It's a few days shy of Christmas and in a few more than that the year of 2010 will pass the arbitrary delineation mark and become 2011. We're deep into the era which shall be remembered in the future as the turn of the century. It's an odd time and I hope a good one to be living in. When I look back, later in my life, I hope I'll remember still keenly the oddness and the alien aspect of the feelings and experiences I've felt since I've landed here. I'm sure I wont; we never do.

So now that I'm living here in London, actually living here (linger on that thought for a moment and measure it's full weight and meaning) it makes sense to not just record the schedule of my days, but rather the ephemera - thoughts, feelings and oddities.

I suppose giving a chronological list of my daily activities over the first few days in London gives me a series of touchstones or bookmarks in my mind that I can file sensations behind; for say, when I think of St. Paul's, I'll recall a sense of majesty and awe that I could never express in words. This is both a failing in the value of words and also in my ability to wield them effectively.

I came across this thought walking through central London today by myself; perhaps the first time that I have done so. I have the feeling still that I could get hopelessly lost in this city. I've never felt so swallowed up in a jungle of buildings before. It's a feeling that I could so easily get lost, but never a fear.

I got off at St Paul's station today. The footpaths are still icy in the centre of town, but most of the ice has been ground into salty mud, a brilliant kind of slippery mess that destroys shoes so effectively I'm sure it must be a ploy of the shoe companies. The day was chilly, but the pace I set soon had my forehead sweating under my warm, furry hat (8 quid at H&M - bargain!). I set a path and wandered with intrepid determination through unknown streets.

Call it a new passion - wandering around unknown streets in a new and, this is important, interesting town. There are so many wonderful surprises to find whether they are odd shops or odder architecture. But the real pay-off is the feeling of discovery; as though I am some explorer charting new territory. And that's when I miss everyone back home the most.

For, what is the point of discovery when there's no one to share it with? I'm so happy to have Kristen to bring my discoveries to, yet sometimes I find myself thinking, 'so and so would love this!' and I can't wait to tell them... Only they're on the other side of the world.

I think I've digressed enough, so here are some specific examples of the things that struck me as odd initially. I'll start with supermarkets, which have evolved into an entirely different creature in the isolated environment of Britain. I don't know how to follow that statement up. Perhaps an impression of my first experience of the M&S food hall, in which I wandered around like a stunned fish trying to take it all in. It's just different. German supermarkets are no problem, they're just like New Zealand ones. I find myself at a complete loss as to how to quantify the difference so I'll move on.

Another phenomenon, this one completely inexplicable and like some dark secret never mentioned beyond this country's borders lest it invalidate the legacy of the greats like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones and bring eternal shame: Pop music here is rank, rotten and fetid and walking around in the daylight like some kind of abomination. They say pop is dead, but really it's a zombie and it's here to eat the brains of the British public.

People here are obsessed with Cheryl Cole. I had no idea who she was until I spent a few days here, listening to all the awful music playing in the high street stores. The Wanted. Take That. JLS. They're not only around, but they're topping the charts. Luckily I still have the ability to access good music.

I also have to wonder why every bathroom here has a light switch on a string from the ceiling.

It must be blog update time, as I haven't written since we got back from Germany last week. That was Tuesday night and it's Sunday evening now. We've been staying in a bit for the last few days, getting over our colds and staying warm, as it has snowed some over the last two days. Yesterday morning the snow came down heavily and we made a snowman on the front lawn; that was before the flatmates went out on an off-license crawl dressed as Santa.

So, continuing on in Germany - The day after my last post, we got up super early to catch our train from Cologne to Aachen. The train left just after 7am, in the pitch dark and arrived after 8am in the pre-dawn light. We figured it was still too early to look around Aachen and we found the bus to Maastricht pretty much by accident, so we hopped on for another hour.

This took us over the border into the Netherlands and across the country towards the border with Belgium. I want to make the point here that when I got off the plane into Germany, the passport control looked at my NZ passport, smiled, stamped it and wished me a happy holiday. When I crossed the border into the Netherlands, there was no border control. When I came back through Gatwick airport after the trip was over, I had to fill in an arrival card, hand it over to a surly man who questioned me on my stay and took a thumb and finger print. I honestly can't say I understand the reason for the difference in border control procedures.

Anyway, I was talking about arriving in Maastricht, at the central station of an unexpected country at around 9am on a Saturday morning. Town was strangely deserted at this time of day and apart from a few market stall owners setting up, we were almost the only people out. Unable to understand any of the signs (changing gears from German to Dutch is hard) we headed towards the centre of town where the map showed several pretty buildings might be. We also looked for some breakfast.

