Travelling

Short Trips – Paris – two strikes and you’re out

debbiekaye1980Leave a comment

Paris – the romantic capital of the world, right?

Sorry, not for this chick!

It’s not like I had an especially bad time in Paris the first time I was there, it just wasn’t overly memorable compared to all the other amazing cities I’d seen.

paris_eiffel_tower
There it is – the Eiffel Tower

When the opportunity came up to go there again, just for the weekend, I originally baulked at the idea. See, I guess I’ve become part-European. I thought to myself, it seems like a lot of hard work, driving 10 minutes to the airport to go to Paris just for two nights. Of course, I soon realised my mistake – any opportunity to do these things shouldn’t be passed up – who knows how long I’ll be here!

Continue reading →

Longer Trips – Australia – I come from a land down under

debbiekaye19804 Comments

My recent trip to Australia for our wedding almost felt more like a working holiday than an actual holiday, due to the large amounts of somewhat boring (though essential) tasks that had to be undertaken, interspersed with crazy, emotional drinking sessions.

australia_hens
Like my hen’s night… which was awesome, and resulted in an almost-zero hangover… for me anyway

Continue reading →

Long-haul flights suck – Deb’s Top 10 Tips to making them half bearable

debbiekaye19802 Comments

Through my travelling adventures, and now living in Austria, I’ve spent a lot of time on aeroplanes, and not just short trips, but the long, nasty, boring 20+ hour ones. However, I’ve come to love them, or at least if not love, I’ve learnt to tolerate.

What you have to do, is acknowledge that it’s 15-24 hours out of your life, and then get over it. Use it to catch up on reading, movies, listening to music – just let it go by as easily as possible. Realise that it’s going to be long, it’s going to be boring, and by the end, you’re going to feel like crap. But at least you’re one of the lucky ones – with the opportunity and money to fly for that long.

So here’s my top 10 tips for long-haul flights: Continue reading →

Beach, family & my dog – the Top Ten things I’m looking forward to in Oz

debbiekaye19801 Comment

I’m loving life here in Austria… especially as it slowly but surely progresses from winter to summer. But there’s no doubt I’m extremely excited about a few weeks back in my homeland, amongst familiar sights and surroundings. So I thought as a farewell post before I head to the Land Downunder tomorrow, I’d list the top ten things I’m most looking forward to. Please note that this excludes things like catching up with family and friends and getting married, which are obvious ones. Continue reading →

Longer Trips – Scotland – Castles, comfort food and countryside

debbiekaye1980Leave a comment

I love Ireland and I’ve been there twice but I’ve never quite managed to get to Scotland. Luckily, Thomas is a big fan of Scotland so for our main trip in 2014 we spent 2.5 weeks in the UK. I was very much looking forward to all the ‘normal’ food I would be able to find there as well as exploring old country towns and castles.

scotland pastie
Mmmm… pastie!

Continue reading →

Short Trips – Vienna – it’s kind of like Melbourne, but really old

debbiekaye1980Leave a comment

Vienna came second in the ‘most liveable city’ next to Melbourne the year I moved to Austria, so it seemed only fitting that we visit my parents for a weekend during their Eurotrip.

IMG_2793
Welcome to Vienna

Therefore, as far as I can tell these must be the requirements for most liveable city:

  • There’s people everywhere
  • The weather is unpredictable
  • It is extremely windy

Continue reading →

Short Trips – St Daniele – Wine & prosciutto heaven

debbiekaye1980Leave a comment
P1010989
Let me at it!

In June we went to Italy for the day (yes, I know, but that’s not that best bit) for a prosciutto festival (see, that’s the best bit).

St Daniele is famous for its amazing prosciutto and every year they hold a festival – it’s a couple of hours drive for us… but it was well worth it.

Continue reading →

Short Trips – Amsterdam – Hello cookie…

debbiekaye1980Leave a comment
IMG_3152
We’re on a boat!

In June we took a mini break to Amsterdam. Neither of us had been there before and we were keen to spot some windmills and try the local… cuisine.

We booked ourselves a tiny room on a canal boat for four nights. We were lucky enough to have a shower in our room, though the toilet was communal (and the paper goes in the bin, please!), but for four nights it was perfect. Following are my impressions of the gorgeous city of Amsterdam.

Continue reading →

How did I get here? The love story.

debbiekaye19804 Comments

One common question people ask me when they discover I’m an Aussie living in a small Austrian town is: “How did you end up here?”

And the answer is, of course, a love story.

Ahhhhhh… (vomit)

Right? Who wants to read the story about the girl that travelled the world and met her soulmate along the way?

Because it’s bullshit, right?

But then it happened to me.

Me, a couple of days before, completely unaware my lift was about to change
Me, a couple of days before, completely unaware my lift was about to change

Continue reading →