Fun in the capital with friends!

I caught up with Japh and Emi the other day (pictured above at Piccadilly Circus) - so surreal to see friends from Tassie! They're on their honeymoon over here, only in London for a few days - in Italy at present. I felt like there was so much to say, so much time and space we'd had between us. I was able to hear all about the wedding and I'd already been to Dan Cripp's website to see a few pics! We all shared a few tube observations and random impressions of London, and I agreed that I really wasn't using my time in London sightseeing. I do reserve the right to claim that I never did mention seeing Buckingham Palace in my blog header, Japh. :P
What can I say. It just doesn't look that much like I'd imagine a palace to look.


Gates of Green Park/St James? One or the other.


Ah. family. home. Japh and Emi - I felt safe with. Did I mention how good it was to see you both?


Japh was completely obsessed with feeding the squirrels.


I have to admit, I also loved it to bits.



We went to

• Green Park
• Buckingham Palace (much to my chagrin...ick. Too many tourists.)
• Hyde Park, (squirrels)
• Harrods (I did that for you, especially, Leanne)
• Piccadilly Circus
• Trafalgar Square
• Covent Garden
• Hyde Park flower walk (squirrels again)
• Kensington Gardens - Palace
• and then on the tube back to our relative stops.

(see more pics here)

So we covered a bit of ground, and only took one bus in the middle of that trip, and i only met them at lunchtime. That's what I call a full on city tour on a Friday afternoon! My lack of navigational skills around London was a bit of a chore, but I'm like most people I know and still have to use an 'A-Z street directory' to get around...Ok, so I took some of our discussions about me not seeing half of London yet, even though I've lived here almost 8 months, to heart; made a resolution with my housemates when I arrived home - to go out once a month and see something different!
At least that's a start.

I have been to heaps of lovely spots around London - there's just so many to choose from! Always something new every day. I just prefer the non-tourist route! I have a holiday coming up with my sister soon, which is a full-on Europe tour. We'll likely go to lovely touristy spots, but I still hope we find the unnoticed gems.

It's so incredible to watch movies now that feature London, even random English scenes that I've seen. They're not just clips anymore, but I feel the reality of the places. I've not only seen it with my eyes, but soaked up the (ha!) dirt on the street.

I guess that's the thing about traveling and living in other lands. Identifying with the world in some small way. Feeling your part in it.