Everything is coming up Milhouse!

Last day in london, what an amazing city. I can't stop thinking about all of the sights, the history and of course the best ever sporting weekend. Man Utd won, i was there, Gold Coast United won, i was watching commentary online, and the San Francisco 49ers had a great comeback to beat Denver! And right now I'm on a plane heading to Oslo, Norway. Why Oslo? why norway? Two things, killer whales in the wild and a chance at being a passenger in a 4-man bobsled in Lillehammer.

In the next 48 hours I'll be traveling 23 hours, so ill have plenty of time to write in the blog! You just need to find hours to read it!!

London last day included and quick tour of the things i hadn't seen. Harrods, inside St Paul's and inside the Tower of London. And i did them all before heading to the impressive Wembley Stadium. As some of you know the tube does maintenance work on lines over the weekend, meaning i had no time to get lost. If anyone needs a tip for the tube in the future, make sure you clean out your nose at the end of the day, without doubt that black shit just gets in there! Mmm graphic! It was Halloween too, a lot of people dressed up and partying the night away. Some great costumes, and some really funny moments. Especially when a host to a Halloween party was giving directions to some old ladies, had to snap a shot of that! I keep forgetting how good my little canon is, I'm walking around with an awesome function that i didn't use until the last day.....durrrr. You'll see the pic of what i tried to achieve. You select a colour and the camera will make everything outside of that colour black and while......Red buses Luke, red buses! It turned out okay, not the exact shot i wanted but it's still pretty cool. Harrods, well my mum said if you want anything they can get it for you, how bout open early on a Sunday? I got there around 10am, not open for another hour and a half, so i did see the outside, but i wasn't planning to buy anything, great shopping district if you're there to shop. Next up St Paul's Cathedral. Was a good walk from harrods, circle and district lines weren't running, time was a bit of an issue, so go go little legs! 

Now it's Sunday at St Paul's, no sightseeing tours, but i did get in a bit of worshipping...... I thanked Oprah, Tom cruise, Jebus, Allah and Buddha, and of course the fonz! (family guy Peter starts a church of the fonz) Eyyyyyy! When i first cast my eyes on it on thursday, i couldn't believe the size if it. This is massive, ground level doesn't do it justice photo wise, you'd need a good tilt shift lens to get a better perspective. And there is only so much camera gear you can take before it gets too much. I have a wide angle 17-40mm and a new 50-500mm telephoto. Inside St Paul's there was no photos allowed, shame i could really do that place justice! But i did get inside and there was a service going so I thought it best that i don't stay long and interrupt anything. Was lovely to be in there, i wish i had seen more that's for sure. He down towards the Thames and find London Tower again, this time for an inside look. If I had known you couldn't have taken photos of the crown jewels I probably wouldn't have gone inside. I can understand that side of life and history to the monarchy, medieval times etc. But it's something that doesn't grab my attention. Maybe i was rushing too much but people were standing there watching the queens coronation or slow video of the crowns, scepters and other shiny stuff. I gave myself two hours to look around, went through the walls and into a few towers, headed into where all of the armor is held, different armaments and more but less significant shiny stuff. I couldn't help but recite numerous Holy Grail lines, there was a massive book which i refer to as the book of armaments, where in it you'll find the guide to throw thy holy hand grenade at they foe, who shall snuff it. But i was looking for cocnuts, they must've had horses back then i suppose! And no mention of the black night!?!?! And i though of so many more. As soon as i walked in, a catapult, fetchez la varche......huh, fetchez la varche. And for those of you who know Python, the French taunter catapulted a cow at The King, runawaaaaaaaay!

Back to the Tower......It goes up and down millions of steps, so if your behind an old person, bring a newspaper! It wasn't bad and there was somethings that i did miss, like the chamber of tortures! I was about to but thought I'd better go to the jewels and if i have time go back to it. I ended up taking ages to get into see the jewels. There is a lot of hoo har about the royal family and their possessions, and i can appreciate some of the royal that really led their country and britain, some re-united the different countries and made a positive impact for their people, but to me now they are simply public figures, politics and decision seem to be left to the politicians. As i was watching a bit of the coronation (cause the line wasn't moving) and i thought it must be a big honor to be crowned, if it was an Australian there would be a massive piss up and a long weekend. King William of the Broadbeach bowls club I think the royal family make the regular brits a feel posh and better for having them sit there and wave. I don't think people should be getting paid to live the highlife. But i also understand that there position is a position of history that i think will always be there, important for some but not little old me!  

Off back home in Lambeth North this time on a bus.... Just a single decker :( or a shit one as i like to refer to it as. This is the last time I walk in the city, i take one last photo of Big Ben, tried my camera trick just as the perfect double decker bus was coming along, batteries died!! Aish! All in all London is a beautiful city, one i could definitely move to...... Anyone got a job for me? Calm down mum, I'm coming home, eventually!
 
