England!

Well here I am, almost done my week in France and I haven't even wrote a blog on england yet! I am currently in a small village an hour away from nice called st paul de vence, waiting for the bus to go back! It feels like so long ago that I was in Denmark already. I left Ditte on Saturday, and arrived at the London stanstead airport around 6. Security was intense to get into the uk! They asked where I was staying, where I met this friend, what nationality was she etc. Crazy. Made it through eventually, and then took a train into London, then 4 tubes and I finally arrived at Emmas! Was so nice to see her, was like we hadnt been apart at all. We decided to go out because it was Saturday night after all. I didn't have any nice shoes to wear so borrowed a pair of hers, they were just too small though so it ended up being a very painful evening! We went to Mohiki, then met some people who took us to Movita. Had a great time, me and Emma always have a great time when we go out together.

On Sunday, we made crepes, then I went to hillsong London for the evening service!! So good. I can't explain the feeling I get when I'm there. This sounds so lame, but when I walked in, there was a huge banner that said 'welcome home' and it was the same banner that hillsong cape town has, and that's exactly how it felt. I had heard one of he London pastors speak in cape town, but this was a different guy, i liked him though. After the service talked to a few people, ended up going to this wonderful vegetarian restaurant in soho nearby. London was good for eating vegetarian! Everything was labelled whether It contained any animal products, was suitable for vegetarians etc. France is not so good for that! On Monday I had my first sightseeing day. Decided to go to the British museum. That was cool, saw the rosetta stone, and a preserved human body that was super old and gross! Then I walked down to the grant museum of zoology and comparative anatomy. Basically it's a tiny museum run by one of the universities there, and it's full of animal skeletons and preserved animals in jars! It was really cool to see different skeletons, the penguin skeleton looks just like a penguin! I couldn't believe how similar the chimpanzee skeleton looked to a humans!

Then I went to topshop, but saw people with primark bags and was dying to go there! Took the tube to Oxford street where it was. Wow. I have never been in such a ridiculous crazy chaotic store! You could hardly walk, there were people everywhere! The queue for the fitting room was at least 40 minutes long! Just needed to get out, so I bought a few things that I thought would fit, and made my way home!  Came home to see Emma and her flatmate, James, glued to the news. The riots were going! We basically just watched the news all night, shocked at what was happening. On Tuesday, I took the train to Staines to meet up with Georgina! Was lovely seeing her, she showed me around her area, then we went to the pennywood park hotel and spa. She said it was a nice place but I didn't realize how nice it would be until she told me that when she worked there, she served Russell Crowe, and a bunch of the Chelsea boys came in as well. Crazy! It was super gorgeous, we pretended to be posh so they let us take a look around the spa, we snuck into some massage chairs, went in a sauna and an ice cave (room with ice for walls) and took a look at the crazy pools. Can't even imagine going there. We went and ate lunch outside on the patio, I had my first pimms which was delicious.

Came home and the riots were at it again, this time only a tube station away, at Clapham Junction, a nice end of town, popular shopping street, was being looted! Teenagers in hoodies would come and smash the windows with baseball bats or chairs, anything really, and then grab stuff! The cops arrived there after they heard about it, but there were just too many looters to do much! It's so stupid because it was mainly teens, with no criminal record, who heard about it on bbm and went down because they knew they could get away with it! Which most of them have unfortunately. On Wednesday I went to Camden market and shopped around, then stopped in clapham junction to see the damage! Lots of other people had as well, it was crazy, the damage that these kids caused. I took a lot of pictures, will post on Facebook at some point. Was interviewed by the Swiss national news. One of the big stories was the furniture store in croydon that was burnt down. It was 144 years old I believe, been passed down from generation to generation. And now it's gone. Peoples houses were burnt down as well. I just don't understand how these people could just tear apart people's lives with so little thought. Very saddening.

