Hello from Dubrovnik! And it is lovely to again be blogging from the road less travelled (by me,I mean, plenty of people have been to Dubrovnik before, being as the city was founded way back in the 7th century). Christmas was a brilliant and bustling affair, filled with family and friends and wine and food and, yes, glory of all things glorious-we had a white Christmas! All our finger crossing and hoping paid off and we spent the day surrounded by plenty of the white, cold fluffy stuff. We tried valiantly to build a snow man on Christmas day but alas the snow was far too powdery and we ended up with a sort of eroding snow mound. Adam put snow down the back of my coat and this made him feel better, I was mildly unimpressed but it's Christmas- what can you do?? The 26th and 27th were spent eating leftover turkey and ham, planning the rest of our trip ( as we hadn't booked our transport out of croatia until two days ago- last minute much?) and we even squeezed a quick trip into oxford for a smidge of window shopping and we watched the new narnia film, the voyage of the dawn treader (loved it!). It was actually very fitting as we saw the movie at a cinema called the odean which is only a few hundred meters from the eagle and child pub where c.s.Lewis used to meet with j.r.r.tolkein and they used to talk, drink and create their works of genius- how fitting! And then on the 28th we headed to gatwick airport where we met up with Stacey (hurrah!) and boarded a plain bound for Croatia! We left the foggiest of chilly and snowy England mornings and only two and a half hours later descended over the blue Adriatic sea, touching down on the runway which was dazzling in the most glorious sunshine with not a single cloud in the sky (no joke- I looked really hard and couldn't find even one). We caught a bus from the airport to Dubrovnik itself and the bus ride took us along the cliffs winding towards the town and we had the most beautiful sunset and then got our first look at Dubrovnik itself. I'm going to make a super big claim here (warning!) and say that Dubrovnik might just be the most beautiful city in Europe. It is glorious. The walls around old town are so impressive and majestic, the marble streets are imperial and beautiful, the monastery and cathedral are works of art, and the coastline itself rivals any I've seen anywhere. Seriously love this place. We are staying in a tiny self serviced apartment right next to pile gate and from here we walked to the other side of 'new' town yesterday for a touch of grocery shopping and a look about, then cruised through the old town feeling glamorous and fabulous before watching the sun set. And today we are off to scale and walk the city walls- so without further ado I shall end here, have some Croatian corn flakes for breakfast and put on my hiking boots! Happy new years to all of you- may 2011 bring happiness, adventures and joy!
Love Lauren the lava flow and Adam the Adriatic
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Happy Christmas to all!
Merry Christmas to all my friends, those near and far!
Well, actually, merry Christmas in an hour and a half, being as it is currently ten thirty pm on Christmas eve, but I thought I'd sneak in a bit early with the well wishes :)
We are currently living full of the festive cheer in a little town called bicester which is about 15 minutes out of oxford, staying with my aunt and three cousins. And as if spending time with those nearest and dearest isn't good enough- to top it all off we are fast approaching a white Christmas! Yes there is snow a top the trees and underfoot, in fact as far as the eye can see! So so super exciting- especially for Adam who had lived 25 years without so much as seeing snow he will now have the chance to build a snowman on xmas day! Huzzah! Actually the snow has caused a bit of havoc for some- the blizzard hit last weekend and heathrow closed along with most of the motor ways, leading to the country grinding to a halt. By a happy coincidence we caught the train up from devon late on Friday night, so we were safe and sound and snug at my grandads house by Saturday morning. We spent the worst of the blizzard watching DVDs and baking lovely warm hearty meals (I even baked bread!) now at least the worst of the snow has cleared allowing us to jump aboard a train and head into London for our christmas treat day, it went as followed :
Up nice and early and on the 9am train into the city. Once we arrived we zoomed to the London aquarium to say hello to the fish and lobsters. The aquarium was good, lots of good displays, but I think that as Australians we are a bit spoilt when it comes to fish and sealife- compared with sydney aquarium the london one was a tad of a let down.
