AWOL

You know you haven't blogged in a while when you panic slightly at being asked for a password by blogger!

It has been months since Traveller has blogged and, while she's had her reasons, she's back now to document a few of the fun things that have happened and has plans to stay...

1. Traveller miraculously completed her first sprint-triathlon.

Traveller has never been so nervous before a race; she was worried about crashing, about getting a flat tyre, about running out of energy and even about the nasty hill that she had to cycle up 9 times. All that worry was for nothing though - T loved doing the sprint and, while it was hard work, it was strangely addictive. There are plans in the making for a second - this time in open water!

2. T's brother came to London!

Traveller's brother from OZ visited London and for the first time since they can remember, Tand her two brothers (one already lives in London) spent time together. They visited museums, ate lots of food, toured London and T was even taken to see Keira Knightley and Elizabeth Moss in 'The Children's Hour'. T had the best time!

3. The Royal Wedding

Traveller was able to experience her first royal wedding in London and joined the crowd of millions to cheer on Wills and Kate as they said, 'I do'. Traveller woke up very early and made her way to Hyde Park for 7am to secure a big space for her and some friends. The atmosphere was phenomenal and sitting in Hyde Park cheering on the royal family and singing along to the wedding songs with so many others is one of Traveller's most treasured memories from London town. Traveller's favourite part of the day was when a live band started up in Hyde Park and the whole crowd started dancing.

4. Traveller turned the big 3-0 (eek!)

The celebrations lasting all month long! There was a dinner, a trip to the theatre to see 'Clybourne Park' (perhaps one of the best plays she has ever seen), a viewing of the stage musical 'Dirty Dancing' (so so much fun!) and a trip to Majorca (more on that to come!) It was the best birthday ever and Traveller feels beyond lucky to have such lovely friends.

Commercial Love.

Traveller is loving this new T Mobile commerical shot at Heathrow Airport...

Mum and Dad, do you think you could organise a similar welcoming for when T finally arrives back in OZ?

One.

It's hard to believe that the new addition is already one!
We celebrated her birthday last weekend and it was quite possibly one of Traveller's favourite children's birthday parties and T narrowed this down to two reasons: free flowing bubbly and lovely company.

The fact that I have family around me while I am 'travelling' might be confusing to you - the thing is, my lovely brother moved here first. He's been here for years and has since married a lovely English lass. They live very close to Traveller and it's lovely having them on this side of the hemisphere...
Anyway, T was asked if she would bake the birthday cake for the party and she was really excited. And a trifle nervous.
Luckily, both T and her sis-in-law are very partial to chocolate cake and they both agreed on this recipe
{which, by the way, is amazing}
English lass came up with the decorating ideas and they decorated it together, whilst trying to fend off T's brother, who kept on eating all the chocolate sticks! Cute, huh?



The cling film was to keep it together overnight as we decorated it the night before...

Unfortunately, there are no photos of anyone actually eating the cake but T promises you it was good.
The proof? Whilst demolishing her slice of cake, T was asked by another mum to make her child's birthday cake in a couple of weeks...
Success!

Weekend.

The favourite part of Traveller's weekend?

Watching her brother carve it up on the dance floor!

The boy has moves!

Traveller had a great time helping her dear sister-in-law celebrate her 30th in style.

T actually had two nights of dancing and that's a fun weekend in her books.

What's your favourite thing to do on the weekend?

Traveller won!

Today, Traveller was informed that she has won her first blogging giveaway competition!

Isn't there something fabulous about winning something? Big or small, it almost makes you feel like the universe is on your side.

It makes Traveller remember a story from her youth.

McDonald's were running a nationwide competition (in Australia) where all you had to do was scratch a scratch card (after purchasing an item) and you could win all sorts of lovely things from a free pack of chicken nuggets, to a strawberry milkshake, to bigger items like televisions and walkmans (remember walkmans?)

One fine evening when she was about 10, her family all visited a McDonald's as they were on a family trip to Bundaburg. For the life of her, T cannot remember why they went to Bundaburg. Famous only for their rum, it's not exactly a holiday destination.

T digresses.

Anyway, all five members of her family were eating and, lo and behold, T and her brother both won!

T won a milkshake...

....and her brother won a ghetto blaster!

Can you believe it?

If T had been ahead of him in the line, the blaster would have been hers!!

T remembers smiling and trying to look happy for her brother...but it was all an act.

She wanted that ghetto blaster.

But now, her luck has turned around, one of her daily reads, the lovely naturally nina had a giveaway this week, and Traveller won!

The glorious prize?

A surprise box of organising and cleaning supplies!

For anyone that knows Traveller, this is slightly ironic, as she has always been slightly disorganised in the home, much to the chagrin of her loved ones.

Perhaps if someone had thought of giving her cleaning supplies as a prize... she would have learnt to love them sooner!

image via here and here

3:22.

