Before traveling to Paris, I didn’t think I would like it as much as most other people do. However, I thought that it wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t visit Paris on this trip, particularly because we were so close to the city and it was so easy to get there. Gary and I were both taken aback and amazed at what a city Paris really is. Although we had a rough start with our accommodation being dodgy and being stranded on the streets until midnight (you could probably think of worse places to be stranded, right?) we had such an amazing time.
When we were “stranded” and waiting for our accommodation to be sorted out, we decided to treat ourselves with a French beer and a meat and cheese platter. We sat at a small table outside a restaurant in a confined space – it’s just how people sit in Paris – and we could overhear every conversation had by the people sitting right next to us. The platter we ordered was absolutely to die for and we both knew then and there that we were going to adore Paris.
Over the next three days, we walked for miles around the city and viewed the amazing Parisian architecture including the Notre Dame Cathedral, Musee du Louvre, and Arc Di Triomph, we locked a padlock to the Love Lock Bridge and threw away the keys in the river, we ate more cheese and more meat, we drank red wine, we attempted to speak French, we ate French crepes and drank lattes, we walked Champs- Elysees, we people-watched and we enjoyed french onion soup and escargot for dinner.
On our final night, we saw the most amazing piece of architecture in the Eiffel Tower. It was breathtaking and I didn’t want the sight to leave my eyes. It was all lit up and so beautiful, and it sparkled on the hour. Paris really is all that it’s talked up to be. In my opinion anyway! The food, architecture and the people make up this beautiful and interesting city and I would like to return to Paris one day… I have placed Paris on my “go back when I’m older and richer” list because it is not cheap, especially when you’re travelling on a budget like we are!
Following an awfully draining overnight bus from London, we arrived in the wonderful and crazy world that is Amsterdam.
Now, I know you will all be thinking this blog will be about participating in what Australian’s would consider as illegal behaviour, but due to family members and other precious people (ha!), unfortunately, this will not be the case. Actually, ah stuff it, Gary got up to too much mischief in Amsterdam for me not to talk about it! Family and friends, and others who will make me feel like crap because of their moral high ground or lack of willingness to try new things, I advise you to stop your reading of the PG blog by Gary and Judith right here. Cheers ;).
Okay. So. Amsterdam was somewhere I was always really looking forward to seeing and experiencing. As my mother’s background is Dutch, I was intrigued about the Dutch way of life. Now I’m aware that Amsterdam probably isn’t a true representation of traditional life in the Netherlands, but I somehow convinced myself I was doing the right thing, and somewhat “getting back to my roots”. The other large contributing factor that enhanced my excitement for Amsterdam was that I would be spending it with 6 of my best mates from back in Melbourne. The moment we organised this, alarm bells started ringing, and after a relatively sober time in London, Gary was beating down the door to check out what Amsterdam had to offer.
Hayley, Adam and I took a short walk from the bus terminal to our hostel and met all the boys. We got ourselves checked in to our 14 bed dorm, and found ourselves twiddling our thumbs about what to do next. Naturally, it was someone’s brilliant idea to visit Amsterdam’s largest “green cafe”. As we walked in, the aroma of marijuana instantly made me feel light headed. It was incredible to see so many people sitting inside these cafes, completely chilled out (or stoned) smoking away on their “herbs”. It really was a bizarre experience as something like that would never happen back at home, nor anywhere else in the world we have been. Anyway, we all decided to go up to the counter and purchase our own remedies. I vaguely recall choosing one named “Blueberry”, which was mild in strength (apparently) and not as harsh as some of the others. This was bullshit. We shared the plant amongst the three of us, and I’m not embarrassed to say that I was completely and utterly legless. And also, that whole “blueberry” thing, that too is utter bullshit. What was to come of the next hour ended up feeling like an eternity, as the 8 of us stumbled out of this cafe giggling like little girls, trying to navigate our way around the canals and winding streets back to our hostel.
After a much needed nanna nap, it was time to rehydrate ourselves with some locally brewed Heineken. It was fantastic to catch up on all the stories from back home with the boys, and what was even better was that it had felt like I’d never left. That night we chose to go and checkout the famous Red Light District. To be honest, I have seen prostitutes walking the street before, and I really didn’t understand why any person would want to go there given the quality of the applicants. However, this changed when we went and checked out the women standing on the other side of glass doors, bearing all they have to offer covered by the most minute clothing items. Don’t get me wrong, I love Judith with all my heart, and I really do not promote prostitution, but I could understand why men would pay for the services of these women. Walking through the small alleys with Hayley and the boys, our jaws were scraping along the cobble stones of Amsterdam’s streets, and the boys were continuously updating me on which ones they were in love with.
The next day focused on checking out the beautiful canal system that surrounds the city of Amsterdam. We bought tickets for a cruise that took us to the main regions of the city via these canals, which was a great way to see everything. Following this, we decided to make our own walking tour of the city, and chose to visit the Heineken brewery and some of Amsterdam’s beautiful parks.
I suppose that’s the most common misconception about Amsterdam. It is an extraordinarily beautiful city, however, people associate a pessimistic stigma with the region due to some of the activities that take place there. It really is one of those cases where you need to accept the culture and traditions of the city for what it is, and enjoy the aspects that appeal to you. After getting a taste of the Netherlands through Amsterdam, it has made my desire to explore the rest of the Netherlands much stronger. The people are extremely nice and friendly, although the food is pretty average, with an exception for the Dutch Cheese!
It was time to begin a new chapter of our trip and explore the United Kingdom. My dream of going to London turned into a reality and I couldn’t believe I was actually going to London! We had five nights by ourselves before my brother Adam arrived. We spent those days checking out Stoke Newington, the local neighborhood which we were staying and getting used to the huge price difference – which we were aware of, however after being in Turkey for a month, the prices in London were beyond expensive! We visited my good friend Taryn who I hadn’t seen in about 18 months and she cooked us an amazing home cooked meal. It really is the little things you appreciate the most when you’re travelling such as home cooked chicken and vegetables – thank you again Taz!
Gary and I fell in love with London – the people, the fashion, the architecture, the transport system and the double decker red buses. Big Ben, Parliament House and Westminster Abbey were a few highlights of the amazing city London is and Shoreditch and Camden were some of our favourite neighbourhoods. The food and street markets were awesome to look around too! After five nights, it was finally time to meet Adam at the train station which I was obviously super excited about! Not seeing him since October was a pretty long time and it was nice to have some family time despite being ganged up on by the two boys a number of times throughout Adam’s stay.
Adam also fell in love with the city and we tried to fit in as much touristy things possible. Our good friends from Whistler (and Melbourne) Kira and Lewis were now living in London so they suggested we join them for a free walking tour which focussed on the ghosts and spooky history of London. We learnt about the ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn who wears a red dress and lingers on a road under a bridge. Our tour guide Andrew (who was an incredible tour guide and bloody hilarious guy) pointed out that cars generally speed up under that bridge with the hope they might hit the ghost. Our tour ended at a pub which was established in 1514 and before going in for a few drinks, we learnt that there is the ghost of a priest who knocks on the walls that run along the staircase in the pub… Adam and I both reported to each other that we heard the knocks which was a little freaky!
