Yesterday we had a pre-arranged time to meet with Genie at Victoria station, a friend of mums, who does walking tours of London. We were given our own private tour which was great. Her wealth of knowledge on London is staggering. She's like a walking encyclopaedia! Knowing that we had been to London before, Genie devised a tour which she thought would provide us with information that we wouldn't necessarily know about, or have been to previously. It was totally enjoyable, and it was 4 1/12 hours later before we said good-bye. We left Genie at the Tower of London, and then headed to some shops we had seen along the way for a spot of retail therapy. Our retail therapy continued this morning by heading to Westfield Shopping Mall in Shepherd's Bush. Reb had put us on to this venue, and I can see why. This Westfield's makes the one in Lower Hutt look like a pimple on an elephants bum. It is much classier as well. We enjoyed a lovely Lebanese lunch. We then spent some time in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Back at St Pancas we had a final red wine in the Booking Office bar (so named because it was actually the original booking office for the train station). It really is a lovely bar and makes drinking wine all the more enjoyable!
This is my final entry as we are only here another day. Trish and Grant are already on their way home and we fly out tomorrow night. We are planning to go to Convent Gardens tonight as there are lots of different restaurants to choose from around there. Tomorrow, providing the weather is an improvement on today, we might go for a walk in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. We did a detour through there the other day but it would be nice to spend some time enjoying it. It has been another great adventure, with great memories, and great friends. Meeting up with Rebecca on this trip has been a bonus as well. Over and out. Kirsty
Post script. Our final day was overcast and cool. Instead of heading to the gardens / park we instead went to the Transport Museum which is located at Convent Gardens. Convent Gardens is a great place to browse around, but better on your own rather than with Michael who isn't really into browsing in the same way I would.....
Thursday, 10 July 2014
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Greenwich and Hampton Court
After along leisurely breakfast with Lisa and Kev, by which time Rebecca had been waiting for us in the lobby, we headed out to Greenwich. Michael had always wanted to go back here, especially to see the Cutty Stark, the last remaining tea clipper to sail between China and London. It was also used to transport wool between Australia and London. The restoration of this boat is excellent and was opened by the Queen in 2012. It has also won awards as a tourist attraction. It is an impressive ship. From there we trekked up the hill to the Royal Observatory. The views over London are beautiful, as are the trees and commons area around the Observatory. The actual Royal Observatory was okay, Michael is more interested in it than I am (or Rebecca).
Back at the hotel we bumped into Lisa and Kev who had a visit from Lisa's nephew and his partner. We decided on a very late lunch with them before we headed of to meet up with Lynn and her partner Ron. Lynn is an old varsity friend of mine who shared many Social Policy classes together. We had a great evening together. Reb had ditched us for a dinner in the dark experience!
Tuesday
We said farewell to Lisa and Kev who fly back to LA today. Michael had the day to himself so went off to visit the Clink, a prison museum, while Reb and I headed out to Hampton Court. We caught up with Trish and her sister Mary from Cambridge and spent the day at the Hampton Court Flower Show. Just envisage the Ellerslie Show but on a must bigger (and grander) scale. It was a great day, despite the heavy down fall of rain which we managed to escape by heading into a massive marque which held one of many exhibits. Hampton is beautiful, with the Palace alongside the Thames and the boats riding up and down the river.
Tonight was our last time with Reb as she is flying off to Croatia in the morning for 9 days, which includes attending a festival this coming weekend. We won't see her now until Xmas next year. We ended up saying goodbye in the tube station as we headed off in different directions after dinner together. It has been a great couple of weeks catching up with her, and we have no worries that she is home sick or not enjoying herself. She appears to making the most of her 2 year working visa......
Back at the hotel we bumped into Lisa and Kev who had a visit from Lisa's nephew and his partner. We decided on a very late lunch with them before we headed of to meet up with Lynn and her partner Ron. Lynn is an old varsity friend of mine who shared many Social Policy classes together. We had a great evening together. Reb had ditched us for a dinner in the dark experience!
