Try 100 new things (or actions, places, foods, etc) between now and the 31st December 2007

I’m moving in with my boyfriend in a house we’re renting together. Yay!

Yesterday the tour de france went on its route from London to Canterbury. As part of the route it passed through the borough of Bexley, and my home town. It was a really great experience. Everyone was out lining the streets drinking and talking – it felt like a proper community. When the cyclists came past I was so close to them – it was a real rush!

We travelled in standard class, but still had more leg room than usual. The trains were clean and not over-air conditioned. We had table seats, which had plug sockets for charging laptops etc, though on the way back the carriage we were in did not have working outlets. Overall it made the 6hr journey more bearable than I expected.

This is obviously a huge city. We didn’t really see much of it since we were waiting for our train, but it has a lot of shops and galleries.

I liked this city. Although it was big and bustling it still retained a ‘town-like feeling’. It had a historic feel and a beautiful river running next to it.

This is a nice sized town in Scotland with a lot of small shops – worth a stop. There is also a working hydroelectricity dam which you can visit and walk over for free – when we went the views were very beautiful. There is also a salmon ladder next to the dam – but we didn’t see any salmon jumping.

This is a romantic castle/mansion that is open to the public during the summer (it is still lived in during the winter). It has a really interesting dungeon and the grounds are beautiful.

This is a brilliant trip and well worth it. It only takes 8 mins to get to the top – then you have access to a really interesting and interactive centre with information about the habitat and history of the Cairngorms. There is also a shop and a cafe as well as a outdoor viewing area that provides potentially panoramic views from the mountain. You cannot walk out of the centre though since they are trying to preserve the soil at the top of the mountain. It looks like it would be good for skiing in the winter. When we went it was cold and cloudy so we didn’t get a good view, but still enjoyed our visit.

It is only £3 to enter the centre and the volunteers were extremely friendly and helpful. Unfortunately their Ospreys haven’t managed to successfully have any chicks this year – due to a soap-opera-like saga of the female osprey cheating on the male osprey and the male then kicking the resultant eggs out of the nest. But you can still watch the adult ospreys through the binoculars and telescopes they provide for you.

This town is in the Cairngorm National Park. It is a nice size with several nice pubs and restaurants. We had a really tasty and different meal at the Australian Restaurant Roo’s Leap.