Friday 16th August
Now safely back in London town, have begun sorting out my life and completing the last couple of touristy things that I didnt manage in almost 5 years of habitation in this great place. After getting in on Wednesday, I found my way back to Chiswick where my friends Josie and Paul are kindly putting me up and began getting things organised. I have now sucessfully closed my limited company (barring a small amount of paperwork) and started going through all my piles of rubbish with the hope of actually getting it at least on the way to somewhere in the vicinity of the Southern Hemisphere in two weeks time.
Today I put my tourist hat on and went off, camera in hand, to the Tower of London where I got shown around the grounds by a Yeoman warder (Beefeater) and had a look at the very sparkly crown jewels. Its great to be back in an English speaking environment, and a bit of a change to be a tourist in a city that I call home. There are lots of people to catch up with before I go and to facilitate this, Im off to Dublin for a night next week to see my old mate Matt and his (relatively) new finace Andrea. Until then, there is going to be a substantial amount of revelry. Giddy-up!
Thursday 21st August
I am now back in London after a quick jaunt over to Dublin where I enjoyed some of the famous hospitality in many of the drinking establishments that abound that fair city. I was a little under dressed after the fantastic weather that we have been having in London saw me arriving in shorts and a t-shirt to a day where I encountered my first rain since Siberia. I had just managed to dry out in the pub when Matt turned up ready to help rid me of some Euros at the bar. Since joining the Euro, things in Dublin are noticably more expensive and I managed to part with many more than I expected in the few hours that I was over there. The weekend in London was spent catching up with friends and among other things playing golf and watching rugby. As I mentioned, the weather was great and it was most enjoyable to have drinks outside the pub on Friday and a Barbie for dinner on Sunday night.
My personal affairs are all but sorted now, so in the remaining few days before I leave it is just a matter of catching up with the people that Ive not managed to track down yet and sending my boxes off to Sydney. It was bizarre to see when I was catching up with the nice people from my old work at GlaxoSmithKline, that my desk was just as I had left it, and that my old entry pass still worked. Anyone would think that they wanted me back!
Sunday 31st August
The trip is all over now, and now that Im in Sydney its time to reflect over the last few days in London. I managed to catch up with nearly all the kids that I hoped to in the last couple of weeks, spending days drinking in Sheperds Bush, Hammersmith, Earls Court and in various places around the West End in the process. Hopefully for the people that I didnt quite get to see we can get together next time Im up in the vicinity of the Northern Hemisphere.
On my last day in London I met my folks and we did a tour of some of the cool tourist sights of the city by foot, taking in Piccadilly, Leicester Square, wandering to the South Bank over the very recently constructed Hungerford walking bridge and back again over the recently modified Millenium bridge that finally works when people walk on it! We enjoyed a very nice lunch at the Tate Modern Museum cafe and also passed by St Pauls Cathedral, Fleet St, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square and down the Mall past Buckingham Palace. After a fantasticly sunny London day, I returned to Paul and Josie's place for the last time to get my things and jump on the plane with my huge amount of luggage to begin a great big new Australian adventure..
I have put together a list of highlights from the last 7 months on the road, and you can have a look at these by following this link..