The Armchair Traveller

Now that I have a job I have a lot more free time than I thought. My job doesn’t start till the beginning of September and all my friends here are working Monday to Friday so I find myself having to work out how to entertain myself on a daily basis! I tend to spend the mornings on the internet, chatting to family in NZ, writing emails or updating my blog as I am doing now. Then I get about stir crazy being at home so I tend to go for a walk around the neighbourhood or pick a destination on the tube map and travel there to find something to do somewhere else. On these random trips I have been all over the place, have attempted to shop (but have had to be really good as I need to have enough money to last me till my first pay day) in places like Oxford Street and Regent Street, have visited the National Gallery again to have a look at more art and have even just wandered along streets like Whitehall and Piccadilly just because I can.

I took this photo of the bottom of Regent Street, at Piccadilly Circus, because I love the way the buildings on the street seem to curve naturally with the street. When you are walking past these buildings you don’t really notice it but from this angle you do and it is quite cool really. 

This picture is a monument in the middle of the road on Whitehall, very near Downing Street. I love the way this monument really looks like there are clothes hanging from clothes hooks on the big concrete slab. It is a really nicely cared for monument, I am not sure when it was put there but it looks really new. Although I have noticed that all the monuments along this road seem to be really well looked after and all have an element of newness to them – none of the green bronze monuments that are a common sight in Wellington! 

I think so far one of my favourite places to go is Piccadilly. I am not exactly sure why I always feel drawn to this area but I just really like it. I have found myself eating lunch in Green Park (which is just off Piccadilly and joins up to Buckingham Palace) a few times, sitting in the sun and enjoying the surroundings. A very nice alternative to lunch at home on my own, I take a book and my iPod and sit in the grass with my shoes off just relaxing.

When I was walking down Piccadilly the other day I noticed this Cuckoo Clock above Fortnum and Mason. It was telling the right time and seems to be a real working clock, rather over the top but also quite cool

On Saturday we had a fantastically sunny day in London so Rachel, Marcel, Josie, Sharlene and I met up for a picnic lunch at Hampstead Heath. We had discovered that Hampstead Heath was an absolutely HUGE area so found a location that we would all be able to reach relatively easily – Kenwood House.

If this building seems vaguely familiar it might be because it appears in the movie Notting Hill (it is the location of the old fashioned movie that Julia Roberts’ character is seen filming). It was a great place for a picnic too and as the afternoon went on, more and more people were enjoying the park. The surroundings were just gorgeous! There was the beautiful pond and even a Henry Moore sculpture (Reclining figure in two pieces).

Our picnic lunch was ‘bring your own’ and Marcel took this very seriously – he went shopping at the Borough Markets - and had the most gourmet sandwich for his lunch! (As you can see in the photo, he had fresh bread, tomatoes, smoked meat of some sort, fresh basil, and the chopping board and knife to put it all together!! – in true Marcel style) 

So I spent a relaxing afternoon with good friends. We ate, we read newspapers, and we talked. It was great. I even took random photos of the clouds above us – like in the picture below 

It was a great way to spend a Saturday.

Sunday was also a fantastic day. I was invited to join Rachel at her Aunt and Uncles place for a family BBQ. Rachel’s family are great, they have made me feel so welcome since I arrived over this side of the world, it is really nice. We had a delicious BBQ lunch in the backyard (even stayed outside during a few little drizzly patches of weather – got to love the English summer!) It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday, spending time with someone else’s family definitely makes me miss mine all the more but I feel very lucky to have a friend like Rachel who is willing to share her family with me considering mine are so far away!

Well that brings me to the end of yet another week in London. I have been here for over a month now, CRAZY! (I can’t decide if it has gone fast or slow, I think it depends on the day). Anyhow, until the next posting, take care and keep in touch!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS