London

Bath crawl

Waking up to Kyles already having put in a couple of hours working from home, it was nice to wander downstairs, make a coffee and know there was nothing urgent to do. Except eat my crappy cheescake and the Tesco chocolate cake for breakfast. For a £2 choccie cake, that was damn good! Today’s plan was to get away for a weekend in Bath. Next to Finland and York, it was the other place on my I Wanna Go To list. Having booked a cute Airbnb some time back when we first conceived the idea, we just needed to get there. Easy as. Download an App, put in times, book, pay, digital tickets. If only everything in life was this easy!! With some time on my hands I did what was supposed to be a quick check of work emails, to date there hadn’t been anything overly urgent or worthy of my attention when I don’t have to. Jeebus. Some shit had hit the fan at work and I spent the next few hours plugging away to try get things in order.

Once I’d calmed down and switched off Australia, it was time to prepare for my last weekend of holidays. Ugh. Yuck. Why do holidays have to end?? But are they actually holidays if you never go back to work? Maybe then it’s just life??

Anyhoo, while I’m flapping around Kyles is ever the professional working her butt off taking work calls, Skype meetings and just getting shit done. Once packed with my weekend kit, I felt the sugar crash and was desperate for anything green. Legging it to Sainsburys around the corner I bought a big bunch of broccoli to add to our dodgy pre-made supermarket salads. Probs the first healthy meal I’ve had since Kylie’s awesome Christmas roast. Not rolling in cash but rolling in other ways!

With a 4.30pm train trip, it was relax time – completely speaking for myself. The dedicated Kyles worked the whole two hour ride while I got my votes in for the Triple J Hottest 100. I really do lack any pics today so my top 10 list will have to do!! #1 Ocean Alley.

Walking out of the train station in Bath and it’s everything I expected, and then some! The 15 minute trek to our Airbnb took us past all the beautiful white sandstone buildings, cobbled streets and the quaint English pubs on every second corner. Once again I was the dork walking along muttering wow! Having gone the cheap room route for our Airbnb, I half expected a broom size closet in a dodgy back alley. Walking into our room at Romany Guest House, one of the gorgeous terrace buildings it was a mixture of relief and wow. Big old style Victorian room, our own beds, lounge chairs, telly and kettle. I think Kyles is getting sick of my sleep talking so happy for her she has her own bed for a change!!

Having already spied the cute pubs on the way through, it was an easy choice to pub crawl our way through Bath. It is after all only 50 meters between each pub and a convenient half circle of pubs surrounding our accommodation.

Our crawl took us from the fancy Green Park Brasserie to the The Bath Brew House where we both had the quintessential English dinner, ham, egg and chips, washed down with a beer. Kind of made having the broccoli for lunch redundant!

Next stop at Trinity Inn saw us pick up some groupies, two young English chaps, not yet of legal drinking age in the US, wanting to tag along on our crawl. One called Joe and the other some J name, they were kinda funny, young Joe had googly eyes for Kylie all night and wanted to take her on a date to the zoo. Oh bless, dates to zoos just don’t happen anymore. After hitting up The Cork, The Canon and The Gin Palace with our groupies, it was time to exit stage left. I think Kyles broke young Joe’s heart!

Friday 18th January 2019.

January 23, 2019 0

Happy birthday!

Being her first birthday away from home, I was so glad to be there for my bestie. Moving to a different country, finding a new job and making new friends is a hell of a brave thing to do, she’s an absolute kick arse human being. So after good morning birthday hugs, unfortunately Kyles did have to go to work so I needed to find something to do to pass time until her birthday celebrations. Having been lucky enough to have visited London a few times before, I’d done all the big attractions like Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Hyde Park etc so today I was looking for something different to do. Someone along the way mentioned going to Greenwich where lives the meridian line. Coolies, I’ll do that.

