Welcome to our holiday blog



Welcome to our holiday blog

This blog records the daily activities on our holiday from mid- May to mid-June 2011. The main purpose of the holiday is to visit Nicky, John and Amelia in London.

We will also be going to places we have never seen before including Beijing (China), New Forest (UK), Barcelona (Spain), Croatia and Dubai (UAE).



Sunday 12 June 2011

Day 31 - Sunday 12th June

Today the plan was to have brunch with Nicky, John and Amelia and so we didn't need to get to their place until 10:30am. Later the plan was to go to Westfield London at Shepherds Bush. The forecast was for a cool rainy day.

After I got up, I went for a walk in West Hampstead Heath. There were a few spots of rain but not enough to send me back inside. This end of the Heath is only about 300m from our B&B and is also called Golders Green Park.

I was expecting a nice green park with trees and ponds like the other parts of Hampstead Heath that I'd seen before. It had all of that plus tennis courts, a cafe, exotic gardens and a mini zoo. To my further surprise, the zoo had animals from all over the world including kookaburras, emus and wallabies. I was annoyed with myself that I hadn't brought my camera.

After my walk, I went to Costa Cafe for a coffee and muffin because I didn't think I would last until brunch without any food.  Next stop was the laundromat to pick up my ironed shirts. The lady at the laundromat told me yesterday that they open at 9am on Sundays but it was 9:15 before she arrived. By that time, it had started to rain.

When we got to Jack Straws Castle, Nicky and John were still in their dressing gowns. Nicky had not gone to her exercise class in the Heath because of the weather.

John drove us to Westfield so we could have brunch there instead of the original choice. Nicky and John like to use the valet service at the Westfield shopping centre. It's a separate entrance from the general car park. You drive right up to the entrance under cover and an attendant literally comes running to take your car for you.

This entrance is in the part of Westfield called the Village which contains all the expensive stores like Gucci and Prada. We walked through the Village and to an area where there are a row of cafes.

The cafe we went to turned out to be a good choice because the food and service were very good. Nicky said they hadn't been there before and I'm sure they'll go back again in future. It was about noon when we got there and so I was pleased I'd had something to eat earlier.

The girls then went shopping. The first task was for Suzy to buy a new suitcase for our trip home tomorrow because one of her suitcases had fallen apart on the trip to London. Then they went to the dress shops. I was pleased that I'd downloaded the Westfield London app on my iPhone before I'd left Sydney because this made it easier for us to find the shops they wanted.

John and I took turns to push Amelia around the shopping centre so she would get a sleep.

At 3pm, just before we left Westfield, they had a stage show in the atrium near where we were having coffee. The entertainer was Alexandra Burke who I'd never heard of but apparently she is well known in the UK because she won the British X-Factor TV show one year. She managed to attract a big crowd.

When we went back to the valet parking to pick up the car, we were able to wait in a comfortable lounge area until the car was delivered.

We were back at Jack Straws Castle by 4pm. The weather changed from passing showers to steady rain.

For dinner, Nicky and John suggested an Italian restaurant in Golders Green. John drove us there at about 6pm. It was a good meal. As usual, Amelia played up to the waitress. I suggested to the waitress that she should ignore Amelia's requests for high-fives because by that time Amelia's hands (and face) were covered in meat sauce from her ravioli.

Afterwards John drove us back to our B&B a few blocks away and we said goodbye to Nicky, John and Amelia. It was sad to say goodbye.

No comments:

Post a Comment