Sunny Scotland at Easter and back to the grindstone...

Hey y'all!
Hope you all had a good Easter weekend!! I spent it way up in bonnie Scotland in Helensburgh. My buddie Janet very kindly drove us to Helensburgh, near Glasgow, to see Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed house The Hill House. Sadly the weather lived up to Bank Holiday stereotype on the Sat - ie pissing it down (also typically the day we visited Hill House) - but Fri and Sun were surprisingly mild. Loch Lomond is a lovely area and I recommend it to anyone - kind of like the Lake District but on a much grander scale.
The Hill House did not disappoint - some stunning Mackintosh touches throughout the house and it gave myself and Janet plenty of fodder for ideas for our own homes (well, the one I'll have one day!).
The village of Luss was quite nice - although a few too many coach tours taking in the 'High Road' filming locations for me. We drove back through Peebles which looks lovely and saw Traquair House from a distance which looks like a lot of money has been spent to improve it since I saw it as a wee lassie about 25 years ago or so! Hopefully will get to go back when I return from travels further afield..
Then it was back to work for me on Tues - yep I'm back temping again - back at Hull City Council too. I'm in a different office this time but mostly back with the team I was working with before, which is nice as they're a really nice bunch of people to work for. That makes all the difference - believe me I know! :)Plus it means a bit of extra cash to keep me going til I depart these shores on Aug 1. Not long now.
Am off to do a crystal healing course this weekend for 2-days. Looking forward to that. Will report on it next week.
Anyhoo will love ya and leave ya!
CJ x

Let the adventures begin... :)

Hey y'all!
Welcome to my blog!!! Yes I've finally made it to blogdom thanks to my mate Rick's wonderful Mac... will seriously miss this luxury when I start my travels.
This is my very own little corner of cyberspace which will house my rantings and ravings regarding the 10-month round the world trip (well, more like half-way round the world and then back again) I will be undertaking from Aug 1 2006. So please, mi casa su casa - make yourself at home but don't forget to wipe your feet before you enter! :)
I'll be keeping everyone updated how I'm getting on with planning this mammoth exercise, what I hope to see, who I'll be hooking up with when and detailing all of those much dreaded moments when I'd give anything to swap a cold hostel shower for a hot bath.
I am currently still in Deutschland - return to the UK on April 6 :( It has been great chillin here for a few weeks (as always) and I'll miss the independence once I get home but not long til I jet off for my excursion now... :) Talking of 5-star luxury, Rick and I stayed in a 5-star Le Meridien hotel in Stuttgart a couple of Saturdays ago - VERY NICE! There was a pool, jacuzzi, spa rooms and the room itself had lit-up works of art. I don't think the hostels I'll be visiting will be quite so bespoke but at least I'll have the memory of that to keep me muddling on! :) The town was quite nice - a few nice squares, art galleries and a schloss (not the traditional turrets kind, more the 17th/18th century formal kind), however, it was a struggle to find a nice restaurant and there didn't seem to be that many bars about either. We did in the end though and that's another German city to cross off my very long list....
My round the world itinerary reads thus: Manchester to Japan, New Zealand, Australia, South East Asia, China and St Petersburg (via the Trans-Mongolian Express).
So far I've pretty much sorted out where I want to go in China and South East Asia. My flights are booked and I've also booked the organised tour I'll be taking of Japan. I'm heading to Japan first as I will be attending the wedding of one of Rick's former housemates. He is marrying a Japanese lady in a traditional Shinto shrine on Aug 4. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not to be missed so I'm not! ;) And as most of you know, I'm nuts about Japan so I will certainly be starting my trip on a high.
More soon. :)
CJ x