Walter Mitty is making me want to travel

I'm not alone when I say this trailer makes me want to climb a mountain?? It gives me such a crazy case of wanderlust and makes me 100% certain that my decision to go to Thailand next year is the right decision.

This movie just came out in Australia and while I went and saw The Hobbit I cannot wait until I find the time to sit in a darkened cinema watching this movie. I don't even care if it's not great (but looking at this trailer, I can't see how it would be anything less than fabulous), I just want to see the worlds in which Walter Mitty explores (real or imagined).




I've been to Thailand before - I went on a work trip for a week. It was so delightful but I feel like there is more to explore, like I barely scratched the surface. It's different travelling somewhere when you are actually a tourist rather than a spoilt travel agent (we get spoilt on these trips) with a strict itinerary.

So far on my wish lists for this trip is a trip to the tiger temples in Chiang Mai, a visit to an elephant sanctuary, snorkelling at Phi Phi Island and canoeing through caves at Phang Nga. I'll keep you updated on the plans when they begin to form properly.

May feels like a really long time away.

 - Brooke

Cambodia Pt 1 (starting near the end)

I'll post about the easier less emotional part of the trip - which also happens to be what we did on the second last day (third day) in Siem Reap. 

We woke up early-ish (after drinking until 3am the morning before) to pile into our big pink bus to head out to visit Angkor Wat and one other temple (the "Angelina Jolie temple - aka where they filmed Tomb Raider) in the Angkor Wat Archeological Park. 

The temples were built between the 9th to 15th century near Siem Reap in Cambodia. These temples remained hidden and forgotten in the jungle until around 150 years ago it was rediscovered by a frenchman. It was placed on the World Heritage list in 1992.

It's a sight to behold. The sheer size of these temples is breathtaking. I don't think words will do it much more justice so I'll just post a bunch of photos.

See what I meant?!?!? I have a ton more photos from these temples. There was something peaceful and magical about walking around structures that were created so long ago. Plus they were so beautiful - because of all the stone every other colour looked magnified. I even made the comment "the moss looks photoshopped"

We spent a few hours wandering around these temples and I can see how people spend entire days exploring. Unfortunately our time was limited so we only saw two of the temples, but it was a nice taste.

 - Brooke

Where I've been

I've been M.I.A. online for the past couple of weeks. There has been a reason for it - I've been dealing with some things at work which has taken up a lot of my time and left me feeling mentally exhausted and unable to blog. I've also been to Cambodia last week for a conference with work (there wasn't much conferencing happening but that's what we'll call it). 

A part of the conference was spent in Battambang in northwestern Cambodia. The reason for this unusual stop in Cambodia was to spend some time at an orphanage and donate a whole bunch of clothes and toys to some very special kids.

I'll post pictures and stories in another blog but I thought I'd share the inspiring story of Tara Winkler and the creation of CCT (Cambodian Children's Trust):

For more information on the Cambodian Children's Trust and to find ways that you can help, please visit http://www.cambodianchildrenstrust.org

It was a truly inspiring journey to Battambang meeting all the kids who smile despite the hardships they have faced. 

x x x

 - Brooke

Travel Stories: Koh Samui pt 1

Oh Koh Samui, where do I begin? You were a truly magical place and were so so kind to me and were absolutely beautiful.

Where do I begin? Should I start with the amazing hotels we stayed in, the glorious beaches we lounged on, the cooking class where we learnt to make delicious Thai food or many of the other things we experienced while in Thailand for the first time?

I think I'll just sneak a few photos in to start with. Then maybe I'll slowly but surely get to the good stuff.

There were so many different things to see and do and I took too many photos to fit into one post - coming up next, the many hotels we discovered and my faves.

I'm dreaming of the heat (even if at the time it was so hot it hurt)

 - Brooke

Thailand = SOON!

Yesterday I received my itinerary for this Thailand trip I'm leaving for on Wednesday night (6 sleeps!). I'm pretty excited by the itinerary that was sent through to me. I'll be going on this adventure with strangers who work for the same travel agency as I do - it throws me out of my comfort zone, but at least I'll be in amazing places while doing so.

