No other month ends on the same day of the week as May

Ok. First day of the month was a beautiful spring Sunday. I began by riding east, to Colombia Road Markets<http:></http:>. I was caught up in the hustle and bustle of the flower stalls, my senses assaulted by the scents and sights. I involved myself with the Unlikeness project <www.unlikeness.org>, deciding I liked the image and taking it with me. After lunch in a cute Italian cafe, I went on to Brick Lane Markets<http:></http:>, the home of Indie, in London's indie center, Shoreditch. It was seeew indie. Monday was a bank holiday (thank you Will and Kate) which I spent relaxing after the Royal Wedding excitement. In the evening, I treated myself to a showing of Hamlet at the Globe, standing in the yard. It truly was world class. </www.unlikeness.org>

The next weekend was in Finland, which I have already indulged you with.

I was lucky enough on the 11th to accompany year 8 on an excursion to Kew Gardens. It is an awesome place. I saw trees which were centuries old, a vine planted in 1716, a Wollemi pine, some breathtaking avenues of acacias... All in a days work really.

That weekend started with a lovely, long yoga class, working out the week. Saturday night was spent babysitting. Making some extra dosh. Sunday began with a breezy bike ride across Hyde Park to the Royal College of Music where they were playing all of Bach's Violin Sonatas and Cello Suites, and Pagannini's Caprices all day, for free! It absolutely blew my mind. 

A highlight of the next week was the Visiting Music Teacher's(VMTs) of SHHS concert. I was helping organise and run the concert which took place at the beautiful St. John's, Downshire Hill, featuring the private music tutors who played some amazing music, from Schubert Piano Trios (MY FAVOURITE) to Rod's own Jazz guitar works. All up, we raised over £1200 for Cancer Research! Not a bad effort. On the Friday night, once dark had set in, Tessa and I made our way up to the Hampstead Observatory. They were open especially on this weekend to see Saturn. It was amazing! The rings were so clear. I almost thought they had got a sticky glow in the dark Saturn and just stuck it on the end of the tube or something! It definitely made me feel insignificant.

Saturday morning, Mum arrived in London! I made the journey to Heathrow to meet her. When we got back to my neck of the woods, I gave her a little tour around Swiss Cottage and Hampstead. After that, some Chinese chow and then bed. On Sunday I introduced mum to the wonders of Camden Market. We spent the morning perusing the stalls and then enjoyed a DELISH market lunch (Indian and Mexican) before continuing on to Oxford St for some more shopping. That evening was Compline, so mum was treated to a little Merbecke glory : )

On the Wednesday, mum and I went on a tour to Windsor Castle, Bath and Stonehenge. Windsor Castle was amazing. The history contained within those walls is incredible. We saw the tombs of King Henry VIII, and the Queen Mother amongst others. We also saw the state apartments, which definitely live up to their reputation. Next stop was Stonehenge. I am not sure if it was bigger or smaller than I imagined. Mum and I came to the conclusion that it was bigger than we thought it was going to be (as in the size of the rocks) but they were closer together than we expected (so it was smaller in area). Our last destination was Bath. We first saw the Roman baths and museum before heading off to explore a little bit, ending up and wagamama for some noodley goodness. Then it was the bus home to London!

Half term break started on that Friday, which was our cue to head off to Malta! But that tale is for another time.

Basically I have been here for 5 months now. Holy Guacamole! But it is simply fantastic. I miss you all dearly, so please drop me a line when you get the chance!

Fun Finnish Facts

FFF #1: Finland is called Suomi in Finnish

I finally arrived (after a debacle I would rather not explain) in Helsinki at 5:30pm on Saturday, stepped out of customs, welcomed by Mika's smiling face. Yay. First we went on a driving tour of the capital - only 500 000 people. We passed the bustling square, Hakaniementon; the architecturally superior train station; the Finlandia building; the opera house; and Parliament house as we navigated the one way streets of the city. After that we began on our way to Mika's home town of Ahtari, a 4 hour drive north of Helsinki.

FFF #7: Finnish is said to be the second most difficult language in the world. E.g Each word has 14 unique suffixes which alter its meaning.

