A little bit of inward learning

As I grow up, I realise the best way to learn about who you are, what your limits are and what you like and don't like, is to put yourself in unfamiliar situations. To push yourself so it feels a bit uncomfortable, like a patch of sunburn or a caramel milkshake when you really wanted chocolate.

Walk a new path, date a new dude, move cities if you have to, so long as you can glean even an itsy bitsy piece of new information about yourself, then it's worthwhile. 

For me, the quest for unfamiliarity and a bit of discomfort drove flew me almost 17,000 kilometres, to the other side of the world. In December 2013 I packed up my entire life, left my job, farewelled my friends and family, and hopped on a plane bound for London. Cue cliche.
Let's be honest, I am not the first and by no means the last Antipodean to have ventured to the mother country. It's not overly remarkable, it's not a new language. But it's been a challenge, nonetheless.

The most interesting thing I've grappled with over the six months since I've been away is adjusting from my routine, and comforts, and realising that although the UK has the same language, a similar culture and a busy city just like home, it's a world apart. 

For starters, when I arrived I was sans job, sans home, sans (many) friends... the odds were definitely in my favour. I was what you call a catch. My first few months living in London consisted of staying on friends' couches - over six weeks I lived in six different places. And work was tough. Without British media experience I wasn't having success in my preferred field, so I swallowed some pride and decided to turn my hand at temp administration. Earning a pittance and doing the most mundane of tasks, it was a great learning experience. Admin was definitely not my passsion. How lucky I was that I had already found a career that actually satisfied and nourished me, and that I at least knew what I wanted to be doing, even if I wasn't quite there yet. 

Not having many possessions, limited by a 23KG suitcase, I learnt that I had been pretty superficial in the past. Shellac each fortnight, massages, an obsession with triple-milled soy candles... you get the gist. When earning 8 quid an hour, your priorities quickly change. No longer can you justify that incredible eyelash extending mascara that costs four hours of pay. And a zone 1-3 travel card seems like a luxury. On the other hand, a 15 pound cocktail has never tasted so good. Because that's the equivalent of two hours answering phones. 

Celebrating Australia day with one of my Aussie friends in London

In the past few months I've been lucky enough to have found a great house living in Battersea, near a beautiful park and not far from the well known The Kings Road, Chelsea. I have a job working in Communications, and I now also have a bf, which I didn't expect when I arrived here in January. All of which are offering pretty meaty learning opportunities. 

It does beg the question though; surely you don't have to travel half-way around the world to learn about yourself. Relationships, new jobs, your family; they all teach you different things. And the best lessons are the ones you're not expecting. The ones where you're not quite sure how you'll get yourself out of a mess, or where your friendship or relationship might go next. The best snippets of understanding are those that are completely unexpected, but leave you with another page to add to your very own encyclopaedia of lessons about yourself. 

Fabulous Florence

In May 2011 I visited Florence with my Mum, spending four days in the glorious city. For those of you that are yet to travel to Florence, you have lots to look forward to; for those that have already visited it, prepare to reminisce. 

The view from our hotel roof

We arrived at our hotel, Hotel Scaletta, and were greeted by friendly staff and a stunning rooftop view over the city and the Boboli Gardens nearby.  The hotel was also conveniently located an easy five minute stroll from the glorious Ponte Vecchio, famous for its gold and silver jewellery shops.

The much-celebrated Ponte Vecchio

As soon as I dumped my suitcase I was well and truly ready to explore the city, so I left Mum (who has having some quiet time) and did a little reconnaissance, seeing some fantastic things along the way.

I happened to stumble across these guys, who were created amazing artworks using chalk, on the pavements outside the shops along one of the many walkways. The next day I saw another couple doing the same thing in another area of the city. 

After finding my way around I headed back to the hotel and Mum and I went off to find a nice place for dinner. We settled on a really traditional (and less touristy) looking place a few minutes from our hotel, with a great Maitre D' who you can see below with a tray of freshly picked 'funghi' (or mushrooms) which were the feature of their special, a Risotto Al Funghi. 

The lovely Maitre D' who served us on two nights

In true Italian style I opted for a delicious vegetable pizza while Mum chose the risotto. Both meals were great and the portions were huge. We were also served hot freshly-baked olive bread with olive oil and balsamic.

