viaggio and freedom

Viena siempre Viena...siguientes pasos!

2022-12-01T05:09:00.001-08:00

Si no has leído Viena siempre Viena, te recomiendo que salga de este articulo y empieces por ahí, porque este articulo va a hablar de las atracciones vista después.

Os había dejado en la Catedral de S. Esteban en el Innere Stadt. En el centro de la ciudad, hay una multitud de cosas que ver o hacer: seguir visitando sitios, museos, restaurantes, bares y pub, tiendas en las muchas calles peatonales que departen de la plaza de la Catedral. Nosotros callejeamos un poquito en dirección de Kleines Cafe. Ese cafe se encuentra en una pequeña plaza y es escena de la película, donde los dos protagonistas estaban sentados y una adivina se acerca para leer la mano de ella y contarle lo que podría ocurrir en su futuro. Sacamos un rapido selfie y de vuelta a caminar, pasamos por calles pequeñas, regresando en dirección de la Catedral y de ahí llegamos a ver el Anker Clock, un reloj dell'Art Nouveau, ahora una de la principales atracciones turísticas de la ciudad que no representa el tiempo de manera habitual, sino de manera linear, cada hora cambian las cifras romanas del reloj acompañadas con musica. Durante el medio dia, las 12H, las figuras representadas empiezan un desfile moviéndose de un lado al otro del reloj.

Ankeruhr

Proseguimos con nuestra ruta, queríamos llegar a un puente (Zollamrssteg) donde habían paseado los dos protagonistas y nos acercamos al rio Danubio. El puente no tiene mucho atractivo, es un simple puente y se puede ver debajo que pasa el metro, con la dos lineas, una es la que sigue al lado del rio para la afuera de la ciudad y la otra va para el centro. Lo que me gustó fue el recorrido que hicimos al lado del rio para llegar al puente. Es una zona mucho mas tranquila, con menos personas, a veces pasa algún ciclista, a veces alguien que corre, algunas personas paseando con el carrito de los niños y hasta dos personas pescando en el rio. Me gustaron mucho los grafitis pintados en las paredes, aunque seguro que no son reconocido arte como los del muro de Berlin. Pasamos por un edificio de una compañía de barco que operan crucero sobre el rio, con algunas informaciones sobre los cruceros y ahí mucho y tambien con dias de navegación que llegan hasta Budapest. Vimos restaurantes flotantes y un barco que es un bar que en verano organiza tardes de piscina y musica (pero en otoño/invierno no opera). Antes de llegar al puente que teniamos que visitar nos encontramos con un edificio pequeño y super bonito a la vista con estilo Art Nouveau, que es un observatorio y tiene un doble telescopio, donde dan tambien conferencia de astronomia y se llama Urania. Terminamos el dia subiendonos a el metro y regresando a nuestro apartamento.

El ultimo dia, el dia 3, de nuestra visita a Viena salimos de primera para visitar el mercado mas famoso de Viena, el Naschtmarkt, de ahí llegamos a Karlsplatz, donde hay una puerta de la metro muy antigua con un bonito estilo y proseguimos en el parque en dirección de la Karlskirche.

Memorial

A pocos metros se encuentra una fontana memorial de los soldados rusos muertos en la segunda guerra mundial y un poquito mas adelante se encuentra el castillo Belvedere con un grande jardin. El castillo es un palacio de estile barroco del 1700 y hoy dia es museo concolleciones de arte, como el famoso artista Klimt. Este palacio otra vez mas muestra la belleza de Viena y de como tenia que haber sido en los siglos de los Hasburgos.

El arte es parte fundamental de la belleza de Viena y otra atracción turistica que tiene que ver con arte es el Undertwasserhaus, un edificio de casas pobres y populares que fue remodelado en fachada por el artista Friedensreich Hundertwasser en el 1986. Ese puede ser conocido tambien como uno de los primeros bosques verticales construido en una ciudad. Se puede admirar el edificio, dar una vuelta en tiendas de souvenir y tambien hay unos bares y algo para comer.

Hundertwasserhaus

Nosotros elegimos seguir con nuestro recorrido y llegar al parque que esta cerca del Prater, el mas famoso parque de atracción y diversion de Viena. Es un parque con atracción de feria y mucho lugares donde comer y beber. Aquí se encuentra tambien la Riesenrad, la noria de Viena, desde donde es posible admirar todo el panorama de Viena. Cuando fuimos nosotros no había mucha gente, se vee por el frio o por el horario que era en la tarde temprano pero estaba todo abierto y en funcionamiento. Después de tomarnos un vino caliente - el Gluhwein es bebida famosa en el norte de Europa que se toma en invierno y que lleva vino tinto y especias, especialmente durante las festividades de Navidad - decidimos regresar al centro de la ciudad para verla iluminada de tarde/noche y concluir así nuestra visita a esta maravillosa ciudad.

Riesenrad

Viena siempre Viena!

2022-11-25T07:21:00.064-08:00

Fue mi tercera vez en Viena: lo típico es ir con la escuela en los años de adolescencia, una vez fui con mis padres por una escapada rápida en Europa y esta vez fue en pareja. Quería mostrar a mi pareja lo bonito que es esta ciudad y me he quedado yo misma otra vez embobada. Aparte su belleza ya conocida por los edificios históricos de la épocas austro-húngara, he descubierto algunas cositas más gracias a la película Antes del amanecer (Before Sunrise).

El motivo principal del viaje para mi novio fue recorrer todos los sitios que aparecen en la película y esa fue nuestra idea. Fue, sin duda, caminando mucho: la mayoría de las escenas de la película están rodadas en la calle, así que también fue perfecto para nuestro plan de viaje mochilero y económico.

Han pasado años, sin embargo me ha gustado mucho que varias zonas de la ciudad han sido remodeladas y mejoradas, sobre todo las áreas de estaciones de trenes y metropolitanas. Una pasada de hecho. Para mi, Estación Central, básicamente es un centro comercial enorme, sobre todo la planta de abajo con mucha tienda y zona de comida (corner food) todo moderno y nuevo, me ha gustado mucho más que la de Milán, que la de Berlín y que la Estación Termini de Roma, que también han sido remodeladas durante los últimos años. Pero ese fue nuestra última etapa, así que regreso a donde todo empezó.

Castillo de Schönnbrunn

Nuestra primera etapa fueron los jardines del castillo de Schönnbrunn. No recomiendo visitarlo en otoño/invierno, son definitivamente mejor en primavera/verano cuando están todas las flores bien cuidadas y organizadas. Durante el clima frío, las flores vienen quitadas y se trabaja la tierra para replantar sucesivamente de nuevo. No entramos en el castillo, que igualmente yo había ya visitado y es muy bonito sobre todo si alguien es muy apasionado de historia, arte y quiere saber cómo vivía la Princesa Sissi. El castillo está un poco lejos del centro de Viena y por eso a lo mejor es recomendable subir sobre un tranvía o llegar con la línea metropolitana.

Ahí cerca se encuentra el Museo de la Técnica, muy interesante para los aficionados de ciencia.

El segundo día empezamos a caminar en dirección centro ciudad, alojábamos en el distrito Schönbrunn y por eso tardamos un poquito, más o menos unos 40 minutos aproximadamente. Fuimos a ver la Westbanhof donde los protagonistas de la película llegan con el tren. No fue nada de especial hasta que empezamos a caminar en dirección al centro de la ciudad y llegamos al distrito de los Museos (MuseumsQuartier) con las galerías de arte contemporánea pintadas en los techos de las puertas de entradas.

Callejeando de un sitio a otro visitamos el Cafe Sperl, que permanece con su estilo rústico y antiguo, como aparece en la misma película. Nos tomamos unos cafes y un trocito de tarta Sacher. Dejo una imagen del Cafe vienes, que es tipico de Austria, Budapest y es parecido a un cappuccino, pero hecho con nata montada o batida.

Café vienes

Regresando luego sobre nuestros pasos hemos llegado a la Plaza de Maria Teresa con el Museo de Historia y Arte (KunstHistorisches Museum) y Hofburg, el Palacio Imperial de Vienna, uno de los complejos palaciegos más grandes del mundo, de donde los Habsburgo gobernaban todo el reino (este tramo está muy cerca del distrito de los Museos. Para mejorar y optimizar vuestra ruta dejaría el Cafe Sperl para otro día con la visita al mercado Naschmarkt).

Plaza de Maria Teresa

Desde Hofburg proseguimos dirección norte, pasando por el Volksgarten y acabando en el parque en frente de la plaza del Rathaus, donde estaban montando los mercados navideños y ya estaban puestas algunas de las decoraciones. Me encantó y me habría gustado estar ahí durante la celebración de Navidad por lo bonito que se veía todo el ambiente alrededor.

