So I figured I’m not gonna remember everything I do while I’m here in Europe on exchange and people might want to follow what I get up to, so I’m writing this little journal thing of my trip.

Day 1

Mum and I left Sydney airport at 6am bound for Heathrow airport via Manila. We got into London at 8:30pm (5:30am Sydney time) after a long and tiring flight. After getting through customs surprisingly quickly we set out to navigate our sleep deprived selves to the accommodation for the night (Covent garden) via the underground and the iconic black taxi.

Day 2

Up bright and early Mum and I set out to explore the streets of London on a beautiful summers day. We ventured through the theatre district, via the national gallery and down the Thames river past the Big Ben (which was covered in scaffolding), the Eye and many red phone boxes. We then headed back to the hotel to checkout. Our next stop a place in Notting hill to stay a couple of nights. After checking in we set our sights on conquering the underground. After working out we had to stay on the right hand side of the escalator and weaving through the many tunnels we finally made it onto a train. We preceded to explore Kensington palace, hamleys toy shop and harrods. We then headed to the theatre district to see Motown the musical after getting out hands on some last minute tickets. The show was upbeat and awesome, even managing to keep our jet lagged eyes open.

Day 3

Today we headed off to main attraction of London. The home of cricket. Lords cricket ground. We wandered around the museum, seeing highlights like the famous ashes and the original World Cup. We next ventured out on a tour of the ground. Where we got to go into the long room (cool fact: there’s a 29 year waiting list to become a member of lords), both change rooms to see the honour boards and around ground through the stands into the media box. After the tour we had some lunch and headed over to the famous portobello markets. It was as busy as ever and it was a beautiful sight to see the shops wind down the street as far as you could see.

Day 4

In our last day in \240London we set out early toward the Tate modern art gallery going past the famous Globe theatre. While waiting for the gallery to open Mum couldn’t help but take some beautiful selfies. Walking through the gallery and seeing a casual Picasso painting on the wall among all the others was really cool. We then headed up to the top of the building for amazing city views and photos. Next we headed to the London bridge via some really cool architecture. We figured we would do the typical tourist thing and go to Buckingham palace. On our way to the British museum, Mum spent half an hour trying to get the perfect black taxi snap. She achieved it.

Day 5

We picked up the beast of a hire car and set off on the drive out of London to broadstairs. We got to my Great Aunty Joys house at about lunchtime and then went out to lunch with her and my second cousin Rachael. After lunch we went into broadstairs and had an explore of the beach and the really cool shops. The streets were so narrow, a car could barely fit down them. We then headed back to joys and I met another one of my 2nd cousins, David.

Day 6

Another one of my 2nd cousins Tim came by in the morning. I found out that he is also a type 1 diabetic, which was cool, we got along great. We then headed off to the “biggest pub in England” for lunch in Ramsgate. After lunch we said \240goodbye and headed off towards Brighton. On the way we stopped in at Dover castle ( England’s biggest castle). It was very cool and there was lots to explore inside and out. Upon getting into Brighton, we checked in, then had some dinner on the pebble beach. Mum found a fascination in the funny looking seagull that blended in with the pebbles.

Day 7

We woke up early to another spectacular sunny England day \240and went looking for some ice packs. Everyone in the shops had no idea what we were talking about. So I guess it’s too cold for them. We headed out of Brighton towards Bath. On the way we stopped at Portchester Castle. A ruin on the coast, that use to be a prisoner of war camp. The views were spectacular. We next headed to the famous Stonehenge. We took the bus out from the base past the scenic paddocks to the beautiful masterpiece of engineering. Not a bad piece of design for a bunch of rocks. After taking thousands of photos from every angle, we continued on our way to bath. We turned up where google maps directed us to and nothing was there. We were lost and of course the map pin was in the wrong place. Solution? Go have a pint at the local pub until you find out where it is. We finally found our accommodation and then tried the famous English fish and chips: not bad.

Day 8

We headed into Bath on a beautiful day. The architecture everywhere was incredible. You can’t take a bad photo in bath. We did some shopping then headed to the abbey. The detail was amazing and a beautiful sight. We explored the river and went past the rugby field, which is massive for a small town. My sort of town. On our travels, we came across a few sculptures of owls with diffferent designs. We found out that every year for charity there’s animal theme sculptures \240that get scattered everywhere around town and then get auctioned off at the end of the exhibition. There was 80 owl sculptures in total around the town. This immediately sparked interest as we walked around, so owl watch began. And a photo of every owl we saw had to be taken. Some were found in weird and wonderful places, like roofs and businesses. While looking for owls we went to the Roman baths and then to the Victorian art gallery. After, we came across an awesome fudge shop with free samples. And of course we had to buy some.

The Owl Collection

Today we left bath and headed to warrick castle (near Birmingham) for a medieval adventure. It was more of your typical castle that you imagine and see in movies. We wandered inside and up to the turrets for a beautiful view. We then caught a display of a trebuchet launch, which was very cool, but impractical and time consuming. We next headed to a ruin, kenilworth castle and Elizabethan gardens. It was the best castle yet, with the ruins making an awesome spectacle. The Elizabethan outhouse was fully in tact and had very cool architecture.

Visiting Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire

We headed up to Chester. After a long hunt for parking, I said goodbye to Mum for the day. I was off to meet with my new rugby teammates. I met a few of them and then we headed to a brewery farm for a all you can eat and drink feast. The paella was amazing 😍😍. They were a great bunch of lads, very welcoming and keen to talk and get to know me. We then went out on the town for the uk rugby lads experience. Looking forward to the season ahead

Had a big breaky with the boys after a massive but great night. Mum picked me up and we headed up to Liverpool to explore the city. It was a ghost town. Nothing happens on a Sunday in the uk. Very cool architecture again. Does this beauty ever end? We headed past Manchester to a place near leads for the night. Much needed rest day

We headed up past York to