travellingfroglet

AFTERMATH

2007-06-07T11:25:00.001+01:00

I'm tired and grumpy and want to curl up in bed!

MASSIVE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND #5

2007-06-07T11:04:00.000+01:00

Yep - the weekend just keeps going!

To commerate the abolishon of slavery in Africa, Kate & I head into Trafalgar Square to join in Africa Day! The weather is cold and there is a continual sprinkling from the heavens, but the smiles and laughter and all round good vibes make up for the lack of sunshine.

In order to keep warm, we head into the crowd and join in the dancing with everyone else, and a lovely man offers to share his umbrella with us! Soon, the african legend Marion Makeba or 'Mama Africa' as she is fondly referred to, appears onstage. Wow - is she one amazing mama! Apparently she is over 80 years old and has retired, but has decided to make a special appearance! Her voice, grace and vitality are infectious and envelope the crowd.

Kel has just rung to say she is also there, and she knows we are too because she has just seen us on the huge tv screen smiling and dancing! Woohoo! We're on british telly! Soaking wet and looking like drowned rats.

For me, one litte old lady epitomised the african spirit - she was tiny and old and frail, and there she was dancing and grooving with the aid of her walking stick! You go girlfriend!!!

MASSIVE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND #4

2007-06-07T10:36:00.000+01:00

Lily Promises to cook breakfast!

Foolishly the night before, I told everyone that I was going to be making my fave breakfast - pancakes with bacon and maple syrup!

Well I wake up at Georges really early, cause whenever I've been drinking I can never sleep properly! In order for me to be able to function enough in my own kitchen, I and George head to a local cafe for some breakfast. Suitably fortified with bacon and eggs and numerous coffees, we head to my house to meet everyone else who has turned up for the fabulous breakfast I am yet to cook!

Kate has bought a boy she met, we have the lovely Meg and Kel, plus George too all crammed into my room awaiting a feast - which I must say I do indeed deliver - albeit at 3pm! The rest of the afternoon is spent with much hilarity and silliness until us girls then go out for a night at The Princess Alexander.

MASSIVE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND #3 - CUBA LIBRE

2007-05-31T12:22:00.000+01:00

After returning from Richmond Park, Kate & I welcome the darling Meggean and Kel over.

Four girls fashioning themselves up for a night out is seriously unhealthy for a tidy room, in one hour, my tidy loft has been turned into a clothes bomb site! Shortly we are joined by George, who upon entering the room and seeing four stunning but slightly mad girls getting ready, tries to bail and offers to wait in the kitchen downstairs. We protest and hand him a glass of vodka to calm his nerves.

Our first stop for the evening is Cuba Libre in Angel Islington for jugs of Mojitos!!! Its more a bar/restaurant rather than somewhere to dance, but when you look fabulous and infectious beats mix with rum, well, like they say - its hard to keep a good girl down (or four!)

Meanwhile, George is bemusedly watching from the sidelines, and I am a little worried that I may have thrown him in at the deep end by inviting him to a trial by fire girls night out!

Well, the lovely George can hold his own, we are all about to find out, as he proceeds to offer to dance with me, and OH MY GOD - can this boy dance! I'm being dipped and whirled and whizzed, the assembled crowd are watching us and I feel like the sexiest girl in London town.

While I sit back and sip mojitos and wonder at my luck of having a boy that can actually salsa, George proceeds to whip and whizz the other girls all over the dancefloor. Needless to say, the girls all approve of George! I am still in shock - how naughty of him not to mention he can dance!

Mind you - he did drop me on the floor at one stage, and poor Meggean caught an elbow in the face from a by stander, but we girls will forgive anything from a boy that actually likes to dance!

2007-05-31T12:06:00.000+01:00

This blog is annoying me so much - damn photos and text wont go where its supposed to! Aggggghhhhh!!!!

FAVE GARDEN AT CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW!

2007-05-31T12:02:00.001+01:00

MASSIVE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND! #2 - RICHMOND PARK

2007-05-31T09:46:00.001+01:00

Kate arrives late Friday night for a weekend stay at my place, which has become her escape from the toffee-nosed tossers she is nannying for! Our mission, is to drive through London to the south to meet up with a friend of Kates, called Carlos, who is taking us for a day trip to Richmond Park! We feel all safari and special when we jump into his London Wildlife Trust 4WD and head off through the busy weekend traffic to the peace and serenity that is Richmond Park.

Upon arrival, we immedialtely see herds of deer just off the road, and I imagine it is at this point that Carlo wonders what he has got himself into when I proceed to scream and squeal in excitement like a four year old child! After a drive through the park, we grab our picnic and proceed to set off on a four hour walk.

Carlo is a wealth of information, and I keep badgering him as to what is that tree and is that a crow or a raven? The old gnarled and twisted oak trees are my favourite, looking like something out of a wild magic forrest that you can imagine at night time, come alive and eat unwary children! I am delighted when we come accross a gloriously handsome raven and have the opportunity to admire his splendour.

MASSIVE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND! #1 CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

2007-05-29T10:08:00.000+01:00

Well, the weekend starts at 4:30pm, with a mad dash to Sloane Square for entry to the Chelsea Flower Show with Kel. We have only from 5-8pm to see the show and a strategic plan is implemeted in order for us to see everything we most want to.

Suffice to say, upon entering, with the massive crowds and utter excitement of being at the show, strategic plan is ditched in favour of mad dashes and tangential wanderings!

The show is a burst of colour and texture, with not ony gardens but amazing scuptures and garden products as well. All this only amplifies my lust for a garden and home of my own in which to potter and make beautiful!

The gardens are breath-takingly beautiful and true works of art. One can only admire the love and creativity that has inspired these horticultural artists!

At 8pm, with announcements that the show was closed, we were disappointed that we hadnt even had the time to see the floral arrangements section. So cheeky Lil, determined not to miss out, grabs Kel and we sneak into the Floral section to have a quick peek. This precipitates a new plan of action, whereby we run around madly, cheecking out all the bits we missed, deciding we will just keep wandering until someone kicks us out. The joy of this plan, is that we get to see everything without having to elbow and push ourselves to the front to see the exhibitions! Brilliant! So we end up seeing more in that last half hour than we did in the previous 1 and a half!

All the excitment and hype has indeed made us thirsty, so we head for a local Chelsea Pub on Kings Road for a well earned pint!

More pics!

2007-05-25T11:02:00.000+01:00

London Pics

2007-05-24T16:07:00.000+01:00

GRASSE

2007-03-23T15:15:00.000Z

Grasse is a village up in the hills and is famous for its perfumeries! The hills and constant sunshine allow for spectacular growth of flowers and herbs for making perfumes.

Well, Sonja and I werent missing out on going here! And yes, we did buy ourselves a few little treats!

We then visited a confisseire and learnt all about using flowers to make jam, liqueres and lollies. Best bit was that we got to taste it all too! I couldnt resist buying some rose petal jam and some voilet liquerer!

BORMES LES MIMOSA

2007-03-23T14:35:00.000Z

Well, this gorgeous little village nestled on top of a hill overlooking the sea is my most favourite place in France so far! Exploring the tiny winding alleys which lead through all the houses, I was inspired to become a potter or painter or else fall in love with one and spend my days living in a cute little house, growing plants and making jam! It was just so peaceful and serene! Of course, we did visit in winter when it was quiet and apparently in summer it is jam packed with tourists, but then I kinda like the idea of a sleepy winter making cool things to sell and then a party summer with lots of visiting people! Sounds purrfect!

Sonja, the consumate bargain aquisitor professioniale, managed to acquire us the most stunning hotel room with the most ginormous bath you could imagine for some teeny tiny euros and we spent the two nights we stayed there dining at the hotels restuarant, all due to an incredibly charming and very cute french waiter!

Much to my delight, the menu was in french, so once again, Sonja with her trusty french dictionary, saves the day! Well, it took us over an hour to order, as we tried to decipher what everything was. Of course, Lily is meanwhile downing the delicious wine, and our table is becoming more and more uproarish! personally i thought it made complete sense, but sonja and mark thought it was the most hysterical thing ever when i tried to ask the waiter if they served any QUACK QUACK (accompanied by wagging of the arms)! The poor boy couldnt have look more surprised than if I had slapped him with a fish!

Mind you, he did try to explain that one of the ingrediants in a dish was "something from the sea" and proceeded to wiggle his fingers in front of his face! To this day all three of us still have no idea what it was!

Anyway, he became our waiter for the entire stay and we refused to be served by anyone else! And as we were leaving, he asked us when we were coming back! What a sweetie!

