Location:London

Hello Sydney

2009-05-15T22:49:00.001-07:00

Back in town now for three weeks and I have been busy searching for work and trying to get out and soak up some of Sydney before getting back into 9-5.

Parsley Bay, Vaucluse

Walking along parsley bay past crabs ducking into oyster strewn rocks, I took a dip into the surprising clean harbour waters of Sydney Harbour.

Still exploring Vaucluse another walk took be down to Vaucluse Bay and Vaucluse House, a reminder of our colonial past.

Today took me for a walk from Neilson Park to Rose Bay along the harbour's edge, the wind was up but it was a lovely day. For those back at Bexley this is two weeks before winter officially starts. Also the island in these following photos is Shark Island.

It is good to be back. More later.

Saying Goodbye to Friends

2009-04-24T23:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for a series of fabulous leaving gatherings. Salt Ash, for the last London Book Group, was memorable for the fabulous food and clever planning by Amelia to get us a table in the best section. I promise to be a good remote Bookclub without Borders member, and true to form we don't all have to be in one place or from time to time even read a book.

Thanks Jo, for a lovely brunch at Garrison, just before my facial to finish off a relaxing day. Which followed the previous night's leaving drinks at Double Club. It is a shame I don't have any photos of most of these events, but there are many fond memories. Thanks Premelaa for putting me up in the last days and as always cooking probably the best Indian I will eat.

It was very sad leaving London and friends who I had got to know or know better whilst living in London. You will all be missed.

Bye Bye Bexley

2009-04-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

Baljit, Pauline and me

Finished up at Bexley Council on Wednesday and was taken out for lunch by the communications team which was a nice farewell after a busy week of tidying up my project. It was sad to say goodbye but hopefully some will make the trek down under, it not I will definitely stay in touch from Oz.

Richard, Peter, Bal, Pauline and John

Thanks to John and the team for helping me help promote Bexley First and for your support and time along the way. Good luck for the future.

Day trip to see the Potters

2009-03-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

June

On a lovely sunny Sunday, last weekend I went to have lunch with Les and June Potter. My great grand mother was June's grand mother. June is dad's cousin as her mum was his aunt (my great aunt). That would make June and Les's children Gary, Angela and Linda my 3rd cousins and Elle-May my fourth. Angela's daughter Tara has just had a little girl Rose who would be 5th.

Gary and Tracy

Sunday Lunch - Ellie, June, Les, Angela and Tracy

Denis, Gary and Tracy

We had a great roast with all the trimmings. If any of the Potters (or extended family) visit Australia they would be made very welcome, probably with a family BBQ.

After lunch Gary gave me a lift to Colchester and I had a look at the Castle, learning about the Romans conquering the local britons and setting up Colchester as their capital in Britain. This didn't last long as the locals about 20 years later staged an uprising led by their Leader, Boudicca - there were no Roman survivors. Not sure if there are any blood connections going this far back ??

Colchester Castle

Fab time in Berlin

2009-03-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Berlin turned out to be a real surprise, it was interesting and welcoming. We ate, drank, had fun and saw the sites, what could be better.

This is one of the most amazing buildings I have seen, it stood directly opposite the Reichstag, the german parliament and the contrast of buildings was quite something.

But the Reichstag building is not as old as it looks, originally built in 1884 it was ruined by Red Army air raids in 1945. In 1961 it was rebuilt then in the dome designed by british architect Norman Foster was added in 1999. We didn't get into see the dome because the line was too long, but maybe on another visit.

Continuing on the history trip, after hiring some bikes, we found the remains of the Berlin wall. Peddled around Berlin really is the best way to see the town. Apart from freezing hands it was a great afternoon. However probably not the best thing to do before a night of NYE dancing.

Later tonight we would be back to celebrate the beginning of 2009.

Great snack after a hard day's bike riding.

One more day in Vienna

2009-02-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

A short trip outside of the city to Schonburnn Palace in search of a maze and labyrinth. After finding out the maze hedges have any leaves we went for a stroll.

Gatekeeper

Looking back at the Palace

Looking forward to the summer house

trouble in the garden

N to the rescue

Lots of fun.

