The Last Supper

My next stop was in Milan, inspired by my desire to see 'The Last Supper' in person. Arriving in the afternoon I made quick friends with a Polish guy in my room, who I spent my night with eating delicious Italian food and seeing the beautiful city at night (he even bought me roses, Aussie men - take note!) The next day was spent seeing the cultural sights before getting the afternoon train to Rome. Here's a few things I picked up in the 24 hours I spent in the majestic city. 

Milan's Lady Liberty

Hostel

As a last minute decision I booked myself into Zebra Hostel; which despite being affordable, offered free wifi, free breakfast, clean facilities and a great common area. I can't say much for the cities other hostels, but if you're looking for somewhere budget friendly where you can meet others whilst travelling alone - this is the place for you!

Sights 

Naturally my first priority was The Last Supper, which I had booked prior to arriving in Milan. I hadn't booked far enough in advance to solely secure a pass to see the mural, so I opted for the far more expensive option which included a city tour. I've never before paid for a tour, but I would highly recommend it if it's the only option to securing a ticket to see the painting. In the end, if you're off to Milan and keen to see Da Vinci's work book as far in advance as you possibly can, tickets are on sale months in advance. Milan has lots to offer in the way of architectural greats, from the duomo to the castle. On from that, if you're fashion savvy I would recommend doing some shopping (even if it's just of the window variety). I didn't get much of a chance, but I would have loved to have had a more leisurely time around the gorgeous boutiques and fashion houses the city has to offer. 

The Duomo

First and foremost, food glorious food! If you're in Italy, I hope you're eating pasta, pizza and all things delicious. I'll be here in Australia, living vicariously through you! 

 -Melissa

A day in Zurich

What can I say about Zurich? Being the most convenient place to get to by train between Prague and Milan I decided to make a pit stop in the Swiss city. With that being said, it would have to be the least exciting place I've visited in my many travels thus far. In the future I would love to explore the country outside of the city culture, and in turn see more of the gorgeous scenery that made my train voyage through Switzerland so pleasant. 

The Clocktower

Staying in the cheapest (and one of the only) hostels in the city, Langstars was actually quite decent. They offered you chocolate upon arrival (yum!) and the dorms were spacious with a built in kitchen and 2 bathrooms for convenience. The only downside was the uncomfortable bunk beds, and despite the ridiculously high price I would have rated it well. Overall it was a pleasant enough day spent taking in the scenery at the famous clock tower, numerous churches and Lake Zurich, though I'm certainly not itching to make a second visit to the city.

Looking over the city

Most importantly, make sure you stock up on chocolate before you leave!

-Melissa

Czech it out

After 40+ hours travelling by planes, train and bus I finally arrived in Prague. Oh Prague, you beautiful city. I unashamedly arrived at my hostel, took a shower (because damn do you feel disgusting after over 40 hours of travel), checked what was happening on the world wide web and fell asleep almost immediately. After the most amazing sleep of my life I met up with one of my favourite people, Niki. It had been months since she'd left Australia and it was lovely to catch up in another city, and strangely enough it felt just like home with her, even though we were on the other side of the world! Three days in Prague didn't leave us with a great deal of time, but we made the most of it - here's some of the gems I discovered during my stay. 

Reunited with this lovely lady

Hostel

I stayed at Hostel Mango in Prague, which boasted a reasonably priced room with an excellent location next to the Charles Bridge. The hostel was quite clean (always a plus) and it had the biggest bathroom I've ever seen in a hostel dormitory, with a spa sized bath to match. The combination of free wifi, an outdoor common area (not so useful when it's raining, like it was whilst I was there) and very helpful staff made this a hostel that I would be sure to recommend to anyone visiting Prague. 

The John Lennon wall

Food

Dumplings have got to be one of my favourite foods generally, and while the Czech's do it differently, I was definitely a fan of their variation. Goulash with dumplings were the chosen dish, and I'd definitely recommend giving it a try. For dessert Trdlnik is absolutely delicious, either on its own or with nutella in the centre of it. There are places all over the city, but the stand at the end of the main shopping strip near Mustek station was incredibly popular and offered a great variety of fillings.

From the Prague castle

Sights

There are so many amazing things to see in Prague, but with limited time I chose a few things to see, whilst taking the time to enjoy the company of a very dear friend. At the top of the list was Prague castle (if not for the simple purpose of saying I'd visited a Czech castle), which we did have to visit twice before we could actually enter. Charles Bridge and the town square closely followed, but some of my more favoured memories were simply from wandering around the cobbled streets, trawling through bookshops and discovering secret garden-esque parks. 