COTE DU AZUR - NICE

2007-03-23T14:19:00.000Z

Highlight of Nice? Sonja Mark and I head to a fabulous little cafe for breakfast, and what do we both spy just outside? A street performer in an old fashioned marquis costume with not one but two cats that he performs with! With much eye rolling and a look of "Gee, do they have to stop and personall greet EVERY cat they come accross in France" look from Mark, Sonja and I promptly begin to fawn over and smooch the adorable darlings! You could tell from their coats that they were indeed old cats, and they possessed an air of nonchalance about the surrounding hustle and bustle that characterises Nice. Of course, how could we refuse when the performer asked us for money to feed the cats!

We proceed to spend the day strolling around Nice, oohing and ahhing over enchanting chocolate shops and fashions we could never afford when to our absoulte delight, we come accross the street performer with his cats, doing his show! There was some booming classical music accompanying his show, and watching the cats perform, and then having Sonja go up and have her hand shaken by the cat - well, it was all just so amazing and beautiful that I burst into tears. A surprised Sonja and Mark spy me crying and ask me whats wrong, "The cats, theyre so beautiful" I wail. "R...i...ght" they reply, obviously thinking who is this lunatic we seem to be travelling with!

COTE DU AZUR - MONACO

2007-03-23T14:07:00.000Z

Well, i have to say, the Cote du Azur is just beautiful. We start at Monaco and visit the aquarium there as my bro told me it was incredible. I saw baby sharks still wiggling around in their egg sacks! And a rare brown eel who was massive and fully grown when they caught him in 1968. I must say, he did look very old and grumpy, and I felt sorry for him being in captivity for so long. And there was a tank full of tiny tiny nemos!!! Poor Mark, i think Sonja and I embarassed him with our extremely loud squeals of "NEMOS!!!" and rushing like three year olds over to the tank! SIGH! I miss my tank so much! Since moving to london I have realised the three things I cant live without - cats, fish and plants!

We also drive the formula one circuit - which is actually the streets of Monaco, "IN YOUR FACE!!!", I say to all my fellow male gamers!

Next its a visit to the palace of the Prince - I tried my best to look fabulous in the hope he might spy me from his palace window and decide he desparatly needed me as his mistress! Actually, I did manage to make one of the guards laugh though! Hmmm - wonder how well THEY get paid? Only kidding - I am STILL waiting for my broke but sexy spainish artist to turn up. Actually, I am still waiting for ANYONE to turn up!

Well, Monaco is rich, you can feel it in the air. You can just tell that the clothes people are wearing cost a fortune, the cars are all flashy and the shops heartbreakingly divine!

Still, in my sexy black dress and audrey sunnies driving along the winding coast, I too felt a little of that Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief glamour!

BELATED GERMAN CHRISTMAS

2007-03-23T14:04:00.000Z

I caught up with Sonja and Mark in Germany, which is just like a toy village. All the houses are the same and painted in pastel colours and everything is very neat and tidy! The Autobarn ROCKS! They have drive thru petrol stations, in fact, as far as I could tell the whole place just runs so well. Gotta love that German efficiency! Oh, so tell me, how come it takes three hours to check in and board at Stansted, and in Frankfurt, I was through customs, had my bags and was out the front door smoking a fag literally within 5 minutes! Oh, I also went to the loo in that time and noticed that they have recycled toilet paper too! Love the germans!

Which brings me to the idea that if any of you were thinking of the UK as being a first world country - disuade yourself of that thinking if you ever come to visit. It will only frustrate and infuriate you when you expect things to work, expect to go to emergency and receive something other than a panadol, expect that your stupid bank account can transfer cash back to australia and actually work when you go to the continent. Seriously - my bank gave me a card that didnt work outside the UK (this i found out after ringing them from germany asking why my card didnt work). Which I shall point out is right bloody next door to the continent, as opposed to my australian bank account which works in the continent! Anyway, so once you get it in your head that the UK is actually more a second world and stop expecting things to run smoothly and efficiently then life in the uk becomes an adventure of impossibilities. Someone let you go in front of them through the tube ticket barrier - wow!, you went to the post office to mail a parcel and there was only 20 people in front of you and you werent in there for an hour - amazing! someone smiled at you on the tube - impossible!!! Trust me, its a fight to the death just to get to your local deli, dodging people and bikes and more people, homeless asking for cash, dogs, drunken yobs, men leering at you (apparently I am quite gorgeous over here - all you aussie bastards take note! chick with white skin and freckles - means exotic over here!!) but its also exhilerating too! Such a mish mash of people from all cultures and lifestyles, jammed together and doing their thing! So much so, that its a rare thing to meet a real londoner - someone who was actually born and bred here!

Anyway I digress, so back to adventures with Sonja and MArk!

Sonja and her mother bridgette took me shopping to some massive autobarn style complex with EVERYTHING you could possibly imagine in it! Grocery Shopping heaven here we come! The best bit was me wandering around checking out all the foodstuffs you can get in Germany. I just love checking out supermarkets in foreign countries. And what do they have in copious amounts in germany at christmas time?? GINGERBREAD! Well I bought so much of the stuff, I needed and extra bag to get it home on the plane!

Off on the autobarn we go on a mission to the french alps! It was fabulous driving through the alps - just like being in gran turismo! I especially loved tthe tunnels that went through the mountains! We made our way to a gorgeous little village called Megeve up in the mountains. Squeals of delight - here we are in france in a snow covered village out of some fairy tale! With the christmas lights it looker ever so pretty! They even have horse and buggies to take you around the town! Mark and I were incredibly excited about going snowboarding the next day, ok I know my back was only just managing to get better but it was snowboarding were talking about here!

Should have known - later that night, just as I am about to step into a nice hot bath, the disc in my back goes again, and a concerned Sonja races in to the bathroom to find out why I am standing nude and screaming. The pain was breathtaking, quite literally it took my breath away. Every time I so much as thought of twitching a muscle, some unseen imp was stabbing a hot knife into my spine! Needless to say, I went to sleep that night with tears rolling down my cheeks!

In the morning, our first mission of the day is to find me an osteopath, that is after I get dressed. Mark, bless him, put on my shoes and socks for me! I wanted Sonja to marry him right then and there! To cut a long story short, the osteo cracks me this way and that, says I have an inflammed spine and guess what - no smowboarding! So its screw the snow - lets hit the beach!

WHAT I LURVE ABOUT LONDON BOYS

2007-03-23T14:03:00.000Z

You have to love a cold climate where all the boys wear 3/4 length coats with scarves! Mmmmmmm.... YUMMY!

GESTATING

2007-02-09T15:17:00.000Z

Travelling. Everything you read about and expect is that it is supposed t be the most amazing, boozy, making friends, shagging boys senseless and generally having the best ever time of your life. I wonder if that is only the bits that people remember? Do they remember all the times they felt lonely, frustrated and out of place?

You see, my experience of travelling at the moment (albeit I am stuck in London) has been one of total loss of sense of place and purpose. Frankly, I have been having a god awful time with myself these last couple of months. I am miserable, demotivated, hermetic and generally listless. And you knw what - its ok. I am holed up in mylittle loft room, slowly gestating, wondering, lots of sleeping and delving into who i am and what it is I really want and value in life. This takes time. And a lack of distraction. How bizarre that I am living in one of the most hectic, things happening cities in the world and it is here that I have chsen to take a sabbatical from life so to speak. (Wished I had planned it better and was on some tropical island somewhere though!)

In some ways, I feel like a monk who has chosen t live in a cave on some mountainside seeking enlightment. Sit with just yourself long enoough and you start to see yourself a little better. Whilst it can be incredibly awkward and frustrating to see aspects of yourself that are perhaps a little unpleasant, I am trying to place myself in the non judgmental position as observer.

I have been watching my brain and am amazed at how much it skitters and hithers here and there with total reckless abandon and lack of focus. How much time and energy it wastes churning over irrelevant and inconsequential things. There is a distinct lack of calmness to my thoughts and indeed my very being.

So I am going to cntinue to sit, observing myself in this dark place with a knowledge that this time is valuable and needed and that a tiny flicker of light will eventually slowly begin to burn and illuminate a new path for myself to take.

CHRISTMAS DRAMAS

2007-02-05T00:14:00.000Z

Well, I was supposed to fly to Germany to catch up with Sonja and Mark for a traditional german christmas but...

I was such a mess after finishing work the night before, that I quite literally could not get myself together. My darling friend Em came to see me to say goodbye and ended up with me blubbering my heart out over a cup of coffee in a cafe. Now you know you are upset when you are quite openly crying your eyes out in a public place and actually dont care what people are thinking!

