Our final postings about this trip- London

Seems I left this blog unfinished and have been told it needs to be completed. We have been home now for almost a month and already it feels like forever!
So we left Sheffield and caught the train to London. The hotel I had chosen was very comfortable although probably not in the right spot - Waterloo - within walking distance of Waterloo station but a bit far for a pleasurable walk especially on the way home!

Highlights of the couple of days. Maps exhibition at the British Library; Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art - Had never been to the Museum of London before so did a bit of that one - far too much for one trip but it's free so you could really just keep going back - we did from prehistory up to Henry VIII.  Outside areas was being developed so couldn't get down close enough to work out what this sculpture was all about! just tried to find the answer on google and all I came up with was this writtten in 1872

The great coaching-inn of Aldersgate Street, in the old time, was the Bull and Mouth. The original name of this inn was Boulogne Mouth, in allusion to the town and harbour of Boulogne, besieged by Henry VIII. But the gne being generally pronounced by the Londoners on, it gradually became an, and it only required the small addition of d to make and of it. The first part being before this made a bull of, it was ultimately converted into the Bull and Mouth.

The Queen's Hotel, St. Martins-le-Grand, rebuilt in 1830 , now occupies the site of the old Bull and Mouth. On the front there is a statuette of a bull, above which are the bust of Edward VI., and the arms of Christ's Hospital, to which the ground belongs. The old inn stood in Bull and Mouth Street, and the south side in Angel Street still retains the name of the old inn, but is merely a luggage depot of Chaplin and Horne. On the front of the present hotel, much affected by Manchester men, under the turbulent little bull, is a stone p.220 tablet probably from the old inn, and on it are. deeply cut the following quaint lines :-- Milo the Cretonian


An ox slew with his fist,


And ate it up at one meal,


Ye gods, what a glorious twist!



The other memorable part of this trip to London was the heat! It was hot, hot, hot!! Warnings on the tube about carrying water bottles seemed to be a bit over the top to us, but by late afternoon one day we realised how unbearable it can get down there on a crowded train. Of course no one has air conditioning either! One evening we walked and walked (and walked some more) to eat at a riverside Greek restaurant we had been to on a previous trip, of course by the time we got there it was full so walked on and ended up at Swan at the Globe which while not outside eating did have a spare table at the windows with views across the river to St Pauls.

And we found another bookshop to add to our favourite London shops. London Review Bookshop just around the corner from the British Museum.  Also, Sandy spent an hour or so in Foyles while Eleen went rack slapping.

On the final legs

We feel like we are almost home although still in Sheffield. We are heading to London on Sunday for two nights then fly to Hong Kong and spend three nights there and then home! Not looking forward to going back to work but definitely looking forward to seeing my wardrobe!
Not much to report about Sheffield. Got another paper written while I was here, did a seminar for some students, had lunch with the lovely Julia, coffee with lovely Pat Sikes, dinner at Jackie's house, lunch with Guy Merchant.
Don't know if my lack of enthusiasm is because of Sheffield itself or because I'm already in home headspace. Certainly doing course profiles, readers, and finding tutors via email etc doesn't help!

Collage of photos taken on our trip to York

Playing with Picasa - didn't realise you could create these collages automatically - kinda fun!

Sheffield

So here I am sitting in the beautiful Julia's office- such a pity she is not here but I still get to check out her books and cute postcards, dolls,. posters etc. Not much else to check out because the weather is absolute CRAP! After a glorious Friday and Saturday we woke to drizzle on Sunday and it hasn't stopped since- and today is Thursday! I just feel like I am in Melbourne in the middle of one of those miserable dreary grey drizzly weeks that come in around July. But this is summer here - come on Sheffield - let the sun shine in! And Peppi will think this is very funny as I did nothing but complain about the weather in Jyvaskyla while we were there - so maybe it's me that grey weather is following around the planet!

