October has been a month of settling back into London life, battling a little homesickness and welcoming the odd bout of sunshine to break the Autumn weather. School takes a short break- the teachers say thank god for that and usually evacuate the city en masse to somewhere less work-ish! To take my mind off of home, a beautiful gaggle of gal pals has been at my side, going on adventures and causing trouble. I would be lost without them! You know who you are :) xxxx Hever Castle, KentRoad trip! We managed to find a car and trek our way to Hever Castle, nearby Canterbury (kind of). The grounds are huge, well groomed and very romantic, even if they were Halloween themed with plastic skeletons coming out of the ground and pumpkin heads rolling everywhere. There was an old school (and my first) genuine garden maze which was a lot of fun. The buildings are all old, stone and impressive. Of course they would take me to a castle to cheer me up! It worked. There were plenty of displays inside regarding Anne Boleyn and so much history beyond that. It is currently used as a museum and a wedding venue. It's a fantastic family fun day out or, like us, a girls day out if you're into history, gardening or ye olde worlde in general. On our way back to London, we made a pit-stop at Pooh Corner in Pooh Country, Hartfield. It was a tiny little store in the original village of the creator of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin, A. A. Milne. According to a brochure, the area was Milne's inspiration for the Pooh stories, along with the tales of his son and his faithful nanny as 'Christopher Robin' was growing up. Considering its out-of-the-way position, it was super busy and there were all kinds of Pooh-themed merchandise inside, from new graphic story books to postcards with copies of the original Milne sketches on them. Childish but a definite stop if you're in the area. Edinburgh, ScotlandI have returned and this time I brought friends! As it was school holidays, though short and rainy, I decided it would be good to drag some beauties up north and educate those up there about the true fabulousness of teachers on break. Scotland is one of my favourite slices of old world country I've discovered so far and though it was the first place I travelled to on my own so many years ago, I still find myself coming back again and again and, more often than not, dragging others with me. I found it surprising that the two UK residents had never made it so far north before and it was so much fun playing tour guide! We sampled a few drinking houses, one particularly funny ghost tour, the top graveyard in Edinburgh and an alley where an undead woman was said to have lived. We did a historical walking tour, bothered the students and staff at the university and got lost on cobblestone streets. Did you know the Scots built themselves a coliseum? Or tried to as they were once considered 'the Rome of Europe'. Unfortunately, shipping enormous slabs of sandstone from warmer climates takes a toll on the pocket and whoever it was, ran out of money. The half built grand coliseum stands on the hill by the observatory and looks charmingly out of place up there. My only wish would have been to have stayed longer, but that is nothing new there. A good time was had by all, one pound bills were collected, alcohol was consumed and laughs were had. Until next time Scotland! You know I'll be back.
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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. |