Rathaus

Un poquito más al norte hay otro parque cerca de la universidad de Sigmund Freud con una Iglesia que fue construida entre el 1853 y el 1879 como agradecimiento a Dios para haber salvado al emperador Maximiliano de un posible asesinado.

Siguiendo nuestro intenso día de camino, acabamos en el Innere Stadt ósea en el centro de la ciudad, donde se encuentra la Catedral de St. Esteban, iglesia más importante de Viena. Ya me acordaba que de joven me había gustado mucho y este viaje confirmó nuevamente mi pensamiento. No entramos dentro, pero es posible visitar y hasta subir al techo (son solo 6 euros) que es mi parte favorita de la catedral. Una catedral construida a partir de 1137 en estilo románico y que lleva desde este año continuas construcciones y ampliaciones en diferentes estilos: barroco, románico, gótico, renacentista, etc...

Os dejo con estos primeros pasos y a continuación publicaré los siguientes días.

Berlín, ciudad sorprendente

2021-11-29T03:19:00.098-08:00

Siempre he eschucado decir: "Berlín es una ciudad bonita, me ha gustado mucho, me ha sorprendido" y al mismo tiempo "Berlín no me ha gustado nada, es una ciudad grande pero nada mas.

Ya se sabe que una ciudad puede gustar mas o menos, que una ciudad puede ser como cualquier otra y que depende mucho del gusto personal o de las experiencias vividas en el sitio.

Mi viaje ha sido en pareja esta vez, siempre un viaje mochilero y con budget contado. No nos hemos permitido todos los lujos de una grande ciudad internacional y tampoco hemos entrado y visitado todos los museos históricos y/o artísticos de Berlín. Mejor dicho no hemos ni visitado Isla de los Museos sin embargo hay que decir que Berlín es una sorpresa en cada esquina. Hay museos, por ejemplo gratuitos, como Futurium: un museo sobre la tecnología, innovación y futuro de la especie humana y del mundo, en pleno centro de la ciudad.

Lo que me ha gustado mucho de esta ciudad es la modernidad. Hay que admitir que la mayoría de la ciudad ha sido bombardeada al final de la segunda guerra mundial y por eso Berlín no puede que ser la ciudad europea más moderna entre todas. Mencionado esto, también me ha gustado toda su historia, naturalmente mucho más contemporánea que otras ciudades. Eso me ha permitido vivir su historia, sentir la historia que esta ciudad ha tenido. Museo de particular interés para mí fue el Museo del Muro del Checkpoint Charlie. Hay que decir que es un museo un poco caótico, muy pequeño y mal organizado, con muchísimas informaciones en paneles que leer. Algunos dicen que no tiene sentido ir a un museo para leer un libro de historia sobre las paredes, pero lo que si me ha dejado sorprendida han sido, a parte de toda la historia contemporánea narrada ahí, las historias personales: de familia, de niños, de amantes, de parejas, de gente que lo que quería en aquel tiempo era libertad. No me veo capaz de entender porque arriesgar la vida, sobretodo en algunas situaciones que entre todas no eran de las peores, sin embargo lo hacían y tenían mucha inventiva en buscar cómo y muchas alternativas. Estas personas eran seguramente luchadoras y innovadoras al mismo tiempo y han dejado un fuerte mensaje.

También la Topographie des Terrors es un edificio/museo muy interesante, tiene toda la explicacion de Hitler, del Reich y de sus fuerzas armadas justo en el sitio donde era una vez la casa del Reich y el corazon pulsante de su actividad. El museo es gratuito también y me parece fascinante como una nación que hasta hacía poco tiempo no hablaba de este tema, que ni nombraba el nombre de Hitler ahora ofrezca "tour guiados gratuitos" en eso. Habrá sido seguramente dificil tener que aceptar el tema, pero creo que Alemania lo está haciendo muy bien y que sirva de ejemplo y lección a muchos otros países.

Holzmarkt 25

Fascinante también es el tema artistíco en esta ciudad y una vez más me refiero a epoca contemporánea. A parte de todo el arte que tiene que tener en museos y edificios históricos, me refiero al arte contemporaneo de los grafitis y los murales que se encuentran: East Side Gallery, probablemente museo de arte contemporanea más famosos al mundo y open aire pero también el centro cultural Holzmarkt 25, donde una pequeña comunidad de artistas ha dipinto las faciadas de los edificios, organizado un jardín enterno con arte hecha con materiales de reciclaje, basura, ecc...

De su parte antigua sin embargo tiene mucho encanto el quartier Nicolai, donde se viaja atras en el tiempo a lo que Berlín tenía que ser en epocas mas antiguas, un pequeño casco historico por asi decir y Gendarmenmarkt con la Catedral Francesa, Catedral Alemna y la Konzerthaus.

Seguramente hay mucho mas que descubrir porque 4 dias no son suficientes para ver toda su belleza y su vida.

Aquí abajo dejo un rápido itinerario de lo que hemos visitado nosotros todo caminando, hemos utilizando medios de transporte solo un día, que era bastante gris, frio y con lluvia.

Sony Center

Desde Estacion Central (Hauptbahnhof) a solamente minutos de camino está el museo gratuito Futurium, desde ahí se puede bajar al rio Spree, cruzarlo y llegar a la zona central donde están todo los edificios politicos, el Reichstag con su cupola: la entrada es gratuita pero con una lista de espera hoy día por el tema del Covid-19 que es mejor reservar con almenos dos semanas de antelacion. Ahí cerca se encuentra un parque con un Pavillon de suovenir, restaurante y baño, donde se pueden ver algunos memoriales y pasear por acercarcarse a la Brandenburger Tor y al Monumento a los judios de Europa. Prosiguiendo hacía el sur se encuentran luego el Mall of Berlín, un enorme centro comercial cerca de la moderna Postdamer Plazt y el Sony Center. Bonito de visitar después del atardecer por los colores y luces del Sony Center y por qué tambien es sede del IMAX de Berlin.

En Navidad pone en Postdamer Platz casitas típicas de comida y bebida y un tobogán también. A 10 minutos de aquí se encuentra luego la Topografia del Terror (ver arriba descricion) y Checkpoint Charlie en Friedrichstrase.

Otro día se puede pasear desde la Brandenburger Tor en la avenida Unter den Linden y se llega a todo el complejo de Universidad, Isla de Los Museos y la Catedral. Viniendo de Brandenburger Tor se puede hacer también un de tour a la izquierda antes de la Universidad para llegar a Gendarmenmarkt y luego proseguir más adelante hasta Nikolaiviertel y sucesivamente hasta Alexanderplatz.

Catedral de Berlin

Otro día puede prever la visita a la East Side Gallery, conseguo o llegar o regresar con el tren, parada Warschauer Strasse y recorrer todo el muro de Berlín, ahí cerca se encuentra también la Mercedes-Benz Arena, donde se organizan eventos y conciertos y Holzmarkt 25 (ver arriba).

Siegessaule

Nosotros estabamos alojado en el distrito de Charlottenburg donde se encuentra un Castillo con alrededor museos. De ahí caminando por el centro de Berlín se llega a la iglesia Memorial Kaire Wilhelm y al jardín zoológico de Berlín y a la Columna de la victoria, Siegessaule.

Lanzarote, mi isla bonita!!

2018-07-17T13:19:00.003-07:00

Lanzarote is one of the islands of Macaronesia and with the seven other islands forms the Canary Islands situated close to Africa in the open Atlantic ocean.

Lanzarote is a volcanic and arid island, with a peculiar nature: there aren’t big trees and you won’t find tropical vegetation, even if the island itself is considered to be a tropical island.

Driving through it you can see vulcans that sometimes look of different colours and shapes. Because of its particularity it is so easy to find peace and relax.

As well it offers different trails and tracks to explore and discover the little hidden places this island has to offer.

Famara

In the north west of the island there is a place called Caleta de Famara, this is a little village of fisherman with a 4 km beach. The beach is incredible and here is possible to try out different water sports: surf, kite surf, stan up paddle board; and also hand gliding and paragliding and so on. The tourism in Famara is not invasive, also because the place is more oriented to peace, quietness and nature, and the majority of people you would see around are sporty or nature lovers.

Close to Famara, there is Soo, a little village born over 100 years ago from a group of african merchants. Soo is situated in the valley of one of the oldest vulcan on the island. In some of my free time I spent few days in Soo in Villas Lanzarote Natura, that I booked through internet and reached on my own. On the website is possible to see the different houses, all new and fully equiped. In addition you can see and understand that one of them has incredible views on Famara’s beach and this one is the one I chose to stay. Jesus is the owner of the business and is a young guy from Madrid, that has been living on the island for almost 9/10 years if I don’t remember bad; he’s really helpful, always available if you have any problems and also if you have any question about places to see and things to know.

He also helped me out in order to get information about surf schools and surf rent shops, because I wanted to learn and try surf and he is a surfer and knows a bit. Next time when I go back, I surely know the people to talk to.

