hi all,
now back in thailand arfter an amazing week in lao. it was fantastic! we stayed in luang probang and did small day trips out to waterfalls and kiaking. i got to ride an eliphant which was way cool. it was heeps of fun.
the people in lao are realy nice and the city as so clean! quite rare for a south east asian town.
i talked to little monks (or as dad likes to say monklets) over the wall of there tempel. they are realy just boys still , boys in safron.
a part from that did alot of wanderring around the night market and probably exeded my buget.
ran in to Judy (caeydan's mother from my high school) by chance and spent a day with her and her friend Jenny at the waterfalls.

we got a plain to chiang mai today and i am now looking at doing a three day treak in the hills.
love acushla

just a quik note to say...

... That we are well and in Cambodia.
we were in phnon phen for a coupple of days. visiting the killing filds and s21 prison. i was horified to lern about the genocide that hapend only 15 years befor i was born. another thing that made it so bad was that prior to coming to cambodia i had never hered of the monstrosity. i could tell you about the battel of hastings and the roman empire but arsk me what was hapening on my side of the world only three decades ago and i have no idear. it is shoking.

today we went to the royal palie and had a look around it was cool to know that it was only built lesss then 100 years ago. when england was fighting the germans , cambodia was building a beautiful exotic pales.
we then got a six hour bus to siem reep, from where we will be exploring the tempels of Ankor wat for the next coupple of days.

yesterday we went to a fantastic resteront for lunch. to was called Friends and is a traning resterant set up by a organisation to help street kids in phnom phen. all the starf are either teachers or students and the student are street kids. it is a great idear. the meals are a little pricy but all the profets go to the organisation to help all there progects around cambodia. it is great!
got to go and get some sleep!!!
love Acushla

Greatings from bangkok!

"hi" says a very jet laged Acushla as she sits operset her perents onm teh computer. arfter two plain flights. a 6 houre london to ciro then a 8 houre ciro bankok cush is quit tired. but so exited to be seeing her perents agen.!
and is ready for an adventure in south east asia.
she has to go as the time is running out.
she send her love to all the family and frends across the world.

One last word...

... before I head off to Thailand. Just to let you know that I will be back in Melbourne on the 16th of December. I am in Burnham at the moment with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunty Stella. It is lovely to see them again. Yesterday we went and had a walk in Burnham Beeches which was great. The autumn colours are so beautiful.
I fly out of England on Sunday!!! Which is very exciting and will be having a four week adventure with mum and dad in Thailand, Lao and Cambodia . I am very excited!!

Last week I went to the Tower of London and walked around London on one of its rare beautiful sunny NOT rainy days. It was lovely. I even got to have my own Waterloo Sunset as I walked up the Thames from the Tower of London.
I went to Hamleys which was all decked out for Christmas and walked along Regent Street (I think that's the right street) between Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Square. (I rolled a four you see! hehe). The Christmas lights were up and it looked lovely.
I just wanted to tell you I am well and that I love you all.
Acushla
ps sorry for the really bad jokes in there.

Back on the Isle of Wight

Well I'm back!!
It is great to see everyone again. Stirling has lost both his front teeth (so he looks a little like a vampire)and Elisabeth has moved schools and is a lovely little lady.
Karen as always is wonderful and today when we went to the gallery we noticed that one of her works that was in the exhibition had sold!! Which is very exiting. Neil is working away fixing windows and making a fantastic climbing structure for the school playground.
It is nice to be back and I hate to be going to the other side of the world soon, for I shall miss them very much.

On Monday I flew from Holland where I had the most delightful weekend visiting my lovely family in Amsterdam. Going ice skating and going to markets , eating ice cream when it is 8 degrees , eating way too much food and kissing people three times on the cheeks etc... And so to England again where I ended up in Stratford - upon - Avon where I saw two fantastic plays. "Hamlet" (which was so brilliant it made me cry) and "Loves Labors Lost" (which was very funny, some of it might have gone over my head, but is was done very beautifully). I also got to see David Tennant and spoke to him after the show. I use the term 'spoke' in the loosest sense as it's not like we had a conversation but i did get to say thank you and how much I enjoyed the two shows and how he was an awesome Hamlet, and he signed my program for me. I did get to actually talk to some of the other cast which was great!
I can't tell you how great Hamlet was.... so moving.... just brilliant all of it.... LOVED IT!!!!!

Also got to go to Oxford with the lovely Rose and had dinner with her family it was great!! We had a lovely night, and her father set up fireworks for us to 'ahhh' and 'ohhh' at, it was great.
It was really nice to meet her brothers and their wives and partners as well as getting to see Richard her father for the first time.I also met JoJo her father's mother, and his brother (whose birthday it was) Stephen.

No time left byeeee!! xoxoxo

Amsterdam

In Holland having a fab time. I have put some photos on Facebook so have a look. If you don't have a Facebook account get your daughter,sister or grandad to show you. My Opa has a Facebook account why dont you?
:)
all the best
lots of love
Acushla
I hope to write more soon.
xoxoxo

David, Venice and Madonna

Hi all,
I'm now in Florence in Tuscany and it is beautiful! Today some girls and I all got up late and took the bus to San Germano a medieval town perched on top of a hill. It has all these towers that look like sky scrapers so the place from afar looks a bit like Manhattan.
It was a nice little town to walk around and we ate great gelati. But the best bit was when we went on a walk through the country side. Tuscany is just so beautiful! And as it is Autumn all the leaves are changing colour and it is just lovely. Such a great day just soaking in beauty.

I went to the Ufizzi Gallery the other day which is the top museum for Renaissance art. There are so many great works of art there, my favourite being 'Spring' by Botticelli ,it is so beautiful and the 'Birth of Venus' was inspiring too. I spent the whole morning there then just wandered around, painting the Ponte Vecchio, a lovely old bridge that crosses the main river. We went out to San Givno today because it is Monday and the museums are not open. Tomorrow I am going to get up early and join the line to see Michelangelo's 'David'.

Last week I was in Sorrento which was really beautiful. From there I went to Pompeii and Herculaneum which was just fantastic. I was just awe struck at how intact it was. It was amazing to just walk around a ancient Roman town. Just so so amazing.
I'm now off to hang out in the Cinque Terra for a few days on Thursday. Then off to Holland and England.
Love you lots
Acushla

N.A.B.R. (Not Another Bloody Ruin)

This is what my family used to say when we were driving around Central Australia and we would stop every ten minutes to get out of the car and walk around a deserted village. No offence to Australia but Roman ruins are the best. They are great: I love to walk around and try to imagine how life was like over 2,000 years ago! I went to the Colosseum , Palatine Hill (where the emperors lived and Rome was founded)and the Forums. I also went to a church underneath which is a 4th Century Basilica and then underneath THAT there is a Roman house with a temple inside it. The Roman temple is nearly 12 meters below street level, so 2,000 years ago that was the level of the Roman street. Really cool.
The Colosseum was good but the Forum topped my day. So great to walk around and imagine things the way they were. I saw the Roman city, Jerash, in Jordan & it is far more intact, but this was THE Roman Forum where Julius Caesar and Pliny the Elder walked. Really cool and really nerdy! :)
I should go and let someone else use the computer.
Love you all
Acushla

p.s.
10th of October
I spent today climbing to the top of St Peters Basilica, ringing home, and hanging out in parks. It was great!! I also threw a coin into the Trivoli Fountain so I will be coming back to Rome someday. Tomorrow I am off to Ostia (it used to be a Roman sea port... very excited!!! )
I love you all lots and can't wait to see you in December!!!!!!
xoxoxo

When in Rome...

Hi all, so sorry that it has been so long since I have written,(not for a WHOLE week my Opa tells me). I have been so busy and had next to no time on the internet over the last couple of weeks.
But I am well and happy and in Rome of all places! Which is great.
It is lovely here and I am having a ball running around ruins and visiting the Pope. Yes that's right Acushla, and a couple of hundred other people, actually saw the Pope in St Peter's Square and yes he is indeed a rock star. He was meeting the pilgrims and he would say something along the lines of 'to the pilgrims of France' and every one from France would go wild cheering and stuff. Way cool!
The Vatican was the most amazing thing ever. Full stop. The art in there is fabulous and the Sistine Chapel awesome, just hands down the greatest painting and from an artist that wasn't even a painter and who finished it in record time. Stunning!!!!
The same goes for the Basilica of St Peter, just an amazing building.
But my favourite building in Rome is the Pantheon, it is just so perfect. The dimensions make it so visually pleasing as a whole. Beautiful. So many things to write about but sadly not a lot of time, as I am hogging the computer and there are others who want a turn. So I will have to say good bye...and thanks for all the fish.... - Rob at least will get it.
I love you all
I hope you are well and looking after one another.
All the best,
Acushla

Ein prosit!!!

