Belgium, Cotswold, Robbie Williams and cleaning up rubbish on Clean up London day....
Good afternoon everyone
Well the time has come for me to update my blog... I know you have all been eagerly awaiting my next installment in the life and times of myself in London..
Its been another busy couple of weeks here, with the highlight being that Ive finally been paid... so I can now start to pay off all those credit cards.. watch the share price fall now!
Since, I last wrote I had a wonderful trip to Belgium... I met Sen and Caroline when I was in Turkey and I always promised them that I would make the trip across to Belgium to see them when I was based in London. So, a couple of weekends back I took the Eurostar from London to Brussels and then a local train onto Antwerp... I must say, if you can take the Eurostar.. it may be a little more expensive but its definitely worth it.. there is no airport to get to, dont have to line up for customs and you arrive right in the middle of the city.. very convenient..
After leaving London at 6pm, I arrived in Antwerp around 10pm where I was met by Sen and Caroline. It was so good to see them and I must admit it did feel like yesterday that I was hanging with them on the beaches in Turkey.
They live about 30 mins from Antwerp, so we made the trip to their house before going out for a few drinks with some friends of theirs at a local bar. It was strange to be back in another country where everyone speaks a different language to you again.. as they all speak Flemish but their English is really good... Belgium amongst other things are known for beer and the amazing array of varieties that are brewed in this tiny country. One of the more famous beers is Duval, which is 12 % alcohol and after having a glass of this I can really and truly detest that I felt every % of it!
The following day we made the trip to Antwerp, Belgium's second largest city.. With picture perfect weather they took me for a trip around the city.. and I must admit I was pleasantly impressed.. it is a quiant city that is easy to get around and very beautiful.. the highlight was buying chocolate from this tiny store and the owner kept on telling us that these were hand made.. after polishing off the whole box I can safely say she didnt disappoint!
That evening, we headed back home where we went out for dinner for fries (or fritte) and mayonnaise.. they love having chips with mayonnaise and heaps of it! Afterwards we went to a local street parade that had a variety of floats showcasing lights.. after typing that out I can safely say it was as exciting as what I just written.. enough said!!
Afterwards, we all headed to a local nightclub and it was huge.. massive venue.. I had a great night, what I didnt like was the fact that when you get a beer you only get it half full and the rest is head!! but that wasnt the worse.. you have to pay 50 cents everytime you go through the toilet.. you go through a turnstile and give her 50c.. not great for someone who has a weak bladder! IT was still a great night, and it was so cool to be hanging with local people and not just doing the touristy thing!
The following day we checked out Brussels, as many of you know Brussels isnt the world's most exciting and picturesque city but I did really enjoy mini-Europe.. it was great in the space of an hour I went to the Effiel Tower, Leaning Tower of Piza and Buckingham Palace.. all for 10 Euros!! I then boarded the train back to London.. I had a fantastic time in Belgium and hopefully Sen and Caroline will be coming to London later in the year to do some CHristmas shopping!
The following week, I did my training to be part of Brent Mind which is working with people with mental problems.. it involves one night a week helping out with the social club activities.. the other volunteers seem really good and Im looking forward to starting out in a couple of weeks.
Ive also checked out a couple more festivals in London, they are unfortunately slowly coming to an end!
Over the weekend just gone, I visited the Cotswold villages.. I went on a tour that left early Sat morning and made three stops in the Cotswold area.. very beaufiul part of the world and very popular. They get over 30 million visitors a year to this area and I can tell that its very popular for Mums and Dads.. antique shops galore.. it is well worth a visit and would be great to spend a weekend in a cottage over winter..
On Sunday evening, I woke up to a hangover which wasnt the finest move when I was helping out with ITV (TV Station) Clean up London day.. dont ask me how I got involved, a slow afternoon at work and before I knew it I was helping out in Burnt Oak! I dragged Casey along to help me out and we were blessed to have such a great day weather wise.. we nominated to assist with painting over the graffiti... Artistic flair with paint isnt one of my strongest assets and this showed.. as Casey went about her artistic ways producing a fine piece of work on her wall myself and a local lad went about trying to paint a sea scene.. seriously, I had to ask how you draw a sun and fish.. in the end my fish were larger than the stickmen surfers and the sun was just strange- I really hope some puts some graffiti over it!!
Afterwards, I helped out cleaning up rubbish and then they put on a BBQ and I had a great chat with all the young guys that were helping out.. I was the only Aussie (which is rare in London) so they were very interested in what I was doing here and my accent..
It was heaps of fun, and ITV were filming and apparently, we were on tv.. yep.. thats right been here 2 months and managed to get my ugly head on tv... my phone has been running hot with calls to audition on Coronation Street and Eastenders.. and the London Fashion week has just started so they want me to be part of that...
That brings me to my last piece of exciting news.. on Tuesday nightI went to Milton Keys (out in the middle of nowhere!) to see Robbie Williams with 80 000 other people.. myself and a couple of friends made the long journey out of London to see the man.. and he didnt disappoint!! Absolutely brilliant! He is such a showman and had the whole crowd singing along.. A well spent £45..
Last night, I caught up with a few of the guys that I did my tour around Africa with.. all the guys that are based around London.. it was so good to see them all and remincising about the good old days of getting up at 430 in the morning to spend 12 hours on a truck travelling through Africa!
This weekend Im going to Sheffield to see a friend of mine I met in Egypt, Im staying with him for the weekend.. might even check out a local football game.. not sure what else there is to see in Sheffield.. apparently they have a good nightlife!
That is it for me at the moment, work is going well and I will be back in Australia in December via New York for a week so hopefully I will see most of you then.
Post a comment and stay in touch.
