Posterous theme by Cory Watilo
Miss Poppy

Some snaps from Edinburgh!

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Here are some happy snaps from Edinburgh!

A few buskers, nice weather, food heaven, view of Edinburgh Castle from our breakfast table and one rather unfortunate piggy :(

One story I loved was of a soldier who, after his wife left him, went into battle with his baby strapped to him, they both survived. Have included a pic of him, the baby is to the left.

Enjoy!
miss P :)

Scotland... First stop Edinburgh!

Hey everyone!

Once again I've been too busy having fun to blog too much! This is not a bad thing! :)

I guess I should tell you about Scotland! In Newcastle we picked up a hire car, a very cute little merc, and hit the road north. I'm the designated driver, and was a little nervous at first! So Toshi and Lynne (friends we were staying with in Newcastle) drove in front of us to get us on the highway - thank god! But all was fine and the roads were great.

I bought the iPhone TomTom app for UK/Ireland before we left Australia and it is awesome! It is so much better than my sat nav, and I think I have to upgrade to this TomTom app for Australia when I get home.

Anyhow, after awhile the TomTom told us to exit the highway and start going through lovely country towns.. Which was all very pretty until that sinking feeling of "where the fark is this phone sending me" kicked in... So after a pit stop in a tiny village and mum asking at a shop it turned out we were on the right road and all was ok.

It was the first of my driving on the narrow windy roads but it seemed easy enough.

We got to Edinburgh and found the hotel was in a perfect spot in Old Town. Booking all of this holiday late at night I can't remember the how and why of the locations I chose.. But it seems to be going a-ok so far!

Edinburgh Castle was right out our front door and there were lots of nice shops and pubs a stones throw away.

There was a magazine about local restaurants in the lobby of the hotel and I was very happy to see a larger number of veggie places than I had previously found online.. I like going on adventures to find veggie places because you end up in different areas you would never have gone to, and at the end of the rainbow is a giant pot of lentils.... My kinda adventure!

My two faves were David Bann, a fancy gourmet veggie restaurant, and The Baked Potato Shop... with vegan fillings to die for!! We also had a pit stop at a bar called Brew Dog, which is famous for selling very high content booze! As beer is full of wheat and wheat is evil I settled on a glass of rose, and Mum had a ginger beer. I was a little surprised that they didn't sell cider. I asked and the guy said "we brew beer, not cider, aye".... But they did stock wine...?? Not sure if he saw the irony..

I really loved walking the streets of Edinburgh. And boy o' boy did we do lots of walking there! Old Town is great, lots of great little shops with local designers, and lots of little antique shops. There were many things we wanted to buy but resisted on more than one occasion! New Town was so beautiful as well. Each way you turn there is amazing architecture.. rolling green hills, and more places to see and things to do.

Edinburgh Castle was fantastic. Reading the history as we went along, and going through the galleries and museums onsite made me think - war war war. So much war and still, more war today. Has no one learnt from the past yet? :( and so often it's about religion... I just don't understand it.

I did however all in love with the stories of Mary, Queen of Scots.... What a fabulous bird.

Looking out at the rolling hills that surround Edinburgh it is amazing to think of the battles, the men charging each other... And the walls around the city! All so very interesting. Mum was in awe, I think I will have to buy her a copy of Braveheart when we get back!!

Mum went to the underground city / vaults on her own. I was unconscious in bed and she gave up on me. She reported back that it was dark and scary (stairs and uneven ground, not ghosts!), so I think it was for the best that I slept through it :)

It did however sound amazing.. Built in the late 1700s and there were taverns and tradesmen, cobblers and the like. Serial killers also used it as a hunting ground :-/

Apparently it was pretty feral, no fresh air or sewerage system etc, and all the businesses eventually moved out and all the poor people moved in and lived there. During the plague it was in full slum swing and basically the powers that be shoved a bunch of rocks to block it off and trap all of the sick poor people there to die. Fark!

