Cailin Travels

Cailin Travels is moving!

2010-11-27T14:43:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone,

Just an update I have finally moved Cailin Travels http://cailintravels.blogspot.com/ over to its own URL you can now find it here at www.CailinTravels.com yay!!!!!!

I am still working on some tweaks and figuring out if the theme I have it on is the right one for me. Please comment and let me know what you think and please be sure to follow me over there! :)

Also stay tuned for www.CailinONeil.com going live soon (right now it just redirects to www.travelyourself.ca) and it will be a landing page for info about me and links to all of my sites and Social Media accounts :)

Thanks for being great followers, see you around!

Cailin

PS Stay tuned for www.TravelYourself.ca 's first giveaway ever coming soon! "Cailin's Favorite Things"!!! (yes the above photo is me pretending to be Oprah )

Disappointed - Word of the day

2010-11-15T15:07:00.000-08:00

Disappointed - Word of the day

Today the word of the day is "Disappointed".

Disappointment often goes hand in hand with travel. It can be hiding everywhere from that last train you missed to the museum you wanted to see being closed on a Monday. Or to something like the Little Mermaid being in Shanghai when I've finally gotten to Copenhagen and it isn't there for me to see. (see photo: a video projection just doesn't suffice)

Specifically today I am disappointed with the Transat Holidays Vacationer position. I applied for this job a couple of weeks ago, a job offer that is once in a life time, I honestly thought that I had a good chance at it, as every specification required for the job fit me to a "T"! However I found out today that I didn't even make it to the Top 30 people selected. :( This made me very very disappointed. However I had fun making the video, learned a lot about the Halifax Farmers Market and am sure another great opportunity will arise (at least I hope!) Good luck to everyone that got farther than me. Read more about the competition on my site here www.travelyourself.ca

Transat learn how to run a competition better, feel free to email me for suggestions cailinoneil@travelyourself.ca oh ya and get yourself a twitter account, how can you have a job opening for a Social Media position when your not even fully Social Media connected yourself? I suppose that person could do it for you though and maybe I should just stop rambling..... Yes, I'm bitter, jealous and the word of the day "Disappponted".

Tomorrow is a new day :)

Share your stories of disappointment with me too! :)

Spontaneous - Word of the Day

2010-11-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

Spontaneous - Word of the Day

I'm starting a series of posts of travel related words, words that inspire me and even just words that entertain me, that I like and new ones that I might learn. I won't post every day, who knows if I'll even post one every week, but if a good one comes to me I'll write about it as it happens.

This week my word of the day is Spontaneous. Many travelers have the dream of someday going to the airport, looking at the departure screen, picking a destination and just going. That is the ultimate travelers spontaneous decision. This week I came as close to doing that as I ever have.

I knew for a couple of weeks that I would have Thursday off for Remembrance day and requested that following Friday as well, to make a long weekend out of it. I thought about taking off and going somewhere like Toronto, New York or London but as I looked at the flights it wasn't looking so good. The flight schedule changed for London so there was no longer a flight the day I wanted to make the most out of the trip, New York was way too expensive, but Toronto was looking promising for maybe just a quick one night trip.

While at work that Tuesday however things were going really slow and my boss suggested that I take Wednesday off as well. Immediately I checked to see if there was a flight to London that night and within 12 hours I was sitting on an airplane. I didn't even have a chance to tell my friends about it it happened that quick. It was spontaneous and felt exhilarating and many people didn't believe that I actually did it. To make it even more exciting, I decided not to tell all of my friends in London about me coming and was actually able to surprise Chris from the The Aussie Nomad at a party, whom I hadn't seen since Copenhagen in May. Even though he might defend it I swear he screamed like a little girl when he saw me.

Also on this trip I had one of the most extreme Small World Moments ever. To read more about it check it out over here at www.travelyourself.ca

La Tomatina - What to wear, what to bring, what to do

2010-08-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

Read a more updated version of this post on my new site www.CailinTravels.com

This Wednesday in a small town of 9,000 people called Buñol just a 45 minute train ride from Valencia, Spain is the famous La Tomatina festival. I was at this crazy festival last year and hope to go again in the future. From my trip I learned a few key tips for successfully enjoying this festival and have listed them below.

On the last August of every Wednesday 40,000+ people show up in the small town of Buñol for this festival. In the street there is a large lard and grease covered pole with a ham at the very top that the masses of people have one hour to climb to claim their prize of the ham and signal the tomato fight to begin. (often people can’t reach the ham) If the ham is not retrieved the tomato fight still begins at 11am. A loud speaker announces to the crowd in various languages that the fight has begun and many dump trucks full of tomatoes drive through the small streets dumping thousands of tomatos (spoils from the harvest) into the street and for an hour the biggest food fight you will ever take part in surrounds you.

The greased pole and ham go up around 10am and the tomato fight starts at 11am however people start gathering in the city and getting on trains from Valencia around 6am. The train I was on that morning was packed, with people in the aisles and on top of each other at 6:45am.

Unless you have a best friend with a house in Buñol there will be no place to put anything that you bring with you so bring the least amount of things as possible. (or leave it on your bus if you are on a tour) Avoid trying to bring a bag. On your person all you should have is some money and your hotel/hostel key and even that you should maybe leave at your accommodations and have the front desk hold on to it for you. I literally had my key tapped to the inside of my pocket with duct tape. (Also I luckily made a friend in an old man in the city who let me keep my bag at his house, use his washroom and fed my friends and I but this is not a common experience so don’t go expecting this.)

You will be covered head to toe in tomatoes and water, DO NOT wear flip flops or sandals of any kind unless they secure tightly with lots of straps or Velcro otherwise you will loose them within minutes and your feet will get stepped on. (Also be sure to wear something that you will be comfortable in as it could be a long day). If possible try to wear clothes and shoes that you might never wear again. I wore sneakers that immediately headed to the trash afterwards. If you are male you will most likely have your shirt ripped off of you if you don’t remove it yourself. If you are female sadly you may fall victim to this as well, so layer up if you can, I wore a t-shirt over a tank top over my bathing suit and gladly kept everything on. There are groups of people though that think its funny to rip other peoples shirts off, so be warned.

The crowd of people will be the tightest most claustrophobic crowd you have ever been in, way more extreme than any concert you have ever attended. If you see an opening in the crowd, do not head towards it as most likely that is where the people are ripping other peoples shirts off and there is an opening in the crowd because people are trying to avoid the area.

Girls should definitely have hair elastics. Goggles are a must because tomato juice hurts when it gets in your eyes! Also bring a water proof camera or a very good case. (You can’t go wrong with a ziplock bag). When I attended last year there were many people selling both goggles and waterproof film cameras (yes film) on the street. Along with those many places and people were selling beer and sangria right out of their house (awesome).

I hope these tips don’t scare you off, but just prepare you and allow you to have a wicked time!

Swedish people like bubbles

2010-07-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

“Vill du sätta igång spat?”
“Huh?”
“Vill du sätta igång spat?”
“What? Oh sorry I don’t speak Swedish.”
“Ummm would you like zee bubles turned on?”
“Bubbles? Oh there are bubbles? I didn’t even realize! Yes please.”
(I swear he said "zee" I'm not making that up.)

I’m sitting in a hot bath at the Varberg Comwell Hotel in Varberg, Sweden. After a swim and a sit in the steam room then sauna I am now starring into space, soaking. An older Swedish man has...

To read more please visit my other site www.travelyourself.ca

Travel Yourself New York City

2010-07-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

At the end of June 2010, Cailin traveled to New York for the Travel Bloggers Exchange Conference (tbex10). There was lots of partying, meeting up with twitter and travel friends and exploring some of the top tourist attractions the city has to offer with the help of the great New York City Pass given to her from NYCGO. Watch the video of her most recent trip here. Stay tuned for more coming soon!

Travel Yourself - New York from Cailin O'Neil on Vimeo.

Small World Moments

2010-07-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have been traveling quite a bit in the last few years and it seems as if the world has been getting “smaller”. I find myself constantly having “small world moments”. You know that moment when you are sitting in a hostel with a fellow Canadian and you realize you have the same friend? It has been happening to me so much so lately that I have decided to start making a list and writing it all down. Each time it happens (or when I remember one I forgot) I’ll add it to the list. Feel free to comment below to tell me about yours! :)

In August 2009 I was fairly new to the twitter scene and had been following @nomadicmatt. We had written back and forth to each other a few times but that was about it. At the end of the month I was heading to Spain for La Tomatina and I knew he was too but that was all.

