Home Sweet Home??

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Hi there loyal readers!

My safari is over, and now I'm 'home' in London. I've settled in well into my new flat in an area called Limehouse in the east of London.

It's been a busy last week of my safari, gallivanting around London on the tube and shank's pony (that means walking). Fortunately, I've had great guides and travel companions in Andrae (who departed yesterday) and Christian (a Norwegian guy we knew from New Zealand).

Andrae and I arrived in London last Thursday, and headed for Jo's flat (my new home) to freshen up. Apparently we were supposed to wait for Jo at Liverpool St Station (you may recognise the name from the Monopoly board) where she would show us the way to her place... instead I used the maps she had given me to guide Andrae and me in the direction of her place. Much frantic text messaging took place to try and meet up until disaster struck and my cell phone battery died. In the end, Andrae and I reached Jo's place and let ourselves in, and Jo ended up back in her office fuming at males' inability to follow instructions (oooops!!).

The next day Andrae, Christian, and I headed to the Tower of London to see a little bit of England's Medieval history. We followed an immensely amusing tour of the castle lead by a very enthusiastic yeoman warder (one of the castle's guards). The tower was an interesting place and it was great to hear about the history of it. We also took time out to see the Crown Jewels including a 530 carat diamond!!

After visiting the Tower, we had lunch at the Borough markets, then headed to the Tate Modern Art Gallery. Now I'm not really that cultured (I don't really like art galleries that much) but I must say, some parts of the Tate Modern were very cool, especially a picture that was the same as a mural from my parent's house... (weird I know).

On Sunday, I went to Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian Line. The Prime Meridian Line is where Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) originates... ie the royal observatory lies at 00'00.00 Latitude - its where time begins... There were also some excellent displays around astronomy and navigation.

During the week, Andrae have been touring all the free museums in London. We went to: the imperial war museum (very cool - has entire war planes suspended from the ceiling), the natural history museum (which has dinosaur skeletons and over 67 000 000 exhibits), the science museum (with model rockets and boats), and the national maritime museum (with the jacket Lord Nelson was wearing when fatally shot). All the museums were absolutely amazing and defy description, I would highly recommend them all to any visitor (especially because they're free).

Andrae and I also visited Westminster Abbey during the week. The £10 entry fee was a bit of a dampner, but once we were inside it was almost worth it. Westminster Abbey is gorgeous to behold on the inside and houses an astounding array of dead people including kings and queens (Elizabeth I and Edward III, poets (Chaucer, Dickens, TS Eliot) and scientists (Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Charles Darwin).

On Monday night we even had time to take in a Westend show called Wicked. Wicked is essentially the story of how the wicked witch of the west (yes, from the Wizard of Oz) came to be perceived as wicked, and how she was actually friends with Glinda the good witch of the north. It was a spectacular show, and very funny in parts. If you ever get the chance to go see it - GO, its well worth it.

Unfortunately, Andrae flew home yesterday, and the safari is all but over. Now comes the task of finding me a job... after I go to Paris and Disneyland for the weekend...

I promise to update my blog from time to time to keep you all up to date, but it probably won't be as regularly as it has been for the last couple of months...

Til next time good readers, stay safe!!

Nick

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Photos

Nelson's Column
In Trafalgar Square

Sherman Tank
At the Imperial War Museum