We woke at 4am on Saturday morning to make our way across to St Pancras International to catch the Eurostar to Gare de Nord, Paris. The train trip was to be only 2 hours and 20 minutes, and apart from the extensively long line in Carriage 6 for the breakfast bar (there was nothing open yet at St Pancras at 5.45am when we were admitted through passport control and security) it was smooth transit across to France. By the time we emerged from the tunnel, sunrise was breaking in France so my first visions of en Francais was also my first dawn.
At 9:45 am we rolled into Gare de Nord to a perfect Parisien day. We decided to catch a taxi to St Cloud as we were staying at Nick’s friend Nadége’s apartment. We were off to a shaky start when we asked the taxi driver if he spoke English and he replied with, ‘Un peu’. Translation: A little! So Nick was left to direct the taxi from Gare de Nord to St Cloud in French. Thank goodness for GPS! In about 20 minutes, we had found our way to Nadége’s apartment block which was nestled amongst local stores and Banque Populare on what appeared to be a main street in St Cloud. Nick has instructions from Nad to collect the key from the Clothes store next door (who sold Max Mara! How convenient!) which of course seemed like a well established plan. Of course, it all went haywire when the shop assistant spoke little English and very good French while Nick spoke some French, and very good English. At the time we didn’t realise, but hindsight also allowed us to see that the shop assistant was also a different one than the one Nad had made the plans with. So, we are stuck in St Cloud with the taxi man calling out the window, ‘What is going on? Would you like me to take you back into Paris?” and Nick looking around feverishly in case there is another Clothes store as this one was not going to give us a key. We rang Nad, but it was only 10:30am so too early for her to be awake! I end up paying the cab as Nick strikes a random conversation up with an elderly French lady who happens to speak fluent English (what are the odds?). She then traipses around the neighbourhood trying to find the place where our key could be. She tried, but she could not help us. About fifteen minutes later, Nad calls Nick as she is confused as to why we are having problems. By this time, we are wandering the streets of St Cloud looking for the train station so that we can at least find our way back into Paris. She is exasperated that her well- constructed plan has fallen through, and as Nick speaks to her on his mobile we find our way back to the Clothes Store. We re-enter the Clothes Store, and Nick passes the mobile over to the Shop Assistant so Nad can speak to her in French (while I examine clothes!). It was when the shop assistant started yelling out, ‘Ah! Voila! Voila! Voila! Voila!’ that we knew that she had located our key! She passed it over with many “I am sorry”’s and we were most forgiving. We then negotiated our way into Nad’s apartment block and into her tiny flat where we dumped our things. By this time, it was 11.30am and we were on our way into Paris!
We caught the train from Gare St Cloud in St Lazare. From here, we caught the Metro across to Montmartre to take advantage of our gorgeous winter weather. We headed to the ‘Red Light District’ to see Moulin Rouge (translated: Windmill Red) and snacked on a Croque Monsieur as we wandered our way up to Sacré Coeur. It was a steep ascent, and we passed a Metro stop where two wandering mistrels had set up a piano and sax and were playing French tunes to the crisp winter morning. Sigh! Paris je t’aime!
We arrived at Sacré Couer to see out over all of Paris. It was a beautiful view (and Nick got a photo with the guy selling fake Chanels) and we then decided to climb to the top. There are many, many, many stairs in Sacré Couer but every one of them is worth it when you get to the top. You can see directly out across gorgeous Paris, the la tour Eiffel clearly distinctive in the distance. As we overlooked the city, we could hear the band at the bottom who were churning out joyous music to please the tourists. We then descended down the many, many, many stairs and meandered our way through Montmartre via the Artisans’ Market, and then down through the many stores sandwiched into the sidewalks.
We then jumped on the Metro across to la tour Eiffel, approaching it through the park. Compared to the rest of the city, the Tower is absolutely HUGE and rises far, far above anything else. We then continued our way past the Museé l’Homme and stopped in at a café for lunch. Nick tucked into Croque Madame sans Oeuf and I had the lunch of the day: which was a potato, onion, cheese and tomato concoction with bread. Yum, got to love the carbs! By this time it was 3pm and we headed to Arc de Triumph, and then down the Champs Eleyseés to marvel over the craziness of French traffic, as well as to experience the night falling around us. By the time we reached the end of Champs Eleyseés it was nightfall and we watched la tour Eiffel light display. An absolutely beautiful French evening.
