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Published: August 15th 2006
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So its been a long time since i wrote anything here, time flys when you're having fun!
There is just always something to do, and always someone to party with 😊
So London, it was a good week, it seems like such a long time ago now i'll have to see what i can remember!
After arriving a little tipsy Jim took me back to his place and we watched the soccer, i crashed pretty hard and Jim was quite surprised the next day when i said i just wanted to chill at the flat for the day, but i'm probably not the first person in London who didnt want to do anything on thier first day. We got some food, everything here is so convieniently packaged for apartment living. i learnt a valuable lesson in only buying what you can carry home! i was also intrigued to see the honesty system of self checkout lanes. Jim cooked a fantastic sweat-inducing red curry that night and we watched the world cup final.
My first day out and about was very interesting, i cranked my music and just wandered. Its quite cool that because London has run out of
room above ground they have plenty of stuff underneath, like malls, and cinemas and everything! The tube system is pretty handy and very efficient, but for the money they are milking every day from it why oh why dont they have air-conditioning? It can however be quite decieving as some stations might be two lines away but only a 5minute walk above ground, inner london is not as big as you might think. I saw Westminster Abbey and Chapel (free no queues!), Soho, Chinatown, Parliment st all with impressive old buildings and tourist spots. I met Beth after lunch for a nice sunny river cruise with a beer to catch up and see the city from a different angle.
Tuesday was more of the same, music and wandering though Piccadily Circus, Trafalgar Square, classic tourist spots and it showed with the crowds. Saw a couple of guys playing hackey in a park, i joined in and lo and behold they were kiwis! That afternon i learned a valuable lesson in London weather - 1) Always take a jacket, i got soaked at the Palace (which was actually not that impressive, what you can see of it anyway)
Wednesday
was very cruisy i found out they have Antiques Roadshow on EVERY MORNING so that meant i had late starts the rest of the week 😊 I tried looking for Paris accomodation but everything online was full! Lesson number two; always book well ahead of time, and I'd even already written a note to myself saying that! Finally found an out of the way french place in the south of Paris but had to pay for a single room, i sent an email in my best french asking for a room also saying i didnt speak french and got a 3 page email back confirming my booking with further instructions ALL in french! Fun. That night me and Jim had a few drinks and watched some classic TV. Best of friends, best of times.
Beth and I decided to do the Tower Hill tour despite its high cost but was well worth it. We went back to her flat in Shepards Bush to see the real accomodation i could expect to be living in if and when in London, "cosy" is probably the best word 😊 Quite a contrast to the 5* resort living i had become accustomed to
at Jim's, no sauna or big screen TV either...
We went out for dinner with the flatmates Kim, Helen and Brad and then on to The Walkabout, a pretty feral kiwi/aussie/SA bar for a Snakebite or two, I also amazingly ran into a few kiwis i knew from back home! It really is a small world!
On Friday i checked out some live music at trafalgar square and went the Britsh Museum with Beth. The antique clocks and watches are quite a technical achievement given the tooling in the 1700's and were my favourite part. We had chocolate filled crepes and ice cream to celebrate surviving the long visit. I met another pair of kiwi girls on the Tube on the way home, London really is a travellers city and not many locals seem to live in the city itself.
That night me and Jim had a few drinks with some friends of his Bex and Darren and headed to a bar for drinks, but to really complete my London experience some crazy guy on the Tube started up a McFlurry of punches on Jim and i had to hold him back while we hastily exited stage left! Had
a few more drinks at the bar before packing it in and getting a taxi home.
Now while Jim has 5* accomodation he also has 1* block neighbours, they have some rule whereby any development complex that gets built a certain percentage of the apartments go to the council. So every morning, regular as a rooster, and about as early, we are awakened to the screams of small children and more often than not the screams of bad parents screaming back at their kids for screaming and it quickly spirals out of control. Saturday was no exception and not the best when you're slightly hungover.
I went out with Bex and Darren to Clapham park for some sun and a game of Brio Kubb http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0001WGIRQ/028-6952451-1194951?v=glance&n=12950651 which was really cool and i will be buying some day, perfect for summer days outdoors with friends. They dont have beaches so everyone here goes to the parks, not reeeeeeally the same thing though is it?
That night Jim and I went to THE Ministry of Sound in London with Beths friend Kim and his friend Fran. Unfortunately so did a lot of drunk Londoners and travellers. So that kinda ruined
the vibe at first, Jim wasnt feeling the best after a big day and headed home early so that was the end of him. After a few hours the crowd thinned, the beats got cranking and a good time was had by all. Somehow i decided it would be a good idea to 'pretend' i wanted to go to the Camden markets the next day with Fran and she held me to it, so after a brisk daylight bus ride and walk back to her flat we found ourselves in the bustling punk markets feeling a little worse for wear after a long night. It was still very cool to see, a shop highlight was Cyberdog, a dance clothing store with heaps of cool sculptures and models and handmade toys. Crashed out pretty hard that night.
So on Monday we come to lessons number 3 and 4:
3) Dont oversleep.
4) Dont underestimate how long it will take you to get somewhere in a foreign city.
These lessons cost me 100 pound since i missed my cheap flight to Paris. Doh.
I was lucky to even get a later flight and arrived tired in Paris and just made it
to the Hostel before dark, had a good meal and slept like a baby to catch up from the huge weekend!
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Grand Master
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Nice..
Always good to get your up-dates Josh.. Great job!!