London; like no time had passed.

Wow. I'm struggling to start a sentence...to know where to even begin as over two weeks have passed! The purpose of my blog being that of tales from travels, an insight/reflection...predominantly for my own/Eric and chloe also, journal like purposes. I could not care less who reads our posts, or if liked or looked upon as an online diary of word vomit and pretty pictures; take it as you will...because I like it.

6 weeks had passed through china, Mongolia and Russia, and as I close the whirlwind chapters of the tran Siberian co written with chloe and Eric, we all split in our separate directions. Touching down in London in the late afternoon Eric headed off to Leeds and chloe and I caught the tube into the city. Purchasing a special edition oyster card (in celebration of the upcoming jubilee weekend For the Queens 60yrs in rein), I passed over my pounds and thanked the man with "speceeba" (thank you in Russian) exchanging a strange glance and my change, I actually had to take a moment to think, the process being; "what country...right, the uk, and how do I thank them...oh, of course, yep...THANKYOU?" wow...back in an English seeking country...no more body language, pointing and bizarre charades? It's surprising how hard it is to shake the above after making it an everyday practice in order to communicate!

Having lived in London for over two years in 2008, It's hard to write about a place which had in fact become such a part of me, where I had established life long friends, worked several jobs and lived in many different areas from brick lane to the tower of london! I knew the secrets to the city, became a local and above all really lived the fast paced London life. Therefore I found it difficult at first to look at it with a new vision, through the eyes of a traveller...and no longer as I once viewed it, as a place I called my home.

First stop; I made my way out to zone 6 to a small little residential are called pinner in the north west to stay with my beautiful and inspirational friend Amrita (A). I had met A when I lived on brick lane, as her and a friend were in the flat above me. Before too long we became the closest friends and within only a month of knowing each other had booked a three month trip to India together. She is an incredibly passionate activist that will change the world for the good one step at a time! It was amazing to see her again as she was such a big part of my old London life! We spent our time catching up, lunching in parks, drinking on brick lane and watching Bollywood films!

Come the weekend; The weather was out to impress, as the sun was blazing so the streets of London were swimming with cheerful people in their trendy summer dresses...making the most of what is such a rarity...(good weather). I took myself east into my old stomping ground on that special sunny Saturday to fall back in love with London. Checking out a huge vintage kilo sale (only 15pounds per kg) I picked myself a bag full before heading to my favorite coffee; Verdes. The not so happy waitress Served me a deliciously froffy cappuccino as i sat outside on the bench seat to watch the world walk by. It is honestly ridiculous how much the weather can predict..London in the summer; there's honestly nothing else like it...the parks are full of playful groups, drinking cider and bbqing delicious treats whilst the markets are booming with colourful crowds as street buskers belt out boppy tunes, it's almost as if the city dances. Come cold, when the rain falls and the wind violently shakes you with shivers...frowns are worn on the faces of lifeless passive people...perhaps a vivid exaggeration, but it's definitely a contrast.

That afternoon I met my beautiful friend holly for a drink at our favorite local; The commercial tavern! Hols lived with A above me on brick lane so we became close then, but just last year she moved out to aus and we lived together in bondi and became inseparable! Scoring our selves a pretty window seat upstairs and a delicious jug of fruity pims life was like no time had passed as found ourselves dreamy of our next summer by the beach together! That night we caught the train to billericay, Essex to stay with hol's parents for the weekend. Feeling the need to check out the Essex nightlife which has a reputation for tacky ladies, dressed in almost nothing but fake tan and far too high heels slagging off each other...we couldn't resist. About an hour of standing in a corner sipping on drinks and laughing at the various characters we called it a night! The next day we went out for a delicious family lunch and caught an afternoon film, We also took her smart car for a leisurely drive in the country side. The lush green hills rolled into one another only to be separated by the occasional pub and the deceptively small and windy road.

Making my way back to London town the next day to be consumed by the thick city smoke and hectic underground I went all the way west and a little south to west Kensington to meet one of my incredible drama girls. I had met chloe at a drama course at Central school in 2009, so when I put on the vagina monologues in London she was one of my actresses. Chloe has this amazing intense presents, her vibrant and infectious energy is greatly missed in my life so it was amazing spending a few days at her house! She lives in a beautiful old terrace house with her sister whilst studying at lamda. During the day when she was at school I went over east again to meet one of my other vagina monologue actresses and very talented writer Juliet. I met the beautiful jules also at central school, Such a dear friend, i feel like i have known her a lifetime. After getting lost in the lush victoria park for half and hour i finally arrived to be served a delicious crab meat salad as we spent the afternoon on her sunny terrace in her 70s deck chairs catching up! Her house was the upper floor of a lovely old brick terrace and in a really nice location. Before too long the afternoon had crept by and I was on my way to meet chloe (craines) for a well earned drink on bricklane, stumbling upon cafe1001, (the prime place for people watching) one turned into two...and soon enough we were a little drunk and darkness had fallen. The next morning craines and i met for delicious breakfast at a cafe in the west to book our flights to Portugal and work out other european plans. In the afternoon I took her for a little tour through the lush parts of the west; hyde park, harrods (where i used to work) and Sloanne square before making my way back to Amritas house in Pinner.

