in the park.

After almost a week of uncertainty and intercontinental phone calls, a plan has emerged from the ash. My lovely mum and sister will be arriving at JFK on Monday evening, for a week of exploring the city, before we head to Costa Rica so I can begin my much coveted summer.

This means, of course, that my original four days in the city have been extended to about two weeks. And since I am soon to be sharing my New York adventure, I want to wait for the arrival of the two lovely ladies before anymore exploring is had. Which means I have had several empty days (and two more ahead of me) to fill without treading on the toes of all the things I want to do with my family.

Central Park to the rescue! What a gorgeous place to wander around in or sit and read a book or do a painting. The beginning of spring, the blooming of my favourite tree, the blossom, the sweet smell of flowers and the simple joy of people ready for summer.

This is the place to go to get away from all the frantic people and the sirens and the beeping...a soothing oasis amid the intense, crowded metropolis. If it wasn't part of the city, I don't think my mind would be so caught up in it all. As it is however, there is a time in the future when I think I could call this place home, at least for a little while.

But for right now, I will continue to enjoy spring in the park and eagerly anticipate the arrival of the first of my travelling buddies and the good times that will be had.

new york new york.

Hey Friends. I am now officially extending my stay in the great city of NY. Like I really had a choice. My flight was cancelled yesterday, as were so many others, although I guess I should count myself lucky I found this out while I still had relatively comfortable accommodation and I am not now living at an airport. Thankyou Mister Volcano! That was the biggest fake expression of gratitude I have ever made.
Anyway, about my itinerary. I did actually stay on track for the first few days..then I heard about this volcano and fiasco ensued, which involved me frantically trying to replan everything, in colloboration with my family on the other side of the world with an enormous time difference. Ahhh...stressful times.
But so far I have been to the Guggenheim museum, the Moma, the Natural History Museum, St John's Cathedral, the New York Public Library, Times Square (so full on I could only handle it for about 20 minutes...but I did get to see the famous Naked Cowboy), Central Park (my favourite place so far), 5th Avenue (lots and lots of ridiculously expensive designer stores...) and I have seen the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island ferry.
I have not yet walked the Brooklyn Bridge or eaten Brooklyn pizza....or in fact any pizza at all. But it is ok, as now I have extra time to finish seeing whatever it is I would like to see. Once I am done organising of course.
I am supposed to be in London right now...and I only have concrete plans as far ahead as Thursday, after which I am homeless and confused.
This volcano has certainly put my planning skills to the test and made me realise that my stress levels will probably severly affect me later in life.
Anyway, there you have it my friends...the now ongoing New York trip. And who knows where I will be next week..or whom I will be with. I hope it is somewhere amazing with some people I love.

a final farewell.

Tomorrow is my very last day in Canada, the country I have called my home for the last 5 months. It is sad, and I have made some very good friends here who I will never forget, but I am eager to move on. As these first 5 months abroad have seen me living and working in one place, I haven't really felt like a traveller yet; that part of my trip begins on Friday, in the city that never sleeps...the Big Apple...New York City. Something I have discovered about myself is that if I don't have a certain structure to my life then I have a tendency to sit around dreaming about things rather than actually doing them, which is not something I want when I have spent my life savings to come across the world. And so, to make sure I get the most out of my 4 days in the big city, I have created an itinerary. It's very high-school trip, I know, but at least it means I won't waste my time there sitting in cafes eating cake and gaining pounds.

So here it is...the busiest and most touristy 4 days of my trip yet. Let's see if I can manage to pull it off, all on my own, with nobody to wake me up or hurry me along...

FRIDAY
Arrive at the bus station at 6am. Need coffee, food and a map.
After some rest time, find accommodation (which I still don't actually have) and drop my bags.
Visit the New York Public Library, then take the 20 minute subway ride to the Cathedral of St John the Divine (which boasts the largest stain glass window in the US).
Lunch time.
Visit the International Centre for Photography (pay what you can after 5pm on Fridays).
Home and sleep.

SATURDAY
Visit the American Museum of Natural History.
Lunch time- a burger, cherry pie and coffee at a diner.
Visit the Moma.
Walk to Grand Central Station (apparently a rather impressive tourist attraction...).

SUNDAY
Start the day with a Staten Island ferry ride.
Visit the Rockerfeller Centre.
Visit the Chelsea Hotel (Sid Vicious shot Nancy and Jack Kerouac allegedly completed On The Road here, so how could I resist?).
Eat something Jewish. I am in New York, it has to be done.
Pay homage to Gossip Girl and Sex and the City and take a stroll around the Upper East Side.

MONDAY
An early morning walk around Central Park, followed by shopping and exploring in Greenwich Village.
Some lunch and some more shopping (I heart NY shirts for everyone!).
A night time ride on the Staten Island ferry (I know I have already done this, but it's free. And I love free things).

TUESDAY
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to see NYC from across the river.
Refuel after my hour of exercise and walk back to the city.
Pack my bags and off to the airport at 4pm!

I think it can be done.
So goodbye Canada, I will see you in a few short years, and hello New York City, I am ready to take you on...


The view of the city of Toronto from the UN tower at sunset.

montreal- canada's europe.

Yes. I did stay in hotel for my two nights in this city. And the hole in my bank account was totally worth the privacy and luxury of having my own space after nearly 5 months of sharing it (with all very lovely people, so I'm not complaining...but after so long it was nice to able to walk around naked without fear of totally grossing anybody out). After only 2 days I am in love with this city...it is a miniature, way less expensive Europe. And I love Europe but am way too poor to stay there for very long- perfect! This is the view from my hotel room; in black and white because somehow it makes it all the more arty and Parisian.