So gorgeous Kel and Em pack my bags for me and send me off to the bus stop, and then its the train out to Stansted Airport. Of course, the tain was packed, so I squished myself into a little corner on the floor, hid my face in my knees and continued to sob my little heart sore.

I walk into the airport to complete and utter chaos - you literally couldnt move, there were so many people. I felt really sorry for the old people, so frail and do you think anyone would move aside so they could pass. Their eyes had a look of childlike distress, how had they ended up in this confusing, heaving mass of monsters? Hell is definitley an english airport at Christmas!

Well, theres nothing like a bit of a disaster for Lil to hit her stride (crisis is fine, its the normal bits Im not too good at!) Putting on my, woohoo Im a savvy traveller hat, I find I have missed my flight and yes, I should be able to get the next flight in two hours time, I just need to join that queue for the ticket office. Which queue? That queue? The one that snakes all around the airport and has over 400 people lined up in it? Oh yes - welcome to Stansted Airport at Christmas!

So with my savvy traveller hat on, whereby somehow I always manage to accquire the divine art of patience (how come i never get it in my daily life??) I quite happily join the queue and bemusedly watch the live show of "airport madness".

My travelling optimism lasts up until the moment I find out I cant get on the next flight and there are no more available flights to Germany (and thats anywhere in Germany) until Boxing Day. Its only when I ring Sonja to tell her that the tears flow. Still, I have spent the last six hours watching other people in the same boat, and realise I probably wont be the only person in London spending Christmas day on my own!

So, its back on the train and back to my little loft. That little excercise cost me £35 in train and bus fares! Oh yay, I say wearily to myself - I AM living the London life.

EVENT MANAGEMENT BOOT CAMP

2007-02-04T23:45:00.000Z

It was going to be fantastic - i was going to be paid £10 an hour to be an assistant manager at one of the christmas venues, learn more about event management and work 12 hour days earning heaps! Oh how wrong can one be?

It was quite possibly the worst four weeks of my working life!

My event manager "bulldog" we shall call her, turned out to be an irrational, belittling and nasty sociopath. On too many numerous occassions I was reduced to tears, half the time during service. What is so difficult to deal with is that these kind of people excel in the art of subtlty! What they do is nothing overt and concrete, its just a tone of voice or look, a convenient changing of the mind about how they want things done, so that you are never quite clear what exactly they want. One day the bottles of water need to be on the table this way, and then, today, for some reason only known to them and which makes no sense, they all have to be changed to a different way.

One day I bought in chocolates and biscuits for everyone, just as a little pep up and she demanded to know who had bought them in and when i said me, I was given the most evil and filty look, as if to say how dare I!

Needless to say by the end of the run I was an emotional wreck, so much so, that I missed my flight to Germany the next day as I couldnt stop crying or concerntrate.

Unfortunately, what this kind of behaivour does is to make you question your own sanity and abilities. Ive always taken pride in the fact that i am relatively intelligent and most things I attempt, I can do. However, by the end, I had so much self doubt in my self as a worker and a person, I was seriously considering quitting my job.

So after taking quite a few weeks to get over the whole shattering experience, what have i got from it?
1. There are people out there in the world who are very sad and screwed up individuals
2. I can feel empathy for them as damaged individuals
3. I dont have to put up with it!

So I am now trying to focus on being more assertive and stand up for myself more.

ACCOSTED IN REGENTS PARK BY A ROOK!

2006-10-08T02:31:00.000+01:00

Today I decided to take myself for a wander around regents park on account of the gloriously sunny day today!

I'm strolling along, enjoying the serenity, wtaching people of all descriptions enjoying what i am sure, is the last vestiages of the sun for awhile. In dire need of a cigarette (no mama - i havnet quit somking yet!) I spy a free becnh next to a fabulous water fountain, and take a seat. Promptly, a little black bird comes bouncing over on the bench and proceeds to my absolute delight - to start poking through my bag! After realising that film cannisters and orange sticky notes are defintiely not edible, sweet little bird then hops onto my arm and starts pecking me!

I then become the centre of attention as people start checking out me with this black bird on my arm! One lady asked if he was mine - and I'm like - no - weve just met!

Then cheeky bird is pecking madly at my cigarette case and pecking m in the belly too! It was all rather hysterical! I must admit - I felt very zen with the animal kingdom! I might not do humans too well - but animals just seem attracted to me!

Then along comes a lady with her horrid little boy who proceeds to chase after my cheeky rook friend and scares him away! But I will go back again one day, and take him some tasty treats!

COURAGE AND DREAMS

2006-09-30T01:43:00.000+01:00

After a very difficult time *see previous existential crisis, when my world and who i am was full of doubt, I have managed to gestate in darkness and have come out the other side with a new purpose and sense of hope!

The question I came to realise that needed asking of myself was when am i going to have the courage to be me and follow my dreams? I shall now quote Homer Simpson here, being the postmodern girl i am:

"If you dont try, you cant fail" - Homer Simpson

and this is exactly what i have been doing! This also ties in with a train of thought i have had for a couple of years now (to be precise, when Stewart and I broke up) when i said to myself... if i never have a romantic partner for the rest my life, what will my life be about? There is a card in my zen tarot that sums it up perfectly:

All togetherness is illusory. The very idea of togetherness arises because we are alone and the alonessness hurts. We want to drown our aloneness in relationship. Thats why we become so much involved with love...you have fallen in love because you cannot be alone.

So with much thinking, reading, internet surfing and frequent naps with the smoochy black and white cat I am living with, I have come to the realisation that I am alone in this world and that I need to find a life that fulfils me and is not dependant upon anyone else for happiness. Of course, my connections to people are important and incredibly valuable, but i'm talking here about the very base of my exististence.

So with all this swirling about in my conciousness, and even before I had a solid sense of this, I quit my good job as a functions manager at kew gardens. And whenever I had a thought of doubt - I kept thinking of something my sister said to me...

have the courage of your convictions

and i sternly said to myself - am i going to spend the rest of my life being the panic bunny or i am going to have the courage to be the glorious, magnificent and svelte tigress I could be?

WHY I LOVE LONDON #1

2006-09-26T19:42:00.001+01:00

One of the attractions of travelling is the possibility of having a raunchy love affaire with a dashingingly sensitive boy who has a foriegn accent, this fantasy is even better if said girl in question wows said boy with flamboyantly sexy nipple tassels! And what did I find today on Oxford Street, but glittery sequined nipple tassels!!! OK so they are pink and heart shaped and I have always imagined myself in silvery stars - but one presumes you can order them in ;-)

Now I just need to find that accented boy!

The Panic Bunny

2006-09-16T22:11:00.000+01:00

I find myself in the midst of an existential crisis. What am I doing here? What is the purpose to this life of mine? Why do I feel like there are moments here that I just cant breathe?

So I have been in London almost three months now - and to be honest, its been a little like an emotional washing machine! In some ways I feel more resilient, others more fragile. Some moments are tough and I wonder what the hell I am doing here (these are my I hate London days, where i wonder why in the hell anyone lives here), but then something amazing happens and my natural exuberance manages to return! Guess you cant keep a good girl down.

Bits and pieces of me are bubbling to the surface and give me a better sense of myself - some of the bits i like and am proud of, others im not so sure about, like honestly , do i have t be such a drama queen smetimes! I am your proverbial panic rabbit, cute, fluffly and terribly endearing, however at the first sign of trouble (real or mostly imagined ;-) ) my natural inclination is to run hither and skither, dashing and darting all the while screaming Panic! Panic! Only to calm down, once i have realised I havent had the heavens fall on my head and realise there was no danger after all! It brightens me to be aware of the absurdity and ridiculousness of my own existence!

Im trying to focus my energies on being more positive and living in my heart and not always in my head (which can often be quite unreliable). Sometimes I feel like a whispher of a spectre, not quite here in the real world, someone without a shadow. But thats why I cames here - to find a solid sense of myself within the world and I will persevere.

Its ironic - my natural inclination is to crawl inside myself, where I can spend long periods of time in my own company, serene in an umcomplicated way, i literally crave time to myself and hold it to myself as something quite precious. And yet I know i must reach out to people, as connection to others, and indeed the world around me, is what truly inspires me.

I feel i have lost my old skin, and am vulnerable and raw - but my old skin was getting tatty and faded, and my new skin is ever so pretty, colours and swirls of infinte delicacy and beauty! I just need a little time to grow into it!

"Those who wander are not necessarily lost"

HERE I AM!!

2006-08-26T06:39:00.000+01:00

I have been incredibly naughty and not blogged for ages! Apologies!

