Yesterday I went to the Fremantle Chilli Festival to experience all things chilli in the inappropriate 41 degree Perth weather.
The festival was held in the Fremantle Esplanade which was fenced off for a huge variety of stalls featuring everything from chilli beer to chilli popcorn (both of which were really delicious).
My favourite stall was the Worlds Hottest Chilli Salt stall, which had a variety of salts (one of my favourite things) that were seasoned with chilli and other spices. We actually had to take a break after this stall, I ate way too much salt!
The highlight of the day was trying the world's second hottest chilli, the Ghost chilli. It had just been beaten in hotness 3 weeks ago by the Moruga Scorpion chilli. It was... a completely different thing to regular chilli! I had a tiny slice on a piece of cracker, at which time one of the boys hosting the stall starting recording us on his iPhone - never a good sign.
The guy at the stall had said to give it a couple of minutes to set in to maximum heat, he wasn't kidding! The burning set in straight away, but I could still talk and function and had motor skills (enough to buy a pod of the Moruga Scorpion!) until about a minute in, where I was rendered completely immobile and sat on the grass feeling very sorry for myself. It was certainly an experience! I think that the pod of the Moruga Scorpion will be strictly for ornamental purposes, I don't even have the courage to open the packet!
Happy new year! Today is my last day in beautiful Switzerland, and tomorrow I'm heading back to Perth. My stay here has been awesome, and I've had such a fun and different holiday season this year.
On the 30th, we drove to Champex to spend the night at Tom's chalet in the mountains. It really was in the mountains! We had to walk through a massive path of snow (that's usually a road) to get there. The chalet was beautiful; made of wood and decorated with cosy furniture and creepy old paintings, with nothing to see outside the windows but trees covered with snow, it really made us feel like we were the middle of nowhere.
That night we walked to a restaurant in Champex where we had a different kind of fondu (fondu a la tomato). It should have been a 15min walk each way but I think it took us double the time because we were playing in the snow! The snow was like powder, it was so much fun to play in.
On new years eve (after dislodging the car from the snow) we drove to Le Chable where Yvonne had hired a dorm at an awesome backpackers place. The place was directly next to the train station and the tele ski, so it was really easy for us to catch transport to and from Verbier (where we spent new years). Yvonne organised an amazing new years eve with a bunch of friends all staying in the same backpackers.
After some drinks in the common room, we caught the bus to Verbier for dinner at Fer a Cheval, a rowdy pub with hearty meals and cheap steins of beer. Dinner was amazing, I'm so glad it was good because it prepared us for a big night of street drinking! We had a couple of rounds of shots, and for some reason it's tradition in Switzerland to chant (starting low and going up to a scream) before taking a shot. It turned into a bit of a competition between the tables at the restaurant, and I think we lost dismally to the English mob on the table next to us.
Next we headed onto the streets of Verbier where there was music, street drinking, random fireworks, and snowball fights. It was nuts! To be honest I was even a little scared at times, because people had their own fireworks and were launching them quite low just above the crowds. There were a couple of policemen around, but they didn't seem to concerned, it was crazy! The countdown was my first new years countdown in French, and my first without a boy to kiss! However it didn't matter because everyone was hugging and going crazy, so I didn't feel too lonely.
We managed to push our way into the front of the line to catch the bus back to Le Chable where we had some more drinks over another game of jenga in the common room.
This morning we started 2012 with the long drive back to Neuchatel. We gave up and decided to stop for McDonalds; I'm a little ashamed that maccas was my first meal for the new year! It's actually the first time I've eaten a burger from McDonald's since I was 15, but it seems much better in Switzerland (the smell didn't make me feel sick for one). It was really nice! Maybe I just really needed a burger after last night.
Tonight we're going to relax over a movie, and I'm going to try and pack for my trip back tomorrow. And so my swiss holiday comes to an end!
Today was a shopping day in Geneva, yay! I bought some awesome shoes! That's pretty much all I've got for today.
We're settling down to a quiet night in with raclette for dinner and a scary movie over some junk food. Tomorrow we're heading off to the mountains, but the weather is looking awful so skiing is probably a no-go. I'm not really too fussed, and to be honest I'm more excited to see it snow!
