go through a series of security checks.
We rode the subway a couple of times and went to times square. Even on a sunday there were probably 4 times more people than you see in Brisbane on a weekday in peak hour. The drivers and the pedestrians are crazy-a lot of horn honking going on. There are even signs posted warning of a $350 fine for honking.
We caught a 4.5hr bus trip to Washington D.C last night and are staying at a hostel in Takoma Park, on the outskirts of the CBD. We had to do laundry in the heat yesterday(it is about 35C or so) and there is only so much recycling of clothes that you can do.
Today we are going to check out a few things in D.C, hopefully the whitehouse Etc which should be good.
We are due to fly to London in about 3 days and catch up with some friends so hopefully that won't be too scary for us. We are a little hesitant but we will visit and try to keep a low profile.
Besides the heat, America is expensive! Even without the conversion you pay a lot for a little. It makes you appreciate the cost of living back home. We are getting about 70 cents to the dollar over here so things can get quite expensive when they show up on the credit card statement.
Oh well, it might be good training for the uk.
Talk again soon.
All the best
Geoff and El
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Bye Bye Canada
Well hey hey everyone, the time has come for us to say goodbye to Canada and commence the rest of our round the world journey. Wye survived the camping , with bugs, noisy neighbours, rain, thunderstorms etc. We got absolutely chewed one night by ferocious little sandflies-they came right through the tent screen and drew blood by chewing behind our ears as we slept. Fun!
Well Canada truly has been a non-stop rollercoaster of thrills, kills(I hit a few little things in the rental car (Oops)) and chills and we are really going to miss it. This time tomorrow night we will be in the big apple but we are freaking out a little bit. We have been in a small city and camping so it will take a bit of time to get used to such a big city. We are looking forward to travelling again because it means we are getting closer to home(eventually).
We had a good last day in Halifax(and Canada). There is an international tatoo on in Halifax this weekend so there was an impromptu bagpipe and brass band performance for a couple of hours that we saw. We also went to the maritime museum which has a large titanic display and heaps of call maritime artifacts. Tonight we are in a guest house getting a good nights sleep before we catch a plane early tomorrow morning. After new york we will spend a few nights in Washington Dc before flying out to London to spend a week or so there.
Best be going now.
Hope everyone is well
Geoff and El
Well Canada truly has been a non-stop rollercoaster of thrills, kills(I hit a few little things in the rental car (Oops)) and chills and we are really going to miss it. This time tomorrow night we will be in the big apple but we are freaking out a little bit. We have been in a small city and camping so it will take a bit of time to get used to such a big city. We are looking forward to travelling again because it means we are getting closer to home(eventually).
We had a good last day in Halifax(and Canada). There is an international tatoo on in Halifax this weekend so there was an impromptu bagpipe and brass band performance for a couple of hours that we saw. We also went to the maritime museum which has a large titanic display and heaps of call maritime artifacts. Tonight we are in a guest house getting a good nights sleep before we catch a plane early tomorrow morning. After new york we will spend a few nights in Washington Dc before flying out to London to spend a week or so there.
Best be going now.
Hope everyone is well
Geoff and El
Friday, June 24, 2005
Crazy Camping Adventures
Hey everyone,
we have survived our first week of camping. Air beds that self-deflate, toilet trips at 2am in freezing rain and windy nights in a walmart cheapy summer tent pretty much sums it up. Not really. The scenery has been fantastic, and the nova scotians have been really friendly(especially when we say we are from Australia- "You're from where?") Apparently they don't get heaps of Aussies visiting over here- must be too far or something like that.
We have spent the last week camping in various provincial parks around nova scotia. They have been pretty quiet campgrounds, with hardly anyone camping. It is the third day of summer here(by canadian standards) and we had to get our winter gear out again the other night. It is very wet and cold and you can feel it in your bones.
We have spent the last couple of days around the bay of fundy, which is in the north of nova scotia. It has the worlds largest tides,up to 16 metres or so in height and we have been checking out the sandflats. The cliffs are very red and apparently full of fossils and amethyst but we haven't found any yet.
We are following a series of tourist drives around the province, and we occasionally get off the track a bit and have to back track when the signs are missing.
We are sitting in a library at Parrsboro at the moment doing some free surfing and will return to our campsite a bit later for some canned food and copious amounts of toast.Yum!
