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I realised yesterday that even though ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ryokophoenix posted these sections of last year's trip a LONG time ago, I forgot to link to them! Well done, me. Hopefully the next part (Dublin!) will be up soon, but in the meantime:
Birmingham (by which I mean Cadbury World) -- in which I have chocolate-induced maniaface
&
Edinburgh -- in which the weather is ridiculous
~
If you missed them the first time: Singapore and Prague. Still to come: something like 90% of the trip :D
I can't believe we were in Rome a year ago, about to fly home. I miss Europe so much.
ryokophoenix posted these sections of last year's trip a LONG time ago, I forgot to link to them! Well done, me. Hopefully the next part (Dublin!) will be up soon, but in the meantime:Birmingham (by which I mean Cadbury World) -- in which I have chocolate-induced maniaface
&
Edinburgh -- in which the weather is ridiculous
~
If you missed them the first time: Singapore and Prague. Still to come: something like 90% of the trip :D
I can't believe we were in Rome a year ago, about to fly home. I miss Europe so much.
travelganza part 2 - Prague
11 Feb 2009 08:29 pm
I adored Prague beyond words and I hope this shows you some of why. Includes snow, foodstuffs, statues of saints, and pictures of me looking unimpressed in doorways.
~
Completely unrelated, but brought to you by my continued Farscape-watching: 'Through the Looking Glass' is one of the most entertaining, suspenseful and ultimately joyous episodes of ANYTHING that I have EVER SEEN <3333
~
Also unrelated: red wine mixed with lime-infused soda water = excellent impromptu sangria. Now let's see if I can get some writing done.
travelganza part 1 - Singapore
7 Feb 2009 01:08 amHoly fucking shit it is unbelievably hot. And there are mosquitoes in my room. I have sprayed Mortein everywhere and am waiting for them all to DIE; there is nothing, nothing I detest more than mozzie-whine in my ear as I try to sleep.
(It was 40 degrees today. They think it might break a 40-year record by going over 42 this weekend. I am getting the hell out of here tomorrow and going back to my beloved Sydney where it is forecasted to be seven degrees COOLER.)
Meanwhile:
ryokophoenix has made the first of many, many posts containing photos from our trip! She has done a wonderful job of culling, formatting and uploading them, so I will simply link you to her posts and you may drop comments whereever you please.
(It was 40 degrees today. They think it might break a 40-year record by going over 42 this weekend. I am getting the hell out of here tomorrow and going back to my beloved Sydney where it is forecasted to be seven degrees COOLER.)
Meanwhile:
ryokophoenix has made the first of many, many posts containing photos from our trip! She has done a wonderful job of culling, formatting and uploading them, so I will simply link you to her posts and you may drop comments whereever you please.
oh yes, this icon is relevant
1 Feb 2009 01:32 amWe are in: Sydney!
Our luggage is in: Helsinki.
WELL DONE, FINNAIR.
(It's not an enormous deal, we'll get them delivered to our door in three days time, it's just sad that I won't be able to unpack properly and give my family their presents, and it's inconvenient to not have my razor and moisturiser etc. etc. but right now I don't care because I am back in my own country,_leareth has been very patient re: picking us up after our two-hours-delayed flight and giving us things to sleep in, and I have had maybe three hours of sleep in the past 48, so fatigue is blurring any real concern.)
The important part is this:
HEY GUYS
I'M PRACTICALLY HOME
Our luggage is in: Helsinki.
WELL DONE, FINNAIR.
(It's not an enormous deal, we'll get them delivered to our door in three days time, it's just sad that I won't be able to unpack properly and give my family their presents, and it's inconvenient to not have my razor and moisturiser etc. etc. but right now I don't care because I am back in my own country,
_leareth has been very patient re: picking us up after our two-hours-delayed flight and giving us things to sleep in, and I have had maybe three hours of sleep in the past 48, so fatigue is blurring any real concern.)The important part is this:
HEY GUYS
I'M PRACTICALLY HOME
penultimate
28 Jan 2009 10:28 pmOne more full day in Rome and then we fly out! That is...an amazing thought, but also a relief. I have no energy left. I slept for ten hours AND had a siesta this afternoon, and right now I am about ready to stand under a hot shower and then collapse into bed for another ten.
