On my second day in York I went and saw the National Railway Museum and the York Minster. The Railway Museum had loads of trains (as you might expect) from the really old locomotives to a Japanese Bullet Train. There was a huge section on the Flying Scotsman and one of the old trains had sections taken out of it so you could see how it worked. As I walked around I couldn't help feeling Id been there before so maybe I visited it when I was over here 12 or more years ago (*looks at mum and dad*). I didn't see much of the HUGE York Minster as you had to pay to get in and I was almost out of money but I did go up the tower to get a good view of the rest of York. I saw a bit of the inside which was pretty impressive, lots of high domed ceilings.
Later that evening Richard and I left York and we headed to Hull where Richard's family lives. On Sunday, Richard and Sandra took me to see the third longest suspension bridge in the world at about 1300m long which was pretty cool. I got a great photo of it at a place called The Deep, the worlds only submarium. A few days later I went in while looking around with James, my second cousin and its a really great place. They have a massive number of different types fish ranging from tiny jelly fish to poisenous tree frogs to a variety of sharks including small hammerheads. Earlier that day we went to look at the Hull Maritime Museum, Hull used to be a big fishing port and the museaum had many models and relics from back in the day when fishing of all kinds including whaling used to be big in Hull.
James also invited me to a party where, even though I was the eldest by around 4 or 5 years I had a good chat with people and even met a guy who had been to Adelaide a couple of times.
Later on in the week Richard and Sandra were kind enough to invite me on their family holiday up to the Yorkshire Moors for a few days. The moors looked very similar to Dartmoor and Exmoor moors that I visited earlier in my trip down in the south of England but were no less beautiful. During one of the days we took a long walk around and came across not only the village where they film the BBC show Heartbeat but also a small railway station that apparently featured in one of the Harry Potter movies.
On the last night there we cooked our evening meal (sausages) over the fire that we had spent a lot of time starting a few days before as a result of a total lack of matches or lighters. Luckily with an electric stove, some paper and some of my oh so very handy scout craft we EVENTUALLY managed to get it lit. We kept it going for three days and even built a small stove around it (and the sausages tasted awesome).
The next day we went to a coastal town called Whitby before heading home. Whitby is famous for a couple of reasons; for one it is the home, the inspiration and the setting behind the classic novel Dracula and secondly; it is the birthplace of a famous man called James Cook.
As we walked around town we noticed there was a large number of the dark and incredibly stylish goth community in town at the moment. As it turned out there was a Goth convention on as a run up to Halloween and Goths from everywhere were all flocking to Whitby and the apparent burial ground of Dracula himself.
Im back in Hull now and tomorrow Ill be setting off to Retford to visit Joy; a old friend of my mums. Then Im dropping by at Nottingham for a night to visit one very nerdy location then down the east coast to visit more relatives before I stop in london again and then back to Cheriton for a week or so before its off to Canada.
Only a month to go before much skiing and boarding commences, cant wait!
Have a good one.
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Friday, 19 October 2007
Guiness and Vikings
So ive decided to update a bit more regularily so I dont have to write as much.
On Monday, while still in ireland I took the car for a last drive to check out Woodstock Gardens; a ruined manor with extensive gardens attached. The drive was really nice, drving through some really cool lanes. I got lost a couple of times on the way (mainly on purpose), just taking random roads that looked kinda cool to drive down before actually going in search of the place itself. The gardens where really peacefull with some traditional style flower gardens mixed with lawns and a lot of wooded area. I did a bit of bushbashing just for some fun and ran into a couple of squirrels etc.
The next day I left Sarah and co for the last time :( and took a bus to Dublin where I spent the day almost exclusivley in the Guiness Storeroom where I met a Canadian girl who was also travelling alone. So we spent the rest of the afternoon looking around the Guiness museaum thingo, drinking beer in the Skybar; (a circular room with glass walls, situated on the 10th storey or so looking over the city with a bar in the middle) and walking around Dublin. Anyways it turns out she lives about 4 hours drive away from Kicking Horse where Ill be working in Canada so that was pretty cool.
