jeanmichelisa

How sad to leave exotic Edmonton...
Edmonton, Canada
Bonjour! It's Lisa!
Well it's my last day in Edmonton and I spent my day saying my goodbyes to friends in faraway places, eating chinese with my family and packing (oh, and voting of course!) I have been counting down the days since there were 104 to go, and at last I am can say that I am departing tomorrow! I get to count hours now! I have worked it out that almost all of tomorrow will be spent in an airplane or waiting in a terminal. I fly to Vancouver first, where I have a 3 hour layover, then I will fly for 13 1/2 hours to Hong Kong (good thing I'm bringing 3 books!) There I will have a 3 1/2 hour layover and then I finally fly on to Melbourne, and I have no idea how long that flight is, but I am guessing anywhere from 5-7 hours. All will be worth it when I arrive at 2:00 in the afternoon in sunny Australia! It is supposed to be +28 on Friday! Jean-Michel has informed me that is has been "cold" lately (+15) which I find pretty humorous, so it's good to know that even if I get +15 weather, that will still be warmer than here!
Well, I will sign off for now, since I have to finish getting all ready to take off tomorrow! Hey that was a plane pun! haha!
Anyways! My next entry will be in Australia, so I will see you there! Wish me luck!
love,
Lisa! (Soon to be Lisa and Jean-Michel)
written by  jeanmichelisa on October 14, 2008 from Edmonton, Canada
from the travel blog: Australia, Bali and New Zealand adopt Jean-Michel and Lisa!

after the longest flight of all time
Melbourne, Australia
Hello!!!
After over 35 hours of travel time, I have finally arrived in sunny Melbourne!! It was a very long, tiring trip and it felt like I would never get here (and it didn't help that the plane food was revolting and my tv was pretty much broken), but I did! Its about + 30 and i'm loving it! Jean Michel was happy to see me and i was about 400 times happier to see him after my long 2 days! Since yesterday, he has gotten quite sick and we're going to go to a doctor tomorrow. he's in bed right now with a terrible fever. We tried to get him to a doctor today but had no luck (saturdays are bad days!) and so we'll go tomorrow. He thinks it's food poisoning from Bali...and he's not having a good time! but as soon as we get him some medicine, everything should be good.
Today we did a lot of walking (looking for a doctor) and we took a few trams to check out a house that we were interested in, but we had to reschedule. So, we visited Shannon and Libby (who happened to live nearby) and then Jean Michel was too exhausted to any more, so we came back so he could sleep.
I love it here though! Jean Michel and I both agree that the city is almost like Edmonton, but so different at the same time. If that makes any sense! I noticed the buildings are all very different and the trees are different as well. Not to mention the population!!! Wow, you can't go anywhere without almost being trampled by stampedes of aussies! but i'm not complaining! It's beauuuutiful!
Sorry this is so short, but my internet time is ticking away, so I will have to continue this next time. I haven't taken many photos, but I will put some up soon!
Stay stuned!
I miss you and love you all! And i'm speaking for both of us!
Until next time!
Lisa and Jean-Michel
written by  jeanmichelisa on October 17, 2008 from Melbourne, Australia
from the travel blog: Australia, Bali and New Zealand adopt Jean-Michel and Lisa!

it's a house!
Melbourne, Australia
bonjour!!!
Finally I'm back on the internet! I hope you didn't miss me too much! Jean-Michel and I have been pretty busy this week! We have been hostel-hopping (a very competitive australian sport) and house hunting (another complicated sport) and seeing the city! Jean-Michel is feeling spiffy once again and is back on his feet, so we have been doing lots! We have eaten a lot of delicious food (and some not-so-delicious food as well...ask me about the every flavour soup.) and doing our best to see the sights on our budget. but most importantly! DUN DUN DUN..
we found a house!!! It was a bit of an ordeal, but it's all sorted out now! Finding housing in this city is ridiculous with an uppercase R. We posted a wanted ad outside of a bookstore and we called a lot of people, and the best one was an italian-american guy by the name of john. we went and saw the house and he liked us, so we're moving in tomorrow! YAY!!!! we had lunch with him today (he made us some pasta - of course! and we had some wine and it was a tasty treat) and he showed us more around the house and gave us our keys. Pictures will be up soon!
Other than that, Jean-Michel and I have been doing as many free things as there are to do in this city (like...taking the tram. which isn't actually supposed to be free), but yesterday we spent our money at the museum which was a good time! And last night we had a hankering for some vietnamese food, but, to our disappointment, we didn't find one (that's so weird!) but it turns out we ate one of our best meals so far at a thai place and we didn't regret it. other highlights of the week were picnicking out with jessica, jon (her fiance) and erin, hanging out with shannon, libby and tom and figuring out this crazy city! It is very busy and nobody seems to notice if you're in their path, so we must look hilarious always getting out of everyone's way. We both agree that this city is like West Edmonton Mall..but outdoors. so...really busy.
anyways, we miss you all in a terrible way! and if you were here, we would be giving you all enormous hugs and smooches!
I will write again soon! (I know I said that last time..but I will!)
love love love,
Lisa and Jean-Michel
written by  jeanmichelisa on October 23, 2008 from Melbourne, Australia
from the travel blog: Australia, Bali and New Zealand adopt Jean-Michel and Lisa!

lemon trees and shopping sprees!
Melbourne, Australia
hi homies!
I am keeping up with my blog entries! I can't believe it! I don't have tons of exciting news to report, but I should probably say that we're all moved in to our mansion! and by mansion, I mean house. I don't know why I said that. Anyways! It's a great place! Most of the houses here are very old and pretty small, but this house is enormous! We spent Saturday helping Gian (our roommate - pronounced "John") unpack boxes and build shelving units, while getting our own space set up. It was a productive day and we're very happy to not have any pressure to find a place! The house is not only incredibly spacious, but it has a lemon tree, peach tree, olive tree, fig tree, tomato plants, various herbs and rose bushes in the front. We're trying our best to put up with such horrid conditions. :)
Other than getting settled, we did some grocery shopping and made our first homemade meal (yay!) and we have been exploring the streets (and getting lost a few times)..
We also plan on seeing more or jessica and erin, once jessica is done uni and erin has found a place of her own! We are also excited to check out the famous victoria market! Jessica and Erin's parents (Sue and Martin) will be coming to city in the next few weeks and we will hopefully plan to make the trip back home with them and spend a weekend or a few days with them (they live in Portland - about 3 hours from here).
Well, that's it from me! Please send either of us an email to let us know how you're doing on the other side of the planet!
Once again, we miss you beacoup!
xoxo,
Lisa and Jean-Michel
written by  jeanmichelisa on October 26, 2008 from Melbourne, Australia

