Except that unlike Jess and Stef, I wasnt flying into Heathrow, I was flying into Gatwick. Therefore all the instructions I had been given on how to get to Dylan's were void.
Arriving at 6am after zero hours sleep, (on top of the eight cookies I rammed down my throat; fearing customs would confiscate them) I eventually figured out that it would take me 2 trains and a cab to get to North Acton.
Two hours and something later I was tapping on the window of 8 Friars Way- trying to quietly wake up the girls, but not the six Aussie boys who also live here.
The Australian flag hanging in the front window and Fosters beer cans littering the front lawn gave the place a special 'Bathurst' feel.
Thankfully, the bleary eyed girls heard my knocking and answered the door in their PJs before heading straight back to bed in their double mattress on the floor of the living room.
The 'feel' only continued once I was inside. A home-made picnic table with the 'Made In Australia' symbol painted ontop acted as the dining table, mix-matched couches and various mattresses (occupied by random drop ins) littered the floor, dart boards and posters of naked women, a overflowing lost and found box....it was like coming home to I-Hut circa 2006.
According to the boys, this house- nicknamed 'The Ranch', has been a half way house to more than 50 people. There are six full time residents (including one who lives in the attic...literally has to climb a ladder up through a hole in the roof to hang with the asbestos) who all have stupid nicknames like Dozer and Termite making it impossible to pin down who is who. Then there are the stragglers, Jess, Stef, myself and a bloke called Tom who we share the living room with. Two bathrooms, two tv's and a fully stocked fridge if you choose to put in with the weekly shopping budget...
Arriving at 6am after zero hours sleep, (on top of the eight cookies I rammed down my throat; fearing customs would confiscate them) I eventually figured out that it would take me 2 trains and a cab to get to North Acton.
Two hours and something later I was tapping on the window of 8 Friars Way- trying to quietly wake up the girls, but not the six Aussie boys who also live here.
The Australian flag hanging in the front window and Fosters beer cans littering the front lawn gave the place a special 'Bathurst' feel.
Thankfully, the bleary eyed girls heard my knocking and answered the door in their PJs before heading straight back to bed in their double mattress on the floor of the living room.
The 'feel' only continued once I was inside. A home-made picnic table with the 'Made In Australia' symbol painted ontop acted as the dining table, mix-matched couches and various mattresses (occupied by random drop ins) littered the floor, dart boards and posters of naked women, a overflowing lost and found box....it was like coming home to I-Hut circa 2006.
According to the boys, this house- nicknamed 'The Ranch', has been a half way house to more than 50 people. There are six full time residents (including one who lives in the attic...literally has to climb a ladder up through a hole in the roof to hang with the asbestos) who all have stupid nicknames like Dozer and Termite making it impossible to pin down who is who. Then there are the stragglers, Jess, Stef, myself and a bloke called Tom who we share the living room with. Two bathrooms, two tv's and a fully stocked fridge if you choose to put in with the weekly shopping budget...
Thinking it unwise to sleep, I snuggled down between the two girls and squirmed and giggled until they admitted defeat and got up.
We decided to spend my first day in London at the Tower of London. We got the tube to London Bridge station and had lunch at a really awesome old English pub that did a mean fish and chips with mushy peas.
Our next tourist stop was the London Bridge which....
a) Isn't falling down. I checked. And,
b) Isn't actually called London Bridge but Tower Bridge.
Either way, it was pretty amazing to see, especially on such a nice and sunny day.
283 tourist photos later and we were walking across it, heading towards the Tower of London.
Stopped off at a tourist shop on the way, only to have it playing The Voice by John Farnham (go figure) however for some reason the 'I Love London' t-shirts just dont have the same ring to them.
We decided to wait 10 minutes for the guided tour, however only lasted until "Our story begins way back in...." before we ditched the group and grabbed our own map.
It was insane to think of the history we were walking through; the torture chambers and secret towers. The spot where Anne Boleyn was killed was especially exciting for me to see, as were the Crown jewels. I cant fathom how heavy those things would be to wear on your head.
Sunset (and the locking of the door ceremony) came and we made our way back to North Acton.
Since then, we've visited The National Portrait Gallery for the Annie Leibovitz exhibition which was breath taking, did a spot of shopping at Covent Gardens and checked out Topshop at Oxford Circus.
We also had a big night out with the boys, turning a small local club into our own little dance party.
The streets here are beautiful, so picturesque and classic. The accents are exciting, as are the numerous free papers you get to read on the tube ride home and the massive lasanges and dinners Dylan's been cooking.
The dark is taking some time to get used to- if we sleep in, we end up eating lunch in the dark.
The noise of six boys is also taking some adjusting. Most of them are teachers or plumbers/builders which means getting up at 6am. As we're in the living room, backing onto the kitchen, this means WE also have a new wake up time.
Im looking forward to checking out some live music, the markets (especially Camden and Portobello) and some day trips to Bath and Oxford.
Australia Day is also apparently huge here, so that's something else to look forward to.
For now, I better get off this thing and get ready for our trip to Shepherds Bush...besides; one of us left the secret imported Kraft Penut butter out so I have to go hide it before any of the boys catch wind of it.
We decided to spend my first day in London at the Tower of London. We got the tube to London Bridge station and had lunch at a really awesome old English pub that did a mean fish and chips with mushy peas.
Our next tourist stop was the London Bridge which....
a) Isn't falling down. I checked. And,
b) Isn't actually called London Bridge but Tower Bridge.
Either way, it was pretty amazing to see, especially on such a nice and sunny day.
283 tourist photos later and we were walking across it, heading towards the Tower of London.
Stopped off at a tourist shop on the way, only to have it playing The Voice by John Farnham (go figure) however for some reason the 'I Love London' t-shirts just dont have the same ring to them.
We decided to wait 10 minutes for the guided tour, however only lasted until "Our story begins way back in...." before we ditched the group and grabbed our own map.
It was insane to think of the history we were walking through; the torture chambers and secret towers. The spot where Anne Boleyn was killed was especially exciting for me to see, as were the Crown jewels. I cant fathom how heavy those things would be to wear on your head.
Sunset (and the locking of the door ceremony) came and we made our way back to North Acton.
Since then, we've visited The National Portrait Gallery for the Annie Leibovitz exhibition which was breath taking, did a spot of shopping at Covent Gardens and checked out Topshop at Oxford Circus.
We also had a big night out with the boys, turning a small local club into our own little dance party.
The streets here are beautiful, so picturesque and classic. The accents are exciting, as are the numerous free papers you get to read on the tube ride home and the massive lasanges and dinners Dylan's been cooking.
The dark is taking some time to get used to- if we sleep in, we end up eating lunch in the dark.
The noise of six boys is also taking some adjusting. Most of them are teachers or plumbers/builders which means getting up at 6am. As we're in the living room, backing onto the kitchen, this means WE also have a new wake up time.
Im looking forward to checking out some live music, the markets (especially Camden and Portobello) and some day trips to Bath and Oxford.
Australia Day is also apparently huge here, so that's something else to look forward to.
For now, I better get off this thing and get ready for our trip to Shepherds Bush...besides; one of us left the secret imported Kraft Penut butter out so I have to go hide it before any of the boys catch wind of it.
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