Tuesday
We said farewell to Lisa and Kev who fly back to LA today. Michael had the day to himself so went off to visit the Clink, a prison museum, while Reb and I headed out to Hampton Court. We caught up with Trish and her sister Mary from Cambridge and spent the day at the Hampton Court Flower Show. Just envisage the Ellerslie Show but on a must bigger (and grander) scale. It was a great day, despite the heavy down fall of rain which we managed to escape by heading into a massive marque which held one of many exhibits. Hampton is beautiful, with the Palace alongside the Thames and the boats riding up and down the river.
Tonight was our last time with Reb as she is flying off to Croatia in the morning for 9 days, which includes attending a festival this coming weekend. We won't see her now until Xmas next year. We ended up saying goodbye in the tube station as we headed off in different directions after dinner together. It has been a great couple of weeks catching up with her, and we have no worries that she is home sick or not enjoying herself. She appears to making the most of her 2 year working visa......
Monday, 7 July 2014
So much to see and do.....
Today we had to pack up and leave our apartment. Trish and Grant have have also left London for Cambridge. Reb arrived in the morning and we headed off via Regents Park to Parliament Square, taking in the sites of Big Ben, which always impresses me. We headed over Lambeth Bridge and bought tickets to the London Dungeon. This has changed since we last visited it. It is now a tour lasting 11/4 hrs. As a group you 'walk' through the streets of London during the reign of King Henry VIII on your way to the Tower of London to be beheaded. At some point in the tour you are seeing what it was like during the Plague, with smells, and noises of flies buzzing overhead. It goes on to describe the events associated with Jack and Ripper (all actors playing to their theme very well). It was quite well done and finished with you sitting in the dark in a chair that dropped several feet as if you were on the end of the hangman's noose at Newgate Prison.
We returned to the apartment to pick up our luggage and caught a cab to St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. It is attached to the St Pancras train station, and is an absolutely beautiful building. We are staying here with Lisa and Kev. Reb decided to make use of our bath (she said she hadn't had one since she left NZ 8 months ago) before she left us, and we joined Lisa and Kev in a pub around the corner to watch the Men's Wimbeldon final between Federer and Djokovic. While neither of us are great tennis enthusiatists we both thoroughly enjoyed the game, probably because it was so close. Unfortunately our support for Federer didn't assist him to win! We finished the day with a lovely Sunday pub roast dinner.
We returned to the apartment to pick up our luggage and caught a cab to St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. It is attached to the St Pancras train station, and is an absolutely beautiful building. We are staying here with Lisa and Kev. Reb decided to make use of our bath (she said she hadn't had one since she left NZ 8 months ago) before she left us, and we joined Lisa and Kev in a pub around the corner to watch the Men's Wimbeldon final between Federer and Djokovic. While neither of us are great tennis enthusiatists we both thoroughly enjoyed the game, probably because it was so close. Unfortunately our support for Federer didn't assist him to win! We finished the day with a lovely Sunday pub roast dinner.
Saturday, 5 July 2014
Notting Hill to Borough Market
Today was our day to catch up with Alyce, an old school friend of Rebs. Alyce used to live down the road from us when the girls were at St Oran's together. We walked from Piccadilly Rd, through Hyde Park and on to Notting Hill. We were half an hour late for our brunch date as we took some 'detours' in finding the right street. It was well over an hour of walking so we had worked up a bit of an appetite not having eaten since high tea yesterday.
The choice of venue was excellent and is owned/ run by an Australian. It was humming, and obviously is doing well for itself. It is one of those places where you can't book a table and there is a queue out the door, so you know that the food is going to be good. It was great catching up with Alyce and we handed over the order of Tim Tams, chocolate mint biscuits, and Whittaker's chocolate that I had been carrying since we left New Zealand. That should reduce the load in my bag by a couple of kilos on the trip home!
