Paris.

While in Paris we did all the 'touristy' things you'd expect; the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Champs Elysees, the Arc d'Triomphe as well as visiting the Louvre and the Museo d'Orsay but my favourite thing was the bridge that is covered in padlocks. Needless to say I had to add my own for prosperity.

Barcelona. Oh my Gaudi!

Barcelona was amazing. In particular we spent a lot of time visiting the Gaudi buildings and they are very impressive. We also visited both the Picasso and Miro museums but just the city itself was beautiful. The only disappointment was not getting to see a football game... oh well, next time!

Madrid.

It had been a while since we'd had to use our Spanglish so going to Madrid felt good. We spent our time there walking around in the sun although it still wasn't very warm. We visited some museums, art galleries, the park and took in as much european culture as possible. It's a beautiful place to visit.

Ratho EICA.

While we've been in Scotland, Ross has been taking us climbing at Ratho. The EICA is built onto the side of an old quarry and is the largest climbing centre in the world. It's a pretty spectacular place and really fun but bloody hell you're arms don't half hurt the next day!

Brrrrlin.

While we were in Berlin they experienced a bit of a cold snap which meant that the average temperature for the week was around -10 degrees. It was so cold that the rivers and ponds were completely frozen solid which made them good for sliding on.

Auf wiedersehen pet.

We went to Berlin for the week and it's one of the best places we've been to this whole trip. There is so much to see and do including art galeries, museums, the Brandonberg Gate, the Reichstag, the Berlin Wall; not to mention all of the street art. It's a bit of a culture mecca to say the least.

Aussie Invasion.

For the next week it was pretty full on with 8 of us staying at the house and trying to fit in as much tourist stuff as possible. We went on a few trips including a day out in Edinburgh. We climbed the Scot Monument, had a pub lunch and took a walk up to the top of the Royal Mile to the castle.

Dirty thirty.

I had a really great birthday party this year. You'd think that when you reach the age of 30 you'd become more responsible but we spent the night thoroughly drunk, dancing on the tables and taking over the whole pub. Getting old doesn't really seem too bad so far!

Hogmanay 2012.

It's probably the biggest holiday of the year in Scotland. Every New Years Eve in Biggar we have a bonfire in the middle of the town. It's kind of like a big street party where everyone gets really drunk so it's hard not to have a good time. Happy New Year!

Home for Christmas.

As we flew into Scotland it was snowing and the ground was white and it really started to feel like Christmas. For the couple of weeks leading up to Christmas day we enjoyed kicking back a little, home cooked meals and the luxury of not having to live out of a suitcase for a while.

Next stop Broadway.

When we got to New York we found out that The Book of Mormon was completely sold out until the 6th of January and Zak was gutted. One day we took a chance and turned up at the theatre and were lucky enough to get tickets. And it was totally worth it!

Central Perks.

We spent today in and around Central Park. We walked around the lake, Zak had a hotdog, we went ice-skating and managed to tick lots of boxes on our New York to-do list.

Strawberry Fields forever.

We took a walk through Central Park completely oblivious as to what the date was. When we reached Strawberry Fields there was a large group of people who were singing. Then we realised it was the 8th of Dec and that it was the anniversary of John Lennons death so we joined in the sing-a-long.

... I still love you New York.

We spent 10 days in New York and it is one of the best places we've been to on our trip. And because it was so close to Christmas it made things even better. There is just so much to see and do that we'll definitely be heading back.

When I say Marlies...

We went to two hockey games while in Toronto, both of which to see the Marlies play at the Ricoh Coliseum. The games were great to watch and the atmosphere was fun. They really try their best to keep the fans involved and entertained the whole time. In one of the games there was a really awesome fight too.

Zak the Ripper V Kellectric Shock

While we were in Toronto the Roller Derby World Cup was taking place for the very first time. By chance some of the girls at our hostel were going so we tagged along for the day. Both Scotland and Australia had teams so we watched some of their games and once we got a hang of the rules it was awesome to watch.

OH CA-NA-DA!

We had some time to spare so we made an unscheduled side trip up to Canada for a week. We stayed in Toronto for the most part and went a day trip to the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls. It was really cold but we still did the walk under the falls. Luckily we had waterproof ponchos on to keep us dry!

A fun knight.

Tonight we went to Medieval Times and it was so much fun. We were split up into sections and we had our own knight to follow (as you can see we were BLUE). We cheered on all the tournaments and watched them joust and fight. Everything was themed right down to dinner. It was a great 'knight' out! hahahahaha

Fantasmic.

Disney really is the happiest place in the world and you can't help but go along with it. We spent 2 days acting like big kids, getting our photos taken with people in costumes, eating junk food shaped like Mickey Mouse and going on rides that go less than 5mph... and it was so much fun.

Lights, camera, action.

We had so much fun at Universal Studios. There are so many rides and rollercoasters and even just walking around is fun. We went on some of the old classics like Jaws, Jurrasic Park and Terminator 2.