This is the Centara Grand Beach Resort in Koh Samui - THIS is the hotel I'm staying at for 2 nights (EEP!). It's located on Chaweng Beach, one of the most popular areas in Koh Samui. We have a whole bunch of free time while in Koh Samui but we're also being taken on an Island tour as well as a Thai Cooking class (!!!). 

This is the pool at the Bandara Resort in northern Koh Samui - this is where I'll be staying for 1 night. We will have a bunch of free time and I plan to relax at this amazing pool or maybe down by the beach or maybe figure out if we can go snorkelling - oh the possibilities!!! 

And finally here is the Centara Grand at Central World in Bangkok - this is the hotel where we spend our last night before coming home. We will be taken on a Loy Nava dinner cruise on a traditional converted rice barge. Scariest thing about this hotel is that it's connected to one of the largest malls in South-East Asia - I just cleared my credit card debt.

All these photos I found on flickr so I'll be sure to take lots and lots and lots of photos and share when I get home. I leave on Wednesday night and will be back on the 31st (I think it's the following Tuesday). I'm very very excited about this trip - I've never been to Thailand and it's somewhere I send lots and lots of people to. Plus it's been super cold here atm and I'm ready for some sunshine!

Smiles

 - Brooke

2 May 1998 - The Battle of Hogwarts

Today marks the anniversary of the (fictional) Battle of Hogwarts (2 May 1998).  While I know this wasn't a real battle I can't let this day pass without comment. 

I can remember when the final book in this saga was released - I was in Athens about to head to the airport to catch a flight to Istanbul. I was with my sister and American BFF Storm and we had decided that no matter what it took, we were finding this book in Athens. I had already looked up possible places that might sell it and we started our journey to find this final chapter in a country where the main language was not English.

Luck was on our side that day - we found it in a small book shop (in ENGLISH) for some ridiculous price (I think it was 30 Euros - about $65 AUD at the time). Stormy was feeling generous and bought it for me for my birthday.

I can remember opening the book and blocking everything else out. I spent the entire next day lying in my hostel in Istanbul pouring over every word. I can remember reading of the deaths of Hedwig & Dobby with tears streaming down my face. I can remember freaking out every time something bad happened thinking J.K Rowlings was going to kill off one character and then a different one. I can remember reading the battle and feeling mad/sad/horrified as key characters fell and didn't get back up. I can remember feeling really proud when other characters fought back and I remember proclaiming "YES!" aloud when Mrs Weasley finally let loose. I remember Snapes' story finally being told.

These stories were such a massive part of my life for such a long time (I think I got into them around the time of book 2's release) that's it hard for me not to feel emotional about the final movie coming out in July. I'm starting to get the Lord of the Rings dread creep up whenever I think about the final movie. I feel like I've felt these emotions before and I didn't like it last time - that finality is overwhelming.

I'm pretty sure I had to stop myself from crying when I watched the trailer that was released last week (mainly because I was at work - if I had have been at home when I watched it, I would have cried... A LOT). I know that anyone who would have wanted to watch this will have already, but I think it's worth another watch (or multiple), at least until we get the full movie.

For anyone wanting a more in-depth look at the trailer (with a breakdown of the scenes) the awesome movie nerds over at Empire Magazine posted one. I managed to spot a lot of the things they mention, but even a try HP nerd misses things (like Draco in the background as Voldemort wanders past all the bodies on the ground - MALFOY MANOR).

All I can say is accio July 15th (or maybe 14th for us Aussies)

Much HP nerd love

 - Brooke

P.S I know massive things happened in our real world today, but sometimes it's ok to to put your focus onto other things.

Happy Shopper: Travel Journal boygirlparty

Today I received a lovely parcel in the post. After finding a link to this travel journal on SRSLYLIZ.com I knew as soon as I saw this listing on etsy that I needed to own this travel journey.

