when i was small and living underwater

I am home.

Oh, it feels good. Our trip was much fun and I am very happy to have gone but there is nothing like collapsing upon your own bed after a long journey. Every single muscle in my body hurts. Its not easy trekking a suitcase around.

Our plans for new years didn’t pan out, which was okay as sometimes walking through London makes me wanna gouge out my eyes with a fork. Too much congestion and I have enough of that going on in my chest at the moment. Still sick. I was smart to book another doctors appointment before I left. Go in on Thursday. Ali and I got in some cheesy movies before I left though, which was nice. I needed to brush up on my blue steel techniques.

Tonight I am having dinner at my friends house, then down to the Quayside to see the fireworks and then possibly out to a club, or back to someone’s house. Not sure. All I know is that I am supposed to bring some cider. Also when I got in this morning, my flatmate invited me to basically the same thing, but here in our flat, with us strays. If we can coordinate properly it will be a joint meet down by the water. What is everyone doing for new years? Don’t you love that question? :I

Its funny, when I was coming in on the train this morning I woke up just as the Angel of the North was coming into view, and then before I knew it we were over the River Tyne and I got the glorious view of all the bridges. I need to attempt taking some pictures of them. Not an easy task. If I find employment here, which is a really big if, I would like to stay in the North East or possibly Scotland. Everyone harps on the accent here. I dunno, I can’t so much hear it anymore. I am partially deaf though.

I hope everybody has a wonderfully relaxing, and stress free new years eve. Oh, and click on over to Barbara’s, if you fancy some handclap goodness. You won’t be disappointed.

Have a happy new years!

my phone shall work again

Well were are leaving in a bit and I am torn.

I want to go back to Newcastle now (when we get into London that is) but I have paid and made travel arrangements with my friend Janette to leave London on the 2nd…so four more days. Yet I just have a strong feeling that I need to be back in Newcastle for new years. Ever just have that feeling of this doesn’t feel right? Ideally, I could leave from St. Pancras when we get in, but I left a few things which need to be picked up. Tis a pickle. Hopefully it will sort itself out while I am sleeping on the train. For now, I have to go clean this apartment and make it look as though we were never here. Which means vacuuming, as Thomas our fabulous tree left a trail of tinsel everywhere. Lovely.

My ipod battery is running low, so I am trying to be selective on which playlist I hit for the last few tunes. If you had to choose one album for a train ride, which one would you choose?

Hope everyone has a good weekend and if I don’t get a chance to before the day… have a Happy New Years!

antwerpen. abba. waterloo. xbox. don’t use the flash, i won’t show up.

Yesterday was full. Fun, but tiring and I didn’t get to sleep until about 4am, not because we were out drinking late, our poker game ended relatively early. Less fun when you are playing with real money. I was up late talking with Ali and then tossing and turning worrying about someone. I feel really useless not being able to help.

I took a lot of photos yesterday, and will upload everything to Flickr, eventually, but here are a few. I made everyone walk up the steps at Waterloo (really, only 226). It was kind of thrilling to reach the top, and add something to the list of things I’ve done. What do you want to cross off your cultural to-do list?

     

eating lemons

Not having all my music with me is making it really hard for me to sleep. I need a new pair of headphones, ones that properly protect me ears. I figure they should at least be warm while I deafen them.

Tomorrow we are going to Antwerp, and then Waterloo. Should I walk the steps? The other day I got out of the metro in London at Covent Garden and the lifts where jammed so I walked the 200 something steps of the spiral staircase to get out of the underground. I think I’m up for it.

Now that xmas is over more year end lists start. I won’t make the deadline for the other lists I had going, as I won’t be home until the 2nd of January. Ah well, such is life. The days between the 25th and the 31st are always so weird. There is this lingering feeling in the air, almost like anticipation mixed with expectation. So much has changed for me in the past few weeks I know not what to expect for the new year, all I know is that I have a wackload of crap to do (much more fun to say then ‘got shit to do’). My calender is very full. Maybe I will just bury my head in my books and when I wake up things will be better as then I will be employable. I can’t rely on my mosquito-killing skills for the rest of my life, eh.

