Grüezi (hello) Switzerland

The following weekend I eagerly left work early, rushed to Heathrow airport and sat in a delayed plane on the London tarmac in anticipation of a weekend with my friend Ang and her family in Switzerland.
When I arrived in Zurich, I was met by Patrick, Ang’s hubby, and we drove to their little town, Gams, which is just over an hour out of Zurich near Lichtenstein.
We had pasta for supper, and after over wine Ang and I chatted and caught up way into the night.
The next morning we went up to Wildhaus, a ski resort just behind Gams in the mountains.
We caught a ski lift up to the top of the mountain, a weird experience without snow :-)
At the top we went on a walk to the next ski lift.
The walk is called the Klangweg, it is a really interesting walk because it has little stops along the way with different things that make sound.
Ang told me there are different themed walks along this piece of mountain.
At the next ski lift we stopped and ate lunch at a restaurant frequented by cold skiers in winter for schnapps and hot chocolate.
We had salads and cold drinks, a stark contrast to our winter counterparts.
Then it was down the lift, and a pleasant walk along a river back to the car.
In the afternoon Ang and I headed off to Lichtenstein and went and looked at all the expensive shops in one of the little towns there, and then sat down for giant cups of tea (just the way Ang and I like them – lots of tea!) and a lovely creamy bowl of ice-cream each.
We’d used Patrick’s little sports car (Mazda MX5 I think) to travel there and had felt like pop stars out for a jaunt. We luckily clumsily put up the hood in the parking lot before leaving Liechtenstein as it was bucketing down with rain when we drove home. If we’d left the hood down, it might have been a case of more drowned rat rather than glamorous pop star….
That night we had the most famous of Swiss meals, the cheese fondue.
It was wonderful. I was terribly careful not to drop any bread or vegetables into the warm cheese mixture, as the forfeit was downing a tot glass of schnapps which I have about as much appreciation for as tequila!
I had a good night’s sleep - Ang and Patrick live on the side of a mountain and it’s wonderfully quiet at night compared to London where noise abounds even with the double glazed windows. The next morning we made our way to the local swimming pool.
It was a lovely sunny and hot day, and I even managed to get a little bit of a tan before jumping into the pool. The water was a little chilly, but that didn’t seem to stop the many, many people who were also at the pool enjoying the sunshine, water and playing around.
It was rather funny swimming and sun tanning when there was snow dusting the very tops of all the surrounding mountains.
Ang dropped me off at the airport on Sunday afternoon after a lovely and fun weekend, and I made my way back to rainy England.

Picture 1: The view from Ang and Patrick's house

Picture 2: One of the sound makers on the Klangweg

Picture 3: Ang, Patrick and Oliver on our walk

Picture 4: The view from the top of the mountain at Wildhaus

Picture 5: Me window shopping in Lichtenstein

Picture 6: Ang, Oliver and I at the swimming pool (see the snow on the mountains behind!)

Our little bit of summer

It’s mid July and so far the weather has chucked rain, grey skies and chilly winds at us. We’re having a truly authentic English summer.
We were momentarily fooled into thinking that it was actually going to be a dry, sunny South African type summer by having a few days of sun, muggy heat and summer in June.
On one such weekend was a weekend (in early June) I visited my cousin, Dylan, his wife Kerry and their little one, Louie.
I arrived at about lunchtime and was immediately put to work assisting Dylan put up a sort of sun tent in the garden (which looked rather like it should have people sitting on colourful cushions being fed grapes and waved with banana leaves).
We achieved this in about 10 minutes of figuring out where poles fitted together and where fabric zipped up, while a neighbour hung over the garden wall and told us that they’d taken hours to put up theirs and we would be no different.
I then ambled inside to where Kerry was making a salad for our picnic.
We took everything into the garden in our Turkish sun tent, and ate a feast of salad, olives, crusty bread, cheeses and rosé wine.
At 2pm sharp Dylan rushed off down to the local pub to watch the South Africa vs. England rugby match, while Kerry, Louie and I followed at a more leisurely pace and sat outside the pub in the early summer heat drinking beer shandies.
The next day I went for a cycle in Richmond Park on mountain bikes with a friend, Warren.
He’s a bit of a sports fanatic, and I spent most of my time trying to catch him up, and look like I wasn’t panting and sweating up a storm!
Near a little dam in Richmond Park we put out a picnic blanket, ate lunch and watched the swans parade their little babies around, while the sun beat gently down on us.
It felt like the beginning of a warm summer yet to come….


