Backdated. Posted 7/9/2017 I was starting to get more comfortable in Belgium. It was getting easier as we realised how many people spoke English (most of them) and as I picked up a few words of French. We had worked out a few more things to do while in Brussels – and on this Saturday ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 15/9/2017. We headed back to our Brussels Zuid/Midi Station, wary again of infestations of pickpockets, but again seeing none. Seriously, I was doubting the numerous reports of this — either they’re invisible to me or they simply aren’t there since the military and police have moved in following recent terrorist attacks. I bought ... [More]
(Backdated. Posted 18/9/2017) Monday! Our last full day in Brussels, and also a day when, generally, most museums in Belgium are closed. It was raining in the morning for the first time on the holiday, apart from some drizzle in Penzance. We got a little wet walking down to the Metro, and decided to use ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 21/9/2017 Time to head back to London for the last few days of our holiday. We packed up our stuff and left the Air BNB flat. A word about the flat. It had been chosen for its location (walking distance to Brussels Midi/Zuid station), which along with the price, which were its best ... [More]
(Backdated. Posted 29/9/2017) Good morning! It was garbage day in our street in Chiswick. As usual, you notice the little things that are different from home. In the London Borough of Hounslow, the garbos (what’s the local term? Not sure) don’t have an arm on the truck that grabs the bins; they have to manually ... [More]
(Backdated. Posted 1/10/2017) Our mission today was to get locked up in the Tower Of London. Oh, sorry, I mean to see the Tower Of London. We headed on the Tube to the Tower. Tickets booked in advance the night before meant we could bypass at least one of the queues, but it was still ... [More]
(Backdated. Posted 21/10/2017) Our second last day in London. While the others had breakfast, I ducked out of the flat to try and find a post office, as I’d neglected to give one of my relatives a souvineer from Australia, and thought it best to mail it while we were still in England. The nearest ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 29/10/2017. Before we headed back to Australia, one more day in London to explore… at least for most of us. Three of us were catching an evening flight, but M had to head back 12 hours earlier, departing on a morning flight. I walked her to the station and helped her (and her ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 7/11/2017 We’d booked with Singapore Airlines, so unsurprisingly our stop-off back from Europe was in Singapore, where we landed at 6pm local time. Our connecting flight wouldn’t leave until 2am, so I decided to see if we could leave the airport for a few hours and have a quick look around the city. ... [More]
Just back (yesterday) from a three week trip to the UK and Belgium. Hello Melbourne! I'm back. Did you miss me? You're looking good today! pic.twitter.com/U45oRMnrrv — Daniel Bowen (@danielbowen) July 24, 2017 Apart from seeing family, we visited Cardiff, Bath, Penzance, Brussels and London. In summary? Had a great time! As you can see, ... [More]
I wanted to reflect on something from our recent visit to Cardiff. Some of central Cardiff is pedestrianised, which is great. Many other areas have nice wide footpaths. It would be near-perfect for walking… if at most intersections the traffic lights weren’t designed to be so pedestrian hostile. It’s as if the traffic engineers either ... [More]
My blog posts from our Britain and Belgium trip continue, but it wouldn’t be one of my holidays if I didn’t geek out on transport-related stuff. So here’s a post on the vagaries of rail fares in Britain… or at least, what you need to know as a tourist. Buying rail tickets at home in ... [More]