Easter Weekend

Firstly, it was so nice to get out of London! After spending faaaaaaaaar too much money on Saturday, I packed a few things Sunday morning and hopped on a train for Banbury ... or so I thought. I kind of sort of got on the wrong train and ended up in Swindon. So after a few public transport trips later I ended up in Oxford and met up with Alice, her mum, her stepdad and stepbrother, David, who lives in a village called Blakesly outside of Banbury. We walked around Oxford for a bit which was really awesome - some parts of it are incredibly old. I'm definitely going back when things are actually open and doing a tour of the university.

From there we headed back to Dave's house in Blakesley. It's this beautiful old vicarage, over 150 years old, and he lives in the top third of it and pays dirt cheap rent. It's all furnished by the landlord with beautiful antique furniture, and has a master bedroom, spare single bedroom, guest bedroom complete with ensuite, living room and kitchen - he pays half of what I pay per month for a tiny little room in Wimbledon!

Anywho, this is the house and gardens:





This morning we went for a drive to Henley-on-Thames which is a beautiful little village which is apparently famous for its regattas. It was really cute, and again parts of it were really really old.







Lots of swans there too which, incidentally, are really ugly creatures when they're not swimming...

From there we drove to Windsor. The castle wasn't open but we had a quick drive around it - it is absolutely MASSIVE. Buckingham Palace has nothing on this piece of brickwork. I'm going to have to go back and do a tour, I'm so intrigued now. These are some pics Alice took out the window as we drove past the castle. It was far too busy to park anywhere, even with the castle not being open.





David was nice enough to drive us back to Wimbledon, so the chances of my getting lost were not quite as high as they might have been if I'd taken a train:D.

All-in-all, a great couple of days and I got to see a bit of the countryside ... and lots of sheep.:)

Whatever the Weather...

The weather the past four or five days has been absolutely brilliant! And by brilliant I mean sunny, dry and WARM! Yes, you heard it first here, temperatures in England can get to the high teens *gasp!*.

It's so nice to be able to go outside and not feel cold and, rather than wishing you'd worn an extra layer, be able to take one off! On our lunch break yesterday we went to a pub called the Moby Dick which is right on the Thames, which actually looked blue for the first time since I've been here, and the sun was shining and the weather was just perfect. It's lovely to get some fresh air and not freeze.

It also seems like the entire mood of the city has lifted with the weather change. People don't seem as grumpy on the tube, although they're still rude, and I have a feeling people are smiling more, or it could just be I'm delusional with happiness over the warm weather.

Anywho, I spoke to Linda last night who headed off today to live in Shanghai with her boyfriend for a while. That's got to be tough, living in a country where you don't know the language, but I'm sure they'll have an absolute blast and see lots of amazing things.

And I'm going to see Les Miserables tonight, which should be awesome - I've only ever seen in done in amateur productions (which were great!), so seeing a professional company do it I hope will be worth it. I've got a really good seat, but I think just being there, in London, seeing a show on the magnitude of Les Mis, will be enough to keep me happy.:)

And now, I've a very busy day ahead, so go away and don't bother me because I'm much too important;).

Goodbye Andy!

Last night was the farewell for Andy with everyone from Pipsqueak at a Turkish restaurant at London Bridge...and here are the pics:



















And Happy St Patrick's Day!:)

A Marketplace of Ideas

This weekend I found myself walking along Portobello Road, Notting Hill, through the markets, which are absolutely amazing, not to mention HUGE. I spent a good two hours there and even then I only quickly skipped through the clothes section. It was just HUGE. They have everything from fresh fruit and veg to antique furniture, jewellery, homewares, clothes, shoes, leather work ... nothing like I've ever seen before, a very different market to those of Hong Kong, which meant no knock-offs or stolen goods, but cool stuff. I went a little mad and bought a whole heap of vintage costume jewellery - it was uber cheap! On the way to the markets from Notting Hill station I passed this:


George Orwell's house

From Portobello Road I headed off to Harrod's, so I got to see a bit more of London that I had not seen yet. After Harrod's, which is just amazing - the Egyptian Hall is incredible - I headed off to Harvey Nichols for some Sushi and found the place absolutely packed, so I didn't really enjoy it as much as I did last time I was there. However, I made an appointment at the hair salon there, Daniel Hersheson's, who is credited with Kylie Minogue as one of his clients. And no, I was not prepared to pay the £250 he charges for a haircut, but I was prepared to pay the £65 for one of the other stylists...so I guess we'll see if that money is worth it next weekend:).

