Going south

Manchester was my first stop on my journey back to London. I stopped in Manchester overnight and spent my time visiting the sights, checking out the Christmas markets and people watching. Manchester is obviously a lot busier than quiet Grasmere. The highlight of my stopover in Manchester was a visit to Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United Football Club. I am not a huge fan of English football but I was enthralled as I walked through the museum admiring all the large trophies. I visited the ground on a game day which meant I was not able to take a tour, they did though allow me to take a quick look inside to see where fans pay thousands to watch players who get payed millions.

Leaving Manchester I caught a bus to Liverpool. I had paid a bargain price of £2 for a national express bus. The trip was due to take less than one hour. I arrived in Liverpool three hours after leaving Manchester. The bus broke down then we got stuck in heavy traffic. When we made it to Liverpool it was dark, cold and very wet and I had to walk through half the city to find a hostel.

I was visiting Liverpool for the same reason millions of tourists visit the city every year, to visit the sights made famous by the Beatles. I took a tour through the Beatles story exhibition which relives the story of the famous four before walking down Matthew St to view the Cavern Club where the band played hundreds of gigs.

My next stop after Liverpool was Birmingham where I stayed with a guy I met on a rainy day in Ambleside, the town next to Grasmere. He invited me to stay with him so I thought why not. He showed me the large German themed Christmas markets and the Aston Villa football stadium. I also spent an afternoon in Stratford Upon Avon. The birthplace and death place of William Shakespeare. I visited his grave inside the church before visiting the house in which he was born in the middle of town.

Leaving Birmingham I caught a bus back to London in time for another BUNAC day trip. This time we visited Leeds Castle and Rochester. I enjoyed the Castle visit but Rochester was the highlight. I did not realise the town was celebrating Dickensian Christmas. Actually I had never heard of it before. But one weekend every year locals dress in Charles Dickens themed dress and act out parts of his novels in the streets. The town was packed and a lot of fun.

Goodbye to Grasmere

In my final week in Grasmere, my dad and his wife Marsha came to visit. Together we explored parts of the Lakes I had seen many times before as well as places I had not yet seen. As we drove around the Lakes it was obvious to see the destruction caused by the floods in the previous week. Many of the roads were still covered in water and many of the locals had started the clean up job.

The water in Windermere Lake had risen so much that shops beside the lake in Bowness were two to three foot deep in water. Many of the smaller waterfalls were also now raging waterfalls.
Friday morning dad and Marsha left so I said goodbye before starting my last day of work at the Glenthorne. Following a fairly straightforward shift we made our way to the pub to begin a very big night of drinking, partying and celebration. The Glenthorne shuts down over the winter month which is the reason for our party and the reason for my departure.

The party continued into the early hours of the morning and when I awoke the next morning I saw something I had not seen for some time in Grasmere, sunshine. I also got to see something I had not yet seen in the UK, snow. All the higher mountains around Grasmere were covered in snow and the view was rather spectacular.

A couple of lazy days and a few visits to the pub later and I was on a train leaving the place which I had called home for the last three months. I caught a train to Manchester and it felt good to be travelling again.

Working in a lake district

During my time in Grasmere I have seen a lot of rain but never like last Thursday. Never before in my life have I seen so much rain. It poured all night Wednesday night then continued throughout Thursday causing much flooding. The guesthouse I work at began to get flooded, the dining room, kitchen and some of the rooms were getting deeper and deeper underwater. I spent a lot of time wading through the large puddles to try and clear the drains and build water blocks with used towels and sheets to divert the water.

The roads entering Grasmere were blocked from each direction all day Thursday and most of Friday. Our food delivery vans could not get through and many of our weekend guests could also not get to Grasmere and therefore we cancelled the weekend group and had a a few unplanned days off. The rain did not ease much over the weekend which meant there wasn't a lot to do. So I spent the weekend watching movies and drinking at the pub.

Grasmere actually fared quite well in comparison to neighbouring towns such as Cockermouth and Workington where many homes were destroyed and bridges collapsed. The clean up in some towns will take years to complete. According to newspaper reports only once every thousand years do you get such a large amount of rain in such a short period.

It rains here nearly all the time at the moment. It is very rare to see blue sky and now the sun also sets just after 4pm and it is dark enough to see the stars by 4.30pm.

I am now in my final week in Grasmere, the Glenthorne Guest House closes tomorrow and I will leave a few days later on Monday. I am still not really sure where I will go, I will just wait and see what happens. I have enjoyed my time working at the guesthouse and living in Grasmere but I am ready to move on and start somewhere new.

Hadrians Wall and Vindolanda

Standing, staring at the ruins it was hard to comprehend this village was built almost 2000 years ago. I walked among the buildings or whats left of them and viewed the artifacts at Vindolana, a roman village built around AD100. Archaeologists are still excavating the site and one of their most important discoveries of late is that of a postcard style letter. It is on show at the on site museum along with clothing, jewellery and many other things.
I knew very little about Vindolanda before arriving there. I only stopped there because there was a youth hostel close by where I stayed the night while viewing Hadrian's Wall.
Hadrian's Wall was completed in AD122 under the orders of Roman Emperor Hadrian and spans from coast to coast across the top of England. Only some of the wall remains so I discovered the story of the wall while also seeing some stunning countryside.
I was riding the bus and left from Grasmere in the morning to Carlisle and wandered the streets there for a couple of hours before catching a bus to a Roman Army Museum. The wall was built to signify the most northern point of the roman empire and I was amazed at how well it had survived close to 2000 years.
My visit to the wall was restricted due to the minimal bus services but I still managed to see a lot of the remaining wall and have a good history lesson.
Beside my Hadrian's Wall trip not a lot has been happening. I have continued my work at the Glenthorne Guest House and taking my time off to visit the towns and lakes of the Lakes District.

Oktoberfest

Return bus Grasmere to London: £44 (A$81)
Tour costs including bus London to Munich: £220 (A$408)
Stein of beer in a beer tent during Oktoberfest: €10 (A$17)
Enjoying that stein and many others among friends: Priceless.

The journey to and from Munich was long and expensive but it was worth every cent. I left Grasmere early Thursday morning and arrived in London almost nine hours later. I dumped my bags at a hostel then went to find my friend Emily who invited me to go and see Aussie band Jet play at the Forum with her and her friends. It was a fun night and the Melbourne boys played all their hits as well as tracks off their new Shaka Rock album.

On Friday morning I went out to South West London and met my mate Ross then we boarded our Topdeck bus. It took us 16 hours to get to Munich driving through five countries. We drove to Dover and caught the ferry to Calais then drove through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany before reaching Munich early Saturday morning.

We were camping at a site with thousands of other people and unloaded our gear had a quick breakfast and got back on the bus to the city. Ross and I headed straight for the Hofbrauhaus tent were his mates already had a table. The tents were already packed so after spotting a mate from my Pamplona tour I decided to join them on their outside table. On opening day the beers cannot be poured till the mayor taps the keg at midday to signify the start of the festival. We waited till almost one for our first beer but from then on we drank into the night and celebrated being part of the worlds largest public festival. We continued drinking all day and all night and then got some sleep before waking up and doing it all again the next day.

One section of Munich is sectioned off and huge beer tents are set up, each tent holds thousands of people. What surprised me was surrounding all the beer tents were carnival rides and activities for people of all ages. I saw young school groups and elderly people all enjoy the festival.

