So… where to start? As I’ve previously expressed to one (or possibly both) of the Natashas in my life; the interest-value or at least, relevancy seems always to be lost when travel experiences are recounted to another party. That’s basically a nicer way of saying I usually get bored when people say; “Ohh Rome was great! I loved Rome. You simply HAVE to go. Oh and Paris was great. You’d love Paris. Oh and…” or the even more tedious; “On the third day we went to……. It was really nice. Then we had lunch and afterwards we saw ……… I took lots of photos etc etc.”
So err yeah- not only have I conveyed what a self-involved snob I am but I’m also no closer to writing anything of meaning.
I suppose I feel like I should be bleating about how tough the backpacker life is and how I want to be home in my own bed (the latter being only partly true). The thing is I’ve been taken care of so much since I made it to London and am currently typing this from what is surely one of the nicest houses I’ve ever stayed in. Even I can’t bitch about my state of living. To explain the house thing: thanks largely in part to a lovely fair-haired Tintin-esque chap who currently shares residence with my sister, I’ve been granted fairly stately accommodation and, due to the Golding’s extreme hospitality and kindness, am now here on my own for
the next few days as they’ve taken a summer holiday.Other stuff…well the three of us (comrades Rory, Tristan and myself) have done much if not all of London’s touristy attractions. Big Ben, Buck Palace, Trafalgar Square (in fact all the squares) are in their own respects very interesting but much as you’d imagine. Other than that we’ve been trudging around from place to place without much of a destination (or a map) but it feels like it works for us..
The London I’ve enjoyed most has probably been the markets, stalls and inner city vibe (for want of a better word). Would have to put both Camden and Portobello Road Markets very high on my list of stuff we’ve done so far.
Little things like the music, the people, the clothes and the smells (though unfortunately I’m not in a position money-wise to dabble much into local cuisine) are what really do it for me and in my opinion, sets them apart from anything we in Australia have to offer.Played a bit of Football (soccer) and downed a few (but not too many) pints at some pretty cool and “authentic” pubs. Had the displeasure today of watching my beloved Chelsea go down to Man Utd on penalties at a pub near Kings Cross. Good atmosphere though and, contrary to world hype, opposing supports all seemed to get on well.
Did Greenwich a few days back. Nice place though true to form we ploughed through most of the noteworthy sites pretty quickly. I shall at this point include a very cheesy and cherry picture of myself in Greenwich, mainly to prove to my mother dearest that I am still alive but also because it seemed to be the done tourist thing.Err had a job thing that unfortunately fell through (at least in the them paying me sense) and have had to budget accordingly.
Heading up to Edinburgh via the Lake District and Newcastle (for a match) in a week or so. Hoping to catch a bit of the festival so that should be pretty good.
Have otherwise run out of things we really want to do and I’m personally itching to get on the road in Europe. It’s a good feeling but one I want to satisfy pretty soon. Actually, having read On The Road recently I found myself comparing our own style of travel (or at least the way we’re taking on England) to that in the book. More in the sense that we kind of set off randomly to go and “dig places” (as it is said by the Kerouac’s Dean Moriarty) and get our kicks. Regrettably there’s been less carousing and yahooing and I feel I may at some stage have to break off the shackles of my self-restraint and prove myself to be a truly obnoxious backpacker.
So I think that shall do for now. I apologise for how thoroughly uninteresting this has been but I hope it will fill the void of any emails I forget or don’t have time to send.
I’ll endeavour to continue our journey rather than destination mentality but will also try and find something more interesting to write in the next one of these (whenever that’ll be). I promise it’ll be much more enthralling and blogtastic than this…
I miss most of you very much.. Sorry if I haven’t gotten back immediately to some people. Also, I have a new overseas no. so if anyone wants that they can email me for it.
Hope you’re all well
Jeremy
Song I’m listening to at the moment: Pimping all over the world- Ludacris… Actually no, never but he’s an artist who’s always able to capture my state of mind.
P.S. Feel free to comment either saying hi or instructing me on spelling or sentence structure.
P.P.S. To allay your fears Mum, I can include regular photos of me holding the days newspaper if that is of any comfort
