Merry Christmas!

I know pretty much no one reads this blog, but for those who do I wanted to write a quick entry to say Merry Christmas to you. I have been busy working, baking, Christmas shopping and wrapping, and now am on holidays until December 28, so I am finally unwinding and relaxing at home with a cold bevvie in my hand and Carols by Candlelight playing on my tv from the Bowl in Melbourne. I'm pretty much in my element right now, hehe!

Happy Christmas to you all - stay safe, eat lots, love lots and most importantly, HAVE FUN!

Jorgs

Florentine Slice

Hello again my dear readers! I have been getting my bake on for the last three days in preparation for Christmas, and after a good response from posting my choc mint balls recipe, I thought I would share with you all another favourite of mine. This recipe for florentine slice also always gets rave reviews from my family and friends, and this year I have made three batches of it!

Please leave me a comment if you end up trying it out, and tell me what you thought, and how you went! I would love to hear of your Christmas cooking expeditions!

Florentine Slice

375g packet of milk cooking chocolate
 
3/4 cup of sultanas

2 cups of cornflakes

1/2 cup of peanuts, unsalted

1 packet of glace cherries, chopped (any colour, but I personally think that just the red ones look best in this recipe)

2/3 cup of condensed milk

Line a lamington tin with foil, ensuring the foil comes well over the edges of the tin, then spray the foil with cooking spray.

Melt the chocolate with some copha to get it nice and smooth and glossy and then pour into the prepared tin. Refrigerate until set.

 

 

Before going in the oven

 

 

In the meantime, combine the sultanas, cornflakes, peanuts, cherries and condensed milk and mix well. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, spread the mixture evenly over the chocolate base and press it down slightly to make the top smooth. Bake in a 180 degree Celsius oven for 10-15 minutes or until you can see the top starting to change colour slightly.

Cool and then refrigerate again. Later, cut into squares.

Enjoy!


I am pretty liberal with this recipe, and don't feel quantities are hugely important. For example, the original recipe had just 185g of chocolate, but I felt this wasn't quite enough to be able to taste chocolate on the base when you went to eat it as it was spread too thinly. I also usually put in more peanuts and cherries than the recipe says! It's no big deal.

Happy baking!

Jorgs

Christmas Choc Mint Balls

Merry Christmas everyone! As this is definitely the time of year we all stuff our faces a little bit, I thought I would share with you one of my favourite Christmas recipes! This recipe is so popular with everyone I share it with, and full credit goes to my good friend Nikki who gave it to me years and years ago now! Ever since, I have been making these amazing balls of deliciousness every Christmas and they are always gone in a flash! You will love them!

Christmas Choc Mint Balls

1 block of Cadbury peppermint chocolate, chopped

1 packet of choc ripple biscuits

1 packet of glace cherries, chopped

60g of butter, melted

½ a can of condensed milk

Coconut, for rolling

 

Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin inside a bag, or in a food processor. Mix these crumbs with the melted butter, condensed milk, cherries and chocolate. Roll the mixture into balls and roll in coconut. Refrigerate.

Makes between 30 and 50, depending on size.

 

 

You will not regret making these – in fact, you’ll probably do as I do and make 2 or 3 batches! I give them away as gifts and share them with my colleagues and they are still talked about years later, even after I’ve left some workplaces! My family loves them to pieces too! They’ve taken over as the most popular Christmas treat I make – rumballs are dead in the water now!

Happy Christmas!

Jorgs x

That time I went to…Fort Worth, Texas

Hello fellow travel lovers! I have just gotten back from another trip to Texas! This time I took in a bit of Fort Worth as well as my usual Dallas, so I wanted to share it with you all!

It was awesome to leave Sydney on Friday as it was wet, wet, wet! Not to say it wasn’t going to be wintery in Texas too, but I was keen to get away from this not quite winter not quite summer thing Sydney has going on at the moment! Our flight to Dallas was uneventful and we landed into 15 degree celsius gloomy weather in the Lone Star State.

After some Christmas shopping and sleeping during the layover a few of us crew decided to go to Fort Worth to see the rodeo they hold at the Stockyards there. I actually went to the Stockyards on one of my other trips but only went during the day and didn’t get to see the rodeo, so I was pretty keen to get my gosh darn, bootscootin’ cowboy on!

