Friday, December 19, 2014

Busy Busy Busy

I've been busy preparing for Christmas, lots of knitting and a bit of baking! 




I have mastered scarves and head bands which were quite easy to learn but hats were a whole different ball game. My first hat looked similar to a sun hat, the second had a bit more shape but by the time I tried the third I found this wonderful website. I have enjoyed making hats for the family and have begun a collection to donate! I also found another website for an infinity scarf which I loved making for gifts this year.


It's not too cold here though this particular day had an awful cold wind. I'm still wearing my rain jacket and occasionally scarf and mittens. I am certainly missing last year at this time by the beach, swimming in the ocean. 

When I was little I made these cookies with my Grandma and Grandpa. I always did more eating than helping. And now while I might be in charge I still eat more dough then I end up baking! I had some helpers again this year to share my family tradition. It is always interesting switching measurements and subsisting ingredients. This year I also accomplished making the mixer blow smoke! In the end we had some great cookies to eat. 







I've been busy wrapping presents too!



What is an elf's favourite kind of music………….wrap music!



Monday, December 8, 2014

A visit in London

The best thing about making friends all over the world while travelling is running into them again in new places! I was lucky to have a friend come to London to visit this weekend that I met while in Australia. We had a fully packed weekend with no stops.



Friday started with a visit at night to the Natural History Museum. Sadly nothing came alive as far as I could tell. The museum was beautiful at night, the architecture inside was breathtaking. We went with a group that I found on a website called Meet Up to try and make more friends here in London. I met lots of new people and had a great time.





Saturday we wandered around exploring London. I tried Macaroons for the first time, turns out they taste really good! I meant to take a picture but you will have to settle with the sign of the store since I ate them immediately. The Covent Garden market was great and I will have to make a return trip to check it out more. We went out at night to hit up some of the London Gay clubs which were fabulous, much better than the ones in Sydney. My favourite was Village! It is really nice to open yourself up to new experiences and new friends. 




Sunday was filled with so much walking and we did a repeat of last year's before Christmas trip by going to Ripley's Believe It or Not. It's going to have to be a tradition now! We walked around Hyde Park, and tried to get into Winter Wonderland but it seemed that everyone else had the same idea and the line was huge. We went to Harrods to see the lights and window displays as well as to check out what was inside. The people inside were a mix of tourists and gaudy looking people who had money to spend apparently. It was like a maze trying to get through the shoppers and the store itself. I'd like to go back on a quieter day to take a wander around as the egyptian escalator looked really neat. 






We finished the day by taking some Christmassy pictures around London. I, of course came prepared in my christmas jumper and a hat!



………….And in case you were wondering about the telephone booth. 
They are indeed cool looking but I wouldn't recommend using one. 
Unless of course you were looking for a good spot for a wee or some 
phone numbers of certain variety!

Sunday, November 23, 2014

It's Been Awhile

I haven't posted in nearly a month, mostly because I haven't been doing much travelling or cultural things. I've been doing lots and lots of knitting but this isn't a knitting blog! So I'm combining the past months little adventures into one post.

I finally went out in Shoreditch, London's hip hop happening party spot. (Do I sound old? I felt a little bit old) The drinking age here is 18 which makes me a good deal older than the majority of people who go out. Luckily Shoreditch has bars, pubs and clubs for everyone including me who wasn't in heels and a crazy tight dress. I really enjoyed the first place we went to which was a little bar called Catch. I didn't get any pictures because I was busy meeting friends of friends.

While it was fun night out, I definitely wasn't prepared for the next morning!


I took an insane trip into London with one of the boys. Did you know that most London underground stations DO NOT have elevators or ramps for accessibility? Clearly I missed that when planning my day trip to the Science Museum. I did learn that most Londoners will stop and offer to help carrying a stroller up and down multiple stairs. Still I was not and am not impressed with the underground system!! The museum was great fun, we wandered all around but it seems completely missed the children's area in the basement. We rather enjoyed looking at lorry's (trucks), trains, space ships, and cards. We were both tired right out by the time we got back home. 






London has the best pubs I can ever possibly imagine, they are gorgeous and historic! I went for drinks at the very same pub called the Anchor where William Shakespeare kept a room since the Globe is minutes away. Also at two other beautiful pubs the Dickens Inn and a similar one whose name I can't remember (ha ha), where the old designs blew me away. 

I had a very English Winter Wonderland in the pouring rain! I wasn't the only braving the rain to check out this amazing tradition at Hyde Park. It was absolutely amazing and aside from the rain instead of the snow, London certainly knows how to have a winter festival. There were market stalls, an ice rink, food stands, beer stalls, bands, and loads of rides and games for children. I hope to go back again when it's not raining! 







And just because I know everyone is curious about how my knitting is going 


(headbands, neck warmer and scarves galore) 


Sunday, November 2, 2014

It never stops….

What's a girl to do when she is abroad already? Check out a travel show to see more adventures!





The rest of my weekend was spent watching my always first christmas movie of the season all snuggled up in bed!



This Life

This week I welcomed the terrible twos with one of the boys I look after! I must be crazy to endure another year of terrible twos but I do love when children are discovering the themselves and the world around them.


After a day of celebrations I prepared to spend the next day in the frightening parts of London. Tower of London and Jack the Ripper Tour. However with it being half-term here this week, the tower was packed! I spent some time at the Sherlock Holmes pub for some excellent fish and chips as well as a beer. The Jack the Ripper tour was wonderful and I would definitely recommend it. I went with a friend and we got a deal through Groupon the wonderful place of cheap deals! Our tour was with London Mystery Tours and the tour guide was great. There were lots of facts and information as well as a theory in the end about who did it! 




After the walk I managed to get some great pictures of London now that everyone had left for the day!