July - Farewell to the Family

July came all too soon. We had hardly settled back in the UK when Marc's brother and family moved in with us for a few days before heading out to Australia.

At least we had those very precious few days with them.

Garth and the girls chilling out on the couch.

Genevieve and Isabelle - so gorgeous!

Still battling to comprehend how big Isabelle has grown, she had just been born when we left the UK and now looking so cute! Of course I'm not biased being the god-mother and all!

The last supper. Invited all the family for a roast. Garth, Isabelle, Genevieve, Helena, Sean, Pearl and Marc.

Miss you guys dearly - can't wait to see you down under xx

July - Old friends and new places

Met up with Alan whom I have not seen in over 10 years, an old friend from Durban.

Alan and I at the best place for cocktails in London, none other than the OXO Tower

I decided to see a part of England I haven't seen before so climbed on the first train that came my way and ended up in Mistley Thorn.





It was beautiful!

A great little trip before beginning my new job - it's going to be strange working 9 to 5 again... looking forward to it!

June - Farewell to Mel & Andrew

After settling back into our apartment it was time to say goodbye to Melanie and Andrew. They used to live with Marc and I and are now headed off to the greener shaws of Canada.

After a scrumptious dinner it was time to chillax

Mel and Tido

Before saying our final goodbye's... sniff.

Mel & Baj

Miss you guys already xxx

NOT COOL!!!

1am, deep dreamless sleep, pitch darkness, on my own, safe and sound... or so I thought!!!

I hear a noise and before my eyes my bedroom door bursts open, as there is a bright light on on the passage all I see before me is a shadow of this man. I screamed at the top of my voice waking the neighbors. If I had a gun under my pillow I would have used it. Your brain races... I'm being burgled, I'm gonna die... there is no logic to any thought process as all this has happened in a split second; then a voice breaks the silence - "Surprise!!"

There Marc is, standing with a huge smile on his face totally unaware I'm having chest palpitations! So NOT cool!!! (He was only due to arrive at midnight tonight).

An hour later... the sound of snoring all around me and I'm wide awake, adrenalin still pumping through my veins, quite shattered and yet sleep alludes me - the whole night!! WOW sooooo tired today!

BIG :)

Very quick post as I have A LOT to get done...

Yesterday the new shower door was finally replaced, just in time for everyone arriving tomorrow, at least that's one thing out the way...

Today I spent the day in Suffolk. Great people, good food, gorgeous place!

What an amazing day - nothing like 22 degrees of sunshine to place a BIG :-) on your dial!

xxxx

New Laptop

New laptop arrived this morning - feels like Christmas! I'm not so sure the saying should only be reserved for "boys" and their toys as I was having a lot of fun with all the gits and gadgets!

After an amazing night on Friday, nursed the hangover Sat. In the evening I met up with Lou in Wimbledon for a movie "Letters to Juliet" YAWN! Soooooo predictable I almost asked for a refund. Afterwards we watched TV till the small hours of the morning - Had a great laugh commentating.

Went to HomeBase on Sunday - of course not for me as we all know how undomesticated I am, Lou just needed to pick up some flowers, however, all was not lost. I found a shower door to replace the one the tenants had broken.

Headed to Richmond for a little shopping on the side (mainly returning items) and some Nandos. We ate outside as it was such a gorgeous day, then it happened... as we were about to leave this bird dumped all over me - down my arm on my white shirt and beige trousers. It was bright green - eewe!!! Thankfully Lou had bought a white top which I quickly claimed. Had a good laugh, after all it's supposed to be good luck!

Spent the rest of the afternoon on the green by the riverside, taking in the sun and eating ice cream. Afterwards I went for a stunning run around Barnes. I've lived here for a while and yet never realised just how lovely it was...

Freaky Friday

Met up with some old friends for a few drinks yesterday, we started off at Waterloo station and decided if we're going to do "yuppie" we'll do it in style. So headed for the Oxo Tower - just love the vibe there! An hour and 3 blisters later we arrived!

