Day 4

Woke up and made bacon sandwiches for breakfast. The bacon here is strange, it tastes really good, but it's raw when you buy it, so it's slimy like a chicken breast before you cook it.


After breakfast we headed to Madame Tassauds. There was basically no line outside, but once we were in the door there was quite a walk to the counter and had to line up for about 10 mins. We took an elevator to the top where we were greeted by many celebrities on the red carpet. Some of the wax figures are so realistic it's a little creepy, others look fake (still good, but you can tell its not real) and there was one or two who didn't really look like the person they were supposed to be. Downstairs we saw movie characters, sports stars, royal and political figures and superheroes!




There is also a short film in a dome cinema where you are surrounded by the screen, followed by a taxi ride through London. At one point you go past rats from the plague and they actually stink!! At the end there's a section which explains the process of making the models.




If you've never been to Madame Tassauds, I'd definitely recommend it, it was a lot of fun.












TIP: Madame Tassauds can be done as a part of the combo tickets mentioned earlier, but Dani had a two for one ticket, so we used that instead.



With half a day left we decided to spend it wondering through the tower of London. It's a beautiful old castle which is now home to the crow jewels and the queens royal guard (can't remember their exact title). There was a tour due to start about 20 mins after we arrived, so we waited for that to start, only to find it would be cancelled after 5 minutes due to the rain. We'd already paid to get in, so we didn't let that stop is from wondering around and having a good time. We didn't take the audio guide option, just followed a map around the castle instead. There was heaps to see, but the most interesting for me was the armory and the crown jewels. I even saw one of the guards wearing a funny hat, he would have fit right in at my graduation.




There were no photos allowed in many parts of the castle, so you'll just have to check it out for yourself. You can easily spend a few hours at the tower of London, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time.
After a long day of walking it was time for dinner. We went to an Italian place near Dani's place. They had an option where you can choose up to 5 different entree size dishes from a selected range and we shared. I love eating a variety of different foods and all of it tasted great. After a bottle of rose we were both a bit happy and went home to watch a movie, but promptly crashed out instead.

London randomness

There's a few things I've noticed since I've been here...

No matter how many people tell you the weather is going to be lovely, bring a jacket and buy a small umbrella. We had a "warm" day and that was 8 degrees. It can be the most bright sunny day and then suddenly it starts pouring... So be prepared, or if you're like me, be prepared to seek shelter under the ledge of the nearest building. Pretty much all of e buildings are heated, so if you think you're going to be indoors most of the day, maybe don't rug up as much.

Toilets are few and far between, so if you see one, use it! There aren't many public toilets around and even many department stores / shopping centres don't seem to have them. I've found if you really need a toilet, best place to look is the standard take away joints, Maccas, burger king and the like. There's usually one not too far off and the bathrooms are in the basement.

I don't now how London seems to have no rubbish on the streets, yet there are no bins anywhere. If you get a cup of coffee or takeaway food, you'll find yourself carrying around your rubbish for quite a while before you find somewhere to put it. Strange thing is though, I never seem to see anyone else carrying their rubbish around, so I have no idea where they put it!

Day 3

It's the weekend!! The Bell is closed, which means Dani isn't working!! :D




We decided to get out of town on a bus tour. We caught a bus (a big, red, double decker bus!!) to Victoria where we had breakfast at Pret. The signage at the station wasnt that clear so we had no idea where we were supposed to be going. We eventually made it to the right bus and were on out way to Bath.


TIP: Even if you've bout tickets online, go find the ticketing booth at your venue. It seems for the majority of places the online tickets act only as a receipt and will not get you admission.
The views on the road to bath were stunning, rolling green hills, fields of yellow flowers and old houses scattered along the way.




Once at Bath jumped off the bus and were given a time to be back by. There was no tour guide for Bath, but we did have an audio tour, where as you're walking around you'll see numbers at various stops along the way, key in the number and you'll hear someone explaining it. It was really interesting hearing the explanations of the Bath and artifacts. The great thing about the audio tour, is you choose what you want to hear, so you're never bored listening to something that doesn't interest you.








We didn't have a lot of time so after trying the water we made a dash for the exit where we saw a group of ladies doing some kind of traditional dance. Raced back to the mad hatters tea party, grabbed some lunch and were the last two back on the bus.