We crossed over the river which I can't remember the name of and into the centre of town, which is a warren of cobbled streets. I've been making a very good effort at getting lost on this trip so far, but have so far managed to always find myself in the end. Maastricht is a very beautiful city to get lost in and every turn seems to lead to a new sight. It seems European towns are getting into the spirit of Christmas by setting up markets in all the public squares and Maastricht is no different.

We've been going into all sorts of churches and cathedrals over here; they're everywhere dotted around cities and they all have something different to see on the inside. One in particular in Maastricht with a magnificent painted ceiling turned out to house a busy bookshop.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the Netherlands and can't wait to go back at another time. Anyway, after Maastricht, we caught the bus back to Aachen and wandered through the city for a bit. The Aachener Dom is an absolutely stunning cathedral both inside and out. Also, we accidentally wandered down the wrong street and through the red light district, which consisted of a long row of windows with women in their underwear.

I'm sure my trips onto the continent are not over yet, but I'm waiting until I get the job situation sorted out before I think too much about that.

Right now I'm in Germany, in our hostel. It's our second day here in Köln (Cologne) and it's still pretty surreal. Everywhere we go, all the signs are in German and people start talking to me in German and I don't understand a word of it. It's a bit scary until I realised that everyone pretty much knows English, so I just stare blankly at people who talk to me in German and they seem to get the message.

So, things have been very confusing for our first couple of days here. Confusing but fun. When we first arrived at the airport, we didn't know how to get into town due to a lack of pre-planning. As a result we jumped on the first bus we saw and ended up going nowhere. Luckily we managed to decipher a transport map and got onto a light rail train that took us into town, where we were able to find an underground to the hostel.

The place is very nice. I mean that - it's really comfortable and the owner is nice. He's on the couch over there playing Xbox or something with a fag in his mouth. When we arrived he sat down with us and showed us on a map all the good places to go and recommended Aachen to us for a day trip. We're going there tomorrow, which was absolutely unplanned. Also, we'll see if we can go to the Netherlands and Belgium if we have time.

Even though we were very tired we managed to go to the Dom (a huge, old cathedral in the middle of town) and climb to the top. There is also a Christmas market at the base where we sampled hot glühwein (mulled wine), currywurst (curried sausages) and reibekuchen (potato cakes). We continued on to another market which had a gnomes theme going on which was in the Aldstadt (old town).

We ended up getting dinner at some restaurant called Haxanhaus, which served up an unsurmountable amount of food. There was sauerkraut, some kind of sausage, a slice of a ham steak and the biggest pork knuckle in the world. I did quite well considering I was tired and had a cold coming on.

Today my cold has me in full grasp and is shaking the life out of me. Despite this we have struggled on and booked tickets for our trip tomorrow and walked around the shopping area for a bit. We also found the chocolate museum and the medieval market next door. I drank a bit much of the glühwein and mead and got a bit drunk, which didn't react too well with the cold.

Now we're going to rest up in preparation for our big trip tomorrow.

Another few days on and a new week has begun. Already this week I have been to one job interview and have another one to get to tomorrow, though it's all the way out in Maidenhead so that's going to be difficult. Job hunting is stressful business. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this - and I've only just started.

My interview yesterday went on for 2 hours and I got a very good feeling about it. I have to tell myself that it was actually "mission successful" as I was able to win over the recruiters enough that I'm sure they recommended me to the client and I may get a second interview. But that involves waiting for a call. That's all I seem to be doing at the moment; waiting for a call. And waiting.

See, I've put my CV out to so many places, my phone goes off at the oddest times and recruiters I don't remember apply to start talking about roles they have. Then maybe I don't hear from them again. Maybe I'm just still waiting. I can't walk away from my phone for two seconds. Or go on the Underground as phones don't work there.

I feel confident that I can actually ace an interview, but I just need to get the interview in the first place. The market is so competitive right now I wonder now how many interviews I will have to go to before I finally get a job. So, I'm a bit stressed at the moment.

Adding to that stress a little is the fact that we're going to Germany in a couple of days and there is a lot to organise. For example, getting to Gatwick airport before 6am. That involves getting a train at 4am, which involves somehow getting to the train station before then. Once we actually get to Cologne, it'll finally be time for me to relax for a few days.

Last weekend was pretty crazy, I have to admit. The whole flat got dressed up as Where's Wally and left first thing in the morning to go and drink at the most seedy scum hole of a flat I've seen. The whole place was made worse by the rancid stink of the butcher underneath and the cockroaches skittering over the floor. This was all in preparation for going to The Church, which is the absolutely inappropriate name given to an old theatre in Clapham where kiwis and aussies congregate with locals to get pissed.

As the pictures I posted up on facebook earlier will no doubt testify, it was a wicked den of debauch and disgusting behaviour; but wild fun all the same. There were several drinking games taking place up on stage as well as a stripper - all of this happening from 11am on a Sunday.