We have been fending off the aggressive squirrels trying to steal our food and enjoying the scenery.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
we have survived our first week of camping. Air beds that self-deflate, toilet trips at 2am in freezing rain and windy nights in a walmart cheapy summer tent pretty much sums it up. Not really. The scenery has been fantastic, and the nova scotians have been really friendly(especially when we say we are from Australia- "You're from where?") Apparently they don't get heaps of Aussies visiting over here- must be too far or something like that.
We have spent the last week camping in various provincial parks around nova scotia. They have been pretty quiet campgrounds, with hardly anyone camping. It is the third day of summer here(by canadian standards) and we had to get our winter gear out again the other night. It is very wet and cold and you can feel it in your bones.
We have spent the last couple of days around the bay of fundy, which is in the north of nova scotia. It has the worlds largest tides,up to 16 metres or so in height and we have been checking out the sandflats. The cliffs are very red and apparently full of fossils and amethyst but we haven't found any yet.
We are following a series of tourist drives around the province, and we occasionally get off the track a bit and have to back track when the signs are missing.
We are sitting in a library at Parrsboro at the moment doing some free surfing and will return to our campsite a bit later for some canned food and copious amounts of toast.Yum!
We have been fending off the aggressive squirrels trying to steal our food and enjoying the scenery.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
Monday, June 13, 2005
Nova Scotia
We are now in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We arrived here a couple of days ago after taking a 19hr train ride from Quebec City. The weather has been a little miserable (which can be normal for here) but not too bad. Yesterday we went for a walk around the waterfront checking out all the ships. We went to look around a WWII corvette which was pretty cool. We also went to the city's cittadel and checked out lots of old cannons, and a very extensive military museum.
We are in Halifax until Wednesday morning where we are hiring a car and planning to explore Nova Scotia. We are also going to buy a tent and try and see it on the cheap.
So that's about it for now.
Love Geoff and El.
We are in Halifax until Wednesday morning where we are hiring a car and planning to explore Nova Scotia. We are also going to buy a tent and try and see it on the cheap.
So that's about it for now.
Love Geoff and El.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
French Canada
Bonjour,
Zhe ne parl pas francais. I can't speak French as we have discovered. We have spent the last few days in the province of Quebec, first in Montreal and more recently in Quebec City. Montreal was cool, it is a vibrant mix of english and french speaking people. All the street and building signs are in french so we did a lot of guesswork. We stayed in a mixed dorm in Montreal for 1 night and met a nice couple from Ottawa. They took us around old montreal and showed us a cool lebanese bakery in the middle of the suburbs. Yum! We spent the next two nights in a private room. We walked to the top of Mont-Royal (where Montreal gets its name) and had a good view of the city. The buildings in Old Montreal were really interesting.
We caught a bus from montreal to Quebec City on Monday and have been looking around the city. We are staying at a hostel within the walled city of Quebec, built in the 1600s sometime. It is really cool to walk around looking at all the old structures and the interesting buildings. French is by far the dominant language here. We haven't had to use it too much- though we had trouble ordering subway in montreal- we think they ripped us off a bit but oh well shit happens.
We are catching a train to Halifax, Novia Scotia on Friday night. We are planning on camping for a few weeks around there, possibly Newfoundland as well but it depends on how much things cost.
Hope everyone is well.
All the best
Geoff and El
Zhe ne parl pas francais. I can't speak French as we have discovered. We have spent the last few days in the province of Quebec, first in Montreal and more recently in Quebec City. Montreal was cool, it is a vibrant mix of english and french speaking people. All the street and building signs are in french so we did a lot of guesswork. We stayed in a mixed dorm in Montreal for 1 night and met a nice couple from Ottawa. They took us around old montreal and showed us a cool lebanese bakery in the middle of the suburbs. Yum! We spent the next two nights in a private room. We walked to the top of Mont-Royal (where Montreal gets its name) and had a good view of the city. The buildings in Old Montreal were really interesting.
We caught a bus from montreal to Quebec City on Monday and have been looking around the city. We are staying at a hostel within the walled city of Quebec, built in the 1600s sometime. It is really cool to walk around looking at all the old structures and the interesting buildings. French is by far the dominant language here. We haven't had to use it too much- though we had trouble ordering subway in montreal- we think they ripped us off a bit but oh well shit happens.
