Highlights of my second year in London

 

Hampstead Heath

This week, I've been on holidays and London has certainly turned on the sunshine for the occasion. I thought I'd make the most of the weather and finally make a trip to "The Heath" as Hampstead Heath is known to the locals (am I a local now, after 6 months??). I walked from Hampstead Heath Overground Station to Kenwood House at the top of The Heath, famous for featuring in Notting Hill, one of my all time favourite movies.





I spent a couple of hours lazing in the sun on the grass in front of Kenwood House, followed by ice cream and a walk back through Hampstead Heath to Gospel Oak Station. A perfect day.

Sorry, Primrose Hill, but I think I've found my new favourite place in London!

I'll be home for Christmas

Not just a song that's sung on the radio at this time of the year...I am truly home for Christmas!

That's right, I'm currently in Brisbane enjoying a beautiful, sunny 29 degree day. For the past year I have been planning to go home to surprise my family for Christmas and I still can't believe I pulled it off. Last Thursday, around 10.30pm, after an early morning bus ride to Paddington, a train to Heathrow, a 26 hour flight from Heathrow via Dubai and Brunei and a taxi ride from the airport, I knocked on my sister's door...SURPRISE!!

Everyone was totally shocked, including me at how much my niece had grown! Friday morning, I went to surprise my nana and then my dad, who is currently in the hospital having knee replacement surgery, and since then I've been catching up with friends, helping my mum move house, shopping and trying to get some sleep in there somewhere!

It's a whirlwind trip (just two weeks) but I plan on enjoying every minute of it. You never know, it could turn out to be longer...especially with all the snow back in London. Over the next couple of days, I'll post some pics.

The National Gallery

As part of my kid-free Sunday (which turned out not to be totally kid-free after all!), I decided to spend the afternoon in quiet contemplation (?) at The National Gallery.

The National Gallery is located in Trafalgar Square and got it's start when the House of Commons paid for 38 paintings belonging to a banker back in 1824, and used his Pall Mall home as the exhibition space. Embarrassed by having their national Gallery based in someones home, the Great British public demanded the Government build a building worthy of a national art collection. The current building was designed by architect William Wilkins and completed in 1838.

I started my self-guided tour in The Sainsbury Wing, the newest addition to The Gallery, opening in 1991. The Gallery is well laid out, with most of the displays on the same floor and you can see most of the paintings in one afternoon.

It didn't hold the same magic for me as The Louvre, but then, I imagine, few places would. It was great to discover some of my old favourites and ones I studied at school - Monet, Rembrandt, Constable, Turner and Van Gogh.

All around the Gallery are seats and benches where you can rest your weary feet and also take in some of the larger portraits from a distance. And in each of the rooms is the ever-present guard / attendant (not sure what to call them!) standing or sitting and looking entirely bored. I'm sure a day in my old office job would seem like too much excitement for them! How they manage not to fall asleep, I'll never know. I did overhear a couple of them talking about whether they preferred gas or electric cookers (I think gas was the winner!), so I guess they have ways of keeping entertained.

The National Gallery is open daily from 10am to 6pm and is free. The usual audio tours, cloakrooms and Gallery Shop are all available. There is a restaurant, but I didn't go in as it looked really expensive.

But my favourite of the whole gallery was discovered in the Gallery Shop on my way out. Among all the prints of the famous portraits, classy stationery and art books was a stuffed Vincent Van Gogh toy, complete with detachable ear and a little tag saying, "I'm Vincent Van Gogh and my ear comes off". Nice.

How's the Serenity?

What a week!

I am exhausted. It's been really hot here and the kids I look after have all been...how can I put this nicely? On edge? Slightly irritable? A bit peaky?

This week started off on a bad note. After my mammoth expedition into London and all the travel hassles last Sunday, I was already tired. Add to that heat and crazed children, let's just say, it's not a good mix.

Monday, I had four kids for the afternoon, all hyped up and screaming through the house. (Well, it was just two doing the screaming, but it felt and sounded like all four!) Tuesday, I walked to my second job in the heat, got a blister (even while wearing my new Crocs that up until that day had been the most comfortable shoes I have ever had!) and tried to keep two kids cool inside when all they wanted to do was play outside. Wednesday at my second job, I cheated and caught the bus to school pick up and even considered sneaking into the nearby polo field to lie under the sprinkers (until I found out it was river water!). Headed off to second school pick up of Wednesday, on foot, and picked up two kids who just wanted to stop in the blazing sun and collect rocks. Thursday, was fairly mild, but on Friday morning, all hell broke loose when Little Boy 3 decided to announce to his sister, Little Girl 5, who still has a week to go at school, that he has finished school already, ha ha, which then triggered tears, screaming and a whole lot of noise. I usually hide out in my room until they have left for the school drop off, but sadly, I chose this day to get up early and go shopping! Then on Saturday, I made the fateful decision to take the kids with me to Kingston...shopping...on the bus...on a Saturday! Yes, I really think I AM mad!

Now it's Saturday afternoon and I am again hiding out in my room (my choice!) as the kids have friends over...twins!! I think that would truly do me in.

So I am enjoying a small moment of peace and quiet...how's the serenity?!