http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/m1ssjane/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from m1ssjane en-us Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:11:52 BST Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:11:52 BST It's just you some friends and about 500000 other people packed into a few miles of London to see amazing costumes hear very loud music smell the illegal substances in the air and stuff yourself silly with wonderful Caribbean food welcome to a true London experience the Notting Hill CarnivalThe Carnival started in the 60s as a way of overcoming racial tension by showcasing the diversity http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Notting-Hill/blog-316926.html In 10 months I've crossed the Thames by foot tube bus I think even car but somehow boats haven't made the list ... until now. A photography group trip to Greenwich including a cruise to the Thames Barrier helped tick that last box well until I find another box that isAbout 70 of us jumped on a boat to cruise up the Thames past the O2 arena to the mighty shiny Thames Barrier. The Thames Ba http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Greenwich/blog-316184.html The French donrsquot have the reputation for being the most open and friendly race in the world so you can imagine my shock the first time I received a random 'Bonjour' walking around in France. Admittedly my previous experience on French soil was a vist to Paris when I was 20 and probably not the most culturally aware however take my advice get the hell out of the capital and wander around http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Lower-Normandy/Arromanches-les-Bains/blog-304874.html It's been a little quiet on the tripping around front too many things to do in London and surrounds but headed out of London to visit lovely Leeds Castle on Saturday with my photography club. Now I had been looking forward to my trip to Leeds and it's famous Castle ... only to discover I was misled. Leeds Castle is in fact nowhere near Leeds instead it's about an hour south of London in Kent http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Kent/blog-297678.html lsquoFreeeeeee Nelson Mandelarsquo hellip I remember back 20ish years geez that makes me sound all aged when the song was a battle cry for the release of Mandela and the end to Apartheid in South Africa. I never imagined that years later I would be singing along with a star studded crowd hellip well on the stage to celebrate the 90th birthday of the man himself in Hyde Park London http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-293686.html Summer has arrived in London if only in name as the weather doesn't really want to cooperate. There are the odd blue sunny day but cracking anymore than the early 20s except in the tube is a bit of a struggle. But one of the benefits of summer is the sheer number of festivals on throughout the city. This weekend was a little event called West End Live which was a showcase of all that is http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-291281.html This weekend was a little massive I know ... so to enjoy a relaxed Sunday I joined a couple of friends at Southbank to explore a little streetstencil art at the Cans Festival.The Cans Festival was organised by Banksy probably the most famous street artist at the moment. I admit I love his stuff he has an ironic perspective and it doesn't hurt that he just get's about doing his thing while ma http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-287798.html One day you're getting in touch with Spain the next you're on the eternal quest for cheese. You may have seen on the news the mad English among others who fling themselves down a ridiculously steep hill in an attempt to be the first to grab a round of traditional double Gloucester cheese Well who was I to ignore such a noble event in the English social calendar so it was up at a ridiculous h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Gloucestershire/blog-280510.html Last weekend in London there was an attempt to set the Guiness World Record for the largest Sevillanas Dance and Spanish folk turned up from far and wide plus a slightly uncoordinated but very enthusiast international contingent. Sadly or thankfully depending on your views of my dancing skills I was running too late to be one of the many but did manage to be an enthusiastic viewer and offi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-280229.html If you are looking for a witty travelog ... it's best to look away now ... it's time for another indulgent update on life in general. Time to bring you up to speed with the everyday monotony that is my existence between the odd trip around the UK since it's been months since I crossed the channel.Starting with the important things my happy new home. After the nightmare of my first attempt to s http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-278754.html We have had a wonderful couple of weeks in the UK the sun has been shining temperatures rising people undressing not always a good thing across commmons and parks throughout London and other parts of the UK hit by this heatwave. The pasty white giving way to the sunburnt and the misty commons are inundated with the mass gathering of humanity soaking up as much Vitamin D as is humanly poss http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Cambridgeshire/Cambridge/blog-275394.html Now anyone who's kept up with my blogging should by now have come to the conclusion that I don't have the best run of luck when it comes to British Rail Overrunning engineering works missed connections cancelled trains ... it hasn't been all bad My trip north at New Years didn't run to plan however there was such a fuss that Virgin trains offered a free 1st Class return to anywhere in the U http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-268404.html Now the London Marathon is mega famous allllll over the world so it would have been extremely rude of me to ignore it's existence given I live just around the corner now well about an hour away but in London that is just around the corner. As an added bonus another of my India friends Astrid has now arrived in London for a more extended visit so it was a serendipitous big word huh ... http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-266850.html I have joined a photography group and at least once every month there is a shoot andor workshop plus naturally the obligatory cheeky one for sociallising. I hope by mixing with people who know what they are doing I might pick up some tips and tricks and get more photos I love. This Sunday past the we had a composition workshop which coincided with two noteworthy events snow in spring and the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/London-City/blog-264840.html It's always a happy time in the UK when friends from back home are in country and there's an opportunity for a nice relaxed catch up or 20. Last weekend a couple of friends from my Asia trip in 2005 just happened to be in Oxford for a wedding so I decided if they could come all the way from Oz I could spend an hour on a train to go visit them there for a catch up plus having a free tour guide http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Oxfordshire/Oxford/blog-263365.html There is a theory that the minute an antipodean steps foot through Heathrow 5kg swoops in from the cosmos and affixes itself permanently to your backside. I have to disagree rather I think the Heathrow injection hides for a couple of months then launches a sneak attack on your middle as the spare tyre of indulgence. While the lower half gets by with the extensive walking the UK requires as part http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-255766.html Another weekend another excuse to bugger off to the continent and play in another little corner of the world. So Friday right after work it was back to Stanstead but no train hitches for a change. Check in laze around and then before you know it a mere 45m after you leave ... Belgium. I flew to Brussels Chareloi Airport which is about 45 mins from the City so it was onto the bus then a rat http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/Brussels-Capital-Region/Brussels/blog-249290.html A bit of a delay but technical details sorted so ... onto Valencia Weekends away are always nice but somehow being in London they are just that little bit nicer as you can experience a little bit of another culture for a couple of days. In keeping with my promises to myself in moving to Europe this weekend I joined 3 random strangers for a long weekend in Valencia Spain.Thursday afternoon I b http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Valencian-Community/Valencia/blog-245138.html Hello all another month or so full of the excitement of life in London. January has been action packed with loads of outings with new friends and I've even managed to move onto second and third meetings with some which in my new life makes them old friendsThe biggest news for me and a great source of happiness is that I have now moved away from my first attempt at flat sharing and hopefully ho http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-242714.html Well another couple of weeks have gone past and I'm still here. Now some of my reading public at least one person has asked about my life in London not just the partying and travelling but life. So despite finding it a bit wanky I've decided to permit myself an introspective moment to share my new life with those who were part of my old ... and random strangers since this is publicLondon http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-236284.html