It's August since I last wrote on here?!!? Oh my....

Anyway, here is a video of the delightful weather we are having at the moment, and when I say delightful, I mean it. 

I. LOVE. THE. SNOW! 

This is taken from our bedroom window this Saturday morning just gone.

Travels that be.....

I guess the thing I love most about working now is that I have money to spend on adventures! Our first being a trip to Italy (Rome, Florence & Venice) and Austria (Salzburg & Vienna) which you all know we took just over a month ago! One of my favourit-est friends in the world, Miss Kara J Jones, flew all the way over from Australia and after spending a fun filled week with her in London (including Centre Court tickets to Wimbledon to watch the Fed...I KNOW!) the three of us plane-d, train-ed, boated and automobiled our way through a wonderful pasta, pizza, gelato, wiener schnitzel filled adventure!

The plan (or lack thereof) went something like this...

Roma, 36 degree heat, just the way I like it! We stayed in a little hostel near the Vatican and our three days were quickly filled with all the sites...The Collosseum, Vatican City, Pizza, The Spanish Steps, Pasta, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Parliament, more pizza, Sistine Chapel, more pasta, St Peters Basilica AND between the 3 of us- over 100 scoops of decadent gelato. Best combo? Lemon and Chocolate. YUM

My favourite part...Waking up at 4:30am to see the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps- people free and as the sun was coming up. I must admit that when the alarm went off at 4am I wondered how worth it this expedition would be, but I am so glad we did it, not only because there was no one around, but also because it gave me the opportunity to GET IN the Trevi Fountain. I've since found out that I could have been arrested and I'm therefore quite glad that the policeman guarding the site, just on the other side of the fountain did not catch a glimpse of my spirited frolicking and splashing about like a 5 year old.

From Rome we made our way by Train to Florence, where we popped in for a quick visit, after a 1hr line up mind you, to see old Davo, then back on the train and on toward Venice.

So we're on the train from Florence, we're hot (still 36degrees and had been for four days now), tired, and resting our sore and dirty feet...outside the window, as the train speeds along, the green hills, dotted with cows and the occasional vineyard blur into a backdrop of blue sky. Outside it's bright, the sun is shining and the golden fields glow in its warmth, this is Tuscany, this is what I had always imagined it would be like. Every now and then we pass a cottage, perched on the edge of a rolling valley, washed in shades of terracotta, draped in vines and laced with flowers,..I rest my head against the warm window and watch the beauty passing by whilst Andrew and Kara sit back and play games on their iphones beside me. As I sit quietly, feeling so very content, my eyelids get heavy and I begin to fall asleep....eyes open, eyes close, eyes open, eyes close, I fight to stay awake, to take in more of the beauty outside the train, eyes open, the afternoon sun falls warm on my face, eyes close..........

I'm not sure exactly how much time passes here, but after I nod off to sleep it feels like only seconds until I'm awoken with a shock as Kara flies from her seat over the top of me and toward the window, she points in a flurry of excitement and pastry crumbs that fly from the croissant she is half way through eating....

”Erts Fwwwainig” she shouts with the enthusiasm of a 5 year old on Christmas morning.....

Half asleep I rub my eyes and look at her.

What?

Look! She laughs out loud as she waves her hand toward the fields outside and brushes the pastry crumbs off her and everything surrounding her.

I look out the window and no longer does the sun shine, no longer do the valleys glow, no longer do the cows look happy...it's raining, and not just raining, it's pouring and the sky is black, and the clouds grow ever thicker, the trees are fiercly blown about in the wind and the cows tuck their heads into their chests trying to find some shelter. Where this storm came from I do not know, but it was a nice relief after the many days of hot hot weather and it led to one of the most entertaining moments of our travels as we were just about to pull into our station, backpacks, bags, shorts and t shirts and a train platform with no shelter. We get our stuff together and as we stand at the doors, we make a somewhat detailed plan. ..Get off the train and run!!! Where to? We're not actually sure, but we'll just see what happens?

The doors open, and as a massive gust of wind and rain hits us square in the face, we clumsily jump off the train laughing and screaming. We run...at first in three different directions but eventually all ending up at a set of stairs, heading down to a tunnel underneath the platform. A torrent of rushing water fills my shoes as I do my best to get to shelter without falling on my face, or using the stairwell as a water slide. Amazingly (for clumsy little me) I make it with no scratches to the bottom of the stairs, surprisingly dry given the circumstances, and well chuffed with our achievements! 

