Customs, Back in England and a Transfer

Well, we made our bus with time to spare, thank god!   Dan was so worried we were going to miss it as our flight had been delayed two hours.   We were lined up at the gate to board the plane when an announcement came on saying the flight would be delayed two hours.  The announcement had only came on once so there were people that arrived afterwards who were still lining up no knowing what was going on.   The flight wasn’t even changed on the screen till about 45 minutes after the announcement, except instead of being delayed 1.5 hours we were delayed two hours! 

When we finally boarded the plane the captain told us that some light in the panel had gone off and they needed to get a paper signed in order for the plane to fly and it took two hours hence our two hour delay.  But, it was all for safety reasons which I have nothing against – we all know how much I love flying. 

It was a short flight (only two hours)  but we were pushing it with our bus time.   We tried to get off the plane as fast as we could but we were at the back of the plane so we weren’t having much luck.  We ran as soon as we were off, our baggage was off first and we headed for customs.  Oh customs!!!  How I love being questioned.

Thank god Dan was able to go through them with me –   he is British he is supposed to go through a different line – because I would probably still be there answering questions.  “Oh so it looks like you have already been here. “  “Yes.”  “Why are you coming back?”  “My husband is British and we are spending time with his family.”  “Do you have a job back in Canada?” “No.  I have been traveling for the past two years.”  “How do you expect to support yourself?”  “My husband manages a bar full time.”  “How long do you plan on staying for and do you have a ticket to prove you are leaving?”  “No I don’t have a ticket.”  I travel through Europe without having to go through customs, or getting a stamp, yet the UK is so strict,  and I’m from a commonwealth country.  NOTE : if you are from a commonwealth country (other than the UK) it really doesn’t do much for you,  there are not many benefits…it can be frustrating.  Oh well, such is life lol.  After we gave him a (random) number of when we were leaving ( shorter than my allotted time as my visa is still not expired) we were a loud to proceed and began running for the bus.   We made it, with 20 minutes to spare J

I was quite gutted to leave  Italy.  For as long as I can remember, it was my dream for my dad to go home to Italy; and, if I was lucky enough, to go with him.  In fact when I was little (and even now)  I have said that if I won the lottery (the big one)  I would send my parents to Italy.  Now, two of my dreams have come true, but like any other dream, it has come and gone.   I remember counting down the weeks, days then hours till I met up with my parents in Greece; now, we have already been back in England just over a week.  Time flies. 

 As much as England can be extremely depressing, I kind of felt like I was going home in a way.  I mean we have been here for almost 5 months and we have almost settled and with the few friends that I have here, I was looking forward to seeing them.   On the Monday I got together with my friend Eve.   We were supposed to go out and take some pictures but the weather was gloomy – not uncommon for England – so we went to her place and had 1 bottle – well maybe a bit more than a bottle – of wine, listened to music and chatted away until we had to pick her 4 year old son up for school.  Ya, that was a bit of a laugh. "How was your day sweetie?" "It was lovely mum, though I would've rather stayed at home with you."  How cute is that, plus kids with an accent still get me lol.

Dan has been transfered.   We found out the night we got back.   There was a text on our phone Hi Dan, I'm sorry I know you are on vacation but you have been transferred as of next week.  He wasn't overly keen on the idea as he was really happy at his location.  But, instead of commuting over 2 hours a day,  he now walks less then 10 minutes up the street :).  He is less tired and closer to home which I like.  I get to pop in and have dinner with him which I couldn't do before.  Plus as I am here right now, using the fee wifi.  We currently don't have wifi right now; well, actually we never really did,  we use the one from the lady across the street - without her knowing of course - but she must be away or something because it hasn't been on for a week.  Pffft.  We would like to knock on her door and ask what's going on, but it wouldn't be a good idea.  The fact that we use it is a secret, so don't tell anyone ;).  So if you have been wondering why I haven't been online much this is why.    And no, I'm not working,  I'm not a priority remember.

I'm afraid that is it for now.  As usual nothing overly exciting here.  Hopefully soon though.  Take care.  Happy New Year.


For first time readers...please revert back to the  In the Meantime, In Between Time blog.

My Fairy Tale...

