April 28th 2005 Edinburgh, Scotland. As children, my siblings and I would stand outside in cyclones, waiting, with arms outstretched, for the wind to overcome gravity and carry us away... just a few yards, mind you. Unfortunately, North Queensland is not a particularly windy area and has not, in recent years, managed to produce anything stronger than a category two cyclone, which certainly lack any detectable elements of excitement. It's quite humorous, in fact, to watch the newcomers work themselves into a tizzy every time the newscasts begin forecasting devastating winds in the latest [View Full Entry]

---

---

April 26th 2005 Edinburgh, Scotland. Since last I wrote I have traveled from Dublin to Belfast, made friends with a Kiwi and a Canadian (both really great girls; I would have liked them as long-term friends) who were staying in my hostel, created a new cocktail consisting of Jameson whiskey, lemonade, and the ever-present Baileys (they grimaced, but it was yum!...eventually), and after a very late night had to run (literally...taxis were also involved, big concession for me) to be on time for a very *very* long day of traveling from Belfast to Edinburgh via ferry and bus. I had envis [View Full Entry]

---

---

25th April 2005 Dublin, Ireland. Yesterday was ideal. I've been a bit homesick since seeing those splendid, soaring coastlines in Portrush last weekend, and so after a bit of wandering and window-shopping I decided to go and check out Dublin's nearest equivalent, the cliffs of Howth. Here I should mention Dublin's public bus system, which is an absolute travesty for the tourist. The locals seem to have all route's memorised (no mean feat, and by which I'm impressed) but it is near impossible to get a bus route map from anywhere save the bus company's outlet's, which seem to be closed [View Full Entry]

---

---

23rd April 2005 Dublin, Ireland. Impetuosity won. I gathered my things, told the bank to stuff it (okay, I didn't, but if it's not sorted by Monday, when I return.....), and boarded a bus to Dublin. The countryside was lovely, just as I'd expected Irish countrysides to be. After a while little country lanes even started to appear, just like in UK shows like 'Heartbeat', where the road is edged in rock or thick hedge walls and is barely wide enough to accommodate one vehicle - and if another should appear, then it's a matter of one reversing until the other [View Full Entry]

---

---

April 21st 2005.......very late. Belfast, Northern Ireland. Am back in Belfast and have been since the day before yesterday. Faye continued on her way to Londonderry and I caught an early bus back to the hostel. I miss the coast and if I were to stay in Northern Ireland I think that a coastal town is where I would be. But as it is, I'm itching to be back in London and cursing every delay. I met up with some Aussies yesterday (yay! that beloved accent is like a benediction), and we all went out for a drink, which is something [View Full Entry]

---

---

April 16th 2005 Portrush, Northern Ireland. Well, would you believe it, but your Little Miss Organised can be startlingly impulsive, after all. Less than a week into my supposed Live-and-Work-Belfast plan, and my feet were unbearably itchy, ready for the next adventure. I'm not sure if it was because the city had felt too small, or that after one too many setbacks I'd gotten cranky and fed up with the job hunt, or if it was an honest-to-god unsullied desire to simply continue my travels, but I saw a mini-van with a business ad on the side promoting it for 'only [View Full Entry]

---

---

13th April 2005 Belfast, Northern Ireland. Have arrived in Belfast! The bus ride from the airport was lovely, all those green, green fields and blue, blue skies. After a while we crested a small hill and suddenly there was Belfast, a cluster of streets and buildings clinging to the edge of the wide, snaking waters of the River Lagan. It was fresh and green and exciting, yet I was a little disheartened at the size of it. Belfast, for such a major city, is not so very large. I speculate that I could probably walk it's perimeter in half a day. [View Full Entry]

---

---

April 12th 2005........late, late in the day. Belfast, Northern Ireland. Yes, I'm in Northern Ireland now, but that can wait until the next journal. Much more interesting is the Magic Mushroom story. Scott threw in his lot with me and we ended up doing the magic mushrooms together last night in the common room with an audience. The mushies, which were meant to induce a general happiness and giggles, etc, were really gross and had to be followed with shots of Lucozade and then vodka......really yummy pineapple and raspberry vodka, with, get this, 20% alcohol!! How cool! Scott, who was by [View Full Entry]

---

---

April 11th 2005.....late afternoon South-West London, England. Spent the day walking about London. My legs are killing me. It began with the decision to walk from the hostel to Harrods, in Knightsbridge, rather than waste the money on a bus or the tube, which really are unrealistically expensive. I was quite enchanted with the Natural History Museum's architectural qualities, and so trotted in for a quick look. They've got some really great dinsosaur skeletons and such there, as well as much which I didn't see, including, apparently, an earthquake simulator! But I wandered into the con [View Full Entry]

---

---

9th April 2005 South-West London, England. I've made friends with a Kiwi guy, Scott, and a German guy, Ghunter (both hotties), over the past few days and this morning we all decided to head off to the infamous Camden Market together. After some ar*ing around we finally arrived and discovered, with some disappointment, that it was mostly just clothing, studded jewellery, and the all-pervading Magic Mushrooms being sold there. I'd been told a few days beforehand before by my Aussie mate Nicola that in Australia these kind of mushrooms are illegal (never occured to me to ask), and the fact [View Full Entry]

---

---