jobs?! who does that?!
gday!
How are you all?! I wish you could answer that...
well you should send me an email!
Well, i'm trying to decide where to start! Since our last blog entry, the highlights have been taking a trip to the infamous victoria market, getting jobs (maybe not such a highlight..) and having our first house guests!
First of all, the victoria market is completely nuts! I have never ever seen a market like this one! It's massive for one thing. But the atmosphere is really what makes it CRRRRAZY. it took us about 2 hours to get through the whole thing (and we didn't really stop at very many booths). Vendors are shouting out to shoppers from every direction. It's really a vicious competition between each vendor! It's quite funny actually! When the market is about to close, they really pump it up. Anyway, this market is awesome. You literally can get anything you want there. Well maybe not a...blimp. but who knows! anyway, we bought some quinoa, some produce, some chorizo sausage and some loose tea. We also had our lunch there, so we bought some hummus. We had a delicious dinner that night with our findings! we made tibbouleh salad and the chorizo sausage, and we had the leftover hummus and we had some olives we had bought at the italian market that week. it was wunderbar!
We also have both (sort of) found jobs! Jean-Michel found a part time labouring job through Gian's friend, but he will probably be looking for another job because this one is an on-call kind of job. I potentially found a part time serving job at a cafe called the Carlton Paragon. Everything on the menu looks delicious, and I actually went in for a trial shift yesterday! It's hilarious how many people want to talk to you when they find out you're a foreigner. I served a table of pure bred australians, and I know this because their main interest was insulting new zealand. The one man at the table proudly told me: "I have been to New Zealand 19 times and I've never left the airport!"
Australians are weird.
Last night, we had our first house guests! none other than Jessica and Erin! And they cooked us dinner! I was so mad! haha just kidding. It was an amazing dinner! Erin made some steaks, asparagus, roasted taters and some ratatouille (all ingredients that she bought at the market!) We had some beers and wine and got hammered! haha no i'm kidding again! but twas delicious!
Next week, we are going to Erin's house for a barbie! she just moved into her new house as well, so we're all having parties! Jessica will also be moving in to her and Jon's new house shortly! Yay houses!
Another upcoming festivity will be Jessica's "hen's party" (stagette). good times!!
Well, Jean-Michel is working his first day today, so I get to be lazy and check my email and explore until he's done!
I will update y'all soon with all the exciting details of our lives! (maybe not all...)
we love you all a lot!
written by  jeanmichelisa on November 1, 2008 from Melbourne, Australia

once upon a time, there was a barbecue..
heyo!
I am trying to remember where I left off in my last entry...
Well, I will do my best to inform you of our recent activities! I did not end up getting the part time job that I applied for, but it turned out to be a good thing because the more I stewed over it, the more I realized I wasn't very interested in the first place. So, I applied at a couple bookstores, and we'll see what happens with that. Jean Michel still has a laboring job that our housemate helped him to find. He works on an on-call basis, and Tony (his boss) has been very impressed with his work, so he has been working quite a bit.
Another fun time was going on a picnic on november 2nd! I made a mental note to remember the exact date because it was the first time i have ever been outside in shorts, having a picnic on november 2nd! Well, I would still do it in Edmonton, but it probably would have been in protest of the coming wintery winds. and I would have been wearing something ridiculous. Anyway, it was a good time! On our way home, it started pouring (the weather is weird here sometimes), so we stopped in a bar called "the comfortable chair" for a drink (tequila at 3:30! why not!) before heading home. This bar indeed lived up to its name! Although they were couches not chairs..
And finally, we had the Melbourne Cup barbecue. The Melbourne Cup is a big horse race held here every year, and these crazy australians make a huge deal out of it and make that day pretty much the biggest holiday in Victoria (Jean Michel and I think they did it just to have an excuse to drink in the middle of the day). Anyway, Libby and Shannon were having a bee bee queue, so we headed over around 3:00 (just in time for the race to be over...) and we ate and...drank. mostly drank. I won't give any more details, because you can see the facebook pictures and imagine where the night took us. All you need to know is that we eventually made it home (with a little help) and we spent the next day sleeping. but all in all, it was a very fun day!
In the next 2 weeks, I will be going to Jessica's hen's party (I think it's in the next 2 weeks anyway), and tonight, Sue and Martin (Jessica and Erin's parents) are coming to town from Portland, bearing furnishings for Erin's new house, so I look forward to finally seeing them! We also plan to go to Portland sometime this month. we were going to go back with them this weekend, but Jean Michel has to work, so we will probably make a trip in a week or two.
That's it for now I believe! We do still miss you and love you!
You better miss us! haha just kidding!
love,
written by  jeanmichelisa on November 6, 2008 from Melbourne, Australia

To Portland ho!
hello blog followers!
Just a quick note to let you all know that Jean Michel and I are heading to Portland on Wednesday with Jessica to go see Sue and Martin for a few days, returning on Saturday! I'm sure we will have many exciting stories to tell when we return! They came up this past weekend with some of Erin's things and we went to Erin's for a barbecue yesterday so we finally got to see Sue and Martin! but, it was too short, so we're going to see them!
To be continued...
L & JM
written by  jeanmichelisa on November 9, 2008 from Melbourne, Australia

ahoy portland!
Portland, Australia
helloooooo!
Hokay so! we went to portland on wednesday! yay! We had a really fantastic time with the Mibuses, even though our stay was pretty short. We left Melbourne around 9:00 am and took the train to Bacchus Marsh where Jessica (who is now an inhabitant of this city) picked us up and drove us the rest of the way to Portland, and we all arrived around 3:30. That night was super cool. We went to the beach in Bridgewater (apparently famous) and went swimming in the waves with Stuie! It was a good time! It definitely satisfied my craving to go to a beach! Anyway, the water was so nice and it was around +25 out so we were happy campers. Then we went home for some tea (supper) and after a couple beers (Stuie calls me 2 can Lisa) we decided it would be a good idea to teach me to drive a manual! YAY! well, it sort of worked.. We went in a big farm truck and drove around on the paddock (they love how i say "paddock" by the way for some reason..) and the objective was not to spill jessica's wine (why did she bring it anyway? haha) anyway, i only spilled her wine twice, and more importantly, i only stalled twice. ayyyy! we also watched stuart show off his dirt biking skills on the track he built. and I admit, he's pretty impressive on a bike. Let's see what else...I think that's all we did that night.
We woke up pretty early on thursday to drive with Jessica to Mount Gambier (which is in South Australia) because she had an appointment. While she was busy getting having a practice run on her makeup for her wedding, Jean Michel and I wandered around town, and we saw the sunken gardens, which was really beautiful. It was a garden that descends into the ground and at the bottom, there's this huge cave and it's amazing. When jessica was done, we went out for a scrumptious lunch and then took a drive to Blue Lake, which is, literally, a very blue lake. It's incredible! The area of Mount Gambier is a volcanic area and blue lake was formed after there was an eruption and it formed a crater. I don't remember why the water is so blue though. After that, we all headed home (about an hour drive) and we cooked supper together. Jessica made Jambalaya with Jean Michel and I made fattoush salad (look it up. it's delicious!) That night, they taught me to play "500", a super awesome fun card game. (Parents of Jean Michel: I heard you would be happy to know that I learned this game!) Anyway, the important thing is that my team won. :)
The next morning...oy. we got up at 6:30 to go for a polar bear swim. This involves us, swimming in the southern ocean at 7:00 in the morning. Neither of us know how we got talked into this. Anyway, it woke us up to say the least! holy guacamole. They SAID it gets warmer after 5 minutes in the water, but it really didn't. we got out after ten minutes of water-treading, teeth-chattering fun. Jean Michel's lips we blue, literally! I was scared for a few minutes. Well, it's good that we got out when we did! Anyway, it took us until 2:00 that afternoon to get warm again. At least it was a beautiful morning and we saw the sunrise and now we can say we did it! Later, we went to town and wandered around a bit while Jessica visited her grandparents. Then we went home and helped Sue cook dinner, and finished off with a game of scrabble. Oh I forgot to mention the legendary game of 500 that we played that night as well, this time with Martin and I on a team, and we kicked the other team's asses. Sorry, just thought I would mention. not important.
We left on Saturday, and took the 4ish hour train ride home. Since we got back, we have been stocking up our groceries (all we had was one egg and some rice when we got back) and getting some sleep. Oh! yesterday we spent the afternoon with Shannon and Libby and Tom and Kevin (who is the last member of team canada to arrive! woo hoo!) and we went to a latino music festival on lygon street, we drank some beers, got some pizza and hung out. it was a swell time.
That's all I have for you! I will write again (As always) when i have more exciting news from oz!
Miss you lots!!!! really!
love
Lisa and Jean Michel!
written by  jeanmichelisa on November 16, 2008 from Portland, Australia

