Ireland - June - 10 days

We took the ferry from Cainryan to Larne (near Belfast) on Tuesday 1st June. We had 10 days in Ireland and we planned to drive the entire loop. The first few days were driving down the east side where we visited Bru na Boinne, a 5000 year old neolithic passage tomb which we got to go inside and it was fascinating. Easily the oldest thing I will ever see in my life. We also visited a few national park regions enjoying the scenery and visited an ancient monastery in the most spectacular setting.

We decided to stop in Cork for a hostel, we needed showers and to get some washing done. Our aim is to stay in 1 hostel a week on average to keep sane. Unfortunately this hostel was enough to drive us insane. Tiniest room ever with the hard as rock beds, extortionist prices for washing and just a real shabby place. Cork wasn't much better. A depressing city, we were happy to leave the next day.

But of course being in Cork meant we were near the Blarney castle which was a lot better than I expected. We got there as it opened at 9 and were one of the first people up the top of the tower to kiss the Blarney Stone. No queues, best way to do it. But I actually loved it for everything else. The castle grounds are extensive and have some great nooks and crannies to explore and under the castle was a network of old cave passage ways and some of them were open for you to explore. It was great fun.

We spent most of our time in the south east in the peninsulas. Easily the most beautiful part of Ireland. White sand beaches, soaring cliffs and windy roads it was spectacular. The ring of kerry is the most touristic but the skellig peninsula on the end of the ring of kerry was even more beautiful and we had the luck of staying a night at Finnians Bay, our car overlooked the bay and we had the best hotel room you could possibly ask for!

Waking up to the view in the morning was unbelievable. We also drove the Dingle Peninsula which was also gorgeous. Dingle was a cute town and we found the best cafe there where I had fresh fish and chips and we liked it so much we went back the next day for a full Irish breakfast.

And we found a great beach to sleep in the cliffs above with stunning views again but this time we went for a swim. It was freezing but well worth it.

The weather in Ireland was stunning. We couldn't have asked for better. It was sunny most of the time and really warm. We were so lucky. After the south east peninsulas we drove up to see the Cliffs of Moher (disappointing, way over touristed and ridiculously charged) and for a drive around the Burren, a landscape of rock formations and limestone mountains including ancient tombs, forts and cairns. Beautiful.

We then drove north past Galway and into the Connemara, Wow! The Connemara is a gorgeous part of the country, lush green and so many lakes. Every 5 minutes I would be saying - wow look at that. Stunning.

We then drove pretty much straight up to the north west and to Donegal Bay. We stopped at Bundoran, a small surf town, to stay in a hostel because the town sounded like our kind of place. We were right. It was so relaxed and chilled out. The people were awesome, we were one of the few people staying at the hostel mid week (the weekend before had been a big event or something so it was unusually quiet).

The hostel staff were so friendly and the town was so laid back we would have been happy to stay forever. I went to the movies that night, we chilled out at the beach, it was great. The hostel was rock themed with each room dedicated to a different band (we were in the White Stripes room) and big lounges full of comfy couches with walls covered in music posters. Such a cool atmosphere.

We did a detour to the Slieve League cliffs which were gorgeous and I think better than the Cliffs of Moher, mainly because you could actually walk over them without big barriers and concrete everywhere. Plus we got to see them on a nice day so that probably helps too ;)

We were out of days so we drove back into Northern Ireland and across to Giants Causeway which I had visited before but I really wanted Nick to see and then it was a ferry back over to Scotland again. I was really sad leaving Ireland. I absolutely loved it there, the scenery is gorgeous, it's really laid back, the people we met were so friendly, we had sun and beaches (even went for a swim! Pretty cold but still). I definitely plan to go back again one day, Nick and I were even saying we could see ourselves living there for a short time. Really want to go back.

Lake District - May 2010 - 4 days

We left London Friday morning at some nutty hour and met up with Roz and Josh to drive north to the Lake District. On the way we stopped at Goldthorpe, a town in central England (near Nottingham). Being my namesake town I had always wanted to visit and was pleased I had the chance on the way up. Bit of a dinky wee town really, not much there at all but it was cool to see my name everywhere!

We spent 3 nights in the Lake District, easily the most beautiful place in England. It was stunning. Our campsite was right next to a river surrounded by hills, it was stunning. Lots of campfires, roasted marshmellows and ... a hobnob biscuit?! Yes Josh seemed to like to try anything roasted over the fire :) We did drive around the district to check out the lakes and Keswick (the nearest town) and they were so beautiful.