Picture 1: Dylan and Louie
Picture 2: Kerry and Louie
Picture 3: Me and Louie
Picture 4: The baby swans at Richmond park

A Wet Weekend in Wales

On the 25th of May we officially began our second May bank holiday weekend, consisting of full 3 days off work – bliss….
Shantal, Nimisha, Portia, Jonathan and I jumped in a tank of a car (Ford Mondeo Estate) rented from Avis and drove off to Cardiff for the weekend.
After a long drive with a stop on the way at a service station restaurant for breakfast, we arrived in Cardiff. As we couldn’t yet check into our hotel, we went off to explore Castel Coch. It’s one of the two castles which belonged to the Marquis of Wales/Cardiff.
It’s a fairytale castle on top of a hill partially hidden by trees. Inside is decorated with paintings all over the ceilings and walls. Maquis Bute had a passion for all things Medieval as well as nature, and this style is definitely apparent in the decorating.
Once we’d imagined we were royalty in Castel Coch, we drove to the waterfront in Cardiff Bay and had a late lunch at an Italian restaurant.
I had a fab folded pizza filled with chicken, spinach, garlic, tomato and cheese – it was wonderful.
Then we drove our weary bodies back to the hotel, checked in and while Shantal and Nimisha slept, the others and I challenged each other to many games of pool at the pool table.
Later that evening we all ‘dolled’ ourselves up in our night-out clothing, and went to Greyfriar’s Road, one of the streets famous in Cardiff for it’s bars, cafes and clubs.
We visited Fat Cats (a bar/restaurant) first, and while sipping cocktails, sat on sofa’s near the window which had a view of the street.
Cardiff is the unofficial bachelor and bachelorette weekend venue, and there were at least 7 or 8 parties of people all dressed up in their themed outfits parading down the street and pub/club hopping. Most of the brides-to-be had veils and tiara’s, but their guests were all dressed up too, some in just tee shirts with their names on, others with sailor outfits and others in 1940’s dresses and wigs.
The other thing that struck us was the tiny-ness of some of the girl’s outfits (these were just normal patrons of the clubs and bars), some girls wore really just teeny tiny tops with belts (no jeans or skirts) and leaving nothing to the imagination!
Many were committed party goers, one of the girls both impressed and disgusted us by retching (and throwing up) into a beer glass and then 5 minutes later dancing merrily away on the dance floor – that must take years of practice…. ;-)
Jonathan left early leaving us girls to dance a little longer, at about 1am, we all decided that we were staving (having missed supper) and asked a female bouncer where we could find food at this time of the morning/night.
She gave us a road name and we jumped into a cab. We ended up in City Road which does indeed have some fried chicken shops and kebab shops open at that hour. It must however be one of the more dodgy roads/areas in Cardiff. When we asked the cab driver if it was okay for us to be there, he replied, ‘well, there are four of you, so you should be okay’ and then sped off.
Once we’d filled up on lamb kebabs (very tasty at that time of night), I tried to call the cab company who’d dropped us off at the club initially and was told that they didn’t fetch from ‘that’ area.
So stranded on the side of the road and trying to be cheerful at that time of the morning, a legitimate cab drove past, we hailed it, and gratefully piled in and got to the hotel safely.
Not an adventure for the faint-hearted! ;-)