That is until we realise, this is not the right station, we got off the train too early? Nooo? Did we? Surely not? We have to go back up there?

I hear a train approaching on the platform above? And with a quick glance at the timetable on the wall, we see it's going to be the last one for a while, so again we RUN! Back up the stairs, up the torrent of raging water that continues to fill the tunnel below..at this point I feel like I'm on an episode of wipeout as I trip and fall and stumble my way up the stairs...Kara and Andrew speed past me, onto the platform into the dark, into the rain. They run towards a tiny information booth to use the shelter of it's tiny eaves while they wait for the fast approaching train...Kara nestles her head under Andrews arm and they both squint and watch as I run toward them through the bucketing rain, laughing all the way.... I reach them at the same time the train does, but the train is not stopping, it's not even slowing and almost as in slow motion it's approaching lights pierce through the wall of glistening raindrops and hit me in the eyes, blinding me....

Aggghhhhhh

I call out to the others and as the train flies by it not only drowns out my cry but literally drowns us all in a sheet of rain, propelled from it's every angle. The look on Kara's face as she tries to hide behind Andrew and the look on his face as both her and I are literally blown around like leaves in the wind will be etched in my mind forever. Priceless....and so dripping with water, and trying to stay upright we laugh, so hard we can hardly walk....We are cold, tired, hungry, soaked to the bone and still have a couple of hours to our destination but this was one of my most treasured moments on this trip and will always be one of my favourite memories...

We eventually made it to Venice....aaah Venice. I looooved Venice....

BUT

more about this trip to come later.....when I actually write it Hah! In the meantime, Andrew and I are off to Barcelona tomorrow!

Bout time for an update I'd be thinkin

Well, I’ve been working for two months now, which is why, once again, I haven’t updated this as promised. I spend so much time getting to work, am so so ridiculously busy during the day, then spend a stack of time getting home, that by the time I do have the opportunity to sit down and write, it’s the last thing I feel like doing ...

So, how is the job I hear you ask? Well, so far, it’s pretty...I want to say “cool” here but I am trying to re-train myself and as “cool” is not really considered to be a suitable word in my new work environment, let’s go with...Interesting? Challenging? Eye Opening? Daunting? Exciting? All of the above...

I mean, apart from the fact that I walk through corridors and hallways and basements and galleries lined with the likes of Picasso, Monet, Rembrant, Modigliani, Andy Warhol all on my way to my office each morning, it has certainly been a great learning experience. Not so much from a technical, actual job point of view but certainly when it comes to relating to people and certainly when you look at it from a cultural perspective. I mean, if I was ever going to work in a job that epitomised “London” then this is it and for that I am so grateful. It really is an amazing opportunity and as much as I am still a little overwhelmed about the environment, I am finding that each day, as I meet more people, all of whom so far (despite the occasional quirky idiosyncrasy) are normal people, I am becoming less apprehensive.

I certainly wasn’t confident that this would be the case after my first day though...

After introducing myself to the doorman and being taken on a small tour around the beautiful building which is smack bang in the middle of palaces and designer shops and galleries in Mayfair, I then headed to an induction with about 12 other staff, all of which had been working there for a few months already, therefore making me the newest of the bunch and therefore accentuating the fact that I was totally and utterly clueless. 

It all seemed quite straight forward to begin with, and everyone was quite lovely, so there I am thinking, yeah, I'm not out of my depth, I can do this, sweet, no worries mate, that was until the lady running our induction programme decided to whip out the ole "go around the table and introduce yourself" game...no, no hang on, “introduce yourselves to the person next to you, sharing what you did before and an interesting fact about yourself and then THEY will introduce you to the rest of the group” game...Okay, that seems easy enough I thought, but you see the thing is, once the public introductions start...”This is Charles, he is from France, he is 26 years of age and before this job he was a Professor in Impressionist and Modern Art, at the museum of...” ......”This is Mark, he recently won a National Polo Championship and speaks 5 languages, before this job he was studying at Oxford, where he recently completed his Masters in Law”....and so on and so forth, you then realise that you cannot take back what you have already told the person next to you and you slowly but surely sink further and further into your seat until “This is Lindsay, she used to work at the factory that makes Weet Bix and she lives near the beach where Home and Away is filmed” ...WOW...and there it is! Are they crickets I hear? And at that moment I feel more ridiculous than a Salvador Dali...

