Montreal, Lake Placid, Alexandria Bay

Ok so the photos are uploaded back to front anyhoo... here is Brad at Boldt Castle in Alexandria Bay, a gorgeous place that was never finished, built by the owner of the Waldorf hotel chain for his wife as a holiday home on a little island in the St Lawrence river which borders Canada and USA. She died suddenly and he never completed it.

Cruising the thousand islands in Upper New York State, we hired a boat and explored the river life, lots of little batches, scattered on islands, how cool would it be to have your own island!

In Lake Placid, home of the 1980 winter Olympics, we were all set to give bobsledding a try but it wasnt cold enough to keep the ice on the track solid, still got a cheesy tourist pic.
At the top of the viewing platform at the border
Playing killer with locals in the bar in Tupperware. A town with one taxi, which we used 4 times that night to visit the 4 pubs and he only charges $5 a journey what a bargin. Tupperware was home to a number of interesting biker guys and gals, true small town character, most people were stoned.
Contemplating the day, so nice to be outta the city.
Brad gets caught out in Alex Bay

Relaxing at the hotel in Montreal. We went on a company paid trip to Montreal which was rad, stayed at the Sheraton and really got to live it up, noice I tell ya
We took a horse and cart ride through old Montreal the beautiful original part of the city, it has a great vibe, heaps of open air cafes and bars, street performers and activites galore.
Canadian Racoon
The view from the top of Mont Royal the big park in downtown Montreal.

Jase's bday

Kiaora ladies

Thought I would blog some photos from Jases bday, he turned the big 25 last week, hard to believe eh. We went out for dinner to this Morrocan restaurant called the sultans tent, where you sit in cute little private tents and get served and people come round belly dancing, sounds a bit odd but really kinda cool. Then on Saturday night Jase put on a keg at our Auzzie friends place. Canadians have never heard of the concept of shouting alcohol, they just couldnt get over it that he wasnt asking anyone for money. Pretty funny night, we had a good mix of kiwis, auzzies, canadians and even a few frenchies.
Theres a pic from Hemmingways where we went for ANZAC day, some random expats did the haka that night, I was surprised at the number of kiwis (mainly middle aged men?) that have ended up living in the Tdot. I had to include a pic of those chimps, I like having animal pics on my blog (everyone has there thing) wanted to send a copy to my mum for mothers day.
The other night I went to a club called This Is London (not sure if its really like London as I havent made it there yet - but could be very soon, stay tuned), we got there and it was mellow, then the music changed and all these breakdancers came out and did some mad tricks and after that it was rad I tell ya totally rad. That pic was taken in the bathrooms, they were super plush, you can choose which perfume you want to put on etc.
Ive joined this sports team on Monday nights, its called Ultimate sports and you play a different sport each week. So far we have played dodgeball and floor hockey. I cant remember that last time I actually played a team sport, beside backyard cricket, so its fun but Im actually a bit agressive like to get amoungst it, reminds me of my netball days.
Anyway thats my latest haps, oh and Im going to Montreal this weekend and work is paying for it so Im pretty excited. I hope everyones living it up, I do miss you cows!! ha just had an idea for the next animal pic...

Howdy

Sooooooooo whats been happening cows? lots by the sounds of it...all good though, keeps life interesting eh...well here is a pics from St Paddys day, it was seriously cold and I am such a whimp dont go anywere without hat, scarf, gloves. Natalie in the middle is from the UK and over here for 6 months working in our building, we have bonded being foreigners ha.

Jase and I got our visas for another year, which I am stoked about. There were a few minor dramas but its all sorted now so TO is my temp home for another year. Cant wait to see a few friendly faces over this way, Tania, Julia, .... Brad arrived last week, he is in good form, found a flat 2 streets away from our place. Its sooo funny hearing the kiwi accent again.

I bought a new bike and Im loving it, hooning round the city Im no longer an envious pedestrian. Plus I bike to work, its not very far, so not enough time to get all hot and sweaty. Anyhoo take it easy ladies and bring on summer I say!

PS has anyone heard of the take home chef aka Curtis Stone?

sunny F*L*O*R*I*D*A

Kiaora bloggers

Time for an update, I have been reading about everyone elses adventures and felt the need to contribute. I was lucky enough to fly down to Florida last weekend for a minibreak with my friend from work Emily. Her mum lives down there so we had a place to crash and a car to cruise around in. Its been seriously cold here up in the minus 20's so the thought of going to the beach was insane. We arrived in our ugg boots and winter coats to a glorious 25 degrees.