I have been working for the last three weeks at Kew Gardens and every morning when I get to work, I delight in how lucky I am to work in such a beautiful gardens! The glasshouses here are massive and gorgeous and filled with all sorts of exotic plants! I even discovered an aquarium with nemos underneath one of the glasshouses! So now I can visit them and dont miss my own little tank so much!

We have a group of guinea fowl who are called "The Nutters" on account that they chase after the Kew Explorer (little road train) to get the peanuts the driver throws them! They are hysterical, making gobbling noises and playing kamikaze with the explorer! We also have coots with tiny tiny cootlings, an assortment of ducks and birds, squirrels and apparently foxes and badgers, though I havent seen any of those yet!

And the other day I saw the most amazing blue and black dragonfly!

Living in london seems so familiar now - its amazing how quickly you adapt to changing scenarios! I am still living at Riccardos, I have found another movie buff to watch weird arsed arthouse movies with! Am desparaelt trying to find somewhere to live asit will be such a luxury to unpack all my things and have an iron! (bet you never thought you would here me say that - but I need to look swish for work, who knows, I just may bump into a rich lord! Imagine me being a lady!!!!!!!!!!!!) So Riccardo has been amazingly generous and is quite pragmatic and supportive when i go through one of my what am i doing here moments!

The staff at Kew are great, with an inspiring diversity of people from around the world. It is funny to come up against different colloquialisms, I ask people for things and they have no idea what I am talking about! Apparently is not gladwrap but clingfilm! I have already b een invited to one of the guys at works wedding (when he finds a wife he tells me) as I was raving about wanting to go to a real indian wedding!

Well its almost time for me to catch my train to work, I must admit i am a teensy bit hungover as we all went to the pub after work, The rose and crown on kew green!

Promise to write again soon as I have lots to tell!

SLIGHTLY LOST IN LONDON

2006-08-01T14:44:00.000+01:00

Todays been great - I now officially have my first London friend - gorgeous italian boy called Riccardo and have been to 3 promising job interviews and another tomorrow. (I wont tell you what cool jobs they are as I dont want to get my hopes up just yet!)

So why do i feel a little lost? Could it be the reality of the fact that i am actually going to be living here away from all my much loved friends? Or possibly that I STILL have the damn flu? Who knows, but I guess it cant be sunny all the time!

"I'm generally very brave, only today I happen to have a headache"

Alice in Wonderland

THE ALCAZYIN

2006-07-31T00:17:00.000+01:00

On a hill opposite the Alhambra, is an old section of town with the narrowest cobbled windy streets you have ever seen! I met a gorgeous boy from Sweden on the bus and we decided to do some exploring together. On the map I could see an area of park, but unfortunately it was surrounded by a huge wall! So Theo decides to ring the doorbell of the place and see if we can have a look! Okay - so they say no, but I had to admire his cheekiness!

In need of some refreshment, we stop into a teahouse and I have a delicious pakistan tea with cardoman pods in it - sensational! Charming company, sensationally refreshing tea and a balmy night all make for a perfect evening!

Then its back to my pension, where in the meantime, a guy has moved into my room, who is spanish, but has been living in the UK at a monastary studying buddhism. We then chat into the wee hours discussing finding enlightenment and happiness!

THE ALHAMBRA

2006-07-27T20:28:00.000+01:00

If there is only one city you can visit in Spain, it must be Granada! The Alhambra is magnificent! So magnificent - that I had tears in my eyes here too! The Alhambra is a palace built when Spain was under Islamic rule and it's beauty and sheer size make it a must see!

The intricate detailing on the walls and peaceful garden courtyards truly evoke a sense of paradise. Everywhere there are tricking fountains of water, even in the palace rooms! The islams believe paradise is a garden, and the gardens here perfectly justify that belief. Granada is hot in summer, but meandering through the gardens, a sense of coolness pervades one.

I took heaps of photos here, but am disappointed to say because of camera problems, hardly any worked out! So you will just have to go see for yourself!

My mission is to take my mama here next year!

GRANADA!

2006-07-27T20:20:00.000+01:00

So my plan of slleping on the bus and thus saving myself a nights accomodation was all very good in theory, except I spent the whole time freaking out that I would sleep through my stop and end up in Algecirez! We're talking Spainish transport here, and I'm pretty sure the bus driver wouldnt give a damn where I got off and certainly wasnt going to leave his comfy seat to wake me! So bleary eyed, I arrive at Granada (after asking 4 people just to be sure) at 5am and get to hang out in the cafe until the buses to town start at 7am. Lucky for me I have mastered Spainish for coffee - "Par favor, cuero uno cafe con leche" I am entertained by two Spainish guys that can hardly speak english except for "Ahh - you Australian - Australian good!" With much frivolity, we attempt a conversation.

Travel tip - If you're planning on visiting a foriegn country and dont speak the language - get damn good at charades!

On catching the bus into town, I bump into another solo female traveller from China and we decide to head off to the Alhambra and get in early as often the tickets sell out apparently! The funny thing is we wandered for about three hours around the Alhambra together and never even exchanged names!

ALICANTE

2006-07-27T19:53:00.000+01:00

Being the intrepid traveller that I am, I decide to catch the bus to Alicante and then go camping at a spot 30 minutes south. Some crazy idea I garnered in Barcelona where I bought a tent for 15 euro. Camping out in a tent with no utensils - now that's travelling I think!

With horrendous PMS, the closer the bus gets to Alicante, the more bad-tempered I become. Some horrible child is sitting in the seat in front of me whinging and crying and I have to control my urge to scream at it to shut the fuck up! It is at this point I decide my resolution to never have children is probably fairly wise. I suspect the ugly touristic high rise buildings and absolute butchering of the beautiful Spainish coast are also not helping my mood. I HATE Alicante!
Never in my life have I seen such rampant, senseless tourism - ugly tower blocks standing alone, jutting into the sky, destroying any sense of beauty and tranquility. People come here to holiday? To stay in a shitty apartment, in an ugly city, with awful theme parks filled with millions of other tourists! Thank god I will soon be camping I think!

With a sense of relief, I arrive at the camping park, thinking serene thoughts of pitching my tent and how cool it will be to have some peace and privacy at last. Its only when I check in I realise its a pity I dont read Spainish. Yep - the website said its only 7 euro an adult per night to camp, the bit I missed was the 23 euro site fee!

Well its a this point that for the first time in Spain I actually consider bursting into tears - but in a split second moment of fortitude of character, I ask the man how the hell I get to Granada! I'm outta this ugly town and going to Granada! And like magic, my bad mood disappears. Its now about 6pm in the evening, so I catch the bus back to Alicante and book a ticket to Granada for 11pm.

I'm stuck in Alicante for six hours, and believe me - that's long enough! So what does one do in Alicante for six hours whilst waiting to catch the bus? Head to the local tavern aross from the bus station and proceed to enjoy 1 euro wine! Shortly I am joined by another traveller, waiting to get the hell out and we while away the hours drinking and discussing how much we hate Alicante!

DAY OF THE GATOS

2006-07-27T19:38:00.000+01:00

One of my fave things to do in a new city is visit the botannical gardebs! Especially after a few days wandering the city streets, my soul is in need of leafy green spaces and a little piece of nature!

On my way to the gardens, what should I spy but two little kittens hiding under a parked car on the city streets near a crazily busy main road! They were so tiny and scared! Much to the bemusement of some well to do Valencian ladies I plonked myself down on the sidewalk and proceeded to make kitty noises and try and coax them out. Their huge wild eyes told me I had no chance! With forlorn backward glances and thoughts of kitty kidnap, I headed off to the gardens.

Upon entering, what should catch my eye but ANOTHER two kittens - one a tabby and the other, irresistible to me - a gorgeous spritely black one! Then I see another cat sitting on a chair, and another, and then another, to my delight I see that there are cats everywhere! I have entered into kitty paradise!

As i wander the paths between glorios green plants of every hue, I keep spying gatos! A skinny black gato comes up to me for cuddles and ear scartches and then decides to accompany me on my exploration through the garden. I have made a kitty friend!

Soon I come to a quiet and shaded spot and out of the bushes and undergrowth, what should emerge but a dozen or so gatos with curious eyes all watching me. As I walk off down the path, the all proceed to follow me - I am the Pied Piper of Valencia!!!

On the way out, I again come across the little black kitten and tease him with a popsicle stick. Of course, being a cat, his sense of play and curiosity get the better of him and soon we are playing the proverbial game of cat and mouse. Pretty soon I am wondering what the legalities are of stealing a kitten from the botannical gardens and smuggling him through British Customs, not to mention how the hell I would hide him from David in a one bedromm flat!

After being so kitty deprived for so long, the universe has answered my desparate pleas in spades!