After saying goodbye to Roz and Josh who headed back to London we drove on up to Hadrians wall, the old Roman wall that was erected as a separation between England and the raiding Scots in the north. We only had about an hour walking along one very small part of it, I would love to walk the entire thing one day but we didn't have that much time.

Spent the first night in the car that night. Was a bit more cramped then I had expected so it was an interesting nights sleep but I've slowly gotten more and more used to it and I can sleep really well in there now. It's quite cosy.

I'm leaving on a jet plane..... no wait it's a Volvo!

So we are leaving London in less than 24 hours. Having a lot of mixed feelings about it; excited, nervous, happy, sad, stressed... you know the usual for me :)

First stop will be the Lake District in England. Will update my blog and put up photos as often as possible. But to start with lets reminisce about London and the things I will miss.

Things I will miss about London

1. Sunday picnics drinking cider/wine in the park
2. English pubs
3. West End Musicals anytime I like! - Seen Les Miserables, Wicked, Lion King, Oliver, Chicago, Sister Act.
4. Book Club
5. Koppaberg Pear/Mixed Fruits Cider
6. Hare and Tortoise noodle house - best local takeaways I have ever had.
7. Chinatown - mmm crispy duck
8. My colleagues and boss (yep not many can say that!) I'm still trying to convince them to come visit in NZ
9. Soap & Glory beauty products - the body butter and hand cream is the yummiest smelling stuff eva!
10. Jammy Dodgers (like shrewsberries biscuits but which one is better?!) with tea (yep London converted me to a tea drinker!)
11. Gok Wan (love his tv shows!)
12. Ben Sherman clothing
13. Brick Lane (best curry ever)
14. Markets - Portobello, Camden, Borough, Spitafields...
15. Cheap eats - £1 easter eggs and .27p canned backed beans
16. TV on demand
17. Scones with jam and clotted cream! mmm clotted cream
18. Public transport 24/7 (even if it is night buses)
19. Riverside walks along the Thames
20. Carnaby Street for shopping
21. London in the snow
22. Cheap books - £1.50 charity shop books, £4 amazon new release books
23. Amazon - how will I live without you?!
24. Oliver Bonas (shopping)
25. Putney! what a cool little suburb

BYE LONDON!!!!! I'LL MISS YOU

London, April May 2010

There is one benefit to not being able to travel in order to save enough money for our road trip. And that's being able to do all the things in London I want to do before I go home.

Sat 3 April - Putney Boat Race

A group of us watched the Oxford vs Cambridge boat race on the Thames. The race started at Putney bridge and we got a great spot to watch it. I remember seeing them race in Hamilton so it's something I've always wanted to come down and see, I mean we live in Putney! But each previous year I've been away when the race was on. It was all over pretty quick but we got to watch the end on the big screen. It was a fun day out.

Sun 4 April - Stratford Upon Avon

Well not in London but it was a great day trip from London and our first road trip in the car. Our flatties Joe and Claire came with us. It's about 2 hours out to Stratford but it's mostly motorways so bit of a boring drive. We had a yummy lunch at a riverside pub and tried to enjoy the small amount of sunshine but it was still pretty cold, not summer yet!

We had a walk around the lock and all the canal boats selling various things. We checked out a market on the high street and saw Shakespeare's birthplace. We also had an afternoon walk along the river to the church where he's buried. It's a really cute town.

Sat 10 April - Portobello Markets

Went to the Portobello markets with a couple of the girls. Famous around the world and Nottinghill is pretty famous too. Gorgeous area with cute little houses in pastel multi-colours. So different to standard London housing. The market was packed, it's all down one street so can be hard to manoeuvre around all the people. Some really interesting things from bird cages to telescopes. Not your usual kind of market. We also stopped off at Hummingbird bakery for a Red Velvet cupcake, heaven!

Sun 11 April - Westminster Abbey

Jodi and I went to a Sunday service at Westmister Abbey. It was a Sung Eucharist service which was similar to a communion service except the choir is there and they sing the responses. The Abbey is beautiful and it was amazing to see it on a Sunday as they close it from tourists so it was a wonderful experience to see it the way it's meant to be seen.

Sat 17 April - Camden Markets

We actually ended up at camden markets two weekends in a row we loved them so much. Very different to any other kind of markets, they're huge for one, with so many different types of stalls. Plus because they're so big you can find little pockets of areas where there are not that many people, making it a bit more manageable than other markets in London.

On the first weekend we met Roz & Josh in Regents Park and after chilling in the sun walked around the back of London Zoo. The zoo looks like a childrens zoo, not very big so don't think we'll be going there. We took the canal path to Camden, a beautiful way to see a different side to London. We also spent awhile watching the Camden lock and all the boats coming and going, great to see it in action.

