We went Hashing last night

Ben and I waiting in line at the Eiffel Tower


Some of you may know what i'm talking about but others may say what the hell are you talking about. Hash running is a group of people that get together and go for a run. However there is a twist. You have to find your path that has been laid out with by flour. So some people end up for awhile running in the wrong direction till someone calls out to say they have found it. We ended up running through paddocks with cows and sheep, through long grass, rivers, forrest and lots of mud. All up we ran about 7km. We end up back at the pub. They have a saying they are a runners group with a drinking problem. It was lots of fun. I have never heard of this back home but when I checked the net last night there were lots of groups around. It is worldwide and the next interhash is in Perth itself.

We went running today also in the national park and gorges and there were some really tough parts. There were steep hills with a bit of rock climbing in there. The views were spectacular though. It was well worth it.

So the fitness side is definately going a lot better and the eating part is going quite well. It is so nice to be eating home cooked food and having the control of what is available. Our friends even have home weights that Ben pulled out today so I even got some weights in.

Love Amy
xx

From a small English Village

I am currently in Chewton Mendup which is a small village between Bath and Bristol in England. We are staying with my boyfriend's family friends and enjoying doing very little. We arrived in London on monday night and stayed the night with a friend in their small flat. We then caught the coach to bristol where they picked us up. The underground system is so efficient that we got everywhere so quickly.

I have been pretty sick with my asthma the last few days and been up the last few nights with huge coughing fits. Thankfully I am feelig slightly better today. It is nice to stay in doors and watch DVDs and read a good book after the hustle and bustle of the contiki tour. It really was so much fun but it did tire me out. We will be staying here till next sunday before heading back to London for a few days to look at houses before flying to Germany. We will be in Germany for 10 days and then have to come back to London and set up a house and work. This will definately not be the end of travelling tho.

Ben and I caught the bus into Wells which is a bigger town today. It is so pretty here. I just love all the old buildings and the cobble stone streets. We ate lunch at the cosiest vegetarian cafe and the food was so good. We then just wandered the streets.

The surroundings here are perfect for walks and runs. There are dirt tracks, paddocks, forrest areas and open areas that you could run for miles. I did one on the first day I arrived but not since as I cough with just sitting at the moment. The guy we are staying with is part of a running club and has different runs through the week. He has just done a half marathon but has run heaps before this and a marathon too.So as soon as I am well enough I will be out running with him.

Till next time.....

Amy
xxx

Ps. It is ment to be summer here and i'm freezing- the weather is terrible!

I'm in mykonos!!

hello everyone from greece,

Well we have just finished our 23 day contiki tour. It has been such a fabulous experience and have so many amazing places in such a short period of time. Italy was so fabulous and one of the places I would definately have to go back to. There is still so much more to see and just not possible to see it all in the amount of time we had there. Venice was so pretty and we took a gondola ride. Florence had so much history and so much to see. The uffizi gallery and the academia had waiting lines of 3 hours so unfortunately could not go in these but would have loved too. We waled up the duomo and the views of florence here were spectacular. I indulged in buying a genuine leather jacket which I love. We had dinners organised by the tour in each country and went out every night. Rome by far some of the most spectacular sights. You could be walking down some street and then all of a sudden it would open out into some ruins. The vatican and st peters was so breath-taking and the art work was so incredible. Ben and I were speechless. We saw the coloseum, the trevie fountain and pantheon as well as the roman forum. We left about 20 people in rome from the tour and then the rest of the tour headed to corfu.
We caught a ferry to corfu and spent 3 glorious days relaxing. It was a gorgeous little island. We had one day on a boat doing water sports and swimming. We were lucky enough to ctch up with bens dad in corfu and spent one full day with him. We have dined in some greek restaurants and experienced greek culture and dancing. Yesterday we came to athens and spent our last night here. We saw a few sights yesterday morning and now in mykonos.I am in absolute paradise. Our accomodatin was so cheap nd it is like we are in a resort. We have a pool, bar lounge chairs and sun beds overlooking the ocean. We hired scooters today and went around the island. This place is so amazing. So after the very full on tour I am enjoying doing very little for a few days and working on my tan. So I have now brought you up to loop on what I have been doing.

So we now have a few days in the mykonos before we come back to athens and then fly back to london. We then have to start organising work and living arrangements before we go to germany. I am looking forward to settling somewhere for awhile instead of living out of a suitcase. Ben has already been offered jobs so now I can start organising to meet with agencies. Ben and I are looking to set up just out of london but we will take it as it comes.

Hope you are all well. I hear perth is pretty cool at the moment so i'll think of you while i'm having a cocktail by the pool!!hehehehe

I am looking forward to getting back to london so I can get into routine again with my exercise and eating. I have gone a quite a few runs but these greek drivers are so crazy that i'm scared of getting hit. I weighed myself the other day and I have put any weight on and even lost a bit but I feel different. I need to tone up again. All in good time!!

love to you all
amy
xxxxxx