Yesterday I left Dublin and flew to Leeds where I then got a bus to York where I was picked up by one of my mums cousins; Richard. He took me to his mums place where we are spending the next couple of nights before going to Hull where he actually lives. His mum, Nora is in her 80s and is a lovely lady, very grandma like but her memories going a little so Im getting used to answering questions she's already asked me. Anyways, Ive spent today looking round York which is a great in that its really retained its old Norman/medievil style. For example the vast majority of the Norman wall remains and is in good repair. You pretty much walk around the entire inner city on the wall battlements. The city gates also still stand and roads run underneath the gates beneath portcullises, one of which is still (theoretically) in working condition. Ive walked down one of the famouse lanes called the Shambles which has very old wooden framed building which lean in over the lane.
Theres also a Viking museam which has been built under the ground exactly where archiological digs have been conducted. Its a highly advanced museaum with LCD presentation inside a rocking 'time machine', a 15min ride through the Viking city of Jorvik (pronuounced Yor-vik) set around 900AD and lots of interactive displays etc.
Really cool museum.
Anyway Im spending tomorrow in York as well before I go to Hull with Richard. Ill be spending the weekend there and then in the middle of next week they've invited me to come to the Yorkshire Moors with them on their holiday which Im really looking forward to.
Until next time, have fun!
On Monday, while still in ireland I took the car for a last drive to check out Woodstock Gardens; a ruined manor with extensive gardens attached. The drive was really nice, drving through some really cool lanes. I got lost a couple of times on the way (mainly on purpose), just taking random roads that looked kinda cool to drive down before actually going in search of the place itself. The gardens where really peacefull with some traditional style flower gardens mixed with lawns and a lot of wooded area. I did a bit of bushbashing just for some fun and ran into a couple of squirrels etc.
The next day I left Sarah and co for the last time :( and took a bus to Dublin where I spent the day almost exclusivley in the Guiness Storeroom where I met a Canadian girl who was also travelling alone. So we spent the rest of the afternoon looking around the Guiness museaum thingo, drinking beer in the Skybar; (a circular room with glass walls, situated on the 10th storey or so looking over the city with a bar in the middle) and walking around Dublin. Anyways it turns out she lives about 4 hours drive away from Kicking Horse where Ill be working in Canada so that was pretty cool.
Yesterday I left Dublin and flew to Leeds where I then got a bus to York where I was picked up by one of my mums cousins; Richard. He took me to his mums place where we are spending the next couple of nights before going to Hull where he actually lives. His mum, Nora is in her 80s and is a lovely lady, very grandma like but her memories going a little so Im getting used to answering questions she's already asked me. Anyways, Ive spent today looking round York which is a great in that its really retained its old Norman/medievil style. For example the vast majority of the Norman wall remains and is in good repair. You pretty much walk around the entire inner city on the wall battlements. The city gates also still stand and roads run underneath the gates beneath portcullises, one of which is still (theoretically) in working condition. Ive walked down one of the famouse lanes called the Shambles which has very old wooden framed building which lean in over the lane.
Theres also a Viking museam which has been built under the ground exactly where archiological digs have been conducted. Its a highly advanced museaum with LCD presentation inside a rocking 'time machine', a 15min ride through the Viking city of Jorvik (pronuounced Yor-vik) set around 900AD and lots of interactive displays etc.
Really cool museum.
Anyway Im spending tomorrow in York as well before I go to Hull with Richard. Ill be spending the weekend there and then in the middle of next week they've invited me to come to the Yorkshire Moors with them on their holiday which Im really looking forward to.
Until next time, have fun!
Monday, 15 October 2007
Bristol and Ireland
OK, again Ive been slack but here's whats been happening.
