Photos - Cotswolds, Bath and Belgium

Cotswolds & Bath photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=133220&l=87f0e&id=863765297

Belgium photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=133212&l=8dfe7&id=863765297

Will post more soon.

I love Berlin

I've just gotten back from Berlin and I LOVED IT.

It's green, it's beautiful, it's old, it's new, it's clean, spacious, unpolluted, not overcrowded, there's hardly any cars, there's no traffic, it's cheap, there's outdoor beach bars everywhere and beautiful deep foresty parks, winding "Sprees" (canals)... it goes on and on.

Then there's the history. The Prussian era, French influences, World Wars, the Nazis, the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, rebuilding and rebirth. What an amazing place and the whole world has come together to build a new Berlin and it is truly spectacular. New buildings by world class architects are everywhere. Old buildings are being rebuilt. Most of the buildings in Berlin are less than 10 years old including what look like the oldest buildings. This city has such a beautiful personality and truly blossomed from the ashes it had to emerge from. This city truly puts London to shame!

Here's what I got up to. Firstly - the weather was PERFECT. Blue skies. 30 degrees. Stunning. On my first day, we did a bus tour, and then checked into the hotel. Then I walked into the city Centre into to the Hackescher market area with loads of outdoor bars, beach bars, shops, covered courtyards. More random wanderings and ended up on Museum Island. Afterwards, had a beer in an outside bar outlooking the river and museums. Just gorg. And its the law that beer cannot be altered with preservatives or additives in the beer making process - so strangely I really like German beer. Afterwards, back to our hotel, which was in the Turkish Quarter of Gesundbrunnen (really yummy kebabs there - nice and light, not heavy and greasy).

Saturday, I did a walking tour from 10.30am to almost 6pm. Our tour guide Tom was like a walking history book. I felt like I was on the best school excursion ever! All those boring modern history lessons in highschool suddenly came to life through our very animated guide - I was enthralled. We started at the Ostbahnhoff train station which is MASSIVE. The architecture was amazing and the majority of it is actually underground, so the grand building you see from the outside, is only a proportion of the real actual size. Then onto the Reichstag and another history lesson (or a few history lessons). Then onto the Brandenburg gate. And onto many many more buildings.. more stories, more history, Checkpoint Charlie - its just endless. Stood above the bunker where Hitler shot himself. We saw so much. At the end of the walking tour, we went to the stop of the Reichstag building to the glass dome and watched the sunset. Afterwards, we found a guy with a bike and sat in the back while he peddled us into the Tiergarten to an outdoor beer garden in the middle of this massive mysterious thick forested park. It was dusk, and I felt like I was stuck in some sort of dream, racing through this park. We also passed the victory column (with the big angel on top) and it was closed off to traffic because they were filming a movie there (loads of movies are filmed in Berlin). Anyway, we some beers and headed back to the hotel. Interestingly in the day time in this massive park, there's nude sunbathing, of course segregated into straight naked sunbathing, and gay naked sunbaking.

On our last day we went to the Topography of Terror - an outdoor photo exhibition. Then onto the Jewish Museum with a detour into a market and then onto the East Side Gallery - a part of the original Berlin Wall, still standing and preserved with amazing art and graffiti. I never realised there were 2 parts to the wall - the east and the west with a sandy no mans land in the middle.

Anyway, I have 2 photo albums of photos -make sure you check them both out and everyone - you HAVE to go to Berlin - amazing beautiful city - keen to go back in a flash...

1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=122406&l=805ae&id=863765297

2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=122401&l=31255&id=863765297

Cardiff

Another quick and lazy blog entry....

Cardiff day trip:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=108714&id=863765297

Food floor party and the French Bar in Battersea:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=110087&id=863765297

Lazy blog entry - Easter trip to Scotland, and my new house

Hi everyone,

Well this is going to be quick blog entry.

For easter, I went up to Scotland - visited Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Highlands - which were just gorgeous. And it was insanely cold! And I got snowed on for the first time.

My other news is that I also moved house! I'm now living at Clapham Junction and absolutely LOVE it. The area is great - I'm a couple of minutes walk away from the train for work and still close to London (10 minutes on the train). And my flat is just lovely! Very roomy, and it has a cute little garden. And the area is great - everything is so close and there's tonnes of shops, bars, restaurants.. Very very happy.

Anyway, here's the photos for Edinburgh: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=103297&l=ed344&id=863765297

And here's the photos of my new flat: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=106303&l=fe00b&id=863765297

Enjoy!

February Fun - birthdays, Paris, Disneyland, rollerdisco and more

Photos - Paris etc

Photos - rollerdisco and more

What a crazy month - here's what's been happening!

12 Feb: met my friend Karen from Canada at Heathrow for her 2 week stay with me.

13 Feb: the grand tour of Brixton. I’d caught an evil cold – it was starting to set in. Sent Karen off to Oxford Street for some shopping and exploring, whilst I rested. That evening we went to the crazy bear cocktail bar for drinks. I had fruity non-alcoholic cocktails.

14 Feb: my birthday! Still sick. Got up at 4.45am – was so early I didn’t even realize it was my birthday. Karen and I caught the Eurostar to Paris. It was FREEZING. Went to Montmatre, Musee D’orsay, a Korean bbq restaurant for my birthday dinner, and to the Eiffel tower that night. It was so cold, you couldn’t even see the top of the tower as it was covered in fog. Ate delicious nutella crepes.

15 Feb: still sick. Haul ass on the interesting train system out to Disneyland. Went on loads of rollercoasters which are all indoors and in the dark. Lots of fun, but very cold and very sick.

16 Feb: get the train out to Versailles. Walk around the Palace gardens (which are massive), then inside King Henry 8th’s apartments, which are insanely luxurious. Then venture into the food markets and buy fresh ingredients to make baguettes. See an amazing cake shop. French food is amazing. That evening we came back to London.

19 Feb: went to the Tutankhamen exhibition at the O2 stadium.

21 Feb: rollerskating at the rollerdisco! Got all dressed up silly. Only fell over the once on my bum. Amazed I remembered how to skate (last time I skated was in primary school). My friend Liz fell over and broke her wrist :(

23 Feb: Karen’s birthday! We Will Rock You – the musical. What a great show. The story is great – set in the future when all musical instruments are banned and its all commercialized crap, and rock and roll has been “erased” from history and of course we have our heroes / rebels or bohemians who try to get it back, sung along to with Queen songs. Bohemian Rhapsody was awesome at the end – it was amazing and very emotional. Went out for dinner afterwards to a Korean and Japanese restaurant in Chinatown – very yum.

24 Feb: I’m finally better after my horrid horrid cold. I attribute getting better to drinking this “interesting” fresh carrot and ginger juice at work every day this week, multivitamins, andrographis capsules and yakult. Hate being sick. Karen is away doing a weekend trip. My plans for the weekend: SLEEP!

25 Feb: Karen leaves :( Hope you come back soon Karen – will miss you.. and London is waiting for you..

Things to come: Edinburgh for easter long weekend (4 days), April - trip to Cardiff, May - Long weekend away in Cornwall (by the beach - yay!). Hope everyone at home is well.. Amanda :)