We watched the sunset over the sunset over the Ouluvesi Lake before heading to Mika's, via the main street of Ahtari, which was absolutely deserted because everyone was watching the Sweden vs Finland ice hockey match. We were welcomed home by a yummy Finnish dinner with the family, I tried karjalanpiirakka (a kind of rice porridge in pastry smothered with egg and butter) which definitely gets the thumbs up. I was also introduced to the bird and cat and Remu and Laku the dogs.

FFF #10: You must have your headlights on all the time, daytime, night time, summer, winter...

After dinner Raija and I hit the sauna, at about 80*C , then jumped in to Ahtari Lake, at about 2*C, then back into the sauna, and then the lake. It was awesome. It makes you feel so so so good and gives you the BEST nights sleep.

FFF #3: When going in the lake after the sauna you must go in 20m, otherwise you have to stay in the water longer to ensure that your body cools down enough.

Sunday began nice and slowly with a walk with the dogs in the forest surrounding Mika's house and around the lake. Then I had a coffee before getting impatient and waking up Mika. First stop was the family restaurant - Lounasportaat. After a feed, we went to Ahtari zoo to see the snow leopards, bears, wolves, moose and a whole other array of Finnish animals.

FFF #9: There is compulsary 1 year military service in Finland which everyone hates. Regardless, if Russia invaded, they would take over in two days.

Then we went to the Mesikammen, the underground hotel before we went to hang out with Mika's floor-ball playing friends at his school. The afternoon was just just spent chilling with the Finnish boys who came back to Mika's for a sauna session. That night we had another family dinner before watching some Finnish TV and heading to bed. 

FFF #2: You cannot buy packaged cake mixes in Finland.

On Monday we left early to go to Hollola, Lahti to get our business-man on. After selling a big haul of jumpers, jackets and pants, we set off to Tampere, touring the gas stations of Finland. We arrived in Tampere and went to the observation tower to see some beautiful views. Then Mika dropped me off at the airport for my flight home via Stockholm. 

FFF #4: You pull the toilet to flush.

All in all it was a pretty fun weekend : ) Thanks Mika.

Spring into Spring

April april april, where did you go? 

I marked the beginning of Spring with a visit to the Borough Markets. I made my way there via the John Soane museum, an amazing miscellany of artefacts collected from all over the world. <http:></http:> Next door, at St. Lincoln-Inns-Fields I listened to a saxophone quintet rehearsing before continuing on my way to the Markets<http:></http:>. The smells, sights and tastes were just overwhelming! Every kind of cheese, mean, jam, chutney, bread, cake, pastry, chocolate, fruit, vegetable... endless! Once my senses had recovered from this initial assault, I had some lunch next to Southwark Cathedral. Next I crossed back over the THames and had a look at the Guildhall's Clock Museum<http:>before Evensong at St. Pauls.<http:></http:> The boys voices took my breath away. It was mesmerising, especially underneath the Cathedral's beautiful domes, I was in another world. Sunday was pretty relaxing before dinner with the visiting Duncan McArthur and then Ronnie Scotts, which I must say, was very very cool.<http:></http:></http:>

Then began the final week of term. Monday was the day of the annual SHHS Spring concert. After an intensive day rehearsing and making last minute tweaks, we put on a fantastic show. Close Harmony was a massive success singing Fragile and Java Jive. The Headmistress even submitted a special request for us to sing at the final assembly! Wednesday was the BIAAG charity walk.<http:> The staff departed at 8:30am to walk from Hampstead to Westminster. My station was on Carlton Terrace, instructing the girls to their next checkpoint. The walk ended at Westminster, next to the Houses of Parliament. After a lunch in the sun, we scored a free tour of the Houses of Parliament from an old SHHS girl, which was awesome.<http:></http:> After listening to the proceedings for a while, I went to a pub on the Thames with the staff for a catch up in the sun. The perfect way to finish the day. Thursday's final assembly performance went swimmingly, and the day was relatively easy, just tying up ends before the break commenced.</http:>

Friday, first day of the holidays was celebrated with a ride along Regents Canal which took me to the English Homes Museum and then on to Spitalfields Market,<http:></http:> returning home via the blooming squares of the city.