It was all over as the skies were darkening at 3pm and when we got back home it was scarcely 7pm and everyone was passing out drunk. Considering how drunk I was, there was no hangover, owing completely to the fact that it was all over so quickly and I managed to get a fairly decent night's sleep.

So here's hoping this weekend in Germany gives me more interesting experiences to write about.

So I've been in the UK for a month now, which now I think about it, is actually the longest continuous period I've been outside of New Zealand. That means England is the place I have spend the second most amount of time in. Now it is also the only other place that I have rented a house in, as we've both moved into a flat with 3 Aussie/Kiwi sisters et al.

Over the last week it has snowed several times, leaving the ground blanketed by a few centimetres of snow. It is also very cold (-3 or -4°C) so the snow isn't melting, just slowly compacting into a very slippery ice. It's highly likely that we'll be having a white Christmas this year.

I'm still looking for work, which is beginning to be a bit of a drag, especially with the lack of response I've had this week. This all changed at the last minute today as I've just confirmed two job interviews for next week. The first on comes on Monday and is for a job in central London that I'm actually quite excited about even though I don't know all the details yet. The other one is a place out in Maidenhead for a gambling company, which if I have to be completely honest is not getting me very excited at all.

This all hopefully works into my plans to go to Germany next week. I really haven't let myself get excited for the trip as I've been so concerned with job hunting, but if nothing turns up it'll at least be good to have a holiday from job hunting.

We had a day of exploring the neighbourhood yesterday and have made a few nice surprise discoveries. The first is that there is a Hell Pizza just 2 minutes down the road from us and it looks just like one from back home. So if I ever get homesick for pizza, I know where to go. Also, just down the road from that about 10 minutes walk is the largest shopping mall in London. Here's a picture of some of it:

The place is massive and constructed with luxury shopping in mind. There are your usual high street shops like H&M and Top Shop but go down one end to "The Village" and it's all luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co to name a couple. There is no 'food court' either, more a collection of islands which host a posh array of delights from Spanish tapas to a sushi train to Vietnamese pho.

The place is perfect to visit when it's so freezing cold outside, but a bit less fun when you don't have any money to spend. Here's hoping I get a job soon.

Today is Sunday. I have to state that at the moment because the individual days are beginning to lose significance, which is inevitable when you don't have a job. I have now not had a job for an entire month, which is merely a statement of fact, not of disappointment yet. I enjoy this place too much. More on that soon.

I've reached that point now where it just feels so strange not to be working. It doesn't suit me. So, I'd really like a job to eventuate soon. Just so I'd feel comfortable spending a bit of money on something.

So, unlike yesterday where we stayed in and cleaned the house and cooked, we ventured out of the house today and into the freezing cold. I'm not exaggerating about the freezingness of the cold either - there are puddles which are solid ice all day long. Ponds are getting a thin layer of ice on them. I believe soon the streams and rivers shall start to freeze over too.

Today's excursion took us on a tube to Hyde Park Corner where they do a free walking tour which I shall attempt to link here. The walk started at the Wellington Arch, which was put up in honour of the Duke of Wellington for his victory at the Battle of Waterloo where he beat Napoleon. Across the road from this is his house, which has the address of number 1, London.

From there we walked through Green Park along Constitution Hill. The road is not named for the document, but rather because the King (Charles II) would go for his daily constitutional through the flower gardens in the park, picking a different flower for each of his mistresses. When his wife, the Queen, heard of this behaviour, she had her men pull up every single flower in the park. Thus the park is now entirely bare and green.

At the end of this walk is, of course, Buckingham Palace. The Queen was not in today unfortunately, so I didn't get to meet her. Ok, so we weren't invited, but we were told that one could be invited in if one were important enough or had important friends. Or we could always break in. There have actually been several successful break-ins at Buckingham palace; one by a confused bunch of German tourists looking for Hyde Park and another by a drunk Irishman who traipsed through every room of the place until he came to the Queen's bedroom, who happened to be there at the time. Through a series of mishap and coincidence, Liz had to converse with the man for 15 minutes before she had the chance to call a servant to restrain him.

We walked from there past Charlie and the boys' house and down Pall Mall past the Athenaeum club, which is pretty much the most exclusive gentleman's club in the world with a 60 year waiting list unless you happen to accidentally win a Nobel prize or something. At the end of this street is Trafalgar Square, which I had seen before.

It's interesting the note that the four lions around the monument in the square are disproportionate as they are based off spaniels. The sculptor only had the decapitated head of a lion to work with when crafting them. The monument in the middle of Trafalgar Square is Admiral Nelson, who died during the battle of Trafalgar where he soundly beat Napoleon's fleet.

