3rd Jan - Saying "goodbye" at Heathrow

I knew it would be sad saying “goodbye” to Bec, but I promised myself that I wouldn’t cry at all. Even though it marked a time when I’d start travelling on my own again.
Our flights were only a few hours apart – her to Perth, me to Copenhagen. After breakfast at the airport, we said our goodbyes, hurried up by the fact that she was actually late in getting through customs as there was a huge queue. So, it was a quick bye, before she disappeared behind the screen. I didn’t cry, but busied myself by heading to the other terminal & checking in for my flight.

Scratchy Sheets!

Now, I don’t think I’m too sensitive to detergents & chemicals, but the sheets used at the Crowne Plaza were sooooo irritable that for 2 solid nights I scratched so much I ended up having to wear long pants & a long-sleeve top to bed. I was covered with a rash over most of my body, especially my legs. When I complained about the sheets on check out, the duty manager said that he has the same problem when he stays here – amazing that they don’t do anything about it!!!!

2nd Jan - Dali Gallery

Until I went to this gallery, I had absolutely no idea how sexually adventurous/frustrated/uninhibited Dali was. We spent a couple of hours in the gallery pondering over his images which often portrayed the most unusual aspects of sexuality & humanness. He was a devout Catholic, yet also a very sexual man. So this obviously clashed dramatically at the boundaries & must have caused him more than a bit of anxiety in his life.
A must see if you like art & find yourself in London!

Relaxing Into London

Our first day in London was spent in cafes & window shopping – nothing too heavy. Went to this fav cafe of mine in Kensington (which Bec also ended up liking too) & just ate & drank for more than a few hours. We did want to go to a movie, but the theatres were a bit out of the way.
Instead, we jumped on a bus to Oxford Circus, then walked across to Westminster Abbey. Bummer – it was closed, so a no go. It was already dark, so we made our way across the bridge & headed to the Dali Gallery which was luckily still open when many other sites weren’t.
After the gallery (see next blog update), we had a bite to eat at a noodle restaurant, then headed back to the hotel.

1st Jan - Arrival & Chill Out Night in London

We got in to London about 7pm, jumped in a cab & went to the Crowne Plaza (darling!!!) for our last 2 nights of the holiday. The room was nice. We dumped our stuff & went out for a not-so-nice Indian dinner (hey, I thought all Indian food is meant to be great in London!?!). There were 3 Catholic priests in the table next to us chatting about contemporary Christianity as an extension of a seminar they’d been on that day. Well, yes, I did eavesdrop a bit & found the conversation quite fascinating – would have loved to join them for a chat.
Back at the hotel, Bec & I relaxed from a rather long arduous journey over a couple of movies...nice!

1st Jan - Bus Trip to London

We had a bus trip booked to London the next day. The train trips that day were soooo expensive, the bus was the only viable alternative (really did feel like hitching a ride). We got to the bus terminal well before time, picked up the tickets & had a bite to eat for brunch. But we boarded the bus far too late to get a seat together & so had to make do with sitting across the aisle from each other cause no one was prepared to move.
Then about an hour or two into the trip, we came to the border. It was snowing quite heavily but, nevertheless, we had to unload all our gear from the bus & line up to go through a customs check. Bec was not at all impressed by this particular process! I liked feeling the snow land on my face though.
Back on the bus, we tried to get a bit of sleep – almost impossible for me – despite a couple of American yobbos who insisted on being load so others could hear them.