The next morning I caught the tube back in the city with my 20kg backpack and side luggage that I seem to have accumulated, to visit the lovely Mickayla. Micky is a wonderfully kind and good hearted friend who I worked with at harrods in 2009. She lives in the tower of London as her dad is a beefeater, and I was lucky enough to have stayed there for 5 weeks before leaving London last time! It was really nice catching up with her family over lunch in the tower before heading off to Victoria coach station to meet Carly (my old house mate who now lives in Leeds) to catch the 4 and half hour megabus north with her.

We arrived into leeds just after 7 to be picked up by Nat (another of our old housies) and Eric who drove us back to Nats where I was to be staying for the weekend. I met Nat in Australia as she came over to visit Carly and Eric for a few months and ended up living with us. She is a very excitable and dear friend who i have missed in my sydney life, however not the most confident of drivers...Heading into three lanes of one way traffic in the wrong direction we almost didn't make it home! Nat served us up a delicious curry and we devoured a good part of my vodka while I met a lot of her beautiful university friends. Near to midnight we headed out to a club called wire and entertained ourselves with a few more shots and a game of 3,2,1... The next day waking a little late we went to see Eric and Carl's for breaky then went for a Rollerskate around hyde park. In the eve a group of about 12 of us (nats uni girls that all live in the same street) all went out to dinner for Amy's ( one of Nats housies) birthday drinks. After a delicious meal we made our way to a bar with an incredible view of the city lights for another drink then escaped home. The Saturday celebrations had finally arrived and we all made our way to a street party a few blocks down, paying an entrance fee of just 2pounds it was really set up, inclusive of food stalls, portaloos, and several stages with sound systems, although yet to attract the crowds. Eric, Carl's and I ran home to put on another layer and to down a few ciders before heading back to it in full force. We then dashed home to put on our summer ball attire of cocktail dresses and went for a drink to celebrate Nats brothers birthday. A few bottles of champagne and pimms back at the girls house and we were finally on our way! With so much pre drinking the ball all blends a little into a few short hours! Being impossible to keep the group all together in huge halls area with different stages set up we all broke off. There were rides, rain and copious amounts of students dressed up to the nines, It was a really fun night but I'm not sure if it was worth the amount of money we paid for the tickets. Running home in the wet at 4:30am I called it a night as I fell asleep to Lou Theroux. The next day was a bit of a ride off...spending the majority of watching the british weather drizzle down and keep me under covers before baking a few treats for the jubilee weekend. Eric, Nat and I went our for an incredible feed of curry sided with the biggest nan breads I have ever seen! Monday came around pretty quick as I said my goodbyes to all of the lovely girls I had spent the weekend with and caught a taxi to get the bus back to London.

Arriving in at about half 7 I caught the tube south to Brixton to stay with another friend I had met at harrods Bridie. Such a lovely soul, I feel so special to have her in my life! We both are very much on the same page with life and it's antics and although we have barely spoken in the past few years it feels as if no time has passed! Dumping my heavy bags we headed straight out for dinner to the ritzy cinema for a bottle of wine and some pizza, moving on from there we walked around the block to a cute little bar that prides itself on their 3pound flavorsome cocktails. Bridie had work off the next day so we headed into the Oxford st for some cheap, cheerful but not needed items from primark then headed down not covert garden area to check out an incredible women's shop originally set up by The daughter of the body shop! Coffee and cake helped us through the afternoon but soon enough the English weather drove us home to change into warmer clothes. Strolling around the lanes of Brixton most of the town was shut from the long weekend but we luckily found ourselves a cute little Japanese restaurant that were incredibly generous with their servings, we both ordered miso soup served in large ceramic plates that we couldn't finish, so quickly retired back to watch "contempt", a lovely French film with Bridget Bardot in her prime. The next morning Bridie set off for work whilst i re packed one months worth of clothes into a small 10kg backpack abiding to the weight limits for Ryan air. Stuffing the rest of my belongings under her bed I set off with my very small but liberating bag to meet some friends in covert garden! In two short hours I had frozen yogurt with Nat, craines, Dave and Fabio, then a lunch of delicious italian with Micky and Wei-yee before making my way back east towards jules house.

