DAY 90-91 - London to Athens

Arriving in London we found our way to the Hostel for the night.  After scaling the 6 flights of stairs we seriously contemplated not having to go down them again until checking out the next day.  But nevertheless this was not to be!  We arranged to meet Abby's friend the lovely Nicola who we were leaving some of our excess baggage with to meet the tight requirments of Ryanair (15kg!) . Poor Nicola didn't know what she was signing up for but was sweetened by the fact that Whitey ran back specially (yes an extra 'up and down' the 6 flights of stairs!) to get her gift that we had left behind.

Finding ourselves back at Heathrow the next morning it was hard to believe it was only 3 months ago we were there as fresh-faced, paled skinned Kiwi's with our whole adventure ahead of us.  Now as "seasoned travellers" somewhat less pale and still Kiwi's we booked in with Aegan Air with thoughts of finally finding some sunshine on our journey.  The flight over was fairly turbulent but otherwise reasonably uneventful - other than Kath's great suprise that she was sitting next to some New Zealander's for the whole trip and hadn't realised! (and no just to clarify she wasn't sitting with the rest of the Pack!)  She was shocked she hadn't picked the accent while talking with them and then she was further shocked when they inquired where she lived in the UK as her accent sounded British!

Arriving in Athens we walked out into the oven-like heat and the sun blinding our eyes - success, we had found the sun!

After a chilly nights sleep due to some over-excited air-con which had us wishing we had brought warm jersey's with us, we headed out to look around Athens before meeting our OakHall tour group later in the day.

The searing heat had us shade-hopping down the streets and eventually seeking refuge in a large department store which kept us amused and cool!  A very tasty feed of Macca's possibly the best ever - especially the McFarm, gave us the stamina needed to get back on the train out to the airport, hunt out our new tour group and relax in organised tour goodness!

Melting in the 40+ heat while waiting for the train

DAY 89 - Oxford

Oxford - town of knowledge, I think we felt more wise just entering the town. Actually we learnt alot from Abby's friends Malcolm and Amanda Rutherford (MAR for short). The Rutherfords and their landlords generously put us up for the night.

big thank you malcolm and amanda!

After a fantastic meal made by Rutherfords we went out to do some hunting and gathering for some dessert. Off to the allotments down the road. MAR have had a allotment for a year (I think) it costs approx 7 pounds a year to lease it. 

As nice as going to pick blackberries in the evening with good friends is, our excitment doubled with the knowledge that there was a possibilty that we might see a fox. We tipped toed through the allotments down to the end where there was a reservation to enhance native wildlife habitat's. Really it looks like a whole lot of trees with patches of weeds.  Malcolm explained that the native plants appear to be weeds - as in nz they are considered weeds. A bit to get your head around. Anyway, no fox. We swallowed our disappointment and picked delicious berries instead. Most of them made it to the containers. As we went to leave the berry patch Malcolm called out shhh, we stopped, oh joy of joys there was the elusive fox across a clearing. We quietly walked around the clearing but sadness of sadness... he was gone. Feeling like we had achieved much by our outing we returned to MAR's home and ate fresh picked berries with icing sugar and organic double cream (amazing the difference in the cream!! so tasty) 
To bed we headed.  As MAR technically live in a small but cosy cabin at the end of the garden the girls were split up. Two inside the main house on couch cushions and two in the "two person" tent in the garden. 

Abby and Jess were the lucky ones to share a night in the tent. The tent looked not too bad until bedding was put in and then two people top and tailed in it - this is not an easy process for all involved, mainly Abby had her face in the tent roof and Jess was jammed up against the wall. There was some sleeping done i think.
In the early hours of the morning when the sleep was as elusive as a fox Abby thought to her self " man my ears are hurting" her left ear was clearing up but she had developed the same in her right ear. "man it sucks not being able to hear" she also discovered that after a couple weeks of deafness that she had been whispering for the entire time and noboby had pointed this out. As talking normally sounded like she was shouting in her head. Then it occured to her " I'm flying to greece tomorrow, can I fly? will my ears explode?" These thoughts occupied her for sometime that and the roof of the tent was very close to her face.
So the next morning While the others explored oxford Abby set out to the Doctors again. 50 pounds for a consultation this time and waiting for way too long she discovered that it wasn't boil but a very bad infection that had her ears canals so swollen up that it was making her deaf, not to mention all the goo coming out, yuck. This Dr prescribed ear spray with anti biotics in it this time. (Much more effective within two days she had gone off the painkillers and hearing has returned significantly)


