Sydney, Australia is a city that I have visited many times in the past several years. The first couple times I visited I was new to traveling by myself and thought hostels were scary. I also had a job at the time and way more money than a do now so I was slightly frivolous. I stayed at hotels by myself spending more than $100 a night and then that all changed.

When I went to Spain to film the first episode of my own travel show in 2009, I stayed at my first hostel ever. I loved that hostel and from then on I pretty much loved all hostels. (There was this one in Madrid that is still questionable today though…) So the moment I found myself going back to Sydney again I searched for the hostels and the one I chose was the best decision.

I booked myself in at the Sydney Harbour YHA, located in The Rocks, one of my favourite parts of the city, the Sydney Harbour YHA was less than a year old at the time. The only flaw was that it was built on a top of a hill however it was built in such a way that was very interesting. The Rocks area of Sydney is one of the oldest inhabited parts of the city and when they started to build the hostel there were excavations and many remains and artifacts from old Sydney life in The Rocks was found. Instead of digging up some and covering the rest with this new building the hostel was built on stilts hovering above the artefacts.

Inside the hostel there are pieces of things found like glass bottles, pottery and old tools incased in glass table tops in the lounge areas. There are display cases through out the building and even images of the artifacts have made their way onto the art work on the walls.  There are also free guided tours around the hostel area talking about the different artifacts that were found.

Photo by ethanrohloff.com

The artifacts were just one small part of the reason I think this is best hostel in Sydney. Being a new building everything was fresh and updated, each dorm room has its own separate shower, toilet and sink however what blew me away the most and it might seem simple to some was the lockers.

The lockers in the Sydney Harbour YHA are not only big and spacious, but they also have a top shelf for smaller items and they have two plugs inside them! TWO PLUGS! So you can charge your computer, camera or other gear while it is safely locked away inside your locker. Yes this blew my mind. Don’t judge me. Each person also had their own light and two plugs at their bed which was extra convenient.

Other bonuses of the Sydney Harbour YHA include a cafe inside the hostel that sells breakfast food for you to cook up in the big open kitchen area, there are plenty of shelfs and fridge space for people cooking their own food. There is a bunch of computers with internet to use with a Global Gossip Card, they have storage lockers, it is extremely envorinmentaly friendly and have events different nights of the week. From BBQs of kangaroo to $5 burrito nights they definitely help travellers stay with them travel for cheap.

The costs to stay at the YHA are a more expensive that what you might be accustomed to in Europe and definitely way more than what you may expect in Asia however for the quality and location you will quickly realize its at a pretty good price especially when you compare it with other hostels in the city and throughout Australia.

I’ve now stayed at the Sydney Harbour YHA at least5 or 6 different times and if I still haven’t convinced you to stay here with anything that I have said above then at least stay for the view.

Oh and the Sydney Harbour YHA has also won 20+ awards, one of those being the “Best Hostel in Australia & Best Hostel in Oceania” by the Hostelworld Hoscar Awards in 2010.

Cosmos on a train? Love.

Slightly James Bond of me? I think so!

As a follow up to my post “Things I hate about Australia“ I bring you my more pleasant post “Things I love about Australia”. As I have said before I have been to Australia many times and of course its quite simply because I love this place (aside from the expensiveness of it), I love my friends that live here but lets be more specific.

1. Aussie Slang

I often make fun of Australians who use the words “heaps“, “reckon” and “keen“, but if they stopped using these words the way they do I would definitely miss it, also I wouldn’t have anything to giggle about constantly anymore. You can also often find Australians saying “How you goin’?” as a greeting, I’ve talked about this one before and it constantly confuses me. Trackie daks = track suit pants, thongs = flip flops , capsicum = peppers, arvo = afternoon, I can go on, I kind of love it all.

Copious amounts of Tim Tams in the grocery store.

