Wednesday, 26 March 2014

Home Time: Not getting shot in Nottingham, Dan Croll, everything before that and another BIG announcement

Before I cart myself off to Colombia tomorrow, I thought that I better tell you a few things about what I've been up to while I've been back home this month.

March has proved to be a much stranger time to be home in comparison to Christmas. As it is the middle of term, the majority of my friends are still working hard at University, my parents and brother are stuck in at work and school respectively, the friends that I still have at home are also working/studying and it has now been 6 months since I've seen my sister Imogen in the flesh (and another 6 months until I will see her again). Cutting to the chase-coming home hasn't felt quite as welcoming as I'd hoped it would be. It's all still the same place (bar a few new physical features) as the one I left back in January but mainly through the absence of people, it doesn't feel quite normal. This was compounded when I initially arrived home late at night on Friday 28th February to an empty house as my family minus Imo were arriving back in the UK following day having spent 2 weeks in Nepal and China at my cousin Morgan's wedding and visiting Imo in China (I'm EXTREMELY jealous).

In consideration of the above, besides my preparations for Colombia, I haven't had a great deal to do but meet up with my remaining friends, go to the gym, swim training and procrastination. Not ideal but there were a few highlights including my trip to Nottingham to visit my friend Josh at Nottingham Trent Uni. Keeping in line with my gap year goal of visiting new places, I spent 3 days in Robin Hood's city-a place I'd only visited twice before for Swimming competitions in which both times the only thing I saw of Nottingham was its Swimming pool. In all honesty we didn't do a great deal. Excluding a shopping trip in the city centre and a night out at the student union for St.Patrick's Day, we spent the majority of our time together in Josh's flat listening to music and playing FIFA or cards along with his flatmates but I still enjoyed my time regardless. Throughout last year at college, I spent pretty much everyday with Josh in Government & Politics and Spanish lessons so I was just happy that we could spend time together again and catch up.

Celebrating St.Paddy's day in Nottingham
Just a little plug for Josh- His band 'Cultures' have recently released their debut single 'Away From Us' which is available to download now! Get it on iTunes for £1.89 and also receive the B-Side to the single 'Flags'. You can also listen to more of their music on Soundcloud-https://soundcloud.com/bandofcultures including free download 'Free'. Make sure you give them a cheeky follow on Twitter too- @bandofcultures and last but not least... they have a big gig supporting US band Grizfolk at Night & Day Café in Manchester on April 30th so get yourself down there for that, you'll be in for a treat.

Cultures LIVE @ The Roadhouse, Manchester on 6th March. One of the things I've been and done while I've been home

My time with Josh ended when we went to see Dan Croll live at The Ruby Lounge, Manchester on the Wednesday evening. Most of you will have no idea who on earth Dan Croll is so I shall explain. Dan Croll is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist from Staffordshire who is a graduate from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA). His debut album 'Sweet Disarray' was released a week before the gig and in the past he has been fortunate enough to work with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Paul McCartney. Croll sounds is a bizarre mix of folk, electro, rock and African sounds and for this reason I believe he is one of the most exciting prospects on the UK music scene at the moment. He is also a member of Pyramid Online's (the music blogging site I write for) Top 12 for 2014 so I really did have to see what this guy was all about.

The Manchester Big Wheel at night looking pretty

Gig poster



Racing Glaciers opening the show
The excellent Racing Glaciers from the mighty Macclesfield town warmed up the crowd before Croll eventually emerged on stage at 9:40. Despite the abnormally long wait, he played through his new album in its entirety including two new tracks from his work with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and it in short it was an exceptional performance. It wasn't just the music that got me, considering the album was only dropped the week before, the crowd (including me) were singing and dancing along to every lyric and knew it all pretty much off by heart. My personal highlights were the heavily African influenced 'Maway', anthem 'Compliment Your Soul' used on the FIFA 14 soundtrack and the glorious folk song 'Home'. Croll also kept the audience laughing as well when he described hearing his music played in Pret as the definition of 'making it' as a musician, addressing his Mum who was in the audience and getting everyone to sing happy birthday to his cousin. After the gig finished, I even got the chance to meet Racing Glaciers and Dan Croll himself as well as having a brief chat before he was engulfed in young teenage fan girls. I returned home afterwards feeling positively uplifted by yet another great gig at The Ruby Lounge, probably not just one of the best small venues in Manchester but in the whole of the UK too. Expect to see an Album and Gig Review popping up online in the near future which I shall link to my 'Other Writing' page on FOT!