Here's some of the features of the Bon Voyage travel journal as described by seller boygirlparty:

* It's full color throughout, whimsically illustrated by me with birds in roller skates, cats and owls being carried away by balloons, and paper airplanes!

* It features a protective phthalate-free vinyl slip cover, complete with pockets at the beginning and end so you can store your travel memorabilia (tickets, notes, etc)

* It has 4 tear-out postcards that you can send while traveling

* It features tons of space to write, journal-style, but also has prompts throughout to record specific travel memories (ie, "my most recent meal: _______")

* It features a directory at the end to keep in touch with travel friends and photo pages to glue snapshots (ie, photo booth photos!)

* It features "You are here" world maps throughout so you can record your locations visually

* It features lists such as "don't forget to pack" and "to do"s

* It measures about 5.5 x 7.5"

IT IS SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL!!!

I'm a traveller and I love to have somewhere nice to write my stories as I'm travelling. I feel less inspired when I don't have somewhere beautiful to write. I've always been on the look out for fun pretty affordable travel journals and have usually come up short. For some reason shops in Australia either don't sell travel journals, or they come unlined, or they're really expensive and ugly. 

This travel journal is different. As soon as I opened it I was in love. It's the perfect size, not super heavy and it's SO ADORABLE! 

I want to go on a big adventure so that I can fill it's pages with my travel stories and little mementos. I want to take instax mini photos on my adventure and stick them into my new journal. I want to get home and be able to flick through filled pages and smile and remember all the fun I have had along the way.

I'm already thinking about who I can gift one of these travel journals to - unfortunately most of my friends don't have plans for big travel adventures at the moment but I'm sure someone out there will be able to find someone who could use one of these journals. 

There are also some fun notebooks, t-shirts and recipe cards as well as other items in her etsy shop - if the quality is anything like this journal, you won't be disappointed.

Can I get a month off to travel now? Plans are for the USA in October but that seems like so far away (here I am complaining after I just posted that I'm going to Thailand at the end of next month - can anyone say lame?).

Happy dreaming

 - Brooke

Travel Inspiration: Koh Samui Thailand

On the 25th of May I'll be jetting off on another work trip, this time to Bangkok and Koh Samui in Thailand. I don't know exactly what I'll be doing yet but it'll be a longer trip than my Bali trip. 

I've never been to Thailand before and I'm pretty excited to finally get to experience an area of the world that I send so many people to. Thailand is a big seller for Australian tourists and I have sent my fair share of people to that fair country. 

I did some Flickr searching and found some amazing photos of Koh Samui - it's made me so much more interested and excited to get to enjoy this beautiful country. 

I especially loved the set of photos I found on "element_photography" photostream. These made me smile and look forward to some sunshine.

I want to see beautiful sunsets, drink delicious fruity cocktails, eat amazing food, lounge around by the pool, snorkel and inspect some beautiful hotels. I'm not 100% sure what I'll be doing or if I'll have time to do much of these things but the prospect of experiencing anything like these beautiful images is simply inspiring. 

As always - click on the images to be taken to the source.

Happy travels

 - Brooke

Travel Adventures: BALI

Last Sunday I headed out early to the airport to "tag along" on a work Assistant managers conference to Bali - I got to go on this one because the Managers conference fell on the Andrew McMahon weekend trip and I couldn't go. I didn't mind, I've never been to Bali before and it's a big seller in our store so I was excited to finally get to see what the fuss was all about.

We stayed in an area that was on the boarder of Kuta and Legian in Bali at The 101 Legian Hotel. This hotel had not technically opened yet so we were a little concerned about what to expect when we arrived. It was unfounded as the hotel was awesome and the staff at the hotel were so lovely and went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed.  PLUS we had our own rooms - which doesn't happened all that often on these conferences. 