2006-07-21T13:11:00.000+01:00

Today I have woken up serenely happy!

Have missed heaps of my blog - but will update when i get back to uk!

WICKEDY, WICKEDY, WICKEDY BEATS.....

2006-07-18T13:16:00.000+01:00

Wandered out alone last night and soon found a friend, sri lankian guy been living here for 5 years and went to a club called Radio City for some funky choons and serious ass shaking! I am quite amazed I managed to make it home after being quite drunk and leaving my map at home - some how i always get lucky when i just wing it!

Met another guy from london and had great intellectual conversations in regards to ethics, the environment and politics! Made me really miss all my groovy friends who are on the same wavelength as me!

I just love having my camera! Its like a friend I have that I can share all the amazing things I see with! With myself and my camera - I never feel alone! Travelling solo is great too, it gives you the space to explore your own feelings and I am finding I really do like alot of space for myself. especially during the day when i am sightseeing and then by the evening I am happy to find people to chat to!

I feel so free! (Sometimes a little freaked out by that, but most of the time - inspired!)

VALENCIA - CITY OF ELEGANCE!

2006-07-18T13:07:00.000+01:00

OK, now to Valencia as a city! If Barcelona is funky and pretty and cultural, Valencia is the elegant, charming and refined older sister! The pavements here are marble! All the buildings are just beautiful and painted in hues of ochre and bright yellows! The city has a much more relaxed and slower pace than Barcelona, and is absolutley stunning at night with most of the buildings and plazas lit up! Just wait til you see the photos! (I have now managed to take eight rolls of 36exp in just 8 days!) Every street has amazing buildings that just leave you breathless with their beauty! Late last night I stumbled accross a beautiful building with masses of carved marble and its like finding a precious treasure that you feel priviledge to have been shown!

VALENCIA!

2006-07-18T12:53:00.000+01:00

Catching the train to Valencia is such a great way to see the countryside! Huge rugged mountains and jagged cliffs, beautiful sea and little villages that really make you feel like you are in Spain! Heaps of picturesque casas with wonderful gardens!

On my journey, I thought it such a pity that Australia was colonised by the british instead of the Spainish, who I think are much more suited to an Australian climate and lifestyle than the brits!

As part of my usual plan of having no plan, it didnt occur to me to take any food on the 5 and half hour journey (on the cheap, but slow train option!). So here i am on this train, starving, until i realised I had my museli in my pack! So in desparation, there i am picking out all the seeds and nuts, and trying to avoid the oats - which I found out taste like crap if not softened with milk! It did occur to me to mug the gentleman who was eating a block of chocolate accross from me though!

On arrival, i found there was NO accomodation available except for pensions from 60 euros a night! Luckily I bumped into two mexican guys who were also looking for a room and tagged along with them, hoping to share the cost! We stayed in this pension run by two old guys, one who kept yelling at me in spainish (for what indescretion I still have no idea!)

I have since moved to a cool youth hostel painted in bright funky colours which also has a kitchen (bless!) and managed to make myself spag bog, cause there´s only so long you can survive on nectarines and baguettes!

MUSICA LA REVAL

2006-07-18T12:46:00.000+01:00

My last night in Barcelona was spent hanging out in las ramblas reval listening to a funky outdoor concert and drinking gin and tonic with Mounier! Barcelona is such a crazy city - I love it! The variety of people is a delight to see! We also checked out an arabic bar which was so cool - fab interior and dudes smoking from gorgeous brass pipe thing - so long since I smoked pot i cant remember the damn name!

I leave Barcelona tomorrow, knowing I will return again! (If only to take home an iguana!)

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-07-17T13:56:00.000+01:00

I just got an email from Sonja and USS has been missing for a week! FUCK! Not my handsome man, my ussy sai barbar, my dont call me dude, dude!

MUSEU PICASSO

2006-07-17T13:46:00.000+01:00

Off to the pharmacia I take myself for panadol before a trip to the Museu Picasso! Still feeling quite ill and struggled around the museum with knee and thigh joints killing me!

Wow - Picasso was such an amazing painter at only 15 - of course he was destined for brilliance! The exhibition is fantastic because it shows you his earliest work up until his cubism stage - so what was really amazing was to see how he evolved as a painter!

As much as I like his cubism work, what I loved was his landscapes of Spain! There are even paintings of things I have seen and recognised! (eg Column in Barcelona - right near where I stayed!) With the Spainish landscape to inspire - even I might be able to paint something resembaling a piece of artwork!

And his ceramic work is just sensational! There is one piece which is a platter and then added accross it is another piece of fish bones! Bad description - sorry, maybe you just have to see it for yourself!

YOUVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

2006-07-15T12:45:00.000+01:00

Aaagggghhhh! I am sick again! Spent a delirious night last night with awful fever and crazy dreams! Managed to saturate my bed with sweat! Mmmmm - nice! Was going to leave Barcelona today but am too sick! Honestly - what was the point in my flu shot!

FRIDAY

2006-07-14T22:53:00.000+01:00

This morning after being woken up by crazy shouting mexicans, I decided to find some peace and solitude and wandered to the beach for a swim at 7am. Its such an interesting time of morning in a city. You have the people who are just starting their day and others who are still enjoying their night!

The whole city is a mess from the night before - kinda like when you wake up to the next day after a party at your house, but this is a whole city and happens every night!

I´ve also noticed all the gatos here are very similar, very small and skinny with long legs and a very triangular face! Sonja - I am tempted to send one home to you for safe-keeping!

Something happens to me everyday that makes me realise how amazing life and people are! Today I just happened to say Ola to a waiter whilst having a cafe, told him how I was moving to UK and he gave me the contacts details of his sister who is general manager of a whole heap of bars in the UK!

Fantastico!

Everything is meant to be!

SAGRADA FAMILIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-07-14T22:43:00.000+01:00

Nothing I can say can possibly explain to you how amazing it is to see the Sagrada up close! Ok - try this - I had tears in my eyes at the beauty and magnificence of such an amazing creation! The intricacy of the building, the sculptures with such a feel of emotion, the sheer magnitude of Gaudi´s vision! This is not a building but a "creation"!

I went up one of the towers and walked across the bridge, escorting a little girl whose Mum was afraid to go up! The view of the city was sensational, but for me, it was being in the Sagrada that was truly inspiring!

Will i live to see the day the Sagrada is finished I wonder! Can you imagine what a party that would be!

PARC GUELL

2006-07-14T22:36:00.000+01:00

Yesterday i caught the metro to Parc Guell! After climbing up the mother of all hills with innumerable stairs I arrived with much excitement and anticipation at the entrance! Gaudi´s work is so fantastical - i think it is all made from gingerbread and icing! One feels a sense of sheer childlike wonder and delight wandering the parc! I really also liked how well his work intergrates with the surrounding nature too!

I have become a complete photo junkie and have taken almost six rolls of film since I have been here! So fingers crossed some work out! Will post when I get back to UK! So you will all have to be paitent!

IT PAYS TO SAY OLA!

2006-07-14T22:25:00.000+01:00

Hmmm, where was I? So much has happened in the last few days! Have moved to a "private hostel" which I found about from a guy called Mounier from Algeria who was also staying there on San Pau just off Las Ramblas! Its only 15 euro a night and is jam packed with people! Lots of gorgeous crazy mexican boys who will insist on walking around with no shirts on! I am the only Australian there amongst a cast of characters international! Its really cool, feel more like I am actually living in Barcelona!

Mounier has been to Barcelona heaps and has been showing me round the place - went out the night before taking photos everywhere with him! And found a cafe that makes great cafe con leche and gives you free internet with it!

BAKPAK

2006-07-12T12:47:00.000+01:00

Forgot to mention that my bakpak and contents only weigh 9.5kg! Impressive if you consider how much stuff I took to the UK! And I could have done without my sleeping bag, jumper and cardi as it is sooo hot here! Lucky i only bought one pair of shoes too!

Which means I will have room in my pack to bring home cigarillos and bino!

BARACHIO ON BARCELONA!

2006-07-12T12:32:00.000+01:00

From one extreme to the other! I have moved from my own little room to a hostel in Plaza Reial with about 100 people! Good news is that I get breakfast included, free internet and the bedroom is airconditioned! Not to mention the fact that i am meeting heaps of fellow travellers!

Last night whilst trying to find the bar Sugar again, which proved impossible! - i stumbled accross a great reggae bar with funky decor and then another bar called Manchester - which as you imagine, plays manchester music! Met two great guys, both australian - first i have met since coming here and proceeded to hook up with another couple also from australia! It was the first time in barcelona that i have had a conversation purely in english! Was kinda weird at first and I kept saying everything in a spainish accent!

