I literally have only 5 minutes left on my net time, so here is a speedy recap of the last few days:
Everything shuts in Norwich over Easter. Everything. It is a major city, the second largest provincial city in England, and everything closes. Ironically, we went down the road to a tiny hamlet called Wroxham- everything was open. But it was cold, so we went home.
There was a big traffic jam on the way to Cambridge :( and BJ had to get back to Norwich to collect Paul after his football match, so I only saw my dream town for an hour. But I loved it. I am inspired to get my butt into gear re scholarships to go to England, because I WILL live and study in Cambridge. All the colleges are built right into the town, or, more accurately, the town has been built up around the colleges, so that you can find, say, Jesus college right next to a shopping strip. It is gorgeous. And they have several speciality chocolate shops, too (thanks for the chockies BJ!). What can I say? They clearly made this town just for me.
ARGH! 2 MINUTES!
Bath was also gorgeous. Really quaint, very 18th century, except for some that was older of course. Such as the Roman baths, built 65 AD. Very overwhelming. Can't write more, must publish this. BYE!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
Hobbiton hillside
I'm in Norwich, staying with my cousin BJ (technically my step-cousin, I guess. Uncle's daughter from his first marriage, when he still lived in Scotland). It's nice to have a real bed, and actually pretty good to have a day where I'm not rushing about- we decided that, as it's Easter Sunday, nothing would really be open, so we're just relaxing. Plus Paul, BJ's husband is a footballer, and he's got a game tomorrow.
The train trip out was funny; once we'd passed the industrial city edges, it felt a lot like we were in Hobbiton. Very LOTR landscapes. It's pretty, extremely quaint. A lot of England seems so surreal, because it's so associated with books I've read; LOTR, Bronte, Dickens. It seems so odd to be in such a landscape, almost like a story itself.
Saw a bit of Norwich yesterday, went to the Cathedral- beautiful, begun in 1096, not fully completed until 15thC, when the present spire was completed (the original fell off in 13thC!), and strolled around the streets, all windy and cobbled. Norwich has been a major centre since well before the Norman invasion, and has long been one of the largest provincial centres in England. It has SO many churches, which I love- by medieval times there were around 50 churches for a community of maybe 6000!
There is a castle, built by the Normans, which has been used as a gaol and is now open to the public as a museum, but I prob won't have a chance to see it before I go tomorrow. :( Oh well, plenty more castles around, I am sure.
BJ is currently tormenting Tyra- her enormous rottweiler, named after Tyra Banks, who wears a pink diamante studded collar and is utterly spoiled, and hugely friendly. Tomorrow we'll drop Paul at his game, then drive to Cambridge (swoon), from where I'll catch the train back to London. Then it's out to Greenwich, where Lisa and I are staying. Probably Bath on Tuesday (unless Cambridge gets me all in the mood for universities, in which case I'll visit Oxford), another day of London sights Wednesday (hopefully seeing inside Westminster), and Belgium Thursday (beer and chocolate! Beer and chocolate!).
Oh, following up from comments on my last entry:
- Les Mis was great. I'd never seen it before, and I actually didn't know how it ended! Loved it. How do they possibly perform it without a rotating stage? Despite fairly small theatre, set was fantastic (especially liked the use of the bridge for Javert's death), lighting very effective (particularly liked the backlighting used to display the 'anonymous' poor, so they were faceless for a large part of the song), and overall a strong cast. Epenine was particularly notable.
- Rami, I think perhaps you should have glazed over during this part of the entry :) Sutton Hoo is a major burial site from Anglo Saxon times. It's a ship burial, so the king/ lord was buried within his ship, and the inhabitants had goods and treasures buried with them, like we would associate with, say, Egyptian burials. It's a really significant archaeological find, and TOTALLY fascinating to English history geeks like myself.
- Haven't gotten a new phone number yet, although I should. Am spending stacks in text messages, but want to wait until Europe as apparently a lot of English SIM cards will still charge me international rates in Europe? I'm going to investigate when I get to Paris, I think, but from what BJ says, UK mobile carriers are quite pricey. So no, Jorel, that wasn't me texting you weird numbers. Although I did text to let you know I was ok, but that was from my normal number, possibly with international codes tacked on?
Hope you're all well, thanks for leaving comments- glad to hear how you are.