On Sunday morning it was literally bucketing down with rain, and so we opted to have breakfast at a coffee shop at a shopping centre.
We then had a bit of a look around at the shops, and as the rain was not going to let up, braved the walk to Cardiff Castle.
We booked a tour, but ended up missing it because we arrived 5 minutes late, so had to wait around for a later tour (they were booking up fast that day). So we first went into the castle grounds and climbed the many stairs to the top of the Norman fort and looked at the view of Cardiff. Even in the whipping rain and wind, it is a lovely sight.
Finally we were able to warm up a little by going inside the castle on the tour.
I’ve done the tour before, but it is such a lovely building inside and so ornate, that it was a treat going back. Each room on view is done in a theme and is stunning. Unfortunately you’re not allowed to take photos, so you only leave with memories (and a postcard or two).
That evening we went back to the waterfront (in the rain) and had supper at a Turkish restaurant which had walls entirely made of glass to take advantage of the view of the bay. We had a lovely supper.

On Monday morning, I got up early and went to meet Emily, my cousin, for breakfast. We had a lovely catch-up. It’s always so lovely to see family in a foreign country. Being away from home really makes you appreciate your friends and family.
After that I picked up the others from the hotel and we drove home in more rain.I was glad to get home, put my feet up and drink a cuppa tea and have a chocolate bickie (biscuit). Oh dear, am I turning English? ;-)

Picture 1: Castel Coch

Picture 2: A painted ceiling (Castel Coch)

Picture 3: A painted wall (Castel Coch)

Picture 4: My Cardiff souvenir :-)

Picture 5: Cardiff Bay

Picture 6: Party gals, Shantal, me, Portia

Picture 7: More party go-er's, Nimeesha, Jonathan

Picture 8: Cardiff Castle and one of its resident peacocks

Picture 9: Nimisha and I braving the elements on the Norman fort (Cardiff in the background)

A Family Affair

It was with much excitement, on the 18th May, that I was off to see my brother and his family again in Derbyshire for a weekend.
I travelled up by train on Friday after work and was met at the station by my brother and my little niece and nephew (who were fast asleep in the back of the car).
Once they put the little ones to bed, I had a nice evening chatting to Richard and Sharon (poor Sharon spent a lot of the evening finishing up an assignment which was due the next day).
The next morning Richard and I walked Kai and Sian to the shopping area of Ilkeston. It was market day and we walked around the stalls a little looking at all the things for sale.
We stopped at the fruit and vegetable stall which smelt wonderful, just like lots of summer fruits and bought some vegetables and, you guessed it, fruit.
Then it was off to the butchers to buy meat for the barbeque/braai that evening.
Richard recently acquired a barbeque Weber, and is an avid braai-er now :-)
We visited the Ilkeston Library which has just re-opened after some rewiring and got lots of books for Kai and Sian. (Kai spent the rest of the weekend making me read these books to him, he really loves having stories read to him.)

Unfortunately the heavens opened up on us halfway on the walk home and I could see Sharon’s horrified face, when we all walked in, sopping wet resembling drowned rats with our shopping bags.
Luckily by evening, the rain had cleared and we were able to have a good old South African braai/barbeque with hunks of the best rump I’ve had in ages and ages, a huge salad with everything in it, homemade bread and a glass of wine. Yum, yum!
The next morning we hit the road and went to the Derbyshire Dales and had a walk in the countryside.
Kai and Sian really loved the long grass and rolled about giggling and shouting. It was very cute to see.
Sian has started using my name when she talks to me in her baby babble with words here and there. Unfortunately as my name is a bit of a mouthful, she’s abbreviated it a little and calls me ‘Day’. She kept calling me the whole weekend in her cute little baby voice, as well as pointing at me and saying ‘Day’ and smiling.
Her other favourite words are meow-meow when seeing pictures of a cat and saying what they sound like, and ‘raison’ (she was eating them at the time).

