trishigirl's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member trishigirl on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/trishigirl en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:42:50 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Talinn — Tallinn, Estonia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1241089800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1241089800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1241089800/tpod.html Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:42:50 -0400 Have EU passport, will travel: My year of adventure in Asia & Europe 2008/2009
Tallinn, Estonia

Day 1Boarded my Air Estonia flight from Stockholm's Arlanda airport to Tallinn.&nbsp; What a terrifying experience!&nbsp; About 5 minutes from landing there was a very loud bang and the plane rocked a little.&nbsp; I furtively looked around trying to gauge people's expressions (afterall, this may be a normal occurrence!), but no one was giving anything away.&nbsp; Then, whilst coming in to land, the plane started to accelerate and decelerate, and swerve wildly from side to side!&nbsp; I was terrified, the people around me started to panic and shout (I have no idea what, they were all Estonian).&nbsp; The woman next to me was <i>crying and <i>praying and her husband was patting/rubbing her back.&nbsp; "Oh God, I'm going to die!!"&nbsp; I thought.&nbsp; We were coming in closer to land, and still swerving and things didn't feel right.....Then we landed with quite a bump, people all rose out of their seats (except me and the married couple next to me...she looked as white as a ghost).&nbsp; I was in shock.&nbsp; Hands sweaty, cheeks completely flushed red, I looked like someone had slapped me hard on each cheek (happens when I get a sudden big shock / bad news).Headed into Tallinn on the public bus and got speaking to a lovely teenage Estonian girl.&nbsp; She couldn't believe I was travelling by myself and I was from Australia (SO far away!!).&nbsp; She was lovely, very chatty, and helped me figure out the bus stop I needed to get off at.&nbsp; I arrived at the hostel to find a lovely couple of Brazillian guys who had also just arrived (Guillermo and Bernardo).&nbsp; We decided to head out for some dinner and drinks together to a bar they had read about in their guide book, Hell Hunt.&nbsp; It translates into "Gentle Wolf", but seems more like a bikers' bar,&nbsp;there were some v seedy characters in there.&nbsp; We also discovered that the service in Tallinn leaves a lot to&nbsp;be desired!!&nbsp; The waitresses were surly, non-smiling smart-arses.&nbsp; We thought perhaps they were like that with guys only, alas, they were like that with me too.Day 2Today we decided to thoroughly walk and check out St Catherine's passage (easily the most picturesque medieval laneway&nbsp;in Tallinn), Alexander Nevsky's Cathedral (gorgeous), Kiek in the Koek (translates to 'Peek in the Kitchen' - a huge cannon tower which was unfortunately closed for the month we were there).&nbsp; After this we went for lunch at&nbsp;Kompressor for fantastic Estonian pancakes.&nbsp; Mine was cheese and garlic, and we shared a berry flavoured one for dessert.&nbsp; Very cheap and tasty!After lunch we walked upon the Old Town walls and climbed St Olav's Tower for magnificent views over all of Tallinn.&nbsp; In the afternoon we went into the Old Town Square and had a beer at a cafe and watched the sun set over Tallinn.For dinner we decided to splurge and head to the famous medieval restaurant Olde Hansa.&nbsp;A medieval-dressed boy in the street&nbsp;offered us free spirits if we had dinner there.&nbsp; We thought it sounded touristy yet fun and decided to go anyway.What an experience!&nbsp; We walked in and were guided to our seats by a woman in medieval dress.&nbsp; In place of lights they have candles, which gives a dark, romantic feel.&nbsp; On the menu they have bear (endangered animal, not cool at all!), boar, elk and other wild animals, all served with condiments found in the middle ages.&nbsp;&nbsp;Beer comes&nbsp;spiced with herbs, cinnamon and honey and comes in a ceramic jugs, which is poured into smaller ceramic mugs.&nbsp; Guillermo asked for a coke, and the woman looked mystified "I have never heard of this, perhaps you would like to try some Foxberry juice?".&nbsp; They play the part quite well.&nbsp; It was a lovely meal.&nbsp; More expensive than other places, but definitely worth it.&nbsp; Day 3Today I said bye to Guillermo and Bernardo, as had to leave to get my ferry to Helsinki.&nbsp; The ferry ride was pleasant and upon arrival into Helsinki, I went to the Kauppatori and had one last coffee and doughnut-slice at my favourite place.&nbsp; I then walked to the Railway Station and caught the bus to Vantaa airport...ending my European part of the trip :(