That evening me and Emma went to see love never dies, the musical sequel to phantom of the opera. It was good, although the songs weren't memorable likethe first one! The phantom had a really good voice though. And a surprise ending!  On Thursday I decided I should probably see some of the iconic sights of London! So I went and saw the London eye, went to parliament square and saw big Ben, and went in Westminster abbey. Was sad that you couldnt take pictures inside it, but it was really cool to see still. Saw the graves  of Isaac newton, Charles Darwin, William wilberforce, Robert browning, Handel, rudyard Kipling, Charles dickens, the bronte sisters, David livingstone, and a ton of others! Beautiful architecture, you can tell a lot of money has gone into that place over time. They also had a nice collection of wedding photos from the royal wedding on April 29, which was cool to see. Afterwards, I went and saw buckingham palace, pretty boring! That evening, Emma and i went for a long bike ride through Richmond park! That was cool because there were hardly any people there, and as a result there were deer everywhere! There was a herd of about 30 on the road, they moved over slightly for us and we passed them. The bucks are quite big! On Friday I figured I should have a practical morning, as nothing past Paris was booked at that point! Booked all my France stuff, and a flight back to Copenhagen to catch my flight home! That afternoon I went to see tower bridge and st Pauls cathedral, then a few of Emmas friends came over in the evening for a barbecue. On Saturday I went to Hyde park, took some pics, went through Kensington gardens and saw the palace. Then went to Notting hill, not really knowing much about it. Turns out there's nothing there. (apparently there actually is I was just not in the right spot or something) After that long detour, I headed to brook st and saw where Handel and jimi Hendrix used to live. Then I went to savile row and saw the store where the Beatles used to get their suits from, and then I saw the venue for their last live gig. 3 savile row, on the rooftop of an apartment building. Very cool. Then I headed home. As it was my last night me and Emma decided to go out again. Went to a place not too far from her house, had a good time. Was not so fun getting up a few hours later to leave London! Was sad to say goodbye to Emma, as well as the city!

Denmark :)

So I just reread all my posts (i have a lot of time to kill in the airport!), and it made me miss Africa even more than I usually do! I am planning on going back there though! In September i start school (double majoring in human rights & global studies and international development studies). Originally my plan was to do school for a bit, then in January 2013 go to Kenya and volunteer there, then do an overland tour down to SA (almost did it last time I was there, sounds so fun, go through 9ish countries!) and then be in SA for awhile. But now for my degree I have to do a practicum, so definitely going to see of I can incorporate Africa in there somehow! Anyways, onto this trip! Even in Africa was contemplating Europe this summer to see some friends again! Then in May I found a ridiculous flight deal (less than 500 return after tax), so I just booked it out of the blue! Am gone for 3 weeks and seeing Denmark, England, and France! So just about to leave Denmark now, what a great little country! Arrived in Copenhagen on Sunday evening. Didn't quite have all the directions I needed, so made a quick text to the boyfriend who quickly googled it and sorted it out (so crazy what technology can do these days).

Stayed at a really nice, central hostel for 3 nights, met some great people there! The first night I just walked around a bunch, took in the city. It is the epitomy of how I picture a European city in my head.
The narrow streets with the old buildings, all painted in various colours, with the cobblestone streets. So many bikes wow! It's great that they utilize that, as it is a great city to walk or bike to get around; more bikes than cars! Just have to make sure to not get in their way as they won't be happy!

One day me and another Canadian girl I met at the hostel went on a free walking tour, it was a great way to get to know the city better. Highlight of the tour was probably nyhavn, prety touristy, but very pretty. Is basically a river leading to the harbour with old houses on either side that have been converted into various restaurants and shops. Hans Christian Anderson actually used to live in one of those houses, snapped a pic of that. After the tour we decided to go to the free town of christiania. What a place like no other. Basically a big hippie village located in the city of Copenhagen, yet they have their own set of laws, they don't pay taxes, and they're not a part of the European union! Hard drugs used to be legal there, but then they had five people OD in one day randomly, so they changed it. But soft drugs are still legal, and therefore very prominent there. Aren't allowed to take pictures on the main street, but got a few pictures from other areas. It was a really cool place to visit, but can't imagine living there!!

After that we went to the church of our Savior, and climbed the 400 stairs to the top of the tower. The stairs got steeper as we ascended, until they were essentially straight up! The last 150 stairs were outside, winding up the spire. We thought there would be a small platform at the top, but no, the stairs just got skinnier, and then that's that! What a phenomenal view of Copenhagen though! Wow, what a beautiful city. I didn't realize how close Sweden was, could see it from up there! Almost took a day trip to malmo and Lund (in Sweden, only a 20 minute train ride!), but decided I'd rather spend one more day in Copenhagen!

