Mind the Gap

Europe ~ The United Kingdom~ England and Wales ~ London, Bath, Cardiff, Chester & York

Despite the standard complaint of lack of sleep, arriving back in London was great – it’s so relaxing arriving in a city where you understand the customs, and you know exactly how to get to your hostel. Even the loud broadcasts over at the tube telling us to ‘Mind the Gap’ didn’t bother us. However, the weather wasn’t quite so great. Am almost used to the cold – on the first day we set out and brought Tash a winter coat – the freezing weather was enough incentive to make her pick the first jacket she tried on. We also went and brough some winter trousers from a really weird place in Camden Town… We wandered into the ‘Gothic style’ shop, which was filled, floor to ceiling, with all sorts of gothic clothing, from black corsets to PVC mini skirts. The owner – a guy who looked and spoke just like a Russian mob boss, ordered the assistant to ‘take zem to zee second floor – you vill buy sumfing’. Sure enough, a bit scared with what was going on, we walked out of the shop with a pair of trousers and our pockets a bit lighter.

We took this last week together to explore a bit of England and Wales before we split up, and so that’s exactly what we set off to do. Unfortunately, we have gotten a bit blase about planning things, and so we chose where we would go by closing our eyes and pointing at a map. First stop was Bath, where we spent the day wandering about the ancient Roman Baths (yeh, go figure, we left Italy to goto England to look at Roman Baths…). Next stop was Cardiff, the capital of Wales. We arrived late afternoon to find that the hostels were all booked up – turned out the Cardiff Marathon was on the next day. Oops. Managed to get a double room above a pub – we paid 58 pounds (about AU$130) and were just relieved to have a room. We woke up the next morning to the sound of clapping – peering out the window we watched runners going right past the front of our pub. Getting to the bus station proved difficult – we had to try and get through the runners. We’ve crossed roads in Thailand with scooters racing all over the place, we’ve weaved our way between elephants in India, we’ve jumped on and off moving trains with all our luggage across the globe – I have never seen Tash look as fearful as the day we attempted to cross the path of the marathon runners.

Chester was a cute town on the banks of a quiet river. We spent our time marveling at the gorgeous houses and watching the swans (from afar). Unfortunately, our night didn’t turn out to be as pleasant – we had a loony in our room who spent the whole night swearing and yelling. I guess that’s the price you pay when you stay in hostels… Our last stop together was York, where we basically spent all our time shopping – we found the BEST 1 pound shop, fantastic. York was an interesting town, we took the time to go on a ghost tour and were pleasantly surprised (and spooked!). Our host told us of one set of ghosts that are regularly seen. Apparently they are dressed as Roman soldiers, and they march from one side of the basement to the other. The interesting thing is that you can’t see below their knees – it is as if their feet are below the floorboards. It turns out that the level they are marching at it where the old Roman highway used to be, many many years ago. Over the years, the land has built up, so we now walk around about 6 foot higher than they would have back then.

Main Street of Chester

After leaving Tash in York, I headed back to Bath to take a tour of Stonehenge and the surrounding area. I ended up seeing Avebury, Castle Combe, Lacock Village and Bradford-on-Avon as well as Stonehenge. Although it isn’t as well known as Stonehenge, many people view Avebury as a much more impressive site. Indeed, it is the largest stone circle in the world, at 427m in diameter an area of some 28 acres. We got to wander about the stones, dodging the sheep. Castle Combe was a great example of the Cotswolds, the name given to a style of building. In fact, the first place we stopped was where the original Doctor Doolittle was filmed. Lacock Village is home to Lacock Abbey, where some of the scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. Stonehenge was our last stop, and it was spectacular. Although the site is right by a noisy highway, it didn’t take away the fact that I was standing there looking at such a well documented sight. Another one up there with the Great Wall, Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower. I’m now back in London, biding my time until I fly out for Tokyo.