Just to the South of this is the Admiralty Arch, which is suitably impressive and also contains a piece of Nelson's anatomy (allegedly). It could also be Wellington, Napoleon or Kind Edward VII. About 7 feet off the ground is a very bizarre nose - perfect height for a man on horseback to rub against his. Now, no one knows why it is there, which I find very odd as the arch was built in 1912 so someone has to know!

From there we learned about another super secret thing - the super secret tunnels under our feet. Allegedly, though denied by all official types, there are secret tunnels that link up the palace with 10 Downing St and run under the Horse Guard parade ground. Anyhow, this was quickly eclipsed by some inbred pelicans with a penchant for eating pigeons.

We were then shown Westminster Abbey, where a royal wedding is to be held next April. Then onto the houses of parliament where Big Ben stands. We also learned about the gunpowder plot to blow up the houses of parliament and everyone in there and how the whole place burned down anyway 200 years ago, so that's why it looks like it does now.

By this stage it was almost 4pm and the sun was going down so it was absolutely freezing. We headed into Covent Garden for a meal and a beer and to warm up.

All in all, a very satisfying day and I'd really love to do a tour with these guys again. Oh right, this is them.

It's another week later, which means another week of living in Harringay and looking for work and catching the tube into town and all that fun stuff.

So there's still no sign of a job yet, but we're still just getting used to this place they call London. It still seems bizarre to me when I think of where we are; it hits me at random moments. At times, it can feel just like being in Wellington, or I don't know, it feels like anywhere. Hanging out in Harringay doesn't feel much like being in London at all, by some measures of what one might expect of London. Sometimes the city itself isn't London.

What I mean is, that is to say, erm... What is London? I've come from halfway around the world and I'd have a hard time convincing anyone that New Zealand isn't all farms and sheep. People have ideas and preconceptions, and I certainly had my own before arriving here. Like, for example, I thought people spoke English here!

Don't get me wrong, let me explain this. You turn on the T.V. here and it's all English, so much so that I don't even notice any accents anymore. But walk down the street in Harringay and it's all Turkish, or Greek, or Hungarian. The people and the shops are all from some other country I've never encountered or never expected to encounter here. Go down the road a little bit and suddenly it's another country, another culture.

For example, we went to a wee supermarket today and the people in line behind us were some kind of French muslims wearing skirts, just some cultural niche I've never seen before. It's crazy and wonderful and exciting seeing all these different cultures in one place. It's like London is actually the centre of the world.

But I can't help but feel a little disappointed. Where are all the English people hiding? Well, obviously they're outside of London doing their thing, I've seen that, I've been to Newcastle. It's just I had all these fanciful images in my head of old London that have been pushed aside and replaced with this new London where I can turn a corner and see a different country.

I've tried so many new things like Polish food at Camden market (last Sunday) and last night we had the hardest time trying to find food in Soho. By that I mean we were spoilt for choice! Eventually we settled on South Indian vegetarian food and it was so good. Argh. I love Covent Garden and Soho and Chinatown and everything in that area.

But I love Camden too! It gets me too excited thinking about it and then I can't type because it all wants to come out at once like ashaslkadaklgkn. So, either you have been to Camden market on a Sunday and know what I am talking about, or you have not and should probably consider making plans to visit.

Before I forget: Snow. It has snowed already up North a few days ago and soon it shall snow here. Possibly. It has rained possibly once since we arrived here, but if it does rain now it shall be snow (please). Also, they do not know what wind is here. However, and it is a big however, the days are short and the sun is so low in the sky and it gets in your eyes and you feel so stupid wearing sunglasses because it's bloody freezing (1 to 2 degrees) and it's London! Who ever heard of wearing sunglasses in London?

Anyway, we saw a certain film about a certain wizard on Monday. It was partly in London! When they turned up in Picadilly Circus and ran down Shaftesbury I was so happy. We were watching the film literally 5 minutes walk from there at the Leicester Square Odeon where the film had debuted a few days before.

I also revisited the Natural History Museum and saw the rest of it. Maybe it's just me being a geology nerd, but I really loved the section with all the rocks in it. That sentence really doesn't do it justice, but how do you actually describe a huge room with two dozen display cases down the middle and a further two dozen around the walls all filled with spectacular gemstones and huge mineral deposits? You don't try, you just go there and you look. For hours. Like me. Then you walk through Hyde Park at dusk by yourself and get scared.

I revisited the British Museum too, which needed to be done. I spent hours looking through every exhibit and still didn't see it all. I want to go again at least a dozen times and look at the European exhibits again, oh and the clocks! The coins too! Honestly.

P.S. Here is so much better than Wellington.

So, here we are - final destination, London. We have been here a few days staying with the very nice Ray and Nicky who have kindly given us a place to stay while we look for work and accommodation.

About that - we've found a place to live from the 1st of December in East Acton which is on the west end. I've started looking for serious IT work and I've had my CV put forward for one job so far which I really hope I get an interview for.

