Arriving at Terminal 4 in Heathrow, we were greated by Sophies uncle Wayne who took us for our first tube ride and showed us how to use the Oyster cards (that Ross and Noeline gave us, thanks!!). Oyster cards are a pre paid card that you top up and scan at the gate at the beginning and end of your trip and are deducted money depending on the zones that you go through. If you ever visit London you need one.
Beka, Beka, Beka.... hasn't changed. After talking to a policeman about how to get into the house of commons and which graves we could see around Westmister Abby, we strolled down the footpath and found a nice spot to take a photo. I (Simon) looked on the wall and saw a bush leaf that was about 15cm long and had been half wrapped in tin foil. I cracked up knowing that someone was taking the piss and pointed it out to Beka. "Oooooh", she exclaimed, picking it up to pose with for a photo as the kind policeman was approaching... I had to leave to control myself and explained to her after the photo what it might have looked like. "Oh yeah" she said.... Also, as we were standing outside Buckhingham Palace we noticed the planes flying over, "look at the plane dust" said Beka. Awesome!
I love you Rebecca Lynch. Xo
After spending the morning watching the Australia vs Wales game (Wales definitely should have won...) and updating the blog we tubed into Hammer Smith to meet with the long lost Kerry! Sophie had a shop in Primart, bought some stuff and then we went to a local pub where we tried some Cider. The Cider here is amazing! So much better than the stuff back home and available in so many different flavours. We tried Strawberry and Lime. Yum! The alcoholic Ginger Beer is so good too.
Wandered around Chiswick House and park. Took some silly photos and laughed. Went shopping at the big shiny new Westfield. Three floors and too many shops for a days trip. We bought new clothes from Zara and H & M. Mmmm.
We were up early and after a bit of a mission we found the Chatsworth pub (The Chatty) and proceeded to consume alcohol while watching the RWC final with Beka, Kerry and Skin (Michael). So stoked that our local boy Steven Donald pulled through and won the cup for us! Celebrating the cup win was an all day affair and we got home at 6pm.
Bike riding along the river with Wayne was a fun little escapade. Sophie had a cute little purple bike with a bell which suits her because she always wants to be the centre of attention. We rode to the park to feed the feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals our scraps and continued on to the river side. We were shown houses that have gates which are sealed with rubber gaskets because the river quite often comes up to them. Puffing and panting, Sophie struggled on past the pubs spurred on by Simon who was taking it all in his stride. Across the bridge we progressed until we reached the distant bank. A path, with trees! We rode it. "What fun!" Sophie exclaimed. "Yes it is" said Simon. Here are some photos.
We met up with Sophie's friend Jo and her friend Nicky at the entrance to the Natural History Museum but the wait to get inside was 1.5 hours so we went to the Science Museum instead which was awesome! 5 levels of stuff ranging from advance in medical science to the evolution of flight. Took so long to get around...
We got off at Turnham Green station and walked to Wayne and Cindy's apartment which is compact and cute. Chiswick is such a great area, it has heaps of yummy restaurants and food stalls selling local produce as well as some very pretty parks.
First mission was to find a sim card. Got one from Vodafone for 15 pounds that had heaps of minutes and stuff and luckily worked in Sophies iPhone!
Sainsburys is the local supermarket and we were surprised at how cheap the food is compared to NZ... 1.44 pounds for bacon and we got 8 muffins for 1 pound!! After gathering some supplies and cooking breakfast we were off to meet up with Beka near Buckingham Palace! After being apart for 11 months it was soo very exciting to finally catch up!! Sophie has missed her so much.
Beka, Beka, Beka.... hasn't changed. After talking to a policeman about how to get into the house of commons and which graves we could see around Westmister Abby, we strolled down the footpath and found a nice spot to take a photo. I (Simon) looked on the wall and saw a bush leaf that was about 15cm long and had been half wrapped in tin foil. I cracked up knowing that someone was taking the piss and pointed it out to Beka. "Oooooh", she exclaimed, picking it up to pose with for a photo as the kind policeman was approaching... I had to leave to control myself and explained to her after the photo what it might have looked like. "Oh yeah" she said.... Also, as we were standing outside Buckhingham Palace we noticed the planes flying over, "look at the plane dust" said Beka. Awesome!
I love you Rebecca Lynch. Xo
After spending the morning watching the Australia vs Wales game (Wales definitely should have won...) and updating the blog we tubed into Hammer Smith to meet with the long lost Kerry! Sophie had a shop in Primart, bought some stuff and then we went to a local pub where we tried some Cider. The Cider here is amazing! So much better than the stuff back home and available in so many different flavours. We tried Strawberry and Lime. Yum! The alcoholic Ginger Beer is so good too.
We were up early and after a bit of a mission we found the Chatsworth pub (The Chatty) and proceeded to consume alcohol while watching the RWC final with Beka, Kerry and Skin (Michael). So stoked that our local boy Steven Donald pulled through and won the cup for us! Celebrating the cup win was an all day affair and we got home at 6pm.
Bike riding along the river with Wayne was a fun little escapade. Sophie had a cute little purple bike with a bell which suits her because she always wants to be the centre of attention. We rode to the park to feed the feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals our scraps and continued on to the river side. We were shown houses that have gates which are sealed with rubber gaskets because the river quite often comes up to them. Puffing and panting, Sophie struggled on past the pubs spurred on by Simon who was taking it all in his stride. Across the bridge we progressed until we reached the distant bank. A path, with trees! We rode it. "What fun!" Sophie exclaimed. "Yes it is" said Simon. Here are some photos.
We met up with Sophie's friend Jo and her friend Nicky at the entrance to the Natural History Museum but the wait to get inside was 1.5 hours so we went to the Science Museum instead which was awesome! 5 levels of stuff ranging from advance in medical science to the evolution of flight. Took so long to get around...
Cat with 7 toes on each paw!!