More Vienna

2009-02-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

After moving hotel to a much nicer part of town we set out to see some more sights but only after a quick snack. This was the tastiest pizza we have had since Australia and for desert I had to try an 'ice cream' cone in the middle of winter, it turned out to be mock cream.

Now for some sites.

the ferris wheel that inspired the London Eye

Museum of Fine Arts

our taxi home?

2 Days in Vienna

2009-02-01T07:47:00.000-08:00

Before we went to Berlin for NYE Noran and I wanted to have a look around Vienna, so we planned a short visit. It was cold but you soon got used to that and we had fun looking around the city and the outskirts. Being Christmas all the lights and decorations were up and the city looked amazing at night.

Imperial Palace

Town Hall

Noran enjoying one of the few remaining countries without a ban on smoking inside.

We found our way back the hotel after a quick look around town.

wee weekend in scotland

2008-11-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

We stayed at a fantastic place called Windy Yet in a town called Avonbridge half way between Edinburg and Glasgow. The weekend was great looking out onto Scottish farmlands and sampling the local fare.

Whilst looking for the Bathgate farmers market we found a bird display, with local hunting birds on show, probably not the most animal friendly activity but the birds looked like they were well looked after. We took a couple of photos.

Asking a stall holder (turned out to be the Mayor) where we could find some local produce we were directed to a local butcher and bought the best leg of lamb roast which was slow roasted (thanks Amelia) for dinner on Saturday night and lasted to a Sunday gourmet bubble and squeak breakfast.

Claire and Amelia

Breakfast

Andrew and Claire

End of a great weekend. Will definatly head back to Scotland.

Somewhere in the Middle of England

2008-11-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

With the aim of getting out of the city into the English country we went to visit Ben, who happily agreed to go for a drive to Henley-on-Thames and to stop at some places in between.

which road ?

lock keepers house

Moss roof

parking on the Thames

Henley-on-Thames

look who found a record store - well it was raining

ben browsing

We had a fun weekend.

Chalk Farm

2008-11-09T07:08:00.000-08:00

your correspondents' desks

We have been a bit slack on the blog front and there are no really good excuses, except that we weren't online for some time. It made me realise how much I rely on information from online sources and using it to stay in touch. Well all is good now and each of us can happily be online at the same time and email each other - don't laugh it did happen!

But we have been getting outdoors as well with a quick trip to Reading and the surrounding areas with Noran's mate Ben (see blog above) also the backyard provided some fun in the snow last week.

Also we seem to have adopted a new flat mate, who goes by the name of Mr (Roger) Biggles. Who may not spend so much time here if we didn't feed him, but then he looks pretty comfy.

Yes, I do have a new camera and am still learning !

Family Visits - July

2008-09-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

July was a fun month for catching up with family, Lynne, Shyamal (Noran's Mum and Dad), Lois (Nan) and Gemma flew in to London and we went to our favorite place Borough Markets to sample some fresh produce.

Lynne and Gemma

Noran and Lois

Noran and Shyamal

In the same week, I caught up with Helen and Rachel Kekwick, also at London Bridge. Rachel has since been over for dinner to our place in Belsize, it has been great to meet in another country, not having known one another in Australia.

Helen Kekwick - Dad's sister's [Shirley] son's [David] wife Helen.

Helen and Rachel, who is now living and working in London.

Australia Vs South Africa

2008-09-08T13:11:00.001-07:00

What to do when you want to be amongst a group of Australians and can't afford a ticket home. Even though the score was 2 all and Australia could have played better we had a fun night.

Harry wasn't on the pitch this night - which was a shame.

Claire, Noran, Nicole and Bernadette in the stands.

Haven't seen this one at home, I am sure it would take-off during the summer cricket season, he would just need a pair of stubbies at the appropriate angle.

Exploring Ireland

2008-07-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

Our New Home In Belsize Park

2008-06-22T10:25:00.001-07:00

Things are settling down now we have moved into Belsize and having fun just staying in. It feels nice to have live in a place with a proper kitchen and living area, which wouldn't have been possible if Andrew hadn't negotiated a very reasonable rent with the landlord. Bad news is that we only have it until September, or until the end of summer but it promises to be a good one.

After spending a few days chopping down branches and clearing up the back yard we are now ready to hold a BBQ next weekend. The next task is to build the BBQ.

Noran right at home in the spare room.