Hen's night and the zoo! animal themed adventures?
Aloha!
What have we been up to, you might ask! well, since our trip to Portland, we have been hanging out in Melbourne and having a good time! We went to a 2 day music festival on lygon street with Shannon, Kevin, Libby and Tom and had a good time drinking beers in the sun. Since then, the next exciting event was Jessica's hen's night (their word for a bachelorette party. weirdos) which was awesome! it was hawaii themed, so there were many a grass skirt and pina colada to be found! Unfortunately, that day decided to be really rainy and really cold (we're talking canada in the fall) and the party was at the botanical gardens, so we were all chilly! but! we toughed it out and the party ended up being super awesome. after our outdoor adventures, we went to dinner at "la camera" restaurant for the remainder of the party. good times!!
Two day ago, we went for a walk down Brunswick street and that was awesome. It was hot out and brunswick street is a happening place! it's basically the whyte ave of Melbourne (or that area of Melbourne anyway). And then yesterday, Jean Michel and I went to the zoo! Finally! it was really really cool. we saw a lot of animals. weird. haha anyways! it was a really nice zoo and we were just happy to see some real live kangaroos and koalas and gorillas and more! plus, the weather improved and it was about +28 that day! yay!
Today, we have been relaxing, we went for a walk, and now we're at the library, writing this blog for you! yes you!
Our upcoming events are Jessica's wedding on December 6th in Halls Gap, Christmas in Portland with the Mibuses and then Tasmania immediately after for new years! I will write again before all the fun filled times, but I probably won't be able to do alot of writing around christmas and just after, but I will do my best!
The more we think about christmas, the more we know how much we'll miss being home with you all! and the snow! (yes, I said it)
A bientot! we love you!
Lisa and Jean Michel

the wedding of the century!
Halls Gap, Australia
Well hello!!
We have had an eventful past few weeks! I guess i'll start with the homeless world cup since it happened first. The homeless world cup is an annual event that is always held in a different country. Basically, homeless people from 56 countries (well it was 56 this year) competed in a week long soccer tournament. It's super cool (and free!) entertainment! Canada competed but only won 1 out of 3 games. better than nothing! Anyway, it's an awesome event and it's a good cause!
Now on to the important stuff! Jessica is no longer Jessica Mibus and is now Jessica Westphal! Yes, she got hitched! all the anticipation for this wedding was not wasted!! It was an awesome time! We headed out to Halls Gap (about 3 hours from Melbourne) with Erin on Friday morning and when we got there, we helped with anything and everything that needed doing for the wedding the next day. We helped Erin with some wedding cake things, and we helped cut flowers and set up the reception hall. It was a big day, but good times! we finished the evening with craploads of pizza and champagne...and beer. haha! and we saw kangaroos!! Real live ones!! and a joey in her pouch that was so big that it was hanging out of the pouch eating grass with its mama!
The next day was the wedding of course! More helping was to be done in the morning, so we were in the kitchen first thing helping to make appetizers to eat between the ceremony and reception. The finishing touches were done in the hall, and I went to shower and get dressed! The wedding was held in the outdoor chapel and it was lovely! Martin rode the bride in on a passenger tricycle cart (Jessica had no idea they had this planned by the way) and she looked stunning! The wedding was amazing and the couple looked awesome! We had delicious appetizers before dinner and then we moved to the reception hall where the party began! Good food, live music, drinking and dancing was to be found! All in all, it was indeed the wedding of the century and i'm sad it's over already! We got to meet some really cool people and we got to see some amazing stuff on the hike we took in the grampians the next morning! gorgeous!
We have now returned to Melbourne and we are going to the Market today! Upcoming events include christmas with the Mibuses/Westphals, Tasmania shortly after for New years and then our trip up the coast in February! I will write before then don't you worry!
As it gets closer to christmas, we are really missing home, so you are all very much in our thoughts!!! We love you!!
written by  jeanmichelisa on December 8, 2008 from Halls Gap, Australia

Change of scenery!
Geelong, Australia
Hey friends!
Although it says that we're in Geelong, we are actually in Melbourne. This week, however, we spent our days slaving away at work in Geelong! Well, okay, there was no slaving awaying. But, we did find some temporary work! At Jessica and Jon's wedding, we met some friends of the Mibuses who live in Geelong (an hour away from Melbourne by train) who own a gourmet shop/deli and they needed some help in the kitchen around christmas so we accepted the offer! Geelong is a cute little place (pop 200,000) and the gourmet shop has been a good time! The cook, Linda, hasn't kicked us out of the kitchen yet, so i'm guessing she appreciates the help! It's a pretty low stress job, since we're not cooking to order, so it has been good. Vicky (the friend we met at the wedding) is letting us stay with her as well, so that's awesome. Her and her family are wonderful, and we're happy to help out. This weekend we're back in Melbourne to do some christmas baking and packing so we can be ready for christmas in Portland with the Mibuses! We have to go back to work 2 more days on monday and tuesday in Geelong, and then we're heading to Portland. And then from there we're going to Tasmania (which we're not excited for at all)!
Also! we have breaking news! Originally, we planned on making a trip up the east coast in January to see the barrier reef, but we decided instead to go to.......Bali!! Believe it or not, making a trip overseas is much cheaper than staying in Australia. Plus, Jean Michel was just in Bali in September, so he can show me the good spots and he knows everything we need to know for the trip. We bought our tickets yesterday, and we're leaving on February 21st, returning to Melbourne on the 9th, then leaving the same day for New Zealand! we're busy little travelers aren't we!!
I will write again when we return from Tasmania (January 7th) since I won't have time to before then! (well, maybe...) If not, then...
Merry Christmas and happy new year to you all! It's so sad to be so far away!! We want nothing more than to be millionaires so we can fly home for christmas and then fly back (and take you all with us!)
We love you all extravagantly!!
written by  jeanmichelisa on December 18, 2008 from Geelong, Australia