Arriving just after 5 we quickly set off again to meet her boyfriend James at he cinema to see a new 3d sci-fi film which I was pleasantly surprised by. Returning home just after 9 we had a lovely dinner of sausages and mash, accompanied by a few glasses of red and a white Russian. With only two hours sleep I woke at 2am to catch a cab into Liverpool street station, a half hour wait in the cold and finally the bus to stansted airport arrived. Getting in just after four I hurried to find Erica and Carly who had come straight from Leeds, and we headed towards our 6am flight to Sweden. Back on the road, with a down sized bag containing only the necessaries to last me a month I'm excited for what is to come.

Fanny xx

We have travelled the tran-Siberian.

Arriving at Moscow train station at about 11pm it was absolutely buzzing with all sorts of colourful characters! Our train finally departing at 12:50 am and we were pleased to leave behind the mush of army men and police gazing at us. The four birth cabins were the cleanest and most comfortable we had come across, sharing our room with an older Russian lady who's only communication was "shut" referring to close the door so she could change. A soundly sleep and we were woken at half 8 to the banging of our door by the train attendant letting us know toilets were to be locked soon (half hour before entering a stations and again after departure). A little before 9 we had arrived in st Petersburg, collecting our paper bag of freebies to get us through the day containing a slap up breaky, yoghurt, water and some fruit, we headed in what we thought was the right direction to our hostel. Looking at a screen shot of google street view we were out the front, however the apple hostel was no where to be seen and our packs on our backs were making it all the more confusing. Irritable, annoyed and an hour later we decided to grab a super strong but overpriced coffee from a chain shop with wifi. Back on our feet and walking in a new direction we found that the old address was incorrect and in fact the exact opposite way from the train station. Arriving hot and bothered we were unable to check in for another 2 hours so we decided to back track along the high street we had just walked for a browse of the shops. We were in such a prime location; just one block parallel from nevskie prospect! It was a beautiful area, st Petersburg itself has such a European feel about it, the buildings are beautiful; rich in architectural detail dating back hundreds of years and still in good form. There was no shiny high rises to intimidate the uniqueness of the cobel street stone city. Small canals snaked throughout the wide streets lined with cafes and darkness almost never doomed. I fell in love with its charm and warmth. Finally checking in just after 1, we slept a little of the afternoon away to be woken by a few of the boys from our tour who had checked in days before. Splitting our separate ways for the eve chloe went on a date never to topped with Fabio, involving a little river cruise to watch the bridges open, shisha and a Swiss man "that was a good one" (he commonly phrased).. Whilst Eric and I went to meet a friend of Sophia's that had also showed her around the city when she came here last year. With brief contact via Facebook Eric and I waited anxiously under the giant red tower on nevsky...it was like a blind date! However so pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the beautiful Helen, an exceptionally dressed lovely lady we have decided to marry Eric's brother chris. Moving on from there, Helen led us through the back streets of st Petersburg to some university dorm rooms where we met all of her American exchange friends. Investing in a few bottles of vodka and beers we devoured them before heading onto a karaoke bar full of a bizarre mix of characters. Making friends with one group who invited us in with a giant cake! We then headed to a club blaring tacky dance tunes, hours later sweaty and still smiling we ran into Dave (from our tour) and his date...and areron (also from our tour)?!? Making a sneaky exit we headed for a cheap and tasty feed of subway...still light outside I washed shocked to find we stumbled home a little after 5am. With just a few hours sleep Eric and I returned to our meeting spot under the red tower at 12 noon to find Helen, who took us on the metro north to a flea market. I was in heaven, absolutely blown away by the extensive range of everything you could image. Prices ranging from 30 to 200 ($1-8). I filled three bags in one short hour covering only about one kilometer of tables stacked meters high with hidden treasures. Treating ourselves to a deliciously cheap soup/pancake/tea combo we returned to the hostel to collect chloe and drop off our goods. We spent the afternoon wandering around the city, collecting postcards and most importantly purchasing swan lake tickets to see the Russian ballet for the following night. A leisurely eve of delicious sushi was spent with corn d and Jane who had just arrived from Moscow on the fast train, then helen led us to a strange underground bar down an overlooked side street...a mix of grunge/punk boys raved like it had been a few days since they slept, which enticed us to a few long island iced teas as we found a quiet table in another room. Before too long we were all exhausted and retired back to the hostel. The next morning we packed up our life yet again and moved to another hostel that some boys from Chile had told us about. Lesson learnt...Eric can not be trusted with a map...we headed in the wrong direction for quite some time before turning back to almost where we stated finally reaching our destination; the red house hostel. The staff were super friendly, it was only three weeks old so it still smelt of fresh paint and was super clean, We were lucky enough to even score a 10 bed dorm to ourselves. Back on the streets of st Petersburg it's the kind of city you can walk around for hours and always find Something to steal your eye, with no real direction we walked the afternoon away then made our way to st Peters cathedral with Helen to climb to the top with 360 degree panoramic breathtaking views. Almost late for our date we ran home to get ready for the ballet and meet the others again at the delicious sushi restaurant for dinner. obviously limited by our backpacks...we suited and booted as best we could from our strange selection of travel clothes to see the Russian ballet. The theatre was beautiful, quite small and intimate but each room in the foyer was decorated exquisedly . We had booked the cheapest seats on the wings but luckily the show didn't sell out so as soon as the curtains were up we were able to move to really good seats up top. Swan lake was beautiful, the dancing was incredible and the story flowed like the fairy tale it is. Not ready to call it a night when the show finished we headed to the W hotel to use and abuse the room top bar...wrapped in complementary blankets enjoying an incredible view of the city lights and st peters, sipping delicious ginger and lemon rum cocktails...it was a little bit of luxury in our day to day dorm life. With only two days left we decided to spend a good part of the day at the hermitage museum and palace; one of the first in europe of its kind. I was so impressed with its extensive range of over 3 million historical and contemporary artifacts and artworks of world history. Extraordinary pieces ranging from Leonardo de Vinci Madonna and child to Kandinsky's winter landscape. I was captivated with their incredible collection, much of who we had studied in our senior years of school. Finishing there in the afternoon we wandered around with Helen to see the Beatles tribute lane, and a few other strange alley art corners, pointed in the direction of one when Helen left, we soon enough found ourselves lost in a old wear house like grounds with a bunch of bikers. Making a quick escape we headed to meet Claire, and panda (from our tour) to say our goodbyes but I know I will see them again after building a beautiful friendship with them (having shared the majority of my train time in their cabin). Heading off for a 9:30pm dinner, Helen had made us a reservation with her american friends at a local Mexican restaurant called chainiydom which was Frieda Carlo inspired. Several cocktails, excessive tortillas and a flavorsome shisha later we headed home after a fantastic night. With just one day left of our incredible transibeiran journey we finally decided to slow down, a late start to the day took us straight to a great art cafe (where we were sent the day before but failed to find). Writing postcards, spooning the most delicious and cheap borsch (meet and beetroot soup) and sipping a strong cappuccino...the day passively tamed us as we reflected on what we had accomplished in the past 6 weeks. Before too long the eve fell and we decided to return to same cafe for dinner with corn d and Jane, wine glasses clanged as we celebrated the friendships and the memories we had made. We made a short stop off at a chilled bar by the water on route home to have one final dance and drink before saying goodnight. The next morning we chaotically squeezed our belongings back into our rucksacks (why did I go vintage shopping?) feeling tighter and heavier than ever we were on route to the airport with Helen. With not much time To spare we left our newest and lovely Friend behind and jumped on our skandanavian airline flight to London.