We are catching a train to Halifax, Novia Scotia on Friday night. We are planning on camping for a few weeks around there, possibly Newfoundland as well but it depends on how much things cost.
Hope everyone is well.
All the best
Geoff and El
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Toronto
Hi everyone,
Well, we made it over to this side of Canada. Our flight on Monday morning was pretty good, only took about 4 hours or so. The in-flight movie was pretty lame--> "winndixie". Must have been cheap. :(
We had two nights in a really friendly hostel (much better than the one in Vancouver). Yesterday we went with a small tour group to Niagara Falls. The falls were really spectacular. There is, however, a really tacky, Las Vegas-style strip that kinda ruins it though, with lots of sky scrapers, house of wax style museums, etc. Our tour guide drove us out to a lardy-dar winery where we tried some ice wine. Ice wine is made from grapes that are harvested at temperatures of minus 10 degrees and the resulting drink is VERY sweet. At prices of $55 for the skinnest half-bottle, it is a little out of our price range!
We also checked out a monument overlooking the Niagara river, where the British/Canadians defeated the Americans in the war of 1812. This park also contained the biggest squirrels we have ever seen in our lives! In the evening, the falls were lit up with lots of multi-coloured spotlights and it looked pretty cool.
Today we have checked out of our hostel and we have two more nights in Toronto (at another hostel) before we head off to Montreal on Friday morning. Today we are just wandering around having a look. We hope to go up the CN tower tomorrow. Toronto is very much a city, not as leafy or pretty as Vancouver (at least not what we have seen so far).
So that's it for now.
Bye,
El and Geoff.
Well, we made it over to this side of Canada. Our flight on Monday morning was pretty good, only took about 4 hours or so. The in-flight movie was pretty lame--> "winndixie". Must have been cheap. :(
We had two nights in a really friendly hostel (much better than the one in Vancouver). Yesterday we went with a small tour group to Niagara Falls. The falls were really spectacular. There is, however, a really tacky, Las Vegas-style strip that kinda ruins it though, with lots of sky scrapers, house of wax style museums, etc. Our tour guide drove us out to a lardy-dar winery where we tried some ice wine. Ice wine is made from grapes that are harvested at temperatures of minus 10 degrees and the resulting drink is VERY sweet. At prices of $55 for the skinnest half-bottle, it is a little out of our price range!
We also checked out a monument overlooking the Niagara river, where the British/Canadians defeated the Americans in the war of 1812. This park also contained the biggest squirrels we have ever seen in our lives! In the evening, the falls were lit up with lots of multi-coloured spotlights and it looked pretty cool.
Today we have checked out of our hostel and we have two more nights in Toronto (at another hostel) before we head off to Montreal on Friday morning. Today we are just wandering around having a look. We hope to go up the CN tower tomorrow. Toronto is very much a city, not as leafy or pretty as Vancouver (at least not what we have seen so far).
So that's it for now.
Bye,
El and Geoff.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Vancouver again
Hey everyone,
we are back in Vancouver spending a week here before flying out to toronto next monday. It is quite warm here compared to the winter temperatures we are used to(it is 25C or so and we are sweating). We seem to be the only people wearing hats though.
Yesterday being the true nerds that we are we went to the science centre. It was a pretty good afternoon-saw an IMAX movie about the nile which was really good. They had a lot of hands on stuff but we had to put up with the little shits of kids running around pushing in.
Vancouver is so much greener than when we were here in December. A couple of days ago we went for a walk in Stanley park and admired the flowers and beautiful green trees.
Our hostel is a bit on the dodgy side, room is small and the girls toilets are always clogged but it is in a good location and feels pretty safe. We are saving a bit of money which is always good. We went to the bar under the hostel the other night and had a few drinks but the server was a rude piece of work so she sort of spoiled it a bit. El was smiley after her mudslides and I was cheery after my few beers ("few" means lots hehe).
We have started organising hostels on the other side of canada, we have toronto, montreal and Quebec City all sorted at the moment. We will then decide what other parts of Canada we can afford to see.
Thats about it for now.
Hope everyone is behaving themselves.
Love Geoff and El.
we are back in Vancouver spending a week here before flying out to toronto next monday. It is quite warm here compared to the winter temperatures we are used to(it is 25C or so and we are sweating). We seem to be the only people wearing hats though.