]]> Stockholm — Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1241003580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1241003580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1241003580/tpod.html Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:42:01 -0400 Have EU passport, will travel: My year of adventure in Asia & Europe 2008/2009
Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden

Day 1Arrived on the MS Gabriella into Stockholm's Viking Line port.&nbsp; I went to board the bus and thought "Crap I don't have any Kronas!!"&nbsp; So I waited in line to get cash out from the sole cash machine because I only had my credit card on me, and buses certainly wouldn't take credit cards, right?&nbsp;&nbsp;Wrong! It seems that buses in Stockholm ONLY accept credit cards for fare payments!&nbsp; My first thought was, "Wow, what a progressive city this is!".&nbsp; Caught the bus to the City Terminalen bus terminal, where I then walked to my hostel, City Hostel.&nbsp; What a fantastic hostel it is!!&nbsp; Has a cosy little organic cafe down the bottom, nice inside and outside lounge areas for talking to other travellers.&nbsp; The hostel has thoughtfully printed out some brochures with "local hints",&nbsp;and one of them talks about a great "secret" lookout point on the mainland area of Sodermalm.&nbsp; I need some supplies and my map tells me a big supermarket is quite near to the lookout, so I head across to Sodermalm.&nbsp; A 40 minute walk later and I am looking across to the old town of Gamla Stan.&nbsp; After taking in that view, I walk to the top of a lookout tower and look out across all of the islands of Stockholm..what a tremendous view!After my supermarket trip (in which I buy some curious tiny yellow fruits which are kind of wrapped in a shrivelled leaf (sour but yummy), grapes and a few other Swedish food items) I head back in the direction of the hostel to a yummy turkish restaurant for a light dinner of a mini falafel kebab &amp; salad!Day 2This morning I have a coffee and pastry in my hostel's organic cafe, and decide to tackle the impressive sights of&nbsp;Gamla Stan.&nbsp; I head down to the Royal Palace to see the changing of the guards.&nbsp; It was not that impressive and went for around 45 minutes, much more than the advertised 10 minutes!!&nbsp; By the end I was extremely bored and hungry and went wandering off.&nbsp; I came across&nbsp;a wonderful all-you-can-eat vegetarian restaurant for lunch!&nbsp; I then went to check out the souvenir stalls lining the main street, which were as expected, very tacky and expensive. I really wanted to buy a traditional painted Swedish horse, but the cheapest one was around 16 Euros for a very small one, and I just couldn't justify it given I still have 3.5 weeks left of my trip.&nbsp; Out to the same Turkish restaurant for dinner cos it was so good!Day 3Outraged with myself that I've not even been on a boat in the famous Stockholm canals yet, I head down early in the morning and arrange a half day Canal tour through the Stockholm archipelago to Vaxholm and back.&nbsp; It was sunny the whole way, so I sat on the top deck and felt the breeze through my hair and the sun on my skin.&nbsp; The scenery was just breathtaking, words cannot do it justice.&nbsp; Therefore I will post pics shortly.&nbsp; Afterwards the boat trip&nbsp;I stop for an icecream overlooking the Stockholm harbour.&nbsp; It is sunny and gorgeous!!&nbsp; I head to a few shops (H&amp;M, Zara) to get my fix before heading back to the hostel.&nbsp; It is the last nigth for me and some girls in my dorm, so we decide to go out for dinner to a lovely (expensive!) little Italian restaurant in Gamla Stan.&nbsp; What a fantastic way to end up in Stockholm!