But as time has gone on there, and as I have settled more into my job and the environment, you know the funny thing is , as important as education and working hard is, and as amazing as it is to be surrounded by very well to do people, to be surrounded by so much history and class and culture, it makes me appreciate all the more, the fact that I am Australian, that I grew up the way I did, in the culture I did.. I love that I'm a Weet Bix kid and you know, I think secretly, everyone at work who knows where I'm from, would love to say that they grew up near where Home & Away is filmed too.

Going Going Gone...

So, after three days of back to back interviews with employers and recruiters, being put forward for jobs and offered a bunch of temporary placements, it came down to three strong possibilities, all of which choosing to proceed with depended on a solid answer from another...If it rains it pours so they say.

I could either:

a) Start a 3 week temp job up the road, all locked in and ready to go, all I had to do was show up on Monday but it only guaranteed 3 weeks.

b) Possibly start a job in London next week, full time for 6 months and ongoing after that, but would possibly have to attend a second interview which could be as late as Monday which would mean letting the temp employer/recruiter down at the last possible minute (which I haaaate doing cause I'm too nice) and therefore forfieting one lot of short term work for only a possibility of long term work; Or

c) Forfiet the temp work altogether to attend a definate second interview next week for another job (veerrry different to the job in (b) but just as good) in London which I may or may not get.

So, needless to say I have been feeling a little stressed out about juggling the scenario, three lots of employers plus three lots of very lovely recruiters (who I do not want to burn bridges with) all needing answers and all waiting on me who was waiting on another of them...

So after a moment of overtired and flustered emotion, and an immature and tearful phonecall to one of my friends, I resorted back to the lounge with a tub of icecream to sit and play "the waiting game" all the while applying for more jobs, speaking to more recruiters and agreeing to be put forward for more interviews...

Now, I'm not complaining, cause I'm very blessed to have so many opportunities all of a sudden presenting themselves, but I must admit I've found it all a little overwhelming and couldn't help but fear the possibility of either making the wrong decision or procrastinating on each job to the point of ending up back at square one, unemployed and with nothing on the horizon but a trip to the supermarket to by more icecream...

Anyway, it's now 630pm and after one of my recruiters spent the afternoon pushing back on the employer for option (b) who was only at the point of deciding whether to get me back for a second interview or not, they decided that rather than lose me to another option they would offer me a job to start 9am Monday!

Thank You God!

Here's the super fun bit, it's with a certain famous Auction House (which I'm not listing the name of in case of saying something wrong), which will mean absolutely nothing to some of you and mean a whole $50 million dollar Monet to others...its been around for a couple of hundred years and they look after the auctions of art and jewellery and sculpture etc to the tune of millions of dollars...If you've got a spare $40mil to spend on a Picasso then this is where you go..click here (Nanna and Pa, click on the word "here") if you want to look.  

I'm totally freaking out and can't quite believe it, I mean this place is fancy! and posh! and I am, in all honesty not. I mean the offices have a doorman and are in one of the fanciest buildings in London...BUT I'm excited and really looking forward to it, to working for such a prestigious company, to learning more about myself and what I am capable of, it's really an amazing opportunity and one of which I am believing is meant to be, one of which I am choosing to believe God has given me. (Still, your thoughts and prayers would not go astray on Monday)

And so my friends, there you go :) the days of my being unemployed and getting fat (they even offer subsidised gym memberships!!) are now...

going

going

gone!

Snazzy Snap Shots

A few people have asked me for photos...


There is actually an album attached to this blog. Just click HERE (Nanna and Pa, put the mouse over the word HERE and click on it hahaha) and it will take you to the photo album.


I've put a link PHOTO ALBUM over there on the left hand side as well.


xxx

A whole month?!

Aaahh gee, I've done it again! Or should I say, I've not done it again?! updated my blog I mean?! Where has that last month gone? You'd think that being an unemployed bum would work wonders for writing a blog! I have all the time in the world after all? Yet the days come and go right before my very eyes and before I know it a month has passed and I have not achieved a thing?! Ugh. Plus it doesn't help when I feel like I sit down to write something and I cannot even string a sentence together? Where are you inspiration? But I'm going to try.

So what AM I doing with all this spare time you ask? Weeeelll, the typical day for me of late goes something like this....

Wake up. 

Stare at the ceiling and count the planes flying over till I get to 10 (which doesn't take long)...or maybe more depending on whether the sun is beckoning me out of bed or not.....

