Royal Garden Party

 

On Tuesday the 3rd of June, I had the immense pleasure of attending the Royal Garden Party with 3 wonderful ladies. The first question everyone has asked me is 'how did you get invited?' Obviously, it is because I am very important! In reality, the Australian Embassy has an allotment of invites which Australian residents can apply for and I was lucky enough to secure one of these invites. I highly recommend applying - it is the social event of the year!

 

We arrive at Buckingham Palace and wait among the guests to enter the front courtyard of the Palace. We are ushered past the guards (not willing to ask them to pose for a photo) to pass through two reception rooms, both ornately decorated. We emerge onto the West Terrace overlooking the largest private garden in London (and it is huge!). The sun was shining as we descended the stairs to explore the gardens before Tea was served.

We are served cold drinks and tea, and an assortment of delicacies (including cucumber with mint sandwiches!). I loaded up plated with as much as I could carry as I didn't want to miss a thing! 

The Queen and Royal family were due to arrive in the Gardens at 4, so after we ate our afternoon tea we headed to the Royal Tent to begin forming 'lanes' to which the members of the Royal family would walk down. 10 minutes before the Queen was due to arrive it began raining. Due to rain, we missed the band play God Save the Queen to mark the arrival of the Royal Family - we waited anxiously unsure if Queen would come out in the rain! 

 

 

After a short while, the rain cleared and the Beefeaters emerged to help organise the lanes in which the Royal Family were walking down! This excitement causes us to start to wonder 'what do we call the Queen when she comes past?' (answer: Her Royal Majesty). Shortly, a reverential silence comes over the crowd and as I strain my neck I get my first glimpse of the Queen. She looked amazing in a yellow outfit. Soon afterwards she was scurrying past us into the Royal Tent.
 


Shortly, through another lane, Prince Phillip pops up and makes a comment on my shoes! I am not entirely sure what he said but I definitely think he was implying that they were mouldy!

 

Last but not least, Prince Charles, comes strolling down the final lane, umbrella in hand! He stops to chat to guests along the way, trying to talk to as many as he can. Eventually he stops and talks to us, chatting to us about the weather and if we were enjoying our day. It was an incredibly surreal experience to say that I had spoken to Prince Phillip and Prince Charles.

After half hour or so in the tent, we formed one long line and ushered the Royal Family back to Buckingham Palace.

We continued to bask in the sunshine in the amazing gardens! Until at 6pm, the band once again played God Save the Queen to mark the end of the garden party. We left the glorious gardens and emerged into the Central Palace Courtyard - its truly a rare experience to be on the inside of the gates, emerging as one of the fortunate few to be invited within the inner sanctum that is Buckingham palace.

Giro D'Italia & The North Coast of Ireland

 

In May, the Giro D'Italia commenced in Northern Ireland. We decided to fly over for the weekend as the race went straight through Ben's hometown. I had no idea what to expect from a cycling race and it was over in 90 seconds - blink and you could miss it! Disappointingly it was pouring with rain in the morning as the race travelled from Belfast up through the North Coast of Ireland and back to Belfast. However, we were incredibly lucky as the sun came out on the Saturday afternoon as we headed up the coast, perfect for walking, relaxing and admiring the stunning vistas.

Warsaw!

For a town that was largely destroyed during WWII, there is a strong spirit of hope and resilience. It is a town that was deliberately annihilated by the Nazi's as a repression of the Polish resistance. After the war, the Old Town was meticulously rebuilt to create an exact replica of what stood before. It was a beautiful place full of colourful houses, lively squares with hidden streets to explore.

Highlights of the trip include:
*Walking Tour - we participated in the both the Old Town and Jewish Walking Tours. These tours were incredibly informative and interesting
* Uprising Musuem - this musuem provides a first hand account of the thousands of Poles who fought back against the Nazi forces in 1944 for a heroic 63 days of resistance.
* Lazienki Park - a peaceful park in the middle of the city, stroll through the park enjoying the peacocks, feeding the red squirrels and admiring the magnificent Palace on the Water.

Cornwall!

Cornwall is a truly magnificient part of England - full of the nicest and friendliest people. The water is so clear and such amazing shades of blue that it is easy to forget that you are in England at all. It is a place that you can do nothing but relax and enjoy the great outdoors, the good food and drinks.

The Easter Weekend saw Ben and I travel and explore the beauty of Cornwall. We arrived in St Ives at lunchtime on Friday to see the Brits enjoying the sunshine and the beach - for me it was still too cold and I was definitely the odd one out wearing my winter coat! We checked into our amazing accomodation, Lamorna Lodge (which has gorgeous views of Carbis Bay from both the patio and bedrooms. Not to mention the amazing breakfasts which are included!) before we decided to explore the town and the beaches.

Saturday was spent exploring part of the South West Coastal Walk, Land's End (England's most South Westerly Point), St Michael's Mount (which is an occupied castle on an Island - can you imagine living there?) and the beach of Carbis Bay before watching the sunset over St Ives.

After amazing weather on Friday and Saturday, we woke to gloomy skies on Sunday. Ben and I still decided to persevere with our plans and proceeded to hike from our accommodation along the South West Coast to Zennor. However, half way through the 8 mile walk it began to rain and we were very glad when we arrived at lunch at a traditional English Pub to thaw out and relax.

Monday and it was time to head back to London, but first we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at Rick Stein's first restaurant, The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow. We arrived early and took in a walk around the town and along the beaches, building our appetite for an amazing meal.