This weekend, I have found myself with some spare time, which is quite shocking but also pretty nice. After cleaning up my phone (which seems to have very little memory), I found a lot of photos that I thought should probably see the light of day before they are deleted from my memory lacking iPhone...
Christmas in Amsterdam
Well, these photos are certainly a while back. Unfortunately, on NYE - and ironically not through my own drunken stupidity - my phone was stolen from my hand, meaning that all the photos I took over Christmas were lost :-(
These five are my only remaining photos from our fun Christmas in Amsterdam - one of my favourite European cities!
Last Christmas, we headed to Amsterdam with some other Aussies (aka Christmas Orphans): Susie, Michael, my Michael, Dave, George and myself headed to Amsterdam - where we met up with my friend Matt (who we have also caught up with in Morocco and Turkey).
We ate a HUGE Christmas lunch (prepared and cooked by Michael R) and and entire day spent drinking alcohol and gorging ourselves on roast meats and cheese. That night we headed out for a walk around the city - which was surprisingly busy and full of people.
George, Susie and I had some selfie fun in front of one of the big Christmas trees in the square.
We also went via some of the Christmas markets in Amsterdam. One of my favourite things about living in London, and having Europe on our doorstep, is being able to visit Europe and it's beautiful Christmas markets.
I am a huge fan of Christmas markets - it's just something you don't see in Australia. I actually quite like having Christmas in winter: it's festive, traditional and there is nothing better than being snuggled indoors (post Christmas lunch) while it's freezing cold outside.
From left to right: Michael, Susie, Matt and Michael at the Christmas markets in central Amsterdam. Were were incredibly lucky, despite not being with our families, to spend Christmas with an amazing group of people - our London Family!
We spent out last day in Amsterdam walking around, lunching and checking out some sights. We took some photos in front of the famous 'I amsterdam' sign - unfortunately I did take some much better ones but they all disappeared, alongside my phone.
We also went for a stroll through Vondelpark, which, despite the fairly average weather, was filled with people walking and cycling - possibly trying to burn off their Christmas lunch feasts!
I would have loved to do a more detailed post but unfortunately all my photos are missing so this short summary will have to do the trick.
London: Enduring Winter
I have discovered a random assortment of photos (dating back quite a while) of some fun times that we have had in London.
Last October we went to an amazing Halloween party - I seem to have (once again) lost most of the photos but this one survived! From left to right: Georgia, the witch, Dave, the crayon, Luke, the tiger, Myself, Daenerys from GoT and Michael, V for Vandetta. This was probably one of the best parties I have ever been to in London, several different flats in the apartment block we were heading to were all hosting Halloween parties, so they joined together and kind of became one giant super-party!
In January, we moved flats - again! We are still in the same neighborhood but in a slightly different (and nicer) area.
I thought I should put up a few photos of some of the amazing meals our new room mates have cooked - they are amazing home-chefs and look after us in the food department!
The above photo is the view from our new balcony in Dalston - we get some amazing sunsets.
Above - we have discovered some amazing places to eat and drink in London. The photo on the left is of George and I at Shoreditch Grind - a coffee shop/late night bar. They make the MOST amazing espresso martini I have ever tasted - this is one of our favourite places for a night cap and we have taken a few overseas guests to visit. The photo on the right is of Michael and Georgia at Chick 'n' Sours - a fried chicken restaurant in Dalston. I know, fried chicken doesn't exactly sound like an alluring or gourmet treat, I don't actually like fried chicken most of the time BUT this is the most amazing fried chicken I have ever eaten! We have been here multiple times and, again, its a favourite place to take overseas visitors. Oh, also, check out the size of Georgia's burger!
Finally, another favourite place for Michael and I is a small cafe across the road from our apartment. The location is unbeatable, about a 5 minute walk (at the most) and the cafe itself serves amazing food and even better coffee. This is another favourite place to take friends, they always have amazing fresh foods and extremely tasty wines and cheese.