I arrived in Valencia on a Monday afternoon and that night I was in the hostel partying at the bar when I turned around and thought I saw a familiar face. I looked at the guy and said “Matt?” and he looked at me and said “Cailin O’Neil!” In all the hostels and hotels in all of Valencia during one of their busiest weeks of the year where 40,000+ people visit for La Tomatina Festival not only had I ran into this traveling American I randomly met online but he was staying at the same hostel as me! Then again 2 days later in the middle of the largest food fight in the world amongst the 40,000+ people squeezed in the small town of Buñol streets we saw each other again.

In February 2010 I traveled to Fiji where I met Hanna from Sweden who was also traveling around. Later that March Hanna traveled through Australia and finally returned home to Sweden in April. In May I visited her in Sweden and while visiting her she said to me “You said you were from Halifax right? I think I met a girl from there when I was in Australia.” I didn’t know her but we pulled her up on facebook and I had 10 friends in common with her.

This one isn’t “as far” of a long shot but for it all to happen within a 10 hour period makes it crazy. In May I went to Newfoundland for the first time ever to party and hang out with @candicewalsh. Within my first hour there we were walking down the street in St. John’s headed to Signal Hill and we passed a guy sitting on the on the sidewalk with his head down reading a book. I did a double take as he looked familiar, I told Candice I thought I knew him but thought it couldn’t be him and kept walking.

As Candice and I hung on for dear life walking along the pathway on the side of Signal Hill at the narrows a group of people walked passed us going the other direction. As I saw them coming one of the guys again looked familiar and I said to him “Are you Drew?” and it turns out it was this guy I went to University with and had traveled on a University trip to France with before. It was his first time ever in Newfoundland as well, just doing the touristy thing like me. I realized he knew the guy I thought I had just seen and asked if he was living in Newfoundland and Drew told me that he was and that was probably him. So that is two people I knew within 1 hour in a city I’ve never been.

Later that night Candice and her roommates held a keg party. One of Candice’s roommates had a friend who showed up with 11 guys from Halifax. I had actually met one of them before in Halifax and I had friends in common with at least 3 or 4 others.

When I flew to Australia in February 2010 there was a guy I went to high school with on my flight from Toronto to Vancouver. Another time I was flying to London and a different guy that I went to high school with was on my flight.

Whenever I visit Toronto I always run into someone from home, without fail. Every. Single. Time.

July 2010 through twitter I met Celeste Brash of Lonely Planet and saw that she was visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia updating a guide book so we met up for dinner. While chatting I noticed she was wearing a pearl necklace and I asked if it was Tahitian as she lives in Tahiti. It reminded me of a Tahitian pearl necklace that I had bought an ex-boyfriend many years before. We got to talking about it and it turns out that I had bought the necklace from her husbands pearl farm in Tahiti in January of 2007.

Please share your stories of small world encounters too!

New York New York

2010-07-08T04:36:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
I've been increasingly getting more and more hits over here on this site yet, I've been neglecting it big time and putting all my focus into www.travelyourself.ca and my new site (which isn't up yet) www.thetasteoftravel.com It is going to be glorious! and that is all i will tell you about it right now :)
I'm finishing up my current job today and then I will be posting here more, with stories of my travels in the past few months and more and as always there will be video video video!
To keep you entertained in the mean time check out my newest video shot in New York City last week while I was there attending the Travel Bloggers Exchange Conference aka TBEX TBEX10 or what have you. I hope you enjoy and stay tuned for more! Cailin

Copenhagen, Denmark

2010-05-14T18:06:00.001-07:00

I traveled to Europe last week visiting England, Sweden and Denmark. Along the way I met up with a few friends and had a great time! I will write more about the trip soon, but for now I would like to share with everyone a new travel video for Travel Yourself about my time spent in Copenhagen with Chris from The Aussie Nomad! :)

Travel Yourself - Copenhagen, Denmark from Cailin O'Neil on Vimeo.

24 Hours in Halifax, Nova Scotia

2010-05-14T18:01:00.001-07:00

I have started taking the Matador U Travel Writing program. Here is a post I wrote that was one of my assignments! :)

Nova Scotia is a province in Canada and Halifax is its capital city with just under 400,000 people. The province is a peninsula off the east coast on the Atlantic.

Some of the main economic generators are the Canadian Navy and tourism. Many people who visit this city arrive on cruise ships (100+ a year) and they often have only a 24-hour time period to see it. For that reason I have decided to put together this list of things to do in Halifax in 24-hours.

1. Start the day in a “Titanic” way – literally.

When the Titanic sunk on April 15, 1912, one of the first boats to arrive on scene was from Halifax. This boat (the MacKay-Bennett) picked up roughly 300 bodies from the wreckage including that of the famous millionaire Jack Astor. Once the bodies were brought to Halifax, the few families that could afford it, had their loved ones shipped back overseas, including Jack Astor, however many could not. Due to this, Halifax has three different cemeteries where passengers of the Titanic are now buried, a great thing to see and visit in Halifax. There is even one tombstone which reads J. Dawson and it is believed that is where James Cameron got the inspiration for the name of the main character in his film “Titanic” played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

2. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Here you can find more information on the great ocean liner along with many artifacts including the only deck chair to survive the sinking. The museum is said to have the “world’s finest collection of artifacts” from the ship! http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/titanic/titanic.htm It also has tons of artifacts from Canada’s naval history, as well as information about the Halifax Explosion. In December of 1917 during a bustling war time, Halifax’s harbour was the last stop for many ships before going off to Europe for the war. One foggy fateful morning two ships (one carrying tons of ammunition ) collided in the harbour causing the largest man-made accidental explosion. (At the time, it was the largest man-made explosion in the world prior to the bombing of Hiroshima)

3. The Halifax Citadel Hill

Halifax is commonly known as little San Francisco because of its many hills. Citadel Hill is an old fort in the middle of the city, sitting on the highest point. The fort was built in this location because of its great view of the whole harbour, specifically the mouth, so deffenders could look out for incoming attacks, however it was never actually attacked. The fort has now been turned into a museum where you can experience the 1800’s in Halifax. Also, every day since 1856 (except for Christmas day) at exactly noon they fire a cannon signalling the changing of the guard.

4.The Waterfront & Great food

At this point you are probably feeling pretty hungry, so it is a great idea to head back down to the waterfront and grab some famous fish and chips or fresh lobster with a delicious thirst quenching Alexander Keith’s beer. Halifax has the longest wooden waterfront boardwalk with restaurants along the way and great views of passing ships.

5. Brewery Tour

Head over to Alexander Keith’s Brewery, where you can go on a tour. The tour takes you back in time to the 1800’s. You are leadthrough by different characters from that era who worked in the brewery. The tour finishes off with a great sing-a-long and a stein of the freshly brewed good stuff.

6. Harbour Cruise

There is no better way to enjoy this harbour city than a boat ride. Halifax has the second largest natural harbour in the world. There are many boat tours to choose from, be it a sail boat, paddle boat or even an amphibious vehicle. Along the waterfront you will also find companies that have dinner cruises, booze cruises, whale watching and even deep sea fishing.

7. More great food

You are bound to be hungry again, so time to head a few blocks in from the water to enjoy one of the many fine restaurants. From Greek to Chinese, Italian to Indian you are sure to find something you like. Food is reasonably priced, however if you feel like something fancy there are higher end restaurants as well. You can look forward to spending as little as $2 for some street meat or as much as $52 for a steak.

8. Drinks & Dancing

Halifax is a College town with four universities. It also has the largest number of bars and pubs per capita in Canada, if not in all of North America. If you are not wiped out from your long day, hit one or two of the bars and dance the night away. A few places even stay open until 3:30 A.M.

Side trips if you have more time:

1. Halifax has a great farmer’s market worth the visit every Saturday morning at Alexander Keith’s Brewery market. (Soon to be down the road and seven days a week!)

2. A 45-minute drive out of the city is the popular Peggy’s Cove, a quaint little fishing village with the most photographed lighthouse in the world. It is also possible to go there from the city by boat for a full day tour of the area.

3. On Saturday afternoons the oldest pub in the city “The Split Crow” has a happy hour from 3-4 P.M. where you can get three beers for $5 (this also happens Wednesday and Thursday nights from 9-10P.M.).

Halifax has tons of historical, fun, and tasty things to keep you busy and is definitely worth a visit.

** This is an article written for my first Assignment in my Matador U Travel Writing program. This is my second publishing of this article as I got some comments on it, took them into consideration and edited it a bit further.

