A short weekend in Iceland

On Friday night we departed Heathrow to Reykjavik, Iceland. After a very bumpy flight that took an extra 30 minutes in the air we finally arrived in Iceland. On arrival we realised that we probably didn't pack enough warm clothes or shoes as snow was falling and there was quite a lot on the ground. The lowest it probably reached -12. It had only started snowing that week, so we were a little surprised with how much had fallen. We arrived at about 2:30am. Saturday morning I got to see my first sunrise at 10:30 in the morning, we spent the day exploring the city of Reykjavik and watching the sun go down round 4. The city was pretty set on the waterfront. There are may green spaces, or more white than green while we were there around the city.

On Saturday night at 9 we headed out on a tour to try and find the Northern Lights. It is very much like storm chasing. It is very hit and miss on whether you will be lucky enough to see them. We saw them in the very last half hour of the tour, we were told it was only 2/10.

Early Sunday morning we got up early for a 8 hour tour. The tour was to the Golden Circle which is one of the most popular tours. We saw waterfalls, lava craters, geysers, the Viking's first gathering spot and the amazing landscape of Iceland. As the city is not heavily populated there isn't a lot of roads or infrastructure. It was like driving through the outback of Australia but obviously covered in snow.

On Sunday night after the tour we went out for a fantastic dinner with our friends. It was a 10 course degustation, we had incredible food. We sampled smoked goose, venison, goose berries, crab claws fresh from the North Sea, sushi, herrings and so much more. The menu at Fish Market was incredible. We had the Christmas Feast. We didn't sample any whale or puffin which is a traditional dish.

Tomorrow Em and Sam arrive. This weekend we are off to Oxford and next week exploring London.

A week of discovery

Last week can be described as finding great new discoveries. We discovered Wembley and went to our first gig Death Cab for Cutie at the Hammersmith Apollo.  Last week I got the opportunity to visit college halls for my client. Those halls were interesting to say the least. They smelt of toast and damp.  On my way to the halls I came across this bookstore called Slightly Foxed. Unfortuately there was no time to drop in.

Ben came across a lucky find in the paper  on his way home on the tube, Bill Granger the Australian chef just opened a restaurant in Notting Hill. We decided that the plan for Saturday was to try the new restaurant Granger and Co for breaky. We turned up and found out we needed to come back an hour later as the tables were full. There was a mix of Aussie and Brits trying the food. Once we were finally seated we went both ordered Aussie breakfast as it was by now 1pm and we were really hungry. The breakfast brought back memories, the bacon tasted like the bacon at home. The type of bacon that dad used to cook for us on the bbbq, the mushrooms, scrambled eggs were also tasty. It was served with sourdough bread which is very rare over here. The coffee was also perfect. So after this big breakfast we thought to make the most of the lovely sunny weather and go for a walk through Hyde Park. It was nice to walk through the autumn leaves, I really like the sound of the rustling. There were lots of dogs chasing little squirrells up trees. There was also lots of geeses and ducks. After leaving Hyde Park I realised that we had walked down the street where Slightly Foxed is. While in the store I discovered a lovely publication called Lost in London, a publication described as Living simply in London. Now I haven't finished reading it but I did flick through a few pages and came across a story of places to get cozy while admiring the vibrant colours of autumn. One of theses places is described as feeling like a countryside escape along the river Thames. It was a quaint little pub, The Dove, with views of the river and Hammersmith Bridge. It was hidden away, we wouldn't have discovered it without this publication. We sat outside looking over the river, slightly cold but still enjoying the fresh air.

On Saturday night, we took Lee and Mossy out for dinner to say thank you for having us. We picked a nice restaurant along the Thames with view of Tower Bridge. We got to see the bridge go up to let a boat through. Something you don't get to see everyday. The Tower Bridge area is not an area we have really explored. It is really pretty with lovely cobble stone roads. Once the night finished we were very lucky not to miss the tube. The last tube for the night is always very interesting. There was nothing too funny on our tube just a lot of people with really big noses. I think there may have been some nose convention on.

This weekend we head to Iceland. It is going to be cold but I am prepared as I bought ear muffs last week and nice woolen gloves.

Strolling in Hyde Park

So a bit later than usual for an update. We had a very quiet weekend filled with eating so much great, yummy foods in restauruants. We explored Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon and had dinner in a great cafe called Light Cafe. On Sunday we woke up to a blue sky. We used this great weather to it full potential and explored the Camden markets with the thousands of other tourists and people of London. It was an unusual market, not one of our favourites but still great to explore. On Sunday night we went to dinner with friends at Grazing Goat near Marbel Arch followed by a walk down Oxford Street to see the beautiful Christmas lights. Thank you Melissa for the recommendation on the restaurant. I will try and put some photos up this week as I'm writing this from work.

Last night we froze our little bottoms off at Wembley watching an England vs Sweden soccer match. We have not been that cold for a very long time. I don't even think skiing in Japan was that cold. When I told Pop this morning he said he would watch any game at Wembley even if he was in a foot of snow. It is probably true but we really should have bought beanies, ear muffs and gloves.  In the half time break the boys opted for hot drinks instead of beer which was different. I couldn't believe how much England sang throughout the game. They bring trumpets and drums to the games which I enjoyed.

Tonight (Wednesday) we are off to a gig at Hammersmith Apollo to see 'Death cab for Cutie'. Ben and I haven't been to a gig in ages. We are really excited. It should be great and not too far from our house.

The bangs, the bangs, the bangs!

We had a wonderful weekend in London. It started on Friday night with cocktails at a local cocktail bar. I wanted a night in and Benny wanted to go to the movies. We made a happy compromise. On Saturday we met some friends at Dukes Head for lunch. It was quite busy as there was a rowing carnival, we unfortunately didn't see much. We both were in shock with how people were rowing under the very cold weather conditions.

After lunch we headed to the centre of London in search for fireworks as it was Guy Fawkes night. For the past few weeks people have been stocking up on fireworks from the local supermarkets. We have had the pleasure of listening to fire crackers, rockets and fireworks being set off for weeks around the streets but on Saturday was the official night. Guy Fawkes tried to burn down the Houses of Parliament 5 November, 1605, so to celebrate there is yet another strange tradition that the British follow which is lighting bonfires and fireworks. We headed to Southwark Park to watch the display. It was run very orderly and on time. Everyone had to leave by 7:30pm. It was not even close to Riverfire but it was good anyway.

On Sunday Ben and I went into Selfridges after a recommendation from Lee that it was a good place to buy a jacket. The first one Ben tried on, we had the shop assistant following us closely, the jacket made Benny look very handsome. When we asked for the price we acted very cooly when she uttered the words 895 pounds. Sadly we declined on that one and bought another very nice one for a better price. After the shops we headed to Temple to an exhibit about William Morris. I learnt about him in my interior decorating course, he was a textile designer in the 1800's. It was amazing seeing some of his original works. We also went to Somerset House and had lunch in Covent Garden at a very cute place that serves only spuds with cool toppings. A very yummy concept. While making dinner last night we had the pleasure of our very own fireworks display from the house in front of us.

This week we are catching up with friends, getting used to the leaves falling off the trees and working. Only 3 1/2 weeks until Em and Sam arrive. We are really looking forward to it.