The train trip out was funny; once we'd passed the industrial city edges, it felt a lot like we were in Hobbiton. Very LOTR landscapes. It's pretty, extremely quaint. A lot of England seems so surreal, because it's so associated with books I've read; LOTR, Bronte, Dickens. It seems so odd to be in such a landscape, almost like a story itself.
Saw a bit of Norwich yesterday, went to the Cathedral- beautiful, begun in 1096, not fully completed until 15thC, when the present spire was completed (the original fell off in 13thC!), and strolled around the streets, all windy and cobbled. Norwich has been a major centre since well before the Norman invasion, and has long been one of the largest provincial centres in England. It has SO many churches, which I love- by medieval times there were around 50 churches for a community of maybe 6000!
There is a castle, built by the Normans, which has been used as a gaol and is now open to the public as a museum, but I prob won't have a chance to see it before I go tomorrow. :( Oh well, plenty more castles around, I am sure.
BJ is currently tormenting Tyra- her enormous rottweiler, named after Tyra Banks, who wears a pink diamante studded collar and is utterly spoiled, and hugely friendly. Tomorrow we'll drop Paul at his game, then drive to Cambridge (swoon), from where I'll catch the train back to London. Then it's out to Greenwich, where Lisa and I are staying. Probably Bath on Tuesday (unless Cambridge gets me all in the mood for universities, in which case I'll visit Oxford), another day of London sights Wednesday (hopefully seeing inside Westminster), and Belgium Thursday (beer and chocolate! Beer and chocolate!).
Oh, following up from comments on my last entry:
- Les Mis was great. I'd never seen it before, and I actually didn't know how it ended! Loved it. How do they possibly perform it without a rotating stage? Despite fairly small theatre, set was fantastic (especially liked the use of the bridge for Javert's death), lighting very effective (particularly liked the backlighting used to display the 'anonymous' poor, so they were faceless for a large part of the song), and overall a strong cast. Epenine was particularly notable.
- Rami, I think perhaps you should have glazed over during this part of the entry :) Sutton Hoo is a major burial site from Anglo Saxon times. It's a ship burial, so the king/ lord was buried within his ship, and the inhabitants had goods and treasures buried with them, like we would associate with, say, Egyptian burials. It's a really significant archaeological find, and TOTALLY fascinating to English history geeks like myself.
- Haven't gotten a new phone number yet, although I should. Am spending stacks in text messages, but want to wait until Europe as apparently a lot of English SIM cards will still charge me international rates in Europe? I'm going to investigate when I get to Paris, I think, but from what BJ says, UK mobile carriers are quite pricey. So no, Jorel, that wasn't me texting you weird numbers. Although I did text to let you know I was ok, but that was from my normal number, possibly with international codes tacked on?
Hope you're all well, thanks for leaving comments- glad to hear how you are.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Ten thousand steps
The Grand Old Duke of York, He took ten thousand steps. Ok, that's not quite how it goes, but trust me, if he were getting about London there's a darn good chance he took ten thousand steps. Could even have been ten thousand stairs (the Brits are very traditional about some things, such as stairs, and promoting tea quality over that of coffee). Especially if he were trying to see it all in three days like some Naomi's we know.
But I am having a great time. Highlights: Seeing an 11th century copy of 'Beowulf' (yeah, yeah, geek I know); having a squirrel run up my leg; being able to confidently navigate the rail system, despite line closures over the long weekend.
Yesterday I:
-Visited the British Museum. Sadly most of the medieval stuff was not on display as there are new medieval rooms opening next year :( Still got to see all the Sutton Hoo and pre Anglo-Saxon Celtic stuff (let your eyes glaze over if you don't know what I am talking about here). My favourite exhibit was the Assyrian section, which was awesome. Marvelled at how awful British coffee is.
- Hung out in Russell Square, feeding squirrels
- Visited the National Library (oh geek out), which has a bunch of old books to make me swoon: Shakespeare folios; handwritten Alice in Wonderland; stacks of illuminated gospels, including the Lindisfarne; Chaucer; and my faves- Beowulf and the Magna Carta. Swoon.
- Hung out at Leicester Square, and found pretty cheap food in Chinatown
- Went to bed by 8pm, exhausted from 24 hours travelling and a day of sightseeing
Today I:
- Got an Oyster card for the trains- so I look like a local, and am saving money, and can get on any form of pt without fear of having the wrong ticket. Yay! I can't wait until Melbourne introduces the myki system, which will be similar.
