Dare to be different and learn to be lonely

Oh, booh. I had selected and edited all the pictures for my third and final picspam of the trip to London, when the stupid computer at school killed my USB stick and destroyed all the photos I'd saved on it. Luckily I have a back up, but it's gonna take me some time to go through them again*. In the mean time, here are links to part 1 and 2. For people who don't want to see my face, I recommend link number 3 for a couple of delightful photos of my 2,5 year old nephew. He was having a sleep-over at my mum's last week and since she only lives a bicycle ride away from me, I went over there for dinner and cuddles;)

LND trip, part 1: The WB Harry Potter Film Studios
LND trip, part 2: An afternoon trip to Oxford
Linkie #3: My adorable nephew

*My shoulder and I are still struggling, hrmpf. Last week I had some intense physical therapy sessions with hot ultrasound waves and a lot of manual pinching and poking (not a gentle massage;). That seemed to work so well that I got a little overconfident this weekend and started sketching again. That was clearly not a good idea** as the shoulder felt strained and painful again on Sunday night and all of Monday. Today was better and I had another dose of ultrasound this afternoon. After that my therapist sent me home with a fancy elastic band and a new harsh regime of exercizes to strenghten my rotator cuff.

**The idea for the sketch on the other hand worked out pretty well, even if I didn't manage to get to the papercutting stage yet. I'm hoping to be able to work on it some more and finish it in time for my first BB presentation on June 21st...

A couple of weeks ago tanisafan and I went to London for some theatre, shopping and a trip to the WB Harry Potter Studios. Which turned out to be an even bigger adventure than we had anticipated... On Thursday May 9 I traveled to Antwerp where I met up with T. on the platform of the train to Brussels. There we got on the Eurostar. In London we left our luggage in our hotelroom before heading off straight away to catch the Tube to a theatre on the edge of town for a lucious performance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. On Friday May 10 we went to the WB studios. Behind the cut the whole story in pictures (with a tiny bit of commentary too;)

( We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... )
IT WAS AWESOME :-)

Apologies for the random lay-out of the photos; I still can't type for long so coding was a struggle. To check out the original size image just right click and view.

Yesterday I shared photos of my first two days in London. To do more than the usual bookshopping and theatre-visits and to make my trip more like a vacation, I had booked a touristy tour. On Thursday, August 16 I had to get up real early for a sunrise pick up at a nearby hotel for a roundtrip with a guide (and a group) to Stonehenge, Lacock and Bath. To find out why these places are more than just silly names, I present my photospam of day 3: the Stonehenge Sunrise Tour.

( Part 1: Stonehenge )

( Part 2: LaCock *giggle* )

( Part 3: Bath (the town, not the tub) )

That was the end of the tour. But my day wasn't over yet! I got a hot wrap at Pret a Manger and had dinner in my hotelroom before going into town for the evening. Remember that play from Wednesday that was sold out? I decided to give it another go. So I brought my book and went back to the Cottlesloe theater to stand in line with other hopefuls...

( Final evening in London )

The end.

*hugs computer and all of the internet*

I surprised myself today with the artwork I made for spn_cinema. Okay, so I first made a mess as expected and it did turn out differently than I had in mind, but I'm quite content with the result so far. Hope I still like it tomorrow;) "Sketches" are due on April 20th, all will be revealed in May...

I wrote another bookreview, you can find it in my bookcommunity thej2bee: Good Luck - Christine Otten & Erik Kessels. FYI: you're welcome to join and read (or write) more reviews:)

If you looked at the previously posted photos of my trip to London, you already know how much brotherdearest and I managed to do in just one day. This is the final set of pictures, from our journey back home.


Sunday, April 8
With bonus sightseeing from the bus
After traveling from Amsterdam on Friday and exploring London on Saturday, we're going back home today!


We got up around 6.30 and handed in our keycard at the desk before getting our complimentary English Breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, that opened at 7.00 a.m.


At 7.30 we walked to the tube and traveled underground to Victoria Station.


From there it's a 15 minute walk to the Coach Station for our bus to Amsterdam.


We checked in around 8.15 and the passengers were divided over two busses; one would go to Brussels/Amsterdam, the other to Rotterdam/The Hague.

On our way out of London, the bus passed all the sights, so I couldn't resist making touristy pictures. Get ready, set.... go! (I hope I got all the names right;)


Westminster Abbey (Western facade)


Westminster Abbey (the Old Palace)


Westminster Central Hall (Church)


The Clock Tower (with Big Ben) and Houses of Parliament (the New Palace)


Close up of the Clock Tower. (Big Ben is the name of the largest bell;)


The River Thames and a bit of the Londen Eye.


Bye, Houses of Parliament!


Aaaaaaaaaand a bit more of the London Eye:)


Just because I liked the look of it: The Mad Hatter Hotel.


The Tower of London and Towerbridge


Towerbridge


Bye, Tower of London!

After about two hours(?) we arrive at the Channel Tunnel.


Heehee: France, straight ahead!
While we were waiting for our timeslot on the train, our busdriver tried to repair his broken windshield wiper, but failed. So we were transfered onto the other bus which meant we wouldn't make a shortcut, but had to travel through Rotterdam and The Hague before Amsterdam. We didn't mind, because we were very glad we didn't have to wait for another bus. Both drivers were so very courteous and made sure all the passengers and their luggage were transfered without any problems.

After everything was settled, it was time to board and the bus drove right up on the platform...


