A few days in paradise

A while ago I asked Benny to organise a trip that I didn't know where we were going. I thought it would be pushing it a bit but because Benny knows just how much I love surprises he agreed. So Benny whisked me away to Cinque Terre on Friday. It was paradise, the weather was perfect with temperates of up to 36 degrees. We spent our days swimming, eating gelati and seafood, drinking wine from the region, and exploring the little seaside towns of Cinque Terre by local train. I successfully worked on a tan which will hopefully last a week and Ben managed to change his shade of white. I really hope one day we can return. It was so magical. We were sad to return today. The pictures are better than words in this instance.

The local church close to our hotel

Our favourite swimming spot

Most of the stations had views like this. 

It's been a while

Apologies to all but it has been a busy two weeks, I'm going to keep this short and sweet. The Olympics are over and work has been so busy. Last weekend saw the end of the Olympics. We went to our friends house to watch the closing ceremony on Sunday. It was such a great evening and the ceremony . The evening had such perfect weather we managed to have a barbecue outside.

On Saturday we got up a little too early for my liking and hoped on a train to Windsor to watch the gold medal events for kayaking and canoeing. It was such a great time. The venue was really nice, we got to walk across great racing fields to get to the river to watch the event. The area We were sitting in front of two Polish gentlemen that were also struggling in the medal tally like us Aussies. They kindly helped support the Aussie in our two races and we did the same for their countries. The weather was too good to be true. Ben even had to go hunting for sunscreen. The event was all finished by 11:30 which was great. We were home by 12:30 for lunch. In the afternoon Benny headed into Hyde Park to watch the football final and the Australia vs Great Britain men's final for bronze on the big screens. It got so jammed that Ben and his friends moved to a pub in Notting Hill. The pub we went to is a landmark as it is covered in flowers. I met them there as I was having coffee with my friend Josie. The pub was also packed with people crowded around the screens. We watched the 5000m men final and a few other big events. Whoever was choosing the events to put on the screen needed their head read. The decided to make everyone watch a boxing match with a Brit in it and skip over watching the 4 x 100m final with just that slightly fast Jamaican team. We were slightly annoyed but just laughed it off.

Tomorrow night my cousin's Dave and Chris arrive for two night. It will be nice to catch up with them both. Dave is going home after a many weeks of travelling. This weekend will be spent catching up on sleep. It has been a very long week of work. I've been organising a photo shoot and meeting lots of lovely people.

Our life at the moment can be described as tiresome. Since Tuesday the week before last we have been at home before 9pm one night. After Sunday Ben said his feet hadn't been as sore since Splendour in the grass. 

We have been really busy caught up in the Olympic hype. London has very much a buzz at the moment. On Thursday work gave me time off to go and find the torch along Oxford Street in the afternoon. Ben finished work early to go and track it down with friends. I have never seen so many people. There was just so many people squished in Oxford Street plus the shoppers. It was a little bit of a nightmare. 

On Friday was the Opening Ceremony and the start to a very big weekend. We went to a concert in Hyde Park where they played live coverage from the ceremony with some friends. It was such a fun night. Mossy had stocked up on Australia paraphernalia so we could get into the spirit. Just before the ceremony started some planes flew over. As like most events in London we managed to get a bit of rain. It was such a fun night. There was lots of singing, dancing and flag waving to be had by all. After arriving at just after 6 we arrived home at 2am. 

Saturday morning we squeezed in a little sleep in until 9:30.I quickly jumped into the shower and rushed out the door to watch the cycling road race just 500 metres from our house. The best part was it was free. There was so many people lining the streets to watch the race. They zoomed past us in about 20 seconds but it was well worth getting up for. We rushed home and quickly ran out the door to a summer barbecue a friend was hosting. I left early to meet up with Emily Chester a friend from primary school. She flies for Emirates and rarely gets a London flight so it was worth the risk of jumping on a train over the Olympics to catch up with her. 

After a quick catch up with Em I was off to meet Ben and some friends for dinner. We went to Bloody French for an early dinner for a bit of food before a night of dancing and singing. Firstly I really don't enjoy dancing but it was such a good venue. It is a Piano Bar in High St Kensington. It is a very small venue, we were lucky to even get in. Inside was very much on the warm side. It was like a hot summer's night in Brisbane. A man plays a piano all night and takes requests. Everything he plays from memory.It was amazing. I have a sneaky suspicion that maybe there were a few too many Aussies there, as the night ended on John Farnham and most of the crowd sang and the Brits just gave each other funny looks. We haven't had so much fun in a while. Luckily with the Olympics on the tubes have an extended service so we didn't have to rush for the normal last tube.

Sunday morning we managed to sneak in a few hours sleep before heading to East London. Our friend had some tickets to Victoria Park that has set up big screens for the duration of the Olympics. Numbers were a little down because the weather was not on our side. We watched a few things in ponchos for a little bit, but the rain cleared quite quickly. We left the park early evening and headed to Royal Albert Hall.

It is that time of year again when the Proms are on. We watched pieces from Britten, Mahler, Stravinsky and a premiere from a young composer Charlotte Bray. She would have had to be in her twenties. You can listen to it here.It was a great show. We had chosen amazing seats. The last time we went to the hall I had to be moved as I was getting vertigo. This time we had a private booth with a very 'interesting' couple. I think this older lady may have paid a very young man (just 20) to escort her. She was all over him like a rash. Who would have thought at the Proms. It added a bit of entertainment for Benny and I. 

On Monday morning, Ben and I were exhausted after the busiest weekend we have had in ages. I was supposed to work late on Monday night and I'm glad it didn't eventuate. Instead it moved to Tuesday night. The new job is lots of fun. The people are  nice. I'm working on some really great projects. Christmas is almost here as we have started receiving the briefs for Christmas campaigns. 

Last night we finished work early and travelled across town to Wembley to watch soccer, Korea vs. Gabon. It wasn't the best game as no goals were scored. It is good to say though that we've been to the Olympics. Ben managed to buy a few more tickets over the past few weeks. Tomorrow we're off to beach volleyball. Much to Benny's disappointment it is mens. This weekend we plan to stay at home and watch more Olympics. Hopefully we win a few more medals and Ian Thorpe stops commentating. I'm finding him a bit on the irritating side.