Meanwhile.....  the remaining 'hearing' (though they thought they too were starting to go deaf as they couldn't hear Abby speaking the last few weeks!) members of the Pack headed into Oxford for the morning to see what there was to see!  With Kath happily settled in Starbucks with all the luggage, Harry Potter and a big cup of coffee (what more could a girl want) Whitey and Jess tried to conquer as much of Oxford as they could in 2 hours with a 'must do' list from MAR.
We wandered through the covered markets and marvelled at the cake decorating stall.  

We had a deja vu moment when we found Lincoln College...

... and also poked our heads inside Jesus College.  

Just as an explanation Oxford University is different to what we know of a university set up in NZ - the university comprises of various colleges where the students live and tutors conduct lessons.  So as a general rule different colleges would specialise in different subjects, or your choice of college would depend on its history/status.


We also wandered through the Bodleian Library thanks wikipedia for the following info...
The Bodleian Library (pronounced /ˈbɒdliən, bɒdˈliːən/), the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest librariesin Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library. Known to Oxford scholars as “Bodley” or simply “the Bod”, under theLegal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 it is one of six legal deposit libraries for works published in the United Kingdom^[2][3] and under Irish Law it is entitled to request a copy of each book published in the Republic of Ireland.^[4] Though University members may borrow some books from dependent libraries (such as the Radcliffe Science Library),^[5] the Bodleian operates principally as a reference library and in general documents may not be removed from the reading rooms.

Then it was a stroll to the train station and once again we found ourselves London bound.

DAY 86-88 - Bath

Ah Bath was a change of pace from Plymouth. A different feel in the air. Beautiful gardens and Georgian stone buildings. People milling around enjoying the shops and sights. There are musicians busking at most corners. That's right we are back in the tourist loop again.

We were staying in a hostel above a bar in a 6 bed girls dorm. Girls dorm because it is pink has mirrors, a hair drier and even more extravently hairstraighteners! Here we met Andie a Canadian Massage therapist in her 7th month of her 1 year trip - extreme compared to our small 3 and a bit months.

Our first night in Bath was just walking around the center of town, taking in the sights (particularly of shops that might be revisited the next day) we watched a guy playing a Hang Drum outside the Bath Abbey and Roman Baths.

The hang is made in Switzerland and is shaped like a UFO and is played by tapping points around the circumfernce causing a ringing sound. The different points are different tones in a scale. It has a mesmerising rhythmic kinda sound. (check out Wikipedia if you want to know more)
Then one of the most exciting moments of our visit happened... further around the square we were sitting,came a ringing bell and shouting. We listened carefully. Joy of joys the pasty shop down at the corner was closing for the night and was selling pasties for a pound!!!! Jess's dreams of getting everything and anything for pound, no matter how unrealistic it might be, was finally coming true.

Some might not realise this but Bath has very close conections with Jane Austen. Two of her six books are partly set in Bath and for a short while Jane herself lived in Bath. So we thought we better look into this. The Jane Austen House was a good place to start, a shop full of Jane Austen tourist stuff was very amusing, including I heart Darcy stickers and Darcy posters. Whitey tried to convince us that Darcy was actually Colin Firth but we corrected her quite quickly.

We went on the tour of the house, which wasn't actually a house she lived in but it is on the same street, close enough I guess. A Lady gave us 15min talk on Jane and her family which was.... informitive. We walked around the relatively small museum and tried to decide if it was really worth the money we had paid. Not really maybe more for the die hard Jane Austen fans.

We continued on our tourist jaunt when we came across the famed fashion museum found in the assembly rooms. The assembly rooms were the upper rooms built for balls and the such, in Jane Austen' time this is were Society socialised in the evenings. It has been repaired from damage in the wars but the chandeliers are original and very impressive. All that georgian architecture once again. You feel a bit like you were in a period drama walking around the beautiful rooms.