]]> Second time round in Helsinki — Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1244520000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1244520000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1244520000/tpod.html Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:06:13 -0400 Have EU passport, will travel: My year of adventure in Asia & Europe 2008/2009
Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland

Day 1My friend Mr D dropped me off to London Heathrow airport...I was numb and it hadn't hit me that I was really leaving yet.&nbsp; I boarded my flight and immediately started to cry...it was only then I realised I was leaving all of my great friends, flat and job behind to head back to Australia.After an uneventful flight, I arrived in Helsinki and bought a ticket for the tram to my hostel.&nbsp; After waiting for the tram, I then realised I was waiting on the wrong side of the street!! Continental driving is different to the UK :PI got to my hostel and decided I would head out to get some dinner.&nbsp; On the way I walked past Uspensky Cathedral and the Lutheran Cathedral and took some photos, then headed down to the main street and had dinner at Fazer, the legendary Finnish chocolatier.&nbsp; The good news is they serve yummy cafe style meals too, so I tucked into a beetroot, blue cheese &amp; walnut tart with garden salad on the side, and for dessert I splurged and bought a coffee and a little caramel biscuit with cream on the inside and a perched hazelnut on top..yummy!!&nbsp; Afterwards I took a walk down Esplanadi past the Kauppatori, then back to the hostel for a shower and bed!Day 2After getting up early I decide to&nbsp; head to a few places I didn't get the last time I visited, which was last year.&nbsp; I did my own version of a walking tour, starting off walking down to the Kauppatori for some breakfast.&nbsp; I sat in the morning sunshine and had a doughnut with vanilla sauce filling, and a coffee for 4 Euros!&nbsp; Then I went to the Kauppahalli and bought a bread roll and some cheese, and a pulla (sweet raisin bun) for dessert.&nbsp; I went and looked at the KIASMA Contempory Art Museum, and when I finished there, visited the famous Rock Church. I still had plenty of time before my ferry took off, so I walked all the way around Lake Toolonlahti and stopped to have my bread roll and pulla overlooking the lake.&nbsp; Afterwards, I headed back into town and detoured via a little cafe on Senate Square for coffee.I picked up my bag from the hostel, and headed to the ferry terminal where I boarded my home for the evening, the MS Gabriella.&nbsp; I headed straight to my room to see what it looked like, 4 cramped bunks.&nbsp; I desperately hoped no one else would be staying in the room tonight!!&nbsp; I dropped my bags and went out to the back of the ship to take photos of us leaving Helsinki.&nbsp; It got REALLY chilly so I waited until we were past Suomenlinna Island then went back inside to explore!!&nbsp; It was HUGE, with gaming areas, 2 discos, several restaurants, bars, and even a duty free shop!!&nbsp; It had everything you could ever need, from make up, alcohol, chocolate, to items made by Finnish and Swedish designers.&nbsp; It was phenomenal, and I spent several hours just wandering around taking it all in before heading to a restaurant for dinner (fantastic food at a pretty good price), and then hitting the sack.&nbsp; Unfortunately in the middle of the night a gypsy woman stumbled into the room and slept in the other bed.&nbsp; I awoke several times to her rustling around and kept an eye on her. Her companion went to another room to sleep.&nbsp; It was all rather dodgy, but in the end, she just went to sleep and in the morning everything was fine and where it should have been! &nbsp;&nbsp;
]]> Plouguernével farmhouse — Brittany, France http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1234978140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1234978140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1234978140/tpod.html Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:45:23 -0400 Have EU passport, will travel: My year of adventure in Asia & Europe 2008/2009
Brittany, France

