Edinburgh - last day jumble
16. elokuuta 2015, Skotlanti ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
First, the view from my hostel window! It's more fancy than my last hostel (although it seems most side streets in Edinburgh look very picturesque like this). More importantly, it's much closer toLue lisää
Edinburgh - train for Oban
17. elokuuta 2015, Skotlanti ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Very scenic train trip from Edinburgh, via Glasgow (managed to walk to a small square near the train station), north to Oban.
Oban - arrival/exploration
17. elokuuta 2015, Skotlanti ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Exploring Oban on my first day here. It's a small seaside town that feels very much like Paihia in NZ (without the nice beaches, but with more history). Oban is mostly used as a port on to theLue lisää
Lismore - island hiking
18. elokuuta 2015, Skotlanti ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
On the very strong recommendation of Adrian, I spent a day on the Isle of Lismore. I don't think it really lived up to his claim that it is literally the best and most amazing place ever, but it wasLue lisää
Scotland - Bye!
19. elokuuta 2015, Skotlanti ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
I've had a great time in Scotland, with warm and often sunny weather, and only a few short, light rain showers.
I'd like to come back to Edinburgh again NOT during festival time, I think it'd feelLue lisää
London - walking tour
20. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Back in London again, staying at another cheap hostel but this time it's very close to a tube station, so not such a hike every day to get out.
Finally got around to doing a (free) walking tour -Lue lisää
London - portrait gallery
20. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
After the walking tour I wandered around and ended up at the National Portrait Gallery. Lots of past royalty and other people I didn't know. Here's:
1: a bust of Edward Elgar (I played some of hisLue lisää
Oxford
21. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Did a day trip to Oxford. What a lovely town (full of (mostly) poor students (some, the children of super wealthy families) living in overpriced, but very pretty, accommodation)!
I did a walking tourLue lisää
London - Hyde Park / Portobello market
22. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Glorious sunny up to 30° day (predicted rain for the next week) so, making the most of it, I rode a bike around Hyde Park. Turned out to be an excellent option because there are paved paths and it'sLue lisää
London - Camden Market
23. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Went to Camden Town, a very short tube hop from my hostel. Basically it's a big, busy street market with lots of great crafts and amazing food. The best bit was the free samples from all the foodLue lisää
London - V&A Museum
23. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ 🌧 17 °C
Seeing as it was raining, I decided to see a museum. This one wasn't even very crowded (in relative London terms).
Great museum, mostly of artistic stuff throughout history. I particularly loved theLue lisää
London - Natural History Museum
24. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ 🌧 16 °C
Another rainy day, another museum... only half of London had the same idea (#1). Even though there wasn't anything stopping people getting in besides how packed the front room was, there was a massiveLue lisää
London - day off
25. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ 🌧 14 °C
More rain, and fellow backpackers I got to know were leaving today, so just hung out at the hostel. Nice to have a day off!
Bletchley Park
26. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ 🌧 16 °C
Went to see the now-famous (once top secret) wartime codebreaking center. There's actually quite a bit to see around the site and I think I spent a bit too long following around the audio guide (ofLue lisää
London - Greenwich & British Museum
27. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
After Bletchley Park I made my way to stay with Diane and Luke - thanks so much for having me! For my last full day in London I decided to cram in the two things I had been meaning to do but hadn'tLue lisää
London - bye!
28. elokuuta 2015, Englanti ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Leaving London and the UK to start the European part of my trip.
Madrid - ¡hola! & first impressions
28. elokuuta 2015, Espanja ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Landed in Madrid. First thing I noticed was the super modern airport terminal, something I kinda wasn't expecting. This was true of the rest of Madrid too, (and I know this sounds bad but) for someLue lisää
Madrid - hostel
28. elokuuta 2015, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
My hostel is on a quiet side street where everything seemed to be closed. Not sure if due to siesta our economic issues (arrived in 30°+ weather, around 5 pm). However, it's close to everything,Lue lisää
Madrid - walking tour
29. elokuuta 2015, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
The Hostel provides a free walking tour, so decided to tag along instead of the usual free "New Europe" tour. Bit of a mistake - the guide didn't seem to know too much about most places we visited,Lue lisää
Madrid - (walking &) food!
30. elokuuta 2015, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
I did another walking tour today, learned a lot more history than on the hostel's walking tour, but mostly visited the same stuff. Here's a picture of the royal palace gardens and a neat 3D doorLue lisää
Madrid - city exploring
31. elokuuta 2015, Espanja ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
I wandered over to the west side of the central city to see an Egyptian temple on a hill - not very spectacular, but there was a decent view from there.
Walked down the main street (Calle Gran Via) -Lue lisää
Madrid - Retiro park
31. elokuuta 2015, Espanja ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Madrid has a huge park east of the city center, kind of like the Auckland Domain but bigger, nicer, and more popular. It has tons of paved/dirt walkways, fountains, statues, buildings, and a lake.Lue lisää
Madrid - more art, streets
31. elokuuta 2015, Espanja ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Briefly visited another art museum. Interesting building with glass elevators on the outside. Took a photo of a Picasso before the attendant told me off (there were no photo-prohibiting signs aroundLue lisää
Madrid - more wandering
1. syyskuuta 2015, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Last day before conference, wandered back through another part of Retiro park and to Atocha train station, where they had converted an old terminal into an indoor park (with a tortoise pond!).
Madrid - hotel
1. syyskuuta 2015, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
The one hotel I'm staying in during this trip. Living it up! Nice to have a whole bed/bathroom/space to myself but feels so isolated compared to hostels. Not much in the surrounding area either. MyLue lisää









































































































