After an hour or so chatting with the fish we trotted down along the thames to the tower of London. The walk took about an hour, and the snow started to gently fall around us. We took a tiny detour to check out Shakespeare's globe theatre which was pretty awesome I must say- hard to believe that it's been there for so long and seen so many many magnificent shows- makes you feel pretty insignificant really!
Once at the tower of London we had a good wander and gander about- and talk about feeling insignificant! The place literally drips with history and culture- it's just amazing to walk through the same rooms that Henry the eighth strolled through and to see the crown jewels, as well as saying hello to the ravens. The ravens are pretty awesome- they have historically lived in the tower of London and a prophecy exists that says that if the ravens ever leave the tower the monarchy will fall- so to make sure this doesn't happen the guards at the tower have clipped the bird's wings so they can't leave! Talk about stacking the odds in your favour!
After the tower we caught the tube to the west end and watched the phantom of the opera. In a word: wow. Amazing. Fantastic . Actually, that's 3 words but the show was so good it deserves three. I love phantom but this performance was probably one of the best versions I have ever seen. So so fabulous!
Once the show was over we walked to hyde park for the Christmas markets which were huge- they were like a cross between the Vienna xmas markets and the Perth royal show - not all together a bad combination! We bad a good few hours wandering through before heading to harrods for a spot of wishful thinking - oh to live the life of a person who shops at harrods!
And then, almost too soon we were back on the train beading out of town, after a lovely, glorious winters day in town! Not a bad way to spend the day before Christmas eve!
And now it is not only Christmas eve, but it's late in the day and Christmas morning is fast approaching and so I think I will close now and put out the mince pie and carrot for father Christmas and his reindeer and then hang my stocking before tucking myself up all warm and ready for the big day tomorrow.
I hope you all have a safe, happy and memorable Christmas, wherever it is in the world you are spending it.
Lots of love
Lauren the liquorish strap and Adam the antler
Well, actually, merry Christmas in an hour and a half, being as it is currently ten thirty pm on Christmas eve, but I thought I'd sneak in a bit early with the well wishes :)
We are currently living full of the festive cheer in a little town called bicester which is about 15 minutes out of oxford, staying with my aunt and three cousins. And as if spending time with those nearest and dearest isn't good enough- to top it all off we are fast approaching a white Christmas! Yes there is snow a top the trees and underfoot, in fact as far as the eye can see! So so super exciting- especially for Adam who had lived 25 years without so much as seeing snow he will now have the chance to build a snowman on xmas day! Huzzah! Actually the snow has caused a bit of havoc for some- the blizzard hit last weekend and heathrow closed along with most of the motor ways, leading to the country grinding to a halt. By a happy coincidence we caught the train up from devon late on Friday night, so we were safe and sound and snug at my grandads house by Saturday morning. We spent the worst of the blizzard watching DVDs and baking lovely warm hearty meals (I even baked bread!) now at least the worst of the snow has cleared allowing us to jump aboard a train and head into London for our christmas treat day, it went as followed :
Up nice and early and on the 9am train into the city. Once we arrived we zoomed to the London aquarium to say hello to the fish and lobsters. The aquarium was good, lots of good displays, but I think that as Australians we are a bit spoilt when it comes to fish and sealife- compared with sydney aquarium the london one was a tad of a let down.
After an hour or so chatting with the fish we trotted down along the thames to the tower of London. The walk took about an hour, and the snow started to gently fall around us. We took a tiny detour to check out Shakespeare's globe theatre which was pretty awesome I must say- hard to believe that it's been there for so long and seen so many many magnificent shows- makes you feel pretty insignificant really!
Once at the tower of London we had a good wander and gander about- and talk about feeling insignificant! The place literally drips with history and culture- it's just amazing to walk through the same rooms that Henry the eighth strolled through and to see the crown jewels, as well as saying hello to the ravens. The ravens are pretty awesome- they have historically lived in the tower of London and a prophecy exists that says that if the ravens ever leave the tower the monarchy will fall- so to make sure this doesn't happen the guards at the tower have clipped the bird's wings so they can't leave! Talk about stacking the odds in your favour!