It wasn't discovered again til the 1980s!? Lots of people think it's haunted... Mum said that was crap but she never worked at the Zoo.... I'm a believer!!!!

Overall Edinburgh was a great city, and we loved it. But in no time at all we were back on the road again....

The driving was getting easier. Mum is really not that into maps, or road signs - unless they say "SLOW DOWN" which she is very happy to say to me loudly and on a regular basis....! So the TomTom has paid for itself many times over already.

Next stop Loch Ness! Will write about it soon!

miss P

Newcastle and old friends!

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Hi everyone!

After London we caught the train up to Newcastle to visit dear friends of mine from when I lived in Tokyo, Lynne and Toshi. Lynne I worked together for awhile, and I was also MC at their wedding! We had many great times in Tokyo and it had been many many moons since we all saw each other last! So in short, I couldn't come to the UK and not see the Makimoto family!

The train trip was great. Made it to the station in the nick of time, nothing quite like the sutton-last-minute!! Newcastle is about 3 hours north of London. If it was a Shinkansen I reckon it would be a 25 minute trip! ;-)

I was also very excited to meet Lynne and Toshi's little girls Alyssa and Amy. I fell in love with them instantly... cute as buttons and very Japanese in appearance.. but when they spoke it was the most fantastic Geordie accent EVER!!! It was so unexpected, and Mum and I couldn't stop smiling!

As soon as we arrived we went and had a yummy lunch and then walked it off on the streets of Newcastle, was great!! We also checked out the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art... And I played with one of my fave toys ever, the etch-a-sketch, in the kids room surrounded by Yoshitomo Nara artwork on the walls... win!

We stayed with the Makimoto family for one night, in their gorgeous house with their gorgeous conservatory, and the bunnies Cinnamon and Daisy hanging out in the yard munching on lettuce.

I hope we all get to meet again one day soon. Here are some pics of the girls, Alyssa and I were playing with my iPhone app "cat paint" and I know she will love this! Little Amy was feeling camera shy but was still cute as a button:-)

Next stop Edinburgh!

miss P (again, blogging after the fact....!)

Photos from London

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Hey everyone!

Here are some photos from our time in London! I know I keep saying it, but I fell in love with it!

Catching up with old friends is always so much fun, especially when it's mixed with new adventures!

Thanks to everyone who came and hung out with Mum and I!

I know this may come as a surprise to you, but I haven't taken that many photos!!

Attached are;
2 graf/street art...Brick Lane and Hoxton from memory;
a building reflection on a building (no idea where I was!);
Mum and I at Stonehenge;
a snap of the Roman Baths in Bath;
Mikey/Mel/Angus/Cheryl getting all Ziggy Stardust in "the" phone booth... (there were quite few bottles of wine consumed before this photo shoot);
the view from our hotel I think?;
a busker in Liverpool St station with the one and only Animal as drummer;
Annette and I at Portobello markets;
Mum's river cruise down the Thames.

Enjoy!
miss P

London, I'll miss you!

Hi everyone!

We are on the train heading north to Newcastle... Farewell London my love, I will miss you!

We stayed there for just over a week, I fell in love with it, and now more than ever I want to move there! I have been day dreaming of it for awhile, so will have to wait to see what becomes of new contacts there.

I spent lots of my time in meetings for next years exhibition.. all went swimmingly! Very exciting indeed! I can't say too much yet but I finished up on Friday feeling very overwhelmed and thrilled. I have a long road ahead with lots of work to do, but it's shaping up to be one very exciting project!!

Our last blog was before Billy Elliot. Mum was super keen to see a show in the West End, and I hate musicals. I did however like the movie Billy Elliot, which was not a musical, and so it was an ok compromise. I did like it, mostly because the kids swore so much! The first words out of Billy's mouth were "Fooked if I know"! However long days and late nights were catching up with me and I fell asleep in my seat for awhile. Zzz

Mum did lots of adventuring on her own while I took care of said exhibition meetings. One of her favorite spots was Covent Gardens. She got lost a few times but was safe and sound every time we met up again, phew! Se also jumped on the double decker bus around London, and a cruise down the Thames. She loved the London Tower, the Tower Bridge, and Westminster Abbey the best.

