The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

I've been slack at blogging over the past year (and more honestly). While we've been kept busy by Harriet over the past year, blogging about mine or O'Hara's baby leave would have been dull. Unless you find Netflix and napping interesting.

Something fun did happen in April however. We went on a holiday to the UAE and Jordan. I'm feeling motivated to write about the Jordan trip, partially because it was really cool, and partially because I feel bad for the country's tourism being decimated by the current situations in the Middle East. Also I wanted to share more photos without just doing the humble brag on Facebook. This is the humble humble brag.

In answer to the question that we were asked before we left, Jordan is safe. While they have land borders with Israel, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, they've managed to keep themselves fairly removed from the conflicts. Our tour guide gave two reasons for this, a) they have no oil (well apparently it's there but they choose not to use it) and b) they like their King.

We chose to do a 5 night guided tour, as no one was interested in braving the roads. We went through Jordan Tours - Travel & Tourism and the total cost ended up being just over $1,000 CAD each (in a 6 person group). This included all travel once we arrived in Jordan including airport pickup and drop off, visas, hotels, a full time guide, one dinner and breakfast at Wadi Rum and entrance fees to all the sites we visited. Our guide, Ahmad Atwah, was super knowledgeable and available to us 24h should we need him. We all thought the tour was amazing and felt like it was good value. While smoking is still allowed in hotel rooms so that made it a little gross, all the rooms were very clean and we were able to get a cot for Harriet to sleep in. We would recommend the the tour company if you were visiting Jordan 100%.

Why wouldn't you visit here?

Just sharing the space with a donkey

We flew into Amman on the first night, and were whisked through customs with a guide who got our visas all sorted for us. The next morning we were picked up from the hotel and taken straight to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea shore is the lowest land point on earth, and because it's lower than sea level (over 400m below sea level) there's no drainage into the sea meaning salts accumulate. The salinity is over 34%, so the buoyancy is incredible. It was way more buoyant than you would expect, it's almost impossible to get your legs under as they just keep floating up. It also tastes worse than you would think. There are signs everywhere telling you to keep the water out of your mouth, but with 3 engineers in the group we weren't satisfied until we'd tasted it. It burns, and takes a good 15min for the bitterness to go away! It was not like eating a mouthful of salt. The Dead Sea was probably the highlight of the trip for me. It's hard to explain just how much you float, but I promise you'll be impressed. Harriet wasn't overly impressed with the Dead Sea, when she first went in she thought it was a giant bath and proceeded to splash herself in the face. She clearly didn't listen to Ahmad when he told us to keep it out of our eyes.

Swimming and reading

Dead Sea spa at the source

We then travelled up to Mt Nebo, which is a proposed location of where Moses died and was buried. It provides great views of the Holy Land and looks over many historically significant areas. We also visited Madaba, the City of Mosaics and saw what is thought to be one of the oldest maps in the world.

Mt Nebo

Black Iris - Jordan's National Flower

Our second day was spent entirely in Petra, a city which is build directly into the rock. A historically significant moment was when Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed there!! *jokes*. It is here that you can really see how the conflicts have ruined the tourism industry in Jordan. You can visit one of the 7 Wonders of the World and be free of crowds. We were getting annoyed that single tourists wouldn't move out of our photos. Harriet met her first ever anti-fan, while we were waiting in the shade for everyone to come back from the monastery, some guy sitting behind us said "who brings a baby to Petra?". He was Australian, so obviously a dick. In response to his rude comments, anyone who wants to. Surprisingly people live there any have managed to raise children to adulthood.

Spirit Fingers at the Treasury

Princess H

Squad

It was cool when we left, as it was late in the afternoon and so the sun had changed positions on the Treasury. This meant that rather than a bright gold, it was rose coloured. Second highlight for me was the moment you walk through a ravine and see the Treasury for the first time. It truly takes your breath away. I had a similar feeling when I first saw the Colosseum, which really makes me want to check more of the 7 Wonders off my list.

We found Indy

The third day we visited Little Petra, which is another site about 20 minutes from Petra. We were literally the only other people there, aside from a Redbull Formula One car which was obviously filming some sort of ad or promo material. It was amazing to us to be in such a location, with literally no other tourists around.

