The trek to visit Bridie in London involved a taxi, a plane, a bus, a train and a little walking - quite an adventure! Good thing there was a door prize my efforts (which conveniently now hangs on my bedroom door)
These are the 83 narrow stairs at the tube station that I carried my luggage down - all 23kgs of it (yep, I managed to have more baggage visiting London for a week, than I had moving to Sharjah)
One of our first stops was Harrods - this is the singing pizza chef in one of the many many food halls. He was singing Christmas carols while spinning pizza bases - he was amazing!
We met up with Esther and ate cake - what a perfect day!
Bridie and I discovered the Winter Wonderland festival in Hyde Park, which is home to possibly the most amazing creature in all of England...
A singing bilingual moose!
He and the pizza chef should do a duet together
On Saturday we travelled to Windsor to visit the Queen, but alas, she was not home
This particular photo makes me think of Hogwarts Express.
Bridie, maybe you could be a professor at Hogwarts.
Windsor Castle - not too shabby
My first English pub meal at The King and Castle with Bridie and her housemates, Ximena (pronounced Hermana) and Anthony (pronounced Antony) - they're tricky over there!
Bridie, through the looking glass
The Thames
Don't worry Bridie and Annie, even the Queen has to deal with planes flying over her house
Waitrose is supermarket heaven here in Dubai - good to see the Queen approves of it also
Traditional 'I was there' self portrait
Real holly - how Christmassy is that!
The moat garden around the castle
Apparently the moat never held water too well, so they made it into a garden
Murder holes!
An ingenious idea
The photo isn't too clear, but somebody has added a 'T' to 'Urban', so it reads 'turban', and then look who sat down - love it!
Here is Bridie's esteemed housemate, Annie. There is really no explanation for what she is doing here, except to say that she is american.
(Yes, I stole this photo from Facebook. I didn't have any photos of Annie and I thought she should get a little representation on here. Plus, I was in the room when it was taken - the Sunday morning 'much acclaimed grey dress' fashion shoot)
Bride auditioning as a 'The Price is Right' showcase girl - if the prize was the Houses of Parliament - it could be a viable occupation if nothing else works out.
As I type this a character on TV is talking about how amazing it is to see the Houses of Parliament reflected in the Thames - makes me want to go back!
London Eye
Big Ben
Westminster Abbey
We tried to visit 10 Downing St, but much to my surprise, the road is gated off...how rude!
Trafaglar Square
Buckingham Palace
Horse crossing lights - love it!
Royal Albert Hall
Have I mentioned that I LOVE Prince Albert. Anyone who has seen 'The Young Victoria' will understand.
Covent Gardens
I could have spent hours there!
Yesterday I read in a magazine that there is a Covent Gardens Market in Dubai. I plan to check it out next weekend in the hope that it will be even the slightest bit like London's.
Street performer at Covent Gardens - somewhat impressive
One night in Leicester Square I stumbled across the 'Where the Wild Things Are' London premiere, so I stood in the rain for about an hour waiting for something exciting to happen. It helped to pass the time while I was waiting to go to a nearby theatre.
Some random girl that the photographers thought important enough to take photos of for a good five minutes
Another random B grade English celebrity
Max and the director - the closest thing we got to real celebrities
I finished the night off with a showing of Hairspray at the Shaftsbury, where I sat a few rows behind Ruth Wilson, the girl from the latest Jane Eyre movie - which I love (Victoria may be the only other person that appreciates this)
I realised that there are many memorable things that I did not take photos of - the most important of which is the Kensington Creperie, which we managed to eat at twice in 1 week. If it's good enough for Bob Geldof and Pierce Brosnan, it's good enough for me!
Yep, another photo I stole from the internet
Beware Bridie and Annie, I'm already planning my return trip!
Yes, the Queen does have planes flying over her place also. We are so similar in so many ways I can't even begin to elaborate.
ReplyDeleteKellie... we miss you. A couple weeks ago we had Jeff over for dinner and we all felt the loss of your absence!
ReplyDeleteAnd I like how my effort to fit in with the local Hounslow crowd is explained by my american-ness! I'm glad my pic made it on your blog :)
Can't wait to see you again... either in London Towne or Emirates!!