Lil Girl on Tour (introducing my sister)

My baby sister (ok she is 26) has taken the plunge and decided to pack up and check out what the world has to offer. I got a mysterious Facebook message 12 hours after she left home last week, to say she had been isolated in Hong Kong airport, with suspicions she might have Swine Flu. She couldn't call but only had access to the Internet, so you could imagine my reaction. I was beside myself. A week later (today) and I finally get this group email from her:

Hello,

I have finally made it to Italy but there were a few hurdles before I got here. I left Brisbane, arrived in Hong Kong 9 hours later feeling clammy and had a sore throat. I got asked by customs if I had any symptoms of swine flu, I just mentioned that I had a sore throat. Thinking that it wasn’t going to be a big deal (as I didn’t have all the other symptoms), they took me away to where a group of people were sitting with numbers. They called mine out after about an hour as I had no idea if they were going to let me walk (like many I had seen) or put me in quarantine.

I was told I had a high temperature and that they were going to take me in an ambulance to the hospital to check if I have swine flu. They put a big sign on my room saying ‘waiting for ambulance’. As I waited I got onto my laptop, luckily there was free internet and got through to (my sister) who got mum online and I let them know what was going on. I was surrounded by people covered head to toe in protective gear thinking that I had swine flu and could infect them.

By the time the doctor saw me at the hospital he told me that I’d have to stay in Hong Kong for two days to receive my results. I told him that I was leaving for Italy the next day and he said that’s unfortunate but he couldn’t help me. I frantically rang my travel insurance to see if I was covered by this and they told me I would only be covered if I have swine flu (as after two days of staying there I might not have it). To change my flight was going to cost me another $1200 and this was beginning to turn into a nightmare. Eventually they did the testing and then let me go. It was another doctor who had released me from hospital and she told me that I should have information tomorrow if I have swine flu. I asked her what time she would call me and she said that they’ll only call me if I have swine flu. That was really strange so I decided then and there that I was going to the airport no matter what and if customs stopped me I must have had swine flu.

My idea worked and I got through customs with no problem but customs asked if I had two passports as they saw both and the only thing he mentioned is that I like to change my hair colour. I was still nervous as I waited for my flight. I thought that some people from customs would come and grab me and say come with us. But in the back of my mind I also thought they’d be happy to get rid of me if I did have swine flu. The only time I felt secure was when the plane was leaving for take off. I made my flight to Zurich, Switzerland virtually no turbulence, fantastic!!

I arrived in Switzerland and then had 50mins to get to my connecting flight to Milan, Italy. I didn’t realize but the flight from Zurich to Milan went directly over the Swiss Alpes. I was very much a tourist during my 40mins flight to Milan as everyone seemed quite bored with the scenery (having seen this numerous times) whilst I took lots of pictures out the window. I was also very tired but knowing that his marvel was underneath me was enough to keep me awake.

I arrived in Milan and changed clothing as the weather was quite hot. When I stepped off the plane I knew I was in Italy as the people are fashionable and beautiful. The people are very hospitable and some helped me when I had trouble with my luggage. As I bought my ticket the good looking ticket sales men noticed that my passport was from Australia. He started asking me about Australia, telling me he has family over there and would like to go. I had to stop chatting and quickly board my train as it was about to leave. I had another good looking man help me with my luggage as I boarded the train. We started talking and he also just flew from China. He is a fashion consultant (I don’t know what that means) and also lectures at a Milano University teaching fashion business. We had a great conversation and he gave me his card to keep in touch.

Once I arrived in Milano, Luigi (a friend of mine) came to pick me up. He knew my schedule and walked me to my job interview and took all my luggage back to his house. I had the job interview for a school in Milano as I’ve been assured that’ll they be able to get me work at any school there, the only problem is it’s not as much pay is in the UK. I’ve got the next two months to decide whether I want to live in this beautiful country and learn such a romantic language or earn good money in the UK and come visit this place. It’s going to be a very hard decision as I’ve already fallen in love with this country’s culture and customs.

After my day in Milano with Luigi I boarded a train which he had arranged for me (very hospitable) to Santa Margherita. I arrived and met the new family I will be working for. They are very lovely people and I feel I’m spoilt as all I do is provide English lessons for the girls, take them to the beach and out to other activities from Monday to Friday. I have all day Saturday and Sunday off plus Wednesday and Friday nights off as well. All my meals are provided as they are cooked by Elena the girls mother. And the meals are absolutely beautiful, traditional Italian cooking!! The food here is so fresh, I’ve never been so excited to eat fruit before. Today is Sunday as I’ve just been to the beach, read some of my Heath Ledger biography and I’ve come back for lunch where I don’t do anything. I rock up, have lunch, then I can do what I want. It is hard to take in that this is my job as I do feel obliged to help but usually am told just to sit down.