We also joined another of the free walking tours run by Andrew’s mate Nick a few days later. This time we wandered through central London and experienced the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and also witnessed hundreds of soldiers practicing for an upcoming ceremony. It was a really great experience to see just how serious the soldiers have to be and how proper they are in their uniforms. On the tour, we learnt that the Big Ben is actually on a slight lean and will eventually collapse in about 100 years and we were also told that a man once broke into Buckingham Palace many years ago and ended up sitting at the end of the Queen’s bed. The Queen had a chat to him and although the police were notified, the Queen did not want to press any charges to he was deported out of England as a consequence of his crime. The free walking tours were really great because you learn so many little facts that you wouldn’t normally know about. At the end of the tours we tipped about 5GBP each ($10) (and tipping is optional) so if you plan to visit London, I highly recommend you join in with these tours. Their website is freelondonwalkingtours.com
After an awesome time in London, we caught a bus to Liverpool and caught up with Dan’s friends from back home who currently live in Melbourne but were visiting their family in Liverpool. They provided us with a little tour of Liverpool including an amazing 360 degree view of the city from the top of Liverpool Cathedral and they took us to the Bombed Out Church which has no remains left on the inside – just the walls are still standing. We visited Anfield Stadium – home of the Liverpool FC – which was the main reason for our visit to Liverpool because Adam is a mad fan. We went into the change rooms and touched the Anfield Sign – which is the sign that is touched by each player before running out before a match. Walking out of the players’ race to look out onto the field was a real goose-bump kind of moment. Even for a not-much-of-a-soccer-fan like I am, I had goosebumps all over me and it was such a cool experience to be where so many huge football matches are held.
Newcastle was our next stop, just for the Kings of Leon concert (the second reason Adam wanted to come and meet us in the UK!). The concert was amazing, the population of Newcastle however, was another story! An interesting bunch they were.
We caught the bus to Edinburgh the next day and this is definitely a must-see city. So many beautiful buildings and so much history about the underground city that used to exist. We did a ghost tour and went down into two vaults which were believed to have been occupied by various people, including a family of four which consisted of a young boy and a girl. The vaults were pitch black and the moment we walked into the second vault, our body temperatures changed and certain body parts such as our hands became really cold. The tour guide told us that this normally means a ghost is walking through us. It was so spooky and eerie down there that we were quite happy to get out when we did, and we took some photos, some of which seem to have a figure appear in them. An Edinburgh pub crawl was a good way to end our time in the city and it was a rather large night to say the least.
Our final stop in the UK was back in London where we got back just in time to surprise one of my best friends Vee who I hadn’t seen in eight months! She had no idea we were surprising her and thanks to our friends Kira and Courtney, we could make it happen. We also got to squeeze in some more tourist sites in London and catch up with another Whistler friend, Louise.
The UK was amazing and it was great to see different parts of the country and to hear how the British accent changed and became stronger the more North we went. A special mention to all of the London residents/travellers who we caught up with whilst in the UK including: Kira, Lewis, Courtney, Ben, Taryn, Rich, Emma, Nick, Vanessa, Jayde, Jarrad, Bubble and Melissa – it was great seeing you all, some who I hadn’t seen in several years!
Sail Turkey was an amazing experience but it was so good to be back on land in Fethiye and to be able to shower properly again! We were excited to leave Fethiye and to experience what else Turkey had to offer. We visited Marmaris which was a beautiful place with amazing beaches. We spent two nights here and on our second night, we went on our own pub crawl to a few different bars. There’s a street called “Bar Street” which is full of, you guessed it, bars and clubs. We got haggled outside every bar we walked past, which got really annoying in the end.
Bodrum was our next stop for one night before going on a two-day tour to Ephesus and Pammukale. The tour itself wasn’t overly great, however the places which we saw were amazing. I never thought ruins could be so interesting – they’re just so old! It’s crazy to think about how the people actually lived in the town of Ephesus all those years ago. Turns out there was an underground tunnel from the library to a brothel where men would be unfaithful to their partners and also that citizens would wash themselves with horse milk in the communal bath.
Pammukale was an awesome experience – the views of the terraces were so beautiful. We enjoyed the mud baths but I think we enjoyed watching the Russians and other Europeans posing for photos even more. It was hilarious – they would pose properly in the water or along the walls as if they were doing a photo shoot for FHM. I’m a horrible person and managed to get a couple of sneaky snaps. Oops. We then splurged and paid to go into Cleopatra’s Mineral Pool which was definitely worth the money. The temperature was so nice and the water was like actual mineral water.
After our tour we headed back to Bodrum for three nights. It was quite sad as we found out the town (and country) was in mourning due to the mining disaster which killed nearly 300 people. I’m sure you would have seen it on the news and apparently there’s constant mining accidents in Turkey because the government won’t spend the money and fix the problems. Due to the accident, this meant that Bodrum was extremely quiet for the next two to three days and this meant no music and no nightlife.
We were recommended a well-priced kebab place up the road which kept our daily budget to a minimum. For two kebabs (or kebaps as they call them in Turkey), we paid $2.50. And if we really wanted to treat ourselves, we would buy a drink each which would mean our bill came to $5.00 instead. How do they even make any money?! We really loved Bodrum, it was just really relaxing after a full on two day tour, so we spent most of our time chilling on the terrace and reading our books – what a life right?
Our final stop in Turkey after Bodrum was back to Istanbul. We just loved this city, the buildings were so beautiful. We had to get a taxi to our hostel after getting off the bus, which should normally cost about $10. We got in a taxi with Turkey‘s most dodgiest taxi driver who firstly over-charged us, then dropped us off nowhere near our hostel. We stopped and asked at least ten people where our hostel was and they kept saying “oh just 300m up the road” so we kept walking rather than risk getting in another cab. The problem was, the Turkish’s idea of “300m” could mean anything really. Turkish time and distance are both very inaccurate. We ended up walking an hour and a half to get to our hostel with our 20kg packs on our back. This has been the biggest relationship-testing experience since leaving home I think, it was so frustrating and I was so close to losing the plot!
Anyway aside from our experience with the taxi driver, we had a great time in Istanbul. We caught up with three friends from our cruise and went exploring the Blue Mosque which was just stunning. An explanation or photos don’t really do it justice. All the females had to cover their hair with a scarf as a sign of respect. We also went to the Grand Bazaar which was nothing less than grand. Stall after stall, full of lanterns, jewellery and food, as well as anything else you could imagine.
Our time in Turkey came to an end, and we were so grateful that we could spend a whole month in such an awesome country. The food, people and the places were all great and we would definitely recommend Turkey to anyone. Some aspects of the country reminded us of Thailand such as the haggling from shop owners and the amount of stray dogs there were in the streets, but then other aspects of Turkey are completely unique.
