Greymouth-Franz Josef

Once again, I stayed one night in greymouth and the next morning we set off for Franz Josef. We made a stop half an hour away to get any last minute things before heading to franz josef where we wouldn’t have any shops. I managed to fall asleep in that half an hour trip even though I assured the others that I wouldn’t! A quick stop to do some gold panning and find our fortunes before heading to Franz Josef for midday in time to do the half day glacier hike. We quickly checked into the hostel and grabbed something to eat before running down to the meeting point. There we were given out boots and rain jackets, spikes for the ice-they do have a special name but I cant exactly remember it! – hats and gloves and we were on our way. Before we even got to the glacier, we had to go for a 2km walk through the valley and up ladders and rocks and around and down to the bottom of the glacier. I was exhausted before we even started up the glacier and was really wishing I had gotten more sleep the night before. From there we put our spikes on and started the hike up the glacier being extremely careful as not to fall. We roamed around the ice for a while exploring different nooks and crannies before heading back down for the eagerly awaited trip back… I was glad that I had chosen to do a half-day hike because I would hate to think what I would be like at the end of a full day!! We got back to the hostel at about half 5 where Andre was on the tv! It really reminded me of my childhood and I sat and enjoyed every moment of it. It was off to bed early that night exhausted but extremely happy.

Wellington-Picton-Nelson-Greymouth

A flying visit to Wellington and the next morning we made our way to the South Island. The ferry left at 9 am and took just over three hours. Apparently there was lots of beautiful scenery and dolphins along he way but I missed it all as I fell asleep soon after we left Wellington. Our bus collected us from Picton and we left for Nelson. The views along the way were stunning, lots of green and hardly any clouds in the sky. We did make a stop to do some wine tasting but we also got the opportunity to do some olive oil tasting. It was quite delicious, and we filled our stomachs with the free bread and for dessert, we got to try the homemade dessert toppings. It was all quite delicious. We arrived in Nelson around 4PM and managed to get lost in the town even though it isn’t that big! At six o’clock, we were given free soup in the hostel and we spent the evening watching TV. This was my last night with some of the friends that I made along the way and I was quite sad to be leaving them and having to go the through the process of making new friends once again.
One night in Nelson and I was off to greymouth. This trip was full of stops to visit seal colonies and places known as pancake rocks. We arrived in Greymouth at about quarter past 5 where I was completelyt embarrassed by the owner who made a big show of me because I was the only person on my own. He put me in a room with 2 people who adopted me into their family for the night. That night we went to the brewery in Greaymouth where we got a tour of the brewery and got to practice pulling our own pints. I got 10 out of 10 for the pint and I pulled which revealed the irish in me! The brewery was full of locals who just went up behind the bar and pulled their own pints and who were all extremely friendly and delighted to talk to us all. From their we were taking to an all you can eat BBQ in the local hotel-which basically consisted of sausages and salad! We stayed their for the night all getting to know each other and having great fun dancing away and getting to know the locals from the exciting town of Greymouth.

Taupo-Wellington

The morning we were due to leave Taupo I decided to get up early and go for a swim in the largest lake in New Zealand… ha! As if! It was a beautiful morning as the bus left heading south for Wellington. We made a quick stop on the way to take a photo of Mt Doom- one of the many mountains featured in the Lord of the Rings. From there we continued the long journey to Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. One thing I did notice on this journey-apart from the minimal amount of stops- was that the bus driver waved at every large vehicle he passed by. For trucks or Lorries it was a small wave only lifting his hand a small bit off the wheel. For other buses, there was a bit effort put into the wave and the arm was waved into the air. I couldn’t help but imagine if car drivers were to wave at every similar sized vehicle they saw, they would have extremely sore arms! Before we arrived into Wellington, the bus driver spoke over the pa and said that he had a song, which he plays all the time before arriving at a destination and we all would know the actions and he would keep putting it back to the beginning if he didn’t see the whole bus doing the actions… Everyone was confused and, later hugely embarrassed when “the Wheels on the bus” came on. We all did the actions and after three attempts we got the whole song through and we were, all laughing and now excited to arrive in Wellington. We arrived mid afternoon, which gave me enough time to drop my things and make my way to the Te Papa Museum and learn about the Maori culture and the history of New Zealand. I experienced another beautiful sunset on my way back from the Museum as the sun set over the harbour. I sat and soaked it all in before heading back to the hostel. Oh, the simple pleasures in life

Taupo

I decided to stay in Taupo for 3 nights to catch up on some sleep and to catch up with some old friends. I took it easy the afternoon I arrived finding out all the news I missed while gone and was greatly entertained by a hip-hop group who were staying in the hostel. They had taken over the lounge room playing a game which one of them had invented which involved paper, scissors, rock and a lot of dancing around and laughing. It was extremely entertaining and became very popular over my time there. For the evening, I sat and watched them rehearse for there show the following evening. It was amazing to see the amount of dedication and energy they had. They spent hours dancing, but at the same time, they had fun and seemed to be enjoying every minute of it. The next day, we went and bought tickets to go see their show that night. It was truly amazing. I had seen the full show the night before but not once did I stop smiling or being amazed by these talented people. It was such an enjoyable evening and was finished off with a cooked meal for 5-one of them, a girl from Cork, I’m finding them everywhere! - And a relaxed evening by the TV. The next day we went and got ice cream and walked along the lakefront as the sun set, it was truly beautiful. I have seen so many sunsets in the time that I have been away but they never cease to amaze me. My final evening was spent as it was the last time I was in Taupo- Mulligan’s Pub Quiz! Although this time, we managed to win, although whether we did it truthfully or not I cannot say! It was good to be back again and sad to say goodbye once more but I have very fond memories and lots of pictures!!

Rotorua - Taupo

I stayed one night in Rotorua and when I arrived enjoyed a nice swim in a naturally heated swimming pool. It was really lovely although after sometime you did heat up quite a bit!!

The next morning we had an early start, not to good after a late night! This journey was to Taupo. A journey, which normally takes about an hour, took us 5 and a half hours. This included many stops along the way-sometimes too many stops. Our first stop was to see the mud pools located just outside of Rotorua. It was a quick stop to definitely look and not touch otherwise it would have been a very painful experience. After that, we made our way to the ‘Lady Knox Geyser’. This erupted daily-something which I thought was all natural, and was very disappointed to discover that this process involved a man placing something inside the geyser to make it erupt-at 10.30AM. While I was standing waiting for the process to begin, I turned around and saw the people who brought me to Auckland on the Friday night standing right beside me! It was pretty amazing watching the geyser erupt and it was quite pretty too, especially as there was a rainbow in the background.

From there it was on to the geothermal park, which is not a place for those who have very sensitive smell. Leaving the bus, you are greeted with a very strong smell of sulphur-almost as if someone had major wind problems (yes, it did remind me of Shrek!). Once inside there are hundred of different areas of green coloured sulphur pools and red coloured sulphur pools, although I did not walk around all of the pools! It was quite a beautiful and powerful-I’m talking about the smell here- experience!

From there we did the longest part of the journey to Taupo, which lasted about half an hour before those of us who weren’t doing skydiving, were dropped off at a honey centre and left to wait for an hour before our bus driver returned to bring us on again. After tasting all the different types of honey and putting on as much hand crème as is possible there was nothing really left to do and we were left outside longing for the bus to return. Eventually it did and before we were dropped off at our hostels; we paid a visit to the Huka Falls just outside of Taupo, which although very pretty, are nothing compared to what I saw in South America and to the location of where I had my moment of madness the last time I was in Taupo: Taupo Bungy! It was fun being back as a visitor and actually having a chance to look properly at what I had done without worrying if the rope will break or not. From there, we finally were brought to our hostels. I returned to Tiki Lodge to be greeted by some old faces and it felt good to be back there again.

Back To New Zealand- Auckland Rotorua

Once again I was returning to New Zealand although this time it wasnt at some ridiculous hour and I knew what I was doing. I was sad to leave Sydney but excited to be returning to do more exploring in New Zealand.I left on a Friday afternoon and on the plane over I started talking to the lady sitting beside me. Turns out that we had a lot of similarities and we talked a bit. And when the plane was landing she asked how i was getting from the airport to the city. I told her that I was planning on getting the bus in and she said that her husband was collecting her and asked if i wanted a lift that it would be no problem. I being the backpacker and taking any opportunity to save money accepted and I was dropped to my location of need and very greatful to these wonderfully friendly and kind people that i met (if your reading this- Thanks Louise and Simon!. I was back in Auckland but this time i was all by myself. I didnt have anywhere to stay, I had to many bags but i was glad to be back. I checked myself into a hostel and got to my room at the same time as a lovely german girl and we also met our other room mate- from Cork!! Within minutes we were dumping our things and going out to get something to eat and drink. We spent the evening chatting and laughing and opening our hearts up. Its funny how open you are with strangers!!