Picture 1: Richard, Kai and Sian running down a hill in Ilkeston on Market Day

Picture 2: A view on our walk of the Derbyshire Dales

Picture 3: Sharon and Kai on our walk

Picture 4: Me and Sian, also on the walk

Punting in Oxford

A week after I returned back to London, we had the first May bank holiday weekend. On the Sunday of this lovely long weekend, I went to Oxford for the day with some work colleagues.
We met at Victoria station early in the morning and caught one of the many busses which motor up to the historic university town everyday.
It was a chilly day, so on arriving the first thing everyone wanted to do was find a coffee shop, drink tea and coffee and have a lovely fry-up breakfast, which is exactly what we did.
After watering and feeding ourselves, it was off to catch the hop-on-hop-off bus around Oxford.
I enjoyed the view of Oxford from the top of a bus, but I think the walking tour I did there with Landy a couple of years ago was far superior as were privy to far more information about this interesting university, and we got to go into some of the college campuses and see their halls and gardens.
Our next aim was to try ‘punting’ on the river. This is where you stand at the back of a slim wooden boat and use a long heavy pole to push the boat along.
It’s certainly a very good workout for your arm muscles, I managed to wobble the boat along and didn’t fall in, so all in all I think it was a successful attempt ;-)
After our river experience, we were all cold again, so decided to find an indoor activity for a while.
We went to a famous bookshop in Oxford which has an underground floor and boasts having 3 miles of bookshelves down there.
It certainly has a book on pretty much any topic you can think of for sale. Wonderful stuff for a book lover like me.
After a cream tea (scones, cream, jam and tea) we snoozed all the way home on the bus.

Picture 1: Christchurch chapel from the river
Picture 2: Me, punting on the river
Picture 3: Side road in Oxford

An African Wedding

I went to South Africa for a week in April to go to Vicky’s wedding and spend a time at home with friends and family.
I was really looking forward to seeing sunny South Africa, having been away from home for 3 months. After a non-eventful flight, I arrived in Johannesburg on a Friday morning, and made for my parent’s house which would be my ‘home base’ for the visit.
The day went quickly, and I only just had time to say hello both my parents before going off up to Mangwa a game farm just past Pretoria for Vicky’s wedding.
The wedding was only on Saturday, but close friends and family arrived a day early for a good old braai and catch-up. It was so great to see a lot of my friends again and hear their news. Somehow it’s never the same being 1000 miles away and chatting on email or the phone.

Saturday arrived and most of the boys and some girls (all who’d arrived the night before) played golf with the groom for the morning. The rest of us headed off for a good fry-up breakfast at a local farm which had a little restaurant.
After helping out a little with wedding preparations I guiltily sunned myself at the pool until it was time to get ready for the wedding.

The wedding was lovely, Vicky and Alex’s love of the African bush certainly shone through with their unique decorations and proceedings.
The bride arrived in an open 4x4, and a choir welcomed her into the church singing ‘The bride is coming’ in Zulu. She was certainly a beautiful and serene bride with a very big smile :-)
We had a drinks and snacks on the pool deck with the African bush and a gorgeous pink sunset as the backdrop after the service.
Then it was into the reception venue for supper, speeches and to dance the night away.
Again the lovely African Theme prevailed in the hall, with metal baobab trees in the middle of each table, a metal and bead animal as a table ‘number’, little orange and red berries scattered over the white table cloths and a beaded bride and groom as a thank you present for each guest.
It certainly was a night to remember.