Standing in front of ancient stone at Avebury

Tash and I split up in York, it was weird to see her go. We’ve spent the best part of 7 months sharing almost every hours – sleeping and awake – together. She’s off to Edinburgh to try and make some money to further finance her travels, whilst I’m getting ready to go back home to finish my studies (as if I’ll ever finish…). It’s been a great couple of months, but I guess its just about time to get back to reality. Next time I write I’ll be back in Japan – yey!

xoxo Bobbi

Baguettes, baguettes, baguettes

Europe ~ France ~ Paris & Versailles

Well, everyone had better appreciate the trouble gone into writing this… It turns out that keyboards in France are different to those everywhere else. Just small differences (the letters ‘q’ and ‘a’ have swapped places, as have ‘;’ and ‘m’) but its enough to make the thought of typing an email horrendous. Anyway, enough complaining, we are in Paris, after all! Arrived after a very long night of sleeping in Glasgow airport – we were 3 of at least 100 other people who decided to make the smokers lounge our bed for the night. We were the odd ones out – we didn’t bring mattresses or sleeping bags, unlike the many others. Although it was nice and sunny in Scotland, Paris was windy and raining. So very typical of our luck!

We’ve been eating our way through all the delicacies of Paris – baguette with jam for brekky, baguette with cheeses for lunch and baguettes and snails for dinner. Well, at least that’s the way it seems. We also have nutella crepes for desert, accompanying each meal. Of course, if we get sick of all the cheese we can take a break and have a bottle of 2 euro wine instead…

Of course we’ve been seeing the sights as well as eating. Kinda. We make sure our sight-seeing fits around the eating, don’t want to miss a meal! A couple of nights ago, we climbed the Eiffel Tower. Alot of steps (not as many as the Yellow Mountains in China), but definitely worth it. The view across the city at night was fantastic. Last night we had a picnic in the gardens in front of the Eiffel Tower, thankfully the small children didn’t come near our area, we must have been scowling enough to keep them away. We’ve also gone and seen Le Sacré-Coeur, a really big churchy thing on the hill behind our hotel. The dome was amazing to see, all the tourists filing past, one-by-one was just hilarious. Notre Dame was similar – an spectacular building, but the amount of tourists around was just frightening.

The Eiffel Tower at night

The catacombs were great. A couple of hundred years ago, it was decided that the cemeteries were too full, so the French decided to dig up all the bodies and dump them in an abandoned mine. At some stage, the person in charge decided to do it decoratively, and so all the bones are lined up, using a combination of skulls and femurs to create patterns in the walls. The over-all effect is quite unique – eerie and intriguing all at the same time.

Skull and Crossbones at the Catacombs

We’ve also seen the rest of the traditional sights, such as the Louvre (got to see the Mona Lisa, should have seen the tourists at that place!) and the Arc de Triomphe (huge huge round-about, so many cars). We also spent a great cuople of hours wandering around Versailles, enjoying the gardens and looking over King Louis XIII and his son, Louis XIV’s chateus. The rest of our time has been spent soaking up the atmosphere (whilst eating crepes) and enjoying our very own bathroom. Now we’re preparing for our week in Germany, should be a heap of fun, will swap from bread to snags… luv yas, bobs

Sleeping with ghosts

Europe ~ Republic of Ireland ~ Kilkenny, Waterford, Cork, Ventry, Galway

I stayed at the best hostel the other night. I stayed in a castle. With ghosts. And secret passageways. AND PUPPIES!!! Foulksrath Castle is just outside of Kilkenny, it was built in 1320 and modified in 1525. Since then its basically remained the same with very few modifications (although I’m happy to note that bathrooms and heating were two modifications I appreciated!). I rocked up on the last bus out to the castle (5.30pm, if you miss it you have to catch a taxi, expensive!), only to find no-one about. A couple of other travelers were hanging about, desperate to check in, but turns out that the caretaker, Jack, had decided to go fishing for the day. We amused ourselves until 8pm, when he rocked up, looked us over and said, “Right then, who’s for fish?”. Jack was happy to tell tales of the history of the castle over a whiskey or two, he told us about the tunnel that lead from the bottom of the dining room all the way down to the river (about a kilometre away) amongst other things. I didn’t hear or see any ghosts, but was more than happy to play with Jack’s dog’s puppies, cute little lab-cross-something-or-others.