I was in Bristol for a week with Xenie and Hannah before I flew from Bristol airport to Dublin. While in Bristol I stayed with the for mentioned friends along with their two housemates, Ben and Louey. While in Bristol I checked out the SS Great Britain, one of the first ships made with an iron hull, which served many purposes throughout its long working life, including taking people from Britain to start their new lives in Australia. Xenie and Hannah also took me to the gorge and large suspension bridge right next to Bristol as well as some caves in the vicinity.
Louey took me for a walk in a local park which used to be the gardens of a large manor complete with small castle. The park Incorporated a wooded, steep and narrow valley that had lots of different paths both at the bottom and top of the valley walls.
On a side note, heres a photo of a fox that came visiting while i was watching tv one morning.
After the very short flight I was picked up at the airport by Joe, my cousins husband and after a few business meetings in which I spent the time mostly sleeping, we eventually arrived in Kilkenny where Ive been staying for the past (almost) two weeks. In the first couple of days I checked out the town of Kilkenny and its local castle and grounds. Most of the castle was entrance by tour only and as i had no cash on me I just looked at a little art exhibition they had going at the time, while making my way out I took a detour and accidentally took myself on a short tour of the castle without a guide but no one said anything so I just kept going.
The next day, Joe, whos family have been living in Kilkenny for generations, took me on a tour of Kilkenny and showed me some more of the sights as well as telling me the history of the city. A few interesting things about Kilkenny; firstly Kilkenny is a city of about 20,000 people. Now Gawler is a town north of Adelaide, Im not sure of the population but it has a high number of pubs (around 10 I think) for the size of the town. Kilkenny, with its 20,000 people has over 100 pubs. There is a street where there is no less than 5 pubs in a row, in other words, a nice town for a pubcrawl.
The next day we took a trip down to Waterford and went to the famous Waterford Crystal factory and then to the beach for a nice walk. While walking along the beach we had a running game of Hurling, a popular Irish sport thats a bit like grass hockey but you are allowed to flick the ball up and hold it for a few paces and then hit it like a baseball. Also, it has much fewer rules than hockey. Its AWESOME! I love it, so wish they played it in Australia.
In the next few days I went up to a town called Athlone with Joe and visited the British Isles oldest pub, established in 900AD. Really cool place, I had a good chat with the barmen and bought a tshirt. As far as Athlone goes, thats pretty much it. The rest was boring.
During the next couple of days, my wonderful cousin Sarah put my name on her old cars insurance and I was able to borrow it and drive down to Cork for a few days. It took a couple of hours to get down there and on the way I stopped off at a small coastal village called Knockadoon which a few other people may know as Llanfair. After a bit of climbing around the coast and taking some photos I headed for Cork, where I had managed to time it so my arrival coincided perfectly with rush hour. After 30 mins or so of driving in circles completely lost, I parked my car and wandered around on foot completely lost and asking people where abouts I was on the shockingly bad map I had with me. After about an hour of walking I found the hostel I was staying at, walked all the way back to my car and drove it there, where upon I checked in and collapsed on the couch, watched tv and talked to other people in the hostel for the rest of the evening.
The next day I took a walk around Cork which isnt a bad city. I stopped off first at the Cork University which was just across the road from the hostel. I had a nice walk through and it is a great uni, scenically at least, it was such a beautiful campus. In one of the main buildings they had Ogam stones on display, stones which show the first written language of the pre Celtic peoples of Ireland. They were mostly used for marking the burial spot like tombstones and had names written on them in a script made up entirely of lines down the edge of the stones. After seeing the uni I headed up and looked at the old Cork Gaol then at the Old English Market and then walked around for a time.
That evening I sat around and talked with some fellow travellers at the hostel and a couple of us went for an evening walk around the city to see some of the evening sights. Unfortunately I was almost completely broke and so was unable to go have a drink.
The next day I packed up all my stuff and drove over to Blarney Castle which houses the famous Blarney Stone. A stone which gives the gift of eloquence to those who kiss it. So along with a couple of bus loads of American tourists I climbed to the top of the castle and hung over the edge backwards to kiss the stone. Id like to say that hanging backwards over the edge of a castle 20 or so meters high is exhilarating but its not really; partly because there's a guy holding you, partly because there's bars stopping you falling and partly because they whisk you through so fast by the time you realise the position you're in they're already pulling you back up.
