Reflection...

For those readers who kept up regularly with the trip, you'll notice that I left you in London, on the eve of our adventure on the Continent.

Fear not, those gaps shall be filled in - it was a magical, inspiring, cultural, crazy, late nights, new friends, kebab, crepe and gelato filled two weeks that will be etched on my mind forever - a once in a life time experience of new found independence, strange and exciting places and unforgettable experiences (and re-reading that sentence, full of cliches too!).

It's coming up to nine months since the trip, almost a year since the real planning of our European adventure began. I'm sat here now, almost finished my first year of university with a whole summer ahead of me. Despite promises of different kinds of adventures and fun plans in place, however hard I try I can't ignore the tugging sensation I have in my chest - the travel bug.

The bug that can't quite be shaken is what has brought me back here. I'll finish off the tale of the long awaited travels - with funny stories, observations, reviews and pictures.

With a large dose of nostalgia, i'll leave you with a few holiday snaps to pass the time.

My diary: record of everything we did!

Primrose Hill, London

The Vatican, Rome

Versailles, Paris

Looking over the Seine, Pari

B x

10th January 2012 - London Tourists

After an exhausting trip reliving familiar places of my English life yesterday, i wanted today to be something completely different. We were in London, one of the greatest cities of the world, with the whole city at our feet. So we finally behaved as what we really both were: tourists! Despite living here for almost 13 years, i had really seen little of the city itself. I find it interesting how many people don't appreciate where they live - it becomes normal and banal, whereas for tourists everything is new and exciting!

Unfortunately the London Eye was temporarily closed so tourist target number 1 was off the list. With neither of us familiar with directions and locations, we aimlessly wondered from place to place. We arrived at Buckingham Palace just in time to see the changing of the Royal Guard, Big Ben and Nelson's Column. We arrived at Piccadilly Circus in a rare moment of sunshine, and everything was beautiful. A quick peruse along Oxford Street and Carnaby Street before a drink in Trafalgar Square.





But the day's fun was not yet over! We met my cousin and headed to Yo! Sushi for dinner which was delicious, followed by Ghost: the musical. J may not have been quite so impressed but i was in seventh heaven! Richard Fleeshman played Sam, which was fitting as i had seen him last year in Legally Blonde.


Met my new baby cousin who is gorgeous, before going pretty much straight to sleep - sightseeing is definitely exhausting!

9th January 2012 - London Calling

The first day in London really turned out to be a trip down memory lane for me. We had a look around Kingston before walking along the river to my old house. It's a walk i've been doing as long as i can remember, although it certainly felt a lot longer when i was little!

Along the way i got pooed on by pigeon (grrrr - apparently it's meant to be lucky though..can't see how!). I had mixed feelings seeing my old house. It's so different to Australia, and has certainly changed under the new owners but i did feel something when i saw it, so there are obviously still ties with it!

Walking down the local high street and ran into an old friend, which was lovely! There was definitely a moment when we were both trying to work out if it was really who we thought it was.

After a sandwich from M&S for lunch (oh, how i have missed these!!) we made our way home using a variety of public transport...train/bus/and far too much walking and getting lost (which was going to become a common theme of this adventure!). I found it to be quite an emotional day and certainly slightly confusing, as my two previously separate worlds of Australia and England had finally collided.

7th-8th January 2012 - Bedford

Today all the family (plus J - although given the amount of family he's met so far, he's probably qualified to be included in the term) went to the Bedford Swan Hotel for afternoon tea to celebrate Grandma's birthday!

Despite the stereotypes of me being english etc, i actually tried tea for the first time! (not sure i'll be rushing back for another cup though)

The spread was splendid and we had delicious finger sandwiches, the best scones, clotted cream and jam i've ever tasted and the most beautiful array of cakes and pastries. There was a wedding happening at the same time, so we spent much of the afternoon admiring the bride and critiquing the outfit choices of the guest. A slightly bizarre addition to the atmosphere was the steady number of people heading to the spa, dressed only in dressing gowns and slippers. They certainly stuck out from the rest of the wedding party...

In the evening we gave Grandma all of her presents and cards, celebrated a number of things with champagne (after hearing shrieks from the kitchen when the cork exploded and bounced off the ceiling and walls) and enjoyed yummy mexican and desserts which the household has become famous for!

