I am Robin Hood

Was meeting with a friend halfway through the UK:
me: Liverpool - she: London - us: Nottingham, for the week end.


We were busying ourselves with: 

visiting the castle, having a drink in the oldest pub in England (the "Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem Inn" established in 1189AD), having a nice Thai dinner (not so old), having another drink in a studentish pub , visiting the Old Gaol (really nice interactive museum, were the guides tell you stories and you are pretending to be a convict! if only they really did send me off to Australiaaaaa), having a drink in a magnificent church that has been turned into a bar!

An auld door at the Castle

The Church-bar 

Happy New Year (of the horse)!

Yes, I know... December is long gone but the Chinese come round in their own time.

Went down to celebrate Chinese New Year in Liverpool - which is allegedly the oldest Chinese community in Europe.

Saw the dragon, smelled the fireworks (I am really short), ate some siu mei (well, I think...) and browsed around the Asian supermarkets in city centre.  

Now I fancy some seaweed pringles. 

the Chinese arch in Liverpool 

and the dragon!

Sunshine in Dublin

Just nipped over to Dublin over the week end: flight is so short you don't even get to read you magazine but it was nice to be back and enjoy some summertime, the Irish way.

Surprisingly enough - I did not even feel like I was in Ireland. We went to this very secluded stoney beach in Co. Wicklow ... I felt like I was somewhere like Sardinia! Blue sea (freezing... but nevermind!), scorching sun and lovely company!

Went back to Dun Laoghaire... just in time for a spin on the fair - and yes, feeling like a teenager again! I was actually holding on to the rail as I was scared... well... not too much!

And, after saying good bye to everyone and having a bit of bacon&cabbage (Irish people will know!), went to get my lovely flight... at 11pm on a Sunday night! I was not much company the next day in work but I had an amazing week end nonetheless!

The Great British Summer

It has been surprisingly hot in the last few days in the UK... they call it a heatwave! Temperatures have gone all the way up to the late 20s and British people never fail to complain about the weather... rain or shine!

But it has been really enjoyable... and I got to do British-in-the-summer time things that do not involved umbrellas and cups of tea!

I felt like a true German on holidays,  lying on the towel before 10am at a beach near Formby, in the UK... they also have these "Iron Men" statues that look like people swimming when the tide is in!  - to this my mother said it was an example of British humour, but I am not sure she knows what she is talking about!

Once I got the tan out of the way (who knew English sun could burn!!), I proceeded with another passtime of mine: food! Barbeque at the ready - well... a little small one from the pound shop but sure! We still managed to burn the buns while the cider was warming up in the sun!

If you are Scottish and you know it, beep the horn!

If the italians clap their hands when the plane lands (and get laughed at for doing so!), the British do a similar thing.

I happened to get away for a week end to Scotland and when driving through the border

- someone beeped the horn!

Now, it depends what "side" you are on... if going up towards Scotland, you beep... you're most likely to be a Scot or a fan of the haggis to say the least. If you beep while you're crossing to go back into England, then you're probably a proud memeber of the Englishfolk.

... and there's me thinking the Italians are the only ones making a show of themselves!

The Wallace Monument near Stirling, narrow stairs but good views!

Christmas food!

For the first in two years, I nipped home for Christmas - it was a quick one but just in time to have some Italian food for the holidays... and a browse around the market in Bologna!

But also come back on time for my first English Christmas dinner - featuring turkey, gravy, Yorshire puddings, roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy. Missing from the plate are Brussels sprouts (can you blame us?) and pigs in blankets, sausages wrapped in bacon.

Lake me up

Long time, no write... Things have changed a wee bit and I am back in the old continent!

After long travels, I have settled in Liverpool - just for the time being!

Need to recharge my batteries, buy a DVD player, have a couch and get a normal job... beofre I get bored of it all and leave again!

The travel bug has not left me yet so I am slowly exploring the British Isle while I am here, I was lucky enought to be swept away for a week end to the Lake District - the temperatures were cold but plenty of ales and pub grub kept us going. We stayed in Windermere, not a metropolis... but plenty restaurants, pubs and walks to keep us warm!