Anyhow we decided to try different drinks cos we liked the name and then try guess what its composed of... mmm dangerous but super fun game! The best / worst: Monkey Puzzle - tasted just like banana tequila - YUK!

Anyhow, at around 10 headed back to Waterloo, as my train was only departing in 40min I decided to hop on the Barnes Bridge train and just walk the little extra - after all I already had the blisters!

So I'm waiting for the train to pull off when this guy hops on and asks if he could squeeze in beside me, when I started saying sure, he went "Shhhhhhh, you're not supposed to speak on trains". hahaha after that the jokes just came rolling out the entire train ride home. He was without doubt one of the most hilarious people I have met. Turned out he was climbing off at my stop so we walked part of the way - my jaw was was so sore from laughing.

Hands down - most enjoyable train ride in the UK to date.
Thank you "J", where ever you may be!

GYM

So I ended up joining the gym, the main joining factor was that it has internet access! How lame is that! hehe

I have searched for internet cafe's but they seem to have disappeared. Anyhow, loving swimming again and started Pilates classes, it's a stunning club - glad I joined.

Had dinner at Svilena and Vlado's last night, they were kind enough to let me use their laptop, scanner and printer. Finally filed our complaint with TDS against our lettings agent, so hopefully we'll receive some form of compensation.

Our flat is now looking more like a home but it will only be complete on Marc's return next Friday - can't wait!

Farewell

Enjoyed a lovely roast dinner with old friends last night. Can't believe they are leaving for Canada tomorrow, will miss them dearly.

Bought a new laptop this morning which I'm delighted about, however, it will only be delivered on the 28th June and as Marc leaves for Finland later today - I'll be left laptopless! This is a great excuse that has now forced me to join the gym which happens to have pc's with free wireless... roll on the 28th. Till then, no photos.

Laptop Problems

Disaster!!! Yesterday morning my PC gave up its ghost at the tender age of 16 months. It took the better part of this time to gather our photos again after our laptops were stolen in Belgium - now this! I have no one to blame as by now, I should have learned to back up on an external hard drive - talk about not learning from your mistakes!

On the bright side, I get a new laptop come Monday, even better than that; it won’t have a Finnish keypad - hurrah!!!

Marc arrived home on Thursday around midnight, left first thing Friday morning for a Stag party in France. It was great seeing him again AND I get to use his laptop till Monday - perfect timing.

Met up with Svilena for an afternoon tea, ended up doing a little shopping. Then picked up some groceries for dinner tomorrow evening, cooking a roast for the first time in 2.5 years, yummy can’t wait!

Magical London

Headed into central London yesterday for a long awaited haircut from Shaun, my hairdresser for the last 8 years, he is simply brilliant! Was great to see him again and catch up on all the “gossip”, even better now that my hair feels alive again and is in something that resembles a style.

Afterwards I strolled into Covent Garden’s Market, visited the Royal Ballet Theatre then onto Covent Garden. Popped into an art gallery, fell in love with a painting by a new French artist. I was then invited to a closed Gallery opening on the 17th - so that should be fun.

Strolled around Leister Square, Soho, and Piccadilly Ahhhh the magic returned! Decided it would be a bit too tragic returning home without watching a theatrical production, so purchased a half price, cheap seats ticket to see Chicago.

I am usually not a fan of mainline theatre; however it is a “must see” production, like Phantom of the Opera or The Lion King. I regret never seeing Miss Saigon and didn’t want this to be the case with Chicago.

Anyhow, to kill time waiting for Chicago to begin, I strolled down to Trafalgar Square. To my great astonishment there was a live performance of Carmen showing.

The tale of Carmen

Not only that, it was also an operatic sing-a-long which in itself was most amusing. I was quite torn as I had already booked the ticket to Chicago and had to miss this production. I stayed for the first 20min of the first act before heading off.