So, looking back on the week that was: Wednesday the 17th we went to Trafalgar Square, pictured above. Things are really a lot bigger than they appear in photos. I don't think I can adequately express with just a picture how impressive that monument with the huge lions is.

The square is right next to the National Gallery so we went there and saw some incredible art from over the last 500 years from Da Vinci, Monet, Renoir, Michelangelo, Raphael - so many inspiring works of art.

On the 18th we stayed in most of the day while I looked for jobs. For dinner we went out down Green Lanes where there are more Turkish restaurants than you can shake a stick at. One in particular was called Anteplelar and gave us more food than we could possibly eat for 10 quid each.

On Friday we went to Spitalfields Market and then across to Brick Lane which is pretty much the best thing ever. It was actually like walking into another country when we rounded that first corner with a mosque and men standing outside of Indian restaurants enticing potential customers in. Then there were the cool kids of London who were just hanging out checking out more vintage stores than we could possibly go to.

So we left there and went over to Petticoat Lane, which was actually quite disappointing; just a lot of clothes racks and harrowed looking merchants. I'm sure there are some bargains if you look hard enough though.

We went over to Oxford Circus after that, which is becoming my area for shopping because it just makes you want to spend money! Right now all the Christmas lights are up and it's stunning. Here's a picture:

So that was yesterday. Today is Saturday and we stepped out in the direction of Notting Hill where they have the Portobello Rd Market; perhaps the biggest and best market I've been to. The setting certainly helped; Notting Hill is a lovely suburb.

And some of the stuff on display:

And then, would you believe it, at the very end of the street - a pie and mash shop. I want to post a picture of the beef pie, smothered in clear greeny goop with some mashed potato, but I don't want to scare anyone, so here's me about to enjoy it:

At the moment we're looking after Ray and Nicky's place while they're out of town, so we decided to cook a dinner tonight. Food at the supermarkets here is really quite cheap and easy to cook and the street just around the corner has a few Turkish sweet shops, so we're really enjoying this area. I'll wrap this up now, but hopefully soon I'll have some good news to post about a job.

It has been a few days since I've stopped to write about what has been happening here. The pace is totally different and I suppose I haven't been bothered, although a lot has happened. The day after our trip to Durham, we picked up a rental car and drove North up the A1 motorway to Holy Island. It took us a while to get out of Newcastle as the road signage requires quite a lot of local knowledge to decipher. I also didn't know what speed to go as everything is still in miles/hr and there are no speed limit signs. So I just guessed for the most part.

Because it was such a nice day we headed straight up to Holy Island as it was only reachable from 8:30am to 3:10pm due to the tidal causeway. If we had missed the crossing or been stuck on the island, the next crossing was at 8:30pm, so we were quite lucky to pick a good day. We got there around 11:30am, the road leading up to it was the first country road I had been down and it was stunning. Very, very narrow roads lined with either stone walls or bramble hedges, rough and potholey - an absolute joy to drive on. Then there's the very likely chance of coming over a rise and seeing a castle, ancient stone bridge, crumbling tower or narrow archway. I'd seriously come up here just to drive the roads.

That is, however, not why we drive up the Northumberland coast. Holy Island is a lovely little sleepy island village, especially this time of the year coming into winter. The place must see quite a few tourists, but there were only a couple dozen visitors when we wandered around the island. The main attraction is, of course, Lindisfarne Castle. The castle sits at one end of the island, looking out onto the rough North Sea and it's old. So, so very old. I don't even know how old, but I'm probably right in thinking I wont see an older construction until I go to Stonehenge.

From there we drove down the country roads along the coast through Bamburgh, which has an incredibly breathtaking castle along the coast as you drive through. We didn't stop and have a look just yet and continued on to Seahouses, where we had booked into a Bed & Breakfast called The Olde Schoolhouse. The place was really nice and warm and comfortable and they cooked breakfast for us each morning - and it was very reasonably priced too. We had Seahouses fish n chips for dinner that night, which have to be the best in the world. No kidding, these were the pinnacle of fish n chips.

The next morning when we awoke we drove up to Alnwick to see the castle and gardens, but it was miserable and rainy and it didn't look like they were open anyway, so we decided to skip that and headed up the back roads to Coldstream which is across the river Tweed, which is the border to Scotland. We stopped there for lunch - I should make a point here that we have eaten more sausages and bacon and eggs and white bread than I dare think about. There are some really healthy and good options for food, but just not at the average restaurant or cafe. Marks & Spencer food hall has some amazing cheap and varied food options and the best ready to eat sandwiches and pastas.

