I've been doing a set of walks with a group of friends - Megan, Nicola and Jackie. The walks are part of the London Loop which circles London. There are 24 sections and it covers 240km in all! Lots to see and do - more details here.
Saturday was the second of our walks - and rather than writing out what we did, I'll hand over to the diligent and eloquent Megan who has written up the details of the walk here.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Vampire Weekend
I went to see Vampire Weekend play at the Forum in Kentish Town on Saturday night. Contrary to their name, they are not a goth or an emo band! They are actually a very earnest New York band who (I think) sound like The Strokes playing Graceland (as in the Paul Simon album, not Elvis's house).
The concert was short and very sweet. They only have one album and they played all of that, plus a couple of new songs and a couple of covers (including 'Everywhere' by Fleetwood Mac). Their songs are only about 3 minutes long usually. Great reaction and involvement from the audience, and also some brilliant dancing from the bassist!
PS I didn't take this photo - I stole it from a fellow attendee on Flickr!
The concert was short and very sweet. They only have one album and they played all of that, plus a couple of new songs and a couple of covers (including 'Everywhere' by Fleetwood Mac). Their songs are only about 3 minutes long usually. Great reaction and involvement from the audience, and also some brilliant dancing from the bassist!
PS I didn't take this photo - I stole it from a fellow attendee on Flickr!
Monday, October 20, 2008
autumnal!
Went to Kew Gardens on Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful autumn day and the colours were out in force. There is a new treetops walk where you climb up around 18 meters and walk around the tops of the trees. Some fantastic views, even out to Wembley Stadium!
More photos on Flickr...
More photos on Flickr...
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Greece Day 6 - last day!
I'm sitting in Rhodes airport at the moment which really is a bit of a dead zone. Not much around apart from a duty free and an oversubscribed cafe. They do have free wireless internet though - there was a warning when I signed in saying that it was unencrypted so I'm too scared to go into my hotmail account or check my banking website. If you see weird things crop up in this blog you'll know I've been hacked into... Quite useful to have it as it's a couple of hours til my flight and I wanted to check out how I'll get from Gatwick to home (I land at 0110). Trains actually do run all night but just are not very frequent so I'm sure I'll be fine. It's a bit too far to get a cab the whole way though!
I'm here really early because the last ferry (the hydrofoil) left Symi at 1645 and arrived in Rhodes an hour later. So I've and then caught the airport bus. There was a little girl ahead of me in the queue who clocked that I had the same Fit-Flops on as her mum and was really puzzled! I'm just hoping that I get a window seat on the plane and can go straight to sleep, but we'll see.
Had another beach day today. Sadly my departure time meant that I couldn't catch one of the taxi boats out to the beaches as I wouldn't get back in time. So I spent the day at Nos or Paradise Beach which is basically the town beach and while it wasn't quite as serene as the other beaches I've visited, the water was still lovely and the sun lounger was comfortable. I'd had to check out of my room in the morning but thankfully one of the restaurants has a shower for people to use - such a relief to know that I wouldn't be travelling for 12 hours caked in salty water!!
I'm here really early because the last ferry (the hydrofoil) left Symi at 1645 and arrived in Rhodes an hour later. So I've and then caught the airport bus. There was a little girl ahead of me in the queue who clocked that I had the same Fit-Flops on as her mum and was really puzzled! I'm just hoping that I get a window seat on the plane and can go straight to sleep, but we'll see.
Had another beach day today. Sadly my departure time meant that I couldn't catch one of the taxi boats out to the beaches as I wouldn't get back in time. So I spent the day at Nos or Paradise Beach which is basically the town beach and while it wasn't quite as serene as the other beaches I've visited, the water was still lovely and the sun lounger was comfortable. I'd had to check out of my room in the morning but thankfully one of the restaurants has a shower for people to use - such a relief to know that I wouldn't be travelling for 12 hours caked in salty water!!
Friday, October 03, 2008
Greece Day 6
Another quite lazy day today... I was up quite early though as I wanted to get my hydrofoil ticket for tomorrow and visit the post office before the 10am taxi boat. However, the weather was a bit threatening and so the taxi boat was cancelled! Gutted!! There were definitely some very threatening clouds gathering to the south so I don't blame the skipper at all.
I'd arranged with the family that I would appear on the Symi Visitor webcam at a certain time so made sure that I was there for that rendezvous (although I'd got the time conversion a wee bit wrong and Dad hurried me up). Just as I was standing there a strange bloke came up to me and asked me if I knew why the sun wasn't shining. Thankfully his English wasn't that good so he got bored with trying to talk to me and wandered off.
