It's Been Awhile

I haven't posted in nearly a month, mostly because I haven't been doing much travelling or cultural things. I've been doing lots and lots of knitting but this isn't a knitting blog! So I'm combining the past months little adventures into one post.

I finally went out in Shoreditch, London's hip hop happening party spot. (Do I sound old? I felt a little bit old) The drinking age here is 18 which makes me a good deal older than the majority of people who go out. Luckily Shoreditch has bars, pubs and clubs for everyone including me who wasn't in heels and a crazy tight dress. I really enjoyed the first place we went to which was a little bar called Catch. I didn't get any pictures because I was busy meeting friends of friends.

While it was fun night out, I definitely wasn't prepared for the next morning!

I took an insane trip into London with one of the boys. Did you know that most London underground stations DO NOT have elevators or ramps for accessibility? Clearly I missed that when planning my day trip to the Science Museum. I did learn that most Londoners will stop and offer to help carrying a stroller up and down multiple stairs. Still I was not and am not impressed with the underground system!! The museum was great fun, we wandered all around but it seems completely missed the children's area in the basement. We rather enjoyed looking at lorry's (trucks), trains, space ships, and cards. We were both tired right out by the time we got back home. 

London has the best pubs I can ever possibly imagine, they are gorgeous and historic! I went for drinks at the very same pub called the Anchor where William Shakespeare kept a room since the Globe is minutes away. Also at two other beautiful pubs the Dickens Inn and a similar one whose name I can't remember (ha ha), where the old designs blew me away. 

I had a very English Winter Wonderland in the pouring rain! I wasn't the only braving the rain to check out this amazing tradition at Hyde Park. It was absolutely amazing and aside from the rain instead of the snow, London certainly knows how to have a winter festival. There were market stalls, an ice rink, food stands, beer stalls, bands, and loads of rides and games for children. I hope to go back again when it's not raining! 

And just because I know everyone is curious about how my knitting is going 

(headbands, neck warmer and scarves galore) 

It never stops….

What's a girl to do when she is abroad already? Check out a travel show to see more adventures!

The rest of my weekend was spent watching my always first christmas movie of the season all snuggled up in bed!

This Life

This week I welcomed the terrible twos with one of the boys I look after! I must be crazy to endure another year of terrible twos but I do love when children are discovering the themselves and the world around them.

After a day of celebrations I prepared to spend the next day in the frightening parts of London. Tower of London and Jack the Ripper Tour. However with it being half-term here this week, the tower was packed! I spent some time at the Sherlock Holmes pub for some excellent fish and chips as well as a beer. The Jack the Ripper tour was wonderful and I would definitely recommend it. I went with a friend and we got a deal through Groupon the wonderful place of cheap deals! Our tour was with London Mystery Tours and the tour guide was great. There were lots of facts and information as well as a theory in the end about who did it! 

After the walk I managed to get some great pictures of London now that everyone had left for the day!

Let it Rain

It rains here. It's not a complete and utter drenching like in Australia but enough to make you rethink that walk in what was sun 30 minutes ago. I've now become used to carrying around my rain jacket and rain coat. I love love love my rain jacket. It was a birthday present for myself from Eddie Bauer and I still can't get over how great it is.

If you weren't sure that I was on a pumpkin kick perhaps the fact that I made pumpkin pie and pumpkin seeds for the first time on my own will convince you!

I've been quite productive at my knitting class and during the week. I'm really enjoying knitting and yoga. While I'm not always wanting to go somewhere in the evenings I find that I always enjoy it when I do. I'm looking forward to making everyone's christmas gifts this year!

A Castle in Cardiff

After a fun week with the boys, lots of colouring in and halloween pictures. I didn't realize how well I could draw jack-o-lanterns! We enjoyed our standing Starbucks date with pumpkin cake and mango juice too.

A last minute trip to Cardiff turned into a weekend to remember. I was able to spend time with more Australia travel friends. It's amazing how one trip can lead to so many more! I'm happy to be able to travel so easily to visit friends that I made in Australia. 

We stayed at the Bunkhouse Hostel and I'm very upset that I forgot to take a picture of the main bar area as it was beautifully decorated. The hostel was clean and well maintained though the beds could be a bit more comfy. I would stay again as it was central to everything. 

Cardiff was beautiful and our first agenda was breakfast which was an amazing little pancake and crepe place.  I had a crepe with apples, cinnamon and syrup, it tasted very similar to apple pie! Next was the castle. I said that as long as I saw the castle on my trip, I would be happy to do anything else after. It was amazing to do the castle tour. I can't describe the feeling of looking and seeing how it had changed over the years knowing that until recently in the past 100 years that people lived there. 

 I heard that a night out in Cardiff was a fun one and it certainly was. I enjoyed meeting new people and attempting to talk to the welsh in my strange and funny accent. I actually had a few people who couldn't understand me nor I them! I tried and enjoyed pumpkin ale (can you tell I'm on a pumpkin kick!)

The next day was a wonderful tour of Cardiff Bay, the Cardiff Assembly and Barry Island. I had the best tour guide, though slightly hungover from the night before. While it may not have been a sunny beach and bay it was still beautiful!

I would definitely put Cardiff on the list to visit again!

Northern Adventures

I was delighted this weekend to finally be reunited with one of my very first travel friends. It's funny how people that you have only known for a few days can become such close friends.

I travelled this weekend to Newcastle and Middlesbrough. The transit system here in the UK is indeed amazing. And quite cheap, although it was a long journey on the bus up to the north! I spent an evening out in Newcastle which was fun, and then an evening in Middlesbrough. I tried the food of Middlesbrough, parmo, which is essentially their own variation of parmesan chicken. We even stopped for the biggest ice cream sundaes, which were delicious!

It was wonderful to spend a weekend in the North, I will have to make a return trip.