Waiting for Part 2...

Just letting you know I won't be posting part 2 this month because our internet usage is already high for the month...(I'm happy to say it's NOT my doing!) and I want to include photos... I have it all ready to post, but will have to wait....

More London pics

Here are some more pictures from the Eye, and also a "Typical traffic jam on London Bridge" taken a few days earlier on the Thames River Cruise (part of the Hop On Hop Off Bus tour).

Houses of Parliament/Big Ben, Paddington Station...

oops...if you look closely you'll see there is actually NO traffic on the bridge... :s wrong photo! lol!Don't have enough net time to add more this month.

London - Eye, South Bank... Day 5, Part 1

Day 5, Wednesday 6th September 2006
~2nd Last Chance Exploration London day~

Today was my brother and sister’s 25th birthday. Obviously I couldn’t make it to the party, so I had my own fun ;) Actually, I spent the morning in Information Centres, pre-purchasing tickets for the London Eye and the Tower of London, and trying to figure out how to get from London to Ireland once I returned from Italy… I ended up at Paddington Station (yes, they sell Paddington Bear merchandise! But no, I didn’t buy any) and could only choose to leave London at 8.45am or about 5 or 6pm… I chose the 8.45am, which meant I would have to leave The Highbury Centre without having breakfast…but I had plenty of time to catch the tube and then find my train to Wales, which would connect me to the ferry to Ireland. It was like a burden was lifted once I finally knew HOW I would be going to Ireland, and also pre-purchased my tickets. The only issue I had then was to make sure I didn’t lose my 4 cards – pre-purchased tickets for the train and ferry, over the next fortnight in Italy!

I made my way to the London Eye… my ticket was for 11.30am….. and I was told to arrive half an hour early to check in. Once I checked in, they put me straight on! I booked for the 11.30am flight, but went on the 11am flight! I didn’t complain! I was happy to have more time to do other things!

When booking my tickets (apparently it was cheaper to pre-book), the man at the Information Centre asked which time I wanted, and I looked at the map he showed me and decided to give myself time to get lost…he laughed at me and thought I worried too much… I do :p But on my own I didn’t want to buy a ticket then get lost and forfeit the ticket ;) He also said, suddenly, that I have amazing eyebrows! Haha! He told me I should only need about 2-3hours at the Tower of London… and to book accommodation etc in Ireland I would need to go to the Irish Tourism Board. I planned to visit them the following day. He said people have told him it’s a bit tricky to find. He also said, with an Irish surname, I must be a “good Catholic like me”, and was a little shocked when I said we changed to protestant! He was Irish but to me sounded more English. Although his passion for his country of birth shone through.

After making it to the top of St Paul’s Cathedral, the London Eye wasn’t a huge adventure, but I did enjoy it. When you watch others riding it, it looks like it moves quite slow, but when you’re on the ride yourself, it goes fairly fast, but slow enough that you can soak up the views, and see them change through the moving heights… I enjoyed looking at certain landmarks from high above, beside, and slightly above, etc. I enjoyed seeing things from different angles. St Paul’s Cathedral offered a different type of view, and you take a cardio workout just to reach the windows with the views!

By today I’d learned to just keep walking and enjoy the journey to the destination… whether or not I knew where I was ;) There is so much to see in London! I enjoyed walking along “South Bank” – reminded me of Melbourne’s South Bank! There I saw heaps of people, and a street performer who was quite strange… I took a photo… he appears as if he is missing parts of his limbs and face… I don’t know how the illusion works, but he was impressive. He was about a block away from the London Eye.

If I return to London, I don’t think I would go back on the Eye, simply because it costs about AU$45…but if I was with somebody else who wanted to ride it I would go again. I wanted to be able to come home and tell people I HAVE been on the Eye. Why would you go to London and NOT have a ride? I know people who didn’t ride, but that’s their choice. I wanted to do as much as I could in the short time I was in London! I quickly learned that meant catching the tube over a bus ;)

Next post will be on the Tower of London...

The Purpose of my Adventure

While I am thinking abt my adventure, I thought I would tell you what made me want to go!

In a nutshell, I am an Italian-Irish Aussie. My grandparents on mum's side were born in Treviso (Venezia), and on dad's side, my great, great (?) grandfather was Irish.

So I am one of those mixed up people with half the world in my blood! :p Italian, Irish, Spanish, Polish, German, etc...

Since I was about 17 I have had the urge to go and visit the countries of my origins. It took me 10yrs, but I FINALLY made it :)

I was determined to go alone simply because I felt I needed to explore my roots with nothing to hold me back... because I just felt the urge and knew if I didn't go now, I would have difficulty finding time to do it later. I would've loved to have a friend go with me, but I didn't feel it was right at that point in time. Although it was a scary thought, going overseas for the first time alone, it was weeeeellll worth it!

It was definitely an eye-opening experience! London was just an 'extra' I felt I HAD to do, Italy was great, but I didn't feel as connected to the country as I had anticipated..and by the time I was on my way to Ireland, I just had a strong sense that I was "going home". After returning to London for one night before going to Ireland, mum sent me a text saying she felt that too.

I think of this adventure as a Spiritual Journey of sorts. I no longer feel the 'burden' to explore my roots, and I have a better understanding of what makes me.
What I expected to see and feel were not necessarily what I did see and feel.

I have a greater sense of who I am and why... and learned so much from this adventure.

London update

I have been busy lately and haven't finished my London tales because I am confused as to what I did on the last 2 days! haha! I remember what I did, but now I have to find the right days I did these things! They were my busiest 2 days that week, so I will be onto them soon!