2. Tim Tams

The yummy chocolate cookie / biscuit that are made by the Australian company Arnott’s, I love the originally but also the mint and honeycomb kinds. If you try one  you will love them too… I may of eaten 6 already today…

3. Their love of Cider

Similar to the UK, bars, RSLs, Hotels (what they sometimes call bars) all have Cider ( the alcoholic kind) and various types of it. At home we have Strongbow and thats about it and more often then not the bar you are at doesn’t have it on tap they just have it in can or bottle form. Here in Australia not only do they have Strongbow but they have at least 3 or 4 different flavours of it, they also have the brands called Bulmers, Magners and many others made from apples, pears and sometimes even mixed with raspberries and other fruit. As you may have guessed by now as Candice would say “I loves me some Cider“.

Interesting souvenirs at Paddy’s Market in Sydney.

4. The Markets

I’m not sure if it’s because of the sunny weather and warmer temperatures causing more people to want to be outdoors or not but I find everywhere I go in Australia there is a market that “you must check out”. Whether it is one of my favourite markets in Sydney like The Rocks Market or its Paddy’s Market the cheap touristy Asian market, or a more artsy market like Bondi Markets, Chinatowns Friday night market or its the food Market in Adelaide or Parap Village Market in Darwin, they seem to be everywhere and there are many of them. Always full of great food to eat right away or to buy for cooking along with art, jewellery, clothes and tourist souvenirs you will most likely love them all too.

Yummmmmmm.

5. Potato wedges with sour cream and sweet chill sauce

I have mentioned these before as well and Australians are actually surprised to hear it when I tell them but this interesting appetizer is specific to them for god knows why. If you think about it they whole idea of this dish doesn’t really scream “Australian” but it is mighty tasty and you can find them at nearly every bar / restaurant you go to in the country. Canada needs to start serving these, its almost like a weird mix between nachos and poutine (well in my head it is) and I think all Canadians would fall in love with them like I have.

Termite mounds dot the diverse landscape in the country’s top end.

6. The Diversity

After traveling the east coast of the country from Hamilton Island to Sydney on a previous trip and then taking the train called the Ghan through the Australian Outback from Adelaide in South Australia to Darwin in the Northern Territory I am often amazed by the diversity of this country. Desert, rain forests, big cities, famous coral reefs, beaches, forests, mountains you name it this country is beautiful and has a lot of everything.

Those are just a few of the things that I love about Australia and the list keeps growing.

Have you ever been to Australia? What do you love most about it?

I am currently in Australian for the zillionth time and I LOVE THIS PLACE. However I’ve never found the perfect destination where there wasn’t at least one little thing that I hated about it. Also I feel like making a list about things I hate about a certain place keeps me grounded / secretly makes me like it even more.

Is there a  city that you absolutely love but still have small things you hate about it?

1. It takes forever to dry my hair here

I’m not sure if its my hair dryer being wacky with the power converter or just the humidity in the air but gosh darn it what normally takes 5 minutes to do takes 10 or more and by then I just give up!

2. Sydney’s transit system

Its a bit shit. Some of the good buses that you  want to take are “pre-pay” only and there are hardly any places where you can actually buy a pre-paid ticket. It also costs $9 for a return trip to Bondi beach from circular quay. Thats ridiculous! All around for any bus the tickets are expensive and cabs are expensive too.

3.The pocket change

Australia doesn’t have the penny anymore (yay!)  but instead they have a 50 cent piece that ways a million pounds! Also they have a 20 cent coin instead of a 25 cent coin. WTF. I guess I’m just being an ignorant tourist wanting things to be the same as they are in North America but I’m just cranky because my pants keep falling down from all of this heavy change I am carrying around.

4. Capsicum

It’s PEPPERS! I don’t know why this bugs me, I guess I actually find it endearing that they call peppers capsicum but if I come home to Canada and try to use that word when I’m ordering a sub at subway the sandwich maker is all like “WTF is that?” and then I shake my fist in the air at all Australians who have taught me that word. (Yes I know this word is used other places too but this is the first county I’ve encountered it in).

5. Koalas

I’m kidding! I love them! But they do smell a little funny…. and are slightly lazy….but I’m lazy so we get along great.