I did buy some lovely stuff today, though :) When I get home there will be a photo post of all the things I have bought on this trip, and then you all can gasp in shock and stone me for being a materialistic whore. And then ask me where I bought that fabulous bag.
I did buy some lovely stuff today, though :) When I get home there will be a photo post of all the things I have bought on this trip, and then you all can gasp in shock and stone me for being a materialistic whore. And then ask me where I bought that fabulous bag.
* Australia Day today! Instead of being in Athens where the hostel was giving away meat pies and hosting the Australian High Commission party, we are in Rome where nothing at all exciting is happening in our vicinity. Boo hiss.
* However: we are in Rome! I liked Rome a lot the last time I was here, and I am fully prepared to like it even more this time, even if the weather is shittier. So much good food, and so many churches. (Today we were in one with the most KICKASS MONUMENT-SLASH-TOMB-THING which had a winged angel of death and it was basically the coolest thing I'd ever seen, and I made such excited noises that Mel took a picture with flash (gasp, gasp) because she is great <3
* Things I miss: my TV shows, Asian food, my bedroom, ALL OF MY CLOTHING THAT IS NOT THE CLOTHING I HAVE WORN ON THIS TRIP, my family, my book collection...Asian food...I would murder puppies for some duck pancakes with hoi sin sauce. PUPPIES. ADORABLE BABY PUPPIES.
* On the recommendation ofcopinggoggles I am reading Orhan Pamuk's My Name Is Red and it is sublimely, amazingly good. Definitely deserved the Nobel Prize. READ IT. Also read DBC Pierre's Vernon God Little, which I enjoyed just as much for completely different reasons.
* However: we are in Rome! I liked Rome a lot the last time I was here, and I am fully prepared to like it even more this time, even if the weather is shittier. So much good food, and so many churches. (Today we were in one with the most KICKASS MONUMENT-SLASH-TOMB-THING which had a winged angel of death and it was basically the coolest thing I'd ever seen, and I made such excited noises that Mel took a picture with flash (gasp, gasp) because she is great <3
* Things I miss: my TV shows, Asian food, my bedroom, ALL OF MY CLOTHING THAT IS NOT THE CLOTHING I HAVE WORN ON THIS TRIP, my family, my book collection...Asian food...I would murder puppies for some duck pancakes with hoi sin sauce. PUPPIES. ADORABLE BABY PUPPIES.
* On the recommendation of
copinggoggles I am reading Orhan Pamuk's My Name Is Red and it is sublimely, amazingly good. Definitely deserved the Nobel Prize. READ IT. Also read DBC Pierre's Vernon God Little, which I enjoyed just as much for completely different reasons.italy -> greece
20 Jan 2009 10:13 pmThis entry was meant to be quite long and descriptive but I've been too busy playing the speed-of-light-flist-skim game and my internet time has almost run out, so briefly: we have finally left Sicily, and we spent an amazing day at the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento (perfect weather, almost no other tourists) and then took an overnight ferry to Patras, then a bus to Athens! Where we are currently. At a very noisy but very central and comfortable hostel. We celebrated by eating a meal that was not pizza (there was even MEAT in it) and enjoying the fact that though the weather is cooler, Athens is full of helpful people who speak excellent English.
And it's not like it's all that cold compared to London or Prague. Sicily was just incredibly warm -- middle of winter, EIGHTEEN DEGREES, and the wimpy natives were all wearing coats and scarves and staring at us as we capered joyously down the street in our light tops. WE ARE CANBERRANS. WINTER ISN'T WINTER UNLESS IT'S LESS THAN FIVE DEGREES.
PS - happy Obama day, Americans <3
And it's not like it's all that cold compared to London or Prague. Sicily was just incredibly warm -- middle of winter, EIGHTEEN DEGREES, and the wimpy natives were all wearing coats and scarves and staring at us as we capered joyously down the street in our light tops. WE ARE CANBERRANS. WINTER ISN'T WINTER UNLESS IT'S LESS THAN FIVE DEGREES.