Fresh gingerbread 

Nightlife 

The original pub crawl was recommended by many due to the infamous 5 level club, though I made the choice to visit the main square before making a final choice. In the end I approached a British guy around my age and asked him what made his pub crawl better than the rest, and more than satisfied with his answer I found myself at The Drunken Monkey bar. Two hours of unlimited beer and shots mixed with beer pong, foosball and giant jenga left me with a new group of American friends, and a big night ahead of me. It was a pretty crazy night, and I can't say I'm disappointed I missed out on the 5 level club, so if you have time I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Best buy of the trip thus far was a t-shirt that reads 'czech me out', because who doesn't need one of those in their life?

-Melissa

Winter is coming

Being huge Game of Thrones fans, my friend Jess and I decided to get creative whilst watching this years finale episode by making ourselves some gruesomely delicious cake pops in the shape of Ned Starks decapitated head (I'm sorry, too soon?) to celebrate the occasion in style. The inspiration was from the Not Your Momma's Cookies recipe, though I took a few liberties when creating my own. The typical cake ball recipes seem to be red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, though I personally don't like that combination (I know, I'm a monster!) so I decided to get a bit creative with my recipe, and I think it worked out pretty well in the end. 

What will I need?

• 1 x cake, cooled completely. I went for chocolate but you can substitute this for any basic cake flavour your heart desires. 
• Approximately 1 cup of icing. This can be store bought or hand made, just make sure it isn't too runny. For a matching chocolate cake and icing recipe try this. 
• Bamboo skewers.
• 2 packets of white chocolate melts. 
• 1 packet of dark chocolate melts. 
• Toothpicks. 
• Red food dye. 
• Baking paper. 
• Baking tray
• Large box (cut the bottom so the depth is about 10 cm shorter than the length of the bamboo skewers). 

Method

1. Crumble the cooled cake in a large bowl, mixing with your icing of choice. It will be slightly sticky (and quite messy if you do it by hands, which I would recommend), but that will make it easily malleable. 
2. Roll the cake mixture into approximately 2.5 cm sized balls and place onto a baking paper lined tray. Place the tray in a fridge overnight, or if you want to speed up the process pop them into the freezer for an hour or two. 
3. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave (most packets will have melting instructions, otherwise try it in 30 second increments whilst stirring frequently) until it is glossy and smooth. 
4. Take the cake balls out of the fridge and carefully push one bamboo skewer through each ball, leaving the tip just slightly exposed. 
5. Dip each cake ball into the melted chocolate, making sure to cover the entire 'head'. Then place each cake pop into the box to dry (try using another skewer to poke holes in the top of the box). You may have to re-melt the chocolate if it starts to harden. 
6. With the leftover white chocolate, mix in red food dye until it starts to look 'bloody' enough. Using a toothpick, dip into the mixture and add some blood under the base of the cake pop head. 
7. Next up, melt the dark chocolate and get to designing the features that transform the cake pops into men. 
8. Again dipping toothpicks into the chocolate, applying it slowly to apply the hair. Then drawing a face onto the cake pop. You could also use a food writer to do this, but the one we bought didn't apply well. 
9. Last but not least, to add the extra touch you could apply chocolate on as a beard (we weren't quite game enough, but it was a great touch in the original recipe)

Makes approximately 30-40 cake pops.

Winter is coming! 

-Melissa 

How to: Packing for a music festival

As a first time festival goer this year, I inevitably made numerous mistakes, but I'm coming out far more knowledgable and ready to take on any future festival experiences! Here's a few tips to give you a bit of a head start if you're thinking of attending a music festival in the future, or even as a refresher for you seasoned festival attendees. 

Clothing

I had been given the advice by a good friend who attended Spendour in the Grass 2013 that I should only bring clothes that I would be willing to dispose of afterwards. At the time it seemed logical due to the high likelihood of muddy days clad in ponchos and wellington boots. In hindsight, I can't help but seriously wonder what on earth he got up to that destroyed all of his clothes. I would recommend throwing out the rule book, and bringing whatever your heart desires, excluding family heirlooms or anything you couldn't bear to part with on the off chance it does get damaged.

How much should I bring? Try to pack for the three days of the festival, but also plan for possible outfit changes.

How can I pack for the weather? Pack trans-seasonally, it may be sweltering during the day but I promise you there will be some cold nights! Bring along some cozy pyjamas, a pair of jeans for afternoon swap overs and a thin but warm cardigan/jumper/jacket that you can tie around your waist until it gets cold enough to wear.

What fashion is suitable for a music festival? Festivals aren't the time to shy away from trends, go all out and experiment. This is the time to wear psychedelic prints, all floral everything, floral headpieces, body glitter, you name it! 

What shoes should I bring? Avoid sandals and heels, dust and mud will ruin your strappy numbers, as for the heels - it's a music festival, need I say more? I rotated a pair of combat boots for traveling there and back, and for the festival a pair of vans (converse or any kind of casual lace up shoes are comparable) and my trusty hunter boots. Pop in a pair of thongs for early morning visits to the showers to beat the crowds!

