European Vacation 2016: London Calling

Bon Jour,

Just arrived back last week from 2 weeks in Europe, well part of Europe, well, 2 countries actually!

Went to spend some time with my favourite youngest daughter and her young man in London Calling, then some time in Paris (always a good idea).

Travelled with my friend who shall be known as "M" as she prefers to travel incognito, this was going to be a bit different to previous trips as this was "girls" time so very different to travelling with our  significant others.

Started off as all good journeys do with a couple of liquid beverages  (definitely more than 100 millilitres involved! ) in the Qantas Club and before long we were London bound.

The young ones are living in a up and coming area of London called Shoreditch. I think of it as the sort of area that "Call the Midwife" would have been working in during the 1950's. Now it is a cross between Brooklyn, Newtown and Surry Hills. Think cafes, small bars, creative workspace hubs and lots of hipsters! Lots of buildings are being renovated and repurposed a lot of urban regeneration going on. Its very close to the city and has great transport options.

While in London we did Borough Markets, which I cannot do justice to in words, the only thing I can recommend  is you have to go and do yourself a flavour! I managed to score my favourite white asparagus and did a bit of cooking for the hosts one night.

Sunday,  it was time to channel our "inner rock chicks" and take in the  Rolling Stones exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery

Well,  that was 2 1/2 hours well spent.  I was amazed at what they had managed to keep over the years, old set lists, even clothes worn back in the early 1960's. The ultimate experience was the special 3D concert where we were on stage with Mick!  If you are going to be in London this year take time to see it, you will not be disappointed.

The final big thing we did in London was to get our "Kinky Boots" on. I had wanted to see this show 2 years ago, but never had time, so made sure we booked tickets before we left home this time and on our final night in London we had a girls night out with favourite youngest daughter at the west end theatre. The show will not be here in Sydney for another 2 years I think so I'm glad that we got to see it. Great costumes and great music. 

Next day we were off on Eurostar to Paris, so stay tuned for Paris Adventures.

Secret Agent Business

By the time you read this.........







I will be here.....

now hear the story of this adventure.....

so, I'll see you on the other side of the world, stay tuned!

Travel day 1 - 2

Had a most excellent flight in Qantas premium economy (just hope they read this and give us another upgrade for the return journey!

Arrived in LA to a torrential weather system, rain and snow on the mountain areas! Just like what we had left behind in NSW. I think I can see some snow on the mountains from our hotel room.

Despite our best intentions and I am blaming the weather we spent most of our first day sleeping! But went out and braved the elements  the eventually found a wonderful restaurant outside the LA public library called Pinot Noir ( trust us to find a place named after a wine!) anyway it was FAB.

 I had french onion soup and then a delightful free range rotisserie chicken with the most wonderful frites which had this very subtle garlic flavour. Vince has a dugeness crab cake with cauliflower fondue and s small salad on top of a sliced granny smith apple, very visually appealing and delicious. The service was extremely professional and the sommelier recommended a very fine Napa Valley Pinot Gris.

Came home and indulged myself with watching crappy american TV, that is a whole future blog in itself. Today we are doing the downtown area and looking a some very interesting buildings.
thanks for reading!