Back in Sydney

I am now settled back in Sydney, working for an Investment bank, dating the guy I was dating before I went to the UK and sailing regularly and hoping for Summer to arrive soon. I think this will be the last post on this blog as it was for my year away.

Sokcho

This is beach Korean style. An area is roped off nearly everyone has a tent or shelter and a rubber ring and or life jacket.

Seroksan National Park

This is in the Seroksan National Park about four hours from Seoul. To reach this point there was a couple of kilometres of walking upwards through bush and then 400 metres up very steep metal stairs.

Korea - Seoul

Seoul seems incredibly developed after China. There is some interesting architecture.

Qingdao

This is the beach near where my cousin Steve, his wife Kobi and kids are living.

Laoshan - Qingdao

Kobi took me to a lovely bay, just out of Qingdao where there is a temple and fishing boats.

Xian - City Walls

Xian - Terracotta Warriors

Xian

Enthusiasic street stall vendor

Beijing - Llama Temple

Great Wall

Walked from Jin Shaling to Simatai and then up to the 12th tower

Beijing - Summer Palace

Beijing - Forbidden City

Rome

I am currently in Rome. Have visited the Colosseum, Vatican, Sistine chapel and many more sights. I am staying in a convent which is lovely.

Florence

I had one night in Florence, the city was very pretty, but especially enjoyed walking up the hill behind the city into the countryside

Venice

I am in Italy this week. I am enjoying Venice. Lots of great buildings and canals.

Sculptures on the South Bank

I went to Borough market, then to the design museum and then walked along the South Bank on Saturday. These sculptures are near the Hayward Gallery.

Last Week At Work

I am finishing work this week and trying to get organised. My excess luggage has gone off to be shipped to Australia. I am going to Venice on the 30th of July, will have two nights there, a night in Florence and then four nights in Rome. I fly to China on the 8th of August, have two weeks there, then a week in Korea, arriving back in Sydney on the 28th of August.

Kew Gardens and Hampton Court Palace

I went Kew Gardens on Saturday. The glass houses were really interesting, I especially enjoyed the giant water lilies.

On Sunday I went down to Surrey to see Anna and Stephen and their children. I went to Hampton Court Palace gardens with them. The formal gardens are very impressive. There are lovely rose gardens as well. We then went for a drink in Walton.

Sailing

I went down to Hamble on Friday night and spent the night on a Bavaria 38, the next day we sailed to Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Cowes was full of sailors, we had to moor up against another boat, four out from the dock. The weather was relatively good but still cold and was glad of my thermals.

Pride and the Wellcome Museum

It has been wet and cold in London, they are now saying that the one day of summer will be the 15th of July. I went into the city on Saturday to have a look at some of the summer sales. The Pride parade was on Oxford street, it certainly wasn't Mardi Gras in Sydney, only a few really good floats, the rain wasn't helping.

On Sunday I went to the newly opened Wellcome museum, it was an interesting collection of Medical equipment and art relating to the body, everything from a Mummy to a heart bypass unit.

White Cliffs of Dover

I went out with the ramblers club on Sunday to Dover. It was rather wet but very pretty. There were poppies growing in the wheat fields.

Dragon Boating

The Lend Lease Dragon boating team at Bisham Abbey Sports Centre, near Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Grosvenor organised a charity fund raising event. Unfortunately despite our best efforts, and perhaps due to none of us having been in a Dragon boat before we didn't make it into the finals. It was a really nice day finishing up with drinks by the Thames.

Osterley House and Park

On Saturday I went to Osterley House in West London. It is a National Trust property with elaborately decorated house and a great park. Unfortunately it poured just before I got to the house so spent some time sheltering under a tree.

Caves and Gardens

On Saturday I went on a trip to the Chislehurst caves with the Metropolitian Ramblers club. The caves are 22 miles of underground passages that have been dug out for chalk and flint mining, they were also used as a shelter for 15000 people during the war. We then went on a walk through Petts wood.

