First Taste of Eastern Europe - Prague

Our easyjet flight was delayed (naturally) for about four hours due to technical difficulties so we didn't arrive into Prague until midnight. Waiting in London we met another Aussie guy, Tim, who was travelling to meet his parents so we had a beer at Wetherspoons at the airport then all sat together on the plane. His parents were waiting for him when we got to the airport and we told them where we were going so they said to come with them. They paid for our bus much to our dismay but refused to let us pay them back...what lovely people! Lucky we found them though but it would have been a bit of a challenge trying to find our way there ourselves as it was very confusing. We agreed to meet up with Tim the next night and finally got to bed around 2am.

We were staying at the Prague Belushi's which is the same chain for which Emma works for. It was like a hotel, it would even have been impressive if it WAS a hotel. Breakfast was amazing, hot food like eggs and hash browns and then there was breads, cheeses, ham, cereals, yoghurt and the list goes on. We were stoked! After breakfast we got a map off reception and set off to explore Prague. The city was everything I hoped it would be, it was so beautiful. We wandered across Charles Bridge and up to the Castle then just around the town. We went to part of the National Museum which was a bit disappointing but still enjoyed all the amazing architecture. We had lunch at a secret beer garden the staff at Belushi's told us about then sat in the sun looking over the city. After passing the Prague theatre during the day we saw that Swan Lake was on that night so we decided to buy tickets. We had a quick dinner back at the hostel, got ready and headed for the ballet at around seven. We both really enjoyed it, although were a bit disappointed with the quality. I think we were expected the standards of the American Ballet or something. But we still had fun and were glad that we went.

Around ten we met up with Tim back at our hostel. We had a few drinks and then decided to check out some of the local bars and clubs. The first one we went to reminded me of one of those secret underground nightclubs that you see in movies like XXX, however instead of Vin Diesel it was an array of older nightclubbers...which made sense after we realised it was 'oldies night.' Nevertheless, there were some classic tunes being played from artists such as Vanilla Ice, Queen and La Bouche, and then also some tunes from our generation...are we really getting that old? Some highlights were Men In Black, and the Bloodhound Gang with 'Discovery Channel', what a tune. After this we tried a few more clubs before heading down the river to the infamous five story nightclub 'Karlovy Lazne'. This place was epic! Each level had a different type of music, everything was dark but lit up with glow in the dark paint. We made friends with some French people and danced the night away, trying out all the different levels. Was a fantastic night, unfortunately it got ruined when I was robbed whilst standing talking to someone. A man yanked my bag off me and I chased after the guy but whilst I managed to grab my bag back, my iphone was G-O-N-E. Damn. Was pretty upset about it but what can you do...these things happen, all part of travelling aye?

The next day was pretty average, we waited for three hours at the police station to file a report, it was raining, and we were very tired from the night before. After we'd finished there we went back and just hung out at the hostel before it was time to catch our night train to Krakow in Poland. I really liked Prague and always wanted to go, its a shame my experience was tainted by the stolen phone situation. Ah well. Off to country number two!

My 24th Birthday Celebrations - I Love My English Family!

Had the most wonderful birthday, I feel so lucky to have such fantastic family in England! I caught the train to Shortlands on the 28th to stay with my Godmother Jackie, Lucy and Colin. Colin's son Alex came around, and much to Lucy's horror they also invited their next door neighbour's son who was struggling cooking for himself while his parents were away. We sat outside in the garden and had this really tasty chicken and chorizo casserole and of course some wine. They recycled my nanna's birthday balloon for me which said I was eighty....I am feeling old at 24 but seriously! :) Chatted away about this and that and had a very interesting conversation with the strange neighbour who informed us that his whole family have a phobia of buttons....hmmmm. Apparently all his pants are velcro? Of course Alex straight away went and got his button up jacket and slowly did up the buttons in front of him....probably mean...but who has a phobia of buttons?! I mean there are some weird ones out there like peanut butter and ducks...but buttons....and a whole family. Interesting that's for sure! After a few bottles of wine my quiet birthday barbeque turned into a dance party in the study, much to Alex's dismay who was hungover and therefore not drinking. Such a funny night, but so much fun.