Eat breakfast.

Eat more breakfast.

Turn on the computer and find my little seat at the dining room table...very uncomfortable but if I sit on the lounge I will most definitely fall asleep...

Apply for jobs online

Get pleasantly distracted by my friends back home in Oz, who are all on facebook for the evening...

Attempt to apply for jobs

Get bored. Eat something

Stare into space...count more planes

Sift through website after website for jobs

Eat something

Get pleasantly distracted with online advertising for fun things to do in Europe

Stare at the wall and think about how nice it would be to do these things in Europe...

Have slight anxiety attack that 3 months have now passed, I am not working, and I have not been to Europe yet...I neeeeeed a job!

Apply for more jobs online

Call some recruiters

Notice the herbs on my kitchen window sill are wilting...water the plants....

Clean the house

Iron

Swear at the iron and get cranky with my lack of ironing ability.

Sit back down to apply for more jobs

Get bored. Get anxious. Get Cranky

Find TUB of Belgian chocolate ice cream in the freezer....grab a spoon, ignore the screams inside my head to "get outside and go for a walk you lazy frump"

Sit on the lounge, watch re runs of Friends, stare at the wall, look at the books on the shelves who are asking to be read...

Stare at the wall

Regret just eating so much ice cream. 

Do some sit ups.

Freak out. I neeeeeeeeed a job.

Think about what to make for dinner.....

Are you asleep yet? It's riveting isn't it!

And so it goes....the vicious cycle of being unemployed. I don't like it much. I hate not feeling like I have any purpose. Sure, I'm doing the house wife thing and there is nothing wrong with that, but I'd do that anyway and it's just not me to do ONLY that...I like my independence, I like being able to go to work and use my brain every day, I like earning money and having some sort or routine, I like interacting with people, I like getting to 5pm and feeling like I have made some sort of contribution to life...call me crazy, but I don't like not working. 

For those of you who could possibly worry about me... It's all okay. I am okay. I haven't fallen to pieces! I HAVE put on about 3kg of Belgian chocolate ice cream, but I'm okay. AND...I have actually been applying for ALOT of jobs. I did 120 applications over two days last week, but I guess I just didn't expect it to take this long to find work? Or at least the work I was hoping for. Maybe I'm being too fussy? I don't know.

Annnnyway, it will come. I am sure. I have had a couple more meetings with recruiters this week and have a couple of interviews coming up. So we'll just hope and pray that one of these turns into a job for me :) and if not by the end of this week, then I've decided I'll do anything. Just to keep me entertained if nothing else.

So. 

Wow. That was probably the MOST boring blog I have ever written. 

See. I wasn't lying when I said I have lost my writing inspiration. Thanks for sticking with me.

xx

Tea & Croompets....VEGEMITE croompets!

Our shipping has arrived today, and THIS makes me one very happy chappy. 


I've only just started unpacking, and what a process it is, everything is very nicely packed up safely in layers of bubble wrap and tape and bags and boxes (Thank you Dad & Lyn, VERY much appreciated) and as I get through each layer and find each new piece of "home" inside, I can't help but feel like it's an early Christmas!


My favourite discoveries so far? 


My care pack! THANK YOU DAD & KIM! Vegemite, Tim Tams, Arnotts Scotch Finger biscuits, MILO and a block of Cadburys milk chocolate...I guess I should say OUR care pack, but does it become MINE, if I hide it away before Andrew gets home? hmmm No I couldn't! I mustn't! Hmmmm maybe just half of it? For his sake of course, I mean, he'll scoff an entire pack of tim tams in one sitting, and THEN where would he be when he so desperately craves one in a weeks time? Yeah, gonna hide half. Gee I'm so thoughtful! Ok...rambling.


and


My Recipe Book! Aaaaah. familiar home favourites!


and 


My UGG BOOTS!!! Brand Newies! Oh my goodness! My feet are so happy right now! THANK YOU DAD!


It's amazing how much comfort can be found in the simplest of things! Like really? Who seriously gets excited about vegemite toast?! But, one of the things I have realised since I got here, amongst being unemployed and trying to settle into a new country away from the familiar, away from my friends and family, away from my comforts, is that some of the simplest things, some of the things that pass us by, often completely un-noticed, are some of the things that could bring us a smile in the times we need one, bring us a different outlook on life, or a sense of contentment and happiness, if only we would stop and notice...