Many of you have been following/reading my blogs since my very first Vegas post; the begining of this crazy journey I like to call My Beautiful.  You were then with me through my amazing and emotional 5 months in California where I grew, learned how to stand on my own two feet,  made some incredible friends, fell in love and of course had to say goodbye to the one I fell in love with.  After a 7 month hiatus to go home and work, my journey continued to the Paradise of Fiji for a 7 day vacation, continuing on to New Zealand where I road tripped in a camper for 12 days with 2 english guys,  hiked volcanoes and glaciers,  went caving, white water rafting and ate the most incredible hamburger in Queenstown known as the Ferg Burger!  After an amazing 28 days in the beautiful land of the Kiwi`s you then got whisked away to The Land of Oz Aka Down Under or just plain old Australia.  In my one year, I snorkeled and lived in the Whitsundays,  worked in the middle of nowhere, had long over night bus rides, jumped out of a plane,  rekindled friendships,  had my heartbroken,  learned how to speak Australian,  hiked through Kings Canyon,  enjoyed sunset and sunsrise at Ayers Rock, went sandboarding,  pet a wild kangaroo, ate kangaroo,  went croc hunting, made some incredible friendships and, I fell in-love.

At first, I didn't even know that love was going to be the path I chose.  In fact I was completely against a relationship; but sometimes, things just happen...

It was the begining of my second week on the Island when I laid eyes on you for the first time (well second actually, but I had only seen you once before that and then not again till a week later).  We were both sitting outside of the staff bar having a beer and a smoke.  We were sitting at the same table, though you were talking with Matty and I was sitting and talking  with Jarrett. 

I kept glancing at you out of the corner of my eye and waiting for a moment where I could welcome myself into your conversation.  You didn't even seem to know I existed or really even cared for that matter, yet I couldn't stop staring at you.  Your short blonde hair with a fo-hawk down the middle, blue eyes,  crooked teeth and a tribal tattoo on your right shoulder just held my stare.  You had this sexy British accent but everything that came out of your mouth seemed arrogant, pompous and completely self-centered;  I had to know who you were!!!  I don't know what it was but there was something that kept telling me I had to know you,  even the first time I glanced you from afar, I really wanted to know who you were.

I finally found an opening in your conversation with Matty - well I more so butted my way in - and welcomed myself.  You did not look impressed!  You actually looked completely digusted, your face said "who the fuck is this girl and why does she think she can speak to me."  I didn't care, I had to know who you were.

From that moment on we literally became inseperable, pretty much moving in with eachother two days later.  When my contract for work was up you resigned and came with me because you didn't want it to end yet.  I was overwhelmed and scared.  I was still dealing with my "Ryan heartache" but you said you would give me time and take things slow just as long as you could be with me.

We took a job, in hell, with the devil himself and managed to stay strong and fight through the hard times.  The horrible days and sad nights were the times I began to realize I was falling for you.  My heart ached to tell you but I was so scared to go down that road again.  I asked you questions like "have you ever been in love before?" "Have you ever told a girl you have been in love with them?"  hoping you would clue in to what I was trying to get across but there was no such luck.  I didn't want to be the first one to bring it up so I kind of pushed it aside, hoping, that one day the right moment would come along; and it did...

A month after we left the devil, we had set up a life in a great small city.  We had awesome jobs, amazing friends and eachother.  It was New Years Eve- well actually it was New Years Day about 9am-we were having drinks at the club after work and I just looked at you and said "you know I love you right?" and you said "yah.  I love you too."

Four months later we were married!!!

Today is our 1 year anniversary!  We met a year ago today and have been insperable ever since.  I can't believe one year has gone by so quickly.  I also can't believe you are still around :)  You are the first guy I have ever gotten to celebrate one year with and I am so excited! 

You are my bestfriend, my life, my everything, my love, my heart, my past and my future.  There is no one else in the world I would want to spend and share every moment of the rest of my life with.  Being your wife is one of the greatest things I have ever felt and there are no words to describe how much I love you as I fall more and more in love with you everyday.

 Thank you for putting up with my crap and standing by myside, for never walking away when I wanted to give up and loving me with everything that you have.  This past year has been amazing and I can't wait to see what our future years are holding for us. 

One year down and many more to go.

