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.

http://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/LondonWeeks1213#

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.

http://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/LondonWeeks1011#