Highlights of the weekend;

- Busch gardens; its a theme park with animals, i love roller coasters never get tired of that fear/excitement/adrenaline feeling (a natural rush i guess hah) it was created by the guy who owns Budwiser so lots of beer tasting too.

- The beach; there are no real beaches in Toronto so I am having major withdrawls - longing to visit a beach, the coast line was beautiful, probably could of been a little hotter but we braved it in our bikini's and managed to get a tan (check out my westcoast chopper tan line lol) they have cabanas (kinda like a half tent) set up all along the beach to shelter from the wind, was glorious sunbathing in my own private little canopy and the cabana boys arent bad either...

- The nightlife; how to describe it? overfriendly? overbearing? just plain forward..what can you do but laugh, we went to a club called Whiskey Park in Tampa which was pretty cool, I really liked the layout, good tunes, usual hip hop vibes, super skank city though dang (I must be turning into an old prude)

- The liquor stores; bulk bargin alcohol, I have never seen anything like it, (like going to the warehouse) everything is giant size eg a 2 litre bottle of vodka for $10. WOW is all I can say about that...

- The Yanks; well they are so entertaining and loud. Oh and incase you didnt know patriotic, most houses have an american flag flying proudly. The people we met were OTT (check out the dog with its own sunglasses - only in America I tell ya)

- The mobile home aka the trailor park; we were staying in a little area of Florida called Dunedin full of oldies enjoying retirement. The houses are like NZ baches very cute little places, with nice gardens (old people always have nice gardens) with a big heated pool.

Anyhoo as much as I take the piss I had a great time in the states and definitely want to head back, NYC in the summer I reckon, who is in?? Also they have good shopping, picked up many a bargin, my fav being a cute red wallet and some dark skinny jeans for a mere $15.

Well thats the latest from my hood, here is a pick from Wednesday night (its $3 martini night so all the girls usually meet up to get trashed and gossip). We find out about our visas in about 3 weeks so fingers crossed we get another year here, Im definitely not ready to leave.

x Odiggs

new years adventures in the snow

Hey hey happy new year. Hope everyones all good. Jase and I headed over to Calgary (near the Canadian rocky mountains on the west side of Canada, Toronto is on the east) for a minibreak ski holiday.

My mum and sis did the mission over and met us in Calgary. My mum did a house-swap so some Canadian people are staying in her house in Chch for a month while shes in Calgary. Their house turned out to be mint, so we were definitely the lucky ones. It was great to see the whanau, I got marmite & roses choccies, Jase got an All Blacks beanie and toilet bag, ahh you just cant beat nz sometimes. We flew in and I thought I was landing in Russia, there was a hardcore snowstorm happening. All good though the next few days were amazing for skiing. We went to Banff, which is kind of like Queenstown, resorty little town in the middle of the mountains.

We crashed at Rueben and Kat's place for a couple of days, they are working on Lake Louise (an awesome skifield) flatting with a bunch of kiwis. They looked aftered us superbly, yummy thai dinner, cheap lift tickets, mountain tours, wining and dining, nz music, what more could you wish for. It was very very cool to see them. Also went to an ice hockey game, was pretty funny, wanted to experience the Canadian sports culture. The supporters get hyper (like at the baseball Matea) and in the last 90seconds the home team scored a point and everyone jumped up, my mum got so excited she threw her hat up in the air and lost it ha.

Back at work now and trying to sort out visa for another year over here. After that Im keen for a new adventure...lets hope there are many more kiwi reunions to look forward too in 07.

Fall '06

What a slacker Ive become to blog world!! First of all want to apologise for dropping out of the loop these past few months. I value having connections to my friends, and their lives all round the globe and I dont want to miss out on all your exciting events and dramas. Being away from ya good mates, just makes you realise how lucky you are to have em in the first place.