We headed back to Nadége’s to shower and change quickly, before returning back into Paris. Specifically, we caught the Metro to St Michel to the Latin Quartier where we dined at Roger la Granoille. A gorgeous little French Restaurant with an abundance of atmostphere, and most importantly, French cuisinse. I had frogs legs for entrée, Nick had snails and I tried one. Frogs legs were so yum, but the snails were a bit chewy and had remnants of a dirt taste. Clearly they were garden snails after all. We had the most amazing mains, and then shared Fondant de Chocolat for dessert. Nick enjoyed a free port, and I settled on a coffee. It was such a gorgeous dinner, I was truly ready for bed.
Nick had organised with his friend Arthur, to meet him for a beer or two. I was very tired, but agreed to one drink. Arthur was slightly waylaid, and Nick and I were waiting at Fontaine St Michel for almost an hour! I watched the passing cabs longingly… and Nick checked his phone wishing Arthur would hurry up! When he arrived, we headed to La Palette for a few beers until about 2am.
We hailed a cab to take us back to St Cloud, alas only to find that the cab driver spoke ZERO English. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. By this stage, Nick was praying for a cab driver with some English, rather than him having to speak in French but alas it wasn’t to be. The most tedious part of the conversation was discussing the best route to take, with made finger pointing across a refidex somewhere on the side of a Parisien motorway. But we made it back!
On Sunday, we woke to a rainy and cold morning. We booted and umbrelled up, and headed into Notre Dame to see the cathedral. It was beautiful, even showing off a lovely Christmas tree at its doors to celebrate the season. Unfortunately, both Nick and I hadn’t brought with us the most rain-friendly clothes and by this stage we already had wet feet. Our next stop was breakfast (ham and cheese omelettes: not just any old omelette!) and then onto The Louvre.
Lucky for us we had coordinated our weekend away to coincide with the free entry day that the Louvre has on the first Sunday of each month. Of course, this also meant that hundreds and hundreds of people were cramming in there when we rocked up to take our place in line.
The Louvre is absolutely massive. The size of the place you cannot really understand until you start walking around it, and view the expanse of it with your own eyes. We grabbed a map and headed off to see the must-dos: the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the medieval Louvre, Napoleon’s apartment. We also wandered through many sculptures, Egyptian artefacts, greek ceramics and 19th Century paintings. You could seriously just do a long weekend at the Louvre so you could actually physically visit it all.
We emerged about three hours later, to a cyclonic winds and a taste for pain au chocolat in our mouths! We stopped by and snacked on one of these gorgeous pastries before heading on the Metro across to Invalidés.
We met Nick’s friend, Marine, at a little bar near here for a quick catch up and hello before racing across to Invalidés de l’Hotel to see Napoleon’s tomb. On the way, the wind whisked an old man’s hat off his head and Nick ended up chasing it down the road for about 200m with gusto!
It was then dark, and 5:30pm and we knew we had to head back to St Cloud to collect our things and then back into Gare de Nord to catch the train back to London. It was a shame to leave so soon, but we had the most amazing time that it won’t be long until we go back! I loved it!
Last Saturday morning we joined Nick's workmate Guy, his wife Fiona, and their one year old son Thomas on a trip to Borough Markets. Yes, the one and the same food markets that dear Jamie Oliver would visit arriving on scooter to pick up his essential fresh produce.
It was a dismal and miserable day, but we braved the misty rain, the cool temps and the damp air to wander the many stalls of gorgeous food. There is a vast range of fresh fruit and veggies, very yummy cheeses, the best coffee in town (well, since I've been here it's been the best!), polish sausages, freshly baked european bread and other baked goodies, seafood stalls, butchers, florists... you name it! If it's fresh, it's there!
The BEST PART of the whole outing was the FREE food tasting!
And although we intended not to, we ended up purchasing some divine camambert and an italian breadstick for starters as Ab (Nick's old flatmate) was coming over for dinner. We also splurged on some gorgeous chocolate brownies which was also a tastebud delight!
This weekend Matt, Nick and I are proposing a dinner with all of our friends: we found a pigeon inside a chicken inside a turkey! That you cook in the oven of course! Yes we're game...
Suited up and booted up, my first day at Sotheby’s was Monday the 8th October. I was a little dismayed to learn my office was actually in the basement level, with only three windows at street level which allowed sunlight (only on days when London actually receives sun) and none of those windows are anywhere near my desk!
However, the kitchen is next door, the printer is an arm’s length away from me (loss of incidental exercise already), and the stationary shelves are right outside our office. So I can’t complain too greatly. Well, apart from the ongoing air conditioning war that is waging through the office (it’s too cold, it’s too hot, turn it off, turn it up etc) and I don’t foresee a resolution to that anytime soon.
Almost a month on now (where has the time gone?), I am back in the groove of rising at 7am to navigate my way on the tube across to Green Park where I then wander through the back streets of Mayfair to my office door.
