LONDON IN SNOW 18th January 2013

When i stepped out of the hotel this morning i stepped onto snow !!!!

So typical...last day of trip and i finally get lots of snow..buggar !

The walk to Paddington Station was wonderful, snow blowing everywhere, -8, that crunch crunch under your feet and then at the end of the first street where i had to turn the corner the snow, being pushed along by 40 mile an hour winds hit me in the face and it wasn't so much fun anymore lol. Dragging the suitcase i have come to hate through snow was no fun, the back pack was digging into my back, my eyes were watering, nose running and i couldn't feel my hands...but i was soo happy, if I'd had a third arm i would have been taking pictures. After checking the bag in at the luggage room i grabbed a coffee and walked to Kensington Gardens. It was a winter wonderland, so incredibly beautiful and bone chilling cold but i couldn't stop grinning.

The pictures aren't great because it was snowing heavy all day until about 4pm when it stopped for

a little while.

This is the Round Pond, looks different to yesterday when i was here, the grass has disappeared.

I spent the whole day in and out of the park. When i needed to thaw out i would go to a cafe and sit and watch the snow while i drank my coffee and ate my cake or whatever, this was the best day of the trip. Also the last day, at 5.30pm i caught the train to Heathrow and walked the same hallways that i had on the 27th December but in reverse. I caught a taxi to the hotel which is about 5 min drive away, its lovely and probably the best of the trip...everything happens on the last day. I spoke to the Singapore airlines staff at the airport and they said they would text if the flight is delayed. It's snowing again so i am expecting delays. I will text you Anna if i am delayed because you might have to do a job for me when you get to Katherine, hopefully i wont miss my connecting flight to Darwin.

It's been a fantastic 3 weeks, i don't want to go home or back to work but i do want to see my bambinos and puppy so i that's it till 2014 . Ciao from a very very cold snowy and beautiful London, well Heathrow to be exact. See you soon Riley and Mia love Mama.

LONDON 17th January 2013

I started walking at 8.30am today, may sound late but sunrise is 8am. I grabbed a takeaway cup of tea and a croissant and entered the park, it was lovely all covered in fog and ice, took about 100 photos.

On my way across the park towards Knightsbridge i stopped to visit the swans again, they are so photogenic..took another 100 or so photos.

It amazes me how the birds can stand on the ice or swim in that frozen pond, i take my gloves off and i start shivering. Took another 100 photos.

On my way out of the park the squirrels came up for food but i had none, if you put your hand out they come right up to you...another 100 photos

Once in Knightsbridge i spent some time in the V&A Museum { Victoria and Albert Museum }. Very interesting. Displays ranged from fashion to photos, Sculpture.. you could spend all day in there.Then i went across the road to the Natural History Museum, this is the entrance, i spent a fair bit of time here. Lunch was spent in Harrods food hall, its a good thing my bag is full otherwise i would have spent too much money here.

When i emerged from Harrods the sky was getting very cloudy and the temp had gone from 0 to -2, apparently now its around -4 and snow is supposed to fall over night and tomorrow, and it will because tomorrow is my last day. I walked back across the park to Bayswater which took awhile, my little legs were getting tired. It was a great day and i don't want tomorrow to come. In the morning i will leave my luggage at Paddington then spend the day exploring the Regents Park area which i haven't been to yet and then around 5 i will catch the Heathrow Express to the airport. I'm booked into a hotel near the airport because my flight leaves in the morning on Saturday. Suzanne have a great time in Perth and i will catch up with you when you get back. Tell Chris Rosie can stay with me for as long as, no problem. Anna ? i don't know about you but i don't want to leave....why don't i catch the train to Germany and you play tour guide and we pretend that we don't need to go back to work ? ok i will see you in Singapore. Riley and Mia ? see you soon darlings.

A sad Ciao from London.

LONDON again 16th January 2013

I,m back, its cold but at least for today we have sunshine. I left Cambridge early this morning in really thick fog, made walking to the train station very eerie, like an old murder movie where the killer comes out of the fog...glad i didn't think of that while i was walking in it. When i got to Kings Cross i had to either get a train to Paddington via the Underground or get a taxi, i decided to be brave and go by train in rush hour. Riley and Mia would be so proud i hope that i managed to get to Paddington without getting on the wrong train or falling between THE GAP. I walked the 15min walk to the hotel from the train and i have to say my back was killing me, i cant lighten these bags anymore, I've already left a trail of unused clothes across the country. 

