Tiki Touring London
Just yesterday, I packed my little sister Cecelia nervously into a taxi for Heathrow airport. Naturally I would have escorted her there myself being the big sister/protective type. However it was four in the morning and that was just pushing it. We had a great week together. I was reminded of the pure exhaustion that comes with being a tourist in a big city. Especially when you don't quite live in it. We caught the train into Waterloo everyday, celebrating when we managed to time it right and jump on the express. Booing when we didn't and had to stop eleven times before our destination.
So in a typical first time London experience, one would probably head to places like Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square to climb on lions, Harrods, a West End show, Hyde park, pubs, etc. So that's what we did. Harrods was a pleasant fluke. I'd forgotten all about its existence until we took the wrong exit from the subway and found ourselves on the right road. Also we were STARVING in the kiwi sense and almost didn't go in. But we did and wow! The deli section (which was all that we saw!) was amazing and surprisingly cheap. We spent ages cruising the counters trying to pick the perfect picnic lunch - savoury stuffed pancakes with gourmet salads. Then, on leaving to find Hyde park and eat, we discovered the chocolate counters. Oh dear. We both bought (again, for a very reasonable price) some very chocolaty treats that would not normally be seen before twenty hundred hours. Needless to say, with the addition of a hot latte for Cecelia we were pretty content in the park, even though it was freezing cold. We had been walking around the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace prior to Harrods, so had lots to plan (such as what we were going to furnish our own palaces with when purchased). There we had seen the ball room set for a State dinner. The utter extravagance of it all! Double wow! If only I'd been there before planning our wedding! Stunning!
The Lion King featured on Thursday night, and I recommend it for an evening out. Especially if you have children who have seen the movie. The puppetry and colours were wonderful. They had a lot more African music in it than the movie and it was fantastic.
We had dinners with relatives and even fitted in some boogiing on Friday night at On Anon, a typical London night spot. Though, sadly, the bar tender was very new and had no clue how to make a margarita. I had to return it once and didn't have the heart to do so a second time. It drank like three or four very big shots of Tequila and Cointreau. Ech.
Cecelia managed to bring the sun with her and we had it for most of the week, including the weekend. Yay! That is a must if you visit London. Bring the sun. Now that she has gone, it's all turned murky and cold. Blech.
On the non tourist side of life, I have been playing guitar at our chosen Catholic church with a few flautists, pianist and a couple of guitarists. Though, the other guitarists haven't shown up for the last two Sundays and I've been the only one, playing foreign songs with no practice. Hilarious. Totally anti-6Pence training. I'm wondering if I can instigate a few things...anyway it's good to be playing again.
We are off to Slovenia on Friday with Martin's old friend Mullet. I am very excited as you can imagine. We will be hiring a car and driving all around the place. Yes! We made the car decision when investigating a bus trip from the airport to our first destination. It was going to take all day and involved about sixty stops. I don't think so. We should probably look into some road rules that apply in Slovenia before we go!
I found myself making a teaching resource of sorts today. I had thought I'd left that all behind for a wee bit. But the entertainment organiser at Age Concern (where I've been doing some computer tutoring) wanted a Bingo Domino game made up. So I offered and spent a few hours making it on publisher. All those little dots. Reminded me of how long one spends outside of work hours getting stuff ready for teaching lessons. Gees.
that's enough rabbiting on from me for now. The nights are getting darker earlier and the days are getting colder. Maybe we'll have to look at somewhere sunny and warm for the next few months...though it would be good to get another winter out of my Wellington made Coat. Hmmm, decisions decisions.
So in a typical first time London experience, one would probably head to places like Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square to climb on lions, Harrods, a West End show, Hyde park, pubs, etc. So that's what we did. Harrods was a pleasant fluke. I'd forgotten all about its existence until we took the wrong exit from the subway and found ourselves on the right road. Also we were STARVING in the kiwi sense and almost didn't go in. But we did and wow! The deli section (which was all that we saw!) was amazing and surprisingly cheap. We spent ages cruising the counters trying to pick the perfect picnic lunch - savoury stuffed pancakes with gourmet salads. Then, on leaving to find Hyde park and eat, we discovered the chocolate counters. Oh dear. We both bought (again, for a very reasonable price) some very chocolaty treats that would not normally be seen before twenty hundred hours. Needless to say, with the addition of a hot latte for Cecelia we were pretty content in the park, even though it was freezing cold. We had been walking around the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace prior to Harrods, so had lots to plan (such as what we were going to furnish our own palaces with when purchased). There we had seen the ball room set for a State dinner. The utter extravagance of it all! Double wow! If only I'd been there before planning our wedding! Stunning!
The Lion King featured on Thursday night, and I recommend it for an evening out. Especially if you have children who have seen the movie. The puppetry and colours were wonderful. They had a lot more African music in it than the movie and it was fantastic.
We had dinners with relatives and even fitted in some boogiing on Friday night at On Anon, a typical London night spot. Though, sadly, the bar tender was very new and had no clue how to make a margarita. I had to return it once and didn't have the heart to do so a second time. It drank like three or four very big shots of Tequila and Cointreau. Ech.
Cecelia managed to bring the sun with her and we had it for most of the week, including the weekend. Yay! That is a must if you visit London. Bring the sun. Now that she has gone, it's all turned murky and cold. Blech.
On the non tourist side of life, I have been playing guitar at our chosen Catholic church with a few flautists, pianist and a couple of guitarists. Though, the other guitarists haven't shown up for the last two Sundays and I've been the only one, playing foreign songs with no practice. Hilarious. Totally anti-6Pence training. I'm wondering if I can instigate a few things...anyway it's good to be playing again.
We are off to Slovenia on Friday with Martin's old friend Mullet. I am very excited as you can imagine. We will be hiring a car and driving all around the place. Yes! We made the car decision when investigating a bus trip from the airport to our first destination. It was going to take all day and involved about sixty stops. I don't think so. We should probably look into some road rules that apply in Slovenia before we go!
I found myself making a teaching resource of sorts today. I had thought I'd left that all behind for a wee bit. But the entertainment organiser at Age Concern (where I've been doing some computer tutoring) wanted a Bingo Domino game made up. So I offered and spent a few hours making it on publisher. All those little dots. Reminded me of how long one spends outside of work hours getting stuff ready for teaching lessons. Gees.
that's enough rabbiting on from me for now. The nights are getting darker earlier and the days are getting colder. Maybe we'll have to look at somewhere sunny and warm for the next few months...though it would be good to get another winter out of my Wellington made Coat. Hmmm, decisions decisions.
posted by Lucy Loo at 8:46 pm
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