Well, it has been a while but all is still well.

In the three weekends since my last post I've been to a premiership game, gone crazy at the Notting Hill Carnival and gone even crazier in Amsterdam. So things are drawing to a climax here in London. Its now only two weeks till I finish work and I'll set off traveling only a few days after that. Hana, Byron and I got back from a (long) weekend in Amsterdam last night and it has only made me more keen to get going. It will be sad to leave the house and everyone behind but I'm now so over my job, only the thought of having more money to travel with is keeping me going. Amsterdam was good fun. While everyone else was staying in a hotel, Hana and I stayed on the floor of her sister's room (She's spending this semester there studying). She's only been in Amsterdam for a week and doesn't yet have a mattress for guests, so we were on cushions on the lino floor. I slept solidly every night we were there........ Byron's brother Pete (who was there with us) has a mate who lived there so we had some local knowledge to help us in choosing venues at night and fun times were had.

The weekend before I was ill as a result (i've deduced) of the weekend before that. It was the August Bank Holiday - last weekend of summer and the last bank holiday of the year. On the Saturday nothing much was happening around the house so around 3pm I just wandered down to craven cottage, bought a ticket and watched Fulham v Everton. Not the best quality game, but the home side won and the crowd were jubilant. With English Football you pay for the atmosphere. £30 may seem a lot when you can watch the same game at the pub for free but the atmosphere (even at a game like Fulham v Everton, where the away section was only half full - the scousers can't afford the bus down) is electric. I want to try and get to Fulham v West Ham this saturday, but its the day we're being evicted so i think the plan is to spend to entire day cleaning. On the Sunday we had the Notting Hill Carnival - A massive street party through Notting Hill. Luckily we knew of a house party right on the route so we had good access to toilets and refreshments all day. The amount of people there was insane - the papers reckon 800,000. Massive trucks with nothing but speakers sitting on the trailers drive one after the other through the streets with thousands of people trailing behind dancing. The general mood was so positive and happy, everybody just had an awesome day. I think hana has photos on her online gallery and if she doesn't, byron definitely does. In contrast though everyone was completely ruined on the Monday and the extra day off was put to good use with some lounging around in the sun in a nearby park by the thames.

But yeah, we're evicted this weekend then only one more week working (probably out of a hostel) before Oktoberfest, then straight on to Finland, Russia, etc. Its a good time to go, because even if we were staying we'd have to find a new place anyway. I'm so ready to leave work (if I was here longer or didn't need the money I would've left 3 weeks ago) and just get out there and enjoy the rest of my trip. Everything's in place - visa's have been organised, tickets booked and injections injected - all I have left to do is pack up and leave...