From City to Sea

So another week has gone, and yet again it was an amazing week!

So tuesday I conquered London public transport again, only this time it was the bus, and not the underground. I managed to find my way to the bus stop (might I say that it was a 10 minute walk and I didn't get lost!) and then onto the right bus and toward Greenwich.
I hadn't been to Greenwich since I was in the UK three years ago, and back then my 15year old self did not appreciate any form of architecture or art (how things have changed). Needless to say this time I was a lot more interested, and spent a good couple of hours wandering around the area. I spent over half an hour in the painted hall, and I might have had a little fangirl because that's where a scene from Thor 2 was filmed though sadly Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston weren't there...

It's quite clever how they put mirrors on tables so you don't have to look up all the time

After I was finished oogling at the architecture, I decided to walk up the hill to the observatory. Let's just say I regretted that decision soon after I started walking up it (it's a hell of a lot steeper than it looks!) But when I finally made it to the top the view was well worth the effort so I sat there for a bit and took it all in (while getting my breath back).

After I had walked back down the hill at a pace that was a lot faster than my pace going up it, I slowly made my way back to the train station and got the DLR to Lewisham for lunch and a bit of shopping (just for a change).

That evening I was treated to 90 minutes of my favourite game. Charlie managed to make watching the football quite amusing by offering a running commentary and supporting the Italian team instead of the English.

Wednesday morning was spent wandering around town with Charlie getting groceries. I do love how here people still go to butchers and bakers and greengrocers separately instead of only going to the supermarket.

The afternoon was much less interesting, as I spent it heaving my suitcase across London once again, and then sitting on a train for nearly three hours as it took me to Weymouth.
When I finally arrived at the Scott's I spent what remained of the afternoon on the couch watching TV, and then Rob and I went to watch the first 20 minutes of the dress rehearsal of Lucy's show (which we were going to see later in the week). I spent the remainder of the evening watching tv, and on Skype to a friend back home (so an hour of catching up on all the goss that I've missed)

Despite the weather on thursday being cloudy, cold and on the brink of raining, we took Monty for a walk along the beach and then through town while we popped into shops (to get out of the rain).

Monty waiting ever so patiently at the door. Again.

Once we got back and dried off, we all played on the Wii. Now in my defence I hadn't played anything other than Just Dance for three years, so it was no surprise when I came last in the skiing competition, and also in the first round of Mario kart. But after the practice round, I managed to improve enough to come 5^th as I could now actually get around the course without falling off the road and into the water.. (can I just assure you that I am actually a pretty good driver in real life, and that Mario kart is very different to driving a real car..)

That evening I was thoroughly entertained, as I was lucky enough to watch the leaders debate. Please read that last sentence with massive amounts of sarcasm. I know nothing about politics, and although this may surprise you, it is not something I have a great deal of interest in. So watching 7 politicians bicker over things for 2 hours was not a hoot and a half..

Friday morning I was a good daughter and woke up early (considering I'm on holiday) to Skype the parents. After the usual catch ups – a trip to Aussie, a new car and drinking wine in perfect summer weather, I realised that they have adapted to life without children very well. So well infact that when they go away for the long weekend they leave plenty of food for the cats, but nothing for Chloe who was looking after the cats. They only realised that they had taken all the milk and eggs to Turangi with them when I told them (after getting some very angry snapchats from a hungry sister.)

That afternoon we went for a walk to Durdle Door, which is basically a hole in a rock (not to sound unenthused – it was a very nice hole in a rock). After hiking up a hill, down the other side, down some stairs to the beach and all the way back, we stopped off for some tea and scones to renew our energy.

Luckily the cloud cleared just after we got to the top, otherwise I would not have been happy!

Once we made it back to the Scotts house, we pretty much sat on the couch watching TV until it was time to drive to the Pavilion and watch Lucy's compilation show. The show itself was amazing, I wasn't bored for a second and was so impressed that the oldest performer would have been 17 or 18. I was also a very proud cousin because Lucy was outstanding, she stole the show every time she was on the stage, and you could tell she was born to be a performer.