But first, boring life maintenance like washing and fun life maintenance like popping to Sainsbury’s for a birthday cake. My idea was to buy a cake and decorate it beautifully so we could celebrate tonight when we get home from dinner. Probs should have been better at adulting and found an actual bakery and bought a beautiful cake befitting of the birthday girl. Instead it was a packet cheesecake, biscuit fingers and some crappy icing writing pens. It’s the effort that counts right? Anyways, heading off to Greenwich about midday, onto a bus to Brixton Station then 10 tubes, most in the wrong direction so it took me about double the time to get there. Maybe I still need more sleep.

Finally in Greenwich with insane hunger pangs I found the Greenwich Markets and a Cuban sandwich. My gosh, how have I never had one of these before? Ready to be annoying and take another food photo, I pulled out my phone and crapola. That’s a new record, only 1.5 hours from 100% to flat. Lucky I have my trusty power pack… and no iPhone cable. Seriously sucking at adulting today. So instead of enjoying the beautiful clear blue skies, I spent the next hour searching shop to shop for an iPhone lightning cable. Would have been quicker if I could have googled where to go but that wasn’t an option. So finally all charged up, food and phone, ready to explore.

But first, back to that Cuban sandwich!! Flatbread, pulled pork, ham, cheddar cheese, pickles and mustard. Oh my yum!!! I see many of these in my future. And here’s a nice pic from google to show just what I mean:

Unfortunately being a Thursday the Greenwich markets were only half arsed, most stalls were empty and the few that were open were a bit average. But, the market area itself was quaint and cute so I could imagine on a bustling weekend they would be fabulous.

Not really having a plan for the day except to find the meridian, I wandered around Greenwich and quite literally stumbled onto everything. Turn a corner and whoa, there’s a big damn ship, the Cutty Sark, a British Clipper ship, fastest and one of the last built before steam shops took over (thanks Google!). There was a museum thing underneath but to be honest, I’m all museumed out.

And just behind the Cutty, the River Thames with views of Canary Wharf and over to the London city centre. I was considering visiting Canary Wharf but Kyles said it was like Wall St, suits and ties and not a lot of fun. Unless you’re rolling in cash. Definitely not rolling.

Where to next? I look to the right and there’s the Naval Academy. That’ll work. Gorgeous buildings and lawns, lucky sailors!

What’s that other big building in the background? I’ll mosey over there. It’s the National Maritime Museum. Can’t swing a cat without hitting a beautiful old building. Not that I’m complaining, it makes being a tourist super simple. And with a phone going flat every 2 seconds, it helps to not rely on Google Maps.

I really had no desire to do museums today so I just settled for a couple of pics of the outside then wandered next door to the Queen’s House. Hmmm. No exactly what I expected, I guess it is a house not a palace, kicks the arse of my house I guess.

And then I look behind me, just more gorgeous buildings and views of the city.

It might be possible I’m taking for granted how historic and beautiful London is. I’ll probs get back to Adelaide and be disappointed not to see a beautiful old church or historic monument on every corner. Or I’ll just be happy to stare at the beach?!?

So through the beautiful sandstone archway and I spy up the hill the observatory. Someone up there knows I’m lazy AF today and is making this real easy!!

Just a note, the blue skies and sunshine in the pics does not mean that it’s warm by any means! The leggings, scarf, shirt and blazer I’m wearing to try be a bit fancy for tonight’s birthday celebrations are proving beyond inadequate. Maybe legging it up the hill will warm me up.

Think I really needed to climb Kilimanjaro, or some other mountain in a warm climate to get any sense of warmth, still freezing and starting to think museums will be the go, at least they are warm! At the top of the hill, the views across London are spectacular, distracting me from the cold momentarily, but not enough to have a real smile in selfies, instead the fake gooby smile I do when I’m uncomfortable!!

London is bloody massive, makes Adelaide seem like a little country town. No wait, it is… Into the Observatory and I made a beeline for the meridian line. Can’t say standing with one foot in the eastern hemisphere and the other in the western is on my bucket list but feel like it kinda should have been. So, patiently waiting for my moment on the line, I realised that on my touristy adventures in Greenwich today I’d already crossed the line about 10 times, but being the super tourist and having a new addiction to selfies, I waited like a tool and got a few.