After kissing the fabled stone, I took off for a walk around the grounds. At the bottom of the castle are a couple of caves and dungeons that you can go through, although you have to provide your own light and after I retrieved my torch from the car I had a great time doing a little caving. The dungeons in particular were fairly tight and I had to crouch down and squeeze through, making my way through almost on my hands an knees. I did not expect to go caving when I went to Blarney Castle.
After the small caving expedition I went and had a look at the Druids Grove in the grounds where a Celtic druid once lived. There was a stone Druid Circle and a Sacrificing Alter along with a few other mystical formations. While taking a walk around the grounds I stopped by a river and while I was sitting there quietly an Otter (or it may have been a Mink) came swimming by quite close. It stopped to look at me for a second or two before swimming on, it was awesome!
Today we just got back from a weekend near Dublin where we went to an old burial mound that dates back to 500 years before the great pyramids were built. It was built in such a way that on the Winter Solstice, providing it isnt cloudy (a fairly rare thing in Ireland, particularly in winter) the rays of the morning sun shine through a hole and illuminate the chamber within the mound.
Anyway, its just gone Monday (its about 2am here) and Ill be flying out to Leeds Bradford and going up to York on Wednesday where Ill be staying with some more relatives of which the link is so complicated I cant be bothered working it out. Ill just stick with distant cousin or something like that.
Have fun.
I was in Bristol for a week with Xenie and Hannah before I flew from Bristol airport to Dublin. While in Bristol I stayed with the for mentioned friends along with their two housemates, Ben and Louey. While in Bristol I checked out the SS Great Britain, one of the first ships made with an iron hull, which served many purposes throughout its long working life, including taking people from Britain to start their new lives in Australia. Xenie and Hannah also took me to the gorge and large suspension bridge right next to Bristol as well as some caves in the vicinity.
Louey took me for a walk in a local park which used to be the gardens of a large manor complete with small castle. The park Incorporated a wooded, steep and narrow valley that had lots of different paths both at the bottom and top of the valley walls.
On a side note, heres a photo of a fox that came visiting while i was watching tv one morning.
After a week of doing not that much at all in Bristol I said farewell to my childhood, English friends and went to the airport to catch the plane over the Irish Sea to Dublin.
After the very short flight I was picked up at the airport by Joe, my cousins husband and after a few business meetings in which I spent the time mostly sleeping, we eventually arrived in Kilkenny where Ive been staying for the past (almost) two weeks. In the first couple of days I checked out the town of Kilkenny and its local castle and grounds. Most of the castle was entrance by tour only and as i had no cash on me I just looked at a little art exhibition they had going at the time, while making my way out I took a detour and accidentally took myself on a short tour of the castle without a guide but no one said anything so I just kept going.
The next day, Joe, whos family have been living in Kilkenny for generations, took me on a tour of Kilkenny and showed me some more of the sights as well as telling me the history of the city. A few interesting things about Kilkenny; firstly Kilkenny is a city of about 20,000 people. Now Gawler is a town north of Adelaide, Im not sure of the population but it has a high number of pubs (around 10 I think) for the size of the town. Kilkenny, with its 20,000 people has over 100 pubs. There is a street where there is no less than 5 pubs in a row, in other words, a nice town for a pubcrawl.
The next day we took a trip down to Waterford and went to the famous Waterford Crystal factory and then to the beach for a nice walk. While walking along the beach we had a running game of Hurling, a popular Irish sport thats a bit like grass hockey but you are allowed to flick the ball up and hold it for a few paces and then hit it like a baseball. Also, it has much fewer rules than hockey. Its AWESOME! I love it, so wish they played it in Australia.
In the next few days I went up to a town called Athlone with Joe and visited the British Isles oldest pub, established in 900AD. Really cool place, I had a good chat with the barmen and bought a tshirt. As far as Athlone goes, thats pretty much it. The rest was boring.
