viaggio and freedom

I've traveled to Fraser Island two times. The first time was only for a day with Mike, one of the best guide I've ever found around: he's a local bloke, born and raised in Rainbow Beach, spent his entirely childhood and young age back and forth from the island where he used to go fishing with dad or spending week ends with friends. He's a surfer, blond dread head that has a good knowledge of the places he will show you and he treats his costumers divinely, with Tim Tams and baked cake as morning and afternoon tea, just to mention. The second time I went on a tag along drive tour of the island for backpackers. We had the possibility to drive on sand and learn a bit more about 4WD. I don't have to say that the island is just so wonderful, one of the many in Queensland, still so wild and rough. It's known as the dingo island, because the dingos up there are protected and are in large number, more than anywhere else. They look so cute and nice but they're a d

Travelling this part of the coast with the camper van and some young fellows in March 2014 was an incredible experience. It is a good section of the coast of Australia, Noosa Head been one of the favourite places so far I stopped to and been the northern section surprising and stunning with Rainbow beach and Hervey Bay, both departure places for the wild and biggest sand island in Queensland, Fraser Island. On my last trip to Fraser Island, the end of September, my aussie friend was continuously amused by myself exclaiming every two/three seconds how much I loved Queensland, how much I appreciated the color of the landscape and the ocean and how much that ambience, atmosphere made me feel so good, so relaxed, so grateful, so peaceful. The colour of the ocean over this part of the coast are so beautiful and the long white and wild beaches are even better! Noosa Head is an incredible spot where to relax, explore and surf, go shopping and be charming too. The walk board along the coast

It happens after a storm that wonderful weather comes out and shines your mood in a way you were just dreaming about and everything gets into the right place, peace reaches your mind and everything works out the best way. It is what happened in Sydney after 3 long weeks of rain no stop!! and what happened to me as well. After some stressful months, I've been able to reach a point where I got busier than ever, but where everything seems to be at the right place. Work is good and money is saved, accommodation is nice, not crazy as it was before and my housemates are so nice people that I really love the time I spend with them. Sometimes I'm even able to catch up from some friends and had a good chat, with a good dinner at a nice cosy place as it was tonight at Firefly in Neutral Bay :) what's best than living like a local in a place where you are not local? in a place you've seen few times and spent a couple of days there? been in Manly and nearby already for 3 mon

Living in Manly is absolutely a good lifestyle. You get the Corso, you get the Wharf and you get the beach all in some short of distance walk. Manly is really popular in summer, it looks like the perfect spot to hit for shopping/dining/entertainment. It has a gorgeous beach where to practise water activities, surfing in particular and some diving at Shelly Beach. It has a wonderful boardwalk all along the beach from Shelly Beach until Queenscliff, the next beach going north, while it has reserves and national park closed to the wharf on the other side. The Corso and Pittwater Road are the places for shopping, nice cosy shops, few fancy shops and more surfer style shops are everywhere. On Pittwater Road is easy to get fascinated by the boards' shops and surf-funky style clothes shops and easy to lose yourself in a nice cafè and is a bit more quite than the Corso. Along the esplanade, north steyne or the wharf you'll find nice dining restaurants that light up in the evening

Something that pisses me off in this society is the fact that money get along very well with every kind of institution and government policies. Whenever I hear people talking about meritocracy I shake my head because meritocracy can't be find almost anywhere nowadays especially if u deal with instruction. Don't take me wrong, I'm not a hypocrite and I like some little help when I can't understand something or get to the point quickly, I even appreciate a bit of training and explanation even if I feel a bit qualified and confident, but it's not what happens currently in training and certification. I had to redo my RSA certificate, that I did less than two years ago in a different state than NSW. It is annoying because I'm paying again a certain amount of money to get this certificate and discover that is just a requirement that keeps the pocket of the government quite full and not something that really qualifies you to get a job or anything. How do I know that?!

Una volta arrivata in città, mi sono dedicata completamente alla ricerca del lavoro per giorni interi con il risultato soddisfacente di alcuni colloqui e prove dopo 3/4 giorni. Quello di cui sto parlando non è un lavoro da ufficio o a tempo pieno, bensì di un lavoro part-time nell'ospitalità, ambito ristorazione e/o eventi. Il periodo è dei migliori per trovare facilmente, in quanto la concorrenza con altri backpackers e/o studenti è minore dato che sta arrivando l'inverno e tutti preferiscono andare al nord, al caldo. E che ci faccio io a Sydney?! Mi chiedo… Come vi dicevo, la concorrenza è minore e la città ha moltissimi posti da offrire: ogni giorno ci sono centinaia di nuovi annunci sui siti online e amici di amici informano sui posti dove provare a lasciar il proprio resume (CV). Grazie al mio fidato amico gumtree.com.au mi è stato possibile trovare i posti in cui ho avuto una prova ed ottenuto un lavoro. La fortuna ha poi voluto che un ristorante italiano avesse bis

