Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, England

Friday night with Abigail

I left Dublin and flew to London Luton on the 8th of January, from Luton I got the train for £8 to Bedford where Abigail met me at the station, the last time I'd seen Abigail and her family was just before Turkey, so 31st of August 2012. I had a really good time catching up and eating the kind of home-cooked meals that I was used to before all this travelling.

On Saturday, Abigail and I drove to my family friends Tony and Hedvika's, where I met my dad and we all went out for an Italian dinner. The next day, after a huge cooked breakfast, dad and I got the train to Nana's, my English Grandmother who has just moved home after more than 40 years in the same house. We had "King Burger" as she likes to call it and dad practically bought me my new ruck sack for Australia etc. and on the 15th of January 2013 dad and I made our way to London to go to St. James Palace, which apparently is an invitation only building (insert brag here) so that was cool.

Steven and I with out Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards

 After the ceremony, which was actually better than I thought it would be; I got to catch up with some people that I hadn't seen since leaving school, so that was fun. Dad and I went to T.G.I.Fridays.

"In here, it's always Lucy" - Martin Cunnington Photography

The best chicken in the world!

Tourist Photo 101

Then I almost missed the bus to Norwich, I literally got on as they were closing the doors. 3 and a half hour Journey and I met Becky and 2 of her Uni friends at the bus stop. It had snowed heavily so the buses and taxis in Norwich were not driving, so we ended up walking from town to the Uni, dragging my suitcase, for about an hour. Hard work.

Again, I hadn't seen Becky since August, so it was absolutely great to catch up with her again. I also got to see Emma, so that was just the cherry on the cake... I think that's how you say that expression...

First night was an Aliens vs Pirates party so naturally I painted myself green and sprayed blue stripes into my hair. Absolutely class night in the end but getting the green off the next day was tough!

Becky and me

Jess the Pirate, Jess the Alien, me and Will

Emma and me; girlie night in after the party the day before

After my visit to UEA, I went back to Abigail's, looked through my Uni boxes and decided what would stay and what would go with me. The cats ended up loving my boxes, so my work was pretty slow, but it was snowing in Bedford too so there was nothing better to do:

Arthur and Oscar

Flew back to Amsterdam on the 20th. It's the 25th now and the Canal outside my window has frozen solid. The locals haven't yet gone onto the ice, so I'm going to leave it for a bit longer too. I tried to apply for my Student Finance and my University Accommodation but turns out I can't do that until like June... Great. So instead I've planned my Carnival Costumes (just need to get a white blonde wig and I'm done) and planned my trip to Australia a bit more. If you're thinking of ever going, check out http://www.backpackerpack.com/
- you get a map of Australia, a CD full of advice and instructions concerning Visa's and Tax returns if you plan on working, you get a check list of things to do before you go and a packing list. I think it's well worth it, especially as it's only 29.90 euros. (It was originally a German thing but now they have an English version and a French one, I think.)

Lots of Love
Lucy xxo