During the next couple of days, my wonderful cousin Sarah put my name on her old cars insurance and I was able to borrow it and drive down to Cork for a few days. It took a couple of hours to get down there and on the way I stopped off at a small coastal village called Knockadoon which a few other people may know as Llanfair. After a bit of climbing around the coast and taking some photos I headed for Cork, where I had managed to time it so my arrival coincided perfectly with rush hour. After 30 mins or so of driving in circles completely lost, I parked my car and wandered around on foot completely lost and asking people where abouts I was on the shockingly bad map I had with me. After about an hour of walking I found the hostel I was staying at, walked all the way back to my car and drove it there, where upon I checked in and collapsed on the couch, watched tv and talked to other people in the hostel for the rest of the evening.
The next day I took a walk around Cork which isnt a bad city. I stopped off first at the Cork University which was just across the road from the hostel. I had a nice walk through and it is a great uni, scenically at least, it was such a beautiful campus. In one of the main buildings they had Ogam stones on display, stones which show the first written language of the pre Celtic peoples of Ireland. They were mostly used for marking the burial spot like tombstones and had names written on them in a script made up entirely of lines down the edge of the stones. After seeing the uni I headed up and looked at the old Cork Gaol then at the Old English Market and then walked around for a time.
That evening I sat around and talked with some fellow travellers at the hostel and a couple of us went for an evening walk around the city to see some of the evening sights. Unfortunately I was almost completely broke and so was unable to go have a drink.
The next day I packed up all my stuff and drove over to Blarney Castle which houses the famous Blarney Stone. A stone which gives the gift of eloquence to those who kiss it. So along with a couple of bus loads of American tourists I climbed to the top of the castle and hung over the edge backwards to kiss the stone. Id like to say that hanging backwards over the edge of a castle 20 or so meters high is exhilarating but its not really; partly because there's a guy holding you, partly because there's bars stopping you falling and partly because they whisk you through so fast by the time you realise the position you're in they're already pulling you back up.
After kissing the fabled stone, I took off for a walk around the grounds. At the bottom of the castle are a couple of caves and dungeons that you can go through, although you have to provide your own light and after I retrieved my torch from the car I had a great time doing a little caving. The dungeons in particular were fairly tight and I had to crouch down and squeeze through, making my way through almost on my hands an knees. I did not expect to go caving when I went to Blarney Castle.
After the small caving expedition I went and had a look at the Druids Grove in the grounds where a Celtic druid once lived. There was a stone Druid Circle and a Sacrificing Alter along with a few other mystical formations. While taking a walk around the grounds I stopped by a river and while I was sitting there quietly an Otter (or it may have been a Mink) came swimming by quite close. It stopped to look at me for a second or two before swimming on, it was awesome!
Today we just got back from a weekend near Dublin where we went to an old burial mound that dates back to 500 years before the great pyramids were built. It was built in such a way that on the Winter Solstice, providing it isnt cloudy (a fairly rare thing in Ireland, particularly in winter) the rays of the morning sun shine through a hole and illuminate the chamber within the mound.
Anyway, its just gone Monday (its about 2am here) and Ill be flying out to Leeds Bradford and going up to York on Wednesday where Ill be staying with some more relatives of which the link is so complicated I cant be bothered working it out. Ill just stick with distant cousin or something like that.
Have fun.
Monday, 1 October 2007
Amsterdam and the end of the tour.
Well I feel like Ive been a bit slack. Ive been in Bristol with a computer in the room Im sleeping in for 4 days and Im only just updating this now.
