Mid Term BreakLondoners are spoilt in school, every six weeks or so, they get a week or two break. Not great for my pockets but it is great for the tourist in me. This term break, I booked a day trip to go see Oxford, the Cotswalds and Stratford-Upon-Avon (aka Shakespeares childhood home and town, also where he died). Stratford-Upon-Avon- was our first stop and we got to poke around Shakespeares family home, see what his family did for a living and hear some Shakespeare recited by the actors/guides in the house. A really cool place to visit. The town itself is beautiful right on the water and surrounded by nature. It's probably somewhere you could spend a weekend just chilling out, lying in the parks and by the water and exploring. I was able to walk to the church where Shakespeare is buried, I didn't see his grave (I went hunting for food instead) but the churchyard was gorgeous and the church itself was huge for a relatively small town. The Cotswalds- is an area that stretches a long way through the UK and is equivalent to 'visiting the Hamptons' in America. It is a place families go for short holidays and has unbelievable scenery. We drove through part of it and stopped at an old church for some story time. It is a recognised area of Natural Beauty and is protected from large development. Oxford- made me think of Galway. It is a University town full of old timey book stores, suit stores and cafes. I could have spent so much longer here. Luckily I had my personal guide-slash-roommate to show me to a good pub and all the Harry Potter involved sites. Unfortunately, we arrived just as the universities were closing to visitors. That didn't stop us from sneaking in to get a few pictures oft he grounds etc. A Date With MyselfDuring term break, I treated myself to a visit the the National History Museum and a night time zoo trip, so lots of photos this week! Thanks to Mel, I got into the underwater Egyptian exhibit for free and can I just say- WOW! This place is huge. I only saw the special exhibit, Egypt and part of Greece. There is still so much more to see and it is so worth it. I adore the fact that all museums in London (excluding certain exhibits, of course) are free AND they are open late on a Friday night. I'm not exactly a party animal so I will be taking good advantage of this. #nerdalert My zoo trip- I love a good zoo and the London zoo, only a tube ride from the museum, is phenomenal. It is actually split into two parts to better cater to the animals needs so there were no elephants in the area I went to (:() but they had done the place up especially for this night time festivale they have running and it looked so pretty! I got a small group tour for a few extra pounds and we got to go into the kitchen area where they prep the meals for all the animals. It was crazy well organised with meal plans, diets and schedules for every single animal at their zoo. It is ranked as having the best food care and preparation area in the UK. They talk about animal enrichment and positive environments. It was so nice to see and to hear how much the staff cared for every single animal! Park ExplorationOn the Sunday of our break,Sam, Mel and I decided to hoof it out into the sunshine and enjoy ourselves at the enormous nature reserve that goes on for miles. It is made for picnicking, walking and, apparently, healing chants that thank the earth! We managed top set up near a large group of red-wearing men, women and children who proceeded to sing, chant and dance for the next hour and a half, thanking the earth etc. It was actually very relaxing to hear. I managed to prove that you CAN get sun-burnt in London and went home pink and red all over. I now have a slightly darker shade of pale on my arms and chest- normal people would call it a tan but the colour change would be noticeable on them. It was a really pretty area, a cheap day and very relaxing, the perfect way to prep before getting back to work. Some Things I Have Learnt...
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AuthorMy home is Australia, with my family and their many, many animals. I have travelled all around the world with my family and by myself where I have made too many friends to count. |