Australia Day and other random stories

Photos are of my Australia Day in London are here.

How do you spend Australia Day in another country? For me, I cooked up a huuuuge roast lamb, invited my Aussie and New Zealander friends around (Liz and Emma), drank Aussie beer and finished with pavlova. We also listened to the Triple J hottest 100 countdown over the internet.

We then engaged in some silliness with the cardboard cutout of George (Clooney) who I found sitting outside our house the other week, conveniently already cut out where his tongue is (hmmm). And we also had champas.

....And then cocktails at the pub around the corner where more Aussies were to be found. Good thing the pub is only 10 or 20 metres away - makes for a quick trip home! Did not prevent me from having a pounding headache the next day though. Must drink more water. Oh well.

Other random stories - public transportation (and stories about crazy people).

I have 2 stories to share. The first is of catching the tube home one afternoon on a weekend. The tube wasn't packed (for a change). We pull into a station. I can hear loud music coming from somewhere - which is odd - because you never hear loud music down in the tube. There's no mobile or radio reception, and people generally listen to their the ipods or read newspapers. Communication or interaction is not encouraged, unless you're with a friend or shamelessly drunk.

Anyway, the source of the loud music happens to be this very straight looking 50 year old man with a boombox over his shoulder pelting out the tune of "I'm every woman". It was really funny, but again, eye contact is not encouraged. He stumbled off the tube a couple of stations later, boombox and can of beer in hand. Personally I think it's very hobo to drink booze on public transport - but everyone seems to do it here - it's the norm.

My second story occurs at an overland (above ground) train station on the way to work one morning. An old man starts talking to me (whilst I'm thinking "here we go" and rolling my eyes internally). Turns out he wanted to make sure he was getting the right train for his station - which happened to be where I was getting off/going anyway. He also wanted to make sure he didn't fall asleep as well. So I made sure he got the right train with me and we sat on the train together. He'd just bought some fresh fruit as well, and gave me some to eat (I was starving), and made sure he got off the right station with me (he did nodd off a couple of times). So I guess not everyone is crazy here. Although, they are entertaining.. :)

Holidays at home and ahead

Brisbane photos are here.

Well, I went home for 2 weeks over Christmas / New Year. I arrived on Christmas Day at 7pm after an incredibly long flight with very little sleep. I got to fly on one of those new A300 airbuses (the double decker one). My Mum, sister and her boyfriend met me at the airport. Ash broke away from the barrier and gave me a huge hug. I was back in Brisbane. It wasn’t as hot as I thought it would be – it had been raining. And the rain didn’t stop the entire time I was there, except for may be 2 days. Apparently I brought the weather with me.

Highlights

I got to catch up with and see my family and friends.
I got to see my Dad’s new house. It’s huge. There’s a pool and a big outdoor barbecue area.
I went to all my favourite restaurants, and ate all the food I had been missing so badly.
Australian bacon is the best – English bacon just doesn’t compare. Same goes for seafood.
It was nice wearing summer clothes for a change, leaving the cold English weather and 500 layers of clothing behind.
I stayed in a beautiful hotel in the city at the beginning – the Stamford Plaza Hotel – thanks to Bahadir, it was lovely.
I went to the beach / Noosa twice.
I had a big barbeque at my Dad’s house and invited heaps of people over.
I guess I was kind of spoilt while I was home.

Lowlights

It rained almost the entire time – I came back and the weather in London was better than Brisbane (which is seriously wrong). So I didn’t end up staying at the coast or doing any of the day trips such as Byron.
I had to find a new home for my cat Kiddy, which was stressful / challenging, but turned out well in the end, I think. He’s now living down the Gold Coast.
Did I mention it rained, constantly?

All these things aside, it was interesting going home to Brisbane. Brisbane itself hadn’t changed much, and there still wasn’t a great deal to actually “do” there. There were little changes, like new shops etc. But living in Australia, you very much embrace the outdoors, and nearly everything revolves around and is dependant on this. When you are forced indoors (due to weather), there really isn’t a lot to do (apart from watching boring daytime tv or going shopping), and you are forced to make your own fun - if you’re motivated to do so.

I also visited my old work, which was very weird. Everyone had moved desks, there were some new faces - it was good seeing my old work buddies though. And it was funny seeing my face plastered over all the screensavers there. I got to have my chai latte from the cafeteria which I *adored*. Hot drinks over here in the UK are never hot enough, or your cold drinks are never cold – they just can’t seem to get it quite right.

Something random – a lot of people commented on the watch I was wearing. It was of course purple, and I bought it new off ebay a few months ago. But if you want your own – you can buy it from this site: http://www.blingwatches.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Swiss+Balance+Ladies+Mosaic+Watch

Anyway, I’m back in London now and looking forward to the year ahead. I’ve got a few more trips if all goes to plan – hopefully Edinburgh, Switzerland, Devon, Cornwall and Paris next month for my birthday with my friend Karen who's coming out to stay with me for a couple of weeks from Canada! We're also going to Eurodisney while we're there. I’ve also decided to apply another visa so I can keep working - I feel as though I've barely scratched the surface with all the travelling I want to do over here. I’ve also decided that when my lease is up at the end of April, I'd like to move out of (dodgy) Brixton and over to Clapham Junction. It’s a great area – lots of cute shops, restaurants, bars – it’s very lively and also right near a major train station – so it would make getting to work a hell of a lot easier and it's still only 10-15 minutes outside of Central London itself. I’m really looking forward to moving and discovering a new area.

