Photos!

So here are a few photos from my half term in Ireland and Scotland!

Belfast city hall

Belfast peace wall

Along the coast

Carrick-a-rede

Giants causeway

Irish seaside

Cold day in Glendalough

The royal mile, Edinburgh

Edinburgh castle

 Tomb of Thomas Riddell

View of Edinburgh city

 Halloween

Highland cows

 Loch Ness

And that's it folks!! 

Molly xx

Ireland and Scotland

As most of you will know, i just spent my last half term in Ireland and Scotland. It was a wonderful 8 days away, driving up and around in the rain and cold. i arrived into Dublin early, which gave me the rest of the day to explore. A walking tour around the city gave me a better idea of Irish history, as i literally knew nothing. Dinner was in Temple Bar, a nice pub and bar area. I walked past the Guinness factory, but didn’t go in, but i still went past it.

Then i was off to start my tour early next morning. I did a 3 day north tour with Paddywagon. Highly recommend it! Turns out we had 7 girls on our trip, one Danish and six Australians. What are the odds hey? we started heading up north towards Belfast. Had a few stops a long the way, saw a  real head in a box, Hugged a stone that if you can reach the whole way around it makes you preggas, then did a black taxi tour in Belfast. There is so much recent history that i was very blind to. They still separate the city with a peace wall which is shut every night. Out taxi tour guide is very well known in Belfast, he has even given his tour to Vince Vaughan! Then we headed back to our hostel for the night before heading out for a pub tea.

Next day we ventured out to Giants Causeway and to cross the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. The scenery and coastline is all so gorgeous. The colours, especially in Autumn are vibrant and so pretty. Then we headed onto Derry for our second night. A walking tour in Derry took us around the place of Bloody sunday. Now this was a rather scary walking tour, as literally it is still so fresh in peoples minds. The guide was fantastic, he told us absolutelky everything he knew and more. Then we were off for dinner and some good old pub music, which turned out to be not very good.

Next day we were making out way to Galway before heading back to Dublin. A lovely seaside lunch of fish and chips before arriving in Galway. Got through half a walking tour being having to catch the bus back to Dublin!

The next day i did a day trip to kilkenny and Glendalough, saw some beautiful Irish countryside and the bridge from Ps i love you. Our guide for the day, JJ, bought along his son, Buster, which made it a big family affair. We heard all sorts of stories about his family and wife always crashing the car, very entertaining. And he sang for us too, which was lovely. An afternoon in Kilkenny was lovely, then a trip home in the rain.

The next i was up at 3.30am to catch a 4am shuttle to the airport to catch my flight to Edinburgh! Arriving into freezing winds, i started off with a walking tour with a very passionate guide. i think our tour went for an hour longer than everyone else's because he just couldn’t stop talking. i saw where Jk Rowling sat and wrote the first two Harry Potter books. i also found three grave stones with the names, McGonagall, Moodie and Thomas Riddell. Sound familiar? This graveyard was where Jk Rowling found alot of her inspiration for characters. i also went and saw The Lion King! it was so good! had a really good seat and i could not stop smiling the whole time.

The next day, i later found out i had booked my tour for this day, but instead i did city sight seeing tours around and our of the city. The buses took you everywhere, to all the main stops of the city and i learnt some more history. That filled up the whole day until i realised i had missed my tour. To cut a long story short, the people at Haggis tours were all very nice and let me go on another day. SO i went to the castle the next day, spent a couple of hours up and around there and got some good views of the city. Then i went for walkies along the streets in the old town.

Finally got on my tour to Loch Ness! with an early start off, we had over 500km to drive in the day. Eventually got to Loch Ness at around 1pm after a few little stops along the way. i did the Loch Ness cruise, where they took us on a boat out onto the Loch and told us all the stories and showed us all of the sonar pictures. After being up there it is pretty safe to say its hard not to believe there are creatures living in the Loch. The biggest sonar picture being a 11metre creature within the lake! Got back to Edinburgh at about 8pm that night, very tired and packed ready to catch my flight the next morning.