I manage to arrive about 8.30 in the morning (earlybird for Londoners), but therefore manage to leave on the dot at 5pm and then beat the swarm of tube travelers around 6pm on the Victoria Line. My tube journey is about 15mins with about 10 mins walk either side so that is not too bad at all. Less commute time than in Sydney!
There are countless coffee opportunities (sadly, so many of them chain coffee stores) if required on my way in, and there are so many poor Londoners in either purple or yellow gear holding out the free papers. Much better than MX!
The only ‘famous’ person I have seen so far is Skye from Neighbours, which I have to stay is very disappointing in the celebrity spotting stakes. Rumours of celebrities throughout the gallery at work, but of course I am stuck down in the basement so I don’t have the opportunity to see for myself!
Winter is descending upon us – it can be brisk by day, but as it hasn’t been raining the cooler weather is a-ok. I am not looking forward to the “hell” of January through March which I have been warned is like the horrible weather will never end.
Tuesday
LEAVING LONDON
It took over two and half hours just to weave our way through to the north of London, dodging the congestion charge thanks to the Ring Road (Britain loves a Ring Road), and finding ourselves at a Sainsbury’s somewhere up north. We stocked up on road trippin’ supplies (lunches, snacks, water, red bulls for driving) and then find our way onto the M1. And we were away!
YORK
We arrived in York just before dusk. We had tried to find cheap accommodation on the outskirts of Leeds but when that failed us, we kept a driving into York itself hoping for an accommodation miracle. We followed the signs into the city centre, along which we found a strip of hotels that we thought may be useful to come back to. As we were heading into the city centre we had our first meeting with the York City Wall: we were really impressed to be in a city which was still surrounded by a castle wall, still standing from Roman Empire days, and most importantly, you could still walk the circumference of it! We were looking for the tourist centre, but being 6pm we guessed it would be closed and we headed back to book into some accommodation for the night. After visiting a few hotels that didn’t “look” too expensive, but then turned away when they wanted over 200 pounds per night, we eventually found a gorgeous little B&B that would bed us for the night for 50 quid, obviously with breakfast included. We figured this was a much better idea.
Wednesday
Wednesday morning we awoke early to our freshly cooked hot English breakfast and weird shower that sprayed you with water that was much like mist. We then were on our way to walk The Wall: Yes, the York City Wall was very impressive.
We also wandered up to Clifford’s Tower, before meandering our way across the old town to be greeted with the magnificent York Minstrel. From here, we headed through the York Gardens, before meeting up with the south side of the City Wall and following it back to our starting place. York is like an English medieval city trapped in time – to some degree – and I am so glad we went there in autumn when tourists were less and the weather was still mild enough.
On the road again, and we began to head north towards Hadrian’s Wall. We needed to plan in a little lunch stop, so I thought we could stop in at Durham which was also recommended as a great little place to stop into. Little did we know just HOW great a little place ol’ Durham turned out to be!
DURHAM
As we were coming into town, both Nick and I were really impressed with the castle that we could see sitting atop the highest hill in the area. With the castle at the top, the town surrounded it as though the castle was the focal point of the town planning. Which, I imagine, of course it was.
We navigated our way through the stone cobbled streets and up to the castle, which appears to sit alongside the University and a few other historic buildings. A great surprise, and a lovely spot to stop in for a mosy around!
HADRIAN’S WALL
We then headed further north towards Hadrian’s Wall. I didn’t have great directions for Nick, except knowing which road we needed to be on to see it. From there, it was keeping our eyes peeled for signs and hoping we were in the right area! After driving along and being welcomed into ‘Hadrian’s Wall Country’ we knew we were on the right track. It was an eerie region as the skies had turned overcast, and we were also in the northern most area of England that either of us had been to. Hadrian’s Wall is the remains of the Roman Empire who built it to devide Roman England from the Scots in the north. Apparently the Romans didn’t guard the wall, it was more a symbol of the border than anything. That being said, a wall that has lasted that long with little upkeep sure is impressive!
We followed it along, stopping off at different sections of the wall along the way until just as the Wall finished, the heavens opened up and we decided we should continue east towards Maryport to find a bed for the night.
On arrival to Maryport, and the heavy rain, we were unable to locate a B&B so we just followed signs to the next town: Cockermouth.
Still pouring, and closing in on 8pm by now we were starting to believe we may be sleeping in the car until we fell across a dear little B&B hidden away that would sleep us both for 40 quid, hot breakfast too! It was my favourite place to stay during our trip as it reminded me a little bit like the place that Shrek would have lived in, had his place been a townhouse! The door was quite short, the walls weren’t all square and there were fake windows on the wall so it felt like a little home. Ah, it was so cute!
