Bubble Bath

Hello All!

Well, I arrived home from Bath the other day and all I can say is WOW. It was so beautiful and everything I imagined it and more. We drove in and got the most amazing view of the town and then went into the centre to try and find a car park... what a saga that was. My hat goes off to Sheridan who has somehow managed to navigate her way around England... honestly - they cannot drive here it's insane!!

So our first stop was the Roman Baths which were really interesting. I managed to get down and touch the water and tried to convince myself that it had magical superpowers to keep me healthy for all of eternity, the Romans believed it worked so hey... there must be some truth in it : )


We then went onto the Jane Austin museum as Reg and I are pretty big fans. They had costumes on display that had been used in some of the Jane Austin films which was pretty interesting. We then went upstairs for a traditional devonshire tea where I successfully reminded myself why I don't drink tea...I don't like it. Although I am thinking that the 3 sugar cubes I dumped in my cup may have had something to do with it, it was a traditional tea set and I was more than somewhat entertained by the little tongs that were used to pick up the sugar with...I blame jet lag : )


So after that we found our hotel and checked in. I wish I had some photos of the hotel because it was so lovely. It was a big old house that had been converted into a bed and breakfast and we were left in there on our own for the night as the owner was away and we were the only guests!!

We went into town and found this really cool little pub and I indulged myself in a couple of bottles of cider (my new love) and then we hit the vodkas... After dinner and a few too many drinks, we went into a nightclub that was filled with all these English clubber kids...honestly, I felt like a chaperon at an under-age disco...lol We were all in thongs as well so trying to dance was interesting. We decided to call it a night and caught a cab with the nicest taxi driver in the world. He was from Poland and quickly got nicknamed Louie as none of us could pronounce his name and it was the closest thing to it.


We woke up the next morning and I was way too chipper for my liking, considering everyone else was wearing their hangover faces. I got up and went straight into the bathroom as I had been eyeing off our beautiful shower which looked like it had water pressure... To fill you all in, very few showers in the UK have good water pressure. Ours is awful and it takes nearly an hour to wash conditioner out of my hair. So when we first checked in and I saw that beautiful shower head with all it's glorious pressure nozzles I couldn't wait to get in and lap up the luxury.... So the lady that checked us in mentioned that there was some trick to our shower head to get the hot water running. I obviously missed the trick or wasn't paying attention because I couldn't get the stupid thing to go hot. So in 17 degree weather I had the most pressurised freakin cold shower in the world. It woke me up to say the least!!


We had breakfast, piled into the car and then it finally hit me. I felt awful!!! We pulled over at a service station which are all like mini shopping centres and we all got out for some much needed Burger King.

So - that was Bath in a nutshell. Definitely my most favourite place I have been so far.

On our way back home we stopped in at Windsor Castle which was breathtaking. We walked around with Audio devices up to our ears... so over the audio devices by the way. They are like the old analogue phones and EVERY tourist attraction you go to uses them as interactive guides. We lined up for about thirty minutes to see the famous Dolls House which was beautiful. Kimberley and Shez were both really cold but I didn't feel chilled at all and thanked my ice-cold shower for my new found resistance to the cold. We walked through the rest of the castle and I was absolutely starstruck, gob smacked and in awe when we hit the battle room. They had a coat there which had been seized in from one of Napoleaons trunks... All that history, right infront of us.... I couldn't believe that i was actually looking at somelthing that had been worn by Napolean!!

We finished off in the gift shop where I bought a Crown Key Ring for my new house keys and Kimberley bought Windsor Castle slippers which I wish I had of bought now. We then walked accross the bridge to Eton and saw where Prince William and Harry went to school and then back in the car homewood bound.

Well, I had better sign off for tonight. I am again in my pyjamas eating dinner and watching Friends. I am heading into St Albans Town Centre tomorrow to buy some shoes!!! Went to London today to see Charlotte but will blog on that tomorrow.

Thanks to all who messaged me, I miss you all and love being able to email everyone!

Will speak soon and blog again tomorrow : )

Luv F xxx

Welcome to England!

Hello All!

So sorry for the late update but I have seriously been so busy since I touched down on Friday. So I left Sydney on Thursday night only having about 6 kilos of excess luggage which I somehow made it through the check-in ok. I was swabbed at the airport for explosives and had to have all my hand luggage opened and tested as well, I didn't think anything of it as it has happened to me before, but when they pulled the curtain closed and told me I had to be frisked down I was like....What the! and a little nervous to say the least. But all was fine, just a quick pat down and I was on my way.. I don't know what it is about me but I am constantly pulled over at airports and searched.... I blame my mothers side of the family we all have shifty eyes. Anyhow, I boarded they plane with my massive amount of hand luggage which was so unbelievably heavy and after 9 hours of nothing but turbulence to Hong Kong I was ready to de-board in a big way!

Hong Kong Airport was pretty nice. I got off and went straight to the travellers lounge and booked in for a much needed shower and buffet breakfast. I didn't eat anything on the plane over as I was so nauseous and with people using their sick bags around me I wasn't going to take the risk of food. I felt so good being on solid ground and after my shower and two little chicken sausages from the buffet I was rather hesitant of getting back on the plane and was honestly ready to call Mum and Dad and let them know I was prepared to bypass England and live in China... but after being delayed in Hong Kong for an extra 2 hours I boarded and had an awesome flight to the UK.

So what have I been up to in my travels this week.... After picking up Kimberley at the airport on Saturday morning we all headed up to Oxford in our little rental car. We stopped in at Oxford University and my highlight of the day was definitely seeing the great food hall where they filmed the dining room scenes in Harry Potter. It was SO small compared to the movie and unfortunately we couldn't sit on the seats but I still got a few good pics which I have included below.

After Oxford we drove around the countryside for a bit and then found this really cool little local pub in Oxfordshire. It was such a local hub and everyone that walked in the door knew the owners, it was so cool. There was a resident dog that walks around the pub getting the occasional pat from patrons which was a bit of an eye opener...a little different to our health rules : ) We had a classic Bangers and mash dinner with bottles of cider which has now replaced my red wine fetish.

The next day we went onto Brighton to see the beach...ha, ha just saying that makes me laugh. I knew that they had pebbles on their beaches here but these were dead-set rocks! It was like trying to walk in the ball pit at Ikea, so funny. We went on the pear and had fish and chips followed by fairy floss. Such a great day. Reg got attacked by a seagull when she was posing for a photo with her fish and chips. The seagulls are the size of small cats over here... quite bizarre.

It still really hasn't hit me that I am living in the UK, it's so much like home. I honestly feel like I am just in a different state. There are a few things that are certainly different, I spent nearly 10 minutes in a public toilet the other day trying to work out how to get the automatic flush to work and then at the taps a little girl had to show me how to use the sensor to turn them on and off... so funny.

Our apartment is pretty cool, I am in a small room but nothing as bad as what I thought it would be. We have a huge balcony which we haven't been able to use yet as it is so cold and won't stop raining!!! I am meeting up with Charlotte in London tomorrow and going shopping for some more warm clothes.

So I am sitting here in my pyjamas about to cook some pasta for dinner. The girls have all gone to Amsterdam for a few nights so I am flying it solo. It's still light outside as it doesn't get dark til nearly 10pm.... it plays a bit with your time clock and we've had a few late dinners because of it.

Well, I'd better get going to get my washing done and get dinner on. I will post again about our trip to bath....so much fun, a little mischief and a lot of apple cider.... good, good times.

I hope you all are well, will speak again soon. Luv F