Ahhh...magical. Although I am not tremendously sad to be leaving so soon, as I am feeling a little bit lonesome and I know my friends are waiting for me back in Toronto. Montreal is definitely a place to be visited with a companion. I'm not whinging, because I up until now I have enjoyed the freedom of traveling solo, but facing the breakfast bar on your own every morning and seeing everybody else (literally, everybody else. I was the only loner.) chatting with friends and family, you can't help but lamenting on your lack of friends. And you almost forget that it was your choice to leave them all behind as you wonder if the reason you are all alone is an off-putting odour or the fact that people don't like your hair. Paranoid thoughts aside, I did enjoy my short time here. And I finally got to experience the champion of French-Canadian cuisine, the poutine. Before I explain, here is a picture...


Looks kind of like a particularly chunky bowl of vomit doesn't it? The description doesn't really do it any favours either. Poutine is french fries and chunks of cheese covered in gravy. I decided to add some Montreal smoked meat to mine as I thought, if I'm going to go there, I may as well do it properly. I imagine this dish is the Canadian equivalent of our Pie Floater; a slightly disturbing mix of foods that all foreigners feel it is their duty to experience. Needless to say I couldn't finish it and I left the restaurant kind of disgusted with what I had just put into my body. But now I can leave Montreal satisfied that I have taken part in at least one tourist ritual. Yay! Goodbye Montreal, I'm sure we will meet again one day...

oot and aboot.

So I am on a brief sojourn out of Toronto, in Montreal for the weekend. This was actually supposed to be my last stop in Canada but I decided it just wouldn't be right leaving without spending at least 1 more night in Toronto, as it has been my beloved home for the last 3 months. So I am just having a mini-break if you will; although that doesn't really apply because my life is so sedentary at the moment that it would be impossible for me to take any more of a break. I arrived safe and sound, if a little grouchy, as I did as all poor travellers do and caught the GreyHound...which basically translates into I have spent the last 12 hours not sleeping, my body uncomfortably scrunched on a bus seat. And now I face a dilemma...I had pre-arranged to couchsurf with somebody and I have his address and it is all worked out but at the moment I am feeling like if I meet any new people and they happen to be in any way slightly irritating, I might actually pinch their arm skins until their faces contort in pain and fright. So maybe trying to be social in this state is not one of the greatest ideas? This is what I am trying to convince myself to believe in order to justify spending an exorbitant amount (in relation to my ever diminishing budget) on a private hotel room where I don't have to talk or be nice or look pretty. Heaven.
And family, I know when you read this you will scoff and shake your heads and say to yourselves, oh Jordan...you are so silly, of course you can't afford to have privacy, you are a backpacker! But, the advantage here is that by the time you do read this, I would have already gone ahead and done whatever I please anyway. Now I just need to let my conscience wrestle with this conundrum for a little while, as I scour the Internet for a delightful little hotel that won't render me broke for the next month. The hunt is on...stay tuned for the next instalment of 'did she or didnt she?'...

pascua.

Something I have already learnt about travelling is that when people offer you something, it is usually best to say yes. Whether it be to the person who picks you up when you are hitch-hiking and invites you to have Christmas dinner with his family, or to your friend's offer to be the 'friend of a friend' at her boyfriend's family Easter lunch. I did say yes to both of these things, and they both turned out to be memorable occasions (the Christmas dinner because I actually ate a solid, home-cooked meal, a rarity to be treasured when you are a poor traveller, but the Easter lunch for other reasons).
I spent the Easter weekend with a friend from Mexico so aswell as another opportunity to be the Australian ring-in at a family lunch on Easter Sunday, I got to learn how to make some traditional Mexican food, which will surely impress upon my return to the great southern land. She taught me to make Mole, with tostadas, chicken in sauce and pickled onions, and Capirotada, a traditional Mexican Easter cake (which we stumbled through with no quantities, very little direction and a lot of guessing...although the end result was a hit at the family lunch, much to her delight).
And then on Sunday I experienced Easter Sunday Portuguese style; lots and lots of family, lots and lots of laughing and lots and lots of food (and a bit of singing too). It can be a daunting thing walking into a large family event as basically a total stranger, but Canadian and European hopsitality combined is a lethal combination, and I was being offered food and drinks until, I am embarrassed to admit, I had loosen my belt a little. Oh dear.
There was much good food and, although this was a rare catch-up for a lot of the family, much effort at making me feel comfortable and at home. When I mentioned I was Australian, one of the old aunts exclaimed in excitement that she had 'never met anyone from Austria before!', then after a little giggle somebody corrected her and she exclaimed in excitement that she had 'never met anyone from Australia before either!', before she regaled us with anecdotes about the patients at the nursing home where she works. Another old uncle told me about the island off Portugal which is his home, 'heaven' he called it and he spoke so fondly about the beauty and seclusion that I have now made it my mission to visit it. And yet another lovely, old, white-haired man told me, with a cheeky grin and sparkling eyes, that one of his most vivid memories of being in WW11 was needing to piss really badly but not wanting to do it in front of the hundreds of surrounding soldiers; while his wife educated me in the correct way to flip somebody the bird. Hilariously lovely couple.
And a lovely, warm, generous family. One of my most memorable Pascuas for sure. Don't be scared, say yes!