I arrived back at my parent’s house on Sunday, but was so tired that I slept for most of the afternoon.
On Monday through to Thursday I began running the 101 errands that pile up when one is not in the country for a while, everything from sorting out my tax return to going into the office for a day for a couple of meetings with my boss and work colleagues. On Monday night Caroline came over and slept at my parents after work, it was lovely and felt like our regular hangout Monday nights when she used to sleep over at my house once a week.
Each afternoon I hung out with my mom, and in the evenings I spent time with my parents.
My two cats were certainly pleased to see me, and I was happily surprised to see that they certainly remembered me.
Pascal, my little brown cat decided that he should have more quality time with me than the other two cats and would have little fights at my feet with the other cats to ensure that he got to sit on his mistress’s lap. It was very amusing!
I definitely miss the two little critters, but they do seem happy and well adjusted where they are right now (at my parent’s house).
On Thursday evening I spent some time with my friend’s Christopher and Cathy and their little daughter Kaitlyn who just gets cuter and prettier by the day.
Friday was a public holiday in South Africa and my parents and I had a wonderful breakfast and a little walk at the Walter Sisulu botanical gardens. It is so lovely and green there!
In the afternoon I had coffee with Michele and Sarah, giggling over many things.
Before I knew it, I was on the plane on Saturday evening, and flying back to London without having achieved half the things I wanted to. I think that is the nature of one week holidays, they are generally just too short!

Picture 1: Sunset drinks at the wedding

Picture 2: Vicky and Alex bouncing out the church

Picture 3: Baobab trees and table settings

Picture 4: Mandy, Landy, Susan, Linzi and me

Picture 5: Me, Caroline and Susan

Picture 6: Me and the about the only time Stitch got to sit on my lap (Pascal not around)

Picture 7: Mom and Dad at the Walter Sisulu botanical gardens

Picture 8: Pascal, loafing about

Easter bunny, Easter eggs, Easter!

It’s hard to believe it’s already April!
But here it is and for the first time, this Easter weekend, it really felt like spring and summer are on their way in the UK!
On the Good Friday of the Easter weekend, I had an extremely lazy day! I woke at 9am, had a good lie in with my novel and a cup tea. After a breakfast which included hot cross buns (of course!), I decided that I was being far too sloth-like and had better do a bit of exercise, so I did a brisk long walk along the Thames. It was a lovely spring day (about 18 degrees), and most Londoner’s and tourists seem gathered on the edge of the river. So it was a matter of dodge the tourist/Londoner/performing artist as I ‘power walked’ along!
The rest of the day was spent watching movies and pottering around the house.
I was on a train up north the following day as I went up to stay with my brother and his family for the rest of the Easter weekend.
That evening we went to a pub/club in Ilkeston (where my brother and his family live), with my brother’s friend and girlfriend (Brent and Carla).
I am embarrassed to say that after 4 drinks I was rather ‘jolly’ and even proved to the good people of Ilkeston that I was perfectly capable of dancing by myself on the dance floor when none of my party would join me….
(Not my finest moment – hopefully they weren’t all giggling too hard ;-)

The next morning was Easter, we had an Easter egg hunt in the garden for Kai and Sian, which caused great excitement!
They loved looking around for the little eggs, even if Sian had no idea at that point that they were indeed chocolate.
The rest of the day was spent in the garden as it was another lovely sunny day. We had a lovely braai/barbeque of chicken, potatoes done in the fire, salad and roles.
Things got rather competitive when the adults played badminton and soccer while waiting for lunch (and after).
Monday was another lazy day, and before I knew it, I was back on a train and off back to London.

Easter really is great fun when there are little children around, one begins to look at it through new eyes again!

Picture 1 and 2 – Even the London Eye was decorated for the occasion
Picture 3 – Sian’s first Easter egg discovery
Picture 4 – The family on the Easter egg hunt
Picture 5 – Sian and I lazing in the sun

