Well, ahem. It’s been a while hasn’t it? I’m rubbish. In my defence, I have been busy. Mainly wedding venue hunting. We spent a lovely week travelling round Dorset visiting relatives and looking at very nice and very expensive venues. If you want to have a look at pictures, there’s a set on my Flickr.

Anyway, we’ve found a venue. Athelhampton House near Puddletown. It’s a beautiful old house with amazing gardens and the Olivier film Sleuth was filmed here. Here’s a picture:

It’s lovely and this picture doesn’t do it justice at all, but you get the idea.

There’s a good chance that this blog will turn into a wedsite for the next few months, but I’ll try and include other things too. Such as the peppers I’m growing! Wooo!

It’s covered in aphids already.

I promise I won’t leave the next blog post for so long next time….

Coming home from work last night I had a bit of a shock. On the train journey where the train comes out from underground to the surface between Highbury & Islington and Dreyton Park I was met with a glorious orange glow. At first I thought it was a big plastic sign. Then I realised this was the sky and thought London was burning. Then I finally realised that I was looking at the sunset. For the first time in months I was travelling home in daylight. It was a fantastic feeling to see actual evidence of spring and realising that it’s not going to be long before the clocks go forward. The daffodils have come out in the pot just outside the flat too, which is nice (although I can’t help thinking it’s still a little bit early for them isn’t it?). I’ll take photos soon. Meanwhile here’s a photo from my friend Martin who managed
to take a lovely shot of last night’s sunset.

Well Iceland was very nice indeed. Bloody cold, but very cool (if you’ll excuse the bad pun). Iceland had been getting the worse snow storms for thirty years so Dave and I had fun playing around in the snow, walking through blizzards and trying not to slip and break our ankles on the ice. Reykjavik is a great little city if unbelievably expensive (it was about £18 for a pint of beer and a vodka and lemonade!). We didn’t see much of it as our Saturday was spent on a tour visiting waterfalls and geysers and on Friday it was raining so hard we couldn’t really go out. The highlight was the Blue Lagoon. A total tourist trap, yes, but totally worth it. There’s something quite magical about sitting in what feels like a hot bath with this milky water around you surrounded by big clumps of lava with a blizzard blowing. It’s worth visiting Iceland just for the Lagoon. Here’s some photos!

That’s the Blue Lagoon. Awesome isn’t it? This is a cold Dave:

I know I said the Blue Lagoon was the best thing of the weekend, but actually it was the second best. The best thing that happened over the weekend was Dave proposing. Obviously I said yes. Yay! We’re getting married! *cue girly screaming and jumping round the room*

Hullo! It’s been a while since I’ve written anything and for that apologise. I’m back from Oz and back to work and missing down under greatly. It was brilliant there, not having the experience of travelling before I’ve spent the last couple of months with eyes wide open and have enjoyed a form of freedom and immense happiness not felt before (not that I’m unhappy here, but you know what I mean) and I can’t wait to go wondering again.

Which is a lot sooner that you might think! While I was away, Dave decided that for his birthday (which is today) he’d go away for a weekend and drag me along. Well our bags are packed and we’re getting ready for bed for a very early start tomorrow morning. We’re off to Iceland! It’s going to be awesome. I’m a very lucky girl.

Flighty: Thanks again for all your comments during my trip, it was always great to hear from you.
Burro: You’re back! It’s been a while. I’ve been meaning to email you for a while to see how you’ve been getting along, especially after you mentioned the thing you and the wife have been working on. I think I can guess what that is, but I’m a girl and I want details!

Once I’m back in Blighty next week I’ll start anew on this here blog as it’s been kind of floating for the past few months (I think the Aus trip was the first time in ages this place was used properly) I’ve got a few ideas and hopefully I’ll be posting a lot more often. Lucky you!

Gosh, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything of any worth here. So what have I done since I last wrote? Well there was NYE, which was spent sitting on the harbour watching the amazing fireworks (at midnight they came from all over, from the bridge, all along the harbour and all the skyscrapers) and the next day there was a trip to the Blue Mountains which were beautiful. I didn’t spend too long there unfortunately, but they’re beautiful and the mountains really are blue. Not a bright blue, just faint enough to make all your photos look slightly over exposed. I went on the steepest railway in the world (the steepest part is 51°) which felt like falling over and a walk in one of the valleys, which was lush and lovely (all at Scenic World. You’d think they’d come up with a better name than that wouldn’t you?). The area is huge though and you need a couple of days at least to explore.