The thing that I liked most is for sure the relaxing atmosphere of this place and the fact that is not too far from other important places, like la Geria, Costa Teguise, Mala and also La Isla Graziosa.

Things you don’t need to miss in Lanzarote are many if you really want to understand the charme of this island.

Starting from the landscape, it is definitely worth driving through la Geria and Timanfaya National Park. This corner of the island is all rusty-red peaks and craters. In Timanfaya you could take a bus tour, starting from Il Diablo , a circular restaurant built on top of the volcano called Islote de Hilario through the different volcanos of the area and learn about explosions that had affected the island and changed the environment and see the most famous volcano of Lanzarote, La Montaña del Fuego (Fire Mountain), you could witness the force of this active volcano by feeling the heat beneath your feet or touching some of the little rocks around, by seeing brushwood turning into flames and a geyser raising up from ground to sky. La Geria, instead is characterized by black lava vineyards, containing Malvasia grapes. This area was covered with lava, slag and ash by an eruption causing a change in cultivation that had to be done using traditional methods, which are labour intensive and not too profitable and unfortunately 30% of the island is going to be desert.

A different environment is when the lava, the rock formations and the landscapes encounter the ocean.

Los charcones, Yaiza

You can pretty much divided the island in two half, the one that is super wild, strong and sort of human free - from the north east to the south east- from the other half that is basically where all the constructions are, the people live and the tourists go: Costa Teguise, Arrecife, Playa Honda, Puerto del Carmen, Puerto Calero and Playa Blanca.

Playa Mujeres, Costa Papagayo

Sun setting in Marina Rubicon, Playa Blanca

Lanzarote is a unique place and you can understand its diversity and how special it is visiting Cesar Manrique museum house and/or art foundation. Cesar Manrique is very well knows on the island and around the world for his arts and for the love he felt for his island. In the casa/museo and la fundacion a dvd about his history and arts is played and explained very well the work done from the artist to preserve Lanzarote from massive construction and mass tourism in order to keep the island as natural as possible. I feel truly inspired and I admired Cesar Manrique for the lesson he has done with his arts and his thoughts to many people and especially for the beautiful heritage left to us.

El golfo

Pugnochiuso Resort experience

2015-11-04T14:16:00.002-08:00

Tonight I'm listening dreams from Cranberries, I was on Facebook looking at random photos from friends made while travelling New Zealand already 7/8 months ago and nostalgia came to me.

Nostalgia of different time, from when I was so young and little, to just few years ago, to months ago.

I felt I wanted to write more often but did not stop to do it actually. I had been writing a short piece of article on my way to Florence almost one month ago while on the train, but internet didn't cooperate and so I don't have any draft saved.

By the way I've been back to Italy from the end of May and had some decision taking time that brought me to enjoy a beautiful summer down south in Italy, at the heel of the boot in Puglia and to be correct in Pugnochiuso, a little private beach close to Vieste in the Gargano area. I took the chance to do a dive master internship in scuba diving and work there at the resort from Marcegaglia.
The months went so fast, the experience was great and I had been trained to teach some basic of scuba diving and be a dive guide, can't even remember how many little ladies and boys came and learnt to dive or just enjoy a lesson with us. We had also certified divers that went to Tremiti to enjoy the clear deep blue water of the islands.
The journey to reach Puglia from Milan had been by far one of the longest had, at least in Italy. It took me one entire day from 9 in the morning to 10.30 in the night, taking different trains and a bus too, it was easier on the way back but still took me a day because of the waiting time at Foggia station for the train.
The Gargano area is really great with big white cliffs on the coast with some incredible little bays. Driving the coast way isn't as easy because all the road is windy with lots of up and down, but some views are amazing! The Pugnochiuso's bay just coloured itself with that stunning orange/violet colours at sunset time and it was so relaxing and beautiful. During full moon days, the moon rising from the bay was so big, perfectly round and at times fully orange! This is an image that would stay fixed in my mind. The frame of trees in the first glance and the bay, the sea, the darkness with the moon light in the background was something just so romantic that gave me peace and gratitude to be in a such nice place. Furthermore the place is really so quiet and relaxed at night and I enjoyed much going close to the cliff, sitting on the side, on the rocks and just listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the little beach, while observing horizon and moon.
Vieste, a nice little city up north, is really famous between young people and visitors to the gargano's area because it is fully functional and it has all the shops, restaurants and supermarkets that you can't find in Pugnochiuso or in Peschici. Down south instead Manfredonia is the first nearest city to Pugnochiuso, much bigger than Vieste that is more touristic.

To people that enjoy the nice clear water it is better to go southern than Gargano, after Bari because the water gets more clean and crystal, while up north there isn't too great. I won't recommend the gargano area for diving, except Isole Tremiti.
To everyone, I would recommend to spend few days in the area, there's also the possibility to go hiking and walking in the national park that's near by.

Hopefully I will write shortly about my two other visits to Naples with Salerno and Amalfi and Florence, while now it's almost time for sleeping.

Abel Tasman National park

2015-04-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

Abel Tasman National park is one of the most famous National parks of the south island in New Zealand.
I've been hiking there 40 km in 3 days days and 2 nights. The total walks island 51 km with the south end being Marahau, where all the water taxi and many tour company start their trip/

It is really famous because it has several bays and so known golden beaches with beautiful cristal water. Many people go kayaking through different companies and/or combine kayaking and hiking on a 2/3 days tour. The combinations offered by tour operators are many and anybody is able to walk at least a part of it taking the water taxi in the way in and or the way out in only a day. But hiking and camping is a wonderful experience to do in Abel Tasman, sleeping in remote and out of civilation huts or in nice beach camping grounds is such a beautiful and rejuvenating adventure to get back in contact with nature and its beauty.
Depending on the period of the year you want to hike Abel Tasman National Park, be ready to sweat (through late spring, summer and early autumn) and so prepare and pack the right gear, at least a dry change to get comfy in during the resting time and the night.

I honestly recommend to explore the park at least for 2 days, because there's so much to see and there are so many beaches to rest on, some smaller bays and some bigger long beaches, there are walks with a stunning view of the coast and walks in the forests that immerse yourself in a prehistoric type type of environment. The palm trees and the different types of ferns where beautiful fant tail birds sing and follow you on your way are what make the walk peaceful, relaxing and beautiful.
Be prepare to wait for low tides in some river or estuary crossings and push yourself in an adventurous crossing if can't wait longer in order to catch the water taxi in time.
If you decide to go kayaking don't miss out Pinnacle Island where a colony of new zealand seals live and you may lucky and see some puppies with mummy ;)

Been exchanging opinion with a tasmanian woman, we found the park similar to the Frecynet Peninsula with the world known Wine glass bay; the different is the proportion: Abel Tasman is much bigger and has more bays and wonderful spots!
So if you ever travel to this part of the world and love hiking and nature, don't miss it out!!

Martins Bay Lodge in Fiordland National park

2015-03-31T22:40:00.001-07:00

On my way back from the unique experience that I don't really know how to describe: 12 days at Martins Bays Lodge helping out as a wwoofer in the Fiordland National Park on the hollyford track.
Martins bays lodge is a quite remote place reachable through air or water only. The way to go took me on a helicopter flight over Milford Sound and the north part of the fiordland National park, as well as the way to go out: the first way short and of top of the fiords, the second along the coast and in the middle of Milford sound. I really can't describe my happiness of being in the middle of the sound, half way between water level and the highest fiord in a helicopter: just so stunning!! The pilot took us close to the waterfall as well with an incredible manovre! But this was just the last days of the magic experience just lived.
The first day flying in and got assorted a room in the staff quarter, a nice and cosy room, nice focaccia bread sandwich waiting for me and a chocolate cookie, the lodge hosts taking me for a look of the place and explaining me my duty and jobs to do. Then a drive on the jet boat with the boat driver half way between the lodge and long reef point: we were supposed to go crayfish hunting but unfortunately had a call and had to go back. It was more than I was anyway imagining! The time there went just better and better with some people coming over on the nights off and with the free time passing by between walking and exploring, jet boating Lake McKerroy and the river up to Pyke Lodge and back.
It was my first time for so many new things: helicopter flights, jet boat rides, quad bike driving to the lunch tent and I guess even tramping on my own, just me, nature and a radio in case of emergency.
I met some incredible young people managing and hosting the places for the groups coming in and nice guides, including a very young Maori boy proud of showing around the land of his ancestors. One night off we've even had a big feast in kiwi style with some gentlemen on a trip to the fiordland, lots of chatting, drinking, food, jokes and laughing.
The people that pay for the trip, thruogh the Hollyford track company based in Queenstown, leave all happy and grateful for the experience had, the visitor books are full of beautiful comments and compliments. I'm so grateful as well to have had the change to experience this place in my trip around New Zealand. And for the first time I've been almost impressed from some mountains being different from but beautiful as my lovely Alps of Italy.