Dan Croll in action

One of Dan Croll's band (Jacob?) looked unmistakably like my friend Andrew haha




Drumming

Set list

Meeting Racing Glaciers

me with the main man-Dan Croll


To cap off my final blogpost before my Colombian adventure, I have something very exciting to tell you. As mentioned in my post My Awesome Week , I applied to Americamp to work as a Camp Counselor this summer. Since then I have filled out various bits of paperwork, sent tonnes of emails, had skype interviews and even applied through BUNAC to try and get a Camp Counselor position. On Monday my wish came true.

I have been #plACed and I will be heading to the US for the summer!!!



I will be working as a Camp Counselor/Swimming Teacher and Lifeguard at Camp Greentop, Maryland in the North East of the United States for 3 months. Although there is still SO MUCH to do in order to prepare for it all, I am really excited living in the knowledge that in just over a month I will be heading to the USA for the first time ever. I was inspired to become a Camp Counselor from watching the E4 sitcom 'Beaver Falls' in which 3 British guys go to America to work at a Summer Camp and find themselves in all kinds of tricky and hilarious situations. Although it's likely to be highly unrealistic and the fact the show was cancelled after two series, 'Beaver Falls' was one of my favourite things to watch on TV while it lasted and it showed me that working at a US Summer Camp would be a great way to experience the country, gain some useful qualifications/CV material, meet new people and make new friends. Seeing as my application was successful, I am now in the process of uploading the candidate video I had to do for my application to my youtube channel, Fraser On Tour! The Youtube Channel, for you all to see. Not gonna lie, for me it is a bucket load of cringe and rushed editing but I hope that in some way it may inspire you to become a Camp Counselor. And here it is! Follow the link to see my application video-Americamp Camp Counselor Application Video 2014

This will be me in the summer, American here I come!

So, in just over 24 hours I shall be leaving the UK and flying off to Colombia, as you do. Hope you've enjoyed my final post before I go away again and I hope you will continue reading my posts as I venture into Latin America.

Farewell chums!

#FraserOnTour

FP

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

¡VOY A COLOMBIA!

So I guess it's about time I got round to telling you exactly where I am going next on my Gap Year travels. For some of you including my friends, family and anyone who I've had the fortune of seeing while I've been back in the UK, this announcement comes with little surprise or suspense but it is about time I had it in writing on FOT!. In two days time, I am going to: Colombia!



Colombia is yet another unexpected turn on my year of travels which I actually had booked and arranged way back in mid-February however I felt now would be the best time to tell you. I will be staying in the country's capital Bogotá for one month in which time I shall be assisting my cousin Michael's friend Maritza with the running of her Arts studio as well as seeing the sights that Colombia has to offer.
Map of the country-Bogotá is slap bang in the middle of it

This is both a really exciting and scary thing for me. It will not only be my first time in South America but in the whole of the Americas which involves taking my first long-distance flight travelling alone as well as being the first time I've been outside of Europe since going to Morocco, China, Hong Kong and Dubai in 2009. After 6 years as a Spanish student (who studied 'The Motorcycle Diaries' for Spanish A Level), it has long been an ambition to visit South America and learn more about its rich cultural heritage, breathtaking scenery and way of life and now I have my opportunity. I'm currently at the point where I can't believe it's actually happening and the idea that I am leaving in two days is pretty insane. Overall though, I am sure it will be nothing quite like what I've experienced before and for that reason I can't wait to explore this new country that I know very little about.