The next morning I was on the beginning of my trip around New Zealand starting in Auckland and finishing in Queenstown in the South Island. We left Auckland at around 8 and made our way down to Rotorua stopping at various places for views of Auckland and a big stop at the Waitomo Caves to doBlack Water Rafting. This involved extremely tight wetsuits, hideous "gum boots", a big hard hat and a light on the hat... which mine didnt work! After a lot of breathing in deeply and wondering what we got ourselves into we made our way to the gaves and got ourselves a black round tube. From there we walked into the caves and jumped into freezing cold water ramped our legs around the person in front of us and floated through the cave feeling eels at our bums and looking at glow worms above us. We did at one stage have to stand at the edge of a wall with our back to the water and get pushed back into the water. That was great fun. After an hour and a bit, out water filled boots were pulled to the top of too many steps and we struggled to get our boots off and get rid of the water. The trip was finished with a hot shower and some hot soup before we had to jump on the bus and continue our journey down to Rotorua.

Featherdale Wildlife Park and Blue Mountains

The day after I triumphantly climbed the harbour bridge it was up at 6 for me to go to the Blue Mountains. I left the house at 6.40- can I just say this is amazing for me! I never got up that early for anything!!- to be in the city centre for 7.50 where I was collected by a bus and we began our trip to the Blue Mountains. We had a little surprise stop on the way to Featherdale Wildlife Park. We were greated by a baby wallaby and inside there was wallabies and kangaroos roaming around freely! It was really fun to get up close and personal with the kangaroos although i did see one eating a dead bird, not so pleasant! Also got to rub a few koalas which was great fun. It was a flying visit but just enough time to take a ridiculous amount of pictures.

After that we headed for the Blue Mountains. First stop was echo point where we had a perfect view of the 3 sisters- 3 pillars of stone beside eachother- and across the whole very green valley. It was very pretty. Then it was off to lunch whcih apparently served very "average portions"- I ate half of it and was stuffed, and Im a big eater!! After a wander around the town and into the sweet shop, theres always room for sweets. we continued up to our next stop which contained the worlds steepest railway!! it was very exciting going down to indiana jones or star wars or one of them!! We had some time then to walk around the area and do some exploring! We also got cable cars across the valley so we could see everything from every angle. It was beautiful, even though the sun had disappeared and the rain was beginning to fall. Our finally stop before leaving the Blue Mountains was to another lookout point to take some last minute photos. After that it was goodbye Blue Mountains and we started our journey home which involved a lot of sleep! Before heading to catch the ferry back to Sydney we made a wuick stop off at the Olympic Stadium took some silly photos and left. We arrived at the ferry stop as the sun was setting and came into Sydney in the dark the only lights being that of the city, it was impossible to take photos of but it was truly lovely.

The last few days in Sydney were spent packing and organising clothes, enjoying the sun and saying goodbye to the beautiful Sydney, I will be back again someday!!

Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb and Opera House tour.

The one thing that has to be done when you go to Sydney is the harbour Bridge climb. Just like bungy jumping in New Zealand, its one of the things that you cant really leave without doing, although I have left before without doing it!!! I set off for my harbour bridge one beautiful sunny day looking forward to the face that i could still get a tan while climbing and not have any problem with trees being in the way or anything like that.

Unfortunately I got that completely wrong. I far from was able to get a nice tan because we were given these hideous all in one grey suits with a little bit of blue and a picture of the harbour bridge. Apparently this is so you blend in with the bridge-although im pretty sure its not grey- and avoid distracting the drivers on the road below. After we got our suits on we were given all our equipment. A belt was tied around us with place for attaching a flees is we got called a "ball and chain" for attaching to the wire all the way around the brifhe for safety and a pocket for the radio. After this was dont we attached the accessories. We had a choise from a fleece beanie, a sun hat, thread for holding your sunglasses, and lots more. Once all the accesories we attached our pa system, which did not involve any ear phones but some sort of system that allowed us to here through our cheek bone-i wasnt really listening when she explained it all, something to do with vibrations. Finally all geared up and weighed down with plenty of necessities, we weere ready to begin our adventure. There was around 14 of us on the journey altogether, 2 from Aus too many from the states and a few from england and the irish girl. One man and his wife were celebrating his birthday, another man and his son were celebrating there mums birthday while she went shopping, and the rest, like me, were doing travelling. We were all attached to the continuous wire and started our journey towrds the summit of the bridge. The views were spectacular. Unfortunately we were not allowed being our cameras though. I could see right across the harbour over to the botanical gardens and I could see car ships coming in on the other side. I couldnt see however, any clouds in the sky. We got our pictures taken with the opera house in the background, we got our pictures taken looking cheesy, we got a group one done and we learned lots about the bridge. 1437 steps later we were back down at the bottom of the bridge removing our accesories and sad to be at the end of our trip. We were given a group picture to take home as a memory- I of course bought more after that- and it was done. I had climbed the harbour bridge.

Having absolutely loved my day so far I decided not to stop there and decided to go to the opera house tour. I stopped for some lunch and made my way over to the opera house. I went to buy my ticket and the lady asked if i had a student card and I showed her it. And she said to me: "oh i dont know, its a bit out of date-1990", I responded- "no thats the year I was born!"- "I was thinking you were a student for a very long time!!" I did get my student price however and we began the tour just as the sun was setting in sydney. We walked around the outside and got some fabulous pictures of the opera house and the harbour bridge in sunset. It was absolutely fabulous. I have seen so many sunsets on my travels but everytime I see one I am amazed and lost for words. We continued our tour learning some really interesting information about the opera hoyse - the architect who designed the opera house has never seen it fully completed, and unfortunately never will. I also had the pleasure of going in and seeing the rehearsals for the Australian ballet. We sat for about 10 minutes watching people dance around the stage so gracefully and beautifully, it was fabulous. Finishing my tour I was completely satisfied with my day, and I headed home full of love for the beautiful city of Sydney.

Botanical Gardens, Woolmooloo and Manly

It seems that the sun is always shining in Sydney. And when the sun is shining there is not better way to spend your day then being out in it. I did just that one afternoon in Sydney. After my now normal train journey into town I decided to explore the botanical gardens. Located right beside the opera house and harbour, its such a pleasant walk through the gardens especially when the sun is shining and in the morning when its quiet. I ended up walking to woolmooloo about 40 minutes away also beside the harbour and stopping to have lunch in a bar. I walked into the bar and asked the man if i could have a table for one. He told me i could help myself and go order my food over the other side. But before i left he said "can i see your id please". I said that i just wanted food and didnt want to buy any alcohol. He said it didnt matter that i needed id because I was on a licensed premise. So i told him i only had my irish drivers licence but he asured me that that was ok. I took it out and gave it to him and he looked at it and called over his manager. the 2 of them stared at it for a few minutes and then asked me if i had any other id. I said i had my student card and showed it to them. They looked at it and said that they both had different dates of birth. I quickly corrected them and it turns out they were looking in the wrong place on my student card! The were looking at a number that made me look like i wsa born in 1915!!! Eventually the manager said that he would let me away with it this time but Id need something else in future because our drivers licences are very easy to copy. I couldnt help but think "i have an irish accent, im on my own, its the middle of the afternoon... use your brain a little bit honey!!" After that humiliation i went over to get a table to see a family sitting with 2 babies... they do not look 18 can i just say!!!!

I ate a brisk and frustrated lunch before heading back to the botanical gardens to sit and read in the sun. And to be amazed by all the people out running about. I stopped counting after 300!! It was crazy the amount of people out and a bit! I meanwho cares about food on your lunch break lets just go around and get all sweaty and smelly before going back to work!!! Everywhere i walked 2 or 3 people ran past me! Definately wouldnt see that at home!!

A few days later, sun shining once again, I got the ferry over to Manly. My 40 minute journey wsa spent enjoying the waters and beautiful scenery around me. Along with watching people pushing to get some good pictures, the asians are very vicious people when they want to be!! When I arrived in manly I had lunch beside the beach-now carrying my passport with me at all times to avoid further more humiliation!- I sat reading my book with my feet in the sand, braved to put my feet in the water for a few minutes! And then spent my money on clothes.. it has to be done!! It was such a relaxing day, sun certainly does make a difference in your life.