Sunday afternoon we headed to The Haven hotel in Seminyak for a 2 hour conference and then an inspection of the hotel then dinner. I had been feeling a little under the weather when we landed - I thought it was just the change of climate or the aeroplane food and that it would pass, but it didn't. After dinner we headed back to our hotel to dump our stuff and head out for a drink but as soon as I hit the hotel I knew I couldn't head out again so I took some Panadol and went to lie down on my bed when nausea hit and I had to stick my head in the toilet for a little while. Not the best way to start a trip.

I woke up the next day feeling so much better. We had a free day to wander the streets and a whole group of us headed to the markets then shopping center for some retail therapy. We ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach and then spent some quality time by the pool. Someone suggested cocktails and who was I to argue when one of the hotel staff brought us cocktails as we soaked in the pool.

More after the break...

Travel Stories: Dear Jack Benefit Show, Nov 18 2010

I'm back from my So Cal week long adventure. It was over in a flash but it was filled with moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life. One of those moments happened on the evening of the 18th of November in Los Angeles California.

By now you all know the main reason for my quick trip to the USA - the Dear Jack benefit concert. This was to be the first time I'd get to see Something Corporate live after listening to their music for over 6 years.

The day before I flew to the USA I posted on twitter the following message:

"Tomorrow I'm getting on a plane from Melbourne Australia to attend the first Annual @dearjackhq Benefit Concert. I'm excited. V excited!"

I received a few back and forth tweets/direct messages from the @dearjackhq (Official Dear Jack Foundation twitter) asking me if I'd be contactable while I was in the USA - turns out they wanted to make sure I met Andrew McMahon (lead singer from Jack's Mannequin & Something Corporate) at the show.

I spent the day of the show in LA on a city tour then shopping at Sephora before eagerly arriving at the El Ray Theatre on Wilshire Blvd at about 7.15pm.

I always find walking into an unfamiliar venue to be both exciting and daunting – you don’t know where you’re going but there a chance you’ll walk into your new favourite venue. The El Ray Theatre was just that – chandeliers and a plush red curtain covering the stage.

I managed to meet up with Steve from the Dear Jack Foundation (after confusion and a cryptic txt message) and organised to meet him after the show was finished so we could meet up with Andrew.

My heart was already in a flutter as Matt Nathanson took the stage. Under normal circumstances I would have really loved his set as he was engaging, funny and his music was quite charming – or maybe I’m remembering it wrong, I don't think so though. I can remember smiling and laughing and singing along to an acoustic rendition of “Highway to Hell”.

The curtains closed again and the crowd thickened. It got a little squishier but was much more tolerable than the squish factor at gigs at home. Excited nervous energy was the flavour of the day as we waited impatiently for those curtains to pull back again. When they did we were greeted with the glorious sounds of Jack’s Mannequin.

The setlist went a little like this:

• The Mixed Tape
• Spinning
• Lullaby
• The Resolution
• I’m Ready
• Bruised
• Holiday From Real
• Swim
• Dark Blue
• MFEO/You Can Breathe

I spent a lot of the time turning to Skye saying “this is my favourite song” because that’s how I feel about most Jack’s Mannequin songs. I think I sang along with a massive grin on my face throughout the set as they went from one song to the next. My heart almost broke in two when the opening chords of “Lullaby” began and again when “MFEO/You Can Breathe” began.

When the curtains closed again it felt like no time had passed. It was about time for the main event – Something Corporate.

I wasn’t really properly prepared for them to open with "Hurricane" but as the curtains opened and the music started my whole world froze. I couldn’t move, I could barely breathe – all I could do was watch and sing. Every note, every beat I felt and lived. It didn’t take long for my brain to snap back into gear and for my heart to slow down a bit. I sang and danced and smiled and almost cried (but I didn’t) as song after song was belted out onstage and through the speakers.

The band looked at home onstage – so happy to be there together after all these years. It was enjoyable to watch and their happiness would have been infectious to anyone not already in a state of overwhelming happiness (like I was).