We decided not to go to Edinburgh as time was a bit short and it seemed a bit scary getting through an unfamiliar big city with me driving, so we headed towards the North-East coast via Duns and then down to Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is a really beautiful town on the mouth of the River Tweed. There is a large fortification and wall built around the old town around the year 1500 which we walked around. The views and vistas I've seen over the last few weeks have been the most beautiful I've ever seen. New Zealand just doesn't have that kind of man-made beauty, where you can see a full 360 of bridges and buildings built up over the last 500 years, all jumbled together.

We headed South down the Coastal route once again and this time stopped off in Bamburgh and walked around the castle. There's a kind of feeling that I get in the presence of castles that makes me want to go into a frenzy just thinking about it. As I walked around the base of this perfectly maintained ancient castle I tried to imagine the hopelessness that an attacking army must have felt hundreds of feet below its walls. The castle itself sits atop a natural high outcropping of rock right along the beach and you can walk between the castle and the sea on a stretch of red-ish fine sand. I really must come back here in Summer and get a tour through the inside.

We ended our day back at Seahouses and had dinner at the Olde Ship which is a nautical themed pub cluttered with shipping paraphenalia. I had the Steak and Ale pie and Kristen had the 'eak (Hake) which was fresh and tasty. We went back to the B&B and had snack and TV times on the giant bed of life.

Next day we headed back to Newcastle via the coast via Beadnell and Crastor to the mouth of the river Tyne. Driving in Newcastle is pretty scary expecially when you don't know where anything is. We eventually got to the Metro Centre with the help of Kristen's father which was packed with people doing early Christmas shopping. It's definitely the biggest shopping mall I've ever been to, not that I've ever really been excited by malls, but the ones here are amazing. There is just so much exciting choice for men in every shop.

We've spent the last couple of days hanging out in Gateshead/Newcastle starting to think about what we're going to do when we get to London from Tuesday onwards.

We have been up in the North of England for the last 4 days and it has been a completely different pace from the 4 days in London. I've eaten a lot of good Northern food and spent time with Kristen's family here.

The night we arrived in Newcastle, Andrea and Martin came over with their kids for dinner, which was roast chicken thighs with little sausages and prosciutto. The next day the soccer was on and the family came over to Stephen and Suzanne's to watch Newcastle United thrash Arsenal 1-0. They served up some amazing snack food, including cold pork pies, which are tastier than they sound.

Yesterday we caught the undergroundy-over-rivery train to the city to do some shopping. We didn't buy much, but did check out the beautiful town centre and the river Tyne. There are beautiful old buildings here which don't warrant a mention by British standards, but if they were back home would be major tourist attractions. Anyway, we crossed the Tyne on the Millenium Bridge and went to the art gallery in the Baltic. A short way along the quayside is the Sage, which is shaped like a giant silver and glass slug. A little out of place, but still incredible.

Today we caught a bus down to Durham and headed for the cathedral which is a major landmark that can be seen from the train on the way up. Up close, it is breathtaking. I have to say, since I've now seen a couple, the St Paul's cathedral was more initially stunning to me, but did not have the same feeling of extreme age that this place has. Durham cathedral was built in 1093 and it just hangs out there, older than anything I've ever seen. The castle next door is pretty and I got a good look at that and the rest of Durham from the top tower of the cathedral. It was bloody cold too.

I would like to point out at this point the lack of photos. I have plenty waiting for upload, but I don't seem to be able to until I get a stable wi-fi connection. So, maybe tomorrow there will be an update with pictures.

I'm writing this onboard the northbound train to Newcastle which means that our time in London is over for now. Outside the window, the autumnal fields of the English countryside are rolling by. It's stunningly beautiful. People might say that England is boring, all those identical brick buildings, the grey weather, but I just don't see that. The sky overhead today is an almost cloudless blue and the building passing by are regal, solid, weathered - never boring.

Yesterday we went to St Pauls Cathedral just after 9am when it wasn't busy. It was 12.50 to get in, which is the first time I've paid to see anything since I got here, but it's probably the single most amazing building I've ever seen. The thing is MASSIVE. I don't think it's possible to impress the scale of this thing on you if you've not seen before. You have to see it in your lifetime, there's just no excuse not to. We went up to the top of the top of the building, the Stone Gallery where you can get a 360 view of London. I'll start posting videos soon to show how amazing the view is.

From there it's just a short walk over to the Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre right next door. The Tate is in this huge industrial age power plant that has been hollowed out. There are some breathtaking works in there by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Bridget Riley, Andy Warhol... just overwhelming. It's a 10 minute walk from there to the Borough Market, and in keeping with the theme of this trip, was the best market I've ever been to. I don't think there's been a moment on this trip where I've stopped and thought, 'New Zealand totally does this better'.