Day 1Ms P, Mr D and I caught our plane from the delightfully small East Midlands airport to the shed-like Dinard airport in Brittany, France.&nbsp; From there we hired a car and drove the 2 hours through sprawling countryside to Mr D's family farmhouse in Plouguernevel, a small village in the Cotes-d'Armor department of Brittany.What you first realise about Brittany is how strikingly similar the landscape and plants are to Cornwall in England. Brittany still maintains its Celtic identity, as much of its population descended from settlers from Great Britain.&nbsp; The inhabitants originally spoke Breton, which is a Celtic language related to Cornish and Welsh.&nbsp; We saw many signs posted in both French and Breton, and there are Breton radio stations, newspapers and schools trying to revive the language.By the time we arrived at the house the shops were closed, so what else could we do but tuck into some dried pasta meals (which were luckily in the cupboards and only required added water), and settle around the fire drinking red wine?Day 2Got up and headed to the shops to buy supplies for the following week.&nbsp; Supermarkets overseas always get me excited...I love to read the labels, see what locals have in their baskets to get ideas of what to cook and try...I love picking up ripe fruits &amp; vegetables &amp; loaves of warm bread to smell them...food is definitely an important part of travelling for me.&nbsp; We bought&nbsp;5 types of cheese, Comte (a sweet nutty cheese from the Franche-Comte region), Brie (very popular mild &amp; creamy cheese from the Ile de France region), Port Salut (versatile smooth and creamy cheese from the Centre region), Emmental (mild with holes, from the Rhone-Alpes region) and Garlic Boursin (creamy, garlicky and spreadable from the Normandy region).&nbsp; We bought a baguette and a pre-cut loaf of white bread.&nbsp; Some sausage (not for me) and tomatoes.&nbsp; We then sat down with some red wine and chatted over an hour long lunch.&nbsp; To work off our lunch we drove down to the Nantes-Brest canal which is a couple of minutes drive from the house, took a walk, and sat there with the leftovers and just grazed on those reading books all afternoon.&nbsp; A most perfect day!!Day 3Today we got up late and went down to the nearest town, Rostrenen.&nbsp; There isn't a lot going on here, which is perfect!&nbsp; We walked around looking at the churches, then stopped for a few cafe au laits in the main street.&nbsp; Day 4Today we thought we should head out to see some nearby towns.&nbsp; We looked on the map and asked the GPS to take us to L'Orient.&nbsp; L'Orient is a city which was completely destroyed by bombs during WW2 and then hastily rebuilt.&nbsp; So it has a rather new look and wasn't the most beautiful town.&nbsp;We stopped for a coffee but didn't spend a lot of time here. My French flatmate back in London lives close to this region and says the city has a gritty, industrial feel and the people are uncomplicated and hardworking.&nbsp;We later visited the Artists' Commune of Pont Aven.&nbsp; "Pont-Aven is mainly known because of the group of artists who flocked round Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, and who were joined in 1888 by Paul Sérusier. They were collectively known as "Pont-Aven School"" (Wikipedia)It is a gorgeous and picturesque little town situated on the Aven River with water mills still in operation.&nbsp; All the shops lining the main streets are selling little cakes and biscuits (with generous amounts of samples!), or are Art Galleries.&nbsp; We bought some biscuits and wandered up the main street nibbling them and peeking into the Galleries.&nbsp; On the way home we drive past the beech woods of the Bois d'Amour forest.&nbsp; This whole area is so enchanting...I can see why it is so popular with the British buying holiday homes.Day 5Today we drove to a nearby lake called Mur de Bretagne.&nbsp; Later we just chilled out at the house and sat outside soaking up the sun and reading books.&nbsp; Day 6After a long night of red wine and chatting by the fire, we arose at a late hour and worried we wouldn't get to St Malo with enough time to explore.&nbsp; We first drove the 2.5 hours to Mont-St-Michel (where it promptly started raining)&nbsp;and had a look there first.&nbsp;&nbsp;The tidal ranges were phenomenal, as far&nbsp;as the eye could see was how far the&nbsp;tide went out.&nbsp; Then it sweeps back in "faster than a&nbsp;running horse", as the French saying goes!&nbsp;We then drove to St Malo where it was sunny and gorgeous.&nbsp; We walked the city walls, had a savoury (Buckwheat gallette with onion, cheese, and egg) AND a dessert crepe (Caramelised apples flambed in Calvados) at La Binou Creperie, and soaked in the sun for a bit before driving back to Plouguernevel.Day 7Just relaxed before we left for Dinard airport.&nbsp; Given the relaxing nature of the holiday, I have so far read Rachel's Holiday, The Catcher in the Rye, The Cellist of Sarajevo and The Secret Life of Bees.&nbsp; Has been great to just stop and take in everything around me...read and catch up on sleep.&nbsp; We stopped in Dinard and had a look before our plane left..everywhere seemed to be closed so we had no luck getting lunch!&nbsp; Had a last French red wine before leaving on our plane back to Ol' Blighty.&nbsp; Au Revour Bretagne!!!