6. Time difference

It’s weird being 13 hours ahead of everyone at home, I’m sleeping and they are awake complete opposite, I feel like I’m missing out on a lot. I lost a full day just traveling here.

7. Big Bugs, spiders, snakes, sharks

They scare me.

And I think that is about all I can come up with right now…. stay tuned next week for an extremely long list about everything I love about this wicked country.

Is there a  city that you absolutely love but still have small things you hate about it?

Being a travel blogger and someone who has travelled a fair bit in her life you wouldn’t think that “moving” homes would be a big deal for me, but it is.

Part of the reason that I am able to live my current lifestyle is because I am still living at home with my parents. Literally living in the same house that I have lived in my whole entire life.

Home is a nice place to come back to after traveling for either a few days, weeks or longer. Its familiar and of course you become attached to your home, neighborhood and more, especially when you have lived in the place for almost 28 years like I have.

Sadly in the next two weeks my parents are putting my childhood home up for sale. They aren’t giving me the boot, as we are moving to our cottage while they build a new home on their ocean front property, and it will be their dream home that they have wanted for a long, long time. They are building a room for me in it (which I am very appreciative of) but rather than be happy for them I am sad, depressed and I’m sure some would say acting like a little brat.

Our new home will be lovely, its on the ocean, near family… but its too far outside of the city for my liking and honestly its just not “my home”. I think in this new place I will truly feel like a stranger. So much so that aside from seeing my friends and family, I won’t be excited to coming home anymore after a trip.

I’ll also be further from the airport now! No longer can I “cab home” from being out with friends, I’ll now need to find couches to crash on and will probably become a hermit because I can’t be bothered to spend the gas to “get into town”. I feel like a country bumpkin’.

Whats even sadder is that I am going away to Australia around the time they are planning on selling the house so I feel like I might not even get to say a real “good bye” to the place. I’ll leave on a trip and return to my cottage with strangers living in the house that I wouldn’t of minded living in for the rest of my life. The house that I had one day hoped to own myself.

I’m sure I’m one of few who has never moved before, so encouraging words from others who have moved a lot would be appreciated, until then I’m just going to be sad.

Capital One Venture 100,000 Miles

With an increase in budget air travel – and an upped frequency of some long haul flights as many now commute cross-continentally for business and pleasure, flights to New York are both extremely popular, and reasonably good value (see for yourself on the DialAFlight website), in 2012… unless you’re flying in and out of London during the Olympics. We don’t recommend this to anyone!!

The trouble is, with a lot of travel websites around, you can waste days and days comparing flight deals, desperate for the cheapest, only to find that your ‘great offer’ involves a layover, an extra day out of your trip, and it disappeared two minutes ago.

There are plenty of advice sites and money-saving blogs out there who can advise you on how to manipulate those flight scramblers. However, we’re a bit pushed for time – and to be frank, it’s boring and a little bit obsessive. For us, we’re talking about where to get consistently good value direct flights without taking a day off.

For New York and major world cities, travel providers who specialize purely in flights, such as DialAFlight are a wise option to start with. If you’re not looking for a package holiday or any added extras, they can sort you out with the transit in simple, easy terms.

According to the company website, their service has been used by over a million people in the last two years. And with a strong focus on business-related travel, catering to people who need flights to sites such as New York, Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore, as well as backpackers and holidaymakers, its popularity is keeping prices competitive. We’re seeing economy flights to NY starting at £335, and business flights (Heathrow to JFK) for £961.

And what about once you hit NY? How can you minimize costs and get the most out of the town – whether it’s for business or pleasure? For a start, no matter how short your time, and even if you’re expecting to be driven, get a metrocard with an unlimited pass. These can be purchased by week and month.

Secondly, think smart when it comes to where you stay. Manhattan is a beehive – teeny spaces and a lot of yellow things buzzing around on the streets – we recommend thinking across the East River and looking to Brooklyn and Queens for superior – and more tranquil accommodation.

Paris is a city that I have been to more than once, but I feel like there are tons of things I have yet to do but know that there are also tons of things that I have already done and would love to do again. I want to live in the city and see it like a local. (Which I am attempting to portray in my photo above…. I look like a Parisian right? Right?)