Yesterday being the true nerds that we are we went to the science centre. It was a pretty good afternoon-saw an IMAX movie about the nile which was really good. They had a lot of hands on stuff but we had to put up with the little shits of kids running around pushing in.
Vancouver is so much greener than when we were here in December. A couple of days ago we went for a walk in Stanley park and admired the flowers and beautiful green trees.
Our hostel is a bit on the dodgy side, room is small and the girls toilets are always clogged but it is in a good location and feels pretty safe. We are saving a bit of money which is always good. We went to the bar under the hostel the other night and had a few drinks but the server was a rude piece of work so she sort of spoiled it a bit. El was smiley after her mudslides and I was cheery after my few beers ("few" means lots hehe).
We have started organising hostels on the other side of canada, we have toronto, montreal and Quebec City all sorted at the moment. We will then decide what other parts of Canada we can afford to see.
Thats about it for now.
Hope everyone is behaving themselves.
Love Geoff and El.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
yukon adventures
Hello ,
we are back in Calgary after spending two weeks travelling through the yukon , alaska and british columbia in a motorhome. We got as far north as whitehorse in the yukon and also had a look at the towns of Haines and skagway in alaska. The scenery was very cool, with the full range of snow, mountains ansd several types of forest.And yes everybody we saw a BEAR!!(We saw about 5 or so). We also saw moose,a wolf and various big animals like caribou, deer and elk We stayed mostly in quiet campgrounds which was really good> Not many campers on the road this time of year. .
There is too much detail to put in one blog so we will try and post a few more in detail about the places we visited.
Will talk to everyone soon.
Geoff and El.
we are back in Calgary after spending two weeks travelling through the yukon , alaska and british columbia in a motorhome. We got as far north as whitehorse in the yukon and also had a look at the towns of Haines and skagway in alaska. The scenery was very cool, with the full range of snow, mountains ansd several types of forest.And yes everybody we saw a BEAR!!(We saw about 5 or so). We also saw moose,a wolf and various big animals like caribou, deer and elk We stayed mostly in quiet campgrounds which was really good> Not many campers on the road this time of year. .
There is too much detail to put in one blog so we will try and post a few more in detail about the places we visited.
Will talk to everyone soon.
Geoff and El.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
No more work for El
Hello.
El finished up work yesterday. The skiing is not good any more so we have brought all our equipment down from the ski hill. El went out for a last ski on her lunch break yesterday and was not at all impressed.
She had to dodge dirt and rocks and ski very cautiously. Not fun at all.
We went out for drinks last night and had a good night. Still home in bed by 11pm though. We called the lab and talked to a few people before we went home. It was good to hear their voices.
Today we are bumming around town. We just overindulged at breakfast but it was all good. We had a quick squiz at a wildlife museum which has stuffed animals all through it. Scary and cool at the same time(not little animals like you see in toyworld). The size of the moose and the bears was quite scary. Wouldn't want to run into them in a dark alley.
Hope everyone is well and enjoying their long weekend (sorry those people in NSW-have to wait a bit longer for yours).
We are counting down the days until we get to leave jasper. This time in a week we will be in Calgary. Our last trip to Calgary was cut short so it should be good to have a better look around.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
El finished up work yesterday. The skiing is not good any more so we have brought all our equipment down from the ski hill. El went out for a last ski on her lunch break yesterday and was not at all impressed.
She had to dodge dirt and rocks and ski very cautiously. Not fun at all.
We went out for drinks last night and had a good night. Still home in bed by 11pm though. We called the lab and talked to a few people before we went home. It was good to hear their voices.
Today we are bumming around town. We just overindulged at breakfast but it was all good. We had a quick squiz at a wildlife museum which has stuffed animals all through it. Scary and cool at the same time(not little animals like you see in toyworld). The size of the moose and the bears was quite scary. Wouldn't want to run into them in a dark alley.
Hope everyone is well and enjoying their long weekend (sorry those people in NSW-have to wait a bit longer for yours).
We are counting down the days until we get to leave jasper. This time in a week we will be in Calgary. Our last trip to Calgary was cut short so it should be good to have a better look around.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Picnic in the woods
Hello everyone, yesterday we went for a walk around 6pm to go out for a picnic. We did the healthy thing and bought some KFC (in french on the same container it is PFK) and went to sit by the river. We sat down near the junction of the Miette and Athabasca rtivers. It is kind of nice now to see the water flowing and not have so much ice in it. We went down and played in the river bed for a while and could look up to see Old fort point(previous blog).