Family is very important to the Italians and I can see that with the family I live with. Their mother stays at home and provides for the girls whilst their father works full time. Their father works in Milano and comes here on the weekends (which is my time off) to spend time with his family. The girls are very courteous and seem to have a great relationship with their parents. I have not experienced the typical Italian male that I’ve been warned of and I wonder if people over exaggerate. The typical Italian man I’ve noticed is very in love with his partner and seems to be quite generous. The men I have met have not been sleazy but very polite, generous and very attractive!! This place is full of beautiful men and women!! I really feel I’ve found where I belong hehe, it’s going to be a hard decision about where I want to live.

Miss you all and if I do decide to stay you should come and visit this magnificent place!!

Speak soon

K (lil Girl on Tour)

Santa Margherita

PPP and I are hoping to meet up with her on our upcoming holiday to Italy (remember I just came back from Rome and am planning a return for a holiday???) and hopefully get to enjoy some time in her new home of Santa Margherita.

My new Bloggy blog

I have a new (ish) blog. It has been months in the making but I can finally launch it and I am really excited.

As each day has become more Raw Food focused, I thought it best to make a new blog dedicated just to it! I have quite a bit in store and so much has been happening with regards to this, so if you are at all interested in your health, and want to find out what the hype is with this Raw business...pop on over here:

www.girlonraw.com

I will still be maintaining this blog, as of course I am still doing plenty of travel, but come on over and check out what I have going on over here too!!!

Look forward to seeing ya!!!

Travel Review: Beirut, Lebanon

Time for another Travel Review!!! After my stop in Rome recently, I made it to Europe of the Middle East; Beirut. I loved it. Having been on the IT list for a while now, but never having either the guts (yes it still can be a turbulent country having died 1000 times and revived 1000 more, especially with upcoming elections, you can never be too careful) or the opportunity to visit in the past, it came up recently as quite a surprise.

Three days in Beirut, staying at a beach/city resort was perfect. As the summer starts to heat up back in my home, it was nice to escape to a moderately cooler climate, just before peak season kicks in.

The first evening was spent getting to know Beirut’s mid week nightlife (which at midnight is not that great mind you). Allowing our cab driver to take us to wherever he thought best, we ended up downtown at a lovely little club called Taboo, playing a combination of 90’s R&B hits that we recognized and Lebanese pop hits which of course we didn’t. Not sure if we were being ripped off by the bartenders (as we gave US dollars and were given change in Lebanese Liras) or the duty free tequila we'd had in the hotel room before hand had caught up with us, we decided to call it a night around 3am, to ensure we didn’t waste too much of our following day.

The weather didn’t disappoint, with a poolside salad lunch and couple of cocktails to help ease the slight headache from the night before. Ideas of traveling inland soon abated when we realized it was 6pm already and once again time to find a place to eat and drink.

Gemmayze strip in downtown Beirut was our first stop, with finding a place for dinner and wine my idea, but PPP happy to find a hip cocktail bar, whichever of the two we came across first. He won this time, and we settled on Gem, which the bar tender told us is short for the Gemmayze tree which is what the area was famed for, with the plant growing only in that region of Beirut. He spoilt us with a few different delicious cocktails, and realizing we had missed dinner, I settled on some bar bites.

Al Amin Mosque

Walking down Gemmayze street a little wonky from our delish cocktails I was confronted with the most magnificent sight. The Al Amin Mosque. So overcome with it's beauty I had to take a moment and sit in the car park just in front to take it in. After a short while we were all of a sudden aware of the sound from the boom boom room to the right of the mosque. Flashing lights from what appeared to be a rooftop open air bar at the top of an 8 story building. We were drawn like the rats in the pied piper story. On arrival at the red carpet entrance on the ground floor we were amazed at the designer dressed peeps sprawled out on the sidewalk looking us up and down in our clearly not dressed up enough duds. Hey we were travelling. But yeah I did feel a bit skanky in my T-shirt dress and gold flip flops. Note to self, next trip to Beirut, pack the Prada (oops I don't own Prada). Clearly we were not going to be allowed in by the burly bouncer, so I smiled and asked which club it was. He responded 'White'. This is the hippest club in Beirut.

Buddha Bar

Never to be discouraged, we decided to head off to find our own cool club, and settled on Buddha Bar. Although it was uber quiet being a Thursday night, the top floor still had a group of at least 12 locals and the bar was still serving. I knew they were locals because every Arabic song that would play, PPP and I would take a drink break and sit back down at our table and witness some elaborate hip shaking and with every western dance hit that we recognised, would ensure a break from our neighbous and we'd show them our thang. We even danced some salsa which made PPP's night!!! Buddha Bar had a great 3 or more levels, an massive Buddha that every floor had a perfect view of and fantastic music, so would of been great to see it packed out on a weekend!

The next day was a recovery in room day, with room service and in house videos til PPP had to take his flight home that afternoon. Did I mention that PPP arrived in Beirut to surprise me on my trip and I had no idea he was coming? Brilliant. He thinks he was being romantic, I think he couldn't let me get one up him on countries I have visited. Just for fun we are compiling a spreadsheet to keep a tally. B wants in as she reckons she will beat us both. That's what she gets for having worked for Emirates . Stay tuned for the competiton!