Understandably, I've had various bits of preparation to do which I shall walk you through.


  • Flights- I had my flights booked through STA travel, a travel agency that specialises on travel options for student and young people. I will be flying with German carrier Luthansa (for the first time!) from Manchester to Frankfurt where I will then take the 11+ hour flight to Bogotá. In total my tickets cost just over £600 return.
My route to Colombia. If you really want to (I doubt you will), you can view this in better form by following the link here: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zJUMKbMtJ1dY.kYCFIrezmf-o

  • Vaccinations/Medicine- To go to Colombia, you need to have received most of the major injections before travelling. These include MMR, Tetanus and Hepatitis B amongst many others but depending on your medical history you may have already received some of these. Either way, it is best that you see your GP to check which vaccinations you require for the trip. Personally, I had a Hepatitis A jab when I went to my GP two weeks back. In the rural and rainforest areas of Colombia, there is a higher risk of contracting Malaria, Yellow Fever and Dengue Fever so if you plan to enter these areas then you will most likely need further injections as well as Malaria tablets. Insect repellent is a must throughout the whole country.

  • Plug Adapters- The US-style two pronged plug is used in Colombia so make sure you purchase some before you set off.

  • Visas- UK citizens as well as citizens from many other western countries don't require a visa to enter Colombia as a tourist however like with many countries you are expected to show proof of an onward journey once you arrive there. Tourists are usually granted 60 day access however it is possible to extend this to 90 days. So basically, I had no preparations to do here. The main thing to do is to make sure your passport is in date and not about to expire.

  • Currency- it is difficult to obtain Colombian Pesos in the UK so instead I will be taking US Dollars which I will exchange once I arrive as it is easier to do so than with British Pounds.

  • List of things I've had to buy- Suncream, Insect Repellent, Plug Adapters, Shorts, Travel guide (Lonely Planet), Latina American Spanish Phrase book (just to make sure I don't say something stupid thinking it means the same as in Castillian Spanish ie. coger un autobus)


Well now you know what's on the agenda for FOT! in the next few weeks. Expect some more posts from me, giving you an inside scoop into la vida colombiana. I expect this will be the biggest challenge I'll face on my Gap Year and I can't wait to get stuck in now.

Adios Manchester, adios England, adios Europe!

...and hola to South America

FP

#FraserOnTour

Sunday, 16 March 2014

30 Observations of Belgian/French Culture and anything in between

Hey,

Now I'm briefly back home there isn't a great deal to tell you about that I would consider interesting or newsworthy. Instead, I shall do a final post looking back on my time in Brussels. Regular followers of my blog will know that back in November I did a post entitled 50 Days-50 Observations of an Englishman on Spanish/Mallorcan culture and anything in between all about my first 50 days in Mallorca sharing interesting and hopefully humourous observations I encountered on the Mediterranean island. I hugely enjoyed creating this post and it received some pretty positive feedback from friends and family so I thought I would do another to cover my first 30 days in Brussels to prove that you really do 'learn something everyday'. Alas, I have failed you. My 30th day in Brussels was over 5 weeks ago now yet here I am at the end of my time in Brussels and I've only just managed to complete it. In all honesty, Brussels really just hasn't inspired me so writing this post has been much harder than I'd anticipated. Anyway, I have somehow come up with 30 things to share with you for your own personal joy and amusement. A nice little closer to my two months in the Belgian capital.

Here you go.

1. In Brussels, every day is leg day

Belgium is a country that is typically known for its lack of hills and mountainous areas, much like its neighbours the Dutch, however this shortcoming in the Belgian's landscape is made up through their housing. Typical houses in Belgium are quite narrow but exceptionally tall so as I was staying in a room at the very top of the house this meant I had to climb up 3 flights of steps on many occasions a day. Hard work

2. 50 Shades of gris

When it comes to buying a car in Belgium, the locals aren't too fussy with their choice of colour. 95% of the cars you see are grey making the game 'Yellow Car Bingo' ,a popular game with the kids in Mallorca, a much tougher challenge.

