Sunday, December 28, 2003
Hi all, I will bring you up to-date with what we have been up to.
Christmas Day
Rachel prepared us a lovely Christmas lunch with NZ lamb (can trust this British stuff), roast vegetables and lovely Christmas pudding. We spent most of the day eating nibbles and playing monopoly. We went to the park for a walk and saw the kids with radio-controlled cars and an electric motorcycle! Some people. Thank you to those who sent us email, cards and presents.
Boxing Day
Lou went to Return of the King for a second time, with Rachel and Steve, at the same cinema we went to the first time. I want to go again too, but one of the bigger theatres. That night we watched the Only fools and horses and first part of The Office Christmas specials. Shall I tell you what happens? Nah you will just have to wait.
Yesterday
We went to the Tower of London. We decided not to take one of the Beefeater tours and walked by ourselves instead. There was a bit of drama when we were waiting to see the crown jewels. We were walking past the videos of the queen’s coronation when a siren went off and warnings came on the screens which said we should head towards the nearest exit. It turned out to be a false alarm, someone had touched the glass. The jewels were impressive lots of diamonds, some very large and lots of gold “salts” (looked pretty fancy for salt shakers). In the white tower, the oldest building, was the kings armoury. Lots of old suits of armour, swards and guns. Last night we saw the second half of The Office, very good.
Today
We walked to Hampstead Heath. It is a large area of almost untouched forest and grassland in the middle of London. It was nice to see a bit of nature. It is quite cold so it became quite uncomfortable, I thought my hand s were going to get frostbite. We were happy to return home to a hot meal.
(0) comments
Christmas Day
Rachel prepared us a lovely Christmas lunch with NZ lamb (can trust this British stuff), roast vegetables and lovely Christmas pudding. We spent most of the day eating nibbles and playing monopoly. We went to the park for a walk and saw the kids with radio-controlled cars and an electric motorcycle! Some people. Thank you to those who sent us email, cards and presents.
Boxing Day
Lou went to Return of the King for a second time, with Rachel and Steve, at the same cinema we went to the first time. I want to go again too, but one of the bigger theatres. That night we watched the Only fools and horses and first part of The Office Christmas specials. Shall I tell you what happens? Nah you will just have to wait.
Yesterday
We went to the Tower of London. We decided not to take one of the Beefeater tours and walked by ourselves instead. There was a bit of drama when we were waiting to see the crown jewels. We were walking past the videos of the queen’s coronation when a siren went off and warnings came on the screens which said we should head towards the nearest exit. It turned out to be a false alarm, someone had touched the glass. The jewels were impressive lots of diamonds, some very large and lots of gold “salts” (looked pretty fancy for salt shakers). In the white tower, the oldest building, was the kings armoury. Lots of old suits of armour, swards and guns. Last night we saw the second half of The Office, very good.
Today
We walked to Hampstead Heath. It is a large area of almost untouched forest and grassland in the middle of London. It was nice to see a bit of nature. It is quite cold so it became quite uncomfortable, I thought my hand s were going to get frostbite. We were happy to return home to a hot meal.
(0) comments
Sunday, December 21, 2003
I’m getting into the Christmas mood now. We’ve just got back from having a lovely Christmas lunch at Pam and Brian’s. There was trout, roast lamb, roast veges on the menu for the mains and yummy fruit crème brulee, home made pavlova and Christmas pud for dessert. Plus lashings of bubbles. We had a great time chatting and reminiscing. Steve’s sister Valda and Brian’s business partner Johnny and his family were also there.
Last night we celebrated Laurie’s birthday (Rachel’s friend). We went to Stoke Newington for a turkish meal and jazz performance at the Vortex.
Both outings involved a lot of travelling. This seems to be a reality in London. It takes awhile to get around and you have to plan your route strategically. Luckily the tube and National rail trains are nice and cosy.