Back to New Zealand and Bondi Beach

After getting back to Sydney I decided to investigate the possibility of returning to do some more exploring in New Zealand. After numerous google searches and flight searching I wasnt really having any success with my situation and decided to go to Trailfinders and see if they could do anything for me. i set off on tuesday morning hoping that I would be able to do something about it. With my wonderful sense of direction- and a map- I made it to trailfinders and while I was there decided to book my bridge climb and a trip to the Blue Mountains. Unfortunately the lady told me that I had to go to Qantas to reroute my ticket and about an hour later after a trip to the atm and forever waiting for my tickets I was on my way to Qantas. I cannot tell you the amount of times that i was stopped by people from different organisations but it was a lot. Eventually I stopped to talk to one guy but it turned out i was of no use whatsoever to these people because I wasnt over 21, I did not live in Australia and I didnt have a job- all the necessities!! It did help when i was stopped from them on though because I had a reason to keep on walking.

I eventually made it to Qantas and asked the man if he could help me in anyway. I said I wanted to go back to New Zealand and he said "New Zealand... either you didnt do the bungee jump or you met someone there." I told him I had successfully done the bungy jump and later on-about 45 minutes later-when my ticket was sorted he said "now if he doesnt treat you right then you can email this address and Ill get you back no problem!" what a nice gentleman.. if only he knew that there wasnt any guy!!

So 2 hours later I was successful and was returning to New Zealand. I was excited and so pelased that it worked out well. To celebrate I was off to Bondi Beach.Although by this stage I was completely exhausted from walking around trying to get help and waiting for tickets to be printed I just wanted to go back to bed. But I persevered and hopped on another train and a bus to get to bondi beach. The sun was shining like usual and I had a loevly lunch in front of the beach followed by a very bried walk before heading for my long journey home. Although I didnt do very mcuh in Bondi I can say I have been there and it was very pretty! i will go back one day and do the walks that people gave out to me for not doing..but Im not the walking person as a Lot of you know.. Although I am improving on the situation!

Toronga Zoo Sydney

The Monday after we arrived back in Sydney it was back to school and work for everyone, except for Katherine! So we decided to take off to Toronga Zoo and explore. This was a great excuse for me because I wanted to go to the zoo but didnt particularly want to go on my own!

So now i had my kid for the day-which many people did think she was my kid- we set off on the train first counting the stops till we reached Wynyard changing platforms for one stop-this became me routing for the rest of my time in Sydney- one train to Circular Quat and hopping on a ferry across to Toronga Zoo with fabulous views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge on the way! One final trip on the bus up to the zoo and we had reached our destination!!

First stop to the koalas, take some pictures as quick as possible and run after the already disappearing child. This continued for quite some time as we explored the reptile centre- lots and lots of snakes!! We witnessed a bat eating a chicken! We rubbed a snake, watched elephants playing games, chased after a seal, listened to the penguins making lots of noise, stared at the kangaroos, sat on fake animals, had a quick lunch, watched a tiger pace up and down very angrily and argues over whther the bird show was on or not-I was right- All in the space of a couple of hours. I also got mistook for a mother when a lady made a comment to her kid and turned around to me and said "Youd understand you have kids!!" A polite laugh and smile and i was off determined to make it known to everyone that Katherine was not my daughter and for the rest of the day would say loudly "youll have to ask Mummy when you get home?" or "Do you think Mummy will be home when we get home?" All in all we managed a day without rain untill we got on the ferry, no tears, no getting lost, no escaped animals and lots of photo taking. A successful day for Melanie all in all..

Hyams Beach Australia

The day I arrived in Sydney I was unpacking my bags and repacking some of them into a smaller bag to go on a holiday amidst my holiday! This time i was going on my own but with my 3 younger cousins and my aunty and uncle. Our destination- Hyams Beach, home of the whitest sand in the world. We left early Saturday morning for a 3 and a bit hour journey with lots of games of "I spy", lots of "are we nearly there yet?" and lots of bags in the car. But we made it a live to alovely little house located at the top of the hill and about a 5 minute walk from the beach and the only shop/cafe in the area. I could immediately see that my lack of internet access for the week was going to be a challenge. We arrived and grabbed our rooms without any maor catfights and the holiday had begun.

Our house was lovely our back gerden went up into a bush area and throughout the week we had frequent visits form possums, kookaboras-no idea how to spel them!-and we even got to see 3 kangaroos!! It was fabulous and there were many amazed faces. The week consisted of lots of sun throughtout of the day, lots of rain throughout the night, mornings on the beach, afternoons reading in the house, early nights. It was just what I needed after a lot of late nights and early mornings. I went swimming twice and managed to get internet access once which was sufficient enough to get me through the week. We went on long walks on the beach and I managed to avoid going bike riding and more long walks!! It was lots of fun but I was glad to get back and begin my exploring of Sydney- the thing i do best!!

Taupo, Rotorua and Zorbing

Although I planned on staying on night in Taupo I ended up staying 3. I was having great fun meeting new people and getting to know them that I planned to stay one more night and then the rain the next day made me stay another night. In that time i did not do any sight seeing or touristy things. I stayed in the hostel watching dvds playing games making random trips to the supermarket but having fun all the same. On my last night there we went to this Pub called Mulligans-Irish of course!! Where they had a table quiz on so a group of us did that and we had great fun.

The next morning it was time to say goodbye and I was off to Rotorua about an hour away from Taupo. I was sad to leave and was reluctant to go. It was another miserable day as I checked myself into an irish hostel-my room was called munster!! I dumped my stuff and decided to go zorbing. Zorbing is basically being rolled down a hill in a small plastic ball which is surrounded by air and a larger plastic ball! I decided to do it with a little bit of water added. At the time I didnt realise how wet you get so i didnt bring any change of clothes or towel. This resulted in me having to buy the zorb outfit which was extremely attractive...I felt like the bell of the ball(sensing my sarcasm!). Up I went to the top and decided to go tothe buttom on the zig zag route! The water was added and I jumped in! And off I went getting thrown from side to side around and round! it was great fun!! Once I arrived at the bottom I was attacked by a camera man taking pictures of me non stop! The door being opened, thumbs up, getting out, recovering from getting out, jumping in the air, walking away from the zorb! I mean everything!! It was great fun though!!
After a quick stop at the tattoo parlour I was off to bed and back to Auckland the next day. The end of my New Zealand trip had arrived and I was sad to go.

Why live life on the Edge when You can Jump off it...

The Sunday after I arrived in New Zealand I got the bus down to Taupo about 4 hours away from Auckland. I had only one intention for going to Taupo, and that was to Bungy Jump! I arrived Sunday afternoon and for the second time since I started my trip I was going to be staying on my own. But this time I had made no previous plans and I did no plan on staying in 4 star hotel, it was hostelling all the way. So into the information centre I went and I asked the lady to tell me some hostels where I cold stay. I picked Tiki Lodge which was about a 5 minute walk away from the town. I was really nervous because I had never stayed in a place like this before. It was all self service and everyone talked to everyone. I spent the first while in my room, got to know my room mate from Holland and after a while I had the courage to go out and start meeting new people. And meet new people I did. Within hhalf an hour I was on my way down to the local supermarket with 2 guys who work in the lodge- clean every day for about 2 and a half hours for free Accomadation, one from England the other from Auckland- to buy food for making dinner! We all decided to chip in some money and keegan, the Kiwi, was going to cook us dinner!! Probably 3 hours later- I will get n major trouble for saying that but it is true!- We sat down to dinner and I got to meet some more people. A guy from Northern Ireland, another Dutch person, an American,funny stories to follow later, and I also heard about 2 Argentinians who were working there to. We spent the evening chatting and I really had a nice time.

The next day was bungy jump day. I had to be up there before 11 to get a cheap rate and by 10 I was on my way with the rain drizzling around and on me. I arrived about 20 mins later payed my money and the extra for the photos and dvd and I was on my way. I stepped out on the platform and immediately thought "Why the heck did I pay to do this". The view was really fabulous, the water was a gorgeous colour and the surrounding rocks were really stunning. But at that moment in time I would have much preferred to just look at the rocks instead of jumping off them! But at this stage I didnt really have a choice anymore. My feet were tied the ropes were being prepared and I was going bungee jumping. The questions to try and distract me did not really help and my answers were very brief. Finally I was ready to go and I was walking towards the ledge. Attached between my feet was this huge red thing that was holding the rope and I was convinced instead of jumping off the ledge I would be pulled over by this thing. After a few questions about what I was going to do once I had jumped I couldnt put it off any longer! There I was standing on the edge in New Zealand, the mean opened his mouth and said "3 2 1 BUNGY!!" My feet didnt move. I couldnt move.