PS - happy Obama day, Americans <3
sicily hates us
13 Jan 2009 10:19 pmOkay, so our train from Naples to Catania was delayed en route by OVER THREE HOURS due to reasons we would know if we understood Italian, and then we got slightly lost on the way to the hostel, but now we are here and I have had some lovely red wine and a lovely Long Island Iced Tea and so am beeeautifully tipsy and Mel is watching MERLIN DUBBED IN ITALIAN, which is currently playing on the TV and is pretty much hilarious. It's the episode in Ealdor with Will and Hunith and Arthur playing king-of-the-peasants and the immense OT4ness! And it's in Italian!
...and the people in charage of the remote just changed the channel. HAVE THEY NOTASTE HEART.
...and they just changed it back. MERLIN CONQUERS ALL. Awww, Gwen is being awkward and moral at Arthur and Arthur is helping Merlin with his armour and Morgana is rocking her chainmail and man, I really do love this episode to death.
My own entry for this exchange is trying, trying, TRYING to be completed, even though I am absolute shit at writing without a computer, but look whatred_rahl did for me for an O_S_S gift! LOOK! IT'S MAI! This is clearly my week for awesome fanart :)
...and the people in charage of the remote just changed the channel. HAVE THEY NO
...and they just changed it back. MERLIN CONQUERS ALL. Awww, Gwen is being awkward and moral at Arthur and Arthur is helping Merlin with his armour and Morgana is rocking her chainmail and man, I really do love this episode to death.
My own entry for this exchange is trying, trying, TRYING to be completed, even though I am absolute shit at writing without a computer, but look what
red_rahl did for me for an O_S_S gift! LOOK! IT'S MAI! This is clearly my week for awesome fanart :)the cusp of self-awareness
10 Jan 2009 06:09 pmI really like the hostel we're at in Naples -- tea and coffee round the clock, I pulled A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius off the communal bookshelf and am enjoying it thoroughly, the second Kill Bill is playing in the common room -- but this computer's keyboard has the world's most unnerving spacebar. It takes almost no pressure to get a space, and it doesn't FEEL like it's been pressed, so I keep holding it down for too long. I am of the opinion that it is LEARNING MY HABITS and soon it will just start inserting spaces entirely of its own accord. I am not explaining this very well, but believe me: it's creepy.
Today I walked around the crater of Mount Vesuvius and then the ruins of Herculaneum and it was like my Year 8 Latin textbook CAME TO LIFE AND SWALLOWED ME WHOLE. Incredible.
Today I walked around the crater of Mount Vesuvius and then the ruins of Herculaneum and it was like my Year 8 Latin textbook CAME TO LIFE AND SWALLOWED ME WHOLE. Incredible.
trip highlight:
7 Jan 2009 09:37 pmToday we were RICKROLLED in FLORENCE.
Yeah. That's right.
We also got into the Accademia with no queue whatsoever (terrible winter day; all sane tourists were somewhere with better weather, or drinking coffee in heated cafes, not scurrying around in the rain and the unheated museums) and spent a glorious long while gazing at David, who is just as wonderful as he is hyped up to be. Especially when you've got all the time and all the vantage points you could wish for, because there are only maybe ten other people in the viewing room with you.
Moral: FUCK THE RAIN. DO FLORENCE IN WINTER. We're planning on waltzing up to the Uffizi tomorrow and hopefully not having to queue at all.
I was going to do (in fact, I DID) that lovely icon meme, but then the hostel computer crashed and lost all the coding and redoing it would be hogging the computer to a shocking degree, so maybe another time :( I had such fun picking them out, too. I love my current icons to death.
Yeah. That's right.
We also got into the Accademia with no queue whatsoever (terrible winter day; all sane tourists were somewhere with better weather, or drinking coffee in heated cafes, not scurrying around in the rain and the unheated museums) and spent a glorious long while gazing at David, who is just as wonderful as he is hyped up to be. Especially when you've got all the time and all the vantage points you could wish for, because there are only maybe ten other people in the viewing room with you.