I had a couple of long lunches at work this week. Our team Christmas lunch was on Wednesday. I paid around £25 for some haddock and lemon pate and fatty pieces of lamb with roast spuds, carrots and brussel sprouts! Not good! It’s probably the most I’ll ever pay for a meal in my time in London. Surprisingly I enjoyed the brussel sprouts the most (o: They are different here to back home. Smaller and (if cooked enough) softer. Yum.
Joseph, Luke and I went to The Return of the King on Friday. We really enjoyed it but wish we were at the Embassy with its booming sound system and massive screen. I also wish I hadn’t read every article and review I could get my hands on before hand. I kind of spoiled a few of the surprises Peter Jackson included. Even so I still really enjoyed it. I made sure I didn’t drink a lot of liquid all day so I didn’t have to go to the loo! After the movie we had our first and probably last Walkabout experience. The Walkabout is a popular chain of Aussie/Kiwi bars in London. It plays really cheesy music and is a bit of a meat market. But it is right next to the cinema so we went in for one drink.
Joseph and I are working up to Christmas and are back to work on the 6th of Jan as we are off to Paris on the 3rd to the 5th. Yep that’s right. We are finally getting off our arses and getting back into the travelling. It’s only for a long weekend though. We got a good 3 nights for the price of 2 deal, from lastminute.com, at a Hilton in the business district (La Defense). I better brush up on my 4th form French. We won’t try to fit heaps of sightseeing in one weekend but instead will soak up the Parisian atmosphere and eat some French cuisine. We’ve given up on the skiing idea for now as it is very expensive compared to NZ. Maybe we’ll get a good deal towards the end of the season in March.
Merry Christmas to everyone!!
(0) comments
Last night we celebrated Laurie’s birthday (Rachel’s friend). We went to Stoke Newington for a turkish meal and jazz performance at the Vortex.
Both outings involved a lot of travelling. This seems to be a reality in London. It takes awhile to get around and you have to plan your route strategically. Luckily the tube and National rail trains are nice and cosy.
I had a couple of long lunches at work this week. Our team Christmas lunch was on Wednesday. I paid around £25 for some haddock and lemon pate and fatty pieces of lamb with roast spuds, carrots and brussel sprouts! Not good! It’s probably the most I’ll ever pay for a meal in my time in London. Surprisingly I enjoyed the brussel sprouts the most (o: They are different here to back home. Smaller and (if cooked enough) softer. Yum.
Joseph, Luke and I went to The Return of the King on Friday. We really enjoyed it but wish we were at the Embassy with its booming sound system and massive screen. I also wish I hadn’t read every article and review I could get my hands on before hand. I kind of spoiled a few of the surprises Peter Jackson included. Even so I still really enjoyed it. I made sure I didn’t drink a lot of liquid all day so I didn’t have to go to the loo! After the movie we had our first and probably last Walkabout experience. The Walkabout is a popular chain of Aussie/Kiwi bars in London. It plays really cheesy music and is a bit of a meat market. But it is right next to the cinema so we went in for one drink.
Joseph and I are working up to Christmas and are back to work on the 6th of Jan as we are off to Paris on the 3rd to the 5th. Yep that’s right. We are finally getting off our arses and getting back into the travelling. It’s only for a long weekend though. We got a good 3 nights for the price of 2 deal, from lastminute.com, at a Hilton in the business district (La Defense). I better brush up on my 4th form French. We won’t try to fit heaps of sightseeing in one weekend but instead will soak up the Parisian atmosphere and eat some French cuisine. We’ve given up on the skiing idea for now as it is very expensive compared to NZ. Maybe we’ll get a good deal towards the end of the season in March.
Merry Christmas to everyone!!
(0) comments
Sunday, December 14, 2003
How’s it going where you are? Have you booked to see Return of the King yet? I bet the Embassy looks great. We have booked to see it over here on Friday.