Thursday
LAKES DISTRICT
From Cockermouth, we headed towards Keswick thanks to a tip from Nick’s family. Although it was freezing, we still managed to spot some lovely Englishesque homes, a bridge that was very ‘Wind in the Willows’ (thanks Jo) and vine-covered pubs.
From Keswick, we sought to
explore the Lakes District by car. Without a particular sense of where to head
to, but national park walks and sights marked in red on my map we were on our
way!
Nick loved the drive through: from stone-walled roads, to small towns were doors opened onto the main road, to forests as green and calm as something from Lord of the Rings, to William Wordworth’s home, to rivers, lakes and water so clear and blue it made you gasp, there was always something to explore or appreciate in the Lake District.
By about 3.30pm we farewelled the Lakes District and began to head south, hoping to squeeze in another stop in to a town on the way back to London.
CHESTER
We made good time on the M6 and before we knew it we were heading into Chester, another town proudly showcasing it’s City Wall (again, thanks to those Romans). After checking into another B&B, we journeyed the Chester City Wall at dusk and managed to see much of how the city mechanics worked back in ye olde England. There was the water tower, the Chester Castle, the roman gardens and Chester’s proudest asset: Eastgate Clock. Claimed as the most photographed clock after Big Ben (I am dubious of this marketing claim), I think the clock is most impressive at night thanks to the arrangement of colour and design.
We stopped in at a local pub for dinner and it was fabulous: bangers and mash, with a pint of beer as we watched the locals set up for Trivia Night and a local woman celebrated her 50th (a guess) with all of her mates arriving to her in her silver glittered-up dress with a warm glass of chardy in her hand (Kath & Kim eat your heart out). Very entertaining!
Friday
BATH
Back on the M6, we headed to gorgeous Bath for our last stop before heading back to London. The weather came beautifully good – not even a cloud in the sky! And this was England!
We parked near the city centre and wandered our way through the city streets. A balmy, sunny afternoon in Bath, we were surrounded by gorgeous Georgian architecture and students hustling their way into the city to register for classes.
The Bath Abbey is majestic, the Palace Gardens are gorgeous and the mood of the town is warm, welcome, cultured and laid back. We wandered the streets and visited the markets, the shops, and peered through windows.
The most impressive thing in Bath is the architecture without a doubt. But most impressive of all the architecture is the Circus, and even more so Royal Crescent. Some of the most prestigious local residents have lived on this road (they are even plaqued as having lived there!) and without a doubt, if you had the opportunity to live here you would. It is sublime! Photos do not do the expanse justice.
Farewelling Bath, it was the M5 home to London. Alas, the reality of work, rent payments, tube travel, grocery shopping and cold weather were upon me!
Brick Lane
Friday night Nick and I headed to Liverpool St tube after he finished work to meet my uni mate Lauren, her boyfriend Tom, their flatmates and a few others that we had gathered together. After the small hiccup of actually trying to find each other at Liverpool St tube (about one hundred exits to choose from – whoops) we then meandered our way across to Brick Lane thanks to trusty local Tim.
Brick Lane is exactly as is promises: a skinny lane, with buildings road and sidewalks all comprised of brick. The street is lined with cheap Indian restaurants and as groups of hungry workers begin their trip down the lane to find a restaurant that suits, a young Indian man appears at the door to offer you a good deal: “I give you one round of free drinks and no service charge!” pipes up the first one. We review the menu on the window. And so it begins. Next restaurant. Offer. Review. Repeat. And so forth.
As we move along Brick Lane and the eight London newbies learn the Brick Lane market trends we begin to barter: our asking price was two bottles of wine, 30% off total bill and no service charge. We settled on a restaurant half way up Brick Lane for two bottles of free wine, 30% off with a service charge of 10%. But it also had a bright magenta sign ‘BRICK LANE CHEF OF THE YEAR 2006 & 2007’ so how could we refuse?! (Yes, each restaurant had chef of the year at some stage.) As more friends rolled in to the restaurant to join our expanding table, we then negotiated for four bottles of free wine so we were happy with our efforts. After two courses of delectable Indian dishes and five bottles of red wine, the price per head came to just 20 quid each. I heart Brick Lane.
We then shuffled down Brick Lane to a bar to round out our night (seeing as our bellies were already very round after too much tikka misala and naan bread). Black sticky floors, a melting pot of different types and some great music entertained us until we realized it was approaching midnight and we all wanted to make the last tube!
The plan for Saturday was to head to Ikea thanks to trusty local Tim who had his Dad’s car for the weekend and had to pick up a couple of household items himself. We, on the other hand, thought it best if we bought a dining table (instead of using the ironing board) and a bedside table (instead of using the desk swivel chair). Tim has also kindly lent us a TV for our time here, so we also searched the gumtree and found some lamps and a tv stand for 25 quid!
