December 2007 - Dreaming of a white Christmas

Continuing on with the month by month recount .. we hit December which saw:

Susannah's Leaving Party
My special london house mate, was called home to sunny skies and a great job in December! Susannah and I went through a lot together, and her final days in London topped it, as she had her bag stolen on our street! Despite London's ill treatment of her, she may be back! (Check out Leonie’s awesome send off surprise for sus.... a big ben cake ;)







The Christmas Period

Christmas was different and I loved it! No sunshine and BBQ’s here thank you very much ;)

In London for Christmas lots of german markets popped up around the place cooking yummy germans sausages etc (this is the closest I got to a aussie hotdog), there was pretty lights on every high street, and lots of festivals. Dave and I visited Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and Leonie, Cassandra and I went to the Frost Fair on South Bank were we drank mulled wine and sat on an ice carved chair.

Christmas day involved staying over at Bronywn and Rorys Christmas Eve as there was no public transport for us to get anywhere on Christmas day. They hosted the French (Dave & Bronwyn), Anderson (Rory and Robbie) and Lester associated (Me and my cousin cassandra) pairs for a lovely Christmas feast. We attended Shepperton Church and enjoying being cozy, sitting around inside while the roast was cooking :) Fresh holly from the garden was on the table and we watched the Queens address on TV! What an Englishy christmas!







The rest of the Christmas/New Year period was cool, my best pal Davinia was here so there was lots of food, drink, shopping and hanging out. We went ice skating at the Tower of London, drank mulled wine, went to see Billy Elliot, attempted to visit Windsor Castle (instead sat in a pub across the road from the castle with Cas and Sandra!), shopped together and just caught up! It was very nice indeed ;)





The updates will continue, so stayed tuned! xx

I'm back - Nov 2007 Family, France, Fun!

Ok Ok, I know ;) It’s been forever since my last blog entry and I am sorry!! I cant even say I will start again with a new found vigor in the new year ...because its already May! But here we are, so I’ll give this blogging thing another shot :)

Now where did we leave off? .... Oh yes, it was November 2007


November
Was an awesome month as my Dad and Bro Ryan came to visit!!! Yay! It was so exciting to have them here, and as family does, they made me feel safe, loved and special. Ryan turned 21 last year so it was his treat to come to Europe. On his list of places to see included London (bonus I was there!) and Paris. So we went! The extra extra bonus was, Uncle Karl, Aunty Helen and my cousins Catlin, Husdon and Norton we planning to be in France around the same time, and they graciously altered their plans so we could all enjoy Paris and France together! It was a total help of course that Uncle Karl can speak French and has a very good eye for all things yummy, classy and french!

The adventure started with a £40 fine when arriving at the Eurostar depot in London, followed by hours of being lost in dark Paris with an illegible photocopy of a map! We were saved after a quick prayer, when a man approached us like a guardian angel and gave us directions! All was ok after we had some sustenance (crepe’s and a glass of red ;) We found the next morning in the day light, we were in fact meters only from our accommodation, facing the wrong direction the night before!

The days to follow were cold but packed with awesome things to see. A open top bus tour gave us a great scope of this beautiful city. We drove past the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, The Opera building, Arch de Triomphe and down the Champs-Élysées . I was an iscle at the end, but it was lovely all the same.

A late night evening at the Louvre, and a breakfast meeting with Uncle Karl, Aunty Helen and the kids made for a great mid paris perk. From here on we travelled around together up the top of the Arch de Triomphe, into the Musée d'Orsay, and wandered the streets to find Crepes, the Eiffel Tower and NotreDame. Cati, Dad, Ryan and I had a brilliant boat trip upon the the Seine River which was quite magical as when we returned the Eiffel tower was lit us in all its glory!

After our busy city break, we picked up Dave from the Eurostar station and headed in two cars out to the french countryside, to the Champagne region. This being THE place where that special bubbly treat originated from. It was a totally delight to be welcomed by a huge converted abbey as our countryside abode. So much room, so warm and inviting and so beautiful.

The days to follow were filled with eating the best food ever (cheese, pastries, chocolate, wine, champagne, fish, pasta etc) visits to champagne houses, boulangeries, castles, vine yards and woods. Everything was beautiful, everything taste good and it was quiet and relaxing. Both uncle Karl and Ryan celebrated birthday champagne breakfasts here ;)

Our last night in Champagne uncle Karl treated us to a real french meal at a local restaurant. Totally divine! We all had snails and 6 courses in full. What an unbelievable meal!

I definitely, definitely want to visit France again! ... and am even considering, for the 2nd time, starting french lessons again! ;)