So that's my holiday at home and my plans for this year..

My cat Kiddy has found someone to look after him

Many of you would have seen that I was looking for someone to look after my cat Kiddy whilst I'm away. I would like to thank my friend Dean for putting the word out and putting me in contact with the lovely Maureen. Kiddy is now living it up down the Gold Coast with Maureen and her cat Phoenix who is like Kiddy's twin (short black fur, same age, size). Apparently Kiddy is settling in great. A big thank you to Maureen and all the other people to contacted me - it's nice to know there's people out there willing to help.

Xmas Parties, Beatles, Oxford, Cotswolds...

Work xmas party – Saturday 1 December 2007

Photos: www.amanda.com.au/uk/workxmasparty/

What a great night. Our Christmas party was held at Tynley Hall in the countryside on a huge estate. It was black tie – and everyone dressed up. We all had our own rooms. At the beginning of the night, professional photographers took our photos. Then we had a big sit down dinner, and in between courses, there was these fantastic opera singers (that gave me goosebumps). Then dancing, more drinks etc. And at the end of the night, it turns out the photos that were taken were transposed onto a magazine cover – one for us each of us to keep - fun night!

By the way – my dress cost £15 – so many bargains to be had in Brixton, and I borrowed a pair of Steph’s shoes – hardly spent any money at al. Anyway, have several more Christmas drinks, lunches and dinners to go now – hmm and eek – I guess it’ll have to make up for the fact that I’m spending most of Christmas Day on a plane. Not long til I’m home now – yaaaay!

Beatles Walk – Sunday 25 November 2007

Photos: www.amanda.com.au/uk/beatles/

I’ve been doing a few walks around London through www.londonwalks.com/ – they’re only £6 each and a guide takes you around London and points out various landmarks, past and present. The history is fascinating. And it’s good exercise. Anyway, I did a Beatles walk. The guide who does the tour owns his own Beatles café near Abbey Road, has written his own book about the Beatles and has his own DVD. AND, he’s the world champion Beatles quiz master (or something). Basically, this guy knows A LOT about the Beatles.

We visited several historically important Beatle related places around London. Several recording studios, Saville Row – the building where they last performed together on the rooftop (which is sadly sitting there empty and closed up). Various clubs. And finally the infamous Abbey Road. Abbey Road is actually quite busy – so it’s hard to get a photo of you on it, without annoying motorists. There’s actually a live webcam of Abbey Road from the Abbey Road recording studio (right next to the crossing): www.abbeyroad.co.uk/virtual_visit/webcam/ - you’ll see what I mean about traffic.

Oxford and the Cotswolds – Saturday 24 November 2007

Photos: www.amanda.com.au/uk/oxfordcotswolds/

I did a day trip out to the Cotswolds and Oxford with Tracks Travel (very cheap again – only £17). The Cotswolds is gorgeous – we went to this cute village called Bourton on the Water. It has water flowing through the middle of the village. Lots of cute shops. They even had a model village of the village (which also its own model of the model etc). It was very cold! But bearable – however, I did have to buy a second pair of socks to wear – my feet were freezing. We warmed up in a café and had some yummy scones and tea.

Next we were off to Oxford. There is no actual Oxford university. Just lots and lots of colleges that fall under the umbrella name of Oxford university. We did the hop on / hop off bus tour – but if anyone ever visits there – I’d just recommend having a walk around and visit one of the colleges eg – Christ Church is close and huge. Bought a great scarf there (purple of course). One thing about doing site seeing in winter – is that there’s far less tourists – which is great. I’m handling the cold “ok”, so long as it isn’t windy or raining, its tolerable, especially if you’ve got the right clothes. I love my winter coat (and I’m sure it loves me too).

Natural history museum - Sunday 18 November 2007

Photos: www.amanda.com.au/uk/naturalhistorymuseum/

Loads of the museums here are free to visit. Decided to go check out the Natural History Museum one weekend. Outside, there was a real Christmas tree, an icerink, and Christmas markets. Inside there were loads of different exhibitions. I liked the dinosaur exhibition the best. You could spend days in these museums – good thing they’re free...

3 days in Paris

Firstly, photos are here: www.amanda.com.au/uk/paris

Saturday 27 October 2007: Awake at 4.45am. Does this time actually exist? It’s pitch black. Drunk people stumble around outside. I could get the bus. I don’t want to walk through the dodgy park and sit waiting at the bus stop in the cold. Screw it – I order a taxi. Arrive at Waterloo Station. I have a coffee (I hate coffee) – but it wakes me up.

Our tour group meets and we get on the Eurostar train. I meet two other Aussies. This is normal – I think half the Australian population is over here. We zoom over to Paris. Turns out Paris is COLDER than London – how is this possible? Very glad I brought my new winter coat with me – which I’m sure was made from a sleeping bag – it actually has feathers inside it.

