Out and about in the big city

I'm just packing the suitcase getting ready for our trip to Santorini (YUS!) and thought I had better update the blog because a whole lot has happened since we've been back in Reading; a trip to Oxford, 2 day trips to London and a Fulham football match!

Annalisa took the day off work on Monday and took Simon and I up to Oxford for the day. It was Simon's first time to Oxford and was a great day out. We ate a lot of good food, checked out some of the university buildings and had a walk along the river. For lunch Annalisa took us to her favourite spot and the food was mighty fine, almost Petone cafe good ;)

Outside one of the university buildings

Walking around

Annalisa!

Nice lawn

Chilling at 'Georgina's'

Hot chicken salad - a bit spicy!

After our lovely day out in Oxford we went to a village called Thame to meet Annalisa's mum and husband. Thame is about 10 minutes from where Annalisa grew up so it was nice to see her old stomping ground. I loved meeting Annalisa's mum and can't wait to introduce her to my mum one day :)

In Thame

On Tuesday we headed into London for the day. I met up with Yvonne, an old workmate from Tawhai and Simon met up with his friend Andrew on his lunch break. Yvonne took me on a walk up Primrose Hill to show me a view of London. Primrose Hill is in Regent's Park and the view was spectacular. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and I could see so much of London. Then we walked around Primrose Hill and had lunch at a pub. It was lovely catching up with Yvonne and hearing about life in London.

Can you see London Eye?

After lunch in Primrose Hill

We met back up at 2.30pm and had a few hours to spare so decided to check out Madame Tussaud's (a recommendation from my dad). We managed to get in straight away and spent a few hours looking around. It took a while to get used to the wax figures because they looked so real! We both saw some of favourite folks and got some sweet pictures.

Brangelina

1D

Nadal

The great Lara

Ali

Lomu

The Royals

William Shakespeare

Oscar Wilde

Charles Dickens

Si's fav!

Matt's fav!

J-Lo

The King of Pop

The King - for Uncle Kev!

We managed to get back to Reading in time to see Tabitha before she went to bed and then we spent the night with Holly and Jim. They loved meeting Simon, hearing so much about him while I lived there, and Jim and him absolutely hit it off. They smoked cigars and drank whiskey - what more could a guy ask for?! Holly and I made a risotto for dinner and it was just like old times except when I looked out into the garden Simon was there :) :) :)

Wine and cigar time

Bonding

Wednesday was another big day out in London and it was another glorious day. We did a spot of shopping before heading to meet a friend at the Tate Modern. On the walk there we walked through Trafalgar Square and past Big Ben and the Houses f Parliament. It was good to see them all again. 

Nelson's Column

Trafalgar Square

Good old double decker

London Eye and the Thames!

Si and Ben

After we had looked around the Tate we quickly went to the sweetest attraction in London - M&M World! I was pretty happy at this point and could not believe a place like this existed. I was a bit overwhelmed actually, it was amazing.

I know I'm in London

Oh dear, which ones will I choose?

Cool street

Pick'n'Mix M&M style

Yus! They had my name!

Then we started making our way to Craven Cottage, home of Fulham Football Club, to watch them play Rotherham. What an experience. It was fantastic and I'm glad to have crossed that off my bucket list but man was it intense! The fans were something else, such a unique experience. They showed so much emotion and I don't think I've ever heard so much swearing, they sure do love their team. We both wore our tops to show our support and they came away with a draw which was better than we thought after Rotherham scored early on in the game. The walk to the stadium was amazing too, Fulham is a VERY exclusive part of London so we saw some pretty fancy houses and parks.

Church on way to Craven Cottage

Police on horses - I don't think this is safe...

Happy lad :)

Woah!

Fulham!

Warming up!

Game selfie!

The last two days we have been hanging around Reading, catching up with my old workmates and hanging out with Annalisa and James. I showed Simon my old school and where I liked to hang out in Reading. It's been a great few days. Tonight the four of us are having a dinner here for Annalisa's 30th (her birthday is in Monday). I made a yummy dessert and also found some cool birthday bunting and a few other things to decorate with. She was made up when she walked in to see it.

Set for a party

They're cooking now and it smells delicious so I will love and leave you.

Two more sleeps until Santorini. Oh my, dreams do come true!

Canterbury

Yesterday Simon and I went on a jolly down to Canterbury to explore for the day. It was a great day out and we saw a whole lot of history. 

Our first stop off was the Pilgrim's Hospital which was started in 1190. It had a fascinating history and was used as a place of hospitality. It was where the pilgrim's would stay when they came to visit St. Thomas Beckett's tomb. 

Check out that little doorway

A lot of history

Along the street we saw this pub which I had to take a photo of for all the cricket lovers back home.

The Cricketers!

Nice spot for a beer

Then we headed to the Cathedral and it did not disappoint. We were both completely blown away, it was HUGE. It is one of the most famous Christian structures in England. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the church of England. It was founded in 597 and completely rebuilt from 1070 to 1077. Incredibly old. We couldn't believe how big it was, we loved exploring all of it.

Gate to the cathedral

Magnificent

Zara out front

It goes on and ON

Stained glass

Main window

After lunch we went exploring and came across a sign that said 'Norman Castle' so we followed the signs and found this...

Norman Castle c.1070

Where's Zara?

This ruined castle is one of the most ancient in Britain and was begun by William the Conqueror around 1070. I thought this was really neat.

On the way back to the station Simon picked up an old school basketball singlet from a second hand store and then when stopped off at a French bakery (loads of French people here) to share a pot of tea. We can't go long without tea now, it's the English rubbing off on us.

Tastea!

We caught the train back to Bearsted to where Ben and Julia live. Simon took me down to check out the village green before walking to their place. We both decided it would be a nice village to live in.

I think Si wants to play cricket here

We had a lovely pizza dinner with Ben, Julia, Julia's sister family, Brian and Mary. Then came the hard goodbyes because today we headed to Reading and said goodbye to Kent.

Thanks for a great time Kent! I loved every minute!

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