I left you all knowing that I was planning on going to see the sun rise on the Sydney Opera House. Well, that's exactly what I did.
Monday August 3
I got up real early to walk down to the end of the warf where I had a fantastic veiw of the opera house. I must say, getting to watch the colors change on the white sails, and across the city was really the perfect way to end my time in Australia.
Once at the airport I had to battle my way through security which was rediculous because they were stopping everyone for anything. I got stopped because of my harmonica..... yeah.... Before leaving the wonderful country of Australia I had to leave with one last package of Tim Tams. Besides I needed something to get me through my two really long flights.
I was flying on Malyasia Air which I had heard was a pretty good flight. Well, I had heard right. They fed us constantly and they had unlimited choice of movies. I just kept watching movies the whole flight. Well, I had a small hiccup. I went to the bathroom at one point. I was waiting in line and saw that one was open just someone had locked the door. So I went in, shut the door and went to lock it only to find that the latch to lock it was gone.... crap.... The door was locked and I had no way to get out. I banged on the door and try to shake the door a lot in hopes that someone would see it moving. I then was checking my person and the bathroom if there was anything I coud stick in the slot to unlock it. The best I had was the zipper on my hoody. It was doing no good. I figured since I was stuck I would make use of the facilities, then I had to think of a plan of attack. I still had about 4 hours left to go and was figuring eventually they would have to make sure I was out for landing. It would be uncomfortable but there was no need to panic. But I did really want out, so I just kept banging on the door, but the plane was too loud and I knew that no one would hear me. I my attempts to get comfortable I saw the assistance button. Yes.... I was saved, as long as they had a way to unlock it. So I pushed the button and waited.... Finally someone banged on the door to see if I was ok and I just called out, "Help, I'm locked in!" He was able to unlock it and asked again if everything was ok. I explained to him that there was no way to unlock the door from inside. I had of course drawn a crowd of people waiting to use the bathroom, so for the rest of the flight, I was "That person"
The second flight went a lot smoother. In fact, I slept through most of it. I woke up at a point to find food just sitting in front of me. I guess they make that sure that you are fed. So everything was smooth, until I landed.
I got to customs, and I had prepared myself a head of time for Englands customs since I had decided they are so far the hardest I had to get though. Every time I've gone through it, they have asked me questions as if it's questionable as to why I'm entering their country. Just when I thought I had been prepared it all I was proven wrong.
The questions started out normal, like where you coming from, how long have you been traveling, where you staying...etc. Until she started to ask what I do for work and how much do I make. Then she seemed to think it was impossible for me to fund this trip. I explained to her that this is money saved up, but she didn't accept that. I was doing too much traveling and not enough work. She filled out a piece of paper and told me to sit aside. I was more confused than ever, I was tired, jet laged, and getting very cranky. What a way to be greated by a country. Few minutes later she called me over and eccentially told me I was marked by the Government. They since I'm not making enough money, I was spending too much time in the country, and I had no departure information from England (I have a flight out of Ireland) then I was a questionable person. The stamp I got in my passport says that I'm not allowed to work here (which I couldn't do anyways since I don't have a work visa) and then she treatened me saying I had better leave the country in 2 months. AAAHHHH!!! WELCOME TO LONDON!!!
Yeah so on to happy things.
Tuesday August 4
I finally make it to Katie. She just moved so she in now in a cute little studio flat. I feel bad because my stuff takes up so much space, but she tells me it's ok. Since I was lucky and Katie did not have to work, we just sat and talked. It felt really good to not feel I had to do something, because I was with a friend and I was in a city I had spent quite some time in. Eventually we went for a walk and got some food, but it was all and all just a day of recovery. (Australia took a whole heck of a lot out of me)
Wedneday August 5
Katie and I got to take a day together to be tourists. We began the day by going down to Buckingham Palace and were we battled the crowds just to watch the changing of the Guards. I thought it would be this whole fan fare event with trumpeters and craziness. It was really just a group of guards marched in, a little music was played then a bunch of guards marched out. But, it was still worth seeing.