February 10th - 12th, 2010 Fiji

2010-05-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

I tend to procrastinate..... A LOT.
I am finally writing to wrap up my wicked Fiji trip last February.
Wednesday and Thursday were my last two days in Fiji on the main island of Viti Levu. This trip was not long enough to really enjoy Fiji and do everything I wanted to do, but by taking a tour it was a great way to see as much as possible in the little amount of time that I did have.
Wednesday was an inspirational day. We started off with a short trip to a small town where we bought school supplies and candy for a school we were going to visit. You can see in the video in my previous post just how adorable these kids were. They were also so amazed, by my camera and video camera and could of played with them for days. They asked me if they were going to be on TV after I made a few videos of them!
Beautiful kids and I told them I would send them the photos later. I hope they like them!
I will add more photos on my main www.travelyourself.ca site. One little boy even asked me for my autograph. He was so cute!
Also on that Wednesday we also visited yet another village and met with a chief who was not only Chief of his own village but was also the Chief of the whole province that we were in. Of course, a lot more Kava was had. The Chiefs wife and sister also taught us how to make our own bracelets out of grass.
After the Kava ceremony we requested permission from the Chief to go bamboo rafting on a river that crossed through his land and had a great relaxing lazy river time. After we headed to our resort for the night.
The resort on Wednesday was my favorite resort of all the places I've stayed on this trip. It was only 5 years old and was owned by a New Zealander. The prices were really cheap if you were staying in a dorm room, and they had everything you could want. It was very secluded on a piece of land that jutted out into the ocean with a nice sandbar. You can see some video footage of it as well in the video in the previous post. This resort was called Voli Voli and I wish I could of stayed longer!The next morning I actually got to sleep in a bit and lay out in the sun before we continued on our way back to Nadi to complete our full circle tour of the main Island of Viti Levu. On our way to Nadi we stopped at a tradional Indian restaurant and learned how to make our own roti (flatbread). The food was delicious, and I was surprised to learn that Fiji has quite an Indian influence and actually has a 40% Indo-Fijian population. The British brought many contract workers from India to Fiji in the nineteenth century to work at the Sugar factories and the population now is made up of their descendants.Our last stop before finishing our trip was to some natural hot springs and mud baths.
I had never been in a natural mud bath before, but it had to have been one of the must disgusting things I had ever felt! It was very lovely though after you got use to it! Creepy though because you can't see what is touching you in the mud and water. It was very warm and the mud came up to my waist, then it was all muddy water. It was almost impossible to walk around in and felt like I was in a pot of running mashed potatoes!
The hot springs and mud baths sat at the bottom of a mountain, in the middle of no where of course. There were no showers for you to get washed off in later or, houses to get changed in. One of the two outhouses that were there had its toilet sitting outside of it (obviously broken). The idea was for people to jump in the mud bath first, then head for the hot spring to wash off. At this point on the bus there was about 7 of us and I believe Hanna and I (my new Swedish friend) were the only ones to get into the hot spring to wash off.
To me the hot spring made me feel the exact thing Lobsters must feel when we stick them in a pot of water. It was extremely hot, it hurt to touch. It took me a good 10 minutes to get in, rare for a hot spring! The temperature was 45+ but other people were in it, enduring it so I thought I must be able to do it. A french lady next to me commented that since Fijians use to be Cannibals this must be where they take the dumb tourists to boil them before they eat them.....
I definitely didn't stay in the hot spring long, but I survived.
Following the mud baths and hot springs I was dropped off at my last hotel near the airport where I would stay until I flew back to Australia the next day.

Tuesday Feb 9th in Fiji

2010-03-07T10:48:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was the start of my second full day in Fiji. It was an early morning start to hop back on the bus and hit the road. The type of bus tour I was on was the kind of hop on hop off tour where you can leave with the bus each day and stay traveling with the same tour guide and driver or at each resort you stop at you can decided to stay for a couple more nights and just jump on the next bus that arrives. I didn't have much time in Fiji so unfortunately I had to wake up early almost every morning to get on the bus. This morning there was only 3 of us continuing on instead of the packed bus of 15 the day before. (its a tiny bus) A tour is always fun with lots of people, but a small group can be quite nice as well as long as you get along with the other people in the group. I was left with myself, Kurt from Singapore and Hanna from Sweden two great people to be stuck with! haha
The first thing we did this day was go on a trek through a rain forest to a few waterfalls. Typically on this trip you would also visit a village however the village at this time was currently in mourning because of their chief who had just passed away. We were trekking with a particular guide company and they always trek with 2 guys, one for the front of the group and one for the back of the group, however since we were a group of only 3 and our tour guide came with us as well there were 3 people to 3 guides, you normally have to pay alot more money than we had to get that kind of service. It was a great trek, very muddy and slippery in parts but it was worth it to get to the waterfalls which were unbelievable, and the trek ended with a boat ride through mangroves. I did get a bit scratched up on the walk but part of it was due to the sensitive grass, a weed that grows in Fiji and the leaves on it are sensitive to touch.
Following the trek we headed to our resort for the night called Uprising Resort. It had to of been one of my favorite places that we stayed, the staff were very friendly, it was right on the beach, great dorms and a beautiful place all around. At the uprising resort we were shown how to make our own hats out of coconut palm leaves, taught how to open a coconut with a rock and then I had a full body massage for $30 Fijian, that is around $15 Canadian definitely worth it!
Aside from having more problems with my VISA card it was a very fun & productive day.
#5 New & Different thing that I did today was, jump off a waterfall, see sensitive grass, and made my own coconut palm hat!
Check out the video below to see a quick recap of my whole trip to Fiji.

Travel Yourself - Fiji from Cailin O'Neil on Vimeo.

Monday Feb 8th in Fiji

2010-02-22T21:01:00.000-08:00

Monday morning started early for me as I woke up early to start a FeeJee Experience tour of the main Island of Fiji, Viti Levu. However when I attempted to pay for my room I began a long drawn out battle with VISA that I had yet to realize. Their machine wouldn't accept my credit cards but thought it could of just been a problem on their end not mine.
Soon the bus arrived and we headed to Nadi one of the main cities on Viti Levu to shop for some food and buy sarongs/skirts to be worn in the village we would be visiting later that day. After Nadi we traveled to Natadola beach for a swim and BBQ lunch and I also purchased a fabulous pearl necklace from the ladies cooking lunch and scored a wicked deal!

After that came my #4 New and Different thing that I have done on this trip. I visited a real Fijian village, normally on this tour they show you around and take you inside the Chiefs house/hut to show you what it is like. However we happened to stumble upon a few locals inside having some Kava and they quickly invited us in to have some with them. (stay tuned for the video) Kava is the name of a plant and the name of the drink made from the plant. To make the drink the root and stem of the Kava plant are picked, dried and pounded into a powder. The powder is then put onto cheese cloth and water is poured through it with the runoff creating the drink. Kava numbs your mouth and stomach and is said to be good for treating nausea also its a relaxant, causes you to become quite mellow but allows you to keep a constant state of normal alertness and mental clarity. We ended up having 4 coconuts full of Kava each! A lot for your first time, I think they kept feeding it to us in hopes that we would leave quicker!
After putting all that Kava into our bellies we headed to some large sand dunes on the coast for some sand boarding! Of course the dune we were going to ride down was the tallest and steepest and hardest to climb! I was so afraid but at least I tried it! (stay tuned for the video of this as well)

Following the sand boarding we headed to our first resort for the night where we had a great dinner, participated in a crab race (my crab lost :( sadly) and drank more Kava. I had to be up early the next morning to catch the FeeJee bus so had some Kava and went to sleep, boy Kava knocks you right out! I slept through the 13 other people on tour with me returning to the dorm room that night, not a single thing could wake me up!
So #4 N&D thing was a few things.... Going to a Fijian Village, sand boarding, drinking Kava and betting on a crab race!

Fiji!

2010-02-12T23:05:00.000-08:00

I get my mini computer back from my friend tonight who was keeping it for me while in Fiji. Once I have it I will be able to write a more proper post because then I am not stuck for time and paying for computer time while trying to write something good! In the mean time here is a pretty photo of me in Fiji... and here is a quick 3sec video of an amazing waterfall I trekked to while in Fiji!
enjoy and stay tuned!! check out my twitter for updates on my travels and the other website for more updates!! Vinaka!

(first time using blooger video uploader bc it was quicker than youtube, not the greatest vid but it will do! )

FIJI !