]]> Bath & Stonehenge — Bath, England, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1238440740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1238440740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1238440740/tpod.html Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:02:31 -0400 Have EU passport, will travel: My year of adventure in Asia & Europe 2008/2009
Bath, England, United Kingdom

Day 1 - SaturdaySleepy after my goodbye drinks with work friends the night before, with bleary eyes I catch the tube into Paddington Station for my early train to Chippenham.&nbsp;Train journeys over 1 hour in England are seen as "long distance", and having become used to this phenomenon during my time here, stock up with the appropriate drinks (Coffee), snacks (something that resembles a Picnic bar and some crisps) and magazine (Grazia) prior to my train's departure.&nbsp; I arrive into Chippenham quite early and walk the now familiar roads to my friend Ms P's house, where I will be spending the weekend before we are picked up for our France trip on Tuesday.We take a leisurely drive over to Ms P's mum's house in the nearby town of Sutton Benger, where we have a cup of tea, say hello to her 3 adorably gorgeous puppies, and say happy birthday to her mum.&nbsp; We then drive through the countryside to Malmesbury.&nbsp; We had a walk up the hill and stop in at a pub for lunch...Ms P and I have the Ploughman's Lunch and it wasn't that great. It has everything I love on one plate, but together, somehow fails to be outstanding.&nbsp; That night we have some friends over and make gnocchi bake with blue cheese sauce and baby spinach, yum!!Day 2 - SundayToday we get up late and catch the train into Bath for the day.&nbsp; It is a gloriously sunny day, way too nice to be lining up waiting for a table out the front of Jamie's Italian, but we do.&nbsp; The food is worth the wait!!&nbsp; We both had Espresso Martinis whilst at the bar waiting, and once at the table, an Italian bread basket with assorted Italian breads, olive oils and balamic vinegar to start.&nbsp; For the main I get sweetie shaped pasta filled with roasted butternut with a creamy rosemary sauce...it&nbsp;was delicious!!After lunch we go shopping at Cath Kidston, where we both decide on identical pale blue bags with white polka dots, then for a cookie at a wonderful cookie place...I get the white chocolate macadamia crunch...mmm!!!&nbsp; We head into Bath Abbey for a look, and then run to catch the train home.&nbsp; We have bagels for a light dinner as we are stuffed from our late Jamies lunch!!&nbsp; Our friend Mr D arrives and we share a bottle of wine and reminisce over our Thailand Volunteering days!Day 3 - MondayMs P has to work today, so Mr D and I head out to Stonehenge.&nbsp; We drive past Devizes, where Ms P works, and stop at a little country pub for some lunch.&nbsp; I have a glass of local cider and vegetarian lasagna and am really disappointed, all of these country pubs are meant to have great food and have thus far fell short of my expectations!&nbsp; We arrive at Stonehenge and decide that we won't pay the fee, as you can get a pretty good photo of it from the road.&nbsp; It was exactly as I expected...far away and not in a particularly amazing setting.&nbsp; Even if you did pay the fee you wouldn't have been able to get to close to it as you once would have.&nbsp; I wonder what it would be like to reach out and touch the stones...I have heard about the mystic feeling some people experienced when they touched the stones.&nbsp; I guess for the sake of preservation that will no longer be a possibility.
]]> Weekend in the Cotswolds — Bourton-on-the-Water, England, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1237220100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1237220100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1237220100/tpod.html Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:20:13 -0400 Have EU passport, will travel: My year of adventure in Asia & Europe 2008/2009
Bourton-on-the-Water, England, United Kingdom

Day 1Packed up the car in readiness for our next road trip!&nbsp; We drove out of London and stopped enroute for a fry-up breakfast at a huge roadhouse which had all manner of take away and coffee shops!We arrived mid-morning in our first Cotswolds village, Stow-on-the-Wold, which we had a wander around amongst the bus-loads&nbsp;of elderly tourists on their Cotswold outing for the day.&nbsp; Like many of the Cotswold towns and villages, the buildings here were built with the very distinctive honey-coloured Cotswold stone from the local quarries. Many of the buildings date back to the 16th century.We then checked out the market town of Chipping Campden (dating back to the 7th century) which was one of my favourites.&nbsp; Chipping Campden was one of the most important medieval wool towns and was famous through Europe.&nbsp; The whole town consisted of gorgeous honey-coloured houses with thatched roofs and sweet cottage gardens.&nbsp; We visited the stunning 500 year old St James's church which was built with money from the flourishing wool trade. Each of the 12 lime trees leading from the main entrance to the porch represent an apostle.We then finished in the village we are staying in tonight, Bourton-on-the-Water.&nbsp; The town is situated on the River Windrush, which runs through the town, giving it the name "Venice of the Cotswolds".&nbsp; It is one of the prettier Cotswold villages, and we were really pleased we ended up staying here!&nbsp; Went for some drinks at the Duke of Wellington pub, then had dinner at the restaurant belonging to our B&amp;B.&nbsp; It was a fantastic dinner, one of the better I've had since I've been over here.Day 2Woke up and ate our breakfast at the B&amp;B and went to the next two villages on our stop, Upper and Lower Slaughters.&nbsp; We parked in Lower Slaughter and did a walk through the countryside to Lower Slaughter and back which took around an hour.&nbsp; We stopped for ice creams and sat and watched the streams with their masses of brown trout..the boys were very interested in this!We then drove to Stratford-upon-Avon, which is the birthplace of Shakespeare. His house is still standing and you can do a tour through it.&nbsp; We had lunch here and then drove home back to London.&nbsp; Was fantastic to get out into the countryside, even if it was just for 2 days :)