And ive been back at school over a week now, getting back into the swing of things before i head to Rome then home! so excited for Christmas, spending it in Victoria this year before heading back to Tassie on new years eve eve.

i’ve had the most amazing year away this year, met the most amazing people and im so grateful for the opportunities given to me. i wouldnt change it for the world, but its safe to say im ready to come home now!

ill post photos in another blog post, so look out for them!

Molly xx

Lovely London

So I've just gotten back from a lovely couple of nights in London. Staying with Margaret In her gorgeous flat I went and saw Wicked at the Apollo theatre on Saturday night. It was fantastic yet again!!  Great seat too, I had the songs running through my head all weekend. Then on Sunday, it was raining of course, so we went towards the Thames, had lunch in a nice little groovy cafe then I spent the afternoon at the Tower of London! I wandered around, listened to a little talk, and of course. I saw the Crown Jewels!! It was a pretty surreal afternoon! Then off home for a lovely home cooked meal and a spot of Downton Abbey! Then I was off for a bit of Oxford st shopping yesterday, amongst one of the busiest shopping streets on the world, I got rather tired after not too long. Visited the Disney shop of course.  But sadly there were no purchases as I have no room left :( very sad... Now I'm back at school until we start half term next week, then onto Ireland and Scotland!  

Wicked!! 

Tower of London 

Disney shop!!

very much behind the times…

so yes, its been quite a while since i last wrote. I think my last one was just after i finished my four weeks through Europe with Immi. Then mother arrived! I had to find my way to Bristol to pick her up then we visited Bath. Went to the Roman Baths and had a quick bite to eat before trying to find our way to Wells. We walked through Wells Cathedral quickly and then had to get home so we could go have our pub meal down the road. By nine that night mum was asleep, due to jetlag of course. Sunday we got up nice and early to head out to Highclere castle. For those of you who don’t know, this is where they film the amazing series of Downton Abbey!! yes i really went there. The actual castle looks a lot smaller than i expected, but was still amazing. We did the tour through the house, seeing all the actual furniture that they use for the show. walked through some of the rooms, but now i really want to watch all of the series again just so i have a better image of it! because i went here! the grounds are gorgeous. rolling hills, flowers, gardens, hedges everything you can imagine. And even the chair Lady Mary always goes and sits on outside when she is upset! After a couple hours there we then headed towards stone henge. this year i must have driven past it at least 7 times, but we finally stopped off and did the little audio tour which was pretty cool. Back to school that night for a small BBQ gathering with a few people from school so mum could put names to faces finally.

Then we were off to London! i do love London, but i dont think i could ever live there. its mighty expensive…We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Visited good old Harrods, cycled around Hyde Park and stopped off at Kensington Palace. The palace was pretty big, and was holding an exhibition of the Queens, her sister Margaret and Dianas clothes. so we saw some of their actual dresses that they had worn! The next day we got on a hop on hop off bus, to take us around the big city that is london! Saw the changing of the guard again, except this time it wasnt snowing, but rather 30 degrees instead. We said hello to the Queen from her window, waved to Big Ben and Westminster and went up the all too famous London Eye! I was fine, and mother was too, even though she refused to stand at the edge of our little bubble. A river ride across to the tower of london then led us to the tube to get back ready for…. Jersey Boys!! a definite must see if your in London. The music and singing was amazing! we were on such a high after it finished we went to another show the next night!

The next day we finished our bus tour and ended up at covent garden to meet Nana Maggie, or Margaret. We had a lovely lunch and walk around the markets there, bought our next show tickets and then ventured to Victoria to se… Billy Elliot! it was so good too! so you should all see it too! After some very busy and full on days we were absolutely shattered when it came to packing at 11am that night as we had to be up at 5 the next morning to get to Gatwick in time for our flight to Norway!

