Can't believe its already been close to 6 months since I've left the only place known as home to me in search of new opportunities and experiences. There's a heck of a lot of memories to download but there's plenty of time for that.
The 2 months of travelling with Alex in making our way to London was unbelievable. Went from freezing cold, quaint town of Banff, to scorching hot & rough Rio and more.
World Tour February - April 2006 Highlights....
Banff
- Waking up to the beautiful snow outside Mark and Irene's bedroom
- Taking a moment to realise that snow flakes do look like primary school cut out shapes when viewed up close!
- Starting to get the hang of snow boarding
- Therapeutic Banff hot springs where your body is in 40 degrees water whilst your hair is brittle in the cold air
Vancouver
- Just chilling out with Helen, Wendy and Le Tho...gaining an insight into the life they've made for themselves there
- Seeing the weather change from rain to snow as we drove up Cypress Mountain
- The 8km walk with Helen in search of the Totems at Stanley Park
Las Vegas
- Delicious buffet dinner at Paris Casino
- Folies Bergere show...can't be in Vegas without seeing feathery, colourful, topless show girls (Alex insisted!). Weird thing was that the atmosphere felt like a RSL club...not all that surprising really.
- Most importantly, winning the two grand jackpot at Paris Casino pokies after only putting in 10 bucks. Damn good return...I love beginners luck!
Grand Canyon
- Drive from Vegas was much longer than expected and the race against daylight through dodgy remote towns was not fun
- Grand Canyon sure was grand!
- Snow storm whilst watching sunset
- Waking up at the crack of dawn to catch the sunrise, only to discover it had snowed overnight...unexpected, yet beautiful.
- Lucky to have seen the Canyon with clear blue sky and covered in snow in the 2 days we were there
New York
- Hanging with T & Ant, meeting up with Ken and catching up with Will
- Philly cheesesteak at Pats and Geno
- Novelty of trying Ant's RME army food for lunch on Liberty Island
- Clubbing was an experience - great music but seedy guys
- Watching the sunset on top of Empire State Building
- Watching the Producers at St James Theatre...although ended horribly with T's car towed
- Metropolitan Museum of Arts is a must for anyone visiting NY
Peru - Cusco & Inca Trail
- Growing to appreciate the culture and friendly people of Cusco after initially feeling paranoid about muggings given its our first stop in Sth America
- The 4 day Inca Trail was definitely a highlight...great tour guide Bobby and cool group we had, the porters were excellent, food was delicious, the walk was challenging yet very do-able and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking!! You couldn't appreciate Machu Picchu in the same way without doing the trek. Highly recommend Peru Treks for anyone thinking of doing it.
Buenos Aires
- Colourful town of Caminetto in La Bocca with its cool street market
- Mistakenly watching a tango band which felt like it was set in the 80s
- Old fashion family run tango show at Bar Sur in San Telmo...although a bit too cosy
- Was a shame that we lost the initial excitement about the place after only a couple of days. Just ran out of things to do...or maybe we were missing something!
Iguazu Falls
- No doubt another big highlight of the trip and can only be described as a photographer's dream. Although photos don't really do it enough justice.
- Walking out on the boardwalk towards the spectacular "Devils throat" on Brazilian side of the falls
- Looking down over the gushing falls on the Argentinian side felt as they say like the closest thing to peering over the edge of the world
- The hundreds of species of butterflies were amazing!
Rio
- Drinking fresh coconut juice at the many kiosks along Copacabana beach
- View of Rio Harbour from Sugar Loaf and Corcovado Hill...had doubts, but it really was as beautiful as it claims to be
- Cool jeep tour through Tijuica forest
- Beautiful sunset over Ipanema beach
- Seeing a dead body on the road along Copacabana
- Absolutely relieved to make it through the whole continent unscathed after hearing story of robbery at gunpoint in broad daylight
Madrid
- The food, the food and the food! Tapas was scrumptious...especially Gambas Al Aijo, stuffed mushrooms and chorizo in white wine.
- Fantastic shopping...especially jeans...bought 5 pairs in one day!
- Sitting in the middle of Plaza Mayor waiting for Easter procession
Barcelona
- Light and water show at the National Palace
- Picasso & Gothic walking tour..highly recommended
- Cobbled stone medieval streets, piazzas and Roman ruins
- Checking out all the Gaudi architecture - Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Batilo (dragon like roof and skeletal facade), La Pedrera (unusual sand dune like roof top)
- Being pooped on the last day was NOT a good way to end it...disgusting green, warm and stinky!
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