Moral: FUCK THE RAIN. DO FLORENCE IN WINTER. We're planning on waltzing up to the Uffizi tomorrow and hopefully not having to queue at all.
I was going to do (in fact, I DID) that lovely icon meme, but then the hostel computer crashed and lost all the coding and redoing it would be hogging the computer to a shocking degree, so maybe another time :( I had such fun picking them out, too. I love my current icons to death.
time is a luxury
6 Jan 2009 02:53 pmHaving bid Venice a fond farewell (and about time too: if I had stayed any longer, I would have ended up buying the entire island of Murano and needing an extra three suitcases to fit all my glass jewellery in) we are now in FIRENZE aka FLORENCE aka We Don't Actually Know Anything About This City* But Here We Are Anyway!
*Okay, this is a bit of a lie, I know that we have to see the 'David'. But that's it.
Though devoid of Venice's blue skies, it's also slightly warmer, and it's nice to think that we are only going further south from here.
We are in the world's greatest hostel (stone's throw from the train station, awesome murals on the walls, free breakfasts and pasta dinners, free walking tours, FREE INTERNET) and I am feeling quite relaxed thanks to the insanely long hot shower I had yesterday. I can't quite get used to the idea that one is ALLOWED long showers because there are NO WATER RESTRICTIONS. Every good Australian has a water-use guilt complex the size of a mountain.
How are you all? Is anyone awake? I have no clue about timezones whatsoever, but if you're around then comment; I might sit here for a while and work on my![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
oh_shit_santa entry. I am getting the hang of how to punctuate on Italian keyboards.
*Okay, this is a bit of a lie, I know that we have to see the 'David'. But that's it.
Though devoid of Venice's blue skies, it's also slightly warmer, and it's nice to think that we are only going further south from here.
We are in the world's greatest hostel (stone's throw from the train station, awesome murals on the walls, free breakfasts and pasta dinners, free walking tours, FREE INTERNET) and I am feeling quite relaxed thanks to the insanely long hot shower I had yesterday. I can't quite get used to the idea that one is ALLOWED long showers because there are NO WATER RESTRICTIONS. Every good Australian has a water-use guilt complex the size of a mountain.
How are you all? Is anyone awake? I have no clue about timezones whatsoever, but if you're around then comment; I might sit here for a while and work on my
oh_shit_santa entry. I am getting the hang of how to punctuate on Italian keyboards.in which we traverse the continent
3 Jan 2009 01:18 pmI want to do a fic roundup but it will have to wait until I have REAL FREE TIME, ie. February. In the meantime, here is a list of stuff I've done recently, in boring dot point form because my blood sugar is so low and my sleep debt is so high that it's a miracle I can still spell, let alone form amusing travel narratives:
- seen both Wicked and Chicago on the West End
- went to the Devil's Coffeeshop (LOOK HOLLY I DID IT) and met up withspikeyboots, who is MANY TYPES OF AWESOME; we basically babbled non-stop at each other for a few hours
- rang in 2009 in Trafalgar Square
- spent seven hours total in Paris, walking from Gare de Nord to Bercy with enormous suitcases (an extperience) and then going out for croque monsieur
- took an overnight sleeper to Florence (an experience and a HALF) and then another train to Venice
So: we re in VENICE. VENIIIIIIICE. I have a three-day vaporetto pass, which means lots and lots of little boat-buses and wandering over bridges and eating terrifying amounts of pizza. Will keep you updated.
- seen both Wicked and Chicago on the West End
- went to the Devil's Coffeeshop (LOOK HOLLY I DID IT) and met up with
spikeyboots, who is MANY TYPES OF AWESOME; we basically babbled non-stop at each other for a few hours- rang in 2009 in Trafalgar Square
- spent seven hours total in Paris, walking from Gare de Nord to Bercy with enormous suitcases (an extperience) and then going out for croque monsieur
- took an overnight sleeper to Florence (an experience and a HALF) and then another train to Venice
So: we re in VENICE. VENIIIIIIICE. I have a three-day vaporetto pass, which means lots and lots of little boat-buses and wandering over bridges and eating terrifying amounts of pizza. Will keep you updated.