Saturday began with the Chocolate Festival over on the Southbank.<http:></http:>After surveying the stalls, I watched some cooking demonstrations and ate lots and lots of free samples and cookies, before meeting up with Robbie. We rode up to Camden to catch some Jazz <http:></http:> before heading home. Sunday started with a walk through Regents Park, then down to Hyde Park via the Sherlock Holmes Museum<http:></http:> and Selfridges. We stopped at Speakers Corner<http:></http:> and argued with people professing Evangelism, Meninism and all sorts of doctrines before having lunch in the park. Next stop was the Science Museum<http:></http:> before heading home again. The next day was my plane to Amsterdam, which I have already told you all about...

Sunday, my first day back, was spent recovering from my trip and doing loads and loads of washing. Monday I met up with the lovely Laura Begbie and her travel companion in Covent Garden before she treated me to the Ballet in the Royal Opera House.<http:></http:> Wow. wow. wow. I don't know how I haven't seen a ballet before?! It was Cinderella, music by Prokofiev. Tuesday, the last day of the holidays, was spend riding around the city, seeing Liberty<http:></http:> and some other shops.

Thursday afternoon I collected all our gear and headed to Buckingham Palace.<http:></http:> I set up our campsite and waited for Tessa to arrive from rounders and the night of epic proportions began. We introduced ourselves to the campers around us, Americans, Englishmen, Canadians, Phillipinos... Then the media frenzy began./ FIrst was a Spanish news, then the BBC and NBC wandered past, then SUNRISE! I jumped around like a lunatic with my Aussie flag yelling hellos to mum and home. Then I bumped into some fellow Australians who accompanied me to Kochie and Mel's hub, where we continued our cheers : ) My throat was starting to get hoarse, so I headed back to our camp spot to lay on the concrete for a few hours.  Over the night more and more well wishers arrived, and it became harder and harder to hold our ground. As the sun rose, Emma Alberichi from the ABC come over and had an interview with me, for TV and for Radio. Woo! <http:> And then Monique from 7 News came over and had a chat too. The festivities began around 9am when the police, soldiers and guards began entering and exiting the Spur. Then the dignitaries began to leave for the Abbey, which included the Queen and then Kate MIddleton herself. At 11 the serviece began, which was broadcast over big loudspeakers. It was beautiful and so so so exciting to hear William and Kate utter the words "i will" to each other. The Rutter, sang by the choir was equally as emotive. Jsut wow. Then the wedding party returned to the palace in their carriages, surrounded by knights in shining armour on their noble steeds, before making their way up to the balcony for the much anticipated kiss. Talk about a buzz!!! The celebrations ended with the fly over and then the crowds began to exit, which was a spectacle in itself. The afternoon was spent with Laura over tea comparing photos from the morning before an early night.</http:>

Saturday I met up with Laura again at Portobello Road, we had a good look around before I grabbed a divine filo pastry for lunch. Then the shopping got serious. I purchased a CD by the Robbie Boyd Band<http:></http:>, some lovely scarves, sunglasses and a beautiful vintage backpack. Yay. I rode home along the canal, passing through little venice, where some Saturday markets were on. All in all, a lovely day.

Sunday, the last day of the month began with some serious skyping sessions, catching up on all the royal gossip back home. Then I headed off across the city to Columbia Road Flower Market.<http:></http:> After perusing the blooms, and relishing the aroma's I bumped into a man collecting images for his Photography Project - Unlikeness <http:></http:> He took a photo, if I liked I got to keep it, which I did. That was exciting. Walking down the road, a girl on a bike comes up to me and asks 'Are you Alex?" Turns our it was Elenor, a girl who I used to sing with in Port Macquarie. Talk about a small world. After lunch in the cutest little Italian cafe, I continued on to Brick Lane Market<http:></http:>, pretty much the definition of Indie. I spent a few hours immersed in a world of vintage clothes, rayban sunglasses, homemade jewellery, vinyls, and exotic hair styles I made my way home for an early night.

Month 4 went very very smoothly, and the count down to summer holidays has already begun!

April Holidays - My first foray to the Continent

April Holidays. What an amazing trip! Here is a little run down of what I have been getting up to over the last two weeks...