What a fabulous afternoon I had at Oktoberfest yesterday in Munich. We got to a Beer Hall and had no idea what we we were meant to do. So I asked one of the tables if we could sit with them, they said that would be alright, but, that they had friends coming and we might have to move.
So we sat down and ordered liters of beer and pork knuckles (massive chunks of meat on a bone). Most of the people on the table were so lovely and friendly, and when more of their friends arrived and the family with the child left, we had the best time. Singing songs, cheer'sing every ten seconds. The fun thing was that everyone was standing on the benches and tables by the end of the night. Not anyone on a seat.
g2g (got to go) sorry all my love cush

Bern

Hi I am now in Bern and having a great time doing not much at all. Just going on the internet talking to some people over Skype; meeting lots of locals who have all been really lovely; reading a fantastic book* that Rob gave me for my birthday. There are two quotes that I just love. This is one of them:

"That's what I like about traveling - you can sit down, maybe talk to someone interesting, see somthing beautuiful, read a good book, and that's enough to qualify as a good day. You do that at home and everyone thinks you're a bum."

That's how my day was, just meeting heaps of people; having conversations; walking; going out to the Einstein's house; being a really big nerd and trying to explain to someone the principles of general relativity. Which reminds me of the time Rob and I over breakfast in Paris, were trying to figure out Physics formulas from first principles. Yes we were the biggest geeks in Paris at that time. :) :) hahahaha

There is another quote about expectations and how when traveling it is best to expect nothing from anything or anyone.... "Then whatever happens is a surprise. The most insignificant thing can become an endless subject of interest."
Ok I have 69 seconds left.
I want to say that I love you all and miss you lots.
I'm looking forward to the day when we meet again.
all my love
Acushla

*"Before Sunrise and Before Sunset: Two Screenplays" by Richard Linklater

The night they invented champagne.....

Hi all, thank you once again to those who sent cards, emails, comments and Facebook messages to me on my birthday yesterday, it was so fantastic!!

My day yesterday was overall really great but the first half of the day definitely was sent to test me. It was as if the world was saying 'So you want to be 19.. hey well take that... and that!'
I spent the first half of the day trying not to cry but failing miserably. I got your lovely letters and emails and they were so beautiful and I was thinking about and missing you all..... but those tears were ok.
I had decided to go to Versailles for my birthday - it is a great chateau outside Paris where Marie Antoinette and other French royalty have lived over the centuries. It was huge!! Just soooooooooo big...the grounds went on for miles. The lake in the middle of the gardens was 7km all the way around.
But anyway I had decided to go and because I had to be back in Paris to go to the Moulin Rouge that night I had to leave around 10am so that we could spend the whole day and have a picnic. 'We' is Robert and I. We've been having a wonderful time together in Paris and have been traveling together for the last five weeks. So Rob was going to meet me at my hostel just before ten (because he was staying in a hostel down the road about half an hours walk away.) So 9:45 came round with no sign of Rob... 10am and still no sign.... it was 10:30 when I decided that I just had to go otherwise I would never make it.
So leaving Rob a message I got on the Metro and off I went to Versailles. I was a little upset about leaving Rob and that my birthday not going 'to plan' and then I started reading letters from Dad and Oma (thank you all very much by the way , they were beautiful , and thank you for the photos!!) and that set me off crying again so there I was on the Metro in Paris with tears in my eyes. I got to the next station where i had to change trains when I got a call from my Mum, Dad and sister (and Erin Sasha's friend) to wish me a happy birthday, which was lovely... so we had a good chat.
I got to Versailles and there was the biggest queue that I have ever seen in my life! Huge! Nearly as big as the ones I have seen for the Eifel tower! So I had to stand in the line for one hour. I read more letters from family.
So I waited , took one step forward , waited and waited.... and guess what?!?
I got to the end of the line and access to the gardens was free!!!!
Which is all I really wanted to do!!!!!!!!!!!
So I had to go into the house now just so I could feel that I hadn't wasted my time in that huge line! But sadly I didn't enjoy myself very much. I would have
times when I was ok and looking around going oh that's the bed where
Marie Antoinette slept, and that's the portrait of Napoleon's coronation by
Jacques Louis David, and at those times it was great but it was always unfortunately shadowed by a feeling of being upset which I just couldn't shake. I could try and describe it to you but it would be too complicated a feeling. There were other times when I would just be looking through tears and being completely unimpressed and feeling even more miserable because I felt I should be enjoying what I was seeing. When Hannah rang the signal was really bad and then I got told off for
talking on my phone!!!!
However there was a really nice guard whose job is to walk around Versailles making sure that everything is going ok. He was telling me about the best things to see and how to rent a bike to ride around the park on. You are allowed to ride around the park but not around the gardens.

Just a note... I would have been in tears quite a lot during the day but in all my time only one person ever asked me if I was alright. She was a French lady but she couldn't speak any English and yet it was nice of her to ask. Another point...I felt quite flattered because lots of people I have met presume I'm French and start chatting away to me quite nicely then at some stage I have to point out to them that I don't understand anything they're saying :)

When I finally got out into the gardens it was better. Just to walk and to try
to get way from the crowds was great. I like being out in nature. I hired a
bike and rode around the big lake which made me feel much better. I found
a big field that no one went into and spun around in it until I fell
over. Then picked myself up and got on with it. I took pictures of flowers and walked around the amazing gardens.


On my little bike riding adventure I managed to fall off my bike; get the chain to fall off - and then got filthy getting it back on; then got stuck in a boggy bit when I decided to go off road! :)
I was also feeling rebellious so I picked a flower and put it on my lapel;
went through into a garden that I wasn't meant to go into; and then sat on
the grass and had lunch where you're not allowed to sit.
I also got myself a little lost and had to run to get the train back. It was pure fluke that I bumped into Rob who had followed me out to Versailles and was
going back to Paris as well. We got the train just in time.
(I'll try to get Rob to write his part of this epic and post it up.)

So anyway, we got the train to the Moulin Rouge where I had to get changed out of my grimy clothes(remember I had fallen off the bike, changed a greasy bike chain and ridden through a marsh). After reappearing from a disgusting toilet looking half-way decent again, we rushed off to the Moulin Rouge with me putting on makeup while walking and with the rain now pissing down. HAHAHAH.... so we get to the queue (there was no dodging queues by mentioning names for us...I did mention the 'name'.. but it just didn't do anything magical. :) ). I said aurevoir to Rob and then entered the Moulin Rouge.
(Rob spent the next four hours hanging about Montmartre...once again I might get him to fill you in.)


The whole Moulin Rouge experince was great!! Being ushered to you table ("ush, ush")and having 'proper food' for a change. The show was great and I loved the dinner. I had foie gras (duck's liver pate I think) and venison. (By the way I am obviously not a vegetarian any more - sorry erik :)- and haven't been for a while).
I sat opposite this really interesting woman from Russia who now lives in Boston and we talked through dinner. It was so lovely - the live jazz music and couples dancing the night away. Brilliant!

At nine o'clock the show started (dinner started at 7ish). It was great. Absolutely hilarious. I had to stop myself from bursting out laughing! It was the sight of the male dancers in their sparkling clothes taking it all so seriously that I thought was hysterical!!

Some of the show was completely over the top - like when the men were wearing totally pink costumes and dancing around. At one point they burst into singing "I will survive" !!!! Shocking. Hahaha.... just remembering makes me laugh. It was totally hilarious and it was totally great at the same time - the costumes, the music, the dancing, everything. At the end of each dance sequence they had other performers like acrobats (who were just amazing) as well as a juggler and a ventriloquist (which I have never seen before and which was great!).
I could tell you so much more but my bus leaves in ten minutes so I'll have to be quick!!


After the show Rob met me and we went back to the hostel. On the way Rob got me
a birthday cake and we got a lighter from some guy and made it into a
'candle' so that I could blow out a birthday candle. We sat by the canal and talked
until we were nearly freezing and then moved inside to defrost. We had a
great night talking. He gave me a film script for my birthday which is all about two people that meet randomly whilst traveling. He got it from a lovely book shop which is now officially my favourite book shop in the world. I found it the last time I was here and just fell in love with it.