On the second weekend we went to the markets with our flatmates and also went for a walk up Primrose Hill for the views over London. We also bought a bean bag sofa (without the beans in it) to take back to NZ. It's awesome!

Wed 5 May - Macbeth @ Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

I organised a group of us to see a play at Shakespeare's Globe. I have always wanted to go there and see an actual play rather than just do a tour and luckily the season started up again just in time. Roz, Josh, Arn, Cherise and I met up at the theatre before hand and then found our seats on the second floor at the back. The theatre is amazing because it is in the traditional round style so you have 3 stories with 3 rows of wooden pews and then down the bottom in front of the stage is standing area only. It all looked quite cool and we were lucky to get the back row as we had back rests, it isn't the most comfortable of theatres for a 3 hour play.

The play was amazing, I've never seen Macbeth but I was really impressed with what they did. The play itself was pretty gruesome. There was a lot of blood and murder and suicide and they weren't gentle about it, there was blood everywhere! Guys on stage with massive gash wounds and blood all over them, it was quite disturbing.

But they incorporated the audience really well. The front of the standing audience had this black sheet with holes which you poke your head through, I'm not entirely sure why but it was quite effective, all these disembodied heads and then within them they had areas where the witches and sometimes bloodied bodies would come out of too. Plus they used the audience a lot in the play, which made it a lot of fun. I have to admit and say I didn't understand a lot of the actual words (but then who does?!) but I followed the plot and had a great night. Would definitely recommend to everyone!

Sun 9 May - Hampton Court Palace

Nick and I took the train out for a day trip to Hampton Court Palace where King Henry VIII used to live. We were greeted by actors in period costume pretending it was King Henry VIII's wedding day. There were events all day, it was really well done and a bit of fun. We even got to dress up too with these material overcoats things.

We did a tour through the palace apartments (boring) and the kitchens (interesting) and the gardens (spectacular and beautiful). We also explored the hedge maze out in the gardens, a lot of fun. My favourite was all the tulips in the most beautiful colours. They were everywhere.

They had a wine fountain in the courtyard which was just like a normal fountain except that in the afternoon the water is replaced with wine. Apparently it was around in the time of King Henry too. An awesome idea, I want one!

Our feet were very sore by the end of the day so we rested them at the pub with a drink and roast dinner. Yum!

Stockholm, Sweden, Tues 26 Jan - Fri 29 Jan 2010

We finally got home from Venice at about 3 in the morning and then I was up again at 8am and off to a different airport for a flight to Stockholm. Had a 3 day sales conference at my work's main office.

It was snowing and freezing in Stockholm but it was great to see the city in winter. I was in conference all day and then it was networking and drinks at night so not much exploring but one of the days we went out into the Stockholm Archipelago and that was definitely worth an entry in the blog.

The Stockholm Archipelago is a series of approx 24,000 islands/islets which are absolutely stunning and they are made even more stunning by being covered in ice and snow. Up at 4:30am to get on a bus out to catch a ferry. It was amazing to take the ferry through the archipelago in the middle of winter. We had to crash through so much ice and the atmosphere was so peaceful as the sun was coming up.

I'm not a big fan of boats and I didn't have any tablets on me but I decided I'd rather fight the cold then feel sick so I spent most of my time on the back deck. No-one else was really game, I don't blame them, it was like -15deg or something crazy like that.

After our day at the conference we were allowed to relax in the indoor or outdoor spa. Now all conference I had been told about this activity that the Swedes do in the winter which is ice swimming. And we all had to take part. Now at first it sounded like a bit of a laugh and something a bit different, then I actually got to the island and felt the temperatures and started to realise/think that they may be having us on. I thought this even more when I realised that all this 'ice swimming' business would have to take place in pitch darkness since the sun went down at like 3pm.

So there I was walking out to the outdoor spa in my bathrobe and slippers, walking over snow up to my ankles, and I got into the hot spa happy in the knowledge that they were pulling my leg. Well yes it turns out they weren't! The Swedes are actually crazy enough to jump into ice covered water in the middle of the night! And guess what... I was crazy enough to do it too!!

Yep that's right, one of the guys from Sweden cracked the ice down at the foot of a set of stairs in the harbour and one by one they started to jump into it! I was quite happy sitting in my hot spa, watching these crazy fools jump into who knows what crazy temperature water. And yet somehow the fever and excitement of it all got the better of me. I mean how many times in my life would I have the opportunity to do something like this?!

