Ineffectual Doctor Who stalking

On to Cardiff! From Bath, I bordered a dodgy train that was allegedly going to get from from one country to another... I had my doubts. Also, it was chockas full of people... I don't like people, esp not when I have a have a massive backpack. Thankfully, most of them got off at Bristol, only two stops and 10 minutes down the line! Anyway, a tunnel ride later and it was hello Wales... which did look differnet to England, so yay!

Pulled into Cardiff and walked out into the way dodgy train station... plus, it was a Sunday so there was nobody about... hmm. Walked to the hostel, which again was dead... allegedly the night before, there was absolutely NO accommodation in Cardiff... yeah, I don't know where all the people went. Anyhoo, booked in and then walked into the city, where there is just a big castle! Heh. Did the castle first, as wanted to make sure I got that in while I was in Cardiff. It was very intersting... it had been built by the family that practically owned Cardiff until recently, and were responsible for making Cardiff, at one time, the largest port in the world. There's a nifty Norman keep in the middle, and around the walls are the former living areas of, um, what were their names? They were Earls, I remember that much... meh, who cares? Anyway, they had decked out the place like a medieval castle would have looked and what's so cool about it is because it's relatively recent (late 1800s), all the glory and colour has been retained. It's a def must look if you're in Cardiff. After the castle, hopped on the sightseer tour, which was interesting cos I was the only punter on it! They had a live guide, as well, so she just chatted to me about Cardiff while we trundled along. And then we got to Millenium Plaza... sweet! It looks exactly like it does in Dr Who and Torchwood... you don't need weird angles to make the Millenium Centre look all weird and freaky, it does that on its own. I took photos of me standing on the stone that takes you into the Torchwood Hub (heh, hello Captain Jack!) and then I wandered around the bay. Yeah, not much there. Still, fun to see it. I caught the bus back and the tour guide on this one was talking about Torchwood. Apparently, I had missed them filming at Millenium Plaza by two weeks and John Barrowman's teeth are really white! Damnit! Got back to the city centre and wandered the (closed) shops before popping in to Marks and Spencers for some dinner. Went back to the hostel, watched telly and enjoyed a local brew (Brains Beer!).

The next day, I needed to kill some time before my train so went to Millenium Stadium for a tour. Again, not many people in Cardiff! On the tour, it was me and a couple from England... still, nice to get the personalised tour! The stadium was pretty impressive, and it did kill a couple of hours. Oh, and the reason Cardiff accomodation was allegedly all booked out Saturday night? They had a Middle Weight Title fight on between, um, I think it was an English guy and a Dutch guy? Anyway, the English guy won, so everyone was really happy.

So after the tour, I did a bit of window shopping and then collected my stuff for the big trip down to Penzance. I got there about 6pm and it was pitch black! I decided I would walk to the hostel rather than catching a taxi... yeah, bad idea. It took me about 30mins to get there and I was afraid I was walking the wrong way the entire time. Joy. Anyhoo, got there, checked in and then got some dinner. It was Bonfire Night, as well, so pretty fireworks lit the sky... apparently, there were heaps of fires lit by the fireworks and the Fire Dept got called out to about 50 fires! Heh.

The next day it was off to Lands End! I caught the bus at the unheard of hour of 8.25am (I wanted to make sure I got there and back in time) and the double decker bus (of which I'm sure I was the only passenger) wound its way through very narrow streets, hitting tree branches forcefully and making me fear for life and limb on more than one occasion. Anyway, got to Lands End in the end... only to discover, yeah, not much there. I saw the pretty coast, and then, not sure what to do, wandered towards the hotel... which also encompassed a little tourist village. There were dodgy attractions, souvenier shops and then the Lands End sign, which of course you had to pay for a photo with. Stupid entrepreneurial people. I managed to take a photo with something that said Lands End, tho, so ner!

One of the dodgy attraction was the Doctor Who Experience... heh. Cos I missed out in Cardiff because a) I was there for 1 day only and b) I couldn't be bothered, I decided I would partake at Lands End, catching the next bus which I thought would come in an hour. So I paid my money and went in... heh. It was so completely naff, but I loved it! There was costumes from all three series, and it was just totally cheesey... ah, fun times. Plus, there was a 'scary' dalek at the end, rising out of the dark in a cloud of smoke... come on, how could you not love that?

Anyhoo, after that, I went to the bus stop, prepared to wait 20 mins for my bus... only to discover the next bus was two hours away! Nooooooooooo! Damn you, Dr Who and your cheesey goodness! I went for a bit of a walk along the coast, but it wasn't that great and my ankle started to hurt. So I walked back to the Visitors Centre and what do you know, a bus of old people had rocked up. So the tea rooms were now open, with their beautiful cafeteria style. Nice. Got myself a cup of tea and a cornish cake and sat down to wait.

