Parliament, pubs, picnics and a palace - London, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom
Lates at the museum On Wednesday evening we headed off to the Science museum which does a R18 evening once a month. August's theme was "Food and Drink". We grabbed dinner at a Lebanese place first and arrived by 8. There were a range of exhibits, experiences and talks - you could even sample edible bugs if you so pleased. There was a homemade ice cream, talks by beer brewers, a silent disco and a pub quiz etc. We went to a show by weird science guys who shared some gruesome facts about what it actually in our food - like bugs, human hair and beavers bum juice! Seriously gross! They also did a chocolate and chilli experiment. Pleased I didn't volunteer for either! Shane enjoyed his beer while watching them in a IMAX cinema. Picnic up Primrose Hill I headed up from Hammersmith where I had my Vibe induction to meet Katherine, Shane and Ashley at Regents park. Shane got caught up at work so I happily wandered around the gardens - they were absolutely stunning and well manicured. There were lots of people enjoying them too. We headed up Primrose hill for our picnic of bread, cheese, hummus, ham and beer. It was a wonderful evening to see London's skyline and the last of the sunset. Little Hampton On Friday I had my work day out/team building/putting new desks in the office. We spent 1 hour 40 on the train and our first activity on the itinerary was chip n putt 9 hole golf. It was a pretty average course but was fun. We headed to a famous cafe for lunch called East beach cafe which was all paid for. Afterwards we explored the town, there wasn't much to see but we ended up on the beach and laying on the pebbles. A few people had a swim but didn't last long in the water. We found a amusement park and jumped on the dodgers, but it was small and tame. We then went onto the pub for a few hours and headed home. Big Ben On Saturday we bused to Victoria and then wandered through St James' park, which was bustling with people enjoying the sunshine and had our cliche photo with Big Ben and Westminster. On the way we walked down Piccadilly Road to see Shane's site (a huge block) and popped into Fortum and Mason. It's really neat to "discover and explore" a city when you don't know what is around the corner, it could be a famous shop, prestigious road, statue, parks etc. That evening we headed into Chelsea to have a drink with Shane's friend Kelsey and her travelling buddy Stevie. Windsor Castle It was a bit of a early start as we headed off to Waterloo to catch our train on Sunday. We made it in perfect time tho - I'm still amazed at the efficiency. It said our train left at 914 and at 9.13.59 we started gliding along. It took 50 mins to get to Windsor but was nice to look at the green countryside on the way. It's a little bizarre how English tourists come to NZ to look at our green landscape when their one ain't too bad. We picked up our ticket and free audio guide at the castle and headed to Round Tower/keep. It had 200 stairs and had great views from the top overlooking the town of Windsor, Eton and Windsor grounds. Our tour guide was also pretty knowledgable. Again I appreciated being with a first timer to a castle when we went to the state apartments, but it was pretty easy to be blown away by the extreme luxurious nature of the castle and its rooms. Just everything! The gold, Rubens paintings, armoury, furniture, the bullet that killed Lord Nelson at battle of Trafalgar etc etc etc. Queen Mary's doll house was also a highlight. Shane commented that if "hurricane Cecilia got her hands on that, it would be carnage". The details were very impressive. Unfortunately St George's chapel was closed on a Sunday and we didn't see Queeny, apparently she's away on holiday in Scotland. It's unfathomable to imagine 900 years history in that castle - It is where beheaded King Charles is buried and at the end of the long walk where King Henry VIII waited to hear that Anne Boleyn's head was successfully cut off. We found a excellent spot for lunch and both had amazing meals - Shane the Sunday roast. We also found Ben and Jerrys! After a look around, Windsor itself is quite a beautiful town we timed it perfectly for a return train and a nap when we got home. Cambridge As Shane went to work Monday morning I went to Liverpool station to meet Katherine and Ashley. It was a last minute dash to catch our train, which took just over a hour. We walked into the little town of Cambridge and it was pretty with lots of old buildings. We first went into Kings College chapel, which Henry VI started building in 1446. I liked the fan roof and stained glass windows, but especially the organ screen Henry VIII added with his and Anne Boleyn's initials on it (stupid and in love a). The grounds were also lovely with a canal and people punting, we didn't attempt this as I didn't really want to get wet. We wandered down by the canal for a lovely lunch and lay in the sun by Jesus Green before looking at a few shops, discovering homemade ice cream, other colleges such as Corpus Christi and St Catherine's and back on the train by 620, home by 8. Lunch with Tom Service on Tuesday was lovely. His office is in such a great spot next to St Paul's I started work at Bushey Academy, about a hour train ride away. It is a very flash school with brand new buildings teaching English and a few media lessons. I have 9 classes - some of which I only see once a week, going to be tricky to learn names! I didn't have a very good first day as the kids are rude and chatty but I am working on it. We had dinner in Chinatown with Steve and Corisha on Wednesday evening and found the m and m store on the way home