March 2012 - Germany, Poland and Lithuania

LONDON TO BRAUNSCHWEIG

After three years to the day our time in London came to a close. After bidding goodbye to Aimee and Lucy some last packing and cleaning we were on the Overground to Highbury. It was much sadder this time than when we had left Wellington. We knew we would be coming back to Wellington one day, but this place which had been our home for the last three years, who knows when or if we will ever return...A trip on the Victoria Line and a switch to the Piccadilly Line and we were on the way to Heathrow Airport, leaving London from the same place we had entered. Boarding was on time, but a 45 minute delay (tsk Heathrow...) meant we were worried we might miss our train from Hamburg to Braunschweig. Further delays on the S-Bahn in Hamburg had the stress levels higher than they needed to be at this stage of the trip but fortunately we arrived at our train with about 5 minutes to spare. We had plenty of space on the train and dozed our way to Hannover. A Brezel at the train station had to suffice for dinner and then we were on the local train to Braunschweig. We caught a glimpse of a possible future now that we were unemployed backpackers. There was a couple with long dreadlocks, scruffy clothes and a dog companion. Fortunately we both decided that wasn't the path for us. The train arrived on time in Braunschweig on time and Christian was there to greet us, having only just finished work. We packed into his car and back to his apartment for beers, Brot, Wurst and Kase as well as catching up on what we had been up to. Before we knew it it was 1am and we were off to bed on the air mattress.

DIE HARZ GEBIRGE / THE HEART MOUNTAINS

After a leisurely rise and a trip to the Backerei for Brotchen we had a full  breakfast before deciding on a trip to the Harz Gebirge for some walking in the forest. With lots of city trips to come we figured we should get some nature in while we could. There was still plenty of snow around so we had to be cautious as we made our way up the Brocken , the highest mountain in the region. Our lack of fitness wasn't doing us any favours, but after two hours following the tank road, and passing the witch path signs we made it to the top. The top of the mountain had been an East German military base during the cold war. The buildings had been converted into a hotel and information centre and there was a train station at the top for those who didn't want to walk up. Pleased with ourselves we were treated by Christian to a Thuringer Bratwurst, a local beer and a small bottle of schnapps each. We now felt nourished (and tipsy) and made our way down the other side of the mountain with mountain bikers racing past us. There was less snow on this side but it was steep the whole way down. We were pleased we climbed up the other side. At the bottom we had the choice of going around the reservoir or cutting back to where the car was. Always willing to try something and thinking it wouldn't take much longer we decided to go for the walk around the reservoir. The views were impressive and it was a lot quieter. We crossed the dam, which was formerly a border between East and West Germany, and still had the border marker showing, before continuing on our walk. After we had been walking for another couple of hours we started to wonder if Christian still knew where he was going but his German determination kept us going. As 6pm came around and the sun was going down we were still walking. Fortunately we knew we weren't that remote when Christian received a call from his parents just to make sure we were OK. Just as it was getting so dark we could only see five metres in front of us, but fortunately the lights from the car park came into view, and after 7 hours we had finally made it back to the car. We were going to feel it in our legs tomorrow. After the drive back to Braunschweig, Christian took us our to a local bar for dinner. A surly but friendly waitress (who Christian seemed to have his eye on) served us up a generous portion of pork. Hot for Marcus, cold for Jess. Having earned our dinner we wolfed it down, along with some local beers before walking back to Christian's for some more beer followed by sleep.

BORDER AND BRAUNSCHWEIG

It was a late start the next say, which wasn't helped by the start of daylight savings in Germany. We did manage to finally get going, and Christian took us to Marienborn, the site of a border crossing between the former East and West Germany. It had been kept as it was with former buildings being turned into a museum. It was crazy how paranoid the whole thing was with cars being searched and dismantled with owners the being left to put them back together. There were also lots of stories of people trying to flee and smuggle which ended in tragedy. It was hard to get a feel for what the place looked like in full swing other than it must have made NZ customs look like nothing (even if you did have an apple.) After visiting the border we went to a town called Hotensleben, which was a border town which had kept the border territory during the split between East and West.

We then made it back to Braunschweig to drop off the car before Christian took us for a walking tour of his current home. Most of the town had been destroyed during the war and rebuilt. A former palace in town was now a shopping mall. You enter into one end, which is like a normal shopping mall. come out the other end turn around and  be struck by an impressive facade at the entrance, complete with horses on top. We carried on through the town, checking out churches, palaces and statues along the way. We checked out the interior of the cathedral and then climbed the tower in the Lutheran church to get a view all around Braunschweig. We climbed back down and walked along the river and back towards Christian's place via the park. A last quick beer at Christian's and then we bundled into the car arriving at the station just as the train was pulling in. Couldn't have timed it in closer.

We had a few trains to catch between there and our next destination of Warsaw, and some of the connections were pretty tight. The further we got the more uncertain we were about whether we were going the right way, particularly once we arrived at the station in Poland to change to the sleeper train. However, following the crowds and showing our tickets to the guards managed to get us to the right place. We were pleased not to be one of the people rammed into the six seat compartments for the night as we tucked into bed for the first of many nights sleeping on a train.