Your loving wife forever and always
M.J
I'm glad I dont have to sleep alone anymore x

                             (thanks for marrying me lol)

A Historic Sight and Falling into Place

I was so excited on Sunday, not just because Jess and I were meeting up, I was super stoked about that but also because she was taking me to the famous ruins of Stonehenge- which at the time I thought were just some rocks.

She was suppossed to have picked me up earlier but due to traffic because of the airshow - planes and jets flew over our house for 4 days it was so cool - it took her a bit longer to get in from London so we started our adventure a little later than planned but we didn't mind. 

Talk, talk, talk, talk;  we never stopped talking,  it's like we never run out of things to say.  I don't know what we talked about but we never stopped!  It only took us about an hour to get to Stonehenge,  you can see it off to the right just sitting there, in an open space looking so grand and holy.  Of course by the time we parked and got out of the car - as it does often here in sunny <--- pure sarcasm England - it started to rain.  The sky was grey and dull and a drizzle began to fall, so just like London I have grey pictures.  Jess wearing a short sleeve shirt, shorts and sandals -it doesn't get overly hot in England so as soon as there is a bit of sunshine the Brits swarm to the beach even if it's 20 degrees out they are in shorts and tank tops as if they are on a tropical island - puts on her ski jacket, it was quite the fashion statement.

Stonehenge

Before we even stepped foot on the path surrounding the monument I was snapping pictures I was so excited to be on a little history field trip for the afternoon  I had seen a picture of it and said to Dan "wow baby that looks cool, can we go"  his response "it's just some rocks." Was he ever wrong.

Stonehenge is located in the English county of Wiltshire (about an hour North from where we are).  The history of it is quite interesting.  The first phase began in 3100 BC with the last known construction being around 1600 BC, the first phase was the circular bank and ditch that surrounds the monument.  The sturcture that is standing is what is left of the original structure, you can no longer walk into at as parts of it were stolen by collectors. The stones with the blank like stone going across the top is the outer part of the structure, they (at one point) formed a a connecting circle.  The inner part of the circle consisted of two half horseshoes of (smaller) bluestone sturctures and the central stone structure (please don't quote me I know I am a little confused on the structure).

The actual purpose behind it is unknown,  to think that the outer ditch and the structure itself could be linked it is incredible considering the amount of years in between.   The structure was built around the same time as the Egyptian Pyramids and like the Pyramids (and of course the Sphynx) it is not quite known how they built the structure as they did not have building apparatuses they way we do today.  It is said the Sumarians were the ones that built the Sphynx so I am wondering if they had anything to do with the construction of this?  

A Calendar

Like I stated above the actual purpose behind it is not actually known though one belief is that it was used a calendar.  At certain times of the year when the sun shines through the central stone structure it will shine through one of the outer circle openings and that represents June, the next month it will do the same thing except it will be through the next stone on the left, further left in August and so on.

Heelstone

The Heelstone is outside of the entrance to Stonehenge and it leans inwards towards the circle.  If you stand northeast at the entrance of the sturcture, the sun will rise over the heelstone during summer solstice.

More Stories

It has also been said that the rocks are healing rocks called the Giants dance, which giants had brought from Africa to Ireland for their healing purposes.

It has also been said that they are related to the druids.

It is also said that the surrounding land was used for burials and when you leave the monument and head back to the parking lot you can see burial mounds surrounding the area; it's a little weird.

The history and stories behind it is really interesting there is soo much to write about but if you would like some more information on it please Click Here .

I love looking at places like Stonehenge, trying to picture what it was like thousands of years ago,  how they built it, what really went on there, what it was used for.  I found it so mysterious and as much it wasn't an old ruin of the colesium or a natural wonder like Ayers Rock and the Olga's  I couldn't take my eyes off of it.  I always feel so trans -like around structures and world wonders,  I really just want to know as much as I can about them and be a sponge their history and culture.  I really thought it was incrdible how it can be used as a calendar,  a lot more interesting then our electronic ones these days lol sometimes I feel like we have lost the true essence of life with all our electronics and factory made things.  Stonehenge mmight have taken thousands of years but it definatly lasts longer and doesn't go out of date as fast as my computer does.