I looked at the men apologetically, "Im sorry! Try again Ill do it this time!" After a few encouraging and assuring words the words came out again "3 2 1 BUNGY!!" This time I had no choice! I had to do it, and I jumped!! And for a total of about 8 second I was flying through the air! Heading straight for the water and I loved it! I was terrified and at first I let out some terrified screams but after that I was screaming a sense of freedom-and probably relief!- It felt so good! I was rescued by the boat and brought back to shore where my legs felt like jelly and I had to walk a ridiculous amount of steps to get my photos and dvd. But it was all worth it! It felt so good and I have to say I was very proud of myself after it. In the van back to the hostel I asked the question that I couldnt bring myself to ask before, "How many people have died here from doing the bungy jump?" The man looked at me and said "Here none, worst ive seen people look is a few black eyes from going face first into the water". I didnt choose to go into the water but was glad that I picked a place where no one had died yet to bungy jump!!!!

Op Shopping in NZ

So one saturday afternoon I had the privelage of going Op shopping. Op shopping is basically going to a second hand shop and basically going through the rails and rails of clothes to find something that you most likely dont need but like and its only $2! or you might buy think you like it bring it home and never wear it!! Those of you that know me that that is exactly the kind of thing I like!! I decided though because of the limit of space in my suitcase to be very good AND because my choice of stuff for routing through wasnt exactly the kind of stuff I like.

But we spent over and hour there with 3 trips to the changing room and lots of hideous clothes and I came out of it with an 8 dollar pair of jeans!! Which I am proud to say I have worn many times since!!

Dolphin and Whale watching in Auckland

Dolphin and whale waching and been something I really wanted to do and I finally had te opportunity to do it in Auckland. After a hiccup-the first day i went they were all sold out even though i was told the previous day that there would be no problems!-I finally got to go one friday morning/afternoon. After a midmorning snack of none other than icecream-Im beginning to think that Ireland is the only place that doesnt do good icecream!- I set off for the boat in auckland harbuor for a 4 and a half hour trip of exploring for dolphins and whales. Not only was the day stunning, the guys that were doing the tour werent too bad either-they give you good value for your money the Kiwis!! We set off out to see the sun shining and lots of fresh air. We saw loads of penguins birds Islands and other boats but after 2 hours there was still no sign of either dolphins or whales. At this stage i was beginning to think I had wasted my money even though I we get a voucher to come back for free-but with only 10 days in New Zealand I wasnt really prepared to spend another day out on the hunt for dolphins and whales. But ALAS-always wanted to say that word- we get some hope when the driver thinks he has seen dolphins and whales up ahead. Now as we didnt have binochulars like he did, I was still a bit skeptical about it, but he didnt lie. Withing 10 minutes we were surrounded by more than 20 "common dolphins" swimming up and around the boat jumping around and racing the boat. It was so amazing. I couldnt stop taking pictures my camera actually went into a spasm. They stayed for ages around the boat, until we stopped the engine so as to not scare away the whale which we still hadnt seen.

After a few minutes it slowly came out of the water. We had to be super quick with our cameras as it only stayed above water for a few seconds. There was pushing and running across the boat, like girls fighting over the very last pair of designer shoes reduced to 50 euro... you get the picture. We saw the whale a few times after that and before we began to head back to Auckland we saw the mother whale and her baby calf. It was the most incredible thing. So Beautiful. I may only have seen them very briefly and may not have gotten the best pictures but I absolutely loved it. The outing was completely worth while, the day was completely fabulous, all until i got home and realised that I had a 10% discount voucher in one of my books! I couldnt believe I never looked! I contemplated going back and asking for my money but thought I would probably just be laughed out. Not only did I get to see whales and dolphins I also learnt some amazing things about dolphins and water and all that enviroment stuff.. It was such an enjoyable day!

Out and About Exploring in NZ

So after getting up at 7.30 and getting dressed and ready I was on the train into Auckland city centre at 9.35. That is actually amazing for Melanie.. she doesnt do early days!! But New Zealand is changing me. Unlike Argentina the people here are early morning people and early night people to. I bought a day pass on the train which meant I good use the train bus and ferry service however much I wanted for just $13! I arrived in Auckland and coming out of the train station the first place I saw was the ferry station so off I went. My first trip in New Zealand was to a place called Devonport which is about 12 minutes away on the ferry from Auckland. I arrived with the sun shining and the beach before my eyes. So before doing anything I had to dip my feet in the water and walk along the beach. And that I did. It was so pretty. After that I headed to the information centre. Possibly my favorite place in New Zealand because you get books of free information on every possible place here. Im so glad I didnt buy a tourist book back home! Stuff from the Kiwis is much better! As well as information they also have loads of discount coupons for every place possible!! Its fabulous... youd never find this in Ireland!

The lady there was really helpful and gave me the little booklets on places to see in Devonport. Now in fairness there wasnt very much apart from the chocolate factory...which I of course did visit! And then I just walked around enjoying the sun and water, having a delicious bacon and avocado panini in the sun before heading back to Auckland. It really was a lovely place. Back in Auckland I walked around and of course did some exploring in the shops although refrained from buying anything as I dont have very much room at the moment... dont know why!! It was then back to my location in Papakura.. I love the names of the places here, ones called Papatoetoe! Although its not pronounced as it looks!:( ) Although I had an early start I certainly had an early night and was in bed by 8.30/9.00!!

Although I was up again at 8 the next morning and on the 9.35 train back into Auckland! This time I went to explore Kelly Tarltons Underwater Aquarium! AND with my coupons I got discount on my entry fee!! Love New Zealand!! As for Kelly Tarltons it was pretty amazing! It had loads of types of fish that I had never seen before - or else Id just seen them on Finding Nemo, they even had Dora!! They had huge eels and even bigger cray fish! I did some exploring and then went and saw the fish feed which was pretty fascinating! I watched puffer fish crunch mussels and octopus try to escape from their tank! It was really fascinating the information I learnt to, although dont ask me to tell you what it was, I have short term memory!! After that they had a little cinema with a documentary about a man who went to Antarctica, and I do intend on going their on my next world trip!! Before heading back to Auckland I watched the shark feed and had great fun watching stingray being fed directly in front of my face and shark swimming around with fish tails hanging out of their mouth! After that it was back to Auckland city centre for some lunch and a trip to another information centre(telling ya the best part of New Zealand!) before heading back to Papakura where I ate fish for the first time in I dont know how long!! Are you amazed Mum?? I have a feeling Im going to be eating in much more, not by choice of course but out of politeness!!

The Journey to New Zealand

So Sunday evening was my departure from Buenos Aires and the beginning of the extremely long journey to get to Auckland. After a lot of oohing and awhing about flying or getting the bus to Chile I ended up that my adventure would be much more fun if I got the bus to Chile. And bus I did. We left at 5.30 PM and I thought I was lucky with only a few people on the bus before we made 2 more stops and picked up a bunch of men who thought they were studs even though they were nearly 50 years old!! But luckily I still had 2 seats to myself and lots of leg space and a body that was extremely tired! Unfortunately bus food is not as nice as plane food.. and that is saying a lot!!! My stomach, which has been quite adveturous over the past while, was not adventurous enough to eat the slop that was placed in front of me. I did manage 2 forkfuls but decided sleep would be a much better option! Luckily I managed to sleep through most of the night and woke up just in time to take lots of pictures of the Andes. It was a beautiful moring the sky was clear and I could see snow on top of the mountains which was really fabulous. The only not so fabulous part was the getting off the bus to go through customs. It was snowing at this stage and I did not bring the warmest of clothes with me-Oh i forgot to tell you that morning the lady gave me coffee even though I said no thank you and while I was holding it waiting for her to come back it spilt on my hoody!! I was so not impressed and when we arrived in Mendoza I spent my time in the toilet cleaning it, but wasnt very successful!- anyway So i had to get off the bus to go through customs and I was praying that I would not have the same problem as in Brasil. And Luckily I didnt but I did have to take all my luggage off the bus to put it through security check and I was really cold and still tired, and it was like early. Eventually we were back on the bus again on our final route to Santiago. We had to go round these big bends down the Andes and every time we went around the corner I thought the bus was going to goover the edge and I could hear the men up the front of the bus going "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH"! It was very funny for me! After a lot more picture taking we were out of the Andes and The Bucket List was on again! I fell asleep for most of it and woke up just in time for the ending so I have now seen the whole film! We made it to Chile at 2 oclock and I managed to change what little Argentinian pesos I had left and ask for directions and the easiest way to get to the airport. I was told to get the bus but after walking for a while to find the bus stop without success and having a sore hand I decided a taxi would be a much better option! With my I changed 100 of my argentinian pesos and got 13000 Chilean pesos.. that was not enough to get me to the airport.. I ended up having to pay the man in Argentinian and Chilean pesos.. thank goodness he was nice! Once again there was more money changing some food getting and a phonecall to mother to say I was alive and I have 3 and a half hours to wait till I could check in. No internet access in the airport, and not very compfy seats I sat my bum down with my Ipod and listened frm where I left off- Im listening to all my songs in alphabetical order... I made it to g by the time I got on the plane!- eventualy i could check in and after confusion of where to go I was finally checked in and cold go through security to the other side to do some more waiting there.

