Current obsession: greenery
Current weather: about 13°c, overcast and slight rain

So my morning started like this:
Stress

Then it continued like this:
Pack, pack, get frustrated, then pack some more.

Then the taxi came, and I said farewell to Ants (5:1oam), who had unselfishly stayed up all night while I slept so he could be sure that I woke up when my alarm went off (3:50am).

It only took a 20mins to get to St. Pancras, which was very helpful, as I didn’t have to stress about running to catch a train… which was late btw – by 5 mins.  This made me stress a little, as it was meant to be a 4o min journey, and I still had to catch a shuttle bus at the other end to the actual airport (Luton).  Turns out, that was all fine.  I did have to sit by a very alcohol/smoke smelling guy who was on his way home from the night before though.  With little sleep, that made *me* feel hungover! Thankfully I had a starbucks soya hot chocolate and sudoku to keep me company.

The train driver made up his time, which was very nice of him.  There were many people on the train making their way home from the night before though… all dressed up and falling asleep.

I made the boarding call with 15 mins to spare, and made my way to the queue for my Wizzair flight to Budapest.  Seating was strange… we could sit where we wanted. I’m not sure if I like that idea. If the plane went down, and there is no manifest of who was sitting where, that’s one less way of identifying the body. On the otherhand it was good because I could sit in the isle – which twitchy me likes

Sleep and sudoku were my agenda for the flight, and it wasn’t long until we landed. Budapest is still in the conversion stage of using Euro’s which was annoying because I had Euros. So I had to convert some so I could find my way to town.  This was a challenge because the foriegn currency exchange girl didn’t speak English. How silly is that? English is a trade language… you are in an international airport… spot the difficulty here?

The information guy was helpful though, thankfully, because the airport shuttle girl was in a right strop. I think it’s because I didn’t purchase a hop-on-hop-off tour from her, and I pulled her up for charging me 5000ft (Hungarian money is Ft), instead of 4990Ft.  I did get a return shuttle journey though which is valid 24/7, which means when I leave I don’t have to spend the night in the airport (as was originally planned).

The Grand Hostel is really nice though. it’s clean, friendly, has character, and is really pleasent. It also has internet which is always helpful. This is my room, you can see all my junk in the corner there:

After settling in, and reinstating my msn on the computer (Ants-with-way-too-much-time-on-his-hands has been using it, so I thought I better put my account on it… add me) I went for a wander to find some food.

I managed to find an ATM, and also a fruit and veg stall. And a MickyD’s (seeing as I hadn’t eaten since 4:30am).  I also managed to find a mini-mart of sorts.  I need to get some correction tape/white-out/twink (whatever you like to call it) and fix up my application for the job I’m supposed to be applying for.  I found something that I thought was it, but couldn’t be sure. In the mean time, the manager saw me ‘lurking’ so as I left and didn’t buy anything he came racing out after me and gestured that I’d stolen the bananas in my bag. The funny thing is, I didn’t even see any bananas in the store! Thankfully their was a recipt in the bag, so instead of gesturing wildly that I brought them from the market up the road, I held the reciept up. Win.

Wandering back, I took in all the greenery and smells. The suburb I’m in is so peaceful, and calming, even with the traffic racing, and the trams rolling past. I also came across some lovely drops of rain that had collected in the pine trees.

I also noticed how the buildings seem to hide in behind the trees, giving the illusion that you’re much more isolated than you actually are.

yes, there is a house in there

Once back at the hostel, I took advantage of the garden and my free welcome drink – a large Jimmies and Coke. mmm… and sat and read, and did sodoku until it really got too cold to do so.

Course tomorrow.  It should only take me about 1/2 hour to walk to the insitiute which is good. I have a funny feeling it’s all uphill as well, which means fitness for me! I might go back to London skinny!

Two weeks until we decide whether we’re going back to NZ or not. Ants has to have a job or be starting a job asap in two weeks or we’re going home in August. Big decisions.

Current Mood: lethargic

So while it was our last day today, Anthony and I made up rules for a drinking game in Athens.  Those who have been, feel free to comment and add.  Those who are yet to go, keep an eye out

Rules
1) must be done with Ouzo, found in supermarkets
2) must be done with friends so you can have more fun!!

1 drink when…

• every time you see the Acropolis
• you randomly stumble upon ancient ruins
• someone makes kissy, winky, whistly gestures at you (most likely to happen to girls)
  • 2 drinks if the come-on is stalkerish
  • consume if they talk to you
• you see a wild turtle
• you see a dog hanging out in the sun
• you see a cat hanging out in the sun
• you see illegal stalls of bags, belts, wallets, umbrellas, other bits and pieces
  • 2 drinks if you see them running from the police
  • consume if they are running en mass, and/or the police chase them on their bikes
• you get pressed by someone to purchase their goods
  • consume if you are pressured so much you actually purchase
• you walk past a gyros/souvlaki takeaway
  • 2 drinks if you have a meal there
  • consume if you have more than one meal there
• you spot a local wearing jackets in 25°c (77°F) heat
  • two drinks if they’re wearing a bumbag (waist pack/fanny pack)
  • two drinks if they’re wearing a matching tracksuit outfit
  • consume if they’re wearing both
• you see someone smoking in a weird place (i.e. behind the cash register)

2 drinks when…

• a store keeper touches your body (without permission) to get you into their store (i.e. pinches your arm/cheek, shakes hands, rubs your head)
  • consume if you go inside
• you get told off by a storekeeper or street seller for not purchasing a product
  • consume if you then purchase something
• you almost get run over by a bike, moped, two or three wheeled vehicle of any sort
  • consume if you had right of way
• you put your toilet tissue down the toilet by accident
• you see a person actively selling cigarettes (i.e. they have on the t’shirt and everything)
• you get told off or whistled at by attendants at archaeological sites.