Sunny Sunday Afternoon

2008-06-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

Claire, Andrew, Noran and I out for a few pints and some pizza at the Landsdown in Primrose Hill, near Camden. Relaxing on a sunny afternoon.

Walk in the Heath

2008-06-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hampstead Heath is only 15 minutes walk from Belsize Park and is a lovely location for an afternoon stroll. Also for the brave there are ponds you can swim in, which would be great fun with a group of friends on a sunny day. But today we left it to the ducks.

Other photos along the way.

Trip to Essex

2008-06-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

Taz came to the UK to visit his family and invited us to get out of London for a night in Essex. We caught the train and in no time we were walking into a friend of Taz's house with this lovely garden, set up for a visiters who came by to see Taz.

Later that night Taz and Noran played some tracks.

After a fun night of chatting and a few glasses of champagne we made caught the last train back to London.

Long Weekend in France

2008-05-29T15:40:00.001-07:00

Vince's mum's farmhouse in the Loire Valley, in the area called La Guyardiere just outside of the village of Mansigne about 45 km from Le Mans. This tranquil place was a treat at the end of a somewhat troublesome journey from Paris.

On Thursday afternoon, we caught the Eurostar from King Cross, London to Gare de Nord, Paris and stayed overnight in a dodgy room, which was the only one available close to the station. The next day we visited Vince's mum to collect they keys to the farmhouse (by taxi after being advised we could walk to our to the Metro stop, but the destination was confused by our pronunciation of it and it turned out to be a 30min taxi ride, we should have just stayed at the station and caught the metro, we will know next time) about mid afternoon we boarded the slow (and much cheaper than the TGV) train to Le Mans.

Fortunately we got there just in time before the Avis office closed and we where able to hire a car to get to Mansigne. We finally arrived, after many a few wrong turns, entirely due to our miss-interpretation of the directions we were provided. We arrived in Mansigne only a few km from our destination, but couldn't find the way, so we stopped a number of times to ask for directions from locals, but could not communicate due to our lack of French. With the sun going and still not in a warm room settling in for the night, we stopped again to ask for help, but this time with a trusty pen and paper in hand and we received a map which we followed and found the house, just before darkness fell at 10pm. It was very generous of Vince's mum to have a cold bottle of wine in the fridge which was opened with some relief. The trip was well worth it though.

The next day we woke ready to explore the area. We got back in the car, feeling more accustomed to driving on the right hand side of the narrow country roads, we set out toward the town of Le Lude and visit Chateau Le Lude.

Chateau Le Lude

The chateau was amazing. On the way back to Mansigne we stopped into the local butcher and grocer to get dinner. Noran lit the fire, over which we cooked our steaks, then sat down to a tasty meal.

The next day we decided to venture further, in the drizzling (much to Noran's delight) rain we drove to Tours and onward to the Loire River in search of more Chateau's. After a few wrong turns we were rewarded with a view of the Chataeu De Legende in Usse. Safely parking the car we wondered back in time to explore this 15th Century building.

Chateau De Legende in the town of Usse

King Louis XIV ??

We jumped back in the car and following our trusty map, promptly got lost but found at treat on a narrow road following the Loire, the village of Brehemont.

Driving though vineyards we found our way back on the road to Mansigne for another night in. The next day we headed back to LeMans and then after dropping of the car got on the train back to Paris to visit some friends of Norans.

We mastered the metro and saw some tourist sights of Paris.

Back on the Eurostar we headed toward London after a what turned out to be a fun experience in France.

Spring in the Gardens

2008-05-12T13:52:00.001-07:00

It's Monday night after a weekend of weather we would never have expected this early in the year, lets hope it stays like this throughout summer.

On Sunday I went for a walk to Victoria Park in Hackney, then back through London Fields with the rest of East London enjoying the sun and open spaces.

I missed my model this day and found it a bit weird taking photos of strangers in the park, when do you ask permission without wrecking the scene that a few moments earlier looked interesting. So I stuck to the wildlife.

Day at the Markets with my favourite model

2008-05-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

These photos are of Broadway Market one of the many streets in London that appear out of nowhere and once found we keep returning to. Stoke Newington is another area in the east we came accross by accident and were rewarded by funky pubs and the first Dosa we found in London.