Bus trip is reflection time

2015-03-31T20:05:00.003-07:00

Written on 19/03.

I'm on a bus from Nelson to Blenheim, just one of the short trips that is taking me around New Zealand.
I've already been here 3 and a half months, stopping to places and enjoying the different areas and regions of New Zealand.
If you read already some other posts you've followed me going from Auckland up north to Northland, down east to Coromandel Peninsula, to Hawkes Bay, Bay of Plenty and Taupo after travelling through Waitomo and Rotorua.
Taupo has been my little home far away from home just for 3 weeks before I headed south through Wellington and reached the south Island with the ferry to Picton and directly went to Nelson where I stopped by for the beginning of the weekend, organised a little adventure hiking trip to Abel Tasman National Park.
I've been traveling most of the time with buses, few times by car with friends and it's so lovely to just sit and sightseeing the countryside.
Malbourhou area is really nice with lots of farms at the feet of valleys with sheep and horses. It's soon noticeable that the hills and cliffs of the south island are higher than the one of the north and quite different in vegetation and forestry.
It's surprising how my mind goes from a place to another already seen trying to makes guess and comparisons, but at the end every place even if similar to another has its own unique characteristics and vibes.

Wellington was such a surprising city, full of arts, music, little coffe and restaurants, all holding their own style and vibe.

Nelson is now considered to be the sunniest place in New Zealand, after stealing the name to Napier and it's a relaxed little place. I ended up to be in this hippie style backpacker, so lovely and different from the rest.
The owner and the guys at the reception have been so welcoming and helpful with me and the belgium girl I was travelling with.

As far as people is concerned here, I think kiwi are open and reserved at the same time, they won't expose them so much -I mean enthusiam and deep feelings- unless they know you better, but they are definetely friendly and helpful in all the way they can. They won't mind sharing something they have with you and they want to make your experience a good one. So, so far so good, I've made some amazing friends and been looked after from some good people I shared part of my experience over here.

Right now I am on my way to Queenstwon that I will reach tomorrow late in the evening. From there an incredible new adventure is waiting for me and I'm so excited about: a bus will drive me to Milford Sound and a helicopter will take me out to a remote lodge on the west coast in the Fiordland.

Cape Reinga, such a beauty in a sunny day!

2015-02-20T22:07:00.001-08:00

The beginning of January I had the opportunity to travel to Cape Reinga with my favourite Martinique couple. We had a bit of alternative route that took us 3 and a half hours instead of normal 2 and a half hours, but at least we could see a bit more of the inland of Northland, up in the north side of the north island of New Zealand.

We drove through the St Hwy that goes from Kawakawa up to Kaitaia, then followed the only road to Cape Reinga that in some points allows nice views of the east and of the west coast, of the sand dunes and of the oceans.

Cape Reinga is really touristic, don't expect to arrive there and be the only one at the top of New Zealand, as you might experience in the northeast point of Australia, but still is beautiful.
We were lucky and had one of the best day I'd seen in New Zealand so far. No clouds in the sky, the bluest sky and shiniest sun ever, a bit chilly for the strong breeze there but can't complain about it at all.

Some info points tell the legend that Maori have there and explain some of the beaches, cliffs names given from the ancestors. From the lighthouse and up the hills is possible to see where the two seas meet far in the water: it looks like a small wave in the middle of the water mass but it's quite interesting to know that they are the Pacific Ocean meeting the Tasman Sea and probably the small wave is not that small if seen from closer in the water.

The water is crystal clear: sitting on top of the hills having lunch, the martiniques and I were able to spot a shark swimming close to the cliff. We couldn't identify it, but some friends said it might have been a bulk shark after they saw my photos.

After the little break at Cape Reinga we started our way back, but we did stop after 10 minutes at Tapotupotu Bay, a beautiful stop with a cheap camping ground close to the beach and not much around. I wanted to stay longer if I could have, but we had to count the time and so we drove back to Kerikeri and went then partying in Pahia to say goodbye to our little helpers family.

We missed out a boat party in Pahia and the opportunity to see the sunset around Bay of Islands, but it was quite nice to see Pahia in the night with a shining moon on the ocean.

Home sweet home!!

2015-02-13T01:51:00.002-08:00

I just moved today to my new place! It will be mine just for a month, it is a room with a double bed, enclosed wardrobe, little desk, plenty of space and it feels weird.

Last time I had a room like that just on my own was in Cairns, exactly two years ago. I'm not used anymore at my own space and privacy for so long after so long.
I unpacked my bag in the afternoon and there is plenty of space not used in the drawers and wardrobe, it just feels awkward having such a big place just for myself. It feels too big!
The house were I am at the moment, it's so nice. Once again international people, mostly backpackers on a working holiday from different nationalities and the atmosphere is just so good.
I felt welcomed from the first step I moved in the house, because of Tulia, the girl that was living in the room before me and because of my new flatmates, some very chatty and nice. It is unbelievable that you travel so far from your hometown and you end up to know that one of your new flatmate is from Magenta, 5 minutes drive from my small village in Italy and he actually knows already everything about me or so!

Anyway I'm writing from this incredible new house with a nice kitchen, living room and balcony where I can sit and have a glass of wine, admiring sunset over the lake Taupo.
At the moment actually nature is surprising me once again, painting the sky half grey and cloudy and half incredibly sunny and nice. It's raining with the sun, what an incredible welcome if perhaps a rainbow will pop out over the lake :)
Eheh and there it is, just not on the lake, but still quite bright and stunning!! pictures will follow..

Plus, speaking with travellers is so invigorating every time! I feel lucky and grateful, positive and peaceful.
I will try to write about my last 2 months of travelling in New Zealand and about places to see and experience. So far it's been good and I met interesting people :)

Royal National Park, NSW - day 1

2015-01-23T17:15:00.001-08:00

Royal National Park is the second oldest national park in the world and I had the chance to visit it on a two day walk along the coast.

There are such amazing spots along the way and a campsite at North Era.

Some of the best places seen are:

Marley Beach
Wedding Cake Rock
Wattamolla Dam
Curracurrang Creek
Garie Beach lookout
Burning palms and small villages on the way to Otford

The walk looks longer than what actually is, but Dani and I did all the best to get lost, in order to walk more and more ;) so our mistake!!

At the beginning after we arrived in Bundeena with the ferry from Cronulla, we walked along Bundeena beach, called Jibbon Beach. That beach is really nice and solitaire, just locals were there at the moment we were and it was actually just 3 people and a dog probably. The area is really nice, with some wonderful houses just over looking the bay before arriving to the beach, near Port Hacking and the ocean.

We arrived at some aboriginal carvings and proceeded along the coast - well we thought it was the coast, but we were just on the Jibbon Point Loop Track -, after getting lost in the bush, we walked back to where the coast track started. It took us already 5 kilometres extra probably but we were still happy and eager to visit all the park.

The coast track took us from high cliff to beaches. Don’t forget to stop at Wedding Cake Rock. it is the most known and most photographed rock on the coast track, you can reach it with the car and a short walk as well and it is quite interesting to see. The wind blows strong and quick over there in a vortex way from down the ocean to up the cliff in the south corner of the rock coming from the path.

The first beach we encountered on our way was Marley Beach and Little Marley Beach where we stopped for lunch, it was quite nice and remote. If the walk is not taken by many people, you are quite sure to find yourself alone there or just with few visitors. Then our walk continued up and down on the hills and rock formations with different shapes and colours (have a look at this pic here….) to Wattamolla Dam, that has a big car park, toilets, barbecue facilities and it is a nice picnic area for visitors. Wattamolla Dam has some waterfalls and a pool where to swim and a safe swim area close to the beach. I did not find it too special, but did not have a deep look, because we found another nice dam or pool on the way to Wattamolla, where Daniel had a swim and I enjoyed the view.

From Wattamolla the walk proceeded to Currangcurrung cove and creeck: it was something different than the cliffs and rocks formations, just a small creek running down the hill and windy snaky path that leaded us down and then up past it. There is evidence that Aboriginal lived here, it was used as a regular campsite by the Dharawal people and I can understand why…such a nice spot where relaxed and stop, with a good view.