So as you can see my day was full of all sorts of emotions and adventures. It doesn't feel too bad now looking back on it but at the time parts of it were awful.... but not really that many.
I have to send a big thank you to my Oma and Opa who funded my trip to Versailles and a round of applause to my Aunty, Uncle and cousins. Thank you so much... I had a ball.... such a great night out in Paris!!!! I can't thank you enough.

I have to go my bus leaves in five minutes!!!!
Gros bisue -big kisses
all my love
Acushlaa xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox<

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Acushla would like to thank every one who sent her Happy Birthday emails this morning. They where lovely!
As for the letters she is yet to read them but will do so soon!!!
Off to Versailles now and then on to the Moulin Rouge
Love you alll heaps!!!!!
Grose bisue (big kisses) Acushla xoxoxoxoxo

Bon anniversaire

Hi all
for my birthday I will be going to Versailles which is a chateau outside of Paris. So in the morning I will be catching the train and then spending the day in the chateau and the great gardens there. So call me or give me a text on my mobile +372 59603739 (I won't answer if I'm in the chateau). I will probably be up tomorrow night (my 22nd of September) until late - you could try and give me a call then too if you want but I won't have read your letters yet!
I am very excited about my birthday. My Aunty, Uncle and Cousins have bought me a dinner and show at the Moulin Rouge for the night of my birthday, and my Oma and Opa are sending me to Versailles for the day and then sending me out to dinner the following night. And my parents are letting me jump off a cliff, that's right I'm going paragliding in Switzerland!!! Cool!
It will be an awesome birthday!!

Still having fun in Paris. Today Rob and I wandered around an old graveyard (it's not as odd as it sounds). It was really beautiful especially with all the falling leaves. We saw the grave of Oscar Wilde, which has been completely graffitied by his admirers.
We also took two hours to make dinner, drink wine and hang out in a hostel talking to lots of people until 1 o'clock in the morning which was fun.
I have to go now to try and get at least six hours sleep so that I can talk to Hannah tomorrow.
lots of love acushla

I love Paris in the Fall

Now back in Paris! And it's cold! But still beautiful and sunny!
This city is so lovely but now I have to get off the computer get my laundry and go out and seee this city that I like instead of looking at the inside of a cafe.
I love you all lots and think about you often. I wish you could all be with me for my birthday!!!! Only two more sleeps!!!!!!!!!!!!
love you all lots Acushla

San Sebastian

Rob and I are now hanging out in San Sebastian for a few days just to rest. Sitting on the beach when it's not pissing down with rain and hanging out in our hostel making crazy meals or window shopping when it is not sunny. We are having a good time. Yesterday afternoon the sun was out so we took our chance and went swimming! It was great. We swum out to this platform where they had a slide that you could slide down right in the middle of this big bay.
Yesterday morning there was a big row boat race in the bay, there were so many people around the town pier and the bay itself. The red team won (because red goes faster of course!) and their fans were so excited!!
Just after the race Rob and I were walking around and noticed that riot police were setting up. An hour later the protest started. We were not exactly sure what it was about - I think it is something to do with the people around this region and how they don't want to be a part of Spain. Anyway it was pretty crazy. Riot police shooting rubber bullets at head level and people getting taken away by the ambulance. Rob and I just spent an hour or so in a hostel and kept our heads down until the worst was over then we went and sat on the beach.
Afterwards it was quite strange.... everyone seemed so used to it that it didn't bother them.... they just kept on doing what they were doing...never mind the police! :)
We have had lots of fun here.... it is a nice place and it looks like the sun might shine today so off we go to enjoy it.
Love to you all,
Acushla.

Madrid

Well I arrived in Madrid last night and caught up with Robert again which was great. We then went out to dinner in this really nice restaurant (I didn´t think we would get in with our ´travellers style´ - first time I have worn pants in like three weeks the weather has been so great.) So we did get in and had a really nice dinner with some other people I had met in Barcelona.... and the best thing was it looked fancy it tasted fancy but it didn´t cost fancy! How good is that?
After dinner Rob and I walked back to our part of town, the real Madrid where all the students live and there's at least two bars on every corner. As we were walking there was a massive thunder storm with not only sheet lightning but bolts of lightning flashing through the sky. We stopped to watch the storm go over head (I thought is was exciting) but then once the lightning had gone past on came the rain and we got very wet as we ran back to our hostel.
We spent the rest of the night in a little bar drinking beer and catching up on our travel stories. It was a great night.
Off to explore Madrid!!!
love you all
cush

Farewell to Valencia

Acushla is missing her extended family in Valencia. They are such lovely people and we have had such a great time together. Yesterday we went to Lucia´s parents' farm in the countryside up in the mountains. It was so lovely! Beautiful countryside and a lovely little town. The town has soo much history, the Muslims were there and before them the Romans. We went out to a Roman aqueduct and walked along it!
g2g will write more some other time!
Love Acushla.
p.s. it was so lovely to be part of a Spainish family for a weekend. Especially in the countryside. Their grandfather has a farm and the day before we came he had just gathered all the almonds so when we were at home we were sitting around talking and shelling almonds, it was nice. The food is so lovely here, and there is so much of it. Their grandma was so happy to be cooking for a guest and kept giving me food. They were both so lovely!
So goodbye Valencia! I will see you again!!

Valencia

I am now in Valencia and staying with my ¨cousin¨ Laura and her mother Lucia. They are so lovely , and it is great to see Laura again. Valencia is so laid back and quiet a lovely place to chillout.
Take today for instance... we got up late had breakfast and then went to the beach for a few hours. Pablo, Angel´s son is with us for the weekend and is an energetic nine year old. We had lots of fun at the beach. We had lots of swimming races (half of which I lost!) and played beach tennis in the water.
We then came back at 2pm for lunch (they eat at different times here - lunch 2 to 3 pm and dinner anywhere between 8:30 and 10:30 pm) then lazed around-or to use the correct term had a siesta, for a few hours.
We then took a drive out into the foothills of the mountains to a Monastery. Unfortunately it wasn't open to the public today, but we did look through the fence. It is a very old monastery where the monks never leave the grounds in their whole lives.
We also went and had a look at the ground of a day spa and nearly gate crashed a wedding!! It was so funny.
I love the way people spend lots of time outside it is so great. Most meals are eaten outside as long as the weather is good and in the late afternoon when it is cooler everyone is out at the park or in an outside cafe.

I hope every father out there has a fantastic Father's Day!!!!
lots of love to you all
Acushla

Bathalona

I took a train out of Barcelona today and went to the Dali museum - it was so great!!!!!!!!!! We spent 5 hours, that's right FIVE hours wandering around the museum - it was fantastic. Really weird though and a little disturbing.
Yesterday we just wandered around and found this fantastic market full of wonderful fruit (Sasha they had watermelon everywhere and so many fruit smoothies!!) yummmmm!
I am so paranoid about my bag getting stolen as EVERY ONE who knows I'm in Barcelona seems to want to tell me how dangerous it is and how everyone gets things nicked. Its ok nothing has been stolen and I'm very careful..... but I really don't need more people trying to freak me out...... thank you for your concern.....

I just realised that it's Spring for you at home in Australia so I hope that you are all enjoying your warm Spring day!!! I can't wait to see you all.... it is very exciting.
Ok I have to go and sleep now,
all the best, cush.

Hola from Barcelona

Hi all I am well and presently in Spain!! I spent the last two days in lovely Avignon in France which was great...... just hanging out, exploring castles and dancing on bridges......"Sur le pont d'Avignon".......

I miss and love you all.
love Acushla

Monaco, Monte Carlo and Antibes

Today I went to Antibes by bus. I got off in a completely different town by accident but just waited for the next bus and got on that. The buses here are so good. We went to Monaco the other day and it only cost us 1 Euro by bus. We got off at what we thought was Monaco but was in fact Monte Carlo and we couldn't remember where Monte Carlo was. I thought that it was part of Monaco but we weren't sure. (Just to let you know, if you were wondering, it is part of Monaco so we were in the right country after all!!). We walked around town then went to the Casino but couldn't get in. We took a look at the really expensive cars and then took a walk along the marina to check out all the really expensive boats. From there we hiked up to the castle on top of the hill and ate brie and crackers whilst looking at the Mediterranean Sea. It was all very nice. We managed to walk around all of Monaco in an afternoon and climbed soooooooo many stairs.
Back in Nice we walked around the old town and found a really cool spot where all the locals were meeting. We sat down and joined them for a cheap dinner (the least amount of money I have actually spent eating out in Europe - only 5 euros for two different dishes). Rob had an ice cream and I found some sweets and then we went off and sat on the beach for ages.

