ibsey wrote:dr-baker wrote:ibsey wrote:Hello, I live in Kingston - Upon - Thames in the UK
Ahh, the scene of my first degree course! A lovely area of which I am fond. Some beautiful walks along the Thames. I know people who enjoy waalking along the river from Kingston Bridge to Richmond, but I prefer the walk to Hampton Court Palace.
That is also my prefered choice. The views gets even better the closer you get to Guildford (as do the pubs
) since it winds through National Park woodland. Although you need a cycle to get that far in a day.
How was your road trip down to Monaco & Monza? I remember when I last spoke to you around April last year about it, you had a bit of a tight schedule to stick to?
Ah yes, last September. A brilliant trip. Dehydration in the car was a slight problem, as it was hot and we had long distances to travel, so we were not wanting to stop too often for 'comfort' breaks, so probably not drinking quite enough. First day was Calais to Nice, left 9 am, arrived close to midnight, having detoured to my 'other' uni town of Avignon (I studied French so spent a year in Avignon as part of my four-year Kingston degree). The second day was more relaxing, giving us a chance to drive through Monaco (kept trying to get to the GP track, but several routes towards the Casino and Portier seemed shut off by les Gendarmes, so couldn't do that in the end. Also drove at least half of the Col de Turini, up to the mountain top. Coming down the mountain, I drove at a pace that I was comfortable doing, when a local then caught up quickly. I let him past then was able to follow at his pace, because I could see what was possible (he was in a small French hatchback, not done up; I was in my turbo-diesel Beemer Mini Cooper). Relaxing time in San Marino then the south of Italy then Monza. Saw Liuzzi get his HRT into the midfield at the start of the race, and Mark Webber introduce his front wing to Massa's gearbox. Drove through Switzerland to a stay in Eastern France - absolutely fantastic scenery along Switzerland's autostrada/bahnen/routes; it'll be a long time until I forget that picturesque journey (plus driving through the St Gotthard tunnel!). So yes, lots and lots of driving, getting back just 36 hours before starting at yet another university - Brunel, West London. But highly enjoyable and I would like to repeat my Eurotrip, but maybe experience it differently next time by going with friends instead of family.
(Sorry for the length of the paragraph, it's getting late, I have just returned from a weekend away with the university's Christian Union, driving the minibus; so I'm tired and thinking of my 9 am lecture tomorrow...) Life as a mature student - great, isn't it!