19th Nov - Arrival in London & Chat with Horny Guy

It was late when I arrived in London Heathrow. Said goodbye to a couple of the girls who’d travelled on the plane, & opted to get the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station. Great idea! Cost a bit, but got there in about 20 mins.
Checked in to the hotel I’ve used before & saw the same nice guy at reception. After I unpacked, I went downstairs to say a proper hello, & we started to chat. He’s a young (28 y.o.) Muslim guy who attends uni & comes from Pakistan. He told me he’d never even hugged a woman before in his life! Then he started really opening up about his desires for women & the limitations he’s placed under in this area by his religion. Then he starts saying all these things he’d like to do to a woman, saying that it really wasn’t sex. I informed him that what he was describing definitely was a sexual act, even if he’d been informed otherwise. Then he said he hoped he could maybe do some of this stuff to me (e.g. lick me all over my body) while I was here. I politely declined & suggested that it would be a much better idea to find someone at uni. I gave him his first hug, which may not have been the best idea, & went to bed hoping he didn’t get a hankering to enter my room uninvited. Hmmmm....

Preparing for Egypt

Bath was prepping up for cooler winter weather, & I was there prepping for a hot Egypt trip. There were obvious misalignments. I spent a few days attempting to find some clothes, any clothes, I could wear in a warm Middle East country. The only places I could get anything were the charity shops, who went out the back & dived through their old summer stocks.
Nevertheless, I did find some clothes. Items I would never purchase under anything but desperate circumstances. I did not buy any summer shoes, refusing to pay 30 pounds for a pair of thongs - bloody rip off!
I sent nearly all my cold weather gear back to Shambala & significantly lightened my pack load. I was kind of ready for the trip.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge was just an hour or so away from Bath, so I booked in to a tour to check it out. I've always wanted to see these ancient stones that hold a sacred mystery to them. It was a bloody miserable day, as far as weather was concerned, pissing down with rain. We got out there & it was so incredibly cold & pelting down with rain. I could hardly take a photo without being blown away. So my foray around the stonehenge perimeter was a lot faster than I'd initiallt anticipated. And by the end I was completely drenched.

There were 4 witches on the mini bus who did a little ceremony while there & wore their black cloaks - cool!!! It was definitely worth seeing the stones. Kind of an eerie powerful feel to them.

The Roman Baths

The Roman Baths are THE place to check out in Bath. This was one of the best sites Ive visited on all my trip.

Around 60AD or so, the Romans built a temple & town where Bath now is. Of course, they also built some baths as the place had lovely hot springs, known for their therapeutic properties. The Romans were only in Bath till about 400AD - not sure what happened after that. But the baths are in remarkable good condition, have been very well preserved.

Definitely a must see!

The Ancient City of Bath

Bath - what a beautiful city! Clean, fresh air. Friendly, charming locals. Cute little knick-knack shops. Just lovely!!

I did a walking tour, which covered most of the main places in Bath. Jane Austen lived here. But she didn't like it at all, & happily left the place. But that was when it was a wild & raunchy place. It's not anymore.

London...for a bit of fresh air

After 2 months at Shambala, I was more than ready to have some respite. Bec needed a break too, so we took a plane headed for London. Not the usual place that you go for a bit of breathing space, but I found it ideal!

Checked out Camden Markets which were very funky indeed. And the parks were replete with Autumn colours. But after 5 days, I was really eager to get out of London too, so I booked a train to see some of the countryside. On to Bath!

Bloody British Airways!

I checked my bags through from Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam) to Glasgow, even though I had a connecting flight at Gatwick. But by the time I reached Gatwick & turned my mobile on again, I'd received a text message that my flight to Glasgow had been cancelled. Bugger!!
I was really looking forward to catching up with a dear friend from Sydney in Glasgow that afternoon. BA said they could put me on a flight in to Edinburgh - no thank you! So a wait of a few hours & a coach transfer into London Airport & I finally boarded another plane to Glasgow.
Unfortunately, they either forgot or lost my bag, & after numberous attempts to get them to deliver it that eve, I was stuck without a bag till mid-morning the next day.
Thankfully, Margaret who I was staying with in Glasgow lent me some undies & a lovely long girlie nightie to sleep in that night. My friends would have loved seeing me in this nightie!!
I did get to catch up with Paul & received all the goss & more than a fair share of hugs. It was great to see a Sydney friend again. He even offered to lend me one of his g-strings. I had to decline - just couldn't see myself filling it out.