there is no appropriate title for this entry..
friends and fam damily! happy new year! meeeeeeerrry christmas!
firstly! we missed being with you all for the holidays and were thinking of you constantly!
now! on to business!
We have had some really good times these past few weeks! Starting with christmas..we hitched a ride with erin from Geelong to Portland on christmas eve! we arrived and got settled and shortly after we we to christmas eve mass at the lutheran church in Portland. We went for drinks shortly after and home then home to bed! the next morning was christmas of course! We got up at 7:00 and opened gifts! We both got some really awesome gifts from the mibuses (thanks again guys!) and then we had christmas breakfast! it was a good morning! then we headed off to church and after that we went to Martin's sister Bronwen's house for a party! that was super awesome! Lots of eating and drinking occurred as well as a kris kringle gift exchange and some cricket in the street (buncha crazies). It was definitely the most different christmas i've ever had! It was +26 baby!
On the 27th (I'm skipping boxing day because we just chillaxed), Sue, Martin, Erin, Jean Michel and I set sail for Tasmania on a giant boat called the Spirit of Tasmania! It was about a 9 hour boat ride and we spent our time reading, playing cards and doing homework (aka sleeping). We got in at 6:00 pm to Devonport and stopped in to see from friends of the Mibuses briefly before hitting the road for a 3 hour drive to Ansons Bay. We got to Ansons bay at about 11:00 and pretty much went right off to bed. Now from here on, I won't go on about every detail of every day, but i will indeed tell you the highlights! (well, the whole thing was a highlight..)
The whole week was totally action packed with jet skiing, fishing, eating, drinking, barbecues, walks, drinking, day trips, drinking, and kayaking.
I went on the jet ski on the first day and it was my first time on one! Holy shmokes best time ever! Nick (the son of our wonderful hosts, Barb and Gary) took me out for a ride and it was awesome! I want one mom!
a few days later we went fishing! my first fishing trip ever! and it was a successful trip too! we caught about 20 flathead (a tasty white fish) and 6 squid!! mmm! I myself take pride in catching the third biggest fish and about 4 more! Later we went to the middle of the bay where it is shallow and got an enormous amount of clams and mussels! The next night we had an epic seafood feast! Paella, Laksa, fried squid and flathead...mmm i want a reapeat. so tasty...
New years was also good times! We drank champagne and cocktails all night and ate lotsa yummies. and we had sparklers! did YOU?! haha
needless to say, new years day was a recovery day and we hung around and watched movies. But it was the day of the seafood feast! mmm...
A few days later, Erin, Jean Michel and I took a day trip to Coles Bay to take an hour hike in the mountains (called the hazards ironically) to the saddle overlooking the gorgeous Wineglass bay. It was an awesome hike and the view was totally worth it. And on our hike down, JM and I found some sweet caves and stuff to climb around in. monkeys we are!
We had a big pizza lunch by the water and Erin took us to other amazing outlook points (see pictures - on facebook) before driving back to ansons bay.
Other than that, we just had an awesome time partying with everyone, playing cards, hanging out on the beach and oh! kayaking was pretty cool too. all in all, it was superb! the most eventful time we've had since arriving! Thanks again Mibuses and Barb and Gary!
We now have only 6 weeks left in Australia! Can't believe it! Upcoming events include a possible trip to Sydney for a few days at the end of the month, and then on to Bali in February and then New Zealand in March! then we're home! Ah! too fast! but we miss you and are thinking of you lots! come visit us! :D
We love you!
written by  jeanmichelisa on January 4, 2009 from Melbourne, Australia

living the life!
hey guys!
sorry about not writing for a while...
here's what we have been up to!
Well...really we have mostly just been hanging out and doing free things in an effort to conserve our monetary reserves. Did you get all that?
anyways! a few nights ago, we went to the victoria night market which is very different than the day market. Lots of art vendors and booths and food, and there is live music! We ran into Kevin, Shannon and Libby (weird coincidence, their first time there and ours also so it really was.) The market atmosphere is alive, there are people everywhere sitting around drinking and eating, having a good time. as were we!
After watching the main act (can't remember his name) libby showed us all one of her favorite bars called St. Jerome's. it was a really cool outdoor bar that was in a couple inclosed back alleys. melbourne is full of really cool outdoor venues and bars. makes sense since they have good wether year round unlike canada does.
We've also been eating out a bit. had an awesome crocodile green curry with yummy coconut rice at one of our favorite thai places extending our list of must eat foods while in australia. kangaroo - check, crocodile - check, koala and platypus - no check.
Also, last night we revisited one of our favorite spots to eat called Lentil As Anything. There are 3 locations, but the original location is in an old convent about 15 minutes from our place. It is run by a buddhist monk, and the concept is that you pay what you think the meal was worth, by donation. They use all organic produce and they provide support to the community in a variety of ways. It is a very popular spot! We had various curries and dahl, etc. mmm! so tasty! I myself find the idea very inspiring! The surrounding convent is also quite beautiful, with gardens and footpaths, all enclosed inside a brick wall.
An exciting upcoming event that we're excited about is the Moonlight Cinema! Erin gave it to us as a christmas gift! As the name suggests, it is an outdoor movie theatre in the Melbourne botanical gardens. We are going to see Pulp Fiction and we will be taking a picnic and some blankets with us! Being Canadians, we have never been to an outdoor movie theatre, so we are excited!
We hope everyone is well at home and that none of you are freezing your buns off! Speaking of the weather...i'm sure you are interested to know that it has been heating up and earlier this week, it warmed up to a scorching +37! we hope there's more of that coming!
Come visit us! :D
lots of love!
written by  jeanmichelisa on January 15, 2009 from Melbourne, Australia