21.45 arrived and I could finally board the plane, I could not wait. But I was majorly let down. In Argentina I had done my research to see what films I could watch on the plane etc and I was so excited about what I saw I didnt intend on sleeping at all. But settling into my seat I realised I didnt have my own personal TV and would have to make do with the screen to my left which I couldnt see very well.. I was so disappointed!! After an edible meal I decided that sleeping would be the better option and after lots of tossing and turning I managed to get a couple of hours sleep.

I arrived in New Zealand at 4.00am on Wednesday the 9 th of April.. I left Argentina on Sunday the 6th April! And after making it through customs with lots of friendly faces can I add, I only had the wait till I was collected.. Ive become a professional waiter can I say.. very experienced at it all!! Thanks Luke for buying me my Ipod!!! I was collected at 5 am and managed to get an hour and a bits sleep before I was up for the day. But I made it and Im alive and Im glad to be here, and thats all that matters right now.

Time to Say Goodbye

My last week in Argentina will probably be my most memorable as I spent most of it in bed with flu temperature fever.. you name it I had it!! This was due to the getting wet wet wet in Iguazu and although it seemed fun at the time, theres always consequences!! Sunday morning I was feeling miserable but managed to make it to the cxountry for a BBQ but that night the illness hit hard and for a long time! I finally was feeling a bit better on thursday and managed to leave the house to go to Saras house, with nothing more than a few bleeding noses. Friday was my first day out and I felt like a stranger to Buenos Aires again. Having been cooped up for so long indoors I felt weird walking out on the streets! I only managed to go and do some shopping and then returned completely exhausted and ready for bed! Saturday was the saying goodbye to Mums friends day and I had lunch in one house and dinner in another. As well as doing some packing in the morning and when I got home that night. I managed to fit some ice cream in for the last time to. Sunday morning was spent packing and then lunch of pasta and sauce.. that i will miss.. was had in Saras house before jetting off to the bus station to catch the bus to Chile.

I was sad to say goodbye but there are some things that I certainly will not miss.
1. People making my business there business- I found that a lot of the time people were telling me what I should and shouldnt do. Where I should and shouldnt go, what way I should do things and this really frustrated me. I know it may all have been an act of kindness but I did find it quite annoying sometimes. This will not be missed.
2. Skinny girls- In my guide from 2005 it says that one in 10 girls has an eating disorder in Argentina. This did not surprise me one bit. The adds on Argentinian tv are about losing weights, family criticises you if you have a bit of weight on your body and girls certainly do not eat enough. I certainly will not miss feeling paranoid for enjoying my food.
3. MOsquitos.. oh the blessed creatures.. Ill be glad to get rid of them but as a final farewell present they decided to leave me with 10 bits on my legs... perfect for travelling!!
4.the openness of women- they have no problem walking around the house half naked or getting dressed in front of men or breastfeeding openly on the Subte... this I will not miss!!!


And of course there are the things I am going to miss to..
1 ICECREAM! I dont think I will ever be able to eat icecream again.. it will never taste the same
2Food.. Yes the icecream may have been good but so was the mountains of meat..
3. Sun.. First time I had sun in over 1 and a half years... My skin is returning to a normal colour!!
4. People finding out Im from Ireland and then after a bit more conversation telling me how good my spanish is.. A bit of a boost in the confidence alright!!!
5. Nights out with the girls.. geting ready doing lots of make up and having a giggle! Late nights and early mornings.. all will be missed!!

Ive made it to New Zealand.. Im alive and well.. I skipped atuesday and am having lots of early mornings but am really enjoying it. The journey here will be another blog but for now I just bought a ticket to go whale and dolphin seeing tomorrow I already have been on boat trips and thing Im going to go to the aquarium now.. I like it here.

Iguazu: Day 2 (Argentinian Side)

Another early morning but luckily no more queueing up in customs!! The Argentinian side contains up to 80% of the falls. So theres a lot more walking and a lot more water. Luckily I had my friends from the Brasilian side and 3 new girls from the states joined our bus trip that day to so we all stayed together and had lots of fun. UNfortunately we were not blessed with the glorious weather we had the day before and when walking back from "the devils throat" the heavens opened and absolutely soaked us. I found it very amusing and exciting and got some funny pictures. We arrive back to the train statioon with hair and clothes stuck to our body. After this i decided it would be worth buying a crappy little plastic bag jacket to put over me ... of course it didnt rain again after that!! Some more falls and lots more pictures later we went on a boat ride and got right up close and person with the falls. We went right into one of them and even though my plastic bag jacket was on I still managed to get completely soaked.. just after I dried off from the first water spell. We then jetted off down the river before getting off the boat and walking up way too many steps and getting a 4x4 through the rainforest and back to where we started. A fun day altogether. Back at the hotel myself and my enw friends decided to walk down to the 3 fronteers... this is where Brasil Argentina and Paraguay all meet. It was soo cool! Dont think Ive ever seen anything like that before. After some more picture taking we went back and I for the first and last time in Iguazu did not eat dinner on my own! It was such a pleasant evening, we sat and laughed lots and lots and talked and finished off the evening with a walk down through the top to look at the stalls... notice the lack of ice cream in this trip!??! Really enjoyed my time in Iguazu and was sad to leave the next day.. one more day would have done me nicely!!

Iguazu: Day 1: Brasilian Side

Last Wednesday I flew up to Iguazu in the north of Argentina and the border of Brasil to go visit the largest falls in the world: the Iguazu Falls. There are over 275 waterfalls here between Brasil and Argentina. I had the privelage of going to both sides.

I arrived on Wednesday with the sun shining and hardly a cloud in the sky. I was greeted in the airport by a man holding my name on a piece of paper-this was exciting as id never had that before and I always wanted it!- who brought me, along with some other people there, to the Hotel Saint George, where I was going to stay for the next 3 nights. In the mini bus he gave me my itinerary and I was horrified to see the times 08.00 and 08.10 there. That meant I was going to have to get up at 7 to have breakfast and be ready to leave at 8... I havent been up at 7 since I cant remember when. Even when i was working I didnt get up that early.. OR when I was in school!! And im supposed to be on Holidays!!!

But I dealt with this issue when I saw the pool and the big comfy loungers beside reminding me that I can relax all day and then go to bed early and I can come back after my adventures in Iguazu and relax some more. And that is exactly what I did. I sat and soaked the sun for the afternoon, relaxed in my room for awhile and then headed down to dinner. That was interesting. I arrived and had to ask for a table for one and when I sat down at the table the man took away the other place that was set. I felt like a girl that had been stood up on a date or something. Luckily I had my book to keep me company so i didnt look like a complete loser. I ate my buffet meal and headed back to my room and chose between my 3 beds before "hitting the hay" to get a good nights sleep before horrible sound of the hotel phone being my alarm clock woke me up at 7 AM...

And at 7 AM it did wake me.. Oh and can i just say I actually set my phone alarm for 6.45 just to wake me up a little bit, now that is really ridiculous! I literally pulled myself out of bed at 7 and managed to get myself dressed. Luckily breakfast made me feel better, lots of nice fruit and sweet food and by 8 i didnt feel that bad after all! We headed for the border between brasil and argentina, handed in our passports, waited for ages, got our passports back, drove, got off the bus, filled in some paper, waited some more, and then I was next to get my passport stamped. I get to the lady she looks at my passport.. and asks me where my parents are. I explained I was on my own and this girl is staring at me and looking at my passport showing my date of birth to the girl next to her and shaking her head. Eventually my tour guide had to come up and say that I was only going to brasil for the day and that I was returning to Argentina that day, and the passport was stamped and I was on my way! It was almost 10 by the time we reached the park.