Throughout the two and a half I spent at Oktoberfest I drank with mates I had not seen in years, new mates, German locals and other people from all over the world. I made an effort to walk through all the tents but spent most of my time at the Hofbrauhaus, Lowenbrau and Augustiner tents, each tent is named by the beer its serves.

I also made an effort to see Munich and went on a walking tour stopping at Marienplatz to view the New Town Hall, the Hofbrauhaus- the site of Hitlers early speeches, as well as finding out my shoe size is the same as the Devil's in the Frauenkirche cathedral.

The long journey back to Grasmere began as we left Munich. We drove through the night back to London where I stayed a night before catching the bus back to Grasmere. It took me longer to get to and from Munich than I actually spent at the festival but it was well worth it.

Exploring the Lakes District

In the past two and a half weeks since arriving in Grasmere I have had a chance to explore the town as well as some of the neighbouring towns.

Last weekend was the Grasmere Guzzler, a three day beer drinking festival so I found myself at the pub Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. It was a great way to get to know the locals while enjoying some local brews.

I have taken a few day trips to neighbouring towns. I went to Kendal to do some shopping, to Ambleside to visit the lake and the waterfalls and to Keswick to visit some museums. Keswick is home of the Cumberland pencil museum, the worlds only museum dedicated to pencils. I took a tour of the museum learning the process of pencil making as well as viewing the worlds longest pencil. It is 7.91 metres long and weighs 446.36 kilograms and it is yellow, not sure why they chose that colour. The famous Derwent pencils are made in the factory next door to the museum. The newly opened James Bond museum was my next destination. The museum is home of a large collection of vehicles used in the films. There are a few Aston Martins, some BMW's, the hovercraft used in Die Another Day and the jet used in Octopussy. I then headed to the famous cars of the stars museum which features many vehicles used on television and movies. Their most prized possession is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but my favourites were a Batmobile, Mr Beans Mini and the Delorean time machine as seen in Back to the Future. While in Keswick I also visited Derwent Water a very picturesque lake and the Castlerigg Stone Circle, another set of stones nobody really knows much about.

The last few days there has been sunshine, something I did not expect to see in the Lakes District after a week and a half of constant rain so I went with my housemates Ben and David in search of waterfalls we could use to jump into water. Ben showed us a couple of places and although the water was quite cold it was a lot of fun.

I also took a tour through Dove Cottage, the home of the famous poet William Woodsworth between 1799 to 1808. It was quite interesting and I learnt a lot about Woodsworth as well as Grasmere in general. Work at the Glenthorne is going well and I am enjoying the relaxed lifestyle of Grasmere.

Scaffel Pike and the Great North Swim

With the weekend off work and some sunshine I decided it was a great chance to walk to Scaffel Pike, England's highest mountain. I did a little research and got some maps and set out alone just after breakfast at around 8.30am. I was guessing it was going to take me around nine hours to get there and back but I wasn't exactly sure.
I started off walking over the Langdales up to the beautiful Skittle Ghyll. Then I walked down to Dungeon Ghyll and from there reached a path passing over about six peaks before I reached Scaffel Pike. At one point I almost gave up and turned back because of the time but the conditions were perfect and I was not sure I would get conditions that good again. Each summit had stunning views and there were hundreds of people out enjoying the great weather. I did not reach the summit until just before five and wanted to just sit and enjoy the view but my hours of daylight were decreasing so I headed down. The summit is 978 metres and you can see all the way to the ocean. As you reach the summit you have to clamber up rocks and there are many tracks leading to the top. in my excitement of reaching the top I had forgotten which path I had come up. So I walked around for about thirty minutes before finding it. I found my track and walked back to Dungeon Ghyll following a slightly shorter track and reached the road just before dark.
Luckily I had a torch because I still needed to get over the Langdales and back to Grasmere. I walked up and from the top I could see the lights of Grasmere. I had never been so excited to see the village lights.
I made it back to Glenthorne about 10pm, thirteen and a half hours after setting off. I had quickly stopped along the way for photos and food but I had basically walked non stop the whole time.
I have now summited two of what is known as the three peaks. I walked up Ben Nevis last month, now Scaffel Pike. I still have to do Snowdon in Wales.

Today was another day of sunshine so I went to support a new friend Molly and her friend Holly who were swimming in the Great North Swim on Lake Windermere. The one mile swim on Englands largest lake is held over two days. This year there were 6000 competitors making it the largest open water swim in the country. The conditions were perfect and it looked very inviting until I was told the temperature of the water was 16.3 degrees Celsius. Wetsuits are not compulsory but highly recommended.
Tonight I plan to head to the pub for a Sunday night pint before a few more days work then I am catching a bus back to London, then a bus to Munich for a weekend of beer drinking for the opening weekend of Oktoberfest.

Grasmere- ''The loveliest place that man hath ever known''

I had again reached a point in my trip when it was time to get a job. When searching for a job I decided live-in-work was probably the best option considering my funds where very minimal. A few days of emails and phone calls and I had a job. I got a job as a general assistant at Glenthorne Guest House in Grasmere.

I left London on a bus and 12 hours later I was in Grasmere in the Lakes District in the North of England. I knew very little about the job or the town but they were the first to give me a job so that was good enough for me.

I arrived into Grasmere and walked in the rain to Glenthorne to meet my new workmates and see the guest house. It hasn't stopped raining since. I have seen more rain in the last five days than the last year together. I was shown to my room and what a luxury it is to have my own room after months of sleeping in hostels or on mates floors. Then I headed to the pub with a my kiwi next door neighbour and workmate Ben. Grasmere has two main pubs and on Thursday night we went to Tweedies for Trivia Night. I met some of the locals and we almost won the trivia.

My first day of work went well. I help serve breakfast in the mornings, then clean rooms for a few hours, then get a few hours break before serving dinner. It is the first time I have worked this kind of job but it is pretty good. One of the benefits is we get to eat what the guests eat. This includes an all you can eat breakfast, packed lunch and three course dinner.

In my hours off in the middle of the day I have been wandering around Grasmere and learning what goes on. I have discovered that Grasmere is famous for being the home of poet William Woodsworth from 1799 to 1808. Woodsworth's former house is now a museum and the main tourist attraction in the town, I plan to take a tour through their soon. He described the area as ''the loveliest place that man hath ever known.'' My Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring guide describes Grasmere as ''occupying a graceful spot amid meadows, woods and water, Grasmere is a delight.'' I tend to agree more with Lonely Planet than Woodsworth. I agree it is beautiful but not the most beautiful I have ever seen.

Yesterday was the Grasmere games and show. It is one of the biggest events on the Grasmere calender. Constant rain did not stop thousands of people from turning out to see the dog show, view the hot rods and taste the local food. The main attraction though at the games is the Cumberland and West Morland Wrestling, an odd form of wrestling where competitors lock their hands behind their opponents back then try wrestle them to the ground. The fell running also attracts a lot of competitors, it is pretty much running straight up and then straight back down a really steep hill.

I have the next couple of days off so I plan to visit some of the neighbouring towns and see some more of the Lakes District. I plan to work at Glenthorne until the end of the season in November. Hopefully in that time I will be able to save some money to continue travelling.