So back to Antibes. I wandered into the old town trying to steer myself towards the Picasso Museum and by chance stumbled across a fantastic market. I picked up some food, doing a bit of food testing whilst I was there, and then continued on my way. The old town of Antibes was gorgeous - lovely old buildings with small curving alleyways opening into beautiful courtyards. I found the Picasso Museum and spent an hour or so wandering and wondering through. It was great. Picasso did an enormous amount of work and had so many different phases in his life with the result that the work is totally unlike each other. It was really interesting. Richard would have loved it.
I then walked by the sea down to the beach, actual sand!!!!! Brilliant! So I went swimming and sat for most of the afternoon on the beach reading a book. At 4 o-clock it was time to jump back on the bus to meet up with Robert in Nice, make some dinner and end off a brilliant day.
I hope that you are all having brilliant days like I am.
All the best, I love you lots, Acushla.

NIce

Hi all,
I'm now in Nice, it is sooo warm here and the beaches are rocky not sandy.... it is weird.
I met up with Robert after a terrible overnight train ride to Lauterbrunen in Switzerland. Actually the train ride was ok it was just the lack of sleep caused by changing trains four times and you know how I get when I'm over-tired.
The next day I went hiking in the Swiss Alps while Rob was in anuther town. It was the best view and scenery I have seen during all of my trip - snow covered Alps, lush green fields..... amazing!!! Check out the Flickr account - I have put some photos up.
But hiking I got sooo burnt and now can't go out in the sun. Ok it's not that bad but it wasn't fun.
Hiking in the Alps was soooooo amazing! So so beautiful. I can't wait to go back. As you walk along you can hear cow bells and then when you turn a corner you find a couple of cows just hanging out munching on grass and making music with their cow bells. By the end of the day of walking I was very tired . I had managed to walk from 10am until 6pm mostly non stop. Because Rob was in another town that was up on the ridge and I was in the valley I walked to meet him and then we had to walk all the way down the valley with his big pack. It is such a strange place for people to live and how on earth did they get up there before they had cable cars??? Well I guess the same way we walked down... but what on earth would make you want to build your house all the way up on the side of a cliff??

Now I'm back in France. It is nice in Nice but the weather means that we have to take everything easy have long lunches in the shade and really not do a whole lot because it is so hot. Nice is ok but we hope to head out of the city tomorrow and maybe go to Antibes or Cannes for a day. We also want to go to Monaco for an afternoon just for a laugh. It is actually quite ridiculous how the wealthy live - in order to apply for a building grant in Monaco they have to pay a couple of grand and that's just a processing fee. They each have two boats because their big ones can't fit into the harbor so they have to be moored out in the sea while another 'smaller' boat brings them to shore. How silly.

The water here is so blue and clear. It was such fun to swim in the Mediterranean Sea!! The water is warm and lovely.

Well I had better go and make some really late dinner.
I love you all.
Love Acushla

Munchen

Well I'm back in Germany, this time in Munich. The weather is great so all you do in the afternoon is hang out in the beer gardens and drink beer by the litre until sunset.
I went to Dachau on Sunday.......words can't describe such an evil place.
But Munich is so full of history. The rise of the Nazi party, Hitler's treason, the bombing of World War II. I think it is amazing that so much of Munich was destroyed and yet they decided to rebuild it exactly the same as it was before the Second World War.
I have met lots of lovely people here and in Salzburg. Two American guys traveling with their mother and these three guys from England , Canada and Northern Ireland..... sounds like the beginning of a joke..... We are now going to spend the day lounging around in the sun and maybe go swimming!
Ok I love you all lots.
Acushla

Salzburg the land of tall mountains, a little man and a funny musical.

Yes thats right folks I'm in Salzburg! On my first day here I went on a tour up into the amazing Alps to visit an ice cave. The walk up the mountain was great. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the view was spectacular! Absolutely gorgeous!!
We got a cable car halfway up the mountain then had to walk the rest of the way. Up and up we climbed past the Alpine region up until there were no trees growing only little shrubs eventually we reached the cave. We then had to get into warm weather gear which was really hard because we had just been walking in 30 degree heat and were so warm. But on went one, two, three jumpers and a beany and I'm very glad I did because when they opened the door to the cave out rushed a cold gust of wind. It nearly knocked us over. The ice caves were amazing full of stalactites and stalagmites that had met in the middle and formed these ice statues. I got to slide on the ice and nearly fell flat on my bum. :) I also got to go through a hand carved ice tunnel - there was a 20 meter wall of ice all around me!
It was a brilliant afternoon!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday it poured with rain..... the most miserable day! Cold, wet and windy. I went on a "Sound of Music" tour which was the biggest waste of time and money ever! So boring and you didn't really see anything exciting at all. We went out into the countryside but it was so foggy that you couldn't see any thing. 

Got to go,

love cush.

Vienna.... Take Two

The past three days I have wandered around by myself. On Monday I went to the 'Belvedere', a very rich persons house which is now a museum that exhibits some of Gustav Klimt's work. I really loved seeing his work and then wandering through the rest of the gallery - I haven't been to a museum in over a week!!!! How outrageous!  :)
I also went in to a church which had an elevator that took you up to a platform where you could have a really close look at the painting on the roof. I then walked outside and there was a man in a funny costume selling tickets to a Mozart concert so I bought myself one! It was sooo great! It was just amazing and I was very lucky because all the theaters are closed over the summer. But this performance was on. It was selected pieces of his work well most of the famous stuff so it was brilliant. The conductor got the audience to clap along to one of the tunes but we were so helpless (when I say "WE" I mean everyone else of course) that he pretended to be upset.... it was really funny. All the musicians were dressed in the clothes of Mozart's time and the concert hall itself was amazing. So lavishly decorated!
Tuesday:
I went to the Imperial Palace and wandered around then went to Empress Sisi's museum which was fantastic!!! She was such an interesting person. (I'll have to type quickly as I have only two minutes left!) 

Last night I toddled off to an old theater and saw "The Third Man" (that's right Jim.... you've got to love that good old zither). It was fantastic! I have never seen it before but I really enjoyed it. So today I just had to go to Prater Park and have a ride on the big ferris wheel it was great!

I spent the rest of my day in the Schonbrunn Palace and then at the zoo there in the grounds (I had forgotten how much I hate zoos.... the poor animals !) I also got to eat some chocolate cake (yes Dad the famous Viennese chocolate cake called Sachertorte).
I also spent some time drawing - it is really funny because when I draw all these people come up to have a 'look-see" at what I'm doing. They are all looking and going... "Oh, yes I see how she's capturing that light there"... as if I'm actually any good.  Now believe me most of my sketches are not that brilliant...... it's really truly funny.

Must go.....

Love to all, Acushla Van Gogh.

Vienna

I am now in Vienna or Wein as they call it. Yesterday I went on a bike tour at dusk which was good (but not enough information about beautiful Vienna). Yesterday during the day some of us went on a day trip to Bratislava in Slovakia. It was only one hour by train - thats from Belgrave to the City!!!!! But how crazy to be able to go from not only one country to another but from one capital to another!!! They had the Red Bull flying competition where these small planes have to fly in and around these inflatable poles really fast.... it's like a time trial. It was good fun to sit there and eat lunch and watch the planes. We also wandered around the castle and the old town.