Bern, the german-speaking capital of Switzerland, known for it's bears and Einstein cafe (ok maybe that's what I know it for).
I got very excited today when Yvonne and Stef told me that in Bern there is a hole in the ground in the middle of the town centre with bears inside. I was like, is it on purpose? And they were like yes, but someone recently fell in and got eaten. I was sold! So today we took a day trip to Bern to see the bears, do some shopping, and have a drink at the Einstein cafe.
Our first task was unsuccessful. Apparently bears hibernate in winter, so there were no bears, stupid bears! However the bear thing was exactly how Yvonne and Stefan described it. In the middle of the city, there's a giant pit decked out with things bears would enjoy like big rocks and caves and the like (minus the bears). We took the next best option and played on the wooden bear statues in the old enclosure.
Shopping was very successful! Our first purchase was leg warmers for me and a jumper for Yvonne (we highly overestimated the temperature). I also got some great souvenir shopping done.
Our last stop was the Einstein Cafe, built under the house where Einstein stayed in Bern for a while. It was lovely and warm, a perfect end to a capital day.
Today Yvonne and I did snow shoeing (raquette) in Vue Des Alps. We left behind a massive fog blanket in Neuchatel to find a clear and sunny perfect day in the mountains. We chose to do a 2h long trek which was half through the valley and half through the forrest. The two halves of the trek were really different, and at the middle of the track there was a restaurant where we stopped for a much needed hot chocolate and sandwich.
Raquette through the mountains was very serene (I love the crunching of the snow), but also quite hard! There were a lot of sections that were very steep, and even downhill was quite taxing because you had to be very careful not to slide and hurt your ankles. We definitely got a workout, so hopefully that earns me a few more macarons.
On the way back we stopped at a hot bath to warm our weary muscles. This is something that I'd never heard of before - in Switzerland there are open air baths (kind of like giant swimming pools with jets and showers and the like) filled with naturally hot water from the mountains. There were people of all ages, but I have to say it was mostly young people getting all hot and heavy all over the place! Despite the awkwardness, it was very invigorating and I definitely appreciated it after a long day of raquette.
Gruyere is a beautiful town known for it's cheese, chocolate, and (of all things) it's Alien themed cafe. Today we took a day trip up to Gruyere and ate lots of cheese, chocolate, and um, alieny tea.
After a slight accidental detour we arrived in Gruyere just in time for lunch. Our first stop was the Gruyere cheese factory for some fondu, but the terrible service and many crying babies (ok maybe just one but we were tired and hungry) made us jump ship and look for lunch elsewhere. We walked up to the Gruyere village and found a beautiful warm little restaurant where I tried my first fondu. It was delicious, but I couldn't eat very much because it was very rich.
On a tight schedule, we rushed off to the Caillers chocolate factory for a fun tour about the history of chocolate, and of course lots of free chocolate.
To finish off our trip we visited the Alien themed HR Giger Cafe. It's a bit weird and unexpected to find an Alien themed cafe in a beautiful Swiss village, but Giger bought the castle in Gruyere so they made a museum and cafe at the top of the village in his honour. Makes sense I guess. The cafe was quite small but very cool, with the ceiling and furniture covered in Alien themed adornments. Makes me want to watch the series again!
Tonight Yvonne invited a couple of friends over for dinner and some Jenga. Man that game stresses me out! I think we all are going to have bad Jenga dreams tonight.
Yesterday I saw it snow for the first time ever, and even though it was half rainy (because it was quite hot), it was an awesome early Christmas present.
On Christmas eve we drove to Geneva to spend Christmas with Stefan's family. We did some last minute Christmas shopping in the city before heading to Stef's brother's house in Carouge for dinner. Traditional Christmas dinner in Switzerland (well Stef's family) consists of oysters (eek! did not try), foi gras (I tried it, it was nice!), and opening presents late at night. I received an awesome Swatch from Yvonne and Stef, a perfect Swiss gift!