WARSAW - DAY 1

We were awoken with an early morning knock on the door as the train guard asked whether we wanted tea of coffee. Shortly thereafter the train pulled into Warsaw Central Station and we made our way, bleary eyed, out into the early morning. Our judgment wasn't the best as we walked in the complete wrong direction. Luckily we discovered our error and corrected it before we got too far. Something just didn't feel right. The hostel was where we expected it to be but 7am was too early to be checking in. Nonetheless the tired looking "Hostel Hero" took our bags, gave us a map and showed us the main sites around town. Sufficiently armed it was a quiet and cold Warsaw we ventured out into. They were doing a lot of work on the Underground system so many of the places that looked to be main roads on the map were inaccessible, but we still wandered our way towards the tourist heart of any European city, the old town. We wandered our way down the Royal Road toward the Palace checking out the statues or musical themed benches along the way, but the ice cold weather was getting the better of us. We carried on through the main square past Sigismund's column and through some of the side streets to the Market Square, site of the mermaid statue, one of the symbols of Warsaw. Keeping moving we exited the tiny old town through the Barbican and went past the rather stunning Monument to the Warsaw Rising. The cold start and early morning was starting to get the best of us so we found a place to sit down for a coffee and a biscuit. This helped us thaw our bones and gave us some energy to keep going. We crossed to the other side of the bridge to the Praga area. This was supposedly the alternative/arty area and apparently a lot of buildings were still standing from before WWII, unlike much of the rest of the rest of the city, which the Nazis had destroyed when they retreated. We had been told a couple of streets to check out but weren't really that impressed. Turns out we had it wrong and if we had gone a couple of blocks further it would have been more interesting. Unaware, we made our way back to the main street and wandered up the Holy Cross Church where Chopin's heart is buried. (They hadn't permitted his whole body to be buried in Poland.)  Just up the road was a statue of Copernicus the astronomer which we went and saw. We had managed to achieve all of this before midday. It was definitely time for some well earned lunch. We made our way back to the Market Square and found a restaurant which served up traditional Polish pierogi, meat filled dumplings. The waiter helped us find some local beer and before long we were wolfing down the yummy dumplings. After all that eating and walking we were starting to feel it all catching up on us. After a short rest in the park we made our way back to the hostel for a much needed shower and nap. A few hours sleep was just what we needed to feel a bit more balanced. After making the most of the hostel's 2 for 1 happy hour it was time to go find some dinner. We bought some food at the local supermarket with plans to cook our own pierogi. Unfortunately the ones we picked were filled with some sort of cottage cheese and not nearly as good as lunchtime. It had been a long day and we had achieved a lot so it was back to bed for a proper night's sleep.

WARSAW - DAY 2

We had big plans for our second day in Warsaw, but alas things don't always go according to plan. After a late breakfast we made our way to the main train station to  buy tickets to Vilnius, Lithuania the following day. The Man in Seat 61 had told us it was possible. The lady at the international ticket counter didn't speak English but she knew what we wanted. Unfortunately the only way to Vilnius was via Minsk in Belarus, a paranoid dictatorship who thinks every foreigner is a spy, and more importantly a country we did not have a VISA to enter. We knew there was an overnight bus, so decided to go back to the hostel to see what we could sort out. Flights were going to set us back about £200 so we asked the hostel staff if they could help us with bus tickets. After a few phone calls we had an address for a travel and after a bit of a  search we had in our hands two tickets on the overnight bus from Warsaw to Vilnius.

With much of the day now past we needed to do something touristy. We walked for about 45 minutes to the Warsaw rising museum, only to be told by the friendly guard that it was closed today...Somewhat disheartened we wandered back to the hostel. An unmissable landmark in Warsaw (as in you can't help seeing it because it so huge) is the Palace of Culture and Science, a gift to the city many years ago by Josef Stalin. It is a big ugly building which towers over Warsaw. It now contains theaters, restaurants and a multi-plex movie complex. We caught the lift up to the top floor, supervised by the lift attendant. There certainly were good views out over the city in all directions. However we had to battle with the ice-cold winds which were blowing around us, so we didn't last too long before retreating back down the lift. It had been a tiring day so after a trip to the supermarket we went back to the hostel to chill out a bit and have a couple of beers. After an unspecified sausage dinner it was time for another well earned sleep.

WARSAW - DAY 3

Determined not to  be outwitted again we checked out of the hostel and made our way through the modern high-rise buildings juxtaposed with the crumbling Soviet Era concrete blocks, back to the Warsaw Rising museum. A number schools seemed to have the same idea as us so we spent a fair bit of time dodging bored looking teenagers as we made our way through. The museum is all about the failed attempt by the Warsaw resistance to overthrow Nazi occupation in 1944. There is a lot of detail, some of it very tragic. All of it was well executed but we often found ourselves jumping around in time.

As the museum had not sufficiently depressed us we headed north in hunt of the Jewish Cemetery. Like many European and Nazi occupied cities Jewish people had been confined to their own quarter. The area occupied by cemeteries in the city was huge and having spent a lot of time wandering around the protestant and catholic cemeteries, for free, we decided not to pay to go into the Jewish Cemetery. Instead we cut down some of the back streets past row after row of big square Soviet apartment blocks. It had warmed up a lot so we sat in the park before doing some souvenir shopping in the old town. We went for a stroll back down the main street but didn't really see anything of note.

Having satisfied ourselves that we had seen what we needed to in Warsaw, we packed up our bags, found the local bus and made out way to the coach station. We were quite early and coach stations are some of the grimmest places in the world. It didn't help that we couldn't read the departure board so didn't know when or if our bus was coming. Luckily a shiny yellow double-decker coach arrived, they let us on board and we got comfy for the 9 hour ride to Vilnius.

VILNIUS - DAY 1

Another early arrival into our next city. We found our way to the hostel in the early hours along the snowy and icy streets to be greeted by a very sleepy owner, Lina. We knew how she felt. We drank some coffee, ate some Soviet Bars (probably not the real name) and warmed around an hour before venturing into the old city through some snow and rain.

The old town isn't very big but there were plenty of pretty old buildings and statues.  We started through the Gate of Dawn, an old part of the city wall containing a tiny church, through the old town past the town hall and many brightly coloured churches (but we didn't go in any), past a university and towards the river. We made our way through a large square containing the Cathedral, the former palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania and looked up towards the castle on the hill above. We were then rather cold and wet so we stopped off at a local cafe to warm up. Even in the rain we could see that the old town was a beautiful place with picture postcard streets and churches. People all seemed to dress well and the shops were all filled with high quality goods.

Once we had dried out we headed to the museum of genocide victims, in the old KGB building. The museum was a very grim account of the persecution of the Lithuanian people by the Soviet Regime. The  most interesting part was the prison located in the basement including a visit to the execution room.  There weren't many other tourists visiting at that time so it had quite an eerie feeling. The other information was also interesting and created more of a story than other places we visited.

We were pretty hungry by this point so checked out a restaurant recommended by the hostel which served traditional Lithuanian cuisine. The place seemed a bit kitch on the inside but the beer and food were really good. Marcus had tasty meat and potato dumplings and Jess had potato pancakes both with sour cream and pork crackling sauce.

Re-energised from our food we journeyed out the town centre to the suburb of Uzupis. This suburb was a haven for artists and independent thinkers. They had even declared themselves an independent state in 1998 and even had a constitution put up in the main street for all to read. You could get your passport stopped on 1 April but alas we would be gone by then.

We headed back to the hostel via some cute back streets but got caught in some hail on the way.  Time for a nap. Once refreshed we socialised with some other guests over Lithuanian wine which was made with choke-bery or blackcurrants. Quite tasty seeing as no one new Lithuania made wine.  We played a guess the country flag game which we were terrible at before turning in for some well deserved rest.

