Does being sick in paradise make it better?

Lauterbrunnen

Every time I breathe I cough so much that my stomach muscles ache and my head hurts

It is a perfect 28 degrees outside in the picturesque Swiss Alps, the sun is shining, church and cow bells are ringing, children are laughing by the crystal clear stream (I am not joking, this place is out of a fairytale) and I am in the black hole (ie cabin 91), in bed, with 2 blankets on

Walking to Lauterbrunnen

I was supposed to be paragliding (yes mum, ME, paragliding) but instead I am trying to convince myself that I really do want to eat a piece of bread so I stop feeling sick from hunger, even though the thought of food makes me feel sick

I am beyond caring that if I leave my cabin to find the campsite bathrooms, 20 passengers and probably my boss, will see me still in yesterday’s clothes, with crazy hair (or my colleague likes to call it, Party Lynda hair) and mascara all down my face from the coughing that makes my eyes water – luckily the antibiotics that I smuggled out of Australia with me calm that down enough for me to breathe again

Cows with bells everywhere

I sleep right through the yodelling, alphorn, handclapping and general festivities of Swiss Folklore Night that are going on 15 metres from my cabin but somehow hear my alarm and make it out of bed for work, aching all over from 34 hours of laying in the same position

Are you sure you are ok to work my boss asks. I stupidly say yes (as I am sure the only other possible guide to take over enjoyed Swiss Folklore Night to his full ability knowing he had 2 days off to recover, and would not appreciate an “oops you are now guiding today!” wake up call with 15 minutes notice….), then wish I hadn’t when it turns out the microphone on my coach is not working. Unfortunately for the passengers, my throat feels like it is embedded with shattered glass and sounds like nails on a chalkboard. They get the briefest of the essential safety spiel and for the first time ever – no city spiel coming into Lucerne. What do we do here they ask – I give them a city map and point to the “highlights” written on the side

 

Neuschwanstein

Luckily a spare microphone is found and after sending them to find their own way up to Neuschwanstein castle (always a risk, im sure they could quite possibly somehow end up in Austria or even Lichtenstein rather than back at the coachpark meeting point) I discover that no, German supermarkets do not sell panadol/ibuprofen/codeine/anykindoffu**ingpainkiller in their supermarkets, so I have to wait until our 7.30pm arrival in Munich to find a pharmacy and the magic drugs to put out the fire in my throat and the pounding in my head.

Being sick in paradise does NOT make it better

Highlights and Lowlights

Xavier and I at the Red Garter

Tuscany

Days off in Florence were fabulous, epic night at the Red Garter – sang happy birthday to a passenger’s fiancé and then became Sandy from Grease

On the horse

My horse

Went horseriding in Tuscany and it was AMAZING – first stop a little castle town called Monteriggioni, time to stroll around, a delicious cappuccino(Italy is the king of coffee) and a surprise wine tasting – Chianti Classico is always welcome at 11am J Jumped all the way up on to my beautiful brown horse and rode through the Tuscan countryside (SO beautiful) and vineyards for a couple of hours and then a massive Italian feast of dishes such as fresh tomato, cucumber

and basil salad, lightly fried and salted vegetables, pasta al forno and panna cotta at a farm by a lake

Riding through the vineyards

Sunflower field in Tuscany

Finally got to see my favourite friend from training for the first time since we said goodbye on the 2nd of May and caught up on all the gossip J

Woke up a week ago with a killer sore throat which turned into a nasty cold, not fun -  I was losing my voice and talking was killing my throat and I had a fever too but had to keep going – its not really the type of job where you can call in sick – what are you going to tell the 51 people waiting for the coach?!

Managed to talk my way down from working 18 days straight to working only 12 (ONLY!!!)

I have 2 days off in my favourite city – Berlin - in a few days where I can finally get my 2 inches of roots coloured and my mullet cut

Staubach fall, Lauterbrunnen

On the 1st August it was Swiss National Day and I happened to be on the coach going into Lauterbrunnen that night, bbq at my managers house (instead of my scheduled debrief – yes!!) and at 10pm a big fireworks display in front of the waterfall with noise that echoed all around the valley– SPECTACULAR

Trying to decide where to take my parents for their 5 weeks in Europe in November…….there is so much to choose from! What to cut out?!

Coming in to Amsterdam today: so guys, the hostel is right next to Vondel Park - where its apparently legal to have sex if anyone is interested.............yep. never going on the mike again ha ha ha ha

Granada - very hot but totally cool

The Alhambra

The Alhambra

40 degrees is an average day, the locals disappear between 3 and 9pm to escape the heat. it is the home of tapas and flamenco - walk into any bar, pay under 2 euros for a sangria or beer and receive an entree sized plate of deliciousness.......octopus salad, warm potato salad, bread with olives and ham, tuna and mayonaise stuffed inside red peppers. you can eat and drink all night for under 20 euros easily!!


its also a university town with fantastic bars and lots of boys from all over the world happy to dance the night away and buy you drinks!

