JaimeeA

We timed it perfectly to climb to the top of the Astronomical Clock tower on our final morning. Whilst the snowy weather on the first two days really accentuated Prague's beauty, the clear skies provided us with stunning views over the rust-red rooftops. Afterwards Laura, Phil and Gill made their way back to London, leaving Cat, Joel and I to roam for the afternoon. We walked for a good five hours, looping back over the many bridges that cross the Vltava River and taking photos of the sites we hadn't lingered at on previous tours. Foot weary, having circumnavigated the Old, New and Lesser Towns, we finished our trip with something a bit different by heading to Prague's Sex Musuem. Was hilarious to watch an old-school 1920s porn commisioned by the king, and the contraptions people ... read more

There's four distinct things I learnt about Prague. One, the architecture is varied and beautiful and even more so in the snow. Two, their absinthe is stronger than meths. Three, their food is so high in carbs it's no wonder the Czechs have the highest rate of colon cancer in the world. And four, the people have an amusing dry cynicism and make no excuses if they can't speak English. And it's actually very lucky I'm able to tell you that, as we nearly didn't make it to the Czech Republic... Cat, Joel and I left work early for Gatwick Airport, yet somehow all our trains got delayed by electrical failures, engineering faults and track trespassers. To cut a chaotic story short, after convincing EasyJet to print Joel and I boarding passes (because Cat had our ... read more

I don't just get up for anyone after only four hours sleep, so lucky I had Frank Lampard to coerce me out of bed on Boxing Day morning. That and the fact that it was the best weather we'd had in a long time - perfect for watching football. Hair of the dog and all, the first thing Joel did was to get back on the leftover champagne. Actually I lie. The first thing Joel did was call me about five times to see where I was when he woke up and I wasn’t in bed. (I was taking a shower.) Think he was on the turps from Xmas Eve till work four days later! So while the two Joel's got 'organised' I cleaned up the remnants of Xmas Day. Thank god we have a dishwasher ... read more

We'd wanted to go to Bath for a while and with my ex-Auckland flatmate Joel (Clements) over from Bermuda for Xmas, it was a good opportunity to show him some of the UK. He lived with Cat and I at the Bondery for a couple of years, so she and Graham were also keen to explore the Bath Christmas Markets with us... It turned out these were in November, so luckily there was lots of other stuff to see and do! Hmmm...nice one Astle. Clements was in town only one night before we shot away for the weekend - as were our friends Gus and Lorraine who were off to Salzburg for Christmas - so we decided to meet for Dim Sum in China Town. Luckily I was recovering from the flu so started the night ... read more

After what transpired to be the week from hell, I decided that I'd make the most of a stunning winter's day to go to St Paul's. (I needed all the divine intervention I could get after potentially losing my job, despite being in the middle of re-designing and re-writing Prudential's UK website, four good mates leaving the UK, my flat falling apart - the washing machine blew up, plumbing shit itself, net f*%ked out, water got turned off......oh, and a grand got skimmed from my account...) We spent a good two hours wondering around the cathedral, and whilst it was disappointing the very top of the steeple was closed in December and January, we got to see all the Xmas decorations. You weren't supposed to take photos inside, but I managed to sneak in a few. ... read more