I´ve learnt with spainish that if you dont know the right word, you just put on an accent and add io or ent to the end and most times they get what you are saying!

So as you can imagine, we proceeded to chat, drink and listen to great musica! Also met this girl Angela who told me about a website called couch surfing, where people let you stay on their couches all over the world for free! Cool - will have to check it out!

Having a chill day today and planning to go on a Guadi mission tomorrow, as all I have done since i got here has been to party with people and wander the streets in the barri gothic!

I cant believe how much barcelona feels like home already! Its such a delight to wander around until you find a bar that takes your fancy! The people are wonderfully friendly and there is a spirit of liveliness here that is incredibly infectious and seductive!

LUNA LOCA

2006-07-11T11:29:00.000+01:00

Ok - this is starting to get a little ridiculous! Every day I have a different boy taking me out! Last night went to a great little bar called Sugar - funky choons and cheap drinks! Then off to Sant Sebastion beach for some salsa clubbing! Drinks are 3 times the price! Ouch! Then a little skinny dipping under a full moon at the beach - fantastico! Sleepy sleep at 7am this morning!

Great thing about hanging out with the locals is that you get to go places you would never find in the rabbit warren that is Barcelona - especially the downtown district just off las ramblas! And i am learning heaps of Spainish too!

Eduordo who took me out last night kept laughing at me cause I kept seeing gatos (cats) and trying to pat them but they are marko (scared)!

What I really love is that the supermarkets are called "supermercats" so i keep thinking of a feline superhero everytime I see them! And i thought the mercats at london bridge were amazing - the mercat here is unbelieveable! They have stalls that just sell all kinds of eggs! Brilliant! and the lolly stalls - such a delight!

Its amazing how quickly you can settle into a new place - three days and it feels like home already! I´m still trying to work out how to smuggle an iguana home with me though!

IGUANAS FOR 10 EUROS!

2006-07-10T12:49:00.000+01:00

Thats it! They sell iguanas and chameleons on las ramblas for 10 euros! I am never coming home!

Its a pure delight to converse with the locals in spainish! I met a street performer this morning and we guestured and waved and chatted at each other with lots of "no comprehendas" inbetween!

Barcelona is breathtaking beautiful or gwappa (probably not the right spelling) and has taken my grasso (heart!)

The people are so friendly and I get such a buzz out of saying "ola" to everyone!

BARCELONA BIDA LOCO!

2006-07-10T12:39:00.000+01:00

Ola!

Barcelona is being very good to me! After wandering around lost, looking for a hostel, I eventually found one right on Las Ramblas down near the docks! And I have my very own room for only 20 euros a night!

Settling down in the Plaza Reial for a coke (cause thats all I knew how to ask for!) I met some local barcelonians who invited me over to their table for bino blanco! Oscar and Ray are two cubans who have lived in Spain for 6 years and Sutti is from Thailand and also a resident here!

So with much frivolity and mis-communication, they proceeded to teach me spainish! Then it was off to god knows where to a tiny cuban club to catch some salsa and mojitos! Fabulous!

Sutti and Ray then invited me to their casa downtown near las ramblas for a delicious dinner of massive prawns and pasta - and of course more bino!

So my first day in this beautiful city was sensational!

LIL & YASAS AT THE PUB!

2006-07-08T13:04:00.000+01:00

DAVID'S APARTMENT

2006-07-08T13:03:00.000+01:00

MY V&A PICS

2006-07-08T12:58:00.000+01:00

BIG DAY OUT WITH YASAS!

2006-07-06T17:43:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I caught up with Yasas at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. Well, I thought the Natural History Museum was good - the V&A is jaw-droppingly awesome! I wandered around having artistic orgasms at the incredible collections they have. Sculptures that you have to see to believe - lucky I took a whole role of film which will post when it has been developed. At one point I walked into the Italian Cast Sculpture room and almost burst into tears at the magnificence of it!

I especially liked the "Netsuke" which are minature carvings of sorts of shapes - animals, people, flowers etc and made from wood or ivory that the Japanese used to counterweight their pouches as they had no pockets! The ones I saw were from the 17-1800's and were just exquiste! Then you come to the lacquer work - paper and letter boxes etc. The intricacy and detail and sheer beauty just take your breath away!

Anyway - I could rave about the Museum for ages and am planning to go back tomorrow as I only saw a small section in the four hours I was there!

So after our V&A session, Yasas and I decided to pop into a local and have a well deserved drink - mmm I have discovered PIMMS with lemonade, and fresh limes and lemons - very refreshing!

Then it was off on a crazy walking tour around Kensignton looking at all the posh houses and admiring the Architecture and me torturing Yasas as to the periods and styles of Architecture! Ending up in Hammersmith - which by this time I was completely lost - we had another drink at a pub by the Thames and admired the Hammersmith Bridge!

At the tube Yasas and I parted and being a little drunk, managed to make it home to the borough, only to find I had lost my phone on the tube! Really - I ask you - how do I keep managing to lose things!

So by the time I got back to the flat, I was feeling thoroughly pissed off with myself (oh and the antibiotics are making me really nauseous which is great... just great!).

Well the good news is that someone handed it in and rang david who rang me to tell me where to pick up my phone, but i was so busy being mad at myself I didnt actually pay any attention to which tube station it was at!

So after having a little hissy fit at myself, I decided to settle into the couch, watch the teev and begin again tomorrow!

Oh the trials and tribulations of being oneself, lucky I am developing the knack of standing outside myself and looking in and thinking that i am actually quite amusing with my idiosyncracies!

MY PICS

2006-07-06T17:35:00.000+01:00

A GAME OF DESPARATION!

2006-07-04T22:42:00.000+01:00

OK - So i maybe a little drunk! But woohoo - what a game!!! Germany v's Italy - what a game!! Here I was in a pub with a whole bunch of chair throwing crazy Italians! Atmosphere, excitement, woohooness and all that jazz!

After being over being sick I decided to get really drunk and imbue myself with the footy vibe! My plan is now to just stay drunk the whole time as I feel perfectly fine when shitfaced!

Am now listening to funky choons whilst I wait for my pasta to cook!

Pity about Germany losing - my prediction was if it went to penalty shoot outs then Germany would win - but viva Italia scored in the last few minutes!

Bring on Spain and vino!!!!!!!

SANITY PREVAILS!

2006-07-03T21:39:00.000+01:00

Woo Hoo!!! I have drugs!! Flu busting, kicking ass anti-biotics!! Went out to Whitechapel today to a walk in centre where the kind doctor thoroughly agreed with me that I have been sick for too long and need some decent drugs! As I got out of the tube station, theres a sign at Whitechapel warning people that there are frequent muggings in the area! I was so unwell and fed up I would have pitied the poor fool who tried to mug me! So apart from my venture to the clinic, I have pretty much been sleeping the whole time now that I have calmed down and have stopped stressing myself out!

So any minute now I am going to be the happening, exuberant and adventuresome Lil you all know and love!

BATTLES WITH THYSELF!

2006-07-02T11:59:00.000+01:00

Honestly - I can be such a drama queen sometimes! Have been having such a struggle with myself over the fact that I am sick and cant do much. I feel ok just pottering around the house, but as soon as I expend some energy (as in going to the pub to watch the footy) I start to feel dizzy and faint! Not too mention the fact that yesterday I felt homesick for the first time! Lonely, miserable and incredibly frustrated - which of course is doing nothing to help me get better as I feel so stressed out!

So after a great chat with Fi (who assured me I am not a crazy lunatic - or to be more precise - I am being a crazy lunatic - but its ok) and a stern pep talk to myself, I have decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and get a sense of humour!

Ok, so when I planned my trip to the the UK, never was it in the itinerary that I would be sick for the first three weeks! But I am - so I can sit here whinging about how crap and unfair it is or I can come up with a new plan that fits it in!

"Its not events that make us unhappy - its how we think about them"

So I am going to take the opportunity of being stuck in a lovely flat in London to apply for jobs! I mean - really - applying for jobs is a tedious task - so why not do it while I am sick, instead of when I feel better and would rather be out doing cool things!

And sure - I'm probably going to feel lonely - who wouldnt in a big city with no friends and too sick to actually go out and make them! But that will just have to be my challenge now wont it!

Wow - who would have thought - even when life is crappy - its still so amazing!

FRIDAY FROLICS

2006-06-30T16:42:00.000+01:00

I just lurve weekends at the Borough!!! The markets are full of the most delicious and tantalising tidbits! After craving red meat for the last week - I decided to make spaghetti bolognese - which is no mean feat in a kitchen with 1 pot, 1 knife and no can opener! Luckily I still have all my fingers!

