summer!

It's been much too long... and I know I promised a post on my new flat, but thought I'd catch up on the last few months first... since I don't have any good pictures of the house yet... Maybe later this week if it's sunny...

So, in late May I went to Austria. It was only a few days - and I was there for work, but did actually have a little time to wander around Graz a bit.

The city centre is a UNESCO world cultural heritage site. The architecture varies greatly and some of the buildings date back to the 1300's.

This is the 'Mur island' in the middle of the Mur River which runs through the city. Kind of weird how some of the city is so modern and other parts are so ancient.

Since I was there to cover the England v Japan friendly ahead of the World Cup, we had to travel into the mountains to their training camp... It was really beautiful and reminiscent of Switzerland.

From the resort hotel where the team were staying.

The game was pretty rubbish - I don't even remember the score!

In June I got to go to Wembley Stadium for the first time - and to see Chelsea play Portsmmouth in the FA Cup Final... of course, Chelsea won!

Wembley Stadium, before the match.

After we won!

I know people are always saying I have a really cool job, and well, I do. I try to play it down a lot, but seriously, professional football, to awesome music festivals to the Prime Minister's house... We (I) cover it all. And this year, I got to go to the Hard Rock Calling Festival in Hyde Park again... where Pearl Jam were playing! And while I didn't get an interview with them, but at least I got to see them! (sort of)

Yes, that is Eddie Vedder!

There he is!

And then I got to spend some time with my very good friend from university - Maria! We hadn't seen each other in about three or four years and she happened to be in London for a couple of weeks on an NYU exchange program.

Maria and me in Brixton

In July, Tom and I celebrated his birthday by going to Maze Grill, one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants in London. It was probably the best meal I've ever had in a restaurant!

Happy birthday, my love!

mmm... soft shell crab for a starter.

The best calamari ever!

We both ordered steak... what else would we have gotten?!?

The waiter came around before we ordered and showed us the various cuts of meat and explained the difference and where they all come from. I got the Hereford 21 day grass fed fillet - for a mere £28! and Tom got the same but in rib eye. Then we ordered chips, salad and onion rings for the sides. The meat came with roasted garlic and a sprig of fresh herbs.

So, I've been busy... which is one reason for the lack of posting... Coming up - all about our new home - which is awesome! I promise not to make you wait too long!

The Long Road Home

So, as you may, or may not know, Tom and I went on our first holiday together in April. We went to Tenerife (another post to follow on that) in the Canary Islands. We had a lovely six days before turning on the news the morning before we were leaving to sea that British Airspace was closed because of a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland. I thought Tom was joking when he said it, but sure enough, there it was all over the telly...

We thought we might be okay since it was still a day and a half until we were flying, but by check out the next morning (Friday April 16th) it was looking like we were stranded. The first thing we did was try to contact our airline... that didn't happen, so we found a cheaper hotel (the one we were staying in was trying to 200 Euros a night).

The Chipeque was a downgrade, but it did the job at 35 Euros a night! By Friday afternoon our flight was officially canceled. We decided to just try and enjoy the next few days until our re-booked flight on Monday, April 19th. We were low on money, so we couldn't live it up - we shopped and cooked and bought some booze at the shop - no more eating out and pubs/clubs/bars for us... But that was ok, we were together.

On Sunday, we met Andy, Denise and Diane - they had been staying at the same resort as us, but decided a downgrade was needed as well. We spent the day drinking and hanging out by the pool. At the end of the evening, we all decided to head to a travel agency in the morning to see about getting to the mainland. Oh, our Monday flight was canceled by then too and the next flight they were offering me was on Tuesday, April 27th - 11 days after we were supposed to leave.

So, Monday morning, the five of us headed to the travel agency - by 10:30 AM we were booked with Iberworld flight at 4:30 to fly from Tenerife to Sevilla, Spain on the mainland. For only 69 Euros too! We had to buy a second suitcase as they wouldn't let us put our weight limit together in one bag, but I managed to find a decent one for cheap.

1 PM Monday April 19th - Leaving from the Chipeque... we knew it was going to be hard... but we were optimistic.
Left to right - Andy, Diane, Tom, Me, Denise.

On the bus... going to the airport, at last! Only three days late!

Woot! Airplane! I don't think I've ever been so happy to be getting on a flight!

So, by 7:30 local time we landed in Sevilla and headed straight to the train station. The plan was to get to Madrid and from there find a coach or train to either Paris or Calais. That's what the news kept telling people to do anyway, so we thought we'd be all right.

My one memory of Sevilla... There was some promotion going on in the train station, so we took a minute to enjoy this!