After saying goodbye to Alyce the three of us hit the tube station and headed to Tower Bridge. Right outside the tube station is Borough Market. This is one of the oldest and well known food markets in London. I found out later that there has been some form of market on this site since 757! It is absolutely devine. If I lived in London I would be doing my Saturday fruit/veg/meat shopping here. Have a look on-line at the Borough Market images and see the fabulous photos they have.
While we were out and about Trish and Lisa were off to watch the women's final at Wimbledon. Unfortunately the final only lasted 55 minutes as it was one sided but they enjoyed the champagne, strawberries, and the whole experience. They stayed to watch some of the men's double final which apparently a much better spectacle to watch. We caught up with them later at the hotel Lisa and Kev were staying at on Park Lane, and then headed off for a pub meal for dinner.
The choice of venue was excellent and is owned/ run by an Australian. It was humming, and obviously is doing well for itself. It is one of those places where you can't book a table and there is a queue out the door, so you know that the food is going to be good. It was great catching up with Alyce and we handed over the order of Tim Tams, chocolate mint biscuits, and Whittaker's chocolate that I had been carrying since we left New Zealand. That should reduce the load in my bag by a couple of kilos on the trip home!
After saying goodbye to Alyce the three of us hit the tube station and headed to Tower Bridge. Right outside the tube station is Borough Market. This is one of the oldest and well known food markets in London. I found out later that there has been some form of market on this site since 757! It is absolutely devine. If I lived in London I would be doing my Saturday fruit/veg/meat shopping here. Have a look on-line at the Borough Market images and see the fabulous photos they have.
While we were out and about Trish and Lisa were off to watch the women's final at Wimbledon. Unfortunately the final only lasted 55 minutes as it was one sided but they enjoyed the champagne, strawberries, and the whole experience. They stayed to watch some of the men's double final which apparently a much better spectacle to watch. We caught up with them later at the hotel Lisa and Kev were staying at on Park Lane, and then headed off for a pub meal for dinner.
A little bit posh
Reb, having bunked down on our couch last night, left us to do some 'life admin' as she calls it so we did some wandering around the streets nearby. This included Piccadilly Rd, Regent St, Oxford St, and Saville Row to name a few. We were back to our apartment in time to share Trish's 'picnic hamper' from Harrods. The intention was to have a picnic in Hyde Park, then it changed to Green Park because that is closer, then the final decision was to have a picnic in Trish and Grant's room. Afterall, we needed plates, coffee plunger and cups, and it was all too easy to stay put. The food was beautifully displayed on the dining room table before we demolished it with a grand finale of deciding which of the three deserts was the winner on the day (the citron marshmallow won with 3 out of 4 votes).
The afternoon was spent once again wandering around the shops. It was very busy, and quite chaotic in some of the shops because everyone seems to have sales on at the moment. Later in the afternoon Reb joined us and we walked to Claridges for high tea. It started off fighting through a bunch of photographers who were busy snapping away at some well known people walking out of Claridges into waiting taxi's. Michael and a photographer nearly tripped up over each other. The celebrities were none other than Kelly Osbourne, and her mother Sharon. Reb thought that was pretty cool.
High tea at Claridges was excellent. There were approximately 30 different teas to choose from, and you could change your type at any point. The women serving us was well informed about the ins and outs of tea, and how it should be drunk. There is more to tea than what you think. Along with your first pot of tea (or coffee if you are Michael) we were served with a tray of sandwiches. There was, of course the traditional cucumber, but also ham, egg and rocket, chicken on walnut bread, and a few others (three of each so we could try all of them). I don't know what they do to these sandwiches but there was something special about them, they were sensational. This was followed up by choosing a different tea selection, and being provided with a tray of about 5 different pastries (again three of each). Needless to say there was far too much food, although Reb did her best to try most of them. I forgot to mention that there was also two sorts of scones, with jam and clotted cream as well.
We were offered a 'doggy bag' which we took up their offer and what we didn't manage to eat was beautifully packaged up and put into a bag to carry out. The whole experience took about 1 1/2 hours although you could take as long as you liked. We farewelled Reb again as it was Friday night and she had friends to catch up with. None of us are dinner later that evening.....