TRAKAI CASTLE

As we had seen most of the old town yesterday we headed out of town to a village called Trakai on the bus. The bus was more an elongated van with extra seats but it got us there. We walked through the town past its partly frozen lakes towards Trakai History Museum which is situated in Trakai Castle in the middle of one of the lakes. It was the seat of power when Lithuania ruled all the way to the Black Sea 600 years ago. The town seemed a bit quiet but you could tell it would be much busier in summer with plenty of adverts for spas.

We walked along the shore and across foot bridges to reach the island. The castle was very pretty but was not the original and you could tell the red bricks it was made out of now was not the original colour scheme. It had been rebuilt from ruins in the early 1900s. It was interesting to learn more about the history of Lithuania as we didn't know much before we arrived. Back in the days when the empire was vast the king had recruited an elite band of Crimean fighters. They and their families had left their homeland and come to live at Trakai. They were a religious sect similar to the Knights Templar and their story was very interesting.

Next we went on the search for the local specialty Kibinai. We found a place and ordered some. They turned out to be pretty similar to a Cornish pasty - so not very exciting but tasty none the less. Then we were back on the bus to town. Back at the hostel again our host plied us with more Lithuanian wine before insisting that we go out to some local bars. We were joined by a Finnish backpacker and a 62 year old retired Japanese schoolteacher this time. He was traveling while he visited his daughter who was studying in Helsinki. We were also joined by an Iranian metallurgist who was working in Denmark.We felt a bit strange about her leaving her young child on his own but the area seemed safe and she insisted.  We headed to a cool bar with a slight goth/rock theme.  A Japanese, an Iranian, a Fin, two New Zealanders and a Lithuanian walked into a bar - no its not some bad joke it's just what happened! We had a few beers and talked about traveling. Then Lina convinced us to walk up a hill and climbed up a wall to get a great night view of the town. All very nice but we were getting tired so we bailed at the next bar for some rest. It was an early flight for us in the morning. It was nice to go out with some other people for a change as we tend to stick to ourselves when traveling.

https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/March2012GermanyPolandLithuania02

March

We started March by jumping on the train to Sheffield to visit Rae and Viola. They picked us up from the station, drove us back to Rae's place and we dropped off our bags. After a cup of tea we were back in the car again and heading north to the Yorkshire Sculpture park. It is a former stately home, Bretton Hall, the grounds of which have been filled with various sculptures. The weather was looking a bit worrying but we still set off wandering the grounds, checking out the various modern sculptures which you could look at, climb on and climb through. We would be lying if we pretended we knew anything about modern art but we do appreciate a good walk and it was interesting to see all the different ways that artists had used the space at their disposal. The clouds had also decided to break up a bit too so we had some nice spells of blue sky too. After lunch at the cafe on the grounds we wandered down into the valley and then up through the paddocks on the other side and along the ridge looking back over the grounds where we had been walking.The sculptures up here were much bigger, like a whole building made out of steel mesh. It got pretty tight moving between some of the walls. We wandered back down again, through more sculptures along the way, enjoying the sun, until we got back to visitor centre. There was time for a cup of tea and some cake before jumping in the car and making our way back to Sheffield. We stopped in town and had a drink at a pub which backed on to the movie theatre. The Artist was all the rage at this time so we decided to check out what all the fuss was about. It was entertaining and there were some clever parts to the way it had been done, being in the style of a 1920s silent movie, but we didn't come out of it blown away. It was then back to Rae's for some dinner before heading off to bed.

The next day we rose mid morning and it wasn't looking too good outside. There was a bit of rain about but we were keen to go for a walk through the woods and weren't going to let some bad weather stop us. So we piled into Rae's car and she took us up the road for a short walk along the river as part of the town belt. The weather wasn't letting up any and in fact was getting worse, with sleet and snow coming down on us. Luckily we were rugged up warm and had our jackets to keep us dry. We walked for a while but eventually the weather got the better of us and we decided to head back to Rae's for some warm soup for lunch and an afternoon spent looking at our travel photos. It was nice just having a relaxing time but we needed to get back to London again, so it was back on the train and away we went. At least it wouldn't be too long till we saw Rae and Viola again as they would be visiting NZ at Christmas.

The following weekend we were on the train again, although not as far as last week as we caught the C2C out to Leigh on Sea to visit Karla, James, Harry and Ella. Their house was looking pretty good since we had last seen it, although we didn't spend too long at the house before heading out for lunch at a lovely local country pub. The place was really busy people with local people enjoying lunch, a pint and the nice weather. We enjoyed some tasty lunch, some pints of ale and cider and then a walk in the woods and a play at the playground with the kids. Karla was doing pretty well considering she was now very pregnant with another baby on the way. This was a bit of a sadder goodbye as we weren't quite sure when we were likely to see them again although hopefully it would be for their wedding in NZ. That wasn't it for the day though. We had been invited to Darryl and Beverly's for dinner and Settlers of Catan. Ian and Amy were in too. We hadn't played the game before but it is a strategy game where you build roads and settlements and try to get the most points. We spent most of the time confused (the beer probably increased the confusion) but had a good time anyway.

The following week was a busy one. We caught up with Emma and Tim for dinner. It was a tasty thai dinner at Rosa's across from Spitalfields. Not really a brick lane curry but actually we think it is better. We then grabbed a few pints at the local pubs before another goodbye. Hopefully not too long before we see them in NZ. We are sure Mrs Wise agrees.

Jess caught up with Laura and Emma for dinner and a drink. Even though they hadn't caught up in London quite as much as they would have liked it was nice to see each  other before we were gone.

Before we knew it it was our wedding anniversary again. This year we decided we wouldn't go out for a meal at a nice restaurant. Instead we made dinner at home and then made our way down to Great Portland Street to see our friends Darryl, Beverly, Ian and George performing in their band Lost Lands. It was cool listening to their psychedelic rock tunes. Not a lot of singing but Beverly held a tune on one song. Most importantly Marcus had let it slip that it was our anniversary so the band even did a shout out to us. We have good friends.

And just like that it was our last weekend in London. We had organised leaving drinks up the road at the Duke of Wellington. We figured it was appropriate that we say goodbye to London from a pub with Wellington in the title, seeing as our final destination was going to be Wellington too. There was a great turnout of people from all over London and we were touched to see all the people who had made our time in London so great. It was good fun but sad at the same time because we knew that once this night was over our world would get much much smaller again as these people had been the major part of our world for the past three years. Thank you everyone for making our time in London fantastic and we can't wait to see all of you again somewhere...

