Eurotrip Part 1
I've been back a bit over a week and have been meaning to write about the trip but its been a busy week. I was back at work the day after getting home and I've been trying to unpack (which always takes me ages), catch up with friends and catch up on all the tv show episodes I missed while away... anyway here goes... its going to be long winded and I'll add some photos... more photos will be added to my photo gallery eventually:
25 November: My flight left at 8pm from Brisbane International Airport and mum had driven down so she could take me to the airport... as well as to the spend the day together beforehand. We get out there by 6pm and there's already a bit of a line to check in, but nothing too huge.
My bag checked in at 18kg, which was a couple of kg under the 20kg limit. However the guy at the check in desk said they are fairly lenient and can allow up to 28kg on Emirates before you are charged extra baggage fees. THANK GOD, because I planned to buy a bit and knew my bag would end up weighing more on the way home.
Mum and I grabbed a quick drink together and reminisced about the last time we were in that airport back in 1999 before I left for Thailand. Then onto the plane!!!! wheeee!
I didn't think to request an aisle seat and I got stuck between two guys- an eager to chat indian guy on the window and a huge maori guy on the aisle. The flight had come from Auckland and they had both been on the first leg of the flight. I settled into my seat and the maori guy pulled his beanie over his eyes and tucked his blanket up under the chin the moment we took off.
Oh shit.... I knew this was going to be trouble. I always need to pee and wanted to be able to get up to stretch my legs whenever I wanted, but this guy took up all the seat, his knees up against the seat in front. There was no way I could jump over him or squeeze by so I had to wake him up every time I had to get up. And then of course he started leaning into my side when he slept. ARGH!
The guy on my other side was so eager to talk. I got straight into the movies and entertainment as we took off, but wearing headphones wasn't enough to put this guy off. He would start talking to me, asking me where I was going, where I was from, asking my name. Ergh, I try to be unapproachable but it never seems to work. I'm always the one people seem to start chatting to, asking me horribly personal questions I don't feel comfortable answering but I don't know how to say "FUCK OFF" in a polite way.
Luckily dinner came out fairly soon after taking off (and my god, Emirates food is the best airplane food I've ever had) and then they turned off the cabin lights so we all nodded off to the sleep. 6 or 7 hours later and we stopped in Singapore for a quick refuel. I didn't get off the plane, but just wandered around and stretched my legs.
It was another 7 hours to Dubai, and I slept for most of it, only waking up for breakfast. We had to transfer planes in Dubai and I was glad to finally see the last of my two fellow flyers. There was only an hour or so stop-over and then I was back onthe plane. This time I got a window seat, no one beside me and then a young girl from South Africa in the aisle. She slept for most of it but was all curled up so I could squeeze past her. This 7 hour leg of the flight zoomed by.
Flying out of Dubai was amazing... it was just after dawn so it was nicely lit and I could see all the buildings and houses as we took off. The buildings were very different looking to Australian buildings. All white brick/concrete with flat rooms. A couple of stories high. It reminded me of Thailand quite a bit.
26 November: We were delayed a bit because of heavy rain in London so we didn't land til close to 1pm (instead of 11am). I was so anxious as we circled around and around. I was so close, so close to London, to starting my trip, so desperate for a shower hehehe. It had been 25 hours in the air, but it was more like 30 hours by the time I actually got to shower.
Finally, after a long line in customs and a horrible bitch of a woman welcoming me to the country, I was finally in London. With the help of the South African girl's friends who met her, I got on the tube from Heathrow and made my way to Liverpool station. I parted ways with the girls and changed lines to go to Algate East. It was so exciting, navigating the London Tube for the first time all by myself.
I called Chris (a friend from high school I was staying with for the first night) and started walking to his place from the station. He met me half way and we went back to his flat in Brick Lane. The cobble stone streets with a bit of a pain with my bag on wheels, but my first impressions of London were nothing but positive.