We then just walked around central London. It was such a change from all the calm and politeness of Australia. Strange ajustment. Another strange ajustment was going from the dead of winter to the dead of summer. Therefore, it was always dark longer to being light longer. I couldn't believe my eyes when it was just getting darkish around 9:00pm. Crazy!! Makes you feel like you did some sort of time warp. So, back to our walking. We stopped for some lunch and sat in Leicester Square where Katie pointed out the cinema that was used for the premire of Harry Potter. It wasn't hard to miss seeing as the building was covered in massive posters but that was just a small give away.
To kill some time we decided we would take a stroll through Harrids. Now, I'm not into fashion but I love Harrods. Just some much great stuff to look at. Stuff that I would never wear, or could even afford for that matter. But.... I did get to try on a £6,000 ring. I think the guy fancyed me (so Katie says) and that way why he kept trying to get me to try it on. It was so shinny!!! Then to prove that we can't afford stuff of all the things to buy and places to eat there, we go to Krispy Kreme. It was yummy I must say. Then to end our Harrods experience we went and looked at all of the amazing clothing. It was good too because it gave Katie some ideas for wedding dresses, seeing as she's getting married in a year....
That evening we had decided we would see a show on the West End and the show I chose was Avenue Q. I have been too close to seeing it so many times that there was no passing it up this time. It was hilarious. It really was the crude adult version of sesame street. There was even full puppet nudity.... Yeah wrap your brain around that....
Thursday August 6
Katie had to work on moving so I went on my own to Hampton Court Palace which was one of Henry VIII favorite residences. So of course there was a lot about Henry VIII. It also helped that they are celebrating 500 years since his coronation so they are pushing his history even more. I got to learn about him before he was King. Battles that he fought in, and that he was actually a very kind man, and loved his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. It wasn't until she couldn't bare a son for him, did he start to get a little crazed, and just started offing wives as if they were bananas... yeah I don't know why I chose bananas but just go with it.
I also did a tour of the kitches which was really pretty cool. They talked about how they perseved food, and how they made food. The concept of pies was not the same as it is now. They would bake things in pie crusts just for something to bake it in, they would not eat the crust. These are meat pies of course, not things like apple pie. There was also 1,000s of pounds worth of dishes. Crazy!!!
That night Katie and I made some dinner and sat down and watched 'Mrs. Henderson Presents', a story about the only theater in London that stayed up and running durning the WWII. It is now a very classy strip club. But really... it is classy. One of those places that you have to dress up nice to get into.
Friday August 7
I had decided this day that I would change my plans. I was going to leave soon to go up to Cardiff then Liverpool, to York and finally up to Scotland. I decided I had been so on the go and I hadn't gotten to see much of Katie, that I would just spend my 2 weeks of England in London and do a few day trips. So, with that in mind I was in no rush for the day. Finally I strolled to the tourist office and booked a tour of Oxford, Cotswold, Bath, and Stonehenge.
That evening Ricky, Katie's Fiance, was in town and the three of us went to do a Jack The Ripper Tour. It was really cool because it wasn't all about blood and guts. It was more about the history. History of the 6 women, of London, the area (East London), and then theories of who might have been the mysterious "Jack".... After that I'd be interested in finding books about it just because it all seems so foreign.
Saturday August 8
Katie had to work again so Ricky came out and played with me. We had a full English breakfast then were off to the British Museum. We were off to a great start when we realized neither of us had grabbed a map. We just knew that we were going to Holburn Tube stop. Lucky for us London is not too hard to get unlost in as long as you stay in the city center. Plus, I had stayed around that area when I was there last so once I got my bearings I was able to figure out where things were.
Now, the British Museum is massive and has just a collection of everything. There is no particular theme. There are ancient Egyptian things including jewlery and mummies. Then there are coins, clocks, Greek statues and even the Rosetta stone. It just has a little bit of it all. But it's all owned by the British Government. That is how it's all there. It's a museum you could go into many times and see something different everytime.
