I decided to get super touristy immediately and headed to the Tower of London with Aimee and Scotty (just like old times!) to ooh and ahh over the crown jewels and I only slightly daydreamt about the day that I will get to wear them when Harry finally realizes that yes I am the love of his life and he can’t bear to be without me a moment longer. Watch this space – no sightings yet.
I escaped the riots in the city for a day and went to visit a friend out in the countryside where we wined and dined in quaint little pubs along the Thames for the day. We went for a jog along the canals and plans were hatched to head to Paris in November for a half marathon and a girls weekend away. Back then it seemed so far away – now it's in a few weeks.
We managed to score some last minute tickets to a Jimmy Carr show. A comic genius, that guy can shoot anybody down in a humiliating instant but for some reason it doesn’t seem to stop people from trying – embarrassment and hilarity always ensue. I’m sure the next morning I would have hauled myself out of bed stupidly early to head to the Walkie (crass expat pub) to watch the AB’s in their mighty quest for the World Cup – it’s strange how moving to the other side of the world has made me patriotic enough that I will get up at strange hours and go to overcrowded dirty pubs just to watch a game – the old Katie wouldn’t have.
Other adventures include, but I’m sure am not limited to: Oktoberfest! headed to Munich for the opening weekend and sampled ample amounts of amazing food, incredible beer and great company. Carnival rides after a day of celebrating a medieval timed wedding weren’t the best idea but it all made for a super weekend even if it did rain the entire time...
Had an evening aboard a boat for the Ministry of Sound boat cruise that took us back and forth the Thames and showed off all the sights in a new light. Have frequented the Camden markets on several occasions and bargained our way to a few cheaper buys. Emma and I have been to visit Lizzie and Phil at their humble abode nestled discreetly next to St James Park. I’ve even ventured beyond the confines of Acton Town and managed to start making a teeny tiny dent in visiting all those English pubs – sometimes in costume, sometimes not.
A couple of weeks ago a few of us thought it was a good idea to attempt another half marathon (I think good preparation for Paris) and we hired a car (after heated discussions with the car company) and headed west to Cornwall. We set up camp at a cute little B&B and did a bit of a tiki tour around a few western towns, Penzance – famous for its Pirates, Land’s End – Britain’s western most point, St Ive’s – cute as can be, and Newquay – apparently the best surf Britain has to offer ???.
The weekend just been: I took advantage of Ryanair and its cheap cheap flights and headed to North Germany – Bremen, more precisely – to stay with a friend I met in America. The annual Freimarkt (think Oktoberfest on a smaller scale) was taking place and the city was buzzing. I spent the day sightseeing on Friday, took part in a parade on Saturday and partied as well as I could with only speaking a grand total of five german words on Saturday night. Sunday morning I was lucky enough to have the AB’s streamed live for me and watched with baited breath as they claimed the cup – slightly crazy kiwi girl yelling at the TV while everyone else ate breakfast. And ended the weekend with a cycle into the countryside along the dykes and a wander around the Freimarkt where I sampled horse, so I’m told.
This weekend is Halloween! Costume is ready, as is another weekend of pub sampling. Maybe I will have gotten around them all by the time I reach NZ shores again.
I won’t make any promises on the next blogs timing – but it will be before Christmas! xxx
