Adventures

So I am in transit to my next big adventure in the UK. I flew from Wellington to Auckland with Air NZ leaving at the ungodly hour of 6:30am. I didn't go to bed until 1:30am the night before and had to be up at 3am. I was dead on my feet all day, I still vaguely resemble a zombie.
From Auckland I flew with Singapore Airlines to Singapore. Can't rate this airline highly enough. They generously offered me 5kg extra of baggage allowance for free because of the nature of my new job. The service on board is impeccable and the food is delicious as far as plane food goes.
I am now wasting time at Singapore Changi Airport until my next flight at 1:15am local time. It has been a few years since I've transited through this airport but it is every bit as great as I remembered. I am currently sitting in an indoor garden type set up which has plenty of comfortable sofas and seats with USB and universal plug ins. The wifi access here is unlimited and fairly easy to connect to, just go to a kiosk, scan your passport and receive a code. Handy hint: if you have more than one passport scan them both so you get two codes. The codes are only valid on one device, handy if you want to do some snapchatting and use your laptop. There is a ladies "powder room" with mirrors, changing rooms and seats, perfect for freshening up between flights. This airport also has a pool, a pay in lounge and a transit hotel. Plenty to keep you occupied on long transfers!
I am looking forward to a decent sleep on my next flight, I have some zopiclone left over from my hospital stay so might use that to help. I got about 5 hours sleep on my last flight but given I'd had a total of 7 hours sleep in the 48 hours leading up to my departure I definitely need more rest!

Happy wandering x
Ally

Going Back

It's official. I have a one way flight to London leaving on the 29th of January.

I will miss this beautiful little town. I get especially sad when there are sunsets like this, almost every night at the moment.

We have had a spectacular summer so far. 35+ almost every day, it cooled down this weekend which was a relief.

My beautiful little foal is growing up so fast! I will miss the horses so much but I have to be realistic. Pippa is not capable of doing what I want and Clover is just too young! It will do Clover the world of good to be turned out and live like a real horse for a year or two. Pippa has a fantastic new job lined up teaching people to ride at a friend's riding school. She will be very very happy there.

So here I come eventing world... Wish me luck!

Going Back?

I have been back in New Zealand for the last few months. It was hard coming back to such a small town so far away from the rest of the world. It was wonderful to catch up with my friends but something still didn't feel "right". I changed so much over my 7 months in Europe, it was an incredibly odd feeling coming back to the same old people and places.

 

There was plenty to keep me busy returning home. My very pregnant horse had her foal, a beautiful filly.

She is exactly what I wanted and then some, I am absolutely thrilled. Pippa is a super mother and Clover is just as lovely as her mum.

The travel bug still itched though. Last week I saw a once-in-a-lifetime job advertised in the UK so I figured I'd apply. A few days later the advertiser offered me the position. I am so incredibly excited at the prospect of returning to Europe. I won't say too much so as not to jinx it, but the job involves horses and travel, my two favourite things!

I applied for a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme Visa. I found this blog post incredibly helpful in the application process. I had my biometrics appointment today and will hear back in the New Year if the Visa has been approved. The lady who did the biometrics said there was no reason I shouldn't be approved. All going well I am UK bound February 1st. Watch this space!

Ireland

I was probably more disorganised before this trip than I have ever been before in my life. We only booked the Dublin hotels the night before I flew out and I didn't even know where the tour was going until it started. I only had 2 days at home between this trip and Oktoberfest which is probably why I hadn't thought much about it,  I needed time to recover!

So I flew with Aer Lingus to Dublin from Geneva on Friday morning. My tour didn't start until Saturday night so I had a day and a half to explore Dublin. I stayed at the Trinity Lodge, a charming little hotel next to Trinity College. I was very impressed with this hotel, the room was lovely, the staff were friendly and the included breakfast was excellent. I would stay there again and definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Dublin. On Friday night I had signed up for the Dublin City Pub Crawl, however no one else showed up so they cancelled it. I was pretty annoyed, had I known it wasn't booked up I would have made other plans. At least they refunded me promptly. The next morning I got my hair cut on Grafton Street for €29 before heading to the Sandemans New Dublin free tour. My tour guide, Brian, was interesting and insightful and certainly earned his tips. Afterwards the tour takes you to O'Neill's pub and offers a €10 pub meal, however I was still full from the Irish Breakfast I had at the hotel. I headed back to retrieve my bags before checking into the Jury's Inn on Parnell Street for the start of my Contiki tour.