Harriet has her people

A local at Little Petra making yarn with camel hair

From there we travelled further south to Wadi Rum, where we spent the night in a Bedouin Camp. This was technically "glamping" as our tents had double beds and bathrooms, and it was a beautiful night in the desert. We were cooked a traditional meal, which is similar to the hāngi in NZ. The meats and vegetable are cooked in the ground surrounded by hot coals. It was obviously delicious! The next morning we were up at 5am to see the sun rise after a short camel ride. I'm still unsure about camel riding, and how kind it is, but these guys weren't whipped or beaten and they were generally left to roam free when they weren't being used. This was the only time on the trip where H didn't have her own cot, but we managed to get her to sleep boxed in with suitcases. I think by this point she could pretty much sleep anywhere.

Desert tea is the best tea

Our tent on the inside

Watching the moon rise with Lex in the desert

After the sunset in Wadi Rum

Sunrise camel ride

After Wadi Rum we travelled to Aqaba, and had a quick snorkel in the Red Sea. We were told it's some of the best in the world and weren't disappointed. Another nice part of the lack of tourists, is the water was quite clean. You didn't come out with a layer of oil on your skin which was pleasant. While we were there, a group of school girls were also visiting. According to our guide they were from a small town in Jordan and had clearly not met tourists before. We were considered extremely interesting, likely partly because of our skin and partly our choice of swimwear. I told O'Hara to take some tips from the girls who stood in the change room staring at me get changed saying "I love you" over an over. They were all really sweet, and even with the significant language barrier, we kept them entertained. Harriet and I got to have a sing-a-long with around 8 girls while the rest were snorkeling, which was another highlights for us. After visiting some markets at Aqaba and stocking up on dates (obviously) we made the long drive back to Amman watching the sunset over Jerusalem where we spent the night before flying out the following morning.

This was after I said I was Australian. They went mental splashing me

We had a fabulous time, and would honestly recommend the country and the tour company. Travelling with Harriet was also ok. She was exhausted by the time we got back as she was forced to have her naps in the car (not her favourite) and we were often in bed late, but she managed with no ill effects. She also struggled a little with the food, as there isn't a lot of vegetables. One day I think she only ate Hobnobs... but since being back she's been eating normally, so we didn't ruin her temperamental toddler pallet! 

Update from Alexis: "I would like to make a slight amendment to your blog..."Travelling with Harriet was also ok"...ummm H is a legend!!! She rolled with the punches, she received an obscene about of attention from the locals (it was like she had her own paparazzi), we were all deprived of vegetables and I think she complained the least about it, and given the broken nap times she cried less than I have while in the midst of studying for my exams. Also you and O'Hara are incredibly calm parents, so I would like to give you, O'Hara and H more credit than "it was ok"... it was AWESOME!"

So Alexis is obviously amazing, and this is why H loves her so.

Fourth of July in Portland, Oregon

Things I would not recommend: travelling to one of the coolest cities for 4th of July, when 8 weeks pregnant. You will not be a good time. I have limited photos of the trip, as I was spending more time in bed that experiencing the city. A disappointment!

Prior to conception we planned a trip to Portland, Oregon which was going to be amazing. 4 days of drinking beer, brew-cycle tours, eating seafood and tax free shopping. There was nothing that could go wrong, until little mini got involved. Now that I'm 33 (oooohhh written a while ago!) weeks pregnant, I feel great about the situation, but anyone who's been 8 weeks pregnant and suffered the wrath of "morning" sickness knows it turns you into a walking downer.

So my recollection of the holiday includes mostly lying in bed watching Pretty Little Liars on Netflix, and trying to communicate to O'Hara that he needed to bring me home more food. Disaster.

Exciting things did happen though, I was just semi present for all of them. We did a Brew Cycle Tour for 4th of July, which basically consists of a 13 person bike that rides around the city trying out different pubs and breweries. We thought it would be appropriate to get dressed up in our finest 4th of July attire... but it turns out Portland is a little too cool for that. I think we looked great, but everyone else thought we were morons. There is a small chance they thought we were taking the piss. Which we weren't... 100%.