Norway for two weeks, all over the place, rain, sun and lots of money. We went to Norway for mums work schedule. It ended up being a very busy two weeks, more for mum than me, but i was still catching up on sleep from the four weeks previous. We landed in Oslo, taxied into the city. Got picked up for lunch, i ate reindeer! then mum had a show that night. Next morning flew to Alta. Now if you look this up on a map, you’ll see we flew just about the length of the country. at this point we were about as far away from home as you possibly could be. Staying in Alta for four nights, we soon discovered there wasnt actually that much to do. thank goodness they dont dub all of their tv shows there! otherwise it would have been horrid! as i basically had 3 days off, i walked around a little bit the first day. Then got driven by a lady’s daughter to a canyon. Where i ate more reindeer, whilst sitting on a reindeer skin in a traditional teepee with a Native woman. It was all a bit weird. Then the next day we were showed around a bit more, and we saw real reindeer! that was pretty cool, they look really fake, but they were moving so they were real. Anyway, then we were off again, two planes later we ended up in Tronheim, one night there then took us to Tynset. A very quaint little town which has the biggest sled in Europe, or the world. not sure, but on of the two. Alot of the houses have grass on their rooves. How do they cut the grass you ask? apparently they mow it, but don’t ask me how. A train ride then a another plane and we end up in Bergen. Bergen was really nice, a big port for tourists on cruises. There were two ships in when we were there, so they jacked up all the prices on the waterfront. i went up the Florien, which took me to a great height where i could see all of Bergen. A bit like going up Mt wellington, but just in 7 minutes. Then it rained, so the next day i went to the Aquarium! saw the sea lion show, and wandered around all of the animals. Apparently they have 2 homosexual penguins that now have their own kid. but i couldnt pick them, so cant say ive seen them. i then did a bus tour, which took me around, as it was freezing and i was frozen.

Another two planes and we were in Bodo. Saw some sort of famous Whirlpool that wasnt whirling, but i went to the spot so that cunts yeah? One more flight and we got to Oslo again. Where this time i was showed around, so i saw a bit more of the city, had a lovely lunch on the waterfront before heading back to help mum with her show that night. i helped her in most of her show and tells too, which included holding up and showing off her quilts and what not.

then we were off to our 24 hours in Paris. Mum hadnt been before, but it was my third time so i knew everything. We managed to do what most people do in five days, in just twelve hours. never been so tired in my life. visited the Arc de triomphe, mum went up whilst i sat at the bottom. Then lunch on the Champs Elsyses. visited the outside and foyer area of the Louvre, just so mum knew she was so close to Mona, but we didnt have time to see her. Then walked along the seine, over all the bridges and arrived at Notre dame. Went in and had a look around. Then we were off to the Eiffel Tower, but first a cruise down the Seine as night started falling. Dinner was just around the corner, so we saw the tower sparkle as we ate. The we queued for an almighty nearly 2 hours to go up the tower. We saw the city by night, all lit up and shining. Then we were off back to the hotel. In bed by one to get up for a train ride in the morning.

Switzerland was next. It wasnt long before we had crossed the boarder and arrived at Basel. i Met up with Essie for an afternoon, which was nice. We talked for hours before mum came and met up with us for dinner. Then there was one more flight back to England. But wait, we still had time for a quick trip to Windsor Castle! Yes we managed to fit it all in. A nice walk around the castle, we saw some guards and bought some last souvenirs. Then back to Heathrow where i headed in to London and mum headed home.

And all that happened nearly 6 weeks ago! ive been straight back into work. New school year here so its been busy busy. Went to Oxford for a night on one weekend off, which was nice. Did a walking tour and some shopping. Saw where some Harry Potter was filmed before coming home again to work some more! This weekend im going to London for two nights to Visit Nana Maggie again, go see another show and hopefully go to the tower of London. Ive applied for Uni, so now just have to wait until december. Booked my half term trip to Ireland and Scotland. Now need to move onto my five nights in Rome before i arrive home in the land of AUS! i cannot wait for christmas now, literally counting down the days. i’ve had a great year but i think im ready to go home now, especially since everyone else that has been travelling are on their way home now.

anyway so thats me, think im all up to date now! dont have any photos of when i was with mum as we took them all on her camera, which she took home, so you can pester her for them.

Talk soon

Molly xx

 

Downton!!

After 33 days...

Yes so I'm back after 33 days, 11 countries, 25 trains, 15 hostels and lots of sun! 

After we left Prague we headed to Krakow, Poland. Getting in pretty late at night, we then had to get sorted for the next morning as we were heading to Auschwitz. One if the biggest concentration camps the world has ever seen. It was a very interesting and hard day. Our guide told us so much, it was alot to take in as we walked around the two camps. We entered the building where they were forced to sleep, torrure chambers, stood in front of the death wall. We also entered the first chamber, it was so hard to comprehend the mass amounts of human beings that were murdered inside. Seeing two tonnes of human hair was slightly disturbing and tiny kids shoes. 