The day the Aussies lost the Ashes

It took me until I entered The Oval for it to sink in that I was watching the Ashes in England. I had paid a lot of money and waited a long time for the day to arrive. I had a ticket to day four of the final test, which turned out to be the decider and with the Aussies at 0-80 chasing 546 it wasn't exactly the situation I had expected.
The stadium was at capacity as everybody was asking 'could Australia somehow pull off a win or hold on for a draw. As expected the crowd was very nearly completely English, luckily I had an Aussie sitting next to me. We were the only two sitting in our bay. We were sitting in great seats in the second row in the Surrey members section. Getting the tickets was a long process but basically I was very lucky to know someone who knew someone, who knew someone, who knew someone who could get tickets. We watched as the Aussies casually went through their warm ups then listened as the English fans loudly welcomed their boys to the field.
The opening pair of Watson and Katich didn't last long and so Ponting and Hussey were both fresh at the crease. Ponting received a standing ovation from the whole crowd, a rarity in England. The two put together a strong partnership as the English fans started getting a little worried. Then in his final test Flintoff threw down the stumps to run out Ponting and change the momentum of the game. The crowd jumped to their feet and went crazy as Ponting went back to the pavilion. Michael Clarke didn't last long and neither did Marcus North as the English dream of winning back to the Ashes was becoming a reality.
After the North wicket I left my seat to get a calm nerving beer and absolutely copped it from the crowd. I was of course wearing my Aussie shirt and there was just no way to reply.
The session following the tea break was when it all fell apart and it was only a question of whether it would be all over on day four or if they Aussies could hold on till the end of the day.
Haddin and Hussey held together for a solid partnership before Haddin was dismissed leaving only the tailenders to hold on for the Aussies. Harmison took the late wickets of Siddle and Clark in succession and the fans began their celebration. I had been listened to the action on a small headphone only after tea I couldn't hear a thing. The English fans were cheering every ball. Hussey was the last man out with a respectable 121 his best for the series but it didn't matter the English had won.
Following the last wicket a received a few handshakes from the surrounding English fans offering their condolences. They were absolutely loving their teams victory. I stayed through to watch the presentations as fireworks were let off and the ground covered in confetti. The Aussies left the field as soon as the presentations ended and the English boys did a lap of honour. I then left the ground as the fans English fans stayed for every moment of celebrations.
After leaving I caught a bus to Hyde Park where everybody is a tourist and I figured I wouldn't receive any comments about my shirt. Luckily I didn't and I could enjoy a couple more hours in the sun in what had been a warm London day.
Supporting your country when they compete overseas is a memorable experience. Watching the Aussies lose the Ashes in England is something I am not sure I will ever forget.

Football and exploring in London

Last Thursday night I made my way to Craven Cottage in South West London to attend my first English football game. I went along to see Fulham FC take on Amkar Perm in the Europa League group stage with my mate Andy.
The two of us had seats right on the fence in the middle of the Fulham members and we watched as Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer let through only one goal as his Fulham team beat the Russian team 3-1. The stadium was only three quarters full but the fans were in full voice. Some of the chants I could distinguish, others I have no idea what they were singing.
I returned to London from Leeds last Monday and exploring some of the sights I have not yet seen. On Tuesday Andy and I spent the morning at the Natural History Museum which was full of children as it is the middle of the shool holidays. In the afternoon we wandering the streets hunting down Banksy artwork which is still visible. Banksy is a stencil graffiti artist who has drawn artwork throughout London and all over the world. Much of his work has been painted over or cut out of walls and sold at auctions. Some of his remaining artwork has been covered in perplex glass to try and save it. This tour took us to some nice parts of London I would have otherwise never seen.
When the final Ashes test started I watched and waited anxiously as I had a ticket for the fourth day. I was really hoping it would last till the fourth day. When the Aussies went all out for 160 it didn't help. Andy and I watched the third day in Regents Park with about 10,000 other people, the majority obviously English and they were loving it as their team set the Aussies an almost impossible target. Luckily the test did reach a fourth day and I got my chance to see a day of the Ashes in England.
I will write about my day at the cricket in the next blog.

Climbing Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands and at 1344 metres high it is the highest in the UK. My friend Sarah and I thought it would be a good idea to go and climb it. The two of us were picked up in Leeds by a mate of ours from Topdeck John and we drove to Glasgow to collect Blackey, another Topdeck mate.
We then continued our drive towards Glen Nevis in the pouring rain. Luckily when we got to camp late in the night the rain stopped long enough for us to set up our tents. Then the rain continued throughout the night.
We woke up early Saturday morning and began our climb. We followed the main tourist path the whole way to the top. For the first hour or so of our walk it did not rain then we entered the level of the clouds from which point everything was moist and i began to get wet. The track was well maintained and as we walked up the visibility decreased and the conditions grew worse and worse. As we reached an area close to the summit it became very exposed and the wind became very strong, the rain was now coming in at all angles.
We reached the summit about three and a half hours after setting off and the visibility was disappointingly very minimal and their was still a large piece of snow just near the top. On a clear day it is said you can see views up to 190 kilometres. When we reached the top we couldn't see more than 20 metres.
My hands were numb by the time we reached the top and my whole body was shaking. So I wasn't hanging around for long. After having a quick look at the disused observatory and war memorial I began the decent. At the top was the coldest I can ever remember being.
Considering the conditions the track was very busy, people were walking their dogs and another group of men had refrigerators tied to their back as part of a charity fundraiser.
As we descended conditions grew worse, the rain became heavier and the wind increased until we again reached below the level of the clouds where it was raining little but not as cold.
Our descent took roughly two and a half hours and once we reached the base we stopped at the pub to warm up and celebrate our achievement. We ended up staying for a couple or hours to thaw out and then headed back to camp. We didn't stay long at camp realising we were better off to head back to the pub where it was much warmer. We ended up staying at the pub for another few hours before going back to camp to sleep.
Our Sunday we made our way back to Leeds dropping Blackey off in Glasgow on the way through. John drove the whole way and back, after dropping Sarah and I in Leeds he continued home to Devon almost at the bottom of England. He had driving almost the length of the UK and back in the one weekend.

Laughing aloud in Edinburgh

If you do not like crowds stay away from Edinburgh in August. If you want to be a part of the biggest arts festival in the World then head to the Scottish capital. Edinburgh comes alive throughout the month as men in kilts share the streets with men in underwear juggling knives atop a ladder as part of the Fringe Festival.
I was lucky enough to have friends living in Edinburgh. I again stayed with Sandy and Alyce for a few nights because accommodation is very expensive and hard to come by.
I was swept up in all the excitement and spent four days watching some very funny and not so funny comedians. The most acclaimed comedian I saw was Australian Wil Anderson. His one hour stand up show 'Wilosophy' was hilarious and also helped me catch up on some of the Australian news I had missed in the last four months. My second favourite comedian was Kevin Tomilson who used audience comments as part of his sketch comedy show.
I spent the nights drinking underneath a giant upside down blow up purple cow and other beer gardens with friends and strangers. The Scots love the festival as much as the tourists and they love to share their tips with the newcombers such as myself.
When I couldn't decide who to watch I just walked up and down the Royal Mile in the centre of town where street performers entertain thousands of onlookers. This is also where I got a quick glimpse of the Military Tattoo. Marching bands from all over the world come and perform at the foot of the castle throughout August. I stood and watched as they all filed out to the sound of bagpipes.
I also spent a bit of time exploring the city and did a few tours to learn the stories of horrific murders and executions which took place in the city. I also went through the Castle to see the Scottish Crown jewels and the coronation stone. I also stopped in at Greyfriars Kirkyard. A site many say is the most haunted place on Earth. Dolly the sheep the World's first cloned mammal is stuffed and placed inside the National Museum and so I went to see it. Funnily enough it looked like a stuffed sheep.
I am not a big fan of Harry Potter, I have only read the first novel but I can appreciate why it is so popular. After visiting Edinburgh where JK Rowling started the series I can see who see came up with some of her crazy storylines.
My Edinburgh experience was complete after the last comedian I watched on his last joke was heckled by an audience member. I thought I was gong to leave the Fringe without hearing somebody heckle a comedian.