And so we continued to pack our bags, pack our boxes and work out which of our meagre possessions from the last three years could go to charity (Super Hero Costumes?) As it would be a long time until we would be earning money again we decided to work up until the last minute, with Marcus finishing his job on the Tuesday before we left and Jess finishing on the Wednesday. Marcus had been there almost the whole time we had been in the UK, so it was pretty sad to leave his great team Simon, Alistair, Graham and Jas. Fortunately a mid-week leaving drinks meant that the next day hangover didn't mess up his plans of moving the boxes downstairs for the shipping company to pick up. Our world became smaller yet again.

That only gave us one day in London before our Visas expired and we officially became overstayers. We decided to spend that day in the same way we had spent our time when we first came to London, as tourists. Fortunately, London wanted to support us in our endeavour with a calm reasonably clear day. Perfect weather for exploring. We headed down to the Tower of London and wandered down to the Thames. Although we had crossed it before we had never actually explored Tower Bridge so seeing as this was our last chance to lined up with the tourists. We were on a lucky streak as the bridge even decided to open for us to let a boat through. We climbed the north tower, checking out the history of the bridge on the way up. Then we wandered across the walkways at the top of the tower, checking out the great view east and west along the Thames. The pedestrian walkways were originally intended to be that high too. People sure would have been fit climbing up and down those to close the river every day. (There is a lift which takes you most of the way now...) After coming down we checked out the pumphouse. We continued along South Bank, stopping at Marcus' favourite market, Borough Market, to pick up some eats and continued along past the Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge until we got to Waterloo Bridge when we crossed back into the City and stopped at the Wellington Pub on the Strand for some lunch. Sausages and mash, a steak and ale pie and a couple of pints. Good English fare that we wouldn't likely be having the same again for a while. We wandered up through Covent Garden and then back along the Strand until we arrived at Trafalgar Square. As usual there were plenty of tourists around as well as the Olympic Clock counting down to the London Olympics, one event we would have to be satisfied seeing on the TV. London would regularly have different themed artistic items scattered around the city. We had seen the elephants and today we were seeing eggs painted up all throughout the city. They were to celebrate a Faberge Egg exhibition which was on. We wouldn't be seeing that but we might just see some other ones on the way home. We continued up the Mall, stopping to frolic in the daffodils in St James' park. There was even a little squirrel there to say goodbye to us. We stopped by Buckingham Palace to say goodbye to the Queen but were feeling pretty tired after all that walking so caught the tube back to Islington and then the Double Decker Bus back to Dalston. Lucy was staying so we had arranged to go for one last Meat meal. Aimee had been working very hard lately so we hadn't seen much of here but we were pleased she was able to come and join us too. It looked like we might not be going anywhere for a while there as Marcus decided that he didn't need to chew and proceeded to choke on his meat. We will spare you the finer details other than to say he managed to get his throat clear again. After a busy day and fun night we went back to the flat to make sure we were properly packed and for our last night sleep in the UK for the forseeable future.

https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/March2012

February

We had had a very mild winter so far with temperatures not getting too low and no real sign of snow to date. That all changed at the start of February as the mercury dropped and we got our first look at Dalston covered in a layer of snow. One night we looked out the window and we could see that there was some slow gently making its way down and it got thicker and thick so that by morning there were a good couple of inches everywhere. Enough to be pleasant but not enough to cause any trouble. Nonetheless London was a ghost town that day. We made our way down to Spitalfields, normally buzzing with people and there was hardly anyone to be seen. (Just to keep things in perspective, hardly anyone in London is still way more people than you would see in Wellington on a normal day...)Shopping without the hustle and bustle of the crowds just wasn't quite the same.

The cold weather stuck around and Marcus was lucky enough to not only have the day off work for his birthday but it snowed that day too. First time he had ever had a snowy birthday. Jess made him a tasty late breakfast and it was a lazy morning before we went out into the snow. While we had been in the UK we had become mildly obsessed with the UK version of Masterchef. One incarnation of the series in the UK was Masterchef: The Professionals were young real chefs would compete against each other, not just the usual home cooks. The head judge was a Michelin star winning chef called Michel Roux Junior and Jess had booked us in for lunch at his restaurant, Roux on Parliament Square.We entered through the main door, had our coats taken and were taken to our table. It was a small restaurant converted from an old terrace house so we weren't sharing our lunch with too many people. Never one to pass up multiple courses we treated ourselves to the seven course degustation. Mmmmm. Degustation....We felt very fancy and very full with yummy food. Good job Michel Roux Jr. We made our way back the flat for a bit of a rest after all that eating before round 2. We were meeting our friends at the Railway Tavern in Dalston (not the one across the road from the apartment, or the one next to Dalston Kingsland Station...the other one...) Our friends had secured a nice corner with tables and a booth so we grabbed an ale to warm us from the cold night. After comfy and settled in we upped sticks and walked through the freezing night to Mangal Ocakbasi ("Meat" for the well informed).  We had a great big table booked and lined up for the Turkish goodness. It was the same chef as  last time, slaving away. Everyone ordered far too much food, so there was plenty for everyone, including the vegetarians amongst us. After all that meaty goodness even the cold couldn't get through us as we waddled our way back to the flat/ An excellent birthday all round.

That weekend we decided to check out a sight which we didn't know much about but had spent plenty of time going past, the British Library. We weren't sure if it was just going to be a bunch of books or there was something more. Turns out there was, with an excellent free exhibit containing all manner of historical documents from original works of Shakespeare, to all types of ancient Bibles and even the Magna Carta. Who would have thought that looking at a bunch of books could be so interesting? We had ourselves some lunch at the cafe before finding a spot to sit back and read our own books. Alas, you had to have a special pass to go into the various reading rooms so we didn't get to see what was behind the big wooden doors....

London is packed full of gigs going on somewhere every night. We hadn't exactly taken advantage of that too much but thanks to Tree we made a little journey into the city to see some North London DJs, the Next Men. We met for a drink at Electricity Showrooms before wandering down to the bar where the Next Men were playing. We were a bit worried when we got there and it looked to be some sort of crazy futuristic lounge bar with plenty of silver and people in skinny suits and small dresses. Fortunately we discovered that down in the basement there was a great big room with a DJ booth at the front and a bar along the side and the Next Men pumping out the tunes. Just what we were looking for. They started with some funky reggae tunes before moving into the hip-hop beats and then rounding it out with some dance music. We had some great fun dancing (even some of the rest of the London crowd got into it for a change). We couldn't help smiling seeing Keith from the Office up there DJing away. (Not really him but we think the resemblance is uncanny.)