3. We're better connected

The transport network in Brussels is incredible. No matter where you are in the city or even what time of day you will always find some way of getting around. There are regular tram, underground and bus services, a shared taxi service (collecto) and if you fancy making your own way around there is also a bike hire system and a readily-available car hire system (Cambio car). To top it all off, none of the modes of transport mentioned are that expensive.

4. Always Waiting

Clément and Louise's favourite word when speaking with me was "attends" (wait). I reckon I must've been told to wait at least once per day be it French or English.

5. Petit Paris

In a similar way to how Palma imitates Barcelona, Brussels has adopted some of the place and street names more commonly associated with the French capital Paris most notable of which is the Basilique du Sacré Coeur that dominates the city's skyline.



6. Toilets and Bathrooms

Never the most pleasant of topics but for some reason toilets and bathrooms in French and Belgian houses tend to be separate from each other which I find incredibly impractical especially when it comes to washing your hands. Also, out and about, it is hard to find a place where you can go to the loo without incurring some kind of charge for your call from nature. Even McDonalds, a big multi-national corporation has the cheek to charge you to use their loos (the bastards!). On principal I don't believe I should have to pay to go to the toilet as it is a natural process so understandably this bugs me quite a bit.
One of very few free public toilets in the whole of Belgium


7. Beers Beers Beers

Belgium's national beverage? Beer of course! The country is home to some of the best beers in the world including Duvel, Leffe, Chimay and of course, Stella Artois. I have tasted no other beer quite as good as in Belgium which has consequently ruined any appreciation I once held for beer back home in Britain (I doubt I'll ever drink Carling again, certainly not willingly). I must warn you though, Belgian beer is very strong with many beers exceeding 7% alcohol so make sure you're careful how much of it you drink. Know your limits.



8. Soulja Boy Tell em'

At SNCF Train Stations in France, before an announcement over the tannoy you hear a little jingle. This jingle unmistakably sounds like the intro of the song 'Crank That' by Soulja Boy, a cult rap classic among my generation. Click here if you have no clue what I'm talking about or want a refresher.

9. Public Swimming

This is hardly a new realisation but it has become quite apparent to me that I'm a bit of a nob when it comes to swimming in public sessions. I get easily irritated by lanes and lanes of people doing energy-sapping, un-streamlined breastroke hogging the lane and making me look like a bull in a china shop as I rocket passed doing frontcrawl. This has often led to me being involved in collisions, causing them and having to swim underneath people in order to avoid being hit or slowed down. I become even more unpopular when I do Butterfly...

10. When the Chips are down

When the national dish is Mussels and Chips, there is always going to be some pressure and expectation on the restaurants and eateries that supply them. Running a Friterie (Chip Shop to us Brits) is serious business in Belgium. Across Brussels these little establishments compete with each other for the approval of critics and a good rep and by god does it half pay off. I was told by a local that chips/french fries actually originate from Belgium and you can definitely tell.


11. Salad Dressings

Like the Spanish, the French and Belgian's also have a supreme love for adding unnecessary salt, oil and other condiments to their salad, making it lose all its natural and healthy goodness.

12. Waffling On

Another famous food is waffles and like beer and chips, the best belgian waffles can be found in Belgium. Throughout Brussels, instead of ice cream vans perched on street corners there are waffle vans and when they cost as little as one euro you can't help but help yourself to one. They're irresistible!



13. Musique/Musik

Brussels is a fairly musical place and being one of Europe's major cities it is often a stop for many bands and artists from all over the world on a European-wide tour. The city plays host to many great venues such as Ancienne Belgique, BOZAR, Foret National and my favourite by far-Le Botanique. The greatest thing about these venues is that they are not particuarly large in comparison with the O2 in London or the MEN in Manchester which allows for the crowd to really get up close and personal to the stage and make the most of the concert experience.

me with Bombay Bicycle Club, one of the many great international acts that come to Brussels


14. Quick

On appearance, the Francophone fast-food joint Quick looks like a poor man's McDonalds but in actual fact it is so much better. The burgers are to die for (don't take that literally) that put your average Big Mac to shame, you get free refills on drinks and they have excellent desserts. What is there not to like?