Weekend visitors – Number 2

Last weekend I was lucky enough to have my third set of visitors!
My sister in law, Sharon and Kai (my nephew) came for a weekend visit.
They too arrived late on Friday night, after the long evening train ride from Nottingham.
On Saturday we took our time eating breakfast and getting ready and then headed off to fashionable Chelsea to a restaurant which has a children’s indoor play area in the basement. There we spent a fun afternoon with Sharon’s friend, Sandy and her children eating lunch and chatting.
I nominated myself to take Kai downstairs to the play area before and after lunch.
He was a little overwhelmed at all the noisy children and the huge play area which is like a large padded jungle gym with lots of slides and tubes to wiggle through.
As a result, he insisted I come with him. So it was off with my shoes (to embarrassingly find I had a hole in one of my socks) and the afternoon saw me wriggling through the tubes, sliding down slides and wading through plastic balls. I felt quite stiff and exhausted after my thorough workout!
After that we rushed off to meet another friend Sharon’s and her husband for coffee near Trafalgar Square.
We were terribly late meeting them. The London tubes were very busy and it took three tubes on the Piccadilly line passing us by before there was enough space for 3 more to fit on.
We had a lovely time drinking coffee and chatting, before wondering through Trafalgar Square and looking at the fountains. The fountains were spraying water sideways all over us tourists because of a brisk wind!


The next day had us off to Regent’s Park to visit the London Zoo.
Kai was totally in his element, and loved the big fish in the aquarium (will he grow up to be a marine biologist I wonder? ;-)
We also visited the gorillas, the tigers and lions, the farm animals and the wriggly snakes. It was really fun!


Once Sharon and Kai were safely on the train, I made my way to Richmond and met a friend for a very late lunch and a walk along the Thames.
I was so tired from my excursions earlier in the day at the zoo, I was practically too tired to talk!

All in all a wonderful weekend!

Picture 1: A fantastic display of sea anemone in the aquarium at the zoo.
Picture 2: Sharon and Kai on a gorilla
Picture 3: The sunset over the Thames in Richmond

Life in the home of Big Ben

I think I finally decided I was a real Londoner when, the other day I was walking over the Westminster Bridge with lots of (heavy) shopping bags, and got annoyed with all the tourists who were stopping willy-nilly on the sidewalk to take pictures of Big Ben! :-)

I’m slowly starting to feel more at home in London.
My job is getting more challenging and stimulating and I’m starting to feel part of my team.
I offered to be the team social organiser for the year, and it’s my job to organise quarterly team events for our team of 10.
We had our first team social evening about three weeks ago.
We went for a curry in Brick Lane. Brick Lane is a long road that would be any curry lover’s idea of heaven. It has about 2km’s of Indian restaurants!
We went to a restaurant called Bengal Village, starting with Cobra beers (an Indian beer) and moving swiftly onto poppadoms and chutney. I had a lovely chicken curry with naan bread for my main course.
There was a lot of eating with your hands and chatting and giggling. The evening was declared a success by all!
The next events coming up for our team are a social being held by the bank, a Pub Quiz night. We’ve entered a team aptly called ‘The Smarty Pints’ :-) (It took me ages to get everyone to agree on just one name!)
Half the team will are also entered into the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge (London) for June. It’s a 5km run. I’m going to have to start training soon ;-)
I think being the team social organiser has definitely made me get involved with the team and team life, which is great.

I’ve also had a taste of a bit of culture in London.
One evening I went with some work colleagues to a play. It was Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The play was held in East London in the Wilton Theatre which is this magnificent, crumbling 150 year old theatre. The theatre itself is terribly grand inside with wooden carvings and colour giving it the feel of a Spanish or Mexican hall.
(We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside but I was sorely tempted to, it really was beautiful.)

In the same week I went to a Jazz charity evening with a friend at Hampstead Hill Playhouse. It was organised by an organisation called African Revival. They’re a charity who sends money to African countries to build schools and other community based projects.
We were spoilt with a live band of extremely talented youngsters and their music teacher who entertained us with jazz music. There was also a husky voiced singer who joined them for a couple of numbers.
That evening I finally had my first English fish and chips for 2007 :-)

I find that if you don’t say no to any invitations, you can pretty much be busy every night of the week in London (thank goodness the TV here is terrible ;-)
This week I’ve been to after work drinks on two evenings, one evening to a trendy bar in Piccadilly called Cocoon (it was so trendy, I almost expected to bump into some English TV star there) and last night was at the Slug and Lettuce (still love the name) a pub near work, I have a supper tomorrow, an am meeting up with a friend, Anthea for a quick drink tonight.
Last week was filled with dinners out, lunches and coffees.