A wee tour of Scotland

"Scotland is lovely, you will like it there." This is what many of my friends told me when I mentioned I was planning to explore Scotland. They were not wrong I did love it there.
I arrived in Edinburgh, had a day to look around. I climbed to the top of Arthur's Seat for panoramic views across the city. Then I caught up with my mates Sandy and Alyce from my Topdeck trip and stayed with them for the night.
Early Tuesday morning I walked into town and met my new tour mates who I was to spend the next four days with. It was a random mix, seven Taiwanese girls, two Spanish, an Indian, a Kiwi, an Italian, myself and two other Aussies. We left Edinburgh and began our wee (Scottish for small) tour of Scotland.
On the first day we drove towards Loch Ness, stopping a few times to learn some of the Scottish history. We spotted some salmon jumping up a waterfall on one of our walks and then at the end of the day I went for a swim in Loch Ness. There was no sign of any monster but the water was surprisingly quite warm. We also got our first taste of local Scottish whisky, something the Scots love and their whisky is World reknowned.
Our second and third days were spent on the Isle of Skye where I tasted fresh scallops caught straight from a Loch. We also climbed a mountain to see a rock formation known as the Old Man of Storr. We also stopped to take photos of some Heeland Coos (Highland Cows). I also learnt the process of making whisky at the Tallisker Distillery.
We rode the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig to get back on the mainland and entered the Highlands. We walked for about thirty minutes to a waterfall lookout near Fort William only to get there and turn around and head back straight away because we were being bitten by Midgies. Midgies are tiny mosquito like insects that suck your blood.
Our final night was spent on a Loch in the middle of nowhere where we cooked up a big meal with haggis for the whole group. On our final day back to Edinburgh we learnt the stories of Rob Roy and Robert the Bruce a couple of Scottish heroes. On arrival into Edinburgh I had a chance to take a quick walk through the town which was now full of people in interesting costumes performing in the streets as part of the Fringe Festival.
I stayed a couple of nights in Glasgow before returning to Edinburgh. I did not really do a lot on my day in Glasgow just wandered around the shops. I was exhausted after my trip.

Staring at stones and roman baths

On Saturday the 1st of August I went on a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. The trip was organised by BUNAC, the organisation who I organised my British visa and the rest. In true English style it rained all day.
We left London and our first stop was Stonehenge and with the help of an audio tour I learnt the mysteries surrounding the stones. The rain made it all more eerie. We did not stop long at Stonehenge, just long enough to walk around and take a few photos.
Our next stop was Bath and our first point of call was the Roman Baths. We spent a couple of hours wandering through the different rooms learning the Roman traditions before reaching the very photogenic main bath. At the Baths we were also told of the history through an audio tour, this time it included the voice of Bill Bryson. He is a very funny travel writer although I felt his comments did not add a lot of insight.
Following the Roman Baths we ate some lunch before walking through the rainy city. The rain made it difficult to appreciate the beautiful architecture.
We all then boarded the bus back to London. I stayed Friday night and Saturday night with my cousin Summa and her friend Tia. On Sunday I went back to see my mates at the Pedal Boats in Hyde Park.
On Sunday night it was almost warm enough to feel like summer so Summa, Tia and I had a BBQ dinner before I got on an overnight bus to Edinburgh, Scotland.

By the seaside in Brighton

The sun was shining when I got off the train in Brighton, this began a few relaxing days in the seaside city. I left the station and walked down the hill towards the ocean for my first view of the pebbled beach. Although it was quite windy there were still many people on the beach.
I did not do a lot while in Brighton. I spent time just wandering the shops and the beach. The pier is the most famous icon of the city and is full of amusement rides. I did play a few of the cheap games but did not go on any of the rides. One afternoon I took a walk along the pebbles past the beach boxes and into the city of Hove to visit the Sussex County cricket ground.
Brighton was preparing itself for its annual Gay Pride day which was held the day after I left. All the shop windows had the rainbow flag hanging in their shop window. Brighton is known as the gay capital of England and therefore they take their Pride day seriously.
My impressions of Brighton were soured a little on the last night, not by any fault of the city but because I had the world's loudest snorer sleeping in the bunk directly above me. I have now stayed in many dorm rooms in many hostels with snorers but never with anyway this loud. With the help of my Ipod I did manage to get some sleep only to wake up in the middle of the night to find not only the person above me was snoring but so too was the person next to me. I did not get a lot of sleep.
While it was raining in Brighton which it often did I planned the next part of my trip to Scotland.

Le Tour De France in Paris

Leaving early Saturday morning from Wimbledon my mate Ross and caught a cab to St Pancras Station. We boarded the Eurostar train and a few hours sleep later and we were in Paris. We somehow managed to navigate our way from the main train station to the Louvre and then the hostel without the use of a map. We did though walk right through the centre of the red light district where the women were still working the streets at 9am.
We dumped our bags at the hostel and walked to the Eiffel Tower for my first close up view of the magnificent structure. We then made our way to the Arc de Triomphe before walking down part of the Champs Elysees until we found a relatively cheap yet still overpriced restaurant to have lunch and watch the penultimate stage of the Tour De France on television.
We stayed till the end of the stage telecast before walking back to the Louvre and making our way back to the hostel. In the evening Ross and I waited two hours in the queue to climb to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. We reached the second level just as the last sunlight was fading away and the lights of Paris began to light up. At ten o'clock the whole tower shimmered in the light show.
Sunday morning Ross and I walked the length of the Champs Elysees before finding a spot to watch the riders of the Tour De France. The Champs Elysees had no cars on it all day and spectators were there early to secure their viewing spot. We had a spot about six hundred metres to go beside the Louvre parks. The sponsor cars drove by signifying the riders were getting close. By this stage we had quite a crew of Ross' mates and others we met on the day all ready to cheer on the riders.
The excitement grew and the crowd erupted as the riders passed by for the first time. The Astana team were leading the pack with tour winner and yellow jersey holder Alberto Contador sixth from the front. The riders passed our spot another seven times before completing the stage and the whole race. Each time they rode past I was able to distinguish more of the riders.
We could not get anywhere near the presentation dais because the roads were blocked off to spectators so we watched it on a big screen. Mark Cavendish was the stage winner taking his total stage wins for the tour to six. Spanish rider Alberto Contador was overall winner with Andy Schleck of Luxembourg second and seven time champion Lance Armstrong finished third.
The crowd dispersed and we went in search of a place to sit down as we had been standing now for more than 10 hours. A group of us got some food and some drinks and found a spot on the grass beside the Eiffel Tower. With the tower as our backdrop we drank into the night. Ross and I left after the final 1am tower light show were all the main tower lights are switched off leaving just the sparkling lights.
Monday morning I went to the Louvre again, this time I entered and I spent a couple of hours wandering through the different exhibitions trying to see as much as possible in the limited time. I did head straight for the Mona Lisa and although many say it can be underwhelming I was still impressed. I was fascinated by the decorations on the walls and ceilings as much as the paintings in many of the rooms.
Then just after one Ross and I boarded the Eurostar and a few hours later we were back in Wimbledon. I stayed the night at Ross' beforecatching a train to Brighton, a beach side town an hour out of London which is where I am currently at and will be till Friday.
I can now tick another major sporting event off my list as well as a visit to one of the worlds most famous cities. Its a shame I did not find any love in Paris though. I will have to return one day to try again.