It wasn't as cold that first day as I had feared, and the buildings were so old and "london-looking". Another friend from high school, Fiona, who was also living in London came over and after a fantastic hot shower we just chatted and drank tasty Spanish wine and ate a roast dinner that Chris's friend had been cooking all afternoon.
I think that was the first time I had tried red wine from any other country than Australia. I'll have to check out my local bottle shop to see if they even stock wine from other countries......
By 9pm London time, the jetlag caught up with me and I had to head to bed.
27 November: Chris and I had a lazy breakfast and then I was off to meet up with Houmam at lunch time. I caught the tube again to Earls Court, where our hostel was. It's lame I know, but I was so excited to see Houmam after he had been gone a whole week before I left. The hostel wasn't too bad. Brilliant location, right down the road from the tube station... we had a bunk bed with a double bed on the bottom and a single bed on the top, plus a private bathroom in the room. It wasn't huge but it was enough.
28 November - 2 December: We visited Hyde Park and took photos of the Marble arch, visited Harrods department store (what impressive christmas displays and holy hell, what an awesome toy department!!). We walked down Oxford steet right on dusk. The whole street was decorated with the most beautiful Christmas lights. We walked past Park Road (hehehe from the Monopoly board- I was getting such a kick out of seeing all the sights and streets made famous by Monopoly, in real life!)
The next day we did a Beatles tour, which was awesome! I walked across Abbey Road, took a photo in front of the studios, saw sights from A Hard Day's Night, apartments they used to live in and heard lots of funny stories about local sights and places. It was actually really good, a must for any Beatles fan. Abbey Road is actually really really busy, and its impossible to get a photo from the correct angle because the famous shot was actually taken on a ladder in the middle of the road. But it was still fun walking across.
We then headed over to the West End and grabbed a quick meal before the matinee performance of Spamalot... Oh My God, the show was awesome! I love Tim Curry and I love Monty Python and I LOVE singing and dancing, so I was in heaven. Everyone sang along to "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" and they were selling all sorts of weird merchandise like Spam sandwiches (Spamwiches) during the intervals. I just bought a badge ("I fart in your general direction") and a program.
The next evening we went and saw Wicked. We arrived early to pick up our tickets and there were signs saying this evening's performance Elphaba would be played by the understudy. I almost starting crying right there. I wanted to see Idina Menzel sooo badly and she was playing Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West before she becomes wicked). She was in the original broadway cast and was performing a limited season in London. I loved her in Rent and although I never saw Rent live, I was really hanging out to see Idina belt out some tunes, ANY tunes in the flesh.
We went to grab some dinner before the show and sulked the whole time. But when we got back to the theatre all the signs were gone. I nervously went up to one of the ticket booths and was told the good news... Idina would be performing tonight!!!! YAY!!!!!
Our seats were not as good as the Spamalot show (we were in the stalls for that). We were in the dress circle for Wicked and I did find it a bit offputting being so high up, looking down on the stage, rather than being eye level with it or the actors. Idina's voice was fantastic as always, however it was a bit strange that she kept her american accent while the rest of the cast was British. It seemed a bit odd. Since getting home I've downloaded the Wicked soundtrack and I have to admit I much prefer an all american cast, especially an american Galinda (or Glinda as she later is known).
Some of the songs were fantastic and had Houmam singing them for days afterwards. Idina's voice brought tears to my eyes a few times, when she would hit these big notes. AHHH I loved it. Seeing two musicals in London's West End was definitely a highlight of the trip.
We visited a number of museums and galleries including the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Tate Modern. We did the Big Bus Tour of London (rode around in an open top double decker bus and saw all the sights), we visited Buckingham Palace and saw the Queen in her car with all her entourage. Well, we saw the car, not the Queen as there were SHITLOADS of people there, who looked like they had been waiting for hours. We went on the London Eye right on dusk, which was beautiful. It would be great to go on again during the day, but the night time view of London was gorgeous.
