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Thursday, March 25, 2004
 Okay, well overdue for some photos... Our little trip to Greenwich on 17 January 2004 BB in front of the Prime Meridian "of the world" BB straddling the Prime Meridian Leigh straddling the Prime Meridian Shepherd’s Bush Green on25 January 2004 ...and a few days later after snow on 29 January 2004  Ireland PhotosBB at the Guinness Storeroom Dublin and the Leffrey River by night 1 Dublin and the Leffrey River by night 2 our Paddwagon bus and tour group Shankill Road Mural 1 Shankill Road Mural 2 Shankill Road Mural 3 Shankill Road Mural 4 Shankill Road Mural 5 Falls Road Mural 1 Falls Road Mural 2 The Tavern - a catholic pub with cage at entry Bogside Murals, Derry 1 Bogside Murals, Derry 2 Bogside Murals, Derry 3 Bogside Murals, Derry 4 Bogside Murals, Derry 5 Cliffs of Moher 1 Cliffs of Moher 2 BB, Marissa and the Cliffs of Moher Horse and carriage ride through Killarney National Park View down onto the misty Killarney National Park View from the Dingle Peninsula BB and Peaches get lynched by our bus driver, Brian Blarney Castle BB and Blarney Castle BB and Leigh kissing the Blarney Stone BB on the Wishing Stairs BB frolicking in the daffodils in Blarney Castle gardens  Scotland PhotosBB and the Haggis bus Hamish the “hairy coo” A river in Glencoe Tash’s clan’s castle View up Loch Ness On the Shore of Loch Ness A river near the Loch Welcome to Perth, Scotland
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Happy Birthday Glen!!! had a lovely conversation with my bro and the nieces at lunchtime today...including talking to Abi - who's only ever said the word "bye" to me before...she knows my name!!!
Monday, March 22, 2004
Happy Birthday for today Louise...and happy birthday to Pauly for Saturday!!! Finally managed to kick that disgusting flu and celebrate these milestones with a few (?) quiet (?) drinks in Covent Garden on Saturday night. As much as we tried to make it a relatively early night but the darn night buses were against us and I didn't crawl into bed until 4am!!!
Thursday, March 18, 2004
eurrrghhh...back to London... and sick with the flu! Our 3 day Scotland tour felt like it was over before it had begun but the weather held out and we had beautiful clear days...our tour leader, Donald (complete with kilt), and bus driver, Sue, took us from Edinburgh to Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye, around the Isle of Skye (not quite so beautiful and mysterious without the mist on the mountains because of the clear beautiful weather), along the absolutely stunning Loch Ness and back to Edinburgh with a quick stop near Perth. Favourite spot would have to be Loch Ness - hopefully some of the photos do it justice because it was absolutely stunning on the day we spent there (no sight of Nessie though). Unfortunately the water temperature doesn't often rise too far above 2 degrees so there wasn't really an opportunity for a plunge (without the prospect of hypothermia)... The other highlight of the tour was haggis...I love it! Only got to try it once but definitely enjoyed the experience of haggis with "neeps and tatties"... Thankfully the flight back to London was pretty uneventful and I crawled into bed in the wee morning hours and crawled out again to battle through a day at work. Powderfinger on Friday night wasn't quite as good as their November gig but the acoustic version of These Days was definitely a highlight - one stage, one piano and the voice of Bernard Fanning...is there anything better? Saturday night was apparently someone, somewhere's birthday (I don't think I actually met the birthday boy) but it was a good excuse for the ever increasing posse of flatmates, ex-flatmates, friends and random hangers on to get together and finish the night at...(you guessed it)...the Walkabout... Another excuse last night with a few quiet drinks for St Paddy's at...(once again)...the Walkabout (it's nice and close to home okay) so the flu has come on with great vengence!!! and for the other little (?) bit of news...I've decided that I'm not nearly pastey white and pudgey enough and that I need to stay for another year. I know, I know, I couldn't wait to get home a few months ago...and who knows, in a few months time I might change my mind again...but somewhere on a little green bus driving around Ireland I realised that I'm actually quite happy in London at the moment, I have a decent job, Louise and I haven't quite run rampant enough through London and I really want to make the most of what is looking like a glorious summer coming up...