Anyway, the market has some very tasty smells and even tastier foods. We had an awesome bacon and sausage butty and some kind of grilled cheese monstrosity called a Raclette. They also have a few stalls selling mulled wine which I have decided I quite like. From there we caught the tube across town to Carnaby and then back to the hostel which is right next door to the British Museum, which we hadn't been to yet. So we went there finally and it is completely different to all the other museums that we've been to. It's surreal to wander around amongst ancient Greek and Roman and Egyptian statues and monuments. I definitely want to come back and have a better look at a later time.

So that brings me to last night, where I finally had the energy by 9pm to go out with some of the people from the hostel. I can't remember the name of the place we went to, which is one of the more well known perils of alcohol, but it was somewhere in King's Cross. I need to try and find a nice bar which plays music I like and is more like one of the Wellington bars that I love - I'm sure they exist.

Today we left the hostel at 9am and walked to Soho where we got a coffee at Flat White and then caught the tube over to Knightsbridge which is the Harrod's stop. Harrod's has to be one of the most amazing places in the world, but it's got this strangely tacky aspect to it with all the Egyptian themed architecture. I have to let it get away with that though as there are some serious pieces of expensive merchandise there. For example, a pair of actual mammoth tusks. Or perhaps a giant crystal about a metre tall for your living room? It's like a big museum, only the exhibits are for sale.

From there we walked to the V&A museum and investigated some seriously amazing artefacts. We must have spent hours there - I'm not sure as my phone finally died on me - and we still didn't see everything it has to offer. Just down the road is the Natural History Museum, which has some amazing dinosaur fossils and pretty much every animal that exists stuffed and on display. We didn't get to see much more than that as there was some emergency evacuation and we all got kicked out. By now we were too tired anyway so we headed over to Pret A Manger which is like Starbucks for sandwiches and you can't go three steps without seeing one. It was unsurprisingly average. We caught the tube back home and now we're just chilling and trying to decide what to do next.

It's another morning in London and I'm sitting in the common area of the hostel charging up for another day. If I haven't expressed it enough up to the point, let me be clear: I love it here. The smallest details are endearing to me. Maybe the shine does wear off, but there's just something magical about this place. There's some quality that New Zealand just doesn't have. Anyhow, what did I get up to yesterday?

First off, we walked to Covent Garden and found Covent Garden market which is instantly recognisable as the setting of the start of My Fair Lady. I bought a sim card for my phone so now I'm contactable once again. We went through Picadilly and then to Regent St, looking at shops as we went. We walked up Savile Row where they have tailor shops on the ground floor and the basement of each bilding has windows through which one can see the tailors at work. Also, I randomly stumbled across the door to Apple Studios,

which was the record label started by the Beatles. After this we headed over to Carnaby St, which is a small shopping district with some truly amazing and odd shops. I have to make a note to go back there some time.

We went to Liberty just off Carnaby which was this incredible Tudor building with several floors of the most beautiful designer clothing. If you come here, you simply must visit. It just reeks of class. Next we got lunch of some sandwiches at M&S on Oxford st and sat down in an alley to eat it. While we were eating, some guys came charging down the alley in hot pursuit of another man, yelling "Stop that man!" Weird. We headed down Oxford towards Hyde park and I stopped in at H&M and Topman and spent some money finally. Clothes here are so cheap and so amazing,

it's no wonder all the young men here look so amazing. Not kidding, the boys look better than the girls.

I should also mention the train strike. We caught a crowded tube train at 5pm from a ridiculously packed station to Euston and y'know what. It wasn't bad at all. The tube is an absolute pleasure even at rush hour when 90% of the trains aren't running. Whoever or whatever gave me the idea that it wasn't, I don't know. We walked back to the hostel and once again passed out.

I've just woken up for the first time in London. Yesterday was utter madness. Utter amazing, brilliant madness.

From my last post, we got back on the plane for a 10 hour flight over Canada and Greenland. We dropped into London and passed through immigration with no issues. We made our way like zombies down into the underground and got tickets into London central. The ride was about 50 minutes I think. Considering the lack of sleep on the plane we were both awake and buzzing when we exited the tube with our

bags, up the escalators and out onto the craziness of Holborn station at 12pm. This was my first real look at London and I don't think my brain was processing it properly. Lines of red double-decker buses, black taxi cabs, old buildings, strange people. Somehow we managed to find our way with our bags to the hostel a few streets over.

We dumped our things and went for a wander over to Russel Park where I saw my first squirrel. So cute! Then we meandered about, had a look at the outside of the British Museum and got back to the hostel to check in. Once we had settled in for a bit, we headed back out and found the Sir John Soane museum. Without a doubt, up to this point in my life, this has been the best museum I have ever seen. It's a 1700s house, perfectly restored, with architectural craziness going on all over the place and every nook and cranny is crammed with artifacts. There are Roman and Greek busts, chunks of ancient buildings, paintings and even a huge limestone sarcophagus. I highly recommend it.