Like for me...the spring time daffodils, and the Irish Wolfhound on the bus the other day, a conversation with an old lady at the bus-stop or the scenery on the train ride into the city, usually, in the day to day comfort of being at home would bring nothing more than a nice passing thought, but now, lately, I've been learning that in them, there is so much more than that, there are comforting moments, experiences to be had for my heart and soul, that there is a whole world of big things in the little things...


A daffodil in the park is not just a pretty yellow flower but a reminder of new life, of new beginnings, of things that have never been before, and of all the possibilities that lay in that, not for the flower, but for me, for Andrew, for life in general....


...a dog, on a bus, is not just a reason for my allergies to play up and for the passengers to turn their nose up at the fact that he needs a wash, but a reason to smile, to let my imagination run wild, to think of all the things that might be running through that dogs head as he looks around the bus with his huge slobbery doggy smile reaching from ear to ear, he's probably just thinking about food, and the people around me probably think I'm crazy, but that doesn't matter, I'm going to enjoy my moments giggling at him....


..the old lady at the bus-stop, what she represents is no longer just some stranger who wants to chat about a meaningless bus route, but a connection to another human being, a connection, should I choose to take the conversation further, to an entire lifetimes worth of stories, another entire world, one of which I've never been a part of until this day, this conversation..


...the scenery on the train ride into the city...it's not just a ride into one of the most amazing cities in the world, or a pretty view of the greenest pastures, and newborn baby lambs, but a reminder of Gods creativity, of how blessed I am to be experiencing a new "view" and of how blessed I am to have a home with another, so different, yet just as beautiful....


and so, I sit here, surrounded in cardboard and bubble wrap, in my ugg boots, with my vegemite toast and a cup of tea, and I am so thankful for the simple things, for the comfort they can bring, that these little things in life can remind me of my greatest blessings, if I stop and take them in...


Speaking of taking things in..My goodness! How GOOD are Tim Tams!?

Wow. I'm a slacker!

Gee Willy Wonka, I haven't done a very good job of keeping this updated have I? Especially since my life of late has pretty much consisted of, well, not much, actually I've just been a bit of an unemployed bum really...sleeping in, late nights, going for meaningless walks, developing an unhealthy addiction to ebay, oh and keeping the house tidy of course, I haven't completely fallen to pieces...

So, needless to say I've become quite stir crazy, and therefore, I am VERY much looking forward to finding a job and getting into a routine again...the only reason I haven't so far was just that we wanted to get settled in a house somewhere first, therefore making it easier for me to know where would be suitable to commute to etc...

"But Lindsay? Why not be a lady of leisure? You're in London? Don't work, just go and explore? How can you possibly be stir crazy in a place like that?" I hear you say?!? Well, it's been a bit of a catch 22, all this free time, cause everything costs money, well, not everything, but most of the stuff I haven't already done, so in order to thoroughly enjoy London, a bit of play money would help...I have made as much of the time I've had without it so far, but the time has come to find some work...AND, I'm excited about it! Scared, but excited! 

So, now we're settled, the job hunting begins! So far, I've just been applying for a few jobs online and registered with a couple of recruitment agencies, so it's early days, but I have an interview lined up for tomorrow (fingers crossed on that one cause it's with a pretty reputable company whom I would absolutely LOVE to work for) and pending what happens with that, hopefully some more interviews in the coming week...

Anyway, in other news, as I haven't updated this for a while, here's some of the stuff we've been up to....please excuse my lack of creativity in writing this time round, I think I've lost my ability to write somewhere over the last few weeks of my life as a bum....

Well...as you all know, we moved into our house! YAY! and we LOVE it! I have described it in a little bit of detail before, but it's a refurbished convent house, basically an old english mansion that's been turned into a bunch of apartments/flats...ours is a two bedroom, two bathroom, two storey apartment, with a loft bedroom and ensuite and open plan living and kitchen..it has heated floorboards, high ceilings and big cathedral windows, so it's very light and airy...and as I said earlier, we LOVE it! So much in fact that we forfeited finding a furnished place and basically lived off an air mattress for the first 2 weeks of living here! Kind of like ritzy camping! I have though, in my weeks of unemployment and my growing addiction to UK ebay, managed to furnish the place with a couple of nice lounges, table and bed so far...and once I am working and we have more play money, I am sure I'll be able to get a few other bits and pieces to make it feel more like home.

What else? Um..We've seen a few more places...

