Springing

We have laid relatively dormant over the Winter to try to save the pennies for some sunnier times. And these have now begun. Boy, these weeks are going to whistle by.

I last left you in the whiteness of the coldest Winter in London for 30 years. That was about the end of the really cold weather and things have slowly started warming up ever since. But don't get me wrong, it's still cold, just not as cold.

London parks are still a great, free outing and we are still working our way around all of them. There really are lots. This is Greenwich. It has some rolling hills that give a great view back to the city. It also has a bunch of history, as with all of London. Below is the palace of somebody.

We were also kept busy by another cat, which we fostered for a few weeks. This is Meg. She likes to sleep. We are registered as foster parents at the Battersea Cattery. It is a charity that tries to re-home unwanted or stray cats and dogs. It has been around since the 1850's and I recently found that Stanley took some dogs from Battersea on his search for Dr Livingstone in central Africa. The dogs died on the beach, such was the journey by boat from England. Meg survived 4 weeks in our one bedroom flat and a bus ride back to the cattery.

So, our first trip of the new year was back to Paris, to celebrate 12 months of marriage. Feeling very far removed from a stinking hot day in North Queensland, it was a great way to mark the occasion.

We felt a lot more comfortable in the city this time and more relaxed. Of course, food played a large part, of which there is a story in the photo album below. Other than that, it was just some wandering. We did tackle to Louvre, which actually wasn't very busy apart from one painting.

The highlight of the Louvre was actually the buildings itself. A sprawling palacial complex, with the Napolean III apartments giving a great insight into Parisian opulence.

The trip will be remembered however, by being stuck on the train in the middle of the English countryside for 3 hours on the way home. Our beloved trains have left us questioning them. We were over an hour late departing from Paris due to some left luggage on a train earlier in the day. So we didn't end up boarding until about 10:30pm. It was all going fine until we suddenly stopped in the middle of nowhere (at least it wasn't in the tunnel). After about 15 minutes we got an announcement saying they were having technical difficulties but not to worry because everything is ok and the lights will remain on. 5 minutes later we were plunged into darkness and remained that way for about 2 hours while they brought out another train from London. We later found out, via one of the guard's walkie talkies, that the technical difficulty was the cab was disconnected from the rest of the train. Yep, technical. So we didn't make it back to London until 2:30am. Add another hour to get home and we then had to face work on Monday morning.

Somehow we powered through the week and before we knew it, it was the weekend and we were off again. This time to Alicante in Spain to try to find some warmer weather, and also to surprise someone for their 30th birthday.

Lots of good food, good wine, a few churches and a castle on top of the hill. Yep, it was great. We were wandering around in 19 degree bliss in T-shirts looking at our white arms. The locals were in big jackets. It was far from the average 35 degree Summer's day.

We then set off the next weekend to Austria for a week of snowboarding. Our last time on a board was nearly two years ago in Canada. It all came flooding back and was a great week away.

Things looked good when we flew into Inverness. The flight up the valley to land was an up close and personal experience with some untamed peaks.

We were greeted some fantastic Spring conditions. We missed the dump of snow by a day, but got all the leftovers and plenty of sunshine.

We found some powder to, you just had to go looking. Bella carving it up below the avalanche gates. It was a very different experience over here compared to North America. Not many rules, but you are responsible for your safety.

We went over with a bunch of Aussies from London. We stayed in a catered chalet about 30 metres from a gondola. Awesome is a good word.

We got a little bit of snow during the week but it was mostly sunshine. The amount of terrain is ridiculous. It's all connected by buses taking you 15 minutes up the road to a different mountain. You could ski here for a week and not do the same run twice.

After that crazy run, we were well overdue for some London time. But the adventures start again soon.

More photos here.

Springing

Winter Whiteness

Turns out we are having one of the coldest Winter's in about 30 years. Great. Just what I needed after 3 back-to-back Summers. Although, these Northern hemisphere ones barely cut the mustard.

I am still deciding whether I like this cold Winter. It does mean some of the white stuff and reduces the chances of rain, but it is cold. Here's where I begin my journey to work. This is my first stretch of road next to our place. Yes, I am still riding my bicycle to the train station.

A picture of our local circus.

Where I catch the train in Vauxhall.

And where I get off in Twickenham. There was a lot more snow the further you get away from central London.

When I get to work.

Bella had heaps of snow out near her work. So much so that she worked from home a couple of days. Although she did make it in one day when about only 50 of the 150 worker's in her council office turned up.

And at the back.

But it does mean there are some nice places to explore that look completely different. This is Wimbledon Common.

Just warming up the snowboarding jackets for a couple of weeks time.

A snowman

The sculptures got pretty creative. (An elephant)

About as big a hill as you get in London. Sleds and sledders of all shapes and sizes.

A picture perfect pine.

But mostly, it was nice just to wander wherever you like and get lost.

Or have a seat.

And my first attempt at rolling up a snowman ball.

It didn't get much further than this.

Christmas Break

Well we didn't quite manage to swing the white christmas in London. We got some snow before and after, but the 25th of December was actually a pleasant day of about 4 degrees and clear skies. I think we even managed some sunshine. This was quite lucky, as there is no public transport in London on Christmas Day, and we had a 45 minute walk to get to our Christmas lunch/dinner/extended eating and drinking session.

We started the day with phonecalls home, presents to unwrap and a two course breakfast. We then rugged up and trundled off to Tessa & Ben's place for an orphan Christmas. There were about 8 aussies celebrating together. There was plenty of food and drink, but it still doesn't feel like Christmas to me without the hot weather.