15. "Got a light mate?"

It is almost considered an insult to a Frenchman if you don't possess a cigarette lighter. Well, at least that's what it seems like...

16. Daft Punk

The French LOVE (and are immensely proud of) Daft Punk! Their records dominate the music shops, you can buy Daft Punk action figures and just about everywhere I went their song 'Instant Crush' was being played as well as some other tune about Getting Lucky... They are truly national treasures



17. Sprouts

No post about Brussels is complete without mentioning its most celebrated vegetable that makes an annual visit onto your plate come Christmas. I hate to say it again but I will, Brussel Sprouts are yet another food that definitely tastes best at source. Their soft texture and flavour is much better than any I've ever eaten on any Christmas day ever. Nothing else to say really.



18. A city under construction

The city of Brussels is essentially a massive building site. Just about everywhere you go there's a new building in the works, repairs to the underground or (most annoyingly) roadworks. The Boulevard Leopold II is particularly bad.





19. French Keyboards

At various points during my time in Brussels I found myself in front of a laptop having to use a French keyboard which certainly takes a while to get your english-speaking head around. The layout is completely different which leaves you disorientated from the start then there are also various keys that have multiple uses to allow for easy access to accented letters such as é. One time, I felt like I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown when it took me the best part of 5 minutes just to find the @ symbol. I'm not even joking, that actually happened.

20. Slow Soup eating

I am ridiculously slow at eating soup. At just about every meal in Belgium we had soup and I was always last to finish.

21. Cartoon World

Many famous comic book series originate in Belgium and it is something they seemed to be really passionate about. The likes of TinTin, Asterix, Spirou and Titeuf have gone on to gain international success outside of Belgium and is something that really puts the country on the map. In Brussels there are many shops and museums where Franco-Belgian comics are showcased such as the Musée Hergé and the Belgian Comic Strip Center.

22. FNAC

FNAC is by far my favourite shop in the whole of France/Belgium. It is essentially the closest thing Europe has to HMV except you can also buy things such as TVs, Cameras, other Electrical goods and even concert/sports tickets. But of course the main reason why I love FNAC so much is the music and film sections of the shop which cover an enormous range of generous, many more than HMV. I could spend hours in FNAC and not get bored.

23. Belgian Roads

This is something Renaud and Marie-France vociferously complained about on many an occasion. For a country in the western world, Belgium's roads are particularly poorly laid out and bumpy with many country roads being fully cobbled. Make sure you fasten your seatbelts!

24. Graffiti

It is a common feature in many cities but in Brussels the graffiti is particularly noticeable. Whether you believe it to be a form of visual pollution or a work of art, you are bound to see plenty of graffiti across the city whether you want to or not. Many pieces draw inspiration from Belgium's long-standing interest in comic books and I personally believe that the more artistic pieces really do give some life to otherwise dull grey buildings and surfaces.








25. Carrefour, Carrepoor

Carrefour is the leading supermarket in Belgium and having gone from shopping at Eroski in Mallorca I found it quite hard to adjust. In Spain food and drink in the shops is SO much cheaper than in Belgium leaving me to grieve over spending 6 euros on lunch when in Mallorca I would've only paid 3 euros. Despite the additional fact that ready-made sandwiches are also hard to obtain there, there is a foreign foods section in which there is a large shelf dedicated to various countries including the UK, US and Italy so if you're an expat then you have easy access to some home comforts.

26. Selfie Realisation

As vain as it sounds, one skill I discovered while in Brussels was my ability to take Selfies (pictures of myself). Being British and therefore naturally socially awkward and overly polite, I find that I would rather take a picture of myself rather than asking a stranger to do it for me despite missing out on the opportunity for a picture of better overall quality. Here's a short collection of my selfies.