I tried to feign interest in the museums and listen to the audio guide but after 30 seconds I was done. Instead I found a warm room and thawed, planning my next move… Right, Uber to the Emirates Sky Line cable car thingo, scenic ride across the river then a couple of tubes to Camden for birthday dinner. You know what they say about best laid plans! Down the hill to the road and my super awesome phone no longer has an internet connection for Uber. If I’d backed up my phone again since leaving I would have been very tempted to just throw the piece of crap in the river. Instead, I found a Costa Coffee with free WiFi and in my freezing coldness ordered a large mocha. Got this – bigger than the spaghetti bowls I have at home, and tasted like a cross between cheap chocolate and mud.

Luckily their WiFi is booming. Had a choice, try again for an Uber to the Skyline thingo, do that then 2 tubes and an hour and a half to get to dinner, arriving in Camden for our 7.30 dinner date. Or just take the tube to Camden and drink gin while I wait for the others. Gin always wins.

In Camden, a quick zip into Tesco to stash a choccie cake in my bag, kinda thought Kyles would appreciate a birthday cake at dinner, and more than just me singing to her. No one needs to hear that. I then did the google thing cos my phone liked me again, trying to find a pre-dinner drinks destination to meet Kylie. Jazz Cafe, Amy Winehouse frequented, awesome I’ll head there. Walked into a band setting up, not open yet. Some other cool sounding African themed bar, massive place and only one other person in there. Hmmm, I think Google is sick of me and purposely sending me to crapola joints. Ugh. I found the birthday girl and instead we headed to our dinner location, they do gin, it’s warm and 100m from where we were standing.

Although an hour early to The Blues Kitchen, our table was ready and as were we for all the gin!! Cheers and happy birthday Kyles!!

We were only two drinks in when Kyles buds Mel and Pete arrived. Two awesome people, Mel was from Adelaide so it was nice to not have to concentrate so hard on what someone was saying, or be paid out for my Aussie bogan accent. The dinner was beyond delicious, beef brisket with burnt ends, and after a cocktail called a Zombie I was finally warm and content, and probs a little bit tipsy!!

Being in the presence of a birthday girl, the restaurant bought out a plate of deep fried Oreos to celebrate, trumped my pissy cake so that just stayed in the hand bag. They were so good there isn’t even any photo evidence, you don’t wait for pics when deep fried Oreos are a waiting!!

Being a school night, we headed home with full bellies and a nice gin buzz. My gin buzz turned into a different kind of buzz when I got to snuggle up to Jon Snow at the tube station… I’m lucky Kylie is still my friend, my dork level was at an all time high!!

Once back at Kyles, I was excited to get my masterpiece cake out for a final celebration, unfortunately I suck and the cake ended up looking like this:

Sorry Kyles, I tried but anything food related, except eating, is just not my forte!! So instead I did what I do best, ate cake.

Thursday January 17th 2019.

January 23, 2019 0

Recovery 3.0

It wasn’t a massive night by our standards, probs home around 2am but we still needed another day of recovery. With Kyles having her first week back at work and me running around London trying not to miss a thing, I think we’re both pooped!

So more Netflix, Deliveroo and couch time.

Finished watching the series You on Netflix. Addictive and disturbing. Dan Humphrey will never be the same again. And still can’t quite come to terms with the end, did not see that coming, had hope…

Luckily the ribs and wings from Chicago Rib Shack helped overcome the disappointment! Mmmm, may need to book two seats for the flight home…

With an impending flight to Glasgow in the AM, we did one useful thing today, shower and pack… oh, that’s two!

Sunday 13th January 2019.