It feels really good to be social. I do however miss my Jhb friends terribly! :-)

Picture 1: My unruly work team
Picture 2: Breakfast with a work colleague Nameetha at Giraffe (a restaurant on the Thames)

Picture 3: A chilly day out in Greenwich with work buddies

Weekend visitors – Number 1

When living in a big, colourful city, you expect to frequently have visitors who wish to sample the delights of the place.
My dad came visiting first, and in late February my brother, Richard and my little nephew Kai came for a weekend visit.
They arrived late on Friday night after a long train journey from Nottingham. After a quick snack and the making of a traveller’s bed in the lounge we were all fast asleep.
On Saturday morning we woke early and after breakfast, rushed down to the river to take Kai on a short boat trip on the Thames. Unfortunately, we were a little too enthusiastic and got to Embankment (one of the boat stops) about an hour too early, none of the boats were operating yet. It was so cold that the only sensible thing seemed to be coffee!
So it was off to Nero’s (a coffee shop chain here) for a long slow cuppa.
Finally we were on our boat trip, which Kai loved.
After that it was on to a very family filled afternoon. We caught the train to my cousin’s house in Surbiton (a suburb, in south west of London near Richmond) where he lives with his wife Kerry and their little sprog, Louie. My other cousin Emily, her man, Ashley and their little one, Leo arrived shortly afterwards from Cardiff. They were on a stopover before jetting off to sunny South Africa for a holiday.
It was a lovely afternoon - catching up, eating lunch and playing with the 3 little ones. The boys tried to appear interested in our girly chat, but spent a lot of time eyes glued to the tele (the 6 nations rugby was on).
Later Richard, Kai and I wound our way back to my place for a relaxing evening.

The next morning saw us at the Science Museum where Kai was terribly excited by all the touch and feel children’s learn about science areas.
We quickly popped into the Natural History Museum on the way home to look at the dinosaurs (Kai loves them!). I was impressed that he could easily identify a heap of bones as being a dinosaur shape.
After that, they rushed off to catch a train home and I plopped onto the sofa with the tv remote for a much needed break after a fun, if busy weekend.

Picture 1: The cousins and little sprogs
Picture 2: Kai and Richard playing with water at the science museum

A day out in London

I have done some London sightseeing since arriving.
I’ve shopped on Oxford street, but it’s so busy there that after about 3 blocks packed with millions of people, I went into a daze and only managed to get a couple of things on a long shopping list.
I’ve been back to the Victoria and Albert Museum, a place I love, not only for the great tea and cake (in their in house restaurant) but for the lovely displays they have. Yes I will profess to sometimes be a ‘visit a museum nerd’ ;-)

I’ve been to the infamous Brick Lane for a curry, and to various pubs and bars for after work drinks. This Friday past, I went with my team to a great roof top bar near to our office. It was too cold to sit outside, but I can imagine it in summer, sipping cocktails with a view of London and the Thames.
I’ve walked along the Thames a few times. It’s always filled with lots of people walking, sitting, talking, skating and busking.

Last weekend, I did some shopping (with a greater degree of success than Oxford Street) in Kensington High Street. Being a gal who frequents Rosebank and Hyde Park (but can’t afford most of what’s on offer ;-) this high street is right up my alley.
I went with my work colleague Blanche who is here from South Africa for two months. After our shop, we went to Hyde Park and played with the squirrels and had a picnic at the Princess Di memorial, which is a lovely water feature. We also looked at the Royal Albert Hall (a concert hall built in 1871, commissioned by Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert) and looked at Kensington Palace, a lovely red brick, rather large home.

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Picture 1: Me on our picnic at the water memorial

Picture 2: An early spring in Hyde Park

Picture 3: Kensington Palance

Picture 4: Squirrel Nutkin