In our walk we saw a few different animals including a wolf, elk and a solitary deer. It is nice to be walking around in a t-shirt instead of having to wear the big bulky ski clothes all the time.
On Sunday night we all went on a moonlight walk up to pyramid bench, which is a small range overlooking Jasper to have a look at the moon rising. We went with "Friends of Jasper" which is a volunteer environment type group. We listened for the different sounds of the night and even howled at the moon to try to get the local wolf packs to answer us back. We looked at the moon and the planet mercury through a spotting scope which was really cool. We could see the craters on both the moon and on mercury.
We all can't wait until the end of this week when the ski hill closes. We will have another week or so and then off to the yukon.
El is on the last 3 days of her job and she can't wait to finish. This weekend we are hiring a car so we will be getting ready for the drive to calgary soon which should be good.
Hope everyone is well.
All the best for now.
Geoff(El says hi but is working today)
In our walk we saw a few different animals including a wolf, elk and a solitary deer. It is nice to be walking around in a t-shirt instead of having to wear the big bulky ski clothes all the time.
On Sunday night we all went on a moonlight walk up to pyramid bench, which is a small range overlooking Jasper to have a look at the moon rising. We went with "Friends of Jasper" which is a volunteer environment type group. We listened for the different sounds of the night and even howled at the moon to try to get the local wolf packs to answer us back. We looked at the moon and the planet mercury through a spotting scope which was really cool. We could see the craters on both the moon and on mercury.
We all can't wait until the end of this week when the ski hill closes. We will have another week or so and then off to the yukon.
El is on the last 3 days of her job and she can't wait to finish. This weekend we are hiring a car so we will be getting ready for the drive to calgary soon which should be good.
Hope everyone is well.
All the best for now.
Geoff(El says hi but is working today)
Monday, April 25, 2005
A Hike in the Woods
Well, from our last post we mentioned that we were going to do a 20km walk on Friday. We found out that there has been grizzly bears sightings on that trail and they were feeding on elk. So we decided not to do that hike!
Instead we walked up to Old Fort Point and did a 6km circuit around the back. We had previously bought some pepper bear spray just in case. We also walked quite slow and made a lot of noise, which is what you are supposed to do to alert any nearby bears. It was a little different to walking in the bush back home, not quite so relaxing when you are constantly clapping your hands, talking loudly and whistling!
Luckily for us we didn't come across any bears. We saw some elk and big horn sheep and a few squirrels. The scenery was pretty amazing as well.
It has been really hot here lately, getting up to 20 degrees most days. The skiing is pretty woeful now, lots of bare patches, streams and many runs are being closed due to the risk of avalanches. I have 3 days of work left now but there is hardly anyone coming skiing now so the days are very slow.
This time in two weeks we will be in our RV, making our way up into the Yukon. I can't wait to do something new.
I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend.
Love El and Geoff
Instead we walked up to Old Fort Point and did a 6km circuit around the back. We had previously bought some pepper bear spray just in case. We also walked quite slow and made a lot of noise, which is what you are supposed to do to alert any nearby bears. It was a little different to walking in the bush back home, not quite so relaxing when you are constantly clapping your hands, talking loudly and whistling!
Luckily for us we didn't come across any bears. We saw some elk and big horn sheep and a few squirrels. The scenery was pretty amazing as well.
It has been really hot here lately, getting up to 20 degrees most days. The skiing is pretty woeful now, lots of bare patches, streams and many runs are being closed due to the risk of avalanches. I have 3 days of work left now but there is hardly anyone coming skiing now so the days are very slow.
This time in two weeks we will be in our RV, making our way up into the Yukon. I can't wait to do something new.
I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend.
Love El and Geoff
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Moving house
Hey everyone, the time has come for us to up and leave our house. Our lease has run out and we have spent the last couple of days cleaning up. Luckily we are only moving next door so there is not too much of a hassle there. We have less than 2 weeks of the ski season left and will soon be moving on.
We have the three of us(Me, El and Jen) sharing a large room in the new house. The room is part of approved accomodation and each room has its own bathroom which is pretty cool. The girls do spend a lot of time in there though. The sunlight now is really different to when we first got here. El and I went out for dinner last night for cantonese and the sun didn't start setting until 9.30pm. If there weren't mountains it would set a lot later.
