November - On the Market

As November arrived, the temperatures were definitely getting colder so it gets more appealing to stay inside in the warm and not journey out to the tourist sites. So live has started settling in to a bit more normality, weekends at the shops, evenings at home, battling colds, finding a new flat and that sort of thing. So we don't have too much to report for November. We had a couple of nights out to celebrate Tree's birthday. One night having a few drinks in Camden and then another having a metre of Pizza in Fulham. It was HUGE but we managed to polish it off.

It was also time to start getting in to the Christmas spirit. We visited the Cologne market on South Bank with Tom and Gini and it didn't just rain, it POURED. Luckily the rain moved aside long enough for us to wander around the stall, sample some proper Gluhwein and ingest some tasty Bratwurst. The market itself was pretty small with not a lot of variety, but it has only been going for a couple of years so hasn't had much of a chance to grow. We did manage to pick up an idiot stick puzzle...That's the one where you have to hook the rubber bands inside the block of wood so that it snaps back. The McMillans will know what it is...

We also made our way to the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. It is really big and impressive. It has a big market selling lots of Mulled Wine and Bratwurst along with other winter delicacies. It also has a load of rides which we didn't partake in but there were plenty of other people enjoying themselves. We did manage to find a place selling an english Christmas favourite, a Snowball. That's Advocat and lemonade with a cherry on top. Tasty but a bit chilly when you are sitting outside.

And that was about it for November. That much closer to Christmas...

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October - Museums, a German and a Shower

October has arrived and the weather is certainly getting colder but there is still plenty to do in London. We managed to catch up with Robin and Mary again and head out to Greenwich. This time we went to visit the Maritime Museum. Robin was very excited about seeing an exhibit about the North West Passage and we are always keen to tag along to things. The North West passage is a sea route around the frozen north above Canada. Pretty rugged looking stuff especially with all the 1800s exploring gear. We also managed to check out some man made whirpools, hundreds of minature models of ships and a man dressed up as Neptune....After that we journeyed next door to the Queen's House which is a house originally built in the 1600s for Queen Anne of Denmark. It has since served all sorts of purposes. It is now an art gallery with all sorts of maritime themed art, including some distinctive pictures of what could only be New Zealand.

We also managed to catch up with Tom and Gini again at Portobello Market. This time it was to get some Christmas shopping done. Luckily Marcus got himself a good winter coat that morning as winter sure as on its way. The beer at the pub at the end of the day was well earned.

Now that the weather was getting colder it was time to start visiting some museums again. This time we decided to go to the Natural History Museum in Kensington. The Natural History Museum is the home of Dinosaur skeletons and we certainly saw plenty of those. Even though we were basically shuffling along with the crowd all looking at the same thing it was still pretty cool. The rest of the museum was not quite as exciting. There was a moa skeleton which was pretty cool to see, but the balance of the museum was mostly stuffed animals and "interactive" exhibits which basically involved pressin a button so that a light lights up. We didn't go to the Darwin Centre, so there is a good reason to go back but I don't think we need to see the rest of it again. The highlight was actually the building itself. It is a huge old Victorian Building but what is really cool is that throughout there are animals carved into the building itself. From monkeys to vultures to snakes to dolphins. They were all there.

We also journeyed out to another show. This time it wasn't a classic, rather a more modern show called Avenue Q. It is basically Sesame Street for adults. Definitely not one for kids. Very funny but quite odd watchin puppets dancing around on stage.

We had a couple of birthdays to celebrate too. Amy Cole had drinks at a tasty cocktail bar (which even Marcus managed to make after spending another week working in the outskirts of London). The next week we had Katie's birthday at an old electric goods store converted to a cool bar in East London. This time we were joined by Christian who was in London for the weekend for his friend's 30th birthday. It was our first chance to host some while they passed through London. We spent some time with him again on Friday with a trip to Spitalfields market for some more shopping and some Fish and Chips, a traditional English meal, at the request of Christian. Not as good as NZ fish and chips but not much is eh? Was really good for Marcus to catch up with him again and for Jess to meet him. Marcus' German is pretty rusty though. Need to brush up before travelling there.

The next day was a family affair, with a trip out to Leigh on Sea for Karla's Baby Shower. Karla and James were there, Greg and (an also pregnant) Nicole and Emily were there. And also Chris and Debbie had made the trip over to be there for the births of their grandchildren. Marcus thought he was going to the pub, but turns out males were welcome at this baby shower so he joined in too. There were baby dummies worn, baby food eaten and plenty of New Zealand lollies (courtesy of Chris and Debbie). That was the only time we managed to see Chris and Debbie but luckily they were around for the births of both Karla and Nicole's baby boys a few weeks later.

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Wales

Our next trip out of town was a little closer to home. Robin had gotten us tickets to see the All Blacks vs Wales so we were off to Cardiff with Robin and Mary. This time we decided to try a different way of getting out of town and got a coach bus from London to Cardiff. The up side was that it was alot cheaper than the train. The downside was that it wasn't as comfy as a train and it took a lot longer to get there but ultimately we arrived in Cardiff. Fortunately we had managed to find a hotel that was both close to the bus stop and close to the Millenium Stadium for the rugby. By the time we arrived it was pretty late on Friday night so we decided the best course of action was get a good nights sleep.

The next morning we were up bright and (not too) early to explore Cardiff. Cardiff central is split into two parts, the old town centre where we were staying and then the new waterfront which is a wee ways away. We decided to journey down that way for brunch. There are some pretty cool sculptures and architecture down there as well, and a whole lot of chain restaurants. We decided to go with a non-chain, being the Norweigen Church Arts Centre Cafe. It is housed in an old Church from the 1800s built for Norweigen Sailors. We indluged in a Welsh delicacy, Rarebit, which is a cheesy sauce over toast. We made our way (in between rain showers) back to the old town where we visited Cardiff Castle which the city is built around. It dates back to Roman times but has been knocked down and rebuilt a number of times since then. It was pretty chilly but nice to have a look around. We made our way under some of the pretty covered Victorian markets and back to the hotel for a shower and a change before we were off to the Milleium Stadium for the rugby. It is certainly an amazing stadium. Housing 75,000 the All Black supporters didn't stand a chance of drowning out the Welsh cheering and singing. Luckily the roof was on (flash eh?) and that helped keep it a bit warmer because it was freezing outside. The All Blacks had us worried in the first half of the game with a 6 all scoreline but luckily they must have had a talking to at halftime cause they pulled away and managed to win the game 19 to 12. Marcus had lost his voice from a cold but luckily Jess was doing enough cheering and shouting for both of them. We made our way back down to the waterfront for a tasty dinner and then walked back through the cold and wet off to bed to dry out.