Andrew had to go up to a conference in Liverpool so I tagged along with him and had a look around there...admittedly I didn't see heaps of it, so maybe this opinion is a little unfair, but although I'm certainly glad I've been, and I got to see a bit of Beatles history, which is super cool, other than that, it just seemed like another city, full of people with very thick accents of which I could not understand half the time...adorable though.

This weekend just gone we took a drive down to Brighton. Now, it certainly isn't a beach like the ones back at home, starting with the fact that the beach itself is made up of big pebbles, but I must say, I loved it! One of the things that the English do well, is take full advantage of their warm weather and the outdoor/beach lifestyle that goes with it...now when I say warm, I mean, at this stage, a top of about 15 degrees, and when I say beach lifestyle, I mean, laying on rocks in this temperature in swimming costumes and eating fish and chips...their beach culture is VERY different to ours, but it's fun! Brighton has a long pier that stretches out into the ocean, with a fun park on the end of it, there are carousels and markets, and basketball courts and volleyball nets stretched right along the beach, people sit on deck chairs and just enjoy every ray of sunshine the minute it appears...there is NO WAY that the beaches at home on a mid 20 degree day would be as crowded as Brighton was on a 15 degree one...I just love how the English make the absolute most of their blue skies! It makes me realise how much I take advantage of where I live, back in Terrigal, back at home...

Other than those couple of places (and I'm sure we've seen even more, I just can't think right now?) we've just done some more exploring in London...especially over the 4 day Easter break...we were going to go away but thought, as I'm not bringing in any extra play money yet, that we'd just use the time to look around the city some more, goodness knows there's enough to do that we could spend an entire year just doing that...so we've had a look at Greenwich, seen a show at the West End (39 steps), visited some more museums, hung out amongst the daffodils in the parks...just those kind of things!

Um what else? Spring has sprung! and its BEAUTIFUL. The days at the moment are a balmy 12degrees or so! Much nicer than the average 2degrees when we first arrived...

Meeeh, I've bored you long enough with this entry...it's not very exciting, I'm actually very disappointed in my lack of expressing enthusiasm in this post, so I'll leave it here for now. 

Here's some photos anyway (click here), and I'll do my best to update this more regularly from now on....

How Many Flavours??

Oh yeah...okay, so this is useless info but it entertains me... today on our way home we saw this milkshake shop that advertises itself as having 185 flavours!! How is this possible? I am impressed!

Hmmm...that's it. That's all I have to say.

x 

All Ruined Out

Warning: This one's kinda longwinded.

Andrew has been really taken care of by his work, even to the point that they have asked him where in England he would like to see and then have been sending him to some places based on that. So this week he was sent North East, up towards Newcastle and a little town called Durham...as I am not working yet, I was able to go with him for the week and then we both stayed on for the weekend to have a look around...

So, after 5 hours of driving through the countryside and witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, stunning in fact....we arrived in Durham.

Durham is an adorable little town of sloping cobblestone paths and narrow alley ways and streets, filled with markets and boutique gift shops peering out of histoical medieval and romanesque buildings. It's main claims to fame are its 11th century Norman Cathedral, which sits high and beautiful on a hill, shadowing every corner of the town and a huge castle that houses a university, giving the place a quirky mixture of student culture and of what I've always pictured traditional England would be like...It's tucked nicely amongst forest covered hills and on the banks of a river with an old stone bridge connecting both sides..on the outskirts lay rolling green valleys and pastures...a really quaint little area. I really liked it here...(the local residents, I'm not so sure though as we passed a suburb called "Pity Me" No word of a lie. haha)

After a couple of days there we then headed on to Newcastle where we spent the weekend. Newcastle was pretty interesting. Originally it was England's northern fortress to defend itself from the Scots in the 13th century, then years later it was a major port and coal mining area, similar to Newcastle at home in Oz I suppose, but it suffered a pretty harsh decline sometime in the past and so these days it's all about culture and arts and restaurants and nightlife. 

Apart from its obvious medieval and roman historical setting, it seems it's a place where people go to have fun, and have fun the way they want too, it's vibe is unique, it's one of resilience and almost a little bit mischievous. The people here are lovely and although they seem so traditionally British (with an adorable mixed accent of England and Scotland) they also seem so different and independent from people I've met in other parts of the country...

But it's not all about the city. Newcastles surrounding areas are also steeped in some of Englands richest history..and this is where I begin to get lost and vague and distracted whilst Andrew tries to contain his excitement.