I started at 3:30am to get ready to catch my bus to Luton to then fly to Amsterdam at 6. I arrived in the Motherland and met my friend Till at the station to begin a jam-packed day in the capital. We started by perusing the coffeehouses, settling in the world-famous  Bulldog <http://www.thebulldog.com/> to get some of the Amsterdam experience. Till then treated me to a Dutch snack shop specialty - Frickendel. A sausage smothered in special Dutch mayonnaise and curry sauce, served with a sprinkle of raw onion... Next was a Canal tour. We traversed Amsterdam Harbour - the Ij, roamed the Old City canals, admired 17th century bridges and architecture and generally got our tourist on.

We decided to be a bit cultural and see the St. Nicolaaskerk Cathedral before exploring the Red Light District. Ok. Imagine the most far-out, crazy, bizarre thing and you will be able to find it here. Condommeries, deluxe dildo shops, gay cinema's, costume shops, mask shops... We also saw a few brothels and some girls offering their services from their stools in the windows, all made up. It was definitely an eyeopening experience. 

Next stop was the Anne Frank House<http://www.annefrank.org/>, which was just heart wrenching. I saw the marks on the wall tracking the children's grow, Anne's posters and treasured possessions, and the actual diary which she wrote in. The exhibition finished with the sombre record of her and her families extermination, weeks before the end of WW2. After that we went looking for some chow, passing the Royal Palace, Nieuwekerk and the National Monument and ending up at a Thai place. Generally a good way to start my trip.

The next day, I explored more of Amsterdam, seeing the Bloemenmarkt, Vondelpark, the Van Gogh Museum <http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/vgm/index.jsp?lang=nl> - home to his Self Portrait, the Sunflowers as well as some Daubigny and Monet. After that, I continued on through the city, passing the Rijksmuseum to the Albert Cuyp market, seeing some more Amsterdam specialties - poffertjes, gherkins, seafood (50kg fish), and genital chocolates (Only in amsterdam). I finished the day munching on corn on the cobs in Nieumarkt.<http://www.amsterdamescape.com/NieuwmarktAmsterdam.html>

Wednesday, I hopped on a bicycle and rode out of the city, to explore the Dutch country side. I rode along the dykes of the Ij all the way to Edam. I passed through a number of quaint dutch villages, meadows, fields, gardens... It was so picturesque! The ducklings, lambs, turtles, rabbits, squirrels... That night I caught the train to Utrecht to meet up with Corine and go back to the family's house in Zeist where I was treated to some Vla and Speckulaas, Yum.

The next day, after John had finished his meeting, he took me to the Keukenhof!<http://www.keukenhof.nl/> It was absolutely amazing. There was every kind of tulip, jonquil, bulb, orchid, hydrangea in every colour of the rainbow. Simply beautiful. I tried to ignore the fact that the average age of visitors was about 65. Haha. There was also a giant hedge maze and a windmill which I had fun looking around.

On Friday, Corine and I took Yoran and Nadine to school, which is just down the road, and then we picked them up again before lunch, as they finish early on Fridays. Then we drove to Harderwyk to see Tante Adrie. After some afternoon tea, we went to the old fishing port where I downed a herring, garnished with raw onion (what else). After a stroll by the lake, we went to Boshuis Drie for dinner and then headed home.

Saturday started with football with Yoran and John and then Gymnastics with Corine and Nadine. After the morning activities were over, Corine and I went into Utrecht to have a look around. I saw the Domtoren Church, walked along the canals and had a look around the shops. 

That night I caught the overnight train from Utrecht to Zurich, a whopping 11 hours, luckily I slept for most of it! The only interruption was when the angry, fat, German man told me I was in the wrong compartment. Haha. I arrived in Zurich and wandered around unsuccessfully looking for a hostel, so I went to the Tourist Information Office who snagged me the last bed in the City Backpackers Hostel. Once I had dropped by stuff off, I headed off to explore. First thing I stumbled upon was the Zurich Marathon. The track was lined with entertainment, food and music in the traditional Swiss style, so I parked myself on the edge of the Zurichsee, with a chocolate fondue banana in hand and listened to the Alphorn. I then continued my walk around the city, passing Grossmunster, Fraumunster (Home to the famous Stained Glass windows), St. Peters (The largest clock face in Switzerland), The EHT, Zurich University and The Kunsthaus Museum amoungst other things. The architecture is just divine. I ended up at the National Swiss Museum where I was enlightened to the history and culture of this little nation. After lunch I walked around the Platzpromenade and frolicked in the daisies, walked to the Lindenhof for some beautiful city views, saw the Tonhall and then headed back to the hostel.