Then.... the Italy stretch! (yay!)

More on Buckingham Palace

Thinking back, I forgot to write about inside the palace itself! Part of this forgetfulness was the fact I have no photos of this experience because photography was prohibited… like most things you would want to snap! Oh well. It just meant I bought a 10 postcard pack instead…

We walked through what are called THE STATE ROOMS. I remember seeing the Crown Jewels, a display of the queen’s dresses worn from the time she became queen to now, and sat in the seats in the coronation room… The postcards state 10 of the State Rooms we walked through. These were: The Green Drawing Room, The White Drawing Room, The Blue Drawing Room, Throne Room, The Garden Front, The Grand Staircase, The State Dining Room, The Picture Gallery, The Music Room, and the East Front of Buckingham Palace from St. James’s Park.

These names don’t sound very spectacular, do they! But they were definitely an experience! I don’t know anybody else who can say, “I’ve walked the Grand Staircase of Buckingham Palace”! haha! Well I HAVE! It is quite a spectacular experience. What I remember most about the Crown Jewels was that we stepped on to an escalator.

There were 2 escalators going past the display cabinets holding the crown jewels. Unfortunately the escalators didn’t go slow enough to give us a good look, but we DID get to see a lot. The security was understandably high. I have never seen so much gold, silver and jewels in the one room before! There were not only the various crowns worn by Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, and others in the royal family, and Queen Elizabeth’s selection of jewelry. There were also china tea sets and if my memory serves me correctly, even swords and other weapons that contained jewels. It was your typical experience of pewter glasses, dinnerware, necklaces, knives etc… just imagine how much money we could get for all of those things!

The Drawing Rooms were basically large entertaining rooms with antique armchairs and chandeliers. The ceilings were high and decorated with the different queens’ initials in the detail. Queen Victoria had quite an influence! Her initials are just about everywhere, and the stories about the furniture and designs of the rooms mostly lead back to her! Each room has its own detail. The ceilings are different as well as the carpets and furniture. Some rooms have fireplaces, some have sideboards and fancy tables. The name of the room reflects the colour of the furniture and décor (eg, Green Drawing Room has green furniture). And of course, the rooms are spotlessly clean!

My favourite part was probably the Display of the Queen’s Dresses. We walked into a room, and dresses were displayed not only around the walls, but in round sections between the walls. It was a bit crazy trying to see through all the people looking, but I managed to see enough. I found it interesting to see how the Queen’s dress styles changed with her age and changing figure. One thing Margaret and others pointed out… “Red was not her best colour”. There was ONE deep red velvet strapless dress worn when she was very young. It was a simple, but extravagant looking dress that many wouldn’t be able to get away with. But it seems this was the only colour only worn once. The commentary stated that the Queen’s complexion made it easy for her to wear nearly any colour and make it look good.

It was interesting to note that when she was young, she often wore sleeveless dresses/gowns or thin straps. She looked stunning in the pictures. As she became older, her sleeves became longer. It was a gradual change, but we could see how she changed from the elegant straps to the mature sleeves. The dresses really told a story of a stylish woman and how her styles altered as she matured.

The dresses were displayed by colours. There was a blue section, yellow, green, pink, white etc. There was also a section of dresses made exclusively for her visits to particular countries. Some of these were designed either similar to the traditional style of the country, or with elements or patterns relating to the country. She went to so much effort to “look the part” as well as being respectful. Of course, she employed designers to create these outfits.

I couldn’t believe how many jewels, beads, laces and sequins were on these dresses! Some were evening gowns, others less formal. Enlarged photos of the queen wearing certain dresses were displayed behind them. She was quite a beauty in the early days! I enjoyed looking at the photos and seeing inner beauty in those eyes. You don’t see that every day in famous people! There was a real kindness and elegance in her eyes.

I can’t remember the name, but I think it was the Coronation Room – or at least where coronations occur… we were able to sit in the seats and watch a video of some coronations that have occurred in the room. It was interesting being in the same room that is often relayed on tv around the world. I can tell you one thing…the seats were not very comfortable ;) The rooms look a lot larger on tv! They are about half as large as I had imagined.

The only part of the palace tour that was missing was the queen herself. Rumours were that she was in Germany or some other country, but the flag was up, apparently saying she was home. I never quite figured it out. They said the queen usually opens up the palace to the public only in summer. I’m glad I was able to walk through the palace. It was a worthwhile, interesting and educational experience! I also didn’t realise how close to the city the palace was! It is literally in the middle of the city!

This tour gave me a new respect for this woman who seems to hold firm to her beliefs, despite the choices of her family. As a young woman, she was elegant and graceful. Her eyes revealed a deep respect and sense of values. She still maintains the “old fashioned zeal” that many people will never understand. The old fashioned values that many despise, yet without these I don’t believe she would be as elegant. It’s a bit scary to think about her inevitable successor in the not so distant future. Her death will likely see the death of the old fashioned elegance that not only she, but her mother holds/held.

Lessons so far…

* If you know which station you’re near, you can’t get too lost! :) You can walk all over London, and the TUBE stations are EVERYWHERE! Which is great because I was so scared of getting lost! :p

* Don’t ask locals for directions! They either give you a funny look, say they have no idea what you’re talking about, or treat you like you don’t understand English! I had some interesting experiences!

* Internet is cheapest at the Highbury Centre! Only 50p for 30minutes…or L1 an hour.