Family time

Before I start ploughing through Italy highs and lows, I wanted to go back in my lil time-machine and remember the fabulous weekend that I spent with my family before flying out to the land of pizza. The people? Mum, Dad, Paul and lil ole me. The place? London. The reason? Mum’s 60th birthday! Whoooo! Go mum!

I returned home from TEFLing in Prague on the Saturday and after being met by Paul at Gatwick, enjoyed a fish and chip supper and evening of chats with the family. That meal was actually the first time we had all eaten together since 2004! You see, that’s what living abroad does! After showing off my new-found English grammar knowledge, and boring the pants of the family with my EFL jargon (heehee!), it was time for bed.

Sunday was our fun-packed day...and we soldiered on in spite of the typical English drizzle (and occasional thunder storm!). We had a lovely boat trip down the Thames to Greenwich, took pictures around the Cutty Sark, and then had a good old wander. Eating our M&S sandwiches in a kind of wind tunnel was particularly memorable! We braved the pelting rain to walk up the hill to the observatory, and Greenwich meridian line! Cheesy photos of me standing on the famous line of time took place even though the weather was not at its friendliest. We took shelter in the museum for a while, explored, and then made our back towards the river (via a tea and biccies pitstop). The boat back to the South Bank was great, as there was a funny and informative commentary by a gift-of-the-gab Londoner, who wouldn’t have looked out of place playing someone’s granddad on Eastenders. He was great, and it was nice to hear little anecdotes about places along the Thames. Although, if you are after a tour guide to any part of London...that brother of mine knows his stuff!

Back on dry land, we headed over to Covent Garden to have dinner at Belgos (a cool restaurant that we had all been to before, and were happy to pay a 2nd visit…the food is lush!). After the flavoured schnapps for starters, I opted for the chilli ginger duck for my main course. It was divine, and I stripped that bird bare! After a brief stop at an Italian café for coffee and OJ (even Italy hasn’t converted me to caffeine!), it was time for a lovely lil surprise for meeeee! We wandered through Soho for about 10 minutes and finally stopped by a Japanese restaurant. I was confused..and then noticed the sign on the door in the basement area…..a lovely snazzy, Japanese style karaoke place!!! Yey!! We spent about an hour there….with Mum and dad just happy to listen (although I think Mum might’ve joined in a bit…I just couldn't hear because I was too busy belting out my Japan repertoire!!)…and Paul sharing vocals with me on a few songs. I don’t know how impressed Mum and Dad were with the concept of karaoke, but I’m glad that they got a chance to see what I had spent most of the last 2 years doing! I loved it though…cheers Paul! After a scenic black-cab ride through London, and a train back to Wimbledon, the day was at an end. Definitely one of my favourite family days ever! A particular highlight for me was taking a photograph of the 3 of them standing by the river with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in the background, and..unprompted...they did peace-signs for the picture! Whoooo!

The next day, Paul and I saw Mum and Dad off at Kings Cross, as they headed back up to York, and I stayed behind ready to fly to Italy the following day. We had a nice relaxing day in London…topped off by a lovely haircut at the trendy Lee Stafford Salon. Definitely the best hair experience I’ve had…and made even more exciting by the salon being used for filming a BBC programme ( the celebrity hair cutting programme for ‘Children in Need’…for those of you in the UK)…and actually seeing Lee Stafford himself. I’ve used that guy’s products for years!!! Oh, and whilst we were browsing in the Apple Store…I spotted Rob Brydon (again, only people in the UK will know who I’m talking about!)…so it was a good day for star-spotting! I will be staying in London with Paul for a little while before Christmas, so I am looking forward to hunting for more famous faces, and further exploring our lovely capital!