Eagle Rock lookout was the next information sign we found on the track. Eagle Rock is used as an icon for Royal National Park, but I don’t remember I found it really special. The rock sticks out of the cliff and looks like the head of an eagle, it is situated hall way between Wattamolla and Garie beach, the following beach that we arrived at later in the night, when the sun set and we hurried up down from the hill before it got too dark. I’m grateful we stopped up the hill to look at the sunset. The sun just set on the coast line over the cliffs, lighting the skies with the amazing orange, reddish colour that is typical for sunset :)

Tired and in need of water, we stopped at the facilities of Garie beach: toilets, kiosk, picnic tables, cold showers and Surf Life Saving Club. The water from there needs treating before it can be drink and obviously the kiosk is opened during the day 9am to 5pm. Garie beach is quite long and nice. it is surrounded all around by hills and nice green grass. I eventually thought we could camp there for the night, as seen some rest of camp sites on the north side of the beach. But camping is proihibited there and it is allowed only at North Era campground. North Era campground is about 40/50 minutes from Garie Beach and it was pitch dark when Dani and I arrived to the campground. It was on a Wednesday night, no one was around and the campground wasn’t really maintain: rubbish was everywhere and wild animals as well. We could not really understand and identify what animals were there outside. I thought the area would have looked a bit better, as the nice grassy zone close to Garie Beach and to the ocean. I honestly don’t understand why the NPWS chose to put the campground there. For info, anyway, have a look at: http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/Royal-National-Park/north-era-campground/camping

New Zealand here I am!!

2015-01-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

Hi followers,

I’ve been far away for long again.

My year is ended with the leaving of Sydney and amazing people and the departure to New Zealand, where I arrived the 1st od December.

The weather over here has been a bit crazy and quite grey and rainy for all these weeks.

My first two weeks and a half have been in Auckland, where, not sure about what I was going to do, I tried to look for a job, had two trials, then not decided to take the chance of a job proposed from both the restaurants, I worked casually at three events and then left and moved south to Taupo. After being there, I moved up north in the middle of Northland, in Waipapa, close to Kerikeri and to Kerikeri.

Auckland is the city of sails, as it is called. It is impressive how many boats are anchored in the marina, around the Viaduct basin or on the north shores of the city. Everywhere there are boats and sailing is a must do activity during the day. Around sunset time, depending on conditions and wind, a lot of sailing boats and small yachts are out in the ocean. The city seen by the water is quite nice, not too big and not too high. The CBD in Auckland may be busy during the day, with a lot of pedestrians, but during the night gets quite chilled and desolate.

I can’t say I enjoy the city too much, it was too rainy and windy for the summer I was expected to encounter. I loved the suburb of Mount Eden, Ponsonby and the Viaduct walk through the bridge to Silo park and to the Marina.

Decided to move to Taupo for few days of work, I took Manabus, one of the cheapest company in the north island of New Zealand at the moment, because new and is trying to grow the business. The travel time was around 4.45 hours and went through Hamilton, then Rotorua to Taupo. Taupo is a nice town on the side of lake Taupo, the atmosphere there is really relaxed and people are quite friendly. Out on a night, I was suppose to meet a new friend and an italian friend, while we ended up to be in 5 at the end.

I experienced some retail work there, as Craig was opening his new shop and I went over there to help out. I spent some nice days there, being hosted by Craig and Denise. If you want to know them, have a look at Craig’s blog: http://cwoofing.blogspot.co.nz They are really good people!!

In the free time I had the change to sightsee town, walking around as I like doing, assisting a bungee jumping adventure from an austrian traveller just met and walking through the thermal park until Huka Falls, then back to town.

The bus to my new destination was then at 1.30am from Taupo to Auckland, where I had to change to reach Kerikeri and arrived there at 12. I booked my bus through Intercity.

In Kerikeri I got picked up from Roger, german fellow and family that hosted me for a week in exchange of some hours of work. The week has gone so fast, I met new travellers there, almost all of them Frenchies, but from cool places, like Tahiti and Martinique, except lady Beth, a funny crazy girl from UK. We are all helpxers, that is what people that use the website helpx.net are called and what travellers do when they want to get in touch with local, travelling on a budget and helping out.

The experience over Roger’s place was quite memorable, with a wonderful Christmas eve celebrating with international people and with a barbecue on the beach on Christmas Day, as kiwi do! Sweet as ;)

My next destination was supposedly a Maori family, that I was really willing to get in touch with, because I wish I could learn and know more about the culture. Unfortunately though they weren’t able to host me and I’m now at Murray and Sue’s place, still in Kerikeri. I arrived Monday, thanks to the Martinique's couple that helped me out, and I could already see the enthusiasm that Sue and Murray SUSCITARE in them. Sue and Murray travelled a lot themselves and have a beautiful family. They are so open and so warm in welcoming people to their place. I felt such a beautiful atmosphere here at their place.

Kerikeri is the Maori name for the town where Sue and Murray liveand means ‘dig, dig’ and it known as the horticultural centre of Northland; while Waipapa, where Roger lives means ‘place of water’ and has two nice spots with waterfalls and little creeks to visit and enjoy: Charlie’s Rock and Rainbow Falls.

2014 is already finished and the new year has started pretty good, with the one of a kind party house, beautiful view over a valley and a fully relaxing day, with a visit at the Ngawhai Hot Springs in the warm and sunny afternoon.

Weather is finally good, after a month of rain New Zealand is lately showing me some nice blue skies and sun :) life is pretty sweet when sun shines! eheh

My mood is better and I started to meet some cool kiwis and nice travellers!

Fraser Island - the dingo's island

2014-11-12T01:06:00.001-08:00

I've traveled to Fraser Island two times. The first time was only for a day with Mike, one of the best guide I've ever found around: he's a local bloke, born and raised in Rainbow Beach, spent his entirely childhood and young age back and forth from the island where he used to go fishing with dad or spending week ends with friends. He's a surfer, blond dread head that has a good knowledge of the places he will show you and he treats his costumers divinely, with Tim Tams and baked cake as morning and afternoon tea, just to mention.

The second time I went on a tag along drive tour of the island for backpackers. We had the possibility to drive on sand and learn a bit more about 4WD. I don't have to say that the island is just so wonderful, one of the many in Queensland, still so wild and rough. It's known as the dingo island, because the dingos up there are protected and are in large number, more than anywhere else. They look so cute and nice but they're a danger for tourists and visitors on the island.
Fraser Island is the biggest Sandy island in the area, just made by sand over the time, vegetation started to grow inland and beautiful rainforests and lakes are what you can admire on the island. The sand at some lakes is the whitest sand on the island and it's popular between locals that say you can use it as soap and shampoo, would actually work similar to a conditioner for your hair, why not giving a try?! I just used it as a scrub on my skin and the feeling of it rubbing on the skin is so soft and nice. If you combine the awesome views and the feeling of freedom you find on the island, that is the place you almost wanna get lost and live on.

The island, as I said, is wild and rough. There is just facilities in designated areas or main towns, few hotels and resorts, the one that I saw was unbelievable as far as beauty is concerned and services provided considering the rest of the island is just camping and pure nature! Nothing has stopped human yet...

I will list some of the best places I've seen there, they are some of the most famous too:

- Central Station, with the beautiful rainforest walk and purest water creek;

- Lake McKenzie is one of the special lakes on the island, with white sandy beaches and blue colour water;

- Eli Creek is a fun for kids and adult, you can float on it from the beginning until the beach or you can just take a walk and relax in there;

- Indian Head, one of the best view panorama seen so far; from there with a bit of luck sharks, whales, mantas and turtles can be seen. The view is a bit more of 180 degree and it shows the two beaches north and south the pacific ocean and all the beauty of queensland flora;

- Champagne Pools at Middle Rock, natural pools made from the ocean water - it would be a stunning place, that actually is but too crowded, if no one would be around, being so natural and wild with the possibility of enjoying it on your own piece and quite.

- Kingfisher Bay, it is departing or arrival place for the ferry, one of the approaching place to the island, and is where the beautiful resort is located.

Fraser Island's highway

view from Indian Head

Panoramic view of norther beach from Indian Head

The amazing trip for excellence on the island would be camping with a 4WD and the possibility to bush walking on the walking trail to get to remote areas, where no driving is allowed. Driving is allowed basically on the west coast for most of it, but not on the east coast, where vegetations is thick and dense and the island is still rough and natural.

East coast Australia - from Noosa to the Withsundays

2014-10-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

Travelling this part of the coast with the camper van and some young fellows in March 2014 was an incredible experience. It is a good section of the coast of Australia, Noosa Head been one of the favourite places so far I stopped to and been the northern section surprising and stunning with Rainbow beach and Hervey Bay, both departure places for the wild and biggest sand island in Queensland, Fraser Island.

On my last trip to Fraser Island, the end of September, my aussie friend was continuously amused by myself exclaiming every two/three seconds how much I loved Queensland, how much I appreciated the color of the landscape and the ocean and how much that ambience, atmosphere made me feel so good, so relaxed, so grateful, so peaceful. The colour of the ocean over this part of the coast are so beautiful and the long white and wild beaches are even better! Noosa Head is an incredible spot where to relax, explore and surf, go shopping and be charming too.
The walk board along the coast, that takes you from the little town to the Noosa National Park is stuck in my mind and is one of this place I won't forget that easily. I was recovering from being sick, enjoying a good walk along the coast, overlooking the coast and guys surfing and enjoying their longboard rides on the waves, being immerse in this beautiful vegetations along the walk. I wish I had more time to spend there and I wish to go back. The idea so far in my mind has been to go living in this part of Queensland, due to the relaxed atmosphere and the beauty of it.