Here is my list of 5 things that I would most like to do and/or experience in the great city that is Paris.

1. Climb the Eiffel Tower

I’ve been to the top of the Eiffel Tower twice now. The first time I walked up all of the grueling steps as high as I could go (stopping for a beer at the first chance I could get of course) and the second time I took the elevator all the way to the top. If I got to win this “Go with Oh” trip and got to spend more time in Paris, I would climb the Eiffel tower every day! Surely there must be a discount card for that right?

I’m curious to know the record for the one person who has climbed the 1,021 steps to the Second level the most, of course aside from a person who might work there. (Note: Steps are not accessible to the public between the 2nd and 3rd floor, which is as high as you can go.)

2. Get to know my wines

If you know me, I’m a big fan of beer and liquor but I have yet to grasp my love for wine, but I know its inside of me somewhere. France is famous for its fine wines and of course its champagne and I vow to learn to love wine, red, white, and sparkling on my next visit. Hopefully you will be able to find me hanging out around Pont Neuf, with a baguette, some cheese and a bottle of wine or two in heaven.

3. Shop on The Avenue des Champs-Élysées like its my job

I want to work that street. I want to have shops close for me just so I can shop by myself, I want the paparazzi to chase me from store to store, I want to spend thousands of dollars on something I could buy a lot cheaper elsewhere, I want a personal shopper, and I want to have an entourage following me the whole way carrying my bags for me. This may be an unattainable goal but a girl can dream right?

4. Visit every museum

I’ve been to the Louvre twice, the Muse d’Orsay once, and the George Pompidou Centre once however I feel like I never had enough time in one place to thoroughly enjoy it and see everything. Also Paris has approximately 153 museums so I have literally not even come close to scratching the surface on that front. I could begin with the Paris Museum Pass that allows me entrance into 70 of the most popular museums as a good start, this task might take some time…

5. Go on a fancy date to Moulin Rouge

Of all the times I have visited Paris I haven’t seen anything more than the entrance to Moulin Rouge. Not sure why I haven’t seen a show there yet, but it has just never made it into my plans. Also known as the city of love why wouldn’t a girl like me enjoy a lovely date with a cute boy to such an extravagant show. I’m not talking about just a bottle of champagne at the bar, I’m talking a full course meal in the best seats in the joint and my date of course would also buy me a rose or two from those people that walk around everywhere selling them for too much money. This in my mind would be the perfect way to spend an evening in the city of love. Now to find a guy that would be willing to do this without bribery involved…. hmmm

I really, really want to “Go with Oh” to Paris and everywhere else in Europe! If you enjoyed this post from me please share it around! Also you should head over to the “Go with Oh” Facebook page for your chance to win an iPad 2, a Panasonic Lumix camera, 500 Euros to use on accommodation in one of “Oh’s” ten European cities or 500 Euros worth of Samsonite Luggage! Head over to their site www.gowithoh.com or Facebook Page now to enter to win!

Most likely if you have flown on a plane more than a few times in your life you have experienced delays. Unfortunately they happen and almost all of them are unstoppable. Some may be predictable but often they are always unexpected.

Delayed flights can ruin peoples travel plans, cause missed connections and create a lot of stress, understandably.

I, knock on wood have had only had a few delays on my travels and lets hope it stays that way, however I experienced one of my biggest delays this past Saturday.

My morning started at 5:20am, I rolled out of my hostel dorm bed to meet my airport shuttle who decided to pick me up at 5:40am for a 9:10am flight… the things I’ll do to save money getting to an airport.

I arrived at the airport by 7:20am, breezed through security, had breakfast and headed to the gate, that is when it started.

Sitting in Terminal 8, the American Airlines terminal at JFK, 4 different flights were departing around the same time through Gate 31, there were a lot of anxious people waiting to board flights and be on their merry way. Then I heard the announcement that my flight was delayed and a maintenance crew was on board the plane.

The tiny plane that didn’t like me.