After a little bit of a walk we were finally able to see the beauty of the waterfalls. It was breathtaking! a fabulous panaromaic view. The fabulous day contributed majorly! We walked along side the falls for awhile before getting pretty close where there were rainbows everywhere! it was truly fabulous! Words cannot describe how fabulous it looked! Lots of photos were taken to try and capture the beauty of it all! The trip was finished off with a wuick trip in a lift to get a view from up high and then it was off to lunch before more passport stamping and heading back to Argentina to relax in the sun for the afternoon. And then have dinner on my own...again.

Jardin Japones Y Zoologico

When the sun is shining in Buenos Aires thers no better way to spend the day then exploring the greenery that this Enormous city contains. For me it was going to the japanese gardens and the zoo. I set off on my own one morning.. with my walking shoes-well I wouldnt exactly call them walking shoes but Id say there the most suitable shoes for walking that I have here!-to explore these fine places, with the sun shining brightly and my earphones in my ears it couldnt get any better. I got off the bus and walked the fine streets that i walked to Museo Malba and more before I reached the Japanese gardens. If your not a fan of fish...dont go there! I learnt this the hard way. The pond in the middle of the japanese gardens is filled with dozens upon dozens of these huge fish staring up at you opening and closing there mouths looking for food. Walking across the bridge I was terrified I was going to fall in and be eaten alive by these not so appealing creatures. Apart from that the gardens were beautiful. The sun showing off every beautiful aspect there! A pleasant but quick trip, plenty of photos taken- especially of those fish, and lots of sitting in the sun.

After that I set off to the zoo. With a brief explanation from the girl in the Japanese Gardens of where it was I set off to find it. It didnt take me long to find the zoo, but it did take me awhile to find the entrance! I walked the whole way around the zoo before I found the entrance!! But the fabulous animals I saw inside made it worth it! The Toucan I loved, and the fact that you could buy special food for feeding the animals was pretty cool. Although i didnt do that..Maybe next time! I spent hours taking in horrible smells and wandering around looking for animals that are on the map, I felt like a child again. It was great fun! Although the walking around for a very long time is something Im not used to, and walking all the way to the other end of the zoo and back again..just to get to the exit and walk all the way back to the other end on the outside is not the most fun!! BUT when you finish it off with a trip to an icecream parlour... it just makes it all ok!!

Museo Malba

When I go out with any of the people here and we meet friends of theirs, Im introduces as "prima","sobrina", "neta" (cousin, niece, granddaughter) all followed with "de irlanda". They all think its much easier to say then to explain that Sara is my mother godmother and thats how wel all know eachother! Not that that is very difficult to say... it takes me 20 seconds to say in spanish so imagine how easy it would be for them. But anyway... I now have Argentinian relatives and last saturday me and my 4 cousins(Luciana, Isella, Carla and Valentina) went to Museo Malba.

This is a modern art museum loacted in a the slighty upper class side of Buenos Aires. It was a stunning day, sun was shining and we were all yawning plenty. After the embarrassment of all my coins being rejected in the ticket machine (coins here have to be put in the ticket machine one by one.. I didnt have that kinda patience especially since the majority were 10 cents!) and a queue building up behind me we were on our way. We got off the bus at the Universidad de Derecho(Law University), where my mum studied for a while, and then set off walking along occassionally stopping to take some pictures and soak up the sun. It was a lovely walk to the Museum and thanks to our student cards (Yes CCCs id card has come in useful for me over here) we all go in for free. The museum has lots of funky and odd pictures by artists from all over South America. There was some amazing paintings- which If i hadnt got caught taking pictures of I would have photos to show you--who knew you couldnt take photos in a museum!!!- and some extremely odd! We wandered around for ages staring at paintings trying to figure out meaning or laughing at the oddness of some of them or being amazed by the talent that some of these artists had!! It was really fascinating. As well as painting there were Sculptures made out of wax... whcih i also got in trouble for for touching, by the same person that caught me taking the picture!! Surprised I ddint get thrown out... Im such a rebel!!- and films of art etc. It was really interesting and fascinating!

Downstairs there was an area of newspaper clips of funny things that had happened to people, some of them I found very fascinating and if I could remembr any of them I would tell you.. But i cant! Once we were all arted out we went to the near buy shopping centre for some Argentinian icecream! Have I told you how much I love the icecream here?? I dont think Ill ever be able to eat Irish icecream again.. Im going to be spending a lot of money on getting it imported from here! After a bit of wandering around the shops we set off for home... All of us ready for bed... for an hour before we headed out for the night!!

Yes they know how to do it right over here... sun, icecream, sun, museum, sun, shops, sun, dancing!

La Boca

La Bombonara may be the home of Boca Juniors but La boca is the home of a terrible smell, lots of colour and the Tango. The other day(meaning about 2 weeks ago!) I visited La Boca with Sara, mums godmother. We got off the bus and were greated by this very strong odour that is almost impossible to describe- poo, fish and some other things are the main contributors I think. The first thing you notice in La Boca is an extremely antique bridge known as the Puente Trasbordador (transpot Bridge). As far as i know this is one of the oldest transporter bridges in Argentina and it is a major contributor to the tourist boom in La Boca.

Walking alongside the water-the source of the bad odour- you eventually begin to see lots of colours ranging from blue and yellow(the colours of Boca Juniors) to greens reds and plenty more. Coming up to the neighbourhood it is easy to see that this is a tourist booming area. Groups of tourists surround stalls of handmade leather goods, handmade jewellery, art etc while the streets have tango dancers ready to pose for a photo with you for a very small price.

I loved La Boca because of the colours the liveliness and the goods that are for sale. I loved the unusual jewellery, the paintings of the tango, the leather bags basically everything that is for sale. I, of course am a very weak person and of course bought jewellery and a painting... who could imagine me buying a painting!! As well as postcards which I stil havent written!! The sun was shining, the cobble stone streets were filled with tables and chairs and tango dancers entertaining passers by.

A town that could leave you poor, but very well entertained by the end of the day.

The South American Temper

One thing that I have noticed here is the lack of patience that Argentinians have. Of curse i knew this from my mother already....Joke!! They cant handle waiting for more than a few moments in traffic as I witnessed on my first day with Edgardo. They love to beep at everything possible, especially the bus drivers, which drives me insane. They do not wait until its safe to move lanes... which I dont even see the point in these lanes because people drive in between the 2 anyway. They cross out whenever they feel like it, and it turns into a game of "Chicken"... Whoever backs out first is the loser.

Today I had my first experience of a proper cross Argentinian. Manena, Isella, Carla and I (donkey before the ass mum!!) went to the cinema in Abasto to see a spanish film called "El Orfanato"(i think thats how its spelt). It was all in Spanish of course with no subtitles so it was a challenge for me, but unfortuntely I succeeded. those of you that know me well know that I am not a fan of scary films or films that make me jump. I am the girl that when she was younger had nightmares at 'The Lion King'. So scary films arent the best for me. And stupidly when Isella told me what we were going to see I didnt think to ask what i twas about or what genre it was. I just said fine, and was more worried about not understanding this film. The title, to me. suggested a sad story about a little boy whos parents die and hes left all alone yada yada yada.. you get the picture. the kind of soppy film that I would enjoy. I was far from wrong. This film had me with my hands over my ears for practically the whole thing- I personally think that if you cant hear it but can see it its much less scarier- I also let out a few screams, and Im surprised my heart managed to pull through the whole thing. I wont tell you what its about unless you one day decide to rent it from the eurpean section in xtravision or decide to go see it if its on in any cinema-In which case you will most likely love the film and think Im a complete exagerater...which is highly possible.

Anyway my experiences of the cinema has nothing to do with my topic of discussion. Leaving the cinema Manena went to pay for the car park-yes this is not free parking Blanchardstown Centre- and we set off for him. Out parking was free because we went to the cinema and we had out little piece of paper for scanning in to lift the barrier. We arrive at the barrier and Manena scans in the paper and this little sign saying "Billeta Impago" appears on the screen. After numerous attempts, the screen was still saying we hadnt paid our ticket(which we hadnt but someone else had!). So Manenas blood is slowly rising in temperature as she beeps her horn for assistance and the guard comes over and talks to her. After his attempt and talking through to the office, we have to reverse the car and Manena has to go back and get another ticket. She also talks to the people at the office explaining the situation and when she discovers she has to go down 2 floors to get another ticket phrases such as "Im going to box the living daylights out of that man" leave her mouth! Carla decides to accompany her to the ticket booth to avoid any arrests. They return and we set set off in the car again for the exact.