We arrived back at our apartment at about 7.30PM in time to catch up with Trish and Grant, and Lisa and Kev, who had just flown in from Italy. They helped with emptying some of what was left in the doggy bag. By 8PM we wandered up the road about 50metres and popped into the Ritz for a drink. I had thought that Claridges was pretty swanky, but the Ritz is something extra special. We had one drink here (hellish price) before heading off for the others to have a pub meal. We were unsuccessful in finding a pub that they others could eat at, so we ended up in a resturant which was two floors below street level.
With having eaten food from Harrods, high tea at Claridges, and a cocktail at the Ritz today it was a bit of a posh day!
The afternoon was spent once again wandering around the shops. It was very busy, and quite chaotic in some of the shops because everyone seems to have sales on at the moment. Later in the afternoon Reb joined us and we walked to Claridges for high tea. It started off fighting through a bunch of photographers who were busy snapping away at some well known people walking out of Claridges into waiting taxi's. Michael and a photographer nearly tripped up over each other. The celebrities were none other than Kelly Osbourne, and her mother Sharon. Reb thought that was pretty cool.
High tea at Claridges was excellent. There were approximately 30 different teas to choose from, and you could change your type at any point. The women serving us was well informed about the ins and outs of tea, and how it should be drunk. There is more to tea than what you think. Along with your first pot of tea (or coffee if you are Michael) we were served with a tray of sandwiches. There was, of course the traditional cucumber, but also ham, egg and rocket, chicken on walnut bread, and a few others (three of each so we could try all of them). I don't know what they do to these sandwiches but there was something special about them, they were sensational. This was followed up by choosing a different tea selection, and being provided with a tray of about 5 different pastries (again three of each). Needless to say there was far too much food, although Reb did her best to try most of them. I forgot to mention that there was also two sorts of scones, with jam and clotted cream as well.
We were offered a 'doggy bag' which we took up their offer and what we didn't manage to eat was beautifully packaged up and put into a bag to carry out. The whole experience took about 1 1/2 hours although you could take as long as you liked. We farewelled Reb again as it was Friday night and she had friends to catch up with. None of us are dinner later that evening.....
We arrived back at our apartment at about 7.30PM in time to catch up with Trish and Grant, and Lisa and Kev, who had just flown in from Italy. They helped with emptying some of what was left in the doggy bag. By 8PM we wandered up the road about 50metres and popped into the Ritz for a drink. I had thought that Claridges was pretty swanky, but the Ritz is something extra special. We had one drink here (hellish price) before heading off for the others to have a pub meal. We were unsuccessful in finding a pub that they others could eat at, so we ended up in a resturant which was two floors below street level.
With having eaten food from Harrods, high tea at Claridges, and a cocktail at the Ritz today it was a bit of a posh day!
Friday, 4 July 2014
Summer has arrived with vengeance in London
We started our day with meeting Reb at Victoria Station and we headed off in the underground to her stomping ground in Clapham. With excellent coffee in hand (not always easy to get, but Reb knows the places to go) we headed across the road to sit in Clapham Common and enjoy the sunshine. The Common is apparently a favoured place for Kiwis living in this part of London. From there we walked through Clapham, stopping to see the flat Reb is moving into in a couple of weeks, then on to Brixton. The day was incredibly hot for walking, I found out later it was 28 degrees. In Brixton Michael had to buy himself a hat as he had left his behind, and that bald spot was burning......
After a drink in the Brixton market we caught the tube again and headed for Southbank. Here we caught up with Trish and Grant prior to our afternoon entertainment of attending Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Following lunch we headed next door to watch a performance of Julius Caesar. We thought we were doing well with having purchased seats, as opposed to standing, however with their view to full authenticity the seating was just like long stools with no backing to them. After an hour it became back breaking and we were thinking that the people standing might have got it right. At intermission, which was about 1 1/2 hours after the start, we decided we had consumed enough culture for one day and called it quits. Reb was struggling with the theatre right from the word go. They did do a very good slaying of Julius Caesar.