After the tower we caught the tube to the west end and watched the phantom of the opera. In a word: wow. Amazing. Fantastic . Actually, that's 3 words but the show was so good it deserves three. I love phantom but this performance was probably one of the best versions I have ever seen. So so fabulous!
Once the show was over we walked to hyde park for the Christmas markets which were huge- they were like a cross between the Vienna xmas markets and the Perth royal show - not all together a bad combination! We bad a good few hours wandering through before heading to harrods for a spot of wishful thinking - oh to live the life of a person who shops at harrods!
And then, almost too soon we were back on the train beading out of town, after a lovely, glorious winters day in town! Not a bad way to spend the day before Christmas eve!
And now it is not only Christmas eve, but it's late in the day and Christmas morning is fast approaching and so I think I will close now and put out the mince pie and carrot for father Christmas and his reindeer and then hang my stocking before tucking myself up all warm and ready for the big day tomorrow.
I hope you all have a safe, happy and memorable Christmas, wherever it is in the world you are spending it.
Lots of love
Lauren the liquorish strap and Adam the antler
Friday, December 17, 2010
It's the Christmas countdown!
Season's greetings to you, friends and family!
Gosh I love this time of year where you get to wish people a 'Merry Christmas'! Gives me a smile every time! And now we are back in England we can do it in a language that we know for sure the person we're talking to understands! Though it was a bit of a strange sensation to arrive at St Pancras station in London after catching the eurostar from Paris- we have been in non English speaking countries for 2 months, struggling valiantly with trying to speak French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch and Czech (epic fail when it came to Czech) so once we handed our tickets to the English conducted I froze and couldn't remember what language to greet him in, and Adam burst forth with his very best 'merci, au revior'! ahhh travelling.....plays havoc with your mind!
But back in the UK we are after a lovely lovely week in Paris. Eurodisney continued to be fabulous- my birthday was great from start to finish and once we returned the day after to the city we had a few days of the most beautiful weather for sightseeing and general wandering. We were a bit loath to return to England, being as the continent had been so good to us- and we very nearly missed our train to be honest! We arrived at the station with plenty of time with our e-ticket in hand, and then thought, since we had so much time before we departed that we would have a coffee and people watch. As the minutes ticked down towards our departure time I thought it a little odd there was no sign telling us which platform to depart from, nor were there any PA announcements etc but didn't think too much further into it.....then discovered- much to our dismay that when catching the eurostar from paris to london you have to clear security and customs- exactly like at the airport! And here we were sipping coffee and wasting valuable time! So we RAN with our packs (thanks ponch and ange!), filled out immigration cards like the speed of light, then of course set off EVERY metal detector known to man (why, oh why is it always when you are in a rush?) so after a friendly frisk and pat down we zoomed toward the duty free area- only to be questioned by the custom officials as to the nature of our relationship- they didn't want to accept 'dating' as a nature- they wanted us classified as 'family' or 'friends' which stumped me a little- i set forth explaining that we have been dating for 6 years and now travelling together but no, not married or engaged, but definately more than friends etc etc..... (oh yeah- all this explained in a combination of English and my VERY poor high school french - what a hoot!) anyway, long story short (or shorter) we ran for the platform and found our seats a good 2-3 minutes before leaving the station - what a rush!
And now it's back to the charms of England, and the very exciting countdown to Christmas. We are in Devon at the moment visiting friends but will zoom northward today and hang out in Oxford until Christmas where - joy- they are forcasting a white christmas!! Hurrah! Fingers and toes and all else crossed!
Hope the lead up to your christmases is stress free and enjoyable
until the next post
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
love
Lauren the lightfoot and Adam the astronomical clock
Gosh I love this time of year where you get to wish people a 'Merry Christmas'! Gives me a smile every time! And now we are back in England we can do it in a language that we know for sure the person we're talking to understands! Though it was a bit of a strange sensation to arrive at St Pancras station in London after catching the eurostar from Paris- we have been in non English speaking countries for 2 months, struggling valiantly with trying to speak French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch and Czech (epic fail when it came to Czech) so once we handed our tickets to the English conducted I froze and couldn't remember what language to greet him in, and Adam burst forth with his very best 'merci, au revior'! ahhh travelling.....plays havoc with your mind!