To my great surprise they upgraded my ticket - lucky me! I ended up sitting next to a couple and their friend. They had obviously been talking about how he felt like a third wheel etc. when I arrived. So the couple lean over to their friend and say in a "low" voice - well at least now it looks like you have a date, to which he replied - at least it’s not as sad as being here on my own like her! Hahahaha that did make me chortle.

Chicago wasn’t too bad and as I had no idea what to expect was pleasantly surprised by the story line. The lead singer didn’t have a very strong voice so that was a little disappointing. I’m glad I went though.

Afterwards I headed out to find the night bus. Had to walk for what seemed like miles to get there, however when I arrived realised the night busses only start at 12.30am and it was only 11pm. So I hopped on a bus heading for Putney, unfortunately it terminated in the middle of nowhere. It didn’t help matters much that my bus pass was due to expire at midnight and I hadn’t a clue where I was.

Finally hopped on a another bus which stopped at Putney bridge, had to walk up to Putney High Street and wait for another bus to take me to Richmond. No sooner had we left Putney when we hit a traffic jam. Repair works! Anyhow half way through East Sheen I hopped off the bus and proceeded to walk the rest of the way. Thankfully I was wearing my sensible shoes and not some cute strappy sandals.

Arrived home just after 1am - what a mission. Had a fantastic day though despite the ending!

oooowwwwww....

The stiffness has set in its full measure! And as there is only one way to deal with it, I picked up my weary body and headed out for a run. After about 3km I found this great gym with swimming pool, spa, saunas etc. How brilliant, just 1km away from our front door... mmm think I may have to join.

Feeling so unfit, which didn't help matters much when I stumbled across this...

Yip - the last triathlon I participated in 2002! Was it really that long ago?!?!?!?! I remember I barely trained for it but the adrenalin started pumping and my legs took off. Don’t think I’ll somehow manage to do that again - must be an age thing! (Well that’s my excuse anyway)

So last night I decided to try out Duke Street Baptist Church, strolled in 30min late (darn busses) so not the greatest first impression. Popped into Subway on the way home for my fave steak & cheese sub and despite them not having the Hot Louisiana Sauce it was still pretty tasty! I guess not the best thing to eat when in training... but as it was a Sunday - I'm forgiven!

British Military Fitness Training (BMF)

As I was saying that good night sleep came in handy when we awoke at 8am on a Saturday!!! And that's not even the worst part; we woke up that early to enlist in BMF Sat morning training on Clapham Common.

British Military Fitness... I think that says it all! They had army guys as trainers and divided us into three groups, beginners, intermediate and advanced according to your fitness. WOW!!! You aren’t allowed to train with your watches on so although it was only an hour it felt like an eternity.

They push you to your limits and although I was cussing under my breath during the training, I have to admit it felt brilliant afterwards though - think I may just join.

Later Louise and I decided to treat ourselves to a salad at GBK in Richmond. I think it’s the first time we have ever been there without ordering a chicken satay burger to share. I had a feta and butternut salad - scrumptious!

Of course the day would not be complete without a little shopping.

Lou bought this gorgeous ring - stunning!

Made a quick stop at my favourite manicurists for a mani-pedi before heading back to my place where I attempted to cook dinner (chicken kiev, broccoli and carrots - finger licking good!)

I literally passed out the moment my head hit the pillow...

Sleep Over

Friday evening Louise and I met for a movie in Wimbledon. Popped into the supermarket before it began to pick up some "dinner" which consisted of 10 chipolatas that had more than likely been out all day. So incredibly dry, but still so tasty!

FINALLY the Odeon have brought out a points card - as I love going to the movies this was an excellent piece of information to have stumbled across.

We watched "She's Out of My League". It had some embarrassingly hilarious moments - but rather wait for the DVD.

Afterwards, I stayed the night on Lou's sleeper couch and I am sooooo grateful she purchased some thicker / darker curtains as I had a well needed good night’s sleep!