I think the greatest moment of the evening came about when the band walked off stage before the encore. Usually the crowd will chant either the band’s name or “encore” but this night it was different – they chanted for “Konstantine”. Thankfully Andrew returned to the stage solo and began before the rest of the band joined him to play the song properly. I’ll be honest my eyes teared up and there were parts of the song that I could not sing or I was going to cry – this was by far one of the most amazing gig moments of my life. There is something about that song that drags me in every time and to finally be seeing it live was something I never expected to experience.

Something Corporate disappeared and the rest of Jack’s Mannequin joined Andrew onstage to close the night with "La La Lie" – halfway through the song Something Corporate returned and the two bands shared instruments, microphones and the stage to finish the song in a big fun sing along. The show finished with smiles and happiness which was absolutely perfect.

Setlist went like this:

• Hurricane
• I Want to Save You
• Me and the Moon
• Watch the Sky
• Fall
• Cavanaugh Park
• Space
• The Astronaut
• Punk Rock Princess
• I Woke Up in a Car

ENCORE

• Konstantine
• Jack’s Mannequin - La La Lie ft. Something Corporate

We met up with Steve after the show and he took us upstairs to the “VIP” area where Andrew was hanging out with friends and family. Steve grabbed him and we ended up chatting to him about our holiday and what we had planned for the rest of our trip. He thanked us for making the trip and mentioned how much he loves Australia and how they’re talking about possibly doing an acoustic tour soon (to which I said “please don’t tell me things like that if it’s not going to happen – that’s not fair”).

I’ve been seriously struggling with my words for this blog post. It was such an amazing night of music that I don’t think the words that I have written do it any justice. I usually pride myself on the fact that I can just write about things quickly and without much fuss, but this time I think it meant too much and it’s still so fresh – I can’t find the proper words just yet.

I flew thousands of miles from Melbourne Australia to Los Angeles California to be at this show and it was worth every moment of those 14+ hours on a plane there and 14+ hours on a plane home to be at. I feel so lucky to have been a part of the night and to have finally seen Something Corporate live.

I want to thank Steve from the Dear Jack Foundation for being such an awesome person and looking after me and Skye and for making sure we met Andrew after the show. It was a little piece of unexpected kindness that meant the world to me. You’re the best Steve – I know you must have been super busy on the night and to take the time out to organise that for us was amazing!

Also thanks to Andrew for taking the time to stop hanging out with his family and friends and for having a chat and for being so lovely to us after the show. It’s always a pleasure to see your band(s) live and I’ll continue to travel great distances if I have to to see you again. To quote Eddie from Empire Records – your “music is the glue of the world. It’s what holds it all together.” If you do manage to make it to Australia for the possible acoustic tour you were talking about – I’ll be at every show.

It was the absolute perfect first day in LA - the very next morning we were up early to catch a bus across to Anaheim for 2 days in Disneyland. I'll share pictures (I have tons) and stories next.

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

P.S I know my pics are not the best from this show - you try taking photos when your hands won't stop shaking from excitement.

Travel Stories: California Dreamin'

Yep that’s right, I’m off to the USA tomorrow night for my 4th trip to that beautiful country.

This time around I’m not travelling with my sister. I’m joined on this adventure by Skye. Skye & I became friends from when she worked at my store. She now works in a different branch at a different location but we’ve remained friends via the usual networks. It’s always exciting to travel with someone new – especially someone who has never travelled to a destination that you love dearly.

This trip all came about from the fact that Jack’s Mannequin and Something Corporate are playing a Dear Jack benefit concert in LA together on Thursday night and I though I’d like to attend. I posted about the show a little while ago and stated that I’d managed to get tickets but it looked like I’d be going by myself because my usual “go to” travel partners were all busy or didn’t have the cash.

I received a text from Skye the following day asking if I had anyone to go with and we spoke about it and I told her what I was thinking of doing and she asked if she could come. I was stoked! She managed to convince her husband that it wouldn’t cost too much since it was only a week so it was settled – she was coming along to the USA with me!