Freshly made olive bread

And why stop when you're onto a good thing? We liked this restaurant so much that on our last night in Florence we came back to enjoy the Caprese salad, which is a simple but delicious tomato, mozzarella and basil salad.

Enjoying our Italian meal

Once we'd finished our meal we decided to walk it off with a meander along the Ponte Vecchio and a stroll along the banks of the Arno river.

The view of the Ponte Vecchio at sunset

The Arno river

The next morning we made it our challenge to climb to the top of the Duomo for a spectacular view over the city. This is the outside of the Duomo - how impressive!

Duomo

 If you have claustrophobia I probably wouldn't recommend going to the top; I don't get claustrophobic too often but I felt a bit trapped walking up the narrow corridors that wind around the outside of the Duomo. But it was well worth it... And here is the view from the top.

The view of Florence from the Duomo

And after a big climb we were ready for some sustenance. We decided to visit the San Lorenzo markets where we found a huge selection of meats (lots of prosciutto), cheeses, pastas, biscotti, fruits and vegetables. We bought a mild cheese, some delicious straberries, some chocolate and almond biscotti and some prosciutto and found a nice area with some benches where we enjoyed our market produce.

Our wonderful deli-hand who gave us the best prosciutto

And then it was time to shop. Florence is renowned for its leather goods, so we couldn't pass up an opportunity to see the best leather in the world. After several hours we returned to the hotel with a handbag, a pair of shoes, a belt and two pairs of leather gloves, and a glint of concern about how we might fit everything into our suitcases.

The San Lorenzo markets

On our final day in Florence we visited the beautiful Boboli Gardens and the Porcelain museum.
These gardens are absolutely stunning, serene, and at the top of the gardens there is an amazing view into rural Tuscany.

The porcelain museum inside the Boboli Gardens

Included in our ticket to the gardens was entry to the Costume Gallery, which is located inside the Pitti Palace. The exhibition displayed garments from the 16th to the 20th century by well-known designers.

For me, Florence is one of those magical cities you don't expect to find in reality. It is charming, cultured and enchanting. Particularly given that I was able to experience this wonderful city with my beautiful Mum beside me, it will always be one of my favourite cities in Europe. 

Pizza: Naples style.

Pizza Margherita in Naples

In June 2011 I went to the Pizza Mecca of the world and, while I was there, I made it my duty to seek out the ultimate thinly-crusted tomato and cheese creation.

Naples, synonymous with pizza, is located in Southern Italy. It is home to the famous Pompeii and Herculaneum landmarks, and Mount Vesuvius. Not to mention the mafia.

It is a city full of rawness and grime and first impressions can leave much to be desired. But Naples gets into your bloodstream with its abundant character. You can't help but leave it being happily surprised.

Upon arrival at the main train station of Naples - with my heavy backpack on - I was greeted by a huge pile of rubbish on the road and a chaotic traffic system. There were beggars along the side of the bus station and people trying to hawk their goods. This definitely didn't feel like the Italy I had experienced in Florence or Rome.

But later on that first night in Naples I discovered another aspect to the city which was much, much more appealing and very unassuming.

A group of backpackers from my hostel all chose to dine at a well-known pizzeria called Di Matteo.

In true Naples style I opted for the Pizza Margherita named after Queen Margherita. A true pizza like this one was soft and thin with a chewy outer crust. The cheese and tomato melt together and the singular basil leaf on top just finishes off a heavenly, simplistic meal.

Although the pizzas are big, they are also thin and could easily be consumed by someone with a big appetite.

It's also tempting to opt for more toppings when browsing the menu just as one might do when in their local pizzeria back home.  The secret is to keeping it basic and pure! I did have the Pizza al funghi in Naples, and a pesto pizza back in Florence, but you really can't beat the Margherita (tomato and cheese) or the Marinara (tomato, oregano and garlic).

The piazza we drank in

I also loved the great night life that you can find in Naples. We stumbled upon a big group of university students drinking (with their dogs?) outside their accommodation in a piazza. There are plenty of off-license bottle shops around in the little alleys of Naples where you can buy your Peroni's, and the locals were happy to mix and mingle with us.