I started the next day with a walk to the city's west to see the Volkshaus before scaling the Grossmunster tower from some exceptional views. I then made my way south to the Zurich Horn park for lunch, where I dipped my feet in the Zurichsee. I then went to the Botanical Gardens and watched the frogs for a while, before heading back towards Niederdorfstrasse to browse the shops and teahouses. Then I collected my things, hopped on the train and went to Judith's. After dinner, Judith showed me around her part of Cham - the castle across the road, the park and the lake. It was so beautiful, like a postcard!

The next morning, I headed off to Thun, via Bern and met up with Debora. She showed me around her lovely town. We saw the Thuner Schloss Castle, Aare River, Thunersee, Schadau Schloss Park; had coffee at Muteplatz; and rode on Debora's scooter to her house in Gwatt where I was treated to a very yummy traditional Swiss dinner (i.e lots of bread, cheese and chocolate). We also did the traditional easter egg cracking. Debora won. Afterwards, I caught the train back to Bern and experienced some of the capitals nightlife before hitting the hay.

Wednesday morning was spent exploring Bern, seeing the National Swiss Bank, Parliament House, Castles, Churches and monuments, as well as Einsteins House before I caught the train to Interlaken, where I boarded the Jungfraujoch, a train which winds through and under the alps to the top of Europe. The scenery was just AMAZING. The mountains are divine. After the 3 hour trip, we arrived at the top, at an altitude of 4000m. I had a ridiculously overpriced lunch on the top of Europe before exploring the decks and snow, taking in the majestic views. I caught one of the last trains back down the Mountain to Interlaken, which was just picture perfect in the twilight, the river was a vibrant shade of blue. Just like a fairytale or something. Then I continued on to Zermatt, where I arrived late that night.

In the morning, I exited the front door to the Matterhorn. What a view. Wow. Then I went for a hike in the Alps towards Sunnegga where I saw squirrels and beavers. It was fantastic. Then I hopped back on the train to head to Zug via Andermatt and the Alpine passes. I arrived at Judith's again, freshened up, had dinner and then went to her neighbours for drinks, which was really nice.

The next day Judith dropped me at Mt. Pilatus, where I took the cable car to Frakmuntegg. At Frakmuntegg I went to the Seilpark, and traversed the tree tops in the rope park for a few hours, which was super fun. After being asked to lunch by a sexy Swiss boy, one of the workers at the rope park, I continued up to the summit, to see the views over central Switzerland. On the otherside I went down the mountain on the steepest railway in the world before heading back to Judith's via Luzern, which was buzzing in the Spring sun. That night Judith had a barbecue with her neighbours and golf friends, which was a lot of fun. I tried horse, which just tasted like beef and finished off with some delicious Swiss Mövenpick icecream, before partying the night away.

My last day in Switzerland was spent on the shores of the Zugsee, working on my tan, reading my book and swimming in the crystal clear (and ice cold) water. It was definitely 'refreshing'. After lunch, Judith took me to the airport and I came home!

Talk about an abso-frickin-lutely AMAZING holiday!

Three months and going strong

Three months have passed already! I am a quarter of the way through my time here. Ok. So, here is a little summary of the month of March to give you an idea of the mischief I have been getting up to : ) I'm Falling!

The month started with an amazing concert by the LSO playing Shostakovich and Mahler's 9th. Just wow. I have never experienced a silence so electric. That weekend I went to see Robbie in Essex. It was really nice to see a familiar face. I got the grand tour of Brentwood and I was introduced to the wonders of the Litten Tree. I also played basketball on Sunday.

The highlights of the next week were the Wihan Quartet on Monday. The Czechs were classic, and inspiring. On Wednesday I went on a Maths excursion with year 10 which was surprisingly interesting. It actually made me miss maths a little! But only a little.