Until next time!
Cheers
Troy
Well the time has come for me to update my blog... I know you have all been eagerly awaiting my next installment in the life and times of myself in London..
Its been another busy couple of weeks here, with the highlight being that Ive finally been paid... so I can now start to pay off all those credit cards.. watch the share price fall now!
Since, I last wrote I had a wonderful trip to Belgium... I met Sen and Caroline when I was in Turkey and I always promised them that I would make the trip across to Belgium to see them when I was based in London. So, a couple of weekends back I took the Eurostar from London to Brussels and then a local train onto Antwerp... I must say, if you can take the Eurostar.. it may be a little more expensive but its definitely worth it.. there is no airport to get to, dont have to line up for customs and you arrive right in the middle of the city.. very convenient..
After leaving London at 6pm, I arrived in Antwerp around 10pm where I was met by Sen and Caroline. It was so good to see them and I must admit it did feel like yesterday that I was hanging with them on the beaches in Turkey.
They live about 30 mins from Antwerp, so we made the trip to their house before going out for a few drinks with some friends of theirs at a local bar. It was strange to be back in another country where everyone speaks a different language to you again.. as they all speak Flemish but their English is really good... Belgium amongst other things are known for beer and the amazing array of varieties that are brewed in this tiny country. One of the more famous beers is Duval, which is 12 % alcohol and after having a glass of this I can really and truly detest that I felt every % of it!
The following day we made the trip to Antwerp, Belgium's second largest city.. With picture perfect weather they took me for a trip around the city.. and I must admit I was pleasantly impressed.. it is a quiant city that is easy to get around and very beautiful.. the highlight was buying chocolate from this tiny store and the owner kept on telling us that these were hand made.. after polishing off the whole box I can safely say she didnt disappoint!
That evening, we headed back home where we went out for dinner for fries (or fritte) and mayonnaise.. they love having chips with mayonnaise and heaps of it! Afterwards we went to a local street parade that had a variety of floats showcasing lights.. after typing that out I can safely say it was as exciting as what I just written.. enough said!!
Afterwards, we all headed to a local nightclub and it was huge.. massive venue.. I had a great night, what I didnt like was the fact that when you get a beer you only get it half full and the rest is head!! but that wasnt the worse.. you have to pay 50 cents everytime you go through the toilet.. you go through a turnstile and give her 50c.. not great for someone who has a weak bladder! IT was still a great night, and it was so cool to be hanging with local people and not just doing the touristy thing!
The following day we checked out Brussels, as many of you know Brussels isnt the world's most exciting and picturesque city but I did really enjoy mini-Europe.. it was great in the space of an hour I went to the Effiel Tower, Leaning Tower of Piza and Buckingham Palace.. all for 10 Euros!! I then boarded the train back to London.. I had a fantastic time in Belgium and hopefully Sen and Caroline will be coming to London later in the year to do some CHristmas shopping!
The following week, I did my training to be part of Brent Mind which is working with people with mental problems.. it involves one night a week helping out with the social club activities.. the other volunteers seem really good and Im looking forward to starting out in a couple of weeks.
Ive also checked out a couple more festivals in London, they are unfortunately slowly coming to an end!
Over the weekend just gone, I visited the Cotswold villages.. I went on a tour that left early Sat morning and made three stops in the Cotswold area.. very beaufiul part of the world and very popular. They get over 30 million visitors a year to this area and I can tell that its very popular for Mums and Dads.. antique shops galore.. it is well worth a visit and would be great to spend a weekend in a cottage over winter..
On Sunday evening, I woke up to a hangover which wasnt the finest move when I was helping out with ITV (TV Station) Clean up London day.. dont ask me how I got involved, a slow afternoon at work and before I knew it I was helping out in Burnt Oak! I dragged Casey along to help me out and we were blessed to have such a great day weather wise.. we nominated to assist with painting over the graffiti... Artistic flair with paint isnt one of my strongest assets and this showed.. as Casey went about her artistic ways producing a fine piece of work on her wall myself and a local lad went about trying to paint a sea scene.. seriously, I had to ask how you draw a sun and fish.. in the end my fish were larger than the stickmen surfers and the sun was just strange- I really hope some puts some graffiti over it!!
Afterwards, I helped out cleaning up rubbish and then they put on a BBQ and I had a great chat with all the young guys that were helping out.. I was the only Aussie (which is rare in London) so they were very interested in what I was doing here and my accent..
It was heaps of fun, and ITV were filming and apparently, we were on tv.. yep.. thats right been here 2 months and managed to get my ugly head on tv... my phone has been running hot with calls to audition on Coronation Street and Eastenders.. and the London Fashion week has just started so they want me to be part of that...
That brings me to my last piece of exciting news.. on Tuesday nightI went to Milton Keys (out in the middle of nowhere!) to see Robbie Williams with 80 000 other people.. myself and a couple of friends made the long journey out of London to see the man.. and he didnt disappoint!! Absolutely brilliant! He is such a showman and had the whole crowd singing along.. A well spent £45..
Last night, I caught up with a few of the guys that I did my tour around Africa with.. all the guys that are based around London.. it was so good to see them all and remincising about the good old days of getting up at 430 in the morning to spend 12 hours on a truck travelling through Africa!
This weekend Im going to Sheffield to see a friend of mine I met in Egypt, Im staying with him for the weekend.. might even check out a local football game.. not sure what else there is to see in Sheffield.. apparently they have a good nightlife!
That is it for me at the moment, work is going well and I will be back in Australia in December via New York for a week so hopefully I will see most of you then.
Post a comment and stay in touch.
Until next time!
Cheers
Troy
posted by Troy Aitken | 8:20 AM
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