It was definitely colder by the end of this first week in London, and I was glad to have lots of layers. I whined alot! But I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the cold.
to be continued.....
25 November: My flight left at 8pm from Brisbane International Airport and mum had driven down so she could take me to the airport... as well as to the spend the day together beforehand. We get out there by 6pm and there's already a bit of a line to check in, but nothing too huge.
My bag checked in at 18kg, which was a couple of kg under the 20kg limit. However the guy at the check in desk said they are fairly lenient and can allow up to 28kg on Emirates before you are charged extra baggage fees. THANK GOD, because I planned to buy a bit and knew my bag would end up weighing more on the way home.
Mum and I grabbed a quick drink together and reminisced about the last time we were in that airport back in 1999 before I left for Thailand. Then onto the plane!!!! wheeee!
I didn't think to request an aisle seat and I got stuck between two guys- an eager to chat indian guy on the window and a huge maori guy on the aisle. The flight had come from Auckland and they had both been on the first leg of the flight. I settled into my seat and the maori guy pulled his beanie over his eyes and tucked his blanket up under the chin the moment we took off.
Oh shit.... I knew this was going to be trouble. I always need to pee and wanted to be able to get up to stretch my legs whenever I wanted, but this guy took up all the seat, his knees up against the seat in front. There was no way I could jump over him or squeeze by so I had to wake him up every time I had to get up. And then of course he started leaning into my side when he slept. ARGH!
The guy on my other side was so eager to talk. I got straight into the movies and entertainment as we took off, but wearing headphones wasn't enough to put this guy off. He would start talking to me, asking me where I was going, where I was from, asking my name. Ergh, I try to be unapproachable but it never seems to work. I'm always the one people seem to start chatting to, asking me horribly personal questions I don't feel comfortable answering but I don't know how to say "FUCK OFF" in a polite way.
Luckily dinner came out fairly soon after taking off (and my god, Emirates food is the best airplane food I've ever had) and then they turned off the cabin lights so we all nodded off to the sleep. 6 or 7 hours later and we stopped in Singapore for a quick refuel. I didn't get off the plane, but just wandered around and stretched my legs.
It was another 7 hours to Dubai, and I slept for most of it, only waking up for breakfast. We had to transfer planes in Dubai and I was glad to finally see the last of my two fellow flyers. There was only an hour or so stop-over and then I was back onthe plane. This time I got a window seat, no one beside me and then a young girl from South Africa in the aisle. She slept for most of it but was all curled up so I could squeeze past her. This 7 hour leg of the flight zoomed by.
Flying out of Dubai was amazing... it was just after dawn so it was nicely lit and I could see all the buildings and houses as we took off. The buildings were very different looking to Australian buildings. All white brick/concrete with flat rooms. A couple of stories high. It reminded me of Thailand quite a bit.
26 November: We were delayed a bit because of heavy rain in London so we didn't land til close to 1pm (instead of 11am). I was so anxious as we circled around and around. I was so close, so close to London, to starting my trip, so desperate for a shower hehehe. It had been 25 hours in the air, but it was more like 30 hours by the time I actually got to shower.
Finally, after a long line in customs and a horrible bitch of a woman welcoming me to the country, I was finally in London. With the help of the South African girl's friends who met her, I got on the tube from Heathrow and made my way to Liverpool station. I parted ways with the girls and changed lines to go to Algate East. It was so exciting, navigating the London Tube for the first time all by myself.
I called Chris (a friend from high school I was staying with for the first night) and started walking to his place from the station. He met me half way and we went back to his flat in Brick Lane. The cobble stone streets with a bit of a pain with my bag on wheels, but my first impressions of London were nothing but positive.
It wasn't as cold that first day as I had feared, and the buildings were so old and "london-looking". Another friend from high school, Fiona, who was also living in London came over and after a fantastic hot shower we just chatted and drank tasty Spanish wine and ate a roast dinner that Chris's friend had been cooking all afternoon.
