Apparently we got good advise. It was impossible to find work in Switzerland. The fact that we didn't have working visas and couldn't speak the language meant no one wanted to even talk to us. I was going to try the Hooters, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I don't need the work that bad.

So, after a day of skiing the Swiss Alps! we headed on to Austria. The skiing wasn't the greatest, not much snow, but the scenery was amazing. My first time in the mountains, it was breathtaking.

We went to Innsbruck, Austria for almost a week. We had another day of skiing, though the skiing was much better. There was actually snow and the runs were better groomed. We also tried cross-country skiing - hard work. We were exhausted after, and we didn't even do the full route. We couldn't understand the driver, we thought he sais be back in 3 hours, but he said be back at 3:00, so we sat around for a couple hours. We did get a warm apple strudle - mmmmm!

The reason we stayed so long in Innsbruck is because there was a World University Sports competition going on. We watched a couple of hockey games before we learned Canada was there, but they didn't play again until Wed. night. So we stayed the extra two days to watch Canada play Russia - should be a good game. The game started really good, both teams quick and on their toes. Then Canada gets a penalty, then another and another. Russia took advantage of all the penalties. The final score was 6-0 Russia! What a disappointment! Russia was just too quick.

We left early the next morning - to avoid the embarassment from the night before. We had an early train to Budapest, Hungary. We spent most the day on the train. Luckily an information agent approached us on the train to answer any questions, and helped us book a hostel for the night and even arranged a free shuttle for us, or we would have been walking around for hours looking for a place to stay.

We were a bit disappointed with the hostel though. It claimed to have a kitchen, but it really only had a small room with a sink, fridge and microwave. Oh well, it meant we had to go out to eat. We found this quaint little Hungarian restaurant, that actually has an english menu. The food was good, large portions and reasonable cheap. We ate there a couple of times.

Hungary was cold, but a pretty nice city. Lots of castles, one with a full on moat around it. The moat had been flooded and is used as an ice rink during the winter. I could picture Budapest being quite pretty in the spring.

I don't know if it's the weather, or the fact that we've been away so long or the pressure of not enough money, or what, but Trev and I were seriously talking about coming home (we have no money left!). We talked about using the rest of our train ticket to get to Athens, then take a flight home and head back to Europe in the spring after Doug's wedding. We went on the internet to look up prices of flights home, and to our surprise, Trev had got an email from a friend in Ireland he met in Australia. Eamonn, the friend, has jobs for us in Ireland. Well one for me for sure, and probably one for Trev if we're interested. So of course we emailed him right back and said yes. That totally lifted our spirits and gave us new hope.

We took another long train ride and are now in Sofia, Bulgaria. We spent 17 hours on the train yesterday! We are using the rest of our train ticket to get to Athens, still waiting for the confirmation on the jobs in Ireland.

Bulgaria is quite nice. We haven't been able to see the mountains in the distance though, it has been snowing non-stop since we got here. Though the snow is really pretty. I think I actually miss the snow, though I don't miss the cold at all. The hostel we are at doesn't have heating, just a wood burning stove in the tv room (not the bedrooms). It does create a cosy feel while watching tv, and the place smells like fire - like my dad's place or the cottage.

So we are on our way to Greece, then either to Ireland or home in the next week. Wish us luck with the jobs...... again! Or you'll have to put up with us sooner.

It's a New Year and a whole new adventure. Our last few days in Sydney weren't all that exciting. We spent one day on the beach and that's about it. New Years Eve we went down to the harbour and got to see the fireworks display from the Sydney Harbour Bridge - supposed to be the biggest new years fireworks display in the world! We had a great view of the bridge and a great New Years Eve - though almost too great. We almost didn't get up in the morning for our 8am flight to Singapore. Somehow we made it to the airport and on the plane.

We had a 12 hour layover in Singapore, so we did this free tour that the airport provides. We got a 2 hour tour of Singapore including a boat ride up and down the river. It wasn't a full picture of the place, but made me want to go back someday and really explore the city - but that's for another trip. We spent the rest of our time in Singapore in the airport, mostly sleeping.

We got into Rome, (Italy!) early in the morning, but didn't get our room until early afternoon. We just hung out in the restaurant at the hostel we were staying at and tried to decide where to go and what to do now that we are in Europe.

We got our room at about 2:30 and went straight to bed. We slept right through to 8:00 the next morning. We were ready to head into the city and explore. It was overwhelming! The buildings were so big and full of history. The churches are so detailed and impressive. I just couldn't get over the fact I was in Italy!

Our first day in Rome we saw a couple of churches, threw some good luck coins into the Trevi Fountain, and climbed the Spanish steps. The next day we went to the Colosseum! We had to pay 10 Euros each - that's like $40 Canadian just to get in and walk around - but it was so worth it. That night at the hostel they played 'Galdiator' the movie - how appropriate.

We also walked through the underground ruins, saw the Emmanuelle monument and the Pantheon. The Pantheon is a church, but not built in the cross shape like most other churches. It is built in a circle shape, with the top of the dome left open, so it actually rains inside the church.

The last place on our list of things we wanted to see in Rome was the Vatican. It's actually it's own little city, the Vatican City. It has it's own postal code and everything. Anyway, we went to St Peters Catherdral, and got to climb a ridiculous amount of steps to the top of the dome where we got to see the inside of the church from the highest vantage point. We climbed a little bit further, and got to the outside of the dome where we had a spectacular view of all of Rome. We could even see the Colosseum in the distance.

We finally made some plans for Europe. We need to work, and we figured where better than in the Alps of Switzerland where we can also do some skiing. So, after one night in Milan, we are now in Switzerland. We took the train from Rome to Milan, then Milan to Interlaken. Milan was incredible. We read that it was all about money and fashion, but we were not prepared for what we saw. There were boutique shops everywhere, and nothing was cheap. Ladies were strutting around in their fur jackets and leather boots. In the span of about 2 hours, we saw 2 Porches, 1 Ferrari and 1 Lambourgini (Trev's dream car)! We took photos of the Lambourgini, they should be posted soon.

Interlaken is a small little ski village. There are a number of hotels and such, so we hope there will be some work. We have been told that it is really hard to find work in Switzerland, especially without a work visa, so we may have to change our plans - but not without doing some skiing first.

Anyway, wish us luck and we'll keep you posted.