The bus finally arrived and I made my way back to Penzance, where I bummed around for four hours waiting for my train. Yeah, not much to do in Penzance. Note to self... next time in Cornwall, just rent a car. Everyone will be a lot happier! So anyway, the train finally came, made my way to Exeter and caught a taxi to the hostel (never say I'm a slow learner!), watched Liverpool thrash some Turkish team (8-0!) and then it was off to bed.

If you are thinking of going to Exeter for the non-stop fun times and excitement, yeah, don't. There is not much there! The do have a pretty nifty new shopping centre... Walked into the city centre and tried to find the underground caves. Thought I found them, but after much walking, yeah, so didn't. Anyway, I gave up on that and went looking in the shops, where I found said new shopping centre, which is completely open air. Very interesting. Anyway, the tourism office was in the shopping centre, so found out where the underground passages were, and also some walking tours. I booked in to the passages, and then wandered around again, looking at shops and the like. The passages were pretty boring, just some tunnels that were dug under Exeter to allow people to get to pipes in the middle ages. Yay. No bones or anything. Still, took up some time! After that, I bought my beautiful Clark shoes (so super cute!) and wandered some more, deciding I didn't need to do the walking tour as I felt my feet couldn't handle it. Trying desperately to think of things to do, I decided to go down to the wharf to see what was shaking down there... yeah, not much. In fact, most things were closed. Awesome. So Exeter in the end turned out to be a wonderful place for me to spend the day shopping!

Caught the train to London, checked in to my hotel (which was interesting trying to find the thing... London should really look into de-confusinising their streets - btw, like my new word??) and then met Prash at a bar in Soho! Fun times were had, much vodka was drunk and my thrid to last day was over!

Bathing Roman style

So next up, it was off to Bath. Several train changes later, the train was pulling into Bath Spa station and I alighted from the train, ready to enjoy the splendors of the city... Unfortunatley, Bath is not that impressive from the train station. There is now a massive work site where a department store is being built, and the street is kinda manky. Still, perservered, walking up to where I thought the hostel should be... only to discover I was confusing the hostels! Anyway, made it to the YMCA (heh) and checked in to my solo room... Bliss! It was pretty cool, with a basin and my own desk! Awesome! Anyhoo, after that I went trolling the streets of Bath, trying to figure out where I was in relation to all the cool stuff. Hopped on the sightseer bus, always a must when you get somewhere, and it took me places I hadn't even heard of... nice. I did one loop and then hopped off, where it was straight to the tourism office to see what I should see. I found a day trip to Stonehenge, which also took me to a couple of other places, so signed up for that. Other brochures pointed me in the direction of other sights, including Sally Lunn's, which is the oldest house in Bath and serves a special bun thing. It was yummy, that's all I care about! They have a kitchen museum there, which was pretty lame. Next up, I went to Bath Abbey... Ugh, another church! Really, not much different from the gazillion I had already seen. I then popped into a supermarket for dinner, thinking there would be a kitchen at the hostel... yeah, no kitchen. Awesome. So after some creative microwave work (cos they did have a microwave), I had my dinner, spent some time on the internet, booking my London accomodation and then bed time.

The next day I decided to do a walking tour of Bath. I wandered around until the time of the walk, checking out the scenery. The walk took us around most of Bath, checking out the major sights with a little bit of history of each. The dude was very informative and it was a great way of getting my bearings. Also killed a couple of hours... yay! After the tour, it was time for the Roman Baths. After getting a ticket that included a trip to the Fashion Museum too (yay!), I entered the Baths, which were just awesome. The springs that feed the bath they believe came from rain that fell about a million years ago and has made its way from its origin point through the earth, gaining heat along the way, until it popped out at Bath. The Romans utilised the springs, building a fantastic temple and bathhouse on the site, dedicating it to the Roman goddess Minerva and the Celtic god Sulis (those Romans were into incorporating local beliefs into their empire... nice stuff). Anyway, the baths are so impressives. Besides the Great Bath, there was two sets of rooms flanking, each with heated floors(!) and a sauna, as well as a 'cooling down/warming up' room, so people didn't have too much of a shock when they entered the hot water. So much fun times. I reckon I spent about two hours there, fascinated by all the artifacts they had discovered, and the baths themselves. Oh, and they had actors portraying characters around the baths. I saw a highborn lady and her servant, enjoying the grooming aspects of the bath, and then a priest, praying in latin to Sulis Minerva.