We did go out to Stonehenge and Bath together. I booked us onto a tour bus for the day. Stonehenge was amazing! It is definitely an alien creation. How on earth did they do that, with no wheels!? Poor Welsh slaves!!

Bath was so very pretty! I didn't realize it was so big, and so stunning. I wish we had stayed longer than just an afternoon. The Roman Baths were great, the archaeological finds are amazing!

We also went to see Graham Norton being recorded, and one of the guests was Liza Minnelli which was fabulous! As mentioned before, my friend Brooke got us the tickets and then had to take off to LA for work. So we had a spare ticket and Angus and Mikey had a knife fight over it, with Mikey coming out on top. When we were lined up there were hundreds of people. When we finally made it inside we realized just how lucky we were, the audience is quite small and many people were left outside empty handed! The show was very funny, all the guests were great! The others were James McAvoy and Jack Dee. Aside from touristy adventures and exhibition meetings I spent a lot of my time eating my way around the vegan and vegetarian restaurants with fellow rabbit, Mikey. At times we also dragged meat eaters along...

One night we also ended up in a vampire bar in Soho which was super funny. I drank house wine in a half pint cup while listening to "killing in the name of"... bless.

At first when we were planning this holiday Mum wasn't too keen on staying in London so long but in the end she still had a list a mile long of things to see and do. So I figure she needs to visit again next year for the exhibition... Yeh?

Oh and yes we also did lots of shopping! New shoes..... Camper and Clarks! I also hit H&M and a few other faves. Met up with another friend Rachel who took us to Liberty... Oh my, very lovely!!!!

Shopping, shoes, food, exhibition, Graham Norton, friends....and the list goes on! London, I love you!

But now we are off to visit my friends Lynne and Toshi and their 2 lovely little girls Alyssa and Amy!
More soon!
miss P

PS uploading this late.. We've already left Newcastle, whoops!! I'll catch up soon, promise! Along with photos! :-)

London, I love you.

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Hi everyone!
I've been having too much fun to stop and blog.. The way a holiday should be!

The flight over was great, and the timing of our arrival worked a treat. We got in at about 7pm and it meant we had a normal nights sleep instead of struggling to stay awake all day.

I was super tired in Brisbane before boarding, and I crashed out as soon as we got on. At one point I woke up completely delirious and went to the toilet. I barely had one eye open and didn't realize the light wasn't fully on, which means of course that I hadn't locked the door properly. And yes.... A man came along and opened it, and let's just say- I was very wide awake after that.

In Dubai the line for security was incredible! It took so long to move that we ended up pushing in at the front, because we had to get to our connecting flight. It was 38 degrees and you could feel the heat even though we were inside in air con. I felt horrible and started to wonder if booking a 5 day stop over on the way home was a good idea? I think it might be 50 by the time we go back :-/

So as always I had to get patted down at security. Some of you may remember the last time I was in Dubai and ushered into a cubicle with a few women in burqas feeling me up? This time it was just one security woman and I got quite the once over. It seemed to be more of a breast examination... to the point I mentioned I had a prosthetic LEG....

We got through Heathrow easy peasy. Mum had heard horror stories and I think she was worried! The hotel is lovely, and my friend Brooke was a lovely welcome in the foyer when we arrived. We had a drink at the bar and a great catch up before I headed to bed to crash.

Brooke met up with us again on Sunday and we had a great time hanging out, shopping, eating, walking.. The last time I saw Brooke was in Paris in 2009! She has gone to LA for work this week, so it was great to catch up while we could.

We also headed out for dinner on Sunday night with other friends Angus, Cheryl and Mikey. It was a super yummy vegan restaurant, which suited Mikey and I -and after awhile Angus did a vegetarian stocktake and realized there were only 2 vegos and wondered how we conned everyone into eating rabbit food. The truth is, we vegos have super powers. But don't tell anyone.

