Heading to Ireleand

As usual the start to the trip has been quite entertaining.

I packed up my things from Walpole road and said goodbye to Rol's and my new friends and head off to meet Jusso and Prue at Clapham Junction.

Once I got there a lady walked up and through her bag onto the ground next to me. Doesn't seem very weird, but here's a few pointers to get your mind on what this girl was like.

Firstly, she had a flat bottle of vodka that cost 2 pound which she was swigging, she was smoking even through there was a strict no smoking rule on the platform, as she approached her jeans were hanging halfway down her thighs (her tracky dacks must've been in the wash) and she randomly swore at the train for being late.

I just smiled as she made eye contact, she smiled back, and that was the last time I looked in her direction.

Jusso and Prue turned up as more and more people arrived at the platform. Apparently there was a security scare at one of the terminals, so none of the regular trains were arriving at Clapham.

Eventually, 45 minutes late and looking much like the train trip for Cardiff, the train arrived and we squeezed on board.

The next issue was when we got to the checkout counter at Gatwick. I was of the understanding that the 10 pound extra I paid for having the guitar allowed me to take it on the plane. WRONG! I had to check the guitar on as luggage. No problems, but it's the first time I've ever done it with that guitar, so as I write this 30000 feet above the ground I've got my toes crossed that it gets there alright (I had my fingers crossed but it made it a bitch to type).

Next up was Jusso. Bag on the scale, 19 kg. Thanks for coming, that'll be 40 pound for excess weight, 10 for each kilo. So Jusso went through his bag, put one pair of shoes in my bag (I had to take mine around to oversize checkin because of the guitar) and another pair in his carry on.

Actually, I'm only just realising this now, but he's wearing a pair of shoes, one pair in my bag and another in his day pack. Who needs 3 pairs of shoes? I'm not even wearing shoes.

But I digress.

Jusso put the bag back on the scale and the guy let it go at 16kg.

Next up was Prue.

When she booked her flight she wasn't going to take a bag. I don't know too many 20 year old girls that can travel to another country with just a carry on bag, but I was impressed with her effort.

Of course, she ended up bringing a bag so she had to line up at another counter to pay for the luggage, then head back to check in before they would issue her with a ticket.

But after 3 small issues we had our boarding passes an headed off to security and get a coffee.

Jusso grabbed us some coffee's and we sat down and talked about the trip, what we were going to do, some new ideas for Shag's back home, whether we were bum or boob guys, usual small chit chat.

All of a sudden Jusso realised the time, it was 1515 and our plane departed at 1525.

Shhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttt!!!!!!

We ran down the stairs, through the corridors for about 800 meters to check in just as the doors were closing and for them to tell us the obvious, that we were the last passengers on the plane.

I don't mind running 800 meters, just not with a 15 kg backpack on.

I should have learned that I need to get out the front of the gate as soon as I get my boarding pass, this is becoming a regular occurrence.

For now, we're all on the plane and have a spare seat next to each of us. I even got one in the emergency exit.......... which kind of makes me think that there's a good chance that I'll have to do something. Oh well, at least I'm the first one out of the plane (once I push the older lady sitting by the window to one side...... kidding).

I'm a bit excited now. My first Guinness in Ireland is just hours away. Minutes even if they have a tap at the airport.

New Banner for Surf the Dream

I'm looking to change the banner of the site and giving it a bit of an overhaul and I'd like to hear what you think.

Which of the two do you think would best suit the blog, or if you don't think either feel free to suggest something else that might fit in.

Chrissy Shirts from Zazzle

To celebrate our beloved Chrissy I decided to make up a shirt. Well, it was to celebrate the van and to make sure that I had more then just 3 shirts to wear.


I know that my harem of girls were keen to get one each, but if you like what you see feel free to head to Zazzle and place your own order.

New feature on Surf the Dream

I like it when you check back in and see how my travels are going, but sometimes you need a bit of a prompt.

For those of you that want a notification of when I've added a new post simply click on the link on the right hand side of the page that says "Email me Surf the Dream" and enter you're email address.

You will get an email from Feed Burner asking you to validate the request. Once you've validated you will get an email every day that I update the blog with a new post.

I'd prefer if you just stopped by to see how things were going, but sometimes we all need a little push.

Southwark Church and St Paul's Cathedral

Today was a little different from my first few days in London.

First of all, I got out of bed before 8am. Now that was a common occurance for Mexico, in fact it was rare I was still in bed that time, but since I've arrived in the UK that has certainly changed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm awake at about 7.30am, but decide that the first hour or so of the day should be spent thinking about how good it is not to have to be at work and whether I should get up or just spend all day lying down.

Hate me? Well don't. I spent all day yesterday working on a resume (from bed of course, god bless the laptop) and will start applying for jobs soon. But, instead of being in a warm climate enjoying Christmas, i'll be in freezing England working.

Feel better? Good.

I got off the tube at the London Bridge Station and wandered up into the street having no idea where I was and no idea where I was going.

I noticed a bit of a tower with a clock, so I thought I'd wander over and check that out (no, it wasn't Big Ben, that's for another adventure).

I wandered in and found an amazing Cathedral, Southwark. There were 30 or 40 panels in the floor, large coffin sized panels, which read "Here lay ..................... dyed .............". It made it really difficult to walk around the place without feeling bad. I'm not entirely sure if they are actually under the floor, but I did a quick "Our Father" before leaving just in case.

This place was quite big and had a lot of things to it. It has an area around the side which is dug up a few metres down. It reveals an old Roman road (or so it says) and several walls that had been built at different times throughout the life of the place.

