Sarah in Europe (again) part 1

After doing quite a few Contiki holidays to Europe, New Zealand and Thailand Sarah was keen to try a "backpacking" holiday. We always said we would rather her be travelling with a male on this type of holiday. So after a few months of dating Nathan they booked their tickets to backpack around Europe! It took a bit more preparation for this trip as they were going in the Northern hemisphere winter. First they flew to Rome via Dubai. Sarah has been to Rome before a few times in the Summer but it was very wet this time...

Seeing the greenery around the Colosseum is so different to the dirt and dust that was there when we visited!...

They stayed a night with a friend of Nathans and she is a travel agent so she took them around for the day...

Tiber River

St Peter's Square Vatican City

Spanish Steps

From Rome they flew to Milan...

Then flew (flights were cheaper and quicker than trains) to Budapest...

The weather fined up in Budapest but was still freezing cold. Sarah fell in love with Budapest and hopes to return some day...

She turned 20 in Budapest and they went ice skating to celebrate...

And treated themselves to a night in a nice motel rather than backpackers!...

Complete with Champagne and fruit...

Next they caught a train to Kosice in Slovakia - not the most appealing train and station...

But they made it checked into a backpackers and caught another train up to the Tatra Mountains (which border on Slovakia and Poland)...

Nathan had a go at Tobogganing...

It was very pretty and cold!

Next stop Vienna.

Janelle's Sydney trip

Janelle had a few more days by herself after her day with Aunty Norma exploring a bit more of Sydney...

View from the Botanical Gardens...

Exploring Paddy's Markets...

Indulging at the "Lindt" cafe...

Wandering around Chinatown...

Janelle also lived a childhood dream and went to the Lion King musical which she absolutely loved...

Darling Harbour was celebrating February as the Month of Love with hearts and fireworks...

It was soon time for Janelle to leave her lovely room in the  centre of Sydney and move out to her little room at Westmead Hospital. It was a Sunday when she went out there and not many people around but later a few other students (from different parts of the world) joined her and they formed a great friendship and spent the next 4 weeks exploring, eating and exercising together... 

Janelle's little room for 4 weeks

Empty corridors

Running spot

Trampolining before going out to dinner one evening...

They did the walk from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach...

Coogee Beach

Bondi Beach

Then after dinner went to an Island party...

A must do on Janelle's list was a visit to Olympic Park where the year 2000 Olympics were held. She did a private tour...

On Valentine's Day they all went on a "singles" cruise on the harbour. This didn't start off well with the boat taking off before all of the mooring ropes were undone and with the sudden jerk smashing the bar full of alcohol! They still had a lovely evening and danced the night away...

Janelle was in her glory especially around the Bondi area with all the organic and health food cafes. Two of the other students were also healthy people and keen to try different places. Here they are at one of Sydney's biggest organic cafes "Earth to Table". This was followed by a hot yoga session... 

Every Tues and Thurs Janelle got up very early and attended a bootcamp session before her hospital rounds which was great fun, she also bought a month gym membership at the hospital gym...

One weekend they took a trip out to the Blue Mountains - it was a lovely clear day with great views...

The 3 sisters

Went on a bike tour around Manly Beach before another hot yoga session...

Janelle turned 24 on her last day there and her new friends surprised her with cake and chocolates and they all went out to dinner at Darling Harbour to celebrate.

Janelle had a fantastic time in Sydney with all the fun and exploring but not forgetting the reason she went. It was very upsetting and  heartbreaking  working in the children's oncology section for the 4 weeks seeing so much suffering for both the ill children and parents.It was also rewarding to experience positive outcomes.  Another experience which will assist her to make decisions for her medical career as a doctor.