So heres a brief update (if anyone still looks at my blog)...
Ireland - a fucken fantastic trip. Hung with my friend Julia, we went on a mission across the country in a gangsta rental car. So much fun, Irish people are truly hilarious. Its a beautiful country, kinda reminded me of NZ a little. Also caught up with Adam and Sam in Dublin which was very cool, to party with your mates you just cant beat it.
Austria - Lisa and Martin were great hosts. We wined and dined, even did a road trip to Slovenia one day, stayed in a mountain hut. It was so interesting actually being in the middle of Europe, totally different from Canada in everyway.
Halloween - Its a big big thing over here, which is pretty funny and its mandatory to dress up as anything, doesnt have to be related to Halloween at all. My friend at work had a party so I went as Cleopatra haha here is my first self portrait, bit behind the eight ball I know but hey better late than never. Also what do you think about the wig, should I get my haircut like that with a fringe? Im feeling ready for a new hairstyle...any comments/suggestions would be appreciated (Michelle your expert opinion please)
Birthday - I feel seriously old and grown up. Nah it was a good day, went out for lunch with the work crew. They got me a robe (I had been eyeing it up for a while). Jase got me some ice-skates, Ive been wanting to go iceskating since i got here. there are heaps of natural open air rinks but its only just getting cold enough for them to freeze. So lets hope I can still skate, I remember thinking I was da bomb when I was 10 but not so sure that will be the case now....
Jase NYC - Jase met up with Justin Mercer for a mini tour of NYC. They did all the usual touristy stuff, had some mad nights out, yarning to total randoms (Jases favourite past time) The highlight was going to the comedy club where Seinfeld performs standup.

Otherwise life is cruising along in TO. Work is going really well, its full on busy most of the time, which Im starting to get used too. The people are great, total clowns, keep me amused which is fab. Hopefully switching over to being a consultant in January, so will get to manage the client side of the business which Im excited about. Been out rampaging a little, cant compete with the rest of ya really, but do go out for drinks a lot, always to new places and starting to get a few pals which is always a good thing. The bars all close at 2am which I still cant get used too. Concord Dawn is playing this weekend, Jase and I are going to check it out, will be first dnb experience here in Canada so will be interesting no doubt, wonder if it will be like London styles, full of hoochie guys haha (who would have guessed its like the opposite of NZ)

Anyhow hope everyones good and looking forward to the holidays, Im not going to say merry christmas yet coz I will be back on the blog before then, and i encourage the other slackers to get back on the bandwagon, its worth it!

Peace and Love
Olivia

kiaora

Hey howsit going? All good I hope. Thought it was time for a bit of an update. Ive been avoiding blogging because I wanted to have some photos to post but good old Jase changed the settings/resolution on our memory chip so lost all our new photos (grr grr).
Anyhoo its all good over here, starting to feel semi settled. Jobs going great, the people I work with are hilarious so makes the day pass quickly. Randomly Im the shortest person in the office, unbelievable eh. Ive never had the feeling of being short before its sooo wyrd. I just spent $700 on new work outfits it quite hard out corporate so I have to look my best ha (well at least try and fit in ya know).
It was soooooo cool when Matea, Mike and Caitlin were in town, I REALLY REALLY hope they move over here. Anyone else wanna come visit your more than welcome to stay with us!!
Im heading to Ireland and Austria in a couple of weeks. First trip to Europe woohoo!! Going to see my friend Julia (aka Barry) who lives in Dublin, and also Adam and Sam are going to be there so should be a grand old partay. Julias in a breakdancing krew so cant wait to check out the Dublin scene, were planning to do a road trip too, I miss having a car so it will be awesome to go cruising around. Then to Austria to see Lisa and Martin, get to experience Austrian life, and meet the family hehe. Shavs going to be there part of the time so will be rad to hangout in a foreign country with Rex, hope to do a random mission somewhere.
Jase is rugby mad over here, been to hospital twice to get stitches, now has 2 new scars to show off haha. Theres heaps of kiwis and aussies in his team so hes made a few pals, one of his friends just got a role on a TV building show, so guess who could be next haha can you imagine..
My mum and sis are coming over to visit in Jan so that will be cool, we are going to Calgary and Vancouver to check out the Rockies and do some skiing. Im very jelly of the NY celebrations you all have planned, I will have to make it next yr (hopefully most of ya will still be in Europe).
Its the TO film fest here at the mo, so the city has gone mad, my friend at works boyf is working as security at the closing party so if he can sneak us in, Im hoping to rub shoulders with a few celebs haha no seriously though its cool here theres so much going on the other night was the MTV awards. I sound like a 16yr old I know. Anyway. Im going to check out the Andy Wharhol exhibit have been meaning to for ages should be worthwhile I reckon. Think thats it for now.
lots of aroha
Odawg