Running Routes

A friend of mine told me about this excellent internet site: The Good Run. You can mark out your running route and it calculates the gradient and distance of the run, the time you should do it in and the pace. It’s brilliant!

I decided, as it was such a stunning day, to test it out.


This is my running route.

And here is a small taste...

of the gorgeous scenery

en-route

The Thames is about 10 meters from our front door - I can't believe how incredibly blessed I am!

I can see clearly now

the rain has gone! Turns out BBC - not so dodgy after all. What a bright, sun shining day.

Unfortunately I was on the phone for the majority of it, cancelling redirections, setting up landlines, broadband, water, gas, elec.... the list goes on and on. I had totally forgotten how much was involved in the UK. Belgium and Finland were so easy to set up and pack up in comparison.

But alas, all was not lost. Called a good friend of mine, Svilena, to say "Hi" and as it turned out both of us were free, so we met at Bar Estilo in Richmond for dinner. What an entertaining evening, great company and the food was delicious too. As for the wine..... hic*

Svilena on the right and I'm on the left - sporting an "impressive" Finnish Tan!

Waited 45min for the bus on the way home though. What is it with busses? They travel in packs... you don't see one for hours then they all come at once!

Ouch!!

True to form... the pain has set in, whether from the golf or ironing I'm not too sure - think it's a tossup!

Terrible weather today, drizzly and windy; so took advantage of it and stayed indoors trying to get on top of the laundry. Think that's going to take a few weeks though. It's not so much the washing or ironing but more the waiting for things to dry. "They" (dodgy BBC Weather Channel) say tomorrow the sun will be out in full force - so holding thumbs.

Also did some food shopping today - think my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Yummy... all those delicious fresh fruits and salads, fish that actually looks edible. After stocking up returned home only to discover the freezer is not working. Darn it!!! Marc's not even here to help me eat everything before it spoils. Going to have to fix that ASAP!

Lots to do...

A perfect day!

Yesterday Marc and I had a great time watching an English F1 Grand Prix - in bed on a BIG TV! Then it was rush rush rush as Marc had to fly back to Finland. They asked him to remain till the 25th June, sniff sniff... I'm sure that time will fly though.

To take my mind off things, Louise arrived and convinced me to go shopping with her. This was a good thing as my hairdryer had disappeared. So we spent the afternoon shopping in Richmond, once we had worked up an appetite, we headed to GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) and ordered our usual: 1 Chicken Satay burger with a GBK side salad - to share. Their portions are so huge!

Then to top off a great day, we watched Sex and The City 2. mmmmmm I won't give away the plot, but let's just say I wont be in a hurry to see the next one.

Woke up this morning to a wonderful phone call from my husband - he really in the best! What a great way to wake up.

Put on a few loads of washing...

And began the tedious task of ironing - bleh!

Decided I didn't want to be inside all day, so I grabbed some golf clubs and headed to Dukes Meadow driving range. WOW... how long have we been gone?!?! They had built indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a squash court and a gym.

After 2.5 years of not playing golf it felt good to hit a few balls around. Finally got my swing back... was hitting on average 135 with a seven iron, dead straight, consistently towards the end, so VERY happy with that. Can't feel my forearms though and although tomorrow I will be stiff - it sure was worth it!

Oh saw this car in the parking lot - made me smile!

All moved in

We managed to pack everything into 4 bags (huge achievement), everything was booked and we were all set. Whilst checking in the clerk starts speaking really loudly to another check-in girl about 6 check points away. He kept on looking at us and saying "kaksie, kaksie" over and over. Kaksie means 2, so I thought maybe he was saying there are 2 of us and we each have 2 bags etc. something like that... I couldn’t quite see the problem

Turns out he had made an error whilst checking us in and never charged us £250 for excess luggage. Anyhow we were really grateful that he had made the mistake and let us go through without charging us.

