Halloween weekend - October 2012

Another amazing weekend. Yesterday we went to the TNT travel show to go check out the deals/get holiday ideas. There were some amazing deals there and I ended up booking in two more holidays for next year....a 9 day tour of Turkey, and a 16 day tour of Egypt & Jordan. Yippeeeeee! Can't wait :)

That night a few of us girls headed to the TNT Halloween Party. We all got dressed up and ready in our Halloween gear and had a few pre-drinks at our house before getting the bus/tube to the party. Snuck a few sneaky beverages on to the tube.

There were heaps of people dressed up in Halloween gear on the streets of London. The party was a lot of fun. Lots of dancing, partying and good times.

We left before 12 so we could catch the last tube then headed to a pub closer to home. After the pub, went to maccas, walked our friend back to her place, then walked home in the freezing cold, down to 1 degree eek.

Sunday I spent chilling at home. Overall a great Halloween weekend UK style x

Cambridge, England - October 2012

Hayley and I went to check out Cambridge on the weekend. We caught a direct train from London Kings Cross and it only took 45 minutes to get there. Cambridge is a beautiful town especially in Autumn as there are big parks and trees and the university grounds looked amazing with the falling leaves. We were told the best way to see Cambridge was to go 'punting'. I had no idea what this meant, but we headed to the river to check it out.

Turns out punting is like Gondola riding, a man stands on the end of the boat with a long pole and pushes you along the river. We hopped on a boat with about 6 other people and punted down the river- it was really beautiful going past the colleges and hearing the history of the universities from our guide. An interesting fact was that students dorm rooms are allocated according to their grades, so the smarter the student, the better their room!

After our punting session we headed to The Eagle...which is the pub where DNA was discovered. We had lunch there then went for a little browse through the shops and I came across the bag I've had my eye on for a while from the Cambridge Satchel Company. I bought one in navy blue.

https://www.cambridgesatchel.com

Saturday night in Soho - London - October 2012

Last night (Saturday) I caught up with an old friend Brooke who I used to work with at Borders back in Perth. She left to travel 3 years ago and has been living in France, Scotland and now England. It is amazing to hear all the places she has been to in her 3 years away.

We met up at Leicester Square Tube Station then headed to a Bombay Restaurant called 'Dishoom'. There was a queue for tables so we got a buzzer and headed downstairs to the bar for a few drinks before getting called to our table.

The food was delicious- we ordered some crackers called Far Far, soft shell crab curry, lamb boti kebabs, rice and garlic naan- what a feast! The lamb was a tad too spicy for us both though. The restaurant was nicely set up and quite modern but with an old Indian feel.

www.dishoom.com

We decided to then move on to Soho to check out the night life. There are heaps of bars around Soho all pumping on a Saturday night- we chose one called Bar Soho. Had a few cocktails then hit the dance floor, fun times.

After Bar Soho we decided to check out another Bar that Brooke has been to before called Salvador and Amanda. It cost £7 to get in, which is expected in most places in Soho. The bar is quite big (it's a tapas restaurant) and had a DJ and dance floor at the back so we had a good dance there too. Had a delicious Midori Sour cocktail.

Overall a great night out in Soho and a fantastic catch up, we've booked in for a brunch date next week too :)

Forever young - London - October 2012

25 and still alive weeeeeee! I celebrated my bday on Monday. Very happy to be in London for it -nobody here questions what you're life plans are when you turn 25! Though for the first time since being here I did feel a bit homesick and missing all my family and friends a LOT!

At work everyone sang happy birthday to me and I got a gift voucher for a shop called 'new look' which was quite lovely of them.

I left work early and headed to the city for a night of fine dining and theatre with Hayley and Kirstyn. For dinner we went to a restaurant called Bocco Di Lupo - an Italian tapa style set up. The restaurant was fancy, food was nice, but we were a little bit rushed. Besides that it was a nice dining experience and good catch up with the girls especially Kirstyn who entertained us with stories of her London explorations.

This is the restaurant we went to:
http://www.boccadilupo.com/

Les Miserables was amazing! I absolutely love the West End and going to a show and I plan to go to many, many more. Les Miserables is the longest running musical in the world- and is in its 27th year. It was just fantastic, good story line and great singing and acting :) Amazing.

Overall it was a nice way to celebrate and thank you to all the lovelies back home for the bday wishes!

A familiar face, Madame Toussards, Bunga Bunga and Shopping - London- 2012

Another great weekend in London town. My old family friend from Perth, Kirstyn, is in London this weekend, which is very exciting as she is the first friend that has come over from Perth since I left. Very refreshing to see a familiar face!

I caught up with her for dinner on Friday night at London Bridge. We had a good chat and catch up over dinner along the river. On Saturday, we caught up again as I met with her and another friend Simmone to see Madame Toussards Wax Museum. Madame Toussards was better than I expected it to be. We spent about 3 hours in there looking around at the wax models and going through the other attractions that are inside (there's the history of the wax museum, a scary adventure bit, a ride, and a theatre to see).

On Saturday night we headed out to Bunga Bunga - a nightclub in Battersea that's well known for its cocktails and for the fact that Prince Harry was caught out partying there (yes we were secretly wishing we'd run into some Royals). The cocktails were good, the music was fun, and it was good to finally go out for a night of dancing :) The club is about a 2 min bus ride down the road- very convenient.

On Sunday, Kirstyn and I went to Jamie Oliver's cafe 'Recipease' for breakfast (my new fav local cafe- I somehow end up there every weekend). She then headed off to explore London more and I caught up with my housemate Hayley for shopping. We went on a mission to buy new boots as winter is fast approaching and we need some good quality boots to keep us warm and dry.

We headed to a shoe shop called Duo in Covent Garden that does custom fitted leather boots...love! So we waited in the queue for about half an hour before being shown around and trying on various styles. They measure your foot size and calf size so you get just the right fit for a perfect pair of boots. I ordered these, and they should arrive delivered to my home in a week. For any Aussie readers looking for custom fit shoes or boots, you can order online and they do free delivery worldwide!

http://www.duoboots.com/ladies-boots/black-leather/beaumont/d/

I also put these shoes on my wish list for another day
http://www.duoboots.com/ladies-shoes/black-suede-and-leather-mix/swanson/d/

After shopping I took my love for Jamie Oliver restaurants too far, as Hayley and I found Jamie's Italian Kitchen next to the shoe store, and headed there for dinner! The food was amazing. So my whole diet for today has consisted of Jamie Oliver food- living the life.