27. Recycling

This is something that hasn't quite reached Belgium yet. It may appear quite lame to admit but I do actually enjoy doing recycling at home, sorting different pieces of rubbish into their separate coloured containers so you can imagine my horror when I found myself having to throw both food waste and paper into the same bin. Oh the inhumanity!!!
28. Bilingual Blunders

Belgium is a bilingual country in which French (mainly spoken in the South) and Dutch (mainly spoken in the North) are the national languages. This bilingual lifestyle can become confusing at times especially if like me neither of them are your mother tongue and it is quite easy to get tripped up by one or the other in certain situations. Look no further than my Ghent/Genk fiasco to see my point.

29. Dip Dip Dip

French people seem to have this strange compulsion that whenever they have a beverage or a bowl of something (eg. Soup) they feel the need to dip any food surrounding them into its liquidy substance. This can range from normal things such as bread in Soup/Hot Chocolate to more bizarre concoctions such as Biscuits in water.

30. The Capital of Europe

Brussels is often dubbed as the Capital of Europe and I can truly understand why. Obviously because it is the location of the EU Parliament, people from across the continent are naturally drawn to it to work for and represent their nation and its interests which immediately gives the city an international flavour but it is not just this. The nature of Brussels as a whole is very European. It is such a diverse and multi-cultural city that at times you may feel like you're walking through industrial eastern europe then a few minutes later in a clean, efficient Germanic/Dutch area then onto the high rise buildings, enterprises and commercialism reminiscent of London and Paris as well as the culturally enriched and leafy green areas akin to the Mediterranean countries. Brussels is a well-rounded city that truly captures the essence of what it is to be European.




So that's been my 30 Observations. Like with my Mallorca observations post, feel free to let me know if any of these points are rather misguided/incorrect and if you are Belgian/French and are offended by any of these points then to you I say: Je suis désolé! Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed it. In upcoming news, I am on my way to Nottingham in a few hours to visit my friend Josh for a few days which I shall tell you all about in my next blog post. ALSO... I will be revealing where I am heading next on my gap year so make sure you give it a read.

Until then, chow for now!

FP

#FraserOnTour

Friday, 7 March 2014

The London Monopoly Challenge

Having left Brussels and taken the Eurostar back to the UK, I arrived at my cousin Morgan's house in London on Thursday night. I had until 8:40PM the next day until my train home so I had to find something to do for a day in London. What should one do in London? Well, having lived there previously and been on many visits to London there isn't much I  haven't done as a tourist so this time I decided to do something a bit more adventurous. On Friday I took on the LONDON MONOPOLY CHALLENGE!!!

This should be pretty self-explanatory as a concept however for the avoidance of doubt, the idea is to visit all 26 unique destinations found on the London version of the popular board game Monopoly in whatever manner you wish. There are many variations to the challenge which depend largely on the people who partake in it. Every year the Scouts organise an event called 'The Monopoly Run' , there is a Monopoly Pub Crawl and for the true fans of Monopoly out there, you can even make up your own locations for the standard spaces found on all editions of the game (e.g. some people use Pentonville Prison in London as Jail, the Tower of London is Community Chest etc.).
My inspiration for this came from watching a video on the Youtube channel Daily Mix a few months back in which popular Youtubers Jim Chapman and Thatcher Joe attempt to do a time limited version of the challenge (and fail miserably I might add)- you can watch the video itself here

As mentioned above, there are many ways to take the challenge and it is completely up to you so to avoid missing my train home, I meticulously researched and planned my route months in advance to guarantee the best way of completing the task. Here is my route map below



This is my original route, to see the actual route I took then click the link underneath this picture
https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zJUMKbMtJ1dY.kKKWMjxYUs80