Here you can see the interesting mix of students, tourists and dogs. You can also see the politiclly-inspired graffiti/ street-art on the streets of Naples.

The students mingling in the piazza with their dogs

Napoli graffiti

It goes without saying that the coffee in Italy is supreme and my experience in Naples was wonderful. While waiting for the National Archaeological Museum to open on a Sunday I ventured over to a coffee shop and ordered a caffe latte from two lovely baristas who insisted I have my photo taken with them and then very kindly refused to take my euros in payment of my delicious drink. These are the two great guys who made my coffee.

Two baristas who made me lovely coffee (on the house) in Naples

And having mentioned Pompeii (which I can't recommend highly enough) I wanted to show you some of the pictures I took while there. I honestly didn't know what to expect before arriving at the site. I am ashamed to admit I don't have much knowledge about (or interest in) Ancient Greek history, yet I don't think that's necessarily a problem when visiting Pompeii. The richness of history captured as a result of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79AD meant that everything has been amazingly preserved in its original state. In particular I found the Lupanar - ancient brothels which, translated from latin, mean "den of she-wolves"- fascinating to visit because the stone 'beds' are still there for you to see, as well as the bawdy paintings from that time.

Pompeii ruins

 A mosaic inside the brothel 

The group I visited Pompeii with

Preserved bodies at Pompeii

And at the end of a long day walking through the relics of our Roman predecessors, what more could you want than a sweet, creamy gelato? Fantasia Gelati was suggested to me by my hostel manager and her suggestion was wonderful! The ice-cream was rich and decadent and I'm not even entirely sure what I ended up ordering (as the names were in Italian) but it had chocolate and cherries in it. Yum!

The best gelato in Naples

Street Art

I've always liked street art and i've developed a pretty big interest in it over the past six months. I first realised that street art was different from simple graffiti when I came across prints of Banksy's work in Covent Garden markets a few years ago. I had always thought that graffiti was just vandalism and that its sole purpose was to maliciously damage the look of people's walls. To me it was criminal. However, in Banksy's work I found that I loved his humour and satire and so, when the film Exit Through The Gift Shop came out I jumped at the chance to watch it.

According to the film's website:

Exit Through the Gift Shop follows an eccentric shop-keeper turned amateur film-maker as he attempts to capture many of the world's most infamous vandals on camera, only to have a British stencil artist named Banksy turn the camcorder back on its owner
with wildly unexpected results. 

If you're interested, check out the trailer below.



Here are some examples of my favourite pieces of Banksy's work.

Courtesy of Smosh.com

Courtesy of blogdowntown.com

Courtesy of vostokzapad.files.wordpress.com

When I decided I was going to be visiting Berlin I went about researching some of the best street art to see while there. Berlin is famous for its graffiti and, if you know the right places to go, it's as though you're in a never ending art gallery.

My friend Sarah-Jane managed to find a wonderful free walking tour called the Alternative Berlin walking tour which we took, and this tour opened up the doors to this other world beneath bridges and in grubby side streets.

These are just some of our discoveries.

 As you can see, there's plenty of colour and vibrance to the walls of Berlin. I think we need special areas in Sydney just like this which allow more creativity and 'life' to be injected into our city!

From Budapest to Vienna

Beautiful Budapest

Just an update to say that having spent four glorious days in Budapest, we are now on our way to Vienna.We have really enjoyed doing a few walking tours around the city including: a General Tour, the Communism Tour and the Jewish Quarter walking tour. We have also visited the traditional Hungarian baths, seen the House of Terror and the Heroes' Square.


Quite naiveley, I had always pictured Budapest to be a somewhat under-developed city. I thought that it might not be too safe and imagined it to be more like Albania than London. In fact it is really developed with Louis Vuitton shops next to Nespresso shops next to Costa Coffee. I felt safe at all times here and found it to be really clean also. It was a very pleasant surprise and a really lovely city to visit. The views from the Buda hills over the Danube to the Pest side are glorious, and the architecture is also spectacular.

Of course we have eaten the inherently Hungarian Goulash (pronounced Goulyash) soup. We had the beef one, which came with little dumplings. It was an interesting experience to try it and, although I am glad that I did, it is definitely not a Summer food. It was really heavy and hearty and I came away from the meal feeling a bit ill... just wayyyy too much meat. Still, in icy cold blizzardy Winter I can imagine it would be the perfect dish.