Leeds again

I stayed with Sarah for a few more days following the wedding, in the few days I explored the Leeds City Museum and Art Gallery. Sarah, Sal and I also went to the theatre to see the musical Blood Brothers in the suitably named Grand Theatre. The story follows twin brothers separated after birth and brought together again in tragic circumstances. The story and performance was very good. The scouse (Liverpool) accents did mean I had to concentrate in order to understand what they were singing.
I caught up with my mate Dene from the Topdeck tour and we spent an afternoon together then I spent the following night with him and his workmates at a nightclub. The nightclub played only northern soul music rather random mix but the crowd their were getting into it.
I left rainy Leeds and made my way back on the bus to rainy London. I am again at my mates Ross' house in Wimbledon. We are leaving for Paris early tomorrow morning on the Euro star to watch the cyclists ride through the city for the last stage of the Tour De France on Sunday. I cant wait.

Wedding in Poland

Sarah and I left Leeds with the wedding couple and a group of their friends to East Midlands airport in the early hours of Thursday July 16 to begin our fantastic weekend away. I had only just met Renata and Glenn the wedding couple and their mates but over a few breakfast beers we got to know each other.
We flew into Wroclaw airport in Poland, drove for about two hours in a mini bus towards Pieszyce dumped our bags at the hotel and went to Renata's parents house for lunch. Renata's parents had prepared a feast for us and so we spent hours sitting around eating delicious food and drinking more beer. Polish love their meat and cakes and they love their beers. Renata's father showed us around his property. He spoke no English but with the help of Renata's sister he explained his property is worth a lot of money.
The following day we went on a guided tour through the city of Wroclaw checking out the sights including cathedral island, market square and the very impressive Racławice Panorama. The panorama is a 15 by 120 metre painting depicts the Battle of Raclawice, during the Koscioszko Uprising. We also ate lard (the rendered fat of a pig) sandwhiches with our lunch at an underground brewery.
The wedding was held on the Saturday afternon and none of us had any idea what to expect. It was held in a small Catholic church. The service was all in Polish except for the changing of the vows which was translated into English by Renatas sister. Renata is from Poland and she met Glenn from England while in Leeds.
The wedding was followed by a reception at the hotel we were staying at in the foothills of the mountains. This is were i really experienced the Polish hospitality. Our first meal was served just after we arrived and I ate a lot, not realising their were still another ten courses to be served. Renata and Glenn took part in a song and dance routine in front of everyone. A tradition which only occurs in the mountain areas of Poland. Then everybody let their hair down drank loads of vodka and danced the night away. I took part in many progressive dances all a part of the tradition. The vodka got the better of me and I had to retire before the last meal was served at 2am.
The following day the food was served again and so too were the beers. The Polish believe when you have a big night on the drink you need to have a few drinks the next day ease the effects of the hangover. Late in the afternoon we took a walk up the mountain in the rain to check out the views. The mountains were covered in forests and made for a beatiful setting.
In the two days of the wedding 53 people drank 46 bottles of wine, 45 litres of beer and 36 bottles of vodka.
Our final morning in Poland was spent walking through tunnels built during WWII under Hitlers orders but never completed due to the war ending. The horrific stories of the men who built it made me realise how lucky I am to be able to explore this great country so freely.
We flew back to the East Midlands airport UK and said goodbye to Glenns parents and brother before we making our way back to Leeds. There I said goodbbye to my new mates Johnny, Paul, Suzie, Deano, Rick, Chris and Sarah.

Leeds

On Sunday July 12 I returned to Leeds. After missing my bus in London I made to do Leeds mid afternoon and caught up with my mate Imy from Deakin University. It was great to see him again after a couple of years and we caught up on what was happening in our lives before taking a walk through the city. We made our way to a pub to watch the last frustrating hour of the first Ashes test in which the English held out for a draw.
I spent the following few days exploring Leeds and hanging out at my friend Sarah's house. I met Sarah in Amsterdam and we took the trip together to the Yorkshire Dales about a month ago. I attended British Military Fitness Training in the rain at a local park. It is a large boot camp training lead by current and former members of the armed forces. It was quite demoralising as I realised how much fitness I had lost since travelling. We also attended a local pub quiz night and went to the movies to see The Hangover.
I made a return visit to the Royal Armouries and watched a few impressive demonstrations including a falconry display and some jousting practice.
I also went on a day trip to York with Sarah's housemate Sal. We climbed to the top of the tower in the York Minister and explored The Shambles and all the other narrow cobbled streets. Sarah and I also went to a local battle of the bands competition to watch her friend Gary perform.
Following the battle of the bands we made our way to Renata and Glenn's house. Renata and Glenn are the couple whose wedding I went to in Poland.

Running with the Bulls

As I stood contemplating whether running was the best choice I overhead the guy next to me reading out the form guide of the bulls which would be charging towards us. 500 kilograms, 550 kilograms, 610 kilograms. This only sent more fear into my mind.
At five minutes to eight a surge of people started running down the track, at this point I lost all of mates who I had been waiting with for the last hour and a half. The surge stopped as people realised the bulls were yet to be released. The thousands of people running were now spread throughout the track. I continued slowly edging my way up the track and by the time the firecracker was set off to signify the release of the bulls I was more than two thirds of the way down the track. Nobody in my area moved for a few seconds before we were pushed on police and bystanders if we tried to go near the fence.
I soon found myself at the beginning of the tunnel of death with no concept of how long the bulls would take to reach me. I could see the arena gate was open but I had been warned if he enter the ring before the bulls the Spanish in the crowd pelt bottles at you. I felt it was still safer than being in the tunnel with the bulls. I sprinted into the arena and just as I entered the arena I felt something punch my arm. I darted to the right and as I was doing so I saw the first lot of seven bulls charge past me. I had been clipped by the horn of the first bull in the arena. I found a safe spot just inside the arena wall and stayed there watching the hordes of people swarm into the arena along with the next lot of seven bulls and the oxen rounding out the pack.
Once the oxen charge through everybody cheers as they release they made it into the arena. Then on the big screen they show a replay of the run complete with slow motion replays of people getting gored and trampled.
Then the first of the steer is released. They come charging out mowing down anyone in their road and run around for a few minutes before they get tired and disorientated. As the steer become exhausted people start tackling them and pulling them to the ground. An oxen is then released to guide the steer back out of the arena to safety.
About seven steers are released individually with the same process. I stayed well clear of the steer. I spent most of my time talking to mates I happened to spot in the arena. It wasn't until all the bulls were locked away safely and people starting exiting that I found my mates who I had not seen since the bulls were released. We had all survived some of the most terrifying moments of our lives. Anyone who has a close encounter with the bull are said to have been protected by San Fermins cloak. I think today I was definitely protected by San Fermins cloak.
On the bus on the way home I was flicking through the photos on a friends camera and spotted myself in the tunnel just ahead of a bull. I was now sure it was a bull that had clipped me.