Vienna is great fun. The night before last I was walking around a stumbled across the film festival they have here during the Summer. The problem with Vienna in the Summer is that none of the opera houses or concert halls are open... even the Dancing Spanish Horses are having a holiday so you can't go to anything which is a real shame (I'll just have to come back some time - I already have a list of places I have too see in Europe on my next trip !). Traveling is so exciting.... I get excited when I hear about where other people are going or where they are coming from. So during the Summer months they have this big film festival... it is all free... you just rock up at 9pm and they show films or operas or concerts projected on to this big screen in the town square. It was good fun. I saw some really old jazz musician... he was like 70 or something.... playing tunes like "I did it my way".

love cush

Cesky Krumlov

Well I have spent the last two days in the beautiful Cesky Krumlov , a little town outside of Prague. We had the most gorgeous weather on the first day so we hung out in the castle gardens and down by the river. Some went swimming. It was sooo lovely. We then went out for a lovely dinner and then roamed the streets eating ice cream and listening to jazz music that was drifting up from the banks of the river. In the evening we wandered up to the castle and saw Cesky by night thenwent back down to the the jazz club where the service was so bad it took 45 minutes to get the drinks and then they charged us 20kc per person for a jug of tap water. It was soo silly....
but we had the greatest night.
Cesky is just such a chilled out amazing place. The first afternoon saw half the people on the bus organizing to stay here an extra two nights rather then going on to Vienna.

Yesterday we got up really late and did some more wandering. Then we hired some rafts and got driven up the river and spent the rest of the day drifting downstream on a boat. It was meant to be a pub crawl where you stop off occasionally to jump out and get more beer. It was lots of fun. I fell out of the boat once but even though outside was cold the water wasn't too bad. (It's ok Oma I don't have a cold :) ). So anyway in an hour I'll be on my way to Vienna which should be lots of fun!!! I hope to go to a concert when I get there.
Lots of love to all
Acushla

Practically Perfect Prague

Prague is sooo beautiful! The old Baroque houses and churches. The lovely stepped terraced gardens. So nice . I had a great day today just wandering around for hours. I hope that your day was good as well.
acushla

Prague.....Czech it out.

Ok I know the title is pretty lame but they have it on souvenir t-shirts here.
Today after getting up quite late I went on a walking tour of Prague, the guide was really bad and not at all interesting which was a big shame.
After it finished I had a great time wandering around the gardens by the Palace - it is so gorgeous. There are all these terraces and beautiful root trees, there were some lovely figs! So I sat and read and wrote and drew in the gardens - which was great, I really loved it.
I am really sick of Australians or just the ones that are bad (well what I see as "bad") travelers. They are not "travelers" they're "tourists" and they're not very considerate. They're loud and they drink too much. I am thinking of changing nationalities and "becoming" English but then every one will hate me out of principal :)
It's not that bad....it's just that some of the people you meet all they try to do is get drunk in every town and they're just so damn loud.......
Just needed to get that off my chest.

I have met some lovely Aussies but they're not with me at the moment.
I think I will be in Paris for my birthday !!! How great!! I'll have to think of something really cool to do by myself!!

Sorry that this is a little bit of ramble but I am tired and don't know what to say......
.... I went on a pub crawl last night with some of the people from the hostel. It was fun but a little too much for me..... ummm nothing really too say so I'll sign off .... I love you all very much... and wish we could chat.
All the best,
cush

Dresden, bike riding and books.

Hi,
I have spent the last couple of days in Dresden, a nice city in Germany. The town is famous for being completely bombed during the Second World War, but despite that it has managed to still have some beautiful old buildings. I spent an afternoon wandering around the town. Yesterday me and four other Australians (it is a little annoying how many Australians are on Busabout it makes it a little frustrating). We rode along the river to a big lake to go swimming. It was really nice as yesterday was quite hot. But we had to hurry back as the storm clouds came in. We got caught in the storm but played Street Ball (you just kick the ball as hard as you can) in a tunnel..... it was fun.
We then rode around the city some more.
I am reading the diaries of Anne Frank at the moment which is really interesting. I love the way through all of it she is still just a teenager. She feels that everyone picks on her and she doesn't get along with her mother.
Books.... that reminds me of going to the book burning square in Berlin where all the books where burnt during the Second World War (as suggested by the name). There is a monument there which is just empty shelves for all the books that were burnt..... so many books missing.

I hope you are all well.

love cush.

Ich bin ein Berliner

Hi everyone.
I hope you are well!!!
I am in Berlin and wish I was here for much longer it is such a great city!! So full of history and culture. I have met some really nice people at the hostel and on the bus and have hung out with them for the last couple of days. One of them, in fact, is a guy from Melbourne, he lives near Eltham and went to Eltham College (which is not too far from Warranwood). He has just finished high school and is taking a year off to travel through Europe for a year before going back to study Science at Melbourne Uni....... but check this out he is doing a Physics major with Engineering electives!! Sound familiar? How bizzare to randomly meet someone from just around the corner who is doing the same course as me at a petrol station in Holland on the way to Berlin!! I thought that was great!
I went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum which houses some of the contraptions that people used to get over or under the Berlin Wall. Things like makshift flying machines or cars with secret compartments.
We also went on a massive walking tour of Berlin for 4 hours yesterday in the hot hot weather. My brain is so full of politics!
We also hung out last night with the real Germans in a big beer garden, it was such a great night for sitting out all night.
gtg love Acushla.

Hi,
this is just to keep you updated. I spent yesterday afternoon wandering through the Van Gogh Museum. It was great, such amazing colours and dramatic lines. I really enjoyed myself!! I also went to the Rijksmuseum where I saw the one and only "Night Watch" painted my Holland's most famous painter (well of that time, and probably ever.... versus Van Gogh) Rembrandt. It is an amazing painting - there is so much movement and the contrast of light is so dramatic. It really looks like the Captain of the Watch (the man in the front) has his hand coming out of the painting. It is so big as well - to hang it in the palace they cut off three sides of the painting so it would fit above a door!! Now you would build a new house just to make sure it fits!! So the composition is really interesting..... sorry enough art talk. I had a good day.
Then I took the train out to Almere and my relatives took me out for the night. We had a great time! Lots of fun and dancing.
Now we're going to sit on the "beach" by the lake for the afternoon.
xoxo Cush

Holland

I am very well and in Holland meeting all the lovely family! It is great to see them and they are all so lovely.
I spent a few days with Marcel and his daughter Lana (who is soooo lovely! ) and his girlfriend Marian. It was really nice to live with them. Marcel took us out to Amsterdam for the day and we went to see Anne Frank's House and then went on a canal boat ride - a really nice way to see Amsterdam. Lana and I would go bike riding in the evening before dinner around the lake or walk the dog Jessy. It was really nice.
I spent yesterday on a walking tour of Amsterdam. It went for three and a half hours. It was great to learn a little about the history of Amsterdam.
Today I really want to go to the Van Gogh Museum so I'm off with some of my cousins (somehow we're related:)).
Ten days is nowhere near enough to do justice to this beautiful city or the really lovely and hospitable family.
I send lots of love to everyone. But I'm thinking especially of my close family this week and the Dutchies that we have in Australia. I send huge buckets of love to my Oma whose birthday it is on Monday - lots of kisses and best wishes galore!!!
Acushla.

Bruges - Belgium

Hi all,
I'm in Belgium now eating chocolate and drinking beer. They have raspberry beer here - how strange!!
Went for a big bike ride today (40 k's) to a small town then to the beach by the North Sea. It was really nice riding by the channel with the path lined with trees...... but I am sooo sore now...... I don't want to sit on a bike again (well not for a while anyway).
Bus About is really good - you get to meet some really great people and everyone's so friendly.
I'm off to Amsterdam tomorrow which should be good - catching up with all the Dutch rellies.
Love ya lots, Acushla

I love Paris in the Fall

Hi guys,

I'm well and I hope this finds you the same. Apologies for not writing sooner but I have been so busy roaming Paris. It is a wonderful city. Today I went back to one of my favourite spots in Paris a little bookshop caled "Shakespeare and Company". It is soooo lovely. It is a converted house so upstairs it has books over the bathroom sink and under benches. There are even beds still there so that you can sit and read. That's what I did this afternoon, I just sat there for a couple of hours and read an entire book. It was great. I then went to a park and sat by the Seine and just watched the world go by.
The weather is gorgeous - hot, sunny, lovely blue skies..... fantastic. Because I'm lazy I am going to put here a part of an email to a friend because I really don't want to write this all out again... so here is what I wrote after my first full day in Paris.

