March Malaise

Oh God, there's still so much to see and do. My mind can barely comprehend how much amazing shit is crammed into this tiny corner of the universe.

My contract with the BBC is up in about a month. I then have a bit over a week to see the last of London and make a few day trips - Windsor, Warwick, Oxford, Bath. Then, on the 11th of April, I'll be heading to Cardiff for a few days. I'll be seeing Cerys Matthews, so that's another artist to check off my List Of Dream Gigs In Europe. Then I'm hightailing it to Manchester and Sheffield to see Angelspit, Glasgow to see Evelyn Evelyn and then Edinburgh for a week with my friend Anna. Then what? I was planning to take it slowly for a couple of months, and leisurely revisit the places I loved on my initial trip. But as I said, there's still so much to see and do.

Sorry for the list, but this is for my own reference more than anything as I try to plan my trip.

REVISIT:

- Holland (including a proper stay in Amsterdam this time)
- Germany (possibly Berlin again, definitely Hanover to visit my friend Freya who I missed last time, and maybe a few other cities like Dresden and Munich)
- Denmark (oh, don't act so surprised - I'll spend some time in Copenhagen and Aarhus, and visit some smaller cities like Ribe and Odense)
- Austria (I just saw Salzburg, but would love to see Vienna)

NEW PLACES:

- Belgium (which will be easy, I have fingernails bigger than this country, and I have some friends living there now)
- Luxembourg (I hear it's great, and it's just next door to Belgium)
- France (my friend Lauren is living in Paris at the moment, and I'll probably meet up here with my brother when he gets to Europe mid-May)
- Hungary (I hear Budapest is unreal)
- Italy (my brother and his best friend will be heading here, I'll probably tag along)

Okay, that list isn't as dizzying as I thought. I'd love to see Iceland, but getting there is prohibitively expensive. I'd love to revisit Sweden, but I saw Stockholm quite thoroughly, so it's a low priority. Ditto for Ireland.

The last month in London has been nice and lazy. My friend Alice has just moved over here, which has been great. But I also hate her a bit, because her blog is much funnier and more interesting than mine. You should all read it. A few other friends have just visited or are about to visit, so February and March have and will be lovely and social but unremarkable months. Very much looking forward to getting on the road again, and even more looking forward to getting home in June or July.