'ello guvna! it's England!

Greetings and salutations

Sorry for the lack of blogging during Finland - I was having too much fun for the computer :P Basically, I had one of the best weeks of my life in Finland, a beautiful country spending heaps of time with an awesome friend - good times, good times. Hiking in the forest was really good fun, I got to learn some Finnish sign language which was very very good fun, I went horse riding on Finnish horses in the forest *chorus of Heavenly angels descend and start singing while Annie looks dramatically off into the distance remember the ride* and scene.
But in all seriousness, it was such an amazing week - sauna in Finland, as well as milk, is very big, and I braved the 75-80 degree wood rooms and actually found that for the cold weather outside, sitting in the sauna was very very nice. When I left Finland a week later, it didn't feel like a week, it had gone much too quickly for my liking - next time i shall have to come in the winter as I would imagine that it would look quite different than what I saw.

So, the jetsetter I am, I hoped on more planes and made my way over to England, or as my British friends say, the 'motherland' - landed in London and got myself through all ok - I need a UK passport though, the immigration line for all other nations was ridiculously long. Then you get up to the desk and realise that it is an exceptionally small world when talking with your immigration officer, you reveal you are going to university in Townsville and lo and behold, he knows Townsville. Very small world. So once I was through Immigration, finally, I could grab my bags, and quite literally it was the quickest baggage retrieval I have ever had, as just as I walked through the door it went past me, so I grabbed it and was off to customs. Now I went into the hallway that said things to declare, and as I walked through, thinking surely England would be like Australia in terms of customs and quarantine - the customs was closed. what the?......
This nice lady popped out of a door and was just like
.....oh, do you have things to declare??
....wood, seeds, food, knives
...do you have any meat?
...no
...do you have any animals?
...no
any jewellry or gifts worth over 390 pounds?
....no
...off you go then

....


So off I went, now understanding that Australia is in a league of its own in terms of customs and quarantine. I must admit though, when I get back to Australia, I am going to be so desperate to get out of the airport to see my family, I think I may just have to make a run for it as the process is sooooooooooo long

Anyway, got myself to the underground, got a ticket on the tube which for being underground has a surprisingly large amount of above ground sections - then i jumped off at Earl's Court, walked to my hostel and voila, hey presto, I had a bed and a locker and practically collapsed on my bed - I was exhausted.

I went out in search of food, did a little exploring and then crashed for the night. The next day, I walked towards Tottenham Court Station from Earl's Court, passing through Hyde Park, walking past the hard rock cafe, the ritz hotel, west end theatres, ending up at the British Museum where I got to see - guess - the Rosetta Stone! woot, it was sooo cool!! I as in full geek mode then. :D
after I finished at the museum I went and met my friend James who showed me all over the rest of London, taking me to Buckingham Palace, to see the guards, to Big Ben, the Westminster Abbey, Parliament House, the Thames - it was a very busy day. I then went into the Tower of London and saw the tower bridge before returning to my hostel, packing and then crashing - a girl needs her sleep.

Next morning, I checked out of the hostel, realising that the next time I check out of this hostel it will be to go home. Now there is a weird thought. Home. Home has meant so many different things these past few months. Home has been camp in Tanzania for a very long time. Home has been where my friends have been. And soon, home will once again be home, with my family.
:)

I got to Waterloo Station and sat waiting for my train to Weymouth and finally it was time to head off and begin the England hop. I was met at the station in Weymouth, after my 3 hour train ride by my cousin Dave and he showed me around Weymouth and took me to their house, where I met other relatives - I was then treated to my first English pub meal and then went and met Dave's brother. Yesterday, I went to Corfe Castle, to Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, and was driven all over and shown the beautiful county that is Dorset. I really love it here, the landscape is divine and it is very much what I had imagined England to be - and it is COLD! eep!

Today I wandered around the town of Weymouth and just took it all in, seeing the streets and wandering along the beach - I went to Nothe Fort and Brewers Quay and just had a very good morning before retreating back to the house as I was losing sensation to my ears and nose. Shortly I will be heading back out again to track down some old books stores :) life is very good. Heading to Exeter tomorrow and then on Sunday i head to Bath, after which I will keep you all informed of my adventures. 3 weeks and 2 days to go.

Kwaheri!


Annie