Puppies fast asleep on my lap

While in Cork I took some time out to visit Blarney Castle. Arrived nice and early, I was one of about 8 people in the castle, which I’m told is unusual – when I got to the top I was the only one there, no lines at all. Kissed the Blarney Stone and had an absolutely horrid photo taken. I mean, really, how can you look half decent when you’re dangling umpteen thousand metres above the ground, over the side of the top of a castle, attempting to kiss a bloody rock whilst upside down? You can’t, although the models in the castle brochures do a pretty good attempt. People have been kissing the Blarney Stone for over 500 years, in the belief it will bestow the gift of eloquence on all those who kiss it. The grounds of Blarney castle are fantastic, boasting caves, fairy glades and even witches kitchens. It’d be awesome to be an 8 year old girl playing in these gardens, I know a certain 20 year old who had a blast.

The Witches Kitchen, in the rock gardens, at Blarney Castle

Ventry was a heap of fun. I keep telling myself so I don’t notice the pain. From the beginning… I decided that the only way to really experience the Irish countryside was to go out to the middle of nowhere and hire a bike. Great in theory, not quite so good in practice. When I arrived at the cute little hostel late at night, it was pouring. My host tried to point out the sights as we drove into town, “that’s where the bay… usually is. And thats where the pub/grocery store/restaurant is”. Hmm. Luckily the next morning the rain had cleared up, so I borrowed one of the bikes and set off. The scenery was beautiful. I saw wild foxes, sheep grazing and heard the ocean crashing against the rocks. And then I came to the first small incline. They say you never forget how to ride a bike, but they fail to mention how hard it is if you try to do it after nearly 5 years of no riding. I pushed on, seeing all sorts of sights. I stopped at a Celtic museum, saw an old fort and watched a ferry come into dock in between huge cliffs and dangerous rocks. I nearly gave up, but then decided that I’d find a pub for lunch, have a pint, and all would be good. So I kept going and going and going. Unfortunately, there were no pubs. None. Eventually I gave up and rode back to town, stopping at the pub to have a well-deserved pint. The day after I had a 6 hour bus trip. Very. Painful.

Apart from all that I’ve just been seeing the beautiful Irish country-side. One fun-filled day was spent on a tour bus, a very full tour bus, going around the Burren and the Cliffs of Mohair (pronounced ‘More’). Although everyone proclaims that the cliffs are spectacular and breath-taking, I found it more breath-taking just watching the tourists climbing over the rails, standing on the edge of the cliffs, just to get that ‘perfect’ photo. The burren was amazing, an area completely covered in rock, completely in contrast to what Ireland is perceived to be. I also spent a day at the Waterford Crystal Factory, which was great fun watching the visitors spend upwards of 600 euro (about $1100) on glass vases. Well that’s it for this side of Europe. Now we are going to go camp out at Glasgow airport and next stop… Paris!
luv Bobs

Being followed by Crazies

Europe ~ Republic of Ireland ~ Dublin, Drogheda & United Kingdom ~ North Ireland ~ Belfast & Bushmills

What a fantastic country!!! Arrived in Dublin early in the morning, not really sure what to expect. Booked into my hostel, then set off on one of the open top, hop-on hop-off tours. Highlights of the day included Dublina (a cute little museum aimed at kids, certainly made it easier for me to understand!!), Christ Church and, of course, the Guinness Storehouse. YUM. The storehouse itself was a little disappointing – very manufactured, plastic-y, but the reward was the free pint of Guinness sitting waiting for you at the Gravity bar – right on the very top of the building. However, the amount of beer that was being thrown away would make grown men cry. Tourists were coming in, getting their free beer, having a sip and then leaving it basically UNTOUCHED. These beers were being poured down the sink. I almost had a bit of a sob myself!