Since Katie's place is so small we were having to go back to her old place to sleep so there was space for the 3 of us, then go back to her new place for everything else. Well, this night I was too tired to make it back to her old place. I was just still jet laged. I mean I've just come to the conclusion that I'm like a guy now; I eat anything and I sleep anywhere. It's so not like me, but I guess it is now.
Sunday August 9
I decided today that I would actually go into Buckingham Palace. It was 60 years of the Queen being queen so they had opened things up to the public and had a whole room talking about the Queens tours to the CommonWealth, so there was a lot to see. There were 12 State Rooms to go into and it was soo much more impressive than any castle I've been in. Everything was elaborate and gold and bright, and the ceilings were soooo tall. It was also very clean, unlike castels that are 100's of years old. I think for me though, I loved the clocks. Every room had at least 3 clocks and everyone was specially designed. It was pretty crazy.
So then I went to attempt to go on the London Eye. It was something I always said it wasn't worth it, but finally I decided I would just do it. However the Underground is dumb on weekends. I wanted to get on the a line, but it was closed for the weekend. So I took another line to a stop to get the only other line to where I needed. When I got to the platform they were shutting that line down. So my only option was just to take the tube to a stop nearby and I would walk. It turned out to be for the best because I got to see all the street performers and artists out. It was also very nice out so the walk was worth it.... until I got to the Eye. The line was a couple hours wait and still didn't even have the ticket. For get that. I would just come back on a weekday when the tourists had moved on. (London was sooo packed with people that locals said it was more than normal. I'll bet it's the Olympics, but that's just my guess)
So finally I met up Katie and Ricky, and we went out to dinner. Then back off to Katie's old place.
Monday August 10
While Katie and Ricky when to look at a hotel for reception places I went to try to London Eye again. This time, it was cloudy and gloomy London, but there was no line. I didn't care. I still had a great view. But first I did the "4-D Experience". Of course there are always people in there who are so lame about it. There were girls scream and cowering into their mans arms. Why do girls act that way?? Anyways. For the most part it was just really cool to see Parliment up high, but I was able to see over across the city of London. It really gives you a whole new prospective of London.
We kind of waisted the morning away so I really was only able to get the Eye in, but I did take a very long walk around Parliment. It was the most I had ever seen of it. Everytime I had been that way I had gone to Westminster, so this was a change. I then just started walking, not knowing where I was going until I came upon Victoria Station. So that was my sign to head back to Katie's.
Tuesday August 11
Ricky was leaving this day but I did get to see him before I headed off to Greenwich. It was a bit a thinking to get there because I had to keep changing trains and lines and things but once I got to the little town it was worth it. It was a small little town with little shops. There were all these museums to go to. I only the main Marine Museum then the highlight, which was the observatory. I of course had to see a show in the observatory and the only one left was the one about Ice and how Ice and water effect the universe. Then... I had to go stand on the Prime Maridan. Yep, that is the home of the Prime Maridian.
It took a while to walk back to the train, then I had to do the strange adventure back but I was figuring it out. I also, took a short stop at London Bridge, just to get off and walk around. It was strange because it felt like underground London. More, off the beaten path. I later found out that there are sketchy parts to that area, oops.
Wednesday August 12
Katie really only had today to get her old placed cleaned up and moved out, so I went with her to keep her company, plus, it was good to stop a little. So I sat with her all day and compiled photos. Of course I never got them online. I promise when I get home I'll just put them all up and then you can have them all at once.
To reward ourselves for a job well done, we lugged a huge load of stuff through the streets and on the public buses of London. It was great. I've never been apart of a move right in the middle of a busy city. It's different than just throwing everything in the car and going from door to door.
Thursday August 13
I actually had to get up and moving because I had decided I would take a day bus to Cardiff. So I had to get there early. I was only about a 2 hours bus ride, I wasn't too bad. I didn't know exactly what I would see there, but I knew that the castel was worth seeing.