From there we walked to Temple and somehow found ourselves on Fleet St for a mere 2 minutes, but there were Tudor buildings crammed in amongst all the newer ones. So breathtaking. Then we walked down into Temple district and through to the Thames. Right about this time it finally sunk in where I was. There was the river Thames with all its bridges and the London Eye and as we walked down, Big Ben. So much to see and process and by this stage my legs and brain were in revolt. We went right up to Big Ben as the sun was setting around 5pm and continued on and saw Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. Right now as

I'm typing this my brain is telling me that was a very vivid dream I had last night. I need to get back out there and see it all.

On the agenda for today is going shopping, as we walked home through Soho and Chinatown and saw so much. Even the pizza we got for dinner last night at

Pizza Express was awesome. I think we got to sleep at 8pm last night and I'm feeling very refreshed and so happy

to be here right now.

I'm writing this from the holding area in LAX where they have deposited us before we continue on our way to London. I'm pleased to say that so far all the horrible stories have been completely overblown. From exiting the plane, we waited 5 minutes in a queue and then had our fingerprints scanned and a photo taken by a pleasant American chap. They have a roomy lounge with snacks and coffee and soft drinks available - not to mention WiFi access. I'd come through LA again.

So far the journey has been better than I expected. Certainly better than last time I traveled Air NZ 10 years ago. The in-flight meals were adequate and the personal TV screens with so many movie choices are great. They didn't have those last time I flew. I haven't slept much, just a couple of hours, but I don't feel too tired yet. I'll try to get some rest on the next leg of the journey.

Saying goodbye to everyone was hard and I'll miss all the people I've left behind in Wellington. I'll miss Wellington too. I'm still too excited to feel sad yet.

I'll check in with another update soon enough.

Still bound in Wellington, it is mere days before I board the plane headed for London. Right now I'm at work for my second to last day of IT service desk support, ever. If I'm lucky.

Not that I really prescribe to such notions, but luck has been in short supply recently. Perhaps that is just the way it goes so close to leaving; everything that does go wrong is somehow causally related to the trip, when in reality there is no link at all. For example, Kristen's Grandmother passing away last weekend, a mere two weeks before I met her. Or Kristen getting an offer of work starting at Weta a few weeks after we leave the country.

These things are just plain random chance, amplified through the lens of pessimism. My workmates have given me a beautiful gift to send me off, along with the usual card: a beautiful pounamu pendant, blessed in Maori by Muriel. Though, as I say, I prescribe in no way to the notion of divine intervention I shall find myself wearing it gratefully and constantly. A sentimental item and the hope a symbol is imbued with; the memories it evokes - these are powerful things.

This will more than likely be the last time I write here before I depart. See you on the other side.

The day draws nearer to when I pack my life into a couple of suitcases and leave the country of my birth. I realise that, other than some brief forays around the world, I have never uprooted like this. There has always been some sense of a home for me. That home, for so long now, has been Wellington. I remember keenly the excitement I felt first moving to this city, having grown up in sleepy Napier. The people were and still remain so fresh and beautiful. The streets and alleys, however, have lost their mystery. I have to find somewhere new to get lost in.

I am reading Jack Kerouac's On The Road which is perhaps the most perfect book to be reading at this time. It has instilled me with the desire to discover. The aim is not to settle into a life in the UK, but to experience and to find adventure in life. The destination is not the destination, the journey is.

In scarcely more than 20 days from now I shall be boarding a plane destined for halfway around the world.

This morning when I stepped out of my house to go to work, I saw a bird. Not such an unusual thing given the number and variety of birds to be found in this city, you might say. I'm not an ornithologist, but it appeared to be some kind of finch - a quick Google search tells me it was a male Goldfinch. It was a tiny thing; beautiful and gracious. It looked at me curiously for a moment before boldly flitting across my path. It made me realise a few things.

This bird grew up in a cage. It was bought from a pet store and in a moment of frenzied elation; a back was turned, a cage door left open - freedom was attained! Which creature, given the same opportunity, would not take it?

What is the fate of this bird? In my mind, without a doubt, death will come to it soon. Exposure, starvation, feline ingestion - This finch is not meant for this outside environment. It will most likely never find a mate, as I have not seen a bird of its like in Wellington before outside a cage. So what drove this bird to escape?

Surely no thought was behind the decision. That is a human thing, the hesitation: the consideration of the cost of action, as if we can somehow know the future through careful consideration. We can not.

Is one day of this bird's freedom worth a lifetime of comfortable life in a cage? Resoundingly, yes! Then why am I still in my cage? Why do I fill it with objects that make it more comfortable - To what end? I am reaffirmed in my desire to escape. The plans are already laid and my course is set and I am counting down the days .