Then it was off to Stonehenge. Dani had talked it down quite a bit, she said when she saw it she was disappointed. As the bus approached I could see it in the distance, we passed through the gates and were given another audio guide, a time to be back at the bus and off we went. It might not be for everyone, but I found it quite impressive. Especially considering the weight not each stone and of course, back then they didn't have cranes to do all the work for them. The path takes you all the way around Stonehenge, so you get a full 360 degree view. While we were there a storm was brewing, that combined with the green planes made the perfect backdrop. We didn't end up using the audio guide though, because we didn't see any reference numbers along the way.




Half way around we realized we needed to be back at the bus in about 5mins, I guess we got carried away with photos. Running back to the bus we were the last two to get on again, with a slightly passive aggressive remark from the tour guide.




So we set off yet again for the final leg of the journey, Salisbury Cathedral. So many of the buildings in and around London are just stunning, Salisbury cathedral is no exception, not quite as impressive as St. Paul's, but still nice. Dani and I had planned to climb up the spire, but when we got there, we found the only way up is on a guided tour, which lasts 90 minutes and we didn't have enough time. We were both really looking forward to it, so it was kind of disappointing.
The tour was great, we got to see 3 different places, although a little rushed. It would have been nice to take our time a little more, but that being said, I don't this we could have done it all as cheap or in one day any other way.
Once we were back in London, we went for a short stroll before grabbing some ice cream and heading home.

Day 2

Friday 20th

I wasn't sure what to do with myself today. Dani was working from 11am - 11pm... That was a lot of time to kill.. Still not sure of the public transport system, I followed Dani in to The Bell. Once there I decided I would to to The London Dungeon, The Sea Life London Aquarium and the London Eye.

TIP: I bought my tickets online in a combo from the London dungeon website. I'd recommend this as you get a discount if you purchase combo tickets and they have heaps of options available. So if you're not interested in the aquarium for example, you simply choose a combo that doesn't include it. Another benefit of the combo tickets is you get priority entrance at most venues, so you can jump the queue and go straight in.



First stop was London Dungeon, you must do this first if you purchase combo tickets, and then all other tickets are valid for one month. It's pretty central, right near London bridge.

You walk in to a dark chamber a few steps inside the door and you lose mobile phone coverage, so you can't call for help! You'll then have your photo taken before you're wished a horrible time by several gruesome characters. If you've never heard of it, it's basically s brief history of London. There's not a lot of information, so if you know anything about London already, you might be a little bored. But for someone like me, who knew pretty much nothing, it was great. The tour covered the plague, the fire of London, surgery, old courts, Sweeney Todd and Jack the ripper, among others. There was supposed to be a laser ride, but that didn't happen, not sure why.

There's a fairly decent shop at the dungeon also, I picked up a nice coffee cup with a noose for a handle!

So out of the dungeon, I managed to use the underground on my own! :D it's not that difficult and most people don't seem to mind giving directions when asked. The London Eye and Sea Life Aquarium are right next to one another and you get a nice view of westminster Abbey and Big Ben from across the Thames.





The Aquarium wasn't bad, with sharks, turtles lots of fish and all the usual stuff. We have some pretty great aquariums in Australia, so I wasn't too impressed by Sea Life. I was more interested in the penguins, jellyfish, shark eggs and seahorses, which I hadn't seen up close before. There was a couple of interactive counters which are great for kids and a section where you can feel a live starfish. There are several booths with what looks like boat steering wheels which you put a penny into and it squashes and imprints an image onto it. Definitely a unique souvenir, just make sure you use a nice penny, not an old dirty one!



Back to London Eye, there's no need to book in, just rock up when you want to go.

TIP: do the London eye at night, it's open until 9pm and you'll get to see the beautiful city lights. You can always get a great view of the city during the day by visiting St. Paul's Cathedral.




So I went for a wonder around the city, saw a nice park with a pond, ducks, pelicans beautiful flowers and even a squirrel! I've noticed there aren't many benches or places to sit in London, so if you stumble across a park, it's nice to escape from the city for a while and relax.




Got a little lost, passing time until nightfall, stopped by some shops... I'll be back later, Burberry.




Back to the London Eye and I'm so glad I decided to do it at night. The city lights are so beautiful. The whole ride lasts about 40 minutes. There's also a 4D cinema experience, I'd recommend coming at about 8pm to see this, so you still have time to do the eye afterwards. I did the eye at 8:30, so when I came down the cinema part was closed already.