I woke up on my actual birthday and spent the morning with Jackie and Lucy who bought me this really cute stripey playsuit which I love. For lunch I caught up with an old friend, Charlie, who I'd met in Bromley last time I was over in England working at the Bromley Walkabout. It was so good to see him, he was all grown up and engaged! He looked the same and it was like we'd seen each other five days ago instead of five years. After lunch I had a train to catch to Wimbledon where I was to spend my birthday evening with Elspeth and some of her friends in London. We had a quick drink and got ready before heading into Soho to meet up with her boyfriend Simon, and her long time friend Nick, his wife Deborah and Nick's son Andrew. Simon is a professional piano player, and seems to find a piano to play if he is ever within 100 metres of one, so naturally when we arrived at the restaurant he was jamming away for all the guests. He is absolutely fantastic! And likes to interact with the crowd while he plays so everyone was getting really into it. Not long after the other three arrived and we had a really nice two course meal and champage.

Nick is an absolute character, and loves his socialising and the London party scene. So naturally he is a private member of a number of different exclusive establishments around London. The first one we went to was called Crazy Bear, and I have literally never seen such an extravagantly decorated place in my life. Leather couches with diamond buttons, red velvet carpets, black marble bars and everything lined with gold. Very posh! We drank Moet and chatted while Simon once again dazzled everyone with his talent on the piano, which ended in him getting a job playing there on Thursday and Friday nights! After this, at about midnight, we went to Home House, another exclusive member's club which was even more incredible. Considering it's nothing but a plain door from the outside, inside it has everything. A day spa, pool, beer garden and bars for during the day and the bars and nightclub open at night. The place was absolutely pumping with life, but it had a really exciting atmosphere due to it being packed full of classy, trendy, (rich....can I say that?) people who just love and live London. Nick informed the bar tender that it was my birthday so more Moet was brought out and we drank anddanced the night away like rockstars with all the other Londoners. I actually felt like a celebrity being in these places. We finally called it quits at two am and got a cab back to Elspeth's. It was such an amazing birthday I couldn't have asked for more. I felt so spoiled by all my family, I am such a lucky girl!

The day after we took it fairly easily and had a nice pub lunch down on the Wimbledon common. We went out for a drink that night but were all very tired so headed home around 12. I had an early start to go and meet everyone back at Shepherd's Bush for another Church session. This was a wild day, fairly standard :) Monday was just an organisational day for leaving for Prague. Got all my money sorted and exchanged at the post office and then Tuesday it was Prague time! I've always wanted to go so was very excited! Eastern Europe here I come!

My First Flower Arrangement!

My first go at flower arranging straight from the garden. Not too bad if I don't say so myself! I think I can be proud? :) Perhaps this can be a travel AND gardening blog? Ha.

Santorini, back to England and a bit of Life Planning

We had a nine hour stop over in Santorini between ferries so decided to make the most of it and have a look around. We rented a mini bus and Mat drove us up to the top to have a look around. We went to the red beach, which was really strange. Compared to Ios this place was so quiet, very chilled out. We had dinner at a really nice restaurant that had a beautiful panoramic view of the ocean and surrounding islands. We were there for a while trying to kill time. We went for a quick cruise once it was dark around the island but then just decided to go and park back down at the port and try and get some sleep before we hopped on the 2am ferry. We were so exhausted, and while we were somewhat happy that we got to see Santorini, we were also wishing we'd paid a little bit extra and got a ferry straight back to Athens as our commute back to England took nearly two days. It was pretty painful!