Our last day in Bedford was largely spent packing and preparing for the train journey down to London. We enjoyed one last meal and 3/4 of the Manchester Derby before saying our emotional goodbyes and boarding the train.

6th January 2012 - Milton Keynes

The train journey from Manchester to Milton Keynes went by without a hitch, and we were quickly greeted by more familiar faces. Lunch was at another old favourite, Cafe Rouge! I had a delicious Bouillibaisse and J tried (both to eat and pronounce!) Boeuf Bourguignon. We told ourselves it was great practise for our upcoming french adventure, and J was chuffed he had a meal he could order once we got there! The trio of desserts went down a treat!

That evening, my cousins picked us up and took us out for a lovely night out in Bedford with some of their friends. There was lots of Uni stories shared, (both good and bad!) but all made me feel rather excited about starting uni when i returned to Australia.

5th January 2012 - Manchester

Our last day in Manchester had arrived all too quickly. The weather was what usually characterises Manchester - grey and miserable. But a traveller can't let his/her spirits be dampened by such trivial things as the weather!

About 45 minutes outside the town centre is one of my favourite places in Manchester - Salts Mill. An old mill that has since been turned into a very modern art gallery, restaurant and artist space, it was originally built by Sir Titus Salt, a factory owner who made his fortune in the wool industry. Despite his wealth, he was also conscious of the welfare of his workers and built around the factory a village called Saltaire.






(more information - http://www.saltsmill.org.uk, pictures sourced from google)

I could spend hours in Salts Mill, just wondering around the different floors full of art materials, paintings, photographs, conceptual furniture and books. There is also a whole floor dedicated to the work of David Hockney, an artist who i particularly admire (and a good friend of the owner). Unable to resist, i bought myself a beautiful style/fashion book and some postcards - one a dark brooding photo of Hockney himself and the other of him surrounded by other artists including Andy Warhol.



We had lunch in the cafe, Salts Diner, where the food is as delicious as the mill is breathtaking. I enjoyed a mushroom tagliatelle and yummy bakewell tart for dessert.

After a bit of a rest, one good meal was quickly followed by another. A tradition of visiting family in Manchester for me has always been going out for Chinese. The restaurant has changed over the years, but the quality of Manchester's Chinese food remains almost unbeatable. A table filled with a variety of dishes from duck pancakes to dumplings to seaweed steadily disappeared into our stomachs.

Still yet to experience Manchester's nightlife, J and I went out to see what it was all about. Unfortunately we had obviously picked the wrong time of year, because all the uni student were at home for the holidays, and the place was rather deserted. We ended up having a few quiet drinks in the Moon on the Water (a pub), chatting about what we thought the rest of the trip would hold for us.

4th January 2012 - Manchester

Last night was the night that all IB students had been preparing for since we embarked on the tumultuous journey two years ago - results day!
For me, it was a slightly different experience. I was on the other side of the world, waiting for an e-mail that had the potential to kickstart or delay my dreams of becoming a journalist. The time arrived when the e-mail should have been in my inbox. I logged in with bated breath. Nothing. I refreshed the page. Still nothing. Conveniently, there had been a technical failure on the school system that had affected the email network. After a few more hours of trying, with nerves quickly building up, i decided to cut my losses and go to sleep.
Early the next day, i was woken up by a phone call. Whilst i had been sleeping, my mum had contacted everyone she could think of (including a friend in Hong Kong) to get the necessary contact numbers to get my results. Luckily, she bore good news for me - I had got what i needed to get into my first university preference!

Naturally this news was a good start to the day. We decided to go exploring in Manchester town centre. I was in a great mood and the shops were once again calling me! Conscious that J might be getting sick of all the retail therapy, we were also keeping our eyes peeled for evening entertainment, eager to experience Manchester's infamous nightlife.

After lunch in Pizza Express (a place which for me holds many childhood memories, plus wicked pizza and doughballs!) J was feeling rather daring.

We sought to find one of the many piercing parlours we had passed earlier so he could get his eyebrow pierced! We found one that seemed reputable despite the reasonably cheap prices. Looking just the tiniest bit nervous, J went into the piercing room. He emerged not long after, looking pretty happy with himself!

We returned home to a yummy dinner of baked chicken and peaches before the excitement and worries of last night finally started to catch up with me. After Skyping A and watching a bit of tv i was more than ready to climb into bed and fall straight asleep.