Tuesday, March 11, 2008

hello London

Well, one 24 hour flight and one 11 hour time difference later and we're here in London! I think we've more or less conquered our jet lag, settled into our little apartment, and Pete started work yesterday (getting absolutely saturated on the way there due to horrible, squally weather).

It's weird, it hasn't really sunk in yet that we're on the other side of the world. At the moment it just feels like an older, larger version of Melbourne, coupled with all the iconic London stuff you see on postcards. I feel like I'm still looking for something that really grabs me and shakes me and yells out "you're in LONDON!!". I blame Tokyo for the complete lack of culture shock ;)

Okay, time for some pics:


At the gates of Buckingham Palace...


... but I much preferred the gardens and lake nearby, with all the daffodils in full bloom...


... and the crazy 'wildfowl' that look similar to what we have at home but slightly different. Oh and there were squirrels!! I'd never seen a squirrel in person before, so cute!


While Pete worked his first day I took myself to some museums to escape the rain. Above is the Natural History Museum, which I went to see purely for the building....


I also went to the V&A, but curiously wasn't as blown away by it as I expected! I guess I'm not much of a museums girl, but I did love the whole room full of skeleton keys and elaborate locks (thanks to lupinbunny for the heads up!). How beautiful are the pieces above? Just two of like, 100+ pieces. I think I feel a pattern coming.



And last but not least, our little apartment! Light and bright, plenty of room, and completely free care of Pete's work. We are too lucky.

Afternoon Tea

Now, if anyone wants to join me for afternoon tea this Friday you're completely welcome! We're meeting at Costa Coffee in the big Paperchase on Tottenham Court Road at 3:00pm on Friday (14th). Hope to see you there :)

14 comments:

Rochelle said...

Wow, very envious of the free accom! That must be a dream not having to worry about wasting your money on rent.
My husband and I are heading over to London in July as well, with a mini holiday on the way in Tokyo! Can't wait - I'll be reading your blog for the best things to do :)

charlie pop said...

i'd love to !
but with airplane travel, the coffee's cost would be a little expensive ! :D
and, btw, you look lovely on the pics !

Danielle said...

Looks like you guys are having a great time - enjoy :-)

Anonymous said...

OOOOH you need to go to Camden and not just the markets...try and hang out there at night for some celeb spotting and London fashiony types. Its scummy but about as Londony as you can get.

Anonymous said...

hi! i hope it's not weird to ask, but where did you get your gray jacket? i love it and i've been looking for something like it :) thanks! hope you have a great time.

Kaija said...

Everything looks and sounds absolutely wonderful! After the squirrel part I lost my focus though. All I kept thinking was "What, they don't have squirrels in Australia??" We have them so much that it had never occurred to me that you don't have them down under. Or do people just not see them?

monda-loves said...

Welcome to the UK! I'm sorry we haven't had better weather for you, it's been totally foul this last few days hasn't it.

Your flat looks lovely too - much better deal than a hotel room.
I'm kind of with you on the museum front, I usually spot a couple of things i like but i'm not often blow away by these things.

Just found a couple of sites that might be of interest:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1636_chinadesignnow/

http://www.timeout.com/london/

At least you can browse these whilst staying away from the wind and rain.

Monda
x

Di said...

Sounds like you'll have a ball in London!

Not sure about your weekend away! You could try Amsterdam - there are lots of flights, although accommodation could be hard. Check out Easyjet for flights too - if you come back on the Sunday it may be cheaper as most people will have holidays on Monday!

Anonymous said...

lovely flat!

your Tokyo comment is making me nervous though... uh oh!

Uncle Beefy said...

The pics are great, Lara! The Liberty storefront is fantastabulous!

Are you really trying to tease us all with the invitation to tea? ;) (There is a daily non-stop from Seattle to London...hmmm?) Would love to if I could!

Enjoy the rest of your stat :)

Cheerio!

Unknown said...

Hehe, thanks everyone!!

Anon - the jacket is by a company called nique (http://www.nique.com.au/) I got it awhile ago tho so i don't think it's around anymore - sorry!

Lara said...

Oops, turns out I was accidentally signed into my boyfriend's account! Here it is again as me!

----------------
Hehe, thanks everyone!!

Anon - the jacket is by a company called nique (http://www.nique.com.au/) I got it awhile ago tho so i don't think it's around anymore - sorry!

Victoria said...

Nice looking apartment you had, much better than a lot you can book - where was it?

Cathy said...

What a shame I didn't read your blog in March, Paperchase is one of my favourite shops and once I am in there I don't come out for ages. Would have loved to share a coffee and chat. I love your blog.