I couldn't check in till 2pm so after dropping my bag off i walked across the road and entered Hyde Park. The little guy above is showing you how cold it was.

" It's just a tourist..keep walking, don't look at her....."

Swan rage on the pond

I just love Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens it is my favourite part of London and i could wander around here all day.

This area is called the Round Pond and half of it is frozen, snow is predicted.

Kensington Palace, not much to look at on the outside but stunning inside.

I walked past a sign that said the Palace was open so i spent the next hour exploring the beautiful rooms that Queen Victoria grew up in.

Queen Victoria's wedding dress

I left the park on dark and walked across the road, just down from my hotel, to Notting Hill where i had dinner in a little Italian restaurant. I cant believe that it's almost time to go home. This time next week i will be back at work. Yes Anna i am going to enjoy and soak up as much as i can in these last few days. In an ideal world you mob and my children and Diva of course would fly over here and we would just spend the rest of our lives going from one country to the next.......suppose we will just have to content ourselves with swapping photos and stories and my hours of videos ! Ciao from my lovely London.

A SNOWY CAMBRIDGE 15th January 2013

Spent today sightseeing all over Cambridge. The weather was 0 or lower and I nearly gave in but I stuck it out and ended up having a great day. Cambridge is full of churches and universities that are in really old beautiful buildings. Kings College is lovely. I spent some time walking around the botanic gardens which are a winter wonderland even more so covered in snow. The ride around the city on the tourist bus was freezing and i was the only fool sitting on the open top deck but worth it you get the best views from up there. I don’t like Cambridge as much as Oxford which is another uni town. I think Oxford is more attractive don’t get me wrong Cambridge is nice especially the narrow little back streets with buildings dating back to the 1700s it just doesn’t have that feel to it like Oxford in my opinion. The hotel I’m in is the worst I’ve stayed in on this trip, the photos and description on the web does not match reality I will enjoy writing my review on booking.com for this hotel.

The beautiful Kings College

The frozen pond in the Botanic Garden, my hands were aching with the cold at this point

But then i went into the glass house and warmed up while snapping away at all the pretty flowers.

Tomorrow i train it again back to London. Ciao from Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE ENGLAND 14th January 2013

Today I caught the train to Cambridge. Typically as I’m walking to the train station in Aberdeen it suddenly started snowing and heavy. By the time I got to the train which was about a 15min walk, me and everything around me was coated in snow it was beautiful. The long trip to Cambridge was a vista of snow covered countryside, so pretty. I arrived in Cambridge at about 7pm after changing trains at Kings Cross and although there was no snow in London 10mins out of it and everything was covered in snow. The train journey from Kings Cross to Cambridge was not comfortable because the train was packed with commuters’ and the heating was on full, everyone was stripping off clothing and by the time we got to Cambridge we were down to t shirts and then had to put everything back on and step out into a snow covered Cambridge, beautiful but the temp was -4 and by the time i walked to the hotel i was shivering. Tomorrow i will explore Cambridge so its Ciao for now.

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND 13th January 2013

Today in Aberdeen I don’t think the temperature went above 0 it may have actually dropped below it because while I was walking along the beach it started snowing which lasted about 3 mins then started sleeting which hurts when it hits your face. I spent the day exploring the area and most of the time I could not feel my hands or face, even though I had gloves on, it was still a good way to pass a Sunday. When I arrived the tide was out but by the time I left it had come back in. There were so many people doing the Sunday walk with dogs along the esplanade that it was a bit crowded. It was good to see that the arctic weather didn’t stop people from getting out and walking. The beach front is not built out like it would be in say Sydney or Brisbane even Darwin. There aren’t many buildings at all. I had a lovely lunch of garlic prawns in a little cafe with a view of the North Sea, doesn’t get much better than this. I decided to walk back into the city instead of getting the bus again and although it’s not that far it was challenging because it was dark and incredibly cold. I passed Waterstone’s bookstore and went in to warm up for 5 mins and ended up with another book just what I don’t need.

These guys made you cold just watching them surf

These are some little houses right on the beach. A concrete wave has been built to protect them from the waves when the tide comes in. Not sure if i could sleep with the waves pounding that close to the bed.

This is what it looks like on the other side, it was so pretty

Tide coming back in, i think all up i must have walked 10klm or so today and my feet are a bit tired.

