|
Monday 3 April 2006
Good grief, it’s April already! Where is this year going?? At least finally the weather seems to be getting a bit warmer and the days are certainly
getting longer – it’s light until about 7pm which is so nice! I even
felt inspired to go for a walk on Saturday it was such a lovely day – now that hasn’t happened for a while!
I am nicely settled into my new flat and enjoying it very much. I’ve
sold or given away my excess furniture and bits and pieces that I have no room for and the flat is looking very homely, I
think. The extra hours I have gained in my day are being well-used at the moment
with going to the gym and things; let’s see if I can keep it up!
I’ve had a pretty quiet couple of weeks recently – other than gymming in the evenings my weeknights have
been quiet. Last weekend Eram and I did a “Shakespeare’s London”
walk and had a late pub lunch in a cozy pub in Islington, which was just what the doctor ordered (the warmer weather hadn’t
started at that stage!). Marie and I were out this Friday night for a big one
and I’ve got a few nights out arranged for this week coming. I am not too
worried about the “down time” at the moment – I will be away for 5 out of 7 weekends starting from Easter!
Monday 10 April
Just when we thought spring might have been making an appearance, it got awfully cold
and wet again this weekend. The pissing rain put a dampner on Jennifer and my idea to do a London Walk on Sunday afternoon
so we just had to make do with a late lunch and hot chocolate, which we coped with...
I was busy last week with a bit of dating (no contenders there as per usual) and a good
night out with Bianca on Wednesday. We caught up on months of goss and considered how to rid the world of evil, as you
do. I followed that up with another girls night out on Thursday with Jacquie, Cat and co, although I wimped out early
as my throat was feeling decidely tingly and I didn't want to risk getting sick, what with all my mini breaks coming up!
Tuesday 18 April
I spent Easter in Vienna, Austria,
and had a really nice time. I went alone and stayed with the mother of Marlene,
an AFS “sister” who lived with my parents a few years ago. Barbara’s
apartment was ideally situated a 15 minute walk from the centre of the city! Friday
night Barbara took me to a local Viennese pub for a traditional meal of boiled beef and potatoes. It tasted really good! Saturday was a lovely sunny day and
I was out and about seeing the sights and taking loads of photos. That night
I went to see a Mozart concert where all the performers were dressed in traditional period costumes including wigs! Sunday was less sunny but still pleasant and after I slept in a little I went back into the centre of town
to see the Cathedral, sat outside in a café drinking hot chocolate and eating cake, and then went east to Schönbrunn Castle
which has gorgeous gardens and a zoo! Before heading back to the airport on Monday
I checked out the Hundertswasserhaus, an intriguing and zany council estate designed in the 1980s by an Austrian architect
who lived for 20 years in New Zealand
before he died in 2000.
Wednesday 3 May 2006
I arrived back from Venice last night.
What a fantastic city! It was everything that I thought it would be. Sarah and I went to Verona
on Saturday and checked out Juliet’s house, balcony and tomb which was the main reason I wanted to go there! We spent a nice day there on the Sunday before heading south on the train to Venice. I just loved the town, with the canals,
mysterious little streets and friendly locals, although there were far too many tourists!
We checked out the amazing San Marco cathedral and went to Murano (where they make the glass) and generally just wandered
around the streets, getting lost an awful lot! We didn’t eat much as the
food was just too expensive but other than that I have no complaints. I spent
the money I saved on food on souvenirs and have returned with quite a few specimens of jewellery, two traditional Venetian
masks and a glass bowl. The only souvenir I didn’t get was a handbag! Next time perhaps. Check back here for
photos soon.
This week I have 2.5 days at work before heading off to Krakow
on Friday. I have two hearings this week and plenty to keep me busy! Socially I will manage to fit in a date tomorrow and that’s about it!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Monday 15 May 2006
I last wrote a couple of weeks ago when I'd just got back from four days in Verona and Venice
and then three days later I was off to Krakow in Poland! Due
to a truly blonde afternoon, I barely made it to the airport in time, but thankfully I did and so Jennifer and Marie
had the pleasure of my company for the weekend after all.
We had a marvellous weekend with just the perfect mix of sightseeing, eating and shopping!
Check back here for photos very soon.
A couple of days after getting back the same three of us went to Derren Brown's show in
Wimbledon. He is still my hero! Luckily I hadn't told Jennifer and Marie all
about his show I saw last year though - it was the same show this year! I still totally loved it.
I had a great catch-up with Eram on Friday and was delighted to be able to give her
£100 for "care costs" from when she spent the day with me when I had my accident last year. Yep, finally, I have
had and accepted an offer from the insurance company of the woman who hit me off my bike last year. I should get the
cheque this week and, all going well, I might be able to convert it back to NZ dollars at 3:1!! That will make a nice
little earner in my NZ account what with NZ's high interest rates at the moment!
Tuesday 23 May 2006
I got back last night from five days in Malta where I had a fantastic time diving. I am definitely committed to it now, having bought a mask, snorkel, fins and a wetsuit! Check out the photo of the matching gear! We
had six dives in three days and while it wasn’t a Red Sea coral reef, it was still
a fabulous experience. It was an excellent bunch of people that were there and
everyone just had a fantastic time. It helped that we had air temperatures of
around 32-36 degrees!! It wasn’t pleasant to come back to 13 degrees and
rain at Heathrow last night.
I’ll hopefully get some photos up on here
soon, although there is still one more crazy week ahead before I can breathe a sigh of relief after five holidays in seven
weeks! This week I’m booked up seeing friends every night before heading
off for Kat’s hens weekend on Friday. I am (almost) looking forward to
having to send in my passport this week for a new visa as I have (almost) had enough of all this travelling!
Tuesday 30 May
I’ve had a fabulous bank holiday weekend, and must admit to being quite happy that
I’m not going away again for a while. Five weekends away in seven is too
many! This past weekend I went up to Oxford for
Kat’s hens party. There were ten “chicks” in all and we had
a really nice time with plenty of wine, fabulous food and a great night out on Saturday complete with Kat in a nurses outfit
and the rest of us dressed as doctors. It was a real British hens do so I can
tick that off my list of things to do!
On the Sunday Anthony came to Oxford
to pick me up and we travelled up into the Cotswolds area. It really is beautiful
with loads of green rolling hills, winding narrow roads and adorable little English villages.
We stayed in a converted forge (how appropriate) B&B and had an excellent meal on Sunday night. Monday’s weather was typical of a British bank holiday (as the papers reported this morning) and
it alternated between lovely blue skies and hail storms! Madness. The trip back to London was much better than it could have been, given all I've heard of traffic
jams into London.
Last week I was recovering from my holiday in Malta but managed to catch up with Marie and Bianca for a drink (once again missing
the chance to be part of a TV studio audience!) and Anthony and I went to see the Da Vinci Code, which I was disappointed
with. The book is much better and doesn’t really translate onto the big
screen very well.
|
|
|
|
|