Mi viene chiesto che progetti ho per il futuro, cosa intendo fare, dove intendo andare, se voglio rimanere, tornare, andare.. e io tutte queste risposte non le ho. Sembro quasi una fuori di testa forse agli occhi degli altri che mi sentono dire:" ma si non lo so nemmeno. Il mio ultimo anno è stato in movimento, del tipo 3/4 mesi poi ti rompi le scatole e ti sposti in un altro posto". Chiamatela noia, chiamatela ricerca dell'avventura, chiamatela vagabondaggio, chiamatela fortuna di aver le possibilità o di aver il coraggio, chiamatela follia, non saprei che nome dare a ciò che mi spinge. A volte son scelte fatte e che non è possibile cambiare, a volte è desiderio, a volte è dolore ma bisogna farlo perché dentro di se non vuole rimanere quel senso di amaro in bocca o di rimpianto poi. Ogni volta che parto ci sono motivazioni diverse, ci sono voglie diverse, ci sono emozioni contrastanti e diverse. Le emozioni però sono così forti, quasi accentuate: non si prende per sc

Brisbane isn't a big city, isn't impressive and/or shocking, but I liked it! It is not too small either too big, it is the right measure for a country girl, let's say..and is quiet!! the atmosphere is the Queensland one, the lazy and easy going, relaxed style of this state. The city is clean and on the water, not the ocean but the Brisbane river that goes from one side to the other of the city and confers the calm and tranquillity to it. The city has got South bank, that is not the same of Melbourne one, stylish and glamorous but still very nice, with museums, gallery and other institutions and attractions. Southbank Parklands are gardens there with casual cafè and take away food shop or elegant and even fine dining. During the day a lot of people go over there to enjoy the sunshine and a bath in the inner-city beach and the artificial lagoon of Brisbane, that is under renovation at the moment. The place is also home to the Brisbane's wheel, where to get a

E sentirsi ricapultati ad  anni indietro, quando eri poco più di un adolescente e stavi intraprendendo i tuoi studi o quelli che gli altri ti raccomandavano di fare, perchè si sa, in Italia una laurea conta e bisogna avere quel  pezzo di carta tra le mani!! Vi scrivo dal treno regionale Milano Centrale - Torino P.Nuova, quel treno che mi portava tutte le mattine o quasi in università per i primi anni e che mi riportava indietro per lavorare. Il lavoro, quello che mi permetteva di risparmiare soldi e pagarmi l'università, il materiale di studio e pochi sfizi (dico pochi perchè non avevo tanto tempo da dedicare a me stessa e alla mia felicità..). Dopo 3/4 anni mi ritrovo su questo treno, facendo ancora una volta la pendolare. Sarà per un periodo molto breve - grazie al cielo, pensa la mia testa!! - e questa volta non è una scelta ragionata sul consiglio degli altri e non è una costrizione :) Anni indietro non avrei pensato a tutto ciò che mi è capitato e ho vissuto; dav

Sydney is a real big city, reminds me a lot of USA cities. Sydney is busy, big, high and beautiful. Sydney is multicultural and cosmopolitan. It is surprising how there are so many places close to the city that are connected to nature and the environment. I found this particular connection just there. There are bush walking tracks around the beaches up north and public pools made by the ocean water that are free and easy to find. Some of the walks are just known by locals and not a lot of tourists get to discover what is the real beauty of this city. As good as the connection between city and nature is the diversity of the city. The city is old and classy close to the rocks, is fancy and stylish near Darling Harbour (it is exactly the right name for this area of the city..), is modern and new in the CBD and in the meantime is asiatic in chinatown, funky/ hipster in the suburbs and always vibrant every time of the day. I spent a week and I went back to the city with my sister for

Last months I travelled from Sydney to Cairns and then back. I had a roadtrip from Sydney to Cairns and I visited most of the places on the east coast of New South Wales, crossed the border of Queensland and spent some time along the coast up to Cairns. I regret not having had the right amount of time and money to enjoy the east coast properly and I really look forward to going back one day and enjoy all the islands that are closed to the coast and some amazing places I would have spent more time in, such as Sunshine Coast, Noosa Head, etc.. The New South Wales is a nice state. Similar to Victoria but greener and closer to tropical Queensland, it has plenty of national parks and reserves and a wonderful coast. Not a surprise that I prefer the northern part close to the border with Queensland as far as the weather is concerned and the environment itself, with the colour of the ocean getting more light blue and wonderful. Anyway it doesn't really matter where, I found some intere

