I had a dream.

As a young girl, way back in the 70s, London was a popular destination for those seeking adventure after leaving school.  It seemed romantic on all levels, the lure of the unknown, the adventure, the independence……..  I never made it.

Now I have!

Winging our way towards Heathrow, my anticipation was growing.

As we wander the streets of Mayfair where our posh apartment is, I realise this would not have been where I ended up, well it may have been, I’ll never know.  But Mayfair is perfect for us now.  The streets are full of trendy shops, crowded little pubs, a miriade of eating cuisines to choose from and luxury cars.  It’s packed with Rollers, Bentleys, Aston Martins, Maclarens, Ferraris, Jaguars and the odd asian car looking conspicous in its status.  We absolutely love Mayfair.

Curzon Street Apartment

We’re on the 3rd floor and the novelty of using the old fashioned lift hasn’t worn off yet.  We keep waiting for the doors to quietly slide open by themselves.

Our first night saw us heading to the local.  Jeff had a yearning for English fish & chips, and mushy peas washed down with a pint   I opted for a salad which was garnished not with croutons, but sliced toast.  Is that a local thing?

Green Park

A quick walk across Green Park from Mayfair towards Buckingham Palace.  It’s early spring so the trees are still bare but there’s the promise of blossoms and bulbs.

Buckingham Palace

My first impression was “underwhelmed” although I have no notion of what I was actually expecting.  Tea and cucumber sandwiches with the Queen?  A hearty warm welcome after travelling so far from the colonies perhaps?  I guess it looks so much bigger and grander on TV.

I wrote to say I was coming but there doesn’t seem to be anyone home……

Westminster Abbey

And….. that’s enough touristy stuff for one day.

We headed towards the Thames, past the House of Commons where Brexit is the contentious issue of the day.

Harrods

Ok, this is opulence.  We walked quickly through the Prada and Gucci handbags, past the perfume section dodging bored shop assistants armed with  perfume bottles at the ready to spray unsuspecting shoppers, up and down escalators decorated with gold and finery to find our final destination – Nirvana!  The Food Hall 🙂

Lobster and Prawn Roll – and it was GOOD!

New Friends……

It’s a London habit, right, to start a night out with a cleansing ale at the local.  A habit which we’ve embraced with gusto by our second night.  We then moved on to an intimate Italian restaurant.  It was crowded, full of Italians (always a good sign) and smelt divine.

We were lucky to get the last table and crammed in next to and subsequently struck up a conversation with an American couple from Texas who proudly informed us that they’d moved from their home state of California because it had become unlivable (to them) because of social reforms, taxes and personal restrictions, moving to the far more conservative state of Texas.  Hmmmm………

We chatted. I let slip that our first choice for dinner had been the Iranian Restaurant a few doors down which was unfortuantely booked.  This comment was met with a long stare.

They were excited to hear about Australia.  One question we weren’t expecting was about the certain areas in Australia that were deemed dangerous by Americans because of, not wild native animals, but dangerous people.  We happily allayed their fears by informing them that we had strict gun controls and that after the Port Arthur masacre Australians happily handed in their guns and everyone lived happily ever after.  They left soon after……

The people you meet 🙂

Our first two days in the mother country have been everything we’ve wanted – a little sight seeing, lots of walking, interesting people, funny instances and good food.

Jeff and Catherine xx