The next morning we went for a walk through Cardiff park after finding a questionable eating establishment to cook us breakfast (it was the ONLY place open) and then jumped in the car for Robin to drive us to Pembrokeshire. It was a long day driving along the south coast of Wales but we finally arrived at our cute little cottage in the Pembrokeshire countryside, much of it not too different than New Zealand to look at (without the stone cottages). The next day was chilly but sunny and we piled into the car for some sightseeing. We took in a local wool mill, which had been visited by Prince Charles, and where Marcus found himself a new hat. After that we ventured on to the beautiful little town of St Davids, far on the West Coast of Wales, home of St Davids Cathedral. It was pretty big and impressive and has been the site of a church since the 6th century. We then went for a guided walk around the town (which mostly ended up being through the paddocks) and then piled back in the car again and went south to the town of Pembroke. We didn't really know what to expect but it ended up being the home to the best castle we have seen so far, Pembroke Castle. We arrived pretty late so we only had about 45 minutes to run around the castle, which was just enough time to run up the turrents, around the walls, down into the dungeons and into the cave underneath the castle. This was a proper castle and great fun considering there was barely anyone else visiting at the time. After all that running we were pretty tired so made our way back to our cottage for dinner and a sleep. The next day we spent driving all the way back to London. It sure was a long way but we made in one piece and that's "What's Occuring"...

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Paris

Before we knew it we were off to Europe again. This time it was for long a weekend away in Paris. We got the Eurostar from Kings Cross Station at a reasonable hour. So much better than having to get out to one of the airports and flying. We then zoomed our way through south east England, under the British Channell and by 11am we were in Paris. The Paris Metro is a bit more basic than the London Underground but we managed to make our way safely to our hotel, the Hotel Design on Port d'Orleans. We were struck by the bright pink paintwork and the exercise balls for seats in the lobby. Luckily when we made it to our room things were a bit more subdued. We had heard hotel rooms in Paris were tiny, but ours was great with a good sized room and bathroom.

We got ourselves some lunch. Didn't really know what we were buying but the food and wine seemed to turn out well. We reckon the waiter could understand English, he just chose not to. Then it was off for a walk around the local park. It was nice and quiet with a bit of a chill in the air but very relaxing. By now we were feeling settled so it was time to start the tourist activities. Back on the metro again and off to the Ile de la Cite to see Notre Dame Cathedral. The Cathedral is huge and with its Gothic Architecture was very imposing. There was some sort of service going on but we could still look around. The highlight is definitely the huge stained glass windows. We thought about climbing the tower to visit the hunchback, but the line was too long so instead we went for a big long walk along the banks of the Seine River, past the Louvre, through the Jardin des Tuileries, past the Concorde and up the Champs-Elysees until we got to the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed the stairs to the top where we checked out the crazy driving on the roundabout and the great views around Paris. We climbed back down the spiral staircase and continued walking until we got to the Trocadero and walked through the Palais de Chaillot where we got a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower. We picked up some very tasty crepes from a street vendor for dinner and slowly made our way down and across the Seine, under the Eiffel Tower and into the Champ de Mars. After all that walking we stopped for a sit on the grass in the Champ de Mars and we were right on time for it to get dark and for the Eiffel Tower to light up. It was beautiful and relaxing watching the lights flash all over the tower. It had been a long day by this stage so we made our way back to the metro and back to our hotel, via a local supermarket where we could pick some tasty (and cheap) red wine to mark the end of a great day.

The next morning we had a leisurely start. Downed some croissants and salami from the supermarket and jumped on the tram and train to get to the Eiffel tower. Might as well see something rather than being underground on the Metro. We arrived at the Eiffel tower before the the lines got too long. Bought our tickets and began the climb up the stairs. We could have taken the lift but figured if we walked it we would appreciate it better. It is certainly an amazing piece of engineering and it was cool the way you slowly work your way up it seeing gradually more and more. Because it is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top it also starts out that you have quite a bit of room as you climb up but the higher you get the less room there is and by the time you reach the top you are crammed in with hundreds of other holidaymakers all doing a "must do". However once we finally got ourselves to the top the view was fantastic. Pretty chilly but a great experience. Once we had had our fill we made our way down and then walked through the streets across to the Jardin des Tuileries. We picked up another crepe for lunch and slowly made our way back to the Louvre. We certainly didn't experience the long lines which it is apparently infamous for and in fact we were in there very quickly. The Louvre turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. There is SO much to see that you can't spend a lot of time taking in each exhibit. That suited us just fine. We of course did manage to get a good look at the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa as well as a lot of other quite amazing pieces of history and art. Time was getting on and there was still much to see. We made our way over Le Invalides, the war hospital, where we were planning on seeing Napolean's tomb. Unfortunately it was getting too late in the day and by the time we had bought our tickets we wouldn't really have enough time to get around the place so we had to settle for seeing it from the outside. With some extra time we decided to go and check out the catacombs. Undergound passages made from and filled with bones and skeletons...creepy! Again we were thwarted however as the catacombs were closed for repairs due to vandalism. Ah well, at least we have some stuff to see if we come back to Paris. We got back to the hotel, changed our clothes and then out we went again for dinner. We found a nice little restaurant across from Notre Dame where we tucked in to the likes of snails and foie gras. After a tasty meal we quickly journeyed off to the red light district and checked out the infamous Moulin Rouge, but only from the outside...the 200 Euro entrance fee was a bit steep to see ladies dancing around in feathers...

The next day we jumped on the train and travelled out of the centre of town to the suburb of Versailles, home of Versailles Palace, which is the French what Hampton Court is to the English. After much queueing up to buy tickets, and then more queuing up to get in we made our way around the palace. It was very much like Hampton Court but on an even grander scale. We had an audio tour which tended to prattle on a bit but gave us the key things that we needed to know. It was certainly opulence like nothing you could ever expect to see in New Zealand. The palace was amazing but the gardens were something else. With un baguette each in hand we wandered through the wonderfully manicured gardens which just stretched for miles. We timed it a bit wrong as none of the fountains were going, but even not working they were all works of art in their own right. After much walking we were well tired so picked up some dainty french macaroons and jumped on the train back to Paris, picked up our bags and then let the Eurostar take us back to the middle of Londontown.

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September - 30 Who? and the Zoo

After our big trip to Croatia we decided to take it easy for the rest of the month. However there were still a couple of highlights. The first was Tom's 30th birthday. There have been a few back in NZ but this is the first one we have been around to celebrate in London. It was a mexican feast with Tortillas and Margaritas in Shoreditch, an area of London we hadn't visited before. And as a special bonus Josh and Kate dropped in for their last night in Europe before winging their way back to NZ. After dinner we went out for a few drinks at some interesting bars in the area before wishing Josh and Kate their final farewells and heading off home late in the night.

The other big highlight for September was our trip to the London Zoo. We decided that before the weather got really cold we had best get along and see all the animals. It was certainly bigger than Wellington and had a number of very cool enclosures full of monkeys, where you were right next to them. There were also other things you couldn't see in NZ like snakes, Komodo Dragons, glow in the dark scorpions, Giant Galapogos Tortoise and monkeys with Moustaches. Definitely not the highlight of our trip but still glad we went to see some of the cool wildlife.