Those were my last two days on the east side of Australia and it’s a shame to say goodbye, there’s so much I haven’t seen or done yet. But on to pastures new and to West Australia. It’s lovely! Perth is very clean and sunny and very hot. On my first day here and I was sitting outside in the shade next to the hostel, it felt like I was in the Tube in the middle of rush hour in August it was so muggy. The next day it reached 42°C. The first day I ended up inside the Western Australian Museum, just because it had very good air conditioning. It’s displays were very good and and it has a lovely shady cafe and it’s worth a visit, but the air con was really first rate.

Other things I have done in Perth:

• Looked at lots of shiny gold in the Perth Mint. Apparently my worth in weight in gold is over $2,000,000.
• Walked around Kings Park which is the largest park in a city in the world. It’s an amazing park with loads of bushland. I saw a nightjar (or a frog mouth, I’m not sure what it was as it was a bit far away and my bird watching skills are rubbish)
• Travelled round on the excellent CAT service that’s a free bus system that moves around the centre of Perth.
• Visited Freemantle and had a few beers in Little Creatures that brews it’s very nice beers right there in the pub.
• 
• Went to the WACA and watched the Perth Warriors beat Victoria in an excellent game of 20twenty cricket.
• 
• Saw Matt and Paula get married, obvisiouly. It was a lovely wedding, Paula looked beautiful and the ceremony was in the most beautiful botanical gardens which was about a hour outside of Perth.
• Watched the sun set from Cottesloe beach. It was very windy and the waves were terrific and not only did we get the view of a lovely sunset, but the sight of hundreds of parrots coming into roost.
• Looked at lots of fish in the aquarium. it was alright, slightly overprices, but the seals were cute.
• Had a ride in a speedboat along the Swan River and got completly soaked.
• Visited Rottnest Island and saw a few cute quokkas and swam in crystal clear waters on a deserted beach.
• 

I think this might be my last post in Oz! That makes me sad. It’s been an awesome trip (although it’s not over yet and I’m sure I’ll keep you updated whith what else I get up to). I’ve just uploaded lots of photos to Flickr too, so go and have a look.

Poo! I’ve only got a few minutes left on here. Just to say a very happy new year to you all. I’ve been having a ball and there’s a few photos on Flickr. I’ll write about it all soon. The wedding yesterday was lovely and it’s great to see friends again.

Here’s a photo from the lovely Blue Mountians. The Three sisters are in the backround.

Bye!

So what have I been up to these last few days? Well I arrived in Sydney after a very long train ride in which I learnt it’s really quite difficult to try and sleep on said trains seats, even if I have taken over two and are using them as a bed. Sydney is a very pretty city and the opera house is really quite beautiful, the sails are reflective and so it sparkles in the sunlight. The first morning I was there I had a coffee there and watched the over-friendly seagulls steal someone’s bacon sandwich and I watched boats pass underneath the harbour bridge. Later that afternoon, after checking into the very nice YHA Central, I climbed the bridge. It was fun and for the amount of time you spend with them, it was worth the £80 price, I think.

Christmas day was spent having a nice long walk from Coogee Beach to Bondi. It’s a great walk along the coast and you pass many interesting things from little coves to graveyards and hermits who live in the cliffs.

I’ve also been to Canberra for a couple of days, and despite it’s boring image, it’s a very interesting place to stay. It’s a bit of an odd place; it’s like someone got a park and just threw in a few buildings in there, but Parliament House is excellent and I spent almost three hours in there wandering about. Old Parliament House is also really worth a visit. Now a living museum, you wander in most rooms including the PM’s and cabinet rooms with the press gallery worth a particular mention. Those two places alone make the Australian capital city worth a visit.

I also wanted to have a look at the National Gallery, but didn’t have the time because I was enjoying my busman’s holiday too much. But it did have this sculpture outside it, which is rather cool:

And just as I was thinking Canberra is a mighty fine place, this goes and ruins it all:

I know the huntsman spiders are harmless, but they’re bloody huge! It’s about the size of my hand span. Not that I actually went up to it and measured it, mind. It made me feel a bit sick, but that’s because I’m a big wuss.

I’m back in Sydney today and so far I have done these things:

• Have a very nice croissant and a coffee in a cafe in Kirribilli which got ruined by me having a massive nose bleed, but got better when two nice ladies gave me all the tissues they had in their pockets, which I promptly used up. (I’m fine now)
• Went on the ferry boat called Charlotte. She was an awesome boat with an awesome name.
• Bought a Sydney Time Out and pretended I was a local (I’ve actually read this Time Out, Dave!)
• Went swimming in the Olympic Pool just underneath the Harbour Bridge. It’s cheap and I don’t have to worry about my belongings like I do on the beach. No other swimming pool comes close to it’s amazingness. Have a look at this photo for yourself:

Isn’t it sweet?