Enjoying a pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar

After two days in Dublin I caught a [early] bus to Drogheda, to visit the famous Bru na Boinne. Bru na Boinne is an area that has three large pre-pyramid burial tombs (Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth), plus many many smaller ones. They think that the tombs were created between 3500 and 2700 BC. Knowth was particularity interesting because of all the carvings on the stones – the guides were able to speculate what they were about, but no-one really knows. Newgrange is the more famous of the three tombs – we were able to go right inside the tomb, where the guide showed us a re-enactment of what happens on winter solace. The cave-like tomb is in complete darkness for the whole year, except for the 5 days surrounding the shortest day of the year. During these 5 days, at 8.58am, light enters a small ‘window-box’ above the entrance and lights up the tomb. I think the most spectacular of all this is the man-power that it would have taken to create these tombs – huge rocks were moved over large distances to get them into place, amazing to think about when you see the size and number of these rocks.

Next stop was Belfast. I intended to spend two days there, but was so disinhearted after one night that I left straight away. Nothing seemed to be going right and I wasn’t having a good time, so I though ‘Bugger it’, and moved on. Glad I did, because the next place I went, Bushmills, was one of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed at… I had my own room, real beads (not bunks), ensuite… and, best of all, a BATHTUB. The luxury of it all… Spent the day seeing the coast, went to Giants Causeway. Giants Causeway is a section of naturally formed 4- and 6-sided rocks that look just like a pathway leading out to the sea. Legend has it that the giant, Finn MacCool, built it to visit his lady love in Scotland. Also stopped at Carrick-a-rede, a rope bridge strung 30 metres above the pounding ocean over to a tiny island. Whilst it was fun crossing the bridge, it was even better watching people pay 2 euro and then LINE UP just to cross a rope bridge. Guess I did it too, so who’s to judge?! After a day on the north coast, I moved back down to Belfast, where I enjoyed myself a lot more. Took a day tour of the city and found out all the nifty little facts. Like the Titanic was built in the shipyards there. Of course we went through the areas where the Troubles were most prevalent, down past the murals and all the churches and police stations with wire cages over them. Scary but intriguing too.

Giant's Causeway

The people of Ireland are incredibly friendly. Almost all will chat to you over a pint, I’ve met a heap of people traveling on my own, locals and fellow travelers alike. Unfortunately, I also seem to be attracting the crazies too. On my trip to Newgrange, I noticed a guy carrying a little stick [wand?] with a feather poking out the end, waving it all over the carved rocks and bowing and whispering to them. This same guy turned into the hostel I was staying at. Turned out he was staying in my room. When we were all sitting around drinking later that night, he kept doing things like waving his feet over the glasses and mumbling to himself… My first night in Belfast, I was sitting in my room chatting to some of the other girls, when a guy walked in and proclaimed we were reading his mind. Turns out he was chatting to one of the girls earlier, he was completely nuts. And then in Bushmills, whilst waiting for the bus, an old guy came and sat next to me and chatted to me in what I think was Gaelic for about half an hour. My bus pulled up, and he said in perfect English, “There’s your bus”. Ahhh! With all this in mind, when I was on the bus on my way out to see Giant’s Ring (Belfast), and an older lady came and sat next me, I was more than a little wary. When she said to me that “I wouldn’t go there, dear, its not a nice place for young ladies to go by themselves, funny people go there”, I decided to take her advice. Had enough of crazies for the moment…

Cheers to all [said as I raise my pint of Guinness]
xoxo Bobs

Touring the Highlands with mum

Europe ~ United Kingdom ~ Scotland ~ Edinburgh, Inverness & Loch Ness

Mum arrived safely and soundly, the events in London didn’t significantly alter her travels, although her flight from Germany to London contained a heap of journalists and photographers. Our week has been full of the typical touristy things, it’s been fantastic. Before we were able to do all our sightseeing, however, I had to show mum the hostel we’ve been staying in… Up the 77 steps we climbed, to inspect the bedrooms and hang out rooms. Mum didn’t seem tooooooo upset, it could have been worse! When mum arrived, I commented to her that it was tough luck that she didn’t arrive the week before, so she could see all the protesters and what not. Just after I said this to her, she called me to the window of our hotel room. Right outside, there were alot of people boo-ing, whilst firefighters were getting protesters down off a bridge. They had somehow climbed to the top of the bridge and rolled out a sign. Waiting on the ground, with handcuffs at the ready, were the police…

