Westminster wicked?

Westminster Abbey was an interesting walk, touted as 'a three-dimensional walk-through history of England'. Lots to see, no chance of remembering dates, names, etc. way too confusing. Poets' Corner was more my thing, with later memorialisations continuing up on the stained glass window above. No more room at Westminster Abbey, all full up.
After a short stroll I wandered in to Westminster Cathedral, the Catholic one, yay, again interesting. I thought the building was marvellous but v dark. About half of the brickwork, walls & ceiling, was plain dark brown, although the rest was beautifully muralled (if that's a word) or frescoed. Eventually I found a sign that explained the decoration? of the Cathedral was an ongoing project & future generations were expected to contribute therefore areas of the brickwork including the domes had been left for that purpose. I did like that idea of continuity & community involvement.
Friday evening I went to see the musical Wicked which I thoroughly enjoyed. I had seen it in Brisbane but it is worth a second seeing. Well done with lots of energy.
Saturday was 'Brunel Walks on Water', a tour under 3 Brunel bridges, over 2 Brunel tunnels, a view of the launching place, sideways, of a 700 ft ship into the Thames, then down underground to a tunnel system which once housed an early arcade with 60 shops. The entrance to this was through a 4 ft high doorway which extended forward by 4 ft. Think waddling like a duck! It was a good tour by ferry, by train, by tube, & finally by foot to the Brunel Museum.
That Moonwalk! Tomorrow maybe.

More of London!

I'm enjoying doing the walking tourist thing here.  Tuesday's walk was The Secrets & Splendours of St Paul's Cathedral, interesting it was. I continued wandering & ended up at the Guildhall, had a good look around the art gallery there.
Wednesday I went to the British Museum to meet up with a classmate from primary school 50 years ago! & to see the Pompeii Exhibition which was quite fascinating & also disturbing. So much death & destruction. Looked through sone of the Greek & Roman exhibitions too.
Today, Thursday, I joined a walk Royal London & the Changing of the Guard. You guessed it - Big Ben, the Palace, soldiers & horses! The traditional tourist bit. Karen talked me into it - blame her! I did get a couple of good photos though which will have to wait as they are on my phone, not my iPad. A really good one of statues of the Queen Mother & her husband King George as they were before his death. An untimely death, I learnt. George was the King in The King's Speech with the speech impediment. His doctors' advised him to smoke as a relaxation technique in hopes he would stutter less. He died of lung cancer! Unfortunately the sun hid, the rain started, the wind blew, & as soon as the walk was over I headed back to Karen's place to shelter & warm up. With a stop in a pub along the way for a Scotch & dry! The perfect thing for a 'turned lousy' day.

Michelle, Eimii & Kate arrived at Karen's on Saturday & Michelle, Karen & I went to see Michael Ball at Hammersmith Apollo Theatre. He was fantastic as always, great voice & great performer.
Sunday, Scott arrived & Eimii's boyfriend Curt & on we went to a canal boat festival at Little Venice. I do like narrow boats, they are v decorative, & with their shallow draft can access most small rivers & canals. Good atmosphere & lots of people. I was a trifle disappointed though, missed the Morris dancing!
Monday was a holiday & Karen, Paul & I walked along the Thames & under the Thames! to Greenwich. We wandered past the Cutty Sark, through Greenwich Market, & over to the Royal Naval College for a looksee. The Painted Hall was well worth seeing, painted walls & ceilings, renaissance style? (Think Michelangelo), more open-mouthed gazing!
Lots of walking opportunities here but my relatively new pedometer has become unreliable, no idea why. I'll have to get another. It's been handy though, it's set to Brisbane time, saves working out the time difference!
There'll be another episode, another day.

Dubai, London

Dubai was great, took a morning bus tour around most of those fabulous buildings although the bus stopped at malls not the buildings. Mind you, some of the malls had great architectural details too.  I did enjoy hopping off at a souk in a beachside resort. I wandered around gazing at all the fantastic carved wooden elements of the building more than all the stuff on sale. Then I went on an abra (small boat) ride around the canals of the resort, worth seeing & relaxing.
Dan picked me up later & we went for a v nice tea with Lisa & Trisha. Then into Dubai Mall & out the back which just happened to look towards the fantastic, impressive Burj Khalifa. We were in time for a lovely fountain/light show to the background song of The Prayer. They actually have the shows every half hour but the music changes. The Burj Khalifa is amazing to see against the night sky & to stand below gazing up was v impressive. I'm hoping to go up to the Observation Deck when I'm there in August. Google Burj Khalifa & read about it.
An early start yesterday, pickup shuttle to the airport, & a 7 hour flight to London. Then I had the challenge of negotiating 2 suitcases on the Underground Tube with a train change along the way. I succeeded & met Karen for a short walk to her place. She & Paul live on the Isle of Dogs, next to the Thames. Really! I'm sitting in their lounge looking over the Thames to the night-time lit Shard!
Today I went for an 8 mile approx walk to Tower Bridge, to the Gherkin, past Fenchurch Street Station, (Monopoly anyone?) past Dickens' Inn & all the way back again. I wandered through All Hallows' by the Tower Church to discover St Francis' Crypt Chapel & St Clare's Oratory, my favourite saints. Along the way back I heard an alarm ringing behind me, kept walking, then realised 1. I was on a small, low bridge, 2. there was an alarm ringing in front of me too. Most disconcerting. When I stepped off the bridge barriers came down behind me so I asked a waiting cyclist why. He said the street would move! So I watched the street/bridge lift itself up, rotate & slide sideways, tucking itself in neatly. V nicely done! It allowed a boat into the lock then rotated, slid back & became a street again. It was quite something to watch. Certainly a new experience for me.

First step, long journey

Jan farmed out the girls for the night so she could take me to the airport, isn't she lovely. Okay, I'll miss her, she might miss me. On to me!

I flew out at 2.30am, had a short stop in Singapore, then on to Dubai by 1pm, UAE time, all up about 15-16 hours. I had arranged a shuttle to the hotel & everything was easy. I spent most of the shuttle trip gazing at all the buildings. So now I'm checked in, well enough housed, even free wifi in the room. I've had dinner in the restaurant downstairs, nice. It's time to catch up on sleep.

Counting down!

In just 2 weeks I leave on my long anticipated overseas trip, visiting 14 countries over 4 months. Some of my travelling will be on organised coach tours but the majority will be exploring on my own & catching up with friends & family. I am really looking forward to this experience!

Up, up, & away!

Josh Groban - yay! I have booked my ticket for April 26th, just a smidgeon before I go away. I have Josh's new cd 'All That Echoes' & it sounds great. So, a concert to look forward to.

Finally I have been able to apply for Long Service leave & will be away travelling from May to August - 4 whole months! I'm going to the UK & Europe, & hopefully also quick trips to Egypt & Jordan. That is fantastic! I will be able to visit my nieces in London & Huntingdon UK, Christine in Ermendorf Austria, & Alan in Brampton UK. My cousin Dan will have to drive through from Abu Dhabi to visit me in Dubai as that is where I will stopover on both flights. I'm going to have fun.

I have bought an iPad Mini so's I can keep connected while I'm away. I've booked 2 Apple workshops for next weekend to learn how to use it. I'll use free WiFi in hotels, public buildings, libraries, on public transport, etc. With that & my new cellphone I should be all set.