Monday 14 August 2017

August Life Update; Flash back to July part 2. Birmingham bear hunt and London trip




Hi readers,

In July, I went to Birmingham for a night and a day then on to London for two days and two nights. I had visited Birmingham before a few years back whilst on a canal boat holiday and stopped in what's known as the Birmingham basin. This time, I stayed in the city center and I had a really good time. Currently, they have this bear statue hunt on and there's like over 200 bear statues and some little bears to find. I had great fun doing this and it also helped me navigate about the town center. My favorite bear has to be the first one I found; Shakesbear.  



Around the church yard there were lots and I spent time taking photos and looking at the gravestones. It was a nice place to chill. I went inside the church too and saw the pretty stained glass windows.


My favorite bears here where Peony the panda and this love hearted one. There was also a jungle bear and a metal bear called Snowy.



 I then went over to the art gallery and museum which I'd picked to spend the afternoon in. On the way I found some more bears! This moon and star one is so cute.


Everyone loves the Spock bear.


My favorite in this section had to by Olly bear because he was so funny. Lots of people wanted their photo with him.


It was also at this point I helped someone to find a bear. I had a printed out map but it made it easier as I had already seen and taken a photo of the bear she wanted to see. Later, I picked up a real map from the train station and discovered the locations of all the bears!

I also liked this bear with a northern lights theme. Then I went on to the art gallery and museum. They had a lot of the little bears there and I too far too many photos to post up here. I looked round and did enjoy it, but with the weather being so nice and the wanting to find other bears, I left early.


The bear who cares a lot was the first bear on my list but I didn't find her until we had got back to the train station. She was the last bear I found because we then had to leave for London. I did so want to stay and look for other bears though!


I had a good wander around Birmingham city center and I really enjoyed it. There was lots of shops and people, who were all interesting to watch. I found a cool Japan shop and brought some presents for myself and my boyfriend. I found this like hidden cathedral and this cool waterfall, which the water falls over a poem about the city and it's really interesting to watch. I'll miss Birmingham and hopefully I can go back someday. 



London

Next came two nights and two days in London. Sadly, I wasn't feeling well and choice the first day just to stay close to the hotel which was in Blackfriars, so I just had a wander around there. I walked alongside the Thames and I saw the Eye. I've been on it a few years ago and I saw some of the bridges and some boats. It was a nice walk under lots of trees. 



Then, just wondering about, I found St. Bride's church. I think I'd past it last time I was in London but this time I decided to check it out. It's really small and pretty. The old woman at the desk was so nice and happy too. I went down to see the crypt which had some buried headstones inside of it. No one actually knew about the crypt and foundations until the a second world war bomb hit the church. Then they found that it dated back a long time.


This is like a underground chapel that's just off the main crypt. It was really quiet and cool down here. I took a few moments to chill out.


From there I went to St. Paul's and had a walk around the gardens which I'd missed last time. I also saw and went on the Millennium bridge which felt a bit weird crossing. I only went like half way because I had no reason to cross to the other side.  




View of St. Paul's from Millennium Bridge. 

The next day, I was feeling worse, but I couldn't stay in the the hotel as we'd checked out. I went to see The Temple church which wasn't far away. Though I did get lost and had to ask a doorman where it was. There are lots of doorman in London and they may seem scary but they are actually nice and helpful.


You have to pay to get into The Temple church, but its' worth it. Inside is really nice and bright, it's quiet expect from when a load of tourists come in! They had lots of history information up but I was distracted by the knight statues. It actually took me a good few minutes to figure out this was the Knight's Templar church! You can go to the first floor and look down which gives a nice view of the structure of the tower.


There's lots of knights and other important people statues. There are like from the 1300 and have worn a bit. I found that there wasn't much information about them and some of the statues haven't been identified! There are some memory stones too and it was interesting to read some of them.


The Templar's have a thing about Pegasus, I saw a lot whilst I was there in all the designs of the floor and hangings. There was also one in a stained glass window. I should have asked what it meant, but I forgot.  


I also liked all these little faces which came out of the sides of the tower. These two were like the cheekiest as most were sensible. They made me laugh though.  





I also liked all the old Bibles, prayer and hymn books there were in the pews. I took some cool photos of them. This one is my favorite though. 


Temple Church is really nice and if you want to escape the busy flow of London It's a good place to just sit and chill. Though I'd prefer St. Bride's as it's less busy with tourists.


You can't get into the gardens, even though I wanted to. I had to make do with the courtyard. It was nice with this water fountain, though it was really loud. I read my book for a bit and then had to go back to the place my mum was at because I still wasn't feeling great.

I wished I'd been better and bale to travel around London more. There's so much more I want to see there. Maybe next year when I hopefully go for my birthday.

That's all for now anyway. I'm off to Sweden on Thursday, so my next post will be all about that. In the meantime please check out my other blog; https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/ I write a new shor story everyday on there.

Thanks for reading and see you soon!


Monday 7 August 2017

August Life Update: Flash back to July Part 1, Trentham Monkey Forest




Hi readers,

So, because I've been so busy and not writing this blog, I wanted to share with you my visit to Monkey Forest for my birthday. It was one of my boyfriend's colleagues who suggested we go and since it was close enough, I decided it would be a great thing to do as a day trip out for my birthday. Also, it seemed a great way to check out my new camera!

I love animals and could spend lots of time watching them. The best part about Monkey Forest is that the monkeys roam free and you are allowed to get close to them. Of course, you can't touch them and the keepers do scare them away if they get too close, but it's nice to be without bars and cages.

We went at a good time as there were baby monkeys which are so cute!


There are two groups of monkeys that live in the forest. They are the same species but come from different countries which is on the reasons the keepers think they don't mix. Every hour is feeding time which is great because you get to see the monkeys real close and learn more of their behavior. The two groups are fed at different hours, so if you missed the first one you can join in the second one. The talks the keepers give are the same, but they also allow time for questions.  

There's also a lot of birds and squirrels due to all the food about but the monkeys don't seem to made them. Feeding time is also really good for snapping photos because all the monkeys are interacting with each other or else they are sitting still eating.  


We walked around twice as it takes less then hour to do the walk and see a feeding. Though I guess it also depends how much time you spend looking at the monkeys. The walk itself is really nice as it's a quiet woodland area. Though there is a steep slope to go down. We had good weather too, so it was nice to go through again. This time we sat longer watching the monkeys eat and I had one that got real close behind me and made me a bit nervous. A keeper shooed it away though.



Monkey Forest is great for an afternoon or day out. They have a play area for kids, a cafe and shop, plus you can walk through the monkey area as many times as you want. Kids would really enjoy this and any adults who love monkeys would do too. They also have like special encounter sessions with the monkeys, which are more expensive but its just you and the keepers. You get to help feed the monkeys breakfast and have photos taken with them.    


Overall, I had a great afternoon out and loved spending it with my boyfriend and family. It was something a bit different and more special to do on my birthday. I'd love to go again sometime! 



http://monkey-forest.com/

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