I took mum to see all my favourite hangouts, including Greyfriars Kirk. Interestingly, after visiting Greyfriars, mum discovered scratches all over her arm – we took a photo. Weird. Also went to Mary Kings Close, very interesting. It is a small street that was closed over and largely forgotten about in the 1700’s, so that the council chambers could be built over the top. The street and some of the buildings have been kept in their original condition. When we entered one of the rooms, our guide told us how, in the 1980’s, a Japanese film crew had come down with a psychic. The psychic felt such strong emotions in this particular room, at first she refused to enter. Eventually she did, and she felt the presence of a small girl, named Anne. She said that the reason the girl was so upset is because her family had left, and she had no-one to play with. The Japanese psychic sent one of her colleagues up to the street to buy a doll for the girl, and ever since then, people have been bringing her toys and money. After a time, the toys and money are donated to a local childrens charity.

Mary Kings Close - notice the prominent orbs

We hired a car for two days, which allowed us to get out of the city for a while and see the countryside. On the first day we went to Rosslyn Chapel, which was amazing. Built in 1446, Rosslyn Chapel is unique in that it conforms to neither architecture of the time, nor to any fashion of the time. Everything within the chapel is heavily carved, full of symbolism. Things like the carvings of maize from the New World that pre-date the discovery of America by Columbus by at least one hundred years. Rosslyn Chapel feautures in the book, ‘The Da Vinci Code’, as the place where the holy grail is supposedly buried. When we went, the chapel was in the middle of being restored, so there was scaffolding everywhere. Dissapointing, as it meant we couldn’t see the outside of the building well, but rewarding in that it meant we could climb up to the top and view the chapel from above.

The Apprentice Pillar, Rosslyn Chapel - Legend has it that the apprentice stonemason is entombed within his own peice of art

On our second day with the car we took a road trip. Leaving extremly early, Tash, Elysha, Mike, mum an I set off for the highlands. Our aim of the day was to visit Loch Ness, on the way there we stopped off at tea rooms, to get scones and tea, yum! Lunch at Inverness, then onto Loch Ness. We went through the ‘Loch Ness Discovery Centre’, which was a bit dissapointing, they spent most of their time convincing us that the Loch Ness Monster didn’t exist. Afterwards we set off to the loch, to find out for ourselves. I don’t believe them, there’s definetly something in the waters there, there has to be. The trip home took us through the highlands and past all the lochs. Really beautiful countryside, lots of sheep, cows and Pavlova’s (read: sheep dogs).

Tash, Mike, Elysha & I

Apart from our car travels, we’ve just spent the week discovering Edinburgh. We found the legendary Tesco’s – woohoo! Spent half a day at the castle, which was fun. Saw the dressing room where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to James I. We also saw the Honours of Scotland, the oldest jewels in the U.K. Saw mum off yesterday, shes off to Thailand to meet Charlotte, they should have a blast. Going to be nice and warm over there… Today I went into an interesting store. It’s called ‘Argos’, you walk in and walk up to a set of catalogues. In the catalogue there is everything you could possibly want to buy – towels, iPods, cameras, sofas, board games, books, hair dryers etc etc. Once you find what you want, you punch the number into the little machine sitting in front of you, which tells you if the item is in stock. After deciding what you want, you go to the front of the store, tell the staff and they give you a receipt. They then fill the order and bring it back to you in about 10 minutes. Amazing! A store that has completely taken away the idea of browsing through stock. It seems to work, it was really busy today.

Mike and Shannon browsing through the catalogues at Argos

Anyway, thats enough ramblings about weird shops… love to all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEAH!!!

xoxo bobs

shhdtm

supernatural

Mind the Gap

Baguettes, baguettes, baguettes

Sleeping with ghosts

Being followed by Crazies

Touring the Highlands with mum