The Ireland tour with Contiki is modular, so some of the passengers have been travelling since London/Edinburgh with the Great Britain/Scotland tours. I was surprised at how many people were just joining for Ireland, I thought I'd be one of the only ones! We met up with everyone and went to Temple bar that night.

The next morning we travelled to Belfast, where we met up with a local tour guide named Dee. She took us on the coach through the Falls, the republican area of Belfast, and the neighboring Shankill area which is predominantly loyalist. These two areas are separated by peace lines with gates that still shut at night time. It was an eye opening tour, it's pretty incredible that in my parents' youth deciding to travel to Belfast was the equivalent of me planning a trip to Baghdad or Gaza. All of the local guides in Ireland have grown up with the Troubles going on and have very educational and insightful words for the tourists who come visit.

Afterwards we visited the Giant's Causeway. According to legend, a Scottish giant challenged an Irish giant to a battle. The Irish giant, Finn, accepted and built the causeway. When the Scottish giant arrived Finn was tucked up in bed and his wife introduced him as their son. The Scottish giant was so afraid that Finn's son was so big that he fled back to Scotland and destroyed the causeway. The formations of rock at the Causeway are very interesting and the walking tracks along the cliffs make for a refreshing hike. 

Our next stop was Derry, where we had a tour with Ronan McNamara of McNamara Tours. He took us through Bogside, the site of Bloody Sunday in 1972, and around the city walls. The tour was absolutely fascinating, it is absolutely unmissable if you are ever in or around Derry. One thing Ronan speaks about is how great it is for the locals having tourists come to town like Derry. This was backed up when we went for dinner and were offered "samples" to try, we said yes of course, and the waitress brought out a huge platter of food. They were so excited to have us in their town. 

The next morning we drove down to Galway, with a little detour in the middle when the coach got lost on back country roads. Thankfully we made it to Galway eventually, we all shopped around for a bit before dinner at a local pub.

The next morning we were up early for a day trip to Inis Mór, the largest of the Aran Islands. This day was by far my favourite day in Ireland. I had arranged to go for a horse ride on the island, after finding a page on Facebook. A little bit random, so I didn't really know what to expect. I arrived and my mount, the adorable Irish Cob mare Lady, was tacked up and waiting for me. Stiofan, the guide, was lovely. As I was on my own we ended up having a lovely chat while I was riding. He was only too happy to take pictures for me. Lady was one of the quietest horses I have ever ridden, which was a relaxing change for me. It's nice to ride something quiet so you can admire the views instead of worrying about the horse. It was so nice to get off the beaten track and experience the island as it is experience by locals. The farmland and 1000 year old stone walls were so picturesque. I have always wanted to ride in Ireland and I'm so glad I did on Inis Mór! I highly recommend Aran Island Horse Riding to anyone visiting Inis Mór. They cater for all levels of riders and are reasonably priced. I got in touch with him through Facebook messages and he responded within hours, perfect if you're trying to book while travelling.

After my ride I had lunch at Joe Watty's pub just up the road. I bumped into some of my tour friends there. Afterwards I went to explore the island on foot. Eventually I made it to the spectacular cliffs on the southern side of the island. I was told by my guide earlier that these cliffs were more accessible than the Cliffs of Moher, without barriers or fences. I was able to get right up to the edge. Unfortunately I didn't have time to go explore the nearby fort because I had to get back to the harbour in time for the ferry. In the off season only 2 ferries run per day.

