Running

Just went for a run.

Bubble gave me the mother talk of be careful...... etc.....We do live in Chiswick though.... (Yummy Mummy Land and BMW 4WDs) - think she jinxed me.

Not sure if its the cold night air or the pollution, but it stings the back of your throat when your running, kind of feels like an Ice Cream head ache or swimming in the pool in winter when you put your head under. So I always breath through my nose.

I was running across the Bridge into Kew and some kids starting yelling at me, and trying to follow me, luckily for me the white children of this country suffer from Obesity. Could n't help but wonder what where kids that age doing out on the street at that time of night????

Speaking of white I had to fill in my UK Tax form and tick that I was white?? I have never had to fill a form out before in my life and say I am white???? I am Karen, I am a person, I am Australian, but white has never really crossed my mind.

(mind you I could be blue if you count the photo on my below post)

London life

Well finally managed to catch up with Liz from the Pharmacy and she’s heading off to NY for a week for a wedding very, very jealous, Chris G is also going. My goal is to catch up with Chris before I have been in this country for a year which is fast approaching.

After Pilates yesterday I went to the V&A museum they had a display on New York fashion, so got my fix that way.

The last couple of weekends I have been catching up with Lisa P which has been great.

London is crazy there really just is to much to do but I have been having a good go of it.

I think I am more settled now that I kind of know where I am moving too. I am going to have to schedule some more trips to Oxford though to figure out the whole moving thing.

We had a Team Building afternoon on Tuesday it was so much fun. Kind of like a treasure hunt thing where you had to work out the answer from the clues but then the answer had to be a photo. I was a little unsure at first but then anything that involves running around London and taking silly photos has got to be fun.

Green

Well back in Lovely London and one of the things which is great about London is the News. I can kind of get addicted to watching CNN 24 hours straight and its just the same news story every 30 mins, but I try not to.

But just reading the Metro on the way to work and then the lite on the way home and then Saturdays the Independent, I will admit that I didn’t read the news as much as I should off in Australia, but they really do ram the Environmental issues down your throat over hear which I think is great. . I do feel like I know what’s going on everywhere in the world over here. Darfur is making me rather depressed, but I can see that we are n’t doing anything about it, else it would n’t continue to happen.

I have to say sorry to the Love of my life New York that is one thing London has over you, more International/global News coverage.

It was interesting visiting Portugal, but I have decided my next trip will be more green, hence I am going by boat to Amsterdam.

The Dummies Guide to surviving London

Don’t leave home without;-
(1) A to Z or equivalent
(2) Umbrella
(3) Sun glasses

To survive London turn iPod up high, stick on sun glasses (when purchasing make sure you get really dark ones so you can’t actually see anything) and instantly you feel like you have been transported you are no longer on a 40 degree tube with some guys elbow sticking in to your side, dripping in sweat and all you can smell is sick.

*Remember this is no only applicable for when on the tube, but also when in Sainsbury’s or walking down Oxford street.

Last Weekend (first weekend in July)

Went to watch the start of the Tour De France, well its just one of those things and you have to do everything once right?? Its in London, I’m in London, so why not also I don’t think I will ever get to watch the start of the Tour de France live from London ever again.

Sunday was spent in Oxford, makes me realise how much I love the water (not London rain by the way which as per normal its raining at this minute) I managed to get an Interview and tour at Said Oxford Business school so went again on Friday, it’s a lot newer than London Business School and the facilities where really modern.
I also managed to squish in a trip to Christ Church which, I am sure you have all seen before as the Christ Church College's dining hall is the dinning hall from the Harry Potter Movie.

Oxford was less people, less cars, greener, Pretty River, different atmosphere to crazy, bustling London.

I did love the organic markets at oxford, not that I don’t have them in Chiswick, but the one in Chiswick is just fruit, but I don’t think I will be rushing to buy the yabbies, they where huge maybe buy one as a pet, but that’s it.

London Fire Man....

Even though I am clearly a highly qualified Spammer, I am still interested in staying at the top of my game and also understanding the UK laws with regards to email.

Hence, why I was on the Central line tube at 9.30 am on my way to an Acquisition Email seminar, wondering why anyone would but them selves through this terrible experience of heat and squishiness.

Only to end up in the building where the seminar was spending 40 mins stuck in a six person lift (when there where actually 7 of us) with those horrible little lights that are really, really hot, and we where squished before we got in the lift and a girl who works for money supermarket losing it.

The lawyer kept saying the Judge is going to have to reschedule this case if I don’t get out of here.