We spent the night in Carouge at Stefan's dad's apartment, and went back to his bro's for a coffee in the morning. I also managed to borrow a set of snow boots and ski pants from Stefan's family. As luck would have it, I have feet the same size as Stefan's mum, and am exactly the same size as a 12 year old Stefan, which means I have my ski gear for next week sorted :) I've been quite lucky so far with snow stuff - yesterday I found the most awesome boys ski jacket (14yo+) on sale at H&M for 20 francs. Sometimes being the size of a little boy can be a good thing!
This afternoon we took the long way back to Neuchatel through the Jura mountains for an awesome view of the French Alps. I saw and played in some more snow, and at the top of the mountain we stopped for a delicious hot chocolate.
I miss my family very much, but I am also very excited to have had my very first white Christmas :)
This year I'm spending Christmas and New Years in Switzerland with my cousin Yvonne and her boyfriend Stefan. This is the first year I've been away from home for the holidays, so this trip is definitely going to be a big adventure!
I arrived in Switzerland yesterday afternoon after an extremely long trip from Perth->Dubai->Geneva. Yvonne picked me up from the airport and after a lot of hugging and screaming we made our way to Neuchatel, a beautiful little town where Yvonne and Stef are currently living. The apartment is beautiful, with wooden decking on the ceiling and amazing views from all the windows. This year they bought a natural Christmas tree, so it really feels and smells like I always imagined a white Christmas would.
Yesterday I took it easy and stayed in for the night while Yvy and Stef went out to a uni party. Stef has just handed in his final uni assignment so he was keen to celebrate! I was more keen on a nice long horizontal sleep since I didn't get too much on the plane. Before I crashed like a rock, I did my first local thing and ate escargot (snails) for dinner!
Today I woke up nice and refreshed, ready for my first snow experience! I had seen a tiny little bit of snow in Yvonne's driveway, but I don't think that really counted as seeing snow. Our first stop for the day was to go see some snow on the way to Epesses. It was... amazing! It was nothing like what I expected, I don't know why! I absolutely loved it, and can't wait for more!
Next we went to Monteaux to see the Christmas markets. We spent a couple of hours walking around drinking mulled wine and looking at the beautiful stalls. There were some weird decorations around the place that apparently had to do with a kids TV show, and even a statue of Freddie Mercury.
Now we're about to settle down to relax and watch a movie. I'm having so much fun already, but I'm a little bit homesick too! Tomorrow is xmas eve :)
This year I've been completely out of the loop because the stereo in my car is broken! I looked through the list and saw releases from a lot of awesome bands (Fleet Foxes, Radiohead, TV on the Radio). The albums are good, but I couldn't really pick any songs as being the best of 2011.
So I tried a different approach. The three albums I've been thrashing this year are:
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Junior Boys - It's All True
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
I decided to pick three of my favourite songs from my three favourite albums of the year, and also vote for Gotye, who I think deserves (and has a very good chance at) #1.
Last weekend I embarked on a strange and wonderful journey to the (2nd annual) Australian Summer Pole Camp in Queensland. Tammy, Krystal, Sabrina and I packed our bags (well, our hand luggage anyway) and headed off to sunny Surfers Paradise for three days of pole, aerial, and circus workshops, and celebrations galore.
We're in Queensland, OMG!
Thursday night we took the red eye flight with Jetstar, and after a long mostly sleepless night arrived in Surfers Paradise at 7am local time. Check-in at the Q1 resort was at 2pm, so we decided to have the big breakfast at the nearby OMG Cafe. OMG... do NOT eat at OMG Cafe. Soon after check-in we were all fighting for the bathroom to deal with our big breakfast food poisoning. Unfortunately the apartment we stayed in only had 1 bathroom which housed the only toilet, the only shower, and the only mirror, and since we were very rushed for time we quickly found that all bathroom facilities were being used at once! Any barriers our friendships had before are certainly gone now.