Ciao from Arctic Aberdeen

ABERDEEN SCOTLAND 12th January 2013

I'm in the beautiful city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Its freezing and snow is predicted tonight, but its a lovely place. The people i have had contact with today have been so nice and helpful and its funny how everyone has a relative or friend living in Australia.

I spent the day walking all over the city and a very nice man at the info shop convinced me to ride the local bus service instead of walking in the sleet, so i did and the first bus i caught to Duthie Park the driver told me to sit at the front and he would let me know when my stop was coming up. When it did he said " I've been thinking and i think you should get off on the other side of the park, it might be easier for when you have to catch the bus back " i asked him what was he trying to say and he said that i had the " look lassie like you might get lost on me, best to do it this way else I'll worry " so funny.

The park is lovely and inside the green houses it was just beautiful. I spent ages clicking away and got talking to a professional photographer who was taking pictures using all different settings, very interesting chat we had.

Stacy ? could we get our hanging baskets at work to look like this ? Tomorrow I'm going to explore the beach area because the info guy said its worth a look even in this weather. I also had a hair cut, its nice and short now. I was sick of having hair flying in my face and beanie hair so now its gone and i have what the girl called a pixie cut, a little bit longer than yours Anna but not much. Well I'm off to get some dinner now, the Chicken Caesar salad with garlic ciabatta looks good. Ciao from the very cold but beautiful Aberdeen.

WEST COAST IRELAND 10th January 2013

This morning at 6am i bounced out of bed {look flying pigs} and at 6.30am when the temp was 0 i walked the streets of Dublin to meet the tour bus i was going to spend the day on. I was worried about walking in the dark at that hour but i shouldnt have worried because there were people everywhere and the city was lit up. There were 13 of us on the tour and we had a big coach all to ourselves. 6 of us were Australian, 1 from Brazil, 1 from France and the rest Americans, a good bunch of people. The driver was great and very informative and lots of Irish humour. Our first stop was Limmerick where we explored King Johns castle which sits beside the mighty Shannon River. The castle dates back to 1250 mind blowing to be in something so old.

Our next stop was the beautiful Cliffs of Moher on the west coast. It was incredibly windy and actually knocked one of the Aussie girls off her feet which she thought was hilarious. My photos of this area are not as great as i would want but it was very hard to keep the sea spray off the lens.

Apparently this is a favourite spot to jump.

The Atlantic Ocean, this part of the coast was so barren and full of rocks, just beautiful.

While taking a photo of the driver doing his Leonardo on the Titanic impression i and a few others got drenched, i had to quickly wipe the camera over, she still works..one tough camera, its been dropped in snow and rained on repeatedly and now covered in salt water and is still working.

Our last stop before a final drink in an old Irish pub in a tiny seaside town was the ruins of Corcorme Abbey which was lovely. I took 335 photos today and probably 30mins of video. Brilliant day which ended at 8.30 tonight when we arrived back in Dublin. I'm off to bed now, not sure if i like Guinness its very thick and a bit bitter but i drank a pint so thats probably why im tired. Ciao from Dublin.

DUBLIN IRELAND 9th January 2013

Photo above is of a very wet and miserable Holyhead in Wales. I went to bed with cold rainy wet and foggy weather outside the window and woke up to then same for my boat trip to Ireland. The boat didnt leave until 2pm so i spent the morning walking around Holyhead in the rain. Its a dull sad little place, well the Port area is, it could be nice.

Halfway across the Irish Sea the rain stopped and the sun came out and the weather was perfect the rest of the way. It was like being in a floating hotel. Relaxing and because there was nothing to look at i got a lot of reading and writing done.

 My hotel here is lovely and right next to Trinity College. The taxi driver was a lovely local who chatted the whole way but i did find it hard to understand him sometimes, that Irish accent is lovely to listen to though.   

The temperature dropped to 0 over night and going out to find some food nearly froze me.

I spent today sightseeing. Dublin is a nice city, very much drink orientated there are pubs everywhere.

Above is the Guinness Brewery. I didnt go threw it but most of the people on the bus did, we pulled away with about 5 passengers left.