After an hour and a half delay in Athens we arrived back in England around 5pm. I left the others to head back to Jackie's in Shortlands to see Mum and Katrina as they were flying out for home the next day. First things first was a shower, then sat down with them all to discuss my plans as the split with Sam had suddenly left me with the prospect of five months on my own and I was freaking out a bit. Katrina suggested a cruise in Croatia which sounded really good but because it was in a weeks time the flights were nearly 200 euros one way. Would have ended up costing too much. I decided I might look for a job but really had no idea what I was doing. It was a really nice night though, we had dinner and a few drinks, I felt so much better being with family. The next day I went with Jackie to drop Katrina and Mum at the airport which was really sad so we made it a quick goodbye and then headed back to Jackie's. I had a day on my own and just relaxed, watched TV and had a look on the internet about possible jobs etc. I had a few ideas.

The next day I headed back into London to meet up with Mat and Lucy. I had been talking to Emma from Belushi's (who we'd gotten to know from staying there a few times) about wanting to travel Eastern Europe before we'd left for Spain. Mat let me know she was keen to leave in a week or two, so went in to see her in Shepherd's Bush. Looks like I had a plan! We talked about maybe flying to Prague and then making our own way down to Croatia. She was waiting to hear back from a possible job opportunity so we planned to go ahead and book a flight in the next few days once she'd heard back from the boss.

On the Friday night I met up with my old manager Jimmy from the Temple Walkabout where I used to work five years ago when I was on my Gap Year. He now owns a bar down in Portsmouth, and let me know that if I wanted a job I could have one whenever I liked, and there were places to live. Excellent! So I thought maybe once I got back from Eastern Europe I could go down there to save a bit more. Will just wait and see what happens. It was so nice to be back at the Walkabout, nothing has changed, brought back some great memories. Was awesome to hang out with Jimmy again, and it'll be nice to know someone in Portsmouth if I decide to go down. After living in Canberra for four years I think living on the harbour would be unreal! Things are changing every day at the moment though, so will lock it all in closer to the time if that's what I decide to do.

Had a fun weekend in London with Luce and Mat before they left, had a really nice dinner at a French restaurant on Lucy's last night to celebrate our birthdays as we'd all be in separate countries when they occurred! Emma and I locked in Prague for the 2nd August which is really exciting. Felt a lot better about everything now that plans were starting to take shape.

Monday I headed down to Kirsty's in Binsted again for a few days to relax and enjoy the peacefulness of the English countryside. It's definitely a great place to regather and do some soul-searching, have some quality 'Me' time. Kirsty took me to Portsmouth to have a look at my potential new work place/home which was really nice. We had a great dinner at Zizzi's and a lovely chat. It's so nice to spend time with her, she gives great advice but is also so much fun to have silly chats with too :) On one of the days we had a really nice lunch at the local pub and then chose some beautiful flowers from the garden shop and went home so I could learn how to plant! I am proud to say I now know how to properly and successfully plant flowers :) Very keen to have my own garden one day now! Took a lot of photos of the garden and the nearby countryside...I could definitely spend a lot more time in that part of England. That night we had a girly cocktail evening and experimented with a number of different cocktails doing taste testers and cooked beer can chicken. She was so lovely and brought a birthday cake out at the end which she didn't have to do...but we sat out in the garden, ate our cake and drank Bailey's until around midnight. Was such a nice day. Off to Jackie's today for a birthday dinner at her place, I'm so lucky to have such wonderful family in England! Sad to leave Binsted but no doubt I will be back. Then off to Wimbledon on Friday to spend my actual birthday with Elspeth. Really looking forward to it, then Prague on Tuesday of course!

Ios - What A Place To Be-os!

Our ferry left Athens at 7am and arrived at the Ios port four hours later. We were so excited. As we hopped off the ferry we were met by a sea of people holding up signs to the different hostels and hotels around the island. We were staying at Francesco's so as soon as we spotted our sign we went straight over. We were met by two English guys, looking slightly worse for wear...it seems as though the staff party as hard as the guests! Upon informing him that we were Australian, we were met with rolling eyes and told, "About 90% of the people here are Australian." Great, should we have just stayed in Sydney?

As they drove us up in the mini bus towards to centre of the town - white buildings topped with blue scattered over the hills, half-naked sun tanned bodies on scooters and dotting the roads with towels and lilos, music pumping and hot wind blowing at us through the window, we didn't care that it might seem as if we were home due to the amount of Australians inhabiting the island, we were in Ios!