Sunday, March 07, 2004
Well, we're in a brilliant hostel at the very foot at the Edinburgh Castle in, you guessed it, Edinburgh. Arrived this morning and spend a few hours exploring the castle but we were way too tired to go too much further so it was a quick pub lunch/dinner and back up the hill to the hostel for an early night. The last day of our Ireland tour was hampered slightly by a massive migraine that came on very quickly and hung around until this afternoon. Luckily most of Saturday was a long drive up a smooth highway back to Dublin so I didn't miss too much. The black cab tour was brilliant!!! An essential part of a trip to Belfast and really good to see and hear the other side of things. Neither Steve (our catholic bus driver from Derry) or our protestant cab driver from Belfast took sides as to who was right and who was wrong but both gave a great insight into all the troubles. I had to keep reminding myself that he was actually talking about things that happened this century and in fact in the last decade. It's just so for someone from Australia (a relatively religiously and politcally impartial country) to believe that all these bombings and shootings are still happening - despite the ceasefire. From Belfast it was on to Derry via the Giant's Causeway (almost as interesting as the dinosaur's footprint in Broome?). Our walking tour of Derry was another major part of the Northern Ireland experience. Steve took us around the castle walls and past the listening/watching towers of the British Army. I found the catholic murals is Derry much more of a statement of peace than the protestant ones in Belfast which celebrated the lives and "achievements" of the UFF and UDF leaders. Saw the site and associated murals/memorials of the Bloody Sunday massacre - once again, hard to believe that it was only last decade!!! We swapped drivers in Derry to the very much Southern Irish Brian - accent and swearing much more noticable - then headed to his home town of Galway for the night. Galway seems like a nice little city so it's a shame that we were out of there first thing in the morning. I'm probably forgetting most of the sites that we saw between the big cities and will have to wait for my photos to be developed as I didn't really write too much down along the way. From Galway via the Cliffs of Moher to Killarney where we spent two nights, including the best meal in Ireland and some cocktails at a very funky little bar. The next morning was a horse and carriage ride through the Killarney National Park (very foggy so didn't get to see everything that was supposedly there) then on to the Dingle peninsula with some amazingly breathtaking coastal scenery and beautiful beaches. If I die and come back an animal, please make me an sheep on the west coast of Ireland - they have the greatest views from their paddocks which extend right up to the cliffs with impressive views to take in while you much away on the grass while preparing to be turned into Irish Stew. Second night in Killarney saw Marissa, Leah and myself successfully cook for the entire tour group (15 people) without giving them food poisoning. Everyone said it was the best meal they'd had in Ireland and at 5 euro each we had plenty to spare - even managed to sell some on to other hostelliers for a small profit. Saturday it was back to Dublin stopping for a quick kiss along the way - yes, I kissed the Blarney Stone and so did Bradley Bear!!! Between hiking up the castle to the stone itself and exploring the beautiful gardens at Blarney Castle we were well and truely warn out for the rest of the day. Having a migraine and staying in a hostel dorm room of 16 people is by no means a pleasant experience but it finally passed and we caught our brief (45 minute) flight to Edinburgh for the next leg of our whirlwind journey. Tomorrow morning it's off on our 3 day Haggis tour which involves a bus ride up to Invercargill (hopefully via Perth) then over to the Isle of Skye for an entire day (hopefully without too much mountain/hill climbing involved) then back to Edinburgh through "Braveheart Country". Then back to work Thursday to make up for all the money I've been spending on postcards and presents (oh, and food...lots of it). bring on the Haggis!!!
Monday, March 01, 2004
it's been a busy week or so.... spend a couple of weeks playing catch up at work trying to get everything done so that I could go on holidays. Tash arrived in Thursday so I did my civic duty and introduced her to the Walkabout Shepherds Bush on Friday night followed by a double decker bus tour/pub crawl of London - only it wasn't one of those "touristy buses"... it was a "Party Bus" organised by a friend of a friend of a friend. A little bit of alochol and a lot of dancing (or was it the other way round) and it was suddenly 9pm and we had to get home to pack and prepare for our flight the next morning. Flight to Dublin was very short on a very small plane. Believe it or not, straight after a bite of lunch we headed straight to the major tourist attraction...you guessed it, the Guinness Factory with a great view of the entire city from the Gravity Bar on the 7th level. After a spot of tourist shopping we found a hostel to book into around the corner from where our tour departed from, a quick shower and out for dinner at a local pub. I must say, I was pretty impressed with my two meals in Dublin!!! The tour has been excellent so far...our tour guide (who doesn't look a thing like a leprechaun) has driven us from Dublin to Belfast with almost constant commentary on which important historical events have happened in various places along the way. Heading off for a black cab tour around Belfast this afternoon and then probably out to the University and Botanic Gardens for a quick look. Apparently we're heading to an "interesting" pub tonight as a group which should be fun. Let's hope the black cab men have paid their protection money for this week!
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