Sunscreen...

I loved this song when I was a kid....
I LOVE IT EVEN MORE NOW I'M ALL GROWN UP AND ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND IT.
I put it on the other day and it literally made me cry!
ENJOY...

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering
experience…I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours. Floss Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for
good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen…

Here comes the bride

when I was seven one of my favorite games to play was "getting married". I'd sit my toys outside as guests, put on one of mums old ballroom dresses, rip some flowers out of the garden and tie a bow around the stems. I'd start down on the grass and the "isle" would take me parallel to the back deck and up the stairs to a romeo and Juliet style balcony. This is where the ceremony took place. I could have played this game all day... once the wedding was over I'd go back to the start and play again.
I've been having wedding fantasies lately...
Ironic seeing as I'm hating on men...?!

MEN

Not loving men this week...
No real reason, I'm just hating on them until I find a good one...
Not holding my breath!

Out with the old!

Just yesterday I finally got tired of my boxes from London sitting staring at me, & got the sudden urge to unpack them. As I'm sifting through jacket after book after pair of jeans I'm thinking to myself why on earth I thought this stuff was so important that I just had to PAY to send it home to Australia.
As a result I ended up throwing a good 70% of the stuff out which if I had of been able to do at the time would have saved myself a couple hundred Pounds.
So then I got to thinking. This seems to be a reoccurring event in my life. I seem to have this strong urge to hold onto things, people, situations whatever it may be until I spend enough time without it and intern don't have the desire for it any longer. I seem to be quite often left wondering why on earth I ever wasted so much time being so miserable about it in the first place (David fiasco prime example).
So from now on I'm going to try my hardest to start looking into the future before deciding to hold on so damn tight to something!

My daily routine!

I'm a fitness fanatic, I admit it & not afraid to. I pride myself on being overwhelmingly fit and always have. Therefore as part of my extensive daily fitness regime I run! Usually for about 45 minutes to an hour, sometimes less sometimes more depending on the heat usually. I love Running, it's not just a fitness vessel for me it's my way of unwinding and thinking about what's going on in my life without having to worry about any interruptions. I remember I few years back I'd run so hard and so far that it would bring me to the point of tears and as twisted as that may seem it's all I wanted...The tears were what I was searching for.

Anyhow back to my point. I run everyday and have since I was like 9 or 10 years old? Just recently however I've started doing something completely random and (if caught rather embarrassing). I run to this forest type swamp area over the hill and a few blocks away from my house that has a pathway leading to the centre of it.(only people who grew up in Lighthouse Beach would even know about this). Once in the centre you are completely covered by trees and bush & can not be seen by anyone other than the birds and lizards. When I'm safely hidden on the inside... I dance! not like actually proper technical dancing like people would expect from me, more like crazy ridiculous "dad at a wedding" type dancing... I do this for just 5 minutes, get my stride back and off I run...
So I was doing this again today for like the 15th time since I've been home when I asked myself...what is it that has prompted this 'insane' type behavior? and the only reply I got was "Um Der Danika... because for the first time in your life you're happy!"

...................Well I never!!!!!!!

Port Macquarie...

I'm so overwhelmingly bored at the moment!
Port Macquarie is a stunning place. I love it, it's my home and I'm genuinely happy to be here but dear god I'm BORED!!!
Port Macquarie is a great place for kids. Lots of beaches, parks and pathways to ride a bike or go skateboarding..
It's also a great place for adults who are married or have a group of friends to wine and dine with..
Even retired people are loving Port Macquarie as they have found a place full of serenity..


BUT... for a single almost 23 year old girl who has literally one friend (& his girlfriend) in the whole town, it's a little lame and causes you to write blogs like this!!!
Cannot wait to start teaching!

