The real life Monopoly Board

---

On arrival in London I was slightly shocked by the chilly weather and rugged up with just about every item of clothing that I possessed, however the chill was taken off when I saw Joce's (my cousin) smiling face arrive to pick me up. It was great to see a familiar face after 6 weeks of travel, and made the fact that I had just left a NZ winter to another winter just a little bit better.

I was lucky enough to stay most of my 2 weeks in the UK with Joce and Dan, and their stocks of tea may never be quite the same, but I thoroughly enjoyed the 4 cups that I had straight off my flight, how nice is real milk in tea!!! Joce also took me to one of the largest Tesco's in the UK and as I am a biscuit geek I bought all the iconic English bikkies like Hobnobs, Jammy Dodgers, Jaffa Cakes and McVities Digestives to enjoy with my tea.

My first few days in London were spent soaking up some of the iconic sights that London is know for, like double decker buses, red phone and post boxes, Big Ben, the London Eye, The Natural History Museam (to be creeped out by hundreds of stuffed animals), Hamleys toy store (I was like a kid in paradise), Harrods, Piccadilly Circus, the Tower Bridge, Hyde Park (where I chased squirrels like a crazed NZer) and of course the real life Monopoly Board.

I was very impressed by the history that was everywhere and this was never more apparant than on my trips to Windsor Castle and the Tower of London. I had just finished reading the novel The Other Boelyn Girl so all the stories of Henry the 8th and Anne Boelyn facinated me, it was hard to believe that these events really happened in the places that I was visiting. I look forward to heading back to England at some stage to visit a few more of the castles and palaces with equally interesting history lessons.

I made a side trip up to visit Fe (my cousin) and Tomas up in Cambridge. They showed me around the very English and very pretty town, and we treaded in the footsteps of thousands of academics that have passed through the colleges in Cambridge. We also went on a day trip to Ely to see the huge cathedral that dominates the tiny little town. Here we were lucky enough to chance upon "the top teashop in the UK". Of course we had to pause here for a cup of tea, a glass of bubbles, cucumber sandwiches and scones!

My last little trip in the UK was down to Seven Oakes to see one of my Host Families that I had lived with in South Africa, Sue, Dave and Kate. This trip involved yet another train journey and I was reminded of Harry Potter for the hundredth time as we chugged past the English countryside. It was fantastic to be reunited with them after 8 years and I was shown around some of Kent to see a couple of the massive houses dotting the downs that reminded me of Jane Austin novels.

I enjoyed dinner and a couple of pints in an English pub for my last night in London with some friends from NZ, Mel and Maggie. From here I was ready and set to head back into the uknown of travelling alone; Ireland here I come!

---

Photos

The Backs - Cambridge
Brrr to chilly to go punting