WEEK 17: Charming Countryside

What better excuse to get away to the country side than a friends birthday? It was Nikki's birthday and to celebrate she booked a mansion in beautiful Ludlow for us all to come and celebrate with her.

We all carpooled to the house, approximately 3 hours out of London.  Unfortunately the heavy down poor of rain and school holidays meant the traffic was not so kind to us and it took some groups up to 6 hours to get there. Thankfully we all made it in one piece.

Miserable weather on-route

It was quite late by the time we all arrived so we made the most of the last moments of Nikki's official birthday to wish her a Happy Birthday.

The next morning, now bright and sunny I took the opportunity to explore the property a little more. I wont say much as the photo's pretty much say it all...

The exterior of the house.

This is the road you take to get to the house, one lane and 2 metres of hedges either side. Very scary in the night.

View from our room

We made use of the Sauna, late Saturday night

We even popped into town to pick up a few last minute supplies, the small town was everything you'd expect from an English country town; antique stores galore, pubs that seems as though they've been there since the dark ages and rustic style buildings.

Upon arriving back at the house we set to work in the kitchen preparing lunch. We were so lucky to have one day of beautiful sunshine so we could enjoy our lunch outdoors in the grounds.

The afternoon passed by amongst, chit-chat, games and siestas.

At Nikki's request we all got dressed up for our dinner spread. What a feast!

The next morning it was time to pack up and head home. Raining again. The journey home was a challenge with so many roads closed and our GPS redirecting us to yet another road closure. When we made it home we were all looking to our beds to comfort us.

Thanks so much to Nikki for organising a wonderful weekend away. And thanks to mother nature for giving us one day of sunshine.

I wish you could've all been there with me xx

WEEK 16: 4 x 4 = 16 You do the math

Wow four months already? You know what they say time fly's when you're having fun and this week definitely showed me just that as I celebrated friends (Kathryn) farewell from London. Kathryn will be the first to tell you 2 years isn't nearly enough to discover all the delights London and the surrounds have to offer.

Kathryn decided to have a house party send off including but not limited to a BBQ and dancing and drinks at a nearby club well into the night. Now I say BBQ but all you Aussie's reading this will beg to differ as did I when I first saw the "BBQ" device. Gas barbecues' really aren't common over here, instead the Brits often purchase a disposal barbecue or a free standing one, heated by coals, both pictured below. 

Weird huh?

Myself, Kathryn & Nikki getting the party started

After a pretty exhausting week of work and a late one Saturday night I was more than happy to take it easy Sunday. My room mate suggested we head down to the Lido (thats an outdoor pool for those of you unsure) to dip our feet into the water. Such bliss, we brought drinks along to consume pool side but it's not surprising we were quickly told this wasn't allowed as soon as we attempted to drink them. 

Not wanting the drinks to go to waste we cut our pool time short to pop outside to London Fields, bask in the sun and have some girl talk. A weekend well spent. 

I can't wait to bring you next weeks post following my weekend in Ludlow in the beautiful english countryside. Stay tuned.

Until then... xo

Ps. One a side note, I'd really love to make my blog more visually appealing if you're a whiz with this kind of thing hit me up with some helpful hints. Thanks kids.

WEEK 15: Strike on

We all knew it was coming but we all hoped it wouldn't go ahead, some of you may have guessed what I'm talking about - London's 24 hour underground transport strike. Never before have all lines been affected for such a significant period of time.

Scheduled for Wednesday evening all the way through to late Thursday evening this lead to chaos all across London. Buses & overground trains packed, and a high increase of traffic. A lot of people were  granted permission to work from home, some walked ridiculous lengths to get to work and many opted for a prearranged courier. I didn't matter what option you took (apart from working at home) it was going to be a bitch to get to work throughout this time. Here's some images of Clapham Junction where I thankfully was arriving at, not departing from.

The crazy lines to get on a train to different parts of London.

After surviving the strike without too much hassle I spent the weekend taking it easy, future travel plans means I need to be careful with my money. There's plenty of free things to see and do, however I often get caught up in all the sweet treats the London cafes have on display. I came across the cutest little cafe right in the heart of the flower markets and it took all my efforts to resist splurging on something delicious. But hey theres always next week!

Inspired by the flowers on display at the markets, I picked some wild flowers on my stroll home. They wern't as spectacular as the ones from the markets by they brightened up my room.

I hope they brighten your day! xo

WEEK 13-14: Things are heating up

It about time summer came to land in London, I keep hearing from locals that this time last year the weather was magnificent and they'd already seen a decent amount of sun. To be fair the weather hasn't been miserable, but this city just comes alive when the sun is shining. Wollah! I bring you an english heat wave!!

This past week we've had temperatures of up to 35 Degrees, meaning the weather is all Londoners can talk about. I know its been in the news all over the world about the British heat wave and you're all laughing from your couches, yet each morning I see staff strolling into the office wearing trench coats!!! It's safe to say the English do not know how to dress for/handle the heat.

While the heat hasn't been anything like what we experience back home I'll admit I have struggled with the heat along with the rest of London. I know you're all thinking I'm weak, but I do have one major defence - London is not equipped to deal with the heat. Buses, most tubes and even offices do not have air conditioning and if they do it's not the kind that handles temperates of 35 degrees and above well. You get my point? 
It was hot EVERYWHERE!!

Thankfully the heat wave didn't come out to play when me and a couple of friends went to experience the Polo for the day. 

Such an interesting sport to watch and it was fun to get dressed up for the day. Here's some pictures from the day...

Ok ok maybe I felt a little like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, I left the polka dots for another day though, stripes are more my thing.

For those of you who can't recall, here's Julia in all her glory - 

Until next week...

xo