After the baths, it was time for some refreshments. I got my free glass of Bath water (mm, sounds so delicious when I put it that way), which didn't taste that bad to me, and I of course ordered high tea from the Pump Room, the place where all the cool Georgians hung out, which was nummy. Little baby creme brulee, fruit tart, strange vol-au-vants, scones with jam and clotted cream... mmm. After that, it was way too dark to do anything, so had me some dinner and then I joined the Bath Ghost Walk. Now, I was hoping that it would be like the York Ghost Walk (ie, brilliant) but alas, the Bath one was a bit of a wash out (heh). It was way too paranormally for me, with the guide obviously believing in the paranormal and doing the whole flaky thing. The guy in York backed his stuff up with research and facts (much more interesting, I feel) whereas the guy in Bath backed his up with "and now we are entering a small valley where you will feel it get colder (well, duh, it's a valley) and the friendly ghosts will take your hand..." Yeah, it was a bit naff. Still, got me out of the YMCA!

The next day was my trip to Stonehenge! Yay! I did a tour with Mad Max, which took me to Stonehenge, Avebury Stone Circles, Lacock Village and Castle Coombe Village. Fun times. So first up was Stonehenge, which was just great. I loved it... I think I have a bit of a thing for stone circles. It's disappointing that you can't go up and play amongst the stones, but it's still amazing to see them, shaped to some ancient design, and we have no idea of their purpose. The freeways is right next to the stones, but there are plans to dig tunnels underneath Stonehenge, allowing for the stones to be seen the way they were when they were first built (well, mostly... I think the landscape may have changed a tad in the last 3000 years). Anyway, fun times were had! Next up, we travelled to Avebury Stone Circle, which is about 2 miles in diameter, so big there is a village in the middle of it! Also, it has some sort of weird magnetic field there, which allows for copper dowsing rods to do wonky things when you're holding them. After Avebury, we drove past Silbury Hill, a big mound that was actually made by prehistoric man. No one knows what it's purpose was, and archeologists are currently working away inside it. We then saw some of the famous White Horses of Wiltshire, stylised carvings in the hill sides of horses, made white by the chalk composition of the Wiltshire earth. Our lunch stop was at Lacock Village, a world heritage area and the location for filming of Pride and Prejudice and Harry Potter! In fact, Harry Potter #6 had just wrapped production there, and the production vans were still on site. I had a dodgy pasty for lunch (it was really meh) and then wandered around the village, which was tiny. When we left, it was so strange cos it took five seconds to get back to the 21st Century - there was a set of traffic lights, a supermarket and a petrol station! We then travelled on to Castle Coombe, which is a super pretty little village... nothing too exciting, but still nice. We drove back to Bath and that was all she wrote!

The next day was all about museums... I started off with the Jane Austen Centre, which was kinda cool... and they had a tea room, so had some sugar bun thing that was prescribed as a restorative in Georgian times! After the Jane Austen Centre, it was off to the Assembly Rooms and the Fashion Museum! I had waited to go to the Assembly Rooms, as they were closed on Thursday and I really wanted to see them... however, the Great Ballroom was shut when I went, so I had to content myself to seeing two of the three rooms... oh well. Oh, and while I was in Bath, Keira Knightly was filming, um, I think it's called The Duchess? Anyway, the Royal Crescent was all closed to traffic and the like, so awesome fun times! Not that I saw anyone famous, but still. Anyway, back to the Assembly Rooms. After I wandered, I went down to the Fasion Museum, which is in the same building... ah, now that was fun! I spent ages there, looking at all the pretty clothes and shoes and handbags... *sigh* So much fun.

After the Fashion Museum, I wandered around, seeing the Circus and the Royal Crescent, oh, and going to No 1 Royal Crescent, a Georgian museum. The house is decked out like a Georgian townhouse would be... it was kinda interesting, but you can only take so much of that stuff before you go a little bonkers... I think Scotland ruined it for me! Anyway, wandering Bath was fun, and then I decided to see a movie that night... and the movie I saw had Castle Coombe in it! Hah! Had just been there! Awesome!

The next day, it was time to say goodbye to Bath *sniff* and hello to Cardiff!

Industry City

So the next day after we arrived at Manchester, Nick had to "work" (well, go to a Man U game and review it for the Man U official website and magazine - tough job, hey?), but we all went to brekkie at a cool little shop around the corner from where they used to live. After the brekkie, we went to some craft markets, perused the awesomeness, and then on to John Rylands Library, which had just been re0pened after a refit. It was built by Mrs Rylands after John boy died as a monument to him and it's pretty darn nifty. It looks like a church, very vaulty and big, and contains fragments of the original bible, as well as the Koran and some other religious books of importance. We had a lovely morrocan platter at a funky shop for lunch (after seeing the Hilton - ugh, ugliest building ever!) and then it was off the the Gothic town hall. And lucky us, there was a wedding out the front but not just any wedding! Oh no, it was a full on goth wedding, with the flower girls dressed up like Kirsten Dunst in Interview with the Vampire, and the bride wearing a deep red dress. Heh.
After bumming around at Vic & Nick's watching tv (yay!) and drinking tea, Nick finished work and we all caught the Magic Bus (seriously, that's what the bus company is called!) to the Indian restaurant that is the bomb! It was very nummy... mmm, Indian. We then wandered the streets a bit, found lots of Indian sweets for sale and bought some for dessert. Went back to Vic & Nick's, ate our dessert and watched Vanessa's midget show. Fun times!