Once again Noran's patience shines through, firstly food market shopping (which he does give into without too much effort, particularly given the lure of french soft cheese and parma ham) and then agreeing to be my trusty subject matter.

Happy Birthday Noran

2008-05-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

Lunch at Spurstowe, a pub Andrew chose for it's well deserved reputation for excellent pub food, in Hackney near London Fields for Noran's birthday. Just don't have the wood pigeon if you aren't prepared for the taste.

Some photos of with friends and some others who joined us from the US.

Then back on Broadway Market at the Dove Kitchen & Freehouse which has a huge range of beers (Strawberry beer and Hoegaarden featured here).

Day at the Football

2008-05-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

It is pretty much impossible to get Liverpool tickets so we chose this game to see what Premier League football is like live. So Saturday of the Bank holiday long weekend and Noran and I holding tickets to the Fulham vs Birmingham City relegation battle headed off to Craven Cottage near Putney in London. But first we needed to eat to give us energy for the match ahead, so it was hamburgers at a cute pub on the Themes, with a number of other fans.

The local security were out in large numbers and there were no major incidents, with unruly fans, they left this one alone.

We took our seats in the neutral area behind the goal and had a great view of the pitch as the game kicked off.

Half time found us with a plastic beer bottle in hand and the score 0-0 hoping the game would improve. As we headed back in it was a good thing N didn't have to line up in the boys que, which for once was significantly longer than the women's.

The second half brought two Fulham goals and none to Birmingham, steering Fulham away from relegation and a stadium full of mostly happy fans.

London From the Thames

2008-05-03T15:37:00.001-07:00

The Gurkin ...

and the Onion (Boris's new home)

next to somewhat older architecture of Tower Bridge

I took these photos on a weekend we spent looking at areas to live around London Bridge, but luckily now we are going to move into Andrew's place at Belsize Park. So instead of small studio in an area where you pay heaps to get something small, we will share a terrace house with two bathrooms, a back yard and a great living space. Yay! We are moving in on 17 May.

Settree Family History in the East End

2008-03-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

The posting of a random photo taken around Shoreditch turned out to be the key to finding out more about Noran's mum's family background in the East End. The photo in a previous post shows St Leonards Church on Shoreditch High Street. After seeing this on the blog Noran's Aunty Janet emailed us to say that this is where their mum's and grandmother's family (Settree and Morrow) were married and baptised.

So inspired by this coincidence and information provided to us by Janet before we left, revealing that James Settree (N's Great Great Grandfather) lived in Hosier Lane near Smithfield Meat Markets and his wife Ann Morrow lived in Worship Court, we set off to discover what these areas now looked like. The first stop was Smithfield Meat Markets,

and then onto Hosier Lane just around the corner. Unfortunately, the street is now lined with office blocks but still we walked down street it and took photos much to the concern of passers by.

This park was on the roundabout which leads onto Hosier Lane.

and some street art at the other end of Hosier Lane.

As we walked on toward Worship Street the rain began to fall. Whilst trying to find shelter down Worship street we saw no evidence of Worship Court. However, Worship Street does lead onto the beginning of Curtain Road where Noran and I first stayed in Shoreditch, little did we know. At this point the rain turned to sleet bringing a prompt end to our history walk back on Curtain Road.

This is the first of a few journey's into the past. We plan to step into Shoreditch Church to unearth some parish records on James Settree, then off to West Ham to see where my Grandmother was born, also a quick trip to North Colchester to visit dad's cousin and a trip to the Lakes District to find out more about the Settree's.

Hope you are all having a fun easter break.

Train Ride to Newbury

2008-03-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

Hello, Sunday night and we have just returned from a trip to Newbury to visit Ben (friend of Noran's) and to see some of the English countryside. We were rewarded by a relaxing weekend, with the pheasants, finches, hedgehogs and moles (only actually seeing two of these four locals).

Donnington Castle was built in 1386 and only some of it remains on the top of Donnington Hill over looking the town of Newbury in Britains south. Approval for its construction was given by Richard II. Royalist forces held the castle throughout an 18 month parliamentary seige (during the 1644 civil war) which ended in an honorary withdrawal.

