Flying visit to London
We had been looking for something memorable to do for Mel's 30th, and decided London was the go. Although it may sound strange, it seemed to be the perfect choice for some diverse and good food and a much needed dose of the mother tongue, after 16 or so months. We had a great time and, though we mostly looked at things from the outside instead of going in (the Korean Won doesn't go too far in London), we kept very busy for 5 days. We managed to eat Indian at Bricklane, Korean in Chinatown, English pub fare in Nottinghill (where we stayed), Thai at the restaurant of an Aussie chef, with some stodgy pies and mash for a 'light' lunch.
Bridges old and new across the Thames
To spare you too many of the same old shots, we've combined some iconic London images into one picture!
A patriotic London taxi negotiating Picadilly Circus
The 'Gherkin' is a recent addition to the skyline
Over six weeks in China, we became very familiar with the state run English TV station and the endless repetition of the same two or three commercials. Our favourite, for its hilariously appalling amateur acting was for 'Jade Travel', who claim to be the specialists in organising travel to China - kind of curious, we thought, seeing the viewer is quite clearly in China already. We wanted to see if it really existed, and to our great surprise...it did!
Mel in front of the famous (to us) Jade Travel
London has a wonderfully multicultural flavour - we found this junior Bollywood performance in Trafalgar Square
Another well photographed item but interesting all the same!
For Mel's birthday, we had a very memorable dinner (that we were late for) at David Thompson's 'Nahm' restaurant, and as you may now know it was this night that I hit Mel with the 'big question'.
The night of Mel's 30th
We also had a chance to catch up with my Aunty Bet and cousin Ian, who live in Essex just outside of London. This was a wonderful opportunity and a truly special occasion, especially finding out more about Dad's time in England.
Aunty Bet with Ian in her house in Romford, Essex
posted by The Hungry Pirates at 9:45 PM
2 Comments:
Oh, how lovely...I have been waiting and waiting for this blog to come up. I'm just having a little bit of a cry while I write this...tears of happiness of course. Thank you so much for keeping up the great work with this blog site. It has made the last 18 months so much easier for me while you have been away. Once a mother, always a mother, however old you are! Can't wait to see you both in a couple of weeks. Keep healthy and safe until then. Love you both.
10/20/2007 5:02 PM
Just read a big article on "The Gherkin". When you come home will you be photographing food for your blog and describing architecture of George St. and over 55's? You'll have to keep up blog but make it a year in the life of an engaged couple. We are all addicted now. Hooray! Yvonne will get your backpack washing. Love you both heaps.
10/27/2007 5:21 PM
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