On Sunday there was the Open Gardens event in London, this is when a number of gardens that are generally not open to the public open the gates to those who have bought tickets to the event. The Roof Garden, part of the Virgin Empire had a restaurant, ducks, flamingoes, ponds and full size trees on the roof. The Ismaili centre also had a roof garden that was very tranquil. The rest of the gardens that I visited were private gardens that normally only the surrounding houses have access to. The event was sponsored by the Loire Valley wines company who provided wine tasting at a number of the gardens.

Stratford Upon Avon

I took the train to Stratford upon Avon last weekend. There are three houses in the town: Shakespeare's Birthplace, Harvard House, Nash's House, and about a mile out of town Anne Hathaway's cottage, which is a hatched cottage with a pretty garden, maze and sculptures. Unfortunately I didn't have time to see one of Shakespeare's plays.

Bank Holiday Weekend

The weather over the May Bank Holiday was unfortunately rather miserable. Nee Chen was over for a few days so we went walking in Kensington Gardens and round some of the shops as well as visiting a couple of markets. The birds having chicks, these ones are at Victoria park.

Fenton House

This is a National Trust property in Hampstead. Inside are a number of Harpsicords

Abbey Road

The world's most famous zebra crossing. A little further a long is the recording studio that has a fence that is covered in Beatles graffiti.

Tower Bridge

The Tower Bridge was opened on Saturday so a replica of an old Swedish ship could enter

Returning to Sydney

I have now booked my flights back to Sydney, here are the dates in case anyone feels like joining me for part of the trip.

I finish my work contract on the 27th of July.
30th July I have booked a flight to Venice, am planning to head back to London from Rome on the 6th of August.
8th of August I fly to Beijing, China.
22nd of August I fly to Seoul, Korea.
27th of August I leave Korea to arrive back in Sydney on the 28th of August.


It was a cold, grey, wet weekend in London. I went rambling on Saturday, saw a 12th century Abbey and then walked through a park in Ilford ending up with a pipe organ concert in a church.
On Sunday I went to the Victoria and Albert museum for a couple of hours. The Islamic art was interesting and the shop has alsorts of interesting stuff.

Aussie

Australia has decided to let me become a citizen after all. I applied last year thinking that it would be good to be guaranteed access to Australian health care. However the Bureaucratic process took considerably longer than I anticipated and as you are required to go to a ceremony within a set period which was going to expire in a month, anyhow they have reconsidered and I am now able to go to a ceremony on the 28th of September. Now all I need is little out fit in green and gold, (think I will always be a Kiwi for the national colours if nothing else)! Black is so much more flattering.

Stockholm

Stockholm is really pretty, I hadn't realised that the city is made up of a series of islands.
On Saturday I arrived at Skanska airport that is about an hour and a half out of Stockholm, we passed through pretty farm land and forests on the way. I booked accommodation through a "rent-a-room" agency, it is with a retired woman in quite a good location, quite cheap and interesting decor.

I went to the Vasa museum which is a museum that contains a ship that sunk on its maiden voyage in 1628, and was raised from the sea bed in 1961 and then went through extensive renovations, it was largely intact providing a facinating look at a ship from that time. The museum has a film about the discovery, raising and renovation of the ship, and the personal belongings that they found. The museum as well as having the ship has information and displays on life at that time some skeletons that were found on board and about what they have been able to deduce from the personal belongs and bones on the person's life and position. I then walked along the edge of the water to the old city on the island of Gamla Stan. I went to one of the oldest konditorei (cafe) in Stockholm and had coffee and a "Sarah Bernherdt" a great combination of macaroon, chocolate granache and chocolate. I then did as you have to in Sweden and had meat balls for dinner.

Sunday was beautiful so I went to the Modern Art museum in the morning and then caught a ferry to Vaxholm which is a small island in the archipelago about an hour from Stockholm.

On Monday it was raining so went and had a look around the shops, lots of funky stuff, not cheap though. As you can see from the food hall picture you can buy elk and reindeer meat. Quite a few of the underground stations have art in them.