notes from a holborn apartment
29 Dec 2008 08:24 amI have a lot of things that I COULD say about living in central London with ryokophoenix and schiarire (things that we have done, places we have been, long and intrepid journeys we have made in search of places to eat that are open on Boxing Day) but I think what I most want to say is I LOVE BRITISH TELLY. There was a University Challenge night (Stephen Fry and Hugh Grant on a Comic Relief special! James McAvoy being dorky in a movie!) and then last night we watched the Big Fat Quiz of the Year (Jimmy Carr! Dara O'Briain! Sean Lock!). I love how all the British comedians seem to have some joyful incestuous circle of glee wherein they appear on each other's shows and mock each other a lot.
Today's plans: going to St Pancras to wave our Eurail passes around and book the London-Paris-Venice trains, Kensington Gardens, walking tour around the Westminster area, back to the National Portrait Gallery to do the lower two floors, dinner withapiphile, going to see Wicked at the West End.
WOO LONDON.
Apparently it's going to get down to -8 degrees over New Year, though. Won't that be fun.
ryokophoenix and schiarire (things that we have done, places we have been, long and intrepid journeys we have made in search of places to eat that are open on Boxing Day) but I think what I most want to say is I LOVE BRITISH TELLY. There was a University Challenge night (Stephen Fry and Hugh Grant on a Comic Relief special! James McAvoy being dorky in a movie!) and then last night we watched the Big Fat Quiz of the Year (Jimmy Carr! Dara O'Briain! Sean Lock!). I love how all the British comedians seem to have some joyful incestuous circle of glee wherein they appear on each other's shows and mock each other a lot. Today's plans: going to St Pancras to wave our Eurail passes around and book the London-Paris-Venice trains, Kensington Gardens, walking tour around the Westminster area, back to the National Portrait Gallery to do the lower two floors, dinner with
apiphile, going to see Wicked at the West End.WOO LONDON.
Apparently it's going to get down to -8 degrees over New Year, though. Won't that be fun.
quaker territory
18 Dec 2008 10:05 amToday: EDINBURGH. Well, mostly trains. Then Edinburgh. So far we have been dragging freakishly good weather around with us, so fingers crossed that this will magically hold true in the face of the weather predictions, which are for wind and rain.
Yesterday was a fantastic rest day. I didn't get to write nearly as much as I wanted (I have three fics and a poem all attempting to be written at once, and as I am usually sans computer I have instead a notebook full of terribly muddled snippets and dot points and scrawled sentences) but we DID watch the season finale of Merlin -- finally -- and we went to CADBURY WORLD which was a glorious and occasionally mindbreaking experience. We bought shameful amounts of chocolate, but in our defence it was VERY CHEAP even with the exchange rate (which is better than it was due to the sterling taking a dive) and there were all sorts of things that Cadbury doesn't export to Australia. We also watched the Royal Variety Performance on TV, which was fantastic: John Simm and John Barrowman and Jimmy Carr and Kerry Ellis and heaps of other great acts including a freakish 15-year-old street dancer and quite disproportionate amounts of crossdressers, this year.
So far we are on day 11 of our 55 day adventure.
Mel has already taken 666 photos.
This probably says at least three very profound things about us, one of which is that I will never ever ever escape mysamael_diablo-playing roots.
Yesterday was a fantastic rest day. I didn't get to write nearly as much as I wanted (I have three fics and a poem all attempting to be written at once, and as I am usually sans computer I have instead a notebook full of terribly muddled snippets and dot points and scrawled sentences) but we DID watch the season finale of Merlin -- finally -- and we went to CADBURY WORLD which was a glorious and occasionally mindbreaking experience. We bought shameful amounts of chocolate, but in our defence it was VERY CHEAP even with the exchange rate (which is better than it was due to the sterling taking a dive) and there were all sorts of things that Cadbury doesn't export to Australia. We also watched the Royal Variety Performance on TV, which was fantastic: John Simm and John Barrowman and Jimmy Carr and Kerry Ellis and heaps of other great acts including a freakish 15-year-old street dancer and quite disproportionate amounts of crossdressers, this year.
So far we are on day 11 of our 55 day adventure.