Saturday 12th July
I am loving Paris!! Its great. I just walked around the whole day (11 hours on my feet, they don't like me anymore). I went to the Louvre which is ok but not really my sort of art. A little too old. I really want to go the Impressionist's gallery!! A bit of Pisarro and Monet that will be great!!!! I only just got up (11:45 am) - we went out for dinner (sorry 'we' are the girls I'm staying with - distant family friends). They are all girls who are working in Paris after the end of ther Uni courses. They are sooo lovely . The house is crazy - six of us in a three bedroom house but it all works and it is great fun to hang out with some great girls. So we went out for dinner then went to the local square and because we live in the student quarter every one was outside drinking. It is so good, they have such a long twilight here in Europe during the Summer. It lasts until 11pm or so. So everyone is outside and the weather is nice. Lots and lots of fun. We then went to the Oz Bar (an "Australian" bar that really isn't Australian..... it just has Fosters, which is not a great beer, and digeridoos and Aussie flags around the place) but it was still really fun. I met lots of people (none of which were Australian!) so that was good fun. But the Parisian boys are quite sleazy. Ohh well. We got home around 5am and went straight to sleep. So that's my yesterday.
Paris is very beautiful when the sun comes out. You know those paintings with Roman palaces (pillars and such) that people like Leonardo and Botticelli (the Renaissance) painted that have amazing cream buildings with perfect looking clouds and big blue skies and you think that's inpossible?! Well that's what Paris looks like when the sun comes out. The buildings are soo lovely and the streets are soo wide and there are little boulevards down by the Seine..... it's all marvellous!
I also went to Notre Dame which has the most amazing carving on the front and gorgeous stained glass windows. I also went to the Opera House which inspired the book and play the "Phantom of the Opera". It is sooo grand! Red velvet everywhere! And down below is a room with mirrors on the roof and on the walls - it is really cool - so of course I had to spin around in the middle crazily!! He he. Ok I had better go and do some more exploring!


It is now Tuesday and I am still having a brilliant time.
Yesterday was Bastille Day so I went to see the military parade on the Champs Elysee. I couldn't see a lot of the marching from where I was but I had a grand view of the flyover by the great big planes in formation. It was great! And the tanks rolling down the Champs Elysee were really amazing. I then chilled for two hours just sitting on the grass waiting for the massive crowd to spread back out around the city. I then just wandered the city.
I sat on the banks of the Seine for a little while as I wrote in my journal. I had some French guy come up and we chatted away until he asked me to go to a club with him that night. I said no that I already had plans to meet Kasia (and I didn't want to go out with some stranger). In the afternoon I went to the 11th Quarter and listened to music while I waited to meet Kasia and her friend Ollie. The music was all jazzy and everyone was up dancing. "Everyone" being the locals - there weren't any tourists around except maybe me -but then I see myself as a "Traveller".... it's completely different :)
So Ollie, Kasia and I then wandered around the streets of Paris, bought some wine and headed towards the Eiffel Tower where the fireworks were. We found a good patch of dirt to claim and sat there talking until the fireworks.



THEY WERE BRILLIANT!!! So good and set to music and everything. So amazingly lovely, they really out did themselves this year. The tower itself is spectacular. I intend to go and climb it tomorrow and to marvel at its construction.
We then walked all the way back to the 7th Quarter and stayed up chatting at Ollie's girlfriend's apartment (sadly she was in Germany which was a shame that we couldn't meet her). We spent the night there. It was so much fun just talking and watching fireworks in Paris!!! YAY!!!!!!!

I also went to the Musee d'Orsay which has more modern art especially a lot of work by the Impressionists. So lovely.... in fact I loved it so much that I spent the whole afternoon there!!

I spent Sunday with Karsh. We went to Montmatre and visited the amazing cathedral Sacre Coeur.... it is so amazing! A mass was being celebrated at the time and the singing was lovely. We also wandered around the 6th and 5th Quarters going to the Jardin du Luxembourg, a lovely garden which used to be part of a stately home, and also having a look at the outside of the Pantheon.

I'm totally out of breath (so to speak) I hope you like the massive post.
All my love, Acushla.

PS: So to put it shortly - I'm having a brilliant time. Lots of love to all of you back home.
If you don't send me an email after that essay I don't know what I'll do :)
xoxoxoxoxox

I love Paris in the Springtime

Well here I am just about to embark on another adventure. I'm off to Paris this afternoon. I wanted to write to you all and let you know what I'm up too and that I'm thinking of you all. Having spent a couple of days in London and having experienced its chaotic nature I am happy to be leaving it for a while.
I am excited and anxious about traveling to yet another country, this time to  some that don't speak English (but you could argue that the Scottish and Irish don't speak English...... even the Geordies up in Newcastle don't because the accents are so strong :) !).
I love you all
I hope you haven't forgotten about me.
your Acushla.

Newcastle II

Hi all,
I am still here in England. I went for an explore today and got myself completely lost about 8 times! I ended up circumnavigating a lot of the coast near Newcastle. I'm going back down to London tomorrow!! But first I am going to Durham to explore a new city.
Love you all.
Thanks for the emails.
xoxoxox cush

Newcastle

Hi all I apologise in advance for all the mistakes. I am using a French keyboard and all the letters are in the wrong place!! NO I am NOT in Frqncz, not yet anyway, at the moment I am in Newcastle in the North of England. York was lovely - I had a great time wondering around.

I walked part of Hadrian's Wall today. It was beautiful but I managed to get myself compleatly soaked!! My so called waterproof shoes were filled with water! But we (Han a girl I met in the hostel) had a great time rain or no rain. We also visited Chester's Roman fort and houses. We walked 4 miles, around 7kilometres, in the pouring rain. The best bit was that for a little while you can actually walk on the wall!!!!!! It is SOOOOOO cool! Something that was made almost 2000 years ago in AD122. It is amazing to see the wall stretching ever on over the horizon winding its way through the countryside onwards and onwards into the haze. The entire wall goes for 73 miles coast to coast. We met some walkers that were doing the whole path in 7 days. In fact it would be lovely to walk it if it was not raining. As it was I was very happy to get back to my hostel and have a very long warm shower.

As I said before I had a great time in Ireland. Some of the National Parks are just amazing. I got to do some horse riding around one park for a morning which was great. I also went and gave the Blarney Stone a kiss so now I am meant to possess the ablilty to talk my way in or out of any situation.
I had a great time watching the Euro Cup final - everyone was so happy when Germany lost.

Ok I better go.
Love you all heaps.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Love Acushla.

York

Hi all,

I am now back in England up in York. I must admit I haven't actually seen much of York yet. I got here in the afternoon, found my hostel and have been lazing around it ever since. This is all because the last ten days have been sooooo full on! I have been on a ten day tour of Ireland. We went all over the place - from Dublin to Belfast where it is amazing to feel the tension and the atmosphere that still remains from 'The Troubles'. We went on a Black Taxi tour that took us through the Protestant and the Catholic quarters of the city that you wouldn't go to by yourself. And I wrote on the Peace Wall.

Love and peace, Acushla.

In Dublin's fair city....

At the moment I am in Dublin and having a downer day where everything seems bad and I just feel like going home. I hate feeling like this but it happens occasionally....



Luckily that was written a week ago and now....
I am having a fantastic time. I love Ireland even though it has rained all the time (not quite true it was lovely and sunny yesterday! Perfect day travelling through the countryside and exploring the beaches).

The tour is great! I am having fun getting to know the people on the tour with me. We have been out every night since we started so the rumours about party tours are all true! But it has been great and some of my friends and maybe even my relatives(you know who you are) will be happy to know that I have started to learn how to drink. I have even tried Guinness which is ok but "Car bombs" are deadly. Sorry to Oma and Opa and others that are shocked :) Cover your eyes. hehehe

I love the music they have here it is really good . And guess what not.... many people know that Acushla is an Irish name!!!!! How annoying!

I love the Republic of Ireland but find the politics in the North quite heavy. We were in Derry or Londonderry (depending on what side you're on) but the night we were there some one got shot and that was tied up with the problems. There is still tension but it is such a small percentage of what it was. It must have been sooooo scary growing up during that time!!!

Got to go - it was lovely talking to you all.

Thanks to all that have sent me emails - I LOVE them!!! Sorry if I can't always reply. To the rest ofd you I'm still waiting......if you ever have 5 minutes to spare drop me a line some time.

All my love and hugs and kisses Acushla

Liverpool - Land of the Scousers

Hi all,
you should be very proud of me it is now past 11 pm and I have just got into my hostel. I have been out 'on the town' in Liverpool! It's a Friday night and I just couldn't sit in my room and go to bed early so I had dinner then wandered around until I found a bar that had a live band. So I went down there and listened to the music, had a few drinks and started chatting with some German boys. Then went to an Irish pub to watch the last 1/2 hour of the football. The whole game was quite boring but in the last minutes of the second lot of extra time Croatia scored!!! Then 4 seconds after the game was meant to finish Turkey scored!! It then went to a penalty shoot out which Turkey won!!! How crazy!!! But it was good fun. I then walked back to the hostel where I am now trying to quickly read all your lovely emails, which I love so much, and to type this and do 5 other things at the same time before the time runs out!!.

I have spent the last few days in the Lake District which I just love!!!!!!!!!!!! It is soooooooooooooooooooo BEAutiful. Just lovely. I had a brilliant time. Got quite wet but oh well.

Last week I spent time with an amazing family, the Hendersons. Rosie is my cousin's girlfriend and I stayed with her family in the country near Salisbury. Rosie and I went to places like Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral.

The English Family Robinson Burden

The English Family Robinson Burden
Originally uploaded by Acushla Burden

Went to dinner with Dad's brother Tony and his partner Lisa.
They have 4 boys, Beau holding his daughter Mia, Brady (not in photo), Chad & Buddy. Grandma and Grandma, were there with Serena, mother to Mia.

Isle of Wight...... Land of the McDoogles...

A very big SORRY to Karen Brown.

I apologise to Karen for not writing in my blog about the wonderful Isle of Wight and all the fun I had there......... 

On the Isle of Wight in a little house in Newport (that is surrounded by such a lovely garden - it even has a newt pond!) lives the lovely family of the McDoogles. The leader of the family is Karen, such a wonderful person (a one in a million kind of person) she just accepted me into the family, made me feel at home and loved. Yes she did also make me do the ironing and help her clean up the garden but this was fine as I wanted to help anyway.

This is an extract from my journal...
16/5
Stirling aged six is wonderful, so lovely and lively, just a great little boy. We had a falling out the other day over such a little thing, so we where "no longer friends" but eventually I got in his good books again. 

I can't write how he says my name, but its like a- COO-sha-la. 

We are all sorts of things together, like pirates looking for treasure; or secret agents on a mission to capture daddy; explorers trekking through the wild jungle of the amazon.
I really love his outlook on life, the simplicity and joy of childhood. He is so imaginative and just plain old sweetie pie... most of the time. :)

Time is running out... I will continue to shamelessly flatter the Isle of Wight another time.
xoxo Cush

Jane Austenland - Bath

Just a quick line to say.....
narny narny nar nar I'm in Bath.......and it's wonderful!
lots of love Acushla.

Bruuuucccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.......

Well hi there.
It is the day after the Bruce Springsteen concert, which was just FANTASTIC!!!!



(Acushla wasn't quite this close.... but it gives you an idea of the size of the concert.... Paul)

Scottish Highlands and Islands...... oh and England too....

So very sorry that I have been neglecting you all. I will now try to recap what has been going on for the last two weeks.....

I arrived in Scotland on Sunday. Edinburgh is a beautiful city especially the parts I was in.....
now this just shows how much I have been neglecting you.... I wrote that over a month ago and never finished it. Some time I will have to write a really long account of what I have been up to but for now I have only half a hour so I will tell you what I have been up to in the recent past.

I have spent the last week in London in a wonderful flat with some wonderful people (Frank and Jess) in a wonderful location (Pimlico right by the River Thames just down from the Britain Tate, an art gallery which houses some lovely statues and some fantastic paintings by William Turner). It's in the City of Westminster so Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey are right down the road and Buckingham Palace is around the corner....not that I have been there! NOTE I love the Tube - it is so great it will get you anywhere if you just have a little patience and a Tube map.

For the last week I have been packing my bag each day and heading out to explore the "Big Smoke". There are so SO many museums and art galleries that I really haven't go to go to all of them. Like today I went back to Trafalgar Square (I was there a couple of days ago but you really can't take in that much in just one visit so I have been returning to places like Kensington Gardens and the British Museum) and wandered around the National Gallery. My favourite part was seeing the works of Turner and Constable also the Impressionists and Van Gogh (it isn't "Va Go" even though that's how it sounds). It is really amazing to see these paintings in real life. Paintings that I have studied with Julia and Gubs (my art teachers). They always said when we were studying a painting, 'When you go and see such and such' and here I am really seeing these paintings up close!! It is so great!!!
Now I know, not just believe, that it is real that so many years ago Turner put paint to canvas and created 'Rain, Smoke and Speed'. It makes history so real. You can see proof of history all around you when you are in London. I love it. I then went to the National Portrait Gallery where I saw lots of famous people most of whom are dead now. It was great to see portraits of past kings and queens, once againg it makes the past real not just a story in a book or dates on a page but a physical thing that has lasted through the generations. It was nice to place the different people to an era especially all the scientists who made such amazing discoveries in the Victorian era. I get to use all sorts of things that I have learnt in school or through books or what people have told me when I remember what so and so did. For example Leonardo da Vinci or Michael Faraday.

Just to let you know that I am very happy at the moment and having a great time. I was in a blue patch last week but that is just the way travelling goes - you take all of it on, the good and the not so great. I love and miss every single one of you and hope that some day you will be able to have an adventure like mine.

All my love Acushla.

P.S. If you don't send me your addresses I can't send you a post card. So please email your address AND POST CODE (somebody gave me their adress with no post code which isn't particularly useful).
P.P.S. You might like to know that I get reminded of you when I listen to certain songs - Sasha when ever Jack Johnson comes on. (sorry I have to go!)
Bye! xoxoxo

Scotland

Just a note to say.... I am well and safe, having a great time in Scotland.  I'll write more when I have time (maybe tomorrow or Friday), as for now, I'm off to the pub.
'loves youse alls loads' (she slurs),

Cush.

England

What to say?
I arrived at Heathrow and had no problems going through. I had to go up and ask if I was allowed to bring in dates and other organic material that you could never get into Australia, but unless you've got too many kilogrammes of cigarettes or too much alcohol they don't care and waved me through. I met Polly who is really nice. We then took the Tube into London. As soon as we got out of the station you knew you were in London - everything about the place screams ENGLAND! The funny houses, the people running around in big coats, the 'Tube' and even the stop signs are English. The weather where everyone said it was lovely, sunny and mild, but I still had on 3 jumpers. (I am actually getting used to the climate and am only wearing one jumper). Polly's family are so lovely. The next day Polly helped me open up bank accounts and do all the paperwork that needed doing. We also just 'walk(ed) the streets of London'. We went to Hamleys toy shop which was so cool. People were paid to play with toys all day and there was like six floors each one for a different kind of toy - "Boys", "Girls", "Soft Toys", "Games" etc...
We also went to Libertys (Maddy you may have to come to London for the fashion).
We went to Piccadilly Circus and saw Eros. Then to Kings Cross railway station and St Pancras which Polly is very proud of. It is a lovely station and a real effort was put into restoring it - it does look really lovely. We had quite a busy day and got lots done.
That night we had some more family over for dinner - more lovely people. And, as it is the show to watch here, Polly, Jamie and I watched "The Apprentice" the first bit of TV I have watched since leaving Australia.

On Thursday I caught a train up to Skegness to see Grandma and Grandpa Burden. That is where I am now just looking around the local towns. Today we are going off to Lincoln if the weather will let us.

I really like it here - everything is just so different. And it is great to just hang out with Grandma and Grandpa.
Love you all lots,
Acushla

Egyptian Deserts

I have so much to catch up with..... where to start? I left you on the shores of the Mediterranean in Alexandria. From there I travelled all day by public bus (it was fine - clean and not too crowded) heading out to Siwa Oasis in the Sahara Desert. I haven't told you about Kasia, a wonderful girl who is in the group that joined us in Cairo, she is sooo nice we get on so well. In fact all the people in my group are just lovely, absolutely marvellous people. We went out for dinner to a restaurant that was on the second floor of the building so we were eating amongst the tops of palm trees -I had the most beautiful vegetable stew. Esam was telling us about the Siwan people and their traditions and their way of living.

The next day Katherine, Kasia and I took a donkey cart out to Cleopatra's Bath. When the main form of transport is donkey there is a whole new concept of time - everything happens at a slower pace and to the clip clop of donkeys' hooves. Cleopatra's Bath is not as romantic as it sounds - it is a hot pool in the middle of the road and it is as if you are swimming in the middle of a roundabout. As it was early morning we were the only ones which was great fun as I just love water and swimming. At midday we headed back into town to go on a jeep safari into the desert.

The desert is absolutely amazing so vast and beautiful. A very deep beauty, nothing to do with typical beauty or what we are told is beautiful, just sheer brilliance. It is all created by Nature alone - Man had nothing to do with it.... only the force of Nature itself. The part of the desert we were in was once, a very long time ago, a sea so you can find seashells in the middle of the desert.

We went sand boarding which was good fun and then watched the sunset which was just a beautiful experience. So many emotions wash over you as you watch the sunset in such an amazing place; sadness, joy, happiness, contentment, loneliness, love.
We went back to Siwa where we had dinner and then some of us went shopping. When we went back to the hotel we all ended up in Meg and Belles' room showing off our goods and chatting until midnight. Once again I have to repeat how wonderful my group is!

The next morning I woke up early enough to hear the call to morning prayers (around 4 :30 am) then watched the sunrise from the roof. It was beautiful watching the world slowly wake and the sun push itself over the tops of the palm trees. All the roosters were out trying to out crow one another. Solitary people walk the streets, women fully covered, men with their donkeys and there I was at the top of the hotel wrapped up in my blanket gazing over the village.
That day was a huge travel day - we went from Siwa to Bawity stopping along the way to see some amazing things . We saw what must have been a reef when the desert was covered with water and a helicopter that had crashed during the war (just like the plane in the"English Patient" - I have just started reading that book on the aeroplane... it is interesting to read about the people and the places you have just been visiting).

The next day we travelled further into the desert visiting the Black Desert, the Crystal Mountain, and then on to an amazing spot that looked out over all these hills. It was so amazing it looked like the landscape from some sci-fi movie. The colours were fantastic, pale yellows and peach and a wash of different blues. When we got back in the car it wouldn't start.....
we had got bogged in the sand before but after getting out and giving it a push the car would be on it's way again, but not this time! The battery was flat and no one had brought the jumper leads. You feel so alone in the middle of the desert with a car that won't start! Don't worry.... we swapped the battery from the other car started our car and then swapped them back. It really did feel like we were in an episode of "Bush Mechanics" (if you remember that show) where they make brakes out of wood and use whatever they can find to fix their car. We stopped at a oasis to watch the sunset then drove into the White Desert to camp the night.


The White Desert is amazing!!!!! Tall pillars of white rock reflect the light and as it was a full moon that night they were all lit up and you could wander through the desert by moonlight. It was fantastic to stroll by yourself in such a vast place. The desert stretched as far as you could see on every side.
I woke the next morning and me and my sleeping bag went and watched the sunrise. I will never get sick of watching sunrises - they are so amazing every single one. It is such a great time to have by yourself or to share with loved ones. We explored the White Desert and then headed back to Bawity.

When we got to Bawity we were meant to travel on to Cairo that day but Esam told us that there had been a massive protest see this news paper and no one was allowed in or out of the town. All the tourists in the town who had tried to leave the day before couldn't get out. So what we did was we hired three jeeps, one was a scout and the rest of us were in the other two, and then we passed around the blockade by crossing the desert! In fact we were smuggled out of Bawity! It was quite exciting. We finally made it to Cairo in the afternoon.

It was our last night together so Esam took most of us out into Islamic Cairo where they do the Sufi dancing. It was fantastic - the music was great. I was sitting there with a massive grin on my face. I can't believe that they can spin for that long - it is amazing. And the other dancers were so light on their feet they really did seem to glide across the stage.

That night we said our goodbyes which was really sad. But luckily most of us saw each other over the next two days. A small group of us went to the citadel and also back to Islamic Cairo to try out our haggling skills at the market. That was great fun. It is such a game and quite fun to play once you know that it's ok to do so. (I felt so embarrassed at first). I had to change hotels that night.

Next day, my last in Cairo, I spent wandering around. I strolled along the Nile then did some sketching in the museum hanging out there for a couple of hours. I then went back to the market for some very last minute buys and then went out to dinner one last time with Kasia. The last dinner I had in Cairo was almost the same as the first, a strange mixture of pasta noodles, beans, lentils, tomato sauce and fried onions. Very nice.

I flew out of Cairo on Tuesday - a great flight. It was great to know that the last Egyptian I met - a steward on the plane- thought that my smile was so sweet that that was why he came over and talked to me (he was actually very nice and gave me a handful of chocolates - mummy-shaped and specially made for Egypt Air). I arrived in London safely but will have to tell you all about that later because I have been typing for over 2 hours now.

I love you lots. Please keep sending me emails I want to know what you're all up to!!
Love Acushla.

PS: Has anybody heard from Erik? Is he ok? I haven't heard from him in ages. Please let me know if he is ok, thanks.
Peace...over and out, Cush.

Alexandria

Hi all long time no type.
So much to tell but only 15 minutes until my time runs out so here I go. Deep breath....
Right now I am back in Cairo - this is my last day and I intend to wander around the Egyptian Museum again in the afternoon. A massive thanks to all for the lovely emails I got, it makes me so happy to read about what you are all doing. When I last wrote I was on my way to Alexandria which was loads of fun. I wandered around the streets and hung out in the great library for the whole afternoon. The library just opened in 2006 - it is huge, so full of knowledge and potential. It was great to sit down and watch all the students studying and learning things I know nothing about chatting away to each other, just being normal people, doing everyday things. The hotel we stayed at was right next to the Mediterranean Sea. It gave me a thrill just being near a sea that has so many stories to tell. From the great voyages of the Greeks and Romans, to the civilisations that have lived by it. And just on the other side of that great expanse of water is Greece, Italy, Turkey, France and Spain.
It is interesting, Alexandria is more famous for its people and stories then the monuments that are still standing today. It is a new city with a great shadow.. everything seems to echo the past. The ancient light house and the great library are both gone, buried under the new city. Even the great writers, poets and artists that were all to drawn to Alexandria are gone, but yet their spirits linger. I can see even now, why they were pulled here. It is hard to explain but being in Alexandria makes me want to read great works and to write poetry, to "learn and keep on learning". To absorb the beauty of things to be creative. I don't know why.. if it is the sea that is still the center of life. Not only does it feed us fresh and beautiful sea food, but it has it's own life force. Everybody is drawn to it. To walk, sit, fish, chat by the sea. 'Lovers hand in hand' stroll down the lane of oblivion, their eyes reflecting the moon.'
TTFN (ta, ta, for now)
Cush

Luxor and the Valley of the Kings

I'm now in Luxor.

This morning I woke up at 3:30am to go hot air ballooning.. it was fantastic. Floating through the air as the sun rose, looking out over the Valley of the Kings. A couple of us got a guide for the day to show us around the Valley of the Kings and to tell us about the pictures on the walls of the tombs. I'm so glad that we did as she was fantastic and it was great to go into a temple and look at a picture and hear that the lotus represents love, life and happiness - so these two people must be getting married if they're giving each other a lotus flower. Things like that are so much fun to know, even a little bit, being able to understand and figure out the meaning of things increases your appreciation of what's around you.

The colours are amazing as well. To think that they have survived so many years - all the tombs date from BC so they are far over 2000 years old.
It's crazy here - money seems to slip through your fingers and everything sounds outrageously expensive until you convert it back to Australian currency. For instance I spent 100 le (local Egyptian pounds) on tomb entrance fees today which feels like a lot but is only $A 20and that was to go into 5 tombs.


We have spent the last couple of days sailing down the Nile on a felucca which was so much fun! Just sitting and lazing around. I SWUM IN THE NILE!! it was freezing but so nice. As always I was the first one in and the last one out - are you sure I'm not a Pisces? I just love rivers. Swimming in them, living by them, floating down them.
The best bit was that in our first night we made anchor near a Nubian village and all the little children came out to sell us things. I had so much energy left over (all I had done all day was sit on a boat) I asked if they had a foot ball. They did and so we played football (soccer) until there was no more light to see by. Then the girls taught me how to play hand games like clapping and I taught the little girls to play "Ring a Ring a Rosies" (which they loved) and the game where you put one hand over the other and make a big tower of hands. That is the best part of travelling meeting people and just talking and playing with them. I have met a lot of people and so many of then are lovely. It is great to find out things about their family and the education system - just anything.

Got to go.... ran out of time.... love you all loads and really, extremely love hearing from you all.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE send me some emails I never find them boring and even though I don't get to respond to them all I appreciate all the kind words and love to know that people are thinking of me. For i think of you all.
All my love as ever, Acushla