]]> Winter Wonderland - a Snow day in London! — London, England, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1233599160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1233599160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1233599160/tpod.html Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:38:54 -0400 Have EU passport, will travel: My year of adventure in Asia & Europe 2008/2009
London, England, United Kingdom

Last night I went over my best friend's house for our usual Sunday night dinner together, and on the way it started snowing.&nbsp; Lightly at first, but then it came down harder and harder until it felt like a snowstorm!&nbsp; I called her to tell her to meet me on the street as it was so amazing!&nbsp; We ran around in the snow like children and had snowfights, made a snowman, and in between drank red wine to keep warm&nbsp; :)We thought it would be gone by the morning, but upon waking noticed the ground had been covered in a thick blanket of snow!&nbsp; Everything was white, it was truly the most beautiful thing I had ever seen!&nbsp; I got ready for work and then received a call from my best friend saying that both her and her boyfriend had tried to get to work and there were no buses, tube OR overground running.&nbsp; I couldn't believe it and had to go and check for myself.&nbsp; Surely enough, everything had seemed to have shut down!&nbsp; I went over their house and we had snowball fights with the neighbours, played in the snow, made snow angels, and then headed down to Wandsworth Park&nbsp;to meet some friends and have a massive snowball fight!!&nbsp; There was a giant snowman around 8 feet tall, it was so huge there were people climbing up and sitting on its head, it was MASSIVE!!&nbsp;Afterwards we headed down the local pub (what else is there to do when you can't go anywhere in London?) and had a few drinks (to warm up of course), had some Thai for lunch, and settled in and played darts all afternoon.What a wonderful day off work!
]]> Day trip to Richmond — Richmond, England, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1232819220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1232819220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1232819220/tpod.html Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:24:39 -0400 Have EU passport, will travel: My year of adventure in Asia & Europe 2008/2009
Richmond, England, United Kingdom

My Aunt and Uncle came to visit me at my flat today and we decided to head to Richmond for the day for lunch and a bit of wandering.&nbsp; Went to Petersham's restaurant for lunch followed by a lovely walk along the Thames and a drink at a bar overlooking the main street.&nbsp; Was a lovely day away from the City :)
]]> Cooking course in Bath — Bath, England, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1232301300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1232301300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1232301300/tpod.html Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:18:04 -0400 Have EU passport, will travel: My year of adventure in Asia & Europe 2008/2009
Bath, England, United Kingdom

Day 1Caught the train after work to&nbsp;visit my friend Penny in Chippenham.&nbsp; We sat around, drank wine all night and reminisced about old times :)Day 2Today I got up early and caught the train into Bath to start my 9.30am full-day cooking course at The Vegetarian Cooking School.&nbsp; I am spending the day learning vegetarian cooking skills in a gorgeous old home overlooking the city of Bath.&nbsp; It is a large, light and airy home and there will be 9 people all up in the class today.&nbsp; Everyone is a local except for me (I live in London and everyone else comes from around this area).&nbsp; We have 2 teachers and are going to make 10 dishes which are matched with organic local wines and consumed at the end of the class (YUM!).We start with coffee and get down to work straight away.&nbsp; We make Walnut, Dark chocolate and Glace cherry chunk biscuits to have with our coffees at our 11am break.&nbsp; We then make Cannelini bean &amp; Kale soup, Green olive, lentil and watercress pate and I baked my own loaf of sesame seed bread to have with them for lunch!For our afternoon break we make Butternut squast, red pepper, smoked Wensleydale cheese and roasted pinenut filo pastry scrunchies with Cava...heavenly!For the finale late lunch we have Warm roasted beetroot, butternut squash and pomegranate seed salad, Black Olive &amp; Sundried tomato sausages, Celeriac, Potato&nbsp;&amp; Mustard mash, Wok-fried Cavalo Nero served with a Red wine &amp;&nbsp; Thyme gravy.For pudding we had Apple &amp; Calvados sticky toffee pudding with home made vanilla custard.A most wonderful day with lovely people!Afterwards I caught the train back to Chippenham to get ready for our girl's night out!We went to Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant and had to wait 1.5 hours for a table...but it was worth it.&nbsp; I only ordered a starter sized meal as I was still quite full from the cooking class earlier.&nbsp; I also ordered an Espresso Martini which was amazing!Day 3Woke up and had breakfast with Penny, and we went for a wander down to the Chippenham High Street where I bought a pair of gorgeous tartan heels from New Look!&nbsp; They are wonderfully high and hard to walk in!
