Back to London - the end is near

London : Take 2

The final leg of our European adventure was upon us. After leaving South-West England behind, we headed back to one of the greatest capital cities in the world; London. Having been here mid-trip, we knew what to expect this time. However, last time we had 'traditional' cloudy skies and turbulent rain. This trip was mostly blue skies and green parks at the end of an English Summer.

The funds were low, and we were flying out within a week, so we had to sell our beloved Snowflake. While we waited for a prospective buyer we made sure we made the most of our opportunities. The sunshine begged us to embrace the open sanctuaries areas nestled within metropolitan London.

Adventuring around we discovered some hidden gems, including delicious meals at organic vegetarian cafes and many visits to Tara's favourite store in Europe 'Wholefoods' for endless yummy goodness;

One day we ventured to the bastion of underground English culture: the Famous Camden Markets. This is where the punk movement began and icons like Amy Winehouse grew up, flaunting her individual style and embracing unique expression.

After a long and painful wait to sell Snowflake we had to let her go. We drowned our sorrows at losing a friend by enjoying more than a few wines with two of the best people in the world, Simon and Kate. Tim drank so hard he had to secure himself in bed at night with a helmet, just in case someone tried to do any mischief while he slept.

It was sad to see the end of an adventure but excited to have a new chapter ahead with the decision to move back to Australia and head to Taras home in the SouthWest of Western Australia. But for our last hurrah, we flew direct to our second home to say our final goodbyes, back to Bali we go :)

The Eden Project

Our dear friends gave us a heads up to make sure we didn't pass by a magical place in south england called 'The Eden Project'

This place was once just a dream of a garden caretaker who wished to have a hideaway where everyone could come and revel in the beauty of nature.  On this stunning sunny autumn day we got to witness what its like for dreams to come true.

The Eden Project was built in a 160-year-old exhausted china clay quarry near St Austell, in Cornwall. It was established as one of the Landmark Millennium Projects to mark the year 2000.

We were mid-blown by the beauty of this magical fairy-like place. Its not just a garden, it also has two bio-domes with two completely different environments, the Rainforrest and the Mediterranean. On top of that there are outdoor areas showcasing the functional uses up plants, like hemp, which can be used to make clothes, create biofuel or used for medicine.

The Rainforest Biome is so large that the Tower of London could literally fit inside. It's the worlds largest rainforest in captivity. The Guinness Book of Records heralds the Biomes as the biggest conservatories in the world. 

Our favourite was the statue of wasted electrical goods which represented how many electrical goods one person will throw away in their life time, frightening when you see how big this statue is!

We loved The Eden Project , it is most definetly one place where photos don't do it justice and we highly recommend you seeing for yourself one day. 

Stonehedge, Shakespeare and Surfing

After a long drive from Bruges to the Chunnel and a few hiccups at customs getting back in, we arrived back into cold raining England.

Despite the wintery weather in summer, we were pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the countryside in South England, which reminded us of home. On our way through the countryside we had to stop to see the famous Stonehedge. We camped out on the roadside that night to ensure we were there to see the sunrise over these mysterious ancient stones. 

Onto Staford Upon Avon where Tim was excited to see where Shakespeare once lived and to see a shakespearean play in his home town. We were lucky enough to be in town at the same time as the Heritage Week, so we got an all round tour of areas not normally open to the public, all for free!

After being absent from the ocean smells and sounds we headed onto Cornwall in chase of some much needed surf. We got some small but fun waves. Despite it being an English summer the water was relatively cold, however Tim warmed up easily with a traditional 'Cornish' pastie.

After tidying up the van and preparing ourselves for the last part of our European adventure, we headed back towards London to say goodbye to Snowflake and start the next leg of our journey home to Bali.