Matt came over for dinner on Saturday night, only to be greeted with an Allan Key and flat-packed Ikea furniture as we assembled the dining room table that we would eat our Chicken Penang off.
Camden Markets
Sunday we headed to Camden for some market meandering. The place was packed with tourists/locals/randoms/regulars, and had an array of cheap clothes, jewellery, homewares, cds, random items, and cheap Italian/Asian/Mexican food. How could you ever want more?!
Being the end of summer, there was a myriad of cheap summer dresses on sale (oh, it pained me to walk away!) and funky local beads. My fave moment was walking into the rave store and halfway down amongst pink alien outfits and blue lighting, we spotted two grandmas in their tweed skirts and two piece cardigan sets going through the accessories section. Priceless! Just quietly, I cannot WAIT to be earning some money so I can go back and pick up a handful of fabulous cheap quirky stuff. We finished our visit with some cheap, bad, deep fried Chinese food that perhaps could give me food poisoning. So far, no salmonella symptoms.
Let the Heathrow injection begin…
Ah, the joys of recruitment consultancies! You must learn to love them, no matter how you wish not to, when you arrive in the UK. Most vacancies are not advertised in papers, the job specs are provided to a consultant who refers to their many resumes (or CVs) on file who then contacts relevant clients (that’s us, the unemployed) regarding their interest in a particular vacancy that has arisen.
Therefore, the key is to place your CV with as many recruitment agencies as possible. Some will find you completely uninteresting, others will think you are a goldmine and easy to place. Go figure.
Some of the bigger well-known agencies were a nightmare and very unenthusiastic to me about even locating some temp work. Desperate for something to do on weekdays in London, I responded to an advertisement on reed.co.uk of an agency looking for Australian Working Holiday Makers looking for temp work. Within an hour, I received a phone call regarding their interest and placed for an appointment the following day.
After a basic spelling and numeracy test, I participated in the inevitable typing/Word/Excel/Powerpoint Test. Results were as expected (advanced in all except of course Excel where I am intermediate!), and I then I met my consultant, Debbie. Um, no, now I am meeting Karen as Debbie is busy.
Karen is, against many odds, a lovely recruitment consultant. She was on the ball immediately, and upon my return from the Czech Republic she had a role lined up for me to put me forward for: Marketing Coordinator (contract). The workplace (Sotheby's) is located on New Bond Street, apparently the most exclusive shopping street in London with the likes of Prada, Chanel, Bvlgari, Tommy Hilfiger, Tiffany’s and more sandwiched along the footpath with their prospective security officers by the doorway.
I interviewed for the role, did splendidly (!) and teed up a second interview where I meet the Marketing Director and the team. The second interview again went really well where I was asked more questions and my availability.
After doing the negotiating dance with the recruiter, I received the verbal offer for the role (quote: ‘they love you!’ said my excited recruiter who knew there was a nice commission coming her way thanks to me) and currently awaiting my contract to land on my doorstep for my signature.
My first day is Monday, October 8. Hooray!
After moving across to Clapham on the Saturday, I packed a small backpack with essentials and caught the train out to Stansted on Sunday morning for my flight to Linz, Austria at 1:30pm.
Although the flight is only 1 hour, 40 minutes, Rach had been trying to source a local Krumlov shuttle that would drive to Linz, pick me up and deliver me to Krumlov House at 4:30pm. My alternative was a train to Cesky Budjovice (about 3 to 4 hours), and then a bus to Cesky Krumlov making my commute from Linz to Cesky Krumlov be approximately 4 and a half hours – a shuttle could do it in one and half! Such is the joy of travel.
Luckily (for me), Rach found a lovely shuttle company that came to collect me and deliver me to her door. My driver (!), Jan, had spent two years in Sydney and spoke exceptional English so although the drive was long, it wasn’t too bad. With only one passenger – border crossings were a wave through so we made up time there too!