We get to the hotel – the Ibis hotel. Our rooms aren’t ready. Everybody is dead tired. We sit waiting forever in the foyer. There’s not enough chairs. I curl up on the floor next to the radiator like a cat, half slumped on my backpack and have a powernap. Later I venture outside to find food and manage to order a baguette from a local café. Wishing I knew more French. Finally, we’re allowed into our rooms (twin share). Beds are comfy. Decent bathroom. Yay. It’s now time to (re)discover Paris!

We catch the Metro – which is like the tube / underground, but the stations are a bit more spacious and bright. It smells like piss. Homeless people sleep in the Metro and because you have to pay to go to the toilet, a lot of public places reek of urine – not pleasant. The smoking ban also isn’t in place. A lot of places such as restaurants and bars also reek. Apart from these 2 things – Paris is the most gorgeous city – just stunning.

We head up to Sacré-Coeur (Sacred Heart) which is a big church on top of a hill. The view would’ve been stunning if it weren’t so cloudy. There’s loads of people, street performers etc. A man plays ball with his dog. Dogs are an accessory – people take them everywhere. We head over to the art markets at Montmartre where artists such as Salvador Dalí, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh apparently used to hang out and syphilis was the popular disease or “in thing” of the day.

There are many little streets and alleyways, shops, cafes, restaurants and markets, all oozing with activity, creativity, passion, colour and life. There were a crazy amount of artists offering to do portraits. I didn’t really want a proper portrait – so I got this funky / arty piece done of me which turned out great. I imagine if I had my own funky alternative cartoon – this is what I’d look like / what my character would be. Was very happy with the final result.

We then passed down through some local streets – again all the shops and cafes just made me want to stop there for hours and take it all in. I also spied this gorgeous purple bag in one of the shop windows, but because we were on the move – I couldn’t stop (annoying). We also stopped at the café where Amelie was filmed. And at the bottom of the hill was the Moulin Rouge. Onto the metro again, and we headed to the the Arc de Triumph to drool at the shops and then onto the Eiffel Tower.

I had my first crepe. It had a chocolatey nutella sauce. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I now LOVE crepes. We then went on a river cruise, which was nice, but I was completely knackered – and it was getting late. We headed back to the hotel. Some people went out for a late dinner – the crepe seemed to have sustained me. So I went back to my hotel room and crashed.

Sunday – breakfast in the hotel. Croissants galore. Yum. First we headed to the Louvre. It’s so massive. So many floors and wings – you could get lost in there for days. Took loads of photos. Saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Angel Statue thing, lots of Egyptian stuff (is there anything actually left in Egypt? It seems to be in all museums over here!). Afterwards, me and my enemy Coffee met again. Made another attempt to speak French which of course they reply to you in French and you stand there going ummmm and just end up speaking in English anyway. I then wandered around the shops outside the Louvre and then had lunch.

We then headed to the island of Le Cite where Paris was founded. I managed to miss the Notre Dame on my last trip, so made sure I took lots of photos of it. It’s huge, beautiful and very mysterious. Very dark inside and the ceilings are insanely high with colourful and intricate stained glass windows. I’m not religious at all, but I love sitting in cathedrals, taking in the beauty of the décor, architecture and artwork. Again, we were off to the Eiffel Tower, and seeing as the top floor was for some reason closed, I saw this as a good excuse to eat more crepes and aimlessly wander the riverside and streets of Paris until we all met up again later to go back to the hotel.

Monday: free time. Me and fellow Aussie Najah headed off to the La Fayette Galleries. It was raining, so shopping seemed like a good indoor activity. What an exquisite shopping centre. They had a giant Christmas Tree on display in the centre. The ceiling and surrounding balconies were jaw droppingly stunning. Again, you could spend hours walking around these places in awe.

Next we headed back to Montmartre to the Amelie café. And then in search of the mysterious and fabulous purple bag I had seen on our first day. A lot of the shops were closed and we couldn’t quite remember which direction we’d come from. We headed down a street with lots of shops – and there it was. I ran excitedly across the road and there was the purple bag sitting in the shop window. And it was open. And there was a 25% off sale. It was destiny. I bought the bag. I then wandered into another shop with an even more beautiful (and more expensive) purple leather bag, but couldn’t justify buying 2 bags, let alone 2 purple bags in one day. Oh well, I’ll just have to go back there again some time ;)

Anyway, after moseying through these cute streets and its shops, it was time to head back to the hotel, collect our bags and head to the Eurostar. We got back to London quite early – 6pm – always nice getting home early after a trip away, especially when you’ve got work the next day. I got a packed bus home from Waterloo and stood the entire way - welcome back to crazy London. I dragged my backpack back to our house – I also had a bit of a limp – I’d pulled or strained a leg muscle somewhere along the way in Paris. It was really good to get away – the worries of everyday life seem to wash away when you're on holidays. The relaxed Paris pace was just what I needed.

Next trips: Aberdeen (for work). Oxford and the Cotswolds. Bruges (Belgium). Then HOME to Brisbane for 3 weeks at Christmas!! See you all soon - Amanda :)