It helped that when I got there the city was small. You couldn't miss the castle because it was the large thing with the massive stone wall up around it. So I went in there and learned about it's 2000 years of history. How the center tower was built as a home, and it eventually became a fort. Then the fort wall has since fallen down, but the center is still there. It was just a really impressive sight to walk around. I also did a tour of the newer building where the clock tower is. We got to see inside the clock tower, childrens room, and a guest bedroom. The childrens room was my favorite. There were paintins all across the top of the walls representing all the different tales. I wouldn't have minded a room like that when I was little. Shoot, I wouldn't mind one like it now.
The day was getting on but my bus was still for another few hours so I went over to the Cardiff Museum. I went and looked at some of the paintings but the best part was the history of Wales. I thought the best part to that was how it talked about it's history 10 million years ago, and how the UK used to be down around where Africa in now. Who'd of thunk.
When I was kicked out of the museum I just took a little stroll around Cardiff and finally got on the bus back to London, getting me back late.
Friday August 14
I spent the day down at the Tower of London. As I said before there was all this stuff about Henry VIII well the Tower of London had the largest collection of Henry VIII stuff any places has had. I learned even more about Henry VIII here, but first I did a Yeomen Tour, better known as Beefeaters. I learned why they are called that too. It's because they used to be paid in beef which was really expensive so people said it about them in a kind of sarcastic annoyance, and it just stuck. This guide was good though. Very interactive with the crowd. I learned about many different prisoners they had. How exicutions worked and all about the private executions, aka Anne Bolyen.
In the exhibit of Henry VIII I learned why he started to get large. I was not because he was just a fat lazy grumpy King. It was because he got injured doing a sport, which he did a lot of, and that just changed his whole matabalism, and caused problems physically, plus he had to stop doing his sports. So, he got fat. It was actually that, which caused his death too. So yes, I have been getting a very good education on trip along with everything else.
A must stop was also the crown Jewles. There were loads of people but at least things are set up so everyone can see the jewles. Again, amazing!!!
My last stop before going back to Katie's was Blood Tower, where to two princes were believed to be kept. That of course is a whole contravsial story but I'm actually going to leave it to you guys to look that one up. I'm sure you've all heard about it any ways.
So it was back to Katie's with a very poor dinner, which I made, of Mac an cheese.
Saturday August 15
It was today that I took my tour around parts of England. We started with Oxford, and I'm sorry Dad but Oxford was better than Cambridge, at least my tour was better. I'm sure Cambridge could be quite nice with a good tour guide. We learned all about how the colleges work. Don't ask me to explain online, I couldn't type it out, but I'd gladly try to explain it when I get home. Then we also learned these students actually have to wear robes. It's totally like Harry Potter. If only the students had been in when we were there. Also, the length of the robe shows how smart you are basically.
We saw the heart of the University, where the graduations happen and even where Tolken studied. Pretty cool!!!
From there we moved on into the Cotswolds. This was pretty cool because this is the area that my Dad grew up. We didn't go to his town but I saw signs for it... if that means anything. We stopped in different little towns. Towns that make you think of fairy tales. These town just shouldn't exist, but they do. Places like Burfor, and Stow. The best though was Lower Slaughter. We had to drive on two way roads that were small enough for only one car. You couldn't even drive up to the door of the houses. You had to walk along the water on a small path. It's THAT cute!!!
That night we stayed in a hotel, what a novel thing. We had a nice little pub meal and a couple drinks, and called it a night.
Sunday August 16
Our first stop was Bath. We spent most of our time there at the Roman Baths, and it seems crazy that we spent so much time there, but there is a lot there to do and learn. After the baths though, we went to have tea and crumpets. It's England, you just have to do that.
We drove through a few more small towns. I could honestly retire to a place like that. It was just so perfectly quite and cute. Then we ended our trip with Stonehenge. Honestly, all I could think aobut was Eddie Izzard. It's bad I know, but I did still get a lot out of it. The idea that people 1000s of years ago understood the stars and space and time so well that they were able to build this memorial based off of it all and it's still accurate. Crazy!!