January 17, 2019 0

Home of punk

Even though the previous day was nothing but naps, somehow I still slept in. Well at least a sleep in by Kylie’s standards, I think she was itching for me to get my arse out of bed and kick off our Saturday. When I finally emerged around 10 (I call a sleep in past noon), there was no way we’d get ready and tubed to Notting Hill markets before they closed at 1pm, and actually have enough time to enjoy them. Next best option, Camden Markets.

Arriving with a grumbling stomach was not a good idea. So many delicious food stalls with yummers from all corners of the earth. But there was no going past a Yorkshire Pudding Burrito. Roast beef, stuffing, potatoes, greens and gravy all wrapped in a larger than life Yorkshire pudd. Kid you not, I was making mmmm sounds as I ate. Or at least my stomach was. Soooo good, how do we not have these in Australia? Hmmm, food truck idea…

With appetites satisfied, it was time to wonder aimlessly through the lanes and buy things we didn’t need. The markets themselves are glorious, old red brick buildings, tunnels and open air stalls, so beautiful that Kyles called it – not the next best option after Notting Hill, better than.

Falling in love with a million little things, it was a lesson in restraint. I really didn’t NEED a wooden gin serving tray, a black cape jacket or a 60s style handbag. Just really really really wanted them. But I do prefer to spend my money on experiences rather than material things. And spend $$ on gin, gin makes some experiences bearable. Plus, with still over a week of my trip left, I knew if I shopped up a storm I’d be surviving on a diet of dust for the rest of the trip… but I did come across a Levi’s jean jacket with silver sequin angel wings that I couldn’t walk past… too old for sequins, maybe. Do I care? Not one bit!! Absolutely loved the markets, lots of things I just knew you’d never see in AUS, but of course, a lot of the stock standard things every second stall seems to have.

The highlight and possibly one of the most super cool stores in the entire world, Cyberdog. A raver’s dream, all things neon and glowing, everything you could ever dream of needing for a music festival or rave. Will be back before Glastonbury to stock up on flashing mouth lights, glowing eye lashes and neon fur coats.

After what felt like 50,000 steps, we took a drinks break at the funkiest bar ever. Exposed brick, neon lights, retro posters and arch windows. Would love to teleport that bar to Adelaide.

Having our fix of the markets, it was a leisurely stroll around the streets of Camden. So different to any place you’d find in Australia – well, at least the places I’ve been to. Shops selling everything from pot flavoured lollipops and chocolate to punk rock Doc Martens that’d make any Ramones fan proud. The place has a life of its own, an absolute buzz which explains the hoards of people packing the streets. Loved Camden, it’s added to the shortlist of places I could live if (or when) I move to London. Understandable why the mega superstar Amy Winehouse lived here.

With a 40th birthday to prep and pamper for, we reluctantly headed back to Brixton, having to leg it to a tube station further down the track. The Camden station was so busy they had to close it temporarily. Could you ever imagine that happening in AUS?

Back in Brixton we had the luxury of time to get ready for the 40th birthday of Dylan, a friend of Kylie’s and her house mates Kam and Sean. Wish I’d taken more pics of Kyles and I looking glam for the night, having been a super annoying tourist and taking millions of photos every minute, for some reason, only took one pic the whole night. The photo booth at the party got a good workout but with so many peeps per shot, kinda forgot to grab any evidence for myself.

The party itself was at a gorgeous bar overlooking the city. Once again, no pics. Why oh why. Fabulous night, Dylan’s partner Joe put together the sweetest video of birthday messages from his family and friends in Brissie and of course the music was amazing so we danced the night away. Loved meeting so many new people, felt like maybe, just maybe, I could start a new life here. Or get on with making the current one even more amazing.

Saturday 12th January 2019.

January 17, 2019 0

Recovery 2.0

So today I booked a tour of Oxford University, Stratford and the Cotswolds. I imagine it would have been beautiful had I made it.

The problem with setting an alarm for 6.30am when it’s around 7am already is that it bloody won’t go off until the next day. Yeah. So when I woke up at 9am and was supposed to be at Victoria Station at 7.45am for my tour, it took a minute of confusion and checking the clock 10 times to realise what had happened. Massive oops, and various other profanities.