Ah, fickle vanity;).

So after Harvey Nicks (courtesy of AbFab) I decided, somewhat stupidly, to walk to Piccadilly through St James' park which was gorgeous, and it meant I got to walk past Buckingham Palace, and the Marble Arch (below), but I was really wearing the wrong shoes and my poor feet were SO SORE by the time I got to Piccadilly I just searched for a seat somewhere, anywhere! BUt all the daffodils are now in bloom in St James' and it was just beautiful. I took lots of piccies:


Marble Arch





So I got to Piccadilly, sat down, walked to Leceister Square and tried to get tickets for Les Mis, found they were sold out for that night, so tried to get tickets for Phantom to find they were also sold out, which is REALLY weird...usually you can just rock up and get a ticket, as these are shows which play not for days or months but YEARS. I was dissappointed, but took it as a sign from the Gods and so tottled off home, and ended up walkign to Waterloo. A REALLY stupid thing to do when my feet were as sore as they were, but I'm a glutton for punishment. Now the sun is up much later - ie. not setting til about 7pm - I managed to get this lovely picture from the Jubilee Bridge:


London Eye and the Dali Museum on the left, the River Thames, and the Houses of Parliament on the Right

And yesterday I spent the day curled up in bed feeling sick. And because I slept during the day I couldn't sleep last night, which was actually alright - My Fair Lady was on!

Home Sweet Home

There are some days here where I really wonder 'what the hell AM I doing here?!'. Mostly it's brought on by loneliness - I still hardly know anyone, and apart from Alice I don't have any friends here really, and I'm finding it very difficult to make friends. People just don't seem to be willing to make friends over here! There's a lot to be said for Australian attitudes, most of it good.

Another thing that brings it on is news from home, when things happen that I feel I should be there for. Like my sister getting assaulted at her work - I want to be able to track down the guy and kick the crap out of him - or my other sister WEARING MY CLOTHES! ooooh - so angry! I gave her the best tirade I could over the phone, but it would have been far more satisfying in person!

And then I think to myself that this is one of those 'once in a lifetime' things, where I'm living somewhere with the opportunity to travel to so many other cool places. And I wonder what I've got back home - no job, no 'home' as such, but all my friends. I'm not coming back for a while, because I know homesickness is a common thing, and I'm sure things will pick up come summer time, and I've still got so much travel I want to do over here.


And now I'm listening to 'David Hasselhoff is Stalking Me', written and produced by my good friends Tony and Alex, aka Tour de Piss. And for the moment everything is okay:)

White Men Can't Jump ... and White (English) Girls Can't Dance!

Is what I've learned from this weekend.

After a fairly boring week at work, Alice and I went to Tiger Tiger, this massive club in Picadilly, on Friday night. It's about four floors with different areas and really awesome boogie music! So needless to say Alice and I, after a jug of cocktails and cowboy shots (which were actually the equivalent of two shots in one glass), were the centre of attention on the dance floor.:) Those English girls just can't dance! I'm not sure whether it's because they've got no rhythm or were too worried about messing up their hair and make-up... but I'm sure it's my mission from God *insert the spirit of James Belushi* to teach them the ways of the boogie.


Me trying to look sexy when really all I look is drunk ... but it's okay, because I'm AWARE of it!:)


Alice and I in Picadilly

Sunday I decided to do some of the touristy things that I haven't done yet, and so headed off to the Tower of London, which was just incredible. It still hasn't sunk in just how old it is - parts of it are over 900 years old! The highlights were definitely the Crown Jewels, and the Bloody Tower, which has carvings in the walls from prisoners, including Walpole and Thomas Dudley. They Yeoman, the traditional guards of the Tower, were fantastic as well - they do tours but I didn't go on one, but I just stopped and listened if I came across them. Very dramatic speeches they give, and very fine livery they wear! Instead, I bought a tour book when I got my ticket, which proved to be really helpful. It's written in a logical order and it means I could go at my own pace around the complex. In all, to see everything thoroughly, it took me about 2 and a half hours. And I finally bought something for myself! A necklace from the Crown Jewels shop. I seem to be spending a lot of money on gifts for people ... and then the postage. Anyway, I highly recommend the Tower of London!