So I left you at Heidleberg on the last night before we left for Amsterdam. The next day we headed off to Amsterdam but stopped on the way at a small town called Saint Goar; the home of the biggest free hanging cuckoo clock in the world. Before seeing the clock we stopped by one of the oldest makers of traditional germen beer steins. We had a talk from a guy about the history of the stein and then had a look around the shop. The range was incredible with steins for all sorts of years, events, places and even occupations along with a number of other random designs. They even had a couple of contiki steins made for the tours that pass through. A lot of them were fairly expensive, for instance the contiki ones were around 80 euro but I was able to find a smaller and cheaper one that I liked. Im looking forward to trying it out, they're made so that with the lid down the beer can stay cold for hours; not that itd last that long :D. After looking around the town; seeing the 3m high cuckoo clock, the teddy bears made by the first teddy bear manufacturer in the world and the home of the birkenstock shoes we jumped back on the couch and headed for Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is cool and very different from some of the other cities we visited. Around 735 000 people live in Amsterdam, there are also about 700 000 bicycles. In short bikes are everywhere and as nice as I found the dutch to be, they're psycos when they get on a bike.
After getting to the camp site we set up everything as normal and then all ventured into the city for a walkabout meal (meaning find your own) and a bit of a tour afterwards. After dinner I went with Lara, Kat, Sue and Ronan to a pub called the Grasshopper where we hung out until we had to meet up with the rest of the group just outside. We then ventured into the famous Red Light District of Amsterdam where window shopping is all the more different from other places as the 'merchandise' looks back at you. Photography is very much not allowed in the Red Light District and the bounces take a much heavier hand at enforcing the rule than your standard museum employee. After the walk through the red light district we went to a show of the type that is unique to Amsterdam and other than saying that I found it quite amusing at times, Ill leave it at that.
The next day we went to the small town of Edam and had another bike tour. While not as long or entertaining as the tour in Munich with no insane Irishman cracking jokes all the time it was none the less an enjoyable ride around the town. We paused to have a look at one of the famous sights of the Netherlands: a 17th century windmill that was still in use.
On the way back from Edam we stopped at a place that handmade cheese and clogs (in the same building). We were given the quickest rundown of cheese making in history then moved onto watch a crazy dutchman make the beginnings of a clog.
After getting back into Amsterdam we had free time so after some lunch a bunch of us headed to the house of Anne Frank, the setting of her diary and book. Unfortunately while we were lining up for it, the skies opened and it bucketed down and even with the protection of a number of umbrellas I at least got pretty wet. The museum/house was really interesting, it must've been hard living in such a small area. After that we went to a pancake cafe and I tasted some of the traditional Dutch pancakes; poffertjes which were really good in the cold weather.
We all met back up in the evening to have our last dinner together at Wok Cullinare, a asian style restaurant. While the dutch do have some traditional food, Amsterdam is a very multicultural place and they really enjoy all the foods of the world. It was a large and very tasty meal although I couldnt eat as much as Id have liked because of the poffertjes earlier.
The next morning was our last day of the tour and it was with a mixture of happiness and sadness that we packed up our very wet tents and air mattresses for the last time. The trip back to london was nicely broken up by the ferry ride to Dover and there was the handing out of photos, email addresses, tips for the crew and more than the usual singings of our day song: Before I Fall to Pieces by Razorlight.
That night, after dropping of our stuff at hotels and hostels we all went to the pub at the Royal National Hotel for some final farewell drinks. It was a good night and a good end to the tour.
And that was it, the end of a brilliant tour. Ive put some of the photos from the tour up one my facebook here, so check them out. I highly recommend a Contiki tour to anyone who goes traveling anywhere really. They offer tours all over the world. Thanks to everyone on the tour and most notably Kiralee, our Tour Manager, Imogen, our Super Cook and Rich, our Driver for the awesome job they did, although they probably wont read this :).
Im now in Bristol, staying with a couple of old friends from when I went to school over here: Xenie and Hannah. Ive spent most of the time lounging around and recovering from the tour but Ive seen a few of the sights of Bristol but Ill blog about that later. Im having a good time with them, its great to see them again after 12 years or so.
Until next time, have fun!
"One more drink and then Ill go."
