London - The Mother Land

Returning to the mother land we foresaw shackles and a waiting ship to send us back to Australia. Instead we passed through security and were warmly welcomed. If it is because we excel in both sport and drinking that they allow Australians the freedom to walk about or that they were celebrating the Queens Jubilee we will never know.

Arriving at London's Heathrow Airport, we slipped through security without raising any eyebrows at our convict status and proceeded to meet up with Katie. With much excitement and many hugs, we were given our very detailed 'welcome to london - tourist pack' put together by Katie. This sort of detail would put the Chinese Olympic Committee to shame! From this pack we headed to our new home and made ourselves comfortable as instructed (no really, it was one of the steps on how to settle in). The afternoon proceeded with a snack at a local coffee shop, an unexpected Nanny nap (lasting 4 hours, damn you jet-lag) and dinner with Katie and her sister, Ashley at the Bow Arms Pub. Overall rating delicious.

The next day was a slow day noting the broken sleeping patterns but we eventually got moving. Plan of attack was to have lunch with my little cousin Kellie and Liz so we moved to SOHO to a quaint Vegetarian place called Mildred's. The random rendezvous with my little cousin (Kellie) was obviously exciting especially because it was last minute and a total surprise. After a wonderful little catchup and some much needed vegetarian food, we explored a little of SOHO before Kellie and Liz departed. Katie, Leigh and I continued to explore and finished the day with a burrito in a park outside St Pauls Cathedral.

It rhymes and has a positive message for all! I will use it on my next Ship...

Mildreds = delicious vegetarian

Famous SOHO Shopping Street

My cousin 'Cuz' Kellie and I with a glittering Pommy flag astern.

When you do not have your own talent, you can still busk. Imagine Tiesto in the background!

The view from a very crowded rooftop bar

Katie and I enjoying that view. Photo by Leigh

Katie and Leigh chatting before burrito action

View whilst consuming burrito

Photo of a duck. This occurs when you dont see a squirrel in 48hours.

Tower of London and Tower Bridge

As I have had more London experience than the wife, the sheep became the herder and I planned an exploration and fun fact day at the Tower of London. Starting off, we received a tour from one of the Beef-eaters. Interesting fun fact #234, a Beef-eater need to be in the UK Military for 22 years and eat a lot of beef before you can apply. This was a highlight of the visit as the gentleman gave an awesome fact filled tour. On completion of the tour, we continued to explore the whole Tower which was interactive and very enjoyable.

Its over there!!

Leigh Studying Medieval OH&S

After completing the tour of the tower of London we viewed the Tower Bridge. This involved the following actions: look, photo, sigh, rain, walk, more rain, run.... This was short and scenic and ended in us joining Katie to watch Phantom of the Opera at the theatre.

We were told the furthest Left is for Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 and the one on the right Dr. Who

On our final days we decided to do a walking tour which included Brick Lane, Box Park, and an unplanned fashion show. This was made all more special with Katie taking a day of leave for us. Even more special because she gets 5 days a year...

Brick Lane is a funky street full of cafes, culture stores, pop art and Indian cuisine. Brick Lane is surprisingly named after the brick footpath in the lane. It was a nice start to the day, and with all the funky clothing and furniture it was hard not to think about what we would buy if we had a home to put it in. On our exploration of the brick lane jungle, we were looking at an old brewery where Katie explained they hold functions and markets. Today, there was a fashion catwalk event for graduating class. With free entry and a free beverage, we checked it out and looked for the next designer prodigy.

Box Park is something that I expect to find in Melbourne (if not already). It is a shopping village built out of shipping containers similar to Dekalb Markets in New York. They have your token shops, eateries and even a pub. The top level is decked out so you can enjoy a Sunday Session there if the weather ever improves. The most exciting we found during the window shopping was a board game at the Amnesty International store, amazeballs (picture below).

Box Park

Possibly the best board game ever!!

We also had a chance to explore Portobello Markets http://www.portobellomarket.org/ which is a great antiquity street market. We were able to wander the streets found some great snacks and fresh food. Similar to Brick Lane, it was very funky and enjoyable. On our final night we went to newly opened 'The Gate" restaurant (actually their second restaurant in London) which is a well known vegetarian/vegan haunt. It was a great tasting menu, and amazing wine list to match. Delicious!!

Katie and Leigh on the way to dinner at The Gate

It was a lovely week of sightseeing and most importantly it was great to catch up with Katie.  Thank you so much Miss Sevil for putting us up in your lovely apartment (and giving up your bed) and for taking time off work to show us around!  Can't wait for our next catch up!