Camping supplies

It can seem like the most logical option for camping supplies would be 'less is more', but I can promise you that once you arrive at tent city you'll be struck with instant jealousy of all the amazing camping setups. Camping location is somewhat luck of the draw, arriving on the first camping day is a smart move, but on the other hand several friends arrived late on the night before the first day of music and they still managed to secure far better spots than us! 

What major are the major components of your campsite? You of course need a tent, if you're sharing make sure it's spacious enough, because after spending days on end in close proximity you're going to want a bit of breathing room. Under that you'll want to place a groundsheet, because if it can rain, it will. 

What can I bring to make our camp area comfortable? It may seem excessive, but if you have room for transportation, you should definitely bring a gazebo. We found ourselves extremely envious of our neighbours setups, and considering your campsite is your home for 3+ days you're going to want a comfortable setup. That includes smaller items like camping chairs, a table and several forms of light. 

Food and drinks

How much food should I pack? I aimed to bring enough food to suffice for breakfast and snacking, with the intention of purchasing one large meal during the day, and indulging in some of the delicious desserts the festival food vendors had to offer. 

What kind of food should I bring? Breakfast foods like bread and condiments (if you want to be really Australian go for the vegemite, otherwise the classic peanut butter or nutella should make you friends on the campgrounds) are a good start. Other ideas could be cereal, just remember the long life milk! Add to that a variety of fruits, nuts, muesli bars or anything else that will keep you satisfied and full between meals. Last but not least stock up on juice, soft drink and most importantly bottled water - you'll thank me later! 

Happy festival times, ladies and gents! 

-Melissa

Splendid times at Splendour

This year I had my first festival camping experience at Splendour in the Grass 2014 in Byron Bay. It definitely lived up to the hype, and it's reignited my interest in both camping and live music. Here are a few of my favourite bits from this years festival.

Splendour in the craft

Music 

I was devastated to find out that Two Door Cinema Club were unable to make it to the festival this year, but some other musical gems more than made up for their absence. Seeing Outkast was an incredible experience, they are true performers, and the vibe was amazing. Some existing favourites with standout performances included First Aid Kit and Ben Howard, both of which I would be happy to see again and again. It was a pleasure to see some friends from the Australian Institute of Music playing at the AIM buskers stage, playing their own blend of electronic dance music as the musical duo Ataractic. Last but most certainly not least, my favourite new discovery of the festival was Hiatus Kaiyote, whose stunning musical dynamics and harmonies kept us dancing all night long. 

Ataractic at the AIM stage

Food

The overwhelming variety of food available at the festival was enough to make anybody hungry. The Hawkers markets was home to numerous bars and restaurants, my favourites being a vegan juice bar near the Red Bull stage, and the greek stand which served up the most mouthwatering wraps and chips that I visited twice. The Splendid food hall was home to the infamous Byron Bay organic donuts, and despite having several flavours I personally couldn't go past the original (and in my eyes best) donut. The truck stop was the best place to grab a bite to eat on the way to the main stage, and was home to just about every cuisine you could imagine, all sold out of the side of a truck. Last but not least, after hours meal times were best served in the campgrounds, with my personal favourite being the sweet potato chips served right by our friends campsite, because who doesn't love sweet potato chips and mayonnaise?

These lovely people

Bars

For the purpose of saving money we tried to limit the amount of drinking inside the festival, though there were a few notable bars worth checking out. Our most frequented place was the Bundaberg bar, with other interesting sites being the wine bar (for a classy drink or cheese platter) and 'Rumspringer' where you could get a drink whilst seriously questioning the legitimacy of the 'Amish' people in the bar. 

Lionel Richies head

Shopping

As a self confessed shop-a-holic, the festival fashion available in the grounds were vast and somewhat irresistible. The selection of vintage clothes and hand crafted jewellery was pretty incredible. I was proud that I managed to behave myself, though my one big purchase was at the stall for local Byron Bay label Liberated Heart. I purchased a matching set of a crop top and a-line skirt in a psychedelic print, which was perfect for the last day of the festival. 

The big banana

The festival was full of dancing, music, food and good times with a group of amazing people. Bring on Splendour in the Grass 2015!

-Melissa 

Life of Pai

I first arrived in Pai tired and miserable after one of the bumpiest bus rides I've been on yet. After checking into my hostel at the same time as another American traveller, he quickly latched onto me, and I naively agreed to grab lunch with him. After spending a few hours with him, I realised how little we had in common, and was desperate to escape! Think, complete opposite to myself - completely against adventure and anything that comes with budget travelling, not to mention his terrible treatment of the waitress at the restaurant (anyone who is rude to people in service is someone I don't want to associate with). After spending the day with him I was about ready to pack up my bags and leave, but luckily as we made our way back to the hostel after dinner and drinks with some fellow backpackers we met in town we crashed a bit of a party going on in our hostel. Within 10 minutes I had made friends with a group of travellers from all over the world, who thankfully were much more on the same wavelength as me! They were all so lovely I ended up staying an extra few nights, returning to Bangkok just in time to spend a day shopping and make it in time for my flight. 

Hostel

I booked myself into Darling View Point Bungalows, which was a very simple hostel, with a convenient location and an amazing community feel. The facilities were nothing out of the ordinary, but it was good value, and any simplistic amenities were overruled by the hostel vibe. I made some great friends (after an initial setback), and the set up was great for making friends and playing drinking games. 

Food 

The best food was available at the night markets which ran down the main street of Pai. The burritos were a must have (I know the irony of eating burritos in Thailand, but trust me), and there was a huge variety of traditional thai food, fresh fruit, delicious fruit juices made in front of you, and my personal favourite dessert - the nutella banana crepe! 

Activities

There was a huge selection of activities to undertake in Pai, but my personal favourite was tubing. We bought snacks and beers, and made our way by truck to the end of the river, hours later ending up right by the path that led up to the hostel. It was a great chilled out day chatting and floating down the river, with a few rough patches including getting stuck on rocks, deflating tubes and lost shoes. 

The final visit to Bangkok I decided to go all out and book myself into a concept style hostel, Suneta Hostel Khao San which was just off the main strip of Khao San road, and gave me a modern and clean hostel experience with the privacy of their cabin style beds. Essentially you got your own little 'capsule' bed, which locked up and included your own television and inside storage. It was a bit of a splurge for South East Asia, but it was worth it to splash out for my final night in Thailand. I took advantage of my final day and a bit by visiting the amazing Chatuchak weekend markets, which I could not recommend more. We came back with bags of gifts, artwork and vintage clothing for a very modest amount of money. I also visited the famous MBK shopping centre, which has just about everything you could imagine! My final day in Bangkok was spent eating everything (I'm talking everything on a stick, pad thai, crepes, you name it) and enjoying the bars along Khao San. I also treated myself to a hair treatment and manicure/pedicure, because when in Thailand! After 30 odd hours of chaos in Bangkok I finally made my way to the airport for my flight home, and as sad as I always am to leave it's the best feeling to know you're on your way back to sleeping in your own bed and not living out of a backpack! 

- Melissa

Vietnam Pho-ever

I was lucky to experience two sides to Vietnam in my two week stay in the country. Staying with Nevena's family was an experience and a half, where I ate some amazing and crazy things and spent a lot of time looking confusedly at Nevena, my appointed translator! 

Hanoi

Hanoi served as our home base, and whilst on the surface it's 'just another big city' I was able to experience some unique things. We were there for the Vietnamese new year, also known as Tet, which meant the streets were madness, and festivities were in swing. More importantly (in my eyes) was the therefore constant eating, which including some strange things, like eel and chicken testicle. Yes, you read that right, chicken testicle. I wouldn't recommend it. Out and about, the street food was incredible, with my favourites being the classic pho (pronounced fuh) and bun cha, a local specialty. It never hurts to pick up a cheeky pork bun (I was impressed that they use quail eggs there) and you can't go wrong with fresh fruit from the many street vendors. Dessert wise, I was introduced to the most amazing ice cream place (Nevena's childhood favourite) in the centre of Hanoi, called 'Kem Tràng Tiền'. 

Halong Bay

We took an overnight trip to Halong bay, and made some instant friends in a group of three English guys. The boat trip was great fun, and we befriended the crew who gave us free beers the one night we were on board. Halong bay itself was lovely, though the caves did leave a bit to the imagination. Our second night was spent on nearby Catba island and the hotel was less than desirable, however the hike up to the islands peak rewarded us with a gorgeous view. 

Not quite quick enough for our group shot!

Ho Chi Minh City 

We found ourselves stuck in the madness that is Tet, the new year, which left travel options quite difficult for the weeks surrounding the holiday. Nevena had to leave me in Hanoi due to a family emergency back home, which left me jumping on a last minute flight with the friends we had made on our Halong Bay tour. The highlight was visiting the Cu Chi tunnels, which can be a quite claustrophobic experience for some, but it was an eye opening visit. The majority of my remaining time in Ho Chi Minh was spent taking advantage of the delicious street food, enjoying 30 cent beers and soaking up rays by the side of the hotel pool. We made the conscious decision to splurge (by Vietnamese standards) and get a family sized hotel room just outside of town. It gave us access to authentic local cuisine and a pool all to ourselves! The hotel staff must have thought we were so strange with 4 English guys and an Australian girl staying in one hotel suite, and to top it off we were there over the week of valentines day. It was a unique situation, that's for sure, but from experience it's always the most bizarre experiences that make the best stories! 

Ho Chi Minh

-Melissa