The next day started with the Cliffs of Moher. It was gorgeous and sunny and we could even see the Aran Islands from the cliffs. We had an hour and a half to explore and take pictures before getting back on the bus to travel to the Blarney Castle. We kissed the stone and wandered around the grounds. We spent the night in Cork where I caught up with my cousin who is studying at Medical School there.

We went to Cobh Heritage center the next morning. Cobh (also known as Cove or Queenstown) was the Titanic's last port of call before she sunk in 1912. The exhibition was okay, but I probably wouldn't have gone if the tour bus hadn't stopped there. I didn't go to the Jamesons distillery either, I just had some quiet time at a cute cafe in Midleton. Kilkenny was fun, we did a walking tour with a local guide before dinner and karaoke at a bar down the street. Then we were back to Dublin to visit te Guinness brewery. I was unimpressed, I much preferred the Heinken experience in Amsterdam to Guinness, much more to see and do in the experience. We had a free afternoon following that. A few of us went to the Kilmainham Gaol then visited the Old Library at Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. We finished the tour with a dinner at the Merry Ploughboy Pub. Great food, great music and great entertainment. Very touristy but well worth  a visit anyway. We had a great evening.

The next morning we all said our goodbyes at breakfast and those returning to London left on the coach. I did some last minute souvenir shopping before returning to the hotel to collect my bags and head to the airport. However there was a large protest going on down O'Connell Street so the buses had been rerouted and no one could tell me exactly where to. So I watched the protest for a while then when it had completely passed Parnell Square I grabbed my luggage and walked to the next bus stop. Luckily I wasn't flying until the next morning, there were people on the bus who were running late for flights and stressing out big time. A word of advice: always give yourself too much time to get to the airport, especially if you're using public transport! Delays happen without warning and a missed flight can completely ruin your trip. If you're short on time take a taxi. I had a very stressful experience in Venice taking the Aliguna public ferry to the airport, the staff at the dock told me it would take an hour to get there, after I was on board for an hour and a half the crew informed me that we still had another hour to go so I had to hail a water taxi from the ferry to make it to the airport in time. €100 later I arrived at the airport to find my flight had been delayed by an hour and a half luckily, I wouldn't have made it otherwise.

Airport hotels are a wonderful thing. If you have an early morning flight from an airport out of the city it is a good idea to get a room there for the night. Most airlines let you check in and drop off your luggage the night before so you can have an extra half hour or so of sleep in the morning. I stayed at the Maldron Dublin Airport. The hotel is modern and spacious, a nice place to relax after a week of traveling! The bar and restaurant looked nice, but I bought a sandwich and junk food from the airport and spent the evening in my room watching Titanic and X Factor. My flight back to Geneva the next morning was almost empty, I slept pretty much the whole flight anyway.

All up the Contiki Ireland tour was fabulous. The itinerary gives you a chance to experience all the different cultural and historical aspects of Ireland. The hotels were far better than the European tours. Our tour manager Mike and driver Matt showed us a good time. I would definitely recommend the tour to other Contiki-ers.

This trip was the last of my travels in Europe. I am in Geneva for the next few days then Saturday I start the long journey back to New Zealand. Time has flown by since I've been here and I can't wait to come back!

Happy wandering x
Ally


 

Oktoberfest 2014

So on Wednesday night me and my tiny carry on bag departed for Oktoberfest via London with Contiki. I booked 35CHF Easyjet flights months ago, it was much cheaper to start in London than travel to Munich from Geneva! However if you are heading to Munich for Oktoberfest it can be cheaper to fly into neighbouring German airports and bus/train from there.

I stayed at the Royal National Hotel in London. I'd heard bad things about Contiki's base hotel but honestly I have stayed in far worse places for much more money. I arrived at the hotel about 2 and a half hours after my flight landed, then met the driver from my European tour for a drink. Anyone who has been on a Contiki tour knows how close you all get and how sad it is to farewell everyone at the end, so I was pretty happy to catch up with Christian and reminisce! 

The next morning I was up early for an appointment to get my nails done. On the way I stopped at Primark and bought some cute things, I love that shop far too much. Then I headed to Topshop's flagship store at Oxford Circus. A few months ago I came across some pictures on the internet of Oktoberfest nail art and decided I wanted to get my nails done! Wah Nails London has a base on the bottom floor of Topshop Oxford Circus. An hour and a half later this was the result... 