The ticket is scanned: "Billeta Impago". The guard tries to lift the barrier so we can go through but doesnt succeed. Manena is not impressed in any way whatsoever and gets out to talk to the office AGAIN. After a lengthy discussion she is once again told to return to the office to get another ticket. She gets back in the car SLAMS the door and blood temperature is above boiling now. She then gets out of the car goes back over to the mic and basically shouts into it "I am not the person that has made the mistake here I have already made one trip to get another ticket and it didnt work I am not moving from where I am you can send someone else with the ticket to me." She then, in a slightly calmer voice to the innocent guard repeats herself and gets back in the car. He then returns a few minutes later saying she has to talk to the office again. At this Isella is not impressed and gets out of the car with Manena. She walks to the barrier and pushes it open tells her mother to get in the car and gets in the car herself, and we drive off. Of course with a polite think you to the guard.

Unfortunately I am not able to repeat the conversation that followed but lets say it took some time before the blood temperature went back to normal for those to.

Now I know where my temper comes from.

Dont Cry For Me Argentina

On Monday my second solo adventure was to Plaza de Mayo. This is the location of La Casa de Rosada where parts of Evita was filmed! Ive always had this little fascination by this house, I dont know why, but ever since I arrived I wanted to go there. Maybe it was the memories of the last time I was there in 2000, with the family, and we had such funny times feeding the pigeons. Putting pigeon food everywhere to try get as many pigeons on us as possible. We have a funny picture at home of Luke with Pigeon food on his head and a pigeon sitting on his head. So on Monday i decided to relive my find memories and fed the pigeons! itwas great fun! So fun.. I did it twice!! i was lik a little child there laughing at the amount of pigeons landing on me and where they were landing. I had one on my shoulder, one on my bag, three on my arms fighting eachother and about 50 at my feet. It was really fun.

Aswell as that... I did go to the museum of La Casa de Rosada, which was really interesting. Arriving I felt like a criminal as I had to walk through metal detectors and show ID and then put my bag in a locker...next I was expecting them to whip out a set of handcuffs and charge me for being a tourist! I can see the headlines now "18 year Old Irish girl life improsinment for having an interest in Argentinian society"....

It was a really intersting museum, with sashes that belong to presidents and the reason behind the star on the irish flag-cant remember why it is anymore!!- and items that belonged to certain presidents etc etc. It was a small museum-just right for me. I left restoring my Identity and the rest of my bloggings and set off to look around the rest of the surroundings. It was a gorgeous sunny day and after some more picture taking I sat and did some more observing after which I went and did some shopping. Yes yes, I always have time for shopping! I got the Subte home, for the first time on my own, and finished off my fabulous trip with some delicious ice cream! Oh it is so good here!!!

My Dad used to give his classes-I dont know if he stil does- an assignment in which they had to go to a place they do not know and sit there for an hour and observe. On satruday I did just that. It was a gorgeous morning, and i left the house with my ipod and went for a walk in the nearby park. I went with Valentina for a awhile and then we went somewhere else and I returned alone. The park was breautiful, along with the day. No clouds in the sky and it was sun sun sun. The park had a little pond where I sat with my Ipod listening to Amy McDonald soaking up the sun. A day like this day had been rare since my arrival in Argentina and so many people were out soaking up the sun. To the left of me there was a little green with people of all shapes and sizes who were sitting in bikinis shorts or whatever-they were all wearing clothes though thank goodness- soaking up the sun. To my right there was a man sitting on the bench with his pedometer doing stretches. Across the pond there was a group of teenagers- all wearing black clothes and jeans- sitting messing around skating having a laugh with there big bottles of coke. Surrounding the bond there was various for buying drinks or food. Almost everybody was doing something different. Families strolling around, kids on their bikes and toddlers on tricycles or little push bikes. Women walking around with their MP3s in their sports gear. couples giggling together on the benches. It was all a lovely site.

As i reached home the sun disappeared and the clouds came. It rained for the rest of the afternoon. But the sunset that night was the most beautiful thing. The rain had stopped the clouds were fading and the colours were beautiful! That night i experienced my first proper night out in Buenos Aires, with Carla And Valentina. We went to this night club called "Liquid" and danced the nnight away-literally. We arrived at the club at around 1 and got in at about quarter to 2. The music was so fun and dancing had so much fun with their friends. We left at about half 5 and got the bus home after awhile. Carla then had 2 of her friends for breakfast and at 8.30 I crawled into bed. Exhausted. But it was worth it.I think il get used to it!!

Dale Dale Boca Dale!!!!

La Bombonera:
Home of that great such as Diego Maradonna.
Home of the praised such as Juan Román Requelme
Home of the girls whose hands are the most covered part of there body
and most of all, home of the football team Boca Juniors.

Thursday night i had the privelage of experiencing all these things. Although the girls with practically no clothes on wasnt exactly a privelage for me.

La Bombonera is not only the stadium of Boca Juniors, its the stadim for thousands of dedicated Boca Junior fans who almost filled the stadium on thursday night to support there team taking on Atlas in La Copa Libertadores. That night they showed nothing more than support and dedication to there team. From the minute the team arrived on the pitch ( and even before) there was songs of support and praise for the team they love so much.

The last time I had been in a stadium practically filled with people was probably in 2005 when I went to Croke Park with my dad and aunty to watch Cork beat Clare in the ALL Ireland hurling semi final. I walked up the steps and turned the corner to see a stadium filled with navy and yellow. Thousands of flags for Boca Juniors, banners of praise for certain players. I was amazed. When the match started there was big banners put out over one side of the stadium, there was people constantly singing songs of support, there was drums, there was firworks, there was a lot of rubbish and toilet roll, and there was a lot of excitement.

Boca Juniors- when they play well they amaze you, but when they play bad they leave you dumbfounded. I experienced both of these on thursday night. For the first half I couldnt see what was so amazing about this team. I didnt see how they could be so popular. They made stupid mistakes, they gave the ball away easily and it was a bit of a disaster. It reminded me of my All Ireland semi final in football when i was on the sideline watching the rest play. I was so frustrated at how they were playing and all the stupid mistakes that they shouldnt be making- we lost 4-0 that day. Luckily Boca did not suffer the same fate as we did. They did manage to score a goal about 30 mins in, but it wasnt the most amazing goal or really a goal to be celebrating.

The second half picked up majorly. Boca Juniors got there act together and started to play the game that my brother praised so much. I began to enjoy andbe amazed and the wonderful passing, and the players cleverness with the ball. They all started reading eachother much better and the game became "the beautiful game". When the well deserved goal came the stadium erupted. There was nothing but excitement to be seen. Hands waving everywhere, people hugging everyone and anyone. Shiirts taken off and being swung around, it was complete and utter madness and excitement. After this there was a non stop buzz of excitement, every few minutes a new song would erupt from the crowd. Hands being waved everywhere in support of there team. And when the 3rd and Final goal was added a few minutes later, there was a feeling of satisfaction in the air. The crowd could not be happier with the outing and there team.

Leaving the stadium there was a buzz of happiness, and also a bit of giving out about the first half and how bad Boca played. We then went and got choripan. Which is an argentinian sausage in bread. As we walked towards the car munching on our food, Mario turned to me and said "Football, Food and La Boca, Theres nothing better in Argentina!"

If thats the case,
Ive experienced the best of the best here.

Photos!!

<< the cemetery

I figured it out... well actually someone did it for me! but here is some photos!!

<<<<>

Entertainment

Just thought I should show this... Found it thanks to my dear friend Caroline... Extremely entertaining!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXYwNDrU8k

Dora the explorer

I just read over my other posts and realise not only is my spelling bad as my father gladly pointed out, but my typing is what causes the bad spelling!! Im going to be more careful in this blog, as to avoid any comments about my spelling!!

Anyway, welcome to the blog of dora the explorer! those of you that have children will know what im talking about, those of you that have no lives and stay at home all day watching tv will also know what im talking about- im the one that stays at home and watches tv all day(or the babysitter!). A young little girl from I dont know where that goes on all these little adventures to different placs and learns teaches viewers spanish along the way.