Mel has already taken 666 photos.
This probably says at least three very profound things about us, one of which is that I will never ever ever escape my
samael_diablo-playing roots.Am in Birmingham with relatives, looking forward to a proper bed and a hot shower and other forms of civilisation unavailable in the wilds of Prague hostels. Most upset by how, judging by my quick scrolls through the pages of unread flist updates, half the internet seems to have leapt into Merlin fandom in my absence and is now writing fic which I HAVE NOT THE TIME TO READ. Damn you aaaaaaall.
Tomorrow is a rest day. There will be reading and writing and the washing of clothes (sorely needed) and probably many, many cups of tea.
Tomorrow is a rest day. There will be reading and writing and the washing of clothes (sorely needed) and probably many, many cups of tea.
...but you should imagine one with those cheerleady-arms, and you should imagine the following in bold.
~~The Stage 1 Examination Committee has stated that you may progress to Stage 2 of the University of Sydney Medical Program.~~
HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY TO ME
Other awesome presents so far include
- a gorgeous dragonfly pendant from Mel
- it is snowing in Prague
- there is officially going to be a second season of Merlin
- yesterday. all of it. it being December there are Christmas markets in the Old Town Hall Square and there were cups of hot wine and gorgeous, gorgeous lights and delicious foodthings and small children singing and dancing and the Astronomical Clock and basically even if we were to go nowhere else on this trip, Prague around Christmastime would have been worth the price of the flights.
I AM IN A RATHER GOOD MOOD FLIST
HOW ABOUT YOU
~~The Stage 1 Examination Committee has stated that you may progress to Stage 2 of the University of Sydney Medical Program.~~
HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY TO ME
Other awesome presents so far include
- a gorgeous dragonfly pendant from Mel
- it is snowing in Prague
- there is officially going to be a second season of Merlin
- yesterday. all of it. it being December there are Christmas markets in the Old Town Hall Square and there were cups of hot wine and gorgeous, gorgeous lights and delicious foodthings and small children singing and dancing and the Astronomical Clock and basically even if we were to go nowhere else on this trip, Prague around Christmastime would have been worth the price of the flights.
I AM IN A RATHER GOOD MOOD FLIST
HOW ABOUT YOU
Am in Prague, cannot work punctuation on this keyboard and am simultaneously fascinated and bewildered by the Czech menu options on Internet Explorer. Have headache. PRAGUE IS COLD but not cold enough to daunt two Canberra girls, so soon we shall leave the heated hostel in search of food and markets and pretty buildings, of which there are MANY.
Tomorrow = birthday and also exam results. Expect cheering or sobbing.
Tomorrow = birthday and also exam results. Expect cheering or sobbing.
All right, folks: I'm off!
For the next seven weeksryokophoenix and I will be globetrotting in various parts of Europe; I'll be checking my email every few days, hopefully, but I WON'T be keeping up with LJ at all apart from making brief posts to let you know that I'm alive, and maybe I'll ramble hastily about some of the things we've been seeing.
So bookmark this post, and if you want me to see something, link it here. I'll get the comment notification and check it out if I have time, or I'll peruse it upon my return.
MilliBrits: I will be in contact withinnerbrat via email re: organising meetups.
Everyone else: have a good time in my absence! Send me lots of emails!
I feel like telling Merlin fandom to sit quietly and not do anything exciting until I return, but considering the season finale is next week that might be pushing it. Alas.
For the next seven weeks
ryokophoenix and I will be globetrotting in various parts of Europe; I'll be checking my email every few days, hopefully, but I WON'T be keeping up with LJ at all apart from making brief posts to let you know that I'm alive, and maybe I'll ramble hastily about some of the things we've been seeing.So bookmark this post, and if you want me to see something, link it here. I'll get the comment notification and check it out if I have time, or I'll peruse it upon my return.
MilliBrits: I will be in contact with
innerbrat via email re: organising meetups.Everyone else: have a good time in my absence! Send me lots of emails!
I feel like telling Merlin fandom to sit quietly and not do anything exciting until I return, but considering the season finale is next week that might be pushing it. Alas.