I took quite a few photos, there are a few here and quite a lot more on Flicka, click on the link on the right to "My Photos".

Brick Lane

Brick Lane is always busy at the weekend. The upper end has some funky clothes and design stores, through the middle are stalls selling all sorts of tat, off to the side is the Up Market, which has some great art, clothes and food stalls, the lower part is full of Bengali and Indian restaurants. The Ethopian meal from the Up market I had was great.

East London

This is the Geffrye museum, it show cases the changes in domestic interiors from around 1600. It is well laid out and has lovely grounds.

After visiting here I went to the Flowers East gallery which has great wide angle photos including some of the aftermath of the New Orleans flooding

Epping Forest

I went out withthe Rambling club on Sunday. Epping forest was pretty with a mix of wild areas, ponds, and fields we also walked through the City cementry.

Hampstead Heath

I spent Saturday at Hampstead Heath. There is a good view from Parliament hill, lots of wild areas, ponds (male, female, mixed and some for the birds), Kenwood house and numerous paths.

Chelsea Physic Garden

The Chelsea Phyic Garden was founded in 1673 to provide training for Apothecaries. It is a hidden garden in London. Beyond the garden walls are a series of beds grouped according to origin, medical properties, type and the various gardeners' collections.

Great Weather

This weekend we had two lovely sunny days with temperatures in the mid twenties. On Saturday after buying sandals I went to St James's Park. The daffodils are now almost over but the tulips are out and very beautiful. I then caught up with Esther in Greenwich and went to a BBQ with her.

Brno

Brno is the second largest city in Czech Republic. There wasn't a lot happening there on Easter Monday, I wandered up to the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, and had an icecream. I flew back to London from there as it was much cheaper than flying out of Prague. Internal transport in Czech Republic is very cheap and the bus was comfortable and even had a waiter, free newspapers and hot drinks.

Prague

From Cesky Krumlov I took a bus to Prague. I had booked into the Czech Inn which was very modern, clean and funky.

After checking in I went down to Charles bridge which is lined with statues. There were people selling jewellery and paintings on the bridge and street performers. There were lots of souvenir shops selling wooden toys, crystal, amber and garnet jewellery on the streets on either side of the bridge.

The following day I went and saw the "Fred and Ginger" building or Dancing House a very untraditional building, I then wandered along the river, went to a modern art gallery and then explored the Old Town, its beautiful buildings and the Jewish quarter. I took a boat trip which was somewhat disappointing as it only went a very short distance up and down the river and then turned around several times. I then went up to Prague castle and then walked back down and across Charles Bridge.

Cesky Krumlov

From Innsbruck I went to Linz for the night, I was trying to get rid of the flu, so didn't go anywhere in Linz. The following day I caught a mini van across the border to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. Going across the border there was quite a clear change, as we crossed the border we went onto a single un marked road with stalls selling garden gnomes. Cesky Krumlov is a world heritage listed town with a castle in the middle of it. Living in the castle moat are two bears. Within the rooms of the castle are the skins of previous bears that have lived in the moat. There have been bears kept there since 1707. The whole town is very picturesque with terracotta roofs and a river flowing through it. In the evening I had a nice meal of whole trout at "Two Marys".

Innsbruck

I headed to Innsbruck last Tuesday for a few days catch up with Arun, Petra and Luca and Petra's niece Nora. It was great to see them and see Luca walking.

Innsbruck was very pretty especially in the old town. There was still quite a bit of snow on the surrounding mountains though these were hidden in cloud much of the time. I stayed at a great little bed and breakfast, www.nepomuks.at that was run by the cafe below which ensured a very fresh and filling breakfast.

We visited the circle painting, Hofkirche where larger than life bronze figures stand guard over the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I, St Jacob's cathedral and Swarovski World a museum of crystal displays, wandered the old town and saw the Golden roof and the Easter market.