We went to Madame Tussauds yesterday. Excellent, we queued for 40 minutes and it cost £20 each to get in, but it was worth it. The statues are very life like. They had Brittany Spears doing some pole dancing complete with heaving chest and beads of sweat on her belly (Lou noticed this not me). Some looked exactly like the model but others seemed a bit off, of course the more recent ones were better.
They have a Serial killers section with displays of hideous torture apparatus and a house of horrors with live actors. Lou freaked out, she was screaming and grabbing onto people she didn’t know. In the same building is a planetarium. They had a Treasure Planet (an animated space pirate movie from a while ago) tie in. There is a hemi-sphere screen which you look up at. The best bit is going through a black hole, the feeling of motion is amazing. Makes me want to go to Euro-Disney.
Sir Bob Geldoff (live aid) has organised some artistic lighting to brighten up the city. At night Marble arch has sunflowers projected on it. He has plans for other parts of the city as well. We plan to take a look tonight.
I finally see the benefit of Internet shopping. I bought presents for my family in New Zealand online and got them delivered free of charge. Just the ticket for a lazy, stingy person like me.
(0) comments
We went to Madame Tussauds yesterday. Excellent, we queued for 40 minutes and it cost £20 each to get in, but it was worth it. The statues are very life like. They had Brittany Spears doing some pole dancing complete with heaving chest and beads of sweat on her belly (Lou noticed this not me). Some looked exactly like the model but others seemed a bit off, of course the more recent ones were better.
They have a Serial killers section with displays of hideous torture apparatus and a house of horrors with live actors. Lou freaked out, she was screaming and grabbing onto people she didn’t know. In the same building is a planetarium. They had a Treasure Planet (an animated space pirate movie from a while ago) tie in. There is a hemi-sphere screen which you look up at. The best bit is going through a black hole, the feeling of motion is amazing. Makes me want to go to Euro-Disney.
Sir Bob Geldoff (live aid) has organised some artistic lighting to brighten up the city. At night Marble arch has sunflowers projected on it. He has plans for other parts of the city as well. We plan to take a look tonight.
I finally see the benefit of Internet shopping. I bought presents for my family in New Zealand online and got them delivered free of charge. Just the ticket for a lazy, stingy person like me.
(0) comments
Saturday, December 06, 2003
We are becoming regulars at the Shepherds Bush Empire. On Wednesday we went there for the third time to see Michael Franti and Spearhead. They have been highly recommended to us by people who have seen them in New Zealand, of which Michael is very fond. We had tickets to see them in Wellington before we left but unfortunately Michael was sick and the show was cancelled. Anyway we had a great time. He is very charismatic and energetic with a very good message reminiscent of 60's hippy era bands. There was a great vibe and the smell of marijuana was strong in the air. I couldn't help wishing that I had heard more of their music before the show as it is much more enjoyable when you can sing along at the appropriate times.
Last night we went to Maida Vale to visit Tash, an old work friend from Ace, and her boyfriend Ben. We went to the local pub called, The Warrington. Apparently the area used to be a red light district and the pub a brothel. It was lavishly appointed with burgundy and gold wallpaper, extravagant light fittings and sumptuous carpets. We hadn’t seen each other in two years but it was like we had never parted. We had a lovely Thai meal upstairs and few drinks below before heading back to their flat. It was also our first experience of the night bus, not as harrowing as I expected. We are a little worse for wear today but are enjoying relaxing at home.
(0) comments
Last night we went to Maida Vale to visit Tash, an old work friend from Ace, and her boyfriend Ben. We went to the local pub called, The Warrington. Apparently the area used to be a red light district and the pub a brothel. It was lavishly appointed with burgundy and gold wallpaper, extravagant light fittings and sumptuous carpets. We hadn’t seen each other in two years but it was like we had never parted. We had a lovely Thai meal upstairs and few drinks below before heading back to their flat. It was also our first experience of the night bus, not as harrowing as I expected. We are a little worse for wear today but are enjoying relaxing at home.
(0) comments