That weekend was another with my big tourist hat on. First stop, 221B Baker St - Sherlock Holmes Museum. Next was Tate Britain. An amazing collection. Passing 10 Downing St, I made my way to Dover St market and held a 7000 pound dress! On my way home I stumbled upon the Wallace collection. Which was just beautiful. A collection of 17th-19th century french and dutch arts and artefacts. Sunday was St. Patricks Day. After basketball Tessa and I headed in to see the celebrations at Trafalgar Square.

The next week started with a trip to the Royal College of Music to see a free Brahms recital which was beautiful. Tuesday was Merbecke as per usual and the rest of the week was just a normal working week. Friday afternoon I went to the Freud Museum (conveniently located around the corner) before Robbie dropped by for dinner which was fun.

Saturday was a big riding day. I started off at Portobello, buying a polaroid for Ruthicles. Then I explored Notting Hill and Kensington. I looked around Holland Park, Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, stumbling upon lots of angry protesters outside the Bahrain embassy. Then I dropped by the Natural History Museum. Sunday didn't start until the afternoon. I went to Westminster Cathedral for Vespers before heading over the the Southbank to meet up with the girls to watch the world Free Running Championships.

The next week started with a bang. Monday was Bex's birthday so all the girls headed out to the Rosslyn Arms pub for a fun night out. Tuesday was my first babysitting gig with Eva. Wednesday I went to the BBC studio's to see Happiness HQ which proved to be very very entertaining. Friday was a break from normal routine, with the year 7 excursion to Tate Modern and St. Pauls. Aside from the girls incessant chat, giggling and whinging.

The weekend that was supposed to be relaxing ended up full of things. Saturday had a promising start, but as soon as I stepped out of the door, all hope of relaxing disappeared. I was making my way to Putney Bridge to watch the Universiry Boat race. I went via Selfridges, where I bought a Frankie; Hyde Park, where I encountered the biggest protest this decade in London - 500 000 people!; and Harrods. After the boat race, won by Cambridge, I went to Southwark for perform in the Lent concert. It was a great night. Sunday was more what I had in mind. It involved me laying in the sun and reading for most of the day. In the afternoon I strolled down to Camden Arts Center and then I went to Evensong at Hampstead Parish before coming home for an early night.

The last week of the month started with a lovely catch up with Annie who was visiting London for her April Holidays. Other than babysitting on Wednesday night, it was a very work-orientated week, making final preparations for the Spring Concert and end of term. I also did my audition for Dartington! Eek!

Over this month the weather has been steadily improving. The days are getting longer and longer. Daylight savings started too which has made it even more noticeable. Also, all the spring blooms are emerging. The gardens and parks are just blissful.Frolicking in the flowers London is transforming as the winter chill fades into memories and the suns starts to shine through : ) It has been really interesting experiencing a REAL spring. When I lived in the Riverina in Australia, there was a little bit of a Spring vibe, but this really is something else. Jonquils popping up EVERYWHERE, daisys, wild flowers, the joy is infectious : )

All in all, another good month. I have covered most of the major sights now, so I am starting to stumble upon London's smaller, obscured and quirky treasures. I am also really getting to know a lot of the girls at school a lot better. They are a pretty cool bunch : ) 

And so the adventure continues...

February. I have pretty much settled in now. Found my routine(ish), met most of the faces at school and began to cover my bedroom walls with photos, posters, cutouts and the like. Now I will cast my mind over the past month and pick out some highlights for you to envy over : P

I have Monday afternoons off, so I made use of my first one and walked to Highgate Cemetery <http:></http:> home to George Eliot, Christina Rossetti and Karl Marx... But it was closed when I got there. So I wandered through Waterlow park and back through the Heath, seeing the most beautiful sunset from Parliament Hill. I then walked home via Keats House <http:></http:>

During another busy week of SHHS choirs, orchestra's, bands, and basketball teams I went to the Royal Academy of Music <http:></http:> And saw the most amazing, FREE, concert of 2nd and 4th year jazz students with Julian Segal and Oran Marshall. Pretty much changed my life.