Travelling north after Noosa, I stopped by in Rainbow Beach, it might seem not to special at a first glance but the beach with the "rainbow colours" of the rocks and some of the vegetation is wonderful.

The ocean up here is a bit wilder and tougher compared to Noosa but plenty of people enjoy going out surfing big waves and spend time with camper vans on the beach.
So nice spots are all around the area, a must do that unfortunately I missed out is seeing the sunset from Carlo Point Sand dunes. No worries, I didn't miss out the sunset, being my favourite time of the day, watching the sun goes down and enters the ocean lighting all the sky and water with the impressive and fascinating red/ orangish colour. I saw it from Carlo Point Boat Hire, where there is a camping spot too.

From rainbow beach is easy to travel to Fraser Island, following directions for Inskip Point where the ferry departs. Other point to leave for Fraser Island is Hervey Bay too. In between this two points there is Tin Can Bay, where - I heard and read on brochures - is possible to spot dolphins and feed them especially early in the morning.
Hervey Bay is bigger than Rainbow Beach and quite relaxed. As Rainbow Beach it may be not very impressive and appealing but it has a long beach with an interesting white long jetty where to fish from and it's a perfect spot for whale watching, dolphins, turtles and even dugongs cruises. I didn't do any of those, because short on time and because I spent just two nights in town, one before departing for a 4WD 2nights and 2 days tour of Fraser Island and one after the tour.

experiences make you wiser!!

2014-09-09T06:40:00.003-07:00

It happens after a storm that wonderful weather comes out and shines your mood in a way you were just dreaming about and everything gets into the right place, peace reaches your mind and everything works out the best way.

It is what happened in Sydney after 3 long weeks of rain no stop!! and what happened to me as well.

After some stressful months, I've been able to reach a point where I got busier than ever, but where everything seems to be at the right place. Work is good and money is saved, accommodation is nice, not crazy as it was before and my housemates are so nice people that I really love the time I spend with them. Sometimes I'm even able to catch up from some friends and had a good chat, with a good dinner at a nice cosy place as it was tonight at Firefly in Neutral Bay :)

what's best than living like a local in a place where you are not local? in a place you've seen few times and spent a couple of days there?
been in Manly and nearby already for 3 months, time flies when I consider I just arrived back here three months ago and I haven't done much but working in order to be able to do much more.
I have the visa for the next 3 months, just three months left in down under and then the will to explore a new land as New Zealand, the will to come back to Australia and travel the west coast with all the beautiful and amazing places it has to offer and after that the opportunities and possibilities of other experiences. How much am I gonna learn every time? how much am I gonna grow again?
There are still some things I should think about and take decisions on, but so far is everything gone pretty well and I will always remembered the so many different experiences had:

-from packing lobster, to cutting cow's tails in the outback, to taking care of horses in tourist tours, to booking tours from visitors in the wonderful north tropical queensland, to selling goods and food to aboriginal people, too so many other experiences everywhere.

What would it be next?

Living in Manly, NSW

2014-07-13T19:02:00.001-07:00

Living in Manly is absolutely a good lifestyle. You get the Corso, you get the Wharf and you get the beach all in some short of distance walk.

Manly is really popular in summer, it looks like the perfect spot to hit for shopping/dining/entertainment. It has a gorgeous beach where to practise water activities, surfing in particular and some diving at Shelly Beach. It has a wonderful boardwalk all along the beach from Shelly Beach until Queenscliff, the next beach going north, while it has reserves and national park closed to the wharf on the other side.
The Corso and Pittwater Road are the places for shopping, nice cosy shops, few fancy shops and more surfer style shops are everywhere. On Pittwater Road is easy to get fascinated by the boards' shops and surf-funky style clothes shops and easy to lose yourself in a nice cafè and is a bit more quite than the Corso.

Along the esplanade, north steyne or the wharf you'll find nice dining restaurants that light up in the evening for a romantic night or a friends catch up evening :)

It's a lovely place during winter time too. When the sun shines is always good to have a nice walk along the beach, surfers are always out in action in the ocean, no matter if it rains, it's sunny or cold, people are active and sporty every time of the day, from dawn to dusk and that is what made a place more enjoyable.

Manly is at 30 minutes from the city CBD with a $7.40 ferry ride, so there is always possibility to reach the city easily and quickly as well. The fact that is surrounding by water and nature is a plus for Manly and it enables to forget you're living in Sydney.

Wonderful walks could be taken from Manly to North Head or from Manly to the Spit Bridge, enjoying the day out and the views that some lookouts offer is a must!

North Head from a lookout

View from the same lookout

View over Castle Beach

North Harbour Reserve, in Balgowlah

RSA certificate and disappointment

2014-06-15T03:22:00.001-07:00

Something that pisses me off in this society is the fact that money get along very well with every kind of institution and government policies.

Whenever I hear people talking about meritocracy I shake my head because meritocracy can't be find almost anywhere nowadays especially if u deal with instruction.

Don't take me wrong, I'm not a hypocrite and I like some little help when I can't understand something or get to the point quickly, I even appreciate a bit of training and explanation even if I feel a bit qualified and confident, but it's not what happens currently in training and certification.

I had to redo my RSA certificate, that I did less than two years ago in a different state than NSW.

It is annoying because I'm paying again a certain amount of money to get this certificate and discover that is just a requirement that keeps the pocket of the government quite full and not something that really qualifies you to get a job or anything. How do I know that?! well, because in the class today there's people of different nationalities, including people that don't speak any english at all and got their certification done because the exam to pass is a fake one. The trainer just helps us out, giving us all the correct questions, writing them down from the board while he explains and people that don't even speak english get to copy and write down word after word.

Again don't take me wrong, I'm not that kind of person that doesn't give a change to someone to improve their life and start a new one somewhere else, but it's just so disappointing that all this things happen.

I might have my mentality on how things should be done in a certain way, but if you expected to be part of a different society, you first

should speak the language at least a little bit better. I can't understand how someone that doesn't speak any english can interact with customers. Sometimes is really hard for myself that I've got studies!

How could someone that can't speak english say to a customer to leave because he/she is intoxicated by alcohol? This is the funny thing about the RSA certificate, you should be responsible of servicing alcohol in a certain way and be able to get yourself listen to and respect, at least this what the law requires.

Trovare lavoro a Sydney, northern beaches

2014-06-10T20:21:00.001-07:00

Una volta arrivata in città, mi sono dedicata completamente alla ricerca del lavoro per giorni interi con il risultato soddisfacente di alcuni colloqui e prove dopo 3/4 giorni.

Quello di cui sto parlando non è un lavoro da ufficio o a tempo pieno, bensì di un lavoro part-time nell'ospitalità, ambito ristorazione e/o eventi.
Il periodo è dei migliori per trovare facilmente, in quanto la concorrenza con altri backpackers e/o studenti è minore dato che sta arrivando l'inverno e tutti preferiscono andare al nord, al caldo.
E che ci faccio io a Sydney?! Mi chiedo…

Come vi dicevo, la concorrenza è minore e la città ha moltissimi posti da offrire: ogni giorno ci sono centinaia di nuovi annunci sui siti online e amici di amici informano sui posti dove provare a lasciar il proprio resume (CV). Grazie al mio fidato amico gumtree.com.au mi è stato possibile trovare i posti in cui ho avuto una prova ed ottenuto un lavoro. La fortuna ha poi voluto che un ristorante italiano avesse bisogno di qualcuno e che io fossi italiana ;)

Tuttavia continuo la ricerca di qualche altro lavoro part-time in modo tale poi da avere alcuni giorni a tempo pieno. Le agenzie interinali hanno sempre bisogno di persone casual: ho inviato tre curriculum e avuto risposta da tutte e tre le agenzie. Tuttavia si tratta per lo più di posizioni casual e quindi non si sa mai quanti giorni a settimana si finisce a lavorare, potrebbe essere 1 come 4 o più; dipende dalla stagione, dagli eventi in programma e dal numero di persone disponibili a lavorare per l'agenzia.

Non mi trovo nel centro città, ma in Manly, una piccola penisola che fa parte delle spiagge a nord di Sydney e dove la vita è meno frenetica, più rilassata e più party style. Il posto è piccolo, contornato da oceano con il porto da un lato e la spiaggia dall'altra, c'è un parco nazionale che andrò a visitare nella speranze che questo inverno sia mite e clemente con le temperature e possibilità di camminate lungo tutta la costa con la vista di bellissime spiagge e di uno splendido paesaggio.