The fashion Museum was ok, its redeeming factor was its free audio guides and a display of 12 of Princess Dianas dresses. Including one she had worn to the Ballet when she was in New Zealand. The commentary talked about her wardrobe being a costume of a princess. She balanced the restrictions and pressures of being in the royal family with her own natural dress sense and style. It was also sad to see photos of her and listening about her struggles and triumphs knowing how had it ended for her.

Abby playing dress-ups

Fashion...apparently!

The next day it was a slow start. Rain was falling gently and persistently from the heavens. This didn't matter too much as some of the girls were partaking in a worthy NZ auction. But we did eventually venture out into the decievingly misty rain. Soon very wet we tried to escape to the mall only to find that it is an uncovered mall. So we dashed around some more to find some lunch.

After lunch we headed to the world heritage Roman Baths for which Bath is named after, along with the rest of the population of Bath! Initially when were discussing visiting the baths we were unsure whether we needed togs. After a stakeout outside the Baths we observed that nobody seemed to be carrying towels or bags that potentially held towels so we concluded there was no swimming. Though we hoped there would be foot dipping.

Unfortunately our hopes we not realised as the only touching of the waters of the spring was actaully drinking it. Or "taking the waters" which is what the springs were famous for in more recent times. The healing properties of the spring waters natural occuring minerals and metals were said by many to heal everything from gout, infertility to obestity. These "many people" were generally the ones trying to make as much money out of an opportunity as possible which they did. Now this Museum was definitely worth the money we paid. Free audio guide again and we followed slowly around the displays of Roman artifacts and heard stories about the people of the time. Then out to the steaming pools that are fed by a spring that is initally 64 degrees C, cooling to 47 by the time it reaches the pool. It is also the only natural occuring hot springs in England. The pavers around the pools are worn and uneven by the many feet that have past over them. The Baths and associated buildings have been hidden under ground for many years - it seems almost wrong that we can wander around on these ancient stones. Again the briefness of New Zealand's history was very apparent to us. The next stop is the Pump Room, again described in Jane Austen. It was for the people of society. The water was pumped up to the room to be taken at leisure whilst talking and making business conections and seeing who else was around. We also tried taking the waters. Unsuprisingly it was warm and metallic tasting not that appealing really.

After a quiet afternoon shopping and snoozing (by Abby to try and rid her self of two infected ears) Kath and Abby joined our roomie Andie for a quiz night in the bar below the hostel. Andie had also recruited John- scotish bomb disposal man in the army with way too much time on his hands and Ryan- american reduntant history teacher who had lived in some very dodgey flats (that rivalled even dunedin's infamous student flats!!) The quiz started with two rounds of particullarly obscure questions about inventions and fruit. another round of general questions and we were one behind the lead team going into the last round, the music round. With Kath and Ryan on our team we were in with a chance. A long wait to hear the results, the quiz master slowly handed back the sheets of paper starting with the lowest points. She was down to two, we were in with a chance, and then..... we won!!!! Won what exactly? Well a 75 pound bar tab to share.

The next morning we had time to kill before our train so we made use of the Mayors free guided walking tour. It was completely free! William our tour guide

talked us through the history of the bath in 7 mins and then showed us round the sites telling us amusing and quirky stories about the areas. An enjoyable and informative experience.

More Eden project photos

There were just too many photos to fit into the last blog so here's the rest...

DAY 84-85 - Plymouth

After some not so great recommendations of what Plymouth had to offer our low expectations were pleasantly suprised and probably aided by the appearance of the elusive English sun!

The Eden project had been highly recommended by many people we have met along the way and it defintley lived up to its reputation. Although a little pricey to get in to it was a really fascinating afternoon. There are 2 main Biome's (the large bubble like objects) that create a microclimate for the plants inside. One being a tropical micro-climate which had us sweating and the other more of a Mediterranean climate which was defintley more of a drier heat. The photo below shows what the pit (an old china clay pit) looked like before the Eden project began.

Photos are better than words at describing all the beautiful things we saw...

But here are some facts just in case your interested...

