So, technical issues (eg lousy internet service) combined with my sheer exhaustion on that holiday meant that unfortunately I wasn't able to do daily blogs of the trip, which disappoints me greatly. I find the daily reports have been really helpful to me when recalling the trip. My intention is to still blog about the trip but I'm going to do it in sections instead. These updates should be done over the next week or so, so look out for them :)
Today, is the last day of our leave, we've been back for a week (can't believe it's been that long already) but we've had this week off, to relax and because I have a tendency to get horrendous jet lag when I get home.
This week has been both good and a write off - because jet lag has indeed hit me like a forklift truck so I've been sleeping badly - we both have - which has meant later starts than intended and a few missed opportunities, but on the flipside, I've been able to have a leisurely breakfast with a fabulous friend, played mini-golf, tried new food places and bought boots - boots that fit over jeans, there's no words that contain my excitement over this (we'll ignore that the boots are too big).
Finally I feel normal today, but unfortunately it's been raining very heavily and we've not been able to do the things we'd planned for today, so the holiday will end quietly. Quietly isn't necessarily a bad thing though, as exciting it is I'm actually looking forward to sorting out my wardrobe and doing some baking. It was still effectively summer in terms of the weather, when we left just under four weeks ago and when I go back to work on Monday, according to the calendar and the weather if today is an example, it'll be winter. I really don't know what's in my wardrobe to wear, so should sort that out! I've also just found a recipe for brown sugar and cinnamon muffins and another for rock cakes that I think a cold, wet day like today is perfect for.
Will be back with travel blogs soon.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
The Last Will And Testament Of My Lower Body
Dear all, I have sad news. After they were made to walk for 8 hours around London today, my legs, feet and lower back have all consulted their unions and ordered an immediate stop work meeting. Oh god, they are so stiff I can barely move. Judging by the whimpering coming from Aaron's direction, he's in a similar state.
So today, our first full day in London was a truly busy one. I laughed at one point that I could go home now as I'd seen everything in London already.
An interjection - apologies for this being the first blog of the trip. I had a few drafts started but due to shaky internet access I couldn't complete them. I'll do a summary of the transit (including Singapore) later. Lonag story short - Business Class is really nice. (Surprise.)
So this morning Aaron and I woke up around five, and dawdled around until about 8am where we went to the breakfast included in our hotel room. It was delicious and huge, although I very subconsciously looked for vegemite!
Around 9:30 we met my parents in law outside of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. For those that don't know my father in law was born in England so they decided to meet us over here for a few days so we can see some of his childhood. Today was really about sightseeing though, so we headed for Buckingham Palace.
I was perhaps a little underwhelmed by Buckingham Palace, it didn't feel as spectacular as I expected, but the statue out the front - the Queen Victoria Memorial - with the gold top - I stared at for ages. We then walked through St James Park so I could see squirrels -yes seriously, my love for squirrels is legendary, and then off to Westminster to see 10 Downing Street (well what you can see through the security), Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey (didn't go in), the Boudicca statue - which was my favourite sight of the morning - and walked along the Thames. The weather suddenly turned at this point so we ran through the rain to a pub for lunch.
After lunch - at a very English pub called the Sherlock Holmes - Aaron and I were treated to our first Tube ride. Not at all sure I understand the fuss. The trains were very fast sure, but the stations had so many stairs and paths that I felt like it was quicker (and less stressful on my knees!) just to walk between stops!
Hmmm, I was so tired I couldn't finish this! So here I am trying to remember what else we did while fighting with the internet here which is nicely free but has very low signal and is consequently slower than well...me walking.
So where we went on the Tube was to Convent Garden, to the London Transport Museum, my father in law's choice. In all honesty I'm a big fan of car history but I can glaze over a bit about the history of public transport, so I'm the wrong person to ask about whether it was good or not, in terms of being a museum. It wasn't bad though as a way to spend time, and it was interesting to note the vehicles that reasonated with my father in law and his early childhood in London.
After the Transport Museum, we headed towards Oxford Street, but decided to walk around Regent and Carnaby Street instead. All it really made me think was about how poor, fat and uncool I was. I'm in no way hipster or aristocratic enough to survive in London!
After a quick dinner of Pizza Hut, we came back here and basically passed out from a mixture of tiredness and the sheer pain. 24 hours later I'm still in pain.
One great thing of note - zero jetlag - for either of us. At the end of yesterday I was excited to have seen things I always wanted to see, but the sleepiness and pain I felt was really clouding me and I was tired and sore which made me grumpy and I admit to not enjoying it as hugely as I hoped. How do I feel at the end of Day 2? We'll see in the next blog!
So today, our first full day in London was a truly busy one. I laughed at one point that I could go home now as I'd seen everything in London already.
An interjection - apologies for this being the first blog of the trip. I had a few drafts started but due to shaky internet access I couldn't complete them. I'll do a summary of the transit (including Singapore) later. Lonag story short - Business Class is really nice. (Surprise.)
So this morning Aaron and I woke up around five, and dawdled around until about 8am where we went to the breakfast included in our hotel room. It was delicious and huge, although I very subconsciously looked for vegemite!
Around 9:30 we met my parents in law outside of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. For those that don't know my father in law was born in England so they decided to meet us over here for a few days so we can see some of his childhood. Today was really about sightseeing though, so we headed for Buckingham Palace.
I was perhaps a little underwhelmed by Buckingham Palace, it didn't feel as spectacular as I expected, but the statue out the front - the Queen Victoria Memorial - with the gold top - I stared at for ages. We then walked through St James Park so I could see squirrels -yes seriously, my love for squirrels is legendary, and then off to Westminster to see 10 Downing Street (well what you can see through the security), Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey (didn't go in), the Boudicca statue - which was my favourite sight of the morning - and walked along the Thames. The weather suddenly turned at this point so we ran through the rain to a pub for lunch.
After lunch - at a very English pub called the Sherlock Holmes - Aaron and I were treated to our first Tube ride. Not at all sure I understand the fuss. The trains were very fast sure, but the stations had so many stairs and paths that I felt like it was quicker (and less stressful on my knees!) just to walk between stops!
Hmmm, I was so tired I couldn't finish this! So here I am trying to remember what else we did while fighting with the internet here which is nicely free but has very low signal and is consequently slower than well...me walking.
So where we went on the Tube was to Convent Garden, to the London Transport Museum, my father in law's choice. In all honesty I'm a big fan of car history but I can glaze over a bit about the history of public transport, so I'm the wrong person to ask about whether it was good or not, in terms of being a museum. It wasn't bad though as a way to spend time, and it was interesting to note the vehicles that reasonated with my father in law and his early childhood in London.
After the Transport Museum, we headed towards Oxford Street, but decided to walk around Regent and Carnaby Street instead. All it really made me think was about how poor, fat and uncool I was. I'm in no way hipster or aristocratic enough to survive in London!
After a quick dinner of Pizza Hut, we came back here and basically passed out from a mixture of tiredness and the sheer pain. 24 hours later I'm still in pain.
One great thing of note - zero jetlag - for either of us. At the end of yesterday I was excited to have seen things I always wanted to see, but the sleepiness and pain I felt was really clouding me and I was tired and sore which made me grumpy and I admit to not enjoying it as hugely as I hoped. How do I feel at the end of Day 2? We'll see in the next blog!
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