Bronte Country

We hired a car for the day in Sheffield and drove to Haworth, the home of the Bronte sisters and the Parsonage Museum. I realised on the way there as we drove through Yorkshire, that it was my fictional world become reality. Everyone from the Brontes to DH Lawrence even to Barbara Taylor Bradford have written about these towns, and mills and mines, the black of the coal still staining the brick work of the houses, the long narrow hilly streets - close your eyes and picture the miners walking back home after their shifts.
And the museum!! I had always known that the three sisters read each other's writing each evening and walked around a table as they read. But when you see the room - it is tiny - maybe  it would take three steps to walk the length of the table - another three steps and back down the other side - past the sofa where apparently Emily died - lying on this short uncomfortable sofa. All the windows in the parsonage have blinds on them to protect the furniture but I so wanted to see out - to see what they saw when they looked out the window to the moors.
Had a drink with the drunken Branwell at the Black Bull - no matter how much they try to reconstitute him as someone we should feel sorry for I'm still with Charlotte
You ask about Branwell; he never thinks of seeking employment, and I begin to fear that he has rendered himself incapable of filling any respectable station in life; besides, if money were at his disposal, he would use it only to his own injury; the faculty of self-government is, I fear, almost destroyed in him. You ask me if I do not think that men are strange beings? I do, indeed. I have often thought so; and I think too that the mode of bringing them up is strange: they are not sufficiently guarded from temptation. Girls are protected as if they were something very frail or silly Indeed, while boys are turned loose on the world as if they, of all beings in existence, were the wisest and least liable to be led astray.

Joyce Hotel Paris

We found the Joyce Hotel on Laterooms.comand then checked it on Tripadvisor - it was the first hotel where the reviews were as good as the price so we went for it and the reviews actually were right! Apart from this very weird layout of the room it was terrific. These photos show the route from bed to bathroom - along a narrow corridor - at last a reason for carrying a torch all this time!!

This was such a good choice of hotel thank goodness!! It's so hard to find a decent European hotel especially if you are using Australian dollars to pay for it!

Notre Dame and the Gargoyles

The Notre Dame Cathedral and its amazing gargoyles-

These were Sandy's favourite part of the cathedral !

The Louvre and more

I love this photo - this is the crowd at the Mona Lisa. No one actually looked at the painting with their own eyes - they all viewed it through the viewfinder of their cameras/video cameras. Pushing and shoving to get a spot at the front so they could capture their own photo - which would never be any good because of the reflection of the glass frame!!
Walking down a staircase this view of one of the galleries closed - a jumble of antiquities!
Joan of Arc in gold!!
We caught the metro and train line to the Eiffel Tower and then did a one hour boat cruise around the river

Paris!!

My first time in Paris - it was amazing, incredible, etc etc. We did the main walks, and tourist spots. Highlights: Here I am standing on a bridge over the river.




And the Boulevard St Michel. As I posted on Facebook, as soon as I saw the sign I remembered that song, Where do I go to my lovely, and had to rush home and find the video on youtube. We had lunch at a cafe here.




And Sandy standing on another bridge!






So we missed the Prada, and never got to the Uffizi when we were in Florence a few years ago, so I was determined to make the Louvre. One of the first paintings we saw was this one which reminded my of all those holy cards my Mum had when I was a kid.

Before I finish with Finland

Peppi sent me this message
First, there is a guided tour for citizens of Jyväskylä in their hometown, as the Jkl culture centre has found that most people don't recognise even the statue of Uno Cygnaeus! And this is a true story. I won't unfortunately be able togo, but I've now seen the photo on your laptop screen. That is almost the real thing.
So for all our Jyvaskyla friends here is the photo!!

Hilton in Helsinki

Maybe because of the bed and the view but Hilton has never been as good as this! The bridge I am standing on took us into town every day, the other shots are views from our room window, and the bonus was Chris Isaak was staying there our last night and was having breakfast at the same time - mind you he does look quite seedy and not half as cute first thing in the mornign but I guess people could say that about me too!! ok enough of Finland. Off to Paris - of course I am writing this on the last morning in Paris so I am about three days behind!

Trams in Helsinki

Trams in Helsinki are green and yellow - for those who have never been to Melbourne a common feature of Melbourne trams too. This tram is a tourist one only 5 euros, and the conductor gave us an individual tour description as well as being very knowledgeable about Melbourne trams!!

Helsinki

So what is this? An old castle?? On the train between Tampere and Helsinki. And the train photo is for all Victorian friends who will recognise the logo!

when we arrived in Helsinki checked in and then went walking - caught in rain shower and dashed for cover into this cute glass restaurant in the park

Cultural Tampere

Onwards for a cultural view of Tampere - well as much as we could handle after an early morning, a seminar delivery, and it was cold and drizzly - that's my excuses all sown up anyway! The building is the library designed to look like a bird, love the statue of newspaper readers - celebrating 100? years of reading in Tampere??? ok that will be corrected by Peppi I am sure if she reads this:-)

Sandy and Peppi admiring a large ball floating on water, and slowly turning - don't know what Sandy is laughing at there?