Meet n Greet That night was the meet and greet at Shooters bar. The place was small but nice, and there was a pole set up (which surprisingly nobody was on even though we were all there for pole camp!). We got a drink and found a place to sit, from which we were promptly shooed away from (apparently it was the VIP area, even though 5mins later many non-VIPs were happily sitting there, grrr). Since we'd been drinking all day (maybe to help forget the horrors of the food poisoning) I was already quite confident so I decided to get up and break that poles virginity! I drunkly managed to rip out an awesome upright pole split, in my little black dress I might add, and even though my dismount was less than elegant (OK so maybe I almost stacked it trying to come down), it definitely got people up there! I fully take credit for getting that shit started. Tammy got up there and set the bar high, and quickly found a competitor (they were having pole-offs all weekend!). All in all it was a fun night, but we crashed early to prepare for a full day of workshops!
Friday Morning Beach Acro Friday morning we begrudgingly got up to our alarms for beach acro with Suzie Q and Toby J. But we quickly forgot our hangovers with an awesome morning. Suzie and Toby got all the girls in a massive tumbling line, it was definitely a peculiar sight! After a quick shower it was off to Parklands for our workshops.
Friday Workshops Chinese Pole with Nica
Very challenging! I managed to get the famous Chinese Pole sit, but I didn't have anywhere near enough strength to get the flick-up into triangle hold.
Anastasia
This was my favourite singles workshop. Anastasia is so lovely, it was an absolute pleasure to learn with her. She taught us a couple of cool spins that transitioned into figurehead and back pull up, and a strange neck hold dismount that made it easy to lower down and make it look like you're really strong.
Aerials
This was AWESOME! There were a few apparatus set up, but this workshop only did silks. I've always wanted to try silks, and it was as fun as it looks! But man did it burn. I still have an underarm cut to prove it.
Fontaine
By this time I was well and truly buggered, but still managed to learn some awesome tricks! I really like Fontaine's teaching style - it's really all about having fun, not getting stuff perfect.
After a massive rush to get ready, it was back to Shooters for another night of celebrations. There were a few amateur performances, more drinks, more pole-offs, then we were off to bed for another early night, ready for a full day of workshops starting early Saturday morning.
Saturday Workshops Suzie Q and Toby J
Always a pleasure, this was an intermediate workshop where I learned my first "drop" (modified layout into tuck).
Doubles with Suzie Q and Toby J
My favourite workshop of the whole camp! Tammy, Krystal and I alternated doubles partners and learned some amazing stuff. We almost got kicked out of this one (Krystal and I weren't booked in, but we hopped on with Tammy and there was even a spare pole!), so I'm so glad we stood up to the man and stayed.
Gymnastics Stretch
I've always had a profound respect for gymnasts, and this class reminded me why. This class involved crazy stretching which apparently was meant to be painful but not feel like agony… it definitely crossed the line sometimes!
Amber Ray
I can't say I enjoyed this workshop too much, probably because it was based around perfecting an extremely fast salsa style routine, and I am a failure as a dancer! Although, I definitely appreciated ending on a cruisey workshop.
Pole Dreams Saturday night was Pole Dreams, where the best of the best showed us their stuff. Suzie Q and Toby J, Jenyne Butterfly, Amber Ray, Fontaine, Lou Landers and Anastasia graced us with beautiful and extreme performances. Watching professional pole dancing always blows my mind, and seeing so many performances one after another was actually quite overwhelming. The stand out for me was watching Anastasia; I'd never seen her perform before (I am lucky enough to have already seen some of the other acts), and she has a very special way of making the most impossible things seem easy.
And with that extravagant ending, Australian Summer Pole camp was over. I had an absolute ball!
With a day to go before our flights home, we decided to do some touristy stuff like go to Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum (so much fun, highly recommended!) and eat at Hard Rock Cafe (my first time, yum!). I had an awesome time all round, but I was definitely ready to come home to my own bed!
Well, just a little about myself.
I was born in Perth and have lived here my whole life, and I count myself as an Aussie even though my family are all extremely Romanian.
I went to Mercedes College - the one with the winter green uniform and the poo brown shoes.
I'm putting my Bachelor of Engineering/Computer & Mathematical Science at UWA to use at a mining equipment simulation company, and working as a fitness trainer in my spare time.
I have a pet bunny named George. He's a white dwarf lop and we love each other very much.
I have a weakness for anything peach flavoured, especially peaches, and I never say no to fairy bread.