Needless to say I was completely useless for the rest of the day! Slept, dozed through various Netflix movies and ordered Deliveroo. Normal Sunday in Adelaide.

Here are some photos of what I would have seen had I rocked up for my tour:

Friday 11th January 2019.

January 16, 2019 0

Bender

A day of semi-rest was planned, with Kyles working from home so a contractor can paint her leaky roof and then only lunch and the theatre. Easy peasey.

It was my favourite kind of morning, a little sleep in then I cranked some tunes and took my time getting ready for a lunch date with my favourite Londoner.

Our lunch date was at Canova Hall… by golly, I want to live here!! Just a short stroll (or quick bus if you’re having a lazy day like us!) then into the coolest, industrial style warehouse/cafe/office. So first up, they cater to people who need to go somewhere and just work, a quiet zone with bottomless coffee and super fast Wi-Fi. Then for the ladies who lunch (that would be us!), booths and amazeballs food. And of course a bar and a small gin distillery, as you do. Had it of been bottomless gin I would never have left.

If I had all the money in the world, I’d buy this place and turn it into a warehouse style apartment and live my best life. Ok, if I had all that money, I’d also want to end poverty and make sure no one was homeless, but anyhoo… and yes, there are pictures of the bathrooms because they are super cool, wasn’t at all awkward taking those pics…

So after one of the best lunches possibly of my life it was a hop skip and a jump over to the West End to see the show I’d heard rave reviews about, Hamilton. I managed to snag a £100 ticket to a matinee show, single seats makes that so much easier. I had wanted to get Kyles and I tickets for her bday present but evening show tickets started at £250 for the time I was here. Wish I was that good a friend that I could have afforded it!!

The show was on at the Victoria Palace Theatre, one of the most beautiful and ornate theaters I’ve ever been to. Absolutely stunning, could have sat there for hours just looking at the ceiling and beautiful stalls.

After a sneaky gin or two while waiting, it was showtime!! It only took 30 seconds to realise this was the best show I’d ever seen in my life, trumping my faves Kinky Boots and Billy Elliot.

The story is about the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers and right-hand man to George Washington. Washington being the dude who instigated the American revolution, achieved independence from Britain and became America’s first President. Synopsis sounds yawn worthy but add hip hop and R&B singing and dancing plus a beautiful African American cast and it blows your mind. I laughed, I cried, I got goosebumps multiple times and had a little dance in my seat. Can’t even explain how brilliant the show was, everyone will just have to see for themselves! I know I left there with a massive smile on my face and the feeling that I’d just experienced absolute artistic genius. Of course Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer and composer is this brilliant, he is a massive fan of Brooklyn Nine-Nine after all.

So once again with a big goofy smile on my face, I headed over the road to meet Kylie at The Market Hall, two floors of food truck like vendors serving mouth watering food from stalls. I guess with limited space in London, food trucks en mass wouldn’t work so squish them all together, add a bar and you’ve got a bustling market hall. Still full from lunch, we just stared longingly at people’s food, wishing we had enough space in our bellies for more. There was of course space for a few gins…

From there we took the scenic walking route to The Piano Works in Farringdon, an awesome bar with a live band that plays requests from the crowd, well, most requests. My request for Lose Yourself by Eminem went unanswered, maybe because in the tip area on the request form I wrote “Be nice to your mother!”, guess that didn’t go down too well…

It was a bloody brilliant night tho, dancing and singing and proof Kyles is now a London local, running into a couple of friends and producing the only evidence the night ever happened…

So this is where I be honest and disappoint my mother, it was a MASSIVE night. So much so that when we finally got home I set my alarm for 6.30am to get up in time for my tour, too bad it was after 6.30am when I set it…

Thursday 10th January 2019… and into Friday 11th January…

January 16, 2019 0

Sun and snow

For me, the beach is my happy place. I feel myself exhale and relax. Lucky for me, I get to live right by the beach in Adelaide. But having been land locked since Christmas, well last year if I can be so lame and claim that, I felt a longing for the ocean. So today I headed to Brighton, also the namesake of the beach next to where I live so was on my list of places I had to visit.