Wandered around the city (it's great because I just walked with no direction or knowledge of where I was, but there are enough landmarks that you eventually run into one of them and immediately know where you are!) did that for a few hours, then realized I was fairly close to the little mermaid statue so I may as well go see it. Tiny, definitely overrated yet for some reason one of the biggest tour attractions in Copenhagen. It was swarmed with tourists, so I just snapped a pic and went on my way!



 On Thursday I managed to take the train from Copenhagen to skjern, where Ditte picked me up! Was so excited to see her. Drove to tarm (means intestine) a small town where she lives! In Africa, she would always eat toast with cheese and jam, and I made fun of her for it, until I tried it and realized it was delicious! Everytime she would eat something weird, it would end up being good. So I dont even question her anymore, as I know I will somehow love it. Dinner was this salad, strange combination! Spinach, beets, onions, cranberries, pecans, broccoli, grapes, apples, can't remember what else but it was just a weird mix! Then the dressing was yogurt, curry, ketchup, mustard, maybe honey, can't remember it all. But of course it was so good. Her friend came over and we went to go buy some Danish desserts! Had a proper feast, it was delicious. Then yesterday we went to Legoland! Before Ditte I had no idea that Lego was a Danish invention, but it's true! We managed to get in for free (was so expensive if we had had to pay) and had so much fun. Started on the kids rides, then worked our way through the scarier ones. The coolest one was called the power builder. They hand you a card, then you stick it in a computer and pick the level of your ride, and the moves it does! Then when it's your turn, you go up to this at like contraption with 2 seats and they put hour card in and off you go! We tried to make ours as crazy as possible, definitely succeeded, it was insane! Would whip you backwards to upside down, let you hang there for a second, then whip you and spin you around then leave you on the side. Back down, around, forwards, backwards, side to side, pretty much every direction possible. So much fun! Did it twice, second time was definitely crazier, think we made a lethal combination that time. Oh, and some crazy huge statues there made from Lego. Took lots of pics I'll put onfacebook when I get back, super cool!

Then last night we went to a festival in Borg, very different side of Denmark. In Copenhagen, everyone is beautiful and very fashionable. At the festival, everyone was a farmer. And lots of them knew no English! One guy tried to start talking to me in Danish. Ditte told him I don't know Danish. He was silent for a few seconds and then slowly got the words west coast out, then said blah blah and started. Talking in Danish telling ditte that he knew no english! Met some nice people though, had a great time. And now I'm off to London to see emma! Is really nice to see people again. Before Africa I had no idea that I would make such good friends there. Anyways will try to write another blog about London!

Catching up

Hello! Well it's been a long time since I wrote a blog entry, that's for sure! After Africa I met two of my friends in Paris and spent 5 days there, was a great time! It was a lot colder than I was used to, but was great to see my friends again. Not sure when I wrote the last blog in Africa, but I was actually robbed on my last day there, losing all my money, my debt card, and my credit card. Thankfully not my passport! Was in a tricky situation, but managed to get through it with a lot of help from others! One of the volunteers somehow had 500 euros on them that they gave to me, saying I could just send them the money when I got home! Without that money I actually would not have been able to get out of south Africa. In joburg, I had to pay mmm I think it was 434 euros or something stupid for overweight luggage, had a full suitcase full of souvenirs that I just could not part with. Had the police report and was hoping for a sympathetic person as I literally had 33 rand on me (less than 5 dollars), but no luck. Started crying, didn't know what to do, then remembered the euros! Went and switched it to rand, then sorted that out. Then called the fam and got them to arrange a money transfer via western union that I could pick up in Paris! They sorted out with my bank to get me a new card that my friends could bring to me. So complicated! Anyways, got everything sorted and made it to Qatar and then Paris. Spent 30 hours in the airport as my friends got delayed due to a blizzard. But we finally managed to meet up, and had a great time, aw the Eiffel tower in all it's glory, the louvre, Versailles (think we were the last people in the park), saver Codie, Norte dame etc! Then I came home, in beginning of may went to Florida for a week to visit rose, a girl I met in south Africa, and to see ditte and her Danish friend Louise who were traveling across the states! Had a lot of fun there, was nice and hot! And that's caught up until about a week ago. Am going to make a new post for Denmark as it won't let me see what I am typing now. Am on my touch and it's a little difficult!