On the way back to our apartment we stopped into Harrods, always a busy place, but exceptionally so when they have a sale on. We restricted ourselves to the food court area, and although it is exquisitely presented there is too much choice, you couldn't stay in there too long.
In the evening we walked to Piccadilly Circus, which isn't too far away, for dinner at Jamie Oliver's new Italian Restaurant. It had a lovely feel to the place, and too many choices for Trish to choose from. An enjoyable evening. Lisa and Kev arrive in London tomorrow having spent two more days in Italy than the rest of us.
After a drink in the Brixton market we caught the tube again and headed for Southbank. Here we caught up with Trish and Grant prior to our afternoon entertainment of attending Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Following lunch we headed next door to watch a performance of Julius Caesar. We thought we were doing well with having purchased seats, as opposed to standing, however with their view to full authenticity the seating was just like long stools with no backing to them. After an hour it became back breaking and we were thinking that the people standing might have got it right. At intermission, which was about 1 1/2 hours after the start, we decided we had consumed enough culture for one day and called it quits. Reb was struggling with the theatre right from the word go. They did do a very good slaying of Julius Caesar.
On the way back to our apartment we stopped into Harrods, always a busy place, but exceptionally so when they have a sale on. We restricted ourselves to the food court area, and although it is exquisitely presented there is too much choice, you couldn't stay in there too long.
In the evening we walked to Piccadilly Circus, which isn't too far away, for dinner at Jamie Oliver's new Italian Restaurant. It had a lovely feel to the place, and too many choices for Trish to choose from. An enjoyable evening. Lisa and Kev arrive in London tomorrow having spent two more days in Italy than the rest of us.
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Cinque Terre
The Cinque Terre is an area of five villages perched on the coast. In days gone by you could walk from one village to another, but several of the walking paths have been stormed damaged and not repaired. There is only the ability to walk between Monterosso where we are staying and the nearest village. We caught the train to the furtherest village, and worked our way back towards Monterosso. We did a bit of exploring, ate gelato's, a bit of window shopping, etc in the villages, then would jump on the train and head down to the next village. Once we got to the fourth village, Trish and Grant walked the track back to our village, while the rest of us caught a water taxi. The sea had a decent swell which made it difficult to get photos without bouncing all over the place. There was only us in the water taxi and Lisa yahooed nearly all the way, thoroughly enjoying herself.
Once we reached our village we had a final look in the old town of Monterosso, and met up with Trish and Grant in one of the bars. We talked about future travel plans which is always a good topic when you are drinking on holiday with friends......
As good as the Cinque Terre villages are to visit my favourite areas in this region are Santa Margherita and Portafino.
We have now left Italy and have landed in London. I love this city. We are nicely situated in W1 in very spacious apartments which are almost next door to the Ritz which is on Piccadilly Rd. After a quick trip to Sainsbury to buy some supplies, we found an English pub nearby which supplied us with a quite acceptable meal. We had Sam Woodward and her partner Paddy, who arrived here to live last week, to entertain us about their three month trip through Asia. Reb has now ditched the 'old folks' now that she is back 'home' in London but we are catching up for a full day tomorrow.
Once we reached our village we had a final look in the old town of Monterosso, and met up with Trish and Grant in one of the bars. We talked about future travel plans which is always a good topic when you are drinking on holiday with friends......
As good as the Cinque Terre villages are to visit my favourite areas in this region are Santa Margherita and Portafino.
We have now left Italy and have landed in London. I love this city. We are nicely situated in W1 in very spacious apartments which are almost next door to the Ritz which is on Piccadilly Rd. After a quick trip to Sainsbury to buy some supplies, we found an English pub nearby which supplied us with a quite acceptable meal. We had Sam Woodward and her partner Paddy, who arrived here to live last week, to entertain us about their three month trip through Asia. Reb has now ditched the 'old folks' now that she is back 'home' in London but we are catching up for a full day tomorrow.
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