On Saturday I went to a Travel Expo at Earls Court with one of the substitute teachers from school to get some inspiration for my holiday travel. Once I was expo-ed out, I walked through Kensington, passing lots of Watangi Day festivities, making my way to the Victoria and Albert museum. There I met Aude, a French Au Pare. We had a look around the exhibitions together which was nice and swapped deets at the end.

Beautiful lanternsSunday was Chinese New Year! The festivities started at 12, so en route to China Town I stopped at the Wellcome Collection and saw an eye opening exhibition on the history of drugs in Western Society. The day was full of presentations, parades, performances, fire crackers, lanterns and street food. And it was SO busy, but a lot of fun.

The school week started again with a Chamber Music concert in one of the local churches. I also found time during the week to have a look around the next suburb across, Kilburn and Willisden Green which was cool. The whole of this city is just dotted with amazing parks, architecture and things. Its wonderful. Tuesday night I decided to go along to a Merbecke Choir <http:></http:> rehearsal (Because no one had replied to my e-mails) and ended up singing along and having an amazing time which resulted in a new recruitment : D Yipee. It also ended in the pub (as is the natural progression in this part of the world) and I met this AMAZING bunch of people : ) Oh and I also picked up my bike this week. Yay!Portobello Road

Saturday I went to PORTOBELLO MARKET, taking my bike on her maiden voyage. My new found love. <http:></http:> I spent all day wandering through the stalls. There is absolutely everything. Vintage clothes, antiques, jewellery, watches, cameras, collectables, shoes, furniture, bicycles, food, produce... just all things lovely, glorious, inspirational and wonderful. Just wow. I also met the most charming man, Leonardo, who owned a little stall and has been a seller for over 50 years. We are basically BFFL's now : )

Sunday I left for Scotland, which I have written about already... So I'm going to skip ahead.

Saturday (after I got back) was Brett Dean Day at Wigmore Hall, and the lovely Kiki lined up a free ticket for me, so on Saturday night I headed into town and we met up. Yay! We went out to some coffee and cake for a good catch up before watching the most amazing chamber music concert I have ever seen. Just magical <http:> Afterwards we went out for some Italian. Yum.</http:>

Sunday I headed east to Islington and went to Candid Arts Gallery to look at an exhibition. After that I rode to the Museum of London which is a fantastic museum. It was absolutely packed with Half-term kids which was a bit of a bummer, but it was still good. It takes you all the way from prehistoric London to modern day values and attitudes of Londoners. An amazing insight!

Then it was time for school to recommence. Busy busy busy. I went to Choir again on Tuesday, which picked up my spirits (even though I got lost on my way there). Wednesday I had the oportunity to go to an open rehearsal of the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Simon Rattle! Talk about WOW. Best quote from one of the students - "This is what heaven would sound like". Cuuuute.

The rest of the week was quiet. Just spending my spare time in the library or on the internet planning some more holidays. It is so exciting. I think I am still recovering from my Scottish trip. Plus I have the most persistent cold in the world. 7 weeks and still going strong!

Now for another jam packed weekend before month 3 begins! Who knows where I will end up today!

I feel like I have been getting a pretty good grasp of this city now. I don't even have to agonise over the money at the checkout anymore, definitely a sign that I am finding my feet.

Scottish Experience

How naive I was about travel in the British Isles! I always considered London as the whole of Britten, so I could tick it off my list now. An hour on the plane, and I was in a different world! Different culture, history, music, accent, food... Definitely experienced some, as Leo would put it, DSL - Deep Scottish Love. Here is a selection of my daily doings...

Day #1: My morning began with me almost not getting there. The temperamental lock on our gate forced me to jump the spiked fence at 6:45am. I landed in Edinburgh at 11am and made my way to High St. Hostel. I started my Scottish exploration with a free walking tour, seeing: Parliament, Holyrood palace, Pubs, Flodden Wall, The Observatory, Statue of Ferguson, Historic water pumps, St. Gilled Cathedral, Guillotine sites, The Elephant House and a whole pile of other historical and interesting sites in the Old Town. I then met up with Annie and we went to the White Horse, a tiny little pub, to get some chow, attracted there by the little band playing in the front and the quirky bar man. After the music finished, we met some friends from the hostel for a pub quiz night. We went spectacularly bad. But it was fun.

