a clock, a cartoon and the weather...

I saw this cartoon in today's London Lite, a free evening newspaper (like Melbourne's mx). It made me laugh!! I thought I'd capture the weather too - lookin' pretty miserable.....for like the next 6 months....

And this is the Faberge clock I bought at Buckingham Palace on the weekend - it sits about 10cm high. It makes me smile too!

a royal day out...

On saturday I attended Buckingham Palace! Not at the Queen's invitation, mind - I think I paid an entry fee that would keep her corgi's fed for a year...

The ticket gave me entry to the Queen's Gallery, the Royal Mews, and 19 State Rooms. The gallery was first and it had an exhibition of Italian art. I didn't spend long there (art isn't really my thing) - but it was interesting to see. The mews were amazing, they had 5 carriages on show - one being the Australian coach. Sorry Sharon, I would have taken a better picture of the explanation if I had realised it was also about Queen Margrethe of Denmark!! On display was one of the Queen's 5 Rolls Royces - it has a taller roof (so it's easier to get in and out of), and none of them have number plates, they're just known as RR no.1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.

Getting into the State rooms was like going through Heathrow security and took forever - but it was well worth it! The state rooms are where all the public functions are held - and 'oppulent' would be the best way to describe them. The rooms are colour-themed - crimson, pale blue, green, white etc. The Grand Hall and Grand staircase were spectacular, and the State Dinning room was incredible. They don't use tablecloths and the long table is set very elaborately - knives and forks are set to precise measurements using a ruler! The menu is always in French (a tradition for fine dining), and the Queen checks everything!

I didn't get to see inside the Queen's apartments - shame, cos I wanted to see what a real queen sized bed looks like..! I wasn't able to take photo's in the State rooms unfortunately..

But, I am a complete sucker for gift shops, and found myself purchasing the Official Guide, and a small domed pink Faberge clock (couldn't help myself...).

the south of France...

On saturday Anna and I flew to Perpignan in the south of France - which is about 35kms from the Spanish border and near the Mediterranean Sea. I know - sounds awful! We went because Dad and his two brothers were having a reunion. Each brother lives in a different country - Australia, England and Canada, and they hadn't seen each other since the early '90's.

Dad and Bella met us at the airport, and Anna and I hired a car (a Ford Focus C-Max, diesel, turbo, Ghia for those interested!). It was a lovely car except the steering wheel was on the wrong side! I drove, following Dad, and had a completely freaky drive to pick up the keys to our apartment - wrong side of the road, clutch with the left foot, change gears with the right hand, and I side swiped a parked bicycle. Ooops...!

We picked up the keys (getting lost along the way - won't be the only time this weekend), drove to Laroque des Alberes (top and bottom left pics) where the apartment was, then a short 2km drive up the Pyreneese to where the three brothers were staying. We had a lovely night catching up with everyone, over a bbq, champagne and incredible views.

On sunday we took a trip into Spain, to a town called Santa Margarida which is along the Costa Brava. We passed a curious sight along the way - ladies by the side of the road in skimpy clothing, sitting on plastic deck chairs. Turns out they were for hire (the ladies, not the deck chairs) - the usual customers being rich Russian men. The weather was perfect, so we ate lunch and went for a walk along the beach. That night we went out for a fantastic dinner at a restaurant in Laroque recommended in the Michelin Guide. It didn't have a Michelin Star, but was absolutely delicious none the less. We had four courses including foie gras (well, I had a slight nibble..), white fish, roast duck with white peaches, and some sort of brownie with figs for dessert. Oh, and we had our own sommelier (wine waiter) - with four different wines, one for each course. Noice.

On monday we went on a day trip to Colliere on the French coast. Beautiful pebble beach. On the way home we went to Carrefour - like a French Kmart. Bought some shoes... That night we had another bbq, and watched an awesome rain, hail and lightening storm from the balcony. Amazingly I captured a picture of lightening..

Tuesday we had a long breakfast with the brothers (as we had done each morning), of baguettes and brie, and said goodbye at lunchtime. We flew out of Perpignan in high winds, but once up was smooth sailing. Having landed safely we jumped on a bus to London - and missed being in an horrific accident by about 30 seconds. Scary stuff... I had a fabulous weekend, and tomorrow it's back to work.

the blog about nothing...

Seinfeld was ostensibly a "show about nothing" - just like this blog entry! After a hideous week when the tube was on strike for three days (although I did take tuesday off..), and work has suddenly gone mad - I needed to do nothing on the weekend. Which I did very successfully!! I slept in, dagged around, went for a stroll down to the High St, went to Boots - twice - and went for a walk around neighbouring Ravenscourt Park on sunday arvo.
Next weekend Anna and I are heading to the South of France (well someone has to do it), so that should make up for this blog about nothing...
This entry was brought to you by the Scruffle-upagus, the letter N, and the number 12 (the amount, in pence, that I found on my walk yesterday)!

the people's princess...

On sunday I thought I would go to Kensington Palace and have a look at the tributes left for Princess Diana. It was 10 years ago that I came to England for the first time - arriving a week after her death - and was amazed then at the amount of flowers left at Buckingham Palace.

There weren't a huge amount of flowers and tributes left this time, but I walked the length of the fence where people had attached pictures, poems and written messages. It was very emotional (I found myself dabbing away spots of moisture from my eyes...) - the messages were so heartfelt.

I felt a bit weird taking photo's, but here are a few. The golden dandelion was an art installation, in memory of Diana.

After that I needed a good walk around Hyde Park to dry off the eye-leakages, and ended up at the perfect place to make me feel better - Oxford St for shopping. I went to buy PJ's, and came away with a bag full of stuff. Sigh...