The next day, we waved goodbye to Vanessa (who later told me it took 7 hours to get back to London - ugh!) and Vic, Nick and I went to the art gallery, where they had lots of PreRaphelite stuff.. yay! We then wandered about a bit, doing some shopping in Topshop and H&M (heh) before having lunch at a pub where you could get a pint and nachoes for £5. Oh, and we also went to another cafe with wireless internet so I could check my train stuff. Joy. After lunch, Vic and I went to see Superbad at the movies and I tried Ben & Jerry's Icecream - Cherry Garcia. Very nice, but it tasted a little bit of fake cherries... never a nice flavour. After the movie, we went back to Vic's house where she made an awesome risotto for dinner. It was a great, relaxing normal day. Always fun!

So the next day was travelling to Windermere. Yeah, that was fun. I got on the train, no problems (well, the ticket machine almost wouldn't accept my credit card - stupid English credit cards with their microchips!) but when it came time to hop off at my change, I missed it! The train only waits 3 minutes at each station, and don't really let you know that the stop is coming up... I think you're magically supposed to know. Anyway, got off at the next stop, thinking I'll just ask the ticket office what to do... but no, the ticket office was closed. Probably for lunch, the bastards. Anyway, I bit the bullet and tried to buy a ticket back to Oxenholme (my station) but the damn ticket machine wouldn't accept my card (see chip stupidity!). So, frustrated as all hell, I invetigated and thought, I'll ring the ticket company. Yeah, couldn't get through. Awesome. So finally, a train pulled up going past Oxenholme and I asked the paddle waving guy what I should do. He said just hop on and tell the conductor what happened. Sweet! So I got back on, made sure I was waiting next to the door and managed to get to Oxenholme an hour after I was supposed to be there! I then had to wait for the next train, so I was an hour late getting to Windermere. And then the helpful taxi driver told me I was staying in the wrong hostel... Ambleside is better, apparentlly. But we pulled up to Windermere YHA and I just fell in love with the scenery. It was exactly what I wanted... smack back in the prettiness. Fun.

So I checked in and then walked down the hill to the bus stop, my ankle protesting all the way. Yay for twisted ankles. Anyway, caught the bus into Windermere and discovered, well, that there wasn't much there! So went to Bowness, which is right on the lake. Very pretty and lots more shops! Did the Beatrix Potter thing, which was more geared to kids, and then wandered about Bowness, hoping to maybe get to Ambleside. Was going to catch a boat, but unfortunately I had just missed the last one! So sat around hoping for the bus, but it didn't show as they had just changed to winter times (damn the end of Daylight Savings!). So wandered around trying to find a taxi, but no joy. Finally, I asked a shop lady if she knew where a rank was, but she said I could use her phone to call one. So nice of her! Made it back to the YHA and had a lovely dinner (bangers and mash!).

The next day, got a taxi down to the train station, admiring the scenery while I waited (so pretty there, seriously!). The train ride was uneventful until Birmingham, where I had to swap trains... via a completely different train station! I got directions from the information booth, but either I'm stupid or they weren't very good cos I was so going the wrong way! However, a very nice security guard pointed me in the right direction, even walking with me a ways to make sure I was going the right way. Got to the station after walking through the shopping district of Birmingham, so I can so say I've been there now! Arrived at Stratford-Upon-Avon and checked into my B&B, which was just gorgeous! Would recommend to anyone, def. I had a pink room (as mentioned before... but it was so super cute!) Anyhoo, the owner suggested I see Henry V that night, as it was the only play on in Stratford and her son had seen it the night before and raved about it. So I wandered through the town until I found the theatre, discovering it was the Royal Shakespeare Company in their temporary premisies, as they were redoing the Swan Theatre. Bought my ticket and continued on to Shakespeares Birthplace, where they had live guides in every room, giving you a little background on what the room had been used for. Fun! I then went on the internet, organising the rest of my trip, which took ages. Then it was dinner time and play time! The play was quite good, but the production was amazing! During the scenes with the French Court, they had actors on trapezes, symbolising the airiness and frivolousness of the French. And the war scenes were awesome, smoke, light and sound used to make it seem like a World War I trench (even tho the play was set in the 13th century - meh, who cares!). Unfortunately, I was so super tired that I kept wanting to fall asleep, and when the play clocked in at three hours, I thought I would! Luckily, made it through it, went back to the B&B and had an awesome sleep!

