LONDON!

I'd been looking forward and planning this trip for months with Leon and we finally went. It was a great 3 day holiday; loads of fun!

We arrived in London at 11.50 at London Victoria, hot and sweaty after a 2 and a half hour trip on the Megabus which with ten minutes to go the driver suddenly realised he hadn't switched on the fans. We were all half boiled to death, but it was very entertaining to see how embarrased the driver was! Anyway we walked to Buck house and along the Pall Mall to Oxford St for a nibble and then to Leicester Square and up Shaftesbury Avenue for the 2.30pm matinee performance of Yes Prime Minister at the Gielgud Theatre.

It's an update on the timeless classic TV show, one of mine and Al's favourites, set in a coalition government familliar for all the old YES PM jokes like 'Oh god, have I been corageous?!' - Jim Hacker (PM). It was very funny, even though we all thought the second half wimpered out a little, it still had us all howling.

Afterwards we took the tube to London Limehouse and walked to the Holiday Inn Express to check in. Our rooms were really great, it was a really decent price and even though not as central as some locations I'd definately recommend it.

Afterwards we went to Islington to a gig organised by Dan and Jo, Leon's brother and sister in Law. It was an evening of assorted rock music, quite experimental, but a good time was had by all even though we all flaked out at 11pm, meaning we missed Dan's set at the end of the night...

But we had to keep our energy up because the next day was a busy one. After a big breakfast we went to St Paul's cathedral. We were allowed in during the service and we were able to soak up the timeless energy and peace of the place while the vicar did his semon. It always humbles me to think of these places, sources of rest, healing and inspiration for thousands of people over hundreds of years. It's a beautiful place. Then we walked across Millennium Bridge to Tate Modern and spent the next 2 jhours absorbing the mass of artistic endeavours in that place. Some inspire, some frankly I find difficult to take seriously at all. But it's a great place to visit. And as with almost everything we visited, free! Sundays in the capital have a lovely atmosphere, somehow it feels calm and relaxed even though there are still loads of people about: it still has that Sunday essence. After a quick leemonade and a rest in a pub we all separated, Leon and Teresa to go and visit family and we went to see Will, Al's mate from school.

Helen Will Al and me

We met Will and Helen in Green Park station. It was a beautiful day with clear fresh air and blue skies and so everywhere we walked was extra pretty. They took us to an area not far from Green Park called Shepherds's Market, a place that reminded me of Greenwich Village in New York. We eat lunch together in a pub that was really nice, although they did have a bit of a nightmare with not having things in when we ordered. Still, even with a long wait for our food, it was a great way to relax and catch up, as we rarely get to see Will since he moved to London.

 Later on we caught back up with Leon and Teresa in Covent Garden over a cup of coffee. There was a classical concert taking place a few metres away which was very entertaining and the usual mish mash of entertainers sprinkled around the square. We took a walk to soak up the atmosphere and ended up carrying on through Soho until Leon and Teresa went home. Me and Al went on to China Town and caught a live jazz band in a bar there called Huw and Bukky. They were magnificent! We really enjoyed listening to the music and then afterwards got the munchies and headed for some food. We were in China Town so what else would we do, we found the restaurant with the most chinese eating there and sat down for a very satisfying meal. We had duck with noodles and I displayed some pretty good chopstick action even if I do say do!

Next day we went to South Kensington for The Natural History museum but unfortunately the queue went around the block so off we went to the Science Museum. Afterwards we went to Kew Gardens. We met my lovely ex flatmate Sarah at a cafe there as that's where she lives and she's currently on maternity leave and had a natter over lunch before heading to Kew Gardens itself.

I must say that Kew, though I wasn't expecting it, was the highlight. It's beautiful. And in autumn with the leaves turning even mor so. After 2 days of hecticness it was the perfect antidote. We took the treetop walk, found the Pagoda and saw one of the glass houses in detail, but honestly it's so huge you could go back 10 times before you saw it all. It's not cheap but it was worth every penny. Fabulous.

Then it was a last trip back to the centre and a meal at the American diner (We had burgers and shakes) before a very comfortable and quick train ride home, courtesy of Megabus also - cheap as chips - genius!

Garden Attack

You should have seen the cat's face when three men and a lorry turned up a few weeks ago to massacre the garden, sorry her garden... Appalled.





Nevertheless the pictures do a little justice to the immense amount of chopping that went on that day. 6 trees were reduced to three and the remaining three were halved in height.






It was quite exciting! It's amazing how much more light and rain gets in down the end and our poor lawn at that end is even starting to recover, just a bit. Got a project in mind to restore it to some health but that's all got to wait til the spring.



Meantime we're just enjoying our new view, and appealing to the cat for forgiveness...

Post Holiday blues

Well, not really all that blue to be honest. Things are going well at our respective workplaces and life is feeling settled and more or less harmonious.

While I was on holiday my colleague Hayley worked the last weeks of her notice and flew off to Hong Kong to live her exciting life 6500 miles away! So now I'm following her fun blog called Hong Kong Hayley.

Also happening with our Blogtastic friends, our friend Hez moved to the Outer Hebrides with his wife Becky last year and there they live with their little baby girl Freya and Europe's stupidest greyhound. Well it turns out Hez, who describes himself as an aspiring writer but is rather more than aspiring, has his own blog where he's published his work so I'm bust catching up with that too It's called Cruel Harvest and I'm reading his latest work, The Casebook of Edmund Forrester. It's really good so far!