9:10am came and went and some time after 10am we boarded the flight. We pushed from the gate and started making our way for the runway, then we paused for quite sometime. I thought because  we were waiting for our turn to take-off. Turns out our initial delay was because the plane was steering too much to the left which they fixed but now it appeared they over corrected and it was steering too much to the right. We headed back to the gate and got off the plane.

We waited another 30mins to an hour and then we re-boarded the plane. It took the crew a few minutes to get together and check things out and then we pushed from the gate and headed to the runway. Just as we approached the runway and it was our turn to take-off we made a 360 getting out of line. Then we sat on the tarmac and waited and then ” Hello this is the aaaahhh Captain speaking, the steering it working fine now, aaahhhh however the breaks… aaaahhhh not so great.” (my adaptation of the quote not word for word from him, they always make long pauses and say ahhhh or ummm a lot don’t they? haha).

We headed back to the gate, this time we were allowed to stay on the plane and the flight attendant fed us pity snacks and drinks. If this is what I have to do these days to get free food on a plane, I’d rather pay. Of course we were then told to get off the plane and we were told they were sending another plane over.

By 3pm, I had used many a Boingo credit on my phone and we finally had another plane and we boarded once again. The flight attendant came by to check on all of us and I suggested we got free beer this time. Happily he agreed, gotta free love pity airplane beer, if only it wasn’t a 75min flight and I could of gotten more than one…

So all in all I was stranded at JFK for 8 hours, de-planed twice and got some free snacks. Thankfully it was when I was returning home at the end of my trip and not at the beginning. I was slightly annoyed but I think I would rather accept a delay then be on a plane that isn’t working “just right”.

Have you ever had a flight delayed? I want to hear all of your flight delay stories! What reasons have you been delayed on a flight for? Weather? Technical problems? People running late? I want to hear them all.

Stanford Finance a place for Stanford students to find success in the Finance Industry

I’m taking a break from travel.

Well…. kind of…. but not really.

As I write this I am sitting in my hotel room in San Juan Puerto Rico. I should be out enjoying the sun! I might be giving my sun burn from yesterday a bit of a break though…

I am here for three nights using the free accommodations that I won from my press trip to this same hotel (the San Juan Marriott and Stellaris Casino) last August. If  I think about it I haven’t had a real “break” from traveling when traveling (hmm that makes sense in my head) since a trip to Cuba a couple years ago with friends. When I travel I’m always go go go and am filming and taking pictures and coming up with things to blog about and staying updated on Facebook and Twitter (I’m still having issues with letting go) but this trip is suppose to be my mini break from traveling when traveling.

Yesterday I spent the majority of the day laying either on the beach or by the pool drinking Piña Coladas and cervezas mmmmm and I don’t plan on leaving the hotel except for going to the yummy burger place across the street called “Buns”. Just lots of me time and lots of sun.

And I plan on doing that again today and part of the morning tomorrow before I have to leave again to cold wintery Canada, boo.

I had written the other day about traveling to a destination like this by yourself and I was worried at first that I would be bored and maybe go out of my mind, but I haven’t yet! I’ve made a couple friends and it honestly isn’t any different than traveling somewhere else by yourself. Life is what you make it I guess.

Where are you traveling to next? Do you often find yourself needing to stop and take a breath and just relax on a beach?

Several weeks ago I wrote about how 2012 would be the year I would be “Expanding Horizons” and doing more “out of the box things” in life and when I travel and I’m off to a good but slow start.

• One of those things was throwing my name into the lottery for Burning Man tickets with my friend Candice, which I am happy to announce we won! (However a lot of the main burners that make Burning Man didn’t and we are both slightly torn about that but that is a story for another post.)

• As you know I also took another last minute trip a couple of weeks ago and flew to Portland and Seattle to surprise some friends.

• I am headed to New York this weekend with Diamond PR to attend the Adrian Awards as they one a Gold Award for Public Relations with the Vloggers in Paradise campaign I took part in in Puerto Rico this past August. It’s a black tie event, (my first) in New York and I am beyond excited about it.