Break time. Back with Bath!

A world of learning at my fingertips... and gargoyles, apparently

Okay, so next up was Oxford! Caught the Oxford Tube (which is a bus!), which went past Hyde Park, Grovsner Place and Mayfair. Yay for richville! Arrived in Oxford after about an hour, had a coffee, looked at the food markets (yum, olives!) and then caught the hop-on, hop-off bus for the skinny on Oxford. I, of course, being the nutter that I am, sat up the top in the open air, only to freeze in the brisk Oxford cold. It was freezing. Anyhoo, it was very informative and saw a lot of the sights that I never would have been able to walk to (cos I would have given up trying to find them, not cos they were that far!).

After the bus tour, I hopped off at Christ Church College, super pumped to see the setting for something in Harry Potter. I got to the gate and discovered that the Dining Hall was shut until 2pm. Man. These stupid attractions not being open when I want them to be! Anyhoo, wandered over to the Oxford Story, a pretty naff attraction which straps you into a cable car and trundles you through Oxford's history. Still, fun times with the kitch! Went to the Radcliffe Cinema next but the darn thing wasn't open to the public. Damnit! Also, Oxford is slightly obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, as Lewis Carroll was a lecturer at Christ Church and Alice was the dean's daughter or something. They had a shop called Alice's Shop and everything! Oh, and Oxford is also obsessed with gargoyles. They're everywhere! Anyhoo, made it back to Christ Church College, paid my money and wandered around. It was kinda meh, and I wasn't too sure what was in Harry Potter. I think its the Dining Hall but as with Neighbours' Ramsay Street, the whole thing is way smaller in real life.

Finally, went up Carfax Tower (more bloody steps) for a great view of Oxford. Then it was back on the bus to London to meet Vanessa for tea before The Vegemite Tales. Unfortunately, the traffic was horrendous in London and what was supposed to only take an hour ended up taking two and a half. So we grabbed something quick to eat and then it was on to watch Blair McDonough take his shirt off. So worth the cover price (he's really hot in real life!)

The next day it was back to playing with Tish and Deanna. Yay! Unfortunately, I twisted my ankle really badly before meeting them so it was Limpy McLimp for me. I bought a brace and that seemed to help heaps. Anyway, we went to the Tower of London, which was great! Our Beefeater tour was amazing, they are such funny buggers, those guys! And it was really interesting how you got to be a beefeater - you had to do a certain amount of time in the armed forces, with an exemplary record, no blemish at all allowed! And it can be anyone in the Commonwealth, so they currently had a New Zealand guy as a beefeater! After the tour, we went and saw the Crown Jewels, which just looked like plastic to me. I think it was because my brain could not compute that the astonishing amount of gold and precious stones could be real, so it must be polished plastic. However, the big safe door about three feet thick probably lend credence to the idea that maybe they're not plastic... Unless the English are just messing with us poor colonials. I wouldn't put it past them!

While we were at the tower, we also saw a film crew! We thought maybe it was some rapper filming something, but we think in the end it was an American tv show, something like "so and so visit London". Anyway, that brings film crew sightings up to about three!

After the tower, we met Tish's friend Kate for lunch, so Tish and Deanna could hand back the key. It was sad times as they were leaving that day! So we celebrated by going to the cute tea shop around the corner from the Borough Markets, where they have tea cups hanging from the ceiling and fairy statues on the tablecloths! I had high tea, which was fantastic. I swear the jam was home made and the clotted cream... mmm. I also had about 17 slices of salmon in my sandwich (heh). After that, all over red rover for Tish and Deanna so we hugged goodbye and then those guys left for Heathrow and Australia, and I shopped in the Borough Markets for the dinner I was making for Vanessa and her flatmates as a big thankyou for letting me stay with them. The dinner went well and we had the Beaujolais wine I brought back from Contiki. Yay!

After eating a determined breakfast of eggs and bacon (I had half an hour to cook it and make it, but I had bought that bacon, damnit, I was going to eat it!), I caught the train to Brighton. So yay, beach! Not yay, pebbles :( The water was surprisingly warm, though, esp as it was so darned grey there! Walked along the beach to Brighton Pier and then was lambasted by the garishness of the tacky rides on said pier as I walked up and down it. Still, it was Brighton Pier! Next up was the Royal Pavillion, which was super cool! The Dining Room was amazing, such splendor! And the English know how to frame such splendour by having the rooms around it full of understated elegance. Not like Versailles, where each room topped the next, to the point where you just couldn't be dazzled any more. Oh, and the kitchen was awesome. All those cool pots and pans... fun times!