Arrived safely at gorgeous little Krumlov House at about 6:30pm. Rach and I shared a little reunion (a scream, a big hug, and a kiss) as poor Jan waited patiently for his 1000 crowns. We dumped my things in Rach’s room (the attic) and she finished up work about 8pm (we were waiting on one check-in: who arrived at 8:15pm). We then booted, and layered up to head to Chatlavat, the BBQ Grill Place in town (the only one you need to reserve for to get in to). It was a wooden door, that opened up into a warm, candle-lit, cave-like stoned establishment with a roaring fire. Thanks to Rachel’s connections we nabbed the table near the fire, and close to the bar so we were in for a great night. We ordered the best on the menu: pork knee (yes, a massive hunk on pig) and the half chicken with sides of boiled potatoes and corn. Oh, and yes Eggenberg Pivo (the local dark beer) in pints to dry and wash it down. Our meal was tastefully presented on a bread board (salmonella, anyone?) with a steak knife shoved into it. Girls can carve. Sure. Somehow the once-vegetarian ended up carving and serving crackling and tender pork to all. It was the best pork I ever had! Once finished, onto Travellers…
Monday morning we headed to the Castle for a tour, unfortunately it was closed on Mondays so we explored the castle, the tower and the gardens ourselves. We spotted an open-air theatre but alas, it was closed as the ‘season’ (summer) was over. We then headed down by the Vtlava to Two Marys for lunch to sample the Bohemian Feast. We opted for the Vegetarian Feast, and also Tarragon Chicken pieces. Oh, and Eggenberg. It was delicious, and the sun even came out for about 30 mins so we could take off our jumpers. By the time we decided to leave, the sun was gone, the wind was up and we headed off to the Egon Schiele Exhibition taking place in town. The exhibition had a collection of artists that came to Cesky Krumlov to be ‘inspired’ and produce work for the exhibition. Some of it wasn’t that impressive, or very bizarre leading us to believe that it was too much local beers and spirits that inspired them rather than the gorgeous town itself! There was however, one awesome exhibit of a moving sunset: it was a ‘film’ that begins as the sun begins to descend and flashes thousands of photographs taken across the world. Spotted the Opera House in there! It is very, very cool.
Leaving the Schiele exhibit, we were almost blown away by an icy wind and decided on stopping in for some Krumlov hot chocolate that came highly-recommended: and trust me, the hot chocolate was like a melted mint slice! It is to die for! Dinner that night was for Gypsy Ghoulash and dumpings, (amazing) and then back to Travellers…
Sunday morning we awoke remembering a pinky promise we had made at Travellers the night before: to raft down the Vtlava. It appeared slightly overcast as it had been pouring all night; however, by the time we had eaten breakfast the blue sky was out and we were convinced we had to get rafting before the weather clouded over again. We (Rach, Chris from Amsterdam, Lou & Dan from Brighton, and I) boarded our raft with lifejackets (precautionary in the event that we fell from the raft into the knee-deep water). The icy Vtlava wasn’t exactly raging (!), but we could successfully ride the current into town and make it in approximately two hours. The boys were in charge of steering as paddling was not required!
Our first weir made us a bit anxious about icy splash-back, but unluckily I was the only one that copped a chilly wave in the lap. I was wearing quick-dry pants so if anyone should get wet, I should take one for the team! The second weir we were meant to walk around as it had been ‘closed’ after the summer. Nothing was blocking it, and plenty of water was running over it, so we opted to head down the slide and it was a much smoother ride than the first! More drifting down the river, until we were to hit our third weir. Little did we know – it would be our undoing! It appeared to be a very small weir – but halfway down an icy wave bounded into the laps of all of us! Not only that, the sun went behind the clouds, the wind picked up and it started to spot with rain! The chilly trip down the rest of the river through town was gorgeous, despite the frostbite developing in my toes. Under each bridge, tourists would flock across to take a photo of the mad travelers who were rafting in a town that had been forecast with snow that week prior. All being said and done, we had so much fun and can’t wait to take Nick back for some more Vtlava fun!
After a warm shower, we all headed to the place with the fried camembert and tartare sauce for lunch. Oh, and Eggenberg. Oh it was so good. Dinner that night was back to Gypsy Ghoulash (it is worth a second trip for sure) and then we all headed to Horor Bar for Ginger Mojito’s (so good) with about half of Krumlov House! At about 1am, we headed back to Travellers until close….
There is an enchanting tranquility to Cesky Krumlov that tempts you to lengthen your stay. Although under consideration, I had to take my flight from Linz back to the reality of London on Wednesday (or as the pilot put it: ‘We are heading to Stansted, which is absolutely rubbish, the weather is sunny but I’m sure by the time we approach the English channel it will be cloudy, rainy and bullocks. Enjoy your Ryanair flight’).
Although I was prepared for the reality of finding work, unpacking the flat and miserable weather; we were surprised to be greeted by tshirt weather, no rain and some lovely sunshine. So far it has remained!
Hopefully it holds out for the weekend…
So, I have a home in London! Under pressure to secure somewhere after Nick’s landlord sold the flat and provided one month (instead of two) during the busiest flat-finding time in London (end of summer and all the students back in town for the beginning of the academic year). We were looking in N1 (Islington), but due to the competition and lack of available properties, we decided to look south for better-value-for money and more options.
