The Travel Blog

www.muzandmo.blogspot.com

London......... I will miss you

Ok - finally - my last London post.

I went to London for the first time when I was 16 - I remember it being huge & amazing & overwhelming ... I just loved it!!!

Then I came back - to do a semester abroad for my junior year of University in 1999. We arrived in September and had SUCH a great time studying in such an amazing city. Then on Thanksgiving (Nov 24th, 1999) we went out in Leicester Square. We went to a night club called 'The Zoo Bar' and I met a tall VERY blonde Australian guy named Zac. After I left London in December we kept in touch via email and snail mail (I even got an awesome mix tape from him)! Then he came to see me for a week after visiting Sydney in February 2000 - and that was it. I knew I was in Love with him. We decided from then on to be exclusive.

He came to see me about once a month for the weekend - for over 2 years!!! He went to a million job interviews & tried so hard to move over, but it just didn't happen. So once I finished University I took a visa opportunity I had to come to the UK. My family and friends were totally freaked out that I was moving over 3000 miles away to live with a guy I saw so little of up to then. But I know - he was the one. And you know what - I knew that I could always just buy a plane ticket IF I was wrong. So I packed up two giant suitcases and I was off.

He found us a great flat in Putney and we shared with our friend Richard. London is just SO SO expensive - that we decided that 'flatmates' were the way to go. We had a huge room to ourselves and our own 'ensuite' shower room which was a bonus!

The first year - was tough! I loved him to bits, but I was very lonely for my family and friends, and it was just hard living somewhere where I only had ONE friend - him. But I held on. My first job was at a company in Central London which was nice. Pints at lunch time was a new experience for me!!! But I loved it, and I made some friends, and I slowly got used to all the accents!

I also got into a routine of calling home - whenever I felt like it. It was good to connect with my Mom and Grandma and whoever I felt like chatting to. Murray and I went from strength to strength and we became best friends. We travelled a TON (every bank holiday really - which was at least 4 trips to mainland Europe every year). And we explored our city.

We went to tons of concerts - something we both love to do - and we enjoyed a ton of great venues around London. We saw some amazing Ameican bands in tiny venues including Dave Matthews, Madonna (that was amazing!!!), Beastie Boys, etc etc.

We experienced a TON of the tourist sites.... and we hosted friends & family when they came to see us.

We went to the Men's & Women's finals at Wimbledon.

We made some great friends - friends from around the world and from the UK - and got to know some of our English family much better as well. We also gained an amazing god child, and made friends that we'll have for life.

We fell in Love with the city from the gorgeous parks to the amazing array of restaurants to the historical sites and the great melting pot of different cultures all living in one place.

Gosh I just could go on & on.

I love London.

I lived in London for 5 years and 11 months. I now have a British passport, I met the love of my life in London, and it was the first big city I have ever lived in.

I will miss it terribly. I will miss our friends & family, but I will also miss the little things. I'll miss being able to hop on the tube to go shopping in Covent Garden. I will miss being able to walk through Kensington gardens on a warm summer day. I will miss the cute little tennis courts in Putney. I will miss our Wednesday night movies & Nandos. I will miss our favourite Italian place Il Mascalzone. I will miss picnics with Eva and Abby. I will miss our very special Saturdays getting to know Abby. I will miss our American friends, our South African friends, our work friends, etc. I will miss being able to go to t.v. show tapings for free just for the heck of it. I will miss my reading time on the tube. I will miss the silly trashy gossip magazines. I will miss British tv shows. I will miss South West London places like Richmond in the summer, Putney riverside, Parsons Green and Pimms in the park, etc.

But despite all this my 5 years and 11 months in London will always always have a very special place in my heart. I'm glad I took the risk, and I'm glad I was able to live in such an amazing city.

I will ALWAYS love London

Last London post soon soon soon.....

I have been thinking about what to write for my last London post.... will get my thoughts together soon so I can finish this blog off and officially start the travel blog. But not today. Today we're busy recieving our shipment of boxes that we sent 14 weeks ago from London - I really hope everything is there! And another beautiful day in Sydney - it's due to be 30 c (90f) today - and it's only Spring - nice! Oh and I got some cute new board shorts that will be awesome for the trip:)

In Australia

We're here - we're exhausted - but we're here in Australia. It's due to be 35c (100f) on Sunday - OH MY GOSH.
Bought some super cute board shorts today - Murray too - so now we're ALL set for travel clothes.
Too tired to do my last London post yet - soon - I promise! :)

Off to Oz.........