Right, I’m off to Manly for the rest of the afternoon. Oh and Ma, you’re right, I am looking forward to my own room! But mainly I’m looking forward to my own bathroom. I’ll give you more details about it later as I’m sure I’ll be on here before NYE. Maybe.

Just a quick message to wish you all a merry Christmas. Hope you all have a great time. Here’s my gift to you: a nice picture of the 12 Apostles.

So for my last night in Melbourne and to celebrate my first week in Australia, I decided to splurge and eat a slap up dinner. I ate at Chocolate Buddha in Federation Square, a sort of classier version of Wagamamas. The dinner itself was quite cheap at about £10, but I had a cocktail, to make up for all the times I’ve not been down the pub. I had a Great seat looking out onto the city and witnessed all the skyscrapers and Christmas decorations light up for the night. I’ve also seen a huge downpour make it’s way towards me. It’s such a shame about the weather; it’s really hampered my exploration of the city. I’ll be a bit sad when I leave Melbourne tonight. It’s a great city and I’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to all the sights ans things to do (and places to eat, it’s a foodies paradise here). Melbourne is big and bustling, but there’s and openness and friendliness here and there’s the feeling that there’s always something awesome tucked away behind a corner.

Take yesterday morning as an example. While walking the streets after breakfast, it started to rain *again* so I decided to walk in the park close by and as the trees were large and broadleaved and offered relative protection from the rain. While walking down a leafy avenue I stumbled upon a little cottage. What was interesting is that this cottage was the house Captain James Cook’s parents used to live in. Not a replica house, the actual building. Someone in 1930 something had decided to transport the entire cottage brick by brick from Yorkshire and rebuild it exactly as it was in Fitzroy gardens, Melbourne. Even cuttings of the ivy climbing the walls of the house were taken and regrown here. Quite astounding.

So tonight I’m off on my overnight train ride to Sydney. Sweet. Should be able to kep you up to date fairly regulary once I’m there (although I’m not sure about uploading my hundreds of photos) so I’ll see you all again very soon.

In Melbourne now, it’s nice! Not that I’ve looked at the city yet. I’ve only got half an hour on this machine, so I’m just going to write the notes I’ve made. It’s a bit fragmented and most are just road and place name to remind me of where I went. One day I’ll write them up properly, but you’ll get the idea of what I did on those hectic three days.  Thanks again for all your comments, they’re awesome and Rory, I shall send you an email soon.

Day 1.

Just as you start to go into the Adelaide Hills, there’s a sign warning drivers of koalas crossing the road.

Princes Highway

KEITH - Gateway to the South East (isn’t that a Peter Sellers joke?)

Bordertown. Halfway between Adelaide and Melbourne. Wildlife park, housing lots of white kangaroo

Hicksville, SA. Made our own Sandwiches in a tin pub.

The town of Gymbowen. Somewhere behind one of these tin houses is a speedboat.

Natimuck is a tidy town. Used to be the old railway here. Outlaws used to sit on a mountain nearby to watch out for trains to hijack them.

The Grampians. Just really, really beautiful.

I saw kangaroos! In the wild! And then I ate some at our BBQ. It was tasty.

Day 2.

Walk up to The Pinnacles. Very, very hard going, but worth it. Best walk I’ve done in years. Tramping over boulders and streams and walking through gorges.

Quick stop at the Aboriginal Culture Centre. Someone’s getting a boomerang for Christmas…

Bay of Islands

Bay of Martyrs

The Grotto

The Arch

London Bridge

Staying on a hostel right on the beach of Port Campbell.

Most brilliant evening. Had dinner and a beer sitting on the veranda of the hostel looking out to the sea and listening to Ella Fitzgerald. Travelled up to the 12 Apostles (really quite magnificent when you see them up close and personal - no photograph does them justice) and watched the sun set. The sky was a patchwork of clouds and we even had thunder and lighting and a rainbow. Mother Nature at her very best. One of the finest things I’ve ever witnessed. Then five minutes after sundown, about 70 penguins marched up the beach just as the rain came pouring down and soaked us all in about 10 seconds.

Day 3.

Got up at 6 again and looked at more coves and bays. The beauty of the place never wanes.

Went in a helicopter for a 8 minute ride. I giggled like a girl the whole time.

Rainforest Walk at Maits Rest.

Koala spotting. Stopped at a caravan park to watch the little critters munch the eucalyptus trees. They’re cute and make funny noises!

Last stop Torquay. Birth place to the major surfing companies and home to all their factory outlets and nothing else. Rather disappointing last stop of the tour. Rather like going round the most awesome museum and finishing up in a crappy gift shop.

Drive to Melbourne was long, due to traffic, but the view of the city from the bridge was great.

I’ve just discovered that my travel adaptor won’t fit my camera battery recharger. Arse.