Another history lesson came at the antique markets at Hungerford. They had roman jewellery for sale from the 1st and 2nd century, it was quite something actually seeing these everyday pieces outside of a museum.

Ofcourse we had a few pints, watched a football game and had a lovely Sunday roast home cooked by Ben's mum.

Garden at Ben's parents place - you can't see the mole holes

Kingsland Road

2008-03-07T01:55:00.001-08:00

For all those who are curious, this is where we are living at the moment, small but nice to have a place to ourselves. It is great to cook, as good as Song Que is we do need to save some money.

Our address is Unit 9, 270-276 Kingsland Road, LONDON, E8 4DG. We have a locked mail box if you want to send us anything through the post.

Little differences between London and Sydney - toilet paper rolls are wider, pillows are longer, trains come more regularly, haircuts are way more expensive, almost everything is organic, our TV news is better, SMH copies from the Guardian, London train newspapers are trashier.

Shots from around Shoreditch.

Oslo

2008-02-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

Looking back at Oslo from Holmenkollen

(read Arctic Adventure post first and this is then in sequence)

After arriving at Oslo and walking through what reminded us of a skanky corner of The Cross, we were relieved to step out into Oslo centre and explore much nicer spaces. The architecture throughout is much like the building below.

Noran in the town centre

Our nights out were fun, particularly the first one at the Nomaden Club. Noran had emailed ahead to both venues saying we wanted to see both DJ’s (you couldn't buy tickets ahead of time) and our names were on the door at both places (yay free entry). Further, one club owner and the other club's door man were expecting us and we got to meet both DJs, making both nights great. Yes we took photos, but we had come a long way and they didn’t mind. I think they considered us mad and all were curious about Australia.

12 pm at Nomaden started my birthday celebrations with a round of Jagermister on the house. It was a small welcoming place with low wooden beams, dim lights and walls covered in event posters and cool wallpaper. We danced, met people and had heaps of fun. Noran now has some good music contacts in Norway.

The next day we explored Oslo further and found the groovy end of town, good coffee and great sandwiches.

Coffee at, 5 times world champion barista, Tim Wendelboe's coffee house

Oslo Harbour

Back to the hotel for a glass of champagne (what else) and then off to one of the many local Vietnamese restaurants for a quick dinner, than to see Prins Thomas. Another good night to finish the celebrations.

Frognerseteren

On day three we thought we would get out of town and explore the snow fields around Oslo. Catching the metro train from the centre of Oslo up the surrounding hills to Frognerseteren. People get off the train straight onto cross country ski tracks or taboggan down trails. It was great seeing the snow, I am now inspired to try some cross country skiing and Noran wants toboggan which also looks fun (they have these cool toboggans which you can steer down the tracks). One thing we wont be doing is this.

Ski Jump at Holmenkollen built for the 1952 Winter Olympics

We did wish we could speak some Norwegian, rather than everyone having to speak to us in English.

We said good by to Oslo early the next morning wondering how they keep the runways free of snow. It was a great trip one that we will remember.

Arctic Adventure

2008-02-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

Tromso

Our decision to go to Norway was based on very little research, Noran saw that his favourite producer Linstrom and DJ Prins Thomas were playing in their home country and I thought it would be great to see the Northern Lights. So we booked our tickets on Norwegien airlines, not realising the long list of items required to make it all happen. We shopped for shoes, thermals, jumpers, socks, hats to make sure we would be warm in the Arctic. All packed we set off for an adventure we will not forget.

It was well worth the effort and even though we only saw a sneaky bit of the northern lights through the clouds on our first night in Tromso. However, in the search of clearer skys we booked a trip to the town of Sykervoy, probably the most north we will get in our life times. From here we caught a ferry back to Tromso through a number of fjords.

Ferry from Skejervoy to Tromso

It was brilliant seeing the moon reflect off these enormous mountains coming out of the water either side of the ferry. I bought a tripod to take photos which although somewhat dark captured some of the peaks.

Fjord just off Skejervoy

arriving back to Tromso

Another indulgence was a dinner to sample some food cooked locally, after much searching we found the Arctandria seafood restaurant. Cod was the specialty and now is the the best time to eat it. We were rewarded with a very tasty meal, I wasn’t allowed to take photos so you will have to take my word for it. Almost getting used to the Pound v AUD we had try hard not to continually calculate the Norwegian Kroner (norky’s) to the Australian dollar. Just for fun post your guesses at how much this round was, two pilsners and two gold snapps.