The weekend rolled around and it was spent like the rest of my time in Weymouth. We played on the Wii (I have discovered I am quite outstanding at bowling, missing only 1 pin the whole game. However I am completely rubbish at golf...)

Just incase you didn't believe me! The two triangles are the strikes (I was the green one)

On Saturday night we went to see Lucy's show (again) and I was even more amazed and impressed than the day before (It also made me desperate to see Billy Elliot on the stage. I'll ge there one day.) It was the closing night for the show, and Lucy's last ever performance with WOW, so there were quite a few tears when they took their final bow.

Sunday was an amazing day. I slept in, sat outside in the sunshine (!!!), had a delicious roast lamb for lunch (New Zealand lamb, obviously) and then ate way too much chocolate..

Family photo at lunch. I seriously need to see some sunshine.

That afternoon we walked down to the park and played some rounders with some friends of the Scott's. While it was a friendly game, we all took it a bit too seriously, and there may have been some injury. However I think I have found my calling! If I do say so myself, I was rather gifted when it came to rounders, and when the teams were rearranged for the second round (due to injury making the original teams uneven) I was chosen first!
When we finally called it a day with the rounders, we wandered back through the park, and of course George, Lucy and I played on the playground (even though we are 17, 18 and 20. There's no age limit for a reason!)

And so we come back to Monday, and what a day it has been! I woke up to blazing sunshine, and it hasn't gone away all day. I spent the morning sitting outside in the sun, then we went down to the seafront to have fish and chips, and then a walk along the beach, and now I am sitting out in the back garden getting rather hot because I didn't pack any shorts... Weather like this is making me so excited for summer (it's been a stupidly long winter.) and I'm thinking that soon I'll have to go shopping for some summer clothes!

I just loved the bunting and cobbled street, so being the tourist I am, I had to take a photo.. 

Lunch was a healthy one obviously..

I can't be bothered writing anything else because the weather is making me want to sleep, so that'll be all! 

Just to finish you off, here's a swan for ya. Just because I can.

Last week of term!

Now as you may recall, last week I mentioned that there was a nasty virus going around the school. Well, on tuesday the decision was made to close the school to day pupils to try and reduce the amount of people getting it. On Tuesday alone there were over 100 students with the bug, and a good chunk of the staff too! So with only 30 kids boarding, and that number decreasing daily as parents came and picked up their kids, my week was spent in mainly in my room (away from the nasty bug-carrying kids) and I only left to get food, or do some work which was pretty much supervising the remaining kids in the evenings while they watched movies and the staff kept their distance.

I somehow managed to miss the virus, much to the envy and admiration of the staff who had not been so lucky, they all said it was because i'm a kiwi and we're built tough (I think it was because I voluntarily put myself in isolation as soon as it started getting bad)

Needless to say it was an interesting and unexpected end to my first term, but not really a bad one because I pretty much got a week off work!

So on Friday I made the now familiar trip from Frome to London, but this time with a big suitcase because I won't be back at the school for another three weeks. I had stupidly forgotten how many stairs there are in train stations when I packed, so I had to drag my (overpacked) suitcase across London which was not enjoyable in the slightest. I spent the rest of friday recovering from the journey on the sofa, and before you say anything, yes I did need recovery time – that suitcase is really heavy!

I see the inside of train stations far too much for my liking..

On Saturday I did what any normal 18yearold would do in London (in my opinion)  No I didn't go on a pub crawl, I went to the British Museum (personally I think I have my priorities right). I spent 3 hours wandering the museum in a state of mind that could only be described as pure happiness. After having a lot of practice with museums and queueing, I knew to get there as soon as it opened, so for the first half an hour, the place was nearly empty. 

Now as you may know, I took Classics for two years in school, and it was by far my favourite subject, so when I walked into the “Parthenon Galleries” room, there were tears in my eyes. I cannot explain to you how seeing statues that are broken and missing pieces can mean so much to me, but after studying them for months in year 12, and then having to wait two years to be able to travel to the other side of the world to see them, they are pretty special. I spent over an hour just walking around that particular gallery, taking in every metope and frieze, and wondering how people can only spend 5 minutes there, glancing at the pieces, and then leaving to sprint around the next room.