Current Mood: cheerful

Current Obsession: mmmm Summer
Weather: 22°c

We were up early (6:15am) this morning after taking far too long to pack our bags last night.  We trained to Stansted, and our plane left on time at 10:20am.  It was a 3hr 20min flight, having us arrive at 3:40pm in Athens, Greece… ahead 2 hours from London time.

Mountains in one of the countries we flew over

Our first hurdle was getting through the smoking area which is right outside the gate as you exit the plane.  The second hurdle was getting into town from the airport as the metro was not working. A kind information lady showed us the route though, and we were on a bus which took us 50 mins to get to town before a change onto the metro.  It was lovely to see the outskirts of Athens.  It seemed very Spanish influenced with the sandy coloured houses and tiles.

We are staying at the Hotel Zeus (aka backpackers) for €11 each per night. Fantastic price, and the room was relatively nice for a mixed dorm with 2x bunk beds in it. We are going to be sharing with lots of randoms over the next 7 days.

We had a wander around the neighbouring streets, or first task to collect food from the local supermarket in the way of fruits (banana’s and apples) and other easy-to carry food (nuts and dried fruit) and local foods we’d want to try (namely chocolate and sweet almond bread with died eggs in it – in preparation for Easter), and a 2 cans of local beer and 2 cans of Amstel in hopes of getting fish and chips and eating them on a beach some where.  The fun part happened when Ants hadn’t put a barcode on the bananas, and he had to run back, match the letters to make sure he had the right thing, while I waited at the checkout and the checkout lady (in her 40s+) bitched and moaned to other waiting customers about our predicament.  I didn’t need to understand her language because she was gesturing enough for me to understand what she was saying.

Back at the Zeus we sampled our goodies.

mmm, foreign chocolate

Sweet almond bread – note the egg = a real egg that’s been dyed

After goodie tasting we wandered down to Monastiraki Square – the main tourist spot in town.

There were some wonderful knick-knack shops, lots of lovely bags and clothes.  We stopped at Nick’s Corner as I oogled at the bags *sigh* they were lovely.  We chatted to ‘Nick’ for a while, and found out that although it was Easter in London, the week after was Easter in Greece. Bonus for us because we didn’t have to plan around closed shops and such.

a market street

Monastiraki square with the Accropolis in the background

I’m very excited about how good a zoom my new camera has!

Dinner was souvlaki aka a pita bread with salad, chips and kebab meat which was really nice.

Later an ice-cream from a place called the Ice Grill.

Pruudy ice-creams

I had banana carmel + cinnamon apple, and Ants had baklava + triamasu.  They also sold souvlaki for €2 each, and they looked bigger and better than what we had at the other place, so we’ll try there again tomorrow.

We saw the Acropolis from afar.

Also quite a few dogs wandering around; they all had owners and were tame, just they were wandering around… and shagging. And we also saw lots of people trying to sell touristy stuff – purses and these funny little ball things which flattened when thrown onto the ground, and slowly shlooped back into shape. Weird.

It was getting late by this stage, so went back to Zeus.  There was no rec-room as it was being done up. This was disappointing because ther was no where to hang out except our room.  There was also very limited and useless wireless.  It’s in a very good location though to all the toursity bits and pieces so that does make it very handy.

Today started late, with being able to get a bit of a sleep in, apart from where we were in the hotel we always heard the construction going on starting at 7am.

Read more…

Current Mood: bouncy

After our late night last night, Ants and I were up early to have brunch with Brendan, Keri-Ann and Emily. Read more…

Current Mood: ditzy

Today Ants and I got up early to pack and get everything organised to go to Auckland. The morning went very quickly as we raced around, and it wasn’t helped by lots of phone calls. The excitement of last night still hadn’t worn off! I hope it doesn’t for some time. Read more…

So Anthony and I went to the Travel Expo at the Queens Wharf Events Centre. Man there was so much to think about it gave me a brain-overload. But we definitely got some things sorted. Read more…

Current Mood: anxious & drained

Ooo excitement! I love travelling!

After work yesterday, Ants and I packed up our stuff, and went forth to Palmerston to stay the night at Kylies to get a head-start on our trip to Auckland.  The plan was to leave by 10am and get to Aucks around 5pmish and go see my family Brendan, Keri-Ann and Emily (11months), and also Nick, Lorien (5yrs) and Liam (3yrs). Read more…

Ants and I had arranged to meet Lindsay, Charlie, and Lilie at 2pm, so slowly got out of bed, and after breakfast and showers, we walked down to Darling Harbour to catch a ferry.

Warning, more pictures!!
Read more…

Warning: Lots more pictures!

I woke up bloody early, and though tired I couldn’t go back go sleep. So, I decided I’d go up to the supermarket we found yesterday and get some groceries like water, cereal and milk. Read more…