And then to the Moomin Museum at the back of the library which was fascinating - and I loved the house especially.
After a little nana nap we had dinner with Peppi at great Indian restaurant - our cravings for hot spicy garlicky food soothed quite nicely. Then off to a couple of bars to experience Tampere nightlife, and then goodbye to Peppi for now and off to Helsinki.

Tampere

So to Tampere!! We had a great time with Peppi who looks pretty good in these photos (so I think I am owed 10euros!!) The first photo is of the "rapids" in the middle of town showing how similar it is to Manchester. And Peppi told us it is known as the Manchester of Finland.
After my seminar at The University of Tampere (which went well even though only a small audience all seemed interested in Deleuze!) we went exploring with Peppi. Here are Sandy and Peppi having coffee downtown, and then Sandy in the corner with Peppi and her beautiful smile at the Tower, where we had doughnuts and coffee but I could not be convinced walking up the tower to view the city would be worth it!!

And here is a photo of the "three towers of Tampere" (that's a poor tall people's joke!)

Goodbye Jyvaskyla

Our last night here - and at last I can spell the name without looking it up! We had a great dinner last night with Peppi, Anne, and Tarja in a Viking restaurant eating Rudolph, Bambi, and other exotic meats, and here I am wearing one of the silly hats!

And this photo is one of my favourite views looking down the mall from the University end - I wish I had the ability to capture sound with image (yeah yeah I know it is possible!!) because the main thing that hits us whenever we see this view is the lack of noise - no loud speakers from shops no yelling yes people are talking but it just seems so quiet compared to a mall in Oz. And yes bike riding is popular in Finland especially during the summer.

On my school visit yesterday I taught a new word to the two lovely young men who showed me around - pushbike!!!

And so onto Tampere and then Helsinki and then Paris and then Sheffield! But the last photo is of two of our new friends, Anne and Tarja - will have to make sure the next pic has Peppi in it!

To our new Finnish friends

I just want to be clear that the last posting was not "things that are wrong with Jyvaskyla" but "things WE HAVE DONE WRONG in Jyvaskyla. It was not a comment on this wonderful town and people but on the hapless mistakes that linguistically and culturally ignorant Aussies like us can make when travelling!

Things to get wrong in Jyvaskyla!

1. Our first attempt to catch the bus - we thought we were so clever reading the bus timetable - which we also think is why Finland is top of the PISA results - so hard to read everyone here says "Just walk"! Anyway we were on the wrong side of the road!! Caught an expensive cab home instead!
2. Mothers' Day in Finland is a "flag day" which means flags are flown but it also means it is a public holiday and that also means that all shops are closed - yes, even the little supermarket at the end of the street!
3. Breakfast out - umm no you can't do that in Jyvaskyla - don't know about the rest of Finland but breakfast or even brunch is not something people do. Our first attempt we ended up with hamburgers for breakfast - they were quite good hamburgers but not the same as bacon and eggs! We are told that breakfast is somthing that people do for themselves; they don't go out for breakfast.
4. Eating out - generally has been a dismal failure. Apart from a lovely meal with Peppi, Tarja, Anne, Mia on one of our first nights here at Figaros our other attempts on our own have been pretty mediocre. From walking up to the local shopping centre that Mothers Day to find everything closed. Walking up yet again one Friday night to find that the only food available was pizza in various forms. Having lunch in a "mexican" restaurant last Saturday which was ok except Sandy was sick for the next two days! This last Friday night finding a restaurant quite close by on the bus route (only one bus per hour though). The food was pretty good but not licensed - imagine us without a glass of red over dinner! And now tonight - today on the bus as we drove past the harbour we noticed lots of tents, marquees, tables and benches, lots of people. We knew this was the night of Fun in the Sun all night, so we thought we would wander down there for dinner tonight - great idea except they were all finished and closed up!!!
5. Bureaucracy - headed into the bank on a saturday morning to pay the invoice for the apartment to find out well they're not open on a Saturday. We went again on Monday to find that well they don't open til 10am and we were there at 9.15! This morning, we headed into the Post Office. Their website clearly says they are open until 2pm on Saturdays, well except for this particular branch on this particular Saturday.

