The next phase....

So, writing this one from Salzburg hostel.  We are currently hanging out in the common room, having just eaten a wiener schnitzel, watching the olympics in german.  We are waiting for a 1.30am overnight train to Venice.

So backing up, we have now road tripped West Coast of US with Kat and Roberto.

We left Portland- Ashland :super cute town where we picked them up
Ashland - Napa : LOVED! Napa, and was shown around by family which was amazing - totally spoilt!, free bottle of wine, and free tastings (normally about $35 per person!... THANKS Titus's)
Napa- Yosemite: managed to find a campsite had a fun 3 days, didn't come the best year though, falls were small and flowers weren't in bloom
 Yosemite- Vegas: surprisingly fun!
Vegas- LA: LA was so much better then we were expecting! we all had such low expectations, and it was really fun! we didn't go into the downtown so much, but hung around the beaches, we actually want to go back.

Actually the night we arrived in LA was quite funny.  We got to LA without accommodation, and arriving at 7.30pm at night that wasn't a great scenario to be in.  After pulling up outside a random shop that had free wifi on a main st of Santa Monica, we all sat in the car for about 1-2 hours ringing hostels, motels etc through a very bad Skype line., and our standards were dropping by the minute, we finally secured some accommodation in Ronaldo beach which was about 20 mins out of town (we found out late 1.5hours, in normal traffic!).  We were so excited to have found accommodation, we told the guy "yep, we'll be there in 20 mins", and we go to start the car, and yep.... no battery. So we're on a main road, parked on the side of the road.  So to jump start the car we need someone to pull up beside us and essentially stop traffic on the main road... no one was really prepared to do that, we were all trying to wave down cars, and went into all of the shops to see if anyone owned the cars parked around us.  mostly everyone was very friendly, but couldn't help.  Two nice guys offered to help but they didn't have a car so we got them to help push the car to down the street so someone could pull up beside us, then this white- haired, well dressed middle-aged guy rocks up.  He comes over and asks if he can help, we say yeh... you got a car?  his response.... "no but i can get one for you...." bit of a strange response but we weren't going to say no, so he goes away, makes a phone call then rocks up 5 mins later with a BMW.  Kat and i have in the meantime gone to get some dinner for everyone, so it was just the boys.  They make some chit-chat and say oh this is our first hour in LA, to which he cryptically replied "THis is my first hour out of jail"... Then  he pops open the hood, and then can't find the battery, so one of the guys suggests he checks the boot, and so he does and they find it. so this is obviously not a car he is familiar with.  The guys say that when he popped the boot they were seriously expecting a trunk full of drugs, or a body.  They get the car started, and then they can't get rid of him, they shake his hand, say goodbye, he just hangs around like they're old mates.  When Kat and I got back to the car the guys were genuinely weirded out...they were both like "there was something really strange about that guy"


So then we headed to San Fran for the second time and did the Awesome Alcatraz tour.  So so good, the audio guide done by ex-prisoners and wardens was so good.  Can see why it books out a month in advance!

We then dropped the car on Vancouver Island and were once again spoiled by Maggie and Norm.

Then off to Vienna, Vienna was ok.... not to sound pretentious, it was just another European City, with no discerning features, a few old buildings and a castle which were great, but we were glad we were only there for one night.  It didn't help that it was unbearably hot, so so hot, we spent the day following the shade and places we could buy cheap water! then the train to Salzburg.

And we love Salzburg....!!  So so beautiful, with the old town, and it all being overlooked by a massive fortress of the hill.  it's smaller then Vienna, and just so picturesque.  We spent the day wandering and explored the Fortress, which was really really cool, Dick couldn't stop taking photos!  We got stuck in the rain walking home though, which cut our day short a bit.