We found a great flat in Clapham and rang immediately to secure a viewing the next night. We met the landlord, Laura, who is renting out her flat after getting married and moving into a new home further south with her husband. The flat is a cute little one bedroom, with Ikea-refurbed kitchen and bathroom, clean, tidy, and close to tube stations. It was also about the same price as renting in a sharehouse in N1, so we made an offer on the place immediately as they were showing the flat to another seven couples by the next day! The flat came with double bed, couch, desk, washing machine, oven and plenty of wardrobe space. We would only have to invest in a few incidentals – like a TV. By the following morning, we had won the apartment and could move in that weekend. I was so relieved after fearing we may be sleeping on Regents Canal on the 17th!!
How exactly do you move flats in London? You pile your things back into your suitcase and unpack it at the new flat. That’s all. No fridges up awkward staircases, or dragging washing machines onto trailers here!
Luckily for us, Nick’s workmate Tim had car-access this particular Saturday so we could lug our suitcases and one box into his boot, rather than negotiating the tubes across to SW4 from NW8. Nick was exceptionally excited to be in a passenger car driving across London – he offered to drive a few times as well. It is a bit funny in London when you drive somewhere: you can see the bits that piece together the gaps between the tube stations which you don’t usually see!
We arrived at the new flat, signed off the necessary paperwork from the landlord (who was a wee bit hungover) and dragged our three suitcases inside. Then… off to Ikea!
As we weren’t sure exactly how to get Ikea we simply drove towards the giant blue and yellow striped smoke stacks in Croydon! How we managed to find the Ikea carpack through the rat’s nest that are London’s streets: a miracle!
Ikea is a scary place on a Saturday morning: I think many marriages end in the build-your-own wardrobe section, and mostly I feel sorry for the cashiers as by the time you actually find your way out of there you are so frustrated by misleading ‘shortcuts’ and ‘out of stock’ necessities that you just want out of there! We collected the essentials for our partly-furnished new flat: utensils, saucepans, plates, cups, mugs and wine glasses, and headed on back. We left all the items in Tim’s boot as we had to stop in for one last necessity: to watch the Australia V Japan at the local pub.
This was our first introduction to the Clapham-lifestyle: rock on down the road about 1 minute, walk into the first of many, many bars on Clapham High Street that is showing the Rugby World Cup only to be greeted by many Wallabies jerseys and a bartender with an Aussie accent (I think). The beers went down well, and the Wallabies won 91-3 so all was well. We headed back home and unpacked the boot with our cheap Ikea purchases and Tim escaped home. We owe him a lovely bottle of scotch or something!
Dinner that night was ready-made pizzas from the local Tesco-Express and then earlyish to bed: the following day, Sunday, Nick was off to Thorpe Park and I was off to Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic to rendezvous with Rachel!
So overcast weather deterred us from the trip out to Stonehenge, so I compromised with a trip to Greenwich Village to see where time began. Well, you know what I mean.
We stopped off for breakfast at a cute little french place in St Johns Wood, then caught the tube down to Greenwich. (Warning: the DLR trains have NO drivers. Scariness.) We then wandered through the Greenwich Village markets, then via the University of Greenwich before proceeding through the royal estate by the Queen's House (centre).
We then climbed up to the Royal Observatory with many other puffing tourists to see Bradley's Meridian Line. They also have markings on the ground of the angles to each of the capitals in the world. Spot Canberra if you can.
I am still on the job search - would love an easy going admin role to pay the bills so I can spend all my energy enjoying London and Europe. I have booked my cheap return flights to Cesky Krumlov for this Sunday to visit Rach! Can't wait. So I have this week to hopefully get some interviews in the pipeline, if nothing by Friday I will register with some temp agencies or something. I wish I was a millionairess!!
Ah, Venice. Place of exceptional boatmanship and canal chaos! It lives up to all of its expectations: the grandeur, the romance, the expense (!), the wonder, and gondola novelty.
Our trip began at 330am for our commute to Stanstead Airport to catch our 630am flight to Treviso. Carry on security was strict... luckily we had overcompensated on timing for as it was, even though we checked it at 5am, we were lucky to make it to Final Boarding Call! After a short 1 and 3/4 hour flight we began our descent into Treviso over the beautiful mountain range, capped with snow in some parts and gorgeously sunny. We then boarded a bus from Treviso across to Venezia with the slowest bus driver in the world (isn't that odd for Italians?). Our trip from the mainland to the island made it very clear that we weren't just going to any city! We were in Venice!