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Croatia

It was finally here. The trip that had been planned before we even arrived in the UK. We were so busy at the time that we never really quite knew what was happening but we knew we were off to Croatia to sail. So we rose early in the morning (or more correctly the middle of the night...3:30am and cold) and made our way to Gatwick Airport. Public transport in London really is good. We were able to jump on a bus from just near our house and then jump on the train which took as straight to the airport. We met up with Tom and Gini at the airport and before long we were off on our first Easyjet flight. We didn't see much as it was lights out for everyone the second we sat down in our seats but we managed to wake up just as we were coming in to Split. From out of the window the sea looked like glass and it was flecked with islands everywhere, islands that we would hopefully be visiting. After a very casual trip through customs we were out into the warm sun and our first trip to Eastern Europe. After a taxi ride that cost twice what we expected (although still not too expensive) with a driver who smoked like a chimney and was on the phone the rest of the time. Our hostel was somewhere near a fish market apparently and by the time we found the market an old lady had invited us to stay at her house and we had been invited to be special guests at a restaurant that night. They clearly like tourists. We found our hostel only to discover that it was just rooms. There was no reception...After phoning the number a lady came and saw us and we discovered we weren't even all staying in the same building. Seems like hostel is a loose term. By the time we did get to our room we were pretty sure we were staying in the spare room in someone's house. Never saw them though....It was then off to explore Split. It didn't take all that long. Split is only a small place with quaint little alleyways and old buildings all built around the Diocletian Palace. We explored the palace foundations, which was a market, climbed up the Bell tower, where health and safety was a loose term and ventured up to see the statue of Gregorius of Nin. It was pretty impressive, looking more like Gandalf the Grey in battle than a Catholic Priest, but apparently his claim to fame was convincing them to do mass in Croatian rather than just Roman. Rubbing his big toe brings good luck so we wished for smooth travelling weather. We also made a short trip to the ancient Roman temple of Jupiter and that was basically Split complete...By this stage it was pretty darn warm so we ventured down to the waterfront to have a few drinks...And there we stayed sitting in the comfy seats in the shade getting our beers delivered to us and relaxing the afternoon away. Out of the blue Ben and Tanya appeared. They checked their bags and then joined us for a few more drinks. As it was getting dark we decided we definitely needed to get ourselves some dinner. Tom and Gini had heard of a place around the point that served great food, so off we went. It ended up being quite a trek and we never actually found the restaurant but the place we found had a great view out over the Adriatic. We had to find an alternative way back as the beach we had crossed on the way there had turned into a rave and there were people dancing the night away in the sea. Those nutty Croatians. We ended up back at the waterfront, found a place to sit and proceeded to order more beers. In due course Kate and Josh arrived and our sailing party was nearly complete. We eventually made it back to our beds for a well deserved sleep.

The next day we awoke to rain pouring from the sky. Not a good sign when we were supposed to be sailing...but by the time we got to breakfast it had all but cleared. After breakfast we showed the newcomers around the sights of Split and then we decided to go for a walk around the harbour to the marina to find our boat. Kate never managed to speak to the company as they were busy dealing with other people but at least we knew where to find them later on. We ventured back to the waterfront and decided to find a spot for a few drinks and some lunch. They saw us coming and laid out a huge table with calamari, bread and salami. This was just in time for the arrival of Andy and Nicky and our group was complete. We finished our lunch and proceeded to pick up our luggage we cleverly used the water taxi to transport across the harbour and went to check in for our boat and meet our skipper. Jericho seemed like a good guy but unfortunately the company had not finished getting our boat ready so it was a few hours before we could actually go and see it. By this time it was getting dark and Jericho said the weather was a bit rough and recommended we stay the night in port. He also said that the plan the company gave us of sailing to Dubrovnik and back was mad (Mine Got!) and that although it could be done we would be sailing 8 hours a day which would not be fun. We weren't happy but decided to go along with Captain's orders. We managed to get a short trip when the boat was moved from one berth to the next. We had a few drinks and then turned in to our various cabins aboard.

The next day we were off. No stopping us this time, into the deep blue. At this point we discovered that the choice to stay in port last night was probably a good one. The water was calm but as we journeyed out people's stomach's were not. Everyone was looking pretty green around the gills for the first part of our trip with a few unhappy sailors not managing to keep their breakfast down. After a couple of hours we stopped in a sheltered cove and everyone jumped into the water for a swim. The water was pretty cold but salty and buoyant. We then continued our way past island's and ships aplenty to reach our first port of call, Starigrad on Hvar island. Starigrad was a quaint little town at the end of a long harbour. We went for a walk around (some hired scooters to zoom but we were happy being leisurely) picked up some groceries and made our way back to the boat before heading out to dinner at one of the local restaurants which Jericho had organised for us. They brought out the fresh fish which had been caught that day and we chose which ones we wanted cooked up. They then proceeded to bring it out cooked and whole to the table and use their expertise to serve it up. It was all a good show before back to the boat for another night rocking to sleep.

The next morning it was back on the boat again and around to the other side of the island. Only a few hours and plenty of traffic along the way and we we came around the corner and were very impressed by our next destination, Hvar town. This time we were buoyed in the middle of the harbour instead of up against the pier so the only way to shore was by dinghy (or swimming, but nobody was game enough for that...). We journeyed over to shore and then up through the steep streets of the town and up the hill to the fortress overlooking the harbour. The fortress itself wasn't particularly exciting but the view was just fantastic. We could see for miles in all directions. Just beautiful and luckily there was water up there too because it was HOT. So hot that when we came back down again we jumped into the water for a bit of shore swimming. Bit rocky but at least you could touch the bottom...That night we went out for nice basic local cuisine. Seafood again and some tasty Croatian lamb. We went off for a drink and some made their way back to the boat, but some of us decided to join all the sail Croatia travellers for a bit of nightclub action. After GIGANTIC cocktails there was a bit of a boogie and then back on the dinghy to the boat. A few doughnuts along the way had us worried we weren't going to make it but we made it all in one piece, if somewhat damper. Hvar was a definite highlight of the trip.

The following day we were off to the town of Viz (pronounced wees) on the island of Viz. Along the way we stopped for some swimming outside a couple of cliffs that had a gap between them. Those game enough to swim between the cliffs discovered that there was a beach behind them with a cafe and all. Luckily someone brought some money so we had some coffees and then swum back to the boat. Viz was a quaint little village at the end of another long harbour. After the mandatory walk around town and some local Pizza (very good) we went off the beach for a bit of sunbathing and then a swim. One thing that is cool about swimming in Croatia is everywhere you go swimming there are fish. Even if you don't think there are any there are in fact little ones around your feet. Dinner was a quiet one that night. The wind had picked up and it was all a bit cold outside but we still managed to enjoy a tasty meal.