Today we did the Sound of Music tour, which was a lot of fun, lots of singing on the bus, and getting the 'real' story of all of the places.  That was until we stopped for lunch.  We stopped in this little town 50km out of Salzburg, where the cathedral is where the captain and maria got married. We had to be back on the bus by 1.05pm.  and were told jokingly if you are 2 minutes late you have to walk home.  We ran back to the bus (i got lost while dick was buying a coffee) but dick got to the parking lot at 1.05 to see the bus leaving the parking lot.  People in the bus were looking at him, so he didn't wave assuming the silly tour guide was playing a joke.  Then it kept driving and dick freaked out, running after it waving.  then it finally stopped down the road.  i also thought it was all a silly joke so didn't run, dick then yelled to me, come on Jordy, we have to go! i ran back, got on the bus and the tour guide was all like ... "oh, we almost had some pedestrians"  I looked at him and said... my watch only now says 5 past.  to which the douche replied "your watch is wrong then isn't' it"! I sat down and he started his schpeel which began with "thank you everyone for being back on the bus on time"  So i yelled at him "thanks for leaving without 2 of your guests"!  He looked a bit shocked then jokingly said, 'we were just driving around the block, and we were going to come back and get you'.  It really pissed us off, i mean we were on time! on the bus at 6past, 1 minute late, AFTER running for the bus!

That was the last stop, and back at the depot where they dropped us off, i went up to the ticket desk and asked for a feedback form.  I managed to get the boss.  he asked why i wanted one, and i told him, while i was explaining, the driver came up, and then started defending himself in german, like we were in the wrong.  i was very brave and assertive and said " it was really crap, leaving us behind and making us run for the bus, and we weren't even late!"  "you only had to run 10m" "THAT"S not the point, we were on time, by YOUR clock, you almost left us behind!"  the manager gave him a talking to, and he finally admitted he was in the wrong and apologised.

Later at the hostel we asked some of the other people on the bus what happened and turns out he miscounted, took off, and then the people sitting behind us, was like hey you forgot some people.  the bit about him driving around the block was total lie! it just pisses me off, he had the hide to tell me my clock was wrong and it was our fault.  DOUCHE!!!

so now that's off my chest... we spent the rest of the day doing more exploring, dick taking photos of me in various sound of music locations rein-acting scenes.  he was most obliging.

So now off to Venice for 1 day, then our 1 week stay in Sardinia.... we have just finished up planning the rest of our trip.  From Sardinia we are flying to Albania...yes, Albania, i have included links as to why, and mum and dad to quell any fears you may have......

http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/10-11/eight-reasons-to-visit-albania.html
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Albania

Then an overnight bus to Athens, 2 nights in athens, and we have just booked 9 nights on the islands.  both places $40 a night... thank you AIRBNB!!!

After doing our sums, we have decided to drop London, and should be coming home around the 1st of September, we haven't booked our flights yet.

Hopefully, i will get some agency work and we will work our butts off for 2 months!!

Thanks for reading this mammoth post,
love you all and thanks for the updates.
xox Jordy and Dick

San Fran, Wwoofing and Jasper Alberta!

Hey Y'all,

So I am writing this reluctantly from a laundromat in Jasper, Alberta (Dad- can you say that without singing the John Dever song?) The sky is grey and it is raining.  We were hoping to get some hiking in while we are here, but hikes aren't much good when you can't see.  The hostel we are staying at is very different.  First off, check out is 11am (which is normal) but check in is 5pm....seriously??!! The dorms have 40-something beds in them.  And there are 3 toilets and 3 showers for all of the women staying at the hostel...school camp and SEP...takes me back.  There is a bear in the area, so we had to bring all of our food into the hostel from the car.  I don't think they were prepared for all of our food from the housekeeping days.  There is no Wifi, which would honestly be fine if we didn't have a bunch of accommodation to book and no laundry.  So that brings us to the Laundromat, where we get free wifi if we do our washing.

SO the last post left off with us being in Seattle, the next day i lost my passport.  It was a big debacle and too much to write, and to be honest i don't want to revisit the whole experience because it was so frustrating.  I will say that I now have a new passport and have crossed the American border with no more hassle then usual... really those guys are such douchebags!! Losing the passport also meant we got a surprise trip to San Fran and we were in the wonderful city for our 3rd wedding anniversary.  We had gorgeous weather, and we can't wait to go back to San Fran with Kat and Roberto. While we were there we stumbled upon a antique arcade games museum. so freaking cool, and strange all at once.  I also found out yesterday my travel insurance claim has been approved, so the travel to san fran and one nights accom was included in it and all up the claim came to $1200!! So glad i got it all back!!!

So after San Fran we headed to our next wwoofing post.  on the way we stopped into Yellowstone national park and we were greeted with snow.  To save money we had been sleeping in the car, and we woke up surrounded by snow, definitely not what we were expecting.  So once again we couldn't see much because of the grey.  Still cool to go and see all of the wildlife. Dick's favourite part of the trip was seeing a Japanese guy wandering the snowy national park in a full suit.  

