Cheer-io!

It is now March 26 and we have been back in jolly old England for just over a week. I gotta say, we only backpacked for just over a month but it was quite the adventure. I think we probably have more stories from that month than I did over the previous 8 at home.

So seeing as that was only round 1 and there is much more to come I thought I would share some of the highs and lows of the trip so far, some you may have heard about, others may be new to you.

Highlights of the trip:

-Barcelona-beautiful city with mountains, a beach, amazing architecture, nightlife and not to mention a happening scene

-Meeting "The Kid" in Madrid-we met Leigh "The Kid" at the hostel we stayed at in Madrid just cause he heard our accents from the other room-we backpacked with him for about 10 days and we only had good things to say about him

-The Brazilians in Madrid-met some Brazilians at the same hostel, one of whom was an artist and he drew Luke and I sketches of his hometown in Brazil, def a great memento

-Scootering up the Portuguese coast-we took a bit of a risk renting them for unmentionable reasons but it paid off cause it was an amazing day

-Portugal-the people were awesome, very friendly, helpful and not to mention the country itself was beautiful

-Cadiz-I could go on and on about Cadiz, the weather, the beach, the sun, the people......it was awesome, ill leave it at that

-Morocco-the excitement and unknown of a place with different customs.....it was a cool and even uneasy feeling at times being put into a place where you stand out.....also, the countryside in Morocco was gorgeous, couldve spent a ton of time hiking or trekking

-Essaouira-really laid back town where we could relax from the hassle you get in Marrakech, plus we met Abraham, BizBiz and Spiggle there, awesome blokes

-Ireland-what can I say that I havent already said, 2 Paddys Days, a huge party and people from all over the world-great time

-the people-everywhere we went we met some really cool people, and they were the reason the trip was as memorable as it was-ive said it before and ill say it again, buildings and art are nice, but its the people you meet along the way that you remember most

-And of course.....The Bennetts-Theyve been amazingly kind to us and their family is awesome so I have nothing but good things to say about them

Lowlights

-Night time in Las ramblas in Barcelona-yeesh

-Madrid-other than the Kid and the Brazilians Madrid just didnt turn out great for us.....we found it to be a bland city, plus we met Rich and the Australian cokies there and they were interesting to say the least

-Luke crashing the scooter in Lisbon-nuff said, luckily he was ok and there was minimal damage

-The ppl on the bus from Madrid to Lisbon-who talks all night in outdoor voices at 3 in the morning when everyones trying to sleep?!?

-Lost Book in Sevilla-long story short, I was supposed to do someone a favour and I screwed it up big time by losing it

-missing out on the visit to see Maria in Portugal-we tried getting a hold of my aunts childhood friend in Portugal but for some reason we couldnt, which wouldve been a great experience if we did

-Swindlers in Morocco-loved Morocco but you gotta get smart or go home quick cause youll go broke pretty quick if ya dont

-flight to UK from Dublin-sooo sick but def worth the fun we had before

-and finally the big one: TIME and MONEY-I think we couldve easily spent another week in each country at least, and even then it still probably wouldnt have been enough time....so much more I wanted to do but thats just life, oh well

So we have been back in Marple since Tuesday morning when Double D surprised us by picking us up (thought we had to cab it back, it was very kind of him) and we didnt have to go back through customs and see our old friend lol.

We decomposed for the first few days after and recovered from our whirlwind tour. It was great to get a good nights sleep without 8 other people in the same room as you, waking you up early in the morning.

We also finally got to meet Steve and Carroll's daughter Jen who just took off to hitchhike to Morocco for charity yesterday, theres a site for anyone whos interested, phil probably has it, if not ask Luke or I for it. Her and Steve definitely have that travel/adventure bug, so it was cool to meet her.

The last few days Steve finally put us to work and weve been doing some gardening work in the yard at the "Bleak House", Steve and Carrolls lovely home. Its been a great workout and were almost done the job.

Friday were headed to a Sale Sharks rugby game. Ironically enough weve been playing more softball than traditional English games cause the Bennetts are on a team here. It was a lot of fun and I got to hit the diamond again after a long hiatius from my younger days lol.

But our time here is drawing to an end and more exciting things are to come. Were headed up to Edinburgh to find work on Monday likely. Hopefully well find some work at a fun spot with young people. Weve heard only good things about Edinburgh and it looks like a great town.

Weve also got some new visitors or trekkers coming up in the near future. Meaghans coming out in June to join the adventure so that will be cool as I know shes excited to come out, and hopefully my sis will make it out for a bit (hint, hint) cause it would be a good experience for her too (hint, hint).

But either way fun and adventure is to be had no matter what and were having a really good time. Definitely miss all you Canucks back at home but not the weather (although it did snow here the other day, proably karma or something for my earlier comments in Spain haha).

So I hope everyone is well and keep checking in, theres lots more to see round here.

Yall come back real soon, ya hear!