YeS wE ´R´ sTill AliVe

Hey Peoples,

We flew into Spain (Madrid) on a late flight, which was also delayed by 1hr due to double bookings or something, and landed at 1am gettin the taxi into the city centre to check into a hostel we looked up on the net which had a great review. Pure foreign countries... the name we had was completely different from the sign and we wasted 30min walkin around the street with our luggage. Since we booked Madrid spontaneously we did not actually have time to make an online booking and just thought to rock up and book on the spot as Neil did many times in Scandinavia and had no problems. Thing is that this hostel does not have 24hr reception like all the others we have stayed at so were were left homeless for bout 4 mins till running into an Aussie girl who was staying at the same hostel and told us the 2 managers were still awake boozin up. So yeah... thanks to this girl we checked in no probs just before neil started stressin out and givin me a migraine.

To back track a little... the Greek Islands was good times! Met heaps of people and has some top nights in Mykonos. We were actually stuck another 2 days on Myk due to strong winds which was ok as we knew plenty of people at that point and made the days go by. After Myk we went to Paros (were we just ate, slept and recovered), Ios which we hired a buggy and cruized most of the island and Santorini which we saw a magnificent sunset on a popular high point called Oia.

The journey to Portugal was LONG. An 8hr ferry cruiz to Athens, A 3 hr flight to Barcelona then a 1.5 hr flight to Portugal... what a night. It was fun on the ferry though... met a bunch of Americans studyin in Greece and hung out with them the whole time. On the flights we slept and snored a plenty.

Portugal was very different to the hot sun and party time we had in Greece. We ate some really good chicken, pork and seafood. It is apparently rude to ask for Salt & Pepper in Portugal, so instead you get to try the spicy Piri Piri sauce which burns holes in ur teeth if u put too much on! We also used Portugal as a place of recovery to catch up on sleep which was well needed. I actually wondered the streets the first night by my self as Neil was asleep and within 10mins of walking was asked for all sorts of druggie by about 5 different people. ¨coca... hash hash...¨. I also witnessed a man having a conversation with a statue and even offer it a ciggy... strange place! We went to a very popular club called LUX but unfortunately was closed.

We are off to Ibiza on SAT until TUES which will be pure party time. We booked tickets to the final closing party at a club called Space which has all the massive DJs playing. I guess we will write an entry on this next week sometime.

Anyways... all is good and hope everything is working out for everyone at home!

Stiff

~ ~ ~ Athens heat and plenty of bu.... ~ ~ ~

Hi all
We arrived in Athens yesterday and have checked out the main city and ancient Greece already. Tonight we are going to experience the night life which goes off every day of the week with plenty of young crowd, bars, cafes etc. We just finished booking Mykonos till the end of week and then we are planning to go to other islands like Paros, Naxos and Santorini.
Hot as and having a blast!
That's all for now.
Stiff & Noel.

The Noel and Stef Show PART II

Yo. Neil is here tomorrow night and i have planned a triple header night out. Went to the travel agent today to organise Greece. Currently boozed and cruizin the net... what a feeling. The good thing here is if u run out of booze you can walk down the road to a corner store and re-stock... like I just did. On the right is a pic we took last week with my two cousins and sister at a cafe. Dammm its hot here... abit too hot to be honest.

Yeahh,... cant type as tooo boozed. Hope everyones is A-OK.

The Stiff Miester

Sun and heat coming soon >>

well.. im back in London for two days, before i head to Cyprus.
Twas quite amusing when stef sent me a message the other day.. sayin it was hot as hell, and i replied saying it was cold as ice where i was.. and boy was it... in belfast/tour of northern ireland.. that freeze gets into ur bones..

Ireland is really nice, the scenery, castles, landscape and all that.. not to much partying thou. Dublin is cool, temple bar area with all the pubs is always pumpen.. plenty of clubs around also.. just no real great opportunity to go out fr a big one.

Went to Edinburgh Scotland for two days with Courtney also. Now boy was it chilly there, and on our first night there (sunday) they had fireworks in the city to end the Fringe Ferstival. Wanted to have a big night, but it was dead as.. same as monday.. that was abit of a bitch cause we wanted to have some good times. If we got there a wek earlier it was massive every night cause the festival was still on.. but anyway.

Checked out the massive Edinburgh castle, and also went on the City of the Dead tour in the night. You go through this historical old graveyard, and enter this mauseleum that is meant to contain a poltergeist. People actually get physical injuries and feel, hear and experience different things in the small tomb.. nothing happened to me thou... so i felt abit ripped. You can read peoples experiences and see photos of their small injuries from over the years. It is meant to be the most visited poltergeist location in the world.

I got to London yesterday, and there was, and still is a tube (train) strike on so nothing but hastle trying to work out catchin the right bus(es) instead.

