We started July with another concert. This time it was down to Brixton Academy for Them Crooked Vultures. For those who don't know the band has a star studded line up...Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age singing...Dave Grohl from Nirvana and the Foo Fighters on the drums and John Paul Jones from Led Zepplin on guitar. We were upstairs so not getting caught by all the young people moshing around downstairs (although London crowd so not too much moshing...) which meant we had a great view of everything. The opening act was some boys from Northern Ireland and they were LOUD. You could tell why they had been chosen cause they loved to experiment. When TCV came on they didn't disappoint either. They turned 45 mins worth of album into 2 1/2 hours worth of concert all of it intense and experimental and awesome.
We also jumped on the train and travelled up the country to Cambridge. We had done Oxford when it was cold and now Cambridge had decided to turn on the heat. We went for a quiet wander through the town, checking out the colleges and trying to avoid being run over by cycling students. Where the colleges at Oxford are all quite quaint and old fashioned, Cambridge colleges are still old fashioned but are much grander and more majestic. We paid a visit to the inside of King's College and checked out the outsides of many more, including Trinity with Sir Isaac Newton's tree. After a wander along the canal and some whitebait (not NZ whitebait..this stuff is HUGE) and Pimms it was time to head home on the train and put up our feet. It is hard to say which was better, Cambridge or Oxford...so we won't. Go there yourself and you decide.
The pace really picked up when we had our first visitors come and see us. Jess' parents arrived via Singapore, to make sure all was going well for their baby in London. We managed to get them home from the airport on Saturday night, but by the time they arrived they were pretty knackered so it was off to bed. The next day we got them up bright (but not too early) for a trip down Regents Canal. It was significantly warmer than last time we had tried it. We stopped at Camden for a quick look around the markets and some cupcakes. We then carried along the way and stopped for an ale and a cider at Regents Park. Bronwyn wasn't convinced about the cider but Max was willing to give the ale another try. We then made our way through Regents Park where we stopped for a nice picnic in the sun by the lake. After being sufficiently fed and sunned we continued along the canal till we got to Little Venice. After a stop for a well earned jug if Pimms it was back home (on the tube...) for a rest before heading out for dinner at the House.
Tuesday of that week we decided to take the day off work. We journeyed into Mayfair with Jess' parents for a special lunch at Gordon Ramsay at Claridges. Arriving early and wearing top hat and tails and dress with a hat paid off. Shortly after sitting down we were approached by the maitre'de and asked if it was a special occasion. We explained that it was so he promptly asked us whether we would be interested in sitting at the Chef's table. If you haven't heard of the Chef's table that is a special table located in the kitchen where you can see them preparing all the food. Not one to pass up an opportunity we said yes and before we knew it we were sitting out by the kitchen in our own booth. We decided we would only get the chance once so all sense went out the window and it was the 7 course menu for us. (We would worry about the bill later.) The food was excellent and although filling we certainly didn't leave a drop of those 7 courses on our plates. Also, between each course a different member of the staff, both kitchen and front of house, would come over and talk to us about what the course was and how things were going etc. We even ended up in some peoples' tourist photos when they came out the back to have a look at the kitchen and got a surprise when they turned around and saw us. It all finished with a look a tour of the kitchen and we were very happy with our lunch.
Thursday we took Jess' parents out to Chinatown for some 'authentic' Chinese food. This was followed by a trip to the theatre. It was the 39 Steps. This was one Jess' parents had chosen from NZ so we weren't quite sure what to expect. It wasn't a musical, rather a comedy where about 4 actors played about 40 roles, quickly jumping from one to the next and back again, all set against the backdrop of a murder mystery. Alfred Hitchcock even did a film of it. It possibly wouldn't be to everyone's taste but we certainly had a good night.
That weekend was the only full weekend Jess' parents had in London so we jumped on the Overground and made our way out to Richmond to visit Greg, Nicole, Emily and Flyn. We were also joined by Karla, James and Harry. London had turned on some good weather so it was picnic and a few drinks in the back garden (if you live far enough out you can have a back garden) and then we went for a walk down around the Thames. Was great to catch up with all the family. We finished the day with a drink and dinner down in Richmond town.
Sunday was spent somewhere we have spent a fair few Sundays since arriving in London, Spitalfields Market. Jess' parents got to enjoy the crush of the crowds and plethora of items on sale. Not a lot of shopping was done, but the London market experience is about being there rather than buying there. We then journeyed on to another market that we hadn't visited, Petticoat Lane. This was another of those down and dirty London markets where you can buy anything and everything at a bargain. It was pretty huge and pretty packed so we made our way through and then wandered down to Tower Bridge for a coffee and some cake.