The Alhambra

The Alhambra

The Alhambra - the most visited sight in spain and for a good reason. a massive moorish city from the 13th century. the lush, intricate gardens, beautiful architecture, magnificent mosaics and rich history make for an amazing half day tour - well worth the half hour uphill walk in the heat.

The Alhambra

Hammam

The turkish hammam - 2 hours of heaven. sauna, hot pool, warm pool (im not ashamed to admit i did not leave this one!), cold pool and a 15 minute massage in a scented, candlelit chamber...........

Flamenco

Authentic flamenco in a gypsy cave - it felt like you were in someone's backyard watching the most amazing coordination and so much passion - the foot stomping goes right to the heart.

Sad to leave southern spain!

Lagos.........oh my gosh...........

Lagos (pronounced La-gush), Portugal - get there!! It's a gorgeous little seaside town where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic oceans meet. Beautiful little cobblestoned streets, restaurants serving massive steaks or whole fish cheap cheap cheap and amazing nightlife as far as the eye can see - try the 9 deadly sins shots, a beer bong, black vodka shots, a fish bowl cocktail (we are talking an actual fish bowl with a whole bottle + of spirits with various mixers and quite a few long straws) and then dance the night away with lots of other like minded party people!!

Pre drink at the apartment

Next day...........if you are feeling up to it, explore the nearby sea caves and grottos by sea kayak (or motor boat) or if you are more like me, pay 5 euro for a lounge chair and umbrella and spend the day sleeping in the sun, or wandering down the white sand to the crystal clear ocean for a refreshing dip - or watching the surfers do their thing. Lovely cafe 50m away does fantastic salads, hot chips/wedges and ice cream.........what more could you want!?!?!?

Ready for another night out with Kayla, Meredith, Bianca and Jess

I am in love............with Valencia

You feel like the city is yours alone, even when there is people everywhere


Hundreds of little twisty cobblestoned streets that you can get lost in and find amazing little tapas bars or courtyards in unexpected places

Oranges and the scent of orange blossoms line the streets and 14km of gardens run through the city centre

The beach is a short bus ride away, full of happy, smiling, free people and feels like walking into a warm bath - where you can buy cold beer, a massage or an icecream

The church bells chime every hour and ancient ruins are housed in the city centre







People are warm, friendly - welcoming - not afraid to try their English or to make sure you understand their Spanish

I could see myself living here

Stupid questions people ask (and expect you to know the answer to....)

So how much will my bank in America charge me when I make ATM withdrawals? Gee I don't know, just let me phone them and find out

Can I take my umbrella on a plane? Might be an idea to ask an AIRLINE genius

Does this service stop have boiling water for my tea bags?

Is the overnight train to Portugal better than the other one? Well considering we offer a BUS service, I'm not going to know that much about trains am I.....

Isn't a photocopy of my passport enough for presentation at the border? Sure, the border guards are pretty relaxed

How much money do I need to withdraw for my next three days? Well that really depends, are you planning on taking me out for drinks while I think about it?!?!

Do these stairs go down? True story.

How do I get to my (non recommended, in the sticks, off the map) hostel? Heard of google maps buddy.....

Oh hi, I know its your day off but can you show me how to use a computer? Sure I can't think of anything I would rather do, after all, it is my job

What language do they speak in France? German. Obviously.

Is this bag yours? I'm not sure. What does it look like. Ummm it's red. Ok this is the only red bag so it must be yours? Ummm I don't know....

days on and days off

Prague Old Town Square

Days off in prague..........lovely Italian owners of the hostel bar plying us with free food and beer, big sleep in, massive thunder storm and lightning struck the hostel, pub crawl in the old town with 2 awesome passengers - vodka shots, beers, vodka redbull, jager shots, who knows what else........dancing like a crazy till 3.30am, finding the 5 level club but not being able to find our way up past the second level ha ha ha great night!

Another big sleep in and then back into the old town for the best goulash that i have found yet.........but as my Hungarian friend says, i havent yet been to Hungary

Had my first chucker on the bus on the way to Grunau............not impressed, i almost didnt let the 5 of them on as they were all obviously still wasted............luckily they took that hint at my "suggestion" to get off in Grunau instead of Salzburg that they were supposed to be heading to..........hopefully not the first of many........

Xavier in shock at the size of the free beer at Munich Wombats -
I mean this is the home of 1 litre steins!!

Days off in Munich were a nice change - i did NORMAL things, read my book, got a mani and a pedi yesterday and spent the whole day shopping today........not sure how my suitcase is going to do up now i have 2 more dresses and 2 more pairs of shoes (LOVE H&M!).........so i realised the other day that i have SEVEN pairs of shoes in my case. now NINE. maybe a bit ridiculous?!

Italy here i come!