The Arctic experience was awesome and definitely recommended for anyone heading this way.

Brighton Weekend

2008-02-19T08:46:00.001-08:00

Noran and I took our first trip out of London to Brighton to visit some of Nick's old friends. We had a great weekend and can understand why so many people have said good things about it (Ed & Kate). Especially once we found our way off the beach with some help of the locals.

Danny and Elise leading us over the hill to the Constant Service. Brighton is much larger than we thought.

A few hours later Antonia and Justin join the group

Lunch the next day back at the Constant Service a slow cooked pork roast (Justin had put it on the night before) delicious

Year of the Rat

2008-02-13T12:23:00.000-08:00

Wishing all of you born in 1936, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96 or 2008 a Happy Year of the Rat. People born in a Rat year are said to be logical realists, shrewd, ambitious and inventive, they are usually charming, quick-witted and intelligent. It is a very social sign, rat people tend to be very talkative and are almost never found sitting quietly on their own. They have broad interests and strong ability in adapting to the environment and able to react adequately to any changes.

Apparently a Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity and renewal (great). It is a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a project or make a fresh start (that sounds better). The best way to success is to be patient, let things develop slowly (i can work on patience) and make the most of every opportunity.

Claire (Rat) and your London correspondents (Rat and Goat) waited in the que at the Royal China restaurant to sample some Dim Sum (Yum Cha) to celebrate Chinese New Year. Our patience was rewarded with some very tasty dim sum, duck pancakes and a lap around the restaurant by two dragons with accompanying drums.

So much for Chinese Astrology we had a fun day.

Tourists in London

2008-02-13T02:53:00.000-08:00

We decided to take the day off from job searching and have a look around town. You can guess the places we visited.

Prem warned us about Brick Lane ... but we went anyway

2008-02-13T01:31:00.000-08:00

Brick Lane is quite close by and we walk down it a bit now, but somewhat wiser than the first couple of times.

Our initial search for a curry was a little overwhelming, but funny looking back. This was due to the array of discounts, offers and creative sales pitches tossed at us as we walked past each restaurant. The enticements included: "what do you drink, we give you a beer, the lady wine and 20% off, we promise to make you smile", then onward, "we give you 25% off and a bottle of wine, we have quality food and best service", next, "we have quality food, the others will give you small portions and big discounts, you will leave us happy", further on, "I promise you wont pay if you don't like, we have best chef in Brick lane, look the Guardian says ". Bewildered we walk into the last one probably not the best offer but a bottle of wine sounded like a good idea by then. The meal was not the best we have had, but then we were warned, so the next indian meal will be found elsewhere.

In the day, the apprentice touters must be on duty and it is not so hectic. We had a lovely lunch with Ange, Claire and Laure, which I thought the food was better, but still not the best. On a more recent wonder we found some really tasty potato cakes (aloo tikki) and the search is on for Masala dosa, apparently we need to go to Eastham to find this.

It is a really interesting street with lots of history. One end is the indian section and up the other there are bars, shops and a well attended local establishment, the Bagel House. We are told it has been in Brick Lane forever and has stacks of fresh bagels made in-house filling it's cabinets. Some with creme cheese and salmon and others with what looks like big chunks of corned beef. We are working up to trying the latter - must be good though as the que never subsides.

We will return to explore further, Brick Lane is close by and just near Spittlefield Markets/shops which unsurprisingly keeps luring me back.

The best of british food

2008-01-31T06:28:00.000-08:00

Breakfast

Lunch (Noran's Selection)

oops some greens

Dinner

Just the way to end the week with a Sunday roast and a pint. This actually tasted better than it looks and for 8 pounds we were happy.

So as not to create an unbalanced view of the cuisine on offer, we had a great Vietamese meal around the corner. This area is also called Little Hanoi and we have a huge selection of vietnamese places which is great to get a fix of noodles, salt and pepper squid and rice paper rolls. We left the rice paper rolls and vietnamese pancakes for another day, but went for duck and salt & pepper squid. All very tasty. Felt a little like being at home.