Sangria at San Fermin in Spain

Last Saturday my mate Ross and I boarded a bus in London and 18 hours later we arrived early Sunday morning in Zauratz, Spain. It was rainy and cold when we arrived in the small beach side town in the Basque region of Spain.
We were part of a PP Travel tour for San Fermin fiesta in Pamplona. Our first day was quite relaxed and when the sun came up late in the day we made our way to the beach for a swim. In the evening we went on a small pub crawl through the beach front bars. I didn't drink a lot as I was saving myself for the week ahead.
On Monday we made our way into Pamplona to attend the opening ceremony of San Fermin, the annual feista held from the 6th to the 14th of July. Locals and internationals pack the streets and started drinking. At 12.00 a cannon is fired to mark the opening of the festival. Just before 12.00 everybody holds waves their scarf above their head and the party officially begins.
The Spanish start cheering and singing. I joined in wherever possible. My mates Andy, Anna, Ross and I where at the main square for the 12.00 kickoff. We decided to stay there as the party was still kicking off but it was not as packed as the town hall area. For the rest of the day we wandered the streets. Every little street we turned down was full of people partying. Throughout the day we were drinking Sangria, it is basically red wine mixed with fruit juice and as the day progresses people start pouring it all over each other. By mid afternoon I was drenched in Sangria and quite drunk so I made my way back to camp for the night and rested up for the bull run the next day.
We woke up at 5.00am on the Tuesday in order to get into Pamplona and find a spot in the crowds of runners. (I will describe my run in detail in the next post.)
After the run we again returned to camp and chilled out for a few hours before returning to Pamplona. Back in Pamplona we took a walk through the streets which were all filthy, full of rubbish and smelt disgusting. We walked the track we had that morning sprinted down. A few drinks later and I forgot about the smell and had a great night.
Another early start the next day as we wanted to be in town to watch the race. This time from a safe distance in the arena. I went in with Ross and Andy and we found a seat and watched all the idiots run with the bulls. It was enjoyable to watch but not quite as thrilling as being in the centre of it all.
Following the morning bull run we made a trip to San Sebastian a famous coastal Spanish city. We spent the day wandering the streets. Andy and I made the short trek up to the Jesus statue with fantastic views over the beach and the buildings. In the afternoon when the sun came up we relaxed on the beach. We returned to camp and headed straight to the beach again and went for a quick surf.
Our final day in Spain was quite lazy as we prepared ourselves for another epic bus ride home. We arrived back to London early Friday morning said goodbye to everyone and made it back to Ross' in time to watch a day of cycling and cricket on television. The craziness was over.

Hot, hot, hot

This week London has experienced a heatwave as temperatures topped 30C. Yesterdays top of 33C was the warmest for the year and lead the government to issue a "red" heatwave emergency alert for the first time ever. I am not really sure what this involves but the Londoners cannot handle the heat. They all seem to be complaining as travelling on the tubes and buses becomes very uncomfortable.
This week I have had a chance to do some more London sightseeing after the owner of the pedal boats told me I was not needed this week. I told him last week of my intentions to keep travelling and was hoping to work all this week to make some extra cash but it was not to be.
My last day of work on Sunday was a really enjoyable day. As we worked away I could hear the Dave Matthews Band, an American band who's music I quite like, performing in the background. Following work the staff all stayed for a barbecue on the jetty and we could hear Bruce Springsteen performing. A few of us then decided to continue the party and head for a pub. Only by the time we got there it was late and all the pubs were closing. So I started my two hour mission on late night public transport to get from one side of London to the other.
On Wednesday I spent some time exploring all the stalls at the Camden Market before catching up with one of my cousins Summa. We watched Lleyton Hewitt lose to Andy Roddick at a pub.
Wimbledon is now in its final days and all the British are jumping on the Andy Murray bandwagon. As long as he continues winning he will be labelled British but as soon as he loses he will again be labelled Scottish. My tip is Roger Federer, I cannot see anyone beating him.
This afternoon I am planning to visit Greenwich famous for maritime history and giving its name to Greeenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time. Tonight British rock band Blur are performing in Hyde Park so I plan to go hang out in the park with a couple of mates and listen to them.
Tomorrow morning I board a bus for a 20 hour trip to Pamplona, Spain where I will take part in the Running of the Bulls Festival. The week long trip is the start of a month or so of travelling I currently have planned.

Hard Rock Calling

This weekend in Hyde Park they have the annual Hard Rock Calling rock concert in a sectioned off area inside Hyde Park. While working yesterday I could hear the music from the jetty so after work I went to find a spot on the grass outside where I could hear the music clearly. I was getting comfortable when I overhead someone offering away a ticket. I quickly gathered my things gave this lady 20 pound and the next minute I was inside the venue.
I made it in to see the last four or five songs of The Kooks. The are an English band who reached world wide popularity with their latest album. I like the Kooks although it was The Killers who were coming up next and the band I had paid the money to see.
I went in to the concert and was standing by myself and started chatting to another guy who was standing by himself. He explained to me his dad had given him a ticket to the concert as a 21st birthday present and they had planned to watch The Killers together although they had been separated and now couldn't find him. Anyway somehow they managed to find each other in the 50,000 plus crowd and they shouted me a beer for being part of his 21st celebrations. I think his name was Jack or Jake, not sure. We pushed our way forward to get closer to the stage although in doing so I lost my new friend. I found a good spot and stayed to watch The Killers perform a great seat. The Killers are from Las Vegas and are one of the most popular bands in the world. The started with Human and concluded with Sams Town. Mr Brightside got the biggest crowd participation. It was the second time I have seen The Killers in concert, the first time being a few years ago in Melbourne. I really enjoyed the experience of being able to see a massive concert in London.
The concert continued today with Neil Young as the headline act. I was working today but at Battersea Park, not Hyde Park. Therefore I did not get to listen to the concert. Tomorrow The Dave Matthews Band and Bruce Springsteen are headlining, so I plan to hang out on the grass again.

Tower of London

On my second day off last week I caught up with a mate, Andy, from my ANZAC Day tour. He was with a couple of his mates and together we all went inside the Tower of London and checked out all the exhibitions. The most prominent being the Jewel House. This is the home of crown used during the coronation of the new king/queen. There are over 23,000 diamonds in this exhibition alone.
After spending a few hours explore the tower and all of its surrounding towers we made our way to Harrods. It was my second visit and this time I discovered the gun room and the Princess Diana memorial. We also spent a bit of time checking out the pets and the extraordinarily priced designer clothes.
After lunch I left Andy and his mates and caught up with another mate Dan who is a mate of Andys and they have been travelling together. We sank a few beers in a pub in Earls Court before saying goodbye again.