And the lift kept ringing 999 (that’s 000 for us Aussies) and the poor operator kept going Police, Fire, ….we would explain that we had already called and someone was on there way. “Well then can you please hang up the phone” and we would all explain that there is no phone. Then there would be this horrible beeping sound, until the lift called 999 again………..

Finally the London fire department turned up and managed to get the doors open, to find out we where stuck between floors, and then had to winch us down to the floor below.

Maybe ............. london tubes are n't that bad????

How to freak out a Londoner!

(1) Look at them and Smile
(2) Say Thank You
(3) Tell them to have a wonderful afternoon

: )

What is really important in Life?

Living in London away from home, your family and loved ones really does make you realise what is important in life.

And these are Geese not ducks.

And while I have spend tonight looking on the Internet and the best difference I can find is Ducks quack and Geese honk.

Just check out these pictures... on goggle
http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=goose+picture&btnG=Search&meta=

UNO

After a night of no sleep on the water Bed though not its fault, I don’t think I had eaten enough, so I made sure I ate a cake (minimum at least 1 )
with every meal.

I set off to visit UNO City – to do a United Nations tour, on the way I was thinking perhaps this could be my next goal to visit all of the UN Buildings and since I have already done NY, really only Geneva to go, but on the tour I learnt about Nairobi, so I might have to re think that. I did learn that there are 192 Counties?? In the UN and the only one not to be a full member is the Vatican. Unfortunately counties like Taiwan for example are n’t members so can’t vote, but are allowed to speak and provide input as they are not independent from China, there are a few more e.g. some that are n’t independent from the US… and hence why their are only 193.

While waiting for the plan I was thinking have I really not had enough sleep or why do they have chairs on the walls??

Getting off the plane in London I managed to find another poor American with the blue box on his hat, how could I not chat to him, I was then stuck in front of him in the customs line for 82 mins (poor guy) till I was eventually allowed to go ahead as I am a uk Resident and he was stuck in the line.

(In case you don't know this has become my number #1 hobby chatting poor Americans to death)

Vienna

I was pretty impressed with the Toilet in the Office in Vienna, it had this little arm thing that came out and cleaned the toilet seat and which at the same time the actual seat itself spins around so it can all be cleaned.


This got me thinking…


Rich and I had this thing of where ever we went we would always clime something so Collosseum here, Spanish Steps there, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Eiffel Tower etc.., you get the idea.
So Vienna I decided was going to be toilets.
So after a pretty impressive technically advanced toilet, I set off on my mission. Next stop the Opera Toilet, with lovely art work and of course opera music this was a joy to visit. And the Opera music also had an addional benefit, you could n’t hear your neighbours in the room next door with the lovely music.
Next I had to take a bus, which I could n’t believe I managed to find the actual bus stop, (why are information boths always closed when I want them) then get off and at the right stop and then walk 50 meters. (the directions where all in German and I know aberlutely nothing in German at least I can count to 10 in Italian, French and Japanese and say please and thank you) So for me a pretty big achivevement, condering I am cable of getting lost in London just trying to buy lunch.
And finally the Toilet of Modern Art, with a lovely water fountain in its entrance. This was a pretty funky toilet the basins had mirrors where decorated and of course the toilets as well.

Brisbane

When Rich was looking to buy in QLD, we looked at a number of places one of these was a block of Units, with each one on a differant level and a different colour. Well this was taken to new levels in Vienna.

My Brother

After all these church’s I have finally worked it out, If only my brother had had a 12th Century church to go to with Catacombs underneath then I am sure he would of always been the first in the Car to go to church on Sunday mornings.

No arguments, no running away from the Sunday school teacher, will if he had, he would have been under the church in the Catacombs. And if you get board during church you can always find something new to count, they are just so huge that you would never be board with the shire size, the art, the paintings, statues and gold. Even last weekend in Cambridge just popping into the local church they are all just amazing.

Day two (of not working in Vienna)

I thought I should start seeing a little more of Vienna, so booked myself on a tour of the usual stuff from Belvedere Palace, Museums, Parliament, City Hall, a few more…. Vienna University, (5th oldest in the world) and then my favourite Schonburnn, I even managed to climb up the fill and onto the roof of the Gloriette. (where Maria Theresa used to like to have her Breakfast.) Well yes I still have that Climbing thing…

Plus another opportunity to corner some more Americans and blar them to death…

With this new interest in the Habsburg. Family I then went to Kaiser Gruff – where all the bodies of the Habsburg family are berried. (from memory minus the hearts and stomachs, one of these being in the Stephansdom church) So I guess I can say I have seen about 2/3s of the Habsburg family remains.