Amsterdam

This was sadly our final stop on the tour!
Amsterdam is a very fascinating place. I always imagined it to be filthy and scary due to all the pot smoking and enormous prostitution population but it's actually a really beautiful city. This aside the first thing we did here was go to a live Sex show at the theatre Caso Rosso. Of all the sex shows to see this would have to be the one as it has been voted most "classy" five years running. It was very ummmm interesting but don't think I'd need to rush out and see it again. on the way back into the city to have a night on the town testing the various "cafes" we walk past red lit window after window after window and I'm telling you now these girls are HOT! not just hot as in stripper hot (good body but rat of a head) Hot body and stunningly beautiful. As I walking around checking them out, (pretending I wasn't) I felt so sorry for them "You're beautiful you could have anyone and quite possibly a real job" and then I thought fuck it they literally earn 3 times what I would in a year and they get to have sex as a job. Don't get me wrong I'd never consider it myself but I did stop pitying them !
We got to the cafe and I smoked half a joint and ate a whole Hash muffin... huge mistake! stoned as all get go and literally was until lunch time the next day... oh well when in Amsterdam.
The next morning in my stupidly stoned state I got up at some ungodly hour and visited a Cheese and clog farm. The smell of the cheese made me start to 'green out' so was happy to leave that part of the tour into the clog making demonstration. This was actually really cool. I had no idea that they were hand made from scratch... very impressed!
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around sightseeing and getting ready for our farewell dinner and night time river cruise. It was a nice night and fun to have one last outing with the people I'd gotten so attached to over the last 25 days.
the next morning it was back on the bus to the ferry where we watched as the white cliffs of Dover got closer and closer and before we new it... back on British soil.

Berlin

Berlin is an enormous city. We had just two nights here and I believe you need at least five to see everything! nevertheless I had a great time and found it to be a very historical and educational city. First thing we saw as we were driving to our motel were random broken parts of the Berlin wall which still stand, only minus the barbed wire and gunmen ready to shoot at any person who dared to cross over. Instead the government have allowed various art students and professionals to paint stunning pictures, memorials and messages all over it. It's actually quite a unique part of the city now. We Climbed to the top of the 'Parliament House' which is a fantastic thing to do to get a view of the city & after this went out for one of our pre-organised meals where I tried pumpkin and orange soup! Sounds crazy I know but it was delicious!

We hit the town this night as it was Brett's birthday and he wanted to party! Poor guy didn't make it too far as pretty much all 50 people on our trip bought him a shot or drink of some sort and he ended up heading home quite early and vomiting all over the sink, shower and floor of the bathroom in his room! I happen to know this first hand as he was rooming with Rhys (my contiki fuck buddy) and I found it all when I went to use the bathroom... NICE!!!

The next day all hungover beyond imaginable we had to be up at 8am for a guided walking tour of the city. I felt so sorry for the poor tour guide as I don't really think a single one of us was listening to a word he was saying and every time we stopped to talk about a certain building or monument we pretty much all sat down and looked up at him like children on a school excursion!
After the tour ended the rest of the day was free time for us to do whatever we wished... pretty much EVERYONE went back to the motel to sleep but I was determined to visit the Hard Rock (something I do in every city that has one) so Jodie and I ventured there. After a few lost attempts at trying to find the street it was on we finally made it, and I bumped into a friend of mine (William Rossoni) who was doing his Manager in training there at the time... Small world huh?
For dinner that night we went to a fantastic German restaurant where I had steak and a very traditional Apple Strudel which was just Heavenly!

Ich werde Dich Bald wieder sehen Berlin!

Prague

Prague is a very interesting city... Very old and Very Medieval. I found of the people on my trip you either loved or hated Prague, not many sat in between. Needless to say I was one of the "I LOVE PRAGUE" vote es. It just had a different feel to other European cities we had visited. One of the most beautiful things in this city is the Astronomical clock in the main square that was built in the 16th century. The clock was so rare and beautiful that the King of the time (or Mayor or emperor can't remember exactly) kidnapped the man who made it and gauged his eyes out to insure another one the same was never made!
We took a wine and dine river cruise which was fantastic as the river runs pretty much through the centre of the city so you do get to see quite a lot, and it was raining so was a better option than walking around.
Went to the Hard Rock for dinner and made friends with the managers so got myself and the 5 others with me a nice 50% off (total happy dance as we were all getting low on money by this point)
Besides a random Aussie bar we went to for a few rounds of drinks I didn't go out at all in Prague. It apparently is quite the party town so would like to go back for longer and possibly not in winter when it's so wet and cold!

