Jen's Ramblings In Europe: August 2006

All the Sights...

Before I get started telling you about the sights I've been seeing and the places I've been going, I just wanted to show you another sign I found that I think is hilarious... on the side of a champagne bottle.

Ok, what's the one thing you have to see if you say you've been to London? Buckingham Palace! Underwhelming, but nonetheless important to have seen it. I got there in time for the changing of the guards, but it didn't happen on Wednesday. Oh well.

This is really as close as you get. But then I walked around and took some photos of the entrance. Impressive!

A humble fence at Buckingham Palace.

The fountain outside the gates and a lamp post. I have a thing for lamp posts, you may have noticed.

The same fountain.

So then I left and walked through the gardens that surround the palace (the parts you can get to), and I noticed there are already a few autumn leaves on the grass. The gardens are so beautiful.

Bet you already know what this is... Big Ben of course. And before you all comment and tell me, yes I know its not the real one. Its still Big Ben to me.

Westminster Abbey through some trees.

Walking up from Charing Cross and the Thames I came across this sign. Its right near the ministry for defence buildings so I guess that makes sense.

Trafalgar Square - this place is HUGE!

The National Gallery to the left in this shot. That's an amazing place. You walk from room to room (and there are like 50 of them), and you keep running into paintings by Raphael, Van Gogh, Michaelangelo, Dali, and the list goes on. Wow...

More of Trafalar Square.

And chasing the famous pigeons of Trafalgar square. Speaking of - I totally embarassed myself a week ago when I went to visit my Aunty Julie. I was sitting in her backyard and there was this strange bird flying around. I asked what it was and she looked at me funny and said "uh... its a pigeon..." I said no, pigeons have things on their heads. Apparently not here. Oops!

And more of the square from the steps of the National Gallery.

I came across these guys busking in Covent Garden and they were so good I had to buy their CD. Its funk, jazz, a bit breaky and just really fun. Its gone straight to the iPod.

On my way to Tate Modern I came across this... St Paul's Cathederal from the steps of the Millenium Bridge. The one they had to close for ages 'cause it was swaying in the breeze.
The Cathederal looks tiny here but every time I see it I'm struck by the size of it. Its apparently the second largest dome in the world behind the Taj Mahal.

The Thames from the Millenium Bridge. You can just make out Tower Bridge in the distance if you look hard enough! Oh yeah and check out the building on the left. Instead of just scaffolding a building here they cover it in a picture of what it will look like when its done. Crazy. But kind of nice I guess.

Me being creative. There's a whole lot of poetry written on the Millenium Bridge and you can just see the river behind it in this shot.

Shakespeare's Globe theatre. Or at least the re-built one. I've been staying just down from this all week - right near London Bridge.

We went out for Thai (I had a hankering), and this was the desert menu. What do you suppose is 'floater coffee'?? I'll have one to go thanks.

Without a doubt, the pinkest restaurant I've ever eaten in. Its in Soho, so maybe that explains it? Great food though.

These signs are everywhere around London at the moment. This one is at Picadilly Tube station. Its a big campaign about not letting the terrorist attacks change the city, etc. Really good. Its a constant reminder.

A lamp (see, told you) in Covent Garden Markets.

A Busker in Covent Garden.

More Covent Garden. Its so pretty.

And the carousel in Covent Garden. I love how its all open and not shut behind cyclone fencing like they normally are now.

Oh yeah, and I'm signing off from this chapter of London now 'cause I'm off to Paris at a rude hour tomorrow morning. I'll keep you posted... hehehe.

Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival was amazing! It started off being really stupid. We were stuck in a crush of people for about an hour. You couldn't move, couldn't see anything, and there was only a float going past every 15 minutes.

We were actually about to leave in a huff and were trying to find the quickest route out of there when funnily enough we stumbled upon an 'unofficial' part of the carnival where the crowd control was relaxed and you could get in amongst it all. The crowd was relaxed and having a good time and the people on the floats were mingling. From that point on it was excellent! Here are the shots so you can see what went on.

Talk about packed! This is what we faced when we first got there.

