Still Alive!

Oh dear... this site is looking a little sad... life is so busy!
I keep thinking about my trip, and the time just seems to make it feel like it was so long ago...
When I find the time I will definitely have to work on this blog!
It's crazy when you have to deal with recovering from glandular fever, planning a wedding, working, and a busy schedule... but I WILL do it! Even if it takes a while...

Still waiting...

So much has happened in my life since my last post!
I'll see if I have time to continue this amongst planning a wedding and seeking a career change!

Sorry I haven't posted part 2 yet. I had it all ready, and because I had to wait a whole month, I lost where I left off. Will get on to it asap!

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.