New York

I arrived in to New York on thursday evening. After spending the evening with a mouse in our room we set out for a busy day visiting the Gugenheim and walked through central park and then we went for a spot of shopping. On the second day we started off with a huge breakfast. Will had an entire packet of bacon on his plate. Following a nice healthy breakfast we went for dessert at the M&M' factory in Times Square. In the afternoon we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then up to Union Square. Yesterday we were rushing around all day. First we went to Ground Zero- It was a little eery but the plans for the memorial look really nice. We did some shopping around that area- buying a little old lady out of I Love NY T-shirts. We then had a bite to eat on 5th Avenue and strolled up to MOMA- the Museum of Modern Art. We have to say we both think this was the highlight so far. We walked down 5th Avenue to the Empire State Building and climbed 87 floors to the viewing point. The view was incredible but it was extremely busy. We topped off the evening beautifully with a meal at a restaurant called 'Josie's'. It was delectible...

Today and tomorrow our plans are to chill out a little- we will be going on the statue of Liberty ferry today for the obligatory NY tourist pictures. Hoping to have a really good end to my trip. 48 hours...unbelievable.

Halifax- Toronto

I finished off my wonderful week in Halifax and flew in to Toronto where my Great Uncle Reg and Auntie Joyce live. I spent the first couple of days relaxing and catching up. Went for a spot of retail therapy with my cousin Allison and enjoyed some nice sushi and thai food. On tuesday i spent the day in downtown Toronto. I was taken to the Autoshow by Allison and had a great morning wishfully thinking about owning all of the cars I will not be able to afford for a very, very long time. After a beautiful lunch at a restaurant called Le Marche- Oysters, Muscles, Prawns and then some lovely pork dish with potato rosti and salads we headed back home. I spent the evening experiencing my first hockey game- even if i was 10 year-olds on the team... it was good fun. Tomorrow I'm heading downtown to explore the art gallery and have a good go at the city.

I fly home a week from now can you believe it?

Look forward to seeing everybody!

xxxx

Banf & Halifax

For my final day in the west of Canada I went up to Banf. It was gorgeous. The views were amazing and the town itself was really sweet. Went out for a lovely lunch, visited the hot springs, drove up the side of a mountain to this spot which had superb views. I flew out that evening for Halifax. I spent the weekend experiencing the nightlife of Halifax. For the first evening we went on a Keiths Brewery tour and the following day we went out for a friends birthday. Yeserday we visited Peggy's Cove which is a little village on the coast with a lighthouse and a lovely Fish and Chip restaurant. It was pretty blustery and we were almost blown away but it was really good fun.

Freezing in Canada

The past few days have been brilliant. Had a couple of days in Red Deer spent with Florence. After a hectic night out on the night of my arrival we spent sunday relaxing, watching films and eating sandwiches. The following day I went in to her college to watch the next show they have coming up called Hayfever. The play is set in England in the 1920's so it was good fun to listen to all the british accents- and I have to say I was impressed by the efforts!

I have spent the last two days having a wonderful time up in Edmonton. Liesel, a friend I had met whilst snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef invited me up to her house. I arrived and we made a visit to the biggest mall in the world ' West Edmonton Mall'. The place has an ice rink, theme park, swimming pool, sea-lion show and  much more to offer. We rode a couple of roller coasters and had a lovely lunch and then went back out in to the country in South Edmonton where she lived. In the evening we went out for a horse-ride in the snow. It was a brilliant experience and the views around sunset were incredible. We went out for chinese and then relaxed at home drinking cocktails, watching films and had a bit of a games night. It was really brilliant!

I am off to Banff for the day tomorrow which should be brilliant. Looking forward to seeing the mountains. 

Less than three weeks till I'm home! Can't wait to see everyone. xxxxx

Portland to Canada

After the mammoth 12 hour sleep on the day of arrival I spent a couple of days exploring. The first day went down to a small shopping area and took a bit of a driving tour around the city. Spent the evening getting excited about  sport, pretty new for me. I was educated in the game of Basketball but unfortunately Portland lost- so morale was a bit low...

Wednesday was spent in Eugene at the University of Oregon. We visited Zach and Paul and had a look around the campus. Finished off the day with a Dutch Brothers Kahlua Kick Coffee...hmmmmm.

On Thursday I visited the Oregon Museum of Art and explored down town Portland. It was a really good day despite the rain. Apparently it rains 300 days out of the year in Portland- so I felt quite at home. 

I finished my trip off with an evening out to Portland's Comdey Sports. The idea was that two teams of stand up comedians compete to win the game. The audience do the voting and have quite alot of participation so it was fab. Got home just in time to catch the end of the New York Vs Portland game and yay our team won so I left Portland with quite a feeling of content!!

I am now in Canada in Red Deer which is about an hour from Calgary. Planning a great few days up here...

See you all in 24 days!

xxx

And North Again...

Righto...so I flew out of San Francisco on Sunday night after a fabulous evening with two aussie guys in my San Fran Hostel. I made it up to Portland and spent the first day sleeping thanks to Delta airlines punctuality...or not.

Today I spent the day exploring down town Portland- having a look in all the little boutiques. It is pretty cold up here. Snow is falling and it's making me feel really christmassy. Mother...I would love turkey, stuffing and lovely red cabbage when i get back home. Oh and Bread sauce.

Four weeks exactly til i hop on my plane!

xxxx

Travelling North

So- I made it out of Los Angeles thank goodness. No wonder everyone is taking 'anxiety pills' and checking in to rehab, the city was close to swallowing my soul. Despite this I had a wonderful week at Jigsaw. Everyone was really friendly and I learnt alot being part of the office.

