Just another day.. living the dream in the UK!

After the semi-fail in Oxford, we had another go at being tourist. We booked a trip full of sites close to London and had a busy day of site seeing! 

We started out the day with our first at Windsor Castle. We went by coach, so I felt obligated to take a fresh pic in the morning and then another towards the end of the day :) 

         We couldn't have asked for a better day... 
                  the sky was crystal clear blue.
       We were soaking in every minute we could!

I thought this map was pretty cool. 

It shows the grounds well. 

I can see why this is the Queen's favourite place!

The history is fascinating! 

From the knights shields in 600 to the 

Kings and Queens Portraits on the walls

Jeffrey's favourite spot...           

the beauty of the gardens           

Jeffrey taking a picture of me taking a picture...

We saw a leaning house on in the 

town on the way back to the bus. 

Not sure I would want to live there!

Next stop STONEHEDGE!

From the walk up to the circle to walking around the circle, it was pretty cool. There are several large stones in a circle and we have no idea why. haha They are multiple theories for the stones... but no one really knows, even thousands of years later. So note to self.. .if i ever undergo anything as big move 3 ton stones anywhere, leave clues as to why I did it! 

Here are a few pictures - Enjoy!

After stonehenge we went a little further west to Bath for our last stop of the day. I had been to Bath before, but this was Jeff's first time. We walked around a bit and then found a spot close to the middle of town for a snack before heading back. Here are a few photos of the city. 

Overall, we had a great day. Definitely recommend Windsor Castle and Stonehenge to those coming to visit. They are well worth a day trip. We had a very busy and fulfilling day! 

We will see where the wind takes us next... stayed tuned for our next adventures!!

The city of dreaming spires - Oxford for Valentines!

Valentines day fell on a Friday this year, so we took full advantage of it! 

We started out at Friday evening at Gilly's Steakhouse for some Jazz and cocktails. It was actually a pretty gross day outside with heavy rain, but luckily we were able to avoid most it. The Jazz started around 8, so go there early for some good seats. We snagged a nice couch up close, it was perfect!

The artist playing that night were great! The girl singing was great and had played at Ronnie Scott's several times before, so she had our stamp of approval from the beginning. She didn't disappoint either! 

After a few cocktails we headed to our current favorite, steak and lobster dinner at the Hippodrome! haha rest assured though, we have not been back since Valentine's day. 

The next day we got up early and headed towards Oxford! We got there mid-afternoon and it was beautiful day! The first place we went was the local castle. It is hard to believe this castle was used as a prison less than 30 years ago! We did a full tour and it was actually heartbreaking to hear the stories of how life was there. It was pretty creepy inside but the view from the top was one of the best in the city! 

After the castle, we headed to the B&B to check and rest up for dinner. We made a booking at Turl's Street Kitchen. It was delicious little local spot that the B&B recommended. Overall it was a great meal!

We started off Sunday morning strong, but things quickly turned soured for Jeffrey :( Around 11ish he started feeling really terrible and felt awful the rest of the day. He was a great sport and we got to see a few beautiful spots before heading back to London. 

We found a popular pub for professors... The famous Turf Tavern!

                         The bridge of 'sighs'

Radcliff Camera                   

St. Mary's Cathedral

Luckily all these places were about a block from each other, so they were easy to spot. After the short walk around, we headed to the bus stop to go back to London. Oxford was beautiful and hopefully we can get to visit again soon!

2014 - The year of the Horse!

There is loads to catch up on from the last post... :) I guess that is what happens when you don't post something but once a month or so! Oh well.. here it goes from the visit home with family, NYE, getting back into the London groove, birthday celebrations, and wedding planning.

The trip home in December was everything we had hoped for and much, much more. We had a busy 2 weeks visiting with everyone, but we wouldn't have had it any other way. No need to re-cap everyone we visited and spent time with, but know that you all mean the world to us! We ended the trip with a visit to the beach and hung out with my sister on NYE. 

      We went to see a comedy show!

After these few photos were taken, I realized that I had totally gone into the 'home' mode vs 'tourist' mode, as these were the only pictures I took the whole time we were home!

We were both in a little slump after leaving home... so we decided the best way to get back in the swing of things was to go for some burger and lobster. This place only 3 things on the menu: Burger, Lobster and Lobster Rolls. So we split the Burger and Lobster of course :) 

He was trying to act like the bib..... and he succeeded!

To help round out the weekend, I went to an International Ice Sculpting Contest in Canary Warf. Despite the cool air and drizzle, it was actually pretty cool!

Here is an area view.....

The theme on Sunday was Fashion... 

this team was aiming for 3 women under an umbrella 

 They had drawings in the corner      

to help the visitors see what the end    

sculptor was suppose to look like     

This one was my favourite, with the little girl 

blowing bubbles (once she is turned around)

The next weekend was my birthday :) I was very lucky to get to celebrate the day with my mates from work at Duck and Waffle.  

                                     What a view!!!! 

     The food was pretty amazing as well!

Jeff had gotten tickets for Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club the next day. It was great! We got to see Lettuce from Boston. They played some new edge Jazz... we loved it!

It is the beginning of Jeff's busy season, so I thought it was a perfect time to do some shopping at Harrods :) This store is a whole different world in itself... each designer has it's own room in the store. 

While I may not be able to afford anything in the store, I pretended for a day and had my make-up done :)

You never know what is going to happen randomly on a Wednesday night in London.... It just happen to be a wedding show the following Wednesday at Rosewood Hotel right down the road from my work. There are a ton of people getting married at my work, so I went along with another girl, Marg. We had a ball.. they had the bubbly flowing, appetizers passed around, and a classic fashion show with an amazing runway...... 

After the wedding show, I got my butt in proper wedding mode and into all the planning! Details to come!!!
Later on we discovered a hidden gem at one our hangouts... Steak and Lobster for 13 pounds!!! What a steal! We have had it twice now and it blows our minds every time.  We recently learned that if you book online, you get a free 10 pound chip to play with too! While we have seen success at the casino the past few times we have been... I am nervous this could turn sour any minute... so we have limited the steak and lobster to 2 nights so far. But I am sure we will partake in it soon again. The last time we went it was Chinese New Year... and it turns out that 2014 is the year of the horse!