The yummiest things...

Why is it that the yummiest things to eat, just get yummier with every bite and you just cannot bear to stop eating till there is nothing left, or in my case you are positive your going to get the most dirtiest "I cannot believe you ate all those, and did not share..." face and disgusted comment from ones lovely husband *kiss kiss*

That would be me, post work, pre-pilates, pre-dinner and in total desperation for something to eat; why do we keep nothing in this house? You scoff things! Ah yes I knew there was a reason.

Ok back the the scoffing... I scoffed (you've got to love that word, just a little bit more polite than snorting) scoffing; a good portion of Pizza shapes. A much coveted and kept only for special occasions packet, that in our fine wine storage approach to said packet, the expiry date was November 2008!!

That was very much part of my reasoning for opening, if he notices....though he probably won't...that will be my argument..."well they were off anyway, not quite so crunch...as soggy, you would not have enjoyed them....". Ok there really is some left and they are still super crunchy, but back to my story.

Some things are so delicious, like Pizza (and BBQ I might add) Shapes in all their hexagonal non-pizza shaped glory and they have that scrumptious tangy salty taste (MSG....well it would be if they were made here) and the flavour hit. Eating one makes me thing, "oh devine, the next one will be better, evenmore topping..." and it is but not enough so you eat another, then another.

Before you know it you've got those fine tangy salty crumbs all over your fingers, and licking them clean, just makes you want to eat another one. Then when you finally think, ok husband really will kill me now, you quickly scrunch down the foil back, fold back the box, hide it back in the same spot and savour the last biscuity deliciousness that is now stuck between your teeth...Gross but so good!

Tapas Fantasticas...

Tapas Fantasticas

Brick lane, whilst usually known for its abundance of its damn fine curry houses, was this week hosting the Rioja Tapas Fantasiticas. Basically a Spanish food and wine festival.
One of the Spanish bands

A courtyard was set up with various stalls of wines from the Rioja region, along with food from some Spanish restaurants from both Spain and London. A whooping 2 pounds got us a wine glass a 6 tasting tokens. The weather was glorious so rose and white wine was the order of the day.
Slow cooked beeft with chickpea mash...
Mark just loves having his photo taken....

We ate;

iberico ham on bread with a mash tomato sauce
croquetas with ham and cheese
croquetas with salt cod and corn
paella with seafood and peppers
peppers stuffed with beef
slow cooked beef with chickpea mash
chocolate crumble with strawberries

We arrived home about 5pm, which was just in the nick of time, as it bucketed it down and we had hail the size of cherries, oh and Wimbledon was on, no rain over that way though.

Cherry hail stones
Hail on the balcony...

Booking holidays... are NOT ....so much fun

Mark has recently buried himself in his laptop looking for our next holiday destination. We want to take an inexpensive short 3 day long weekend in a place that not only epitomises summer but is summer itself in all its glory without being a grotty tourist trodden giant fish and chip shop. Easily done with all those cheap flights and websites....oh you are too too funny. Not a chance.

First you start with skyscanner to see where the cheapest flights are, pick a destination that you want to go to regardless of prices (Madeira is cheap for a reason you know), then you go on to Expedia to find out what the cost with hotels would be (package deals are cheaper), then you change it to the flights you want (leaving a 5am Sat morning and coming back 10am Sunday morning is cheap but never ideal), then pick a hotel that looks nice, then you read a few reviews (or if your Mark you read all reviews on the hotel dating back to 1980's then read them again to be sure) and finally you have a holiday destination.

So where are we going, well we are looking at going to Valencia, in Spain, which is the 3rd largest city in Spain, but it has lovely beaches, and is miles from Costa del Sol and Costa Brava (aka Sunny England as opposed to regular rainy England). I was pretty keen to get to Alicante, but Mark after reading reviews along the lines of it has "the best fish and chips" and another that says "its where the English are ashamed to admit they had visited" he decided it would not be very Spanish like. Given that he absolutly adores anything Spanish - quite like my adoration for everything French - we went back to the drawing board.