Just remember to be careful when it comes to taxi drivers if you ever consider visiting Turkey!
After our amazing experience of ANZAC Day at Gallipoli, it was time to say good-bye to Kira and Amanda who were starting a new chapter in their travels and heading to London. And then there were three! Myself, Gary and Deano were Antalya bound and we were so excited for some relaxation time! As we checked our bags in at Istanbul Airport we were told casually that our flight was delayed for two hours. The Turkish really aren’t bothered about time frames or being late so we found it quite funny how a two hour delay was really no big deal. After we finally caught our flight, the weather in Antalya was amazing. There was sunshine! We stayed at an all-inclusive resort and this meant a buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner every day which consisted of so many different foods including every type of cheese and olive you could imagine. (Which, for those that know Gary and Judith well, was heaven!)
Our daily life in Antalya pretty much involved drinking by the pool, sun baking, going on the water slide and talking to our new friend, Bilat the Lifeguard. We spent one day shopping and exploring the old town and the bazaars. On the one rainy, horrible day we had, we decided to look for a massage parlour. We came across one which turned out to be extremely traditional and was located in someone’s house. There were three Turkish women who were there and who explained what we could have done. We settled on having a Turkish Bath and Massage which is actually called a “Hamman”. The three of us went into the sauna together and sat in there for a good 30-40 minutes – by the end of it we needed to get out because we were melting. We then went in to the Turkish bath, one by one. This is where it got interesting. Each of our experiences were much the same once we came out and compared stories. We had to get completely naked and lay on this hot stone. The women would wet us and then exfoliate our body from head to toe. I even had my hair washed which was luxurious! It was pretty awkward at first – being completely nude in front of a complete stranger! I just kept telling myself that it was a Turkish tradition and that I would have a great story to tell! After the exfoliation and bath, we had a full body massage – again this was completely naked! My treatment ended after the massage but Gary and Deano went back into the Turkish bath (not together thank God) and they were rinsed off. I came to the conclusion that boys are generally more gross therefore they needed the extra rinse off!
After four amazing days in Antalya with Deano, we said goodbye to him as he was heading to the States and South America – however we will reunite with the pest in Greece in July. Bloody love ya Deano.
After spending six nights in Antalya, we were ready to move on. Personally, I got a bit over the buffet meals and was ready to take on a new part of Turkey. We caught a bus to Fethiye and checked into a cute guest house for one night before starting our Sail Turkey cruise! We didn’t have to check into the cruise until 4pm the next day, so we had a sleep in and chilled on the sunny terrace for the day. Luckily for Gary, Melbourne were playing Adelaide and we had awesome wifi so he could watch the game. This caused a little tiff between Gary and Judith because Gary was carrying on a bit too loudly whilst watching the game. Judith expressed to him that he was an embarrassment and that people were turning around and looking at him (these people were to later become our good Kiwi friends on our cruise), so he moved away to watch the rest of the game and thankfully, the Dees had a win. Gary and Judith became friends again soon after.
The time finally came to board our Turkish Gulet and meet our new family for the next 8 days! We started sailing and explored the boat and started drinking beers before the captain (soon to be nicknamed “El Capitan”) advised us that he would be dropping the anchor so we could have our first swim. It was pretty cool to be swimming in the open Mediterranean where the water was surprisingly quite warm and so clear! We got ready for our first dinner and wow, the home-cooked food by “Chef” was amazing! We slept well that night despite being in a small cabin however as soon as the boat started moving the next morning, the queasiness started. I’d never been sea sick before and although I wasn’t actually sick, my stomach was just not right until I went to sit on the outside of the boat. On our first full day on the boat, the weather took a wild turn and the most strongest winds I’ve ever experienced decided to rip through the boat. All of the boys had to help the crew on the front on the boat and a lounge went flying overboard, however this was retrieved soon after. Us girls were moving the lounges to the inside of the boat as well as all of the crockery and food from breakfast otherwise everything would soon be overboard. The kayak on the roof of the boat flipped over and made the loudest crashing sound, we were pretty lucky it didn’t smash through! We were meant to go and see Butterfly Valley that morning but due to the weather, we had to postpone this to hopefully the last day. We docked in a calmer spot on the sea and the wind was a huge talking point that day.
For the next three days, the weather didn’t really improve. We didn’t see sun and we were surrounded by clouds and sometimes rain and wind. This just meant that we had to get to know each other a lot more and we spent our days napping, reading, playing cards and talking, although the braver ones still swam every day. Our conversations would revolve around food and travel and the hours in our days were spaced out by the different meal times, i.e. breakfast, lunch, tea time, dinner and supper. We created a new meal of the day which was “Snack Time”. This normally occurred at 6 or 7pm each day where a smaller group of us would come together with our dips and chips. The crew on the boat were absolutely amazing and really made our trip what it was. El Capitan (the Captain), Chef (the Chef) and Tayfun (the third member of the crew who originally told us his name was “Garlic”) were the three crew members. Every meal was prepared from scratch and each meal was so healthy and delicious. Every time we would go into the kitchen, no matter what time of day it was, Chef would be preparing something that always smelt amazing.
On the Wednesday and Thursday of our cruise, the weather was perfect. Sunny, cloudless skies surrounded us and we jumped off the boat into the clear blue Mediterranean. We snorkeled, climbed rocks, found ruins, cut our feet, swam in a cave, got a tan and just relaxed in the sun. We had one crazy night out at a secluded bar in the middle of the sea called “Smuggler’s Cove”. It was here that we discovered the wild dance moves of our fellow cruise family. It came to our final day on the boat where we were hoping we could go to Butterfly Valley… however this was a no-go. All we wanted, was to see a damn butterfly. The weather took a turn for the worst and despite the rain and wind, the majority of us could not bear to be down in our cabins so we had to suck it up and sit on the back of the boat where we could get fresh air, and we got quite wet from the rain. Sea sickness tablets went round like drugs in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne and we had to do anything and everything to keep our minds off being sick. Two people gave in, and were sick off the boat, however I must say that just a couple of hours earlier they took a shot of Vodka to hopefully take their minds off the sea sickness pain. El Capitan came out with a full bottle of Vodka and gave it to us as a “present” because he felt so bad about the horrific weather. Most people did a shot, I was not one of them. The table, which would have weighed so many kilos, plus all of the chairs, were sliding from side to side on the boat. We had the music up full blast and we were singing to make the queasiness go away. The boat’s “Funny Man”, Sam, thought it would be a classic to play “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic and it was hilarious. To watch everyone bob up and down and from side to side every time the boat hit a wave whilst the song was playing, is an image I won’t forget anytime soon. We managed to get through the roughest day on the boat and it was such a relief to dock at our final destination.
Despite the weather being horrendous for a couple of the days, I think it just brought us closer together. If we had sunny days for the whole time, we probably wouldn’t have talked and gotten to know each other half as much. It was what it was, and to be honest, I would do it all again! The people we met on the boat were amazing and Gary and Judith look forward to meeting up with you in Europe again or back home in Aus or New Zealand.
