The third week started in full swing; on the Thursday I was back in school teaching. An unmemorable day as I look back at it now, though on the plus side I’m getting more days coming in which will only contribute to my travel funds.
Friday I had the day off and spent it with Gill walking around local Croxley, all the way down and along the canals….yes, we have canals…all around us! I was as surprised as i hope to imagine you are at the news! It was our first and last girly hangout together before Gill had to head to Canada for all her wedding preparations 🙂 Friday night = pizza, cider and football with he new UK crew … Three other couples, GC and PC, all here to watch the Germany vs Brazil FIFA World Cup semi final game. Still not a big soccer fan…but I should really get into it living where I am.
The weekends are my favourite for obvious reasons, but it is also my excuse to head into town and explore. This Saturday was a 12 hour adventure out and about. I started with a little rock climbing, well Bouldering with JT…a sweaty heat box of a warehouse with unlimited routes to try out. I may only be on level two but I loved it! I got stuck on one route, my hight I fear was my downfall…as hard as I did the reach and jump I just couldn’t get to the next holder! LUNCHTIME…..Tescos does a £3 deal, sandwich, snack and drink! AND the amount if parks you can find tucked away in such a huge city! The rain came out to play today so we took ourselves off to the movies, 22 Jump Street. It was the type of movie that made me laugh out loud till my stomach hurt and my sides stitched up! But to see a movie in the middle of Covent Garden is EXPENSIVE!!! Like sushi? There is an amazing little place in Covent Garden that does all you can eat sushi and seven types of hot dishes for £15…. Enough to fill you to bursting! Those parks I mentioned earlier; are even more beautiful at night time. The water features and the paths are all lit up at night. So we took a stroll from Trafalgar Square, down to Buckingham Palace and back up through James park to end the night.
Sunday was another cracker of a day…..”Fernie reunion”!!!! Imi, Alice (with new bf Sam), Victoria, Adam, Steve, GC, PC and me. BBQ in the sunshine, the end of Wimbledon men’s final (Djokovic and Federer), banter and laughs. I love having people in life that years can split and divide you, you change and grow, but you’re still able to pick up where you left off with each other.
Monday the Tour de France rode through London, so I took the opportunity to see it with Phil and Victoria. We stood along the Embankment about 3km from the finish where it wasn’t too busy. They FLEW by in a flurry like blur! All together, in a giant wheel pack they had come and gone in just a few short seconds…enough seconds to point and rapid fire photograph them, but only enough to catch a GLIMPS with the naked eye!
So the tour had flown by and we still had plenty of daylight left. We said goodbye with promises of future visits to Victoria, and Phil and I set off to find some last minute wedding attire for his wedding. We found instead the cutest courtyard just off Seven Dials called Neal’s Yard. It’s tucked away and easy to pass by. Super colourful and Contains the most delicious pizza restaurant called Homesclice where you can buy pizza by the slice for £4. It sounds expensive (it is) but you do get a quarter of a large pizza.
Wednesday through Friday I turned into a working gal, teaching the kiddies about the world, singing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Oompa Loompa etc, watching year six play productions, making and eating pizza and playing ALOT down in kindy….really having to work hard for my cash as you can imagine!
Saturday was shopping adventures with Imi. We started our day with a bang as we walked passed Buckingham Palace just in time to see the changing of the guard. So many people everywhere! But our challenge for the day: find two fancy dresses to wear to GC and PC wedding. 9 hours of trolling the city from Covent Garden, Soho, Oxford Street and all we got for our troubles were blisters on my feet, and a few new items for my own wardrobe…but no dresses for the wedding. We got rained on and spent an hour bantering and drinking in a local pub then finished our girly day at Pizza Express…..again!
Sunday I went to Borough markets with JT for Bastille Day. The markets were full of French flags, French food, French artists, comedians and a large French Guillotine. We ate olive and cheese baguettes, and made Bastille buttons. We stopped and watched probably one if the funniest dramatic/acrobatic/circus performances I’ve ever seen by a French lady. Hoolahoops, wine glasses, live audience members (always better than dead ones), strip tease to her underwear as well as jokes and sound effects that made the prudest of people laugh out loud! We visited a French artist and got a free them to screen print on the shirt I was wearing. Taking your shirt off in a large crown is not as easy as it sounds but I was glad I had a jacket to wear while I waited for it to dry. Did I mention the meringues the size of my head all decked in red and blue?!!
With Bastille festivities ticked of we had a little while before parting towards our respective houses to view the FIFA World Cup final between Germany and ……….. So we took a stroll over the bridge towards St Paul’s. Timing seems to be my luck at the moment, as when we walked in the Sunday choir service were being angelic up the front filling the giant domes with the sweetest of sounds. I could have sat there for a long time listening to the musical highs and lows.
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The World Adventures of Melly B 