I know you see all the crazy cheap flights, we are right next to Europe its got to be cheap, its just across the North sea. Well its just not! You have to be super stong willed, subscribed to every active discount website imaginable, not be particularily fussy on your destination, book months in advance (you cannot be spontaneous), not mind early flights or mid week flights, Ryanair (my last £60 flight with them ended up costing £105 after a fee for luggage, a fee for using a credit card, a fee for booking online, an admin fee, and fee for not using a Ryanair credit card....ugh), happy to book an entire all inclusive week long trip, awful cheap no frills airlines and be prepared to press refresh a million times when the websites are jammed with others trying to do just the same. I just don't have the stamina.

However, next time I want to travel to the Algarve, for a week, next August, to an all inclusive British resort, flying Ryanair, sharing my holiday with the fish and chip loving Brits, at least I know it will only cost me £200 quid!! Bargain

PS I believe we worked it out...most likely Barcelona again, but in October now...

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Mark and I were lucky enough to have been invited by Marks friends brother David, to visit the touring Harry Potter truck. A truck only generally visitable by Warners staff and lucky competition winners.

Our photo after waving our wands a bit...

The truck was decked out complete with costumes of Harry Potter, Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn. There was also the Sorting Hat (my fav...a talking accessory, how can you not..."does my bum look big in this..." then hat...."...no of course not" - I like) and a Quidditch broom stick.

Harry Potters costume

We then got taken into Dumbledores homely bookend office, had our photos taken, got videoed making a spell, Mark with Dumbldore and me with Harry's wand.... As for the spell I really cannot remember. Before quite literally being placed back outside in the hubbub that is Leicester Square. Well it was fun while it lasted.

Dumbldore's costume

The Sorting Hat and Quidditch Broomstick

Outside the touring truck

A Victorian Day Out

This weekend was a rather relaxing one to enjoy the summer. It was slightly overcast, but the weather was warm. I read in the TFL Magazine that there was to be a Victorian themed day up at Kenwood House on Hampstead Heath, and convinced Mark that we would go for a walk up there and have a look for a while.

It was actually quite interesting; firstly there was a military display with soldiers in uniform marching, then showing skills and techniques (bayonet usage, complete with appropriate grunting) that they used in the Victorian period. A compare explained exactly what they wore, about the guns they used (not nice they got really hot and burnt their fingers all the time), and about the wars they fought in.
Toast and Miss Holland over the table

Then there was a gymkhana display with two teams competing, each with a soldier and a lady riding side saddle in Victorian costume, was quite fun to watch especially the jumping. One of the ladies, Miss Holland, jumped a set dining table complete with candelabra (as you can see from the photos) with her horse Toast.
Miss Holland riding Toast...or rather jumping with him

They had a little filly called Frodo, who was quite funny, she ran up to the jumps then very ladylike, walked right around them. We were then allowed to have a chat to all the riders and pet the horses, before one of the ladies had a chat with the crowd about the intricacies of riding side saddle on her particularly expensive (£2,000) 150 year old saddle, which was in beautiful condition.

After that it was well after 4pm, so we had a quick game of quoits (Mark won….of course), a turn at croquet before heading (the wrong way – my fault) out the park. I should have known as all the paths looked too familiar; familiar to the direction I used to go when I lived in Hampstead. Oh well it meant we passed the ice cream man and had an ice cream on the way home.

View down the Kenwood House lake
Soldiers shooting
Soliders all lined up
Even Queen Victoria was there..she was a hit with the kids

Lisa is...

sitting at home a bit bored because I am waiting for Mark to get home from Touch football

glad I went for a run, very exhilarating today, really did not want to go. Though once I had my keys in my shoes and put myself out the front door, I just went. Today was easy and I ran all the way to the very top of Parliament Hill. It was windy as anything and once again people flying...or were the kites flying them...kites at the top - love it!!

still sweating from said run...whew

going to get in some ironing tonight - woo hoo

amazed yet another week has just flown by, where does the time go.

very happy she has a healthy addition to her family; my sister and her hubby just announced the birth of my nephew Eli Christoper Bartholomew, big name, tiny baby (only 7lbs and a bit). I am very much looking forward to meeting him.

glad I booked the Eurostar today, Dad and I will now be trooping up to the top of the Eiffel Tower in September.