After Stonehenge, Jess took me to Winchester to the house where she grew up to have dinner with her parents.  The drive, although rainy was nice.  We of course talked but I really enjoyed the scenery.  Winchester is more country living with english type cottages that remind me of something out of a fairy tale very rounded and cozy looking,  lots of trees and...I dont know I said to Jess that it almost looked like something out of a book,  like it didn't look real,  it looked like a fairy tale place that you would only find in the pages of a book,  that really is the only way I can describe it.  

After a lovely dinner with her parents - her mum didn't understand why I wouldn't drink any wine - it was time to go home but Jess wanted to drive me through the New Forest where we could see wild horses.  "That's really great Jess but umm,  it's dark outside now, how am I suppossed to take pictures or see anything."  "Oh,  I never thought about that."  "When you said you wanted to take me after dinner I knew it was going to be dark but I figured you knew what you were doing"  Yes, two blondes, it makes sense.

We did drive through the New Forest,  I would love to talk about the flowers and the big trees over hanging on the road that made it like a tunnel, but it was pitch black our only light was from the headlights of Jess's car.  We did see some wild horses,  I pulled out my camera to take some video but it's really not that exciting as when they leave the glare from the headlights you can't see anything and it's quite pointless.  I can say that in the New Forest they have towns.  It really looked incrdible so I would definately like to go back again, plus there are heaps of hiking trails so it's definatly a day adventure.

Things are going really great here...Dan is doing so well at work and they really like him.   I have been helping out at the neighbours.  I have been cleaning and trust me it really needs to be cleaned.  It took me 3 and a half hours to scrub their kitchen and 2 hours to scrub and clean out the fridge,  I still have to scrub the walls and vacum up the spiders in the corners lol.   "How lucky are we, we have a made."  said his 7 year old daughter  he tried explaining to her I wasnt a maid but I guess in her eyes I am.  There is a lot to be done,  the up keep of little things like sweeping is neglected as well as the major things so its taking some time but they are giving me some money so it is really helping Dan and I at the moment - with the getting paid monthly he still hasn't seen his first cheque yet.  I also have a job interview at a cafe on Thursday so I am really excited.  Finally everything is falling into place for us.

 I have been keeping really busy.  My book was published last week,  I have begun writing another one and TOMORROW (Wednesday)  I am appearing as a guest travel blogger on www.iwalk4love.com every month, twice a month!  I am really excited!  I'm really starting to get my writting out there and I am super excited to see where it takes me.  Please follow the webpage for my updates,  it will be blogs, travel tips and postcards - some of my photography!  It's going to be great!  So please don't forget to check the webpage tomorrow -  to be honest, seeing my name and picture up there was almost as good as seeing my name in lights :)


*all notes and info about Stonehenge was taken (and possibly quoted)  from Wikipedia.  Please go to www.wikipedia.com for more information on Stonehenge*


 

London!

 "So your Big Ben" I said quietly to myself as I stood in front of the famous clock.  It wasn't what I was expecting,  it was actually quite underwhelming.   I mean I had the excitement I always have going to a new place but I was absolutely exhausted.   I was up at the crack of dawn to grab an early coach so I could have a full day in London.  

I booked the wrong ticket...well...not exactly the wrong ticket.   My ticket was from Bournemouth to Victoria,  but I was getting off in Hammersmith.   "Baby just get on the bus and when they call Hammersmith just hop off,  I used to do it all the time;" but of course I always having to have the exact instructions and directions I asked one of the drivers,  "excuse me, this is my first time in England and I didn't realize I could book my bus to Hammersmith is there anyway I can hop off there."  "Well not all of the coaches going to Victoria stop in Hammersmith, but if you get on mine I will make sure you get off there."   See, if I hadn't of asked I wouldn't have been able to get off at Hammersmith and ended up in Victoria where I would've had to back track it by the tube, and everyone gets lost on the Tube. 

A short two hours later I arrived in Hammrsmith (an hour shorter than going to Victoria).   I wasn't able to check in to my hostel yet so I put my stuff in a locker and off I went.  