I feel like getting around London is super easy, thanks to my awesome City Mapper app but also because the tube and trains are always on time and easy to move between… says a foreigner only doing it for two weeks, I’m sure locals have something else to say! So a tube and a train and I’m in Brighton, about an hour and a half travel all up.

And then there it is, the ocean. The locals must have thought I was a looney because before I could help myself, I said out loud, “Hello ocean!”. I actually have a bad habit of saying hello to inanimate objects, usually things I love, hello home, hello bacon…

So after 10 minutes of staring at my beloved ocean, I meandered down the esplanade to my breakfast stop. A long train ride so I knew exactly where I was going and the chorizo and egg goodness that awaited me, the breakfast martini was a welcome surprise!! Hello breakfast…

Having purposely not planned to do much of anything except chill at the beach, I wandered up the esplanade and everywhere I looked, I fell more and more in love with Brighton. So English with the terrace houses and chimneys along the foreshore rather than the modern monstrosities they build in adelaide. And the little shops and bars tucked away under the esplanade. And when the sun peeked through, perfection.

At the gorgeous Brighton Palace Pier I found Zoltar!! Might not mean much to some but I LOVED the movie Big with Tom Hanks growing up and Zoltar has a starring role making dreams come true. While I didn’t technically make a wish, he did tell me my fortune, scarily accurate about the past and hopefully true about the future. Starting to think the big wish is coming true too, that’s probs got more to do with butter beer and pies though…

The one major thing that AUS Brighton has on my new love Brighton… sand!! The pebbles, rocks or whatever they are, surely would not be comfy to sunbake on and how the hell would you even make a sandcastle?? I also once again for the millionth time in my life wore inappropriate footwear….

With time up my sleeve, I had another chance to mess around with my SLR camera and pretend to be a photographer. Would be nice to stop pretending and actually learn when I get back! Here are my faves:

Also had time to sit back at a gorgeous bar called Lucky Beach and enjoy a gin and the sunshine, while getting lost in my own head.

An impending theatre date with Kyles meant I needed to be back in the city pretty soon so I decided to wander through The Lanes, an old shopping area on the way to the train station. As soon as I stumbled onto the first lane, I knew I should have sucked up my gin quicker and spent more time here! Cute little lanes (hence the name!) that looked straight out of Diagon Alley with eclectic shops and market stalls. Could have spent hours, managed to buy a couple of rings and a birthday present then leg it back to the train in time, and by leg it, I mean I ran, in boots and all…

So after the sun came the snow, Jon Snow that is!! The Christmas present from Kyles, tickets to see True West starring Kit Harrington. After a delish dinner at The Port House, a random pick but awesome share plates, it was time to hit the West End. Being the dork that I am, I was ridiculously overexcited and when Mr Harrington just wandered onto the stage while everyone was still taking seats, I nearly lost my shit. Weird way for a play to start, dude sitting at a desk on stage reading, that’s when I realised I knew nothing about the play… other than Jon Snow’s starring role. But before me was not Jon Snow, not that I expected him to be kitted (like that!) up like a crow but he was the exact opposite. Porn star mustache, his glorious hair cut and slicked back, and in shorts and loafers with a 70s style shirt, ahhhh… the play started and all thoughts of my favourite member of the Nights Watch were gone, out came a southern American accent and a struggling play write was before my eyes. Round of applause to Mr Harrington for completely breaking the brooding pretty boy stereotype and doing something completely opposite to GoT. Complete respect. Great theatre, enthralled from start to finish.

Being hump day for Kyles and having had a busy few days myself, neither of us were up for a big night so a quick pop by Somerset House to check out the ice skating, still sore from skiing, we literally looked then left. Sometimes you gotta know when to call it!

Wednesday 9th January 2019.