thinking its like a wintry day outside, grey dark clouds, threatening rain and the wind is just mad - but is summer and 20 odd degrees...

where is that boy!!

in desperate need of a manicure and a pedicure, the sun shines and I have to hide my feet away

totally addicted to my new book - The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, its a true story, a real Victorian murder mystery that started the fascination with who-dunnit stories...capitvating, gripping stuff...

really could do with a new phone, changed to Vodafone sim only network, but now phone playing up and apparently having a full memory, even after I deleted poop loads of old messages, music and pictures off of it. Oh and I get messages days late - that I definitely blame on the new network.

a self confessed shop-a-holic!! Ah I cannot help it, they things...preeetttty, me Lisa like and want lots. AND every time I say ok I won't shop for a while, something comes up that I just must must have....simply must....

a bit too chubby for size 28 jeans Humph!

sad she missed catching up with lovely Sue....maybe next time

has a new motto - Adelaide is my home, but London is my city. I like.

Eltham Palace...Greenwich

On Sunday we, finally, headed out to Eltham Palace in Greenwich . I had been meaning to go for about a month now, but the first time we tried we realised they were not open on Saturdays, then the weather was bad, then we had something else one, so this was the weekend.
The Entry to the house

We were on our way hiccup free, or so we thought. We got as far as Lewisham (about 15 minutes away by train) where we had to change trains and found out the trains on that particular line to Eltham were on planned engineering works that weekend. I had checked online first and everything, and even when I bought the tickets the guy didn’t say anything. However, we were lucky as the Palace is directly between two train lines (both stops being ½ mile from the palace), and so we were able just to take another train down to the other side to another small town called Mottingham instead, so in the end it really was not a problem at all.
Decorative Stonework above the front doors

Thank goodness, I had made it that far there was nothing that was going to stop me getting there that weekend. It was really lovely and not too busy or touristy. The owners were an eccentric couple who loved lots of Art Deco and they even owned a ring tailed Lemur as a pet that they got from Harrods (once upon a time you could buy anything from Harrods – even a tiger). Although the house and gardens were really beautiful they were not the reason I went.
Great Hall, the original Royal Palace

I wanted to go because it was firstly a Royal Place , a summer palace actually, from the early 13th century and then later Henry VIII spent his childhood there with his family and he was actually born 500 years ago this year. The only room remaining from that time is the great hall with a beautiful, very ornate beamed wooden vault ceiling, which after much restoration (it spent 200 years being a barn too after it was no longer used as a Palace) nearly was destroyed in the 2nd world war, luckily the owner was a fire watchman (as you can see London and the docklands quite well from there) and was up there at the time to raise the alarm to get it put out before it got very far.

Some of the garden

Well worth the visit and I am glad we finally went along, now I just need to find something else to drag Mark along to next Saturday….hummm.

Mark and I in front of the house
Me at the back of the house.
Moat and Bridge to enter the house
The back of the main house
A flower in the beautiful gardens

A hint of Austria

Blank space

Well I don't know how many of you check this often, but if you do...my apologies. I have been away, with Mark of course, then it was month end at work. I am an Accountant and for those of you who know that and are one yourself, you understand the dreaded - MONTH END... It was one of the busiest ones I have had in a while.

Aside from that I have been being very good, I went for 2 runs this week and its only Friday. Weather looking a bit glum this weekend, which is typical because we are staying in London this weekend, so its not likely I will go again. So maybe I could go to a spin class tomorrow - gosh too hilarious...as if...

We are just about to be heading out to my favourite Japanese restaurant - Okawari - again for my friend Yvey's birthday. It will be good as there will be a few friends there I have not seen in a while, and one who is - boo hoo - moving back to New York. Then tomorrow is set to be a bit chilled, maybe Camden markets and grocery shopping, then I will go out to a dance party with a few friends I used to work with later Saturday night. Looking forward to it, as it seems like an age since I went out for a bit of a boogey! Then Sunday is hopes to visit Eltham Palace....finally! It is in Greenwich and where Henry the eight grew up.

Ok must run...more to come.. plus photos of Copenhagen and Vienna/Salzburg