Travelling with Mum...
Norwich:
The map we finally ended up taking a photo of in order to make our way around the city
111 Magpie Road!
Fancy a punt?
gorgeous off-the-road B&B:
Mum leading the bulls... so funny when I thought they were cows, a little concerning when I realised they were bulls!
I love the black-faced sheep in England!
Henley:
We had a 'spot of tea' at the Henley Tea Rooms. Mum was all ready to call out to Dad if she saw him walk by. Her snooty, proper, Henley-esque call was going to be "Yoo-hoo, Robin!" We didn't see him...
Thames Head, Cirencester:
Dad, Mum, Jack and Shena, the night before all the shananigans began.
With our hectic boating schedule, I was only allowed to jump out and see Oxford briefly, unfortunately. Dare I say I liked Cambridge better?
...a pretty little town somewhere:
Yeah, I can't remember the name of the town. Lots of thatch-roofed cottages and allotments. Very pretty.
I got a little stressed out on the boat, so got out and took the very sophisticated train from Henley into Lonon for a few days...
Picadilly Circus... with a GAP store right under the sign. Okay...
London Eye
The Globe. Well, not really. A replica built a few hundred metres from where the original stood. [Yes, I am an English nerd]
Moulin Rouge + Wally
Shoutout to Dan. I love that there's a Corcoran's Irish Bar in Paris's Red Light District.
View from the Eiffel Tower.
If you squint, you can see the Aussie flag above them. It says that Canberra is a really long way from the Eiffel Tower.
Dad, being very French and spending time at a Brasserie while Mum and I shopped.
The Louvre.
Restaurant on the Champs Elysee where we had dinner. Say 'tourist'!
Me, standing near the Arc de Triomphe. I had to crop out the shadow of Mum's hands on my boobs. This was maybe the fourth photo she took... We're such tourists.
Fancy ceiling in Versailles
Fancy gardents, too.
Normandy
On our way to the D-Day beaches, we stopped in Giverny to see where Monet lived and worked. Having driven for half an hour to get there, then walked through the rain to find his house and do a tour, it turned out to be closed on Mondays. Woops.
The American cemetary at Omaha beach. Reminded me of Arlington National Cemetary, and I couldn't help but feel very anti-war, anti-Bush all over again...
Isle of Wight
Liz had more guts than the rest of us, standing on the perspex floor at the Millennium Tower in Portsmouth.
The Fab Four. For those of you who don't know: Rob and his girls - his sisters Sara and Liz, and Mum.
On The Road Again...
Back on my lonesome after two days in London with Pel (she fits right in in London... and Avenue Q was awesome!), I began my mad-dash tour of the UK, spending about 2 days in each city at a time.
Bath
A bath... in Bath. How very predictable.
Cardiff
The fancy Cardiff football stadium.
Cardiff Castle and the Welsh flag.
Cardiff, written in Welsh. Love it.
I was accidentally there for the Cardiff Festival. I got to see the Magic Numbers for free! It rained, but was good fun nonetheless.
Liverpool
Strawberry Fields. Tacky Beatles tour - such fun!
Once again, everyone say 'tourist!'
...where veryone goes in Liverpool to get famous, by all accounts.
York
This guy was the funniest ghost tour guide ever. He kinda reminded me of Harold Bishop, only a little creepy (or should that be creepier?).
The Lake District - Ambleside
It was just beautiful in Ambleside - so much greenery...
...beautiful rock walls and old farm houses...
...and blue sheep.
Edinburgh
The view from the bridge.
Edinburgh was a lot of fun - going to see comedians, theatre and Tripod with Kae and Cam.
Edinburgh Castle by night.
That's it for now. I've actually been a bit slow in updating this, and am now in Munich, about to head back to the UK having spent a few days back in Europe. Less than a month til I'm at home, and only a couple of weeks til I'm in Chicago! Next up, though - a week on the Isle of Wight to get to know these long, lost rellies of mine... Can't wait!