Living in London, gin has fast become one of my favourite things to drink (only on the weekends, I promise..), so I was stoked when I scored a spare ticket to the London gin festival!
From left to right: myself, Georgia, Anna and Madeline.
The gin festival was extremely fun! We got a free glass on arrival, perfect for gin consumption and there was gin paraphernalia everywhere!
Some gin fueled selfies were definitely a must!
I had a fantastic Sunday with these lovely London ladies (another ex-pat club) and we definitely had our fair share of gin - seriously, I think I am hooked on gin, thanks a lot London!
Australia - Reuniting with Friends
After two long years abroad, a trip back to the land abroad was hotly anticipated. Michael and I fly home together on a Sunday afternoon in March. We flew from drizzly, cold London and arrived on Tuesday morning in SUNNY Melbourne - after 5 long months of London winter, I cannot begin to tell you how excited we were to experience sunny weather again!
The first place we headed, not long after we touched down, was Lysterfield Lake. This is one of my favourite places back home and is actually where Michael and I first met. It's a lovely national park in South East Melbourne and has a huge lake which you can walk (or run) around - I have definitely missed places like this while living in London.
We also managed to make it to the beach! It was not hot enough to strip off and go for a swim but it was definitely hot enough to lie in the sun for a few hours and breathe in the salty sea air! Another thing I have missed while living in London.
While I am in the process of compiling things I miss while living in London, here we have it, the Australian brunch. We stayed with some of Michael's close friends in Sandringham (hence the beach access) and managed to find the time to grab some brunch - ahhh how I have missed Aussie coffee and brunch - I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a photo of my delicious french toast!
And finally, the thing I have missed the most since living in London: my besties!
Above: myself with Karlie and Margherita, two of my favourite people in the world! These girls are amazing and make so much effort to keep in touch with me while I am living abroad, they are the most supportive and loyal people I have ever met - I was so happy to see them again!
We all went our for the gorgeous Nadia's birthday (she is on the far left) - as you can see, London life has rendered my skin a horrendous tone of pale/ghostly white (aka British skin), while all my Aussie friends are living the tanned life.
While I was down under, I was lucky enough to time my visit for my best friend Magherita's birthday (shout out to Margherita and Troy - Congratulations you guys!). Margherita, being the best friend a girl could have, wanted to include me in some of the wedding festivities before I headed back to London so we headed off to a wedding exhibition at Crown.
How cute is she!
Also - this is the most magical and breathtaking cake I have ever seen - a CHEESE cake, like, literally made out of actual cheese. I think my dreams have come true!
We managed to find a pretty sweet photo book and took a few free snaps!
Left to right: Nadia, Marghertia, Myself (the honorary Italian) and Jov - my favourite Italian family!
We followed the wedding exhibition with the time honoured tradition of a football game at the MCG! The home of AFL (which, FYI, stands for something completely different in the UK).
Karlie and I were arch rivals for the night - of course the Bulldogs won, poor old StKilda are on struggle street once again!
Despite one of the most boring football games I have ever endured we did enjoy ourselves :-)
Also, on the same jam-packed weekend, Margherita invited me to come along and check out a few wineries she was considering for her wedding reception.
I absolutely love this photo - wine, a beautiful setting, lovely weather and my bestie - can't ask for much more than that!
Post wedding venue viewing, Margherita and myself went for a stroll around her local neighborhood (ie. the bush), it was actually pretty nice to get back to nature and go for a stroll in the wilderness after so long living in the city!
On one of our final nights in Melbourne, Michael and I took Margherita and Troy out for a congratulatory engagement dinner at a rooftop bar in Melbourne, with a pretty decent view of our lovely city!
I had a short, but incredibly sweet, trip back to my home city! My family and friends went out of their way to make sure we had a fantastic time and we were lucky to fit in lot of catch ups with all our special friends on the other side of the world - I can't wait for our next reunion!
It's Warming up in London...