The locals really get into it - or they leave and rent their places out for the weekend!

This guy was hilarious. He was pretending to be be pope from his flat window. There was a massive crowd below him taking photos.

Everyone just jumps in behind a float and dances to the massive sound system. Then you just follow and find another when you want a change. That's Leon in yellow at the front... and we're dancin'.... Oh yeah, and that whole back of the semi trailer is made of speakers.

And there I am dancing too:)

Some of the security really didn't want to be there. Check out the earplugs and the bored look...

These women were great. Read what's on their hats - hilarious! And spring roll princess was posing for us too. Love it:)

Camden Markets

I really like Camden Markets actually. Kind of eclectic and rough, but not in a threatening way. Where else do you get punks, goths, preppies and tourists all in the same place?!

I spotted this in the Market. Read the note on it. Its a time machine of course.

Oh yeah, and I've got another odd sign for you...

So graphic.

London

So London. This place is very cool. I've now been here 2 and a half days and I really like it so far. Instead of telling you the story I think I might just let the photos do most of the talking, so here you go:)

This is a great fresh produce market that Leon took me to the first day I arrived (Saturday). Its stocked to the brim with beautiful fresh food. Love it.

My first view of the Thames. This was on the way to movie we went to see on Saturday night which was an old black and white. Night train to Munich. It was screening at the National Film Theatre and it was fantastic.

After the movie we stumbled across one of the summer events they hold on South Bank. This one was ballroom dancing to a live big band. V.cool. If random.

Please don't look at the hair! We got caught in a downpour!
Oh yeah, and the worst Australian chardonnay I've ever had. In plastic bottles served in plastic cups. Just to give it a little more class!

So then we went to a bar in a theatre not too far removed from the Opera House (or was like it on the inside). Old school sort of stuff but very funky. On the way out we saw a very drunk Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. Or the actor who played him anyway. From there we got a little carried away and ended up in a bar in Soho called Ghetto. We danced til 5am.

This is me after eating Mexican food for breakfast, sitting in a park as the sun rises.

One last view of London for the night.... I mean morning.

Around Peterborough

I've slowed down over the last couple of days... just wandering around Peterborough exploring the backstreets and the grounds of the Cathederal. Its been really relaxing after the mad lead up to arriving and then the flustered touristy things I've been doing since. Here are a few more serene shots I've taken over the last couple of days.

The Fox and Hounds pub where I had lunch with Grandad today. So cute! Oh yeah - and check out the weather, sunny all day today and is supposed to be great for the next few days too!

The grounds of Peterborough Cathederal. This place is beautiful. It was established as an abbey around 600AD and the Cathederal itself was built around 1200. It has one of the oldest surviving painted naves (ceiling) in the world.

The grounds are dotted with graves and monuments to so many people and Katherine of Aragon is buried inside the cathederal. Mary Queen of Scots was also, at one stage, buried here.

This place is just so serene. I could have spent an entire day just wandering and sitting around the grounds. Its amazingly calming and quite surreal at times.

And the other end of the scale - Peterborough Beer Festival. So many ciders to choose from!

And back to serenity again. Wandering along the banks of the river in Peterborough.

Nottingham and Leicester

Hi Guys! Well I'm about to come to the end of my roaming around the English countryside and head to the big city - London. Its funny what you learn about yourself while you are travelling. I'm itching to see the hustle and bustle of a city after the relative slow pace of the smaller towns dotted around here. I need noise! Even if its just the low hum of a city at night as opposed to silence.

On Monday I jumped on a train and headed to Nottingham. This place is like a mini Melbourne. Shopping is fantastic, it has trams up all the main streets, and is an art and culture playground. It even has the dodgy little areas just outside the main shopping areas that look like they could do with a good hosing off - although obviously there's hundreds more years of grot!

Robin Hood of course - this is the only thing I knew about Nottingham before I got here. There are so many little references to him all over the town.

This is a cute little beer garden I stopped at to have a pint of cider. You can't really tell but it faces onto a canal with boats moored all along it - its in an old pumping station.