Stay tuned for the next blog about the rest of our Turkey adventures!
After a night in Istanbul, Judith and I, along with a few other friends from Whistler were booked into a G-Adventures tour that was destined for the ANZAC Day service at Gallipoli. As we made our way down to the Hotel Lobby, we were stunned by the sheer amount of people that were taking part in this tour. Shortly after the good old fashioned ice breaking activities had finished, we were allocated into approximately 8 small groups and then escorted to our buses.
Our group was quite diverse. It had 10 or so young travellers accompanied by about 6 adults in their late 50’s / early 60’s. It was pretty humbling to see the enthusiasm of the older guys shine through as we got talking with them, especially knowing that it was going to be a pretty gruelling 48 hours with little sleep and pretty intense conditions.
As we made our way to our first stop, I vividly remember thinking about my naivety towards the entire ANZAC campaign. It’s not something I enjoy admitting, but I clearly remember entering into this tour with a malnourished understanding of the events, experiences and tragedies aligned with not only the battle of Gallipoli, but the entire First World War. In some way, I guess, this was a blessing in disguise as it gave me the hunger and desire to not only understand what occurred, but to appreciate, and to better empathise with those that willingly gave up their all for the good of our country, and our future.
As the five hour bus journey came to an end, we finally arrived at Gallipoli. If someone not knowing the gruesome past of this location visited, they would think it was just another one of Turkey’s stunning coastal regions. That was the first thing that really took me by surprise – the utter beauty and character of the area was just incredible. White, shelly beaches with turquoise water that were engulfed by enormous mountains and the purest of green grass were only some of the features that made this place so unique.
We began the tour, with our guide taking us to the most prominent spots in ANZAC cove. I must admit, having a Turkish tour guide certainly gave a different feel to the experience as they are still so passionate about this battle, and we were continuously reminded of their victory. This put a pretty sour taste in my mouth at times, as the intention of my experience at Gallipoli wasn’t about the glories or victors of war, it was purely based on gaining a better level of insight, knowledge and compassion. We were told about the different battle tactics used by both sides, which was extremely interesting, and it ultimately determined the outcome of this specific battle. As you may or may not know, the British army misjudged the size of Anzac cove, thinking it was much smaller than it really was. What the soldiers also didn’t know was the brutal landscape that confronted them as they poured off the ships in waves of hundreds. Stories about 18 year old boys being mowed down by clouds of bullets from the Turkish soldiers located on the cliffs sent goosebumps through every inch of my skin and further reinstated my thoughts on the pointlessness and wastefulness of war in general.
As the first day of the tour concluded, we drove back to our hotel for the night and got some much needed sleep. The next morning came within a blink of the eye as we headed straight back on the bus, this time headed for the ancient city of Troy. We were guided through the ruins of the region where the great battle of Troy took place, and saw the supposed location where the famous Trojan Horse was led into the huge castle. Being a bit of a history buff, I really enjoyed this part of the tour. It was really cool trying to imagine how it actually looked hundreds of years ago, and the mythological stories regarding the gods were really interesting seeing as though the teachings in these stories are still utilised today in Turkish culture.
After another long bus ride came to an end, we were back in Gallipoli, this time with a much better understanding of it’s history, and with all of us full with excitement, anxiousness and intrigue. This part of the tour was where we would set up camp, sleeping under the stars with our backpacks and sleeping bags in the heart of ANZAC Cove. Lucky for us, it was a stunning day and the weather wasn’t going to give us any issues – thank god! Thanks to the help of a friend, Nick Turner, we were able to get a spot right next to where the Dawn service was to take place. The evening was comprised with moving speeches by Australian and New Zealand defence ministers, Government Officials, and the Turkish defence force. A man named Mustafa Attaturk, the man many believed to secure the victory in the battle of Gallipoli and whom later became the prime minister of Turkey, made an incredible speech several years after the battle occurred. This speech represents the unlikely camaraderie that was experienced between two severely opposed army’s, and it is also symbolic of the relationship between Turkey and the ANZAC’s to this day:
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours… you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.” – Mustafa Attaturk, 1934.
As we fell asleep to the sounds of World War I documentaries in the background, we were constantly reminded of the horrible events that took place directly under our heads. 6am on the 25th of April, 2014, was a time in my life that would end up significantly changing me as a person and my outlook on life in general. The dawn service commenced, with over 8,000 Australians, New Zealanders, and Turkish people gathered here, on this remote beach, all for the same reason. We were shaken out of our drowsiness by the profound sounds of the Last Post, and the feeling in the air was literally indescribable. Aussies and Kiwis embracing each other with hugs of support and admiration as the gigantic sun rose over the infamous cliffs behind us. The tranquillity of the ocean, and the peaceful sounds of the small waves rolling onto the shores, reminded me of how far we have come since that time. As the service came to an end, Kleenex’s stock prices went through the roof as tissues were being consumed by the dozen. It sounds strange to think that an event like that can completely change someone’s outlook, I know. But if it did nothing else, it truly made me proud to be Australian, and it enforced me to be thankful for all that I have in my life. I consider myself to still be a young chap, but kids 4 years younger than me gave up their will to EVERYTHING so that WE can all enjoy a safe and happy life – just incredible.
After the ceremony we hiked up to Lone Pine, a monumental region of Anzac Cove where thousands of soldiers died in one of the most gruesome battles of all. This is where the Australian memorial is located, and in turn where the Australian ceremony took place. Out of all the formidable speeches, the Australian Minister of Veteran’s Affairs, Michael Ronaldson, left everyone speechless both at the Dawn Service and at Lone Pine. We sometimes question those in positions of power, but this man is extremely remarkable. Once again, it made me proud to be Australian listening to the way he gave respect to those whom had fallen, and current members that were serving in our defence force.
Later we had the opportunity to walk around Lone Pine and view the hundreds of memorial graves that are impeccably maintained in these beautiful grounds. Seeing familiar surnames on these graves sent an eerie feeling through me as I wondered if they had been past relatives of family and friends. Judith’s Pop gave us both an abundance of ANZAC pins that we respectfully placed down on the graves of our past ‘diggers’. It was the least we could do.
Lastly, I would like to say to all those reading, if you get the chance to do this, just do it. If you have the slightest interest in checking this out, I beg you to act on it. It really was an event that will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I do believe it is essential for young Australians to go and experience. And also, Turkey is a ridiculously cool place, and the Turkish people are even better! Could not recommend any higher!
Hey all, it’s Judith here! The blog-writing has been extremely slack for the past month as we have been so busy with travelling around but as of now we will try and stay up-to-date!
After leaving Whistler on April 7th, we embarked on a two week road trip from Vancouver to San Diego. We hired a Wicked Camper Van and hit the road! Gary was a little bit nervous about getting in the driver’s seat and driving on American roads as they’re opposite to ours back home of course… Actually I wont lie, he wasn’t a little bit nervous, he was absolutely shitting himself and so was I especially because we’d had little sleep and an emotional morning leaving our Whistler life behind.