Tower of London from outside, with the Tower Bridge in the background


Inside one of the towers - this was probably a private chamber for a person of status


"Quoth the Raven" ... Legend has it when the crows/ravens/whatever fly away from the Tower, disaster will befall London. So the Yeomen keep their wings clipped, just in case...


Next stop was the National Gallery, which just blew my mind! They have some of the most famous pieces in the world there - Boticelli's "Venus and Mars", a whole heap of Van Gogh's (who I just adore - I bought a mini print of "Sunflowers", which just took my breath away), Monets, Cezannes (not as many as the Tate though), and they usually have a collection of Da Vincis, but apparently they're on loan in Italy at the moment. The building itself is as much a work of art as the collection it holds - it's absolutely stunning inside. Oh there were so many more amazing paintings but I can't remember them right now ... but I bought a book on the Masterpieces at the Gallery from the bookshop, to help job my memory later in life:D. Suffice it to say I could live in the National Gallery with nothing but the paintings around me and be the happiest girl in the world:).

And the light was better yesterday, so I got a few good pics of London:


Looking towards South Bank from the Houses of Parliament, we see the London Eye and the Aquarium, part of which houses the Dali museum, a planned stop next weekend!


Big Ben


The gates at Trafalga Square at the promenade leading to Buckingham Place and St James' Park


A view towards the city from St James' Park. In the mid-ground is the parade ground for the Royal Cavalry.

And now finally, here are some pics from the snow we've been getting a few times a week. These are taken on my way to work a couple of weeks ago:


View from my bedroom window


Lakes Road, which I walk down every day...


Just walkin'...

And I've forgotten my glasses today, so apologies if there are many a typo...

I Heart Picasso

This weekend had it's moments of fervour, firstly with an evening spent in the company of Alice in Leceister Square. We had planned on going to see Les Miserables but they only had single seat tickets left, so we decided against that and instead ate a whole heap of steak, followed by a whole heap of delicious dessert from a fantastic place called Rendezvous. Then we made the mistake of going to see the Aviator - far too long for what it is, and what it is is far too Hollywoodised for my liking. And no matter how much facial hair you put on Leondardo DiCaprio, he'll still look like he's twelve years old. So when he's making out with Cate Blanchett it looks REALLY weird.

Saturday was spent doing nothing much at all - sleep and cleaning prevailed, and a wee bit of shopping.

Yesterday we went to the Tate Modern Art Museum which was just incredible - they have Monet's 'Water Lillies' and Picasso's 'Girl in a Chemise', as well as the rest of their collection of Picasso's, Cezannes, Matisses, Brusques, a couple of Dalis.... needless to say I went a little mad. And their collection of Warhols is amazing - they've got the Marilyn Monroe piece and the red Jackie O... *sigh!* They've got a couple of exhibitions on their at the moment but nothing to entice me to pay some ridiculous amount to get it. Having said that, the Tate is free, they ask for a donation at the door but it's not pushed on you or anything, which is nice. It's built in this old powerstation, so it's absolutely MASSIVE. Apparently they get 5 million visitors a year, which doesn't surprise me - even yesterday, a Sunday afternoon, absolutely freezing and miserable, it was still really busy. I know where they make their money though, apart from the exhibition - the gift shop! That was my contribution.


The Turbine Hall - the main entry to the gallery. It's kinda big...


Crazy Optical Art - seems to be a new thing. The things in this room really messed with my eyes...lots of lines and aluminium and suspension. It was cool!


The view of St Paul's Cathedral from the Tate

Now I've done the Tate, next on the list is the National Potrait Gallery and the Salvador Dali Museum. I can't wait for the latter - bit of a Dali fan!

For now however, it's another week of work ahead. Hooray for me.

Oh, and I finally sorted out my Gallipoli tour - it's definitely happening, all paid for. Just have to book some flights to and from Istanbul and it's all sorted. Tops!