Adventures in London: Part 2

As promised I'm back with the second installment to my London adventure which was exactly a week ago today! This time last week I was lounging on a bean bag, after an awkward 'we got here first' encounter with another couple (soz) listening to an African steel drum band and watching the world go by. That was at the end of the night though, if we rewind three hours earlier we had just arrived at the zoo to be greeted by safari wardens on stilts and our zoo map (who doesn't love a good zoo map).

We wandered aimlessly to begin with through the aquarium and reptile house (ten points if you can spot the rattle snake) to find ourselves among the Galapagos, aka giant turtles, who as you'd expect weren't really moving very far. After that we then went down under to the outback, and watch baby kangaroos hop around and listen to emus make some very weird noises.

Unfortunately the gorilla kingdom was closed as it was past their 5 month old's bedtime, and the lions are getting a new home so they are on holiday at Whipsnade zoo at the moment, but this gave us more time to see everything else, with our next animal encounter being the tigers. Their such beautiful creatures, and there was no better occasion for me to whack out my tiger ears (sass was in full swing). After walking around their enclosure for what felt like forever but was in fact just the long we round, we took a walk over to Africa (if only it was that easy) to catch feeding time with the giraffes. Their long necks, legs, tongues, bodies in general fascinate me and they put on a show for the audience by chasing each other around. Africa also led us to the zebras, okapis (which nearly overtook Jay's favourite animal), meerkats, monkeys, pygmy hippos (then we saw these and his favourite was reaffirmed).

Now I know what you were thinking, when did you have time to eat? Well we finished off our tour to then hit up the food stalls set up. There was far too much to chose from, but of course I went for a classic burger with bacon, cheese and pineapple and some rosemary chips from BIT bourbon steamed burgers. I was too busy scuffing my face to get a picture (ladylike I know) but you could always check out their Instagram if you want to see the beauty I devoured! After this we then unwound on the green, lying on that bean bag I mentioned earlier.

All in all, it was a lovely day/evening/night and would recommend to anyone if they like zoo's and food. Now, it seems to be past my bedtime as I'm off to France tomorrow, at 3am, so I should probably get some of that beauty sleep considering I have to be up in four hours and 22 minutes. I will be back soon with some hopefully exciting blog posts from my life across the pond. Au Revoir!

Adventures in London: Part 1

Where has this weekend gone? Since having a job, I've felt like I really understand those who say they're 'living for the weekend'. Luckily for me, this weekend was a long weekend as I had my first day off work in a long time on Friday and we were going to London, not to buy a heat magazine though, but to celebrate our three year anniversary. Our main activity of the day was visiting ZSL London Zoo's Sunset Safari, but that is all to come in part two later on this week as for now you can delve into our pre-zoo adventures. I started off spending the morning lazing around in my pjs, doing a spot of last-minute online holiday shopping for next week (I'm off to the land of moules et frites, BNs and Disneyland). As the clock struck twelve it meant Jay finished work and our day of activities could begin; after I'd finished getting ready as I did the typical 'oh-no-I've-laid-in-bed-for-too-long-and-don't-have-enough-time-to-get-ready'.

Our train journey was a short and sweet taking us into Kings Cross, where we decided our first stop would be Green Park, as you can't go to London on a beautiful sunny day and not visit one of their parks! We took a nice stroll down the middle of the park past those picnicking, sunbathing and chilling on deck chairs, taking us back to our younger years of eighteen-year-old selves where we spent an afternoon people-watching on those contraptions. Our nice walk then turned into a treasure hunt to find the nearest cash point (who doesn't take cash out when they're going into London, duhhhhh) and our adventure continued onto our second destination.

This time we hopped on the Bakerloo line and took ourselves up to Warwick Avenue, yes I had to stop myself from belting out Duffy, where we stumbled (a planned stumble) onto Little Venice. A quaint little part of London that houses canal boats like the ones on Rosie and Jim. It was so peaceful you didn't feel like you were in the heart of the country, surrounded by ducks, geese and moorhens.

We stopped for a tea break on The Waterside Cafe, a canal boat tea room, that offered anything from coffee and cake, to fruit, to omelettes and jacket potatoes. We went for three slices of watermelon each, lovely and refreshing after long walks in the sun. Once we had devoured our food we decided to catch a ride on the water bus, taking us on a fifty minute guided tour up the river to Camden Lock for only £8.30pp, bargin! Obviously, arriving into Camden at six o'clock on a Friday night meant the atmosphere was in full swing, with a whole array of sights, sounds (and smells) to take in. Unfortunately, it was a whistle stop your through Camden as we had a zoo to get to, but it's definitely on the to-do-list for a Friday night with friends! That's all for now about my London adventures, I'll be back with part 2 later in the week!

The sun has got his hat on

What glorious weather we have been having recently, the sun has been shining, birds have been singing and I have been stuck at work. Yes, whilst half of Britain basked in our mini-heatwave that made us warmer than the exotic lands of Spain and Greece, I was part of that other half who was stuck inside, following the fan around the room and spraying myself with water at every opportunity. It wasn't all doom and gloom though. I have managed to enjoy and appreciate this weather on a few occasions!

The first was a short bike ride with my sister to deliver some party invitations to a friend (yes, I felt like I was 7 again posting their envelopes through the door with their names written in gold, sparkly pen). I'm lucky enough to live right next door to fields and woods, making it a picturesque place for pedaling up and down hills. Granted, I did get eaten alive by bugs and it wasn't the most padded of seats, but I did have a nice bonding session with the littler version of me, even if I did give her no choice as to whether she was coming or not, and I got to enjoy the evening summer sun we all wish for when it's pouring with rain.

My second encounter with the big, yellow ball of fire happened over the weekend when I finally got to see my 'little sisters', not technically my little sisters but they might as well be. Mum gets to go every Friday afternoon to spend time with them, but due to my work schedule I cannot accompany her. So instead me and Jay spent our Saturday morning taking them to the park, splashing in a stream, hopping on stepping stones, singing copious amounts of nursery rhymes on the trampoline (ring-a-ring-a-roses and sleeping bunnies were popular choices) and enjoying a lunchtime BBQ. No better way to spend a Saturday, apart from the dodgy sunburn mark on my shoulder that better disappear before I go on holiday otherwise I will be spending my days trying to cover up the fact that I'm a typical British sun disaster, that I try to convince myself otherwise.

As of this week, the sun seems to be fed up and has gone back into hiding, although the Telegraph tells me that we are expected another heatwave, and it will be even hotter (a 'I'll believe it when I see it ideal)! The weather lady also promises me that it's going to be nice by the end of the week, and I hope she doesn't break her promises as I've got Friday off work (yay) and I'm off to London Zoo for their Sunset Safari. Keep your eyes peeled, as I will give you an update on how my adventures in London unfold later this week!