We reached Border Control at the Canadian/US border and the US officers were absolutely disgraceful. They weren’t sure if we could drive a Canadian-licensed van into the US and leave it in the US so we had to go inside and be questioned. The officers inside were the most rudest and patronising of people and the way they treated us and the other customers was disgusting! After a good hour, we were finally let through and made it to Seattle.
Seattle is a really cool city and we saw the Space Needle and visited the EMP Music Museum where we learnt about the band Nirvana and Kurt Cobain – it was a few days off his 20th anniversary since killing himself and his story was really interesting and quite in-depth. We then made it to Portland that evening and went out to a local sports bar for dinner. They have no taxes in Oregon so we paid about $4 for a pint of beer which was ridiculously cheap after spending so much money on beer in Whistler! We stayed in an RV Park for the first time that night, so we set up camp in our van and it was so cosy in there and to our surprise, we slept so well.
The next day we drove down the Oregon coast and set up camp in a beautiful beach-side spot called Charleston. Our van faced the beach and Gary went fishing although this was extremely unsuccessful with the high winds. (It was hilarious being a spectator, sorry Gary). However, it was so good to get our first taste of the beach in so many months! That night we had our first camp fire style dinner – sausages in bread and a side of salad – it was quite a delicious dinner actually.
After misplacing the car key the next morning, we got on the road a tad later than expected and we arrived in Sunny California! We drove through the most amazing trees in the Red Woods and the “Avenue of Giants” was one road we took which was so cool, we got out a few times to take photos. I never thought trees could be so amazing. We ended up staying the night at a campground in a place called Myers Flat.. it was about 28 degrees and sunny when we arrived so this called for shorts, singlets, music, beers and a game of Monopoly. Our dinner consisted of beer battered beef jerkey, fried bread and chip sandwiches – oh the life of camping!
The next day saw us driving for about seven hours all the way to San Francisco. Well actually, it was Gary driving and me trying to direct the best and easiest way to go. This particular day was a real relationship-tester because we somehow took an extremely long way on the most windiest roads I’ve ever seen. Gary expressed that this was the hardest driving he has ever had to do, and all I could do was laugh. Everything in the back moved from side to side at every corner we took, and at every corner we took, I would laugh. Even writing this, it still makes me laugh although poor Gary didn’t seem to find it all that funny until after the driving was done.
We finally made it to San Francisco and we had a busy social agenda in the two nights we were there. We treated ourselves to a nice hotel in the middle of town and caught up with our good friends, and newlyweds, Nicole and Marco on our first night. Our dinner turned into a five-hour event which saw the boys drinking straight spirits on the rocks and the celebration of Marco’s 30th Birthday with some delicious desserts. Our bill was impressive and quite surprising considering we were on this “tight budget”. Oh and thanks to the free wifi, Gary was able to stream the Melbourne game to see them win over Carlton – just to add to the excitement that night!
The next day we did some shopping and walked around the city. This was the second time we had visited San Fran and I think the homelessness had become worse. Every few metres on the streets we were being asked for money and we witnessed such sad circumstances where people were so dirty and without shoes or warm clothes. This is one thing that puts me off San Fran despite the city being so beautiful. We caught up with my cousin Lance and his girlfriend Mel for a nice lunch and talked the afternoon away about our upcoming travel plans and the most recent footy scores.
That night, we went to this amazing penthouse where my friend Kylie and her boyfriend Dave were staying. We planned to go to dinner but we all got drinking and talking about our travel experiences so far and at 10pm realised we should probably go and get some dinner. After dinner we found a bar where we thought would be a good place for a few drinks…. or a few Fireballs shots. A few too many shots turned into a rather large night and let’s just say Judith was definitely out and about and was not feeling the greatest the next morning.
San Fran definitely provided us with the goods and having six people from the West back home be in the same city on the same weekend on the other side of the world, was pretty impressive!
Santa Cruz was our next destination and I absolutely fell in love with the place. A really cool surf town with beach volleyball games left, right and centre, salsa dancing on the beach, beautiful sunny weather and an awesome theme park – what more could you want? We decided to stay in Santa Cruz for two nights and experienced our first sun burn in such a long time! We enjoyed clam chowder on the pier, fish and chips, ice cream, churros and the list goes on of amazing foods! We also, well I also, screamed my lungs out on the awesome rides at the theme park. I can safely say Santa Cruz is definitely up there with one of my favourite places I’ve visited!
The next week consisted of us travelling along the Cali Coast and the views were amazing. The Big Sur was a major highlight – you really should Google images of The Big Sur, because I don’t know how to explain it! It’s like we were driving on top of the world, and the clouds, mountains and ocean were below us. It was incredible.
The next few days saw us kayaking in Morro Bay amongst seals, setting up camp at a family camping ground just outside Santa Barbara on a beach and watching dolphins jumping in the water just metres in front of us, visiting Santa Monica Pier, checking out Newport Beach and sussing out if The OC crew were there (unfortunately, they weren’t) and then reaching our goal of making it all the way down south to San Diego.
After exploring San Diego, we started driving back North down the coast and stayed in a cheap motel in a surf town called Carslbad. We really needed wifi to sort out a few things so we got some take-away sushi and thought we’d have a chilled out night. At about 11:30pm as we were dosing off, Gary could hear police sirens and a policeman speaking into a megaphone. I was half asleep and said I could slightly hear it… Next minute the sirens were getting closer and closer and before we knew it, the car that was being chased, plus six police cars rocked up into the car park of the motel we were staying in.
The criminal stepped out of the car and had her back to the police, but she was basically looking straight into our room as our room was directly in front of her! The police told the criminal that they would shoot if she did not obey their orders and we were peering through the window to see what was going on! The ordeal went on for about 10-15 minutes and we could see the policeman with rifle guns circling the car to see if there was anyone else in the car! We were in disbelief that something like this was happening so close to us and we kept thinking, if the police did shoot at her, it would have been in our direction! Let’s hope he had a good aim. So there you go, a bit of excitement for our stay in Carlsbad and a good story about our road trip!
We made it back to LA on the Sunday and we had to pack up our van and minimise our luggage to just our packs and a small day pack. We were absolutely ruthless, throwing out clothes that had absolutely nothing wrong with them but that just couldn’t make the cut and join us for our upcoming Europe adventure. I even threw out a brand new pair of prescription glasses – why would I need two pairs for?
We spent our last night in the States having dinner at HOOTERS – surprisingly my idea! Gary and I didn’t really know where to look… the TVs that had sport on them? Or the waitresses buldging chests? Or their bum cheeks coming out of their shorts? We both didn’t really know. We were joined by our friends from Whistler, Kristy and Matt who were also on a road trip, and we had a few drinks with them to mark our final night.
Monday 22nd April was the day we dropped off our camper van and made our way to LAX airport to make our dreams a reality and to fly across to Europe – Istanbul, Turkey being our first stop.