I was told by the front desk at the hostel that I could get a day pass that includes the bus and the tube, but the guy at the information counter said that no that wasn't true and if I wanted to take the bus to the Tate Modern then I had to transfer from bus 9 to 11.    I went down to the main floor in the station to purchase my ticket where I was told that yes, I can buy an all day pass for both the bus and the tube and if I wanted to take the bus to the Tate Modern I had to grab the number 10 bus; definatly not what the other guy told me.  She also tossed a Tube map at me that she circled in three places "What is this I dont really understand this map, I have never been here before." "Thats what I was trying to tell you, you get on here" she said pointing to the first circle "you transfer here" second circle"  and you get off here.  Next."   I looked at the map which was colours with names,  I had absolutely no idea what lines they were as some stops had three colours and more then one train to hop on for the transfer.  Lost,  thats where I would be, not just in London but lost in London.  I really wanted to take the Tube just for the sake of taking it but Dan had freaked me out so much about taking it "you will get lost, everyone gets lost,  you will end up in Wimbeldon and wont be able to find your way back." Gee thanks for the pep talk babe; he seems to forget I was backpacking fine on my own before I met him.   Anyways I decided to take the bus.   I went back up to the info booth - same guy- "I was told I have to take the number 10 bus to the Tate Modern"  "Nope,  take the 9 and trasnfer to the 11"  "ok and where would I get the bus"  "over there" he said pointing to the otherside of the terminal like I knew where I was supposed to wait.

It was a red double decker bus!  Awesome,  I sat up top so I could look out at the city.  The ride was long,  it took almost two hours for me to get to the area I needed to be in.  There was so much traffic and it was raining when I had to make my transfer.  I was so angry at this point,  exhausted, irritated, hungry and was ready to head back to the hostel to sleep, but I only had one day there so I really wanted to make it count. 

I looked up at the digital bus timetable,  8 minutes.  It was raining but the street I was had a warm cozy vibe to it; there were old fashioned black taxies and my bus shelter was right in front of the Waldorf Hotel that looked very lush with its theatre like lights and black framing.  8 minutes, not too long;  11 minutes, it must be stuck in traffic.  9 minutes, 7 minutes 11 minutes, 8 minutes,  11 minutes...11 minutes...11 minutes;  the original 8 minutes was taking soo long and I was getting more moody by the minute. 

I didn't have to wait long and the bus ride was short, thank god, and instantly as I stepped off my exhaustion and anger was washed away by the buzz of the city.   I was going to the Tate Modern to meet up with my friend Jess I met in Queenstown  - for lunch.  I walked by the St. James Cathedral, along the Millenium Bridge to cross over the River Thames.  Zen like music with calm talking played out on speakers along the bridge, and out to my left, out in the distance was the Tower Bridge displaying the Olympic symbol. 

It was really great to see Jess, we hadn't seen eachother for a year and a half and we had only known eachother for about 48 hours in New Zealand but we never ran out of things to talk about.  Lunch was great,  I just had a veggie wrap but I was so hungry I think even a can of tuna would've been satisfying enough.  After lunch Jess had to go back to work so off I went along the path (which Jess told me to take) along the River Thames.

The Thames isn't much too look at,  I mean the views from where I was looking across the Thames were nice but the river itself  didn't look overly exciting; it was brown.  Yuck!  But the walk was still enjoyable.   I had no idea how artsy London was, there were so many interesting things to look at, watch and listen to; indie musicians,  skateboarders in a graffitied out skate park, a cafe bar built with sheets of metal making it look like a construction site,  a big family stage theatre with oversized furniture made out of fake grass,  an old red fire truck now used as a hot dog stand,  it was all so awesome.   The vibe was great,  I really wanted to park myself down with a tent and sleeping bag and enjoy this artsy pat of London for as long as I could, it was fab!  Next in front of me was the London Eye.  I got dizzy trying to look up all the way to the top - for those of you that don't know what it is, its a massive ferris wheel that you can see all of London from -  the thing is is massive...and no, I didn't go on it,  I wont go unless I have someone with me as I really dont think complete strangers would appriciate my panic that would set in with my vertigo.

Up ahead, on the other side of the Thames, was Big Ben. 

You know how when you pour a bucket of water on sand and then you pick up the wet sand and you squish it in your hand and you let it drop into into piles creating an interesting looking sand castle?  Well thats what the Big Ben building looked like,  a rustic gold colour that looked like a wet-sand sand castle; red double decker buses passing infront of it along the Westinminster Bridge over the River Thames, the hustle and bustle of the city, it was picture perfect.

