London Calling

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Well, I finally made it!!! After being forced to pay excess baggage at the airport I said a teary farewell to my family at the airport (tears were unrelated to excess baggage payment).

The flight was pretty uneventful. Am pleased to say I have witnessed the true meaning of 'on demand' entertainment thanks to Qantas ie you get to watch the movies YOU want, when you want them. I luckily sat next to an Irish guy who was snottier than me! I still can't understand why his girlfriend didn't tell him to blow his nose for the whole 24 hours - I almost did!! We stopped in Bangkok on the way over and even though its a shiny new airport it's still dingy, and is a 'silent terminal' which means that no announcements are made over the PA to tell you your flights' leaving - what's the point???

I arrived to a beautiful summers day with glorious sunshine and lovely temps.
Robyn 'worked from home' in the morning so was waiting to greet me which was lovely. She headed off to work and I felt surprisingly ok so hit the shops in Clapham - making a beeline for Boots! Katherine came to meet me for lunch and we grabbed a salad from M&S & headed for the Common to catch some rays- what every self respecting english person would do on a summers day!

Yesterday I went for a walk on Clapham Common to make the most of another beautiful morning and got very lost! The Common is massive and weirdly shaped - not just a big oval but huge grasslands with roads going through.....I hadn't taken my phone and had no idea of street names etc so got into a mild panic for about 15 mins until I thankfully found a piece of road I was familiar with! I pottered for most of the day - had nothing planned which was good as a bad wave of jetlag hit at about 1pm and I was relegated to the couch for some R&R.

I luckily got up the energy to head to the Chelsea Flower show in the arvo with Kat, Robyn & friends, which was gorgeous! It is massive and I can't believe how much effort people go to for a 4 day show. It's well worth the effort if you ever have the chance but you need to book ahead. There were beautiful outdoor settings and gorgeous flowers indoors. My faves were the glorious roses and exotic irises - see pics!

We then headed to a pub in Chelsea for a catch up with old & new friends from Sydney - Shel Hostrup, Carol & Paddy Kilkenny & Samara & Kate! It was my one opportunity to see people in London before I head off on my travels for 4 months and while it was brief it was lovely, especially as we were given 2 free jugs of Pimms! Long story......but when you're on the pacific peso (ie Aussie dollar here) that's huge!

Today my big European adventure starts! I fly to Rome this arvo with Robyn, Katherine & Dan and am very excited to be going back. Stay tuned for more adventures!!

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Comments

[Anton]

Where'd u park yr car?
Carol, (for everyone think sth african accent)..."Howse it? I carn't believe it!" You're back in London. (accent again) "where'd u park yr car?"