Our two week road trip was a load of fun. It was interesting to sleep in a van and to eat random things for dinner but at the same time, it was super nice when we booked a hotel to stay in! We found it hard to find places to stay sometimes so we gave up and splurged. Our advice to those planning a road trip – plan well! Do lots of research. For us, we winged a lot of it which meant we spent more money than we expected however it was such a great experience.
We definitely loved the smaller surf towns more than the bigger cities and we enjoyed finding cool little places to stay, especially if they had a beach nearby!
Hope you enjoyed the road trip edition and the photos… I will hand it over to Gary for the next blog on ANZAC Day which I’m sure will be one of the best reads so far.
It’s Judith’s turn to write the next entry and I apologise in advance for it’s potential to be of the emotional and corny type.
It’s kind of hard to really explain how I feel right now as I sit on the Greyhound, Vancouver bound, knowing that I have just left my Whistler family behind and that it could be months or years before I see some of you again. Some I may never see again because we live so far apart!
Since that day I left my family and friends on October 27th 2013 at Melbourne Airport, I knew I had made the right decision to embark on an adventure of a lifetime with my bestie, Gary.
As sad as it was to leave my loved ones, this step had to be taken, Judith needed to see the world (especially at the ripe old age of 26!) and wow, what a step this was.
For almost 6 months, I got to know myself – what I liked and didn’t like, what I was good at and not good at, how to make new friends who soon became my family and most of all, how to love life.
Before Whistler, I still lived at home with my parents and brothers so it was a huge move to live in a place of my own let alone in another country!
Gary and I knew we’d be okay to live together – we established an awesome system in room 406. Gary would do most of the cooking while I cleaned and did the washing.
It wasn’t soon after we moved here that 406 became the party place/drop in centre. We could hear people walking up the stairs and Gary and I would look at each other and wait for the knock knock on the door.
Generally it was either:
a) Deano coming up to debrief about the night before with his bowl of meat, veggies and chilli paste.
Or
b) Brad with his environment-friendly bag which consisted of a bottle of Coke, a bottle of Captain Morgan’s, some ice in a container and a lime.
There were so many beer bongs consumed and drinking games played in 406. It got to the point where Gary and I would tell everyone to bring their own plastic bags to put their empties in so they could take them home because our recycling bin was needing to be emptied on a way too regular basis!
The walks home after our nights out are some of my favourite memories. Getting a slice of Fat Tony’s pizza and then talking absolute rubbish was a usual occurrence. There was the time it took us about an hour to walk home because the snow was dumping so much we could just fall into the it and be buried and there was also the time where we sang every AFL theme song in a remix for the whole walk.
This morning, once our bags were packed, Brad and Sarah came and helped us with our luggage. It was so weird to leave 406 for the last time.
That was the first place Gary and I ever lived together. It was our home! My photo wall and my bucket list wall were completely bare. The fridge was bare. There were no bottles of tequila, vodka, malibu or baileys left (although Judith does have a sneaky bottle of malibu in her bag!) and for once, no cans of Wildcat or PBR beers!
It was time to leave this amazing place we called home for the past 5 and a bit months. We were going to miss everything so much….
the village,
the views,
the mountains,
the snow,
the Sunday Funday Family Nights at Longhorns,
the random nights at Buffalo Bills, Tapleys Bingo,
Crystal Tuesdays,
wings for Apres on a Thursday afternoon,
Deano’s face,
Brad and Sair’s truck – “Larry”,
Bexc and Dean constantly bickering at each other (because they’re secretly in love and will be married in the next 7 years),
Kira being such a drunk midget,
Stacey’s bad influence to have drinks before “turning the wheel”,
working with the most amazing people,
and last but not least,
Our Whistler Family.
No one will ever quite understand me when I explain just how much you guys have meant to us. We couldn’t just be friends, we needed to be family, and that’s just how it was. When something went wrong, we’d call on one of you and we hope you have been able to do the same.
My work buddies at Creekside – you have made me capable of getting through those shitty days where it was -20 degrees and when we would nearly get hit in the face with skis every five minutes. I love you all very much!
Saying “see ya later” last night at Longhorns was so very hard. We appreciate you all for coming, so thank you!
Last night was hard, but this morning was harder. Having brad and Sair help us get into our cab was so hard, I’m sorry Sair, I couldn’t even look at you. You two have been our absolute rocks and we love you. Cannot wait for our Greece reunion!
The cab driver was so lovely, his goal was to make me laugh before I got out and he did…. But I was in tears again because Neil was waiting at the bus stop for us! You’re too good a friend Neil.
Since we have sat down on the bus, we’ve barely said a word. I think we just need our emotions to settle down before we realise that we’ve just had the most amazing time in Whistler and we are now going to start a new chapter!
Whistler, you have changed our lives. To everyone we have met here, you have changed our lives even more. We love you and are ever so so grateful to have met you.
Keep up those Sunday Fundays, dance on stools and pool tables, do shots, drink too much beer so you feel shit next Monday and keep having fun. We will see some of you in Europe, if not, back in Aus or NZ.
You all have a place to stay in Melbourne and we’d love to show you that Aussie Rules Football is not rugby or soccer.
Peace out guys.
Judith.
X
Ps: just looked through my camera from last night… It was like the scene from the Hangover movie… Thanks Lewis for showing us that you had a “ball” last night and thanks Brad for being an awesome photographer 🙂
To my friends, family, and other interesting individuals, it’s certainly been a long time between drinks. A good 3 months I believe. In case you have forgotten, I’m Gary: A timid, shy, boring 22 year old Australian travelling the world with my much more exciting and entertaining partner, Judith (lol Gery pls).
Over the past few months, it’s pretty safe to say we have been caught up in the hype that comes with living in this crazy, wonderful, and insanely beautiful place we call home; Whistler. Sitting here writing this blog right now is pretty difficult to be honest. We just had 32cms of fresh snow overnight, followed by a bluebird day up on the slopes. My fingers are still shaking, and my mind is still trying to grasp how exceptionally awesome this place really is.
I’m going to take you all back to one of the great days in the calendar year; Australia Day, the 26th of January. Aussie day is arguably bigger in Whistler than it is back home, and we had been hearing about all the shenanigans from previous years during our first few months here. Australia Day eve was spent partying at our local watering hole, Longhorns, listening to the live stream of the Triple J Hottest 100. As per usual, we were the last people there, partying the night away as Gary and Judith do oh so well. Oh and I almost forgot, it was such a large night that one of my best mates, Dean, somehow thought his roommates mattress and floor was the toilet. This didn’t sit well with the residents of room 306. The following day, Judith and I were pretty pumped to see what Canada had to offer so we planned to venture out of bounds with a big bunch of ‘buddies’ and knock a few tinnies back. We were also very lucky to have a local visitor, Bec McNally, from Beaumaris come to hang out with us for a few days. This day was planned out to be pretty awesome, however there was one big flaw. Gary had never gone up to this out of bounds area to check it out, and as Judith had only just started skiing, when we got up there, shit hit the fan. Big icy slopes caused the tears to start flowing, fear was coming out of Judith’s every orifice, and Gary felt like a real jerk. After some soothing talks and a cheeky phone call to Ski Patrol, Judith was carried out on a nice little toboggan by ‘Spenny’, her personal chauffer.