One of the things we like to do when we visit a site is to climb the tallest structure and get a view around the place. Now with the advent of Skyscrapers there are monstrous buildings that loom over the City of London, but for hundreds of years one of the tallest things you could climb was the Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known as the Monument. A column designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built in the 1670s to commemorate the Great Fire of London and the rebuilding of the City. After climbing the stairs around and around and around we had a great (although chilly) view of some of the great sites of the East End, like Tower Bridge, St Pauls, the Gherkin, the City of London Corporation building and London's newest (and incomplete) high rise, the imposing Shard. We made our way back down again before nipping across to Covent Garden for a cup of tea and some lolly cake.

Jess' parents had got her a voucher for a cooking class for her birthday which we had managed to find time to book in at L'Atelier des Chefs in Wigmore Street. We arrived plenty early and checked out some of the fancy cooking equipment you could buy in their shop a the front before it was our turn, along with all the other Gordon Ramsay and Nigella Lawson wannabes. We were teamed up with three other girls and rather than each of us cook the whole meal we each had a task to do to get the overall job done. We were cooking crispy duck breast on a bed of cabbage and celeriac with a berry sauce followed by a gooey chocolate fondant. There was chopping and frying and simmering and sauteing. We weren't quite sure how it was all going to turn out but were very impressed with our efforts. Then came the best part of it all, we got to enjoy our efforts and wolf down our tasty lunch. Although we were feeling pretty full we still managed to make it around to Ian and Amy's for dinner. They made a yummy dinner with some fancy Artichoke and plenty of wine all round.

https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/February2012

January

January

We eventually woke up in our little Cornish cottage in 2012. It was looking a little clearer than it had the day before so we decided to head a bit further afield, to one of the modern attractions of Cornwall, the Eden Project. It is basically two massive dome glasshouses filled with plants from all over the world. Once we finally got through the car park (which is huge) we found we weren't that far from the attraction. The middle of winter isn't exactly peak visit time. Before heading down into the pit where the domes are located we stopped for some tea, scones, jam and clotted cream for Jess and another pasty for Marcus while being entertained by the automated puppet show about what would happen if we didn't have nature in the way it is now. We descended into the pit past gardens and giant bees before entering the first of the domes. There were signs everywhere warning us that it can get very hot in there but they are probably more for the summer guests as we found it was just pleasant. We wandered past the various tropical plants and checked out the artwork interspersed throughout and even read some of the signs to get better informed. There was a viewing platform up above the middle of the dome so we climbed up the many stairs until it was our turn to go out and have a look. It was pretty high and interesting to get a view of the rainforest from above rather than below. We made our way back down to the dome entrance. Between the two domes was another building where you could buy eco-souvenirs but more importantly you could buy lunch. There was a big area with long tables and all sorts of organic cooking to order. An organic bacon and lettuce roll, a leek and blue cheese pastry and two pieces of Victoria sponge later and we were feeling pretty good. We made our way across to the next dome. This one was more temperate with plants from places like the Mediterranean and New Zealand. It was clever the way they had constructed it so that different parts of the dome catered from slightly different climates. We particularly enjoyed all the different varieties of chillies. There must have been about 30, from mild to having to be behind glass because they were so potent. There was one more building to visit. This one was a big concrete construction with a giant concrete golf ball like shape in the middle. It was so big that they had built the building around it. There were all sorts of educational exhibits but we found the winning entries in the international nature photography competition the most amazing. There were six year olds taking pictures a million times better than our holiday snaps. We were happy with all the we had seen today so jumped back into the car and drove back to the cottage for a well earned rest.

We weren't quite sure what to do with our remaining day in Cornwall so decided to just head out and see what we could see. We started with a drive out to Britain's most southerly point, The Lizard.When we arrived there wasn't much there, a lighthouse, a cafe (closed) some fields and plenty of wind. This was much more what we were expecting to see when we had visited Lands End so were pleased we made the effort today. After a bit of a wander we climbed back into the car and wandered our way through countryside and little villages skirting the coastline and then cutting our way back in again. We had no real plan about what we were wanting to do but were just happy to check things out along the way. Cornwall is apparently full of country gardens which you can visit and although it wasn't exactly the right time of year we decided to check one out. Trebah Garden filled our requirements (being nearby and able to be found.) We parked up and made our way in to into the grounds. It wasn't at its best but was still a nice green calm walk through the grounds. There was a combination of trees, plants, ponds, bridges, sculpture and even the odd Punga to remind us of home. We stopped for lunch in the garden cafe, checked out the garden shop (alas no garden to bring things back to in London, and then meandered our way back through the countryside to Penzance. We dropped off the rental, did a last wander around the streets of Penzance and then made our way to train station for the slow trip back to London.

We took it easy through the middle of the month before it all got busy again towards the end. Jon and Lobke were in town so we caught up with them for a drink at the Citte of Yorke, and old style pub with the same owners as Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. It was good to see them, even if only for a short time.

The next day was the big one of the month, Jess' 30th birthday. It was on a Saturday this year so we could spend the whole day celebrating. It was champagne, fruit and croissants for breakfast. Jess then got to play with her new Kindle for a while before we caught the bus to Highbury and Islington and a short trip on the Victoria Line to Green Park and we were out in Mayfair. We had been enjoying the classy food you could eat in London but hadn't yet been anywhere that was the holder of a Michelin Star. That was about to change as we had a booking at Hakkasan, Chinese Cuisine with a modern take. It looks relatively inconspicuous from the outside with a glass front and some tables and a bar. However, then you go through and down the stairs into a whole different world. The lights are low and all the furniture is black or dark brown, but there is blue lighting around the place so you can see where you are supposed to be going. It has a good effect which means you don't really notice the people around you. After being seated by the waitress, wearing a funky Chinese style dress, we grabbed a mixture of dumplings to get us started. We were treated with ingredients like seafood, rabbit, duck and a whole range of exotic herbs and spices. These were easily the tastiest dumplings we had ever had, and we do like dumplings. For the main Marcus had king crab in the shell and Jess enjoyed a Peking style duck but done with plump sauce. The mains were also tasty but nothing could beat those dumplings. It was then back home for a bit of a rest and a round of Happy Birthday before Jess blew out the candles on her Red Velvet with cream cheese icing birthday cake. Marcus would like to pretend that he had been baking but this masterpiece was well beyond his expertise. The day wasn't over yet though. We walked up Kingsland Road to Stoke Newington where we had invited everyone to celebrate Jess' birthday at the White Hart, a trendy but spacious local pub where had a big booth reserved. There was a really good turnout from all our friends from all over London, both North and South. Everyone seemed to be having a good time although Ian got a bit out of control and made sure Jess had more than her fair share of shots.