 

 

 

 

We drove the 45 minutes from Dallas to Fort Worth and bought our tickets for the rodeo later that night. The Stockyards at Fort Worth is a forty acre historic tourist precinct that has many restaurants, bars, shops and western themed museums (living up to Fort worth’s unofficial title of being ‘where the west begins’). Of course, there are also the stockyards here, which are the last standing stockyards in the United States. Twice a day there is a cattle drive down the main street, led by riders on horseback. It’s all very western and very cowboy and basically just a whole lot of fun.

 

 

The first time I went there I went by myself and browsed the shops, buying everything from guacamole mix to Christmas decorations shaped like Stetsons and cowboy boots, and had me some ribs for lunch! I also had a look in the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, and took in the cattle drive. This time, since I was with some other crew we just looked at the shops and went to dinner (more ribs! We were in Texas after all!), and then made our way to Cowtown Coliseum where the rodeo was being held!

 

 

Thankfully Cowtown Coliseum was an indoor venue, so we didn’t freeze to death while the show was on! We decided to pay an extra five bucks (tickets were usually $18 for adults) to get reserved seats at the front so we could be really close to the action, and this was SO worth it. We were so close to everything that was going on, and had such a good view!

You can’t get much more American than a rodeo, and I was not disappointed, let me tell you! The rodeo started with a very patriotic rendition of ‘Proud to be an American’, which much of the crowd got very, very into. So into that the two women in the box beside ours got angry that not everybody stood up for the song. I believe their exact words were ‘I’ve never been to a rodeo in all my life where people didn’t stand up for this!’. They were not happy, but I think it was a bit unfair, as most of the crowd were tourists, and while they stood for the Star Spangled Banner which was played afterwards, they didn’t know to stand for Proud to be an American. Technically I don’t think we really needed to stand for the first song – it’s not like it was the national anthem (it was certainly the first time I’d ever heard the song) – and even though I did (because those women next to me did, and also because I at first mistakenly thought the song being played WAS the Star Spangled Banner so I SHOULD stand, out of respect of course) – not everyone would think like me and my crew did. I think those women next to us were just very patriotic and very passionate about being American. Nothing wrong with that at all, but it would’ve been nice for them to take a moment to realise that many people in the arena were visitors and many probably didn’t even speak English, so they were not being disrespectful intentionally.



Getting our rodeo on!

 

ANYWAY. The rodeo was fantastic! The closest thing I’ve been to a rodeo was the Outback Spectacular on the Gold Coast in Queensland, and really, that was not a rodeo. Not like this. Here there was bare back riding, barrel racing, lasso-ing, cowboys, cowgirls, bucking bulls, the works! They even got the kids in the crowd out a few times into the arena to chase around a calf and get a piece of paper that was tucked into his harness and take it to the rodeo clowns for a prize. And boy did those kids get into it, racing around all over the arena after this poor calf, and later a sheep! It was super cute! One kid even lost his little cowboy boots in the chase and when it was all over had to run back to the other side of the arena to collect them out of the dirt!

 

 

 

The show lasted a good two hours and was edge of your seat stuff! I was constantly holding my breath when these rodeo riders came out of the gate, hoping they would last until the buzzer went off, or that if they fell off the bucking bull that they at least didn’t get trampled! It was also amazing to watch the cowboys with their rope skills – they could lasso a bolting young calf and get off their horse and tie the calf’s legs together in under ten seconds! Such precision and skill!

I highly recommend going to the Stockyards at Fort Worth if ever you’re in that part of Texas. It’s very interesting being immersed in such cowboy culture – you really get a feeling of the real Texas. Plus Texans are so friendly, and it’s fun to peruse the huge array of Stetsons and cowboy boots and belt buckles and barbeque cookbooks and all things southern in the stores there. And who doesn’t like drinking a beer and getting grubby fingers with a plate full of sticky messy smoky ribs!? It’s a good value night out, no question!

 

Ribs baby, RIBS!