At 9:45 we pulled out of Sevilla Train Station on our way to Madrid - for 89 Euros each this time - we were quickly running out of money!

Some government building in Madrid... the only picture I really got there.

We arrived in Madrid around 12:30 PM. We were planning on spending the night in the train or coach station, but they kicked us out as soon as we got there. We couldn't find any information on where the coach station was and decided to stay the night in a hotel even if it would only be a few hours. The first hotel we asked at was quoting around 70 Euros for a room for the night - and we needed two. So, we went to eat something and then went back and the price had gone up to 110 Euros! Nice, take advantage of the poor stranded travelers. It was ridiculous. We'd seen another hotel around the corner and when asked, they only want 45 Euros for the night. We checked in at 2:30 AM and planned to meet in the lobby at 5:45 to get to the coach station as soon as it opened.

Our lovely hotel room in Madrid. At least there was a bed and it was clean.

So we got to the coach station at around 6AM only to find out we had to wait until 8 for the ticket office to open... but there was already a queue so, it was good we got there early. We met an American who had just arrived from Barcelona (he was trying to get to Germany). He told us there were no trains going through the south of France because of a rail strike - the first any of us had heard of that!

So we waited. and when we got into the ticket office we were told the next available seats on a coach to Paris was the following Monday (April 26th) - At that rate, we could have stayed in Tenerife and waited for our flight on the 27th! There was a group of 8 students ahead of us and one of them, Sophie, and I decided to see if we could rent our own coach and driver to take us to Calais to get the ferry across the channel.

It turned out that about 30 other people behind us, were into the idea too. So, we started trying to figure out how to rent a bus in Spain. The only problem was that there were no coaches for hire. They were all rented out - everywhere we went and asked there was nothing. Then, John, a man from Scotland who was traveling with his three kids, got a text message from his wife in Glasgow giving him the phone number of a guy who was hiring coaches to ferry people to and from Madrid to Calais.

I called him and he told us that there was a coach already leaving the next day (more than 24 hours later) and we were all welcome to get on it if we wanted to pay 250 Euros each! Well, we all decided that a) we didn't want to wait that long and b) that was too much. The regular coach from Madrid to London (not even Calais which is what he was offering) is only 120 Euros. So I negotiated with him. I asked him if he could get us a coach that day and how much it would be if we filled it. We had to wait an hour and a half for him to call me back. It was tense, but by the time he rang back we had over 50 people who wanted to get on our coach.

It was a beautiful moment when he said he could get us a coach at 6PM and we'd only have to pay 215 Euros (still not great, but better) and he'd take us to Calais - a 20 hour drive. So it was settled. 52 of us. 6PM at Madrid coach station. One bus. Two drivers. We couldn't believe it. Some people had already been traveling for three days by the time we met in the station.

It funny I don't have any pictures from the coach station... We spent so long there. By lunchtime, with the relief of knowing we had a way to Calais, we all had a little party - the rum we'd bought in Tenerife came out; we went to the grocery store and got stuff to make sandwiches; we were all stoked.

At some point the media showed up. Reuters, ITV and the BBC. They interviewed us (two of them interviewed me) and we were on the news back home as the people taking matters into their own hands. (Not sure the links will work outside the UK) We were on more reports, but I can't link to them anymore...

So after waiting all day, we headed out of the station to wait for the coach to actually arrive... at 6:15 PM it did.

Waiting outside for the coach to arrive.

My group of travelers... new friends and "parents"

By 6:45 we were on our way... about 30 hours after we set out from the Chipeque it felt like we were really going home.

Andy and Nise - our new parents!

Going home!!!

So a fitful sleep through Spain and Franc, a quick drop off in Paris (two people were getting out there) and 21 hours later we got to Calais, France.

There were only about 3000 people in line ahead of us. While it was disheartening, it was even worse when we heard that it was going to cost 65 Euros each - the normal price for a foot passenger is around 25. Getting screwed again. We complained to the first British officials we'd seen for the whole trip and they said there was nothing they could do. The problem was that Tom and I were out of money. We could get on the ferry, but wouldn't have anything left to get the train back to London from Dover.

It didn't matter though. We'd be on British soil and what else were we going to do, stay in France Andy and Denise kept telling us not to worry, that they'd get us home. It was really great to have that kind of support with us.

Andy being interviewed for TV in Calais.

Almost inside... to be fair it only took about two hours in the queue.

Finally, at 5:45 PM on Wednesday, April 21st, we were on a ferry and pulling out of the port. It definitely warranted a drink!

Cheers! We're on our way!

Bye bye France and mainland Europe...

HELLO DOVER!!!

My silly boy... he really was happy to be in Britain!