It felt like a long time since we had been to a West End musical (Panto doesn't count) so we decided to make up for it by going to see THE west end musical (no, not Shrek) The Phantom of the Opera! With a round of Yo Sushi for dinner and passing the stars getting out for a movie premiere (Polish movie so nobody we recognised) we made our way to the theatre (which was actually pretty small), found our seats and readied ourselves for some Andrew Lloyd Webber magic. It wasn't Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford but was still very impressive. The power of the music of the night....

While we had been away lots of our friends had been growing their families. Babies everywhere. Not so much with our London friends, so when one did it was a pretty big deal. We jumped on the District Line and made our way out to visit Kate and David and their new addition, Mae. She was ultra tiny but ultra cute too and Marcus even held her for a while as she slept away. Mum and Dad were very proud and it was great to see them all.

https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/January2012

December

As always December was a busy time with plenty of people to see and things to do. We decided that we needed to do some exploring around the East End which we had decided to call home. Apparently the East End is well known for its markets so what with Christmas coming we thought we would see on offer. We went for a wander down to the canal and headed east until along it until we reached Broadway Market, at the foot of London Fields. It was full of trendy young people hanging out, checking out the stalls and sampling the many food stalls which were spread up and down the street. We felt like a drink, but as happens in London on the weekend the pubs were packed so no chance of that. We had to settle for a warm mulled wine from one of the stall holders set up around the corner in the school yard. We checked out London Fields, which were your standard London green space. Bit chilly for a picnic though. We wandered back through the market and picked up some big tasty looking veges before wandering back to the apartment. There is a roof terrace on top of the building so we tried our luck at getting up there. Alas, the doors were locked so the best we could hope for was to stare through the windows.

London is full of museums to all sorts of things. Down the road was one of the more obscure ones, the Geffrye Museum of Interior Design. Marcus passed it every day on the bus to work. It wasn't really something we would normally check out but they had a special exhibition on of Christmas through the ages. There were basically about 7-8 rooms showing what a typical family living room would look like at Christmas. It was actually pretty cool and gave quite a good insight into what life would have been like for people over the past several hundred years. There was also a funky shop in the museum where we picked up a Battersea Power Station Bookend for Marcus (he had wanted a Battersea Power Station souvenir for ages but had never found the right one. We also got a surprise in the basement of the museum. There was a small drawing exhibition, done by a local artist, all about the construction of Dalston Square, the place we were now living in. It was cool to have that personal connection with it. Outside the museum, formerly almshouses (retirement home) was a great big Christmas tree and tiny little men who someone had placed around the grounds. They had little signs asking to be returned home but we decided to leave that adventure for someone else.

One of the cool things about London is you get little ghettos of different ethnic communities around the place. Hoxton is just down the road and it is chocka full of Vietnamese restaurants. We hadn't had much Vietnamese before so thought we would give it a try. After a tasty meal of fresh spring rolls, crab and curry we were pretty happy and keen to try it again.

Somehow we had managed to spend our whole time in London without visiting one of the major tourist attractions, Westminster Abbey. So we decided to make amends by queuing up with the American tourists to check it out. It is a Gothic cathedral so, unlike St Paul's which is quite light and airy it is quite dark inside with lots of stone and wood. It is also hard to get a feel for the Westminster Abbey you see in the Royal weddings on TV because you enter through the side door and there is a big artificial wall dividing it all up. We wandered around checking out the final resting place of many famous people such Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots and Rudyard Kipling. By this time we had seen a lot of churches but this one still ranked as one of the most impressive, if just by famous bodies buried under it alone.

Another East End market that we wanted to check out was the Columbia Road Flower Market. It was just a short stroll down the road and we found it without too much of a problem. First things first we headed to the money machine which gave us the option of English or Cockney...so after a bit longer than usual we walked away flushed with Sausage and Mash and wandered through the narrow lanes into the market. It is pretty small, stretching down Columbia Road and into some of the side streets, but is packed with people buying their flowers and plants and young people hanging out in the cool pubs, cafes and shops along the road. We wandered through the crowd listening to calls of "Two for a Tenner!" "Lovely bunches!" "Beautiful Darlin!" checking out the bright bunches of flowers everywhere but we had our eyes set on something else today. We were after a big green bushy Christmas Tree. There were plenty to choose from but they were going just as quick as the vendors could put them out. Fortunately we were quick off the mark and managed to pick ourselves up one that looked pretty good. Marcus hoisted it on to his shoulder and we managed to get halfway home before needing to jump onto the bus....We got it safely back to the apartment and then Jess added the decorations and we couldn't help feeling more festive as a result.

It wasn't just new markets which we checked out. Camden was always a great place to go for Christmas shopping and just 10 minutes away on the Overground it was easy to get there (and much more interesting than the massive Westfield Stratford in the other direction.) It's also a great place for street food. Mmmm, tasty curries. We also made a trip to Ridley Road market in Dalston. It's straight out of Eastenders but more a source of day to day wares than special things for Christmas.

Another English tradition which we had yet to experience was the Christmas Pantomime. There were plenty on around the place so we got ourselves some tickets to see Cinderella at the Hackney Empire one night after work. We weren't quite sure what to expect but were actually quick surprised at the enjoyable singing, dancing, cross dressing, audience interaction and general silliness. They had us shouting "Look Behind You!" and "Oh No He Won't!" along with the rest of the crowd. Although many of the adults seemed to be enjoying it all a bit more than the kids. We played along but spent most the time feeling a little bewildered by the whole thing. Must be a cultural thing.

As Christmas grew ever closer it was time for each of us to go to our work Christmas parties. Jess unfortunately got stuck with the traditional work lunch fare of cold stodgy roast in a lifeless chain hotel dining room. Marcus was a bit luckier this year. His work had decided to go for something different. A bus ride down to Richmond and Chinese food for Christmas lunch. Couldn't help thinking of the movie "A Christmas Story". It was very good Chinese though. That was a little bit different but then it reach a whole new level when an Indian guy dressed as Elvis turned up halfway through the main course and started belting out Elvis' classics. Not sure if it was the combination of the surreal Chinese Christmas but everyone was loving Indian Elvis and wouldn't let him leave. He ran out of Elvis songs to sing but luckily knew a bit of Cliff Richard and even some Queen too. (It is possible that all this enthusiasm from everyone was also the result of the free flowing wine too...) Marcus was also pleased with his Secret Santa gift of a big beard to replace the one he had recently had to let go.

Christmas time was a perfect opportunity for the Dalston Square community to get together again. The residents association had arranged an evening get together. Bring a Plate. Being Kiwis we liked that way of doing things. So armed with homemade gingerbread men we made our way across the square and up into another building in search of the festivities. Turns out there was a great big deck, perfect for get togethers filled with random people, some of whom we had met before but many of whom we had not. It was pretty darn cold out there, but we met a bunch of new people who shared the same area with us and shared in their food as they shared in ours. In such a big place as London it is great to find some community.

It was nice to have Christmas Eve on a Saturday so we used the opportunity to to catch up with Anna and Perry at the Cole Hole in Covent Garden, a good old fashioned pub with some tasty ales and roasts on offer. We enjoyed a Christmas themed ale or four...and some good conversation and Company before letting Anna and Perry be on their way before the London public transport ground to a halt.

Aimee had gone home to Jersey for Christmas so we were able to get up in our PJs and have our annual Mum and Dad Skype chats. We didn't overdo it for breakfast. There was plenty of time to do that the rest of the day. Instead we packed ourselves up with food and drink and walked down to Tree's place. No public transport to get us there today, but still only a 45 minute walk. This year we were celebrating with Tree and Ash in a Christmas Feast Extravaganza. Tree had already been slaving away all morning by the time we got there, but we all pitched in to deliver one of the tastiest meals of roast lamb, veges, potatoes, brussel sprouts and stuffing that we had ever had. Mouth still waters thinking about it. With no driving the wine was flowing pretty freely too. After breaking to adjust our belts another round of tasty pav roll (a la Jess) ice-cream and fruit was not needed but still enjoyable. As is traditional we weren't really in much of a position to move by this point so retired to the lounge for something Tree had been wanting to share for a while. The Room. It is a movie, but more than just a movie...it is probably the worst movie you will ever see...and yet enjoyable for that very same reason..."Oh Hi Guys" Anyone fancy a game of football in the alley while wearing tuxedos? This all finished up in time for us to be joined by the the rest of the London crew who were finishing up at their various own Christmas lunches (which clearly were not as good as ours was...) General merriment and Never Mind the Buzzcocks the board game (which was ridiculously difficult and unsurprisingly lacked the wit of the TV show) ensued, before eventually all that eating and drinking took its toll and we decided to head home for some Christmas sleep.

The transport was back again on Boxing Day, so we made our way a bit further (but not much further) afield to Ian and Amy's (along with the rest of the London crew) for a relaxing afternoon of snack eating and movie watching. There was fun with Rio, fear with The Shining and silliness with Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. It was the perfect way to spend a lazy Boxing Day with friends.

Jess decided to go into work over the Christmas break for a couple of days so Marcus just chilled out a bit at home and caught up on some sleep. We hadn't really been anywhere since getting back from our van trip so we had arranged a trip to the southernmost part of England, where people talk like Pirates. Yaaaargh! Cornwall. We tripped across to Paddington Station (no direct route alas) before jumping on a train for the 6 hour journey down to Penzance. It was a grey day that greeted us as we reached Penzance. We loaded our bags into the rental car and then went for a walk around the town. The main road wasn't much to talk about, with a few more Pound Shops than we were keen to visit. We wandered along some of the side streets till we found the Morrab Gardens, a nice place to wander. It wasn't in full bloom, being the middle of winter but still very pleasant. We followed the hill down until we reached the waterfront and then wandered around trying to catch glimpses of St Michael's Mount (the cousin of Mont St Michel) but alas the cloud was too low so our glimpses were only fleeting. After all that working we had worked up an appetite and we managed to find a place to stop for a tasty Cornish Pasty, in Cornwall...We stopped in at the supermarket and picked up our Cornish Ale and Cornish clotted cream ice-cream. Sufficiently stocked we made our way back to the car and with the help of Tom-Tom journeyed out into the country lanes of Cornwall. They got progressively narrower until we had large mounds of grass on either side and no room to escape if we came across another car coming the other way. Fortunately we found our way to our pretty stone cottage without incident. It was part of an old farm with a big stone house on the other side of the courtyard (which we accidentally drove into at first...) We parked the car, got the key from our hosts and went to explore. It was getting dark so we were pleased to get there before it was so dark that we couldn't see the way...No street lights around these parts. The cottage was lovely, with stone walls snuggly couches and a big roaring fire place with plenty of wood to keep us warm.

The weather was still a bit dodgy as we awoke on New Years Eve with fog, rain and patches of sun all rolled in. We weren't down in Cornwall to stay inside though, so we jumped in the car and off we went. We weren't as lucky as the day before, when we met someone coming the other way along the narrow lane, so had to reverse backwards up the hill till we could find some space. To give you an idea of how narrow the road was, the someone that we met was a lady pushing a pram...We headed out towards the south coast to see what was to be seen. First stop was the Minack Theatre. An amazing open air theatre built into the cliff overlooking the sea. It had been a labour of love for its creator Rowena Cade. The exhibition about her and her life building the theatre was very interesting. There was no play on so we could scamper around the seats and the stage with the crashing waves many feet below. We made our way down the path behind the theatre to the yellow sanded beach below. Bit cold for us to swim. Marcus thought he saw a dog coming out of the water but Jess knew better, it was seal coming up for a bit of a rest from the raging sea. After walking back up the hill to the car we carried on around the coast (having to make our way slowly as we got caught in the middle of a fox hunt we think) our next stop was the famous English landmark of Lands End. We didn't really know what to expect other than it being the westernmost point in England. When we arrived there were two words to describe it..Tourist Trap...The place was crawling with tourist shops and even had theme park rides. We found the famous Lands End sign (which you couldn't stand next to without paying) and then were quickly on our way again. We headed north in hunt of some more Cornish history, a tin mine. Much of the old Cornish economy had been built on the back of the now defunct tin mines. We drove following the signs until we arrived at the Levant Mine on the coast. It was closed but you could still wander around the chimneys and ruined buildings and take in the rugged countryside. The fog and the rain were starting to come in so we cancelled our plans to go stone circle hunting (didn't want to get lost) and made our way back to the cottage to warm up again and change our clothes. The weather had settled well in by now steady rain coming down, but we had reservations in St Ives for dinner. St Ives was famous at New Years for dressing up, so we recycled our cowboy and saloon girl costumes, found a park up above the town wandered our way down through the narrow cobbled lanes, doing a couple of laps of the town centre before finding our fish restaurant (couldn't pass up fresh fish) for dinner. The place was packed and we were out of there pretty early and after a couple more laps around the town we decided it was too cold and too wet to wandering around in fancy dress. Instead we jumped back n the car and drove back through the fog to the cottage   where we sat in front of the fire and watched the London fireworks on TV. Yes we are lame, but at least we were warm and dry.

