Terminal Time

You’re at the airport, your flight is delayed for six more hours, and none of your electronic devices are working. How do you pass the time? - The Daily Post

Hang on, that’s my flight! I just registered the voice on the tannoy saying flight VA528 is delayed. 6 hours delayed! Well, that’s annoying! At least I don’t have another flight to catch on the other end. I grab my phone to let my mum know about the delay. The phone is dead. Of course. I already used all the battery on the coach, and the charger is in my suitcase. Smart move. There has to be a payphone or computer nearby.

As I walk past the help desk I see the long queue of angry people. I don’t blame them, what if they have another flight to catch? I wonder if they’ll get on another flight. I feel sorry for the staff, it’s not their fault the flight is delayed but they’re the ones that will get shouted at.

I find the computers tucked away in a corner of the terminal, it seems a lot of people has had the same idea as me, there is only a couple left. I check my purse, no coins. Of course. I think I saw a bookshop close by.

I spend about half an hour choosing a book, at least I will have something to read for the remainder of the wait. I rush back to the computers, hoping there is still one available. One left. I hope it’s not been left alone because it’s not working or something silly like that. I sit down and put a coin in, I’ll only need it for 5 minutes. Yes! It’s working! I log on to Facebook and shoot off a message to my mum, hoping she sees it right away. She shouldn’t have headed off to pick me up yet but the longer it takes for her to see the message the more nervous I get. Drumming my fingers and the table and staring intently at the screen, I probably look like a mad person. From the corner of my eyes I can tell the people next to me keeps looking at me.

Only one minute left on the computer time. I might have to put some more money in. Finally! I see the little tick sign and it says my message has been seen. I have just enough time to read my mother’s reply and log off before the computer times out. At least that’s sorted.

5 hours to go.

I grab some sweets and a drink in one of the shops as I head back to the waiting area. I find a seat where I can still see the departures screen and I settle down with my new book. Disappearing into the world between my hands, the time passes quickly, I glance up at the screen occasionally to see if there is a gate for my flight yet.

1 hour to go.

I’ve nearly finished the book, I glance at the departures screen and notice there is a gate for my flight. I grab my things and head over to the gate before it gets too crowded. The gate isn’t open yet so I sit down outside it and open my book. I can’t focus on it. I’ll finally be able to board soon. I give up and put the book in my bag, I’ll finish it on the flight instead. I people-watch until the open the gate. We have all had to wait for so long, everyone looks as fed-up as I feel. Our movements are slow, there are only a few people running to the gate when it opens, the rest of us sigh and slowly lumber through.

Lift off!!

Travel by bike

Some days all I feel like doing is sell all my things, buy a bike and a tent and just leave everything behind. It's a combination of loving to travel and not having a single clue about what I want to do with my life.

Some people actually do this. They quit their job, sell everything they own, give up their house/flat and just travel. I like the post: How to cycle around the world in 3 easy steps. But it's easier said than done.

At least it's an eco friendly way to travel, as well as a cheap way to travel. As amazing as it sounds on the surface, I don't think it's something I would actually do.

I might be a fairly impulsive person. People think I'm brave for having gone to Australia on my own, and moving to the UK without knowing anyone in the country (the first time around). However, as I told my friend Mathea the other night, "I'm impulsive with a plan".

• I research - I like to know what I'm actually getting into
• I save up - I like to know I've got enough money to do what I want, I've never had a credit card and I don't want one
• I like to know what I'm doing/going once I'm done travelling

At the end of my Australian adventure I was getting really tired of living out of a suitcase, but at least I slept in a proper bed every night... although with a tent of my own I wouldn't have an OMG moment again!

It's a scary thing to do as well. Especially if you travel the whole world by bike, you have to make sure you have the right travel insurance and visas for every country you visit. What if something happens in the middle of nowhere? Especially if you're travelling alone as a woman. The world can be a scary place.

What about when you're done travelling and want to get a house or flat again? How are you going to get the money for the deposit and first month's rent? And with the world being the way it is at the moment, it won't be getting any easier to get a job!

I bet it would be a nice way to explore though, and cheap.

A day in York

I went to York on Saturday. My aunt and cousin were in York for a couple of days for my cousin's school trip and as I happened to have a day off I decided to take the train up and meet up with them. 

York is such a gorgeous city. I had not been since the last time I lived in the UK so it's at least 5 years since the last time I was there. I love all the little independent shops and all the pedestrian streets. To me, York symbolises one of the many things I love about the UK, one of the things that made me want to move here in the first place: There is just so much history and old buildings! I think I could probably spend a month in York and still not see everything there is to see, or learn all the history there is there.

I met up with my aunt and cousin outside the Railway Museum. I've never been before so it was really nice to see something new, or as it turned out, something old. The old trains they have there are absolutely amazing! I love old things, especially when they are well preserved. It was really interesting to see how the trains have changed over time, and it was also really fun seeing the royal carriages.  I actually wouldn't mind going back to the museum as well as we didn't get around to seeing it all. 