On the ferry Denise shoved £60 in my hand to get us from Dover to London - we'd heard the train was about £30 each. As it turned out it only cost that much for both of us, so we had a little money left to get bread and milk. (The advance on my pay that work was supposed to give me came through the day after we got home!)

So, we got on a train, straight to London Victoria (a two-hour train ride) where we had a short tube ride and then a walk home. We got in the door around 11:30 on Wednesday, April 21st... four days, and 19 hours after we were supposed to. After 58 hours of travel across mainland Europe using just about every mode of transport that exists.

While it was exhausting, it was an adventure that I will never forget. It taught me a lot about my and Tom's relationship too. We can get through anything together. If you'd have asked me beforehand what I thought would have happened it wouldn't have been that we'd get on the whole time and support each other and be strong... to be honest I thought we would have argued at least once. But we didn't. If anything, it's brought us closer. So, good things do come when you least expect them...

Finally home and in my own bed!!!

So, sorry this post is so long... but it really did warrant it this time... and hopefully that will help you understand what has taken me so long to write it. I'm sure there is more I could say. But I will leave you with this as it is. Up next, Tenerife: the holiday - before the ash.

Canada Day!

July 1st is Canada Day.

There was a BIG party in Trafalgar Square in central London. We went, we drank Moosehead and Sleemans; we ate hot dogs with RELISH and Bicks™ Dill Pickles; we missed out on the "poutine"; we ate bison burgers; we drank Kronenburg (because they ran out of Moosehead and Sleemans); we talked Canadian; we wore RED; we waved flags; we sang Oh Canada; we went to the Maple Leaf but it was closed; we went home.

Waking up this morning wasn't nearly so much fun. At all. I hope wherever you are, you all had as happy a Canada Day as we did.

Canada in Trafalgar Square... that's Canada House in the background.

the lone piper

they would have won the prize for the most made up... if there had been one!

the crowd... not enough red if you ask me.

because we eat BISON ALL THE TIME!?

eh?

not so happy Canada day?

been celebrating with this one for a loooooooong time!

my version of the flag

the Kraft Dinner™ Krew

a little freaky

a new FB profile pic?

all Canadian

the aLLL Canadians

and finally... some knickers... hee hee... how cheeky ;)

updates

I think I need to pick a day of the week to write posts... and stick to it. That way I won't go weeks without posting anything at all. I like to think that's it's because I'm oh-so-busy all the time, and I am, but not so much that I can't take a little time to update you all. I will stop apologising for it though, as I've been told that I say "I'm sorry" too much.

SO, that being said, I think that posting day will from now on be Sunday evenings, my time, which is Greenwich Mean Time (since I live a few miles away).

I've had one of the best weeks in London since I arrived. The weekend was fabulous, with a Korean dinner night with nine friends (seven of which are Kiwis). We went to Myungga, a little Korean restaurant in Soho. The food wasn't as good as the first time I went a few months ago, but it's some of the best Korean I've had since I was there. We had a bit of everything kimchi-jeon, bulgogi, bibimbap, all the sides (including five kinds of kimchi), dwen-jeong jigae (sp?), deok bokki, ummm... what else? soju and beer, and more food too, but the names are escaping me. I'm really tired.

After dinner we went out for drinks in Soho and headed home at the early hour of 12:30. I had to be up at 6:30 to drive to Feckenham (of Christmas with the Cotton's fame), which is south of Birmingham and about a two hour drive.

It was my 'surrogate' mother's birthday a couple of weeks ago, so L and I drove up spend the day. It was lovely to be in the country on a nice sunny day. We went to the market and picked up some fresh veggies and other supplies. Then we headed to a small artists market where there was a glass blowers studio that reminded me of C and L and my other surrogate family in Canada. There was a beautiful garden out back with some gorgeous flowers and a really old rusted tractor-like contraption - I got some great photos... as you can see.










After the market we headed home, walked the dog and had a tasty barbecue in the garden. Then we had to head back to London... We arrived pretty late so didn't do anything. Sunday was devoted to cleaning, laundry, gym etc... it was one of the first really nice days here in a few weeks, so I spent an hour outside working on my pallid skin, but I think I'll have to wait until I go to Greece in August to get some real colour.

Probably the best bit of the last week has been going "out" on the job at work. I've gone out to film and interview for the last three days in a row! I interviewed Jerry Hall on Monday, then a cabinet minister on Tuesday, and today I got to go to the National Portrait Gallery and shoot the BP National Portrait Awards. It was fantastic... now if only I could be doing it all day everyday.... That should be enough said about that. I don't want to Dooce myself.

Now that we're up to date, expect regular posts on Sundays... maybe more if I'm feeling the urge.