Day One (0f not working)

Well I sill had n’t managed to read any of the three guide books I had lugged over hear from my local London Library. But my map had a picture of a ferris wheel, so after some strawberry’s and weird yogurt. (all yogurt is wired which is n’t from Australia - but I still eat it, it just does n’t taste the same.) I set off, I found out that this ferris wheel is the oldest in the world, built in 1897 and was also in the James Bond movie “The Living Daylights”, what can I say I am always up for a Ferris wheel ride and it also had a pretty good view to enable me to work out what I was going to see next.

Next on the list, I then went back to just near work to the Stephasdom Church, it was amazing, also had catacombs underneath, so always a winner for me. I then decided to do a little mini Church Pub crawl – minus the pubs and so ended up doing a 1 hour private tour on 15th Century Violins. (as many of you know the one thing I just can’t stand is beginner Violinists, any other beginner instrument no worries just the violin rrrhh.) But it was actually very interesting learning all about violins, violas, Cellos and Double bases. They also had two flutes. And how we progressed from the Violin to all these other interments, kind of like the Internet always changing. E.g. They had Violins with the Viola shape and Violas with extra strings like the Cello. Also very glad I did n’t play back then as trying to read this old sheet music, was challenging for me, the notes looked different and they did n’t close their bar’s.

I then went to look at the horses from the Spanish Riding School. (Winter Riding School) what can I say I am always ready to pat an animal.

Saturday nigh, I had managed to get lost and ended up at a what I thought was spending the second Saturday night in a row at a beer festival. After an hour or so I was really enjoying the band and thought I should find out what they where called so I could Google them when I got back to London, it was all in German but the music was good. So I went up to find out what they where called, lets just say I very soon worked out that they where a religious group and I was not at a beer festival.

Cake

I decide I had to at least try the food, even though the joke in the office at work was that I was going to starve in this sausage and pork country. So I started off with a Chicken Schnitzel and Chocolate Peanut Tort - Yum, after that I new I would be fine. My favourites the Profiteroles covered in Chocolate mouse (note to self, milk chocolate is better that the white chocolate mouse on top)

And then of course I stopped in for lunch and had the famous Sachertorte (chocolate Cake with a layer of apricot jam and chocolate icing Yum!) at the Hotel Sacher.

Vienna

Unfortunately, another country visited and Paris is still down the bottom of the list, I have realised that New York will always be my first true love.

Vienna, has the U-Bahn, which makes London’s tube look 100 years behind as it runs on time and trains actually turn up at the station. What I do actually love about France is Versailles but Vienna has Schonburnn Palace, which Mary-Antoinette’s mother Maria Theresa worked to have completed during the mid 18th Century.

25 degree weather, Italy’s coffee, they love carbs (bread + desserts), except for the pork with everything (except dessert of course) and taking your dog everywhere, on the train to the shops and 40% of Vienna is parks so plenty of room for them to run around. So how could I not love Vienna?

Cambridge

Well as it was such a lovely long weekend in Lovely London, (raining Elephants and Hippos) and minus 500 degrees, OK it was about 12 degrees) Alex and I went to Cambridge.

Some how we missed getting to Wimpole Hall to see the Scarecrow exhibition, which Alex and I where both very upset about not getting to see the Humpty Dumpty Scarecrow.

http://www.visitcambridge.org/visitors/whatson.php

So had to keep ourselves busy with some markets.

But then we did mange to find "Judge", Cambridge's MBA School and then ended up finding Jesus Green and finding some lovely Swedish people to chat to. (well we wanted, OK I wanted to pat their dog)

But on the whole, only 45 mins from London Cambridge was very tempting.

And now you know why I don't blog....

http://www.stridedesign.net/ShapeWalks/tour.aspx?rid=1860610&p=4&ix=4&pid=1&prcid=17&ppid=416

Running

Have decided I am no longer going to stress about Japan, OK decided I am no longer going to lose my appetite even if I am stressed about Japan.

Hence need to exercise more again.

So last night went for a walk, which turned into a run and found that just around the corner and a bit more, from where I live is the bomb site of Hitler’s silent but deadly, first ever V2 rocket.

Mum, you can be a proud History teacher once more : )

Mum

While most people in Australia are doing all the big people things, clearly there is a reason why I am not : )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxgOWoXXKuY

Heaven

If you know me you know I love garlic, this is me eating a Garlic, Muchroom and BBQ sause Burger (veg, of course), its been awhile : )

Out for Thursday Night drinks for Pommys Birthday.