After the museum we took the little train that runs from the museum to the minster. It's not a long walk, but it is always nice to be able to sit down for a little bit when you got a day planned that involves a lot of walking. When we arrived at the minster we walked through town to find a place to have lunch. When she had heard we were meeting up, my grandmother had given my aunt some money to pay for lunch, which was really nice!

After lunch I wandered over to York Dungeons with the school trip, and while they got in line to go inside, I decided to explore a bit of York on my own. It had been nice to see my aunt and cousin again, even if it was just for a few hours, but they were there because of the school trip, not to see me, and I didn't want to disrupt their visit too much.

I wandered around in York for a bit before I decided maybe I should head back home, it was still early but my aunt had given me a bag with salt liquorice, which was really nice of her!! However, I get tired and cranky when I have to carry bags (one of the reasons I don't like shopping) and so all I wanted to do was to sit down and not have to carry anything. 

As I headed in the general direction of the train station I came across a sign that said there were free guided walks of York at 10.15 and 14.15, I looked at the time, 14.13, perfect timing! I wasn't in a rush or anything so I figured I might as well go on the walk, which is arranged by the Association of voluntary guides to the city of York. Even though I had to carry the bag of liquorice I didn't want to pass up an opportunity to see more of York.

There were maybe around 15 of us on the tour, a couple of germans, a few Americans, a few Brits and me. The guide we had was very knowledgable, it was really interesting to learn about the history of York. As soon as she mentioned the Vikings I made sure to tell her I am here to take over again. It was also really nice to see parts of York I might not have seen had I just walked around on my own, and if I had seen those places when I walked around on my own I would probably just have though, "that's pretty, I'll take a picture", but I wouldn't have known anything about it, whereas now I do. So if you are in York, a guided tour can be quite useful, just make sure to check the times on the website as they do change them depending on the season.





A guided tour can also be a nice way to meet new people. One of the guys on the tour started talking to me and when the tour finished he gave me his ticket to the minster! He had already been in that day, and as he was going up to Edinburgh in a couple of days before heading back to the states, he asked if I wanted his ticket! I just can not believe the kindness of some people! It did make sense in a way I guess, but still, it was just really nice.

I have never been inside York minster, but I've been wanting to ever since I first saw it. I might not be religious but I do think old churches and cathedrals can be really pretty. A free ticket meant I could actually go inside it this time! It is absolutely gorgeous inside, like most old religious buildings, they just put so much more effort and detail into them before than what they do nowadays. When I looked at their website today I actually found out they do free guided tours every hour. So, as my ticket is valid for a full year(!), I can go back and do the guided tour. It would be interesting to learn more about the minster, the voluntary guide on the city tour did tell us a little about it, but it would be interesting to learn about the inside of it as well. If I do go up again within a year I might also go up to the central tower, I bet there is a really nice view from up there.

Once I finished inside the minster I headed back towards the train station. It was a really good day. Quite a cheap day as well in a way, all I ended up paying for was the train ticket! I am going to try and get back up to York again in the not too distant future, it really is a lovely city. Maybe next time I will even go to Jorvik, and walk along more of the city wall than what I did on Saturday.

Writing fiction?!

Wikipedia

I've just started an Open University course through Future Learn called "start writing fiction". 

I used to love writing when I was a teenager, I always wrote about 10 pages more than I had to on story writing assignments at school. I still have some of the stories I wrote, although looking at them now the writing style is very childish. The stories themselves are fairly good, just needs a bit of a polish.

The first writing assignment on the Future Learn course sounded simple enough; write two paragraphs between 50 and 100 words, one with 1 truth and 3 fictions, the other with 1 fiction and 3 truths. I think I spent between half an hour to an hour trying to write the one with 3 fictions! I have gotten so used to writing the truth on this blog I don't know how to write fiction anymore! So of course I am really looking forward to getting back into writing fiction through this course.


Can you tell the facts from fiction?

1 fact, 3 fictions

I remember when I went to school; in every new class we had to sit down in a circle and every person would introduce themselves to the rest of the class. I loved it when I had to repeat the name of all the people introducing themselves before me, I was usually within the 5 first people so I didn’t have to repeat many names. Although I did struggle remembering the names the year I was an exchange student in China, they were just so different from the names I’m used to hearing.

1 fiction, 3 facts

Sometimes it can be quite nice working shifts. Like now, I’ve got 4 days off in a row, that doesn’t happen very often. I can go shopping when the 24-hour supermarkets are almost completely empty, I can go to the zoo, or the Blue John Cavern, or Chatsworth and other places when children are at school so it’s nice and quiet. In addition, daytime TV shows are the best!

Things to see and do in Italy

Wikipedia Commons

I've already done posts about the top 10 places I want to visit on each continent (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania), but I wanted to have a closer look at a couple of countries.

Italy is, at the moment, the country I would most like to explore. There is just so much culture, architecture, history and delicious food all wrapped up neatly in a country that also has one of the most beautiful languages in the world! So far I have only been to Rome and while I was there I also visited the Vatican City.

I think Italy is one of those countries where it would be best to just get a car and drive around, exploring the little Italian villages would be part of the charm. I have however compiled a list of things I want to see and do if I go back to Italy.