2010-02-09T01:20:00.000-08:00

The past few days here in Fiji have been amazing! I never thought I would like this place so much! Simply because I guess I didn't know that much about it or what there was to see and do here and I have yet to leave the main island!
I stupidly forgot my camera cords at home and this computer does not have a card reader so I can't upload any videos or photos right now so this post will just be a quick tease of what I've been doing and I will put up better posts when I am back in Australia.
A quick recap since Sunday: I flew to Fiji, got my first Shell Lei, joined a great FeeJee experience tour with 14 other people, drank lots of kava in a village, went sand boarding, ate fried coconut, made a hat from coconut leaves, trekked to 3 waterfalls, got bitten by a million bugs, got a wicked sun burn on my shoulders, traveled half of the main island (to this point), bet on a crab and put it in a crab race, drank more kava, bought some great pearls and it goes on.
However at the moment I am too itchy from these bug bites to sit still at a computer any more! Tomorrow I am visiting another Fijian Village, visiting a school, going bamboo rafting and possibly mud pools? Back to Sydney on Friday!
Will write more soon, good night!

Fiji!!!

2010-02-07T00:54:00.001-08:00

ok I only have literaly 3mins left on my internet to write this I will write more later!
I am in Nadi, Fiji now about to start a FeeJee Experience tour tomorrow morning then back to Sydney, Australia on Friday. Hopefully it will be awesome and hopefully the sun will come out!!
#3 New and Different thing that I did today was...... I went to Fiji!!! too easy?? Well I also got my first Lei ever! a shell lei!!!
thinking of things to do tomorrow :)

How you goin'?

2010-02-05T19:56:00.000-08:00

The first words spoken to me after I have stepped off the plane in Sydney, Australia. "How you goin'?" says the customs officer as I hand over my passport. This simple greeting still throws me off every time I hear it even , though I have heard it many times. Every time I have to try and wrap my head around what exactly this Australian person is saying to me. I want to say, "good" or "ok" but then I want to say, "I'm not going anywhere I just stopped to talk to you", or "to the beach!" or something, it confuses me every time causing me to always have a delayed response to give myself time to figure out the answer they are looking for it. However every time I hear it it brings a smile to my face. That one simple phrase shows just how laid back this country is and I love it. (the photo above was taken on my iphone as we were landing - too many clouds!)

I am so happy to be back here (aside from the rain rain rain rain) but I can't complain that it is at least 25degrees and when I left Halifax it was -20degrees. I have decided on this trip that I am going to try to attempt to do something new or different every day. Something new and different (N&D) that I did yesterday (my first day here) was:

#1: N&D thing - Friday February 7th was I ate a pizza, not that exciting you say? Well this particular pizza had a cute and furry friend of the aussies on it. No! I didn't eat a Koala! Come on! However I wonder what it would taste like... hmmm? Is cute and cuddley a taste? No, this pizza had Kangaroo on it! I have been to Australia a few times but had yet been tempted by trying it until I went to the Australian Hotel bar next to my hostel for some food and it seemed to be the best thing on the menu.

PEPPER KANGAROO
Marinated in native pepper with roasted
capsicum & native berries.

It was actually very very good! Tasted similar to beef, with a texture similar to steak, moist and yummy!! However I felt bad later that evening when I was out with friends and could feel kangaroo stuck in my teeth.....

#2: N&D thing: Saturday February 6th - Not so new, but kind of different. I am going to try to eat a whole piece of toast with vegemite on it. I've tried the tinest bites of it before, but this time its serious business, I feel like I need to understand why people here love it so much. I may even film it as my first attempt at a vlog for your viewing pleasure, hopefully I don't puke!

Update: here is the video of me eating vegemite!

Headed to Australia Again!

2010-02-03T21:03:00.000-08:00

Currently I am sitting in Vancouver's YVR airport waiting for my plane to Sydney, Australia. After an already long day of traveling from Halifax to here I'm 2 hours away from boarding my last leg of the trip. 15 hours in the air, hopefully I can sleep the whole time. :)
Some people might be saying (and actually have said to me) "Australia again? I thought you wanted to travel the whole world?" This is true, I do and I will, but all in due time. I just finished work on Friday after working since mid-Septmeber (being freelance and working in the film/TV industry that is quite a long time!) I'm tired and the winter is getting on my nerves, I just need a get away vacation right now and not a travel vacation. Instead of going to an all inclusive for a week I decided why not go back to a place 1) that I'm familiar with 2) where many of my friends live & 3) that is in the middle of summer! So that is exactly what I'm doing, my plan is to hang out & soak up some rays. (fingers crossed the rain goes away) Australia is so, so very close to Fiji however... so who knows I might make a quick hop over to there as well just to cross another one off the list!
Stay tuned, more updates to come & possibly some vlogs! ooohh aaahhh (we'll see haha)
Don't forget to check out the site! www.travelyourself.ca

The trailer for my Travel TV show is online!!

2009-12-21T15:11:00.001-08:00

Tons of travel, a trip to Spain, a week of filming, 22 solid hours of footage, 3 1/2 months of acquiring a computer, getting it fixed up, editing, finding music, testing it out on people, getting it color corrected, fixing the titles, fighting with youtube and its finally online!!! Check out the trailer for my new Travel TV show "Travel Yourself" !! Check it out on my main website: www.travelyourself.ca
Also check out two new posts about myself and the show here on www.traveltitbits.co.uk and on www.sharingtravelexperiences.com !!
Also be sure to follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/travelyourself OR www.twitter.com/cailinoneil and become a fan on Facebook! www.facebook.com/travelyourself .
Stayed tuned for my next trip in January! Possibly Brazil!!!

First post!!

2009-09-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

My first real travel writing post is online today!! Check it out HERE , and a big thanks to Janice at www.solotravelerblog.com !!!

In the Coast this week!

2009-09-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

Myself and my Travel TV show are featured in Halifax's weekly newspaper The Coast this week!! Check out the article here!
www.thecoast.ca

Filming a Travel TV Show

2009-09-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

It has now been almost a week since I have been back home from filming the first episode of my Travel TV show in Spain. I've caught up on my sleep, gotten rid of my cold and am slowly adjusting to the slightly colder weather. At the moment it doesn't seem like that trip has even happened it (cliche) went by so fast, but honestly one of the biggest stages of making this show is now complete! Now to edit it and shop it around and sell the darn thing! Easy right?....
There were a couple times before we left that I was worried the whole thing may not come together and go crashing down at my feet, but luckily at the last moment it all came together. I definitely don't think it would have happened with out the great film/TV community in Halifax that helped us pull all of our equipment together.
I think Cam and I both agree that if we were to (when we do) make another episode there are definitely things that we would do different like have 2 days of work and 1 day off, to rest and actually enjoy the places we are visiting and possibly have a vehicle to lug more gear around with us instead of killing Cam's back. I would've helped carry things but I'm on camera all the time so it looks funny if I'm carrying a huge tripod right?? haha
It was an intense week, filming non-stop Valencia, La Tomatina Festival, Barcelona, Madrid and traveling to every place. I felt like I needed a vacation from my vacation after all of this so when Cam jumped back on a flight to Canada after only one week I stayed behind and visited the South of Spain and Morocco to try to relax.
I stayed in a small town called Mijas in the South of Spain with a German friend I met on two films I worked on this past summer who lives in Spain. I ate lots of great spanish food, did some touristy things, laid out on the beach and took a day trip to Tangier, Morocco. I've lost count of my countries, but I think with Spain and Morocco I am now at 19! Also having been to Morocco now checks another continent off of me list! 4 of 7 now visited!
Time to get another job, make some money, plan the next trip/episode, edit the first episode, shop the first episode around and sell it!!

Busy, busy Spain!!!

2009-08-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

This trip hasn´t been nearly as relaxing as my normal trips because we have been so busy filming and seeing and doing so many awesome things! There has been hardly any time for the internet at all so I am so far behind in my blogging and everything else!
I had a great 3 nights in Valencia and stayed at the Purple Nest hostel ( http://www.nesthostelsvalencia.com/ )
which I highly, highly recommend! I knew nothing about Valencia really before going there, but now am in love with the city and wish that I had stayed there longer, its high up there on my list of favorites now, right next to Edinburgh, Scotland.
The La Tomatina fight in Bunol, Spain was easily one of the craziest things I have ever done and have ever scene. Picture a wicked awesome party, then add tons of tomatoes and then spread out across a whole town of 9,000, but then throw 40,000 extra people into it! It was unreal, definitely a check off of the old bucket list for me. Last night Cam and I (my friend/camera man who I have convinced to follow me around Spain with a video camera to make www.travelyourself.ca ) took a bus from Valencia to Barcelona. It was an Alsa Bus but was Supra+ , we had no clue what the ¨supra+¨part of meant but just that it cpst 5euros more, but was at a time we wanted. We got on the bus and were handed a bag full of food. The seats fully reclined and there was so much room because there were only 3 seats going across the width of the bus instead of the standard 4, sooo awesome. I instantly fell asleep and when I woke up was in Barcelona!!
Now I´m sitting here exhausted with a bit of a cold and alot of city dirt all over me. Today may have been one of the most intense days of the trip as we had one day to do everything possible in Barcelona and I think we got quite close to achieving that goal. We saw so much Gaudi and got a great high up panormaic view of the city, but some souvenirs of course and had some great food. Its time to hang out for a bit in the hostel before bed, Madrid in the morning!!
Stay tuned, tell your friends and be sure to check out the other site! www.travelyourself.ca

On the way to Spain !

