Hello again! How's your week going? Memories of our London trip are fading fast so let's get some of the snaps out to show you what else we got up to. If you missed the first instalment of our break see here for the catch up.
The Barbican, and another post-breakfast photo shoot.
The Michael Kors jacket came in very useful as the weather was quite mild at the start of our week away. I did a bit of shopping on Oxford Street after my first bloggers meet up (see here) and found these trousers and matching top in Zara. The heavy embroidery transforms what is basically black velour lounge wear into a luxe item.
Most days we went sight seeing, saw a movie or went to the theatre and ate out. On Friday we went to the Tate Modern then walked across the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's.
Studio interior by Matisse
Coffee by Bonnard
A new addition to the Rothko collection, but I missed the title.
Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso
Autumnal Cannibalism by Salvador Dali
From the viewing tower at the Tate Modern
The dish of the day.
Steve showed me where the First Dates restaurant is. I'm a big fan of this programme which is a new discovery for me. Just after he took this shot we were milling about trying to find the nearest tube station when I noticed a couple of young ladies in a huddle chatting excitedly. Moments later one ushered the other off with a cry of "Good luck!" and then I noticed she was holding a clipboard and wearing a headset with microphone. Yes! They were filming, and this gorgeous girl who was sashaying across the square was on her way to her First Date. As the door opened I saw Fred standing at the lectern ready to greet her. How very exciting! I snatched a brief moment of this on my phone and loaded it onto my instagram here.
Next day I gave Steve a break from being blog photographer as I was meeting up with my second lot of blogging friends. We'd arranged to meet at the London Eye to get a bird's eye view of the Thames.
Bloggers Gail (Is this mutton?), Anne Marie (Mutton Years Style), Jacqui (Mummabstylish) and I putting our best smiles on.
We managed to cram in such a lot that day - a trip on the Eye, then morning coffee followed by lunch and a stroll back along the Thames for a final photo shoot. And all the time we talked. We agreed that blogging is wonderful for adding another dimension to your life as well as being the perfect launch pad for building new friendships. We all have things we feel less than confident about within our blogs and that's where these meet ups come into their own. We covered all aspects of blogging, finding each others input invaluable. Gail is the techie amongst us giving us tips and advice on how to make improvements. We were in unison in urging her to share these nuggets of information on her blog for her readers to learn. All in all, it was a great experience and one I'd love to do again.
On our last night Steve chose to eat here as the final hurrah of his birthday celebrations. Red grouse was on the menu, a real treat for this gamekeeper who'd never before tasted this special bird. Served with all the trimmings, it was pretty much the highlight of our London jaunt for him. He finished the meal with a warm rice pudding and figs drizzled with heather honey, and swore he could hear the bagpipes playing in the distance.
And this was my choice of outfit for a trip down the local pub. I had no idea if I'd be over or under dressed, but this was what I felt comfortable in. As it happened, I was pretty much in line with the rest of the women there.
The London skyline twinkles and shines in the night as we pack up to go home. It was a lovely holiday, full of good times and happy memories. We'll be back!
Anna x