Following a hard weeks work I left LAX on Friday night destined for San Francisco. I was flying Delta on the smallest plane known to man. The flight was extremely rough and I swear there were afew small moments of nose-diving and some serious rocking. Fortunately I made it (3 hours later than scheduled) and had a wonderful day in San Francisco. I walked down to Union Square and then on to the Museum of Modern Art, which was incredible. I walked up through China Town and down to Fishermans Warf. From there I took a boat trip around Alkatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Tomorrow evening, after another day exploring the city I fly up to Portland to see a friend for afew days. It should be really good, though I'm expecting the weather to be a little colder up there.

I hope everyone at home is doing well. Cannot believe it is only just over 4 weeks until I get home, scary, scray thoughts.

xxx

Los Angeles & The OC

Just completed m firstrst day of real work in afew months... it appears i no longer possess any stamina as I am completely shatttered. I am working at the Jigsaw Head Office in Beverly Hills. The area is really pretty glam and the shop and office is beautiful. Experienced my first enjoyable chinese takeaway- it isn't the MSG rubbish that we seem to get in England- It is takeaway that actually tasted like real food (regardless of the 1000's f calories).

I had one of the best weekends of my Travels this weekend. Was picked up by a friend and driven around Orange County which is kind of Newport, Laguna beach area. The place was stunning and i watched a beautiful sunset which funnily enough was enhanced by the smog of LA. I ate fast food and slept in a real bed- Lovely...

So I will be working for the remainder of this week and then heading up to San Francisco for some more adventures...

Missing everyone back home!

J xxx

Queenstown- Dunedin- Lake Tekapo- LA

Hey Hey

So an update on everything that has been going on over the last few days. I left Queenstown after going on a nice sailing trip round the Marlborough Sounds and Luging and watching my friends bungee. The town had a seriously damaging effect on my bank account but was really really good fun. After Queenstown i went on down to Dunnedin, where i had planned to visit the Cadbury factory- but it was closed! Disaster... Instead I visited the art gallery there and just strolled around a little.

After Dunnedin I left for Lake Tekapo- the area was beautiful and i could have spent afew days just chilling out by the lake but had to make my way up to Christchurch to catch my flight. Spent a couple of days in Christchurch with a friend and went to the botanical gardens and to the art gallery. The food in Christchurch was really good. Went out for afew lovely meals and just generally chilled out.

I am currently sat in an internet cafe in Hollywood. LA has a really dtrange feeling about it. It is true what they say about everything being big over here. I have only spent a day here so haven't properly explored yet but will hopefully be getting a guided tour from a friend over the weekend.

Hope everyone at home is good and you;re all enjoying the new year.

See You!!

xxxxx

Catch Up

Sorry I haven't been keeping up to date!

So Christmas was wonderful. I spent the day with my Aunty and Uncle and we went out for lunch- I had my first experience of Oysters and all of the seafood was phenomenol. On boxing day and the following day we did afew things arounf Taupo. Took a trip on an old steam boat- visited a prawn farm and attempted some fishing but the darn things are too clever! We then went to a thermal area with lots to see- I will have to put some photos up to do it justice!

I left Taupo on the 28th for Wellington and spent afew days in the city exploring. I visited a museum just outside of central wellington where they had a photography exhibition on and also a Philip Treacy and Isabella Blow hat exhibition which was really good. I partied in the city on New Years Eve and had a really good time and spent new years day sleeping!

I caught the ferry across to the south island on the 2nd of January. The scenery on the boat was incredible and there was also this brilliant band playing in the bar on the ferry so that was a bonus. The feryy run this scheme where if a band plays in the bar on the way across they get their ferry crossing for free! I think it's a good idea...

When I reached Picton we drove straight down through to Nelson. Nelson was nice. I just spent a day relaxing as the hostel I was staying at had a nice swimming pool. I moved on from Nelson down to a place called Greymouth. It is sort of reknown for being abit dull, and it is a well known fact that the only thing worth doing in greymouth is the Monteiths Brewery Tour. So me and afew others from the magic bus joined the tour and it was really good fun. I'm not sure if they have Monteiths in England but if they do I can really recommend it- they do alot of limited editions like Summer Ale and a kind of Lemony beer. It's really nice.

After Greymouth we moved on to Franz Joseph which is where the Glacier is. It was a really good stop off. I went on the half day hike up the glacier which was really worth doing. You were given spikes and a big jacket and everything and you actually climbed up on the glacier itslef- it was brilliant. We went out for some drinks in Franz Jospeh after a hard days hike and met some Kiwi guys that were driving down to Wanaka so we jumped in the car for a little roadtrip down to Wanaka. On the way we stopped at this shoreline and saw Hector Dolphins- which are apparently really rare. They have black rounded fins and don't jump out of the water. So I tried to jump in to swim with them but I don't think they were too keen!

We spent the day in Wanaka- there is a a really nice lake there and some beautiful mountain scenery. In the afternoon I caught the bus down to Queenstown and met up with some friends from the magic bus that had already made it down. And that's where I am right now. I'm hoping to get out to Marlborough Sounds in the next few days so that should be a really gorgeous trip.

I hope everyone is well at home! I have been gone for 7 and a half weeks now so i have had over half my time! Its strange. It has gone so quickly.

See you all soon and I hope that your Christmas's and New Years were as good as mine!

Jos xx