Io ho deciso di rimanere per un poco, risparmiare un po' di soldi e poi ripartire da li.
Ma sogno il caldo, la terra rossa, the top end e l'outback che mi è entrato nel cuore e mi godo l'oceano senza cercar di lamentarmi troppo. Ho in previsione di diventare una surfista pro ;) chissà come andrà, di far alcune immersioni e molto altro!
un saluto! stay tuned and chilled!!

Partire di nuovo..sempre diverso

2014-05-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Mi viene chiesto che progetti ho per il futuro, cosa intendo fare, dove intendo andare, se voglio rimanere, tornare, andare.. e io tutte queste risposte non le ho.

Sembro quasi una fuori di testa forse agli occhi degli altri che mi sentono dire:" ma si non lo so nemmeno. Il mio ultimo anno è stato in movimento, del tipo 3/4 mesi poi ti rompi le scatole e ti sposti in un altro posto". Chiamatela noia, chiamatela ricerca dell'avventura, chiamatela vagabondaggio, chiamatela fortuna di aver le possibilità o di aver il coraggio, chiamatela follia, non saprei che nome dare a ciò che mi spinge. A volte son scelte fatte e che non è possibile cambiare, a volte è desiderio, a volte è dolore ma bisogna farlo perché dentro di se non vuole rimanere quel senso di amaro in bocca o di rimpianto poi.

Ogni volta che parto ci sono motivazioni diverse, ci sono voglie diverse, ci sono emozioni contrastanti e diverse. Le emozioni però sono così forti, quasi accentuate: non si prende per scontato nulla, non sai domani se torni o no e ti si stampa nella mente un immagine ricordo indelebile, contornata dai più profondi sentimenti; apprezzi e sei grata per ciò che stai per fare e per ciò che stai per lasciare, a volte a malincuore. I sentimenti a volte si combattono e cercano di sovrastare l'un l'atro, c'è la gioia di esser presente, la gratitudine di avere e vivere il presente e arriva il futuro con la sua arroganza che ci mette quel pizzico di amarezza e tristezza, ma tu ne sei consapevole e sei li quasi osservatore della situazione ad ascoltare ciò che si sta abbattendo su di te e allora ne prendi coscienza, ti ascolti e li ti fermi, assaporando ogni minimo minuto poi. Apprezzi le tue amiche, le tue compagne di giochi, i tuoi amici e la tua famiglia: loro dicono scemenze e si divertono come se nulla fosse, come ogni singolo giorno e tu ridi e sorridi divertita e consapevole che quello non è un giorno ordinario da dare per scontato, come succede troppo spesso nella vita monotona di tutti i giorni, ma che è un evento speciale, che è forse l'ultimo per un po' di tempo, che non si verificherà forse di nuovo domani, che non sai come si verificherà a distanza di anni, se sarà lo stesso, se sarà diverso e dunque lo apprezzi per quello che è e rimarrà nella tua memoria.

Forse è la mia profonda sensibilità che mi spinge a fare ciò, perché ricerca quelle forti emozioni che nel monotono vanno scemando e si affievoliscono così facilmente. Forse solamente la voglia di mettersi in gioco, di arricchirsi maggiormente e vincere su se stessi in primis. Forse la voglia di andare . . . . . .

Brisbane

2014-05-26T09:08:00.002-07:00

Brisbane isn't a big city, isn't impressive and/or shocking, but I liked it!

It is not too small either too big, it is the right measure for a country girl, let's say..and is quiet!! the atmosphere is the Queensland one, the lazy and easy going, relaxed style of this state.

The city is clean and on the water, not the ocean but the Brisbane river that goes from one side to the other of the city and confers the calm and tranquillity to it.

The city has got South bank, that is not the same of Melbourne one, stylish and glamorous but still very nice, with museums, gallery and other institutions and attractions. Southbank Parklands are gardens there with casual cafè and take away food shop or elegant and even fine dining. During the day a lot of people go over there to enjoy the sunshine and a bath in the inner-city beach and the artificial lagoon of Brisbane, that is under renovation at the moment. The place is also home to the Brisbane's wheel, where to get a panoramic view of the city.

The river is just some steps away and some ferries are offered to tourists for free and residents to go from one side to the other of the city. Even if you don't need to go anywhere, it is always good to have a water cruise or a water ride anyway..eheh

I took a free guided tour from the visitor centre. They run free tours every day and they teach a bit about the city and the history of the place. They even show you some unique characteristics of the city that you won't see by yourself.

The river is very nice during the evening and night and there's the riverside close to the famous bridge, Story Bridge, where is quite nice to go out for a drink or eating, still in the relaxing atmosphere that Brisbane gives to you.

Some major events are held in August and September. Been the third biggest city in Australia, the events are big and a lot of tourists are expected. Who knows? I may be back there :)

Tornare con consapevolezza

2014-05-15T13:59:00.002-07:00

E sentirsi ricapultati ad anni indietro, quando eri poco più di un adolescente e stavi intraprendendo i tuoi studi o quelli che gli altri ti raccomandavano di fare, perchè si sa, in Italia una laurea conta e bisogna avere quel pezzo di carta tra le mani!!

Vi scrivo dal treno regionale Milano Centrale - Torino P.Nuova, quel treno che mi portava tutte le mattine o quasi in università per i primi anni e che mi riportava indietro per lavorare.

Il lavoro, quello che mi permetteva di risparmiare soldi e pagarmi l'università, il materiale di studio e pochi sfizi (dico pochi perchè non avevo tanto tempo da dedicare a me stessa e alla mia felicità..).

Dopo 3/4 anni mi ritrovo su questo treno, facendo ancora una volta la pendolare. Sarà per un periodo molto breve - grazie al cielo, pensa la mia testa!! - e questa volta non è una scelta ragionata sul consiglio degli altri e non è una costrizione :)

Anni indietro non avrei pensato a tutto ciò che mi è capitato e ho vissuto; davanti a me c'era l'immagine di una ragazza come tante, di una relazione stabile, di una vita normale con la ricerca di un lavoro dopo la laurea e forse una famiglia più avanti. I prerequisiti sembravano tutti esserci e la prospettiva sembrava grigia ma attuabile.

Ma dov'era la mia personalità? dov'era il mio entusiasmo?

Era la mia vita tra le mie mani?

Circostanze hanno dimostrato a me stessa la risposta a tutte queste domande e hanno mostrato una via diversa. La via di una ragazza indipendente, di una ragazza avventurosa. La via di una ragazza volta a seguire un percorso di vita fuori dal comune pensiero provinciale, con la quale è nata e cresciuta. Questa ragazza aveva l'esigenza di guardare, di sperimentare, di conoscere, di mettersi in gioco.

In questi anni di intramezzo questa ragazza ha scoperto culture diverse, ha conosciuto gente di tutti i continenti, ha cercato di adeguarsi a ritmi diversi e a pensieri differenti dai propri. Ha cercato di capire e accettare tutte le sfumature di questo mondo, cosí estranee a lei, cosí strane nel loro essere.

Lei era confusa al principio e è confusa anche ora, ma ha acquisito maggior sicurezza in ciò che lei è, in ciò che son i suoi interessi e in ciò che le piace; tuttavia si sente a volte un po' vuota quando si pone in paragone con persone della sua età e con gli stereotipi della società, mentre altre volte si sente cosí piena, cosí in sintonia con le persone che come lei condividono certi alcuni interessi, sports e passioni.

È sempre combattuta tra questo vuoto e questo pieno che sente nel suo paese, ma ha imparato a convivere col suo senso vuoto, ha imparato a sentirlo e ad accettarlo e soprattutto ha imparato a convivere con l'incertezza.

Vi lascio con una trasmissione radiofonica di cui sono stata ospite, così che potete ascoltarla e conoscere un po' della mia esperienza, seguendo la mia voce:

https://app.box.com/s/eefnkiazwsddtt00na22

Sydney, the multicultural one

2014-05-15T11:09:00.001-07:00

Sydney is a real big city, reminds me a lot of USA cities. Sydney is busy, big, high and beautiful. Sydney is multicultural and cosmopolitan.

It is surprising how there are so many places close to the city that are connected to nature and the environment. I found this particular connection just there. There are bush walking tracks around the beaches up north and public pools made by the ocean water that are free and easy to find.

Some of the walks are just known by locals and not a lot of tourists get to discover what is the real beauty of this city. As good as the connection between city and nature is the diversity of the city. The city is old and classy close to the rocks, is fancy and stylish near Darling Harbour (it is exactly the right name for this area of the city..), is modern and new in the CBD and in the meantime is asiatic in chinatown, funky/ hipster in the suburbs and always vibrant every time of the day.