I also briefly visited downtown Fort Worth on my first trip to the city when on my way back to Dallas from the Stockyards .While waiting for my train I came across a lovely memorial to John F Kennedy outside the hotel where he gave his final speech before he headed to Dallas and was assassinated just hours later. Texas seems to have a lot of connections to the late president, and documents and memorialises it at every opportunity, but they do it so well, so no complaints here!

 

 

 

Until my next adventure,

Jorgs

We couldn't leave without a horse selfie!

Travel tips for backpackers part 2

Well I'm back dear readers, this time with even more travel tips from someone who's been there, done that! I'd love to hear your tips too, so please don't hesitate to leave me a comment below and share the love!

Sunset in Dubai

1.       For discounted hostel stays, plus many discounts at many attractions around the world, become a Youth Hostels Australia/Hostelling International member. For Aussies it’s less than $40 a year last time I checked. Your membership card entitles you to cheaper beds than everyone else, and discounted entry fees at many tourist sites. Worth getting.

2.       Don’t be afraid to take public transport. It is often the cheapest and quickest way of getting places. People often seem scared of taking public transport but truthfully these systems in major cities are often the safest mode of travel (hola NYC subway system!) and among the most extensive, fast and easy to figure out (god bless you London Underground). My first recommendation on how to get somewhere is definitely walking, but if it’s too far (or you’re just too tired), public transport is the next best way to go.

The London Underground

3.       Be prepared in case the ultimate nightmare happens and your luggage is lost/delayed. Pack some clean clothes (at least a tshirt…it doesn’t have to be a whole outfit), underwear, any important medication and some toiletries in your carry on bag. Plus anything important to you, like valuables and expensive gifts you have bought for your family on the course of your adventure. My motto is that I don’t pack anything in my checked luggage that I would cry over losing. The important stuff sticks right by my side. And it might sound silly, but let me tell you, as a flight attendant I cannot tell you how many times passengers have fallen ill during the flight and their medication is in their checked luggage buried in the hold below the aircraft. “I didn’t think I’d need it!” they say. Well if you’d had it in the cabin with you, you wouldn’t have! Duh. Same goes with packing emergency clothing rations. If you have them, chances are your luggage will never get lost and you will never have to resort to being down to your last pair of undies.

 



4.       Don’t get caught up in converting the price of everything you want to buy, from soft drinks to souvenirs, into your home currency. It’ll just put you off buying cool things that will be great mementos of your trip of a lifetime. It’ll also do your head in from all the maths that you shouldn’t be doing on something like a holiday. Just buy it. Some things will be a total rip off when you convert the euro or the pound price into Aussie dollars or vice versa, and some things will be so cheap you’ll want to buy two. But just buy it. Adapt to the prices of the country you are in and buy as if you are a local (plus that beautiful hand blown Venetian glass ornament or the fine Italian lace table cloth you bought your Mum as her Christmas present).

5.       Keep a travel journal. You won’t have time, or energy, to write in it every day but who cares? Just write whenever you feel like it. Travel journals are the most glorious things to read back on, whether it’s on the plane ride home after months away, or years later when you are moving house and rediscover your journals when packing things up. I stick tickets, leaflets, postcards, maps and other assorted reminders of my trip in there as well.

 



6.       Take advantage of anything free your hostel offers. I have stayed at many hostels that offer free breakfast. Sure, sometimes it’s just cereal or pancakes or a single French stick, some mini packets of honey and some paper plates (like a hostel I stayed at in Athens, Greece!), but it’s still free. Free is good. Fill yourself up and you won’t need to shell out til lunchtime! Some hostels also offer free pasta night, or things like $5 BBQ’s where you can get a sausage in a bun and a drink. It’s a great way to meet people and save some coin!

7.       A travel towel from somewhere like (for the Aussie’s) Kathmandu, Anaconda or Mountain Designs is a great idea and I would say a travel essential. You cannot only use it for the bathrooms in the hostels, as not all hostels provide you with towels, but also for the beach or for extra padding around a delicate item in your suitcase for the journey home. These towels are light weight, not too big dimension wise (although you can get many different sizes), dry quickly and some even come in a plastic sleeve type zip up bag, so you can put it in there wet and not have to worry about all the other stuff in your suitcase getting wet.