Here's the thing about my Andrew. He is a bit of a self confessed nerd. Which is not a bad thing. It's a GREAT thing and one of the many aspects about him that I love. Whilst I am quite happy to sit on a grassy knoll in a park somewhere and watch people all day, I love the culture and the people and the vibe of a place, Andrew LOVES to learn about the places we are in, about the history, and the buildings and the way they came to be...this is why we work so well together...I can sit and make some comment on the culture and he can then explain to me where that culture came from. It's great. But one thing I find super strange is his obsession with plaques! Andrew will read EVERY plaque we pass..right down to the ones on park benches, dedicating the seat and its opposite garden bed to the dude who planted the first lavender seed there...Don't get me wrong. I love history too, well, I like it...some of it, but really? is it necessary to read every single plaque? haha. I see an object that I like the look of and then I will read the relevant plaque that goes with it, Andrew on the other hand will read the plaque and then decide if he likes the look of the relevant object..which is probably why he is so super smart and knows so much stuff...and it's also probably why I'm not and I don't haha...But truly, as much as I try to seem enthused for Andrews sake, I am not really all that interested in all the finer details of which knife and fork and cup and saucer was the preffered choice of Lord Armstrong of Bamburgh Castle (which we went to on the weekend) unless it's got a pretty pattern and might inspire a fun new table setting for my next dinner party...so when I have to sit inside the dark, cold hallways of a damp, musty castle for hours on end whilst Andrew reads about all these things, my love for history and castles and Lords and Ladies quickly disipates...

So...as you can gather from the above, along with some other various ruins and historical sites, we looked at castles on the weekend. One of which, and the most amazing, was Bamburgh Castle..and here is the little bit of history I picked up and really do appreciate...

Basically from what I remember, after original foundational parts of it belonged to some other dude some time long ago, it then became the property of one of the Henry's (second I think)...it was a target of the invading Scots and in the 1400's sometime it got damaged in the War of the Roses with canons and stuff...then a few various people took on restoring it until eventually along came Lord Armstrong (an inventor) with his preferred choice of dinnerware, who bought it for 60,000 pounds and finished its restoration...

And YES, it truly is an amazing and beautiful piece of history, resting on a green headland on the Northumberland coastline, a beautiful stretch of white sand beaches, scattered with colourful little fishing villages overlooking mysterious clusters of islands out to sea...for these things I appreciate the experience in having been there to see it and it's being surrounded by THESE things that stir my imagination and interest about Lord Armstrong...what might he have thought about when he looked out to sea from his castle towers, when his eyes were looking at the same view mine were but years before...so, what are my thoughts? well they're not historical facts, they're not real smart, they're maybe even a little bit ignorant, and they sure as heck aren't going to end up on a plaque...but it's in them that I find my real appreciation...and in the meantime, jokes aside, I will take in the views and patiently wait for my love, while he finds his...

Weekend Fun

We spent the weekend doing a bit more exploring in London...

Went to Notting Hill markets on Saturday. Very cool I must say, however, having had the first sunny weekend in a while, every man and his dog were out and the crowds were a little too hectic so we didn't stay for too long... 

Long enough to take a walk through the market from one end to the other, long enough to find the most amazing antique maps shop, long enough to see an array of some of London's quirkiest people, long enough to get hungry for any one of the delicious ethnic foods that were on offer throughout the street, long enough to get sore feet, but still, not long enough. 

I will most definitely be going back there some time soon. AND I will write about it in more detail, it's the kind of place that makes me come away feeling more inspired and as though the creativity inside me may possibly burst at its seams...

One thing Andrew did achieve in our time there was to find and then purchase the funniest looking little bag I ever did see. Well it's actually quite a cool little piece of 1960's/70's Qantas memorabilia..a tiny maroon canvass plasticy luggage bag that he picked up for his dad (who worked for Qantas around that time) yet, seeing Andrew carry it around London, topped off with his woolen/felt old man style hat and his interest in historical plaques on every corner, the bag became, not only a very fitting accessory, but an absolutely hilarious one. 

Very hard to explain why but it was so entertaining to me that for the duration of the entire day, I would spontaneously burst out into a fit of laughter at any given moment, on some occasions to the point of tears and the lack of ability to speak..I am laughing now even as I'm writing about it...I'm not sure whether people were looking at us strangely because of the funny bag? because of how ridiculous Andrew looked carrying it or because of the insane Australian girl who must surely be high or something to be laughing with so much enthusiasm. Maybe the photos below will help you to understand why I found it funny...or maybe you will not get the humour in it all and it will be confirmed that people were actually looking at us strangely because of me and my crazy sense of humour. 