Finally, I got back to Katie and was what I had come to concider, home.
Monday August 17
Since Katie had the next coupld days off and I had exhausted all that I wanted to do it was time for us to just hang out. We got some sandwiches and walked down the street to Alexandra's Palace and just sat in the grass all afternoon. Sounds like we didn't do much but it was exactly what I could have asked for.
Tuesday August 18
I took the morning to plan out my trip to get to Scotland, deciding I would go up to Orkney first and visit Kira. Once all that was in order we traveling into the center of town and went to see about getting tickets to "Woman In Black". Both of us had already seen the show but it's the best show I have ever seen I could watch it over and over. It's a ghost story that comes so to life when you are watching it live.
Since we were early we went down to Charing Cross for some dinner, then back down to the theatre. The show was AMAZING all except the crazy lady in front of us. She was so crazy, she started to put on foot cream at one point. Yeah, people like that should not be allowed in public. But, aside from that the show was just spectacular. That is the number one show I'll recommend to anyone, unless you can't handle the scare.
Wednesday August 19
Today was not much different from the day before only instead we went to Hampstead which is an only hold that you can see only Victorian period furnature and paintings. Then we sat out on the grass and got some sun. Yep you heard right, in the middle of London we were getting some sun.
That evening I took Katie out to dinner as a huge thank you. Then I had to go pick up my stuff to catch my over night bus to Edinbrough.
That bus ride was the worst thing ever. It was a packed bus, the driver kept changing the temperature, the lights were left on, there were kids throwing tempertantrums, and we stopped about every hour for people to get off and on. Just horrible.
Thursday August 20
In Edinbrough I had to catch a train to Aberdeen, then I had to catch a ferry. Once on the ferry I was out. So tired. By the time I got to Kirkwall, Orkney I had travelled for another 24 hours. But, I was nice because Kira and Russel drove out to meet me and take me to the Hostel, so they long day was rewarded.
Friday August 21
Kira and Russel came and picked me up. They took me out to breakfast where I got to try black pudding. I'm glad that they didn't tell me what it was before I tried it because I have had blood saucage before and didn't like it, but I did like black pudding.
So then we went over to the ring of Brodgar which is a ring of stones set up like Stonehenge only this is a 1000 years older. Crazy again how people could know all this for so many years. We then drove out to Brough of Birsay which is an area that when it's low tide you can walk across to an island where ther is a light house and you can stand on the cliffs. We were looking for Puffins but never saw any. We did, however, see seals off in the distance and found out how to drive over to them. To get to the seals we ended up walking though someones yard and instead of getting made at us, that brought us over to a place to sit and ever pulled out some binoculars for us to use. Talk about amazingly nice.
That evening Kira and Russel had plans so I just went through a walk through the city of Kirkwall. I was so amazing. I can see now why they moved there.
Wednesday August 22
I had to walk down to the Cathedral where I got picked up. I was on my way to do my first dry suit dive and too see some wrecks. These wrecks are famous too. The more famous Scapa Flow was too advanced for me but I was able to go on the Churchill Barriers which were a whole load of ships that were sunk for the purpose of preventing the Germans getting in. Scapa Flow was the 72 German fleet gave up and scuttled all their ships. I plan to one day go back. But back to my dive. I had to learn about a dry suit and how it works. The fact that I was fully clothed before getting in it was crazy. Then once all the gear is on you feel like you would sink. In the suit I felt like I belonged on the moon or somehting, but that is actually how they keep the water out. They used NASAs zipper. Yeah... interesting. So we had two dives there and they both were just amazing. To see the ships, even though it was only pieces was just out of this world.
Well, I'm running out of time so I will finish up my travels in a few more days but I'll leave with all with this much for now. I'm now in Aberdeen and will soon do a tour around Scotland. After that off to Ireland I go. Yippy!!! I miss you all!!
Lots of love,
Cheers from Aberdeen!!!