So yeh, at Angies once again with sweet free net access, and working out all the plans. FOr example, the last week of Sep, can either go to the last week celebration party in Ibitha, or check out the huge Oktoberfest in Munich.. decisions.

Anyway, to much to see and do, and don't want this trip to end.
ze.

Yiasou from Cyprus!

Hey all. I have been in Cyprus now for 2 weeks and have basically caught up with most of my family which has been great! I have mainly stayed with my grandparents which are so old now... but so damm funny. My grandmother has cooked all of my fav cypriot dishes and ive been loving it. I have put on 2kg since I got here but I have attempted to keep the fitness up and is going well except for the gut... but the food is soo tasty that I'll sacrifice looks to eat more. The lamb here is GOLD... it really does taste different. The beef here is not that exciting. The pork and chicken though are excpetional as well when done on the souvla (greek spit).

Anyways... enough bout food. I have not really been out much except for a few times but have not been huge. When Neil gets here next week the partyin will begin again. I have recharged the batteries by gettin plenty of sleep, days at the beach, workin on my tan and eating good food.

Saw the Simpsons movie last night with Greek subtitles on the smallest screen ever. No one can drive here... no one wears seatbelts, helmets or use indicators. Everyone beeps at you for obeying the road rules. It's comedy. Went to the bank the other day and double parked the car for 15mins on a main st, left the windows open and no one said a thing. As frustratin as it is everyone gets to their destinations eventually.

I went out with my cuzins (Antonis' sisters), one was 18 but the other only 15. No one asks for ID here so most of the clubs and bars have very young guys and girls. Feel bad even checkin them out as I know they are all under 18.

Anyways... hope all is well in the land of OZ .

Stiff

Dublin.. top of tha mornen to ya!

Well, after an enjoying stay in Norway, I have come to Dublin Ireland. Angie and a few of her friends were coming here for the long weekend, so I thought it good to join them. Stayed with them in the same room at the hostel I am writing this from, and did some sightseeing together. Went to the old Kilmainham Jail, and visited the Guinness Brewery Storehouse.. where you go through the history and stages of making Guinness beer, and then get to enjoy a pint at the very top of the building with its with its 360 degree views of dublin.

The guys have now left, and I am staying an extra night in the hostel to plan the next step. Just got back from a walk and meetup with Courtney - whom I met on the Contiki tour - she was on another Contiki tour but had similar plans as me. .. Let me just say that the Irish are so friendly.. so helpful, and the young crowd are just great.. we just walked out of the Temple Bar district.. with all its pubs, and saw this massive line up to a club. Started chattin to some youngsters that gave us a nice overview of where to visit in Ireland.. .. I had to add my Bono, etc questions into the convo, ..with the one guy letting me know that Edges daughter was actually in the club and that his mates were friends with her.. One mate actually kind of dated her.. but ended that cause the most interesting thing about her was actually her father.. :P

Anyway, just now checking the net to work out exactly what we are doing.. we want to do a tour around Ireland, but just gotta work out if car hire, train, bus, or an actual booked tour is best.. Gotta get some sleep, but will be getting up early to work it out with her and off we will go..

Anyways.. spoke with Stef the other day briefly.. he has been busy in Cyprus simply visiting all his family.. and chilling on the beach.. so no big nights..

Anyway, thats abit of info for ya.. will be doing some days of travel round Ireland, then most probably head to Prague of Croatia or something.. Might end up travelling with Courtney up until Cyprus.. but will c..

Anyways, adiows..
ze.

Norway goddamn..

Well.. the day Stef left for Cyprus, I came over to Oslo Norway, and have met up with buddy boy Danny and have been stayin with him. He has a nice place in the city, walking distance to the main shopping streets, clubs, etc which is really great.

I have to tell ya, that yes the femmes here are all great, and theres plenty of scenery everywhere you go.. .. go into the small local supermarket.. butter... go into the emergency/doctor section of the hospital... (dont ask).. butter, butter and more butter.. its just all good.. and plenty of blonde tch tch.

Went out last nite to a funky and ´place to be seen´ kind of club. Not a masive night, was just happy to be out and see the sights ;P Tonight should be a big one, more dance style.

Went walking today with Danny and checked out this old fortress on the harbour, and the royal palace. Am going to do plenty of tourist stuff over the next two days, as Danny will be off to visit his dad for a day and to pick up his car which is a little trip down south. Im gonna visit the Viking ships and the Kon-tiki museum which should be great.

The weather has been quite pleasant, however the nights are just that little bit chilly. The cold water out of the tap is so cold, your hands freeze after 3 seconds of them being under it. Can you imagine how it would be at winter time!

The one thing about Norway, is that everything is soo expensive. Take Ausie prices, and double it.. abit of a bitch but u get that.

Anyways, I think I might take a powernap so I will be refreshed for tonight.
adio.
ze