The best part about organising a trip with a fellow travel agent is that there’s no “umm”-ing and “ahh”-ing. They know how much things cost and know how to get the best out of accommodation and flight deals. We managed to get a great deal with V Australia on the flights and a super cheap internal flight from LAX to Las Vegas and all the accommodation was sorted almost straight away. I think I was the one who spent the most time looking at different hotels and finding out different options and prices for our first hotel – Skye was easy, anything I suggested was met with “that sounds great”.

So what are out plans?

 

We’re headed to LA for 2 nights and we’re staying at the Magic Castle Hotel – I’ve read some amazing reviews of this place so I’ll share my thoughts when I get home. Since we arrive into LAX at about 4pm on Wednesday we don’t have too much time that day so we’ll probably just have the usual after flight showers and head out for some dinner before mega sleep time. We’re booked in to do a 4 hour city tour (so Skye can see the “sights”) the following day before shopping (hopefully I’ll get to go to the Tarina Tarantino boutique) around LA for a while and then going to the Dear Jack Benefit show that night.

Friday morning we’re on an early bus to Anaheim for 2 nights where we’ll run around Disneyland like little kids in a candy store. We’ve booked to see Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Pt1 on Saturday morning in Downtown Disney (I couldn’t help it – I’m going crazy thinking I’m not getting to see it on opening day but that's what happens when travelling).

After that we’re off to Las Vegas for 2 nights of sequins, sparkles, shopping, neon lights and a fly over of the Grand Canyon.

I’ve done Vegas before – YEARS ago on my first America adventure with a bunch of Summer Camp friends so it’ll be nice to get to go back out there with a new perspective.

I’m very excited – we’re jamming so much into 7 days but it’ll all be worth it. It’s our whirlwind Californian & Vegas Adventure. I’ll post pictures and stories when I’m home. I’m taking the Fujifilm Instax Mini and my SLR and am going to try and spend some time taking some special snaps and playing around a bit more with my new lens. I’m only taking one lens so we’ll see how we go.

I’m sure I’m going to need a holiday from my holiday when I return. I’m just happy that I get to say that I’m getting to see Something Corporate in 2 days time after about 7 years of listening to them (plus the fact that Jack’s Mannequin is included in the same evening makes it super special).

Until next week my lovelies...

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

** Click on all images to see originals - none of the photos in this post are mine. Credit goes to those they belong to, click to see more from each person **

Travel Stories: UK part 2 - London Musicals (and Jonas)

I think it's time for another travel story from my trip to London in June.

Crystal and I were on the tube on our way back to our apartment that we had rented for the first week. In London they have these free newspapers that are handed out at the end of the work day to commuters on the tube. I was casually reading through the paper when I noticed a picture of Nick Jonas in London. I read the article and found out that he was performing as Marius in Les Miserables for 3 weeks (and we'd be around to see it if we chose).

I was exstatic - Crystal wouldn't let me buy tickets when we were in New York last year to see the Jonas Brothers for my birthday so this time I wasn't letting her choose, we were seeing this musical.

I think we were on about day 4 or 5 by that stage and we had already decided to go see another musical (we'd already seen Billy Elliott) so we went to the cheap tkts booth to try our luck. The guy at the booth was super helpful and told us that there were no discounted tickets for Les Miserables due to a Jonas brother performing (der that was why we wanted to go) and suggested to get the best tickets we should go to the box office (which was conveniently around the corner) and pre-purchase tickets for another night.

We ended up seeing Sister Act the musical that evening and once we had bought our tickets for that we headed to the box office of the theatre where we got amazing tickets for the following week. It was to be our final night in London special event.

I have seen quite a few musicals in my time but I've never seen Les Miserables before. I have friends who have told me it's their favourite musical but for some reason or another I've just always missed it.

I was absolutely blown away by this musical. It was powerful, emotional, rough, endearing and enchanting. I was totally wrapped up in the characters and storyline and I even shead a tear or two at the end.