Just a few snaps of us and some of our friends in London as the weather slowly (emphasis on that word...) starts to warm up...
Michael enjoying some home grown wine - Noble Red - courtesy of Rob! Oh and the most terrifying face swap you have ever seen, I don't think Georgia and I should play this game again!
I think we can all agree that we both look much more presentable with our own faces!
My lovely school friend Stacey and I on a weekend away in Swindon (don't get excited, it sounds much more exciting than it was - we were on a year 11 revision trip - haha...), making our own fun!
Michael and myself getting in some selfies, the photo on the left was on our balcony on a rare warm day in London! We have managed to get a tiny bit of sun so we aren't quite as ghostly pale as we have been (I mean, still pretty pale though).
Georgia and Dave's family came for a visit (his brother Michael and girlfriend Jodie), as did Michael's friend Rob - we had a good old Aussie reunion, including plenty of eating and drinking!
Below is us at a pub in Highgate, it was even warm enough for us to sit outside at night (with the heater on... but still, this is exciting in London).
A group shot on a double-decker bus (total tourists) and another group outing to our favourite burger place in London - Honest Burger (seriously, so good!).
Wedding Fun in France
At the start of June I was lucky enough to be invited to a good friend's wedding in France. Myself and my friend Amber, headed off to Toulouse during the school holidays.
We had a nightmare day of travel - our flight was delayed so we had to sprint through the airport to get to our train. We arrived at the train station just in time but then realised that the train had been cancelled due to a strike. We were advised to catch a bus, only once we got on the bus did we realise that we had caught the local bus instead of the express bus so it took forever!
Our generous airbnb host picked us up from the bus stop when we arrived and took us to his apartment, which was extremely kind - we got ready in record time but still made sure to take some photos when we were ready to go - had to get the lighting right!
The first night we arrived there was a welcome dinner for everyone who was invited to the wedding, we had rented an airbnb just around the corner from the town centre so headed to the dinner, fashionably late. The weather was amazing - dress weather, no jackets needed, so we got to sit outside.
The following day, after being warned about the limited taxis in the town of Auch, where we were staying, we booked a taxi nice and early to ensure we were on time.
Well, we were so on time that we were the first to arrive! This wasn't so bad because it meant we had some time to relax and take some sneaky photos - we don't get the chance to dress us that much so we decided to make the most of it!
We also found a swing and had a bit of fun - I love this photo of Amber!
The wedding was at Chateau de Lartigolle - a beautiful Chateau in southern France, just over an hour south of Toulouse.
It was a beautiful wedding location and the weather was amazing!
After a few hours of photo taking, drinking Pimms in the sun and mingling, the wedding ceremony was under way! The beautiful bride, a good friend of ours from work, Jess looked absolutely stunning as she was led down the aisle to Here Comes the Sun - great wedding song!
The ceremony itself was amazing, Jess and Lawrence both looked fantastic together and all the readings that were done were really enjoyable and suited both of them so well.
Lawrence and Jess leaving their wedding ceremony to All you Need is Love (can you see the wedding song theme happening here?) - I was pretty pleased with my photography skills in this instance.
Before dinner, Amber and I mingled and drank plenty of champagne, this photo is us with a friend we made from our table - Bish and his long selfie arms!
Amber and I with the beautiful bride! Just some of the amazing people I am lucky enough to have met while living in London :-)
Bish getting his selfie arms on again!
Some pictures from the table, Jess had handmade signs made for each guest, which looked lovely.
Also, some French dessert, which was absolutely amazing.
The first dance!
After the wedding formalities, the night turned into one huge party! There was a dance floor and an abundance of spirits, including plenty of Cafe Parton! I had a fantastic time, and I am certain that most of the other guests did too! As you can see Amber and I were pretty happy by the end of the evening! It was an amazing wedding and I can only hope that the bride and groom had as good of a time as we did.
Well, that's all for now, with summer on the horizon (kind of), there will be plenty of travel and summer related blog posts to come!
XXX
