http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/TravellingHan/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from TravellingHan en-us Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:04:54 +0000 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:04:54 +0000 I have taken to walking to and from work through the Meadows a large parklike space just south of the city centre. Not only is it far quicker it is also far prettier than walking along the main road as I used to.I've been feeling a little restless lately a little settled. I don't have the option to move on just now and I think that's one of the reasons I've been a little out of sorts. Today http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-422776.html It's now a year a month and a few days that I've been away from home. In that time I've travelled and settled had grand adventures and experienced great tragedy. I've found love and lost a loved one. I've been back to where I began and I've returned home again. And I think as twee as it might sound that I've begun to find myself.In the last year I've been to England Wales Ireland Scotla http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-399482.html As most of you know but I'm sure some still do not two weeks ago I was forced to make a hasty exit from my cushy little life in Scotland and undertake a 40 hour journey to get myself to Auckland. I had 10 hours between receiving the phone call telling me I had to leave and leaving the hostel to catch a train to the bus which would get me to the airport in Glasgow in time for my flight.To cut a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-347145.html After my wonderful experiences in Wales I was a little bit over it all. I'd spent two nights all alone in the hostel in Caernarfon and was ready to move on. Don't get me wrong I loved Wales and if you look at my Facebook photos you'll see just how beautiful it is. But I was lonely and ready for some excitement.So I jumped the bus to Holyhead the ferry to Dun Laoghaire and the DART train to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-298328.html It's easy they said. There were girls doing it in flip flops they said.Apparently the 3 hour trek up Mt Snowdon in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd Northern Wales is a piece of cake. Except if you're me.My roomates in Caernarfon told me it would be easy though it would take about 5 hours up and back. Okay thought I I'll set off early do the trek and chill out in Caernarfon for th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Wales/Snowdon/blog-286093.html I'm in Dublin at the moment having come from Caernarfon pronouced Carnarvon in the northern Welsh county of Gwynedd. For those of you playing at home Caernarfon is on the west coast of mainland Wales just across the passage from the Isle of Anglesey. Anglesey is joined to mainland Wales by a bridge and historically significant as it was the Druids last stronghold in the fight against the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Wales/Snowdon/blog-285085.html It's 11pm here and I'm bored so I thought I'd get my arse into gear and finally blog Oxford. A bit belated I know but here goesThe first thing you notice about Oxford is the amazing amount of bicycles cluttering the city. As Oxford is university town bikes are the main form of transport. The bike rack at the station alone held at least 300 bikes and it was packed every single time I passed http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Oxfordshire/Oxford/blog-283052.html As my Lonely Planet bible says poor Cardiff. It's the capital city of Wales but it has none of the imposing splendour of London or Bath. It was a small town that benefitted greatly from the industrial boom coal is the main export and the city built up because of the docks.It's by no means beautiful but the reason I love this place is the hostel I'm staying in. The Welsh hospitality puts the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Wales/Cardiff/blog-282261.html Oh Lord I now know I could never survive a Contiki trip. Forcing yourself to go sightseeing when you're so hungover that you just want to die is tantamount to torture in my book. And such has been my last two days. It's not my fault though. It is entirely the fault of a certain Welsh bartender who will remain nameless as he is now keeping track of this blog and 1.50 drinks.Now that you h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Wales/Cardiff/blog-282547.html I love Bath. It is currently my favourite place in all the world. I went there last Tuesday and came back on Wednesday but I could very easily have settled down and lived there. Bath was everything I'd been hoping for in Britain and reassured me that I want to be here and I want to travel.I caught the bus from Victoria Station at 800 on Tuesday which meant that I had to leave Queensbury by 6 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-280722.html It's been an interesting week. I've been busy but at the same time I haven't really done a lot. Let's see if I can remember what I've been doing ....Friday I moved out of the horrible Kilburn hostel which really was a hovel. Moved into the Globetrotter on the other side of London. Found out I'd been put in a room with 5 guys but they all turned out to be great. Four Aussies and a Kiwi.Sa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-276537.html On my second day in this hostel when I finally made it into the common lounge one of the first things anyone said to me was Watch out for the Italian girl. She's crazy. And they were right she was actually crazy. Apparently she'd threatened someone with a knife two nights previously.But it gets better ...This girl let's call her 'A' had met an English boy while he was on holiday in Ital http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Kilburn/blog-274266.html Today I visited the Tower of London. Unfortunately although it was wonderful and quite hot I was still suffering from occasional overwhelming bouts of homesickness. Nevertheless I managed to enjoy myself I went on a guided tour which was free and the tour guide was a former soldier who knew everything about the gruesome bits of the Tower's history and was very entertaining.Then I wander http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Kilburn/blog-273531.html At the moment I'm alternating between being desperate to come home and enjoying myself. I'm getting over London fairly quickly and am looking forward to leaving on Thursday or Friday. I've seen almost everything I just have Covent Garden Bloomsbury London Bridge and Tower of London to go. I also have to have a meeting with the people who will set up my bank account for me. Thankfully I've http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Kilburn/blog-272845.html Wow What a crazy few days I have had. I can't believe I only left home 5 days ago. It feels like forever. I am really missing you all but now that I have net access I feel a little better. So here's a rundown on my first few daysJapan was an eyeopener and my sixteen hour stopover was an adventure in itself. I had a major crisis 6 hours into the flight when I realised that I didn't know a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Kilburn/blog-272499.html I'm supposed to be using today to pack all of my things up so my parents can store them for me while I'm away. In four hours I've packed exactly one box of DVDs and CDs. It appears my talent for procrastinating honed so well at uni hasn't diminished one iota.I don't think it's really hit home yet that I'm leaving or that I'm leaving for such a long time. Erin assures me it'll hit me once I'm http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/blog-268796.html