Szimpla Ruin Bar

We were introduced to the world of Ruin Bars - a bar that has been established in what used to be dilapidated old houses with run-down furniture and interiors. They have now been refurbished and all of the small rooms that remain make drinking in them a really unique experience. Each room is furnished differently - some with quirky features such as wallpaper made out of sheet music. Other ruin bars, like Szimpla, which we visited, sold shisha and cheap beers. I really liked Szimpla because it had walls covered in books that were available to read (despite the fact that they were in Hungarian and resembled the Bible), they added to that homely feel. Another unique touch to Szimpla were the waitresses that came around with bowls of carrots - yes, carrots- in the event that you wanted a snack. How very nutritious.

With only 11 more days left of our backpacking adventure we are now off on a 2.5 hour bus ride to find some Wiener Schnitzel and Apple Strudel in Vienna, and hoping to see a classical music concert also!

Postcard from Ios

We are now more than half way through our trip, having visited four countries thus far. Right now we are in Bol, an island off Split in Croatia. It is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful ere. In order to do justice to our experiences I shall start at the beginning and tell you about our first port of call: the lovely island of Ios in Greece.

After our first night spent "sleeping" in Athens Airport - only to be woken by a very scary Greek woman yelling for us to get off her chairs- we caught a 4:30am bus to Piraeus Port and then a ferry to Ios. We were really lucky with the hostel we had booked- it had a spectacular pool area and we had a nice room with lots of air-con and an en-suite. We spent our first day visiting the Myloportas beach which was really pretty. For dinner a standout meal of the trip so far was devoured. It was a stuffed eggplant with cheese, zucchini and all sorts of yummy veggies. So good! I should mention that our dinner was also enjoyed by a tiny cat that wouldn't leave our table. He meowed persistently until we gave in and treated him to some bread (and tatziki).

The next day I woke up early and went for a run to explore the area a bit more. I found a gorgeous white church and further on a secluded beach. When I returned from my run we ate at was to become our signature breaky over the we trip: greek yoghurt with honey and banana. It's odd just how much better the honey and Greek yoghurt tastes in its homeland, but trust me, its amazing. After breaky we took a boat to a beautiful island which is called Manganari. The boat-trip was made all the more amusing by a group of girls that felt it would be a good idea to do a photo shoot of themselves as we were traveling. They pouted and swished their hair as everyone looked on quite bewildered.

When we arrived at the beach I was blown away by the turquoise water and the masses of beach umbrellas which were in hot demand (pardon the pun). We made a new friend who asked if he could share our umbrella. Not feeling like we could turn the pale young Canadian boy away from the shade, he proceeded to lie with us for the rest of the day. At 5pm when the boat cane to collect us and take us home we all jumped back on the boat only to be pleasantly surprised by a stop off for a touch of 'jumping off the side of the two story boat into deep crystal clear water'-ing. It was truly magical and I had an amazing time facing a few fears and finally jumping in with a splash. And when it was time to go the boat honked it's horn three times and everyone frantically paddled back to the boat, fearful of being left behind.

In the evening we had a gyros dinner (a Greek kebab) and then played cards while drinking €3 glasses of sangria until around midnight. We then realized we would have to hurry and luckily caught the last bus into town were we were to see what the nightlife of Ios had to offer. Too much it turned out for one night of partying. We hopped of the bus at the stop where everyone else got off and then looked around unsure of our next step. Where exactly would we find a place to drink? Everyone was drinking outside in a courtyard area so we - like lemmings- just followed everyone else. Only this was fortuitously a grand idea because who were we to bump into but a frien from the year above at school back home in Sydney, who happened to know all the bes places for us to bar-hop to. We had loads of fun getting free shots and dancing while drinking cocktails. It was also cool that each bar had differently themed music; one place had heavy metal, another had an acoustic singer taking requests (he played Little Lion Man for us!).

By 3.30am we were becoming somewhat aware of our pending 10am ferry and so sadly we called it a night. We could have happily enjoyed a few more nights in Ios though! Making our way through the cobbled streets back to our hostel we reflected on the fun (and sweaty) night we had had and on how excited we were for the continuation of our trip... Next stop: Santorini.