We will miss the place when we move out: a chapter of our travels is closing but a new one is beginning which is exciting. To have a routine like the one we had for the last couple of months was ok in the skiing and earning money aspects but we really didn't want to get into a rut again.
We will have no more high speed internet from now(at least until we have more stable jobs possibly on the east coast) so that is a bit sad.
I am back to wearing t-shirts and shorts(for those people who have never seen me in long pants) as it is getting to about 12C or so most days. It can still be -8 in the mornings though so I hold off going out until it has warmed up a little bit.
We are planning a 20km hike on friday so that should be really cool. We have to check with the parks office first though to check on bear activity. The animals all seem to be getting a bit more active. One of the big wigs at our work saw a cougar from the chairlift at the ski hill last week which is a little daunting. We might have to get some bear spray for the walk though.
Oh well, best be going now. Talk to everyone soon.
Geoff and El
We have the three of us(Me, El and Jen) sharing a large room in the new house. The room is part of approved accomodation and each room has its own bathroom which is pretty cool. The girls do spend a lot of time in there though. The sunlight now is really different to when we first got here. El and I went out for dinner last night for cantonese and the sun didn't start setting until 9.30pm. If there weren't mountains it would set a lot later.
We will miss the place when we move out: a chapter of our travels is closing but a new one is beginning which is exciting. To have a routine like the one we had for the last couple of months was ok in the skiing and earning money aspects but we really didn't want to get into a rut again.
We will have no more high speed internet from now(at least until we have more stable jobs possibly on the east coast) so that is a bit sad.
I am back to wearing t-shirts and shorts(for those people who have never seen me in long pants) as it is getting to about 12C or so most days. It can still be -8 in the mornings though so I hold off going out until it has warmed up a little bit.
We are planning a 20km hike on friday so that should be really cool. We have to check with the parks office first though to check on bear activity. The animals all seem to be getting a bit more active. One of the big wigs at our work saw a cougar from the chairlift at the ski hill last week which is a little daunting. We might have to get some bear spray for the walk though.
Oh well, best be going now. Talk to everyone soon.
Geoff and El
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Snow is going
Hey everyone,
spring seems to be on its way. The days are getting longer, warmer and it is snowing less. The ski season will be finishing in about 3 weeks and then it will be time for us to move on. We are heading north into the yukon in a motorhome which should be pretty cool. We get to pull over and camp pretty much wherever we want.
Last week we hired a car to go and do some shopping. They upgraded us to a luxury sedan due to the rest of the cars being unavailable. It was cool-it had a sun roof and power everything(see our photos on smugmug). We drove to Hinton, the nearest town to Jasper and went to Walmart and Safeway(two big chains like BigW and Woolies) cause the prices and availability of stuff here in Jasper can be a bit ridiculous.
We put the car through its paces-its good to drive when you haven't done it for so long, even if you are driving on the wrong side of the road here.
El and I are both looking forward to travelling again, too long in one place and you start getting back into the routine again which is not so much fun.
We have to move out of our basement on the 20th of this month, so hopefully we will be moving to the house next door which will save a lot of messing around. Tonight is a quiet night at home-we are hoping to ski tomorrow if it is not too icy.
All the best for now.
Geoff and El
spring seems to be on its way. The days are getting longer, warmer and it is snowing less. The ski season will be finishing in about 3 weeks and then it will be time for us to move on. We are heading north into the yukon in a motorhome which should be pretty cool. We get to pull over and camp pretty much wherever we want.
Last week we hired a car to go and do some shopping. They upgraded us to a luxury sedan due to the rest of the cars being unavailable. It was cool-it had a sun roof and power everything(see our photos on smugmug). We drove to Hinton, the nearest town to Jasper and went to Walmart and Safeway(two big chains like BigW and Woolies) cause the prices and availability of stuff here in Jasper can be a bit ridiculous.
We put the car through its paces-its good to drive when you haven't done it for so long, even if you are driving on the wrong side of the road here.
El and I are both looking forward to travelling again, too long in one place and you start getting back into the routine again which is not so much fun.
We have to move out of our basement on the 20th of this month, so hopefully we will be moving to the house next door which will save a lot of messing around. Tonight is a quiet night at home-we are hoping to ski tomorrow if it is not too icy.
All the best for now.
Geoff and El
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