This train only has compartments for cars, trucks and busses. Passengers don't have to leave their own vehicle. So cool.


No need for windows when going through the tunnel, but there was a tiny window right below me, so I could see the tracks when we started to move.
Hans did get out the bus for a bit to take pictures. The doors in between compartments are pressurized, but you can go through them if you want to go to the on board toilet. The busdriver took a little break and stretched out on two passenger seats:)


After half an hour we arrived in France; the compartment opens up and the bus can drive right out onto the road! Did I already mention how cool this was?


We're in France! With a long drive ahead of us...


This is Brussels! Driving up Treurenberg hill.


The St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral
(Kathedraal van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele)


Look: behind the trees in the distance you can see The Atomium!


Around six p.m. we had a break just before the border at roadside stop Hazeldonk. There are several restaurants there, we had dinner at the McDonalds;)


Back on the bus for the last part of our trip.


We arrived in Amsterdam around 9 p.m., 45 minutes earlier than scheduled. Hans accompanied me on the metro from Amsterdam Amstel to Duivendrecht...


... where I took the train back to Zwolle:) (I finished rereading part four in the Nightrunner series, yay!)


Home sweet home. All the goodies I collected \o/

The end.

It was a great trip. I don't recommend the nightbus if you need sleep to function, but it worked quite well for us:)

Went to London with brotherdearest this weekend. Took the Knightbus from Amsterdam and... fine *sighs*, it was the nightbus from Amsterdam to London, but still: pretty exciting stuff :-p I'm working on my travelblog; there are a couple of photos of the journey up in my photo-blog already and I'm sharing our first morning in Covent Garden now, because of eggs.
( But I'll start with me waking up on the bus; )

To be continued tomorrow:) Did y'all have a nice Easterweekend?

Continuing my travel story of my XL weekend in London with tanisafan Fun was had:)

( Day 3: Saturday August 6 )

( Day 4: Sunday August 7 )

Missed part 1?
LND Day 1 / LND Day 2

I already got back from London last Wednesday, full of happy after Tim Minchin's brilliant concert, but I found the second part of the Nightrunner series there (Stalking Darkness - Lynn Flewelling) and I had to read that before I could do anything else, even go online for a picspam;) But I finished that book (in between work that I sadly couldn't avoid), so now my blog and journal can have my undivided attention, at least until I get part 3. *grins*

So. London. It was marvelous. Although I forgot to bring my travelwoobie (see icon), so first thing I had to do on arrival (after checking in at hotel and score a theatre-ticket at Leicester Square) was to go to Hamleys and get a stand-in cuddle buddy to go to bed with. (What? Like you can sleep without one).
Of course, going to the world's oldest toy store is not really penance, but trust me when I say I was sufficiently punished later for leaving my woobie at home. Karma, you bitch.

( I honestly don't know how I made so many photos in one and a half day )
The End.

New sandals - and painted toenails!

Despite still being busy with BigBang (my first artwork will be posted on Monday July 19!) I'm already preparing for travel this summer:)
I will be in London in the first week of August for theatre-visites and shoe-shopping in Camden, if you want to meet up, let me know!

I also hope to go see Tim Minchin in London on December 14, providing there will still be tickets available by the time I'm finished with BigBang and have time to make arrangements (final artwork will be posted on Monday July 26) - does anyone want to join me then?

On my way to the shower I met Shae on the stairs with -you guessed it- friends, booze, etc (do I need to spell it out: uch) I told her it was time for breakfast (I always keep my promises;)
Had breakfast in the bar myself en tried to report the broken light in the shower. Young Basil didn't feel like writing it down. Oh well. On to Picadilly Circus to see if I could score a ticket for Ewan McGregor in Guys And Dolls. At 10.15 an employee of the theater walked past the long line of people to tell us Ewan called in sick for the afternoonperformance. I took that as my cue to go shoe-shopping;)(it's not like I really wanted to see that show, but Mr. McG does have a gorgeous voice and I would have loved to experience him on stage;)
In the early morning Camden Market is pretty quiet and I could take my time drooling in my favourite shoe-shops. Didn't start fitting right away, but walked through every shop in the neighbourhood first (mmmm, shoes:) I did try a very cool pair of shoes, but they were too big. The salesguy didn't understand that comfort is my first priority and offered a substantial discount.. Ehm, hello? The shoes don't fit! Do I look like a girl? Okay, don't answer that.
Anyway, after another walk around the market and a big cup of freshly squeezed IceCold Lemonade I was ready to go for it. Thanks to my large feet I was able to score amazing shoes in the cool-guys-section, woohoo. Bought three pairs (yes, 3 pairs) and in the process I managed to drive three shop-assistents mad: added bonus;). You can admire my new shoes here

I ended my perfect afternoon with High Tea at Walker's Quay (also a very good place to get an English breakfast btw) and completely relaxed I went back to Leicester Square to see Corps Bride.

At night I put on my new shoes for my date with Kevin Spacey (okay, he was on stage and I was in the audience, but allow me this dream;) and Shakespeare's Richard II. It was a modern interpretation, but they did use the original language. It had been a very good idea to read the play the past weeks, 'cause now I had no trouble understanding the story and dialogue (unlike some people next to me)
I had a marvelous seat: third row on the side, so Kevin could really admire my new shoes.
In the first scene I had a restricted view, when Bolingbroke was sitting right in front of King Richard, but since he is supposed to be the bad guy, annoying me was probably just part of his strategy;)

Great play. Great day.

*x-posted in my mothertongue on my weblog*