After my nail appointment I shopped around a little more then returned to the Contiki Basement for the start of my tour. 

The tour began with an 18 hour overnight coach trip to Munich. It was not that bad for me but I am well adapted to sleeping on planes! We arrived at the Munich campsite about 8:30 am the following morning and headed to Oktoberfest straight away. 

I won't give you an exact account of everything I got up to at the Wiesn. I will however provide you with some interesting and insightful information about the fest and some tips.

Oktoberfest began in 1810 when King Ludwig married Princess Therese. The citizens of Munich were invited along to celebrate and good times were had all around. The following year on their anniversary the King and Princess threw another party, and so the tradition was started. Oktoberfest is the largest festival in the world, even so around 72% of visitors to the festival are from Bavaria. Visitors consume around 7 million litres of beer every year at the festival.

As I only had 3 days at the festival I didn't manage to visit every tent. This weekend was Italian weekend so seats filled up quick. Once you get a table it's a good idea to sit tight as most places are at maximum capacity by 4 pm, even earlier on the weekends. On the Saturday we were lining up at 7am to get tables, and we weren't the only ones.

The two tents I spent the most time in were Hofbrauhaus and Lowenbrau. Lowenbrau was crazy because we had "Contiki-fest", where the Contiki groups take over as many tables as possible! Hofbrauhaus was a circus. On the Sunday we arrived at 10 am and already people were skulling their beers on the table! If you are going to step up to the challenge of skulling a beer, don't fuck it up. If you do, expect food to be thrown at you, booing and possibly being kicked out. If you're in the Hofbrauhaus 'pig pen' hold on to your underwear or risk it being removed and thrown over the Aloisius figure hanging from the roof.

Oktoberfest has other attractions besides the beer. There is a plethora of German food including wurst (sausage), sauerkraut, hendl (roast chicken), eisbein (pork knuckle) and of course pretzels! The Oom-pah bands playing in the halls play traditional German drinking songs as well as some well known drinking songs from other cultures. Be sure to learn the words to 'Ein Prosit', you will be singing it a lot! There are also lots and lots of rides. Roller coasters, bumper cars, scary houses, carnival games and the like. Wouldn't recommend the crazy rides after a few steins though. 

Finally, costumes. The traditional dirndls and lederhosen are an important part of the festival, almost everyone dresses up. The cheap slutty costume dirndls are a no no, you will look completely out of place. Traditional dirndls can cost hundreds of euros, but there are some places you'll find authentic ones for under €100. I got mine from C&A Munich back in June for €49. C&A department stores can be found across Switzerland and Germany and most stock at least a few racks of lederhosen and dirndls. Even the one here in Geneva sells them! Lederhosen are pricier, usually starting at €150. Could pay to look out for them on sale.

I could talk all day about how awesome Oktoberfest is but, in short, if you ever have the opportunity to go then go! You will not regret it.

Ireland for a week starting Friday, the wandering continues...

Zurich

I arrived in Zurich Thursday morning and met my friend and her cousin at the Hauptbahnhof. I had no idea just how big the railway station was, we had arranged to meet at Starbucks which was actually on the lower floor of the station. After we met up we walked to our hotel to drop our bags off, turns out the room was ready so we got an early check in! We stayed at X-Tra Hotel, a *** located on Limmastrasse. It was a great example of a budget hotel, especially for Switzerland. Everything was clean and tidy, our room was spacious and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Having dropped our bags off, we headed out to explore Zurich. We visited St Peterskirche, the church with the largest clock face in Zurich. We admired the view of the town from the Lindenhof Citadel. We checked out Grossmunster cathedral. We had drinks at a kitschy little outdoor bar called Kleine Freiheit on Leonhardstrasse. Reasonably priced at around 5CHF for a coffee or a beer.