And our Eastern European adventure begins... with Greece!

Today is the beginning of an exciting six-week journey through Eastern Europe with my two wonderful Australian friends Sarah-Jane and Sarah B. We will be meeting in Athens Airport to begin our Greek island-hopping adventure.

After spending tonight in Athens Airport - we're only there for about seven hours so it doesn't make sense to get all the way to a hostel for a few hours' sleep- we will catch a ferry from the port in Athens to Ios for a few days, before taking another ferry from Ios to Santorini.

Santorini is quite special to me. Actually, I probably would not be alive without it. Why? you ask. Well, my parents met while backpacking in Santorini and my name is also Greek. If they had not met one evening on the cliffs of Santorini (think Mamma Mia) , who knows where or what I would be. Anyway, we are staying in Santorini for five days, and unfortunately during that time Sarah B will be returning back to Australia for university. Sarah-Jane and I will catch a flight from Santorini to Corfu, with another overnight stay in a Greek airport I can't pronounce.

I don't honestly know anything about Corfu, only that it is apparently a pretty big party island - hopefully that will be fun! After all of that island-hopping, Sarah-Jane and I are taking a Balkan roadtrip from Corfu to Dubrovnik. Here is the link in case you're interested.

Will keep the blog updated as we travel through Eastern Europe!

London Adventures continued....

The other day one of my friends asked me whether I would prefer to live in London or in Sydney. Easy question. But for a moment I was stumped. You see I have really enjoyed going up to London at every opportunity over these past few weeks. I have managed to meet up with quite a few friends and see some wonderful sites. In the end, I decided that the beaches of Sydney made it my winner ahead of London, but I can certainly see the appeal of London.

The Globe Theatre, London

In London there are fantastic art galleries with free exhibitions, such as the V & A, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Tate and Tate Modern. There is the incredible Globe Theatre on Southbank - which I visited last week but unfortunately did not go inside.Then there is amazing shopping all over London, as well as this fabulous old-world culture to London; for example on Jermyn Street or on Pall Mall where the shops date back hundreds of years and the service is impeccable. London also offers wonderful markets and vintage shops near Spittlefields and Brick Lane, as well as Portobello Markets and Covent Garden. London is full of activities. So much room for activities.

When I went to London on Saturday I met up with my cousins and we went for brunch near Green Park. We had delicious poached eggs and mushrooms and great coffee - it was fuel for our shopping adventures which were to follow. After breaky we then headed along to South Audley Street to look at the Purdey Shop - we saw shot guns that were £100,000 or more. Incredible. Coming from a family with great interest in shooting, this was a very necessary stop on our shopping tour. Next we went to Selfridges where there is literally a 'Shoe Hall'. It is full of the most fantastic shoes - Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, Chanel and a great british brand I like called Kurt Geiger. I was very controlled and managed to purchase not one thing throughout. I'm at the stage where anything I do purchase becomes an extra thing to stuff into my suitcase, or means I will have to leave another thing behind, so I try not to buy anything if I don't absolutely need it.

Liberty's of London

After Selfridges we went to Liberty's, which is a department store in the Tudor style - it was very pretty and quaint and a great experience to see inside it. We also walked by Carnaby Street and that area was really cool - people are dressed as you would see in the magazines, and their hair is outrageous. Another coffee shop stop, where my male cousin insisted on smoking a pretty fantastic cuban cigar before we headed off to Gap and Zara to find appropriate clothing for our dinner appointment. And I found a shirt from Thomas Pink. It wasn't supposed to happen, but when you find a nice shirt and it is reduced that much, you can't really resist.

Above I mentioned the old-world culture of London and the club where we were going for drinks did not permit any demin, nor casual clothing. Consequently we had to make sure we were appropriately dressed by buying what we could on the High Street to save us having to go home. At the club, men are expected to wear a jacket, long-sleeved shirt and a tie. Women cannot wear jeans. No mobile phones are permitted inside and there is a ladies washroom very separate to the men's area, as women were not always allowed in this gentlemen's club. The club of which I speak is called the Oxford and Cambridge Social Club. It is very difficult to get membership to this club; just because you have matriculated from either Oxford or Cambridge, does not mean you automatically qualify. Fortunately my cousin's boyfriend was a member and so we enjoyed the amazing privelege of champagne at one of the most exclusive clubs in London.

