Back to the Motherland - England!

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Hellooooo England! Luckily the volcano didn't interrupt flights into Heathrow this time and we made it safe and sound meeting my mum's cousin Kirsty at the airport. After picking up Sam from another terminal we drove out to Binsted in Hampshire to stay with Kirsty and her husband Tim in their beautiful house that actually used to be an old kiln. Binsted is such a stunning, stereotypically English town, with wide open green fields, tiny roads, a pub that I only just fit in (the boys were bent at the waist to avoid hitting their heads on the roof!) and houses that made Sam and Mat's first experience of England picturesque, and made me so happy to be back once again.

Our next stop was Winchester where we went and saw King Arthur's table for himself and his knights. It was propped up on the wall in an old castle chapel. I was suprised at it's size and the fact that it was so elaborately decorated. We explored the town a little, wandering down the crooked cobblestone streets amongst the old buildings in the rain. England at it's finest. The following day we visited Winsor Castle which is an absolutely magnificent place. Wandering through the State Apartments was breath-taking. Each room was exquisitely decorated and sparkled with gold plating and chandeliers, bright coloured paintings on the walls and the ceilings, detailed carpets and carefully arranged furniture. Each room seemed more grand than the previous.

Heading to London the next day I can definitely say that it was the perfect introduction to England for the boys before heading to the city. Arriving in London however was just as exciting. We were staying in Notting Hill so we could spend a night out with one of Mat's friends, Casey, who is from Australia but has been working over in London for a few years. We started at the Garden Bar, Ladbroke Grove which had a great beer garden and couch area where we had a couple of drinks whilst meeting Casey's friends. From here we moved onto Mahiki's, which is apparently one of the top clubs in London, which we were oblivious to. Some friend's of Casey's who played rugby in London were able to get us into VIP where we shared these huge treasure chests which contained a number of different delicious liqueurs topped with a bottle of Moet and fruit. As they were brought out there was smoke and flames coming from in and about 50 straws. These things cost four hundred pounds each! Talk about a first night out in London! Sam and I couldn't get a cab home so ended up getting a man on a bicycle pulling a seat who drove us home. It took about an hour and a half and Sam even got out and peddled for a while because the man got so tired but it was definitely worth the memory 😊

The next day Sam and I travelled down to Shortlands, Kent to stay with my Godmother, Jackie, her daughter Lucy and boyfriend Colin. I love this house, I always feel at home here despite being so far from Sydney. It was nice to relax with family for a few days and visit Bromley again where I worked in the Walkabout for a few months in 2006. Sadly it's not there anymore! But it was good to visit the town again. At one point while Lucy and I were shopping Sam and Mat witnessed an egging by some boys down onto a largely populated area just outside the shopping centre. Some people at Starbucks got his and I believe one woman yelled a number of profanities at the top of her lungs. They told us when we met up with them and all Lucy had to say was, "Well, welcome to Bromley." Innit.

Loving it here, back to London again now. Going to be very busy over the next week with all the things we have planned while in London. It's definitely good to be back!

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