We have had a WONDERFUL time in Minnesota - but now today we're off to Australia.

I will post my 'last London post' on here soon, and then will get started up on the new travel blog - starting with all our great MN photos:)

The Final London Weekend

September 28th 2007 - the last day of workMurray and I went out to toast being unemployed with a bottle of champagne we had been saving for AGES!

We went to our FAVOURITE place in Putney - Il Mascalzone. We had the meal we ALWAYS have cause it is so so so good! Carbonara pasta and Fantasia Pizza (with pepperoni, mushrooms & artichokes - with the home made chili sauce to top it off - yummmm!).

Murray & I with that 'we don't have jobs' glow :)

September 29th 2007 - The Night out with Friends & Family to say Goodbye

Me & Niece Lorraine - gosh I'll miss her! She's fun and sweet and such a good friend!

Me with my first good girlfriend in London - Heather!

Me & Sue - we used to work together - but stayed in touch & had lots of fun shopping days out in central London!

My favourite girls - Lorraine & Heather

Me with our flat mate & friend Kirsty

Muray with some of his work buddies - from left Dave, Paul & Tom

Murray's work friend Aneta on the left & her sister

Lisa & Richard

Murray went a bit overboard on the photos..... I THINK some people got annoyed..... (lol)

Our good American friends Brad & Jeanne

Murray surprising the guys with his scary chipmunk face

Lorraine, Heather & Me - on the dance floor!

Shake it shake it shake it!

The bad thing about this photo is you can't see my gorgeous leopard print shoes :(

Shots for the boys

Sue & Me

Lorraine - I hate her & her gorgeous spotless skin :)

Jason uses his Carolina charm, her face shows the level of success

Me & Jeanne

Murray, Heather & Jason - SOMEONE must have said something funny?

Sad faces - I will miss Lorraine & She WILL miss me ( I demand it) just kidding :)

Niece & Uncle - also friends

Heather & Jason performed their classic dance floor routine for us!

They even demonstrated their highly skilled precision dancing.... do not attempt this at home! Only for professionals!

SUCH a fantastic night! It was great to see our friends & family and go out in style! We had a brilliant time:)

Sunday September 30th - Saying Goodbye to Abby & Eva

We gave Abby a little fairy princess outfit - she liked the crown :)

Working on the bubbles! She spilled almost all of the bubble liquid - but still had a great time

Oh look I found Mama's sunglasses in her bag!

Me, Abby & Eva - working on sock monkeys at the pub!

Abby loved the stuffing - until she got excited and put her whole face in the pile - with her mouth open - and got it stuck all over her tongue!

Oh gosh, it was so hard to say goodbye to Abby & Eva. Eva is such a good friend, and we love Abby to bits! But I know we'll see them again - for sure - and hopefully not to far from now!

Wales - August 2007

Gorgeous bridge as we crossed over into Wales!

A lovely breakfast at our B&B

They had a cute but very overweight dog (we saw a lot of obese labs in Wales - so odd!)
We decided to go for a hike & Pen y Fan was recommended to us at the visitors centre


It was a tough hike

We had to stop & take breaks!

But the scenery was GORGEOUS!

Lots of rolling hills
so we hiked some more
Then we realised after looking at our guidebook that oh - Pen y Fan is the highest peak in the Breacon Beacons national park!
but Murray liked the view
So did this sheep!
Just hangin out in Wales
Murray & I and oh wow check out that view! Stunning!
If you wanna go - it's that way - but it took us FOUR HOURS! Ouch (thank goodness for our excellent hiking boots) !!
On the way back Murray popped out of the car to take a photo


The castle right by our B&B - well, ruins of a castle
On our last day we went out to see a stunning castle - the sheep had overtaken the surrounding area though.... (poo avoidance was difficult)
Carreg Cennen Castle

Stunning views

It even had a even had a natural cave below the castle that they used to store provisions in. Murray turned the torch (flashlight) off, I screamed, then I took this photo. It was fun, not.
We stopped on the way home at a food fair in Abergavenny





Warning Vegetarians - gross photo below







They even had a whole pig roast - ewwwww