Flash Back #3...
Now imagine being away from home for your very first Christmas (I know, I know it was 6 months ago), no parents, no traditional stockings and in this case no sun! Our first Christmas overseas was definately different, thanks to the amazing 302 crew it was actually pleasant eating a hot dinner, inside, with our Christmas hats on (not something you can usually enjoy on a 30+ degree day in Australia). We popped crackers as usual, played secret santa and waited for the snow... and waited and waited. New Years Eve came around and still no snow in sight! We sat in central London with our umbrellas and friends and watched the New Year arrive. No snow on Christmas and no snow for New Years, surely it will come one day soon!
To kick of 2012 was our adventure to Brighton, an early morning start meant arriving to the long stretch of 'beach' with not a single person in sight. We had our first touch of sun in far far too long and wondered how 1 grain of 'sand' could be bigger than your palm. We walked and walked in Brighton, took the amazing Undercliff walk to Rottingdean, saw the Kipling Gardens and finished the day off with iceskating beneath the Royal Pavillion's walls. The night was however not so nice, yes dinner and drinks were fine (the lobster and scallops were to die for), however our 'lovely' hostel buddies were a memory I would rather forget - talking till 5:00am and bringing back some unwanted guests. I guess we have been lucky so far on our travels with hostels, and Ray's statistic (1 in 10 people on your tour will annoy you in one way or another) strikes true!
Unfortunately (or fortunately in my case) the weather was not so nice in Brighton the following day, meaning although the Brighton Pier seems amazing at night with all its rides, bright lights, smell of fresh doughnuts and the sounds of countless children (and adults) having fun, it was just not safe to go on the rides, the weather was in my favour for once! A quick look around, back on the bus to London and then we were off to Cambridge the next weekend. At this stage the weather had turned and we were greeted on arrival with rain and freezing winds, yet we were still amazed at the sheer beauty of Cambridge. The tiny streets, the stunning colleges and the amount of bicycles zooming through the crowds. Checked into the cutest B&B and headed out to explore (the rain cant stop us!), finding a market place, eating fresh waffles, and joining up to a punting and ghost tour. The ghost tour revealled no ghosts, much to Ray's disappointment but it was still strangely informative, funny and the punting (flat bottom boat) was fun though freezing - still no snow! Im not so sure how we managed weekend after weekend galavanting through the British countryside.
It was time for a break until Waitangi Day (Kiwi's version of Australia Day) arrived in early Feb. We let our fellow Kiwi housemates dress us up as some 'famous' TV show characters - Shortland Street if anyone is wondering, and lead us on the biggest pub crawl in London. We joined the crowds, everyone knew our characters but they were met with a blank stare when they started quoting lines to us, I kindly replied 'I'm Australian, they dressed me' as I pointed to the remaining 302 crew. We walked and drank and walked some more, finishing in the notorious She Bu. We sat in a pub and wondered what the commotion was outside.... looked out the windows and there was SNOW! Falling down quite quickly although apparently wasn't looking like it would settle. As we left the pub at close we were amazed at the sheer amount of snow falling, this is what the cold was all worth for! Threw a few snow balls, made a few snow angels and found out soon enough that the tube refuses to run in such weather. Ok it lasted a few days before it turned into a black horrible sludge but was still beautiful all the same!
Now that its finally snowed, its time to bring on the warmer weather!!!!
L&R
