We arrived into London on The Eurostar which is a fabulous way of travelling from Paris to London, bringing you directly to St Pancras Station in the heart of London as opposed to battling the traffic out at Heathrow and having your luggage with you makes for a quick escape. We had rented an apartment in Chelsea and on a particularly warm London afternoon we dragged all our luggage up to the 3rd floor (no lift) to find a beautifully laid out penthouse apartment waiting for us. We were hot and bothered and glad to stumble across the local watering hole which as it turned out also happened to be one of Chelsea’s fanciest pubs, The Hollywood Arms. We were severely under dressed but I didn’t care and thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the amazing outfits people were wearing, guys were even wearing jackets with pocket squares just to pick up a pizza and the luxury cars parked outside made your eyes boggle! We were knackered after our Parisian weekend and chose to stay in and watch some of Wimbledon instead of another evening out and about. Tom kindly ordered us some Uber eats which was another first for us and I must admit it was very convenient and definitely a whole lot cheaper than the local Chelsea restaurants!

We had organised this apartment as it was only a short drive to Tom’s place in Fulham and close to the Kings Road with all its shops, cafes and buses into the city. We decided to play tourist and catch the open top bus tour taking in all the main sites around London and eventually hopping off in Regents Street to do some shopping. We felt quite overwhelmed at the amount of shops and retail therapy on offer. Somehow though it wasn’t the sort of stuff we wanted or needed – how much Chanel, Hermes, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi and the likes are actually bought and worn? Not much in The Meadow, that’s for sure!!

I was loving being back in my country of birth and was delighted to be able to catch up with some old work and school friends over the week we were there. We had a lovely dinner with Katy, one of Lauren’s bridesmaids and a gorgeous girl I knew quite well from Hong Kong days as well as her equally lovely identical twin sister Emma, both pregnant and only 2 weeks apart in typical twin fashion!! We dined outdoors in The Ivy Chelsea Garden which was swathed in everything floral and under twinkling fairy lights, so pretty we felt we were in a country garden. The next night we met Tom’s mates, fondly known as The Fulham Bots (someone made a spelling error when setting up their footy page and it stuck!) at their local pub, The Mitre. An equally lovely night but unsurprisingly with far more beverages consumed! A great group of Aussie guys living the London life. I can see why they all enjoy living here as most of them are either going on or planning a trip every other weekend, Tom was heading off to Croatia himself after we left and it is all so close and so affordable compared to Australia, definitely one of the big plusses for Aussies living in London.

The next day we caught a train to Basingstoke in Hampshire and enjoyed a fantastic 24 hours with my old school friend Charlie and her hubby Graham. They live in a cottage on an acre of land in the countryside with their three black labs – Kiwi, Boris and Buster. It was the perfect English summers day and we had a delicious lunch in the garden before going for a walk with the dogs across the fields and through the woods. They were lush and green and dappled with sunshine and it felt so good to be back in the countryside again! I’ve missed the gentleness of the English woods.

That night we drove to The Wellington Arms, a gastropub with a well earned reputation for food and a garden that will inspire you too. Their herbaceous border was outstanding and I resolved to spend a bit more time, money and effort on my garden on my return. I wish I didn’t love English gardens as much as I do because they really are NOT suited to the Australian climate but they are so utterly charming it’s hard not to fall under their spell.

It was great to catch up with Charlie and the 40 years since we left school just disappeared as we chatted about food, the environment, our kids and our hopes and dreams for the future. Just because we’re close to 60 doesn’t mean we’re done! Seeing the three dogs patiently waiting for their dinner made us miss our little Chocky Drop but knowing she was being well loved and looked after at home made it easier. Thanks Steve and Sue xx

Back to London and the Aussie invasion continued. Being summer in Europe means half of Australia are on the move escaping our winter and as 90% of people travel through London Tom has had a steady stream of visitors, whether it’s just for a night on the town or a few weeks on the couch, there is never a dull moment. Luckily we were there for the arrival of Bill, one of Tom’s closest friends from school and a family we stay in contact with. We had a great night out reminiscing on things from back in the day and how life has changed so much in the last 10 years since leaving school. So weird that for two Aussie based families we caught up with Bill in London and his Mum and Sister earlier this year in Vietnam, Crazy!

The following night we tried to get tickets to one of the West End shows but with our last minute planning we could only get 3 tickets sitting together to see Matilda, a book/film we had all loved when the kids were small. Being in Covent Garden with the quaint pubs laden with hanging baskets brimming with flowers and wandering through colourful Neal’s Yard with its amazing cheese shop was something I haven’t done for 30 odd years. The show was a great version of the book with a few standout parts stealing the show but I think Tom felt a bit odd at 29 years of age being at a show with so many little kids!!! It was Pride Weekend in London and there were rainbow flags everywhere, gazillions of people ready to party and a happy vibe throughout the Capital. Our Aussie friends had arrived a few days previously and we arranged to meet them at The Duke of York fine food market in Chelsea for brunch and then a wander around Little Venice, a little known area in London which is home to canal boats and a quieter side of London Life. After a pub lunch we stupidly relied on Cammo and his phone directions to take us somewhere interesting which was a grave mistake as we ended up in the middle of a 6 lane motorway from which only Uber could save us…..

All in all I think London was as vibrant and interesting as ever. It was also ridiculously expensive and everyone except the super rich seem to live in fairly small houses with no gardens or off street parking and I can only imagine how hard that would be with small children. It was super easy to get around and there are so many free things to see and do. We wandered around the natural history museum for hours for nothing and Hyde Park offered some lovely space with loads of people enjoying the sunshine with picnics and outdoor fun. The grand old buildings are still amazing, tree lined avenues, summer hanging baskets and window boxes make it all look loved and the food is so much better than it used to be. The rules are much more lax than in Sydney which was refreshing and you can still hear the cockney twang here and there despite the inundation of Eastern Europeans in the hotel and restaurant industries. London still has the “it” factor although things are hanging in the balance thanks to the indecision around Brexit and all that involves. Hopefully England will indeed become great again and under its own terms too. The week was particularly special as we had some great times with Tom and it was lovely to see him so settled and happy.