In sheer desparation I have taken to eating ginger and garlic raw, ginger and garlic tea and ginger and garlic inhalations! Hence, I am in no danger of being ravished by any vampires or men for awhile!

I have been invariably amused by my self inflicted ban on doing anything but resting, as I find myself pacing around the flat like a caged panther! Doing nothing just doesnt sit well with me at all! I keep wondering what would happen if I did one of those retreats where you cant talk to anyone and have to meditate for 10 days! I guess eventually I would either find inner calm and serenity or I would find myself hysterically clutching at the monks feet begging them to talk to me!

I tell you what - first thing I am doing when i get better is to get really drunk and go out dancing in my new frock which Bunny made me buy in Leeds!

NATIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM

2006-06-30T00:27:00.000+01:00

THE UNIVERSE PROVIDES Example 2

2006-06-30T00:18:00.000+01:00

I've been deliberating on the virtues of film v's digital in my pursuit of travel pics, as i have yet to get myself a camera! After deciding that what I really want is a digital SLR and having checked out my bank balance and realising I can spend two weeks in Spain for the cost of it, I was back again at square one in the whole drama of camera buying! When guess what - on the last day of my stay at Rod and Bunny's - Rod lent me a 35mm stills camera - Canon EOS no less! How about that?

"You cant always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need - OH YEAH!"

THE UNIVERSE PROVIDES Example 1

2006-06-28T22:58:00.000+01:00

I have just been communing with The Artful Dodger! Its 11pm and I was lying in bed missing The Moo - this is the longest we have been apart in 12 years! And what should I hear amidst my saddness - the sorrowful wailings of the Dodger! So out I went in search of the Dodger and found him sitting in a business doorway! He wasnt particularily impressed with mouldy old goats cheese so I will have to make sure I have appropriate kitty snacks in the house from now on!

LONDON TEARS

2006-06-28T20:49:00.000+01:00

OK, today I cried for the first time since leaving Australia! The day started exceeding well - I was up early surfing the net being inspired to learn about art history at 5 am this morning! I've been writing notes and basically giving myself a crash course in the history of the world. Thank you for the book Sonja - its a rare little gem!

Bouncing out of the flat into the cobbled streets of London Bridge to my fave coffee shop for my morning latte - sorry have to digress here :

THERE IS NO GOOD COFFEE IN ALL OF ENGLAND! The best coffee shop only does coffee half as good as Rifo's! Maybe they can do flat whites - but they certainly cant do creamy, silky lattes! And the crazy thing is that I keep being sucked in by signs saying places do proper coffee, only to order and find out they are awful. Do you think they will think it rude if I just offer to make it myself next time??

anyway - riding the tube like a true londoner, I arrived at South Kensington for a much anticipated visit to the Natural History Museum, only to discover my fave building in London! It was built in the late 1800's by Alfred Waterhouse and is in the German Romanesque style! Apart my being gloriously beautiful with lots of skylights letting in natural light, it is covered with hundreds of plant and animal carvings and reliefs.

Oh, and the exhibitions were fantastic as well! I had a poignant moment when I saw a Victorian glass case filled with about 300 different types of hummingbirds that the museum had acquired from a private collector- the fashion to collect and display animals as trophies seemed rather grotesque.

And then I start to feel rather unwell and dizzy and absolutley exhausted! I'm sitting on the tube home with my eyes closed and then start blubbering at my local chemist how i'm sick, still sick, not getting better, please give me the kick ass flu drugs, and why cant this bloody country prescribe anti-biotics with the impunity of Australia!

So i walk into the flat, promptly burst into tears, call Fi and go WAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am however now, calm and in control and have decided to stop pushing myself to do stuff and try to actually get some proper rest instead of stressing myself out! Hence I am banned from any excursions outside my local area for a few days!

I am so frustrated and desparate to get well I am even considering eating a whole garlic bulb raw!

LINCOLN PICS

2006-06-25T22:36:00.000+01:00

ROD & BUNNY

2006-06-25T22:33:00.000+01:00

TOWER TOP

2006-06-25T22:11:00.000+01:00

After enduring two hours of my brothers formula one driving, we arrived at Lincoln and I braved myself for the Tower Top climb of the Lincoln Cathedral. 338 stairs up in a very narrow spiral staircase! Okay, so not such a big deal you say - well not if you are not a.claustrophobic and b.fraid of heights!

However, never one to let my fears get in the way, I am proud to say I made it to the top and ooohed and aaahhed at the magnificent view! What was most amazing was to see the cathedral behind the scenes so to speak. At one point we were standing on the floor above the cathedral. Echos of the past whisper around you and you can almost see the people who must have climbed these small, narrow stairs in ages past! I kept imagining I was a virginal maiden, hurrying up the stairs to hide from the invaders! (Only then to be ravished!) Great place for a game of hide and seek!

My heart and soul is just drinking in England!

Bunny is an excellent tour guide and has been filling me in on all the pertinent facts I seemed to have missed out on in my history class! And Rod is a great driver once you get used to the "get the fuck off the fucking road if you cant drive" mentality. (Actually - I have to admit I quite agree with him - why oh why is it so hard for people to drive properly?)

KERMIT HOOD

2006-06-25T22:06:00.000+01:00

Okay - so some of you may already know about the legend of Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest. But did you know there is also a legend of Kermit Hood! Here is photographic proof that he did exist and is in fact, about to leap onto his sturdy steed and rescue Princess Miss Piggy from the evil clutches of the Mad Scientist Beaker!

WOMAN AFLAME

2006-06-24T07:35:00.000+01:00

This sculpture by Salvador Dali titled "Woman Aflame" is perhaps one of my fave dali pieces! I went to the Dali exhibition earlier this week in London and wandered around like Alice in Wonderland in a world of whimsy and dreams.

I imagined what articles one might find in my "pyschological drawers" so to speak? What drawers would i be joyus to open, finding within treasures i had long since thought i'd lost? Which ones would i steadfastly refuse to open, fearful of what may lay inside? And what in my life would i choose to place in safety, what moments, what objects, smells, feelings, colours, sensations, people, plants etc, all to be taken out and enjoyed at will?

SENSATIONAL!

2006-06-23T08:26:00.000+01:00

For those of you who missed Australia v's Croatia last night - you missed one of the best football games I have ever seen! Rod, Bunny and I went down to the local Aussie pub in Leeds and proceeded to scream, shout and generally be hooligans watching the game! What a nailbiter!

Today I am going to take it easy as Rod and Bun have promised to take me out and about touring round the countryside tomorrow - to see the real england they tell me!

2006-06-22T13:30:00.000+01:00

i DONT DO COOKING, I DONT DO CHILDREN AND A CERTAINLY DONT DO BEING SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:-(

2006-06-21T20:46:00.000+01:00

On account of being really sick still - I now have a horrible chesty cough and my lungs feel like they are on fire, I decided to head up to Leeds to visit my brother and his wife Bunny for a little rest and recuperation in the country and some TLC, whilst waiting for my new credit cards to be replaced!

If i didnt feel so exhausted i think I would have a good cry!

THE ARTFUL DODGER

2006-06-20T09:02:00.000+01:00

I have met the artful dodger - he is a gorgeous tabby cat who David informs me is the local cat at the Borough Markets. He wanders the streets at night youwling his head off at people as they walk past to give him food, pretending to be a starving stray.

I had already seen him from the balcony of the flat, and being desparate for cat attention, wondered whether i could sneak him into the flat without David knowing! I'm sure he would love to cuddle with me on the couch watching Dr Who!

Anyway - after returning from seeing The Passenger (amazing film by the way) I came accross The dodger in the street and stopped for pats and snuggles! I expected to find him skinny with a shabby coat - but in fact he is quite glossy and healthy! And then i realised - starving poor tabby cat is all an ACT! Hence i have named him the artful dodger on account of his scamming capabilities!

HMMMM - NOT SO SAVVY TRAVELLER!

2006-06-19T17:40:00.000+01:00

Well... I am sitting in a pub in Southbank with Yasas, having been devastated by Brazil beating Australia, when I went to buy myself a commiserative wine only to discover my wallet had been lifted from my bag!

However, I kinda think its a blessing in disguise, in the fact that i only lost 5 pounds, and David has kindly lent me 100 pounds until i sort myself out! Would have been a bit more of a disaster to have happened in Spain with NO-ONE to lend cash! And the moral of the story is I am obviously not the savvy traveller I think I am and need to be a bit more careful!