Tate Modern

2008-01-31T04:59:00.000-08:00

Catching up on some postings. Last weekend after the Borough Markets we went to the Tate Modern with Andrew and Danielle, to see amongst other things the Spider and the Crack. The Crack is below and the Spider had moved on so no photos.

We also saw a great retrospective of Juan Munoz, a Spanish Sculptor, whose work focused on the themes of communication and the perspective of the viewer in relation to his art, (who is often excluded with sculptures turning away from viewer). Very interesting and I am sure one of many trips to the Tate Modern.

Happily we got in to the exhibition as guests on Andrew and Danielle's Members passes, which also gave us access to the Members room & bar. Photos below were taken from here.

More soon.

Selina.

Your London Correspondents

2008-01-27T13:30:00.001-08:00

From the roof top

2008-01-27T12:29:00.001-08:00

>
Luckily we found a great place to stay for three weeks which is close to the city and will buy us some time to find a place to rent. It is only a short walk to Liverpool Street Station, Spittlefield Markets, Columbia road markets and lots of other places we are still to discover. There is also any number of bars outside of our front door, organic food markets and restaurants. All good for our introduction to London.

Market Days

2008-01-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

Borough Markets

Had heaps of fun wondering around Borough food markets, another tip from Andrew. The markets are soooo good. Fantastic food, especially cheese, deli meat and bread....

oh and coffee :)

We will be back next weekend to buy some food and vegies we haven't eaten before like kale or get an ostrich burger. So far we have been eating well though kebabs, street stall sausage sandwiches and packaged dinners. Soon we will start cooking and borough markets has provided some inspiration.

Columbia Road Flower Markets

This is the place to go for some good value flowers, best of all it is only down the road from where we are living in Shoreditch and a nice way to start the day. If you go mid-morning you will be welcomed by "three for a fiver" or "only a tenner" as the prices are marked down.

Later we walked down to Spittlefield markets to meet up with Ange and then sat down for a curry in Bricklane. It was fun to see friends in a another city, like a little holiday away except you are at home. Looking forward to seeing more over here.

We managed not to buy anything at Spittlefield old or new markets but I think I have done enough damage to my bank balance for a week or so. Speaking of which should get to some banking.

More soon.

Selina.

Where can we find a good coffee in this town?

2008-01-25T11:30:00.001-08:00

We had big expectations for this coffee stall at Camden markets, but no we where again sadly disappointed. Over the last week we have discovered the secret to a half decent coffee, ask for less milk in or a double shot. This doesn't always work but then it is worth it when it does. Thinking about starting the "Where is proper coffee in London" blog and getting some sponsorship from someone who makes a good cup. Maybe Toby's London??

I think we have found it - had the best coffee yesterday at Borough Markets, bought some beans and got a recommendation for a good place in the city, run by Australians, called Flat White.

I also got a good coffee today, at the hairdressers, he said the English aren't interested in coffee they see it as a hot beverage not a coffee to get the day started. Maybe that's why the Aussies have started there own cafe.

More later.

Don't Eat Mints and walk outside on a cold day

2008-01-24T14:51:00.001-08:00

One street up from Andrew's flat in Belsize Park.

Negotiated the tube from Heathrow to a warm house in Belsize Park, the first blessing, so much better than staying in some anonymous room in London. We have started to look for a one bedroom apartment, after spending a few days looking for flats. It seems the only way to get something will be to lift the price we are prepared to pay. So to buy some time I followed up on a room share in Shoreditch. It turned out to be a great space over looking city rooftops, right in Zone 1 (the middle of London).

Andrew and Claire made our transition to the London really easy. We have been to a couple of great pubs, below is the Hollybush in Hampstead. The our first Sunday arvo was spent at the Greater Union across town in Westbourne Grove. Second lesson - remember tube lines tend to go down over the weekend due to maintenance work and you are likely to catch a bus, which was fine if you have an hour to get to where your are going, but you do get to see the suburbs from the front of a double decker bus which is fun.

Noran and Claire

Still haven't bought a warm jacket but am actively looking, same goes for work. Have been to Michael Page, met up with a recommended contact and tomorrow have a follow-up meeting with another recruiter.

Now we are settled in Shoreditch for a few weeks I can really start looking for work.

More tomorrow.
Selina.