Indulgence

Over this past weekend, I ventured on my first European mini-break weekend with five fellow Aussie friends. The destination was Brussels, Belgium. We arrived in style (i.e. cheap flights with Ryan Air) & managed a great deal with the Radisson located in town.

Brussels is a perfect town to visit over the weekend. There are plenty of sites to visit and more importantly, plenty of food to taste!! With a trusty phrase book in hand, I was also able to practice a little French on the way.

Brussels is home to the political centre of the EU. In addition to the many parliamentary buildings, there were many historical buildings to see along the way. A few highlights included:

• Belgian Royal Palace;


• Atomium – built for expo 1958, the steel sphere structure representing an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times;
  
• Saint Michael and Gufula’s Cathedral; and
  
• Grand Place – located in the centre of town, the square is surrounded by grand town hall and other guild buildings.

Another popular landmark in Brussels is the Manneken Pis – a little bronze structure of a kid urinating into the fountain. Its popularity is quite bizarre!

And now onto the details you would really like to know about – the local delicacies…

As many would have rounds of drinks, we decided to have rounds of chocolat! All I can say is that you can’t go wrong with chocolate. Other local tastes included escargot (snails), moule (mussels) and gaufre (waffles). To wash all the food down, I also tried some local biere (beer). The framboise (raspberry) and peche (peach) flavoured beers are highly recommended.

Sweeties

One of the things that made the UK appealing to me is the fact that the language is the same… well, almost. There have been a few notable definitions that have required clarification along the way. Along with the traditional “thongs” and “pants” misunderstandings, I have learnt that a lolly is sugar on a stick and any other sort of sugar treat is a “sweetie”. Below is a picture of a particular UK sweetie known as a flying saucer – a rice paper case with sherbet in the middle (very bizarre!).And then there is the pronunciation & accent issue. Initially I had troubles with “Southwark” [pronounced “Suth-ick” rather than the phonetically pronounced “South-wark”]. Also, apparently the English can not distinguish between me saying jam, jem & Jan! Another bad habit of mine is the interchangeable use of “dollar” and “pound”. It is probably the hardest one for me to get use to, but the impact of using the $ instead of the £ at work can make a significant difference!

On a completely different note, here are a few snaps from the Lord Mayor Show & parade through London a few weeks ago. (In the night time shot, you have the London Eye on the left & Big Ben on the far right.)

Bonfire Night

One of the annual traditions in London is bonfire night... commonly known as “Guy Fawkes”. Back in 1605, this lunatic apparently attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. After being found out, he was put to death with his body quartered and hung on the four corners of the Westminster. Every year Londoners celebrate this guy’s attempt of blowing up Parliament – very bizarre! Anyway, I had a fun evening at Ravenscourt Park watching the massive 30m+ bonfire plus fireworks display with a few friends.

On a side note, we have been having a fantastic autumn in London. There is no doubt that autumn in my favourite season of the year with the vibrant displays of red & orange leaves as they fall from the trees. Here a just a few photos from my stroll yesterday through St James Park, located between Buckingham Palace and Whitehall.

Ultimate Sports

We live in the era of all things “ultimate” – ultimate frisbee & ultimate football to name a few. On the weekend, while wandering through Greenwich markets, I watched the ultimate of crafting activities – Ultimate Knitting! I will leave it to the photo to give you a visual of what I’m talking about.

Also included in our Saturday walking around Greenwich, Sarah, Fee & I visited the Old Royal Naval College, the Queen’s house & the National Maritime Museum. With too many things to do & see in Greenwich in one day, I'll certainly be back there another weekend.

Calling all academics

With beautiful autumn weather, Ivan, Belle & I travelled 90km north-west of London to see the spire covered skyline of the 30+ colleges in Oxford. Oxford is delightful with a genuine small town feel. Initially we were quite surprised to see many of the students wearing their full gown including bow ties & caps. Apparently they have to wear the full gown for their exams. I could not imagine having to wearing that uncomfortable outfit during exams!!

There were many points of interest in Oxford including:

• Christ Church College – We wandered through the grounds of the college including the quadrangle, the Cathedral, Tom Tower & the dining hall (one of the locations for the filming of Harry Potter);
  
• The University Church of St Mary’s Virgin – On route to climb the tower of the church with magnificent 360 degree views of the spire skyline (a must for anyone going to Oxford!), we stopped to listen to a practice session of Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi, an all-female ensemble of singers and players of instruments from the violin family. The music was beautiful, almost spine-tingling.
  
• Radcliffe Camera – Built in 1737, the circular building is a grand library and apparently one of the most photographed buildings in the UK.
• The Bear – A weekend in an English town is not complete without some local pub grub. A cider & steak & ale pie filled the hole for us after walking around town all day.

On Sunday, we headed out of Oxford to Blenheim Palace, home to the Dukes of Marlborough (currently the 11th Duke lives there) & the birth place of Winston Churchill. Set in 2100 acres, the palace is surrounded by sweeping lawns, formal gardens and a lake. The grand palace entrance follows a path over a bridge to the victory column on the opposing hillside. Inside, the Palace is full of historical artifacts of the Churchill-Spencer family. The long library was my favourite room with the floor to ceiling books and its view over the water terrace gardens.