East London Art Gallery tour

I went on a tour of some of the smaller art galleries around East London on Sunday with The London Art Club. There was some interesting work including a gallery that had white paper works with smashed eggs on them on the ground level and in the basement larger than lift size naked, back lit photos of the front, back and side of the guy behind the desk on the ground floor which was a little disconcerting. We finished up at the Foundry which was an artist's squat that has been turned into a bar with galleries in the basement.

Lewes and South Downs Way

Lewes is a small town near Brighton. The South Downs Way passes along the hill tops, hence somewhat exposed to the cold wind.

St Patrick's day

On Saturday I went on a walk with the Ramblers Group, we walked from Nottinghill Gate to Holland Park and then on to chocolate shops in Chelsa. I bought some salt chocolate which was surprisingly good. In the evening I went to a classical music performance in Charlton with the London Art Club.

On Sunday a cold front came in bringing sleet and a drop in temperature. There were St Patrick's day celebrations at Trafalgar square and lots of people in green.

Hyde Park

Sunday was also fine. Hyde Park was quite busy especially Speakers' corner. The daffodils are now out everywhere.

Hertfordshire Ramble

Saturday was sunny and relatively warm. I went rambling in Hertfordshire with the Metropolitan Walkers group. We walked down village lanes, across an air field, through woods and across farm land.

Isle of Dogs, Egyptian Dance Show

Speaking to some members of the London Art club I heard about the Metropolitian walking group, on Saturday I joined them for a walk around the Isle of Dogs. The day was somewhat grey however parts of the Docklands area was interesting, the flash part is a little like the Rocks end of Circular quay in Sydney.

In the evening I went to New Malden, to an Egyptian dance show in the upstairs room of a pub. It was an interesting mix of performances by students some of whom were of a certain age where though the mind is willing the body is not quite in tune and some great dancers from Egypt.



On Sunday I went on a walk with the London Art Club round some of London's City churches. Probably the best find of the afternoon was the restaurant, bar and roof garden at the roof top of 1 Poultry Street where we stopped for coffee, we finished off the day with a Bangladeshi off Brick lane.

Happy Chinese New Year

Lanterns at Oxford Circus for Chinese New Year

Holland

Holland was where I spent the weekend. I flew to Rotterdam and stayed in the Room Hostel there, had the dorm to myself so slept well.

Saturday was spent in Amsterdam, an hour by train from Rotterdam. The Saturday market was full of the usual trash, here I sampled the famous Frites with mayonnaise. I visited the Jewish History museum in an old Synagogue. There was a Jewish children museum that explored the day to day features of Jewish life as well as a large exhibition on Jew life in Amsterdam, worship and traditions. The Van Gogh museum had quite a few Van Gogh works but also has a number of works by artists that were his contemporaries.
Anne Frank's house was a must see, I found it moving seeing the space that they lived in and the video of her father discussing her death and reading her diary. I had a good wander along the canals which are very pretty and had a quick look the red light district. The red light district is a bit strange with women in the brothel windows and rather large groups of male tourists wandering about.




Rotterdam is quite different to Amsterdam it lacks tourists and old buildings (most of it was destroyed during the war). It does have a lot of interesting new architecture such as the cube houses. I took harbour cruise that explained the importance of shipping in Rotterdam.

Primrose Hill

These are pictures of walking up Primrose Hill (near Camden) and the view from the top of Primrose Hill. Primrose Hill has got some lovely shops and cafes. I had a lovely slice of cake after my walk.

Faust

I went to an amazing dramatic production last night of Faust. It was in an old warehouse in Wapping over five floors. You were taken into a room in groups of twenty, then all the audience was given masks to wear for the whole evening. We were then taken up in a lift and four people dropped off on each floor. You then wandered round the different floors exploring different scenes occurring in different spaces. The light was very low in a lot of the rooms, and times you saw hardly anyone and then you would arrive on a floor and their would be over a hundred people.
http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=19369

It has been snowing this morning so travel is disrupted again

Sotheby's and the Imperial War Museum

Sotheby's on New Bond St is having some big auctions in the next week so the works are out for viewing, I went along with The London Art Club. It was interesting to see some paintings that are rarely seen in public and to to see who was looking to buy; a mix of old money in furs with toddlers in Burberry and Euro trash. We then had Yum Cha in Soho.