The most surprising thing for me is though most know him for his cheesey pop songs and boy band persona, Nick Jonas was simply amazing as Marius. Now I know I've never seen anyone else as this character before but I don't know if anyone else will live up to it anymore. He was sweet, vulnerable, loving and caring - and he sang so differently than what he does when he's a part of Jonas - he was a powerhouse!

I don't even know what it is about these boys that I like so much - they don't play the kind of music I usually like and it's not because of their music that I like them. I watch Jonas (shhhhh), I love Disney original movies so Camp Rock 1 & 2 are naturally included in that love, but there's something about them that I still can't get enough of.

* From Camp Rock 2 *

 

* The boys show us their home town *

I don't care what anyones says - I think these boys are sweethearts.

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

A Storm Invades Australia: Week 2

At the beginning of the month I posted about week 1 of Stormy's visit. Well I figured now is as good a time as any to fill you in on the second week - the week we travelled and enjoyed being tourists in our own country.

L-R: Storm, Me, Lauren & Crystal (back)

Our journey started from Melbourne to Sydney where we spent 2 nights and 3 days running around, shopping, visiting iconic Sydney things (like the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House - but you've seen them before so I'll just show you the fun pictures) and basically having a great time together.

I don't usually eat all that many cupcakes but for some reason when the American arrived all I wanted was Red Velvet and luckily for me I could find it wherever I went.

L-R: Crystal, Storm, Lauren & Me

On our first night in Sydney we decided to (I'm not sure how) do make-overs and we all ended up with a massive lightning bolt and mega 80's hair. I honestly do not know how I managed to end up with the black lightning bolt (it was annoying to wash off) and my hair didn't appreciate the mass teasing (or back combing) but it was a funny night with many faces streaked with tears from too much laughing. We have SO many photos from this night but SO many of them are un-internet postable (but they may be made into a mini movie and posted at a date TBD).

On our second night in Sydney we met up with my Uncle Paul who had managed to organise free tickets to see the musical Wicked (he works for the Theatre Company who have it playing in Sydney). We had amazing seats and drank green "Oz-mopolitans". We heart Uncle Paul!

Next up was BEACH TIME! We headed further north after our adventures in Sydney - all the way to Palm Cove in Queensland. Palm Cove is a beautiful little spot between Cairns and Port Douglas and we were lucky enough to stay at the Sea Temple Resort & Spa (AAAMMMMAAZZZZIIINNNNG!!!). We got an upgrade to a 3 bedroom apartment with PLUNGE pool while we were there and I claimed the biggest room with the king sized bed (naturally).

I have never been this far north of Queensland before so this was a new experience for me - we travelled out to the Great Barrier Reef where Lauren and I managed to "Find Nemo" and view some spectacular fishes. It was so relaxing and as soon as you put your head under the water it felt like you were in another world. Lauren and I kept on waving at each other whenever we saw a new beautiful fish or bright blue starfish. It was a funny way to communicate underwater.

L-R: Leah, Storm, Lauren, Crystal & Me.

We also fed Kangaroos, went to a zoo, visited a crocodile park and saw jumping crocodiles from a boat, ate crocodile burgers, watched Jamies Food Revolution while eating Fish & Chips, drove around in Ron Burgandy, blasted Florence & The Machine wherever we went, Leah failed everytime we went out to dinner but made it up by getting free drinks, baked and ate cheese the entire time we were away and we chilled out on our outside patio drinking and listening to really loud music (Franz Ferdinand & Vasco Era FTW).

I always find travelling with these girls is really easy and fun - we've done it so many times now that it just seems like we could go anywhere together and we'd be fine. We had a blast being tourists together again and it was so lovely to be able to showcase a little slice of our country to a very dear friend.

I loved having Storm visit and I wish she could have stayed here longer. Now that she's gone again our house feels quieter.

I miss her already but I know that even though there are thousands of miles seperating us that we'll still be visiting each other when we're old and grey. I'll always have a place in my life for this lady - I only wish that I saw her more often and that we lived closer to each other.

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke