nice is nice :) - miek

woke up from a doze, eyes squinting into the sun. stunning blue waters crashing into the pebbley white beach. palms lining the edge of terraced appartments. red, dusky pink, yellows and creams with mediterranean arches, blue doors and green shutters. grin cuts across my face, woooo freedom is amazing, lying on a nice Nice beach :) next to two aussies met at the hostel. belly full of chocolate croissants and later to be filled with crepes.

cuts and bruises still covering my bare limbs like leprosy but not caring, i love the sunshine. it fills my heart, which still yearns to be in someones cosy bed in lyon. life is strange, but c'est la vie is the only thing to be said. cant wait to see my beautiful cousins dazzling grin in swiss land, and hear the weird and wonderful things tumbling out of beautiful dreamer lauras mouth.
disliking myself for being so blinking unorganised, my budget screaming after 200 euros is spent on train tickets to see nice only for one day, to cut back through lyon and to switzerland.

three options for the future, someone please help me! 1) go home as planned, study architecture in little launceston in tasmania, to set me up in life. 2) stay in europe, get a job in england or holland and travel more. 3) go home and pack my car to drive around aus, working and holidaying..

amongst the vines

Chiroubles, france - apparently where the worst wine comes from..

Some piccies from grape picking land. ill upload more once my phone behaves :)

My senses have been stripped

She will be coming round the mountain screaming EASTEASTEAST
Where the lions dont tame, dancing and floating bare flesh under a sea of stars in the Adriatic, silhouetted by Montenegros eerrie mountains, 3am with Sangaria and the wild Irish. Dreams of chasing that big red star forever, to eygptian gardens. Red wine, cigarettes and borders but no fences in the sky. Slashed backpacks but lets not give a fuck cos we are too high on life's great ecstasies.
Laura farewell East

more Bosnia photos

laura

Never has my heart felt so at home. Majda's lovely smiling face enters the room at 8am, time to get up girls, tea or coffee?? I grunt coffee and roll over and try and dose for a few more minutes. But the smell of eggs and sausages wafting from the kitchen is too much to resist. Nibs, Ink, paper and coloured pencils fill the tiny living rooms and colourful terraces, as Majda encourages us to paint the pictures in our heads, an artists haven, full of life, delight and Bosnian coffee and fruit.
I fucking love Bosnians and Hercegovinians they fill my heart with happiness and my tummy with fresh figs from their gardens. The visible destruction of war everywhere reminding us of what these people have endured over the past 2 decades and the segregation that still exists. Dont try ordering Bosnian beer on the Croat side, Vote croat or Drs lose their salary, and do not speak of the controversial war!

To a distant lover

You left me a love worth keeping and ill savour my missings to keep me warm,
The lands that Ive left.
Keep me in mind, when our wanderings reach an end and a distant thought lands me on your road again - We'll dance and sing and Cast our Shadows. Laura

To all the mad and crazy cats

Our souls may dance to different rhythms
Each as beautifully and intricatly composed
Until we gossip again over Pancakes and wine
enjoy the beat all..much love and misses

Laura

Rumbling Tumbling EAST...Colourful mornings where sunfilled windows along the promenade stream with old ladies, people watching with their big breasts resting on the window seals choking on their cigarettes. Old men escape them for the afternoon, quadrupled on park benches, laughing, whistling, smoking pipes and drinking. We stay with an old couple who speak little english, decorate their home with porcelian animals, flowerpots, floral umbrellas, plastic sun chairs, pomegranate trees and a million images of christ and virgin mary. They kindly give us the best room in the house with a terrace overlooking the entire town and sea, where we spend our nights gulping wine, eating pasta and speaking of life's delights. And my favourite Siestas! Oh how i love the East, the lazy east, all for us to absorb like mad 5 year olds on speed on christmas eve. Know matter how deep you dive nothing but crystal clear blue. Smell of cheap seafood in the air and everything dazzles...Home in the Adriatic.


Laura

september 9..East!

overlooked by a power, defying perhaps all such majesty, choked by desire, pleasure,sin oh introverted world. Where our thoughts can be know more than pure truth, not painted,prided nor beautified but honest, filthy solid delight. The joyous mind, weapon of comfort and destruction. City of lights, sea of diamonds bless me with your tranquil night, give me the familiarity, stress me of distant lands, a thought that sobers me, belittles me but enlightens me to the land that lays beyond.

Laura fuelled by too much red wine in my blood.

WOW feels like we have been scooting about all over the place, and we have! Ahhh how to put into words how magical it has been so far! We tasted Eastern Europe (Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia) and decided we loved it.. after a few extra days here and there, we looked at the calender and were quickly shocked into reality.. only one and half or so months too go, and so much more to see!! So we packed our overflowing packs, and set out for a long journey to Venice! VENICEEEEEE!! so different from the east.

Oh how to describe it .. Venice is indescribable. i LOVE it! We walked all day, not knowing where we were,every alley intriqued us to keep going deeper into the city. The beauty of the city made me forget my aching legs and to keep exploring the city of discovering.
It is so hard to leave the city of delicious smells and head turning arcitecture, but it is also hard not to get excited to hit Roma =).



I am in love with Eastern Europe especially Croatia, could have spent months there and i can and maybe will write a whole massive big enormous blog on it, but i am lazy and hungry for some Italian cruisene, so you will just have to wait patiently for my next gripping, hungry for more, seat edging blog posts!

Ciao, Aleida xx

Grape country-miek

Life is so amazing, ill try to paint some pictures with words for you :) 

Straggling out of bed 6:15am, worth it to see the sun rise behind the swiss alps, silhoetting the mont blanc and revealing the forested valley below, carpeted with mist and illuminated church spires. 

Three tanned shirtless boys from paris pile into the little red pickup truck, muscles and scruffy hair everywhere, cigarettes wafting smoke through the cabin as they trundle off between the vines. The scene looking like it comes straight from papas slides from the 70s. 

Hot air balloons rising over the hills along with the sun. Stopped for our morning coffee break..wine break. Sausage and cheese on baguettes, then chocolate. Lemon water and toothpaste flavored water.

The people: tamar and ronen, the cute israeli couple hitchhiking through europe. Tamar so down to earth and happy, bossing ronen around. Whose father and his friend are hilarious dutchmen found outside the tiny village pub with cigars. Ronen who makes nonstop sexual innuendos, sarcastic but very likable. 

Denise, the irish hairdresser who quit her steady job to travel. Very fussy eater, happy and dainty.

The two german girls also hitchhiking through europe, telling me scary stories of a forest in portugal. Ella and rieke. Blonde and tanned.

The parisien boys: yannik; tall, plays rugby, studies international relations, his rusty blonde curls capped with a european opas hat. Hugo, the owners grandson, muscley and brown, responsible and down to earth but also fun.. Reminds me of hanan. Kevin, so cute with his scruffy brown hair and stubble, studied history, a dreamer and thinker so slow in the grapes :) . Victor, half slovak, blonde and blue eyes, studies geography and loves the moon, who works with kids and cares deeply. Remy, the dark and dangerous one, always teasing someone and looking bad, is studying law. His dark curls capped with a black french hat and eyes like sleepy smurf :) 

Then there is manuel, the fastest picker, from portugal. Christina, who believes in mother earth, and ryan who is half british and indian but from spain. the slightly annoying but funny couple from czech republic. Christiaan, aka smiley face from holland who is too happy and infantile. Raphaelle the pretty parisien flirting with the boys. There are others but thats enough to put you asleep for now :) 

..miek

The scary part about travelling is leaving behind your newly found friends, not knowing if you'll see their beautiful faces again. Whats even scarier is when someone steals your heart away and you have to go and find it.. Tomorrow i leave lyon :(

"Life is a desire, not a meaning " - paolo coelho makes you feel good with all his little tidbits of nothing.

lyon you got a hold o' my soul

the girl from down under down under.
"so which city are you from?""hmm..tasmania""oh tassie devils, you're a tassie devil :)" (feeling quite pleased with themselves)

well this tassie devil loves lyon, its going to have a place in my descendants genes. a city with 15 000 exchange students and two rivers. with one hostel whose terrace owns million dollar views and whose inhabitants are the friendliest mix of mexicans, spanish, northern europeans frenchies english and some slightly annoying aussies..

markets and shops and swimming pools by rivers. a french railway system that decides to strike on the worst weather of the year. and one beautiful british boy who makes my heart jump but shhh. baguettes and more baguettes. wine and beers and chatter till 2am.

now you've got the general idea you see i dont want to leave :)

Journeying..

Every now and then a realisation stabs through me inducing a grin and a feeling of wanting to do handstands; freedom. Wandering the world in this friendless state, sitting quietly by the boundaries observing other humans scurrying through their lives, sometimes jumping into one of them, but mostly watching. Absolutely no restrictions, no need to be here or there, no one to answer too. My feet can lead me wherever they feel.
Sometimes i feel so alone but then i realise we are alone. We are all just individuals, sometimes floating in groups, but all with anxieties and insecurities running through our minds.

A day by day of some places my feet have wandered:

The hague; beautiful blonde astrid showing me the shops, chatting, shouting me at the imax theatre where a huge domed screen wraps around you, drawing you right in with the african drums while you soar over the kalahari desert.
Day 2 & 3 the hague: gorgeous aruban becky fills my days with smiles and laughter. Trying to find winter clothes for the horrible dutch weather, boots to shape her sexy legs :) sharing secrets while cooking stir fry and her whizzing along the piano.

Train to paris caught on the wrong day. I thought it was the 31st that day but apparently no, the 30th. Oops haha blame it on the travels. Paris beautiful and sunny, exquisite. Sandy coloured apartments rising from the cobbled paths, wrought iron balustrades, blue slate rooves and orange chimneys pots. Oppulence. Terraced restaurants. Suave frenchies walking past, their perfume trailing 2 metres behind.

Day 2: walked the whole city. Nearly 20 ks. Was ripped off 45 euro for two poloroid pics in front of an unopen louvre. Feeling depressed, was picked up by a short italian musician who bought me a cappucino and walked with me. Invited me to roma and bought me lunch. Escaping before i had to give anything back, striding along the champs d'elysees an arab stopped me for my number and a frenchman grabbed my hand, walked with me and tried to kiss me before i tore out of his grasp and sought the safety of the hostel.
The eiffel tower at night, flashing and sparkling. Stunning paris laid before my feet, shining domes and towers rising above the apartmented streets.

Day something: the louvre.. Art and creativity seeping into every pore of you. Unbelievable creations. A non stop sense of awe, for the architecture also. Lots of ideas for my mediterranean villa.

Friday paris: up late, seeking sun. Scouring through a second hand bookshop full of other scourers, found wuthering heights for 2eu, and strolled toward the luxembourg gardens. Later that night was picked up by mutual friend alex, who took me to the sacre couer, through paris by car which is suicidal! He found an unadulterated little terraced restaurant and proceeded to buy me a delicious meal and glass of wine to compliment it. Talked the night away about our various countries,relatives,ideas.

Saturday: caught the right train to lyon, although jumped off at the wrong station and had to lurch through lyon, hot and sweaty for 3 ks. Train riding through the hilly countryside, i wish it would go on forever, gypsying me through foreign lands. Lyon a fresh upbeat vibe. Filled with sunny people that i wish i could be a part of but unfortunatly i cant understand a thing they say.

And so the adventure continues.. Miek

Three night Lovers and Painters, goodbye moneymakers

Laura

A little message from where madness fills the air and lovers run wild

While riding on a train going south, I dreamed a dream that made me sad.Those people that fill my soul, Iget to visit you again and walk the lonesome dark streets,
a goonbag in our arms, pissed, hoodies on. I love the way you speakto me, your words of wisdom filling my naive eyes, you have a habit of speaking from the side of your mouth, using your hands to animate and tilting your head on aslight angle when you think im benefiting from your words. And i would if i listened 100% Your face makes me happy when you do this, too often i dont listen and just watch your weird ways in a dreamy state. We spendthe night again, waking to a room filled with orange
light, made from the curtain you bought. Then i knew i was wrong, im delighted you creep into my sleep whisping me away, reminding me of everything, here, near and far
that fills my cup. My mind can stray, Teachers made me feel guilty for having a preoccupied mind, but i love it. The train swerves between the cliffs of Germany's countryside
with pastel coloured houses clinging to the green hills, castle remains still standing proud over such a vast country. All we can do is exchange looks of complete amazement, wondering where to jump offthis south bound train.Dong (our new yorker, we met in amsterdam) kindly offers me the last of his space cake. And I know its now time to farewell this place that wrapped
me in magic and calmness. With our late night, personal canal rides with Spanish sparkling, shrooms and sunshine. And also time to say goodye to my days of being 18. Berlin with its haunting past captures us in a time machine. with so much diversity, reflections of communism, imperialism and the lovely man hitler. The stunning eastern boys of berlin were something so eye catching.
An eerie beauty now surrounds me, as i peer out the window for thelast time to the praguecastle thats keeping a watchful eye overthe city. medievil buildings, madness in the air and water, nights
filled with moonlit beer gardens overlooking the city lights, beautiful, atmospheric jazz clubs surrounded by piercing characters, unpredictable sounds, engaging stories and wonderful company.
So they laugh as we cast bad impressions on australians, unorganised, disorientated, young, crazy and lazy. Where we are bound I can not tell and thats the beauty. We know its time, as our mind
stream with the thoughts of switzerland and slovenia, and our tired eyes glance over the french boy in our dorm snoring like a fat pig, goodbye for now Prague.

discovering the depths of my mad psychologies, it all comes out the ugliness and filth being bound to your own company and madness, the pure truth, pleading for those moments i can just paint,
scribble, read and listen.

bloggers suck, i remind myself i have greatness under my feet and beauty before my eyes, as do we all, so stop reading this terrible blog. Laura

Ahh

Lying in jardin du luxembourg surrounded by parisiens, smouldering deliciously under the summer sun. A breeze is blowing through the pillared balustrade which overlooks sparkling lakes and gardens. Forests of trees full and leafy, pink flowers overflowing out of stone urns. Trying to get into wuthering heights, bought for 2 euros, but think i might just lay back and sleep amongst the murmurings of french and laughter.. Creating a huge bill but its worth it for this life is good post :) 

pieces

not so beautiful piccies of beautiful places. =)

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/album.php?aid=194511&id=704451558&ref=mf

an inspiraaaation!! she has a fairytale life, but then when you're a girl like her why wouldn't you?

http://lexieinitaly.tumblr.com/

listen to sia - clap your hands and florence and the machine - heavy in your arms

..

Yesterday i spent the day walking around paris holding hands with an italian musician, was asked for my number by an arab and was molested by a frenchman. Wooah paris