I wandered back to my apartment and wrote some postcards, before going down the catch the 1pm bus over to Pedi Bay which is quite close to Yialos. Bus was really full and I ended up sitting next to a baby who was about a year old and fascinated with my hat and sun glasses. I had great fun playing with him.
When I got to Pedi the weather made the bay a bit choppy so I decided to walk around to Agia Nicholas, which is the next bay around. The path was a bit rocky, and I didn't wear appropriate shoes (just my fit-flops) but it was fine overall. Took about half an hour. When I got there I had a swim and some lunch then watched the clouds for a while. When it did start to spit I decided to head back to Pedi. I'd just missed the (hourly) bus back to Yialos so I wandered back on foot. In theory the direct route should take about half an hour, but due to my wandering and exploring it took over an hour and was great fun, although steep! Was a bit worried that the steps that I was going up and down were actually private property but I don't think Symians have the same concept of private as we do! Found my way ok in the end.
Enjoying the 80s music in the bar - I heard 'Da Da Da' by Trio just now - that's a blast from the past!!
I'd arranged with the family that I would appear on the Symi Visitor webcam at a certain time so made sure that I was there for that rendezvous (although I'd got the time conversion a wee bit wrong and Dad hurried me up). Just as I was standing there a strange bloke came up to me and asked me if I knew why the sun wasn't shining. Thankfully his English wasn't that good so he got bored with trying to talk to me and wandered off.
I wandered back to my apartment and wrote some postcards, before going down the catch the 1pm bus over to Pedi Bay which is quite close to Yialos. Bus was really full and I ended up sitting next to a baby who was about a year old and fascinated with my hat and sun glasses. I had great fun playing with him.
When I got to Pedi the weather made the bay a bit choppy so I decided to walk around to Agia Nicholas, which is the next bay around. The path was a bit rocky, and I didn't wear appropriate shoes (just my fit-flops) but it was fine overall. Took about half an hour. When I got there I had a swim and some lunch then watched the clouds for a while. When it did start to spit I decided to head back to Pedi. I'd just missed the (hourly) bus back to Yialos so I wandered back on foot. In theory the direct route should take about half an hour, but due to my wandering and exploring it took over an hour and was great fun, although steep! Was a bit worried that the steps that I was going up and down were actually private property but I don't think Symians have the same concept of private as we do! Found my way ok in the end.
Enjoying the 80s music in the bar - I heard 'Da Da Da' by Trio just now - that's a blast from the past!!
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Greece Days 4 and 5
Not huge amounts to report over the last couple of days... there's mainly been a whole lot of relaxation, sunbathing and swimming going on!
Yesterday (Wednesday) I went to Marathouna Beach by water taxi - It's about a 45 minute boat ride and is definitely the quietest of the beaches I've seen. Water again was really clear and there's a nice wee taverna right on the beach. Had a really quiet, relaxing day and thankfully didn't get pestered by the goats that were roaming around! They were trying to clamber over the fence around the taverna and eating anything, even nibbling on wooden chairs!
I had a lovely dinner at Mythos restaurant which I'd read about on Waitrose.com - it was lovely!! Had some great calimari with pesto, swordfish with ginger and garlic and then some yummo pannacotta. Such a nice meal and ambience. And much more value for money than the place I'd visited the previous night. There are two branches of this restaurant and I visited the roof garden version which had a lovely ambience. When I was there I got news that my promotion to manager had been approved so I celebrated with an extra glass of wine - crazy!
Today (Thursday) I walked around to Nimborios beach which is about 45 mins along the coast road from Yialos where I'm staying. This beach was a little bit busier with quite a few people already there. But it was still lovely to relax for a few hours. Lots of German and Danish tourists around as well as British. One woman got attacked by one of the cats that was hanging around the taverna - I think she'd stepped on it while standing up and it had retaliated! Normally the cats are quite placid and only fight each other!
Yesterday (Wednesday) I went to Marathouna Beach by water taxi - It's about a 45 minute boat ride and is definitely the quietest of the beaches I've seen. Water again was really clear and there's a nice wee taverna right on the beach. Had a really quiet, relaxing day and thankfully didn't get pestered by the goats that were roaming around! They were trying to clamber over the fence around the taverna and eating anything, even nibbling on wooden chairs!
I had a lovely dinner at Mythos restaurant which I'd read about on Waitrose.com - it was lovely!! Had some great calimari with pesto, swordfish with ginger and garlic and then some yummo pannacotta. Such a nice meal and ambience. And much more value for money than the place I'd visited the previous night. There are two branches of this restaurant and I visited the roof garden version which had a lovely ambience. When I was there I got news that my promotion to manager had been approved so I celebrated with an extra glass of wine - crazy!