The night turned into a late one. I knew it was time to go home to bed after looking at bear shaped beanbags on etsy.... Just buy the bloody thing Mikey!!!! ;-)

Anyhow....

Feeling worse for wear with just a few hours sleep I headed off to meet the exhibition venue for next year. Mum wondered around the streets of Brick Lane while I talked logistics of hanging legs from the ceiling. The venue is perfect and I'm feeling very happy and excited!!

Afterwards we met up with another friend Rachel, and headed to Liberty for shopping... What an amazing shop, I was in floral pattern heaven.... ! We had a lovely time with Rachel!! And her chocolate recommendations made me happy last night as I munched away on slices of orange dipped in vegan chocolate.....

After another vegetarian dining experience with the gang I was in bed unconscious by 9pm..... Earliest night in years!

Feeling great today. Off to check out our local area, and I have a media meeting this afternoon for the exhibition. Tonight we are off to see Billy Elliot. I hate musicals!!! So I hope the dancing saves me.

Mum has been having a great time, and doing very well choosing things to eat off menus (my brothers will be proud!) and enjoying walking around and enjoying what London has to offer. She can't believe all of the stairs... She doesn't have any such things in Mackay! Mum is shocked at how crap the coffee is... And has all but given up! We have been told to check out "Flat white" in Soho, so maybe that will save her...

The weather has been lovely... Nice and cool, and only a drizzle of rain last night.

Off to seize the day now....... It is so great to not be going to work! Wahoo!

I'll leave you with these 2 photos, a lovely sign I thought you may appreciate and some owl street art that I know Vinni will love.

miss P

The day my Mum tested positive for drugs

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So we're at the airport! Boarding starts soon! All very exciting!

Mum was "randomly" tested for bombs and drugs and came up positive for drugs!!! They tested her a few more times (negative!) and eventually gave up and let her through. Pretty funny!

I fitted everything in my tiny suitcase (here is a blurry pic taken by Mum when we were checking in!), and I also managed to get that last Uni assignment done! hurrah!

Mum just tried to get me to chew a ginger tablet, it was soft. I think they have been in her bag since since she went to Asia a few years ago :-(

Well this it. We're off to London! Can't wait to pass out when I get on the plane.

miss P

It has a passport, it just gets on an airplane.....

Hi everyone!

HOLY MOLY the trip is only 4 sleeps away.... so much to do and so little time!

Work is crazy busy, I have to finish off my last uni assignment, and I haven't started to pack yet.... AND Mum has been off work sick as anything with a horrible flu!!!!! But I am sure it will all come together just in time - it's just the way our family rolls....

Found out this morning we got tickets for a live recording of Graham Norton!! Super excited about that, Mum and I are both big fans!
Many thank yous to my friend Brooke for getting them!!! What a gem!

So I guess I should share this blog around.. actually tell people I've started it eh???

miss P

Going_away

Life as a travel agent

Hi everyone!

So I've spent tonight finishing off all the bookings... and all I can think is what a horrible day job! I can't imagine having to do this for other people all day everyday! (how do you do it cousin Julie??!! No wonder you swear so much!!) But it has been fun getting it all together for Mum and I :)

I am getting super excited about our first stop, London! I can't wait to see friends that are living there and also get into all of the meetings for my exhibition next year. Woohoo!

I've also been watching Graham Norton tonight... and hope that we get to see a live recording when we're in town. Fingers crossed!

17 days til takeoff!

miss P

3 weeks to go!

Hi there, and welcome aboard!

In 3 just three weeks my Mum and I are heading overseas. We are going to England > Scotland > Isle of Man > Ireland > Paris > Dubai...... Hurrah!

I'm feeling surprisingly organised. But I haven't really thought about what to pack yet, so that all may change when I write the list.

More important than the clothes and toothbrushes, I need to figure out how to get tv shows onto my iPad!! Ekkk!!
Anyhow, I thought I'd set up this blog so family and friends can keep track of us while we are away.

miss P