2009-08-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

Currently I am sitting at the Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport in Montreal on my way to Spain! Do to the threat of hurricane bill hitting the maritimes I took an early morning flight to Montreal to make sure I made it to Spain and because of that I had a 9 hour stop over here, but it was a great one. Of all the places I've been in my life and in the past couple years, I have never made it to Montreal. Now as I sit here waiting for the plane to Paris with my belly full of poutine I am happy to say I have "been" to Montreal. 2 buses and 12 stops on the metro took about 25min to get me into the city where I went to Mount Royal to see the "tams" (I think) (groups of people who drum in the park on Sundays and local artisans selling clothes, jewelry and knick knacks). After getting some sun and enjoying the scenery it was off to eat some poutine for lunch at a little diner recommended by a local. Mmm it was good. With another province checked off my list this trip is starting off as a good one and I'm still in transit to my destination.
On this trip I am being followed by a camerman as well while making a pilot for our travel tv show called "Travel Yourself" ( www.travelyourself.ca ) so far we have some great footage and we have only just begun! Stay tuned!

** this is being wriiten on my iPod touch, please excuse my bad punctuation !!

Less than a month left until Spain!

2009-07-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Blogging with a full time 14 hour a day job is a very hard thing to do! I swear I will get better at it, especially since we are in the last week of filming for the 2nd German film that I am working on which means I only have 2 weeks of work left! 3 pay cheques however, but not as much as I would like to have before I take off for Spain. I had assumed that I would be starting another job right away after this one which I would have to take a week off from to go to Spain, but as it turns out in the world of freelance work that job went away and I may now not work again until October! No complaints really though, as I now have more time to travel and may extend my trip to Spain and also hit up Portugal and maybe Morrocco!! That would be even more countries knocked of my list of places to see and a whole other continent possibly!
Things are slowly coming together for the tv show ( www.travelyourself.ca ), I've been working like crazy as has Cam my Director of Photography but so far we have our sound gear rented, the website is up and running, we have our plane tickets, most of our accommodations booked and hopefully today I will lock down a balcony in Bunol, Spain to film from for Tomatina, the big tomato fight/festival. We also have yet to get a camera locked down, we are looking for a P2 camera and we will either rent one or buy one (eek!) there goes more money, but its something that needs to be done. ( if you or a friend have one that they want to rent please let us know (hopefully you dont later mind the smell of tomatos.... haha)).
I feel like I should also start planning or thinking more about what I am going to do while there but it almost goes against my traveling style. The filmmaker side of me wants to have everything planned out to the last little thing, shot lists, scripts, ideas, and so on, but the laid back solo traveler in me is saying "naaahhh don't worry about it, whatever happens happens, it will be fine..." I like the solo traveler in me. It will work out.
More from me later, be sure to let me know what you think about the show, thoughts, ideas, comments, I'm open to anything and everything!!

Travel TV website Launched today!

2009-07-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

Today is a very exciting day as I am finally launching the website for my very own Travel TV show called "Travel Yourself". Check out the website here! www.travelyourself.ca
I'm a filmmaker by trade and a big time traveler so why not put the two things I love together in one package!? That is exactly what I am trying to do with this show!
I will be going to Spain at the end of August and I am taking a camera man with me to follow me around in Valencia and Bunol at the Tomatina festival, in Barcelona and Madrid!
Check out the website for more info and let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading and soon thanks for watching!

another

2009-06-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

is this two updates in one day? I don't even know if that happened when I was traveling!! haha just an update because I'm excited that I just got added to Nick Bowditch's " list of influential travellers on twitter"............ well maybe I suggested that he add me but he took the suggestion and now I'm on it! haha exciting!!!!!!!!
@nickbowditch
http://www.nickbowditchtravel.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=266:travellers-on-twitter&catid=72:my-blog&Itemid=153

check me out on twitter!! @CailinONeil

more June updates

2009-06-23T06:54:00.001-07:00

I've come to a bit of a snafu in the planning of my travel tv show, as I (fingers crossed, with bated breath) waited to hear if I was going to get some aeroplan points from a relative to help fly my camera man and I to Spain I find out that no there are none available. Upset, yet determined I won't let it stop me. I now just have spend much more money than planned.... eeek!! However I am now accepting donations of aeorplan points!! I need only 60,000 points and my boss has already offered up 5!! so 59,995 points left to go!! Please be sure to let me know if you are interested in donating :) it would be greatly appreciated and I will put your name in the credits of the show I swear!
On a happier note I have recently been excited to exchange a few emails with the great Canadian travel tv show "Departures" producer Steven Bray who has given me some great tips on filming in other countries and making a Travel TV show.
I've also booked the hostel for my camera man Cam and myself to stay in when we get to Valencia and have spoken with the manager about filming in and around the hostel. Also I am currently trying to figure out how I can get the permission to film from a balcony in the small town of Bunol to film over the crowd of Tomatina! If you have any friends or relatives there please let me know!
I have also met tons of awesome travel people on twitter! I just signed up for it one day to check it out and am amazed at the travel community on this site!! Such an invaluable resource for myself with great bloggers like @solotraveler @whereivebeen @lonelyplanet @Journeywoman @theplanetd @traveldudes @globtrav you can follow me on there as well @cailinoneil

Update

2009-06-16T02:44:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a month and a half because I haven't been traveling anywhere except from home to work then back home every day! A week after my last trip I started work again as an Assistant Production Coordinator on two new films being made for German TV. "Two Sisters" and "Second Honeymoon" which are adapted from books written by Joanna Trollope.
These films are being shot here in Canada which is being used as a double for Boston. The characters in the film all have American names however the language being spoken in the film is German. Since they are being made for German TV German actors and German crew have been flown in to make these films. So even though I'm not traveling at least it still feels like I kind of am because I'm constantly hearing a foreign language. It's nice to hear aside from the fact that I am working 12 - 14 hour days on these movies.
I will be blogging again soon though as I have started planning my next trip! This trip will be to Spain and maybe Portugal if I can fit it in! The plan is to go to Spain around the end of August and I am going to take a camera man with me and we are going to film the first episode of my very own travel tv show! The show is called "Travel Yourself" (www.travelyourself.ca) and I am putting all my ideas together and am planning it all myself. However yesterday I told my current boss of my plans and it turns out that she has some of her own plans for me. I am suppose to be done work around the first week of August with these German films which would give me time to prepare for my trip and alow me to have a trip longer than just one week. Apparently though I am starting on another film right away and the week I'm planning to be in Spain is the last week of Prep before we start shooting! Not so good - but at this point since I've already planned so much and I hope to be in Spain for Tomatina which only happens once a year, I think I might take the trip over the job. There will always be more jobs and there will always be more trips - so why not take the better one right? Or even better maybe they can find someone to cover for me while I'm away - sounds easy - but is a hard thing to do on a film as we aren't working that long on it to begin with! Alot can happen in one week. But travel I must!
Stay tuned this summer for more updates and exciting news!

Last day in London!