Jyvaskyla

Photos of our time in Jyvaskyla so far! You can see the development of summer in the photos as we move from coats to t-shirts, and the trees move from bare branches to leaves - and today they had blossom on them!! It is amazing how quickly they change. In the three weeks we have been here we have walked past nearly each day a bed of tulips - from just leaves, to buds, to flowers that are  now dying off, all so rapidly!

Jyväskylä

Ok so here we are almost at the end of our first week in Jyvaskyla. So where are we? About four hours north of Helsinki- well by train at least - this train map shows the route we took via Tampere. Tarja Nikula collected us from the station and took us to our home for the next four weeks. Apartment with large living area and kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, so much space compared to JoBurg and warm all the time! Tarja had kindly left breakfast essentials so no need to explore that first evening - even though it was still daylight at 10pm it felt like evening anyway!
Cold and Daylight are the first two impressions of the town. Even though it is spring it is cold enough for jumpers and coats, (and gloves that we bought on our second day here!) For most of the week it has been sunny which has meant the weird experience of watching people sitting outside in the sun eating lunch while we are wrapped in coats and gloves etc:-) Today Saturday is grey and gloomy and drizzly, just like those dreary Saturday afternoons I remember from Melbourne childhood winters.
And of course because we are so far north it is daylight almost all the time! Today's weather information includes: Sun rises 4:42 and sets 21:47. Length of day is 17 h 5 min. This is harder to get used to than the cold I think! Going to bed at 10pm when well, the sun isn't actually shining, but it is still light, is very hard to get used to.
Photos and the town and University next post!

TripAdvisor Review of Ivory Tree Lodge

Ivory Tree Lodge - Sorry not as good as they say it will be

Madrid slide show

Madrid

And then to Madrid! First time in Spain for me and I loved it. It was warm and sunny and calm and reasonably friendly and reasonably cheap. The hotel was great - large room in a terrific location and a real bargain at bit over AUD400 for three nights. I\ll put a slide show up of photos. Day One we arrived and after waiting for an hour! at the airport for bags caught cab to hotel and they had a room for us ready even though it was only 8am. Coffee and croissants then out for a stroll around the block, back to room for a nap and then our first of three nights eating at the Plaza Santa Ana I'm sure very touristy but certainly not as bad as the La Plaza Mayor which was overpriced with restaurant staff doing their best Lygon Street tout impressions! So each night we tried a different restaurant, two lots of tapas and a real dinner another night. The food was ok nothing to rave about but very cheap and the wine even cheaper!
On Friday we bought two days worth of tickets on the tourist bus only to discover that on Saturday they were not running because of a "demonstration". We did the rounds on the bus a couple of times and then hopped off at La Plaza Mayor for lunch and a stroll around the outside of the Royal Palace -inside free exhibition on Spanish archeology which at least gave us some idea of Spanish history.
We thought we would save La Prada til Saturday as the buses were not running and that would be our big museum experience with maybe a side trip to the Matisse exhibition at Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.

Of course we realised on Saturday that it was May Day, huge parade - I'd say 100s of thousands of people but no judge of crowd size - it was fantastic experience - sandy took photos of hammer and sickle flags which we don't often see in Oz, we wandered through the army headquarters which seemed to be open specially for the occasion. Unfortunately what was NOT open was La Prada - or any other museums either. Very disappointed to have missed it and then found out later that the museum that holds the most famous Spanish painting of all, Picasso´s "Guernica", was just around the corner from our hotel and that was also closed!! S
So not much "culture| but lots of excuses to go back - and I would any day - don't know what the rest of Spain is like but I loved Madrid!

South Africa or Northern Victoria?

Look at this!! Driving back from Pilanesberg to JoBurg the country is like driving on the Hume Highway!! Until you come to a little township of course like this one.

Pilanesberg

It feels like months since we left South Africa but only one week today! So now I am online at work and at home in Jyvaskyla I will go back and retrace what we have done so far. So Pilanesberg and the Ivory Tree Game Lodge!! The park is beautiful, the animals amazing, the lodge mmmm not 5 star by any means. I've written a full review on TripAdvisor so will see if it gets published. Yes it was cold and wet but you can see we are both still smiling. I will restrain myself to just one animal photo yes that is our vehicle's windscreen in front of the rhino!