I got threatened with death if I didn't go to Shakeaway while I was in Brighton. Not that I knew where it was. So I texted the death threatener (Vanessa) and got a precise location :) Anyway, got there and it was amazing! It was like Cold Rock, but a million times better. After much deliberation, I chose an Apple Crumble with Cinnamin Shake, hot. Mmm, it was awesome! Then it was time to catch the train, pick up my backpack and meet Vanessa at Victoria Station for our megabus trip to Manchester. Hm. The bus was... interesting. The toilets... hm. But we did have a little break, as they needed to change drivers about 21/2 hours into the drive, and the dude said we could have ten minutes to stretch out legs! Nice! We got to Manchester at about 11.30pm, and Vic and Nick were there to greet us. So nice of them! We ended up talking til about 2am and then it was time for bed.

Time for the obligatory break, guys! Next post, tales of Manchester!

It's like a little Adelaide convention and everyone's invited!

So after the glorious day of rest, it was back into the sightseeing extravaganza!

Monday found me meeting up with Tish and Deanna for an Adelaide reunion. It was very emotional We trundled off to the British Museum, where I was stoked to find the Rosetta Stone! The actual Rosetta Stone! Awesome fun times in history right there. We then looked at the 'Elgin Marbles', statues from the Acropolis in Greece that are the subject of nasty discourse between the English and Greek governments. Personally, I subscribe to the theory that they should be returned to the Greeks and the English argument is threadbare at best. Still, it's interesting reading the little plaques where the museum tries to justify its possession of the marbles.

We then worked our way through the rest of the museum, seeing the Roman artifacts (so super cool), the bog person, a body that has been preserved by bog mud (it was not so super cool... who would have have thought I would be so squemish?) and "hands on" exhibits, where a staff member has all sorts of goodies from the collection for you to play with. I couldn't fight my way through all the seven year olds, so I left that one alone.

Next up was lunch and then off to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre... not that it actually is the Globe Theatre. It's a reconstruction a few streets away from the original site, as the original Globe burnt down sometime in the early 1600s. We booked in for the tour of the site and got to go in to the area, which was very interesting. Did you know that in the 16th century all plays were held during the day? This is because, dadadaDA! There was no electricity. Well, der. :) Anyway, it was great and the only regret is that we didn't get to see a play there... the season had just ended! After the tour, Tish was suffering from a cold so we parted ways and I went to Tower Hill, hoping that maybe I could get the Tower of London out of the way. Heh. It was 5pm when I got there, so no Tower for me! However, I did see part of London's City Wall, and walked around the Tower, then over Tower Bridge. Awesome! Of course, my camera started to run out of batteries, so I found a Boots at Picadilly Circus, took some photos there and then it was home time and left over pasta time! Yum!

The next day it was time to put Vanessa's crafty plan into action... Apparently, instead of staying in places and paying money for accomodation, I could utilise a little something called a "train" (don't know if you've heard of it) and go on Day Trips! Most of the places I wanted to visit were about an hour from London - damn England and it's tininess! Anyhoo, went along to Liverpool Street Station to catch the Cambridge Express (not really... it was just the train to Cambridge. But I like my name for it better!) While I was waiting for the train, Tish rang me with details of the musical Deanna and she were going to see that night. I was maybe going to go along, but when I heard the price, I decided I didn't need to see the Lion King all that much. We organised to meet on Thursday before they flew out of London, however, so that was cool! And then it was on the train!

I got into Cambridge City Centre after catching the bus from the train station and my wordy, it's a pretty little town! And it actually is quite a small town, with all the colleges clustered together and a nice little market in the middle. The first thing that struck me was all the people on bikes. They were everywhere! And quite mad with it... you had to dodge out of the way sometimes. The whole town was pretty much pedestrianised, which was nice, and it really was quite lovely. Lots of trees and parks and the River Cam winding through it all. Had some afternoon tea at a little nana place (the wait staff were wearing black and white uniforms!) and then it was back to London. Cambridge was kinda boring, for me at least. I reckon if you went with someone, it would be fun trying not to fall into the River Cam from your punt, but as I was a big loner, no punting joy for me.

Made my way back to London and went to Baker Street! Hah! For those not in the know, when I was born, Baker Street was playing on the radio. Anyway, I thought it was good! Next up, had a quick squizz at the shop of the Sherlock Holmes Museum and decided I could live without experiencing it. It'll be tough, but I'll survive. From there, I went to Buckingham Palace, but it was quite dark by then. Still, got a photo of the palace all lit up at night. I thought I'd try and see another stage show that night, but a) it was too much and b) I'd just missed out and it was too late. So, consoled myself with Burger King for dinner (don't really know how that is supposed to console me!) and then back to Vanessa's!

okay, will break these posts up so you're not reading and reading for days and days and days... aren't I nice?? Next up, Oxford!

