Week 2: Final days in London

After visiting the wonderful world of Harry Potter we stopped in Greenwich for a look around. We saw the winning images of the Astronomy Photographer of the year for 2014 at the Planetarium and as we arrived coincidentally saw a facebook post about the Southern Lights being visable from Blackmans Bay. (And yes we're aware of the ridiculousness of our photos of photos).

2014 winner

In Greenwich we did the budget version of the Meridian Line by lining ourselves up beneath the laser which marks the Line and stood East and West at the same time. (Alternatively, we could have paid to go inside a fence and stand over a strip in the ground..)

Oops, our clock was 2 minutes slow

On our way home we indulged in an overstocked bookshop. Each shelf wobbled whenever a book was removed, the floor in front of every shelf was piled to knee height so changing isles meant all other inhabitants had to move out as well, and in one corner a mound of books taller than we are invited you to dig through. Each book was one pound and we gave ourselves a 10 pound budget. After an hour of exploration we left with our arms full of books and a smug look on our faces.

The next morning presented with an ideal opportunity to begin enjoying our previous nights injdulgence: rain forecast until noon. We then set out for Covent Garden where I'd nervously found a ballet class at Pineapple Studios that afternoon. After visiting their clothing store I donned my ballet shoes and fronted up for a class. 

Walking up the tight staircase from the the basement change rooms, above reception and cafeteria, I found my third floor studio down a narrow corridor and peeked through the window to watch the previous professional ballet class finish up. As they thanked their teacher I nervously walked through the door with 15 other men and women into an enormous studio lined with floor to ceiling mirrors on one wall and barres stacked against the short walls either side. The pianist leant against the upright in the corner chatting to our tiny teacher, who wore a baggy jacket over her ballet skirt and tights. We moved the barres to the centre and she clapped us to order and welcomed us to class. 

My body felt alive again as we moved through the short barre, although I was very aware how long it had been since I'd moved in that way. Within the first exercises we were sweaty in our t-shirts, leotards and tights and eventually the stiffness melted away and I couldn't help but grin as we moved into the centre. 

After an hour in the centre of port de bras, pirouettes in attitude and grande jetes across the broad floor, we thanked the teacher and pianist, collected our bags and walked our sweaty, smiling faces out to make way for the next class. 

It was a great class and I'm sorry that I won't be able to keep moving more regularly during our trip.

Matt met me outside the studio (after a disappointing coffee: see his facebook rant) and we walked through the red light district to my favourite veg restuarant Mildred's. A glass of red, delicious tortilloni and a haloumi burger later our happy tummys were perfectly primed to enjoy a dessert of banoffee creme brule: silky smooth creme brule layed on top of caramelised banana and sticky toffee, served with a chocolate chip shortbread and mint leaf. Yummo! 

After walking off our delicious dinner we arrived at the Royal Opera House to see The Royal Ballet perform Don Quixote. It produced lots of laughs, awe-filled looks from Ally and a very kind Matt. 

(In Manchester he'll have his turn for the equivalent ;) ).

On our last day in London we deicded we'd better get on and see a few more landmarks. We walked around the Tower of London, saw The Shard, crossed Tower Bridge and laughed at London Bridge (an ugly concrete structure, no wonder they let it burn down).

(how Matt takes a selfie)

We spotted a location that might have been where The Doctor met the poorly proportioned T-Rex, and enjoyed cider and our first good coffee (Monmouth) at Borough Markets.

Shakespere's Globe was spotted on our way to Tate Modern, where we laughed at nondescript images of people on the street and were confronted by Picasso's classics. Then across the Millenium Bridge to St Pauls (foyer), and forward to the British Museum (yes, it was quite  a day).

(please excuse the horrid facial growth; it's a work in progress)

To top the day off we had a wonderful dinner with Ally's (somewhat distant) cousins Sebastian & Charlotte and her partner Tom, who cooked British Tapas of fish & chips, devilled quails eggs, veg shepards pies alongside other tasty treats. Delicious wine & cheese accompanied swapped travelling stories and it was great to spend some time in their beautiful home (Thanks guys!!).

The following day we set out for Windsor Castle (thanks to Angela, Jukka, Seb & Finn). Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world. We toured the pretty grounds, saw Queen Mary's Dolls' House, many rooms including the dining room where the Royal Family often have christmas lunch, suits of armour and plenty of other impressive royal things. Oh and some men in silly hats who spoke to an asian girl: "Make way for the Queen's Guard. MOVE!"

We then met with Rosemary, Neil, Connaire and Martin (Ally's relatives) for coffee and a walk through the terribly posh streets of Eton. The college was impressively old and large and we passed many young boys in their football boots with perfectly manicured hair and muddy knees. They looked strangely similar.

It was lovely to spend time with Rosemary, Neil, Connaire and Martin. Lots of giggles at the ridiculousness of Eton, comments about crocodiles and blocking each other off from the enterances of bookshops made for a great day. Thanks guys!

Now we're enjoying the hospitality of Helen and Rich in Weymouth, where we've enjoyed homebrewed cider and the added company of Kat and Phil. To Jersey tomorrow (after our ferry today was cancelled due to strong winds)!