]]> Lands End Peninsula, Cornwall — Penzance, England, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1234891320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1234891320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/trishigirl/rtw_2008/1234891320/tpod.html Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:25:41 -0500 Have EU passport, will travel: My year of adventure in Asia & Europe 2008/2009
Penzance, England, United Kingdom

Day 1The 3 amigos left their houses at 6.00am to meet at the local tube station for their newest road trip.&nbsp; Our journey to Paddington station only took us 20 minutes, and had a little time to spare once we got there for some yummy train station breakfast of cheese and egg toasted muffins and coffee..just what one requires at this time of the morning!!The train ride to Penzance took 6 hours and stopped at a lot of stations. I stayed awake despite waking at an ungodly hour as I wanted to take in the scenery...and it was worth it.&nbsp; Different coloured green fields, bordered by hedges stretched over the horizon like a quilted blanket...punctuated with grazing white sheep (we saw one stuck on top of a hedge munching away!).&nbsp; We passed the Roman city of Bath..possibly one of the most beautiful cities I have seen.&nbsp; As we moved closer to the coast we passed sleepy fishing villages.We arrived into Penzance and caught the bus to the nearby village of Newlyn, where we were staying and checked into our guesthouse.&nbsp; As we arrived relatively early we wanted to fit something into today, so went to check out the nearby town of St Ives.&nbsp; There we wandered around the town, snacking on fish and chips (just chips for me), having a (ghastly) cream tea, and eating Cornish fudge.&nbsp; We were so full from our late lunch we missed out on dinner!Day 2Today we woke early and headed down for our cooked English breakfast...fruit, cereals, toast, fried eggs, baked beans, vegetarian sausages, mushrooms&nbsp;and grilled tomatoes washed down with juices and coffee!!&nbsp; We caught the bus to Lands End (the most Western part of Britain) where we started our 5 hour walk to Porthcurno.&nbsp; The walk usually takes much less time than that, but we stopped several times along the way for photos, exploring caves, seal watching and checking out Minack theatre.&nbsp; We gratefully accepted a ride from a local into Penzance when we missed our bus back to town, and went to a local pub for lunch of crispy tiger prawns (others), breaded mushrooms (me), and mains of Beef and Ale pies (others) and vegetarian burger with onion rings (me).&nbsp; Walked back to Newlyn exhausted from our long day and didn't have dinner (again) because we were so full.&nbsp; Vow to have dinner tomorrow.Day 3After breakfast this morning we walked to Mousehole, a little fishing village next to Newlyn.&nbsp; Saw a wonderful looking restaurant and vowed to go back later tonight for dinner.&nbsp;After buying&nbsp;postcards and exploring this lovely little village, we walk back to Newlyn along the sea and explore some rockpools, one of which I fall into!!&nbsp; We catch the bus to Porthlevan for lunch of salmon (others) and cheese and onion pasty (me), and more looking around.&nbsp;&nbsp;We then catch the bus to St Michael's Mount, which is accessible to walk over via&nbsp;a pathway for only 4 hours a day during low tide and very impressive. We watch the sun set over cups of hot chocolate, then back to Newlyn.&nbsp; We aren't very hungry so miss out on dinner again!&nbsp; I buy some soup from the local supermarket to tide me over until morning.Day 4Today we unfortunately must leave Cornwall, but decide to explore Penzance a bit more because our train leaves from there.&nbsp; We make up for our previously ghastly cream tea experience by having another one at a lovely tea room in Penzance...more than makes up for it and we catch the train back home to London happy and full :)
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