Next day and away we went again. Special treat for us, we visited the Blue Cave on the island of Bisevo. This is a natural cave you can go into that has an underwater bridge and an opening to the water outside so the light comes through and makes the water a fantastic blue colour. The entrance is small so you have to paddle in their with your dinghy and look around before coming out. That is easier said than done as you are competing with big long tourist boats that take up half the cave and have no problems bashing you against the wall. We eventually got ourselves out safely and back to the boat for the next crew to have a look through too. Then it was back to the island of Viz where we stayed at the town of Komiza. Another quaint Croatian Island Village. We spent the afternoon in the stinking heat down at the beach, just relaxing. This one had sand which was a bit of a novelty, as stone had tended to the beach of choice around Croatia. There was plenty of time for lazing, playing and snorkeling. Didn't get a photo, but all the way along the beach in the water people had written things in stones. That evening we all piled in to a random van which whisked us off to a farm in the middle of the island for dinner. We weren't sure what we were in for but it turned out to be the best dinner we had in Croatia. There were big long outdoor tables and they brought out two dishes for us. One was roast lamb cooked in the oven with tasty vegetables. The second was a bit more interesting....octopus...a whole octopus...cooked in the oven again till all the juices came out and then rice was added in to make a tasty risotto. We have to say it was fantastic! You imagine octopus would be tough and rubbery, but this was so tender and tasty, even if it was a bit freaky to see all the tentacles splayed in the dish. We finished off the evening with home made Grapa from the farm. The complimentary bottles probably wasn't the best idea but we all enjoyed ourselves that night, even if our heads didn't the next day...

That next day we made the journey back to the mainland where we stopped at our skipper's home town of Trogir. This was back to big town again rather than little village. It all started a bit dramatically with some German amateur sailors make a right mess of exiting the marina and crashing into our boat. Only egos were hurt luckily but it took all of our strength to push their ship off so that it didn't crash into us again. Trogir was nice enough but didn't have the small town charm of the other places we had been visiting. It was much more touristy, with people and tour groups everywhere. We wandered around the town and climbed up the rickety looking castle tower where we got a good view up and down the coast as well as some worrying storm clouds in the distance.

The following day was our last day of sailing as we journeyed up the coast back to Split. All this time on the water and with a fisherman as our skipper and we hadn't done any fishing! So we purchased some basic line and stopped along the way to see what we could find. Funnily enough this was the first time that the water wasn't teeming with fish. Nonetheless we pulled up a few small fishies and threw them back again and everyone felt that we had made at least a token effort. We were also lucky enough to be treated to some cooking by our skipper. He did us up a tasty tomato pasta with basil pesto dish. It went down a treat. After much waiting around in Split Harbour we finally managed to get a berth. We had been put in between two GIANT luxury cruisers. Unfortunately the port was so full that they had to put us on the outside of the marina. Normally this would have been fine, but the storm we had seen the day before was bearing down and it ended up being a rough night with the ship bouncing up and down a lot. Funnily enough we had been on the ship so long now we actually preferred it to being on the land. Everyone was suffering from some serious land sickness. It is hard to explain, but basically if you spend too much time on dry land your vision starts to sway and you can't stand up straight. You need the safety of the rocking boat. We had our last dinner together as a group at the surprisingly tasty Marina Restaurant and then had a few last drinks before heading off to bed.

We awoke next morning, cleaned and emptied the boat and bid farewell to Josh and Kate and Ben and Tanya. They were off to continue their travels, but we still had one more day in Split. We slowly made our swaying way back to Split town and dropped our bags at the hostel. Andy and Nicky decided to stay in Split but we and Tom and Gini had done all of Split we needed to, so with the help of Lonely Planet Gini suggested we go visit some local Castles just out of town. After a few wrong turns we found the bus and eventually got off at what we thought was the right stop. It wasn't, but we still made our way down to the waterfront. It was pretty quiet as the cloud and cool wind were still around but you could see it must be teeming with locals in summer, with nice beaches and plenty of restaurants. We walked around some more and eventually found what was supposed to be the most impressive of the Castles, Kastel Sucarac. Apparently there is some Romeo and Juliet type story that goes with it, but we never quite got to the bottom of the whole thing. We slowly made our way back to the bus stop and then into Split where we met up with Andy and Nicky, found a place for dinner and made our way back to our beds for a reasonable night's sleep. The next morning it was back on the bus to the Airport with our plane whisking us back to reality again. We bid farewell to Andy and Nicky at the airport who were about to jump on another plane to get back to New Zealand and an excellent holiday came to an end.

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The Lake District

It was another Bank Holiday and this time we had planned to get out into the Countryside for some Rambling (that's English for "Tramping")with Tom and Gini. We met up at Euston (with what looked like half of the rest of London) to catch the train to Windermere. Train was pretty packed but we eventually managed to get settled in and we were off. Several hours later and we arrived in Windermere and head off to our B&B "The Archway". We were greeted by our excellent hostess and then it was off to bed for a good sleep before a day a of walking the next day.

The bed was good but the highlight of this B&B was definitely the breakfast. We had a choice of about six different options and when they came out they were HUGE, and tasty. We would have to do plenty of walking to walk that off. After looking at a few different options in Tom and Gini's book we decided to stay local and do a loop track that starts and finishes in Windermere. We started off with a climb up Orrest Head which was a nearby hill. If the clouds hadn't been so low we would have gotten great views of the Lake District. It was still good to be out in amongst nature again though. We continued on through the local paddocks, never quite sure where we were going but with Paddy Dillon guiding us we managed to find our way without too much trouble. We continued up into the hills and had a good view over Troutbeck which we later discovered was the inspiration for Postman Pat. We continued to climb dodging rain showers along the way until we finally started to make our way around and back towards Windermere again. We stopped for packed lunch, which was all a part of the stay at the Archway. Lunch was in the same style as breakfast, HUGE. With tasty homemade sandwiches, sausage rolls and Kendal Mint Cake (solid mint flavoured sugar covered in sugar) we wondered if we were actually going to do enough dinner to walk off the food...We continued on our way back to Windermere and eventually arrived back at the Archway, wetter and tireder than when we began. If breakfast and lunch wasn't enough there was also a very tasty cake sitting there for us too eat too. They sure know how to eat well in the Lake District! And to keep with the theme we went out for what we thought was British Cuisine but actually turned out to be French. Still tasty though.

The next morning it was more walking. This time it was to Grasmere where we went for a walk around two lakes, Grasmere and Rydal Water. As we arrived there was some sort of AMP show on with tents and animals and people everywhere. But we weren't too be distracted, we plowed through and set off down the road towards the Lake. Unfortunately the rain showers from yesterday had consolidated and we were basically walking in steady rain which got heavier and heavier throughout the day. Lucky we are from NZ so don't mind walking in the rain, and lucky we had our jackets too....This was a much mellower walk than the day before with it being largely flat around the back of the lakes. Nice walking through the woods and fields though and seeing some of the HUGE houses up on the hill. We stopped at the Badger pub for a beer on our way back. Not one we would recommend as a first choice to visit but good to get out of the rain. Then we journied up the hill and along the old coffin road back to Grasmere. It was an interesting old path that had flat rocks along the way. Apparently they used to carry the coffins from Rydal, where it starts, to Grasmere where the cemetary was. By the end we were pretty soaked but we couldn't pass Grasmere by without stopping in for some famous Grasmere Gingerbread. Made since 1854 it isn't like normal gingerbread. It is kind of like a slice/biscuit with bits of ginger all through it. Different but tasty. After some munching we jumped in the car for some more exploring. We journied onwards to Keswick. Right in the middle of the Lake District. It was still pretty drizzly but we had some time to head up to Castlerigg which is a stone circle, a la Stonehenge, only smaller and this one you could walk up to the stones. There were a few droopy heads on the way back to Windermere for some well earned rest.