Trying super hard to be fun here

We ate at this food truck party place (a block that was dedicated to all food trucks) multiple times. Cheap and delicious food, where you can chill out and eat in the sun was a lot of fun. I know I at least ate a southern pulled pork roll and bratwurst at some stage.

We went to a cool brewery, Cascade Brewing Barrel House, that did sour beer. Yep. I have a stash of that waiting for me in February (now drunk and delicious)! We also ate Vietnamese multiple times as this is something that is seriously lacking in Kamloops.

There were adventures that I'm aware of but didn't partake in including, buying bulk fireworks and setting them off, the blow up balloon adventure, piano bar and plenty more pubs. In the end it was a good thing I wasn't involved in the fireworks purchases or burning, as I'm a total wet blanket about them. All I see is missing fingers. which makes me a bit of a buzz kill.

We're hoping to go back to Portland in 2015, so I can experience it for all the good times glory.

Brewcycle Portland and Shotguns

An Italian Adventure for a Special Birthday

My Aunty Ann had a very special birthday this year. She had originally planned to travel to Italy for her 50th birthday, but stupid cancer put a spanner in than plan. While I'm in no way glad she had to deal with that, I was glad we were in a position to join her when she decided to do the trip for a second time.

Sestri Levante

O'Hara was offered the opportunity to do his Project Management Professional course, so unfortunately had to make some changes to his itinerary last minute. This meant I was travelling by myself to meet my mum and Aunty in Sestri Levante, Italy. This trip was a family catch up by epic proportions. My mum and Aunty were obviously both there. My brother Callum came across, who I hadn't seen since leaving Australia the first time. My cousin Peta came for a few days, who we hadn't seen since visiting her in Europe in 2008. Clauds, who is a friend from college also was  there, so this was a fantastic week that I got to spend with family and friends.

Friends and family enjoying some beautiful days

Sestri Levante is a little village half way between Genoa and La Spezia on the Mediterranean Sea. This town is a tourist hot spot for Italians, and is slowly becoming more popular with the internationals. The day I arrived, it was the end of a long weekend and the place was buzzing. I failed a little at life when I first arrived, as I didn't have a working sim card and everything in Sestri closes between 12 and 3. I had to do some loitering outside a newsagent until they reopened so I could get a sim and text my mother. Obviously I have become completely useless without a phone, as I had no concept of pre-planning when and where to meet her. Once I was settled, I got down to important activities. Ordering cocktails and eating the free appetizers. This was easily the theme of my Italian adventure. Eating and drinking.

Our favourite things

We spent some days wandering the streets of Sestri, checking the shops, finding the best spritz cocktails, and generally relaxing. We spent a morning in La Spezia, being toured around a local farmers market. An afternoon getting soaking wet in the Cinque Terre. An evening learning how to prepare delicious Italian food. We travelled to Santa Margherita Ligure, for more shopping and eating and then travelling to Portofino for the afternoon to see how the other half (0.1%) live and more of the above. Drink. Eat. Repeat.

Cinque Terra

Farmers Markets at La Spezia

Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure 

The fabulous trip was finished with a birthday lunch for Aunty Ann where we were able to celebrate with some lovely people in a beautiful part of the world. It would be impossible to plan a more perfect trip. Then I left my Fitbit on a table at a coffee shop on the last morning. Life fails for arrival and departure!

The wonderful company we had after Aunty Ann's Birthday lunch

I miss you all already.

A True Northern Adventure. Whitehorse, Yukon.

So, I've been incredibly slack in the blog updates. I'm going to play the "busy" card which I HATE with a passion... but a lot has been going on since Easter. Trip to Europe, holiday in Portland, new puppy, new fun stuff going on at work, and I've been growing a fetus. Yep. Come February 2014, O'Hara and I will be joining the world of parenting. Terrifying! Anyway, let me take you back to April 2014. A whole 6 months ago.