Wimbledon

Early on Wednesday morning I made my way to the fields next to the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club to join the queue to get into the tennis. I met my friend Emily in the queue and together we waited in the for three and a half hours before entering the venue. Many spectators including my mate Ross camp out all night prior to the days play to get the best tickets.
When you join the queue you get a queue card number as well as a guide to queueing information booklet. My card told me I was number 4922 in the queue. We made it in just after eleven o'clock and made our way to court five to watch two Aussies Sam Stosur and Rennae Stubbs compete in the doubles. My mate Ross and a bunch of his mates where all watching the game as well before they left to watch the games on court one where they got tickets for their camping out efforts. The Aussie girls easily defeated their opposition.
Following the match Emily and I went for a wander around the venue. All the courts are very close together and there is limited seating so we spent much of the day after on Henman Hill or Murray Mount and watched the action on the big screen. Emily then left for work and I spent some more time wandering with some of my pedal boat mates. Before Emily left though we did manage to get some strawberries and cream as it is a big part of the Wimbledon experience. The strawberries were very tasty although the cream was so thin it was like eating milk.
It was very warm in the sun so I decided to take some time and check out the Wimbledon tennis museum. I thought the John McEnroe ghost was the best part of the museum. A holographic image of McEnroe explains what the feeling was like to win at Wimbledon.
I made my way back out to Murray Mount and found my mate Ross and all his friends. We were sitting a table and the girls next to us offered us their centre court tickets so we went inside and checked out the game going on. By this time it was getting late and I had watched enough tennis. Sitting with all the snobs didn't excite me a lot either so we did not stay long.
Instead we made our way to the exits and completed our Wimbledon experience.
It was fun day although I felt it lacked the passionate fans you see at the Aussie Open, the crowd is a lot more conservative. The security this year banned fans from wearing flags and costumes which I think is part of the reason the crowd also did not seem as patriotic as those you find at the Aussie Open.

Sun, rain and thunderstorms

I have just finished work for the day. I am still working at the pedal boats in Hyde Park. I worked 11 hours today which is about the average hours for the day. Since starting work two weeks ago I have had one day off, last Tuesday. I have worked a quite a few 11 hour days as well as one 13 hour day. The weekends are the busiest time with hundreds if not thousands of customers using the boats.
The work is not too bad although the long hours make it very exhausting. Today was payday which is always an exciting day. The pay is not great but because I have worked so many hours it all adds up. Last week I worked 59 hours and the week before 66.
Last Tuesday on my day off I went for a walk through through Tate Modern art gallery. Full of abstract modern art from artists such as Picasso and Dali as well as many lesser known artists. I also walked across the Tower Bridge. I crossed it just seconds before it lifted. The bridge can open to let through large ships as it did just after I crossed it.
After work I have been catching up with mates from home who have moved over as well as mates I have met while travelling.
I now have two days off, tomorrow I am going to the tennis in Wimbledon. I plan to get a day pass and hopefully catch some good matches. Then on Thursday I plan to do some more London sightseeing with a mate from the ANZAC Day tour.
The weather throughout the past couple of weeks in London has been rather odd. We have had a lot of sunshine as well as some rain and last week walking home from the train there was a thunderstorm and I got soaking wet.

Pedal Boats in Hyde Park

Last Thursday I had to decide where to next with my trip and after watching the bank balance quickly decreasing I figured I would see how I go finding a job.
I went into the office of IEP, the organisation I signed up with to get my UK visa, to see what jobs were available and spotted a job that intrigued me last time I was in the office. It was asking for a lifeguard to work on the pedal boats in Hyde Park, London. On the way back to my mates joint where I am currently staying I stopped at the paddle boats and after a quick chat with the manager I had a job. I thought it would be fun to work in the centre of London, outside in the warm English sun.
As I had already planned my weekend camping trip I started work yesterday. It was a very slow day as the morning rain kept the customers away, therefore we spent most of the morning cleaning duck poo off the boats. When it did stop raining we spent a few hours drying all the boats before our first customer arrived mid afternoon.
Today my second day wasn't a lot more exciting. Again it rained and again we spent hours cleaning and drying the boats. Getting to work today was a mission as staff on the London Underground went on strike causing the cancellation of many trains. I found I was already becoming a frustrated London commuter on only my second day. After much negotiation I still managed to get to work on time at 9am only to find out the rest of the staff had all been delayed too. We did not open till after 10am. Then at midday we could hear large explosions, so the manager let us all run up the hill to catch the 41 gun salute to commemorate the birthday of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.
The staff at the boats are from all over the world which is quite interesting. So far I have met a couple of Polish, a few Aussies, a few Kiwis, a French girl, a Canadian girl, a Bulgarian and an Englishman.
A lot of the job involves cleaning but I also get to drive a little motorised boat around the Serpentine Lake, which is the lake the pedal boats are in. There are always plenty of activity around the lake so it is good for people watching.
I am currently staying with my mate Ross from the Pines swimming pool in Wimbledon. Hopefully tomorrow and the weekend will be nicer weather and we get some more customers and hopefully the train drivers will stop their strike and make it easier for me to get to work.

Caves, rocks, campfires, cheese rolling, guns and the Best Fish and Chips in the World

Last weekend I caught a bus to Leeds to meet my friend Sarah who I met on the Top Deck trip. What followed was an action packed weekend.
As well as myself two other mates from the Top Deck trip Dene and Matt (aka Theo) made the trip to Leeds for the weekend catch up. On Friday night we headed out on a miny pub crawl on a cold, wet and very quiet night out in Leeds.
Saturday morning we packed Sarah's boyfriends Dave new van full of camping gear and headed to How Stean Gorge in the Yorkshire Dales. Dave came camping as did a few of Sarah's mates from Leeds. After setting up camp we set off exploring the gorge and exploring the surrounding caves. We climbed through caves with and without torches and got back to camp filthy dirty with soaking wet feet. The communal campfire was the place to be for the night and thanks to Sarah we had plenty of games to amuse ourselves and pass the time.
Sunday morning after leaving the gorge we found ourselves at Brimham Rocks a series of rocks prefect for climbing all over with some great views over the Yorkshire Dales. Theo showed off his monkey skills, or lack therefore, very nearly causing himself permanent injuries.
On the way back to Leeds we stopped at the Harry Ramsden's Fish and Chips. They claim to be the best fish and chips in the world. The food was good although for the price I feeel I could have got a portion ten times the size at my local fish and chip store.
Arriving back in Leeds we were ready for our next challenge. Theo had been to the famous cheese rolling festival in Gloucestershire but had missed the opportunity to run therefore we set up our own reenactment for his benefit. We raced down a hill a number of times chasing a round block of cheese and had a great time fighting for the cheese. Our own reenactment was maybe not as dangerous as the more famous cheese rolling but it still left us in pain the following day.
Sunday night we headed to the pub again to see a friend of Sarah's support a local Leeds band. Both Sarahs friend and the band Hope and Social were very good. The band inolved the audience in many of their songs and even distributed small whistle type instruments, I have forgotten what they are called, to everyone to join in their last song. After I worked out how to make a noise I enjoyed playing it for the rest of the night.
On Monday morning before I left Leeds Theo and I walked through the Royal Armouries museum with a very extensive range of swords, guns, spears or basically any form of weapon you could think of.
I boarded the bus back to London and left behind Leeds and a great weekend.