It was unbelievably hot, so as soon as we had dumped our bags in reception as check-in wasn't until later in the day, we headed straight for a cold beer and a dip in the pool. Sam and his friends had had a huge night the night before so didn't join us until around three in the afternoon, so we just enjoyed some wonderful sunshine lying by the water enjoying our incredible view of the harbour from the poolside.

Rather than talking through each day individually, I'll just say that each day and night were scheduled more or less the same. Wake up around midday, head to the beach, lie in the sun, swim, snorkel, sit at one of the beachside bars and have lunch while lounging in hammocks or among pillows, listening to music and watching everyone stroll by. One of the days we went to a wet t-shirt contest at Far Out which is the hostel that holds all the day parties. Wet t-shirt competition was interesting, we left after the first round as it was just too cringe-worthy! Plus we enjoyed really chilled out and relaxing days. The nights we kept going back to a really nice family-run Greek restaurant called 'Chilli Pepper' where the food was excellent, the atmosphere was really beachy and fun and the family were lovely. They might have even loved us back as they started giving us free beer and sangria every time we returned! After this we'd hit all the bars in the centre of down just down from our hostel. We had so much fun dancing, walking around and meeting people. Everything was so close to each other so even if you split up with your friends you'd always find them again a couple doors down. We didn't see one cloud the whole time. Life is hard aye?

We also did a three hour speed boat trip with one of the local water sports companies, Meltemi, where they took us out of the cove and told us a bit of history about the island, showed us around some of the architecture (including a mansion owned by a German dentist who only comes in and out by helicopter and never comes to the town...strange?), took us to a private beach to explore and snorkel and then to a jumping rock where we launched ourselves down five metres into the blue sea. It was a really nice trip, I'm not sure it was worth thirty seven euros, but it was nice to do something a bit different than just sit on the beach all day.

There was one large dampener on the trip and that was the blow out I had with Sam. After six months together and two months of travelling we decided to call its end. I cannot pin point the exact moment where things changed, but I did have the gut feeling for a while that things weren't the same and it was not going to work. Perhaps mainly it was because he had no money left, or a visa, so we had absolutely no idea how to approach the next five months. I was always a lot more committed to this trip than he was, and I think I wanted to do so much whereas he prefers to be with his friends at home. In the end it was the best decision for me, as now I can do what I want to and not have to worry about what he was going to do. While break-ups really bite, it was definitely the best decision and at such a good time, and I'm sure Sam and I will be friends in the future, after I enjoy the rest of my trip of course!

So off he went to Mykonos and we had another few days in which I met some really lovely girls from Australia, with whom I walked up to the top of the mountain behind the town to watch the most beautiful sunset and talked about plans for the next few months. Sheena is planning to work in England from September so we agreed to keep in touch. I ran into a great friend from school Morgan, who I also ran into in Barcelona in a club at 2am when I was on my gap year in 2006...smallest world! Also plan to catch up with him in England now too.

All in all Ios was amazing. Francesco's the hostel definitely made our trip what it was. Francesco's is run by Francesco himself and his wife Maria. They are very much a part of the hostel life, and know all their guests by name and room number. They make you feel like part of the Francesco's family. Maria would give us hugs in the morning when were tired and Francesco would drink with us and give us free shots at night. The staff were all fantastic too and became friends by the end. I don't think anyone I've who stayed there has come away saying it's not one of the best hostels, if not the best hostel they've ever stayed at. Australians, I've come to realise, are very good at spreading the word, whether it be a good club, restaurant, hostel or holiday destination. No wonder this place has so many Australians, we all just come away absolutely raving about it. I expect they'll have many more Australian visitors to come for a very long time.

In the end it was sad to leave, but after six days on a schedule like hours I think it was time to leave. We had a huge two day commute ahead of us which we were not looking forward to, so just wanted to get on with it. I don't know if I'll ever go back, because I wouldn't want to ruin the experience I had this time  around, but would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for the ultimate beach party holiday. Ios is definitely the place to be-os :)