Anyone who has spent any time with us over the past two years have almost certainly heard us *me*, utter the phrase "I have got to see the Northern Lights while I'm here!". One afternoon I was casually complaining to my boss, that it was so expensive to travel north. He looked at me like I was a bit of a moron, and said "Not really. Air North flies out of Kelowna and it's pretty cheap". 5 minutes later, he'd sent me a link to the winter packages and a plan was born. A week later while chatting to our Aussie travelling contingent (Wilson's and Greg and Lil), dates were set and a week after that the flights were booked.

Hello Yukon!

It turns out there is plenty to do in the Yukon, and we didn't really get close to the other things we considered. Depending on the time of year, your activities can vary. I read reviews that Spring was a shitty time to visit the Yukon as winter activities are done and summer activities haven't started. I'm calling bullshit, though there is a chance we got super lucky. The weather was incredible, we saw the Northern Lights, the snow was gone from the road, it was light until 10:30 at night, and my body was loving the extra sun.

Checking out the sunset over Whitehorse

O'Hara and I arrived on Thursday night before Good Friday, and spent the next day wandering the streets of Whitehorse and visiting the museum. We found a fantastic breakfast place, the Burnt Toast Cafe, so good in fact that we ate there 3 days in a row.  We visited the Whitehorse museum which had a bunch of information on how the town started up, and all the wildlife that exists in the area. As a gold town, there was a lot of interesting information for two gold miners.

MOUNTAIN GOAT! It's a real animal!!

We drove out on our second night in an attempt to view the Aurora Borealis. We'd been told to drive towards the hot springs, as you need to be away from city lights in order to have good viewing. While driving out there we spotted it in the sky. We were pumped. With added determination we drove on and found a park a few minutes outside the Takhini Hot Springs. We set up shop, made a hot milo, and waited. Nothing. All reports were saying the aurora should be raging, but we couldn't see a whole lot. After about 20 min of shivering and trying to spot what we thought was the aurora we packed up and drove towards home. Not 5min down the road, we saw it... apparently we'd been parked just out of view.

My camera isn't designed for this... but awesome none the less

The next day we went to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve to check off a few animals of our bucket list. Unfortunately the moose was MILES aways, so really could be anything. We did see a mountain goat though, which was pretty damn exciting. After viewing some nifty creatures, we went out to the Takhini Hot Springs. They have an amazing crepe restaurant which was ridiculously good after a morning of walking around the wildlife preserve. The hot springs were HOT. It was really relaxing, but I can imagine it would be an incredible experience to be there at night, in the snow, drinking beers. It would also be awesome to sit back and watch the aurora overhead.

Hot spring times

That night we had grand scheme plans to view an aurora "storm" that was coming through. We found a beautiful lake that was still frozen and we set up shop complete with fire, beer and sausages for dinner. As it was spring we had to wait until about 11pm before it was dark, which meant plenty of time for fun photos. Lil was in charge of this because a) she's the best photographer, and b) I forgot to charge my camera battery. Genius. I think we were at Lake Laberge, but I can't guarantee that. Unfortunately the storm didn't come through until about 5am, way after we had gone to bed and the sun had started to come up. Now I'm an expert and aurora watching though, I'll try it out in Kamloops if a big storm comes through again.

Lil Difilippo took these stunners!

From what we managed to see of the Yukon in the 3 days we were there, it's a pretty special place. I hope we get up there again!

Our Yukon crew. Aussies taking over Canada!

Texmess Part 2: Dallas and Austin

So, the reason for us planning a last minute trip to Texas came about because we had friends who would be travelling though (and obviously because we've always wanted to go!)

After Salado, we drove up to Dallas to meet Camille and Meagan. Because they had come across from New Mexico, or northern Texas somewhere they had a bit of a drive before getting to Dallas. While we were in Salado a bunch of people told us they didn't like Dallas, but Fort Worth was ok. Always down for travel advice, we visited the Fort Worth Stockyards on the way to Dallas. The stockyards are an area in the city that is all cowboy. They have a huge indoor rink where rodeos are held on the reg. There are also a bunch of bars and shopping areas which are pretty cute, and the worlds largest Honky Tonk. I'm not even sure what that means. Twice a day they also run the longhorns through the street. Just for fun! 

Fitzy is locked up under a southern sorority girl, and protected by longhorns. At Billy Bobs in FW.

