London
04 July 2001
From April 2001, Robert was working on a project for KPMG Consulting in London. Being separated from him was painful, but it did force me to articulate how I felt about him more clearly and made me sure that I don't want to be separated from him for long periods. After eight weeks of daily phone calls, I took advantage of free accommodation and visited him for three weeks.
This picture, taken from the top of the dome of St Paul's, shows the Thames and the London Eye (the big ferris wheel in the background). Robert's apartment faced the tree which the red arrow is pointing to. The apartment was lovely, dispelling my belief that the English don't know how to do plumbing properly. It was about 100 m Southwest of St Paul's which was great for access to transport but not so good for sleeping in on a Sunday as the bells were quite loud.
We used the Underground to get around London. Here Robert is on the escalator at Holborn station. He was working during the week, but we made the most of the evenings and weekends. It was the middle of Summer so it was light until very late. I got to meet most of Robert's new friends in London, a lot of them while we were training at Soho Gym.
12 June 2001: I met up with Robert for lunch. He was working but had time to walk to Finsbury Circus to eat. Here we are sitting on the grass together with hundreds of other office workers. I spent my spare time during the day seeing some of the tourist sights of London which I had missed last time I visited in 1995.
23-25 June 2001: Robert had to be outside the UK when his work permit application was lodged so we went to Paris for the weekend. We booked through lastminute.com and took Eurostar from Waterloo Station. Here we are on the train on the way home. The train took three hours each way, including 20 minutes in the Channel Tunnel and was definitely easier and probably faster than flying. Last time I went to Paris I flew from Manchester, and arriving at Gare du Nord and walking to the hotel sure beats Charles de Gaul followed by RER and Metro train rides.
23 June 2001: It just happened to be Gay Pride weekend in Paris and the parade was on just after we arrived. We went to the parade but the rest of the time we did the basic tourist things. Saturday evening we sat in the Jardins Tuileries. There were quite a few places we wanted to see but did not get to, such as Versailles and the Musée d'Orsay, so there will be things to do next time we go there.
24 June 2001: Robert took this picture while we were walking along the right bank to the Eiffel Tower. We carried the video camera this day and this still is taken from the video. I was a little worried that there were very few floppy hats being worn in Paris; I might as well have been wearing a sign saying "I am a tourist". Actually the very fractured schoolboy French which came out every time I opened my mouth was probably a giveaway too.
1 July 2001: The weekend after Gay Pride in Paris was "Mardi Gras" in London. This wasn't quite like the "real" one in Sydney, but the fair in Finsbury Park was a lot of fun. We arrived about 5pm and stayed until the end at 10pm, spending most of the time around the Trade tent. This picture was taken there.
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This picture, taken from the top of the dome of St Paul's, shows the Thames and the London Eye (the big ferris wheel in the background). Robert's apartment faced the tree which the red arrow is pointing to. The apartment was lovely, dispelling my belief that the English don't know how to do plumbing properly. It was about 100 m Southwest of St Paul's which was great for access to transport but not so good for sleeping in on a Sunday as the bells were quite loud.
We used the Underground to get around London. Here Robert is on the escalator at Holborn station. He was working during the week, but we made the most of the evenings and weekends. It was the middle of Summer so it was light until very late. I got to meet most of Robert's new friends in London, a lot of them while we were training at Soho Gym.
12 June 2001: I met up with Robert for lunch. He was working but had time to walk to Finsbury Circus to eat. Here we are sitting on the grass together with hundreds of other office workers. I spent my spare time during the day seeing some of the tourist sights of London which I had missed last time I visited in 1995.
23-25 June 2001: Robert had to be outside the UK when his work permit application was lodged so we went to Paris for the weekend. We booked through lastminute.com and took Eurostar from Waterloo Station. Here we are on the train on the way home. The train took three hours each way, including 20 minutes in the Channel Tunnel and was definitely easier and probably faster than flying. Last time I went to Paris I flew from Manchester, and arriving at Gare du Nord and walking to the hotel sure beats Charles de Gaul followed by RER and Metro train rides.
23 June 2001: It just happened to be Gay Pride weekend in Paris and the parade was on just after we arrived. We went to the parade but the rest of the time we did the basic tourist things. Saturday evening we sat in the Jardins Tuileries. There were quite a few places we wanted to see but did not get to, such as Versailles and the Musée d'Orsay, so there will be things to do next time we go there.
24 June 2001: Robert took this picture while we were walking along the right bank to the Eiffel Tower. We carried the video camera this day and this still is taken from the video. I was a little worried that there were very few floppy hats being worn in Paris; I might as well have been wearing a sign saying "I am a tourist". Actually the very fractured schoolboy French which came out every time I opened my mouth was probably a giveaway too.
1 July 2001: The weekend after Gay Pride in Paris was "Mardi Gras" in London. This wasn't quite like the "real" one in Sydney, but the fair in Finsbury Park was a lot of fun. We arrived about 5pm and stayed until the end at 10pm, spending most of the time around the Trade tent. This picture was taken there.
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