UK Photos

The photos are up:

http://www.schmiddy.net/photos/uk_05/

Canada vs UK

When I was int he UK, I was really surprised how many things reminded me of home (Australia), so I thought I’d compare some of the good/bad things that I noticed when over there:

The Good
- Driving on the left (or should I say right side of the road. Driving on the left is a dream.
- Humour. The Canadians can be a prudish and overly-polite lot at times. The poms on the other hand have a sense of humour that’s closer to Australia’s.
- TV. The television is so much better in the UK. Not the American trash we’re used to watching over here.
- Pubs. Decent pubs are everywhere in London.
- Sports. I like soccer, cricket and rugby – need I say anything more?
- Proximity to Europe.

The Bad
- Pubs shutting at 11pm.. I’d never witnessed a “lock-out” before visiting the UK – what a strange concept.
- Space. Everything is squashed into a very small area in the UK. Canada has a lot of wide open spaces.
- The weather. So what if Toronto has the odd -20C day? At least it has sunshine!
- Cost of Living. I couldn’t believe how expensive everything was, esp in London (same as NYC I guess)

Back in Toronto

We made it back to Toronto on Monday, so here is the final part of the UK trip:

Day 10: Back to London to do some more touristy things. We did a full tour of St Pauls Cathedral (walking all the way to the top) and then headed across the Milennium Bridge to the Tate Modern (very nice artwork). We still had a couple of hours to kill in the afternoon, so we jumped on one of those open-top tourist buses. Big mistake! We should have checked out Shakesphere’s Globe instead cause the bus was a total waste of money. That night we met Natalie and Steve at the Lochside Lounge in Camden. A good time was had by all.

Day 11: Started the day by heading down to Chelsea and walking around Stamford Bridge. Sharon and I then split up – she went shopping at Oxford St while I met Steve to go and watch the FA Cup final at his local. Checked Steve’s place out at Wapping and met one of his new flatmates, then we headed to the pub (which was packed) to watch the game. It was a thriller – went to penalties and I caught the tube back to Lyndall’s. Rob met us at 8 and we headed to Highgate that night for dinner and drinks.

Day 12: Of to Brighton today! Lnydall drove Rob, Sharon and I down. It took a couple of hours to get there. The weather was great and we spent the rest of the day hanging out in Brighton. Good to see the beach again (first time since leaving Vancouver last year).

Day 13: Back to Toronto. Lyndall dropped us at the tube and we bidded her farewell. Arrived back in TO at about 2:30pm.

More UK

I am typing this message from an internet cafe in Oxford. Here is an update of the last few days:

Day 8: We hired a car for the day and did some driving in the English countryside. First stop was Avebury and the stone circle. Then onto a real tourist trap…you may have of it…Stonehenge? We had lunch in Salisbury and visited the cathedral and then headed off to a town called Wells which also has an impressive cathedral. On the way back to Bath we drove through the Cheddar Gorge.

Day 9: We decided to stop at Oxford for the day rather than returning straight to London. This has been our first day of bad weather, but it hasn’t stopped us from exploring some of the more well-known parts of Oxford. Off on the train soon and back to London where the adventure continues.

In the UK

Our first week of travel in the UK is over. Here are some of the highlights thus far:

Day 1: Arrived in London on time but spent 2 hours going through customs. Met Lyndall and went back to her place. Had lunch at Hampstead Heath and then met Rob for drinks at his local that night.

Day 2: This was a real tourist day. Caught the tube to Trafalgar Square and saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Then headed down to Big Ben and did a tour of Westminster Abbey. Caught the tube to Harrods and had lunch in Hyde Park. Walked down Oxford St to Selfridges and then caught a tube to Notting Hill. That night had dinner at a local place with Lyndall.

Day 3: More tourism around London but this time including Lyndall. Went and did the London Eye and then walked across the London Bridge. Did a tour of the London Tower and and caught a tube to Covent Garden. We then caught a bus to Islington and had an awesome dinner at a Turkish restaurant called Gallipoli.

Day 4: Today headed up to Edinburgh, Scotland with Lyndall and Rob. After arriving, we walked down Princes St and then headed up to Carlton Hill and the Nelson Monument. Had a hard time finding somewhere decent to eat, but after much walking found a Tapas Bar not far from where we were staying and then headed for a few of the local brews at a pub on Cumberland St.

Day 5: A great day being tourists in Edinburgh! The weather was excellent and we headed up to the the Castle. After that we did a tour of the underground city and then meandered down to Hollyrood Palace. Finished the day doing an open-top bus tour and then headed to a Thai restaurant for dinner.

Day 6: A pretty crazy day. We decided to catch a train to a castle at Linlithgow, but hopped on the wrong train! We ended up having to catch a train back to Edinburgh without seeing the castle. Very disappointing but these things happen. We finshed out time in Edinburgh with a walk back down the Royal Mile and up the Salisbury Crags. Very good views from the top.

Day 7: Off to Bath today. We caught a train from Paddington Station and booked into the local YMCA. We spent the day wandering around the more prominent tourist traps, including the Abbey, Roman Baths and the Royal Crescent.

So that’s the trip thus far. Another week to go. I know this post has been brief, but I usually forget to post anything on holidays. We’re heading back to London on Thursday and will be exploring more of Wrexham tomorrow.

Everton are through

I would never have believed it at the start of the season, but Everton are playing in the Champions League next season. A lot of people are saying they’ll get knocked out early, but I think they might surprise everyone and win a few games.

Yogo

You can yogo anywhere you go
You can yogo when it’s hot
You can yogo when it’s lunchtime
You can yogo when it’s not

It’s the yogo in yogo that makes yogo go!

Life in Toronto #6

Can you believe it snowed on Monday? The weather here is crazy…