Prehistoric Monuments

So on Sunday Alaric got me up before 7am and got in the car to head out of London to see a heap of Ancient monuments that are all within the same area. 

First stop STONE HENGE! We went on an audio tour of stone henge. See below the microsoft ish angle of the photo. It was very odd in that I almost wore shorts and Alaric was in shorts. There was not a cloud in the sky and it was pretty warm. 

We went to a pub for lunch, I had a beef pie which was the size of half an aussie family pie with just as many chips, gravy and steamed veggies. I ate most of it then didn't want to move. After finishing my beer however it was time to go walkies. And walk we did, lots of walking was had. Firstly we wondered around Avery which is a village inside a stone circle with big earthen walls/moat . We followed the avenue up the hill so see the processional way that was designed to guide people into the stone circle. We also wondered up a fairly step hill to a very impressive long barrow.

We got in the car and drove up to where the White horse is. We headed off in the opposite direction to the Wayland Smithy which is a long barrow. It's several miles up a path through the gorgeous English country side. See below the front of the long barrow.

We then wanted up another step hill to see the ruins of Uffington castle, all that remains is the modified ground; earthen walls raised with a moat Chanel. Then down the slop we went to see the white horse which is a chalk horse that has lasted since prehistoric times. It gets cleaned and re chalked annually.

13 hours later we arrived back home, I slept a little bit in the car on the way home. Due to traffic it took 3.5 hours to get home.

Night Before

Today I worked a full day, although I could have been doing last minute cleaning and relaxing the extra money will be nice.

I've decided to be paranoid and buy padlocks for my bags. I've rearranged my main bag so everything is in the two compartments which can be locked. Bright green locks on black/grey/hot pink bags looks funny.

I've been thinking I need to take something from home with me. So I'm wearing my gold necklace that my parents got for me when I was ten with my 3 tone gold cross that I got for my 18th from my second mum (my neighbour). I am not religious in anyway but wearing it means a lot for sentimental reasons.

It still feels very odd wearing a cross after I made my mind up, that god has no place in my life. It is a symbol of my neighbours faith but to me it is a symbol of love and good luck. the love of my family and my extended family in my neighbours.

All packed and ready to go

On wednesday I packed everything I'm taking into my duffle bag and backpack that I'm carrying on. One problem the duffle seemed rather heavy, went back through my pack list. I need everything I've packed. Dad and I weighed my bag and it was 25kgs, damn 2kgs over! So on thursday I was on hold for 40mins to ask about additional baggage or heavy baggage. Paying for and taking an extra bag seemed my best option. I confirmed with the Qantas lady that it would be $90 each way so $180 total, but it had to be booked online.

On friday I put through the additional baggage and the confirmation screen said $180, sweet all set. Later that night the email printout comes through and says $360! Now I'm waiting for the transaction to come through on dad's card to see what they actually charged. Sigh, I can see myself on hold for a long time again soon.

Everything aside from my passport and ticket is packed. The extra sports bag may look bulky but there is not a lot in it mosty just my steel caps and toiletries. Now I'm just waiting for friday to fly out. Oh and I have a fair amount of chocolate to eat and beer to drink so I can turn off my bar fridge while I'm away :) I should start working on that :p

Playing with Packing

Only 2 weeks left until I go :) Today I went to mountain designs and picked up a travel pillow which is small enough to take on the plane and large enough to use as a pillow. I cliped on a tiny caribeana so it can hang on the outside of my backpack :)

I'm currently looking at getting a traveller card from my bank to avoid a $4 fee plus a conversion free on every transaction on my account. I'm also looking into either a travel sim or getting a UK sim, need to research the UK sim.

I've also decided as cozy as the flanalet liner seems that I made as and extra layer in my sleeping bag it's just too bulky. Refer to the attached photo to see a size comparison of the silk liner (in the little bag) to the sheet I modified. You can also see the pretty pink bag I'm taking :)