It was so cold last night that we had a big frost, all that white is ice. This morning i was walking and shivering at the same time, i had gloves on but my hands ached with cold. The rest of me wasnt too bad because i had layers on but the hands were painful. Tomorrow i'm going on a bus tour to Limmerick and Galway, rain is predicted but i hope they are wrong. Suzanne: are you having a wet season ? lots on the news here about bushfires in Vic and NSW and temps of 50 ? i will bring the rain back with me. I must brave the cold again and go outside to find some food for dinner. I've taken 1,577 photos on this trip so far, thats after deleting the rubbish. Right now the temp is 2 and is expected to be -3 over night and about 0 when i walk to the bus in the morning .Ciao from chilly Dublin

HOLYHEAD NORTH WALES 7th January 2013

Today i am in Wales, Holyhead to be exact. I had a 3 hour journey by train from Manchester this morning and arrived here around lunchtime. It's cold here, the coldest i've had it so far i think. I had planned on walking to the hotel from the train station but i stepped off the train into foggy, misty, drizzling rainy freezing cold weather.. i caught a taxi instead for the 1.5 mile trip to the hotel.The hotel is ok, old but comfy and the view from my window is of the harbour, or it would be if it werent shrouded in fog and mist. I spent the afternoon walking around the waterfront and the small town of Holyhead. Very quiet after the cities ive been in and i like this better. Walked past lots of people walking their dogs and had 2 of the canines jump on me to say hello which means i now need to throw my jacket in the wash ! It's so wet over here, they have had so much rain everything is covered in moss and from the train window i saw signs of flooding and areas that are still flooded. I did take some photos but when i went to transfer them from the camera to computer i discovered that the card reader is cactus. Tomorrow at lunch time i'm catching the Stena Ferry to Dublin Ireland. I was going to fly but all the cheap flights leave from London so i decided to brave the boat, god i hope i dont get sick...shame job as Mia would say. I will buy a new card reader when i get there and memory sticks and another card for the video camera, which arent cheap by the way. I tried downloading the video onto the computer but it wouldnt work. The program on this little laptop doesnt support the video so i think it would be safer to wait till i get home and transfer it all onto the big computer. All this means that i have all these little SD cards full of video, an 8gb only gives me about an hour filming and they are not cheap. I'm looking forward to Ireland, i also love listening to the Welsh accent and tring to pronounce the names, every sign has the english and welsh prounounciation. I have no internet in my room, have to go down to the bar and tap into the wi fi apparently so i will copy and paste this. Its 1.45am in the NT so i still have a bit of time before Suzanne wakes up ! I'm hoping for a bright sunny day with no wind tomorrow for the crossing of the Irish Sea...but i dont like my chances. Update: 8^th January 2013 since writing this I have arrived in Dublin, crossing was good didn’t throw up. More tomorrow when I have pictures and better internet. Ciao from Dublin Ireland. P.S Hi Anna yes it does sound like we are having similiar weather. I cant wait to see your photos of Prague, we will need to take a week off work just to get our photos and video in order ! Have fun in Salzburg.

LYME PARK, DISLEY, ENGLAND 6th January 2012

Today i caught a train to the village of Disley, about a half hour from Manchester. I spent the day here walking the hills, bitterly cold but the climb up gets the blood pumping.

The views from the top were worth the walk up. All of this is on an estate called Lyme Park. I picked up the pamphlet at the tourist info yesterday and saw that although the inside of the house is not open to the public at this time of year, the outside is which is why i decided to spend the day here.

The building above and below sits on a hill about a 15min walk from the house and is called The Cage. To quote from the book that i bought which gives the history on the house, The Cage " was primarily for following the hunt or for banquets but the name probably also implies that it was employed as a temporary prison for felons and in particular poachers. "

as you can see by the cars in the car park it was very busy here today but oddly there were no crowds. There is an exhibition on here in some of the ground floor rooms, Puffin Books anniversary.

On the train on my way here i kept thinking that i had seen this house somewhere before. A sign at the gift shop told me why it was familiar. If you have seen the movie Pride and Prejudice, the one with Colin Firth as Mr Darcey..this house was used as his home in the film.

Its gorgeous, and the gardens would look even nicer in the summer.

So i had a lovely day in the country. Tomorrow i'm heading to Wales and catching the boat to Ireland. Its been so long since i have been on a boat on the ocean, i hope i don't throw up, might skip all food till after the crossing.

Suzanne: Diva is innocent, must have been Rosie who left you the present because Diva is perfect and a lady. Anna: how is Prague ? snow ? pretty ?

glad to see you two catching up in the comments section. Hi Judy glad to see you here. Apparently Oz land is have a heat wave...so glad i'm missing it but its on the news over here.

Have to go now and make some sense out of the mess that i've created in this hotel room. Ciao from Manchester UK.