January 15, 2019 0

Nerd Alert

I’m a massive Harry Potter fan, don’t care that I’m probs too old but really, are you ever too old for magic?? Having last minute booked the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour at 4.30pm, the rest of the day was about finding fun in London while I waited…

First stop for brekky, Shoreditch. Kyles housesat here and loved it and I’d read a bit about its hipster style, more of an alternative type hood in London. After a 2 second google of the best brunch, couldn’t go past a place called The Breakfast Club and getting lost on the way was an awesome chance to check out the neighbourhood, definitely on the short list of places to live if I were to find myself moving here. Just really chill and quirky, and not full of pretentious hipsters like I half expected. And by gosh, I am a hipster because I’ve missed my smashed avo on rye. The food, the music, the staff, the He-Man wallpaper in the toilet…awesome funky place that hopefully I’ll get back to before leaving!

Next stop, THE British Museum, not just any old museum, THE British one…

I beelined for the Egyptian display, always my favourite at a museum along with dinosaurs but I guess they didn’t have any dinosaurs in Britain… so impressed, amazing sculptures, tombs and mommies (not mummies right?!?), and lots of stories with each display, would have loved to live back in those days, as a well off man or a goddess, us normal joe blows didn’t get much of a chance back then. How they were able to erect the pyramids, create these humongous sculptures, some say aliens but in reality, just bad OH&S that meant people were slaves and it didn’t matter if they lost their life for yet another larger than life sculpture of Ramses II.

After letting my imagination wonder in the times of Osiris and Ra, I found the one things that drew me to the museum, The Rosetta Stone. Had heard so much about it, like a code breaker for Egyptian hieroglyphs and being a nerd that wanted to be a computer hacker and instead settled for being a boring Java programmer – this was absolute bewilderment. If it wasn’t for the masses of crowds around it, I would have stared at it all day. Just looks like a rock in the pic but up close it is absolutely magnificent…

Nearly all museumed out, I did a quick browse through the Japanese history gallery, love the history of the samurai warrior but TBH, wasn’t overly impressed with what was in there, obvious the Egyptian section was the show stopper. With really only seeing about a quarter of the museum but unable to read or look at another thing not from this century, it was time for a strong coffee, double shot. Strolling through the streets of London, I adore the lines of houses and stumbling on this place, the University of London, hmmm, wonder where the psychology department is…

Finally ended up at Carnaby Street, a cobbled street of cool cafes, funky stores and finally, good coffee…

Before I knew it, the time had come to indulge in all things Potter and not be embarrassed even slightly that I’m a thirty something adult in an Gryffindor sweater excited as a school girl… arriving in Watford and getting on the dedicated Harry Potter bus, I loved seeing other adult nerds dressed just like me, probs without the goofy smile though.

The Warner Bros studios are beyond amazing. Every Harry Potter fan MUST visit. After entering the Great Hall decorated for Christmas then through to the different sets, costumes, props and a dream come true, flying on a broomstick!! Video to come… oh, Harry and I have the same size hands, completely useless fact…

I can’t put into words how awesome this place is and how magical it feels just being here, bloody brilliant, as Ron would say… and of course butter beer and butter beer ice cream for dinner made me even sadder that my letter from Hogwarts never arrived…

They recommend you allow three and a half hours to tour the studios, after four and a half, I called it a day. Really could have stayed there for hours more, so much to see and read about, and the self guided audio tour means you can be part of the magical world of witches and wizards for however long you like. Forever please???

Tuesday 8th January 2019.

January 15, 2019 0

Mondayitis

Ah Monday 7th January, the day people not living it up in London Town are back at work. Although there was some guilt that I was snoozing while Kyles was up and at em and back at work, there’s also a little bit of pleasure in waking up on a Monday being able to do whatever the hell you want while the rest of the world works.

Pleasure until there’s Facebook messages and text messages to FaceTime home… a moment of panic until FaceTiming home looking like a bloated zombie only to find the panic was that I hadn’t posted on Facebook for 48 hours so my parents presumed I’d been kidnapped by gypsies… I get where some of my paranoia comes from (note: do love that my parents care so much, will be eternally grateful).