The decor was beautiful. The ceilings were high and had gold guilding, the walls were decorated with beautiful wallpaper and leather chairs and tables were set out so as to make use of the 10,000 book library. There were card tables, bridge tables and chess boards too. Neatly ordered piles of the latest magazines were available for perusal and a bell stood in the corner of the room, should you require assistance or a champagne top-up. A terrace was upstairs though because of the rain we were unable to use it. A dining room was also available to guests and my cousins had dinner there. Unfortunately living outside of London I had to make a move for home and therefore couldn't stay for dinner. Given the kinds of interesting people that are members of the club, I would loved to have stayed and to have met more people - I have no doubt they would have been very interesting to talk to. As a member of this club you are able to arrange accommodation and any time, 24 hours a day, you can make use of the club's facilities. I wish we had this kind of thing in Sydney. I particularly liked seeing the writing desks in one area of the club, with real old-fashioned ink wells and quills, and Oxford or Cambridge stationery - depending on which university you had attended.

The street I used to live on

It was a really lovely day in London and I only hope that at some point I have the opportunity to live in London, albeit for 12 months, just to really experience what it is like truly being a Londoner. I was born in London and, during a recent visit, I walked by my old house in Wandsworth Common. Considering I was only one or two years old when I lived at my home, I honestly didn't remember it, but it was nice to come back to somewhere I had lived and to better understand my roots.

But I'm stuck in the UK

You know that song by Planet Funk called 'Who Said: stuck in the uk'. Here is a link to it It's lyrics go something like: I've never been to the USA, I'm a slave to the minimum wage. Detroit, New York and LA, but I'm stuck in the UK.

Yep. That sums me up pretty well at the moment. Except perhaps if you were to replace the USA with Eastern Europe. See, that's where I'm off to next on my travels and I cannot wait. I leave the UK on the 22nd July but until that time I am working in a very 'rural'- the view is of sheep; nice sheep, but sheep all the same- pub.

I am staying with my grandparents too. They have been very kind to have put me up and to have let a few of my friends visit and stay with them, but living with older people certainly has it's challenges. Spontaneity is rather difficult when you're older, or at least that's what I have learnt since living here.

Mind you, I have done some typically English things like picking asparagus just before summer solstice, and also picking raspberries (with which we made a delicious raspberry coulis) which i have enjoyed. I also visited Oxford last week with Sarah-Jane, who visited for two days. But getting back to my rather obscure song reference, I feel rather stuck at the moment. See I am literally being paid minimum wage for my pub job and, although I have never worked in a pub before, it seems hard to justify the hours for such little money. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers or whatever they say to make you feel better.

On a plus though, I have managed to take some time off work for three days to go up to London on Monday which I am very excited about. My two good friends - both called Sarah- are arriving from Australia and so we will do some sightseeing together. I am lucky enough to be staying with my English cousin in Putney which should be nice too. I am hoping to visit the Tate Modern while in London because, firstly, I enjoy modern art and, secondly, it has been spoken of so highly by my highly cultured Dutch family with whom I spent a very special five days at the end of my Western Europe backpacking trip (extended blog post to come on my adventures in Amsterdam). They told me it was definitely a 'must see'!

I am now starting to get super excited for the reunion with my family in early September. It's funny how after being away for so long you crave such weird but familiar things like simply going to our local Coles supermarket with my mum to do the weekly shop. Or to walk my dog Charlie on our routine walk from Middle Harbour to Manly. Only two months to go.

As an aside, my Apple MacBook laptop, which I usually rave about and talk up incessantly - as in "I would never go back to a PC since I got my MacBook pro" - has totally broken down. It has stopped working and takes about two days to log in - serves me right for bragging. Hence my blog posts are rather sporadic; they are dependent on me being able to access a computer. I will make a more concerted effort to write regularly now though, albeit on my iPhone. It's actually not as hard as I thought to write on a screen the size of a pea, but please excuse all the mistakes.

What I wanted to know though, and please feel free to comment, is: what home (or local) comforts do you miss most when you're away?