You can make them into a chair... or ride them!

In Dallas we tested out AirBnB, which we hadn't done at all before. Basically you are renting out someones house, so you can get a big place for a few people and not pay an absolute fortune. The place we stayed at was pretty awesome. Spa on the rooftop, large kitchen and living area and 3 bedrooms. It's pretty weird being in someone else's house though. 

I took us on a slight mission on the first night for some delicious Mexican food. We didn't want to drive, so we could take full advantage of the margaritas (obviously) so I found a place we could walk to. I always forget that walking around cities you don't know isn't always the best idea, and in this case it was a little shady. Luckily we had no problems and took the highway route on the way home! The next day we had southern soul food for breakfast and we got our first taste of grits. So, grits are basically just ground corn they are sort of cooked up like porridge. For breakfast I had them with garlic, poached eggs, bacon and lots of cheese. It's a strange texture, but they were pretty delicious. We then spent the afternoon touring the JFK museum. This was pretty interesting for us, as none of us knew a lot about what happened. 

Causing trouble in the hot tub. Also, Po Po on segways! YES!

That night we met up with some friends, of our friend's boyfriend. Lost? It was a long connection, but in true southern hospitality, these guys met us out for drinks! It was awesome and super lovely of them to meet us. They also provided the perfect guidance for what we should be doing in Austin.

Ah Austin. The town we'd heard so much about. This city did not let us down. Our hangovers may have thought otherwise, but it really was a good time. Austin's 6th Street, seems to be a never-ending street full of bars and restaurants. We ate the best wings we've ever had there, had many delicious cocktails and pulled out some of our best dance moves. We found a Flick look-a-like, witnessed some questionable co-worker activity and played arcade beer pong. It had everything we needed, and I wish we could have spent more time there.

The Capitol Building. Struggling with life.

So many loves.

On our way back to Houston we stopped at City Market in Luling, for some more BBQ. This place was impressive. There was a huge line to order your food, but this was totally worth it. We may have over ordered, but again we weren't super sad about the situation. I haven't eaten BBQ since getting back to Canada. I'm ready to get back on that horse!

Meat, meat, meat! Say "no" to carbs.

Texmess Part 1: Houston and Salado

Howdy partner! Reporting back from our Texas getaway. We’ve wanted to go to Texas for years. Back in 2008 when we were travelling Europe we stayed with a friend of my Aunty’s. and she told us all about the time she lived in Texas. We were hooked.

Conveniently, we had some friends from home that were planning a bit of a road trip from Vegas to New Orleans. We managed to tag in with that lot and meet them in Dallas and Austin. Now, before that happened O’Hara and I spent 4 nights exploring some other parts of Texas.

Boots and belts everywhere

First night in, we managed to catch up with a new friend that lives in Houston. We only just met him over Christmas at a friends wedding. Perfect timing! He took us for some fabulous tacos and margaritas and then followed it up at a true cowboy bar. This was our first western bar experience, complete with trying to two-step and line dance. We learnt a few moves, all in preparation for when we take up the rodeo circuit.

Nailed it

On Saturday we got lucky, and were taken to a shooting range for some clay pigeon shooting. We had done this once before at a friends farm, and I was rubbish. Don’t think I hit a single one. This time however I bought my A game. O’Hara did not. I absolutely cleaned him up. It’s one of the only times I’ve beaten him in any sort of sport. Poor kid was not impressed.

After a brilliant morning shooting things, we tried to pick up our hire car. Unfortunately for us, it closed at 12. Epic fail. We made a mad dash back to Deavo’s place booked somewhere else, had to call them and ask them to stay open for a few extra minutes and got a car in the nick of time. We were just way to relaxed for our own good, and it was day 1.

We saw a lot of this

After finally getting the car, we drove the 3 hours to Salado, which is a cute little B&B town about an hour north of Austin. We stayed at the Yellow House Inn and couldn’t have asked for a better place (don't even get me started on the breakfast. It was incredible). Salado is a fairly central location, which meant we were able to explore the area easily. We visited the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco. Explored the funny little Homestead Village and ate delicious homemade and homegrown food. Acted like fools at Belton Lake at sunset. Spent hours looking in antique stores in Salado and ate more great food.