Munich

Too be honest I didn't spend a whole lot of time sight seeing in Munich. Alternatively I went and paid 97 Euro for a Dirndl (German Beer maid dress) and went straight to the "Hofbrauhaus" (Germany's most famous Beer Hall).
Over the course of the night I drank 4 steins of beer! For those of you playing at home that is 4 LITRES of beer. If anyone previously had said to me do you think you could drink 4 Litres of beer my immediate answer would have been "FUCK NO" but there is certainly something special about German Beer it just....TASTES BETTER!
So here I am in a German beer hall with my boobs as high as an elephants eye drinking litre by litre of beer and eating the best chicken schnitzel I believe I have ever had (It traditionally is from Germany so I guess it would have been a let down if it wasn't good!)
Overall mind blowing night! definitely would like to return A; so I can actually get to see the city and B; Because I spent almost 100 euro on that fucking Dirndl and I want the chance to wear it again!...
Can anyone say Oktoberfest 2011?????

Vienna (Austria)

Vienna I'd have to say was coldest place we visited. I did however forgive this fact due to 'A' being in Austria and 'B' because I had such a fab time here!
First night here we had a lovely 3 course dinner at a beautiful old castle and from there we made our way to the Vienna Royal Opera House to be audience at a Mozart concert. It was amazing... such beautiful music (the Pas de Deux couple however were disgusting, lucky they only danced in like 3 songs) We went back to the motel from here and continued to drink in the hotel bar however ended up to be an early & quiet night for all.
The next morning we awoke bright and early for our walking tour and free time in the city of Vienna. there were a lot of Holocaust memorials around the city which were quite visual, I found it interesting walking around and seeing them all. Also a lot of old buildings still erect that belonged to Hitler and his government around the time of WWII. In the afternoon we decided that the cold was a little overwhelming so took a trip to the Natural History Museum where we saw the worlds oldest rock carving... You would never guess what the carving was of? A very miniature fat naked woman... Random, I know!
In the early evening we took a trip to the Schnapps Museum where we learnt how Schnapps is made and got a very extensive FREE taste testing. Needless to say there were a few tipsy people on the bus afterwards.
Too tired to go anywhere for dinner tonight we settled for Mc Donalds which is something I recommend all travelers to try in each country you visit as they always have something traditional to the country on the menu either in burger form or as a dish of it's own.

Venice

This city is something else!
It is so magical and exciting yet at the same time has an element of sadness to it. Well to be fare I'd say you'd be sad too if you were sinking into the bottom of the Adrianic Sea.
That's right Venice is 100% built on water and every year sinks a little further. A lot is being done to keep Venice afloat and if it weren't for modern technology who knows, it may have already reached the bottom by now? but the reality is one day (in the not so distant future) it will not be there any longer.
For this reason I urge you all to PLEASE go visit Venice! I promise you it is not a place you would regret seeing. Famous for it's Murano glass and Burano lace it's definitely a place to go shopping if nothing else.

It's very difficult to get lost in Venice as all roads (or rather Canals) lead to either the Rialto Bridge or Saint Marcs square once you've found either of these land marks you should be set. my advice; Go wondering without a map, you'll find things you wouldn't have if you stuck to the main tourist routes and it's less crowded!

We got treated to a seven course meal in Venice (that's correct SEVEN!)
Course one: Bread with Olive Oil & Balsamic dip
Course two: Anti-Pasto platter
Course three: Seafood Salad
Course four: Fettuccine
Course five: Gnocchi
Course Six: Penne
Course Seven: Tirimisu
All the while the wait staff were walking around refilling our JUGS of wine!
Needless to say I could barely walk as we made our way back to the Motel

Dear Venice,
Please stay afloat long enough for me to come visit again...

Yours sincerely
-D xox