I think that was the first time I had tried red wine from any other country than Australia. I'll have to check out my local bottle shop to see if they even stock wine from other countries......
By 9pm London time, the jetlag caught up with me and I had to head to bed.
27 November: Chris and I had a lazy breakfast and then I was off to meet up with Houmam at lunch time. I caught the tube again to Earls Court, where our hostel was. It's lame I know, but I was so excited to see Houmam after he had been gone a whole week before I left. The hostel wasn't too bad. Brilliant location, right down the road from the tube station... we had a bunk bed with a double bed on the bottom and a single bed on the top, plus a private bathroom in the room. It wasn't huge but it was enough.
28 November - 2 December: We visited Hyde Park and took photos of the Marble arch, visited Harrods department store (what impressive christmas displays and holy hell, what an awesome toy department!!). We walked down Oxford steet right on dusk. The whole street was decorated with the most beautiful Christmas lights. We walked past Park Road (hehehe from the Monopoly board- I was getting such a kick out of seeing all the sights and streets made famous by Monopoly, in real life!)
The next day we did a Beatles tour, which was awesome! I walked across Abbey Road, took a photo in front of the studios, saw sights from A Hard Day's Night, apartments they used to live in and heard lots of funny stories about local sights and places. It was actually really good, a must for any Beatles fan. Abbey Road is actually really really busy, and its impossible to get a photo from the correct angle because the famous shot was actually taken on a ladder in the middle of the road. But it was still fun walking across.
We then headed over to the West End and grabbed a quick meal before the matinee performance of Spamalot... Oh My God, the show was awesome! I love Tim Curry and I love Monty Python and I LOVE singing and dancing, so I was in heaven. Everyone sang along to "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" and they were selling all sorts of weird merchandise like Spam sandwiches (Spamwiches) during the intervals. I just bought a badge ("I fart in your general direction") and a program.
The next evening we went and saw Wicked. We arrived early to pick up our tickets and there were signs saying this evening's performance Elphaba would be played by the understudy. I almost starting crying right there. I wanted to see Idina Menzel sooo badly and she was playing Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West before she becomes wicked). She was in the original broadway cast and was performing a limited season in London. I loved her in Rent and although I never saw Rent live, I was really hanging out to see Idina belt out some tunes, ANY tunes in the flesh.
We went to grab some dinner before the show and sulked the whole time. But when we got back to the theatre all the signs were gone. I nervously went up to one of the ticket booths and was told the good news... Idina would be performing tonight!!!! YAY!!!!!
Our seats were not as good as the Spamalot show (we were in the stalls for that). We were in the dress circle for Wicked and I did find it a bit offputting being so high up, looking down on the stage, rather than being eye level with it or the actors. Idina's voice was fantastic as always, however it was a bit strange that she kept her american accent while the rest of the cast was British. It seemed a bit odd. Since getting home I've downloaded the Wicked soundtrack and I have to admit I much prefer an all american cast, especially an american Galinda (or Glinda as she later is known).
Some of the songs were fantastic and had Houmam singing them for days afterwards. Idina's voice brought tears to my eyes a few times, when she would hit these big notes. AHHH I loved it. Seeing two musicals in London's West End was definitely a highlight of the trip.
We visited a number of museums and galleries including the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Tate Modern. We did the Big Bus Tour of London (rode around in an open top double decker bus and saw all the sights), we visited Buckingham Palace and saw the Queen in her car with all her entourage. Well, we saw the car, not the Queen as there were SHITLOADS of people there, who looked like they had been waiting for hours. We went on the London Eye right on dusk, which was beautiful. It would be great to go on again during the day, but the night time view of London was gorgeous.
It was definitely colder by the end of this first week in London, and I was glad to have lots of layers. I whined alot! But I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the cold.
to be continued.....
Labels: beatles, england, eurotrip, holiday, london, spamalot, vacation, wicked
posted by reanon @ 9:42 PM
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