Overall we hope our guests enjoyed their time in London. We went out to many other restaurants around the Islington area. If nothing else they couldn't complain of not having enough to eat. This was only the first part of their holiday though. More was yet to come...
https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/July2010#
We also jumped on the train and travelled up the country to Cambridge. We had done Oxford when it was cold and now Cambridge had decided to turn on the heat. We went for a quiet wander through the town, checking out the colleges and trying to avoid being run over by cycling students. Where the colleges at Oxford are all quite quaint and old fashioned, Cambridge colleges are still old fashioned but are much grander and more majestic. We paid a visit to the inside of King's College and checked out the outsides of many more, including Trinity with Sir Isaac Newton's tree. After a wander along the canal and some whitebait (not NZ whitebait..this stuff is HUGE) and Pimms it was time to head home on the train and put up our feet. It is hard to say which was better, Cambridge or Oxford...so we won't. Go there yourself and you decide.
The pace really picked up when we had our first visitors come and see us. Jess' parents arrived via Singapore, to make sure all was going well for their baby in London. We managed to get them home from the airport on Saturday night, but by the time they arrived they were pretty knackered so it was off to bed. The next day we got them up bright (but not too early) for a trip down Regents Canal. It was significantly warmer than last time we had tried it. We stopped at Camden for a quick look around the markets and some cupcakes. We then carried along the way and stopped for an ale and a cider at Regents Park. Bronwyn wasn't convinced about the cider but Max was willing to give the ale another try. We then made our way through Regents Park where we stopped for a nice picnic in the sun by the lake. After being sufficiently fed and sunned we continued along the canal till we got to Little Venice. After a stop for a well earned jug if Pimms it was back home (on the tube...) for a rest before heading out for dinner at the House.
Tuesday of that week we decided to take the day off work. We journeyed into Mayfair with Jess' parents for a special lunch at Gordon Ramsay at Claridges. Arriving early and wearing top hat and tails and dress with a hat paid off. Shortly after sitting down we were approached by the maitre'de and asked if it was a special occasion. We explained that it was so he promptly asked us whether we would be interested in sitting at the Chef's table. If you haven't heard of the Chef's table that is a special table located in the kitchen where you can see them preparing all the food. Not one to pass up an opportunity we said yes and before we knew it we were sitting out by the kitchen in our own booth. We decided we would only get the chance once so all sense went out the window and it was the 7 course menu for us. (We would worry about the bill later.) The food was excellent and although filling we certainly didn't leave a drop of those 7 courses on our plates. Also, between each course a different member of the staff, both kitchen and front of house, would come over and talk to us about what the course was and how things were going etc. We even ended up in some peoples' tourist photos when they came out the back to have a look at the kitchen and got a surprise when they turned around and saw us. It all finished with a look a tour of the kitchen and we were very happy with our lunch.
Thursday we took Jess' parents out to Chinatown for some 'authentic' Chinese food. This was followed by a trip to the theatre. It was the 39 Steps. This was one Jess' parents had chosen from NZ so we weren't quite sure what to expect. It wasn't a musical, rather a comedy where about 4 actors played about 40 roles, quickly jumping from one to the next and back again, all set against the backdrop of a murder mystery. Alfred Hitchcock even did a film of it. It possibly wouldn't be to everyone's taste but we certainly had a good night.
That weekend was the only full weekend Jess' parents had in London so we jumped on the Overground and made our way out to Richmond to visit Greg, Nicole, Emily and Flyn. We were also joined by Karla, James and Harry. London had turned on some good weather so it was picnic and a few drinks in the back garden (if you live far enough out you can have a back garden) and then we went for a walk down around the Thames. Was great to catch up with all the family. We finished the day with a drink and dinner down in Richmond town.
Sunday was spent somewhere we have spent a fair few Sundays since arriving in London, Spitalfields Market. Jess' parents got to enjoy the crush of the crowds and plethora of items on sale. Not a lot of shopping was done, but the London market experience is about being there rather than buying there. We then journeyed on to another market that we hadn't visited, Petticoat Lane. This was another of those down and dirty London markets where you can buy anything and everything at a bargain. It was pretty huge and pretty packed so we made our way through and then wandered down to Tower Bridge for a coffee and some cake.
Overall we hope our guests enjoyed their time in London. We went out to many other restaurants around the Islington area. If nothing else they couldn't complain of not having enough to eat. This was only the first part of their holiday though. More was yet to come...
https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/July2010#
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