Our next wwoofing place was in a little town called Millarville about an hour out of Calgary in the foothills of the Rockies.  We were helping a lovely family set up their new winery and plant their garden for the summer.  Dick built them a new greenhouse and i helped with the gardening, picked dandelions for their spectacular Dandelion and Honey wine (Seriously the best wine i have ever tasted!!!), and worked in the kitchen.  Hugo and Ilse pretty much live completely off the land. Hugo and his son hunt every year in hunting season with a cross bow, and what they kill is the meat for the year.  So the only meat we ate while we were there was Moose, Deer and Elk, and it was delicious! They really know how to cook their game so it doesn't taste 'gamey' at all.  Before the wwoofers, they also only really ate their own veges.  And then there are the goats, which were giving about 10 litres a day of milk, so isle and i would make cheese, yogurt and ice-cream from it.  It was really inspiring to see and be apart of people actually living the organic life to the fullest, it makes you realise it can actually be done. So not only did we learn heaps about gardening, ancient beer making, bees, cheese-making, and the benefits of eating non- GMO but we learnt quite a bit about ourselves. 

Hugo has lead a very interesting life, and we had some fascinating and enlightening conversations with him.  He doesn't dance around issues, he asks you the important questions, and in turn you actually learn a lot about yourself.  He's (among many other things) an author, and has written 3 books.  Was a really amazing place to spend 4 weeks at.  What a wonderful opportunity to meet such an amazing family.  

Out first and second wwoofing families couldn't of been more different, but we enjoyed both of the them so much.  We will never forget our time with them and have plans to see both of them again.  We even got tearful goodbyes, so it's nice to know that they also enjoyed meeting us! 

After leaving Millarville, we headed to Vancouver to pick up Kat and Robbie.  We needed to drive through Revelstoke to get there.  There is one main highway linking Vancouver with the rest of Canada and the road is prone to mudslides, and we got stuck in Revelstoke.  There is another road that will get you to Vancouver, but it is a big detour and you need to cross a ferry.  When we arrived, the ferry already had a 8 hour wait and they had closed the road getting to the ferry, to prevent anymore congestion.   So there was no choice but to hang out in Revelstoke, we drove up outside Maccas, and watched a movie, stopping only to use their bathrooms....we were pretty shameless and didn't once buy anything from them.  At midnight we headed down to see if the road to the ferry had opened, and were told it would in 15 mins, so we parked on the side of the road and waited, turned out to be another 3 hours.  From there we waited another 6 hours to get on the ferry.  I was fine and slept pretty much through the whole thing, but Dick had to wake up every hour to move the car forward.  When we finally got to get on the ferry, the car in front wasn't moving, we beeped the horn and everything, but the car didn't move, so we just went around him.  When we drove past the guy was fast asleep!  He would have woken up an hour later, and looked around to see all different cars around him.......So from the time we arrived in Revelstoke it was 13 hours until we got on the ferry.  It really is crazy! Because the ferry is so small, no trucks can get on, so the whole town is filled with trucks.  They were meant to be reopening the highway the next day, but as the info line informed us "Confidence level is low..."

We spent a couple nights in Kelowna (THanks Aly and Jamie!) and caught up with some Big WHite friends, then picked up K+R in Vancouver and drove to Seattle.  (not without a pit stop to watch the Euro-cup semi final).  We spent 2 nights with them in Seattle and then 1 night in portland.  It was so nice to meet up with friends from home and to see my girl! The first night we arrived we went to a baseball game, couldnt really catch the vision though, pretty boring! The night after Roberto cooked us an amazing Mushroom Risotto and they shared their bottle of french champagne they got free from their flight with us.  We went out for a dance to a random Irish pub with a couple of others from the hostel and i embarrassed dick by whipping out my Irish Dancing skills. There were lots and lots of laughs, we had a great night!! 

We left Kat and Roberto in Portland to go to Kat's brother's Ben wedding. and we meet up in a week or so.  Next for us is the Calgary Stampede.  We are staying with Hugo and Ilse, it will be wonderful to see them again. Then the west coast of U.S with Kat and Robbie. 

Love to all, love all of the 'non-news' as you call it! 

xo Jordy and Dick