Inside the architecture was simply amazing (holly if you haven't been you really should). It's hard to convey much more into words, so as usual here are some photo's that will give you a glimpse of how beautiful it was........ and if I've got my act together you can check out some video as well (unlikely at the moment though)


From here I walked on in search of my next big sight. I walked along the river up towards the Millennium Bridge.

When the bridge was opened they realised a few days later that it had somewhat of a dramatic sway, and as a conciquence they closed the bridge for further development.

The bridge itself is nothing special, except for the fact that at one end you have the Tate Modern, and at the other you have St Paul's Cathedral (funeral for Lord Nelson, Winston Churchhill, someone else really important that I'm forgetting aahhhhhh it's the Duke of Wellington, and Dianna's Wedding ..... sorry Roland).

I have a couple of photo's of the outside, and took a few of the skyline from the Golden and Stone Gardens. Unfortunately there is no filming or photo's allowed inside St Paul's (yes before you say it, they were allowed at the place I went to before here) so all you have is my descriptions.

Unfortunately, I can not put in to words the beauty of the place. Imagine a place that is so amazing that at a time where religion struggled, the St Paul's thrived, when London burnt down, St Paul's was rebuilt even more beautiful, when England was being bombed in WWII, the order was to protect St Paul's at all costs necessary.

So strong is this building to the English people that it still remains the primary figure in London's Sky LIne, and however grand you believe it is from any position outside it ten folds that from within.

The one hundred sixty three steps to the Whispering Gallery (where a whisper spoken into the wall can be heard 30 meter's on the other side), the further one hundred and nineteen steps to the Stone Gallery, and the final one hundred and fifty two steps to the Golden Gallery are more then worth the effort (although be warned that your legs will shake a little on the way down, good for Elvis impressions though).

Here are a few photo's that I got from the Stone and Golden Galleries.

There's heaps to do here, so give yourself a couple of hours. I spent about 2.5 hours and used the audio tour provided (3 pound 50) and didn't see as much as I could have, and pretty much rushed the Crypt (the area underneath the floor of the Cathedral).

If I go back I'll wait for the guided tour, which allows you in to some area's that are otherwise roped off. The guided tour is the same as the audio, except you can ask questions but you don't get the atmosphere that the audio tour provides. Actually, just do both.

At one stage during my tour I was on the Stone Gallery and Jusso called, he asked if I was speaking on the mobile phone inside of the church but I told him not to worry, to make sure I didn't do anything wrong I pretended that Lambo was standing next to me the whole time. Cheers cudry, you got me through without incident.

Next up will be the National Museum, a few Di Vinci's to be seen.

Must See in Mexico - Part 1

After travelling through the country there are a few things which I think are must do's, and here's a list with some pictures to help you along. I'll do them in lots of 5 so you don't fall asleep after the 58th slide, but if you are ever going to head to Mexico these are the Jewels that we found, I'm sure you'll either find or have experienced others, but here goes......

1. Must get a TOURIST VISA when you cross the border if you plan on going further then Ensenada. We forgot, and ended up paying a fine further down the road.
   
   
2. Eat Tamales on the side of the road
   On the way from the blow holes there were a few of these stands. We pulled over and sampled everything the woman had on off. Everything was GREAT, and we ended up with a few jars of olives as well!
   
   
3. Eat Taco's and spend the night in Santa Rosalita
   Not only are they great taco's, they're also cheap! And you have the added bonus that a bunch of guys will drive past 37 times a beep and hollar at the girls......
   
   
4. Take a Car
   But be warned, it needs to have lots of road clearance because there are HUNDREDS of speed bumps (otherwise know as Topes, watch for signs......... although they are rarely signed)
   
   
5. Visit Bahia De Los Angeles
   It's going to be a long hot drive there, and you will need to fill your car up with a guy on the side of the road with a makeshift sign for Petrol. But don't worry about the quality of his fuel......... all the fuel in Mexico is dirty.
   Don't forget to get a picture under the giant Cactus either. There won't be as many anywhere else on the mainland, so make the use of it why you can. Seriously, look at the size of it. Has to be at least 8 or 9 meters.
   
   Don't forget lots and lots of water, it's of the hottest drives we did for the whole trip, but as you can see it's well worth it in the end.
   

It doesn't take very long to get through five, but if you like what you've seen so far make sure you come back again soon and find out what places make it in Part 2.

Robbed

Just an update on this post, everything is alright and no one is too worried. In fact, only Rol's is affected but has cancelled all his cards and has ordered another drivers license from Aus. It's been good actually, because of it Cress cooked an awesome Lasagne to make rol's feel better, and we get to have some (unless Roland ate all the pies, you fat bastard you fat.....)
Another plus was that I stayed at home all day and got my resume sorted out for IT, oh and the Police that came over....... the chicks were HOT, well at least one of them was super hot, the other one was just okay...... we'll call her Roland's girl. Sorry Rol's, bad day and you're still copping it (copping...copper...cop...ahhh forget it)

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Don't worry, nothing toooooo nasty (except for Roland's stuff).

Last night someone broke into the place I'm staying at and swipped Rol's phone, wallet and keys.

At the moment the police are checking the door for finger prints (and one of them is a babe!), but the only prints they've found are our own. Hmmm, do you think they'll arrest us and deport us back to Australia again?

It seems pretty funny that after travelling through America, Central America and London the only place that I haven't been robbed was in Mexico and Nicaragua.

In America I had some stuff swiped from the hostels I was staying at, and now this in London. I know it's just random occurances, but it goes to show you that Mexico is not the incredibly dangerous place that people build it up to be. Sure, you have to be careful, but no less then staying in any big city around the world.