Mystics & Healing: Stonehenge, Bath & Avebury

Like many an Antipodean in London it’s taken me a while to get out of the city and visit the UK’s sights.

I’ve travelled to the Continent many a time, but until now have failed to explore my own backyard.

Three of my new favourite spots are Bath, Stonehenge and Avebury in Somerset, South West England.

Our friends Jo and Tim were in town after spending two months travelling around Europe and wanted to make the most of their time in the UK so we hired a car and took to the countryside.

Near Salisbury in the Wiltshire countryside, Stonehenge is found in the most unlike of locations

Driving up the A303 motorway I caught my first glimpse of the famous landmark, standing in a large paddock surrounded by rolling green pastures filled with grazing sheep.

Despite the masses of tourists, Stonehenge remains a spooky and impressive sight - you can forget ever finding me there at night time!

This ancient monument dates from 3,700 to 1,600 BC. The tallest stone is 7.3m high and weighs over 45 tonnes! That sure is some heaving lifting!

The origins of Stonehenge are shrouded in mystery. The significance of its alignment with the rising and setting of the sun has puzzled many a scholar -was it a temple for sun worship, a healing centre, a burial site or a ancient calendar?

An even more fundamental, but no less intriguing question is how exactly did the prehistoric Britons move the massive bluestones across land and sea from West Wales to their current resting place in the West of England?

The Roman Baths is a well-preserved Roman site once used as a public bathing house and now a key tourist attraction at the centre of the town it gives its name to - Bath.

The thermal pools and a fascinating museum are housed within a beautiful Victorian reception hall.

At the heart of the building is the Sacred Spring. The 46°C water rises here at the rate of 1,170,000 litres every day and has been doing this for thousands of years.

In Roman times a great Temple was built next to the spring in 60-70 AD dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva, a deity with healing powers.

However, it was the Celts who first discovered the scared site, building a shrine to the goddess Sulis before the Roman temple was constructed.

In Roman times, visitors would throw offerings to the gods or curses into the thermal waters - about 130 curse tablets have been found many related to thieves who stole of clothes while visitors were bathing.

Aside from worship, people came to the baths to relax and treat a variety of ailments.

Sadly you can’t take a dip in the water these days because of high lead levels (thanks to the original working pipes) and the risk of infections.

Oh, and the lovely green colour is caused by algae that grows in sunlight.

Now it’s time to head further back in history to a strange and mystical past.

Heading back to London we stopped in at the weird little village of Avebury home to the largest stone circle in Europe.

It has a completely different vibe to Stonehenge.

With significantly less tourists, you can go right up to the stones set in lush green grass with sheep keeping them company.

Making our way from the car park to the first paddock of stones we came across several colourful characters that can best be described as a mix between hippies and new age witches complete with walking sticks that looked like wizard staffs.

Each stone is around 3 metres tall and together they create giant circles that stretch for several hundred metres.

The area is an important site for Pagans and one tree we came to ribbons, notes and little bags were tied to the branches.

We also saw this guy (or girl) walking around the stones. Yikes. 

Whatever your spiritual beliefs, it’s hard not to get a slight chill down the spine while you’re walking around ancient stones through windswept fields.

I think anyone who goes to Stonehenge should make the journey to Avebury to get an understanding of what the area would have been like before the hordes of tourists arrived.

And make sure you get out of London and see the rest of England.

Kiwis Getting Gay in New York City

Here's why you should vote for Finalist 3 - Dinnelle & Anneka to get hitched in NYC....


Like most people I like to think I try to help my friends and this is one way I know how.


Dinnelle & Anneka have been friends of mine for some time now, nearly 15 years.


I first meet Dinnelle in the good old days (okay, they really weren't good at all!) of intermediate school. Like the weird little kids we were we used to play Gladiators on the jungle gym and give each other stupid names like bumkiss - oh how clever we were.

Dinnelle & Anneka - they rock!

Two years later, I came across Anneka in high school. She did a mean Frank Spencer impersonation and love Harry Enfield. 


She'll deny it now, but she used to be a bit of a bully - in a fun way - and used to hide our school bags in trees.


Dinnelle, Anneka and I were part of a group of high school friends who were all very different, but had a great time together.


Fast forward eight years and we are all celebrating our 21st birthdays in true West Auckland style and we were all given some surprising and exciting news.