- Trekked the National Gallery and checked out Trafalgar Square. My favourite stuff was, unsurprisingly, the 12th century section. Most of it is religious, and it is just so so cool. Was going to check out the Renoir exhibition (he being my favourite artist), but it cost £12 and I am trying not to blow all my cash at once. I can see Renoir in France.
- Wandered the wrong way (aiming for Leicester Square) to discover St James Park is very close to the Gallery. Had lunch looking at ducks and hoping no-one would come and charge me for sitting on a park bench (they didn't). Marvelled at how decent even the cheapest tea is- especially impressive considering how disgusting the coffee is. As Lisa said, that's why the Brits are tea drinkers.
- Made my way through the Horse Guard to Parliament House and (sigh) Westminster Abbey. Sadly Westminster was closed to tourists today, but I wandered what was accessible of the cloisters. Might revisit it next week.
- Strolled to Piccadilly Circus (feeling more and more like I am on a Monopoly board), caught tube to Leicei#ster Square to check out discount theatre tickets. I am seeing Les Miserables tonight. Really wanted to see Wicked, but the discount price was £40. I'm paying over £10 less for Les Mis, and I've never seen it, so it will be exciting. 12 rows from stage.
- Found a discount net cafe to blog and plan my train journey to Norwich tomorrow.
Later I will:
- Possibly wander through Hyde Park and over to the palace. It's probably something you have to do, right?
- Go to the theatre! Hopefully having picked up more cheap Asian for dinner.
- Try and find my way home again.
- Pack to leave my hostel tomorrow.
Next week, when in London again, I plan to check out:
- St Paul's
- London Tower
- London Dungeon
- Greenwich markets (we're staying in Greenwich next week)
- Westminster again, maybe
OK, off to a National Rail station to work out if I need to book a seat on my train tomorrow. Then I shall visit the queen.
But I am having a great time. Highlights: Seeing an 11th century copy of 'Beowulf' (yeah, yeah, geek I know); having a squirrel run up my leg; being able to confidently navigate the rail system, despite line closures over the long weekend.
Yesterday I:
-Visited the British Museum. Sadly most of the medieval stuff was not on display as there are new medieval rooms opening next year :( Still got to see all the Sutton Hoo and pre Anglo-Saxon Celtic stuff (let your eyes glaze over if you don't know what I am talking about here). My favourite exhibit was the Assyrian section, which was awesome. Marvelled at how awful British coffee is.
- Hung out in Russell Square, feeding squirrels
- Visited the National Library (oh geek out), which has a bunch of old books to make me swoon: Shakespeare folios; handwritten Alice in Wonderland; stacks of illuminated gospels, including the Lindisfarne; Chaucer; and my faves- Beowulf and the Magna Carta. Swoon.
- Hung out at Leicester Square, and found pretty cheap food in Chinatown
- Went to bed by 8pm, exhausted from 24 hours travelling and a day of sightseeing
Today I:
- Got an Oyster card for the trains- so I look like a local, and am saving money, and can get on any form of pt without fear of having the wrong ticket. Yay! I can't wait until Melbourne introduces the myki system, which will be similar.
- Trekked the National Gallery and checked out Trafalgar Square. My favourite stuff was, unsurprisingly, the 12th century section. Most of it is religious, and it is just so so cool. Was going to check out the Renoir exhibition (he being my favourite artist), but it cost £12 and I am trying not to blow all my cash at once. I can see Renoir in France.
- Wandered the wrong way (aiming for Leicester Square) to discover St James Park is very close to the Gallery. Had lunch looking at ducks and hoping no-one would come and charge me for sitting on a park bench (they didn't). Marvelled at how decent even the cheapest tea is- especially impressive considering how disgusting the coffee is. As Lisa said, that's why the Brits are tea drinkers.
- Made my way through the Horse Guard to Parliament House and (sigh) Westminster Abbey. Sadly Westminster was closed to tourists today, but I wandered what was accessible of the cloisters. Might revisit it next week.
- Strolled to Piccadilly Circus (feeling more and more like I am on a Monopoly board), caught tube to Leicei#ster Square to check out discount theatre tickets. I am seeing Les Miserables tonight. Really wanted to see Wicked, but the discount price was £40. I'm paying over £10 less for Les Mis, and I've never seen it, so it will be exciting. 12 rows from stage.