Inside Nottingham Castle - there was an exhibition of artworks done for sci-fi wars. Mostly for books and computer games but also for those little ugly war men that odd people collect and play with. You know the ones? Can't remember the name of it...

Outside Nottingham Castle - I love this shot! They sell little kid's Robin Hood outfits everywhere and these kids were having a ball. I've never seen so many fathers trying to teach their kids how to shoot a bow and arrow with a little suction cap on the end!

Again - Nottingham Castle. There is a great view from the top. This is one of the lion statues that guards the entrance. Nottingham castle is, by the way, entirely underwhelming. It was re-built for the millionth time a couple of hundred years ago. Its not even medieval! There was an interesting museum and art gallery inside though.

Sir Bloomalot. Really. That's his name.

Nottingham is apparently known for its lace. This was a monument I found outside a church, but for the life of me I couldn't find any explanation of what it was there for.

This dome is inside one of the shopping centres. Kind of like an over the top QVB (for you Sydney people), but just check out the frescoes arount the glass dome. Wow.

Then on Tuesday we went to Leicester to meet my Aunty Julie (Dad's sister) and Uncle Harry. I also met my cousin James briefly as well. Here I am with Harry and Julie at a gorgeous little pub on the outskirts of Leicester. I've been talked into coming and staying with them for a while when I've finished wandering around Europe. Such sweet people!

I'm Here!

So the flight here was longer and more boring than I ever thought possible! I did however read an entire novel, watched 3 movies (Over the Hedge, Ice Age 2 and Thank You for Smoking), the Simpsons, and I got 5 hours sleep. So I found plenty to do. Hong Kong airport was hilarious. I got on an escalator and could have sworn my bag was talking to me in chinese, until I realised that the escalator was telling me to mind my step! Then the oddest sign I've ever seen.......

If anyone could tell me what this means I'll be eternally grateful, cause to me it looks as though a man is running for his life because his butt is on fire, or maybe he is warming his butt on very large flames! I don't know!

I've been wandering around the countryside since I got here, and also meeting various family members I've never met before. Below are some photos from Cambridge I took on Saturday. I love this place, its such a cute little town - if full of tourists at the moment. I ambled around all afternoon.

This is Kings College..

A cute little laneway - I forgot to turn this up the right way though - sorry! Also, notice the wet road. It won't stop raining!

Bikes are the main source of transport in Cambridge.

Ahh... so very Cambridge!

The Round Church. Apparently one of very few left.

Kings College

And again....

Cambridge Markets

And this is my Dad's home town where I'm staying at the moment. Peterborough.

I'm actually writing in the tourist office in Nottingham at the moment, so there will be Robin Hood insprired photos soon, you can bet on it:)

Must be off as my 30 mins is about to expire, but I'll add another post as soon as I can. I'm off to London on Saturday, so that should be interesting!

My Farewell

This will be my last post until I get over to the UK. Wow, that kind of caught up with me quickly! I'm off tomorrow morning and will arrive in London early in the morning local time on Thursday. I actually just had a phone call from the travel agent confirming that, yes, I am allowed to take hand luggage on the flight over there even after the recent terrorist scare. So at least I can now read a book! I will however be a little wiffy when I land though, as all liquids including deodorant, moisturiser, etc are banned. Oh well.

Thanks so much to everyone who came on Friday night. It was such a great night and there are so many fantastic photos (60 in fact!) that it was hard to choose just these. Anyway, here you go....

Ric and Julia's Wedding

So here is part 2 of Sydney from a few weeks ago. This is the real reason I was over there. Sorry it took so long Ric!

Oh yeah - and thanks to Roger for the photos 'cause I was having too much fun on the day to actually get my camera out. Oops!

The happy couple!

Cutting the cake......

Eating the cake! And what's with that rose in my hair?!

The band. Craig goes off again!

And Oscar. He's always a part of every event!

Together again!

None of us realised that this was going to happen but randomly Corinne was back from Melbourne with new hubby Steve, Sarah was back from overseas with new fiance Lee, and all just before I leave. Such great timing!

So here are the photos from last night. I miss you girls!