The last day in the Lake District we decided to give the walking a break and do some touristy things. The girls were very keen to go and see Beatrix Potters House, which is not a themed place, rather it is the house where she lived and wrote all of the Petter Rabbit and friends stories. It was quite interesting but very dark as they tried to keep everything authentic to early 1900s. After that we went for a country drive where we came across a little gem in Wray Castle. It isn't actually a castle, rather it is a house built in 1840 to look like a castle. It was very cool and we had a good time looking around the outside. Unfortunately it was closed because it is currently for sale so we couldn't look around inside. Ever wanted to live in a Castle? Now is your chance. Then it was off to the tiny town of Ings for lunch at the Watermill Inn and Brewery. There we had some tasty lunch and enjoyed ourselves drinking the all thee different dog branded brews such as Collie Wobbles, Wruff Night and Isle of Dogs. This pub was very cool and we would definitely recommend it to anyone who is in the area. We had heard that Windemere and the towns around the Lake District can be quite touristy but we hadn't experience that at all...until we went to Bowness on Windemere. It seemed that that was where ALL the tourists were. The place was thronging with people, tourist shops and activities for people to do. Nonetheless it was nice to have a walk around and see what it was like down on the Lake front before we had to journey back to London. Unfortunately our trip home wasn't without event. We thought we would see if we could get the train back an hour earlier. Unfortunately there was no early train, and the later trains were all delayed. So it was several hours spent on the platform at Oxenholme playing cards as the heavens opened and POURED more rain than we had seen all year. Unfortunately everyone else had the same plans so by the time we got on the train it was packed. The joys of holiday travel. Luckily we were so tired it didn't really matter and we still had a really good outdoors holiday.

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August - Beer, Jools and Holograms

We got up to a variety of things over August. After all that Belgian Beer we decided it would be good to see what the British had on offer too. We met up with Darryl and Bevan at Earls Court for the Great British Beer Festival. Put on by the Campaign for Real Ale. Only the Brits would have a charity about making good beer. Unfortunately we went on Saturday, which was the last day so they had run out of a lot of good beer. Nonetheless there was still plenty of different Ales and Ciders for us to sample. Some really good and some really terrible. We had also never seen so many men with huge beards and big bellies altogether at the same time. Something to aspire to I guess? All up a good experience. Probably not something we need to do again but glad we did it. Shame it was indoors when it was such a beautiful day outside, but I guess with British weather you have to play it safe.

Next weekend met up with Robin and Mary and went up to Hampstead Heath again. Not for the ponds, but instead a big outdoors concert at Kenwood House, which is a big house at the top of the heath. The concert was featuring Jools Holland and his big band orchestra. Jools Holland is a staple of UK TV having had a show called "Later.." for a number of years. It is THE show to get on to if you are a big act. Good last chance to get out the old picnic blanket and have a last evening picnic before it gets too cold. We didn't know most of the songs but still had a fun time and would highly recommend it as a good night out.

The next week was Jen's birthday so Jess and the girls took her out for a surprise dinner followed by Dirty Dancing The Musical. There were moments when we thought it all wouldn't come together with missed trains and limited time before the show but it all went well, Jen was stoked except it took her a little while to appreciate the male lead not being played by Patrick Swasay. Tired after the show we headed back to the pub for a round of lemonade and the yummy birthday cake (ala Tree). Marcus was quite content to miss out on that one.

We also caught up with Pauline for dinner one last time before she left London and heads not quite back to New Zealand, but to Melbourne instead. Pauline cooked us up some tasty Teriyaki. It made us remember what a transient place London is with people coming and going all the time so need to make sure we make the most of seeing people when we can.

The next weekend was Emma's birthday and she had us all dress up for an 80s theme. So it was a trip to Primark for us (Super cheap young people clothing) to find the most hideous highlighter clothes we could. Emma, Kat, Stacey (and a surprise visit from Mel from Ireland) had gone all out dressed as Jem and Holograms, while Tim, Ben and Reuban had invested in some overalls and power packs for some serious ghostbusting. After a few drinks at theirs it was off to town for a first night out at the clubs. A few queues, some missing IDs and explanations around how tennis shoes are 80s later and we were at the Grand in Clapham. Not too different than the Grand in Wellington in terms of clientelle (but that's just showing our age....) We danced the night away and eventually jumped on an after midnight bus to get our tired little selves home.

The next night it was a few quiet drinks round at our house for Jen's birthday. Liam whipped up a storm in the kitchen and we all ate very well. It was then some drinks and a few rounds of boxing on our Wii sport (which actually features far more heavily in our lives than this blog would have you believe) and it was tired partygoers off to bed.

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Mean Time to Beer Time

Short period of time but loads to talk about this time. Was definitely great to have Andy and Nicky visiting London so that we could hang out with them. For us it started with tasty pancake brunch a la Tom and Gini. Should start every day that way. Then we were off to do something we had been meaning to do for a while, which was catch the ferry up the river to Greenwich (as in Greenwich Mean Time.) This was our first trip on the river ferry and we had a really good time and it is definitely a good way to see the parts of London along the Thames. A few ciders later and we were having a great time when it was time to get off the boat and have a look around Greenwich. It is a very pretty part of London with a big park for lounging around in. However the highlight was definitely heading to the Prime Meridian at 0 Degrees which was also the home of the Greenwich clock (which is much smaller than you expect but still cool to see.) After a less than memorable platter at the local pub it was back on the boat and then up the Thames again. We found a pub with a massive garden near Tom and Gini's place to have a few drinks and eventually convinced them to cook us a tasty dinner too (they were very busy.)

The next day was a chance to show Andy and Nicky around the sites of central London. We were the tour guides instead of the tourists for a change. Took in all the major sites, Trafalgar and Leicester Squares, Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, you get the idea...Tom and Gini showed us a place that does great Fish and Chips, London's oldest chippy the Rock and Sole Plaice. Much walking was done this day and we finished it up with a nice ale at an old pub on the Strand.

The next night we were out with Andy, Nicky, Tom and Gini for tasty Mexican at Wahaca. Even Jess didn't mind sharing. Then it was off to the theatre. This time not a musical. Instead we were off to see the Woman in Black. Nobody really knew anything about it so it was open minds all round. It was in a tiny little theatre instead of the big ones you usually see around London. Don't want to give too much away but if you enjoy a good scare this is definitely a must see. Really well done and had the whole theatre on the edge of their seats waiting for the next scare. We knew when Andy was scared cause he couldn't keep in the high pitched scream...