That evening we headed out to experience the nightlife Zurich is famous for. A 10 minute walk from the hotel brought us to the start of Langstrasse, the former red light district of Zurich. Though there are a few strip clubs and inappropriate shops, majority of the brothels have moved out of the city. There were still prostitutes on almost every corner however. We visited 3 bars; Bar 63, a classy little bar with an interesting cocktail menu, Franz Kaiser, named after the sports person, a friendly and inviting atmosphere with interesting beers, and finally Ole Ole, a popular hangout on the corner of Langstrasse and Lagerstrasse.

The next day we booked a sightseeing tour and lake cruise through Gray Line tours. It was pricey, at 39 CHF per person, but very informative and enjoyable. We bought a picnic lunch at Coop Central in the morning and ate it on the boat, we also BYO beers.

After the boat cruise returned we went to the Jules Verne Panoramabar on Uraniastrasse. This bar is just below a working telescope, providing panoramic views of Zurich.

We returned to the hotel around 6pm and noticed a sign had been put up on the adjoining club"Rollschuh Disco". We asked at the reception and as it turns out the 25CHF door charge was waived for guests of the hotel, so of course we went!

We also hit up Langstrasse again, returning to Ole Ole and also visiting the Stray Cat Bar across the street. The Stray Cat was playing American rap and hip hop which was random! It was also incredibly cheap by Swiss standards, 5CHF for a Jose Cuervo tequila shot. We returned home at 3:15am, probably the latest I have ever stayed out in Switzerland. I was so impressed with the cool nightlife and culture compared to Geneva. If only I had a few more weekends left, I would be back there in a heartbeat.

The next morning I fare-welled my friends as they headed off to Munich for Oktoberfest. I decided to go to the zoo, having heard good things about it from a friend in Geneva. I left my bag at left luggage at the Hauptbahnhof, costing 6CHF for the day. Then I took the tram number 6 direction Zoo from HB. The 1 hour public transport ticket costed 4.20CHF. It was a 20 minute tram ride up the hill, then a 300m walk to the zoo entrance. It costed 19CHF for me to get in because I'm under 24 (they didn't ask for ID either).

The first of the three main draw cards for the zoo is the penguin parade. This is only done when it's below 10 degrees celcius, so it was too hot when I was there. The emperor penguins are obviously well socialized with humans, when I was looking through the glass at them they came right up and looked at me.

The second draw card for the zoo is the Kaeng Krachan Asian elephant park. Opened in June 2014 the 11 000 square meter park is home to 7 elephants, soon to be 8 with the arrival of a new bull expected very soon. The youngest member of the elephant herd is baby Omysha, born in the new park on June 17 2014. The impressive elephant park has both indoor and outdoor areas and swimming holes for the elephants. One of these swimming holes has a glass wall and viewing area, where the keepers give daily talks while the elephants are swimming. 

The third and most spectacular draw card at the zoo is the Masoala Rainforest. This exhibit is an entire rainforest ecosystem in a large greenhouse type thing. Extraordinary rainforest wildlife grows inside with native birds, frogs and lizards roaming freely. There are also several giant tortoises on display. The lemurs and other monkeys are not so fond of the visitors, if you crane your neck all the way up you will probably see them hiding in the roof rafters. The treetop walk offers a phenomenal panorama of the rainforest. Afterwards a drink or lunch in the restaurant is a must, with an entirely glass wall you feel like you are dining in the forest.

All up the zoo took me about 4 1/2 hours. I could have stayed longer and watched the baby elephant all day! It is definitely a must if you have a free day in Zurich. After my visit to the zoo I returned to the city to catch my train back to Geneva.

Next up is Oktoberfest! I leave on Wednesday for London and go with Contiki to Oktoberfest. I cannot wait!

Happy wandering x

London Round 2!

So I spent the long weekend in London with my family thanks to 35 CHF Easyjet flights we booked a few months ago. We stayed at the Staunton Hotel for 3 nights, then the Hampton by Hilton at Gatwick on Sunday night.

