London on a budget is still bloody expensive!

We thought we'd just pop round the corner to London before heading South to well... South Africa. We left Spain at 10 at night on Friday and were set to fly out of London at 5 the next evening. So... we arrived in one of the busiest cities in the world at 1:30 am, dropped off by a bus in the business district with no plans or accommodation. After a quick chat with a taxi driver in which he told us we were crazy and the hostel we were interested in would be full, we went on our way. We found a bus going sort of the direction we wanted and even managed to find the hostel after walking for half an hour. They had a couple beds!! We were set... and then we realized that our plane didn't leave until Sunday... woops.
Turns out London is booked on Saturday nights... we called at least 20 hostels, getting rejected over and over... so we decided to try the airport hotels. What a great call that was!! for 10 pounds more than our crappy hostel we got a room at the Sheraton Heathrow. By far the best lodging we have had yet!
With that settled, we did our day of sightseeing and had some fish and chips.

By the way, do you recognize the coat of arms?

Porque No Te Callas??!!

Once we left Dublin, we landed in Barcelona, Spain and had no idea what we were in for!
We spent a couple days in the city looking around and having a good time. Nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to experience. We headed to Torrella de Montgri, the village of my good friend Celia. The whole Palli family made us feel so comfortable. We spent countless hours touring the beach towns with white houses facing the Mediterranean sea, eating seafood Paella and sipping glasses of wine. We saw Medieval villages, with narrow, cobblestone streets and walls covered with vines. With the help of the whole family, we experienced a lot that the Catalan region of Spain had to offer. I think my most favourite meal of the day in Spain is Merienda! This is a late-afternoon snack where you get to drink Xocolata (basically, melted chocolate in a mug)paired with Churros, (basically fried dough with sugar). I don't think people eat this meal everyday...but we sure did! My new favourite meal!
Having spent this time together with Celia and her family has created an amazing bond. We miss everyone so terribly.
(And in case you are wondering what the title of this post means...well, this is an inside joke that we share with the Palli family and most of Spain...you can go to youtube.com and watch the video if you like!)

MUCHAS GRACIAS CELIA, CLARA, CHRISTINA and PAPA PALLI!! WE WILL SEE YOU IN AUGUST!

Deedly-idly-eedly-idly-eh!

On the road again! Here we are in Ireland visiting our good friend Ellie and her family.
On our very first day there we rented a car and drove the 3-4 hours it takes to get from the east coast to the west. This was no easy feat as the driver's side is on the right and we had to drive on the left-hand side of the road! We managed to get most of the way there without killing ourselves when we noticed the car was making some strange noise. When we pulled over and got out of the car, the smell of burning rubber filled our noses. The back, right tire was flat as a pancake and smoking like a chimney. Oops.
Within a few moments I was on the phone with the car company and Mike was assisted by a dad with his two boys to help change the tire. Mike said it was like watching a pit crew! Each kid knew what his job was and within a few minutes the spare was on and we were on our way! The west coast was gorgeous, just as you would imagine the country to look. Rolling green hills, stone walls that stretch for miles and breathtaking, rugged cliffs facing the sea.
It was a grand time. Ellie and her family were so hospitable, kind and HILARIOUS! Ellie's parents have so much fun and we loved every minute with them. I'm pretty sure they MORTIFIED Ellie, but such is the case with parents. Thank you Griffin family for "taking in the strays off the street"!

Plans

After some down time at the cottage, we have finally decided on what we are going to do next and we are very excited! We are going down under to live and work for about half a year, with a few stops along the way. We bought a 'round the world ticket' and spent the last week getting organized. We leave on Monday, Oct. 13 at midnight from Toronto.
Our first stop is Dublin, Ireland to visit Ellie. The rest of our itinerary is:

Oct 13 - Ireland
Oct 26 - London to Cape Town
Nov 9 - Johanessburg to Melbourne
Mid April - Melbourne to Cairns to Sydney
Early May - Sydney to Bali
Mid-May - Bali to Hong Kong to Bangkok
June - Bangkok to Singapore overland
July - Back to London