As one door closes another opens.
A path of dignified depth and opportunity.
A place to fail but learn.
A chance to succeed and change.
Life is not black and white, nor a shade of grey.
It's a colorful story book of which you are the illustrator.
Don't chase time, nor dwell in the past or beg for the future.
We are here today. But will always remember yesterday.
We have sipped blooming tea with Helen Wong,
Danced on bars and lost our minds,
Crashed bicycles into ancient graves,
Simply floated...down streams of the Li river.
We have danced around the terra-cotta army,
Karaoked in down town shanghai,
Climbed mountains on the great wall,
Silenced ourselves in 17th century lamestrys.
We have ran from communism and the great head of Lennon,
Raved up and down the bus on bumpy desert roads,
Snuggled in gers listening to the crackling of the fire,
Rode on horses screaming foreign chants.
We have Quad biked in the Siberian forest,
Explore kremlins under the nights sky,
Drank cocktails paying for the view,
Watched days pass on a train eating packet noodles.
We have shotted vodka with locals and lipsticked strangers,
Ridden pushbikes down unknown roads,
Tasted foods that make you melt,
Clanged glasses to each other and the experience.
We have been served soviet style,
Met incredible people never to be forgotten,
Shopped kilometers of a flea market to find hidden treasures,
Waved goodbyes to some forgotten ties.
Theres been bites, busies and babes,
There's been tears, fears and beers,
There's been smiles, sunshine and snow,
Theres been laughs, love and lost.
We have travelled the transiberian.
But the journey has just begun.

fanny, Eric and craines. Xx