First thing we did in London was visit Shakespeare's Globe and do a tour. We did not book, we showed up around 10 and were able to get tickets for the 10:30 tour. It costs £13.50 for an adult ticket, £11.00 for a student (they didn't check my ID). Something to remember about the tours is that in summer there is usually an afternoon performance, or in Friday's case a dress rehearsal, so tours are not available then. Check out the website for further information on tour times and dates. As for showtimes, Shakespeare's Globe does not exclusively show Shakespeare's work. Tickets usually need to be purchased well in advance, the theatre holds 1500 people including 700 £5 tickets for the "groundlings" (standing around the stage). In Shakespeare's time they would pack up to 3000 people in for performances! The summer season runs from April 23rd (Shakespeare's birthday) until October.

After our Globe tour we had a drink at the Swan before walking across the Millennium bridge. Then we spent a few hours exploring the Tower of London. We had an amazing pub lunch in Covent Garden before heading back to our hotel to get ready for the theatre that evening.

We went to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the Gielgud Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. The production was formerly held at the Apollo Theatre until the roof collapsed in December 2013 during a performance. Graham Butler's portrayal of Christopher, a 15 year old boy with Aspergers syndrome, is truly exceptional. Tickets should be booked in advance to guarantee a place. We booked a month prior and all of the "cheap seats" were sold out.

We finished off the evening with dinner at Jamie's Italian. Yum!

Saturday began with shopping at Harrods and a sundae at their ice cream parlor. We then tubed down to Oxford Circus and hit up the shops before our 6:15 reservation at Jamie's Fifteen.

Sunday was Warner Brothers Studio Tour day! I have been a fan of Harry Potter since the first book came out in 1997. Was so so excited to do the Studio Tour at Leavesden. First and most important piece of advice is book your tickets well in advance! We booked 2 months prior to our visit. They do not sell tickets there and they usually sell out ahead of time. The standard adult ticket costs £31.00, we paid a few pounds extra for the digital guide and souvenir book which was well worth it.
Getting out to Leavesden is a bit of a mission, allow yourself around two hours depending on where in London you are staying. There are trains to Watford Junction from Euston Station. Because we were staying at Tottenham Court Road and part of the tube line was closed we had to change once or twice to get there. We took the slow train to Watford Junction that stops several times, it took just under an hour. There is a direct train that takes only 20 or so minutes, but there were service interruptions that morning. We took the direct train back to London though. Coincidentally (or not) both trains left from Platform 9. Once at Watford Junction the Harry Potter Bus picks you up and takes you out to Leavesden. It costs £2 return for the bus, so make sure you have change! The trip on the bus is around 15 minutes. They run every 20 minutes/30 minutes on Sundays. We left Euston Station at 9:14 and arrived at Warner Brothers Studios at 10:30, to give you an idea of how long it takes. Alternatively Golden Tours do a return trip from Victoria Station including entry fee.

The tour itself is phenomenal. It is a real must for die hard Harry Potter fans. Seeing the sets, props and costumes was really magical. We had Butterbeer which costs around £5 with a souvenir cup. Leavesden is one of only 3 places in the world that sell Butterbeer (the others being Japan and Florida, USA) so it's definitely worth trying! The gift shop had some really cool and authentic souvenirs but be aware that it is pricey. I considered getting a Marauders Map but couldn't justify it at £29.99. Under £10.00 souvenirs include cups and mugs, some books, magnets, keychains etc. There is way more selection than at the Kings Cross Station store. Wands and scarves are around £24 for those of you still waiting for your letter from Hogwarts ;) We spent a little over 4 hours in the tour, we took our time and saw everything, but I could have stayed longer! Definitely allow a full day for it if you don't want to be rushed.  

When we returned to London we had an early dinner on Carnaby Street. There were lots of cool boutiques and pubs around this area. After dinner we took the Gatwick Express out to Gatwick Airport where we had a hotel room booked for the night. We flew out at 6:30 am so staying steps away from the security gate meant we got a little bit of extra sleep.

I am off to Zurich tomorrow for 2 nights to catch up with a friend of mine who is over from the States. Next week I am Oktoberfest bound!

Happy wandering x