Geo: 54.7911, -1.76455Well for everyone back home, especially in Melbourne, you must know of Sovereign Hill. You know, the touristy place that tries to educate about Old School Australia, and the Gold Rush. Well basically, Beamish open air museum is the English equivalent. Instead of the gold rush however, its all about Coal Mines, and old English farms, and towns, and steam.I arrived there with Joe, at around quarter past ten in the morning. Our Beamish experience started with a hardhat tour down an drift coal mine shaft. Its really amazing to consider the way men in this area would have worked back in the early 19th Century, even as late as 1970. The conditions were harsh, and one can only imagine the thousands of medical conditions and issues that may have come about as a ... read more

Geo: 54.9054, -1.37034Saturday in England, and that means football. First up though, was a trip to Shotton, to visit my great uncle Tommy (grandads brother), and his wife Mary. That turned out to be quite nice, with plenty of nice coffee, pie, scones and cake. They were a really nice couple, Tommy really reminded me of Lawrence, my grandad.After that, it was off to the Stadium of Light, to watch Sunderland play against Sheffield Wednesday in the English Championship (division below the Premier League). Was a pretty impressive stadium, but still no Emirates stadium. The match was entertaining, Sunderland dominating the first half, but failing to score. They pinched a goal just after the hour mark, but then sat back on their lead and were lucky to repell a barrage of Sheffield pressure and run out ... read more

Geo: 51.5002, -0.126236Well ive been here a few days now.. sleeping in Sarahs strange single room downstairs, and tryna see and do a few things, and just getting the feel of England in general. Man i absolutely love the amount of pubs and bars they have here. Like, iv probably expressed that im a fan of places like the Irish at Ozone back home. Good for a meal and a pint. Well rather than finding one every 20minute drive maybe, theres like 6 on every street here in England!! If ure anywhere near London, you are guaranteed to have just a few minute walk from your front door, to get to one. Another thing I like about London as opposed to back home, is theres just so much happening and on. Theres always something to see ... read more

Geo: 51.5002, -0.126236PHOTOS ON THE WAY.itl take me a bit to go back and do em, and ill prob just do 5-10 from each area, but look out for stacks of photos and maybe some updates coming.... read more

Geo: 51.5002, -0.126236well its been 20 days, and my Contiki tour has come to an end :( its flown by the last week or so actually... i cant believe its over, just when i was startin to get along with everyone so well. now im in a bit of a fearful way. il lost touch with most contacts ive made here, im exhausted and on the brink of sickness, my funds are extremely low, and i have little to no plans. ive contacted relatives, and am gonna trudge across town tomorrow to Sarah's work, and try and get organsised to staying there for a while. but ah well, im just gonna have to wing it, and see what happens :) i plan to return to Amsterdam (for the Rijksmuseum and van Gogh museum, and hopefully to ... read more