So after psyching up the courage and convincing one of the guys they had to be right there next to me just in case (... well you never know what might happen) I jump out of the spa run along the ice and snow in bare feet (pain pain pain!!! my feet would not stop stinging), I then climbed down the ladder and jumped into the water up to my chin. My feet then connected with the ladder under the water and I managed to pull myself back out again (thankfully since the ladder was actually covered in ice and rather slippery). I ran back along the ice and snow (more pain, more pain!) before jumping into the hot spa covered in a million prickles of pain on my skin and saying more swear words in one time than I think I have ever in my life!

But I did it! And I was the first girl to go in, and the first one from the London office so I felt pretty proud of myself. A lot of the boys went in more than once but once was enough for me. It was quite funny because after a few beers in the spa (& sauna, there was a sauna there too) the games started, including 'lock the poor sod who just jumped in the ice out from the sauna' and 'throw open the sauna door and throw snow over all the nice warm people' and my personal favourite 'tackle a fellow colleague to the ground and cover them in snow'. The last one always resulting in nice big red welts on the unfortunate victim. Sometimes I'm very happy I'm a girl.

I only have one regret and that's not getting any photos. But unfortunately when its like -15 deg outside and every single surface is covered in ice and snow there isn't really anywhere to put your camera. To give you an idea, I put my robe and slippers down and when I picked them up again after the spa they were covered in ice. My hair was like that too, hard little icicles all over my head.

I did manage to go back and take a photo of where we jumped in which I have shared with you and a pic of the outdoor spa & sauna after everyone had left. I also unfortunately hit my legs (quite hard) against the ladder when I jumped in and I ended up with two massive bruises on my shins which turned a nice shade of blackey purple the next day. I didn't even notice I had done it because my whole body was numb. Well I have to say it was an adventure.

The rest of the night was filled with drinking, dancing and shenanigans. Gotta love it.

Venice, Italy, Sun 24 Jan 2010

First thing we did in the morning was a Gondola ride. Ridiculous money but I had always wanted to so wasn't passing up the opportunity. Nick and I picked a beautiful red adorned Gondola and curled up under a blanket together. It was early morning and we were the only ones out in some of the canals. So gorgeous and so romantic. I don't know why people think Paris is the most romantic city, my vote is for Venice!

We spent the rest of the day walking the streets of Venice, we walked a lot that weekend! We visited a lot of mask shops and I ended up buying a small red one (even though I was convinced I wasn't going to).

We saw the Rialto bridge covered in market stalls. A bit too touristy and tacky in that area for me. Much preferred the back streets. Dinner was at our local again. More delicious pasta concoctions, but the real reason we came back twice? Their Lemon vodka sorbet. The best dessert I have ever tasted in my life! It was served in a champagne glass and was smooth enough to drink and wow how delicious it was!!

We had one more day on Monday exploring the streets of Venice and I swear I think we walked the entire island! It was a long long long journey back to London but it was so worth it. Venice was an amazing city, one of my favourites ever. I'm so glad we went during the low season.

Venice, Italy, Sat 23 Jan 2010

Today was all about exploring the city. Actually that's what most of the weekend was about! But today we walked towards San Marco square, walking over accademia bridge, wondering through tiny alleyways and marveling at all the mask shops.

San Marco was surprisingly quiet but sadly there was a lot of work going on so the tower was closed and both the tower and the church was covered in scaffolding. I guess there is a downside to visiting in the off season. But it was still a beautiful place and my favourite part of the square was the pink lights. They were very cool.

We were incredibly lucky and had a stunning day on Saturday. It was still cold but not a cloud in the sky. The Bridge of Sighs was a disappointment as more restoration work was going on and they covered all the scaffolding with what looked like advertising. Oh well these things happen.

The waterfront was wonderful to walk along and we got a bit over-zealous with the stalls and bought a few paintings. Oh well we had lots of fun!

In the afternoon we walked along the waterfront on our hotel side of the island and stopped off for gelato. Haha only me, freezing day, wearing gloves and I'm eating ice cream! Well you can't go to Italy and not have gelato! We came across some guys launching a boat which was fascinating to watch because they were using a crane type thing to do it.

We came to the end of the island and it has a point designed to feel like the bow of a ship and it definitely did. The views back over San Marco and to the church on the other side were fantastic too. There was a huge dome church around the corner which we explored before walking through the arty district (lots of art museums and very expensive galleries) back to our hotel.

That night we found a recommended pizzeria. It took awhile to get a seat but well worth it. Delicious food, more great wine. No english menus so we knew were were in a local place. It was perfect. We had a great time walking around the canals and tiny Venice streets in the moonlight too.