It was another long day and I was so tired after all the walking, when got to the station I was told cannon street ( the station I needed to go to) was already closed, so I ended up catching a taxi back to the bell before going home with Dani.

Day 1

I think airport security must get bored, and like working in a call centre, they try to jazz it up a it, albeit at the expense of the passengers.

I've just landed in Sydney, bussed over to the international terminal and am waiting in line at immigration. I hand over my passport and boarding pass and the officer asks for my departure card..... I look blankly at her.

"Your green departure card! Haven't you filled it out yet?!"

"I was never given one." I said, "Where can I get one?" I asked looking for guidance.

"You can't fly today unless you have filled out your departure card" she snapped.

I was speechless... Didn't know what to do. She then reached under her desk, slowly revealing a green card and said,

"But I've got one here, I'll fill it out for you."

Bitch! Haha stressed me out for nothing. Like I said, they must get bored.


After 24 hour of flying, I arrived at Heathrow airport, London, less jet lagged than I thought I'd be. The airport is HUGE. It would have taken about 15 minutes to walk from the gate through to immigration, where the other 299 passengers were waiting to cross the border, you can imagine the line. Finally it was my turn, I walked up to the counter and handed over my documents. The man behind the desk looks and me and says,
"You've left this blank." Pointing at the section where I was supposed to write my London address.

"I'm staying with my friend, she's coming to pick me up from here." I said.

"What is her address?"

"All I know is she lives in London."

He looks at me completely unimpressed and says "London is pretty big you know, you should know where you are staying before you leave home."

I didn't think he was going to let me through, but he stamped my passport and said I won't get away with this in Paris, so I better have all the info.

With immigration out of the way and nothing to declare to customs, I made my way to the exit. Wondering around like a lost chicken I spot Dani and give her a massive hug.

Heading down a maze of tunnels to the train everyone seemed to be in a huge rush. I thought I walk fast, but here I get left behind! I felt like I was in an episode off the Amazing Race, almost running every leg of the journey that we weren't in a vehicle.

TIP: Get yourself an oyster card, they allow you access to all of London's public transport. There are a few options, I went with a weekly pass, it set me back £35 (made up of £29 for the week pass, £1 for the card itself and a £5 deposit) and let's me use any public transport, anytime of day, as much as I want for a week.

After dropping my bags at home, we headed out for breakfast. My Tea Shop is a little hole in the wall, quite literally. The food is great but the place is tiny. Fitting just 16 people inside (four tables of four) and a tiny kitchen crammed in the back.



After breakfast we had a bit of a walk around, saw Tower Bridge (Which I, and apparently many other people think is 'London Bridge'). I'll head back to Tower Bridge for a proper tour later.

Monument was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built to commemorate the great fire of London in 1966. After a seemingly never ending spiral staircase (311 steps in total), we reached the top.



From there you'll have an amazing panoramic view of London, with the London Eye and Tower Bridge clearly visible. On the way out you even get a certificate of completion, I can only assume its for bragging rights.



I walked Dani to work, 'The Bell', which is one of the only buildings in the area to survive the London fire. Headed to Vodafone to pick up a sim card for my iPad and phone, got lost along the way and somehow ended up at the pickle building. I'm not sure what it's actually called but it looks like a pickle!



After getting a little lost and having no idea how to catch public transport, I thought best bet was to catch a taxi to St. Paul's Cathedral. The taxi was a typical looking black London taxi, with a few unexpected surprises. The door was automatic and there was a Perspex shield between the back cabin and the driver. I heard a voice from behind me and assuming it was the radio I ignored it, then it spoke again before I realized it was the driver speaking over intercom.



A few minutes later we arrive at St. Paul's. It's quite impressive from the outside, with a statue and a large ope courtyard area, but this is nothing in comparison to what you will see inside. Even if you're not religious, I would still definitely recommend checking this place out. The high ceilings are stunning, adorned with colourful mosaics and monochrome paintings. The walkways are home to statues and carving. An organ is being played as you explore your surrounds. The dome is high and impressive and accessible only after braving winding spiral staircases and narrow, tunnel like corridors. The close up view of the artwork is amazing. Climbing another set of spiral staircases will take you to the very top of the cathedral and the view you get is well worth the effort!








5PM and day 1 was drawing to an end. Wondering the street and stoping every 50 yards to take a photo of something or other, I made my way back to The Bell so I could follow Dani home.