More photos...

Hi all,

Photos are up and running on Picasa. I've got up to Cambridge, with the rest to follow hopefully tomorrow. So enjoy perusing!

xx

So where were we?

Okidoke, it's time for the next chapter of where in the world is Cassie Wilson? While we all know I'm actually in Adelaide, pretend for a moment that I am supremely up to date and currently in London, just after the Contiki tour ended. I'm sure you could do it, if you really tried...

Anyhoo, the day after Contiki finished, me and a few contiki people headed out into the wonderland that is shopping in London. First up, we bought our tix to Spamalot, which were a glorious £18. Rock on! Then it was off to Oxford Street, that mecca of shopping. After wandering and meeting random contiki people along the way, we ended up in Primark, glorious glorious Primark (www.primark.co.uk). I spent £52 (and claimed the Tax Free non-UK resident thingy!) and bought 12 items, including underwear, socks, a travel bag, shoes, three jumpers, a hoodie and various other things. I love Primark! We then wandered back via Kathmandu (who knew it was in the UK) before getting ready for the theatre. Oh, and I was supposed to stay at Vanessa's that night, but unfortunately she had a full house, so I organised with yet more contiki people to hostel it up with them. Yay! Anyhoo, we went to Spamalot and my wordy, was it funny ha ha! Pissed myself laughing, even if they had lifted a lot of the jokes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. But hey, those jokes work for a reason... cos they're bloody funny! Even more so in musical form. Not to mention "The Song That Goes Like This" and a gay Lancelot and Spamalot casino and the Knights of Ne and Tim the Enchanter and the French... ah, so funny!

The next day, I lugged my heavy, heavy, HEAVY bags to London Bridge, past the Borough Markets and onto the Thames promanade to meet Vanessa for a key exchange. I was meeting her at the Starbucks near her work, but could I find the bugger?? Of course not! So I gave up, sat on the wall seperating the Thames from the walkway and rang my sister. Heh. After I hung up, I saw some kids with Starbucks paraphenalia, so asked where it was. Wouldn't you know it, it was about five steps from where I had collapsed! Anyway, made it there, Vanessa met me, we did the huggy, catchyupy thing, ate Dutch Spice biscuits and then I trundled off to her house. Yay! That night, we met a friend of Vanessa's in a bar in Soho (no Lolas, tho) and I took a photo of G-A-Y (thanks Scooter!). We then went to Angel for some dinner at a really cool Turkish restaurant, before wandering the streets of Angel, taking random photos and eating dessert at a little French cafe thingy. It was so nice to be back with Vanessa!

The following day, it was back to London Bridge tube station and the Borough Markets. Vanessa & I went there with Vanessa's new housemate, Bree. Seriously, you have no idea how good these markets are. Everything is available there, from fresh produce to wine to big wheels of cheese melted under a flame and then the melted cheese scraped onto a piece of bread for your gustational pleasure. You even have random spilling of mulled wine on your backpack! Yay! We had lunch at the BBQ Nazi (Vanessa's affectionate name for the guy - not that he was there), which was super yum. After the markets, Bree left us and Vanessa and I went to Notting Hill and Portobello Road. Awesome fun times, with lots and lots of antique stalls, fabulous food and then regular markets. We then went to the Hummingbird Bakery for fun times with cupcakes! Mmmm. We then walked along Kensington Gardens until we got to the beginning of Hyde Park, while Vanessa suffered the tortures of the damned with a bizarrely suddenly painful knee. We then attempted to get back to Balham, but the Northern line decided that it wanted to stuff up and have a gazillion people trying to get on the tub. So Vanessa then took me on a wild goose chase trying to get from Oxford Street to Clapham Common. We caught four buses and we finally got there, deciding to go and see a movie, little realising that the weather was going to take a turn for the worse and be absolutely freezing! Vanessa didn't have a jacket so the poor chickie was freezing in the London wind, ugh. Anyway, we saw Rendition, which was kinda good, and then it was home time!

Sunday was a relaxing day of not much at all, sleeping in and doing laundry and having a cheese platter and a cappucino for lunch. Mmmm. I think we just hung out that night, chillin like villians. It was fabulous!

More on the adventures later, kids. Until I blog again!
mwah!
xx

Soon the water will be going the right way...

Well, here I am, pretty much back where it all started! Singapore airport, waiting for my flight back to dear old Adelaide. You know how they say (this mythical they... seriously, who are they??) you get back and don't feel like you have had a holiday? Well, its already kicking in! I was on the plane, doing my thing, and I could have sworn I was never in the UK, never did Contiki, none of it happened.... weird. :)

Anyway, promise there will be the big update when I get home! I'll fill you guys in on all the awesome adventures an d the thousands of photos (who thinks I'm kidding??) This blog is super short cos the computer I'musing completly sucks. If you're extremely lucky (and I get really bored here!) I might give it another bash! But until then, au revoir! (see , so did go to france... didn't I?)

xx

Photo update!