20/20 cricket at Lords

Many of you will know that I am a massive sports fan, therefore last Wednesday when I read there were still tickets to see a 20/20 World Cup cricket warm up game at Lords I made my way to the ground. I arrived at 1.30pm the time the first game was supposed to start. I missed most of Sri Lanka's innings in the first game because it took me over an hour to get into the ground which was less than a quarter full. The Sri Lankan's set the South Africans a dismal target and although it took the South Africans till the last over to reach their target they never looked in doubt.
Following the South Africa versus Sri Lanka game England played the West Indies. This was the game most of the crowd had come to see although the ground was still less than half full and lacking any real atmosphere. The West Indies set the English 144 to win which they reached easily thanks to a strong opening partnership from Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright. Wrights three successive sixes on his way to an unbeaten 75 was the highlight of the evening. I was disappointed the openers did so well because I was hoping to see Kevin Petersein make some runs. In the end he faced less than an over and the English won by nine wickets.
Lords is a good cricket ground for spectators because it is quite a small venue. I could not understand though why there were not more spectators. For 20 pound it was a cheap chance to see some of the worlds best cricketers at the home of cricket.
The 20/20 World Cup is now well underway and surprisingly and disappointingly the Aussies lost their first two matches which lead to them being eliminated from the tournament. The English found their losses quite amusing. The English themselves lost to The Netherlands though, a country not well known for their cricketing talent. India has looked pretty good so far and I expect they will win the tournament.

Arhus and Copenhagen, Denmark.

I had a 12 hour layover between flights at Stansted which I decided to spend at the airport to try and save myself some money. The long stopover was made a lot less lonely after spotting Miriam and Dee, two Kiwi friends who had been on my Istanbul to London Topdeck tour. The stay did not seem that long and I said goodbye to them again and boarded the plane for Denmark.
Cyclists rule in Denmark. That is the first thing you notice when you arrive. I flew into Aarhus to meet my mate Cory from Deakin who is currently studying at the Uni there. I hired a bike by depositing a coin to unlock a chain of a city bike. They are located throughout Aarhus and Copenhagen and when you return the bike you get the coin back.
Cory showed me the sights of the city. It is a seaside city and the second largest in Denmark after Copenhagen. We took a tour through Den Gamble By, the old city set up for tourists to experience what it was like to live in a market town in the old days. On the day we went there was really not much going on so it wasn't real exciting.
After dinner and a few beers at Cory's residences we headed into town to a pub where they were serving cough medicine in test tubes and trying to pass them off as shots. What I found surprising was on our walk into town just after midnight you could still see a glimmer of daylight.
We rode the train on Friday morning to Copenhagen for a weekend trip. We visited many of the sights of the city. We climbed to the top of a church for views across the city. You can see for miles as Denmark is a very flat country. We also entered the world of Christiana. The alternative community which still has the feel of a hippy village in the 1970's. Selling drugs is somewhat illegal there but still freely available.
The city has many statues and we rode past many of them on some City Bikes including the very famous yet not all that exciting Little Mermaid statue. Drinking on the streets is legal throughout the country as it is in most European countries therefore we joined the hundreds of people on the banks of the canal in Nyhavn.
We found one of the houses of the Danish royal family. The residences of Tasmanian born Princess Mary and her husband Prince Frederick.
''Probably the best beer in the World,'' Carlsberg has a visitors centre and brewery just outside the city which Cory and I took a tour through. It is not my favourite beer. ''Probably the best...'' is the slogan they have used to promote their beer for over 30 years.
Copenhagen has many events throughout the year, especially in summer and we were in town during the Copenhagen Carnival. Thousands of people all dancing away to different music styles in big tents in one of the city parks.
Tivoli Gardens and amusement park is the main tourist attraction in the city and we could not leave without going inside. Cory and I each paid to get in and wandered around for a few hours without going on any rides as they cost more. After leaving Tivoli we boarded the train back for Aarhus. My last night in Denmark we went for a walk to the yacht club and had an ice cream as the Danish love their ice cream.
The following morning I made my way back to the airport and back to London.
I enjoyed my time in Denmark although one thing I did not like about Denmark was how expensive it was. It cost me more catch a bus from the train station to the airport than the flight itself.
One other thing about the country is they are very environmentally friendly. There are large windmills spread throughout the country and you have to pay a tax when buying bottles that you can claim back when you return the bottles. This mode of recycling leads to many poorer people walking through the cities collecting bottles.

Eating, swimming, hiking, clubbing and gliding in Slovenia

I met my mate Igor at the airport in Ljubjana and my first of many surprises in Slovenia was the heat. It was over 25 degrees celcius when I arrived and stayed that temperature throughout the week I was there.
Igor lead me on a tour through the capital city before we ate the biggest pizzas I have ever seen. Following dinner we heading out to a nightclub in a big warehouse just outside of town that Igor's flatmate knew about. I was often confused by the locals as being a Slovenian as foreigners at this club are a rarity. All the locals were very friendly and after a surprised reaction when I told them I was from Australia they were quick to demonstrate their knowledge of Aussie lingo.
For the weekend Igor took me to his family home in Bresje just outside Bled in the north of the country. After hiking up a small mountain and exploring remains of old castles we made our way to the beautiful Lake Bled where Igor, his brother and I all swam out to the church on the islet. The water was surprising warm considering some of the surrounding mountains still had snow on them.
I met Igor's girlfriend Nina after dinner and we went for a walk through Igor's village while he explained to me the significance of the church just around the corner from his house. Many thousands of people attend the church each weekend. It is an especially prominent church for Catholics as it is said miracles have taken place there. Ericted outside the Church is a statue of Pope John Paul after his visit to the church in 1997.
Sunday morning Igor and I headed out to the airport as he wished to do some flying. After a quick bit of talking he organised for me to go acrobatic gliding with one of the head pilots of the airport. Igor was wanting to fly me himself although the weather conditions and the fact the head pilot was in a bad mood stopped that. It was still amazing. I was just hanging on and trying to take it all in as we flipped upside down, span sideways and did all sorts of tricks on our way back to the ground. The flight lasted about 15 minutes including the time getting towed up.
There was still another surprise in store for the day. Igor, his older brother Ulrich and I went for a walk through a national park just near his house with some very fast flowing rivers with clear water.
On Monday Igor drove me through basically the whole west side of the country. I think he was just showing off today. Our first stop was atop a snow covered mountain before we drove down into a valley past some very light blue lakes on our way to the very squished stretch of coast on the Adriatic. The hot weather made it very inviting to swim although we were unprepared as we had just planned to visit the mountain.
Exploring the natural landscapes had been a welcome change from the city exploring I had been doing for almost a month, although it was now time to head back into Ljubjana.
Igor had to do some work so he dropped me in the city before returnig to his home in Bresje. He gave me a free day to explore the city and just by chance it was the same day that three Aussie guys I met on my ANZAC Day tour where going to be there.
So Dan, Glenn, Andrew and I along with three Canadian girls who were staying at their hostel spent the day exploring the sights of the Ljubjana. You can see all the sights in a day as it is only a small city. We bought breakfast at the local market then made our way up to the city with views overlooking the city.
We spent a few hours just eating lunch and sharing stories about our respective trips before finding the Dragon bridge. The most famous icon of the city, a bridge with Dragon statues at each end.
We ate dinner again at the Pizza restaurant Igor had shown me. It had over 80 types of Pizzas you could choose from. We then drank for a few hours on our of the many bridges across Ljubljanca, the river that runs through the city.
Then on my final day in Slovenia I explored some more before heaving rain kept me inside and I rested up before Igor drove me to the airport for my flight back to London.