christmas in london

I've always wanted a white christmas - well, a cold one at least. And in 2017 I got my wish. With my gal finishing year 12 [!!!!!] it was the perfect opportunity. So she jetted off just after her Year 12 formal, and hubby and I left a few weeks later.

Oh, it was magical.

For some black cabs are typical London, but for me, it's the red double-deckers. Aren't they a hint of cherry-topped fabulous!

London really knows how to turn on the lights. Oxford, Regent and Carnaby Streets were lit up a treat. We trudged for miles, gazing upwards, oohing, ahhing and taking 1000s of pics on our phones.

"There must be an angel..." this was my fave. How utterly divine is this display!

Carnaby Street went tropical, because when in the hell has it ever done anything conservative or traditional? While we were there we stopped in at the Dr Martens shop and bought our gal the coolest pair of Union Jack boots. They were the most-commented-upon in New York (to come!)

Is there anything prettier than a Liberty of London store? Doubt it - and this one's my fave. If you think the tudor exterior is a treat, you should see inside - stunning.

Now, I have ALWAYS wanted to go to a traditional English Christmas Panto (he's BEHIND you!) and Dick Whittington didn't disappoint. The Guildford Theatre was chockers with families with young kids continuing their tradition (and a fabulous set of grandparents who didn't bring the kidlets - but brought their childish sense of joy!) It was a riot - I loved every second of it.

While we were travelling our gal received her uni results and ATAR, and, as you can see by the bubbles - she blitzed it. So proud that all her hard work paid off.

After a few days in London we were headed on a fast train to Bruges, Belgium. Oh my, are you in for a visual treat with my next post...

last days in london

We made the most of our visit to London, and one of my fave moments was this. I really wanted to see a play in the West End, so we thought we'd make it a family-friendly one and see Matilda. I'm not normally a fan of musicals, but I thought I'd sit through it for the kids.

But I LOVED IT!

Tim Minchin is behind the music, so no wonder it was awesome. The performances were all spot-on, and each player on the stage drew the audience's eye. Miss Trunchpole was played by a bloke, and he was just perfection. Hilarious it was.

The set design was so fabulous too. It was in a teeny, tiny theatre, perfect for such a production. Apparently it's coming to Australia, so if it does - go see it!

After the matinee we walked through to Covent Gardens, where I swooned for quite some time at this floral display, and the gals ate some Laduree macarons (side note: do you know that I did not eat ONE macaron while in Paris?)

We then went to find some dinner along the Thames and found THIS! It's the Summer of Love in London and the city's celebrating. My gal took the opportunity for a wee rest on a deckchair.

Then the three cousins rode these super-cute slides. The girls have had a blast, as have we. We're flying out today (hopefully). We were meant to fly out last night, but we got to the airport to discover that our flight was overbooked so we are now flying out this afternoon via Los Angeles. Another stamp for the passport I guess. So now we're home Sunday morning instead of Saturday. Hopefully it's true that jetlag's better when you fly in from the states...

flower power

Yesterday we went to two utterly gorgeous nurseries. The Medicine Garden in Cobham, and Petersham Nurseries, in, well, Petersham. Hello photogenic places.

Now, I may have had a Veruca Salt moment when I saw this "I want a vintage silver airstream café in my garden and I want one NOW!"

Have.

You.

Ever?

No. You haven't.

 The medicine garden is very pretty. And very zen.

Hello.

 And have you ever seen a cat choose a more perfect spot for a snooze? Her name's Fifi.

And here's Petersham Nurseries. It's just sublime. I'm not going to add words - who needs them? Just drool over the pics for a while.

I need all of this in my garden. ALL OF IT.

Today we're off to Notting Hill for a wander and a shop. It's a bit grey today, and we had rain overnight. But I shan't let that dampen my spirits. It's NOTTING HILL! We even watched the movie again before we left to get in the mood.

london love

Today we were total tourists and took an open top double decker bus around London. My word it's pretty. Everywhere you look is just something so bloody amazingly gorgeous.

Like Big Ben, peeping through a glorious canopy of trees.

Or this gigantic, random blue rooster outside the Gallery in Trafalgar Square. It makes a quirky addition to the massive lions that normally flank it. It's a work by Katharina Fritsch entitled Hahn/Cock. The ultramarine blue and the rooster are both symbols of France, defeated in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Speaking of blue, man I love the colour of the blue on Tower Bridge. This is a shot I snapped off while we were riding over it. So pretty.

Why yes, here's Big Ben again. A clearer view this time. 

We also stopped off for a shop in Carnaby Street. Loving, loving, loving Shakespeare's pub at the end. My gal and I both stopped into the Dr Marten's shop and just couldn't help ourselves. I bought the black patent mary janes with the bows (!!!) I've been coveting. And my gal got a pair of baby blue boots with cream ribbons. So sweet.

We also had to check out Liberty London - in the most gloriously tudor building I've ever seen. PS: am in love with all the gloriously floral-laden hanging baskets in this city. They're a riot of colour and fabulousness.

Even cupcakes have an attitude in this neck of the woods!

Can you believe the weather we've brought to this country? Oh, btw, sorry that it's meant that Australia's weather is a bit crap in return.

Tomorrow's a bit of a rest day - particularly as yesterday also revolved around shopping - in Kingston (where I *may* have bought a frock and a perfect pair of silver and gold sandals with a floral innersole - Hush Puppies so VERY sensible).

greetings from sunny london

Well hello! We've touched down in London after what felt like 9 million hours of travel. The weather's a glorious 24 degrees, strawberries look like this and are red the whole way through and we're starting off on five weeks of adventure.

I'm ridiculously excited.

I'm not sure what's in store for the weekend. Picnicing certainly. Wandering around nearby villages is a must. And many, many pics will be taken and much delicious fruit will be eaten. Seriously, this is like the fruit of my childhood - rich with scents, colour and taste.

Is it actually possible to eat too much fruit?

I shall report back later...