Now, we knew Dinnelle was bi-sexual, but Anneka was still straight as far as we knew.


"I'm seeing someone," said Anneka. "You wont guess who."


We then listed off the most unlikely candidates, namely awful boys from school.


"Nope. Dinnelle!"


And that was that.


Since then they have become one of my all time favourite couples, gay or straight.


They bring out the best in each other, they have stayed true to themselves and have built a great bunch family and friends around them.


Anyway, the point of this rambling blog is that a couple of years ago this fabulous twosome got engaged - big party with grandparents, parents, aunties, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters and of course friends!


And now they are in the finals for a trip to get Gay-Married in New York City - the latest state to allow same-sex unions.


Please vote for my friends to make their dreams come true. 


I can't think of a couple who deserves it more. xxx

Why would you go to Venice?!

“Four days in Venice, isn’t that a little long?”

“Well, it’s more like three days, four nights...”

“You know it’s full of tourists, locals who will scam you and it smells, right?!”

And that is how one conversation went when I told an acquaintance we were off on a summer holiday to the famous Floating City.  Had we overestimated the time we’d need? Was it going to be one big stinking hot mess? What had we gotten ourselves into?!

Luckily for us, said acquaintance couldn’t have been more wrong.

From the moment I first stepped foot in Cannaregio, the northernmost of Venice’s six historic districts, I was in love.

It was well after 11pm when we dropped out luggage at the hotel (Hotel Nazionale) and despite the fun of budget airline travel we were ready to hit Venice’s cobbled streets!

But before we could go anywhere I was in desperate need of a gelato and thankfully (dangerously) there was an amazing gelato shop right at the door of our hotel *bliss*.

We had arrived in town on the eve of Festa del Redentore (more about that later) so the streets were fairly deserted as we strolled over the famous canals for the first time.

However, come the morning the city was buzzing.

Travellers of all ages and all nationalities wandered up at down the streets while men opened their stalls selling souvenirs and replicas of traditional Venetian masks and Murano glass.

It’s fairly easy to spot the authentic stuff – they are usually found in dedicated stores and have price tags that reflect the quality.

With nowhere in particular in mind we made our way slowly into the middle of the island.

I would recommend spending at least one day getting totally lost, wandering up and down the thousands of small alley ways that sprawl across the city.

They are also a great escape from the crowds and the hot summer sun.

Making our way into the heart of Venice, we followed the official (and handmade) signs showing the way to Piazza San Marco and Rialto Bridge and were joined by an ever increasing number of fellow travellers.

The square is massive and in the blazing midday sun we were grateful for the shade from the shop front canopies.

If you’re spending a few days in town I’d recommend you pick up a 3-Day Youth Card (Rolling Venice) it gives you access to all public transport including waterbuses (vaporetti) in the city for 72 hours and discounts at museums, shops and restaurants.

That night after take a rather long detour on a vaporetti we found ourselves on the island of Dorsoduro right in the middle of Festa del Redentore celebrations.

Hundreds of tables filled with big Italian families ran the length of the canal looking out across to the city centre. They feasted on giant plates of local food (it smelt so good!) and glasses of wine. Grandparents, parents, aunties, uncles and cousins singing, dancing and gossiping the evening away, waiting for the main event – the fireworks!

And what a display!

For at least 45 minutes pyrotechnics took over the city. Colours lit up the night sky and booming explosions echoed around the ancient street – if you didn’t know better you’d swear it was a war zone!

The following day we tried a bit of island hopping, Venice style. First stop, Murano.

Famous for its glasswork, the island was largely empty on the Sunday we stopped by.

Still, there were plenty of opportunities to pick up pieces of jewellery and take in the sights.

It was a recommendation from a colleague that proved to be one of my trip highlights - the island of Burano

Every Venetian lagoon seems to be famous for something, and in Burano’s case it is lacework and rainbow coloured buildings – my kind of place!

 

The first thing you see when getting off the boat is a rather frightful looking wailing woman – no idea what she represents, but it can’t be nice.

Thankfully your eye is quickly caught by the brilliant red building to your left and from there you can’t help but smile at the array of pinks, blues, yellows and oranges of the town.

Oh, and I also ate the best pizza I have had in my whole life! Cheese, mushroom, artichoke and prosciutto – delish! 

Venetians are a lovely people – very friendly and helpful.