2009-05-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

Friday May 1st.
My last day in London :( I woke up early, grabbed my traditional english breakfast and went to Oxford St. for some more shopping and bought a pretty cool picture frame that looks like a TV. Then I rushed back to my hotel to meet with the wonderful Oli, a friend of mine who I met in New Zealand but is from England.
It was a great last day as Oli and I tried to do some of the many things in London that I have not done yet. First we went to the London Dungeon where I constantly screamed like a little school girl and he didn't seem phased at all, pish whatever... Oli.
http://www.thedungeons.com/en/london-dungeon/index.html
Sadly one of their rides was broken but the rest of it was pretty cool, I really liked the Sweeny Todd part of it and we learned a bit about Jack the Ripper too. After getting freaked out at the London Dungeon we had a quick a lunch and then decided to head over to Hyde park and go on a paddle boat ride of the Serpentine. It was a great day for a boat ride too as the sun was shining and it was quite warm out, no winter jacket for me like I had been wearing in Scotland and Ireland. After watching other paddle boats being "attacked" by geese we hopped out, strolled through the park and tried to find a place for Dinner.
The plan was to go on the Jack the Ripper walking tour at 7:30pm so we headed to the part of the city where it starts from for supper and ended up at a great Italian place looking over the Thames with great views. Dinner ran a little longer than expected so we had to quickly get to the meeting point of the tour but oddly couldn't find the group. Oli then texted Q&A i think it was called. Q&A is this great texting company that you can text any question and they will send you back the answer. (this was also good at resolving a few other questions that day) After texting them we realized we couldn't find the group because we were on the wrong side of the Thames and in the wrong spot. Ooops! However if that hadn't happened we wouldn't of gotten to walk across the Tower Bridge which was pretty cool as we tried to find the tour group, but with no success we just went and had some ice cream in Leicester square. Always a great way to finish the night! and a perfect last day to a great trip!
Saturday May 2, back to Halifax - time to get a job :(

Back to London

2009-05-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

Thursday April 30th 2009
Left Dublin today and flew back to London!! Aer Lingus flight, very very cheap. At the airport I drank my last Guinness and bought my last souvenirs. A great pashmina scarf for my mom with celtic knots on it. I always feel like a slacker buying presents at the last minute at the airport, but I was still in the country and sometimes the airports have the best presents!!
I got back into London around 3:30pm and dragged my increasingly heavier suitcase down to the Undgerground and into the city. Next trip I'm hiring someone to carry my luggage for me everywhere!
I checked back into my hotel, did some interneting and then went out for supper and some shopping on Oxford St. That was when i discovered the Topshop! The Selfridges clothing store is attached to it and I had been there before but never to Topshop and I am amazed at the size of this place, 5 floors and it was so big it had its own nail salon, hair salon and restaurant and it was pretty much just like an H&M not even a department store. There were so many things!
I then had a lovely dinner at an italian place in the Covent Garden Market and watched Dan Magness attempt a world record at keeping a soccer ball in the air for 24 hours. It was pretty cool but that must be tiring!! head butting and kneeing and kicking a ball for that long! http://www.danmagness.com/

I kissed the Blarney Stone and it was awesome!

2009-04-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 29th 2009.
I woke up at 6am to catch my 7:10 Paddy's Wagon bus tour to go to Blarney Castle!! The girl who booked my tour for me with Paddy's Wagon said she had heard great things about their tours and so did a couple other people that I spoke to so I was excited to do it and it seemed like there would be a younger crowd of tourists on it like me. Their slogan is even "Award Winning World Famous Tours of Ireland" but that it was not, at least not from my experience. http://www.paddywagontours.com/
Normally I think I'm a generally happy easy going person and I don't let things bug me but right off for this trip there were whining older people complaining about the weather, eating their stinky breakfast on the bus. Then as we drove the bus got all steamed up so we couldn't even take in the views of Ireland as we drove through it and also the 'tour guide' was just driving us and not giving us any info or history about Ireland. All he did do was repeat a few times where we were headed and that there were 2 groups of us, one group that I was in going to the Blarney Stone and the other group staying with him and going to the cliffs of Moher which he then says no trip to Ireland is complete with out seeing them... great for the 9 of us who aren't.... then he repeated a few times what the cliffs people would be seeing and never told us once what The Blarney people would do. Half way to Blarney we stopped to view the King Johns Castle in Limerick and the 9 of us got an even smaller bus to go to the Blarney Castle. This new tour guide/driver was Kevin and he was a way better tour guide with his thick accent from Cork and tried to fill us in in everything he knew about Ireland. He told me an interesting fact too! the Gardia (police) that they have don't have guns! they only have batons and just recently the government has thought about giving them tasers. I'm pretty sure they are the only police force in the world that don't carry guns! What do they do when someone is running from them?? "Stop! or I'll throw this stick at you!"?? but recently i think it was in Limerick they have been dealing with alot of gun violence so they brought in a special police force who carry guns to get rid of these bads and then they will leave once the job is done. Crazy eh?
Once we got to the Blarney Castle I was much happier, the Castle was beautiful!!! and was sitting on acres of land with beautiful trees and flowers around it, unlike some other castles where the city is built right on top of them. Quite smaller than I had imagined, and pretty much just walls, when you climbed up to the top where the Blarney stone is you can look down right through the middle to the bottom floor. Once i was

at the top it started to rain a bit but it was time to Kiss the Blarney Stone to get my gift of gab and eloquence!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blarney_Stone I just took these photos off the net as I can't upload mine at the moment but this is exactly what I saw. In the first photo you can see the Blarney stone at the bottom, its just that little sliver of rock that looks dirty from everyone kissing it..... eewwww haha and then you can see in the other photo how one would attempt to kiss the Blarney stone. You lay down on your back and shimmy yourself backwards and an old old man holds on to you as you lean back. But looks may be decieving once you are actually trying to do it, it is much farther away than it appears!! Its kind of scary because literally you are hanging upside down over the side of a castle thats at least 3 or 4 storeys high and all you have is an old old man trying to hold you up!!

This picture that I found on the internet shows the castle and where the stone is. Not sure if this person put BS for Blarney Stone or for something else.... But that is exactly where it was and there is a big gapping hole where the arrow points so you are literally hanging out right over the edge!! While there I also learned that this is on the Discovery Channels list of 99 Things to do before you die! So I have at least one checked off i tried searching for this on the internet but couldn't find it right away so i couldn't be bothered at the moment... haha After the Blarney Castle I had some lunch and watched the news as I ate it and was informed that more and more people in Europe are getting the swine flu..... i'm in europe ...... oh well! :)
Then we drove back to Limerick to get back on our original bus and headed back to Dublin and we drove for 3 hours straight! The guy just bombed it in with no washroom breaks or anything. I'm not recommending these guys to anyone... but to each his own.
After I got back to Dublin I met with my friend Matt from Halifax who has been living in Dublin for the past 2 years at least and lives only 2 blocks from the hotel I was staying at! We caught up and I had another Guinness which I now really quite like and a few snake bites! I'm going to the miss the cider! Hopefully I can find it back home. It was a successful day altogether! :)

My Goodness, My Guinness!!

2009-04-30T02:29:00.000-07:00

Second day in Dublin Ireland!! The first thing I did was eat a traditional Irish breakfast which includes toast, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and some kind of pudding - I of course left the mushrooms, tomatoes and pudding to themselves.... eeww hahaha so really it was a normal breakfast. Then I hoped on a city tour bus and took it to the Guinness factory! http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/Index.aspx The interior of the Guinness store house is shaped like a 7 storey pint of Guinness and if it were filled with Guinness it could hold something like 14.3million pints which is what the entire world drinks in beer in a day and a half. They had a really neat graphic wall surrounding you like looked like Guinness was actually being poured all around you it was pretty cool. The tour of the place was self guided with a map you followed around with arrows on the floor and interactive tv screens every where you went it was great . With your entrance ticket of course you also got a coupon for a pint of Guinness if you wanted or any other drink, but really who would want anything else if they are at the original Guinness Brewery from 1759!!! Funny thing about the acres of land that Guinness owns right in downtown Dublin when Arthur Guinness first signed the lease for this land he made it out for 9,000 years!!!!! and this year they are now celebrating 250 of brewing!!! they have 8,750 years left on their lease at this location! its unreal really!! They teach you the whole process of how they brew the beer and then on the 6th floor you get to learn how to pour your own perfect pint of Guinness but as I'm about to do it I get told that if I pour my pint on the 6th floor I dont get to drink it on the 7th floor where the bar is, so of course I skipped the pouring and headed up to the 7th floor. The 7th floor is the head/foam of the beer and is circular and all glass giving a full 360 view of all of Dublin and is full of tons of people! I take a few pictures, hand my ticket in and watch my first official Guinness being poured. I'm a bit worried at this point as I've never enjoyed in a Guinness before, but when in Rome!! The bartender hands it to me and informs me to properly enjoy it I have to let it sit for 2 minutes to let it set. I find the only seat left in the place, wait my two minutes and drink one of the best Guinness's I've ever had! It was great!
After the Guinness tour I hoped back in a city tour bus and went to the IMMA (irish museum of modren art) and quite frankly it was quite lame and didn't compare to the Tate in London at all! After that I did some more city bus touring and went to Pheonis park which holds the Dublin Zoo this park is so huge it has over 300 dear and could hold two New York Central Parks in it!! It is also where the Irish President lives from what I could figure out and where the US diplomat lives. Sweet place to live thats for sure! I did some more city touring and some gift shopping then went to bed early as I had to get up for my trip to kiss the blarney stone the next day!!!