Afterwards we heading to Vienna, Austria next. I really liked Vienna and would love to see more of Austria. We spent most if the morning at Schonbrunn Palace. This was where Marie Antoinette was born. After walking around the palace and just visiting the first floor with 40 rooms, it really does intrigue me how anyone could possibly need such a large house! 

We walked around the city for a while, saw all of the huge and amazing buildings. Home to all of the different museums centred in Vienna. We walked down to the river and ate tea on some steps and watched the sun go down, gee that sounds romantic! Oh and there were heaps of jumping fish, everywhere!!  

Next city was Budapest, Hungary! Hot once again, but we walked up to the castle and old town area. Lots of reconstruction going in everywhere so it was hard to picture everything as it should be. The tiling on the churches was pretty cool, strong reds and yellows in colour. We walked across the oldest bridge and went towards the Houses of Parliament. It's all being redone so actually couldn't see much at all!! 

One last train, number 25, meant we finally ended up in Zagreb, Croatia. Only 2 hours later after our first ever border control passport check. It was not an amusing train ride, standing for nearly 3 hours as well didn't help. 

Imogen and I parted at the station, me onwards to my hostel for the night, she on her overnight train. Yesterday I travelled for about 12 hours, including trams, buses, planes and trains! 

So after a very full on 4 weeks, learning alot more about the world and myself I'm now awaiting mums arrival in England tomorrow!! Can't wait, we head to London on Monday and then off to Norway on Thursday. 

Thank you Imogen for letting me travel with you! And for reading the maps :D

Blown up Gas chamber at Auschwitz 

The carriage they would arrive in

Riverside in Vienna

Schonbrunn palace

That's me!!

Budapest by night

Our last night together in Europe!

Oh and the new additions to the family at home! 

Talk soon!! 

Molly xx

Heading East

So we have passed through Germany and are now in Prague, ready to head to Krakow tomorrow. Our overnight train to Munich was better than the first, mainly because I had a bed! I slept pretty well apart from the continuous snoring above me by old mate. We arrived in Munich at around seven in the morning then walked around for about two. It was early on a Saturday morning so all of the market stalls were being set up. Fresh produce, herbs and slices, meats, cheese and everything you could imagine! The train to Berlin then took another 7 hours so we arrived mid afternoon into extreme heat, yet again! We found the hostel which happened to be about ten degrees warmer due to lack of ventilation! So it was hot, very hot. 

Berlin was amazing though. The history behind the city was so interesting and fascinating considering so much of it has happened within the last century. Most of it was hard to believe or even try to put yourself in someone's situation at that time. We started in the square in the famous gate. Next to it was the hotel which Michael Jackson dangled his kid out of! I had no idea it was in Berlin. Anyway, we walked along to the Holocaust memorial which was unbelievable. Architecturally it is one of the most different memorials I've seen, but so fascinating. No one knows why it was designed how it was, so it really is left up to interpretation. Some day it represents the graves of the murdered Jews, but to cover the 6 million deaths you would need 2000 memorial sites. The walking tour took us around the east side of Berlin, to all the monuments. We also stood on top of hitlers bunker also where he commuted suicide. There is no memorial here though, as they don't want him to have one. I really loved Berlin, based on its history you could easily spend a week there! 

Next as moved onto Prague! Train number 18 if I've counted correctly. Prague is beautiful. So many different styles of architecture it is pretty amazing. I didn't know anything about the history here but after the walking tour I've learnt a bit! Our guide was Australian and put in some good humour too, which made the tour all the more interesting. The bridge connecting us to the old town is covered in artists, beggars and musical acts. We visited the John Lennon Wall, which he started, now a huge graffiti wall! 

Tomorrow we are off to Krakow, Poland for two nights to visit Auschwitz. Tomorrow is one week to go until I get back to school and leave my Europe travels with Immi! 

Holocaust memorial 

Prague from the Charles bridge

The Astronomical tower. One of the most overrated tourist attractions in Europe!

 

John Lennon Wall

Seeya 

Molly xx