Yes, we still have a blog!
hola!
first of all, sorry i haven't written in decades. The reason for this gap is because we have been taking a bit of break as far as events go, so the action has slowed down a bit. but I DO have a few things i can report!
Since our last blog, we went to the moonlight cinema, an outdoor movie theatre (duh) in the royal botanical gardens in Melbourne. That was super cool! Before i go on, i must inform you that we have had some really really ridiculously hot weather. at the end of January, there was a week that was between +43 and +46 and it was insane. I described the feeling as "opening an oven door and having the heat blast in your face". that was the wind. i loved it! but i admit it was a bit tiring, because there is no escape. Anyway! the day of the moonlight cinema was the beginning of the heat saga. We saw pulp fiction that night (i had not seen it before. awesome awesome movie!) We had a picnic beforehand, and then bought some champagne (they love their champagne here..) and chilled out for the movie! The only thing i have to say is that i was near heat stroke, because we had been out in the heat for a good 4-5 hours straight. and the alcohol probably didn't help! but besides that, it was a fantastic evening!
We also took a night to go out to Erin's restaurant! Well, the restaurant where she works, that is. and it too was incredible! We had an enormous and delicious meal (including calamari, whole barramundi, veal, and raspberry semifreddo) and we got to see Erin of course! It was also just nice to have a night out. I think I forgot what it's like to spend real money. So it was good to go out on a date and indulge in some awesome food, cooked by one of our favourite chefs. :D
This last weekend, I went to Portland one last time to see Sue and Martin and Stuart. Jean-Michel couldn't come because he had to work and practice his bass (i will get to that part!), but it was a very good visit. I did some drinking with Stuart and his friends on friday, went swimming at nun's beach with Sue and Martin on Saturday and had some fish and chips afterwards, and then relaxed on Sunday morning before heading home. Unfortunately there has been some brutal bush fires recently because of the heat we've been having, and so my train home was cancelled (part of the tracks were damaged in the fires) so i had to take the bus, and we ended up driving through an area where the fires had been and it was very scary, and very eerie to see the aftermath. Luckily though, we are all safe.
Tomorrow, Jean-Michel is playing with a band called Dirty Canary here in Melbourne. He met the singer at the bbq we went to on Australia day and it turns out they needed a bass player! hello! he is a bass player!
So he rented one, and is practicing as i write this! It's gonna rock! pun intended! Anyway, we are all very excited to go see him play! Pictures will follow! if you care to check out the kind of music he will be playing, feel free to visit the band's myspace page: www.myspace.com/dirtycanaryrock
We sadly only have a week and a couple days left here! We both can't believe how fast it has gone! I know everyone says that, but holy, is it true. we have both come to really love this city and if we weren't 21 and traveling like little crazies, we both agree that Melbourne would be on our list of possible cities to move to. There is so much more going on all the time compared to Edmonton (well that's not hard) and it's a very accessible, friendly place. and the food is awesome! Great place! I recommend it!
So we're off to bali next Saturday! I am really REALLY. really. excited. it doesn't even feel real! it will be such an amazing experience! And then we're off to New Zealand!! we have rented a car, and are in the midst of making our plans to see as much as we can in 21 days, and then...
we come home to Edmonton.
how boring.
but! I am incredibly excited to see everyone! yes you!
I will try to be more disciplined in my blog writing, and will do my very best to write again as soon as we have anything exciting to report!
We still love you all!
hugs and kisses
written by  jeanmichelisa on February 11, 2009 from Melbourne, Australia

bali is my our best friend
Ubud, Indonesia
friends!
For real, i don't know where to start. We just arrived in beautiful beautiful Bali on the 21st and we have been enjoying our little selves maybe too much!
We got here at around 3:00 pm and got a ride to Ubud right away. I'm sure i looked hilarious with my wide eyes and huge smile...it's so...tropical here and amazing! (understatement) and it's about 1884% humidity!
When we got here, we went to our homestay called Padma accomodations...wow, so incredible! Our room had a small terrace outside with a table to eat breakfast and our outdoor shower had a stone floor.
Well, words can't actually accurately describe how amazing Ubud is (really, you don't understand). We decided to come here first because Lisa's first impression of Bali will be a lasting one. On our first full day here, we visited the monkey forest (one of my favourites - and now one of Lisa's as well!), and spent a bit of time walking around, gawking at the beauty of the forest and being entertained by hilarious monkeys all over the place. Then we checked out a few homestays for our days 3 and 4. After a delicious lunch and dinner, we headed down the old reggae bar for some bintangs, fried peanuts and live indonesian reggae. Good times!
For our second day in Ubud (a much more eventful one), we took off at 9:00 in the morning with the owner of our homestay who was kind enough to drive us around (it was JM's third stay there and the owner has grown very fond of Canadians) to see some temples on the way to Kintamani to see the volcano. We stopped at 3 major temples on the way to see Kintamani, including the elephant temple, the holy spring temple and another grand temple with huge ancient rock wall stone carvings and rice paddies. It was truly a mystical experience, to put it plainly. Also, I Wayan was kind enough to bring us to an organic cocoa, coffee and spice plantation, where we got to see them roasting coffee beans and pounding cocoa into a fine powder and we were offered complimentary samples of all their specialty drinks (Bali coffee, mocha coffee, cocoa, citron tea and ginger tea) and they were all fantastically delicious, so we bought some bali coffee (yes, some for you shannon! :D) and hot curry powder to bring home. mmm.. then we were off to Kintamani.
We got there just in time to see the breathtaking view of the volcano before making overtaken by mist, cloud and torrential downpour at 12:30. We ate a delicious buffet lunch on the edge of a precipice overlooking the volcano view and took off after the rain slowed to a tropical flood (haha!). On the drive back to Ubud, we stopped to see the famous rice paddy views of Tegallalang, which were beyond stunning. Pictures and words can't describe how it felt to see the panorama of rice paddies and palm trees in the sweltering heat and humidity. Back in Ubud we purchased our return tickets to the Gili islands (on the fast boat! no 15 hour voyages this time!) for a hefty 1.2 millions rupees a piece (for you canadian folk, that is roughly 140 buckarooos) which includes all transport and breakfast. not bad i say!
It is now 5:00 pm and it hasn't rained in Ubud yet today and we are high fiving that! We are sitting in an absoutely gorgeous brand spanking new restaurant at the honour table (private hut with extravagant cushions and fountains) drinking bintangs and utilizing the free wifi, soon to indulge in some delicious indonesian cuisine. be jealous! sorry.
We will write again as soon as we can!
We truly wish you could be here because this blog really makes bali sound lame compared to how it really is. Shannon would know! And we do too!
we miss you!
written by  jeanmichelisa on February 23, 2009 from Ubud, Indonesia