Despite the extraordinary lack of Italian language skills in our group we managed to get by.

As long as you can point and say hello, please and thank you you’ll be fine in this largely English speaking (or at least understanding) place.

Our final day was spent catching up on all the little things we had missed – a last stop here, a last stop there.

St Mark’s Basilica was one such destination and there in the July sun we joined a surprisingly fast moving queue to enter the 11^th century church.

Many European churches still enforce a traditional dress code meaning men and women must cover their shoulders & knees.

I specially brought a church-suitable dress with me, but if you forget to wear appropriate attire it isn’t such a big deal as the staff will provide you with lovely papery shawls to wrap around you.

Be careful of the men on the door though – they are more like nightclub bouncers than church ushers grabbing visitors showing too much skin as they walk passed.

While it lacks the grandeur and quiet spiritual aura of St Peter’s in Rome, the interior and exterior are stunning nonetheless.

So how do you put the perfect finishing touch on a perfect holiday in Venice? With a gondola ride of course!

Lying back in our luxury boat it was hard not to feel like royalty gliding through the narrow canals the vaporetti can’t reach, our gondolier filling us in with bits and pieces of local history.

And that was it - what more can I say? We ate, drank and sweated our way through this magnificent island, cameras always at the ready.

Bellini, gelato, pizza and spaghetti. Fireworks, bridges, canals and history. The list goes on!

Venice, you surprised me. I didn’t expect to love you this much!

A Night of Extreme Insanity: The Flying Karamazov Brothers

I’ve become a bit of a West End aficionado of late thanks to a certain person at work who has a connection to free theatre tickets.

Three shows in three weeks is pretty good going if you ask me.

First on the agenda was a night with the Flying Karamazov Brothers.

All I knew was that it was a circus/juggling act, but it was so much more (and much more mad then I could have imagined!).

The K. Brothers are four Americans performers who take the stage dress in kilts. The best way to describe the show is as a Vaudeville review.

Juggling maybe what ties the show together but comedy in a Marx Brother/Monkees vein provides the undertone while songs and dance (also very funny) tie everything together.
On top of that, all four ‘brothers’ are talented musicians.

Each show the brothers ask to audience to bring a selection of items they want to see lead brother Dmitri juggle.

The audience then votes on the three best items – at our show they chose an umbrella, a cowboy hat and… a fish.

After a couple of goes Dmitri managed to juggle all three for a full 10 seconds.

My favourite juggling act was rather simple. The theatre lights went out and in darkness they threw glowing balls that changed colours throughout. Magical.

For one lucky/unlucky audience member, they got the chance to get right up close to the action. The fiery action.

A woman from the crowd got to put herself in the centre of four crazy men throwing flaming sticks back and forth in front, and behind, her.

Throughout the evening the brothers introduce nine “Items of Terror” including knives, dry ice, an egg and even fire. As a final act they skilfully juggle all the items between them.

I haven’t laughed so hard at such an insane performance in a long time. All the audience, adults and kids alike, had a blast.

Go see it for a random, feel good time.

www.fkb.com/uk
Vaudeville Theatre, 404 Strand, London, WC2R 0NH.
Until 10 September 

A new job in the big city

Yip, you read that right. I have a new job, though not quite in the big city.

As of this Monday I have been working in marketing/online for a travel operator based in... wait for it... Chiswick!

No longer do I have to fight my way through a three tube journey to Camden twice a day, five days a week. Now my commute involves a 25min walk up the high street, or through a park, which ever I prefer on the day. In case of rain I also have the option of a 5min train ride one stop. Did I mention I'll be staving 27pounds a week? *bliss*

A slight change in career direction, but I'm learning a heck of a lot and have more say and control over my work (no more licking envelopes for people who are quite capable of doing it themselves).

The demographics in my work space have done a 180. Before I was the lone kiwi in a mass of Brits, and now I'm one of the gang in an antipodean workforce.

The company also has weekly morning teas - so it is imperative I find a new gym quickly.

More blogs.... are really truly coming ... soon

Things are starting to settle down after a mad few weeks so more posts should be popping up here soon! I promise!

Oooo Technology!

Wow, you can now read Just Another Girl in London from your mobile device! Fancy stuff this internet thing.

I guess I'd better get around to loading some posts so you actually have something to read!

K (Just Another Girl)