Technology is also helping us stay in touch with friends and family elsewhere through the wonderful world of Skype. We've been chatting with my cousin Laura in Madrid for the last few months and when I finally bought a little camera for the computer it opened up a whole new world! Since then I've caught up with Gemma Pardo in Barcelona and most recently with Nausheen in New York. It's been marvellous, my heart leaps to think that they feel so near when usually they feel so far away!

Me, obviously

Gemma P

Laura y Erik

Nausheen

A couple of weeks ago we went to ArtsFest with Leon and Teresa; A free annual festival of arts held in Centenary Square in the heart of the city which includes comedians, bands, dance, orchestras, artists and singers. It was brilliant; we saw a solo pianist, a rock band, a brass band, a funk/soul band at the Yardbird, a dj, some short films and the opera and classical concert at the end. We visited stalls, eat an ostrich burger and an icecream, and there was absolutely masses that we didn't see. Was gutted to miss the ballet and the theatre and got lost trying to find the poetry in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, but wound up seeing the Stafforshire Hoard instead! All in all it was brill.

Planning a trip to London with them next - so many things to see and do before they go to live in New Zealand next year - we'll miss them so much!

Finally, at the bottom of our garden today 3 tree surgeons are attacking the trees with some ferocity - visit the blog to find out how it went!

Summer holiday

It was a couple of weeks later that we headed off for a very long overdue holiday. Chicken soup for the soul. We were so knacked that I felt we were virtually dragging our feet through life and it was a real relief to get away.

Click here to see holiday photos

We spent the first 5 days in Cubelles and the last 4 in Barcelona, flying in and out of Reus airport (otherwise known as the chicken coop). We are lucky enough to stay in Cubelles thanks to the generosity of my tiets, my uncle Ramón and aunt Teresa in Igualada, Catalunya, about 2 hours away.

We love the place. It has almost no Brits, not a single translated menu, everything is in Catalan first, it's quiet, peaceful, family friendly and basically everyone in every direction is chilled out and happy. I've never once seen a policeman, or a fight, or a disturbance, or any kind of semi-impolite behaviour (except the old ladies who don't wait to be served in the queue for fresh bread at the bakery - but then that hardly counts). The kids are all out with their parents and family friends and uncles and aunts, and like I was 20 years ago they're just excited about the prospect of being allowed to stay up late and get an icecream after dinner.

We spent every day on the beach, Alex under his two parasols, the biggest variety being varying the time we spent on the beach. One day it was the afternoon, another day it was the morning and afternoon with a siesta back at the flat in between, another time it was all day with a packed lunch on the beach... The biggest difficulty of each day consisted in deciding which beach accessory to take and who would carry the cool bag. Life slowed down to Cubelles pace... just thinking about it makes me happy.

On the beach

We wandered across the river to discover a whole new section of the town that can only have been built in the last few years. Thank God the authorities are keeping to their original rule - no more than 4 storeys. One day as we walked along the new Paseo at around 8pm there was a table of yound girls, around 11, selling home made bracelets. Alex bought me one for a euro and the girls were so excited (they were only asking for 35 cents each) that we got an excited cheer as we walked away. They were so sweet! Points for being motivated enough to get together too, I hope they sold lots more.

Basically, we eat like kings, slept peacefully (even though Alex's feet hang off the end of the short bed) and felt fully relaxed by the time we arrived in Barcelona.

I was particularly excited to stay in Barcelona because I had never stayed in the city before, and even though I'd seen it on endless day trips I didn't really understand the geography of the city. Alex had his reservations but was willing to have a few days there and try it out. He wasn't sure he'd like it as much as Madrid. It's true, our visit to Madrid had been difficult to beat. We had enjoyed Amsterdam but not as much as the Spanish capital and even I had mu doubts. I'm happy to report it was ACE!

We had a wonderful time walking round, exploring the Barri Gotic, la Rivera, la Ciutat Vella. Neus and Edu came to visit us andgave us a guided tour and we also went for a drink and a meal together. It was fantastic to see them. And then Gemma P and husband Fran also popped in to say hello.

Edu Neus me and Alex

Fran Gemma me and Alex

The photos taken of us are taken on the hotel's roof - we had a bar and a swimming pool. I was a very happy girl. I must say I tried to make the most of it. I spent a few hours on a couple of afternoons sat by the pool danging my legs in the water and reading a book. I read 4 books in 9 days; Sense and Sensibility, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The White Queen by Philippa Gregory. I loved it!

Tinc que dir les gracies per les esforços de la meva familia, L'Edu i la Neus, La Gemma i Fran, i sobretot els meus tiets amats per ajudeu-nos tenir unes vacances moltíssim relaxants i feliços. Van ser estupendes. L'Alex i jo estem sempre pensant dels nostres vacances catalans i sempre tenim anims per un altra cop! Cada any que tenim que decidir-nos on anar ens encontrem sense poder pensar d'un altra destinació on estarem tan felices. Es com estar a casa un altre vegada, i jo sempre tindre la sensació de ser una catalana, encara si es una Catalana sense manera de parlar catalan...

Van ser vacances estupendes - They were wonderful holidays!