I spent a week and I went back to the city with my sister for other three days. I've done some of the touristic attractions, seen the city from the Tower, gone around malls and nice shops, walked it all the way from the Rocks to North Sydney at Milsons Point through the Harbour Bridge, from the Opera House to the Botanic Garden, from Chinatown to the nearest suburbs. I went to Bondi beach for one afternoon, and to Manly for a Sudnay, spent time with friends dining and partying, seen the fireworks at Darling Harbour - that are hold every saturdays in the summer months.

Sydney is good, is fun, is relaxing in some particuar spots, is adventure and walking, exploration at every corner. Sydney is a good city, you can't get bored of it, so many are the places you could go and explore, but is a city and is caotic, stressed and I don't think I would enjoy commute there on a daily base so far are the places from one side to the other.

My favourite places are for sure the Rocks in the inner city and the north suburbs near Nelson Bay (where the popular Oaks pub and hotel is located, I recommend it for a drink!!) out of the city, a nice and quiet suburbs with a lot of nice houses and is well maintained and clean, very different from George Street, Central Station area and/or Circular Quay.

However you go to Sydney, just walk around and discover every corner of it! it's so full of surprises and it's kind of nice. The visitor centre offers some free walking tours of the city and the Rocks as well, so why not to go and join?
Go and walk your way, I'll leave you with some photos:

Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge from the botanic gardens

Sydney Opera House

View of the city from Clermont reserve

East Coast Australia - around Sydney

2014-05-06T13:23:00.001-07:00

Last months I travelled from Sydney to Cairns and then back. I had a roadtrip from Sydney to Cairns and I visited most of the places on the east coast of New South Wales, crossed the border of Queensland and spent some time along the coast up to Cairns. I regret not having had the right amount of time and money to enjoy the east coast properly and I really look forward to going back one day and enjoy all the islands that are closed to the coast and some amazing places I would have spent more time in, such as Sunshine Coast, Noosa Head, etc..

The New South Wales is a nice state. Similar to Victoria but greener and closer to tropical Queensland, it has plenty of national parks and reserves and a wonderful coast. Not a surprise that I prefer the northern part close to the border with Queensland as far as the weather is concerned and the environment itself, with the colour of the ocean getting more light blue and wonderful. Anyway it doesn't really matter where, I found some interesting places along the way, beautiful spots just for relaxing and getting in touch with nature and fun spots with nice people and a good vibe.

Nelson Bay is the closest nice place to Sydney I found on the coast. It is part of Port Stephen region and it is home to dolphins and whales (only during the migration season from May to November/December).

The town is nice and supported by tourism and all the services for tourists provided. Dolphin watching cruises and whale watching cruises are always available for tourists, more than one time a day the cruises leave the marina and the harbour and offer different services to fulfil the costumer. There are cruise ships where you can have fun and dip yourself in the water laying down on a net aside the boat, there are other boats that offer lunch and/or dinner while sightseeing the bay and around, just cruising and offering a relaxed atmosphere.

Other attraction close to Nelson Bay is Stockton Sand Dunes in Anna Bay, just twenty minutes from Nelson Bay. Usually you can combine the dolphin cruise and sand boarding on the dunes and enjoy a full day of action. It is quite fun and involving :)

Part of Port Stephen is also Tea Gardens and Winda Woppa at the further end of Hawks Nest with Jonny's beach (sounds like Jonny is my best friend, but is just the name the beach has got), a nice and long white sandy beach. This area is situated on the other side of Port Stephens, north of it along the coast and is a wonderful place to have piece and be quite relaxed. A little river crosses the land and goes into the ocean, being an ideal place where to go fishing or enjoy a water activities such as kayaking, maybe during sunset time with its orange/ red colours that shine in the sky.

Inland and just two hours and a half from Sydney is the Hunter Valley. Known nationally as one of the best valley for wine and food, the Hunter Valley offers wine tasting at every cellar door and vineyard, plus wonderful view of the region from Mt Bright and Bimbadeen Lookout. It is a wonderful place to visit for a day or a week end with the family or the love one or friends. It is also home of the Hunter Valley Gardens in Pokolbin that are 60 hectares and described as wonderful and unique colourful gardens with few small shops nearby.

Canberra, the Capital City of Australia

2014-03-13T21:22:00.001-07:00

Canberra isn't just the capital city of Australia, is also the cultural city of Australia. It has more than 25 attractions to see without any fee charged and it is all art galleries and museum.

Two days aren't long enough to sightseeing the city and most of these free attractions. It would be good to go there and spend some times in museum with history books and have a general knowledge of the history of the country.

I found every single museum that I visited so interesting and full of information, from the war memorial to the portrait gallery. The war memorial is a very masterpiece as far as I'm concerned: all the exhibitions and information given are done simple and are easy to follow, sometimes the representations seem to be true and alive. I went there close to closure and unfortunately I didn't have time enough to get totally involved i every explanation of the battles and wars that all the australian soldiers had to struggle in, because I wanted to see most of it, but I had the chance to assist to a memorial ceremony after I finished my tour (will attach a short video).

Another interesting place I visited is the National Museum of Australia, again I didn't spend enough time, because I was speeding up, but it is an incredible architectural structure that delight you from the outside and the inside. The museum has different exhibitions and it follows the first history of the country to the most important landmarks and recent years. It is a great place to visit to have a general idea of the country and of the different uses of the australian land.

Being the capital city of Australia, Canberra is important for the old parliament house and the new parliament house, for the high court and the national archives.

I found it one of the first cities in the south that I visited in Australia to give enough importance to the Aborignals, to their history and their rights. Adelaide has a big aboriginal section in its museum but it represents mostly the ancient time before the white invasion occurred; Melbourne was really sad in terms of telling how Aboriginals took part to the history of the nation: for example, the only representation that aboriginals have in the shrine of resemblance is a small iPad in a corner compare to the big walls full of information about the white soldiers; Hobart has a nice exhibition about the history that the Aboriginals had to face when white people invaded the island. All this cities try in their own way to give some importance to the aboriginal community, but personally I felt the white society and the history of its invasion were more important than anything else, while I felt Canberra has more to tell and to share about them, almost like the top end does, where the aboriginal community is still strong and present nowadays.

I found Canberra more australian than other cities, but it is not considered to be that important and special by australians. It appears to be a big paradox, eheh.. it's just subjective impression though. I liked it so far and wish I had more time to spend there.

The lifestyle is pretty relaxed and easy going; some of the residents aren't too happy, you can read that in their faces, probably because they live in a city, but other are really friendly and happy to have a chat or share a smile.

Now, I'm travelling on a bus in Sydney direction wondering how the huge city will appear to me ?!?!?

I'll tell you next time ;)

High country, VIC - Snowy Range, part of the Alpine NP

2014-03-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

Experiences are the most exciting part of my travels and allow me to see beyond my limits.

After cruising around Tasmania, being in Tarra Valley in the Gippsland for a couple of days, I went to Traralgon and then Heyfiled where Ron picked me up from the bus stop at 6.30 pm on a cold Thursday night. Then we needed to drive for a hour and a half to the Higging's Hut in the Alpine National Park of Victoria. This place is called the High country and it is one of the most high places in Australia; the Great Dividing Range goes across Victoria and New South Wales and the High country is part of it.

The high country has been for so many years home to cattle stations and huts where people found shelter after being mustering the cattle/ exploring the mountains and/or skiing in the territory. Higging's hut is a private property in the national park, one of few remaining that has always been used for mustering and has horses paddocks, cows yards and operates a horseback tour from there. I went there to help out during the 6 day tour that follows the "the Man from Snowy River" *shooting spots of the movie and for another 3 day tour at Wonnangatta station and valley.

During this experience I learnt to horse ride better and prepare all what is necessary for a horseback tour. I had to help to put up camps for the customers and got to see how is the life of a cattle man with the horses. Kevin, the owner of the business, had been working around the north of Australia, from Queensland to Northern Territory to Western Australia in cattle station and has started his business with horses and cattle mustering by his over the last 20 years. At first he seemed to be a tough and rough country man, with the typical aussie outback pronunciation and slang, then I got to know him a bit better and started to listen to his stories told near the fireplace. His mate, Ron, helps to organise the logistics of the trips and entertain people with his lovely comedian style.

What I liked most was the opportunity to see that beautiful part of Victoria, through the eyes of local people and even better on the back of a horse or being a passenger in the 4WD land cruisers. The country is beautiful, it surprises your eyes every corner with a stunning view. The colours are mainly green and blue with different tonalities that change according to the weather.

Photos from a lookout

Craig's Hut

*The Man from Snowy River is a poem written the end of the 1800 by Banjo Patterson. From poem it became then a famous movie in the late 1980's and it's important to australian horse country people. Craig's Hut is shot in one of the introductory scenes of the movie and was built mainly just on purpose for the movie scenes. The horseback tour took us up there on the 4th day; it is a reachable spot with a 4WD or following a walking track and it is incredible beautiful, looking to Mt. Stirling.