Next night was Andy and Nicky's last in London so we all went out to a little gem Tom and Gini had discovered in Paris which also has a branch in London Le Relais de Venise. After lining up (!) we got our table and were served by the waitresses in their French waitress outfits. The formula was simple, walnut salad, followed by fillet steak with chips. No menu. That is it. Very tasty and would definitely consider going back.

Thursday was a big night for us. After work we jumped on the Piccadilly line to Heathrow and we were off on Jess' first trip to the continent, Amsterdam to be specific! We flew into Amsterdam airport jumped on the train and before we knew it we were at Amsterdam Centraal Train Station and heading straight into the Red Light District where our hotel was. Andy and Nicky were there to meet us and share a beer. Luckily we were only the edge of the red light district so there were only a few dodgy characters around. We were in late so we climbed the SUPER steep staircase to our room, put in the complimentary earplugs (which were definitely needed) and we were off to sleep.

Next morning we met Andy and Nicky and head off to breakfast before a day of sightseeing. We got up to all sorts. First on the agenda was a must when you go to Amsterdam, join the big long line to enter into Ann Frank Huis. Marcus had seen it before but it was still really interesting to see it again. After that we jumped into a canal boat for a tour around the canals of Amsterdam. Definitely a good way to see the city from a different angle. London has some canals but Amsterdam is all about the canals. Then it was a surprising highlight, the Heineken museum. It was utter Heineken marketing but it was still very fun seeing the history of Heineken, how they brew it, being a beer (yes they have a beer ride) and of course tasting it. We now appreciate drinking our beer with head on it. Even Nicky the non-beer drinker said she enjoyed it. It was then time to head off and find dinner and then finish the night with a few quiet beers down by the canals, which turned into a few rowdy beers and before we knew it the shots of Jagermeister were flying. We had to keep up with all the people there for Gay Pride Weekend....It was also a good way to say goodbye to Andy and Nicky as they were off to Greece the next morning and we were off to...

Brussells on the train. The Europeans sure know how to do their trains well. Fast, comfortable, a great way to travel. We came into Brussells for a bit of a whirlwind trip. Brussells has a reputation for being boring but we wanted to go in with open minds. Luckily in the few hours we had there we weren't disappointed. The weather was stinking hot, which was a relief from London, we tried various Belgian Beers while eating Mussells in Brussells. Then it was off to the main square with its fantastic old buildings, and of course no trip to Brussells would be complete without a trip to see the Manekin Pis. To our surprise he was all dressed up in a little costume. Turned out we had arrived on Meyboom, some sort of Belgian celebration. We haven't worked out what exactly it is all about but on our way back we got caught up in the middle of a parade. Very cool. We decided we had best take part in another Belgian specialty, Waffles with cream. Mmmmmmm and all washed down with a nice kriek beer. That is cherry flavoured beer. Sounds dodgy but it was surprisingly good. The Belgians have been brewing cherry beer for centuries. It was then back on the train and off to Bruges.

Bruges is Belgium's most popular tourist destination and once get there you can see why. It is a beautiful little well preserved medieval town. Very touristy without being tacky. We decided to take it easy that night before some more touristing the following day. So after a dinner of Frittes (chips, another belgian dish) we went and had a Garre beer at De Garre, which was a cool old pub hidden down an alleyway. Very tasty and probably the best beer we had on the trip. Then there was enough time for a walk around the town and then it was back to the hostel to sleep.

We awoke to torrential rain, but luckily by the time we managed to actually get up the rain had cleared it was getting sunny again. After checking out the crazy old antiques at the market we went back to main square and climbed the bell tower. It got pretty tight at times going up while others were coming down. After regaining our hearing when the bells went off when we were right next to them we checked out the great view all over Bruges. Unfortunately this is where we learnt not to trust the camera battery when you first turn the camera on. When we left London we thought it was fine but alas it wasn't and it ran flat so no more photos for the rest of our trip. However we continued on and checked out some of the cool old houses and bridges, an impressive Madonna and Child sculpture by Michelangelo and of course, more Beer. We went to Bruges' only remaining brewery, De Halve Maan, (the Half Moon) where we took in some lunch and then took in another brewery tour. Not nearly as commercial this time, so really interesting to see where they actually brewed the beer. We picked up some souvenirs in the form of flash glasses (you must only serve Belgian beer in the correct glass) and a big bottle of the Straffe Hendrik, a hearty 8%er. After some more fresh waffles, cooked while we waited, and definitely the best we had, we were back on the train to Brussells and then onto the Eurostar back to London. Into Kings Cross and then on the tube back home. Could even be better than flying?

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Weeks 14-17ish? - Toast & Ponds

After some technical difficulties we are back up and running again. Blasted hard drive crashed. Fingers crossed we can get back some stuff that we had on there....As you can see we aren't exactly sure how long we have been here either so posts might get a bit less frequent from now on anyway.

We decided it was time we finally made the trip to the world renowned department store, Harrods. To be honest we didn't know what all the fuss what about. Sure there was some expensive things you could buy there but it didn't seem to be much flasher than loads of other department stores in London (none that we can afford to shop at of course...).

During the week we were able to celebrate Jess getting herself her second contract. Great news as it will keep the pounds coming in so that we can stay here. We celebrated with a trip to Battersea Park along with some tasty picnic food and champagne...the real deal isn't quite as expensive here...It was this week that the heatwave kicked in too so it was great weather to be out and about picnicing.

As the weekend came along we headed down to Clapham Common with Robin, Mary and Ralph who was visiting on holiday for Toast New Zealand. It was a big festival with loads of New Zealand wine and beer and entertainment. The weather was scorching! We were treated to a display of polo, which we never quite got our heads around....We also got entertained by James Someone (from Wellington I think) with the day coming to a close with everyone rocking out to Dave Dobbyn. The place was full of New Zealanders so the atmosphere was great. We saw loads of people we knew. There can't have been too many New Zealanders in London who weren't there and it was a great day to be there too.

The next week was a good opportunity to enjoy the outdoor weather although those tubes sure get scorching in the heat. The following weekend we joined Tom and Gini at another park, Hampstead Heath. This was a bit less manicured than some of the other parks, having been allowed to grow how it wants to, which made a nice change. Cider in the sun was the best way to spend our time. We then went for a swim the Hampstead ponds. They actually have ponds you can swim in which are basically duck ponds. The water wasn't too clear. Marcus didn't much enjoy it but Jess had more of a go of it all. I think we will stick to proper swimming pools, the sea and maybe rivers and lakes.

Unfortunately the weather didn't stay as hot so we stayed home over the week, but come the weekend it was looking good again so we went down to Battersea Park for Bastille day celebrations. We had high hopes for french wine, pastries and other curiosities. Unfortunately the celebration was only small, but the attendance was big. Lines to buy food and drink were really long so after spending over an hour lining up we weren't particularly excited about Bastille day anymore.

We decided to make the most of the week again and enjoyed ourselves with a picnic in Hyde Park which we still haven't even scratched the surface of and a trip to the National Gallery to get cultured. There was plenty of art to take in and our previous lessons were to take it in manageable chunks.