Yesterday was the beginning of my exploring Buenos Aires-alone. I got the directions off Sara of how to get where i wanted to go, and how to get back. I left the house and set off on my whirlwind adventure. My destination: Plaza Francia. Recoleta, Buenos Aires. I got the number 92 bus, I told the bus driver where i wanted to go and he told me where to get off. I got off and walked for awhile and reached Cemetario de Recoleta. Here is where the rich people of Buenos Aires are buried. The likes of Presidents and Madonna... I mean Eva Peron. This HUGE cemetery is not your normal people buried in the ground cemetery. When you walk in you are surrounded by, I guess you can call them tombs. These little houses made out of marble, stone, glass or whatever these people can afford hold families of dead people or just one person alone. It is crazy. I stayed there for almost 2 hours and i still did not see the whole place. Apart from the fact that I founf it extremely creepy walking around on my own, there is just so much there. Whenever i found I was alond i practically ran to where there were more people. It was just a tad bit scary for my liking. There are stories that the people that work there say that at night the ghost of the dead people come out. Or so i was told yesterday, maybe that was just to creep me out even more.

When I left I went to the Iglesia de Pilar, which is a beautiful church beside the cemetery. When i arrived to the church it started lashing rain and i mean lashing. I was in the rain for 20 seconds and got very wet. When I left the church 5 minutes later the sun was shining!! Afterwards I went to this shopping mall where they have shops full of modern art and handmade things. They were lovely. I was trying to decide what i could throw out of my suitcase so i could bring some stuff home with me. Unfortunately i didnt think of anything. After this I decided that was enough for one day and i should start making my way back because i told Sara and Manena that i would be back between 6 and 7. Boy am i glad I left when i did. I got the number 92 bus back... but I got off at the wrong stop, and had to walk for a bit. This was fine until i had walked about 30 blocks and realised i was walking in the wrong direction!!! I had to turn around and walk all the way back again. My poor feet were all sore from the flip flops and my legs were tired but I made it back alive. Luckily I didnt have to ask anybody for money because I lost my money like I had to do in Barcelona. And luckily I didnt have to ask that many people for direction when I was in Plaza de Francia. Anyway, its all in the description of being a tourist- Must get lost at least more than once. Well Ive got lost once, I wonder how many more there´ll be by the end of 5 and a half months.

I just went and had my first manicure in Buenos Aires. I have lovely french polished fingers. Im going back at 4 for a pedicure and after Im going out with one of the girls Valentina to do some more investigating of Buenos Aires!

Was just about to try put some pictures up but I cant find the USB place thingy...!!

Oh and yesterday I also learned how to make empanadas. A common food over here with minced meet eggs and much more in a pastry! Absolutely delicious!!! When i return Ill cook them for you...

¿Te Pica?

This is the none stop uestion ive been getting for the past few days... Do the itch?? yes boys and girl... I got mosquito bites... but these are definately mosquito bites to write home about...Which im doing as you can see!! On saturday I went to the country to a house of Patricia and Edgardo. It was raining the whole time but it wsa such a nice place! I hda a rly nice tym. We watched the bucket list, but it didnt have the ending..(dad i forgot to ask u that on the phone lsat night..How does it end??? I liked by the way..told you so!!) I loved it!! my bucket list is being made as we speak... ill be crossing off one of my goals by august 9th!! In the evening ew sat at the table with my dictionary talkin and teaching other words in English and spanish! and i was delighted to be told that my spanish has defiantely improved!! thank goodness for that because ive been thinkin none stop in spanish the past week...its practically impossible to write this in english!!haha!! So ewre sitting bonding in the kitchen and i look down at my arm and i have this big red swollen thing attached to it!! Well part of it but it looked attached it was so big!! I have pictures to prove it but they are for another day!! As if one wasnt enouhg ive developed 7 big mosquito bites over the past 2 days!! lovely big red horrible things!! ive been takin antihestimeen(however its spelt) and putting on cream and repellent!! Anway i can honestly say im looking forward to seein the back of them!!! nothing but pain!! Definately makes it known to the argentinians that im not from here!!!

On thursday I went to the theatre!! Yes it was in Spanish! Yes it was impossible to understand and YES THERE WAS A NAKED OLD MAN IN IT!!!!! One thing that makes me glad im only staying here for 6 weeks, is that people are so flipen open here!! the other day i was in the eating area and Alejandra(the cousin of the ppl im staying with) just took off her dress in front of mario and got changed! i was lik AHHH!haha!! I ave another story but i could get in trouble for it os ask me in email or when i get back!!

After the theatre us 12 girls went out 2 eat! it was rly good fun!! and so cheap once again!!! Im loving it... im going 2 be lik 10 sizes bigger when i get back!!haa!

Today i went shopping with Sara(mums godmother)!! and flippen heck does she shop!! The lady is 79! we walked for about 5 hours!! She bought more than me she had to sit down less than me and shes still full of energy now... I was ashamed of myself needless to say that someone bought more stuff than me!! Ill get her back one day though...

Buenas Chicas

I realise Ive started every blog so far with "well", and the title of this blog makes it no different this time.

Day number 2 in Argentina! After i posted my blog yesterday I thought of loads of other stuff that i wanted to write about, but today as soon as i started to type, I forgot them all. Today is just as a beautiful a day as yesterday. Although im still quite tired so I dont have very much energy to be doing anything. The house is quiet at the moment and I also had the whole morning to myself. I sat out on the balcony reading enjoying the sun. We that had lunch, milaneses... so GOOD!! meat covered in breadcrumbs. I had them for dinner in Patricia and Edguardos last night. Patricia is the daughter of Sara whos my mums godmother. Im staying in Patricias untill saturday as Mario(Saras son) and Menana(his wife) have other people staying here at the moment.

One thing ive noticed since being here is that the families are very close, not only in loscation, but as a family as well. They all get on very well with eachother, always laughing etc etc. They dont see very much of eachothe it seems becuase they all have different work schedules, but when they are together they enjoy it. Mario and Menana have 3 daughter: Isella Carla y Valentina. I have met Isella(22) and Carla(20). They are both rly nice welcoming girls, and have been nothing but helpful to me. They both try speaking english to help me and they help me when im stuck with my spanish. They have welcomed me with open arms and am making sure that i see this house as my home. This weekend Im going to the coast with the for the weekend to say beside the beach. I have yet to meet velntina who is Carlas twin as she has been working.

Everything is SO cheap here. Yesterday 2 of the girls that are staying with Mario and Menana went to the salon down the road. Camilla got her hair cut, a mamicure and a pedicure done. The total was 54 pesos, which is the equivalent of about 14 euro!! its crazy! I look forward to treating myself to getting a manicure and more!

Another thing Ive noticed... The mayonnaise is yellow!?!

Bienvenido a Argentina

Well Im finally here. Day 1 of my travels, location Buenos Aires Argentina... Mario y Menanas apartment!!
After approximately 20 hours of travelling, I arrived in Buenos aires, wearing a hoodie.. which came off very soon after.
The journey was ong but not very painful! I had little entertainment along the way which reminded me of people back home and made me laugh. At one stage I was laughing to myself and looked up to see a few of my fellow travellers looking at me! I just couldnt help myself. Unfortunately being stuck in the middle was not the highlight of my trip. Luckily i was not sitting beside any pervey men, extremely obese ppl, or people with very bad odour problems. Unofirtuantely i was not sitting next to a future husband.. But i dealt with that and probably should be very grateful that I wasnt because who knos what noises i could have been making in my sleep!!

I arrived in Argentina and was so releived when i saw my luggage and the ...whatever its called!! I changed my ,pmday and was on a roll... hadnt been robbed yet!

Differences in Argentina:
1. People are pshycho drivers!! I realised this having been in the car for 20 mins when we came to a tollbridge. Edguardo, the man who collected me didnt have very much patience and withing 5 seconds of pulling up to the toll bridge was beeping at the man in front of him. and it wasnt just "beep beep" it was "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEP" if you catch my drift!!!
He then drove through without paying, and ended up driving into the barrier!! Wonderful first day experiences!
2. THE WEATHER!!! Im sitting in a dress and flip flops right now, and im still warm!!!
3. The language....Curses on my mother for not bringing me up speaking fluent spanish! I just have 2 smile and nod when I dont understand people! I feel like a blonde(no offence meant) but what ppl say usually clicks with me about 10 minutes later!!

So thats a quick run down on my day so far. its 6 oclock now and sn is still shining with no sign of clouds in the sky!!!!

Untill we meet again...

4 and a half weeks to go

Well I have 4 and a half weeks before I leave Ireland, so Im starting my blog so everyone can read up on what im doing while Im gone etc etc. But for the moment Im still in Ireland still working, still havent filled in my cao for September and am still 17. Nothing exciting happening as of yet...