Welcome To My Life

Snowing, -7c

What to write???
I'm confused. This is my first entry where I haven't travelled ANYWHERE (and this IS a travelblog, not a 'dear diary' entry!). I haven't even visited Toronto again or left London! Not because I'm not interested - I've just been so busy working, living and hanging out with fellow Londoners. People come & go from the hostel, snow storms come & go, the weather is getting a little warmer (it actually dipped above 0c yesterday) but I'm staying put.. for the meantime anyway.
I'm looking forward to travelling again and starting the great 'homebound' adventure, but in saying that I'll miss London and all the people I've met here. It was weird 'settling in' somewhere for a while but the friends I met here made it very enjoyable. I know where my real home is and that makes the experience all the more enjoyable.
Work at the restaurant / bar has been very full on - lots of full days and long nights. I think I'm enjoying free food and drinks a little bit more than free CD's from the radio station. I've learnt a lot of skills which I'm sure will come in useful later on (Bloody Caeser or Frozen Strawberry Daiqiris anyone?) and Londoners have tolerated my aussie slang without going 'what the heck are you saying??'. The amount of 'aussie-isms' we have is amazing. Add these to the list:
reckon (as in 'what do u reckon'?... Canadians do not understand)
no problems (someone asks for a drink and I say 'no problem', they take it literally as it being a problem for me in the first place..)
chuck (to 'chuck' a ball... no understanding)
skull (to 'skull' a drink.. someone thought I had a skull in my drink when I mentioned this)
The list goes on and on, but those sayings are the ones that get me into trouble the most. I'm sure there is some Canadian that'll be hard to shake when I return - 5 months of saying 'gas station', 'cheque' and 'trash can' doesn't just go away on it's own.. or does it??? I watched the Australian news online the other night and thought WE sounded funny.. what the hell am I turning in to??
I apologise that the above is a little mundane compared to me describing New Orleans or spotting Brad & Angelina in previous blogs. It's not my fault I gotta work!! London is the perfect place to do that and everything is so 'Canadian'. Work hard, drink Labbatt Blue (which is made in London), enjoy wings & ribs (originated from this part of North America), eat Tim Hortons (that sounded weird.. Tim Hortons is a cafe/fast food place) and follow the London Knights (hockey team) - you'll fit in as a perfect Londoner. London is to Canada as Brisbane is to Australia. It's so Canadian ergh?
Rather than describe in explicit detail every aspect of my life in London, I thought I could do it more in pictures. A typical day for me is starting work at the restaurant at 11am. Working till 3pm than having my free meal and lying on the lounge at work. Waking up at 4.30pm and doing it all over again until 9pm - if I'm lucky I'll leave with lots of tips. 'Play time' is the odd beer during the week, maybe a movie or going for a ski. There is not much time left of my 'routine', so I'm enjoying the most out of it while it lasts. Mike's housewarming party, another trip to the Labbatt Brewery and a night out 'on the town' (downtown.. where I haven't really been out) are top of my 'to do' list.

I finally have a confirmed itinerary back to Adelaide the long long long way. I get back on the 15th April to cheers, whistles and a massive welcoming party (well.. we can all dream haha). I can't wait to see everyone and spent lots of time with my beautiful fiancee - thanks for the Valentines present babe! As the the title says 'gone in 60 seconds'.. After the regular routine of London my itinerary gets very crazy and I have a feeling I'll be very tired when I get home. First stop is a blackjack tournament in Niagara Falls!!! $20 and you get 1000 chips, there are cash prizes at the end of the night - right up my alley.

I'll let the pictures do the talking for my London shinanigans. Be sure to buy the new edition of 'Vacations & Travel' magazine (out 1st March) and look for a feature / photos of New Caledonia by your truly. Let me know what it looks like because I won't get to see it for a while!! I've got more travel writing/researching work to keep me occupied which is cool. I'm working on SOS Guide to Adelaide (very very basic 30 page travel reference and different to Vacations article) with options to do more locations, which will keep me busy while I'm in 'downtime' back in Adelaide.

Thanks to everyone for the comments and emails!!
Remember - when in London tip very very well

Here's the final 'voyage' home:

19th March: Leave London and drive to Niagara Falls (Blackjack Tournament at Casino)
20th March: New York City - 3 days
23rd March: FLIGHT New York to St Martin, Netherlands Antilles; Carribbean
St Martin - 3 days
25th March: FLIGHT St Martin, Netherlands Antilles to Pointe A Pitre, Guadelope; Carribbean
Guadelope, Martinique, Dominica, St Lucia - 8 days exploring and travel by boat
2nd April: FLIGHT St Lucia, Carribbean to Nice, France (via Puerto Rico & Madrid)
Nice - 3 days
5th April: FLIGHT Nice, France to Reykjavik, Iceland (via London & Copenhagen)
Iceland - 3 days
8th April: FLIGHT Reykjavik, Iceland to Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen - 1 day
9th April: FLIGHT Copenhagen, Denmark to Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki - 3 days
11th April: FLIGHT Helsinki, Finland to Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam - 2 days
13rd April: FLIGHT Amsterdam, Netherlands to Adelaide, Australia (HOME!!! via London & Singapore)
15th April: ARRIVE QF 82 6.40am @ Adelaide Airport

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