For all you fun lovers out there, I have updated the Scotland and Contiki photos. Contiki is up to the end of Paris (I know, I'm so behind!)

On a brighter note, I've just stuffed up on the English keyboard! Culture shock is not going to be that bad (see previous blog if I've confused the hell out of you!)

Happy Halloween everyone!
xx

More time! Yay! Oh, and Bath!

Yay, I have more time to play on the internet! Joy! Rapture! Very expensive for Cass! Heh. Doesn't matter, that's what money is for, right? At least, that's what they tell me... (oh, and on a complete random sidenote, I am becoming used to the weird-arsed English keyboards. Oh my god, the culture shock when I get back home is going to be INSANE)

So I am currently in Bath, discovering that it really is fun to stay at the YMCA. But casts your minds back, people, to that happy time when I was a little bit less worldly, a little less cold and a lot tanner... Contiki and Europe. I am in Switzerland, home of the milk cow and chocolate and snow. Lots and lots of snow. When last we were there, I had just arrived. So the next day, we went up Jungfrau mountain on a cable car, which was an experience in itself. The view was stunning and I'm sure I took too many photos. Still, that's what digital cameras are for, right?? So we then went into the mountain and up to the plateau. I suffered from a bit of pressure sickness, but only inside the complex. Weird. Still, fun times were had. the Ice Palace was beautiful, all these ice sculptures and slip and sliding around (the floor was ice too!) we then had some lunch and found the play area! yay! snowball fights and snow angels and frivolity followed. It was awesome.

The next day it was on to the Rhine Valley and Ice Vine (or if we're being particular, in english - and not bad german accent - Ice Wine) We went to a beer stein demonstration thing - as you can tell, I found it super exciting - and then I bought Birkenstocks for 30€! Bargain! We then had din dins and off to the wine tasting, where I kept my glasses/shots (seriously, they served the wine in shot glasses!) and had to bite my tongue when they said that they had just given us a "dry red vine" as it was super sweet! And they kept getting sweeter! Until finally the moment of truth... Ice Wine! They gave us the smallest bit, and it seemed nice but agian, see smallest bit. Hard to tell, really. So on from there to Amsterdam.

We stopped off in Edam to ride granny bikes and look at dykes (get your minds out of the gutter people, this is the water barrier kind). fun riding a bike and not dying in the first five minutes! We then made our way into Amsterdam! Yay! And, of course, the contiki tradition continues... we all signed up for the sex show. The red light district was very interesting, with the prostitutes in the windows and all. they have quite the set up, with a little bathroom and all the facilities (i saw this from the street, people. I swear!) the sex show itself was kinda meh, with the, um , participants not that into it. the sex museum afterwards was way better!

The next day, it was off to the post office to send some stuff home. Of course, do you think we could find the post office? Of course not! It took us at least 45 mins to find the darn thing, and then another hour or so to get everything ready for posting. ah well! we then walked to Anne Frank House, which was beautiful. Amsterdam is such a pretty city, and seeing as it was Autumn, the autumn colours really brought out the beauty of the canals and the houses lining them. Anne frank house was really cool, and sad, and interesting and a hundred different adjectives encompassing sadness and joy. I had never read the book before this trip, but Denielle had brought it along with her, so managed to read it while sitting on the bus for those countless hours (esp in Alabania!) After Anne Frank, what better than retail therapy! Not that I bought much, but I did buy these Dutch biscuits that are yummy! Spice biscuits, I think they're called, and they taste like Coffee Rounds without the pink icing and the dried fruit! After shopping, we walked down to the Heinekin Experience (I'm sure I spelt that wrong!) IT was really cool! Def go if you're in Amsterdam, if only for the free beer! You get three, and then there are heaps of people who don't want their beer, so they give you the tokens! We ended up getting about five free beers!

That night was our farewell dinner, with a cruise on the canals followed by a chinese buffet. It was sad that it was our last night, but awesome too. We had survived! Huzzah!

The next day, we drove back to London. However, a two truck smash on the freeway forced us to detour through the back roads of Holland. yay! what should have been a three hour trip become six hours. Joy! Still, we got back to London at about 7pm, had farewell drinks and that was all she wrote (literally)

So we come to the end of contiki, the 37 day extravaganza that took me all over Europe and left me with some glorious memories and new friends. How could you not love such an experience!

Next up, people, I shall delight you with tales of London and day trips to the surrounds. Oh yes, the saga continues!

stay well and I'll see you all real soon (a week and a half to go!)
xx