Homestead

Australian Invasion in Vegas

We're on our way to creating an annual Vegas trip tradition and on November Long we went on our third trip to Sin City. Activities were significantly organised by O'Hara which meant we managed to have a boy weighted weekend. Not a sad thing, as it meant we checked off a lot of bucket list items that we hadn't got around to on other trips. We also hired an 8 seater "car" for the adventures. There were 3 people in our group 6'3" and over. It was cosy.

I almost got everyone. These people wouldn't work with me!

Day 1: Shooting big guns and driving fast cars
Since we first went to Vegas, we've wanted to do this. There are a few different places you can go to shoot ridiculously unnecessary weapons, O'Hara chose the Pro Gun Club. This ended up being a really good choice. It was located about 40min away from the strip, at an outdoor range. The weather was perfect (around 24C) and it was a good morning in the sun. From memory we shot a hand gun (Glock for the girls, 50cal Desert Eagle for the boys), AK-47, grenade launcher, Uzi, sniper rifle, and a Saw.

It was bad arse, and it was fun. I learnt that I am a terrible shot, I suspect my right eye is not the dominant one even though I'm right handed. It was hard work just keeping my eye closed and the sight lined up. Epic fails. Lil was a legend at it. Jealous.

Guns and big bullet shells. Super bad arse.

After guns, O'Hara, Clint and Greg went to drive race cars. O'Hara wasn't too impressed with his skills. Apparently he spend half the time trying to change gears by turning high beam on. I don't think I need to worry about him quitting his day job. I spent the afternoon drinking margaritas by the pool with Joey. Super class and another check of my Vegas bucket list.

O'Hara et moi

Day 2: Valley of Fires
The first time we went to Vegas we did a trip out to the Grand Canyon and since then we've wanted to explore more of the outer areas. There really is so much to see in that area and surrounds. We tossed up between Death Valley and the Valley of Fires. In the end VoF won out as it was only a 45min drive away. We couldn't guarantee not being hungover and sleeping in, so chose the one that was easiest to get to. It was beautiful. If you're lucky I'll put some of Lil's (much nice) photos up, so you can get a better feel!

This is our crew. We are amazing.

This was a good choice. VoF is a spectacular place, with the beautiful red rocks keeping us entertained into to the late afternoon. We didn't even end up seeing Lake Mead which we were planning on going to for a picnic. We did see 4,000 year old petroglyphs that were very cool. It makes me angry at society that some were vandalised, but it's amazing how these have lasted. We also managed to get two takes of "What Does the Moose Say?" in. That was special. We left at 11, so if you want to spend a full day there I'd recommend going a bit earlier. Picnic or not, we had a lovely day and didn't allow blood sugars to get too low. It was a little touch and go towards the end there.

The ones who didn't have to climb to the highest point, and 4000 year old petroglyphs.

Eatings:
We ate some delicious meals out with one dinner being at the Tapas restaurant in the Cosmopolitan and another Fleur at Mandalay Bay. I managed to eat myself into a literal food coma on the last night. It wasn't pretty. It's nice eating out at good restaurants though, as we don't get that opportunity in Kamloops.

Gamings:
Our first night we made a trip out to Fremont St to give the newbies an idea of old Vegas. As always it didn't fail to disappoint. That place is not G Rated. There were flashing nuns, a creepy guy with a lady on a leash, a "firewoman" and an old guy dressed as a slutty angel just to name a few. It was dirty, cheap and amazing. We still didn't win big.

Steph did a good job as shooter. Probs got us up 5 bucks. Jackpot!

We sucked at Craps. We continue to not follow our plan of only playing at tables that look like they're having a good time. We'd get bored and just choose a table at the casino we are at. We had a couple of low wins, but mostly just losses. Clint was convinced Joey was bad luck... then she won $300 in the pokies (slots). Jel.

A beautiful moment, and a beautiful view.

We stayed at the Cosmopolitan, which is a really good time. It's nice staying in a fancy hotel even if you don't spend a lot of time in your room. When you're wandering back to your room, it's a good opportunity to explore. I swear I didn't take the same route more than twice.