Boxing Day came and instead of settling down to another round of eating and a game of cricket, we headed to the airport for 6 days in Spain, in an attempt to escape the Winter. There was also other incentives including food, culture and forcing ourselves to drag some spanish out of a corner of our minds.

We arrived to a pleasant 15 degrees and sunshine. It was great. We fly into Seville in southern Spain. A city where orange trees line the streets and are in all the parks. We eventually succumbed to temptation and discovered why the oranges are left in the trees. Whilst in a park by ourselves we snatched a couple and peeled away. It was possibly the most sour thing I have ever tasted.

Seville is a big bull fighting city with one of the oldest 'Plaza de Toros' in Spain. The season runs through the Summer with fights on every weekend. I was initially wondering how much they could tell you about a ring of dirt that some people and a bull run around in. But we learned that bullfighting is a significant part of the Spanish culture and remains strongly supported. The stadium is sold out with tickets ranging from 20 to 130 euros. For your 130 euros you get the same brick seat, but you are seated in the shade and are nice and close to the action. Bullfighting actually consists of 6 people against 1 bull and it lasts around 30 minutes. The matador first, then 2 men on horses with spears, then 3 men with swords and finally the matador again but with a sword. At the end of each fight the bull is killed by the matador with a sword through the back of its neck and into the heart. There are usually 6 bulls for each day. Afterwards, all of the tapas bars and restaurants advertise who is serving the day's meat.

The matador is judged by both the crowd and the royal box. A matador has not been awarded the maximum 3 trophies in this ring for around 70 years. It is obviously still a violent sport by today's standard but I thought it was great that something so old remains such a strong part of today's culture. Perhaps they have a greater understanding of where the food on the plate comes from, rather than browsing supermarket shelves or maybe it's just the more relaxed European outlook on life.

Speaking of relaxing. The spanish sure do know how to take it easy, have a seat in the sun and watch the world go by. And I did too.

The only building to compete with the city's cathedral is the royal palace, called the Alcazar. The Alcazar was established as a Muslim fortress in 913. However, Southern Spain was fought over during the crusades sometime between the 12th and 15th centuries and eventually became Christian ruled. But rather than knocking it down, they continued to add to it. As a result it is a mishmash of both Moorish and Christian influences.

Regardless of who built it, it is most impressive and chock full of history. Seville was the administrative capital for the exploration of the Americas. The altar below contains possible the first painting of native american indians. This altar is where Magellen and Elcano prayed before setting out to sail around the world in 1519.

The food was a whole new, amazing cultural experience too. It's all about tapas. Both lunch and dinner start with a drink before you even think about food. Still, at 1 euro for about a pot of beer, it's quite easy to do. Then it's time for food. Lots of meats, of vary ages and types. The most expensive being Jamon Serrano, which is cured ham from pigs that live in the mountains and double their weight in six months, eating nothing but acorns. Goat's cheese, eggy quiche things, calamari, and morsels of pork/chicken en salsa. But as much as it is the food, it's also the atmosphere. The place isn't any good unless you are standing shoulder to shoulder and people are reaching over you to place the order. Keeping a tab, with chalk, on the bar in front of you. And you don't just eat at one place, choose at least three or four, so you get to wander around and try things.

There were also plenty of moments of ahhh, that's were the South Americans got it from. The plazas and their extensive tile work are a great reason to wander from one corner of the city to the other.

For the last 2 days we decided to head to the coast to have a look at the city of Cadiz. Possibly one of the oldest cities in Europe. It is also the port from which Columbus sailed on some of his voyages to the Americas.

We scored some rain, but we also got some sunshine. However, the wind was constant. It was still nice to be beside the seaside. Apparently the beach above is packed during the Summer, though there was barely a sole on it this day.

So, a good dose of Spain we had, but I still think we need to come back in Summer when the place would have a completely different feel and pulse.

Here are some more photos.

Spain

Winter in London

So I'm sitting here on Christmas Eve, waiting for Santa Clause to turn up, so I guess I can give you an idea of what London is like in Winter.

Well it's sunrise around 8am and is dark by 4pm. Now, when I say sunrise, this is the official timing. Whether there is light or not depends on how much cloud/fog/pollution is around on that particular day. We have had a cold snap recently and London has had a dusting of snow on the ground. Some of the outer areas of Greater London have had up to 3 or 4 inches of snow. We've had minimums of a couple of degrees below zero, and maximums of a couple of degrees above. The weather changes quickly from cloud to sun many times a day, but the coldness has remained.

Still, there are moments of pleasure. We took the opportunity one sunny weekend to have a wander around Hampton Court, which is an old palace dating back to Henry VIII. He used it when there was a particularly bad outbreak of the plague that he wanted to avoid. It of course includes a large portion of obligatory hunting grounds (below). These a just a great green space to escape the greyness of London's urban landscape.The sun strength still takes a little getting use to. Below is about midday with the sun at full strength. Note the length of the shadows.But, it does have it's benefits. It has been a good warm up to Christmas. Plenty of festive cheer (mulled wine) and they do put on a good show. This is Bella under some lights while wandering around Regent Street. It is also a time for firsts. Despite living in Canada for nearly 12 months, we never got around to ice-skating. London has a number of temporary rinks set up around the city. Before (we get on the ice).And after (we get on the ice).Now for some shots for the family. Firstly our London apartment Christmas Tree. And secondly, us.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Winter in London