I just stood and stared at it.  It was a lot smaller then it seemed to be on television, and the big round-a-bout in front of it was also a lot smaller,  I expected some sort of massivness...but I have learned nothing seems to be what it is on TV,  I have lived in Hollywood I should know this already.  

 

I made my way to Buckingham Palace - snapping heaps of pictures of Big Ben and red telephone booths.  It started to get warmer on my way to the Palace, the sun started coming out which was really nice.  It was about a fifteen minute walk to the Palace from Big Ben which wasn't to bad.  I don't really know what I was expecting but man,  this wasn't it.  In the centre of the cul-de-sac was the Queen Victoria Memorial that was just infested with tourists.  People were si tting, climbing and snapping pictures all around it.  There were gates around the cul-de-sac each baring the name of all Common Wealth Country - yay Canada!   The Palace itself really just looked like an oversized mansion.  I guess I was expecting more of a castle-like palace -  have you ever seen the Excalibur in Vegas?  Thats how I picture a Palace lol but I guess thats just the little girl in me.  I couldnt help but think what it must be like to have hundreds of people standing outside of your house (or Palace) everyday and climbing over your front statue, or memorial at that; kept looking to see if I could see movement in the windows but there was nothing - apparantly the Queen wasnt there.  I don't think I would enjoy that many visitors everyday,  it would suck,  but I'm just a tourist with a camera :)  The most exciting part for me was the Palace Guards, standing so still they didn't waver,  it was like they didn't even breath.   Once in awhile you could hear a high pitched bell and they would do a little left knee up, right knee up and switch their gun to the other hand.  I must've stood there for 20 minutes just watching them do absolutely nothing, unfortunately standing infront of them and waving, making faces and trying to get them to move is a no-go, it's surrounded by gates and police officers so you can't go up to them, but just being able to see an actual Palace Guard was a highlight for me and now checked off my bucket list.  They did do a sort of march which was just for them to stretch their legs (thats what the Police officer told me), which once again was nothing special but I couldn't stop watching.  It started raining so I decided it was time to leave.  The changing of the guard was in another hour but I was so exhausted and still had to find my way back to my hostel, plus I was meeting up with Jess for some drinks later on and I wanted to grab a cat nap before then.

I had no idea what bus I had to take, all I knew is that I had to go West back to Hammersmith.  The sun came back out.  One bus driver I dont think knew what I was talking about and the other one pointed accross the street and to the right.  with streets coming out of the round-a-about I had no idea which across-the-street he was talking about so I decided to take the Tube.   There was a man working there who seemed to know every single Tube line to take and was pointing everyone in the directions they needed to go.  I went down one level and to the right.  I must've looked terrified as I stood on the tube,  I definately had tourist written all over my face, my eyes popping out of my face like a deer caught in headlights,  LOL!  I was wondering how safe it was,  not because of the people but the Tube itself.  It rattled and shook and jerked this way and that,  it sounded and felt like I was on an old wooden rollercoaster at Canada's Wonderland, except this was inclosed and underground.  I can proudly say I rode the Tube without getting lost and will definatley do it again next time I am in London.

Jess came by for a few drinks at the hostel pub.  It was really great,  it was like we had been life long friends with no time apart.  We talked about our travels and me getting married and just all that girl stuff that I miss so much with my girls from back home,  it was just what I needed.  We could've talked late into the night but she had to be up for work and I was completely beat and decided to call it a night and meet up at a future date.   The musing pouring in my room from down below would normally keep me awake...I could here the songs word for word but completely exhausted and traveling with my iPod I just popped in my earbuds and was asleep in no time.

My coach the next day wasn't leaving till 2pm but hammersmith is quite away from the city centre and I didn't really want to carry my bag all around the city with me so I decided to take an earlier coach.  I called the company and there was a coach leaving down the street from the hostel in 20 minutes, I just had to pay 5 pounds for changing my pick up time and location.  The driver had one spot left on the coach and when I went to pay him he told me to put it in a charity box; I must say being a solo female traveler has it's perks, they don't happen much when I am with Dan ;).


Still, no Coronation Street.