Chronicling Amsterdam

The second city we visited on our European adventure, was the vibrant, slightly crazy city of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. 

On our first night out we toured the renowned Red Light District in all its glory, and had a chance to walked across the picturesque cobbled lane ways and canals which the city is built upon. 

The next day we visited a traditional clog and cheese-maker house in the countryside and had a chance to try an array of cheese varieties and fine wine, as well as pick up a couple of clog related souvenirs (we chose the clog inspired slippers). We then signed up for a bicycle tour around the historic town of Edam, and were pleasantly surprised to find that the cheese markets were being held as we cycled through. The cheese was transported by row boats down the river, just as it was done in the 1700s, and was then evaluated and sold. 

We then had free time in the afternoon to explore as we pleased. We intended to explore historical sites such as the Anne Frank House, but in our quest to find the best tasting fries in the world ('Vlaamse Frites'), we got completely lost and couldn't make our way back in time- totally worth it by the way. So we spent the rest of the day shopping and eating, before we went on a cruise through the canals with our tour group.

By pure coincidence, The Netherlands were playing in the semi finals of the FIFA world cup on our last night, so we decked ourselves out in merchandise and painted our faces and headed to a pub and pretended we were locals. When The Netherlands were sadly defeated by Argentina we promptly removed our orange paraphernalia and returned to being tourists.

Next up… Berlin!

♫ ♪ Blame It on Me- George Ezra  ♫ ♪

Chronicling Summer Essentials

As Sydney's Summer lingers for another 40 days, we have learnt that there are certain essentials we need in our rare uni holiday break. Going out with friends and planning our European adventure have inspired this post with some of the things we couldn't do without during this busy period. 

♫ ♪ Yoko - Pegasus Bridge ♫ ♪

Chronicling Cruise to New Caledonia

Recently I set sail on a 7 night cruise to the islands of New Caledonia, which proved to be a very relaxing break away from the chaos of the Christmas holiday season. We boarded the 'Carnival Spirit', aptly nicknamed the 'Fun Ship', from Circular Quay allowing us to take some snaps from our balcony of the glistening Sydney harbour before we sailed into the sunset. The days at sea before and after we reached our destination were filled with laying in the sun, swimming, going on the largest water slide on a cruise ship, playing mini golf and basketball, reading, eating 24/7, and then going to the gym so that we didn't feel so guilty about all the eating. 

In Noumea, our first port of call, we took a coach tour around the city, which hosted an array of French named boutiques and cafes, where I put into practise the small amount of French I learnt in year 8 to figure out what everything was, with little success. We then stopped off at the Le Meridian Resort for a swim in the pool and the ocean. The next two days were spent in Lifou, and the Isle of Pines, with the latter featuring the bluest water I have ever seen, making it perfect for snorkelling and relaxing on the white sand.

Whilst it was sad to leave, we arrived back just a couple of days before the most exciting time of the year, Christmas!

♫ ♪ Call Me the Breeze- John Mayer ♫ ♪

We would also like to take the chance to say we hope you had a very Merry Christmas, and thank you for all your support these last few months. We are looking forward to a very exciting year filled with new adventures and of course blog posts!

Chronicling The Blue Mountains

After spending virtually everyday amongst the hectic scene of Sydney’s CBD this past week, we decided a break was necessary. Somehow our “break” turned into a road trip out of Sydney to the beautiful Blue Mountains, with our shift from traffic to trees being a necessary and refreshing change. 

Our first stop was the meticulous village of Leura whose preserved historic streetscape was a vast adjustment to our concrete city. After wandering amongst the small boutiques of the quaint Leura Mall, we ended up at lunch in an authentic village café, overlooking the magnificent Blue Mountains. Although we had a beautiful and relaxing lunch in Leura, there was a somber tone throughout the town as locals are still searching for Gary Tweddle, who went missing there on the 16th July 2013. Every shop window was plastered with his image and description and we can only hope that the search ends soon. The Facebook page dedicated to finding him is linked below, where anyone that has any information should contact them as soon as possible.

Our next stop on the mountainous journey, was Echo Point to visit the iconic landmark, the Three Sisters. The Three Sisters represented a myriad of Aboriginal legends about their formation and are a picturesque example of Australia’s magnificence. We were lucky enough to go on a weekday and avoid too many busloads of tourists, so there was ample opportunity for us to gain the best view.

Not too far away from Echo Point was our final stop, the secluded area unknown to us called, Wentworth Falls Lake. WFL is a small body of water with surrounding mountains, picnic areas and sandstone sculptures, making it the perfect place for us to unwind and reflect before we trecked it back to Sydney. Our drive home was relaxing and a great break from the stresses that awaited us back home in Sydney as our first week of university approached. 

https://www.facebook.com/HaveYouSeenGaryTweddle