Maybe some divine intervention will strike while I make my way up those steps.

you know, the metal balls

What does your dvd collection say about you? We are house sitting and trying to look for a dvd to watch, but the choices are few. War films or a Shania Twain concert dvd. We are opting for the news now. My dvd collection – or rather the organization of my dvd collection – would probably drive most crazy. Its rare that the dvds make it back into the cases, and if they do its usually organized by director.

Today we went to visit the Atomium, which is just on the outskirts of Brussels. Walking up to the structure is kind of a surreal experience, in the first couple of photos it looks like something we photoshopped into the background.

Once inside, you can take the worlds fastest elevator to the top sphere in 22 seconds. Then back down again, and from the ground floor you take a combination of stairs and escalators to the various other spheres, where art exhibitions are displayed. At the time of our visit a Willy Van der Meeren exhibition was going on.

Here are a few snaps from today.

poker face

A cure for the blues:

4 glasses of red wine.

2 glasses of champange.

1 cran and vodka.

The silence seems less loud through all the haze.

I learned how to play poker tonight. Ali is passed out, again. Here are some random photos from tonight. I hope you all had a very merry merry.

Ali and the forest of potatoes. We will be eating them for days. But they were grand.

I steam a mean broccoli. You heard it here first.

Before alcohol dinner.

Ali, at dinner.

 

Our host, playing poker.

I can deal and make sarcastic remarks at the same time!

Apparently we are playing for real money on Thursday. This could be dangerous. Any tips?

sure, one more chocolate

How funny that we are here in Brussels and its the first time I am watching the BBC since I have arrived in England. I don’t do television at school. Mainly because I don’t own one, ya know.

Anyway, we are watching BBC 1 as the choices are few but I am quite enjoying this song by Kate Nash…the title I know not…oh wait, Foundations…tis causing a foot tap.

We had a good Christmas morn. I have a smashing purple clutch with earrings and quite a fabulous bracelet from Ali, among other trinkets. Oh, and a little bottle of chardonnay that came in my stocking. Our first christmas away from home was a success, methinks.

Well, we’re off to cook dinner now. I hope everyone is having a relaxing day!

untitled

This night has been full of surprises. I received a very nice email from one of my oldest friends with a fabulous gesture in the writing that made me speechless. Ali and I decorated our shrub tree and our now watching all the xmas movies on the telly. We stumbled upon Christmas Vacation and its making us feel at home.

I must admit, these past few weeks have been rough, without logic or reason and have caused a lot of heartache, but I am very thankfully for one thing. I have amazing friends and family, and that includes you all too, as you read my ramblings.

A very happy christmas to you all! Here is our tree, Thomas. I am going to make it a habit of always buying a tree I can hold in my hand.

you are here. no thanks to the metro.

Alright, here’s our series of where are the Allison’s. We promise to take more pictures not from the same angle and of other things, but for today a couple pictures from the markets and just outside of where we are staying.

Bon Voyage! On the Eurostar to Brussels.

Outside the flat we are staying in…and the tree I am going to steal tonight. Just wait. I will. Have to find a good pair of scissors first.

Ali survived brunch, got her head out of the toilet and made it through today. Such a trooper!

Hanging with Picasso in the living room.

The “markets” or us, at Place St. Catherine.

 

St. Catherine’s church.

And of course, the buttresses. 

Happy Christmas Eve Day all! Hope you are all enjoying the holidays.

blue moon. i knew i should have brought the tree to brussels. blast.

Well, Brussels so far has been pretty great. Our hosts are fabulous and although that flat we are staying at is pretty swank, and I feel out of my league, outside of the living room the rest of the house is homey and filled with books and picture frames. Love cutter always makes me feel at home. Its funny what you can infer about a person based on their house, isn’t?

Today, however, hasn’t been the greatest for me. I am still feeling fairly sick, and also confused and hurt over another situation that is just not making logical sense to me. So I spent the day curled up in a ball, crying everything off, skipping out on Sunday brunch with 8 different kinds of alcohol. I picked up Ali from the bunch and just a few minutes ago moved her head from the toilet to the bed. She will hurt tomorrow. I should probably go and see if she is still breathing.

I hope everyone is having a good start to the holidays. Tomorrow I plan to wander and will upload some pictures. Oh, and the waffles are grand.