*Biome facts: 240 m long, 110m wide, 50m high. Over 1,154 speices and culitvars of plants. Temp range from 18-35 degrees celsius. The project took 2½ years to construct and opened to the public on 17 March 2001.

*The Tropical Biome, covers 1.56 hectares (3.9 acres) and measures 55 metres high, 100 metres wide and 200 metres long. It has plants such as fruiting banana trees, coffee, rubber and giant bamboo and is kept at a tropical temperature and moisture level.

*The Mediterranean Biome covers 0.654 hectares (1.6 acres) and measures 35 metres high, 65 metres wide and 135 metres long. It houses familiar warm temperate and arid plants such as olives and grapevines and various sculptures.

*The Outdoor Biome (which is not covered) represents the temperate regions of the world with plants such as tea, lavender, hops, hemp and sunflowers.

*The tractors used for the land train to take people up and down into the pit were the first tractors to be produced to run completely on waste vegetable oil.

The next morning we joined 5 other people at a pub down the road for breakfast to watch the All Blacks play the Wallabies then set off to see what Plymouth had to offer for the day.

As it was raining by the time we walked into town we headed indoors to the aquarium which boasts to have the deepest shark tank in Europe and spent a few hours checking out the sea life it had to offer right from brightly coloured Nemo fish through to some nasty looking sharks.

The aquarium also offered a 4-D movie which we thought would be for the kids but when Kath overheard the assistant telling a concerned mother that it might be abit scary for her young one's, we had to find out just how scary it could be. We were screaming within the first few minutes of the film...not because it was scary, scary but because the chairs we were sitting in lurched around as we mimicked the characters movements in the film, other effects inlcuded bits of string flicking around your ankles as the main character of the movie (a turtle) went swimming through some anenome's! But the worst bit was when the whale puffed out his blow hole and we got soaked - it wasn't just a sprinkle of water but a good solid squirt at your chest which lead to Whitey and Abby reaching for their jackets to remain dry for the rest of the film! 3-D movies are very clever with one part causing some members of the pack to try and sink as far as possible into the back of their seats as the snake came out of the screen closer and closer towards them hissing - eek!

We again bargained a good deal getting on a 1 hour cruise around the Plymouth coastline for half price! As we hadn't even really asked what we would see on the trip just the man calling out on the street had enticed us with the thought of cruising on a boat in the sunshine for an hour, we were plesantly suprised with an interesting trip around the coastline including going around the port of Devonport where we saw some Friggates with impressive artillery that can fire a very long way...how convient for a warship and we learnt that submarines are in fact not necessarily yellow. (see below, only the top of the submarine is visible its the long dull black shape in the photo, kind of hard to see)

There were several nuclear powered submarines in dock the day we were going past, including 5 that have been decomissioned and must remain where they are for 100 years before they can be disposed of. An impressive fact about submarines is they have torpedo's on them that they can fire up to a 100 mile radius. We cruised along with Devon on one side and Cornwall on the other and crossed the path of the 3 chain operated barges that go back and forth between the 2 county's.

For lunch we finally came across the best feed of fish and chips on the trip so far and they had no excuse not to be good when the sea was less than 100m away! The chips were crunchy and soft on the inside, not pale and limp like our Inverness 'chipball' experience and they even had a few interesting delicaies to try including Pea fritter (mushy peas formed into a fritter then deep fried in oily goodness) and of course the infamous Cornish pasty. Our second food highlight for the stay followed immediatley after with the discovery of the best fudge shop in the county and its oh so smooth Lemon meringue flavour - mmm, mmm!

The Hoe (meaning high point) is where the lighthouse sits and was the site for an amusement fair while we were staying in Plymouth.

The cliff area leading down to the water is currently undergoing development with the refurbishment of their Art Deco open air salt water pool, a new cafe and small changing sheds which people could buy/rent for the day to store their beach gear in and sunbathe outside not far from the water's edge.

Walking back through the amusement fair Kath spotted a ride similar to one she had been keen to try when we were in Prater park in Vienna.

Pretty much the photo speaks for itself you go around and around and the seat swings back and forth. Other than looking slightly pale, there was no sound as Kath said she would feel a little silly squealing when she was the only one on the ride! We headed back to the hostel as Kath needed a little lie down when the dizziness hit!