This past weekend, Traveller's brother ran the London Marathon.

Amongst 36, 000 runners, he ran with speed, consistency and strengh; T
was very proud!

The London Marathon is one of those amazing events which really brings the city together - there are about 2-3 supporters to every runner, so each inch of the 26 and a bit miles was sidelined by supporters. The atmosphere was palpable; the city was filled with jovial, passionate aficionados clapping and cheering on the runners. It was brilliant!

The other lovely part of the marathon {aside from it being run for many, many charities} is that so many people dress up in crazy, colourful costumes, whilst still managing to achieve admirable timings. Here are a few of T's favourites...

A juggler

A bride and groom {seriously}

A rhino

Hamlet
22 ft giraffe!
Camel

A whoopee cushion!
and a tiger!

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the 3:22 is my brother's time - 18 minutes faster than last year!

Go, Dan!
{costume images}

Sweet things.

Traveller cooked breakfast for her brother, sis-in-law and the new addition this morning.

Ain't she cute?

T just loves her cons.

Breakfast was french toast with caramelised bananas, maple syrup and creme fraiche.

Yum!

A song about a hat.

One of the most memorable moments when Traveller was in Vienna was having dinner with some 'real' Austrians.

Husband's family have been close friends with an Austrian family for years and, while we were in Vienna, we were invited to dine with them. The mother was known for her Weiner Schnitzel. Yum! The most wonderful thing we learnt that night was that Austrian hospitality is second to none; we were showered with a very warm welcome from the family and all of their close relatives.

{almost 20 of them in total!}

The evening's menu consisted of champagne, schnitzel and potato salad, Tiramisu and Sachertorte.

{Sachertorte is a Viennese speciality and was delicious!)

The interesting thing about being in a room with a bunch of Austrians, in Austria, is that you soon realise that if you only speak English - you are on the outer. Despite all of her travelling, Traveller is yet to pick up another language and German is probably her weakest 'get by whilst travelling' language. Needless to say, there was a fair bit of staring happening throughout the night and various awkward, yet sweet, conversations.

Then husband did what he does best; he broke the ice. Now, he did not manage this by any unusual, or unsavoury methods; he merely regaled them with a song from his youthful German lessons.

The song is known as 'Mein hut der hat drei ecken'.

Before singing, husband asked if they wanted to hear a German song that he knew. They, admirably, were very cheered by this idea. Before commencing his performance, hubby procured himself a hat from within the house somewhere and proceeded to sing a German song about a hat and its three corners.

The crowd wooped and cheered and sung along.

Traveller giggled away at her goofy husband.

Ice sufficiently broken.

Gorgeous Vienna.

Here are some shots from Traveller's recent visit to Vienna.
The city is absolutely stunning; T thinks it is one of her favourites.
We loved and learnt so much at Schonbrunn Castle {first two pictures}Inside the castle is a tour of Austria's Royal history and it was ever so interesting, especially seeing portraits of Marie Antoinette and her sisters. The rooms were so lavish and intricately decorated.
We enjoyed touring the city and taking in sights such as the Kunst Haus {a major art gallery}, the Hofburg and the Natural History Museum.
We were also really lucky to watch a ballet of Romeo and Juliet in the Royal Opera House - it was such a beautiful performance. The orchestra were extraordinary and T's favourite part{aside from the dancing} was when the cast took many, many bows; while they were bowing, hoards of bouquets were thrown at them.
T has never before seen so many roses. One of the best European experiences so far.

Oh, Tafelspitz!

One of Traveller's most memorable culinary experiences whilst in Vienna was in a traditional restaurant called Plachutta. Ewald Plachutta is somewhat of a celebrity chef in Vienna; an Austrian Gordon Ramsay if you will. His restaurants are all about fresh ingredients, happy cows and traditional cooking.
Husband and T had to partake in the most traditional meal on offer which was Tafelspitz. Cool name, right? Just looking at it makes you want to say it aloud.
Tafelspitz entails a few little dishes which the waiters prepare for you in front of your very eyes; it is basically a boiled beef dish with lots of yummies on the side.
To begin, we had pancake soup which was delicious. The soup was what the beef was boiled in so it was very tasty. Then, to T's initial shock, we had bone marrow on little toasts - now just the thought {let alone the look} of bone marrow makes T a little squeamish but it wasn't too bad. Just like lard on toast, really. Getting hungry?
After the bone marrow, it was time for the steak which was paired with spinach and potato rosti.... yum! The beef was deliciously tender and T is always a huge fan of rosti.
Following this we all opted for dessert; T had a caramel ice-cream sundae, husband had a curd-cake and husband's dad completely won with his traditional Austrian dessert of half-curd and half-chocolate mousse with a gooseberry on top.
It was indescribably delicious!
All in all, a must do if you ever find yourself in Vienna.{which you should definitely try to do - because it is just beautiful!}