Nick and I found our hotel - conveniently placed near Piazze de la Roma (bus terminal end) so we could check in our things going almost immediately. Nice work, Nick! Mapless in Venice, we begin our first meandering excursion to wander among the many canals and alleyways. Truthfully though, it is hard to get lost when there is an endless stream of tourists making their way from Piazze de la Roma to Piazza San Marco. We tried to escape them by taking a hard right... and then when things were exceptionally quiet and we lost our sense of direction we located a yellow San Marco sign and we were on our way to the piazza. Trust the yellow sign. Trust it.
On our way to the piazza we past trattorias, back street bars, gift stalls, exclusive stores like Bvlgari/Versace/Gucci, plus crossed tens of bridges who were all hosting a gondola or two looking for his next fare. There is always a bustle of activity going on, no matter whereabouts you are in Venice.
So we hit Piazza San Marco at approx 1:30pm - with hundreds of other tourists! We were amazed by the sheer size and grandeur of the building; and Nick thought he could outsmart the pigeons by holding out his palms as though they had feed. Stupid pigeons. They bought it!
We wandered throughout the square before heading back the one and a half hours to our
First thing on Saturday morning after enjoying out coffee, ham/cheese/bread/yoghurt breakfast, we headed back to Piazza San Marco to beat the crowds so we could climb the bell tower overlooking the square without having to line up for two hours. The view across Venice from up there is amazing - you can see across to all the neighbouring islands, and also truly contemplate the complexity of the design of the city. You also have the option of seeing into a Venetian backyard! Yes, some are lucky to have a bit of spare room in their tiny properties.
We then jumped on a vaporetti across to Murano - a sleepy fishing village on a nearby island. I LOVED Murano. It is just gorgeous. We stopped off for some lunch here - pizza and beer - in a sleepy canal-hugging trattoria. Cold beer. Divine pizza. I think I was in food heaven. We then meandered our way down the island checking out the glass blowing stores, churches who would let you come in for FREE, and a fort that sits like a lighthouse on one side of the island. The peace in Murano is gorgeous. From there, we jumped on another vaporetti across to Lido - a beachlovers island. First thing that spun me out here is that there were cars (!), and it seemed to be even more expensive than Venice. We did treat ourselves to divine Gelato by the seaside so we were delighted with our efforts. After a vaporetti and a cold shower (30C!) we headed to a restaurante for dinner that we had picked out during the day. Unfortunately, we had no reservato so denied access and sent searching for an alternative. After much meandering, we stumbled across a canal side restaurante in San Marco that had another couple leaving so we were able to score their canal-side table!
The restaurante was situated directly next to a Servizioso Gondale so were had the pleasure of watching many holidayers excitedly jump in their gondolas (with a cheap bottle of champagne and plastic cups, I might add!!) and sway off into the night. They would return about 50 minutes later looking bored, unromantic and not happy at all!!! Again, we enjoyed a lovely bottle of wine with first and second courses (handmade parmesan and ricotta cannelloni/ veal with a divine sauce and medley of vegetables) and were even more spoilt by the canal lapping just below our feet on a perfect summer night in Italy. Ah, bliss!
Sunday we headed up to Il Palazzo (The Doge's Palace) to see how the better half lived in the 1400/1500s. Clearly, quite well it seems! We spent over two hours wandering our way through the Doge's apartments, learning about the Venetian Great Council and its system of government, before heading over the Bridge of Sighs to see the prisons. The palace was so grand, and so huge! According to what we read, the Great Council Chamber is one of the biggest rooms in all of Europe. Not bad for a tiny island! Il Palazzo is clearly my favourite sightsee from the trip.
We then headed to the Carnereggio region of the island to check out the ghetto - the one a half hour walk wasn't really worth it as there wasn't much to see. We did get to venture to this region and we now know where the hottest (and stinkiest) area of Venice is!
Sunday night we met two of Nick's mates (James and PJ) for a beer and a catch up. We enjoyed a many San Soucis, in a backstreet bar, before heading to a restorante nearby for more wine, gnocchi and..... Amarretos!! The divine drink of Italy. I would give up icecream and chocolate brownies for amaretto any day. Standing up after dinner - we decided to walk to the hour home from San Marco to the hotel...
On Monday morning we lamented. We had to go home. We tried to sneak in to see Chiesa San Marnaba to check out the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit they had on but alas, they were closed on Mondays. We hung out on the Fondamenta in Dorsudora before heading back to pack and board our bus back to Treviso. Then board our plane to Stanstead, London. Then catch the train home.
On the flight home I was already thinking up plans for the next European escapade - Cesky Krumlov to see Rach in Sept (TBC), Paris end of September, and Amsterdam in October hopefully.
But this weekend? Househunting and Stonehenge!
