A foggy day in Dover

I've been lucky with the job I've got since coming back home allows me to explore London and he UK for free! In March, I headed off to Dover with out 150 students to visit Dover Castle and the White Cliffs. We couldn't have picked a worse day to go, the weather was drizzly, cold and foggy. So foggy in fact, that when we got off the coach, I led the students in the wrong direction as I couldn't see the mist covered castle. Dover castle is a very interesting place to visit, and during out tour, we got to see a couple of the tunnels underneath the castle that were used during WWII as a hospital. There a a lot more layers of tunnels to see, some from the time of the Napoleonic wars. After lunch in the NAAFI, and a vote from the students, as all headed up to the white cliffs. This was a mistake, in hindsight, as the cliffs had become very wet and slippery, and visibility was practically nil. We were barely able to make out the water below. The mist did add an air of the ethereal to our photos however, and shows the castle in a mysterious light. Next time I'll definitely be hoping for a much clearer day.

Pisa

As Daliah and I were flying as cheaply as possible to and from Italy at Easter, instead of flying directly to Florence, we headed into Bologna and out of Pisa. This was a good idea, not only as it was cheaper, but it meant that we were able to take in the leaning tower of Pisa, before we headed back. I was glad about this, as I'd had to skip this when travelling there the last time. There isn't much else to see in Pisa, most people come for the tower, take a few pictures and leave. This is exactly what we did, wheeling our suitcases along, in the drizzling rain before heading to the airport. I'm glad I've seen the tower, but it really is more of a tick off the list than something that life altering.

The obligatory stupid posed picture!

Flirting with Florence

The year I finished university, 2 friends and I bought an interrail pass and headed off travelling around Europe. The was my first backpacking trip, probably where my love-affair with trains started, and definitely taught me some valuable lessons about travel. On that trip, I managed to visit three cities in Italy. Starting in Venice, and ending with Florence and a flight back to England from Rome. Venice was lovely, Rome wasn't as nice but Florence was fantastic. This Easter, Daliah and Sam, the two girls I met in January while working at NYU London, and I decided we wanted to head off someone nice together. After exhausting most cities in Europe (and North Africa) we couldn't find a place where none of us had been before, that was easy enough for us all to get to (Sam lives in Abu Dhabi) and where flights were affordable. So I compromised. Florence was so nice, I was willing to go back. This time I didn't need to wake up early two days in a row to queue for the Uffizi or La Galleria dell'Accademia (although apparently it's possible to book online now anyway). I'd seen the beautiful art work and the David statue. I was there to relax with two great girls, drink lots of wine and eat lots of simple and delicious food.

In the end Daliah and Sam didn't make it to the Uffizi or La Galleria dell'Accademia either. We just had a terrific time wandering the streets, sitting in cafes and perusing the markets together. I can't say that we took in a lot of history, but we soaked up the atmosphere and the ambiance and left feeling relaxed and contented. Re-visiting a place you've enjoyed can really open your eyes to a slower and more easy going way of travelling, where you're unconcerned about what you 'have to' see and do with your time, and for me, I ended up leaving with as much enjoyment as if I'd ticked off all the 'must dos' in Florence.

Cologne Chocoladen Museum

To say we were excited about visiting the chocolate museum in Cologne would be an understatment. After being put off of visiting the chocolate museum in Jeju I set my sights on Germany. Obviously not as well known for chocolate as our final destination Brussels,  that wasn't going to stop me indulging in the milky brown stuff in both Germany AND Belgium! Skipping over the boring first part of the musuem (about where chocolate we eat nowadays comes from) we headed straight for the 'chocolate fountain'. What. a. let. down. instead of flowing with the lucious molton chocolate we expected, a relatively small amount dribbled out of cocoa bean shapes on a tree-like 'fountain'. I've seen better chocolate fountains at weddings. Pfffff!

We stopped to watch a few different types of chocolates being made; custom made bars and rolled truffles. The second part of the museum was more interesting, looking at the different ways of advertising over the years, and the recreation of old style sweet shops. We read about the introduction of chocolate into Europe and how it was first consumed. Afterwards we sat in the cafe for a taste of the good stuff before making our way outside back in Cologne city centre.

It was a particularly nice day, and a celebration marking a milestone in the connection between Cologne and China (I can't remember how long now) was going on outside the cathedral.

I had promied myself a pretzel whilst in Germany, and managed to buy one to eat on the train as we left Cologne and made out way to Brussels. Just in time!

Rubbish fountain.

Putting together a custom made bar

What can I get you?

Nearly as busy as Beijing. Seriously.

Arthur's Seat Edinburgh

Without meaning to, we chose the worst of our 4 days in Edinburgh to trek up Arthur's seat. Although the weather wasn't glorious, it didn't rain (or snow) and as we were walking up a giant hill we kept warm through the exertion! It's a fairly easy climb up (especially compared to some of the mountains I'd climbed before in Korea). Once at the top, we had a great view over the city and out across the estuary.

On our way back down, we passed by a small church with an old step for mounting a horse, and chains for holding prisoners. Before getting the bus back around to the city we also saw the house where Bonny Prince Charlie held his final council before heading in to battle. Yet again, Edinburgh provided some beautiful landscape for photos.