I love my Andrew. Isn't he adorable? (pictured here at Baker St Station (notice Sherlock Homes on the wall there) and then reading one of the days many historical plaques at the British Museum.

The British Museum is the BEST museum I have ever been to by the way. And we only got through part of one floor. It's huge! and the content in there is incredible. The photo of the stone lion down below there is from Turkey waaaaay before Jesus time...we also saw this incredible collection of Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt...we'll be going back there for sure! Just next time, it will be without that bag!

You can see more of our photos by clicking here (if you're on facebook you've probably seen these ones already)

TEA & TROOMPETS

This morning I awoke to the delightful, and when I say delightful I actually mean quite the opposite, sound of a trumpet being played (or possibly slaughtered) outside my hotel room....and I don't mean outside outside in the street, I mean IN the hotel, IN the hallway, right outside my door? Huh? Did I miss something? Seriously, who plays a trumpet in the hallway of a hotel? and had I not been half asleep and looking like a train wreck I would have popped my head out just to find out? But I didn't..so the brass instrument playing hallway lurker will continue to remain a mystery to me...hmmm

UNLESS...they are there again tomorrow? which for same strange reason, my inquisitive little self is kind of hoping for. Just not before 8am.

A little out of place.

DISCLAIMER. The following could possibly be the teeniest bit politically incorrect? maybe? But I got Andrew to read it before publishing so get cranky with him if need be...yeah yeah it's all his fault....

So...today I ventured into the city again.I jumped on the tube and pretty much just got on and off where I felt like it. No plan. No aim. NO IDEA.

Anyway, so I'm walking through one of the underground tunnel thingys and I see this advertisement for a photographic exhibition "Where Three Dreams Cross" 150 Years of Photography from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. SCORE! Just my cup of tea! So I find out where it is and I make my way there, well as best as I know how too having never heard of the gallery it was in and with no map and nothing but a hopeful yet pathetic sense of direction..

Step 1. Catch the tube to Aldgate East station. Ok easy enough....So I jump on the tube, only to find out half way there that Aldgate East station is closed for repairs. Ok no problems, I'll just jump off at the next station and walk back. Too easy. So that is what I do...and it is at this point in the story that I now find myself in the middle eastern district of the city (and I'm not talking geographically here).

Now, just so you know, I quite honestly had no problem with this scenario (insert my big politically correct smiling face here) but little me with my blonde hair and obvious lack of company kind of stood out in this particular part of town (damn it, I should have worn my Fez that day!) and although I felt quite ok at first, the more I looked around, the more I realised that I was very much out of place...

So my walk, in my journey to find the exhibition, soon turned into a fast scurry through the crowded streets of strange and unfavourable looks and many a foreign languages till I found myself a few streets to the right (but not before grabbing myself some yummy turkish snack) again surrounded with the familiarity of business suits, long woolen jackets, scarves, beanies and thick english accents..and now with the sound of prayers being sung far off in the distance, and a sense of dissatisfaction toward myself for being such an ignorant wuss, I'm completely lost with no idea where the gallery I went looking for might be....

SO I do what any young girl out on an adventure does in this situation and I...give up? (oh! bet you weren't expecting that...actually makes this blog kind of pointless now hmmm) and without having to explain why and possibly opening up a can of politically incorrect worms, lets just say it's an exhibition that Andrew might want to see too? right? so maybe I'll come back with him sometime...

Actually I definately will, cause that little deep fried turkish pocket of sultana-ish goodness that I came across was DELISH!...I definately be wanting myself another one of them!

whatever will be will be

Well, we made an offer on the apartment, and they came back with another, but we stood our ground having decided on a maximum amount in our heads and they ended up coming back and saying we could have it!

Good work chaps, very good indeed!

So, as long as all goes to plan with signing the lease etc this weekend, we move in to our little Windsor neighbourhood on the 17th March. Thank God! and thanks to those of you who were praying for the whole scenario. It's a super good feeling to feel He's got things sorted.

ALSO, on a side note, another piece of the picture fits perfectly into place as it looks like we've got a tenant for our little Terrigal house who just so happens to be a friend of ours, which is reassuring as we know they'll take good care of the place...

And this my friends... makes me happy.