Long one! Last half of our beautiful bali adventures!
Ubud, Indonesia
Hello from New Zealand!
I know I promised to write sooner, but our time has been so eventful that I forgot all about you! Just kidding! Well, we are obviously now in New Zealand and it’s beautiful and fantastic! But I should probably pick up where I left off last time!
After the good times checking out volcanoes and hanging out in ubud, we rented a motorbike and went to see the botanical gardens about 20 minutes away, and it was so beautiful. Lots of tropical plants, flowers and fruit that I had never seen before.
Later that day, we headed to Devilicious, a restaurant that Jean-Michel and Shannon visited a few times during their stay and met some really cool people. There, we met Dewan, a local medicine man and his American friend, Erin. (Jean-Michel had already met Dewan in September with Shannon) After visiting with Dewan and Erin for a while, Dewan invited us to join him and Erin the following day to come watch him teach kids to play gamelan. Gamelan is an instrument that most Indonesian males learn to play. The best way I can describe it is xylophone-like, but it doesn’t chime clearly like a xylophone. It has a tinny, bell like sound to it, and when there are over 20 of them at the same time, it is a loud clammering of different bell sounds. That makes it sound really unappealing, but it’s actually quite beautiful (as long as you’re not right up close, because it’s too loud when you’re close).
So Dewan and Erin picked us up at our homestay on their motorbikes the next morning. It was the rainy season in Bali as you may know, but Dewan assured us the previous night that it wasn’t going to rain. 5 minutes after mounting the motorbikes, it was pouring, and we pulled over and took shelter under an overhang. It didn’t look like the rain was going to let up any time soon (just the opposite actually!), so we decided to bear it and get drenched. And get drenched we did (do or do not, there is no try). It was literally coming down in buckets and the sewers were backing up. There was a river flowing down the streets in under 10 minutes of this. By the time we got to our destination, we were soaked from top to bottom. We took our shoes off and dumped out the water, and went to sit in the hut to listen to the kids play, still getting wet by the rain that was still coming down. It was beautiful though! The kids were so funny. We quickly picked out the teacher’s pet, the brat, the shy one, and the class clown. But they were all so cute and the music was wonderful. We sat with coffee and crunchy fried soy bean crackers and watched Dewan teach the kids with a wide smile on his face the entire time. It was a lovely afternoon!
After that, we went for a trip to the Gili islands of Lombok! We got a ride to Padangbai with the owner of our first homestay, and from there we took the gili cat, which is almost as cool as it sounds! It is the fast boat to the gilis (takes about 1 hour), which is significantly faster than the public ferry (called the JM ferry!) that JM and Shannon took last time for a hefty 12 hours boys and girls! We first got to gili Trawangan and had to wait a few hours for the island hopping boat to Gili Meno which was our destination, so we hung out on Trawangan for a few hours and had lunch and some tropical drinks.
Then we took the boat to Gili Meno! It was so beautiful! The weather was very hot, the water was clear and blue and full of coral and fish, and we were on our very own secluded island! Hello! Well, it wasn’t our very own, but it felt that way. There was probably a total of 40 tourists on Gili Meno and it takes 45 minutes to walk the circumference of the island. Bam! Anyway, we planned on spending about 3-4 days on Meno and then going to Trawangan for 2 days, but Meno was so relaxing and we made friends there! (some were JM’s old friends from last time) so we stayed almost a week. During that week, we did things like chillax, eat, drink, swim in the beautiful warm ocean and socialize with our friends. But the most eventful part of that week was going scuba diving for my first time! We actually went snorkeling the day before, and it was very very cool and I should probably describe it to you better than that, but the scuba diving was just too cool, so I will skip to that. We had a training session in the pool in the morning on Gili Air (the third gili island) and then we were off to the ocean! It was crystal clear blue and warm. We descended to 12 meters with our instructor and we saw some incredible things under the water! It was such a breathtaking experience! We saw many different colours and types of coral, thousands of tropical fish that were close enough to touch(!) and four sea turtles!! (two different types) The sea turtles were the coolest part!
Sadly, our time in the Gilis had to come to an end eventually, but we were also very excited to go back to Bali. When we returned, it felt just as exciting and new as when we got there the first time! It was so green and lush and full of good energy. We drove back to Ubud and found a new homestay near the monkey forest, and that night we relaxed and went to Devilicious again, hoping to see some of our friends, but it was a quiet night. The next day, we went back to the monkey forest! The monkeys were all over the place and very excited! One of the people working there threw some lychees into a pond, and they went nuts! It was a fun afternoon! The next few days were less eventful, more relaxing than anything. But we did go to the Arma museum, which was very cool. Lots of amazing art pieces!
After Ubud, we headed to crazy Kuta! (near the airport) Once we arrived in Kuta and found a crazy cheap homestay (7 bucks American a night), we went to the beach! Duh! It was blazing hot in Kuta and stayed that way for our whole time in Kuta. (I burned my scalp in Kuta that day) If you can believe it, the water at Kuta beach was even warmer than in the Gilis! It was incredible! It was like bath water! But there was quite a bit of garbage since Kuta is a very busy place, and there are lots of surfers. The waves were also quite violent (hence the surfers!), so we didn’t swim for long, but the beach was nice. The next day, we both were feeling a bit off. I think we had gotten too much sun the day before, and I was very near passing out the whole day (I actually fell in the street and scaped my knee, but I think that might just be because I’m clumsy..) Anyway, we did some shopping that day, but other than that, we just feeling too tired to do much more, so we relaxed and played cards that night! The following day, we had to leave! Very sad! I will tell you about our last day in Indonesia because it is a funny story. We arrived at the airport very early and we checked the screens for our flight but it wasn’t there, so we figured it was just because we were so early. We were sitting waiting, and I glanced at our tickets and I think my heart actually stopped. I said “Jean Michel what day is it?!” and he said “it’s the 10th, why?” and I go “no…it can’t be the 10th. No no no…” It turns out our flight had been the day before. Yes, we missed out flights. All three of them to get to New Zealand! We think the reason is because everything we had booked was on the 10th, but the one thing on the 9th was our flight out of Indonesia (we flew overnight). Long story longer, we had to buy new tickets, and 28 hours later and wallets much lighter, we have arrived in beautiful New Zealand! We have actually been here for 5 days already but I will leave you to digest this giant blog entry before I tell you about the fantastic time we have been having since we arrived!
Wow, my fingers are 5 pounds lighter after that blog! I feel like I should thank you for your attention! Thanks! And please, come back and read about new Zealand in the next week or so! It will be worth it, I promise!
Also, we come home very soon, so get planning your welcome home parties! Just kidding! We are had and are still having such a wonderful time on this trip and we are sad that it’s almost over already, but we are also excited to come home! And it will be so great to see you all again! We missed you lots!
Okay I’m done! Catch you next time!
Love
written by  jeanmichelisa on March 15, 2009 from Ubud, Indonesia