A day with nothing planned, tempting to be a lazy arse again but felt the pull of so many things to see and not enough time so I made a shortlist of all the touristy things that I wanted to do that I knew Kylie would be doing with all her other visitors. The plan was to start at Westminster Abbey then onto Harrods and Hyde Park.

Best App Kyles recommended to navigate London was City Mapper. Pop in where you want to go and it gives you the bus, tube, walking and taxi options plus the where’s and when’s. So I figured out the how and where, forgot that you also need to know which direction… took a punt on the next bus and luckily was on my way. City Mapper also shows all the stops on the way so came across a stop for the Imperial War Museum… why wouldn’t ya?

Love that museums are free in London, although they do encourage a “donation”. One of the most beautiful buildings I’ve seen so far, absolutely massive.

Each level of the museum is a different war so starting at World War I, I wandered through and realised how much I didn’t know about the war… like that the dude who’s assassination was the catalyst for the war is also an awesome Aussie band Franz Ferdinand… what hit home the most though was just how many people died, millions, on both sides. For god, for King, for country, maybe they didn’t even know why. And for the first time in my life, I hated the effectiveness of marketing, the war machine of campaigning that convinced all these innocent young men to surrender their lives. Overwhelming how much propaganda there was, and scary how effective it must have been.

Besides the tragedy of it, an amazing exhibit. Eye opening and sad.

Still amazes me that after the massive loss of lives in WWI that the Second World War even happened, as said in my fave movie Hunger Games, “we’re fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self destruction”. Couldn’t be more true. Although I love reading about the history of the war and seeing all the machines and artefacts, it’s heart breaking how many lives were lost all in the crazy pursuit of power by an evil man.

Venturing into The Holocaust section of the museum, I knew of the history and the stories of the atrocities committed, what caught my attention particularly was how the nazis treated people with a disability. So often it’s not mentioned in movies and books about how the sterilized and killed people with a disability in the name of cleansing the population. Made me feel sick. Since working in my current job for over two years with people with a disability, I know first hand that they are sweet, loving and beautiful people, heart breaking that being different is cause for someone’s belief that you shouldn’t exist. But I guess that was the whole belief system of the Nazis, if you don’t fit their profile of the Aryan race, you don’t deserve to live. Assholes.

As the prolific quote inscribed on the wall said: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” How the world let this happen is beyond words.

After being at the museum longer than planned, I jumped back on the double decker headed for Westminster Abbey. Feel like an excited school kid every time I get on a double decker, must have tourist written all over my face with my goofy smile.

London was not turning it on for me today, gloomy and cold but still gorgeous. Disappointed Big Ben was still surrounded by scaffolds but walking over London Bridge, taking in the sites, just love love love this place.

The Abbey itself is just stunning. Beautiful gothic architecture, stain glass windows, marble and stone statues and more gold than I’ve ever seen in my life. It did occur to me that the Abbey is one big tomb, so many people buried or entombed there, bit eerie if you think about it too much – wandering through a building of dead bodies… hmmmm, must try not overthink things…

While i expected it to be the resting place of plenty of royals, I didn’t know that Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Dickens were also buried there. Lucky dudes, would be my preference to be buried there too, sure I’ll be important enough one day?!?

So after a massive touristy day, I found a typically British pub to chill while waiting on Kyles to finish work. Just love pubs here, they are all gorgeous.

Once Kyles joined me we got stuck into some british pies, Three Bird Roast and Hampshire Game, oh my yum… so damn good will never be able to enjoy another Balfours… I’m not patient enough to take food pics when the food arrives, half eaten by the time I remember…

Before calling it for the day, we headed to what is known as the Walkie Talkie building which has views all over London and quite honestly is so super cool with indoor gardens and floor to ceiling glass. Words can’t describe. Or I’m tired and my words can’t describe!