Today (Thursday) I walked around to Nimborios beach which is about 45 mins along the coast road from Yialos where I'm staying. This beach was a little bit busier with quite a few people already there. But it was still lovely to relax for a few hours. Lots of German and Danish tourists around as well as British. One woman got attacked by one of the cats that was hanging around the taverna - I think she'd stepped on it while standing up and it had retaliated! Normally the cats are quite placid and only fight each other!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
This happened to me too!
I've always wondered about the guy who came knocking at the front door of Kilburn Park Road at 2am a few years ago. He said his car had run out of petrol and he needed to borrow a couple of pounds to fill it it up. I've just read this post by David Hepworth where he describes the same thing happening to him. Now I don't feel too guilty for turning that guy away.
I'd still like to know about the chap who claimed he'd fallen asleep on the tube from Heathrow and said someone had stolen all his bags. And the woman earlier this year who said she'd fallen out with her boyfriend and so had no money to get back to Epping. Personally if that was me, I'd just walk. Anything's better than begging.
I'd still like to know about the chap who claimed he'd fallen asleep on the tube from Heathrow and said someone had stolen all his bags. And the woman earlier this year who said she'd fallen out with her boyfriend and so had no money to get back to Epping. Personally if that was me, I'd just walk. Anything's better than begging.
Greece Day 3
Sitting in the local cafe (which has wireless internet access) and drinking a Mai Tai. Am going to pick up some bits from the supermarket for dinner tonight after an underwhelming and expensive dinner last night. I had hoped that local fish restaurants would have fresh calimari (Li-Ann and I are trying to find somewhere to rival the 'best calimari ever' in Dubrovnik) but it was all cooked from frozen. Never a good sign when your calimari comes with an extra sharp knife...
Actually didn't sleep terribly well last night due to the sighting of centipedes on the walls above my bed. It freaked me out! I was all ready to storm down to the accommodation center today and demand somewhere else but it was closed and I decided I should really tough it out. I'll be more aggressive with them tonight! Just the thought of them falling onto me while I'm asleep isn't good...
I just missed the 10am taxi boat to the bays, but got a seat on the 11am. There were four stops on the east of the island and I stopped at the second to last, Nanou. It was a lovely bay with (free) deck chairs and umbrellas, a little cafe, and only about 20 other people there as well. Surface was pebbly so it was lovely and clear and I did quite a lot of snorkelling. Lots of fish around mainly, including a mad green and purple one in the shallows. Saw a big school of flying fish, flying. Had some lunch in the cafe and immediately got invaded by a horde of hornets which was pretty unpleasant. The waitress sensed my distress (ie my arms trying to swoop them away) and brought over a wee urn of coffee which she lit. They mustn't have liked the smoke so they all flew away. Magic!
Spent a very relaxing afternoon. I've started reading Midnight's Children which is going well. I'd also been reading the new Philippa Gregory 'The Other Queen' which is so frustrating - she repeats herself again and again. It's an interesting story - about Mary Queen of Scots being under house arrest with the Duke of Shrewsbury before she's killed. But it's really plodding. Hopefully Salman Rushdie will show her how it's done. I don't doubt he will!
Weather's still very sunny, but with a bit of a cold wind sometimes. And you definitely need a cardigan if you're sat outside in the evenings.
Actually didn't sleep terribly well last night due to the sighting of centipedes on the walls above my bed. It freaked me out! I was all ready to storm down to the accommodation center today and demand somewhere else but it was closed and I decided I should really tough it out. I'll be more aggressive with them tonight! Just the thought of them falling onto me while I'm asleep isn't good...
I just missed the 10am taxi boat to the bays, but got a seat on the 11am. There were four stops on the east of the island and I stopped at the second to last, Nanou. It was a lovely bay with (free) deck chairs and umbrellas, a little cafe, and only about 20 other people there as well. Surface was pebbly so it was lovely and clear and I did quite a lot of snorkelling. Lots of fish around mainly, including a mad green and purple one in the shallows. Saw a big school of flying fish, flying. Had some lunch in the cafe and immediately got invaded by a horde of hornets which was pretty unpleasant. The waitress sensed my distress (ie my arms trying to swoop them away) and brought over a wee urn of coffee which she lit. They mustn't have liked the smoke so they all flew away. Magic!
Spent a very relaxing afternoon. I've started reading Midnight's Children which is going well. I'd also been reading the new Philippa Gregory 'The Other Queen' which is so frustrating - she repeats herself again and again. It's an interesting story - about Mary Queen of Scots being under house arrest with the Duke of Shrewsbury before she's killed. But it's really plodding. Hopefully Salman Rushdie will show her how it's done. I don't doubt he will!
Weather's still very sunny, but with a bit of a cold wind sometimes. And you definitely need a cardigan if you're sat outside in the evenings.
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