Adventures in middle earth!
Turangi, New Zealand
Helloooooo!
So we have successfully completed our first week in New Zealand and it has been amazing! After our crazy plane adventure from Indonesia, we finally arrived in windy Wellington at around 9:00 pm on March 11th. There was a bit of confusion finding our rental car, but we found it and crashed at the first hostel we found in downtown Wellington (as in slept, not car crashed). The next day, we headed to the Te papa museum, which is the national museum of New Zealand, it was super cool and as a bonus, it was free! We couldn’t believe that it was free! This place was massive! The only unfortunate thing was that we were exhausted. I don’t think I have ever felt the exhaustion that I felt that day, and it was a bit frustrating because there was a lot to see! After our museum expedition, we headed back to our hostel and had a long nap, and then had a bite to eat before going back to bed.
The next morning, we had an early start on the road to Turangi, which is a small town in the centre of the north island about 45 minutes south of Taupo. We decided to take the long and scenic route as suggested by a bartender we met in Wellington. We drove straight to Napier, through some of the country’s densest winery area, which is on the east coast. But there was no whining coming from us! (I’m soooo funny) It was incredibly gorgeous. We stopped in the art deco city of Napier for about an hour for a coffee and a break, and then we continued on to Taupo and Turangi. We arrived in Turangi at around 4:00 and checked into the Turangi Leisure Lodge after 8 hours on the road. I can hardly describe how amazing it was to walk through the door and realize that this was our accommodation for the next week. After nearly 6 months of living as backpackers, we were in disbelief that we have the opportunity to stay in a 2 level, fully equipped, private lodge. When you walk in the door, you see a kitchen to your right, a dining room and living room on the left and staircase leading to a master bedroom. There is a second bedroom and another bathroom with a Jacuzzi on the main floor, two TVs, a dishwasher, a stove, fridge and a car park. Nice! Thanks so much Jean-Louis and Carole! Words can’t describe how good it feels to be able to relax here!
Our adventures started the next day! We headed to Tongariro National Park and went on a seriously beautiful 2-hour walk. On that walk we saw some amazing scenery, including the volcano that was Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings and a gorgeous waterfall! It was nice to be in the wilderness for a nice hike! Later the same day, we went on another short walk to see a second waterfall, and after that we went for a drive down a secluded dirt path to see some caves, and that was very cool. The next day, we went to Rotorua to a thermal area called “Hell’s Gate”. We started by going on a thermal walk, and saw some boiling mud, hot springs and mud volcanoes, which was totally amazing. After that, we went to the mud spa that they have there. First, we went into a private mud bath, which was fantastic! It was pretty much like playing in the mud, but with more hot water. It was so nice. You can rub mud on your arms and legs and bathe in the water for 20 minutes, and when that is over, you get to have a lovely cold shower, and go into the hot spring pool for as long as you want. It was so nice. We both had gotten a cold from all the travel and exhaustion, so it was nice to be in the warm hot springs. We went for sushi after that, and then went to the Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland. We did a 1.5 hour walk and saw more thermal pools and boiling mud, and we saw craters that had been formed by subterranean waterways, we saw some ink pots (small thermal pools that have an ink-like color because of graphite and crude oil that has been brought up with the water) and the last thing we saw there was a huge hot spring that was bright lime green. I have never seen anything natural that color before! It was incredible! Later that afternoon, we saw Huka falls. There were actually some kayakers on the water that day, and it was so cool to watch them kayak through the rapids and then down the waterfall.
The next day was an adventure! We drove to the Waitomo caves. The Waitomo caves are the most visited glowworm caves in New Zealand. There, we signed up for what they call the “Black Abyss”. First, all geared up in a wetsuit, boots, helmet and harness, we learned to abseil. Abseiling is lowering yourself on rope while in a harness. After completing a quick training session, we abseiled down 35 meters through a narrow opening in the ground that led to the top of a cave cathedral, which was the beginning of the Ruakuri cave. I’m scared of heights, so I was a bit nervous, but that made the experience more exhilarating! Once we all got to the bottom safely, we continued deeper into the pitch black cave (luckily we had the lights on our helmets!) where there was a zip line! We all turned off the lights on our helmets and took a turn to zip line in the pitch black with glowworms above us. Our guides did everything in their power to heighten our fears by making crashing noises and screaming! Of course I fell for it. Hilarious! So after that, we all sat on the edge of a 4-meter drop into the water for a quick snack, and then they handed us each a tube. They then instructed us to jump from those 4 meters, bum first into the freezing water. I didn’t like that idea at all, but it’s not like I could turn back, so I did it and got a face full of ice cold water. It was terrible! But I got over it, and it was all good fun! We then walked upstream further into the cave and had to swim in parts that were too deep. Once we arrived to where the guides were leading us, they made us form a chain on our tubes by grabbing each other’s feet, and then we turned off our lights and drifted silently through the cave, watching the beautiful glowworms on the ceiling. When we turned on our lights again, we threw our tubes up on the ledge that we jumped from, and continued to swim downstream, grabbing on to whatever we could. We then arrived at a waterslide that had been built over a small waterfall, and we each took a turn sliding down head first! After that, we continued exploring the caves and swimming through narrow passages that eventually led us behind a huge waterfall. We had to swim around it and then the guides instructed us how to climb the waterfall by ourselves. It was challenging and super fun! The hardest part was that our wetsuits and boots were already weighed down by water, and the waterfall was also pushing against us, but we all made it up! After that waterfall, we walked for a while and got to a second, almost as challenging waterfall, and ascended that as well. At the top was the opening to outdoors. We were all a bit cold and wet but mostly just excited! It was such an amazing experience! We all got changed and had some warm soup together and checked out the photos of our adventure before hitting the road again. We came back to the timeshare and headed straight for the hot tub and relaxed for the rest of the night.
For the next day (Tuesday) we had booked ourselves for some white water rafting fun! The nearby Tongariro River is a class 3 rapid and we thought it would be a good idea to try to raft it, adding to my list of firsts. It was such a blast! We all got wet and got to plunge off a small cliff into the river half way down our rafting trip. The experience was not as frightening as I thought it would be but did not disappoint. We saw some amazing scenery as we rafted through serious rapids in the light rain and we really felt like we were right in middle earth. We have been staying away from the cheesy lord of the rings tourist attractions but come on, this place is middle earth and it’s awesome! After rafting for two hours down 9 km of river, descending 250 vertical meters of rapids (not all at once obviously), we headed back to ground base for some sandwiches and then back home. We have been shopping at the grocery store and making our own meals in our very own kitchen! So we had a quiet evening eating soup and relaxing in the rec. room playing ping pong. Yeah!
Okay now for Wednesday! Yay! Wednesday was very nerve-racking day because I did something I never thought I would do! Skydiving! Yes mom you heard me! I thought I would tell you after I already did it to save you the stress! Haha! Anyway! We arrived at the skydiving place, filled out some forms and got suited up. I was absolutely terrified the entire time, it was ridiculous. I was so excited though! But wow, I have never been so scared to do anything! After a quick talk with our tandem guides, we headed for the plane (there were 6 of us that skydived). The ascent was so beautiful! We got to see lots of the Taupo area and surrounding scenery! I admit though that I was too paralyzed from fear that I didn’t get to fully appreciate it. I got teamed up with an awesome tandem instructor, and he did a good job winding me up and telling me stories to get me even more scared. So we finally got to a height of 15 000 feet, and it was time to jump! I jumped second last (Jean-Michel was last! Sucka!). First, I had to scoot up to the open door of the plane and dangle my legs over the edge into the nothingness below. !!! Ahh! Then I had to humiliate myself and get a picture taken before I plunged to the depths. I leaned back and we pushed off into the sky and did a somersault in the air before we began a 60 second freefall through the sky and clouds! I have never felt anything so terrifying and exciting in my life! We were falling at full speed through the sky toward the ground and the cold air rushing in my face made it hard to breathe, but once I got over the initial shock of falling out of a plane, I enjoyed the ride! My tandem instructor (Mike) released the parachute at 5000 feet and we floated the rest of the way to the ground! The view was incredible and the feeling was even better! Of course he pretended he was going to unhook me and send me to my death but obviously he was just having a laugh. He let me control the parachute for a while and we went in fast spirals to the ground and eventually landed safe and sound back on the ground. It was such a freaking awesome experience! DO IT!
So now we are enjoying our last day in Turangi at our amazing timeshare. We are so sad that it is the last day here! But there are more exciting things to come and we are heading north first thing tomorrow morning to explore it all over the next 2 weeks before heading back to the ice cube that is Canada!
We love you and miss you! Don’t hate me for not telling you about skydiving mom! Haha!
Until next time!
written by  jeanmichelisa on March 18, 2009 from Turangi, New Zealand