All in all Lebanon has a great history and beauty, especially if you travel further inland to places like Byblos, but the main advice I was given regarding what Beirut would have to offer, was mainly dining and partying, which I think we definitely touched on. A trip back is definitely on the cards.

Delicious Raw Sushi

Ok, well most Raw Sushi is raw by nature (raw tuna or salmon usually) however I got the idea to make this RAW dish from Fitnessista and trialled it on my fellow FA and pal from London Commercial Airline days, B, after I discovered Jicama at my local supermarket (can you believe it? In the Middle East? I was uber excited.) after a midnight excursion to the supermarket on camp. Here is B trying to find her favourite box of dates to nom nom nom on. I got the recipe for the Tuna part here (second recipe).

So following the rough directions and also adding a bit of my own flair I came up with these rolls.

B (who is also on the Big Fat Raw Experiment with me) loved them more than I did initially but wasn't til my 5th one that I started to actually enjoy the taste without having to smother them in Tamari (wheat free version of Soy). Ideally I should have made a large green salad to enjoy on the side, but we were so excited to trial these mock tuna sushi rolls that we just hoed into them. YUMMO.

After dinner B complained of a chocolate craving. So out I pulled my Cacao Butter (little over it's expiry date so needed to use it up). Having no recipe I basically followed my gut and added a whole heap of Cacao Powder to the butter I slowly melted over a bowl of hot water. I added a touch of Lacuma and once it was all melted, I placed some raisins and dried cranberries into my ice trays and ladled in the chocolatey goodness. 10 minutes in the freezer and we had RAW chocolate pieces. YUMMO. Pretty decadent and not something I would not eat everyday, but just enough to get a taste without too much guilt. Double YUM!

I'm a Guinea Pig

Alongside approximately 170 others on Monday 1st of June I began a Big Fat Raw Experiment.

Whilst the aim of the experiment is mainly for weight loss, I am looking forward to seeing what other great responses to the program my body experiences when the experiment culminates in 10 weeks time.

Check out more here.

Adoptee #2

Whilst Greensies prepares for her two little darlings (and my god daughters) in August complete with double pink pram I am busy about enjoying my own little arrival complete with pink accessories.

How could you not love a face like this!? A mixed breed terrier who was abandoned and requires lots of love but gives lots back in return.

With plenty of volunteers offering to look after her when I have to go away as she has just a lovable and easy going personality. With an afternoon dog walking group meeting close by, I am looking forward to more incidental exercise and meeting other like minded animal lovers. Lucy has already made fast friends with my friend's bigger desert dog, so puppy day care with each of them could also be an option as well.

On the plus side she is a lap dog who is completely toilet trained and fits through my cat flap to go outside. On the down side, I really hope Sam the cat is ok with the new addition to our animal family, but will have to reinforce to him that he really is the Top Cat. So far so good. Sam comes to me for cuddles still whilst Lucy barks him away and they both have lots of fun chasing each other back and forth on the front lawn.

What kind of breed do you think Lucy might be?

Blog Lovin'

Apart from my good old favourites that are in my Blog Roll (yes I read them all!) I have come across some super cool blog sites right now I just cannot get enough of. If you are looking for inspiration check these hot mama's out!

• Fitness Sista - Great food and Exercise inspiration by a sassy hottie from the states. She teaches 6 fitness classes a week and details her meals inclusive of photos and recipes. YUMMO. She will keep your motivation at a high level.
  

• The Flying Mum - another flight attendant chronicling her times on and off the ground.

• The Vegan Foodie - some brilliant recipes for the more conscious of eaters

• Prior Fat Girl - she details here her successes and failures with her weightloss, detailing her workouts and diets.

• Jim Jam Sandwich - my friend and previous housemate from London. All her gifts and cards are hand made with love and she will even make to order (she is for me with all these weddings and births I am expecting this year!). Check out her range, she has some beautiful stuff.

• Real Food Tulsa - Penni is currently running a Big Fat Raw Experiment with over 170 real people as her guineas (I am one of them!) for a 10 week experiment for weight loss. Watch this space.

• Eat Live Run - A 22 year old fitness professional who also love to bake! Check her out!
  

Travelling Raw

About a year old, this article I found online is a great incentive for me to keep it 'raw' when travelling which is mostly a challenge for me. It offers great hints and tips on how to remain on track for those of you who are budding raw foodist's and those of who have been raw for sometime but would like to know how to keep it together whilst travelling. The toughest bit.

Also another great article here by Princess Superstar on one of my favourite RAW dedicated websites where you can also become a member of their social network Give it To Me Raw and connect with like minded individuals. Dhrumil Purohit is the man behind both sites and a very cool raw food advocate at that. Every so often they feature a My Way segment (one of my favourite bloggers from Perth, Casey Thomas was also featured here recently) which encourages the writer to detail their week and include their diet information.

Princess Superstar is most reknown for this club beat (oh how I love it! Takes me back to Ibiza clubbing last year!) and I love her honesty in her journal (she broke a few times, but man, didn't she pay for it!). I also love her tips on how to stick by her 'rawness' although she travels so much; almost as much as me.