On Sunday I headed to the Imperial War Museum near Elephant and Castle. It has a Blitz experience, a reconstructed trench both with authentic smells, a big display on the Holocaust, information and displays on a number of wars and a film about wars against humanity as well as various vehicles used in war. It was very interesting even for someone whose interest in weapons and uniforms is limited.

Ceramic Painting with The London Art Club

The London Art Club organised a ceramic painting evening this week which was fun. I'll find out on Wednesday after the firing has been done whether I have created a masterpiece or a mess.

The one male in this photo is James who set-up The London Art Club.

I have uploaded some pictures to Flicker this week, the link is on the left side of this page.

Regent's Canal to the Thames

I walked along Regent's Canal from Broadway Market to the Thames. This first picture is of a building by the Thames with has an interesting solution to balconies. Each apartment has a bridge across to a tower of outdoor platforms that have chairs, plants and BBQs on them.

This next picture is of the Limehouse Lock Marina. The boats have to go through a lock to get from the Thames to the marina and the beginning of the Canal.

Snow

This was the view from the balcony this morning. There was about an inch of snow overnight.

Westminister Abbey

I went to the National Gallery at the weekend and saw the Manet to Monet part, it was great to the originals of some of the world's most famous paintings.

I then went to Westminister Abbey for Evensong. Going to a service gives you a different impression of the Abbey and saves on paying the rather hefty £8 tourist entrance fee.

I went to the London Art Fair with the Art Club which was a number of galleries from London exhibiting at the Design centre in Islington. There were some interesting works by up and coming artists and some well known people.

Book Group

We had the third meeting of our London Fields book group last night at a restaurant in Broadway Market, Cilicia. Seven people turned up which was good. We had a lively discussion on "Cloudstreet" by Tim Winton. It is a nice mix of people from the local area.

The high winds have meant that a lot of the trains aren't running and London Fields looks like a shredder has gone through the trees.

Entertainment in the Evenings

Now that it is getting dark at 4.30pm it is very easy to watch a lot of TV, Celebrity Big Brother has been getting plenty of publicity for racism from some of the lower class D grade celebrities against a Bollywood star. The program has become a slagging match between the contestants, split pretty much on class an education, 20 000 people have complained which I am sure is helping the channels viewing numbers no end.

I went to the Hackney Empire theatre last night and saw "Scenes from an Execution", which was quite good. It started off with a man lying face down naked in the middle of the stage and explored the stresses of a group of artists.

I have also seen the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" which was very interesting.

Oxford

This is Radcliffe Camera in Oxford. I spent Sunday in Oxford, did a guided walking tour that went into New College and Merton College. it is a pretty city. There was no punting on the river as it was in flood.

Jack the Ripper, Museums and a Gallery

I have been doing lots of touristy things this week.

I went on an evening Jack the Ripper tour. There are multiple companies that run tours, the one I did is run by the Beefeaters at the Tower of London. www.jack-the-ripper-tours.com. I really enjoyed it. The tour start at Tower Hill tube station and the went around various back streets to the areas that the murders occurred with a good commentary on the murders and the history of the area.

I went to the National Portrait Gallery at Trafalgar square. There are great photos, paintings and sculptures.

I went to the National History Museum which is in a wonderful old building and has lots of stuffed animals in cases. I also went to the London museum which has the history of London and lots of really interesting displays.





I have finally uploaded some of my photos to the Flickr site so there is now a link to this on the side of my blog.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. I hope this year brings happiness, good health and prosperity to everyone.

I went to a party with my flatmate Rob for New Year's Eve which was nice, a fairly quiet evening.

I went to St Pauls Cathedral on Saturday, it is very impressive and quite high as I found out climbing to the top gallery.