Category: UK

Posted on

Hello & Goodbye

After a rather wet and windy time in Ireland we were looking forward to getting back to London because the weather forecast had said it would be sunny for most of our time there. We got to our guesthouse at about 10.40pm and met a guy from the holiday company who gave us the keys and showed us around, not that there was much to show in our room. The room was a futon, folded out as a bed which we could normally handle but the one thing that was a bit frustrating was the lack of space. By the time we put our bags in the room and closed the door there was only enough room for us to stand next to each other in the corner or to sit on the edge of the bed (sorry futon). Had we not been meeting up with friends during our stay I think we would have been very unhappy campers.

2 and half years ago while on a train in Russia we met Tom & Kirsty who we would travel across the Trans Siberian Railway with. We instantly had a connection back then and when we saw them for the first time since saying goodbye in Beijing years ago it was as if we had never said goodbye. We simply picked up from where we left off. The 2 days we spent with Tom & Kirsty were so nice. They took us on a tour of London, showing us all of the sites and catching us up on everything they had been up to in the past couple of years and when it was our turn we did the same, updating them on our travels and everything that lead us to be where we were. I’ve learnt that in life you meet so many people and those that are meant to be in your life will be, no matter how far away they are or how long it is between seeing them. Tom & Kirsty are those types of friends. They understood us when we spoke about issues we had while travelling (they had travelled extensively themselves) and we understood them when they spoke about their jobs and home lives. On our 2nd and last day with them they treated us to the London Bridge Experience which is a horror attraction that takes you through the history of the famous London Bridge and then scares the s**t out of you. At one point in the attraction the whole group is sitting in a room made into a chapel. We were in the second row of pews and the actor was telling us about the witches and drownings that took place there years ago. If you were thought to be a witch you were tied up and thrown in the river Thames, if you floated to the top it meant you were a witch and you would then be burned at the stake, if you drowned it meant that you were innocent but dead. Out of the entire group the man suddenly points to me and asks my name to which I reply “Bianca”. He then got the entire group chanting “Burn the witch” while pointing at me. I sat there stunned and slightly freaked out that they were going to make me get up and actually do something. Mark, Tom & Kirsty all thought it was hilarious. I believe everyone else there thought it was quite funny too. After the factual part of the experience they make you watch a video warning you of the horror that lies ahead. The main part of it is actually quite terrifying and at one point Tom had run off while Kirsty, Mark & I were left running after him and then being completely scared when an actor jumped out at us from around the corner. After the experience ended we were all laughing at each other and how we all reacted. After this we had to say goodbye and there were tears from Kirsty and I but we all spoke about when we will see each other next, not if.

DCIM102GOPRO
Rain couldn’t stop us from enjoying our time with friends.
After saying goodbye we headed out to see a friend of Mark’s that he hadn’t seen since she left Melbourne for London years ago and who is a musician. We caught up over coffee (I had tea) and drinks afterwards and I know Mark really enjoyed being able to properly talk to someone about music but also about how much their lives had changed since high school. As we did with Tom and Kirsty we spoke about the next time we will see her and promised to stay in touch between now and then.  The day after we were on our own again but only for a few hours before we caught up with Mark’s cousin who is now living in London. He showed us around different parts of London and it was nice speaking to him and hearing about how much his life had changed since leaving Italy for Australia and then leaving Australia to go back to Italy and onto London. It was a bit sad saying goodbye to Giuseppe as well. It’s always so hard knowing when we will see people again and no matter how many promises and plans are made sometimes life simply gets in the way and it becomes years before you are able to see someone again. It’s one  of the reasons why being online has helped us so much during this trip. Even though we are away we still feel so connected to everyone all around the world.

We had an amazing time in London despite all of the rain and will definitely be back there in our lifetime, maybe even on this trip!

Posted on

It’s Voting Day

Arriving into London was amazing, mainly because it felt a lot like home. We woke up early because we only had one day there and had a lot of things to do. First thing was to catch up with an old colleague of Marks who is now living in London. Although I was just meeting her for the first time I know Mark really enjoyed being able to talk to someone about the difference he felt in himself after leaving work. She also told us about how she had just voted in Brexit because she was an Australian citizen living in London. From our point of view that seemed odd. She has only been living there for less than a year but had a right to vote in one of the UK’s most life-changing referendums. Lunch was really nice but by the end we had spent our entire days budget on one meal and it was then that we realised just how expensive London could be if we didn’t watch what we were spending our money on. London’s gift to us was making sure we experienced London as it is for the locals – rainy.

DSC07442_Fotor
Before it started pouring rain and we stopped by Buckingham Palace

It rained for the rest of the day and we were soaked by the time we made it to the Australian High Commission so we could vote in the Australian Election. The High Commission is a beautiful building in the heart of London. As soon as I saw the building I got a little bit excited and blurted “Do you think they will have a sausage sizzle like they do back home?” Mark rolled his eyes at me as we walked closer but I think he was secretly hoping there was one too. It was so weird stepping into a building and hearing so many Australian accents. We were greeted by a man who said we were a very “colourful looking couple” and I took that as a compliment as I assumed he was talking about my yellow rain jacket, not us being weird. He directed us over to the VIC line where we were marked off and given our voting papers. The process was so quick that we thought it would be quicker to fly to London and vote in future elections instead of waiting in line at home. The only downside of course is the lack of sausage sizzles in London. Feeling very proud of ourselves we went to the British Library simply because I love libraries and could spend hours in them just looking at books. The British Library is spectacular. To access what they call ‘reading rooms’ which is where most of the books are kept, you need to register and show documentation of a local address so we were unable to go and actually read the books but they have collections throughout the library that you can go and see. We spent most of our time looking at the amazing historical collection containing all different types of documents, from all different parts of the world, from all different periods in history. It would take an entire day, if not longer to look at each item and understand the enormity a lot of the items had on history. There were spiritual documents, original Beatles lyrics, scientific documents, literature and writings from artists. It was an amazing room that wowed me at every turn. The first thing I would do if I ever lived in London would be to go to the library and register.

After being in the library we headed out to dinner to catch up with another friend from home and we caught up on her time living in London and the differences she has found between London and Melbourne and had generally a really good night that felt really normal which was just what we needed after quite a few days of travelling.

We are at the airport now though taking in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. When we went to bed last night the news was saying that the UK was to remain in the EU, however when we checked XE this morning for exchange rates the site crashed which prompted us to check the news and what do you know? the UK has voted out of the EU. I won’t bore you readers with my detailed view on why I thought the result was a good one but simply say that travelling around a lot of Europe recently has shown me that change in the region was needed and the UK has just began this change. A defining moment in history and I hope only positive things come from the Brexit vote. We have friends and family all over the UK and Europe and even though I imagine things may become difficult for a short time I hope in the end the UK and eventually Europe are better off.