Canberra isn't just the capital city of Australia, is also the cultural city of Australia. It has more than 25 attractions to see without any fee charged and it is all art galleries and museum.  Two days aren't long enough to sightseeing the city and most of these free attractions. It would be good to go there and spend some times in museum with history books and have a general knowledge of the history of the country.  I found every single museum that I visited so interesting and full of information, from the war memorial to the portrait gallery. The war memorial is a very masterpiece as far as I'm concerned: all the exhibitions and information given are done simple and are easy to follow, sometimes the representations seem to be true and alive. I went there close to closure and unfortunately I didn't have time enough to get totally involved i every explanation of the battles and wars that all the australian soldiers had to struggle in, because I wanted to see most

Experiences are the most exciting part of my travels and allow me to see beyond my limits. After cruising around Tasmania, being in Tarra Valley in the Gippsland for a couple of days, I went to Traralgon and then Heyfiled where Ron picked me up from the bus stop at 6.30 pm on a cold Thursday night. Then we needed to drive for a hour and a half to the Higging's Hut in the Alpine National Park of Victoria. This place is called the High country and it is one of the most high places in Australia; the Great Dividing Range goes across Victoria and New South Wales and the High country is part of it.  The high country has been for so many years home to cattle stations and huts where people found shelter after being mustering the cattle/ exploring the mountains and/or skiing in the territory. Higging's hut is a private property in the national park, one of few remaining that has always been used for mustering and has horses paddocks, cows yards and operates a horseback tour from

Mamma dice di scrivere in italiano così può leggere anche lei il mio blog…allora lo faccio!! Ho un po' di tempo libero prima di prender il pullman che mi porta all'aeroporto per tornare a Melbourne. Son di ritorno da 20 giorni passati in Tasmania, 20 giorni che sono volati e non mi son nemmeno resa conto di aver trascorso qui. Ho passato 15 dei giorni girovagando e guidando in giro. Il tempo è volato visto tutti i posti che sono riuscita a vedere e di cui ho scritto nel mio post in inglese. Un breve riassunto della mia esperienza è che non sono stata molto affascinata da molti dei posti a primo acchito, ma ora dopo esser riuscita a rilassarmi un poco, posso dire che la Tasmania è un posto da vivere e non solo da visitare, in quanto bella in tutto ciò che ha da offrire. Per vivere intendo riuscire a passare più di mezza giornata in un posto e arrivare ad apprezzare la bellezza di tale posto. Hobart risulta molto più bella dopo che viene conosciuta, dopo aver scoperto Sal

Tasmania is either not too small or full of activities to do. If you plan to go to Tasmania for a week, you can see the major touristic place, rushing from morning to night and you end up not enjoy the island at all. This island needs time to be explored, needs time to be appreciated and needs time to be seen. In every corner of Tasmania there is a particular view, country town, wildlife spot, bushwalking track and much other.. Hobart is the big city, it isn't comparable to the big cities of the mainland, but it is huge compared to other tasmanian city. Salamanca place is my favourite spot in the city and is a stylish and beautiful area with nice caffe, restaurants, pubs and shops. Launceston is full of life and young people and it has its own vibe. It can resemble Hobart, same mall style, same shops and similarities but I liked it more. I honestly loved the north of Tasmania more than the south, probably because of some incredible beaches, such as Binalong Bay, in Bay of Fir

Melbourne captured me with its vivid and vibrant lifestyle. I've been here less than two days and I feel that I like this city so far, at least I can realise now why everybody kept tell me you will like it ;) Less than two days and I know already part of the city and the public transportation system, so easy to understand and use, so easy to ride with the myki pass, a card for train, buses and tram services. The city circle tram is free and goes around the city loop: on the tram there's a narrative voice explaining what to do around the city and which areas go and visit. At every stop, informations about the surrounding are given and that makes easier to understand the city. Melbourne is metropolitan city, Melbourne is events everywhere at the same time, Melbourne is life in every streets and in every corner. It is the place to hang out for a coffee, for a drink or for food. It's rich of young people, creative minds and extravagant characters. Go for a stroll i

If you know Adelaide and think about it, what pops in your mind is green and nature, excellent food and wines with elegant restaurants, wide and spacious boulevards with shops and heritage buildings. Adelaide has a relaxed lifestyle and sits 20 minutes from the beaches and/or from the hills, plus is a very green city, because it contains 29 parks, each which unique characters. The first colonists arrived here in 1836 and started to build in stone, leaving beautiful architectural heritage that is preserved and maintained. Adelaide hosts some different cultural event year around: the Adelaide Festival held in March, WOMADelaide, Adelaide Fringe, Feast Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Adelaide Festival Of Ideas. Culturally speaking, it has a lot to offer and it's home to a beautiful museum with aboriginal heritage and history, The South Australian Museum that includes the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery. There are also numerous sporting events, including San