Blossoms.

Today, Traveller and RF had a day out in London which included a stroll through Regent's Park {look at the lovely cherry blossoms!}, a spot of shopping on Oxford Street and lunch at a lebanese restaurant called Al Waha on Westbourne Grove.
Food and company were both lovely. What made the day even more swell was the feeling of warmth that was coming from the feeble British sun. Yes, ladies and gentleman, London is finally starting to warm up!
Now that is something worth cheering about.

Red tights make me happy

Traveller bought some new tights for fall!

She loves them.

A Marvellous May Weekend

As the long weekend loomed around the corner, all Londoner's braced themselves for a gloomy three days. It had rained all week, had been unseasonably cold and apparently more of the same was promised for the weekend. In particular, it was going to pour on May Day - which is Traveller's birthday.

However, as weary city dwellers opened their blinds on Saturday morning, you could practically hear a resounding rejoice throughout the city. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and every man and his dog were out running along the glimmering pavement. Hooray - spring has arrived at last! Traveller, of course, took this moment to go for a run and bask in the Vitamin D filled rays of sunlight. Bliss!

This morning run kicked off a packed weekend for Traveller and her hubbie. They had made various engagements which began with an outing to 'Carwash' (a 70's/80's nightclub where fancy dress is a must) and culminated in a joint birthday picnic with Traveller's flattie who was born on the same day - albeit a year apart.

The 'Carwash' experience was one of Traveller's highlights of London so far - it wasn't so much the nightclub but more the shopping for what to wear! Vintage stores in London are so much more aptly fitted out for such occasions! There were endless amounts of flares, wigs, frocks and vests - all completely retro and still at op-shop prices. Pictured is one of Traveller's favourite items - a 60's style swimming cap - very groovy!

Seriously, Traveller and hubby could have spent hours in this store - poring over endless amounts of forgotten treasures. However, they had to get home and get themselves ready for the big event. They were going to the club to help their flatmate celebrate her birthday with her friends.

Needless to say, we received many comments on the tube, whilst travelling to our destination.

Traveller's most memborable long weekend moment was the picnic at Regent's Park on May Day. We had held out hope all week that a miracle would occur and the rain would stop and had, as a result, come up with no plan B. This, however, proved to be a good thing as Monday was London's warmest day for 2008 and there was not a cloud in the sky! It was Traveller's first London birthday and it couldn't have been celebrated in a more delightful way - friends, food, football and fabulous sunny weather!

Ah Traveller is so grateful for the friends and family here, and the friends and family in OZ who have helped her celebrate her birthday - it was a super day!

Now it's time for the good stuff...

A list of things that Traveller and hubbie have been up to over the last week or so...

1. Hubbie got a great job working in the finance industry doing computer stuff- he is very happy

2. Traveller and Hubbie moved in to their new flat - with the help of lovely brother + wife

3. T's brother ran in Asics Half-Marathon and wooped it up :)

4. Hubbie's brother, Jord came to visit (and is still visiting) - sleeping on our very cosy floor

5. Traveller, Hubbie, and Jord went to their first west end musical - Lord of the Rings! (Phenomenal set, costumes, props - little lacking in some of the acting, songs and script).

6. T finally got to experience the Gordon Ramsay Gastro-pub, along with hubbie, Jord, T's brother and his wife.

7. The London Flu has (finally) gone!

8. The plans have started for the first European holiday...

9. Saw a great chick flick - 'Definitely, Maybe'. Traveller loves her flick chick compliant hubbie ;)

10. Traveller (without hubbie) did some serious shopping on Oxford St. with a flatmate and has decided she really loves London shopping - yay Topshop, Zara etc!

11. Hubbie found out that one of our flatmates loves 'Settlers of Catan' (our fav boardgame) and so we played it with a few of our flatties over a Sunday lunch.

12. Went to our first London church (we know - it's been way too long!) - Hillsong London was awesome! Great music, excellent speaker and great location - The Dominion Theatre.

13. Went to the Australian Film Festival at the Barbican and saw a great movie (this is not the group consensus - as it was one of those movies that didn't really end). It was called 'Monkey Puzzle' and was set in the Blue Mountains.

14. Traveller went for her first proper run (with new headphones) and ran 4k's around the track - not bad for a Sunday! It's only the beginning....

15. And now for Hubbie's most exciting event - H went to watch a mixed martial arts/UFC tournament called 'Cage Rage' :). He was very excited about this event, and in his excitement got chatting to another attendee whom he sat next to on the tube. The man told Nathan that he might have a better ticket for him, so they swapped numbers. Long story short, Nathan ended up going from a 25 pound ticket, to a 200 pound ticket, sitting amongst London's C-grade celebrities! He was most chuffed!

Well, that's all the news for now. Traveller and hubbie send much love... xxxx





Traveller's brother is in the orange shirt - this is right near the finish line. He ran his first half marathon in 1 hour and 37 minutes - not bad!



















T's brother after finishing - they wrap the gold foil around the runners after the race to keep them warm..

Singapore Fling..

Traveller and her hubbie decided to stopover in Singapore for three nights on the way to London. Singapore was an interesting city - full of contradictions, of different cultures and a city whose national past-time appeared to be shopping (which Traveller didn't mind :) ) Below is a list of do's and don't's according to 'The Gourmet Traveller'.

Do go to the zoo - so many animals (giraffe's, zebras, white tigers, elephants, white handed gibbons) and the animals are in quite natural surroundings for the most part - which makes for a much nicer experience (for you and the animals).

Don't expect a totally different culture - Singapore is very Americanised - full of starbucks, Taco Bell's, Carl's Jnr's, and Dairy Queen's.

Do spend some time on the 70th floor of the Swissotel The Stamford. Hubbie and I went to the City Scape bar and saw the nightlights and listened to some beautiful jazz. (Thanks for the tip - Jazi!)

Don't go without a plan - there is so much to do (mainly lots of food to eat!) Hubbie and I got a little overwhelmed, and didn't do as much as we could have. Although, it was lovely to relax.

Do visit Din Tai Fung - some of the best dim sum we have ever tasted! Excellent service - and scrumptious food! (note: this place was voted one of the top ten restuarants in the world by NY Times, and hosts many workers making the dim sum wrappers from scratch - 40 layers per dim sum!)

Do try the national cocktail - Singapore Sling - 'slovely!

And finally, DO go shopping on Orchard Road. There are so many lovely shops and if you can't afford the likes of Dior and Armani - which most of us can't - there are places for every wage earner. Note: hubby watched a movie whilst I shopped.

Final account - a fun city, but nothing dramatically unique about it. However, Hubbie and I had fun and didn't spend too much cash, so I guess that's definitely something!