Italy

• Verona, ever since I learned about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet I've been wanting to go to Verona to see the place for myself, there are tours where you can explore the Romeo and Juliet side of the city
• Ruins of Pompeii, I've always been fascinated by volcanoes so to go to a city that's been so affected by one and well preserved for about 2000 years would be really amazing,  while I was in the area I would also visit the
• Ruins of Herculaneum, it's upstaged by Pompeii but was actually destroyed by the same Mt. Vesuvius eruption. It's smaller and easier to navigate than Pompeii and personally I think visiting the less known places is better than just seeing the same places as everyone else
• Venice, before it sinks too much I would love to go and see Basilica di San Marco
• The leaning tower of Pisa, it started leaning shortly after construction and they didn't just knock it down and start over! 
• Valley of the Temples, I love old historical buildings so Doric temples dating from the 5th century B.C. would be absolutely amazing to see
• Trulli di Alberobello, just because it would be fun to see a whole town of limestone buildings with cone shaped roofs
• Naples, food like pizza and spaghetti originated in Naples, meaning you should go there just to eat
• Grotta Azzurra, the blue grotto in Capri, a cave where the light from the sun coming in through the opening makes the water look neon blue (image below)
• Cooking class in Tuscany, I would absolutely love to do this! The Mediterranean diet is one of the world's healthiest diets, in addition Italian food is one of the tastiest cuisines, I would love to learn to make Italian food from the masters themselves
• Florence, thanks to the architecture of the old buildings Florence has been dubbed an outdoor museum, there are also loads of statues of "David" scattered around Florence, so you could do a "David" treasure hunt

Grotta Azzurra, Capri - Wikipedia

These are the places I would really love to see in Italy, but like I wrote above I would prefer just getting a car and driving around the country (getting a licence first would probably be a good idea).

If you haven't been to Rome and the Vatican City you should definitely go there as well! Rome is just and amazing city with so much to see! Just be careful as people basically shove things on that they then want money for. My top picks for Rome would be;

• Colosseum 
• Trevi Fountain
• Pantheon
• Spanish steps
• Monumento a Vittorio Emanuelle II
• The Vatican City, a country of its own but it's kind of in Rome so I'm going to count it as Rome
• The Vatican Museum, if the Pope is speaking try to go to the museum while that is happening as it's VERY crowded afterwards, also it might be a good idea to get a guided tour so that you can get all the important things pointed out to you, I'd like to go back as I didn't feel like I actually saw anything when I went last time

Have you been to Italy? 

What places would you suggest/want to go in Italy?

10 places I want to visit - Oceania

I was going to just do a list of 10 places I want to see for the whole world, but there are just too many places! So I decided to do a list of each continent instead (excluding Antarctica).

Of course there are more than 10 places to see on each continent, some places I haven't even thought of, but I had to have some cut-off-point.

I wish I'd had more time and money to explore Oceania while I was on that side of the world.

Oceania

worldmapsonline.com

• Lake Hillier, WA, Australia, a PINK lake?! How did I not know about this while I was in Australia?! I would have totally gone to see it with my own eyes!!
• Papua New Guinea, I'd love to explore one of the least explored areas in the world, it's believed to have many undiscovered species of plants and animals
• Bora Bora
• Tahiti
• Fiji
• Brute Slope Point, New Zealand, to see the very windswept trees
• Hobbiton, New Zealand, probably one of the greatest, most epic trilogies of our lifetime (both books and films), of course it would be amazing to feel part of that, whether you're a Lord of the Rings fan or not
• Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand
• Christchurch, New Zealand, my mum and her husband was there after the earthquake and they've said it's amazing, I would love to see it myself as well!
• Vanuatu

What would your 10 places in Oceania be? 

If you could go anywhere in Oceania right now, where would you go?

10 places I want to visit - Asia

I was going to just do a list of 10 places I want to see for the whole world, but there are just too many places! So I decided to do a list of each continent instead (excluding Antarctica).

Of course there are more than 10 places to see on each continent, some places I haven't even thought of, but I had to have some cut-off-point.

There is just so much culture, and so much history, so much of everything in Asia! How could anyone not want to go there?!

Asia

Wikipedia Commons

• Great wall of China, a must have on any travel list
• Taj Mahal, India, I wanted to stop there on my way back from Australia, but the Indian visa rules are very strict and it was just too tricky to apply for a visa while I was still in Australia
• Kathmandu, Nepal
• Singapore
• Japan
• Maldives, for a luxury holiday once I win the lottery
• Bali
• Vietnam
• Jerusalem, Israel, I've already been to the Vatican, it would be kind of cool visit another holy city, even though I'm not religious myself
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to see "The World"

One thing I've found out while making these lists of where to go on each continent is that I have a hard time remembering the places I know I've thought about before that I want to go! So these are lists of places I want to visit but at the same time I know I'm forgetting about other places on those continents that I also want to see! It's rather frustrating!

What would your 10 places in Asia be? 

If you could go anywhere in Asia right now, where would you go?