Saturday stroll

We had no plans on Saturday so we decided it would be good to get out of town and take to the hills. An hour on a train out of Victoria and we were in a little town called Lewes ready for a 23k walk. Lewes is a cute little market town famous for its castle, and the Battle of Lewes that led to England's first parliamentary meeting at Westminster in 1265. Anyway, we weren't there to explore Lewes, more the rolling hills of the South Downs. Click here to read more about the path we took.

The weather was a little cloudy and very windy as we marched across the top of the downs to an ancient fort. We stopped and talk to a local who pointed out some peregrine falcons gliding through the sky. As we walked on there were plenty of sheep and cows, the local cricket match was on, and people were stretched out on the grass of a local beer garden. The Sprout Society was having a raffle - can't say I've ever heard of a sprout society before! We stopped for a ploughman's lunch at a lovely little tea house and then carried on to the hills again. There was a stretch of man made canal that was a little boring, but the sight of Lewes castle came into view again about 6 hours later from when we started out, as did the sun, and by then the beer was calling...

Brick Lane

Tim is in town for the cricket and it's been a while since we saw Ben and Ara. Now that Ben has left his 'hood of Fulham for Leytonstone, it seems like a good excuse to head east for some Brick Lane curry and a stop at a four-pint rated boozer, the Pride of Spitalfields...

The West end

I was very lucky to get a great present from Chris for my birthday - tickets to Arcadia, a play by Tom Stoppard, which is currently a big hit on the West End. I've been to many musicals but not so many plays, and it is a very different experience. The dialogue in this play was so quick, snappy and witty and it was really entertaining. It did take me a little bit to get into the rhythm of it and grasp the storyline, but I always say you can really judge a play/movie/trip or any experience by how it stays with you afterwards, and I have definitely found myself thinking back to how much I enjoyed the way this story revealed itself, and the experience of seeing acting live rather than through the filter of tv. So even if I still don't understand the iteration and chaos theory, I can still say I loved this play...

Paris

Someone said 'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life'. I disagree - when a man is tired of London - he goes to Paris! Just a hop, skip and a jump on the Eurostar train, you breakfast in London on a Saturday morning, ready for lunch in Paris.

This trip was about walking, walking and more walking, with some nice restaurant recommendations thrown in. Everyrestaurant that had been recommended to us had a queue! We did wait for the lovely neighbourhood cafe with chocolate mousse that they dish out at the table, and for the felafel in Marais.

Neigbhourhood cafe was cute - I said to the head waiter, do you have a wait list and his quick as a flash response was 'yes in my head!' so we waited on the footpath enjoying our drinks which was entertainment in itself. Poor Chris missed out on the famed chocolate mousse, blaming the girls at the table next to us for having eyes bigger than their bellies. At the felafel place you are given a ticket with a number on it and they just scream them out. Of course I have no idea what the number 40 sounds like in French so I just got in the face of the number caller sticking my ticket in the air...

And it wasn't all eating and walking...We spent about five hours at the beautiful Musee D'Orsay, the museum that is housed in a grand old train station. Full of an unimaginable feast of impressionist artists, it can be easy to take for granted how many amazing pieces of art you are actually seeing...I think it's a museum that you could easily visit over and over again and I do enjoy it more than the Louvre. I have to thank my friend Amy for introducing me to the joys of impressionist art, I am hardly a guru but I could easily spend those five hours there all over again...

Ben and Jerry's Sundae

I don't think Ben and Jerry's ice-cream has made it to Oz, but for me it's the best icecream I've ever had. Ben and Jerry's Sundae is a fun festival that Ben and Jerry's do in London every summer. Tickets are cheap and they go as soon as they come on sale. You get free ice-cream, yes that's right free ice-cream, all day long. There are lots of fun little stands, many showcasing sustainable solutions and community endeavours and some are just plain quirky like toe wrestling, mystic meg and air guitar and of course there is a line up of music. The crowd is a mix of young families, groups of trendy teens and twenty somethings and friends in their 30s just kicking back to icecream and music...

It really is good fun and a great community initiative and pr exercise by Ben and Jerry's...and as you can see from the pics the weather was rubbish (I don't usually go round wearing picnic blankets) but we carried on...

Down by the riverside

A few snaps from the walk between our place at West Ken/Barons Court, to down by the river in Hammersmith...

Does what is says on the tin - the Dove pub at Hammersmith tucked along the river

The great cafe and butcher near Barons Court Road

The Old Ship pub down by the river

Gangstas and Molls

It's been social season over here, as people leap out of hibernation and catch up with old and new friends. It's not unusual to have something in the diary every night of the week in the summertime and sometimes you have to book in weeks in advance. Work supposedly starts slowing down as many head off on summer hols with their families but I like staying in London over the summer - Wimbledon, cricket, evening Tour De France highlights, bike rides along the river and bbqs...

Anyway, one of the fun parties recently was Holmz' and Beechey's birthday party held at the wonderful Atlas in West Brompton...(Yes even when overseas aussies and kiwis insist on twisting the names thoughtfully given by people's parents and there are many people whose real first names I don't actually know!) Theme was gangsters and molls and everyone looked fabulous...

Polo in the suburbs

One recent Sunday saw country come to the city, with a polo weekend at the Hurlingham Club in Fulham. Usually the domain of 'Hugo and Tarquin' types the organisers were keen to bring polo to the masses and let everyone see what an exciting sport it can be.
It was well organised and a fun day out. We took our jug of Pimms to the stand (after coming undone with their weird rules about taking wine coolers to the stands) and watched the beautiful horses fly by. It's not like we were watching the Argentinian polo team but we were lucky to be able to go to something like this on our doorstep. The Mayor of Fulham was there in all his gold chains, lots of families and locals were there checking out the action...

Fatty and Gareth enjoying the stands

Horses in action

Photos were taken on a phone so I am not going to win any photography awards but you get the picture...