But back in the UK we are after a lovely lovely week in Paris. Eurodisney continued to be fabulous- my birthday was great from start to finish and once we returned the day after to the city we had a few days of the most beautiful weather for sightseeing and general wandering. We were a bit loath to return to England, being as the continent had been so good to us- and we very nearly missed our train to be honest! We arrived at the station with plenty of time with our e-ticket in hand, and then thought, since we had so much time before we departed that we would have a coffee and people watch. As the minutes ticked down towards our departure time I thought it a little odd there was no sign telling us which platform to depart from, nor were there any PA announcements etc but didn't think too much further into it.....then discovered- much to our dismay that when catching the eurostar from paris to london you have to clear security and customs- exactly like at the airport! And here we were sipping coffee and wasting valuable time! So we RAN with our packs (thanks ponch and ange!), filled out immigration cards like the speed of light, then of course set off EVERY metal detector known to man (why, oh why is it always when you are in a rush?) so after a friendly frisk and pat down we zoomed toward the duty free area- only to be questioned by the custom officials as to the nature of our relationship- they didn't want to accept 'dating' as a nature- they wanted us classified as 'family' or 'friends' which stumped me a little- i set forth explaining that we have been dating for 6 years and now travelling together but no, not married or engaged, but definately more than friends etc etc..... (oh yeah- all this explained in a combination of English and my VERY poor high school french - what a hoot!) anyway, long story short (or shorter) we ran for the platform and found our seats a good 2-3 minutes before leaving the station - what a rush!
And now it's back to the charms of England, and the very exciting countdown to Christmas. We are in Devon at the moment visiting friends but will zoom northward today and hang out in Oxford until Christmas where - joy- they are forcasting a white christmas!! Hurrah! Fingers and toes and all else crossed!
Hope the lead up to your christmases is stress free and enjoyable
until the next post
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
love
Lauren the lightfoot and Adam the astronomical clock
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Salut!
Hello bloggers! And welcome to my last post as a 24 year old- that's right- it's my birthday tomorrow! Huzzah! A whole quarter century- how wise I feel :) in celebration of the anniversary of my birth Adam and I are currently visiting the 'happiest place on earth (or at least Europe)' and are staying at disneyworld Paris! Double huzzah! We have been in Paris since Tuesday after a mad, eye opening three day visit to Amsterdam. Seriously- what a mad place- on one hand a city so full of history and beauty- we visited Anne franks house and spent some time cruising the canals and were just blown away by the age and grace of the town. But then on the other band the nightlife or alternative scene was something that must be seen to be believed! The first night in town we walked through the red light district with some friends to see what it was all about and I couldn't believe it! The girls all dolled up standing in their windows and the sheer number of coffee shops lining every street and alleyway! A bit of a different world from what I'm used to... But I digress, as I was saying we have been in Paris for a few days and we spent this time hitting up the Louvre and wandering through the streets, which are totally white from all the snow that's fallen. On Wednesday we walked the length of the champs élysées with snow falling all around us, and the Xmas markets in full swing- absolutely magical. We got to eurodisney this morning and the park is also full of snow- on top of the castle and all the trees- it looks amazing! I'll try and post photos just as soon as I'm able :) we had a fab day today acting like kids and running from one ride to another, and then we have much of the same planned for tomorrow :) just finished a very budget but very French meal of tourine with bousin and Camembert, baguette and red wine- oh la la!!!
Must go now and get some sleep to prepare for another full day of mouse magic tomorrow :)
Hope life finds you all well and dandy
Love Lauren the lambourgini and Adam the astin Martin
Must go now and get some sleep to prepare for another full day of mouse magic tomorrow :)
Hope life finds you all well and dandy
Love Lauren the lambourgini and Adam the astin Martin
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