Day #2: The start of our 3-day, Skye-High tour. All 22 of us piled into the yellow Haggis bus at 8:30am to start our Highland adventure led by the charismatic, geeky and hilarious Leo. Our first stop was in Sterling at the William Wallace memorial. Then we met some Highland Cows - Heather and Hamish. We drove through Callender, the oldest town (demographically) in Scotland, and saw Falkirk. Tyndrum was next, before we drove through the largest uninhabited space in Europe. A whole 58 square miles. We then stopped at Glencoe and heard some Scottish history in the shadow of the Three sisters, before seeing our first Scottish Loch - Loch Leven. Another first was in Fort William - The Ben Nevis Malt Whisky distillery. It is potent stuff. We charged through to Fort Augustus to see a presentation on the Scottish clan's and their way of life; led by a man who has climbed Everest, twice, and climbed every mountain over 3000m in Scotland with his dog. he also went to school with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was really eyeopening. I also volunteered to dress up in traditional dress, and wore a costume which has also blessed the shoulders of Madonna and J-Lo. We also saw David get his kit off to wear a kilt. We went to Morag's Hostel and had a really good feed before hitting the sack, listening to all the party animals in the pub downstairs.

Day #3: Today was the Isle of Skye. After starting the day with some authentic Scottish porridge, we drove through the mountains and it was the most beautiful thing I think I have ever seen. Everywhere looked like a postcard. We stopped off at Loch Garrie, which is in the shape of Scotland and had some fun in the snow. Next was Eilean Donan Castle, at the meeting point of three Lochs. We then went across to the Isle of Skye; saw fairy falls, the Old Man of Storr and Kilt rock. We then went past the Cullondin Mountains and listened to Leo tell us folklore stories at the River Sleikin. The story goes that if you immerse your face in the water for 7 seconds, you will have eternal beauty. Not sure how that went... Then we climbed up some mountains and enjoyed the scenery. Absolutely breath taking. We then made our way back round the Isle of Skye to Fort Augustus for a good feed.

Day #4: We started the day with a hearty Scottish breakfast before going to the inspiration for J.M.Barrie's Never Neverland in Invermoriston. We then saw Urquhart Castle, the only castle on Loch Ness. Then we went down to the waters edge and did out Scottish Haka to summon Nessie. Ross also took the plunge and went for a dip in the famous Loch. After that was Drumnardroicht, home to Grounds Keeper Willie. On our round route back towards Edinburgh, we went through Inverness and saw the place where Macbeth killed King Duncan. Then we stopped off at Cullonden Moor, a really sombre location where the Jacobites were defeated by the English. For lunch we stopped in a little village pub and I popped my Haggis cherry. It just takes like a hamburger patty with mashed potato and gravy to be honest... We hit the road again, stopping once more at a little hermitage to see the unofficial tallest tree in the UK, before making it back to Edinburgh over the Forth Bridge. After such a massive tour, an early night was needed.

Day #5: We (Annabelle, Lucy, Georgie, Bex and I) had a slow morning, before tackling Arthur's Seat. Unfortunately the weather was against us, and the fog hadn't burnt off by 11 when we reached the peak... We can cross it off the list though. We got a bit lost in the mist on the way back down and went on a round about walk through Holyrood Park back to the Old Town before walking around the cemetery and going to the museum of Edinburgh. We then said our goodbyes to Annie. I went shopping for a while and then went to the Scottish Library to see some original works of Scotland's literature greats. I then had a night of unfortunate events and missed two Ghost Tours but ended up in a little Jazz Club for some Thursday night tunes which was cool.

Day #6: I started the day with a walk around the Botanical Gardens, admiring all the first spring blooms. Then I went up to Calton Hill, the first public park in Edinburgh and home to Nelsons Memorial and the National monument amongst others. After that I did some souvenir shopping before browsing around the Museum of Scotland which took me from prehistorical Scotland, through the Roman settlement and the Viking invasions to the Modern Day. Then came the time to day goodbye to the capital as a caught the bus to the airport for my journey back home to London.