Those don’t sound all that exciting / out of the ordinary though do they? Where I’m headed after New York might be though.

When I won the online vote from the Vloggers in Paradise campaign I also won myself a 3 night stay back at the San Juan Marriott in Puerto Rico. I’ve been searching for a way to fly myself back down there and I figured being in New York was a great time to go as they have direct flights and with a gift card for $250 that I won from Flight Center I was able to book return tickets to there and back from New York with little cost to myself. I loved it there the first time so why wouldn’t I go back?

Three days in the sun on the beach, sounds like every Canadians dream this time of year. However I forgot one thing, someone to go with. I’ve been traveling solo for so long now that I never think to consider bringing a friend or asking another travel addict to come along. I’m always staying in hostels with tons of people around or knowing blogger friends in the same city or being somewhere with lots of things to do.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico I’ll be staying in an amazing hotel right on the beach, with a  pool and Casino. Very similar to an all inclusive resort. Thankfully it’s not cut off from the outside world like most inclusive resorts, its on a main road and is within walking distance to “Old San Juan” the historic part of the city, which I explored when I was there last. This time though I think I’m just going to stick near to the hotel, enjoy the sun and the Pina Coladas almost as if I was at an all inclusive. Essentially I will be on a “trip down south” but I will be solo, all by myself. Not something you hear of many people doing that often.

I might go stir crazy, I’m sure after a couple hours in the sun I’ll take off into the city exploring, thankfully I can actually do that.

Would you ever travel down south by yourself? How do you feel about traveling solo anywhere?

Want to come meet me in Puerto Rico?

New York makes me sick. Literally. Physically. Not figuratively.

I have been to New York 3.5 times (I don’t normally count airport stops but a flight got canceled and I spent an unepexted night in a hotel somehere one time… so thats what I call .5).

The first time I visited was on a family vacation in 2008.

I was so excited to go to New York, I made a detailed itinerary, and we did everything possible in our 5 days there.

No sickness.

The second time I was in New York was for the 2010 TBEX travel bloggers conference. I toured my friend Candice around to places I had been before, went to the conference, met lots of new friends and finally met a lot of people that I had known from twitter and online face to face. We socialized, shared contacts, partied and drank the weekend away and had a great time.

That Monday it happened. I won’t go into details because quite frankly I’m not even sure what was going on but I was on the subway with Candice and I noticed an odd water blister on my leg. I kind of freaked out about it, but we kept exploring the city anyway.

It got worse.

One became five or six or more between my two legs.

I called my mom, because what else do you do when you get sick while traveling? I went to a pharmacy, thought it might of been an allergic reaction, talked to a pharmacist and swallowed down some Benadryl… it didn’t seem to do anything and it kept getting worse.

I went to my hotel, laid down tried to put my legs up, still nothing better. My flight home was the next day so rather than visit a a Doctor’s office in the US or go to the ER, I slept and hoped it would get better.

The next day with it only getting worse I headed to the airport, downed some baby aspirin for the flight and tried to keep my legs up as much as possible.

When I got home, I basically went to straight to the ER. The Doctors weren’t sure what was going on. Maybe a Spider bite? An allergic reaction? “Here’s some antibiotics take these and head home.” They told me. No swabs, no tests, no nothing. To the date I still have no idea what was wrong with my legs.

To see a photo of my leg at the hospital click HERE. WARNING slightly gross/graphic.

After a week of missed worked and two weeks of looking like a mummy with the amount of bandages on my legs and it was gone.

Almost exactly one year later I was back in New York on my third trip to the city for the Nomading Film Festival.

A day or two in the city and I notice a funny mark on the back of my leg and a warm redness around it getting bigger and bigger. This time I was prepared with antibiotics and more from my Doctor. It didn’t get worse and eventually went away.

This coming Saturday I’m headed back to New York. I love that city, the vibe, the people, everything from Coney Island to the Empire State Building, the food, and more. Lets hope this time nothing happens. Please New York stop making me sick.

Have you ever gotten sick while traveling? How do you try to prevent it?