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Weeks 12-13 Hampton Court & West End Live

Well we are certainly getting settled in now. We started off this fortnight with our first across the board tube strike looming. 48 hours of no tubes. No impact on Jess as she could still walk to work, but it was a good opportunity for Marcus to try some different ways of getting to work. A bit of planning and a bus ride later had him wondering what all the fuss was about but as people arrived at work over an hour later than normal it was clear what a huge role the tube plays in London.

Friday we were lucky enough to have a birthday in the house. Darryl was turning the big 30 so we caught up with Darryl and Beverly, Jen and Liam, Ian and Amy, Tree and Katie for dinner at a prize winning Indian restaurant in Soho. Was great to catch up with everyone but unfortunately the food, although tasty, didn't leave us feeling like we had eaten too much, like a good Indian should. And the service was appalling. It took ages to come out and the waiters didn't stick around long enough to take your orders. We even saw the owners kick someone out when they commented that nobody had any food. Unimpressed. However we didn't let that ruin the night and we all head out to Dutch bar. Jess got to try her first Fruli (fruit beer) and the verdict is she would have it again. The bar was cool but we ended up standing in Anne Frank corner, which was right next to the DJ booth, which did make us wonder what atmosphere they were trying to create....

Sunday we were off to do some solid sightseeing again. This time we head off half an hour on the train and we were at Hampton Court, home of Henry VIII and many other royals too. Hampton Court isn't a lived in palace but it was certainly interesting. It was surprisingly not that busy so we had a bit of space to just walk around and look at things at our own pace. There were times where it seemed like we were the only people in that part ot the palace, which isn't that surprising as the place was HUGE with so much to see. Highlights were definitely the Tudor kitchen, but alas the pies weren't real. The Young Henry VIII exhibition was really good too. We definitely need to start watching a few more episodes of The Tudors. After a tasty lunch with Marcus's first mushy peas (don't need to do that again...) we spent some time walking around the gardens at Hampton Court. You can definitely see why they are such a popular attraction in their own right, but it was so hot that we certainly appreciated some time in the shade. We were looking forward to the Hedge Maze. It ws nice enough but certainly not the big sprawling hedges we would have liked. All in all an excellent day overall though.

The next day Darryl and Beverly took us out for dinner to say thanks for letting them stay at our place. They had been doing a bit of exploring and discovered it was only about 10 minutes walk to Battersea Powerstation and there was a pub across the road from there. Burgers were tasty and much to Jess' delight they also had boardgames. With a bit of rain coming down outside we weren't in any hurry to go home. So a few rounds of Pop up Pirates and Jenga and it was another night well spent.

Saturday we went into town because there was a free concert going on in Leceister Square. It was West End Live which was basically a whole lot of performers doing songs and dances from shows on at the West End to encourage you to go along to the shows that are on at the moment. The place was packed but they had set up big screens so that even if you couldn't see the stage you could still see what was going on. We finally made it into the centre where we could see what was going on up close. There was all sorts...Jersey Boys, Thriller, Avenue Q....even Barney! Unfortunately Marcus was a bit coldy so we couldn't stay all day, but it has certainly given us some ideas of shows we want to see later.

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London Weeks 10-11 - Parks & Dossing

That's right! Two weeks worth of blog this time around. Things have been slowing down a bit so we probably won't be blogging as frequently from now on.

This fortnight was park fortnight. It started out with heading off to Hammersmith to welcome Amy back from her trip home to NZ and also to welcome Daryl and Beverly to the UK. Was great just chilling out in the sun in the park next to the river Thames. Little did we know this would be the first of many more things to come.

Saturday and we journeyed off to Regents Park just north of Marcus' work. The weather was fantastic and the park was really great too. Parks over here aren't just big pieces of grass like at home. They are manicured with paths and gardens and fountains and cafes and really lovely to visit. Fish and chips in the park was just magic and then a big walk around the park to walk off our fatty tummies. Regents park is really beautiful and we will definitely go back there for more of an explore this summer.

That night we had Robin and Mary around to our flat for dinner. Was great to have a nice easygoing evening with some tasty dinner a la Jess and also to introduce Robin to cider. We think we have a new convert.

The next day we were off for another day in the park. This time Clapham Common with Tim and Emma and later joined by Pauline. The day was even hotter so we did a lot of sitting round talking. The boys tried a bit of hackey and frisbee but the heat made us retreat to the ground again pretty quickly. Later in the afternoon Tim had the great idea of heading off to the nearby pub, the Windmill, for jugs of Pimms. The conditions were perfect. Hot weather, good friends and an appetite for drink. We polished a few jugs away before finally heading home for pizza and sleep.

During the week we stayed busy too. The highlight was definitely Jess managing to secure a months worth of work in HR. Even better she was only 10 minutes walk from home so no transport hassles in the morning. Hopefully this is the start of more things to come.

We also got our first dossers. Darryl and Beverly newly arrived from New Zealand (via South America and Ian and Amy's place). Was nice to have some new people round and not be the new kids in town anymore. Good excuse to have a party, so Tree, Katie, Amy and Liam came around for some drinks and shared salad dinner. Fun times for a school night.

The next night Marcus caught up with Bevan after work. Was really great to see him having not caught up for such a long time. Funny how you don't see people till you both end up on the other side of the world. Time went by fast though. Will be really good to catch up again sometime soon.

Saturday night we were off again. This time to visit Amy and Ian's place in Hammersmith for a tasty BBQ. They are doing the traditional London experience. Living in a big house with loads of other flatmates and lots of people dossing all the time. They could have a party there every day if they wanted. As always it was good to meet some more people. Mostly Australians this time but we won't hold that against them.

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London Week 9 - Stones and Baths

This week we decided to take in another show. This time it was a well worn classic, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. You could certainly tell that Joseph was a lot more simple than Wicked. Where Wicked had lots of solo numbers and special effects, Joseph was all about the big group singing and dancing numbers. It was a bit more basic around the effects and things but we still had an enjoyable night.

On the weekend we were off again to visit another place. This time we decided not to do it ourselves, but instead jump on one of the many bus tours to Stonehenge and Bath. The bus tour certainly has its advantages. We had a tour guide who was a well of information and always keen to share it with us throughout the bus trip. We learnt about breweries, painters, architects, the army...you name it he knew it. Unfortunately he had plenty of time to tell us because we spent so much time on the bus, either travelling in the slow moving bank holiday traffic or waiting for the other patrons to get back on the bus (late.) So it took us four hours from leaving London to get to Stonehenge when it should have only been half that time. However, once we finally got there Stonehenge was very cool. We had an audiotour again that took us around the stones and explained all about them. We had heard that there weren't that many of the stones left, but we were sufficiently impressed. There were enough there that we could easily picture what it used to be like.

