Weekend Adventures

What a whirlwind the end of September - start of October has been!

On Friday 25 September I departed Dublin airport at some ungodly hour of the morning headed for Edinburgh, Scotland.  Such an awesome city with a cool vibe.  From Arthur's Seat, to Edinburgh castle, all the old buildings, pubs and monuments, Edinburgh has a lot to offer.  Not to mention A CAT CAFE!! Highlight of my weekend.  I'd love to go back at some point and see other parts of Scotland as well.

The Scott Monument - 287 steps to the top.  Built in the 1840's.

Edinburgh castle

Haggis - was actually really nice much to my surprise

Life advice outside the World's End pub

Arthur's seat - the mini mountain right in Edinburgh.

  Cat cafe. Need I say more?


October 1 the UL Wolves went to the greyhounds.  It was a fun night. Always good to put a cheeky few euro on a dog so you can yell at something as they come down the straight.  I literally know nothing about dogs so picked off their names and had zero luck.  Probably not the best technique available.

Last but certainly not least, October 2 I went for an excursion to Wales that lasted less than 24 hours! But all for good cause as the All Blacks were taking on Georgia at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.  What an atmosphere.  All day you could feel the excitement wandering around the city as anticipation built for that evenings match.  The pubs were full of supporters.  Millennium Stadium itself is huge, and with the roof closed the atmosphere inside was electrifying.  Despite some uncharacteristic missed kicks from Dan Carter and some painful dropped balls from the likes of Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand came away with the win which was celebrated late into the night by the supporters, many of whom had adopted the All Blacks or Georgia for the evening but were from all over the world.

LONDON

Arrived at the Wombat's City Hostel around 11pm on Wednesday 29 July. Crashed out to sleep as soon as I climbed into my bunk.

The view from the hostel

In the morning I walked down to the river Thames and went onto the HMS Belfast which was actually surprisingly interesting.  The ship has been turned into a floating museum, so you can see what the ship looked like when it was operating as a war vessel while also having the opportunity to read about some of the histories and stories associated with the ship. The boiler and engine rooms which sit below the surface of the water were quite claustrophobic, and if you aren't good with ladders then this is not an activity for you.

I then went up the tower bridge and shocked a terrified lady by walking across the glass floor as if it was a normal floor.  The poor women hadn't even stepped foot on the glass and was already shaking like a leaf.  The view from the bridge is pretty cool, even though the Wanganui river is probably a lot cleaner than the Thames.  The tour price includes seeing the mechanics behind lifting the bridge as well.

In the evening I participated in a pub crawl which started in the basement bar of the hostel.  The participants were mainly Australians which I guess is to expected when the name of your hostel is Wombats.

Friday the 31st I ticked off most of the big bucket list London locations; Buckingham Palace, the St Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben/Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey.  I also managed to get my head around the London public transport system which is far less complicated than I had imagined so I was able to avoid walking for miles to reach these destinations.

Saturday the 1st of August (Aaron's 25th birthday) I had a pretty chill day packing and preparing to depart for my topdeck tour the next day.  Rode the London eye in the evening as the sun was setting which provided some fantastic views.  The pod next to the one I was riding in only had 3 people, a couple and someone serving wine.  As expected when they reached the top of the wheel the man dropped to one knee and proposed.  It was quite adorable.

Ready for a full on 24 day topdeck tour!

I MADE IT

After a ridiculous number of hours spent in various airports and on planes I have crossed the globe from New Zealand to Germany.  I am excited for the adventures ahead of me, particularly my Topdeck tour and Tomorrowland in Belgium.

So far this journey I have learnt:

1.) US customs are intense, even if you're only in the country on route to somewhere else
2.) All long flights seem to have at least one screaming child
3.) Aeroplane toilets are scary
4.) The in flight breakfast is usually pretty average
5.) Pack sleeping pills if you plan on getting any sleep on the plane
6.) German drivers are nuts

I'll keep this blog up to date, more as a diary to myself than anything else :)