Two hours......NFL at Wembley Stadium. Niners v Broncos. I did miss the tailgate party before hand which had bands, cheerleaders, interviews, interactive area, bit like the fan rally on Saturday, but bigger. Merchandising tents galore broken up into division AFC and NFC. By the time i got there my purchasing plans all went pear shaped but i got my jumper which was my main aim and some other cool stuff. The atmosphere was completely different to the Man Utd game. It's a much bigger stadium and the majority of the crowd are new to NFL. Even the guy behind, who was a cowboys fan didn't understand why so many people were happy that Jacksonville were flogging them. He asked why, i said everyone hates the cowboys, if you don't like them, you want to see them lose, bit like Man Utd and Collingwood. Even after Denver missed a conversion they were still in hope for a draw? Maybe if they a scored and get a two point conversion..... They said they would be happy with a draw....... Overtime lads, so they probably don't watch much, but they support the cowboys! My seats were amazing, great view of plays and patterns and got to see 49ers coach Mike Singeltary run on the field, headset goes flying and so does his red flag. For those of you who don't know NFL, the coach can contest the call on the field by throwing a red challenge flag as long as it is done before the start of the next play! It was a fair catch, i could see from where i was sitting he just had both feet grounded in field of play before falling out. Great catch, the challenge didn't amount to anything. If they get it wrong they are charged with a timeout. It seemed more for show than anything! And i loved it, nothing like crazy mike charging on the field! All in good spirits, the game is so heavily officiated that you rarely get any controversy from the refs. Then came the shit part........ Getting home. 85,000 fans, about 50,000 going to the same train station. It was sardines, not moving, no alternate route that the fans are made aware of, no one giving directions. Stood there for 30 minutes and had to leave, walk into wembley central and catch the tube straight from there, bit of a walk bit that was my theme of the week! Didn't get lost either! They have the olympics in two years and they want the FIFA world cup...... No doubt they'll use wembley and old trafford for events. How will they cope? But no one was complaining, this must be the norm over here, i couldn't get used to the wait to go home is longer than the event itself. If you've ever been to Stadium Australia (olympic stadium) or the MCG, there are, shuttles, trams, trains everything to get you gone and heaps of staff to help and guide you! NFL is a very interactive game to watch, the cheerleaders, drum bands (niner noise) and constant slogans on the big screens like DE - FENSE and MAKE SOME NOISE especially on the Denver third down. 

If you want to know what the hell I'm talking about, read this, if not skip this paragraph :)
For the NFL uninitiated, every team has four downs (attempts) to make ten yards, once they get ten yards, they start back at one or first down, the team with the ball will try and make ten yards again and again until they score. If they are unsuccessful after two attempts they will be at a third down, the idea of making heaps of noise will make it hard for the players to hear what play the quarterback is calling and generally if a third down is unsuccessful they will kick for a field goal, punt (to give the ball back to the other team but as far back as possible ex AFL players Sav Rocca and Ben Graham are punters at Philadelphia and Arizona respectively). Only if they have one yard or even inches will a team attempt a fourth down, if you don't make it, it's like being tackled on the 6th tackle in rugby league, oppositions ball wherever you are. So that's why they say to make some noise. It'd be amazing in a NFL stadium where everyone is whistling, screaming or even booing so the quarterback can't pass on the tactics.

Since its so interactive it's probably not the best for Australians who generally shy away from breaking into a chant unless it's Aussie Aussie Aussie! Denver played really well, 49ers were a bit predictive with their number one quarterback injured. But it was some really good NFL, big hits from 300+ pound guys, great catches and crazy Mike throwing a tanty!!

Another night of packing, followed by 4 hours sleep, wake up 5 am for a 7:40 flight to Oslo, Norway. I was really concerned about my alarm on my phone, never used it before so I was very hesitant. But oh boy did it wake me!! What the hell! Oooooh alarm. Left a thank you present for my amazing english hosts who rolled out the best welcome mat i could have imagined. Thank you to the Chinkins for their hospitality and guidance. Loaded up the camel (me), and head to the tube, as i walked around the  corner.........WHAT CLOSED!!!! Noooo! My heart sank, how am I going to make it to the airport, or Paddington to get the train..... Saw a cleaner, asked him what time......see ladies i do ask for directions and help!! He had no idea, but i could see into the ticket office and there was someone walking around, just wait 5 at least, found a sign, first service 5:39, "ahh thank f#*k for that!" was my exact words. So far planes trains and automobiles. Everything was smooth at the airport, now I've been felt up (security frisk apparently, then why ask for my number) in both Malaysia and England, come on Norway! When we left Heathrow, Oslo was 2 degrees, when we arrived the pilot said conditions had improved to 3 degrees! I laughed. It's actually not that bad, no gloves, no beanie, no ski jacket.......yet! I was doing my Stewie Griffin, look at me, dog, I'm sssmoking. Short shuttle to the hotel, going around a corner and my bag with my camera gear fell off the bag compartment, bang...... Ah crap, noooo not so early in the trip...... But all is good, my camera is made pretty tough (thanks again Mr Canon). The hotel is great and is pretty schmick. Very deco. They have a buffet you can go to at anytime 24 hrs, a gym also 24 hrs which I'll be hitting lately, lion and galaxy bars are going to fall away and a cool leather chair. I sit in it and i feel like a psychiatrist, or is that the patient...... Argh! I think i can help myself, first i have to stop rocking back and forth!!! Haha! 

So I'm sitting here in the dining area, eating, spinach ravioli, roast potatoes and even fish, i think it's salmon, quite nice. I tried to find a cheaper place in Norway but everything here is expensive, but it's really nice, ill be here one night before heading to Hunderfossen for my bobsled run then straight up to the arctic circle. Weather is great, blue skies.... Cold, but not shivering cold, haven't even got my thermals on. Move onto dessert, mousse, choc cake, choc donut and choc covered waffle! Off to the gym. And i'll leave you with a riddle.......


Mmmm i wonder if you fart will it come out foggy in the air like your breathe????