Then it was on the bus again and off to Bath. Unfortunately it was after 2pm before we even arrive there and with us leaving at 5:30 it was going to be a quick look around. Bath is a beautiful city. Lovely old Victorian Buildings, situated on the river Avon and lots of green parks. Part of the bus trip was a tour around the Roman Baths. It is a combination of ancient roman baths which were rediscovered and converted to Victorian Baths in the 1800s. No taking a dip though. The water was toxic. Another audio tour gave us the insights into what it was like bathing in roman or Victorian times. It was certainly very interesting and you can understand why people flocked to Bath. After that we decided to indulge ourselves with another English tradition Cream Tea (although we didn't do the super expensive one). It was in a little cafe built on a Bridge. One of only a few like it in Europe. After that it was piling back on the bus and off to London. Bath certainly looks like somewhere where we will go back and spend some more time rather than the rush we had this time round.

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London Week 8 - Punch and Party

We started the week out doing something very english. It was the birthday (not sure which) of Mr Punch so we went down to the Covent Garden Church for the celebrations. There were puppet shows galore, all of them putting on their own version of Punch and Judy. The children all seemed somewhat bewildered, but the parents all seemed pretty excited about the "Whoooo Hoooo!'s" and the "Oh no you won't!'s". It certainly makes you think about the fact that such a beloved figure of English family culture is a drunk who beats up his wife and children....We were also treated to seeing children dancing around the maypole. They were all dressed up in their colourful costumes and moving their ribbons around. This was all nice and cute, but the woman who was leading was slightly too overenthusiastic about the whole thing. She clearly spends the whole year preparing for the maypole and this was her day to shine. After that (and seeing the goth puppeteers with their goth puppets...) we had had enough of English culture and decided it was time to head home.

During the week Jess quite rightly decided we hadn't been getting much culture for a while so we went to the Portrait Gallery. The place is 3 floors so we decided that rather than get frustrated by trying to do the whole lot in one night we would do one floor tonight and the rest later. So we got have a good look around all the really old portraits. Famous Kings and Queens of England from early times. Very impressive.

Friday we went back down to Tooting to see Chris and Rachel for the last time before they went back to New Zealand. It was good to catch up with them for the last time for a while, along with Tom and Gini and Tree and Katie.

Saturday it was time for our flatwarming. Contrary to popular opinion it was not a BBQ, but there was certainly plenty of snack food to go around. Cocktail theme worked out well with a mixture of Pims (really Pitchers which is much cheaper...) punch, mojitos, moscow mules and probably a few other drinks which people were experimenting with. Turnout was small but we had a good time nonetheless and partied into the early hours without disturbing the neighbours (we hope).

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London Week 7 - Oxford and the Tube

Another early morning on the weekend as we got ourselves up to head to Paddington Station where we were meeting with Robin and Mary to get the train out to Oxford. We arrived in a very chilly Oxford around 9am, which was before anything opened so we were able to have a look around and a cup of tea before things started getting busy. We hadn't done much study about what to do in Oxford so after a visit to the tourist centre we decided to book ourselves in for a 2 hour walking tour of the city and colleges. Little did we know what we were in for. We got to have a look around several of the colleges and had many of the main highlights of Oxford shown to us. If there was something to know about Oxford, this guy knew it. It was certainly interesting but we were pretty historied out by the time the tour came to an end. Certainly made the old wooden building at Victoria Law School look like nothing special.

After that we decided to take in another Oxford attraction, that being punting on the canal. You could punt yourself or get taken around by a professional punter. After seeing the people trying to punt themselves and worrying about falling into the canal we decided to go the safe route and get driven around. Punting was nice and relaxing and a good chance to just sit back and enjoy. On a hot day it would be great to just pull up and eat a picnic on the side of the canal. When we go to Cambridge we might just try to drive ourselves...

Time was getting on and we decided to head off for lunch. The tour guide had recommended the Turf Tavern for a good feed, not only that it was the oldest pub in Oxford so a good tourist attraction. We had ourselves a nice pint of ale, the girls indulged in a Village Idiot with White Horses for the boys. Unfortunately by the time we got there they were out of any decent food so we had to head down to one of the chain pubs in the main street to satisfy our appetites. After all of that there was time for a quick walk, via the Lewis Carroll shop and back on the train to London.

We kept a low profile during the week, but Saturday we received an invitation to go to a Tube Station Party with Tree. Luckily it wasn't a party at a tube station. Rather the idea was that everyone went along dressed in tube station theme. We spent the day walking via our favourite named suburb Elephant and Castle (it isn't actually very nice) to Old Kent Road. This was not only a chance to get some Monopoly fix but also to head to the Toys R Us and sort out our costumes for the night.

All equipped we headed off to Tree's in Hammersmith and then off to Queen's Park along with Tree and her flatmates for the party. Upon our arrival at the party we donned our costumes and were ready to go. If you have been reading carefully you will have worked out that we decided to go as our favourite Tube Station.....Elephant and Castle. Jess was the Elephant cause Elephants are more exciting. You need to check out the photos to get the full effect though. Tree and her flatmates were dressed as the three blind mice...cause there are lots of mice at the tube station. Some of the costumes included Queen's Park, Bank, White City as well as the always present Maintenance on the Underground Line. It was a good chance to get creative. We had a really great night. It was good meeting a whole bunch of new people and seeing a different part of London. We even learnt the story of how Elephant and Castle got its name. We won't recount the whole story hear, particularly as searching the internet seems to suggest there could be multiple stories, but it was certainly fun at the time.

http://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/LondonWeek7#

London Week 6

This week we managed to get along to our first London Show. It wasn't in the West End, but it was just as grand and flashy. The show is called Wicked and it is basically the story of what you didn't know about the Wizard of Oz, focussing on it all from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the North. We don't want to spoil the story any more of that, but it was certainly entertaining and at 20 pounds each it felt like a good value night out.

Saturday and we caught up with Tom and Gini again, on the train out to Windsor. Windsor was one of the highlights of the trip so far. It certainly helped that we had great weather. Things started off with a tour around Windsor Castle. After queueing and heading through metal detectors and x ray machines (just like at the airport) and then we were off. Windsor castle as a tourist attraction is really well done. You get an audio tour each which you can carry around with you and it tells you about all the different parts of the castle and their history. It was no Alcatraz and some of the speakers on the audiotour did tend to go on a bit long (including Price Charles) but overall it gave us a really good insight into the history of the castle. Windsor is also one of the places where the Queen spends her time and it hosts a number of formal royal functions. The chapel in the castle also serves as the burial place for many famous kings and queens. Henry VIII, Charles II and even the Queen Mother are all buried there.

After that we found a nice pub and dug into Steak and Guiness pie, mmmmm tasty and as it turns out very much needed. We decided we needed an after lunch walk, but before that we headed off to a shop that had been recommended to us, the Chocolate Theatre where we munched on our chocolate hedgehogs and bought some chocolate fishes to take away with us (not the marshmallow kind). Then we were off round the back of Windsor Castle for The Long Walk. The Long Walk is basically a path that runs 5km in a perfectly straight line from the back of the castle, through a park, and then out into some larger paddocks filled with deer to a HUGE statue of King George the III on the back of his horse. There were plenty of people sitting there resting before the big 5km back. After that we had burned all that pie out of our systems and were reading for a sleepy train ride back home again. A good day all round.

http://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/LondonWeek6#