Disneyland, California, USA

8.       First time travellers are often weary of pick pockets and unpleasant things like that and my advice is just to be switched on. Don’t be careless. Don’t stand on a street corner in the middle of Times Square with your map open. Don’t walk around with your bag unzipped. If you’re just smart you will be fine. Try your best to blend in and look like a local. If you look like every other commuter on the tube in London, just going about your day, getting to work or whatever, why should a pick pocket target you over anyone else? They shouldn’t. Just don’t take risks, that’s all. The kind of money wallets that you hide under your clothes are a good idea for first timers – I had one for my first trip overseas and kept my passport and emergency credit card in there at all times, and always felt safe because I knew those two very important things were always on me and always safe. There are many ways you can be targeted – I knew a girl who had her phone stolen by gypsies at the Eiffel Tower (and she didn’t even notice they were doing it!) and a guy who handed over his credit card to a quad bike rental company in Corfu, Greece and they charged him two thousand euro instead of two hundred and he did not realise until a few days later! – but if you are cautious and sensible and take no more risks than what you would take at home when it comes to your safety and your money, then you shouldn’t run into much trouble.

Katoomba Falls in the Blue Mountains,
 New South Wales, Australia

9.       Don’t buy one of those travel sims for your phone. In this day and age where there is free wifi everywhere, you don’t need to call everyone at home to stay in contact, especially if you’re going away for less than a month. Send postcards and emails and keep up through Facebook if you must. Call once or twice but keep it short so you’re not slugged a huge fee for international roaming. I got this silly travel sim device thing on my first trip and I had to load it up in $25 increments to make calls, and also to receive them. I was away on my birthday and received about 3 phone calls that day and had to load up $25 about 4 times! What a rip off. And so unnecessary. I also had to call a number first and then they in turn would connect me to whoever I was trying to reach! It was ridiculous. You do need a phone for emergencies, but no one is saying you need to use it like you do at home. You’re out travelling. It’s not like real life, like at home. Go off and see stuff and tell everyone about it later.

10.   I recommend taking two credit cards – an everyday use one (a debit one for example) that doesn’t flog you too much in international fees every time you use it (or if it does, just withdraw a couple of hundred dollars/euros/pounds/whatever each time so you can last a few days between trips to the ATM. Store the money in your hidden money wallet until you need it) and then a credit card for emergencies. I take a VISA credit card on all my trips and almost never use it. It is just there in case something big comes up, or I buy or have to pay for something that will only take that type of card. Two cards is a good idea because if you lose one, or one is rejected, blocked by your bank, not accepted or hacked, you still have something else you can use in the meantime until you get it sorted out. I don’t need to tell you what a mother trucking hassle it is to get a new card sent to you overseas – especially if you are moving between countries, say on a tour, every couple of days! Hello nightmare! And you don’t want to have to borrow money off other people.

I also have never thought much of those pre-loaded travel money cards. They seem like such a hassle. I guess if you’re super against any kind of extra fee using your regular card overseas might incur, then sure, look into it, but I think it’s much easier to just inform your bank you’re leaving the country than having to get one of these travel cards, decide how much to put on it and load it up and blah blah blah…argh. No thanks. Completely personal preference of course but what if you don’t put enough on it? (we always spend more than we think!)

Your savvy backpacker,

Jorgs

Christmas Care Packages Update

Happy first of December readers!

A few entries ago I told you all about how to send a care package to our troops serving overseas this Christmas. I've been hard at work ever since making my own care packages - collecting things to include in the boxes during my travels abroad as well as here at home, playing a tetris like game fitting everything into the boxes and making sure they didn't weigh too much, and taping them all up and addressing them to our hard working diggers.

 

Just a few of the goodies I gathered!

Finally last week they were ready to go and I hauled them down to the post office. Here are some pics from this project - one I've truly enjoyed doing! 


 

It really made me happy that I inspired a few other people to also make care packages, and hopefully this will continue. You still have time to send a package overseas for Christmas! The cut off date is December 8, so get cracking! Trust me, nothing will make you feel more warm and fuzzy than doing something nice for someone else at this special time of year and not expecting anything in return.

Merry Christmas!

Jorgs

Making it all fit

 



Ready to go!