December 7th

So where have I been you ask?


well....It's been a crazy end to the semester....thus no blogging.

I'm now flying over Greenland, suffering from sleeplessness. I've just spent 2 days in Sydney for work, 3 days in San Francisco, and now I'm off to London to meet some friends. This is my "end of university" trip, which began 5 days ago.

Right now, its 11pm in Sydney, 4am in San Francisco, and 12pm in London. I am extremely confused as to what time my body is on....I hope I get some sleep soon.

Anyway, Sydney.....I went there as part of my work's induction. The company I work for is head-quartered there. Even thought it was work related, it was fun, because 10 other of my classmates work for the same company. We all went, so it was like a class trip. After spending 12 hours of induction-related things, we finally had some fun. We all went out on the last night into town for some dessert and a walk around town.
I wish I could have stayed longer and hung out with my friends. There's something really cool about hanging out with a group of your friends in a foreign country (even though Australia isn't that much different to NZ culturally). Its like going on an extended field trip, with no teachers around....

So after that quick trip to Sydney....I flew back to Auckland, only to spend 3 boring hours in the airport, and then I hopped on another plane to San Francisco.
I arrived into a backpackers, where I told myself...."this is the last time I'm doing back-packing". I like the idea of saving money, but having had a taste of luxury in Sydney (courtesy of the company of course), I really want my own room with white towels, shampoo, and all amenities available.
Because I'm on a budget, I took the train into town. On the train, I took out my iPod touch, which never went back into my pocket. Somewhere in between, I think I left it on the train......so yea, I hope insurance will cover it. Life is so bland without music on the go.

San Francisco never disappoints. I swear that this place never rains! Apart from the fog, this place is always sunny and temperate. It is winter, and I manage to do a 6 hr bike ride across the bay. I was sore afterwards, but it was sooo worth it. My favourite thing about SF, is its food/drink. Burritos in Mission, Burgers in Sausalito, Thai in downtown, Coffee in Castro.....I've never tasted bad food since I got here.
A quick stroll through Haight/Ashbury was fun, but the time constraints means I didn't walk up buena vista park. No ocean beach, and no Golden gate park in this trip.
Castro is a place that I enjoy heaps. I feels like a small town.....with just the right sized crowd. Cool clothes, bookshops, and other shops. I had to take a break at Peet's coffee, because the smell coming out of it was so nice.....the drink itself was impressive.

So after one burrito, angus steak burger, spicy cat fish, beef panang, clam chowder,
vanilla cream puff, snapple, milanos, ghiradelli chocolate and lots of waffles, I'm ready to take on Europe.

I'll be arriving in Munich in just under 4 hours, then I'll be on my way to London.
Lufthansa has the most horrible airplane food- salty, texture-less, and some of the dullest colour. The toilets on the other hand are the largest I've seen in the sky. The interior design is distinctively european- modern, and ergonomic.

Ok.....London town, here I come.