Dublin, Ireland!!

2009-04-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Monday April 27th.
I had to wake up at 5am to catch the airport bus to the Edinburgh Airport for my 8:20am flight. When I got there, there was no line to check in but then the line for security had to be at least 200 to 300 people it was the craziest thing I had ever seen, but thankfully was moving really really fast. After I got on the plan within an hour I was in Ireland! Country #16!!!!!!!!
I took another airport bus into the city where I was let off at Trinity College founded in the 1500's by Queen Elizabeth I to educate the Irish. Its pretty much dead center of the city and has a huge campus and holds the "Book of Kells".
I found my hotel "Adams Trinity Hotel" just a few blocks down the street hidden in a bit of an alley way, checked in and slept for a good 3 hours.
Later that afternoon I explored the city and took a sight seeing tour to check everything out and that is where I first saw the Guinness Storehouse http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/Index.aspx
that would be high on my list of things to do for the next day.
I also discovered the Temple Bar area which forever took me to figure out that it wasn't just a bar called Temple Bar but that the whole area of pedestrian roads and bars and shops were called Temple Bar.
At 7:30 I met the lovely Caroline Hall at my hotel. Caroline and I met a year ago and were on a Contiki Tour together of the East Coast of Australia and is from Belfast herself but is currently studying at Trinity College. Turns out she had won a radio contest and had a coupon for a free meal for two and a bottle of wine at this great place called Cafe Novo and the food was amazing and free!! We were so full afterwards but still had enough room for my first real irish cider. We went to the Temple bar area and drank what is called a "Snake Bite" which is cider mixed with black currant syrup. mmmmmmmmm it was good! here is a link about the cider i need to drink more of this when i get home! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magners

2009-04-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

Finally I've found an internet place with a card reader and since its raining I have time to upload some pics!

This is Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland and me trying to take a picture of myself with in in the background.

This is a photo of the Scot Monument in Edinburgh, Scotland at night time and to the right is a photo of the Three Sisters mountains on the way to the Loch Ness from Edinburgh very very foggy day.

Some lovely Loch Ness Mash that I drank on the boat cruise of Loch Ness and a picture of me with Lock Ness in the background and Urquhart Castle and some stupid person who wouldn't get out of the way.

THE LOCH NESS MONSTER!!!!

2009-04-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

I did see the Loch Ness monster I swear! and I have pictures on my camera but this internet cafe doesn't have a memory card reader so I can't upload the photos :(
Sunday was a very early day getting up at 7am to go on a day trip from Edinburgh to the Loch Ness and further up to Inverness before returning back to Edinburgh at 8:30 that night. My tour guides name was Brian, not the most authentic Scottish name but is accent and kilt definitely were. It was an amazing trip through the country side of Scotland driving past locations where Hagrid's house in the first Harry Potter films were shot, passing the William Wallace Monument and seeing many many castles. My favorite castle was probably Urquhart Castle which is now in ruins and is located right on Loch Ness. Right by this castle is where most of the sightings of the monster have happened. (all of my photos from Saturday and on are just taken from the internet as i am unable to load my own at the moment.) I got to go on a boat cruise of the Loch Ness where I bought a great book about the whole history of the monster and it's sightings and also I drank some Monster Mash, Loch Ness Monster Nessie Beer which was extremely good!! After the boat cruise we then drove the whole length of Loch Ness and continued on to Inverness. The country side was beautiful to see and the rain off and on with all of the fog just added to the experience, its hard to describe in words and I am dying to get my photos uploaded! We also stopped for lunch at the bottom of the Ben Nevis mountain which is the highest point in Great BBritain but it was so foggy we couldn't see the top so instead I tried some famous Ben Nevis Whiskey, straight up, it was nasty, but could I of expected anything less?? So I bought some! and of course I bought myself my very own Nessie. One of the best quotes of the day from the tour guide was 'You don't need a dictionary to learn Scottish you just need a spittoon!'
On the trip there were also many a 'Hairy Coo' spotted!! yes I said Coo not cow, one in particular was named Hamish and I got to feed him and we got along quite well! However I'm not sure if we got along as well as this guy did with him. (this pic was also taken off the net.)
Also I learned some things Loch means Lake, Glen means valley and Ben means mountain. Also we drove through a marshy, boggy, wasteland type area which was called Rannoch Moor with Moor meaning wasteland. When I googled a picture of it this is one of the images I came up with. I think I missed seeing Castle McDuck though... But take out the castle and thats exactly what it looked liked!!
I have now made it to Dublin, Ireland and have booked a tour on Wednesday to go to Cork and Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone!! I'll update more later!

Saturday in Scotland Part 2

2009-04-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

At the Antiques sale in Edinburgh I had some great purchases. I found an old reel of 16mm film and from what the box says it might be an old Charlie Chaplin film and bought that for only £2. Then for £1 I got a great little gold charm bracelet with charms of different monuments in London hanging off of it, and also a great big huge cocktail ring that is really old costume jewelery. Just as I was leaving I spotted a great Egytpian charm like bracelet and bought it right away as it matches similar ones that I have from France and Italy. It has Pharaohs and Elephants on it. Really great but I can't post photos here :(
The rest of Saturday I did a few hop on hop off bus tours of the city which I thought were all the exact same trip aside from what the tour guides tried to tell me, luckily though a ticket for one bought me a ticket for all their tours so I wasn't that mad about it aside from the fact i wasted 2 1/2 hours hearing the same thing again....
I also got to Explore the Castle in the city! The first thing I checked out was the Crown Jewels.After waiting in line and being told the history and seeing paintings of the Jewels or fake jewels for 30mins finally I saw what is in the above picture. That was it, cool, but kind of a waste of time.... but cool. After that I went to the Prisoners area of the Castle which was really cool as they still had some of the original doors to the prison where prisoners had carved their names and stories into. Also they had their living quarters and all the art and things the prisoners use to make to waste their time and would then sell to locals through the gates for money and tobacco, and projected on the walls of the prison they had silhouetted videos of prisoners arguing and talking about their capture which was really great.
After the castle I also climbed all 287 steps to the top of the Scot Monument. Edinburgh is such a beautiful city and is in the top for my favorite city I've ever been to. That night I went to the famous grass market where a long time ago anything that ate grass was sold. Funny way to come up with the name of a place but that was it. I checked out some of the famous bars like 'The Last Drop' named that not because of drinks but because of the last hanging that took place in that very square. Also I went to the Three Sisters (not sure of the reason for the name) but it was a great bar in the city with tons of Hens and Bucks in the craziest costumes ever.

Saturday in Scotland Part 1

2009-04-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have a whole day trip planned for Loch Ness tomorrow so I'm not sure when I'll get to write about my events on Saturday but I can write some now as its mid-day saturday and write the rest Monday maybe.
This morning I got up really early and had an amazing breakfast on George St. at Centotre I think it was called which was conviently located right across from the Antiques sale i had heard about that was happening at the Freemasons hall. Good boiled/grilled bacon/ham stuff awesome scrambled eggs and toast with fresh squeezed juice for only £8.00 not bad i guess. I keep thinking these are canadian prices so I think they are great deals then i calculate in my head and worry about how much i've actually spent.... oops
After breakfast I went to the antiques sale and it was very small but awesome and I got some amazing charm bracelts, one was from Egypt!!!
but ill write more later!

Long Train Rides and lots of Sudoku

2009-04-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

Friday April 24th.
A good chunk of my day was spent on the train from London, England to Edinburg, Scotland yesterday. 4 and 1/2hours to be exact right in the middle of the day but it didn't seem so long and was a nice scenic ride through the countryside. I think something that made the time pass quicker was Ian the guy sitting next to me who was from Massachusetts and is on a 3 week break from the Navy. Conversations with new people who work on submarines and playing many a game of the addictive Sudoku make long train rides seem to guy by very quickly!
After I got off the train in Edinburgh I was amazed at the beauty of the place even though there is construction everywhree as they are setting up for a new tram system. As I excited the train station I looked to the left and way high up on the hill was the beatuiful Edinburgh Castle! I had never seen anything like it it was really amazing!
I pulled my typically overpacked suitcase about 4 blocks until I got to my hotel which is beyond amazing (and it should be for the price!) tonight it is costing me £129!!! thats like $250can but last night (friday) it was only £65 and tomorrow it will be that again thankfully!
After I dropped my bags off I explored the city and took some great photographs of the Castle, the Scots Monument and of the city. In the Princes Street Gardens I met a wonderful old Scottish man who was talking to me about the Castle and the City but I quickly ran away after he was asking me to sit on the bench with him and hang out with him all weekend..... he was such a nice looking old man too haha I quickly made an excuse and took off and went to have some dinner. Tempted by the Hagis on the menu I decided to go for the real fish and chips and for only £9.50 along with a pint of beer it was probably the best fish and chips i've ever had. However at dinner I met two lovely ladies from Saskatchewan that I talked to about traveling and one of them who is originally from South Africa even invited me to go with her and her family the next she goes in September! That would be amazing if that could happen, but at the moment I need some more cash flow before I can even think about it! this trip is definitely draining away all of the government money i just got back and then some. But its worth it! After dinner I planned what I would do the next day to get the best out of Edinburgh and I booked a tour to Loch Ness for Sunday!!!!!!! I am so excited to be going to Loch Ness and am determined to get a photo of that damn Nelly Monster. I know no one has really been able to yet but thats because I've never been and I have a good feeling that I'm going to get it and make millions!!... we'll see I'll keep you posted....
internet is running out i apologize for errors...
more pictures to come!

On the Way to Scotland

2009-04-24T02:08:00.000-07:00

Just about to catch my train to Scotland in 2 hours!!
Country #15, slow and steady wins the race right?
Yesterday was another great day in London, met with a few friends and ran into my tour guide from a european tour I did in December 2007. Its such a small world!
A good part of my day was spent planning. After paying an arm and a leg of course I have my travel and accommodation finally booked for the next week. Today I will take a 4 hr and 30min train from London to Edinburgh, Scotland and then stay at a ridiculously priced hotel for 3 nights and hopefully maybe make it up to visit Nessie. Then on Monday I fly from Edinburgh to Dublin, Ireland where I hope to track down some O'Neil's and hopefully kiss the blarney stone! On Thursday the 30th I fly from Dublin back to London for a couple of nights and then maybe I'll come home!
I also went and visited the Tower of London yesterday (which is a Castle but no one ever told me that! haha)
wikipedia says
''The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.''
I was suppose to be meeting up with some friends and also because it costs £17 I didn't actually enter the Castle but got some souvenirs and took some pictures but might go back next week.
Can't wait for some yummy Hagis tonight!

''Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish.
There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours.''
eewwww

Tate, Tate, Tate!

2009-04-23T03:08:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 22, 2009 my second day in London. The plan for the day was to get up early and go to The Tate Modern and the Tower of London. I ended up waking up late and only seeing the Tate, but still had a great day. I wasn't sure how much I would like the Tate especially since I was just going in blindly and not knowing much about the place or what exhibitions that it currently was showing.
As I walked across the Millennium bridge towards the Tate I looked down into the Thames and thought of taking a picture of the water, just like an artist I learned about at NSCAD had done and made a whole photographic book about the water in the Thames, but didn't and just kept walking. However I was extremely excited just by a sign outside of the building before I even entered. The sign read 'Roni Horn aka Roni Horn'. I'm sure this doesn't mean anything to most but while I was at NSCAD I took about 3 different courses from this one teacher Stephen Horne and in every different class he spoke of Roni Horn. I've spent hours learning about her and have even written a few papers and now all of a sudden I stumbled on Roni Horn's first major showing of work in the UK and hadn't even known it. This also just happened to be the very artist I had just been thinking about as I walked over the Thames. http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/ronihorn/default.shtm
One half of a whole floor of the Tate was given up just for her work and it was very exiciting to see. However sadly you weren't allowed to take any photographs. The Tate then kept surprising me as I walked into one Gallery room I was excited to see actual prints and contact sheets of Robert Franks a favorite photographer of mine, then some Ed Ruscha paintings and of course some Andy Warhol!! I decided not to rush my visit and to spend time enjoying it all so sadly I took so long that the Tower of London was just closing as I left the Tate. To the Tower tomorrow! Later that night I wandered around and took some great pics of Big Ben. Tomorrow the Tower, seeing some friends and booking my Scotland and Ireland trips!

Europe April & May 2009

2009-04-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

My first trip since I started my travel blog and I find myself in London, England. This is my third time here so sadly doesn't count as a new country. However on Friday I have plans of going to either Ireland or Scotland and then the other of the two on Monday. (Not sure which one I'll go to first). The plan is to go to Dublin in Ireland and maybe Cork so I can kiss me some Blarney stone. When I head to Scotland I hope to go to Edinburgh to check out some Castles and other interesting things! Before that I hope to maybe take a day trip to Stonehenge and Wales.
Its now the end of my first day here in London and all I've done so far is sleep and take pictures of Russell Crowe. Much more to do tomorrow like visit the Tower of London, see the Tate and hopefully meet up with some friends!

Where I've been so far.

2009-03-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

So far in my life I have traveled to 14 of the 195 countries in the world. The first of course is the one I was born into Canada. (In Canada I have been to 6 of the 10 provinces and none of the 3 territories.) Second was the United States of America. ( I have been to 7 of the 50 states.) However in the next year I hope to go on a North American road trip with a Canadian friend of mine who I met in NZ and hopefully we will cover all of those provinces, territories and states that I am currently missing. The third country that I traveled to in my life wasn't until 2006 when I went on a 21 day tour of France, changing airports and planes in London, England on the way to France. England becomes my 3rd and France my 4th. That trip to France was with my university and we checked out art and castles through out the country from Paris all the way to Nice in 21 days. My next big trip wouldn't be until December of 2007 when I went on a 14 day, 9 country tour of Europe with Contiki. (http://ca.contiki.com/) The trip I went on was called the European Discovery tour. The trip started in London, England and on the first day we drove to Amsterdam, driving through Belgium (5th) making the Netherlands my 6th country. We then continued on for the next 14 days traveling to Germany (7th), Austria (8th), Italy (9th), Vatican City (10th), Switzerland (11th), and finishing in France.

That Europe trip as short as it was had to be one of my favorite trips of my life so far. I reckon I met heaps of keen Australians on that trip that I made great friendships for life with.
My next trip in April then took me to Australia a place I had always wanted to visit and now because of all these new friends I had a good excuse to go. Australia being my 12th country I spent a lot of time in Sydney but also did an East Coast tour of the country from Hamilton Island and the Great Barrier Reef to Sydney and everywhere in between on another Contiki tour.
I fell in love with this country and its people, causing me to want to go back and I did just that. The following November I made it back to Australia and then that next January and February I was there as well. During my November trip I made a quick 10 day trip over to New Zealand where I did yet another Contiki of the North Island. New Zealand country # 13! It was one of the most beautiful places I have seen so far and I didn't even really get to see the South Island which is supposed to be one hundred times better.

My Jan-Feb 2009 trip to Australia again was another great trip where I saw more of the country, met up with old friends and got to be a tour guide for my family. However landing back home in the winter again, with out a job had me itching to get out of town and so three weeks after being home I left again. I never thought that I would ever want to do an all inclusive type trip, but 2 of my friends were going to Cuba and not having work I figured why not!

Cuba my 14th country was a great decision and I'm so happy i went on that trip, I learned so much about that country and culture and it was extremely refreshing to just relax and be waited on hand and foot and to be away from the hustle and bustle of the world.
14 countries however is not enough! I am still dying to go to everywhere else that I can get to!
Where I've Been:
1. Canada
2. US
3. England
4. France
5. Belgium
6. Netherlands
7. Germany
8. Austria
9. Italy
10. Vatican City
11. Switzerland
12. Australia
13. New Zealand
14. Cuba

Where I hope to go to next (not necessarily in this order)
Egypt, Cambodia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, South Africa, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Spain, Portugal, Estonia and everywhere else but those are the highest on my list!

195 Countries by June 1st, 2014??

2009-03-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

It's about time I started my own travel blog with all the traveling I have done in the past 15 months in particular and with all the traveling I hope to do specifically in the next 5 years.
I have always loved to travel and thanks to my parents have done a lot of it so far in my life. In the past fews months I actually created a goal for myself to travel to every country in the world by the age of 30 and hopefully I can reach this goal! According to the UN they currently consider there to be 195 countries in the world to which I have been to 14. 181 to go! Here on my blog you can track my progress and also see where I've been so far. I can't be traveling all the time so I may also add some day to day life tid bits as well.