Other than the Elgin marbles, I saw vases from Thebes, mosaics from Carthage, and enough nude sculptures to last me a lifetime!

Puts Te Papa to shame...

Mosaics from Carthage! I had a freak out on the stairs in from of a Chinese school group.. 

The sculptures from the Pediment of the Parthenon 

A Caryatid from the Erectheion. Again, a freak out in front of a German school group this time..

That afternoon I went shopping. I know this seems to be a common thing for me to do, but this time it wasn't just shopping, it was retail therapy. After a week of sick kids, Zayn leaving 1D, and the car I learnt to drive in being sold, I needed it (so no judging). So I ventured out to Shepherds Bush, and spent a couple of hours there (half the time was shopping, the other half was trying to find my way around – that mall does not have a sensible layout!). After I had finished shopping I headed back to the Slades house, and I actually did come cooking! It wasn't anything amazing, but considering I haven’t cooked anything myself for a very long time, I was quite proud of my salsa (and thankful that the recipe was easy to follow). 

Sunday morning was spent at another museum, this time it was the Dulwich Picture Gallery and it was amazing. I was in awe of the paintings because they all looked like they had been printed, not hand painted, and as I cannot draw to save my life I was seriously impressed. There was a cool competition running while we were there – one of the paintings had been swapped with a chinese factory copy, and you had to try and guess what one it was (there was a 1 in 257 chance you would get it right) personally I had no clue, but there was one of Jesus that looked a bit too good to be real in my opinoin.

Whenever I go on a double decker bus, I have to sit at the front of the top floor..

That afternoon I headed into the city again, this time to meet up with some more gappies. I hadn't met either of them before (yay new friends) so we spent a couple of hours chatting, comparing jobs, pay and school (I definitely won, not that it was a competition). Between the three of us, there was a kiwi, an Aussie and a South African, which made for interesting stories about life back home. After an hour of us three chatting, two Aussie blokes walked in and sat at the table next to us. They were hard to miss because they were covered in green and gold from head to toe, and were very happy because they had won the cricket. As soon as the Aussie gap saw them they started chatting, and moved to our table. They were hilarious, and despite being 10 years older than us they were so easy to chat to (which made it easy for them to give me grief about NZ loosing the cricket). After 2 hours talking to them, we left and I had the task (yet again) of showing the Aussie around London, because he had arrived that morning, and hadn't seen anything yet. I must say I am quite proud of myself because I didn't need a map to get us across the city on the tube, and then around the city on foot! They kept saying I was pretty much a local, which feels weird because everything still feels so new and exciting here. 

Sadly the massive blue chicken has been replaced by what seems to be a Thestral wearing a bow

There are actual flowers out now! Hopefully the leaves will soon follow 

And now we're back to monday! This morning I was a fangirl and went to Baker Street (221b, to be exact), because you can't not go there! 

 It was such a nice morning that I got the tube into the centre of the city and just walked around in the sunshine, which was lovely compared to yesterdays rain and wind..

Now it doesn't take much for my maturity to disappear – a bit of snow, a theme park, or a childish joke will do the trick. So it will be no surprise to you when I say I spent over an hour in Hamleys, playing with the demonstration toys, looking at the Harry Potter section, the Lord of the Rings corner and the Game of thrones shelf. I very nearly bought a lot of things (wands, badges, Gandalf's staff that was taller than me) but thankfully my maturity resurfaced and I didn't (thus saving myself over a hundred pounds...) Once I managed to pull myself away from the toys and out the doors, I slowly made my way back to the train station, and then back to my room for a couple of hours, until I went on a walk around Nunhead Cemetery with Charlie and friend, and Sarah's Dad. It's one of those cemeteries that looks scary, even in daylight. Everything is over grown, and half the graves are cracked, but it was a nice walk (and I was fine, because in the horror movies bad things only ever happen at night).

I feel like I should congratulate you if you made it past all the spelling mistakes and gramatical errors and got to the end!

(congrats)