- Found a discount net cafe to blog and plan my train journey to Norwich tomorrow.
Later I will:
- Possibly wander through Hyde Park and over to the palace. It's probably something you have to do, right?
- Go to the theatre! Hopefully having picked up more cheap Asian for dinner.
- Try and find my way home again.
- Pack to leave my hostel tomorrow.
Next week, when in London again, I plan to check out:
- St Paul's
- London Tower
- London Dungeon
- Greenwich markets (we're staying in Greenwich next week)
- Westminster again, maybe
OK, off to a National Rail station to work out if I need to book a seat on my train tomorrow. Then I shall visit the queen.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
London town
Hey folks, so I made it to London. Seem to have lost ability to type though, maybe that was the pint I had earlier. After taking ages through passport stuff (and yet no-one even scanned my bag at customs???) and having my sleeping bag disappear (have to buy a new one, Thai will reimburse me), then missing my train, then finding that Shepherd's Bush has TWO stations, and is across the road fromt he one I DIDN'T get off at, I felt I deserved that beer.
Anyway, flight was long but ok. Great first leg- had interactive movie choice, so I could watch the trash of my choice and pause it etc. Nice. Second leg only had big shared tv's though, so I'm glad I slept.
London is pretty cool so far, although I am yet to head out and check it out properly (going to hit the Thames area after this blog, maybe wander Brit museum). I can see myself lving in England :) It seems I have stumbled onto an Aussie hostel, quite by chance. But hey, lotsa discounts, I'm not complaining. Ok, off for food and 'sploring.
Anyway, flight was long but ok. Great first leg- had interactive movie choice, so I could watch the trash of my choice and pause it etc. Nice. Second leg only had big shared tv's though, so I'm glad I slept.
London is pretty cool so far, although I am yet to head out and check it out properly (going to hit the Thames area after this blog, maybe wander Brit museum). I can see myself lving in England :) It seems I have stumbled onto an Aussie hostel, quite by chance. But hey, lotsa discounts, I'm not complaining. Ok, off for food and 'sploring.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Alll of Neptune's oceans- rain, rivers and washing water
Oh lord. It's two days out from my departure, and it is gloomy, and my clothes are only just washing now. Will these clothes never be clean? Or more to the point, dry.
Typical. The one nice sunny day we had this week was yesterday. All days prior were rainy, so I didn't wash. And while it was great to see sun yesterday, as it was Picnic Day, it was also the day I had absolutely NO time to wash.
Picnic itself was ACE. Had so many people show up, so many RANDOM people show up. Such as my cousin and his mates on their bikes. I was on the phone to a lost friend (who happened to be at Studley Park Boathouse, down the river, rather than Fairfield Boathouse, where we all were), and noticed a bunch of kids on bikes just sitting in front of our group and looking. It finally registered that I knew one of the kids- not my cousin, mind you, I recognised his mate. Bad cousin, Naomi! Made up for it by feeding the ravenous hoardes and giving them money to go and buy chips. My nana, aunt and uncle also arrived for a while, leaving instructions for contacting my cousin in England, and a responsibility to drive my nana to the airport.
Also had such randoms as Jackie and Lonza from Geelong show up (thanks for making the big drive, guys!), as well as Kat (who I haven't seen since I left for Indonesia and who, it transpires, is living in a tent out the back of a squat. Even thought she has two corporate jobs...) and Dave (who I haven't seen in maybe a year, year and a half, as he teaches in Westernport). Also cool to see so many of the regular gang, especially those of the gang who only irregularly make it to group thangs- Gene, Sares, Dom. It was so much fun. Much eating, much merriment, much crocheting (on the parts of Deb and Sares).
But perhaps the most fun was discovering that I have not taunted away all my boating karma, through many a weekend at the boathouse laughing at people rowing badly- while Marty had been threatening to force me into a boat, and he and Gene both tried to manhandle me at various times during the afternoon (I had to human chain myself to a fence...), in the end I found out the price of rowboat hire. And we did not fall in. Hoorah! This was mostly due to Gene's rowing prowess, Marty a keen second for these honours (I was ok... ). Best part was when, Paul and Rami having bombarded us with rocks from the shore, we made landfall and Marty jumped ashore to attack them. Also amusing were the various encounters with overhanging and submerged branches.