Edmonton calls us back again...
Edmonton, Canada
Hello again!
I'm not sure where I left off last time, but I will let you know that i'm back in edmonton, safe and sound and freezing my buns off! And Jean-Michel is still in transit, home tonight! And we are both so excited to see everyone!
But to continue from my last blog, I believe I ended the last one with our skydiving adventures. After we went skydiving, I think we had one more day in Turangi which was spent getting ourselves organized and doing laundry. We sadly had to leave the amazing place we were staying at and hit the road! We drove to Rotorua from there, and spent a night there. First we went to Te Puia, which is a thermal walk and a geyser that erupts 2-3 times per hour. It was a really nice day and the walk was very cool. but the geyser was the most exciting part! It was the first geyser Jean-Michel has ever seen, and it was impressive. When it erupted, it got to about 30 meters or so. The next day, we went to the agroventures park where they have all sorts of rides and crazy things to do, but we were mainly just interested in zorbing. For those of you who have no idea what i'm talking about, zorbing was invented in New Zealand by some crazy kiwis! Basically, it is a giant clear plastic beach ball with a slightly smaller one inside that is suspended with bungee cords. The idea is that you jump through a hole into the smaller interior ball, they throw in some water and send you down a hill and you slide around and have a gay old time. It was awesome! I wanted to do it again because it was over so fast! but these things cost money you know!
From Rotorua we headed up to Whakatane, a smallish town further north and a bit east. It had a very cool feel to it. It felt like a very alive small town, almost a surfer town because it was close to the water. We stayed at a hostel above an old irish bar for 20 bucks and we enjoyed our one day there! We went for a short scenic hike to a lookout point in the morning and that was very cool. We left Whakatane after lunch and headed further north to Te Aroha, which is another small town. Very small town. but we had pre-booked 3 nights accomodation there, so we spent some time in that area. We stayed 5 minutes out of town at a very cool place. It had private bungalows and the host was a very nice lady. When we arrived, we found out that they had actually given our bungalow to someone else by accident, so they updated us to the most expensive one for the price of the cheapest one. Good deal! It was a nice place with our own bathroom and shower, a decently equipped kitchen, a tv and a deck with a beautiful of the nearby mountain. That day, we headed into town and went to have a soak in the hot springs. They had an amazing spa and we got a private hot spring hot tub to ourselves, and it was incredible. The thermal water in that region has an incredible unique quality to it. The texture of the water is very soft and slippery. Our skin was so soft for the next few days! We couldn't get over it!
The next day we decided to sleep in and just relax for the day and do some laundry. but the day after, went for a 20 minute drive to do a hike and see a waterfall. It was cool because the trail seemed very out of nowhere and we only came across 1 or 2 other people on the trail, so it was nice to have an amazing hike with no crowds! We first hiked for 45 minutes up to a lookout point. The hike itself was amazing, I didn't know where to look. There were always moss covered boulders, palm trees and pine trees (living together! weird!) and some beautiful streams, and it was also a gorgeous day, so we were enjoying ourselves. anyway, the lookout was amazing! What we saw was a 250 meter waterfall! I have never seen a waterfall so incredible in my life! It was so stunning! we then set off for the last 45 minutes which led to the top of the waterfall, and it was totally worth the hike. We got to the top and we were literally standing right next to the waterfall, and standing in awe at the amazing view. It was such a crazy panorama. It was so green and it stretched on forever, and the sun was beginning to go down. It was perfect. We made our way back down on a different trail. We decided to take an old Mauri trail, which was marked "steep and not maintained". Awesome! It indeed was steep and pretty muddy. I slipped on my bum a few times and got nice and muddy. It was truly the best hike i have ever taken! After the 3 hour total of hiking and climbing, we headed back to town to get some groceries and have some dinner. We were both pretty sore the next day, but that didn't matter!
Finally, our time was up in Te Aroha, so we packed up and headed to our final and most northern destination, which is the beautiful town of Russell in the Bay of Islands. What a breathtakingly beautiful place, it's ridiculous. We arrived and had no idea where we were going to stay, so we pulled into a parking lot to look at the map, and I happened to look up and there was a backpacker's accommodation right in front of us! nice! We got an amazing room for a good price and it was close to the water which was perfect. And on top of the that, our host was such a cool person and took very good care of us! He cooked us breakfast one morning and we ate together outside in the sun with some other guests as well, and the next day we ended up sharing a bottle of wine and eating mussels with him and his friend Catherine who was on vacation as well. It turns out that she is from Auckland which was our next destination and she was crazy enough to trust 2 twenty-something canadians who she just met, and offered us to stay at her house in auckland, even though she wouldn't be there. crazy! But i'm getting ahead of myself!
Our first night in Russell, we had some pizza and walked by the port and took in all the amazingness (after all, we only had 3 days left in NZ!) The next day, we went parasailing (another first for me!) and that was so cool! It was such a crazy feeling to be sitting under a parachute 1500 feet in the air with just water beneath us. But the view was spectacular. We brought our camera up with us and took some superb photos, although it's a bit challenging to use a camera when you're in a parachute. But it was a gorgeous sunny day and the water was a beautiful azure. I can't even describe it! Later that day we took a short drive and went for a walk in a Kauri forest. A kauri is a type of tree they have in NZ, and they are enormous. The trunks are so wide and thick and they are very tall. The biggest one we saw was probably 15 meters wide, it was beyond crazy. We actually took some sap off of it and chewed it. That sounds weird I know! but we read that the sap of Kauri trees is Mauri chewing gum, so we were curious okay! haha! it was actually very cool. We spent the rest of that day relaxing and went for thai food. The next day we went on 6 hour boat trip on a catamaran to swim with the dolphins! we saw tons of dolphins which was so cool, and when we got to a good spot, the majority of us put on a snorkel and swam as hard as we could to see the dolphins, but they were too far away unfortunately. But luckily it was a good swim! the water was warm and beautiful! We stopped at an island around noon to explore and relax on the beach, and then we got back on the boat for a barbecue lunch! Nice! We had a very good afternoon in the sun and it was very cool to see the dolphins and go for a swim!
That night we got some delicious wine from a local winery, and it was awesome. We drank it with the host of our hotel and had a great night!
We had a hard time leaving Russell the next day, but we had to go! So we headed back south and stopped in the town of Dargaville for a night. what a weird name for a town. Sorry, I had to throw that in. Anyway, in Dargaville, we stayed at a caravan park, but it had private cabins, and the cabins were actually old shipping containers on trains. It was cool! Anyway, the next day we drove the rest of the way to Auckland and found Catherine's house and spent the night packing, relaxing, eating indian food, and being sad because it was the end of our trip! The next day, Jean-Michel took me to the airport and we said our goodbyes and I began my ridiculously long journey home. What a crazy long flight. It took me a total of about 35-40 hours to get to edmonton. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I have been shivering in my shoes since getting back, and it is only -2 or so! You are all breaking out the shorts and bikinis, and i'm bundling up and drinking tea! I have been so spoiled, and I am having a hard time handling the snow. Luckily it will only get better from here!
Jean-Michel is currently in the air as I write this and he will arrive tonight at 11:30, and i'm sure he will have similar opinions about the weather as I do, although he likes the cold much more than I do! All complaints aside, it is great to be home, and it is awesome to see my family and to not live out of a backpack anymore! high five to that!
Thanks to all of you for reading my blogs! I'm glad to hear that some of you have been following our adventures through the blog entries; it made me more encouraged to keep writing them! I can't wait to see you all and tell you more stories that have not been included in the blogs! and to hear your stories! We both missed you all a lot!
love,
written by  jeanmichelisa on April 1, 2009 from Edmonton, Canada