At approximately 11AM, I set off from Lambeth North Tube Station (The equivalent of the 'Go' space on the board as it is exactly halfway between the first property, Old Kent Road and the last-Mayfair). The journey in between Go and Old Kent Road is one of the longer stretches on the route so I decided to get a day's worth of bike hire access so I could hire a Boris bike! This is very cheap to do as the initial access fee is only £2 and all journeys under 30 minutes are free which is ideal for hop-on hop-off quick journeys. Be wary of the time you hire each cycle for though as the price can soon rocket up if you keep hold of one for too long. For more info, go to the Barclays Cycle Hire website by following the link here

Starting at Go! Lambeth North Tube Station




After reaching my first stop on the map, Old Kent Road, I then cycled over Tower Bridge and the River Thames below to visit Whitechapel Road, Vine Street, Fenchurch Street Station and Liverpool Street Station. The Brown section, 2 Train Stations and one Orange done in just over an hour, great start!







There was another long stretch between Liverpool Street and the Light Blue Properties in which despite having a map I managed to get a teeny bit lost around the Barbican and in the Finsbury area before eventually finding Pentonville Road, the Angel Islington, Euston Road and of course King's Cross Station. As some of you may recall, upon my first visit to King's Cross before departing for Brussels I got a picture at Platform 9 3/4 but to my shock horror afterwards I realised I was wearing a Gryffindor scarf instead of that of Hufflepuff, the house assigned to me on Pottermore. So I waited in line behind the endless queue of Asian tourists before rectifying that mistake and here's the evidence.

Liverpool Street Station




Visiting Platform 9 3/4 for a second time

Shortly after my trip to Hogwarts, I completed all the Train Stations by visiting Marylebone then made my way south to complete the Dark Blues of Park Lane and Mayfair (for those that don't know, Mayfair is actually an area of London rather than a street so when it comes to taking photographic evidence of your visit to the Property then you can choose any location in the area to record it. Personally I chose Grosvenor Square) as well as the Greens of Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street. By this time the famously poor British weather kicked in, opening up the floodgates as the rain came down. I didn't only have meteorological problems, by this time it was about half past 3 and with a train to catch in the evening I felt slightly pressed for time.




A hotel in Mayfair, seemed appropriate

Berkeley Square, Mayfair

Regent Street

 The rain worsened and worsened with every minute so my fairly pleasant jaunt around the streets of London was turned into a mad wet dash to complete the challenge taking in the remaining streets. Marlborough Street followed by the Yellows Piccadilly, Coventry Street and Leicester Square then onto Bow Street (completing the Oranges. I also lost my list of destinations around this point to :( wah) then to the Reds of Fleet Street, The Strand and Trafalgar Square and then finally the Pink properties of Pall Mall, Northumberland Avenue and last but not least Whitehall finishing outside Big Ben of all places. Just after 5:30, with the appearance of a drowned rat, I boarded the Tube back to my cousin's house exhausted, sopping wet but overall feeling satisfied.

Marlborough Street



Leicester Square




Trafalgar Square


Popping by to see Liz




Was it worth it? I believe so. Over the course of the day I saw so much more of London than I'd ever really seen in the past. London is one of those great world cities that could be described as 'a rich tapestry'. Each area be it, Lambeth, Westminster, Whitechapel, Soho or Mayfair has its own unique character about it and acts almost as a microcosm of the United Kingdom as a nation. I saw and experienced so much more than I had any other time as a tourist and really got to grips with what London is like as a place. It does alter your perception of the city for good or for worse but all in all it is something I would recommend to those of you out there who are tired of having an artificial tourist's view of London and who fancy a bit of a challenge.


Hopefully I've convinced you to take up the challenge. If so then I'll leave with you with two bits of advice 1. Give yourself plenty of time to do it, preferably a day 2. For a more pleasant experience, take on the challenge during the Spring/Summer months when you are less likely to get drenched like me!

FP

#FraserOnTour

PS. I did film a video as I went around and if the footage is any good I shall upload it to my youtube channel, stay tuned