last days

Today took the Eurostar from London to Paris! Although I have so been looking forward to Paris, I truly loved London. I can definitely see myself returning and hopefully living there sometime in the future.

On my last days in London, I visited the beautiful Kensington Palace and quaint Notting Hill; ate the most beautiful grilled salmon at my favourite London café, Gran Caffe, in Knightsbridge; watched the truly awful 2012 in Leicester Square; froze outside the impressive Buckingham Palace; ate "the best fish and chips in London" - but my humble local spot in Perth is better!; rode on the London Eye; and, of course, watched fireworks at midnight on New Years Eve from the Westminster bank of the Thames River.

happy new year!

Last night I braved the freezing cold to watch the gorgeous fireworks display at the London Eye and, just as the clock chimed midnight, it began to snow! What a perfect start to 2010.

london calling

So, it is the end of my fifth day in London. I love it here! The freezing cold weather is still a novelty - I even get to wear my pink leather gloves, which I can never justify at home. I love the fact that the buildings and monuments have so much history attached to them, which is such a change from the new-ness of Australia! I also love London's cultural diversity, and that it is so stylish, but not uniformly so. The tube system is wonderful, it is so fast and easy-to-use! I would love to live here one day. I know that Andy would love it too - it is the home of Top Gear, The Streets and his favourite food, pickles!

We arrived here on the night of Christmas Eve. First thing on Christmas morning, we walked around the deserted streets of the city and saw all the famous landmarks firsthand - Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, Trafalgar Square and Picaddily Circus. It was so lovely to see everything for the first time, unencumbered by the crowds. I braved the boxing day sales on Oxford Street, which was futile because the queues were soo long - not only to the cash registers but also to get into the stores themselves - that I gave up trying to buy anything early on and just wandered the sidestreets, lusting over luxury brands I can't afford. I have also visited the magnificent Tower of London; shopped at Knightsbridge (Harrods! and Space NK); watched two plays - The Mousetrap and Breakfast at Tiffany's - the former was really good but the latter was fantastic, especially Anna Friel (of Pushing Daisies) as Holly; visited Madame Tussauds and Ripley's Believe It or Not, which were both trashy, but actually very fun; toured London on a double-decker bus; seen amazing ancient artefacts at the British Museum, including sarcophaguses, the Rosetta Stone and the Nereid Monument... and there is still so much left to see and do in the two days I have left!

P.S. I am onto my third book - the first was Breakfast at Tiffany's, which I much prefer to the film and the play (and I loved them!) and the second was Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing, which I'll be reading again to fully grasp its meaning. It's really charming and easy-to-read, yet thought-provoking and real. Now I am reading a novel I bought on a whim at the airport bookstore called Foreign Tongue - it is described as "A Story of Life and Love in Paris" - how could I resist? It is delightful!

things I need to get around london

1. Tube pass. 2. Lipgloss. 3. Debit card and a little cash.