As the Wind Blows

I remember now why I was never been keen on doing a bus tour around Europe - there too many places to visit in such a short period of time. After only a week on this road trip I was confusing cities and kept forgetting what country we were in and what we saw when and where and how. It could just be that I have an early onset of Alzhimer’s but it’s more likely because I’m like a tortoise and I like to take life slowly. (It may not surprise anyone, but I’ve become a lot slower at walking and eating than I used to be, so feel free to join my facebook fan page celebrating my slowness.)

As soon as you step into Puzzlewood you understand why movie and TV directors love filming there and why JRR Tolkien supposedly found inspiration for Lord of the Rings at Puzzlewood. Like many places in the UK, with little to no imagination, the name of the place describes what it is; a wood that’s a puzzle maze. It’s a puzzle because there is no map, so once you wander in you need to find your own way out. This is lots of fun for those who have a good sense of direction, but can get tiresome after an hour or two hour for those who have none whatsoever, and the magic of the place has dissipated by the entrance of screaming children.

Returning the car to Oxford was somewhat of a relief for me but also an inconvenience as we had lost our independence and a place to store our luggage. Oxford is really just a huge uni campus where people ride their bikes everywhere and young people congregate around the shopping centres, streets and near university buildings. The architecture is amazing in certain parts and we even stopped by the Alice in Wonderland shop. My most memorable time in Oxford though is watching the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in an archaic cinema. I didn’t realise what a fantastic quality of cinema screens and seats we have in Australia and will appreciate it a lot more when I get back home.

Writing about this road trip has forced me to use my brain cells for the first time in many months and I am completely exhausted by the process. It's almost like working again!! Luckily it’s been raining in London these last four days, which has not only allowed me to put on all the weight that I lost walking around Prague, but has more importantly given me time to record this UK (excluding Northern Ireland) road trip before all the details fade from my memory.