"SAY YES TO LIFE, EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW IT MAY DEVOUR YOU" Stephen Larsen

The Legend of the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary

2006-06-19T08:24:00.000+01:00

"THE MOST NOTEWORTHY THING ABOUT GARDENERS IS THAT THEY ARE ALWAYS OPTIMISTIC, ALWAYS ENTERPRISING AND NEVER SATISFIED. THEY ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO DOING SOMETHING BETTER THAN THEY HAVE EVER DONE BEFORE"
Vita-Sackville West

Ok , after an exceeding heavy night of debauchery with david ( I am going to name him "evil David" in the same vein as our belovedly naughty "evil spoolia") - for those of you that dont know spools - she has accquired this nickname because everytime I go out with her she gets me very drunk on nice wine!

Anyway - feeling a little seedy, I decided to walk along the river (aka Southbank) up to Lambeth bridge, then across to Westminister, ending up meeting Yasas at Embankment Station!

TODAYS'S HIGHTLIGHT:
All my horty friends will be so impressed - I went to the Lambeth Museum of Garden History and learnt all about 17th Century knot gardens! Then I came across the vegetable lamb of tartary (see pic)

"The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary is a semi-legendary plant of central Asia, believed to grow sheep as its fruit. Although it owed its currency in medieval thought as a way of explaining the existence of cotton, underlying the myth is a real plant, Polypodium borametz L. It was known under various other names including the Scythian Lamb, the Borometz, and the Borametz."

WOW! Who has time for a job when there is so much in the world to learn and see! What an adventure it is to be alive! I have decided my new job title is:
"Lily Martin - Discoverer of Unusual Things!"

Pussycat, Pussycat, Where have you been?

2006-06-17T18:33:00.000+01:00

Due to it being the Queens Birthday, I thought a trip to Buckingham Palace to wish her a Happy Birthday was called for! No - I didnt see the Queen - she had thoughtlessly gone inside for a nice cup of tea and cucumber triangle sandwiches by the time I got there! I did however, see the dudes in big, black furry hats - changing of the guard - which I found quite hysterically funny!

I'm still having "navigation issues" of which David informs me is to do with the sun and north being opposite in the northern hemisphere. So to combat this i have discovered two remedies:

1. Whichever direction I think is the right way - I need to go the exact opposite direction

2. Turn the map upside down!

Between these two I am managing to find my way around London rather successfully I might add!

TODAYS HIGHLIGHT: thinking I might add this as a regular feature!

Anyway - todays highlight was seeing SQUIRRELS in Hyde Park!!!!!!!!!!! They are so funny and bouncy and extremely cheeky! I rummaged through my bag for something to feed them but didnt think it was particularily eco of me to feed them tobacco! Could you imagine nicotine addicted squirrels?

Hyde Park is gorgeous - the have deckchairs and ducks, row boats, crazy upside down trees, squirrels! and more men with their shirts off than I have ever seen! There's this whole park culture similar to our bbq culture in Aus, but here it seems even more pronouced - I guess due to the fact they only have nice weather for a few months of the year!

So if you see any reports about some crazy lunatic - sorry - gorgeous crazy lunatic walking around london, grinning like an idiot and occasinally doing weird little hops - that was me! Please dont pinch me - I dont ever want to wake up!

From one lounge room to another!

2006-06-17T05:44:00.000+01:00

Great, just great! I have managed to come down with a fever/flu and have not been able to leave the flat except for brief trips to the store for panadol for the last three days!!

I managed to check out piccadilly circus and arrived at the British Museum to check out the mummy exhibition only to feel like i was going to pass out! So thought it best that perhaps I catch the tube home and have been there ever since! Grrrrrr!

Being a little of a control freak, forced inactivity doesnt sit well with me - just ask Sonja what a pain in the ass i am when i am sick! Lucky for David - he hasnt been home much so he has managed to miss most of my whinging! Though he has been foolish enough to leave a box of sensational (aka expensive!) chocolates in the fridge!

When I first arrived the only two food groups in Davids fridge were chocolates and bottles of wine! 'SIGH' a man after my own heart and every other female i know!

2006-06-17T05:42:00.000+01:00

I am in LONDON!!!!Maybe I should start at the beginning for you -after blubbering like a fool through customs at Perth airport, I found myself on a plane bound for Hong Kong! The flight was great and upon arrival at Hong Kong, I easily managed to get myself to my next gate for theHong Kong to Zurich leg. I really wanted to do some shopping at Hong Kong but found the shopping wasnt actually that great and they didnt have ANY rolling tobacco!!! So i found myself the smokers lounge which is really disgusting, as soon as you walk in you are surrounded by cigarette smoke - ok i know i am a smoker - but even i have limits!!The Zurich leg was great as i managed to sleep 9 hours out of the twelve andawoke to discover i had only two hours to go! My next challenge was to catch my connecting flight to Heathrow which was departing at 7:05am and by 7am I was still in a massive queue to get through security screening! Freaking out and wondering whether pushing through everyone would seem a little rude, I managed to get to my gate only to be told that Hong Kong airport should have given me a boarding pass, that the flight was full and iwould need to wait till they could get me on another flight!Luckily they got me on a flight an hour later and gave me 120 Euros as "compensation"!! Woohoo!I was so tired that I managed to be asleep flying into Heathrow - so missed the bird's eye view!Next thing i find out is they have LOST my luggage - which was actually a blessing cause they delivered it ro my door later that night so i didnt haveto lug it around with me on the tube!Si i'm thinking Europe is very civilised in giving me money and hand delivering my luggage - what service!Thanks to the friendship of Fi and one of her extremely generous spirited friends David - I am now staying at a gorgeous modern apartment (with an elevator!) in the heart of the london bridge district - 1 minute's walk fromthe famous Borough Markets where all the restuaranters come to buy the freshest produce you can imagine! Imported cheeses from France, Foie Grais,fish shops, mushroom shops etc!And just to make you all even more jealous - I spent my first afternoon at agreat little local pub drinking and watching Australia beat Japan in the football! After that - David and I went to a cool little restuarant and satout in the street drinking more wine and eating THE stilton cheese you've all heard about - mmm delicious!The weather has been gorgeous - brilliant blue sunny skies and hot! And is doesnt get dark til 10pm! Fabulous!!So it well and truly seems that i have not just landed on my feet, but have hit the ground running! London reminds me of Melbourne alot - only much groovier! So i will have to love you and leave you as i am off to do some more exploring!

Hmmmm - Maybe I am ready for all this afterall!

2006-06-06T13:48:00.000+01:00

Ok - only four sleeps to go! After feeling totally exhausted and so unenthusiastic about going for the last two weeks, I am finally feeling like maybe - just maybe I am ready to go! Have moved out of my house so am now offically homeless! Lucky for me Fi and Ben have taken pity on me and have kindly let me stay at their house!!! Desparate for some cat attention - I have commandered Fi's cat "Cat"! Will obviously have to find someone in the UK whose cat I can adopt!!

Presently, after being so organised for so long, I have been spending my days at my fave cafe "Rifo's" enjoying the quintessential best lattes in Perth, instead of doing the last final things that need to be done! I am adopting the attitude of whatever hasnt been done - obviously doesnt need to be (which i may find to my detriment later - but who cares?).

Tomorrow I am off to my doctors to pick up a script of valium so i can hopefully bypass the whole "I am going to die" flying experience!!! 24 hours on an airplane that could crash and burn any moment - the only way to do it is to totally knock yourself out I feel! Mmmm - note to self - DONT FORGET the nicotine patches!! Really - how do they expect us smokers to combat fear of the plane crashing any moment and NOT being able to have a cigarette! Madness I tell you! No wonder people go crazy on planes - they obviously just need a bloody cigarette!!

Let me outta here!

2006-05-15T11:25:00.000+01:00

Finally I am on the home stretch - only four weeks to go and what an interminable four weeks they seem. My bag is packed, I'm moving out of my house in two weeks and saying goodbye to my two cats Madison (aka Maddy the Moo) and Uss (aka Dont call me dude, dude!) and taking not nearly enough money with me!

I'm ready and impatient to go, except for one thing - how do I leave my special cat Madison. Dont get me wrong - I love Uss too - but he's just not Maddy!

I've cried in bed snuggling next to Maddy - how can I possibly leave her? I have had her now for almost 13 years (longer than any boy has been in my life!), moved to various houses with her, she's been with me on all those nights when I was sad or depressed and curled up by my shoulder as I read yet another novel in bed!

Mmmm, maybe I should leave enough room in my backpack to take her with me!!!

winds of change

2006-02-20T23:16:00.000Z

here i am in Perth, one of the most isolated cities in the world, and the winds of change have blown in through my door. In 15 weeks (whose counting?) i will be off to travel the world!