Following this little hiccup, a few days later Judith and I decided to seek a safer way to get our adrenaline fix. On Blackcomb Mountain (the inferior of the two, hey Brad Arvidson?), there is an awesome facility called the Coca-Cola Tube Park. It sort of resembles a bowling alley, but I suppose you are the bowl, sitting on a round rubber tube, and getting launched down some seriously icy and steep lanes. It was awesome to see Judith flying down the lanes screaming her lungs out in enjoyment and laughter after a pretty terrifying experience prior to this. Oh and in case you didn’t know, Judith has this sneaky little habit of snorting when her laughter reaches a certain climax. I will endeavour to provide you all with a video of this, I promise. Here is some footage of us at the Tube Park:
In regards to our jobs, work was ticking away pretty nicely. Being a lifty no doubt has it perks, but it was this one particular day that I found a higher love for my place of employment. This specific day was the Lifty Onesie Day. Myself and a pal named Chad decided to rock our cow and dragon onesies all day, which resulted in some nice little compliments, paired with a whole heap of “who the fuck are these people and what are they doing here” glances. But hey, we had fun!
As mentioned earlier, it is really easy to get caught up in the “Bubble” that is Whistler, and before you know it, three quarters of your time here has passed. The realisation of this came when we were made aware of all the things we still hadn’t done, and that we needed to do before we left. This led to the development of Gary and Judith’s Whistler Bucket list which is currently staring straight back at me on our living room wall. This has really forced us to get up off our backsides and make the most of the rest of our time here. In saying this though, there has been some pretty ridiculous entries put up, such as getting a tattoo and breaking into a resort’s hot tub. I’ll leave it up to you guys to decide whether or not these things actually happened…..
The 9th of February was a life changing day for me, to say the least. It was a standard Sunday, and I had worked my standard 10 hour day on the Creekside Gondola, lifting thousands of skis. I got home, and couldn’t wait to head to Longhorns for our weekly Family night piss up and dance. The door knocked on our Room 406 apartment, and Gary being the gentleman he is, went over to let the guest in. As I opened the door, I saw my good mate Brad standing in front of me with his GoPro pointing straight at me. As a natural reaction, I hid behind the door because I had no idea what was going on. I turned to face our living room, and Judith, Sarah and Bexc all had their phones pointed towards me. This is when I knew something fishy was going on. The proceeding 30 seconds still remain a blurry, hazy stream of events, however the next few minutes were some of the best in my 22 years of being alive. As I hid behind the door, two of my best mates; Myles Lewis and Matt Prosser jumped into the apartment and surprised/scared the living shit of me. They had come all the way from Melbourne to see me, and with the help of Judith and my other Canadian mates, I had absolutely no idea. You can see the footage of the video here:
http://youtu.be/fJ_X3i29mrE
After several hugs and slaps to the face to check if what was happening was actually real, the next natural step was to fill up the beer bong and introduce the boys to a good old fashioned Canadian hosing. There were some very sore heads the next morning.
The timing of the boy’s arrival was impeccable. Over the two weeks that they were here, we had over 115cms of snow. Whistler seriously turned on the goods for them. I distinctly remember the first time we went up the mountain with them, as we made effortless turns in deep, fresh powder, the boys jaws were still down in the valley. Unfortunately, old mate Prosser took a pretty heavy fall and tore the ligaments between his spine and pelvis, so he was out of action and on crutches for the time being. As days went on, and nights went on even longer, we were kicking goals and ticking things of our bucket list so we could enjoy them whilst our mates were here. Some of the most enjoyable times we had with the guys was when we were walking home in 20+cms of snow after a big night, tackling and wrestling the whole way home. What should be a 10 minute walk, turned in to an hour long, soggy, but hilarious drunken adventure.
As it was time for Lewi to leave, Prosser was still on crutches and we had absolutely no idea when he would be eligible to fly home. To be completely honest, we didn’t really care because it was awesome having him here, and we also got to bathe in his 5-star insurance-paid hotel’s pool and Jacuzzi.
It was now time to get excited for my brother to arrive. He had booked his trip back in January, and I was hanging out to see him as it was the longest amount of time we had spent away from each other. The big truck arrived on the 4th of March and Judith and I were ecstatic to see the large unit. There were some stressful moments leading up to his arrival due to the fact that there had been constant visitors in our tiny one bedroom apartment, however we thought we had it all sorted as Prosser had moved into his own hotel room. We thought wrong, well, actually, I thought wrong. Once again, to MY surprise, 5 minutes after Sam walked through the door, another mate from home, Stuey Connell, scared the life of me as he turned up at 406’s doorstep. Seeing these boys turn up was honestly like seeing a ghost, however it made me appreciate their friendship and reminded me just how lucky I am.
Now with Sammy and Stuey living in room 406, and mind you, Sam is a 6’4” walking train, free space was becoming a pretty scarce thing. This turned out to be okay though as Stuey is the kind of guy to just throw himself in to any kind of activity, and drag us all along even if we didn’t know about it. The weeks were spent snowmobiling in the Callaghan Valley, visiting the Whistler Train Wreck, Ziptrekking Whistler’s treetops, and a heap of memorable, no wait, unmemorable nights in the Whistler Village. Midway during their stay, Prosser had finally received notice of his flight details, so naturally, we organised a boys trip down to Vancouver to send him off with a last Hurrah. We organised to see a Vancouver Canucks NHL game which was pretty sweet for the tourists to soak up the Canadian sports culture. After thousands of ‘goodbye’ drinks for Prosser, and about 2 hours sleep, the poor bloke caught a cab from our hotel and after 4 weeks of living the dream, he finally departed Canada. A big thankyou goes out to Brad for driving us to and from Vancouver in Larry (an exceptionally big, but friendly Ford F250 truck) after we gave it a pretty decent shake up!
The time that we had our friends and family visit seemed to come and go as fast as Dean’s girlfriends. Looking back at it now, we accomplished so much and had the most amazing time, but its still sad to think I’m not going to see those awesome people again for a long time. It is now the 27th of March and as startling as it is for Judith and Gary, we are beginning to pack up our awesome little home, and sell all of our unneeded but loved items. The thought of a 2 week road trip down the Californian coast after we leave takes the pain away to some degree, however leaving the place where Judith and I could first call home together, and our truly amazing friends that have become our family, is pretty devastating. Although, as one door closes, another opens.
It has been a few weeks between drinks in terms of blog entries, however we like to make the anticipation for our readers as intense as possible. And not to mention, we have settled in here which means that we are fairly chilled and not much happens on a daily basis. Plus, I’m in bed by 8:30pm most nights as I’m too tired to do anything!
Anyway. Where do I start?