So I left you at Heidleberg on the last night before we left for Amsterdam. The next day we headed off to Amsterdam but stopped on the way at a small town called Saint Goar; the home of the biggest free hanging cuckoo clock in the world. Before seeing the clock we stopped by one of the oldest makers of traditional germen beer steins. We had a talk from a guy about the history of the stein and then had a look around the shop. The range was incredible with steins for all sorts of years, events, places and even occupations along with a number of other random designs. They even had a couple of contiki steins made for the tours that pass through. A lot of them were fairly expensive, for instance the contiki ones were around 80 euro but I was able to find a smaller and cheaper one that I liked. Im looking forward to trying it out, they're made so that with the lid down the beer can stay cold for hours; not that itd last that long :D. After looking around the town; seeing the 3m high cuckoo clock, the teddy bears made by the first teddy bear manufacturer in the world and the home of the birkenstock shoes we jumped back on the couch and headed for Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is cool and very different from some of the other cities we visited. Around 735 000 people live in Amsterdam, there are also about 700 000 bicycles. In short bikes are everywhere and as nice as I found the dutch to be, they're psycos when they get on a bike.
After getting to the camp site we set up everything as normal and then all ventured into the city for a walkabout meal (meaning find your own) and a bit of a tour afterwards. After dinner I went with Lara, Kat, Sue and Ronan to a pub called the Grasshopper where we hung out until we had to meet up with the rest of the group just outside. We then ventured into the famous Red Light District of Amsterdam where window shopping is all the more different from other places as the 'merchandise' looks back at you. Photography is very much not allowed in the Red Light District and the bounces take a much heavier hand at enforcing the rule than your standard museum employee. After the walk through the red light district we went to a show of the type that is unique to Amsterdam and other than saying that I found it quite amusing at times, Ill leave it at that.
The next day we went to the small town of Edam and had another bike tour. While not as long or entertaining as the tour in Munich with no insane Irishman cracking jokes all the time it was none the less an enjoyable ride around the town. We paused to have a look at one of the famous sights of the Netherlands: a 17th century windmill that was still in use.
On the way back from Edam we stopped at a place that handmade cheese and clogs (in the same building). We were given the quickest rundown of cheese making in history then moved onto watch a crazy dutchman make the beginnings of a clog.
After getting back into Amsterdam we had free time so after some lunch a bunch of us headed to the house of Anne Frank, the setting of her diary and book. Unfortunately while we were lining up for it, the skies opened and it bucketed down and even with the protection of a number of umbrellas I at least got pretty wet. The museum/house was really interesting, it must've been hard living in such a small area. After that we went to a pancake cafe and I tasted some of the traditional Dutch pancakes; poffertjes which were really good in the cold weather.
We all met back up in the evening to have our last dinner together at Wok Cullinare, a asian style restaurant. While the dutch do have some traditional food, Amsterdam is a very multicultural place and they really enjoy all the foods of the world. It was a large and very tasty meal although I couldnt eat as much as Id have liked because of the poffertjes earlier.
The next morning was our last day of the tour and it was with a mixture of happiness and sadness that we packed up our very wet tents and air mattresses for the last time. The trip back to london was nicely broken up by the ferry ride to Dover and there was the handing out of photos, email addresses, tips for the crew and more than the usual singings of our day song: Before I Fall to Pieces by Razorlight.
That night, after dropping of our stuff at hotels and hostels we all went to the pub at the Royal National Hotel for some final farewell drinks. It was a good night and a good end to the tour.
And that was it, the end of a brilliant tour. Ive put some of the photos from the tour up one my facebook here, so check them out. I highly recommend a Contiki tour to anyone who goes traveling anywhere really. They offer tours all over the world. Thanks to everyone on the tour and most notably Kiralee, our Tour Manager, Imogen, our Super Cook and Rich, our Driver for the awesome job they did, although they probably wont read this :).
Im now in Bristol, staying with a couple of old friends from when I went to school over here: Xenie and Hannah. Ive spent most of the time lounging around and recovering from the tour but Ive seen a few of the sights of Bristol but Ill blog about that later. Im having a good time with them, its great to see them again after 12 years or so.
Until next time, have fun!
"One more drink and then Ill go."
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