FRIDAY
Arrived about 1am at Andrew and Mel's house (old flat mates). After catching up, finally made it to bed around 3am - Felt sooooooo good sleeping in a proper bed, it was so comfortable I didn't want to fall asleep. We have been sleeping on a sofa bed for the last year and a half, so it was a slice of paradise.

After a great lie in, turned my laptop on and everything was in English, wonderful! Usually when I try log onto sites everything is in Finnish and I just click around until eventually the right button is hit. It’s the little things that count!

Headed off to our flat to meet the movers, what a gorgeous day in London such a pity we were unpacking inside. Once the movers finished, Marc left for an interview and I was tasked with the unpacking...

After 5 solid hours the flat finally became half liveable. Unfortunately as all our clothes, duvets & pillows had been in storage for 2.5 years they all smelt - so I’m in for some major washing ahead.

Met up with Ryan (Marc's cousin) for dinner and drinks at The Railway Tavern. 'Was a late and fun night, Ryan ended up staying over.

SATURDAY
Spent the morning tidying up the flat, went shopping in the afternoon. Was great to be back in Richmond again - it never loses its beauty. After a yummy and much missed Nandos, Marc went over to Mearsy’s for some rugby and I headed back to start on the washing.

We bought an internet dongle to tide us over until broadband is installed. It took about 10min to install but, as usual, a few hours and many phone calls later to actually get it working.

Met up with Andrew and Mel for dinner at The Tree House in White Hart Lane. What a great evening - so good to meet up with old friends again!

Last Day in Finland

I can’t believe it’s here already... my last day in Finland! I did not think I would miss it... but now that the time has come nostalgia has set in.

I’m going to miss the clean fresh unpolluted air and water. The lack of crowds. The awesome cinemas with the most delicious popcorn. The beauty of it all.

I’m also looking forward to moving back to the UK where everyone speaks English and you can buy food where you don’t have to guess what it is. I’m so looking forward to cooking in an oven again (only had a 2 hob here). Ahhhh and a dishwasher!

Living in Finland has taught me so much - mainly revealed how much excess I used to deem as necessary... so looking forward to some "spring cleaning". Watch out Oxfam, all your Christmas’s are about to come at once!

This is also the first time we have used movers to collect our things from storage and bring them back to our flat - it’s going to be great not having to do all the heavy lifting and grafting ourselves.

I’m also super excited to be blogging again - it’s good to be back!

Flying out in a few hours time so I had better get a move on, no pun intended!

Happy Birthday Lynne - I miss you!

Estonia

Ready for Estonia

with my book and Roberts Coffee - not quite Wayne's Coffee (Best coffee in Europe!)

The "Catamaran"

The Baltic Flags as I left the harbour in Helsinki

Docking in Estonia - I generally don't like graffiti, but this was pretty colourful

What a stunning harbour - amazing view of modern Estonia

Everywhere you went there were stunning sculptures and the paths were lined in green grass and blooming flowers

Simply breathtaking - created such a great atmosphere

Headed for the old city, enveloped in old castles walls

There were 27 gates, but this was the main entrance

Quaint streets lined with cafe's and shops

And of course restaurants



And no city is complete without a Molly Malone's!

They do have some great sayings

Old Estonia was simply gorgeous

with different markets tucked away in nooks and crannies. It was like a little treasure hunt

Hopped on a tour bus to see the outskirts of Tallinn

This is the University of Tallinn... mmmmm makes me REALLY want to study!

This random, odd, church... quite unique

Statue built for a ship that sank

So pretty - couldn't tell you what the meaning is or even what it is as it was all in Estonian

I just thought it was beautiful



Ahhh the country side is gorgeous!

The TV Tower





This was built for the Olympics

This statue represents parachutes - who knows why?! Pretty though

After a long day, nothing like a nice cold beer

Saku Beer

Then headed back to the port - so pretty

That's the "Catamaran"

Estonia is simply gorgeous and I'm so glad I made the effort of going.