Hello!!

How are you all going?

Ok, so this is my first group email since leaving Australia on 18 July... That means that there is seven and a half weeks' (or about 50 days') worth of "what have I been doing?" to write about. Hmmm....

As many of you may know, I am currently in London, where I've just moved into a little studio apartment (studio meaning that it includes a bathroom and a kitchen, not that it is large and loft-style!) about 15-20 minutes from the centre of London. I'm very happy here in this big city (and especially happy to be a 2hr Eurostar journey away from Alexis in Paris). It's so lively and there is always something to do, for any kind of person. There are endless opportunities to exercise, as there is so much to explore!! I come home with sore feet every day (yet without the need for a gym visit!).
I also love that I can walk for 5 minutes to 'the tube' station and catch a train practically anywhere. The double decker buses are still a novelty too - last week Alexis quickly learned that once on a double decker, I bee-line it to the stairs for the top-deck and usually sit somewhere near the front window so that we can enjoy the view. Anyway, after two or so bus rides, I started acting nonchalant when we boarded the bus, which was usually greeted with a, "I know you want to go upstairs," from Alexis, who would start walking upstairs. My, "I'm cool, I don't mind where we sit," wasn't fooling anyone!

I've been in London for a week and a half now. I arrived with Alexis last Saturday, who helped me to settle in. We spent the week doing a combination of relaxing, sightseeing and walking - which was a nice recovery from our 3-week driving adventure around France, but I will get to that in future emails.

As you may know, London has a very large Indian population, which means that there is never a shortage of good Indian restaurants, something which I missed in Kalgoorlie and again in France (curry is my favourite food - I could eat it morning, noon and night!)!!! This was a dream for me...seriously! ;-) Despite making some mean curries in France (thanks for the advice on cooking from scratch, Ms Alia, xo!) notably without the high chilli factor in order not to burn Alexis' chilli-sensitive French palate, I was in desperate need for an authentic Indian meal. We found two really good restaurants and the best of the two is within walking distance from my house!

Anyway, enough of the curry...

We decided that Soho (funky bar area - like an English Le Marais*) was a good spot for a drink and went there a few nights in a row, to a different 'authentic British' pub each night. Apparently there are heaps of 'fakes' which, despite being British pubs, are not as old and historical as they're dressed to look. I began to feel like asking at the door, "Is this pub at least 100 years old? (I'm not sure that I can drink here if it's not...)" this is a very important question, as we were seeking a true cultural experience, you know. :-P Furthermore, since this was a cultural experience, we just had to have a pint of beer every time. ;-) It was quite a change from our usual French 'apero'** but enjoyable. We discovered the popular "Pimms" which I had never seen in Australia before (I think we have it though). It is a bit like gin, but one drinks it mixed with fruit pieces and fruit juice - very easy to drink and very refreshing!

We visited some chic addresses, notably Notting Hill and Hampstead Heath. We were reminded of the exclusivity of Notting Hill when we were not able to enter the local park to eat our lunch, due to presence of swipe card readers on the the locked gates - subscribers only! One of my favourite streets in Notting Hill was Portobello Road which has a retro feel and market stalls/shops which sell quite original merchandise. Our favourite shop was covered from floor to ceiling in metal signs with old advertisements for anything from Guinness to soap. Very cool - we are definitely going back to that road!
Hampstead Heath had an old English village feel to it, as it is away from central London. After taking a traditional English afternoon tea - actually, we had cappucinos, but in tea cups!! ;-) - in a local tea room, we walked up and down the steep hills of this leafy suburb, looking at the name plaques on houses which used to be homes to important people in history (and probably still are, but to those who are living ;-) ) such as Siegmund Freud and D.H. Lawrence. We also walked through the heath itself, which was so green and tranquil - no surprise that this is a sought-after address.

Today I am writing to you from the outdoors, overlooking the Thames River..


It's such a lovely view and very relaxing place to write emails. Behind me is an installation by an artist named Klaus Weber, called The Big Giving. It comprises six statues with each statue 'giving' water from a part of their body. A little girl behind me was rather worried about the first one, saying "Why is he crying...but why?":


I'm enjoying a coffee which I just bought at Waterloo station (a central station for many of the country/international trains and is also the terminus for the Eurostar until 14 November, when it moves to another station - a bit of a bother, as Waterloo is on my line!! Oh well) and was reminded of something which I've noticed in so many airports and train stations: it is almost impossible to find a bin!!! As you've probably figured, this is due to bins being a security risk and a potential receptacle for bombs, but it is a pain!!! Being someone who has a huge difficulty with leaving my rubbish anywhere but in a bin, I am finding that I'm am walking around clutching at my potentially-explosive piece of rubbish, desperate for a bin. It is usually so long before I find a bin, that I forget that it is practically surgically-attached to my hand. Paris had a different solution to the bombs-in-bins risk and switched all their city bins for special transluscent green plastic bags...bravo, who'd have thought that a plastic bag could prevent a bomb from exploding?!? It's sheer genius.

Despite it's lack of special green plastic bags, this is an exciting city and home to many different types of people which makes it a treasure trove of places to explore. Since Alexis left on Saturday, I have continued to explore the city by foot. I took a few photos in the touristy areas yesterday.Here are two of my favourites:

The London Eye + London symbols The Houses of Parliament


I've got one and half weeks until I do my induction with Reed Health next Friday, so I have a ticket for the Eurostar very early tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, to go back and see Monsieur Cassereau for a week (and he has his day off on Friday). We are both chuffed! Yay!

In short - I'm doing well, I'm happy, but I miss you all!

Take care
Love Em xx
PS. I've just mapped out the journey around the south of France that Alexis and I took over the three weeks before arriving in London, and am currently in the process of going through the photos. I will be writing very soon (yes I mean it!!). Stay tuned...
In case you were wondering...
*Parisian quarter, known for its funky bars, groovy nightlife and gay population.
**French abbreviation for aperitif - an absolute ritual!!