Work life. Let’s start there. So as you probably know, Gary is a lift operator and I am a ticket seller/validator and we have had a little bit of excitement happen in the past few weeks. Gary received a PROMOTION, and is now LEAD HAND of the top of the Creekside Gondola. This is extremely exciting as he will now be earning $11 an hour instead of $10…
No really, it is such a great achievement as not many first year workers here at Whistler receive Lead Hand positions. He has formed such a good relationship with his supervisor “Beaver” that Beaver now calls him “Gary”. And they also skull jugs of beer together at staff parties.. I’ll tell you more about that later.
As for me in ticket sales, our department have so many incentives and prizes and I won a pair of Smith goggles for selling the most multi-day lift tickets in a certain time frame. For me, this was extremely exciting because I never win anything and I think it is a really positive reflection on Whistler Blackcomb for rewarding their staff members. This also helps to stay motivated to go to work and to actually have fun each day.
Before coming to Whistler, the thought of working here on a “working holiday” was really anticipated to be a piece of cake. The actual work itself isn’t all that hard however the mountain is incredibly strict with punctuality and providing amazing service to every guest that we come in contact with. Gary and I check our alarms ten times when we go to bed to make sure they’re set correctly so we get up in time the next morning! Also, Gary’s role is very physical as he is placing people’s skis and boards in and out of the gondola for ten hours of the day. It’s a bonus that I work at Creekside full time (about a 5 minute bus ride from our place) because Gary comes and sees me each morning and brings me a hot chocolate. So cute, right?
A massive adjustment for us has been our income. In the first fortnight in which we had to start paying rent, I was in shock. Our rent comes out of our account before our pay goes in which works out well so we don’t have to remember to pay it. However, they need to leave a minimum of $150 in our account, regardless if we have worked enough to cover rent. This happened to me a couple of fortnights ago. It was such a shock because that’s how much I’d earn in one day’s work back at home, and this was me getting paid $150 for the FORTNIGHT! But you know what? We just manage. Everyone here is in the same position and we just need to budget each week.
The lead up to Christmas was pretty big in terms of celebrations and drinking… Remember how I told you about Gary and Beaver skulling jugs of beer? Well that was at the lifty Christmas Party where I ended up having to go into the male toilets to fetch Gary and take him home because he was vomiting. Myself and our friends have decided that there are many facets of Gary including “Silly Gary” and Sensitive Gary”. Silly Gary was at the Christmas Party and Sensitive Gaz comes out every now and then when he talks about his emotions. Everyone just loves Gary. But what about Judith?
Judith came out and about one Wednesday night, the night of the CREEKSIDE MASSIVE – basically a drinkfest with all those who work at Creekside plus anyone else who wanted to go. It was held at Dusty’s – the one and only pub in Creekside. Pre drinks took place at our next door neighbour’s place and Judith foolishly joined in a game of Beer Pong, and as a consequence of losing, had to do a beer bong. This was the beginning of a rough night for Judith. After arriving at Dusty’s at about 7pm, the beer and shots flowed. By 10pm, Judith was fast asleep in her bed after giving the Dusty’s toilet a pounding with her vomit.
Gary can recall seeing Judith about to be sick in the main area at the pub and followed her into the toilet. He remained in the cubicle with Judith whilst she was terribly sick and after Judith said she was okay to go home, they left. The bus ride home is one that Gary will never forget. Judith wasn’t done with vomiting and ended up throwing up into Gary’s cupped hand before someone kindly gave Judith their KFC bucket to vomit into.
By two days later, most of the crew from Creekside (including managers) knew about that girl named Judith and her drunken antics. And I can’t forget to mention that Judith now has boyfriend of the year. I was told by someone I didn’t know that she had heard a rumour about someone throwing up into her boyfriend’s hands on the bus… I told her this was definitely no rumour and was 100% true. You can’t get away with ANYTHING in Whistler!
The past week has been a blast here because Gary’s oldest brother Dave, his wife Kim and their three kids – Sophie, Tom and Charlie – paid a visit to Whistler. We have had a lot of fun with them, going out to dinners and babysitting the kids and just enjoying some family time at Christmas.
We spent Christmas Eve having an amazing three course meal with the Grays plus wine and cocktails. We then went our separate ways and on our way out of their hotel, the 11:00pm Christmas Eve church service was about to start. If you know me, you would know that I attend church every Christmas, regardless of where I am or what my plans may be. So I convinced Gary that we should just stay for the mass and get it over with rather than having to wake early the next morning.
So we stayed for the church service that went for longer than the usual 50 minutes or so, armed with a shopping bag of wine, beer and Christmas presents. Being at church with Gary was seriously like taking a 3 year old. He complained about something every five minutes and then couldn’t believe that I had fallen asleep for a couple of minutes. At one point, Gary and I were in hysterics, having one of those moments where you just shouldn’t laugh, but you do anyway. It was definitely an experience I’d like to remember for a long time, it makes me laugh just writing about it. Anyway, I thought it was really nice to attend a church service, even if Gaz didn’t agree.
Christmas Day was spent relaxing, before heading to the shops to splurge on food for our upcoming dinner. When we were in the supermarket, we looked outside and it was snowing! Hooray for snow on Christmas Day – it was so exciting. Our pork, roast vegetables and cauli/broccoli bake was probably the best food we’d eaten since being away from home. Soccer Dad Brad and Sarah (Megabite) came over with their dinner and we had a really nice night before combining with the other Baby Kickers for more food, drinks and Secret Santa gifts. It has also been really nice to Skype with our parents and siblings during the week of Christmas as well as a lot of my friends who have constantly been there to chat to especially in times of need.
We were ridiculously spoilt by our parents and my friends who sent amazing packages over for Christmas consisting of clothes, jewelry, Vegemite, chocolate, photos and many other things. Thanks guys!
We had been told by people that NYE was probably the worst night to be had in Whistler because everywhere is so packed and not to mention way too expensive. Some of our local places that we normally get in to for free, were charging $95+ for a ticket and put simply, we could not afford that. That’s like half of our fortnightly wage! We went to Dusty’s as it was free entry before 9pm – and no, Judith wasn’t home by 10pm this time.
We arrived at Dusty’s and thankfully, we barely had to line up. One of our friends Bexc, had to wait in line for 3 hours! Our new year was brought in with an absolute bang. We both had one of the best New Year celebrations we’ve ever experienced. With all members of our Whistler family there with us, it was such a fun night. Those who have Facebook have probably seen my album from the night but here are a few photos..
So 2014 is here and we are both so excited about what this year has to bring! We can’t believe we have already been away from home for two months, and we can no longer say we have “six months to go in Whistler”, as it’s down to four! The weeks really do fly by however we are excited to make the most of each opportunity here in Whistler before setting off to Europe. Speaking of Europe, special mention to one of my best friends Vee who has booked her Europe Contiki Tour. This means that we will be seeing each other in about seven months in Spain along with both of our parents. Exciting times ahead!
Happy New Year everyone, here’s to a year of travel and fun adventures!
gary and judith abroad 