https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/December2011

November

Happier having found a home (brand new apartment in Dalston Square) and Jess once again working we launched into November. It was Liamś birthday early in the month so we joined him for an after work beer in Camden before he made his way on to a hip hop gig and we slunk off home.

We also got introduced to "meat" via Aimee, her boyfriend Steve and our part time flatmate Lucy (who spent the rest of her time at her actual house in Jersey.) There are loads of Turkish restaurants in Dalston and they reckoned they knew the best one. It was basic but packed with one man cooking the meat over a hot coal stove in the centre of the restaurant. Watch out for stray coals! There was more than enough meat to go around and after feeling sufficiently full we retired to a proper local East End boozer for a few drinks before wandering back home.

The next night there was a meet the neighbours event in our apartment block so we decided it would be rude not to go along and meet some people over a couple of wines. As it turns out the complex was full of young people, all whom seemed really nice and laid back. It was also bonfire night so Steve and Aimee took us out to a local fireworks display at Weavers' Fields. With many of the Councilś canceling their displays due to budget cuts we weren't expecting too much and although it was nice enough it wasn't the most spectacular thing we had ever seen. We then found a spot at the local pub, the Marquis of Cornwallis, another East End boozer and apparently a former haunt of the notorious Cray Twins. We chatted with the locals and had a great night. The night ended with sprint races down the hallway and sparklers on the deck. We agreed that a move east was the right thing to do.

We also had a chance to meet more of our neighbours the following weekend. One of the people we had met the week before was having a flatwarming and had invited us along. We hoped it hadn't just been the wine talking so we took him up on his offer. Turns out there were a few other people from the building there so we got to put some names to people we might otherwise only see in the lift or at the gym (not much chance of that though...)

Social outings continued as the following weekend we were lucky enough to get to see our friends Daryl and George performing in Piccadilly with their band Throwing Needles. We had missed their previous gig as we were on our van trip so it was great to get to see them live. It was also great that all of the local troops had come out in support too. It was a fun night listening to them play and they were easily the best band playing that night (in our biased opinion anyway.)

The next night we were out with the same crew again for Tree's Birthday at the Queen's Head in Camden. We had never been there and assumed it was a bit of a standard big pub. Turns out it is one of the most popular places in Islington with a big dance floor upstairs. It was a good night out but we took our leave before the party really started cranking and there was no chance of us getting away.

It was back to Islington with Tree again that week for an old hobby, the pub quiz. Tree had a group of friends who were meeting and had invited us to tag along. As usual our lack of British Sport/TV/History knowledge ruled us out of any chance of winning something but it was still good fun anyway.

We ended the month on a more serious note, heading down to the New Zealand embassy to participate in democracy by casting our votes in New Zealand National Election. It was a bit weird being surrounded by so many New Zealand accents but we took it all in our stride. The next day we joined some of our friends to watch the results live on the big screen via the internet at a pub in Kentish Town. It being a Green Party event (not any indication of how we voted) there was a sad mood in the air from some of the attendees but it was still good to be with other Kiwis as the results came in.

https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/November2011

October

It was somewhat like deja vu as we returned to London after our long trip. We had arrived in London 2 1/2 years ago looking for somewhere to live and somewhere to work. This time it wasn't all new and exciting however. Also, sleeping in a van on the streets of London wasn't nearly as pleasant as the various campsites we had been staying at around Europe. We were fortunate that even though our old flat only had one person left who we knew, they allowed us to shower and cook and keep warm there. We were also fortunate that Marcus was able to go back to his job. Jess was not so lucky and had the unenviable task of trying to find somewhere to live and somewhere to work.

It wasn't all doom and gloom though. The world seemed to be intrigued by the beard that Marcus had grown on our time away. Even our bearded friends were impressed with the sheer size and bushiness of it. It was starting to itch however, and eating anything with cream in was impossible, so after a week (enough time for people to see it) Marcus got out the neglected razor and off it came (in stages of course, to show what is possible if he ever tries to grow facial hair again.)

In that first week back we made the journey down south to Wandsworth to catch up with Anna and Perry. The temperature was cold but they took us out for some very tasty Thai food. Was good to see them again and tell them all about our adventures away.

We also managed to coax a few people away from the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest to come and meet us for welcome back drinks at the Camden Head. When people stopped freaking out at the size of Marcus' beard we caught up for a good natter. Unfortunately they stopped doing food early and with a group that size the only option was a round of decidedly average Nandos. At least it was warm...

Cleanly shaved we caught up with an old friend of Marcus' from law school, Fionna, who had been living in Cambridge but happened to be down in London to do her citizenship test, just around the corner. The sun was out so we spent the afternoon at the the Lord Clyde catching up over a few drinks. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and a reminder that we should catch up with people who we like more often.

The rest of the month was spent tripping from flat to flat trying to find somewhere that would have us. The novelty of van sleep was well and truly wearing off. As the last week of October arrived we were seriously considering calling it a day in London, when it all came together. Jess managed to score a job working for Brent Council and we also secured a very nice apartment with a very nice girl called Aimee in Dalston. We were off to Hackney!

In typical October fashion the end of the month came and our old flat was having a Halloween party. Never ones to say no dress ups the grim reaper and the corpse bride made their appearance and Tree even made an appearance (being the flatmate of our old flatmates brother...don't think too much about it...) There were zombies and vampires and tigers and ghouls, all seeing in all hallows eve. There were some sore heads the next day...some more than others...

https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/October2011