LONDON

I made it over to London safe and sound and have had a wonderful week! It has been so awesome to be able to see and catch up with Matt, Deev and Anna! The three of them have done a fantastic job of showing me around and it's been lovely to experience not only the touristy side of London, but to also meet their friends and all of Anna's family and to be welcomed into their homes. On the day I arrived Matt, Deev, Anna and I had a great time walking around town. We walked down Oxford and Carnaby Streets, through Soho (looking at all the swanky shops!) and down to Trafalga Square then to Westminister Abby, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We then made our way to Anna's cousins place in Wimbledon where Anna and I have been staying. They have the most amazing house which actually looks out over the practice courts of Wimbledon! We all made ourselves at home in their house that night as they were all away at Leeds for Anna's cousin Dan's graduation. We had a few drinks and ate dinner out in the backyard and enjoyed the long summer evening despite wearing almost the same amount of layers I had been back in Sydney last week :) On Wednesday Anna and I headed back into the city and walked along the Thames and across the Millennium bridge to the Tate Modern. I really enjoyed the exhibitions there will definitely try and head back there to see some more when I stop by London on my way back home in November. In the evening I met up with Matt and played frisbee with his summer league team after which we all headed to the local pub for a couple of pints to celebrate the win! It was so nice to hang out with Matt and to meet some of his friends.
On Thursday Anna and I went to the British museum had a very cheesy London experience, catching a red double decker bus down Oxford Street. Deev and Matt then joined us in town that evening for a drink and then just the girls went to see Caberet the mucial at the Lyric Theatre.
On Friday Anna and I headed to Harrods for the shopping extravaganza experience, but it was quite sad, they were in sale mode and so their usually amazing displays had all been dismantled and the whole shop was a bit messy compared to their usual standards, but I did get to experience the wonder of the food halls there! They were absolutely amazing and we couldn't help but splurge on a fresh pastry and a few beautiful chocolates!
That night we went to Anna's other cousins house for dinner and I met Marak and Fiona and their two beautiful kids Megan and Hannah and Anna's aunt Jasha. It was so nice to finally meet all of these guys who I have heard so much about and they were so lovely and warm and friendly and everything that Anna had described them to be! We got a little carried away that night once the kids went off to bed and Marak brought out the polish vodka and things got a bit crazy and very boozy, didn't end up being the quite night I had expected he he he
On Saturday Deev and I caught a ferry down the Thames and went to Greenwich for the day. We of course saw the Greenwich time line and looked through the time museum they have there. Very educational! The ferry down the Thames was great! It was a beautiful London day, the sun wasn't exactly shinning, but it was warm :) Saturday night was Anna's cousins 21st which was a very fun night. We started off at the Earl Spencer Pub where some of his friends who are in a band played a few sets and then at about 12 we headed into town to Brixton - probably the dodgyest area in London to a night club that is a converted crypt - pretty cool, but not really my kind of music, trance and techno...but we had a lot of fun all the same!
On Saturday I met up with Matt again for the last time :( and we went to the Portabello markets in Notting Hill, unfortunately the markets weren't really on, but we had a lovely lìtime just wandering the streets of Notting Hill, such a lovely area!
On Monday I went into the National Gallery on my own. I really enjoyed just getting lost in there and appreciating some very amazing art, some highlights were Van Gough's Sunflowers and some amazing Turner's. I then met up with Deev again very briefly and went along with her to the street cafe where she volunteers handing out food and chatting with the homeless. Awesome work Deev!
And that was London! Loved it and will be back!
Im still having some issues figuring out how to put the photos in properly so they are in order
Matt and I outside Westminster Abby, Deev and I (well our feet) at the Greenwich meridian time line, Anna and the chocolates at Harrods, Me on the ferry to Greenwich with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in the background, Anna, me and Deev at Trafalgar Square.
Ok thats it for now.
Missing you all lots xoxox Hez :)