Later that night went blues dancing with Nick, Sai, Imo and surprise inclusions Fy and Ben. While the class wasn't as good as last month (at which my teachers, Noni and Josh, officiated), it was ok, and we all hung around danced socially afterwards- even Ben. The class was taught by Kieran, who is from Geelong, and knows Gene. I have met him before, maybe at a New Year's thing at Gene's aunts? Or Gene's 21st? Or maybe just at swing? I'm not sure, but I re-introduced myself anyway. And the BIG surprise from the night is that Fy and Ben are planning to come monthly to Blues Night. Yay!
Referring back to the blog title, "all of Neptune's oceans" have washed the Scottish Rock Opera from St Martin's... and my life. Now I just need them to wash the songs from my mind. The show improved every night until it was really quite powerful, and we finished with good crowds, three great reviews and an enormous sigh of relief. Bump out only kept me at theatre until 1am, and I am meeting Clarry today to get my cheque.
Now I just have to wash, dry, pack, see family, check my flights, update my tickets, confirm check in time, book flights for the gold coast for later in the year, and other random things I am yet to list- before Wednesday. Sweet (as sweet as "all the perfumes of Arabia"... GO AWAY Scottish play!!!).
Typical. The one nice sunny day we had this week was yesterday. All days prior were rainy, so I didn't wash. And while it was great to see sun yesterday, as it was Picnic Day, it was also the day I had absolutely NO time to wash.
Picnic itself was ACE. Had so many people show up, so many RANDOM people show up. Such as my cousin and his mates on their bikes. I was on the phone to a lost friend (who happened to be at Studley Park Boathouse, down the river, rather than Fairfield Boathouse, where we all were), and noticed a bunch of kids on bikes just sitting in front of our group and looking. It finally registered that I knew one of the kids- not my cousin, mind you, I recognised his mate. Bad cousin, Naomi! Made up for it by feeding the ravenous hoardes and giving them money to go and buy chips. My nana, aunt and uncle also arrived for a while, leaving instructions for contacting my cousin in England, and a responsibility to drive my nana to the airport.
Also had such randoms as Jackie and Lonza from Geelong show up (thanks for making the big drive, guys!), as well as Kat (who I haven't seen since I left for Indonesia and who, it transpires, is living in a tent out the back of a squat. Even thought she has two corporate jobs...) and Dave (who I haven't seen in maybe a year, year and a half, as he teaches in Westernport). Also cool to see so many of the regular gang, especially those of the gang who only irregularly make it to group thangs- Gene, Sares, Dom. It was so much fun. Much eating, much merriment, much crocheting (on the parts of Deb and Sares).
But perhaps the most fun was discovering that I have not taunted away all my boating karma, through many a weekend at the boathouse laughing at people rowing badly- while Marty had been threatening to force me into a boat, and he and Gene both tried to manhandle me at various times during the afternoon (I had to human chain myself to a fence...), in the end I found out the price of rowboat hire. And we did not fall in. Hoorah! This was mostly due to Gene's rowing prowess, Marty a keen second for these honours (I was ok... ). Best part was when, Paul and Rami having bombarded us with rocks from the shore, we made landfall and Marty jumped ashore to attack them. Also amusing were the various encounters with overhanging and submerged branches.
Later that night went blues dancing with Nick, Sai, Imo and surprise inclusions Fy and Ben. While the class wasn't as good as last month (at which my teachers, Noni and Josh, officiated), it was ok, and we all hung around danced socially afterwards- even Ben. The class was taught by Kieran, who is from Geelong, and knows Gene. I have met him before, maybe at a New Year's thing at Gene's aunts? Or Gene's 21st? Or maybe just at swing? I'm not sure, but I re-introduced myself anyway. And the BIG surprise from the night is that Fy and Ben are planning to come monthly to Blues Night. Yay!
Referring back to the blog title, "all of Neptune's oceans" have washed the Scottish Rock Opera from St Martin's... and my life. Now I just need them to wash the songs from my mind. The show improved every night until it was really quite powerful, and we finished with good crowds, three great reviews and an enormous sigh of relief. Bump out only kept me at theatre until 1am, and I am meeting Clarry today to get my cheque.
Now I just have to wash, dry, pack, see family, check my flights, update my tickets, confirm check in time, book flights for the gold coast for later in the year, and other random things I am yet to list- before Wednesday. Sweet (as sweet as "all the perfumes of Arabia"... GO AWAY Scottish play!!!).
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