And so it begins...

27th December - After the perfect Christmas, many sad goodbyes, lots of tears and the stress of packing at the last minute (32kgs later, plus at least 10kgs in my hand luggage), my adventure around the world had begun. The 10 hour flight to Dubai was surprisingly bearable, all be it after a Valium and little sleep for the past two days. I slept most of the way which was great. Wasn't in Dubai long before boarding my flight to London. This flight was OK, didn't sleep although watched lots of TV. Finally after 22hours I touched down at Heathrow. Stepping off the plane, I took a deep breath and savoured the moment for a minute, the cold air hit me and I knew I was in London...My new home for the next year or so. I was met by Emma and Tim and what a reunion it was! After five months away it was so good to see her, she even made a sign for me. We then ventured on the tube to my new home in Parsons Green. It is a beautiful little suburb right next to Fulham and down the road from Chelsea and Wimbledon. Lots of famous soccer players and even actors live around here. My first day and i was met with a Maserati and Lamborghini parked down the road. People have lost of ££ around here! My flat is nice, the worst in the area yet still comfortable. 4 bedrooms, extremely small bathroom, a toilet which you pull the chain to flush and a nice little kitchen. I have 2 Italian housemates, Andrea and Rosa and an Australian Tom, whom are all lovely and very easy to live with. Emma and I share a room. We had welcoming drinks upon my arrival and i went to bed about midnight. The 8 hour time difference is a pain at times.




28th December - My first day in London was very cruisy. after a skype date with mum and dad we ventured (on a Double Decker red bus ofcourse: )) down to one of the local shopping centres called Wandsworth (its a bit like Belmont only better)! I brought my quilt, pillows and all that boring stuff that I needed. We we got home and i tried to make my room as homely as possible and i think I've done a pretty good job. Emma then had to go to work. She works at a local bar called the Fulham Mitre, which is renowned in the area (Pat Cash is a frequent visitor there)! Tim and I walked her to walk and then went and had Cocktails at Elk bar. Very nice bar with beautiful red decor and even better that they do two for one cocktails and £2.95 Mojitos on a Thursday. We then had dinner at Emma's pub which was lovely, i had a great night! 


29th December - Day two in London saw me again rise and shine at 5am. A few tears were had today as it was all starting to catch up with me. After the tears we went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Hyde Park itself was mesmerising but Winter Wonderland was incredible. Its like the royal show only 100000 times better. Lots of great food, mulled wine, nifty gift stalls, rides and even an ice skating rink. I was VERY impressed and began to realise that London certainly is for me. We then came home and i burnt out. Slept from about 2pm to 5am the next morning. Emma had to take Tim to the airport, whilst i  was sleeping as he flew back to Australia.


30th December - After my much needed sleep, I woke up today feeling not so great and unfortunately more tears where had. It finally hit me that i had left my Perth life behind and moved to London. A bit scary really, seeing as though Ive never lived out of home, let alone in a country a million miles away. After a good skype with mum and cuddles with Em, i felt a lot better. Never have i thought I'm not doing the right thing, as i know i so am, i just got a little homesick that's all. Nothing better than some retail therapy to make me happy. Em and I hit the tube and made our way to Oxford Circus (the centre of London) which had some great shops. I was introduced to the world of Primark, H & M, Zara and so much more! I was a little overwhelmed and didn't buy a lot. Just took it all in and brought some gifts to send home. We also went to M&M world which i felt like a kid in a candy store, actually i really was a kid in a candy store it was great! Very much though of the Forrestfield Amcal girls here as im sure we have shares in the place! Then on the way home we decided to hit HARRODS and boy was that a great decision. It was incredible, completely blew my expectations and is beyond amazing. Levels and Levels of food, gifts, clothes and everything in between. Even a pet shop and salon. The toilets where even perfect!! My shitty start to the day had definitely improved a hundred times over. As Emma had the night off which was unusual for a Friday, we hit the town in Soho for some cocktails...Perfect end to the day.


31st of December - New Years Eve...As all my friends were heading off to Perth cup back home i slept in and then ventured down to do some food shopping whilst Emma went to work. I seem to be spending all of my money on food, surprise surprise. I certainly appreciate Mum and Dad even more now!  Especially when i had to hand over £400 for rent! Living at home is the best, yet we all have to leave someday : ) I was back in time to ring in the Perth new year by Skyping Mum and then Penni and Qui which was perfect. I also got to speak to Eden, Jarrad and Felicia back home today and emails with Lisa in NYC, which was lovely. I then got organised and packed some snacks for our night. We had decided we would head to the London Eye and watch the fireworks with 250,000 other people. We went with Emma's friend Ben who was great and is going to take me Celeb spotting (pays to have friends in all the right places)! Lets just say tonight was a once in a life time experience which i will never forget. Watching the fireworks, surrounded by so many people, drinking champagne on the Embankment of the River Thames, with the London Skyline in the background, it couldn't get much better than this. It was the Best New Years ever. Getting home was an effort as you can imagine, with all those people trying to get on tubes but after an hour or so we made it through the door and i was still smiling from ear to ear. I made the best decision in coming for New Years!


1st January 2012 - New Years Day we woke to find people facebooking both Emma and I saying we had made the channel 7 news back home. HILARIOUS. After being in London for less than a week and I had already made the news. After awhile Emma's sister sent us the Link so we could watch it. Thank god they didn't play the bit where i was speaking. I rambled some shit, as i was a little star struck, lucky Ben knew all the right things to say. For those who haven't seen my 2 seconds of fame (literally) you can watch it here http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/video/perth/-/watch/27752957
After the excitement of the morning Em and I ventured out to Camden Markets, which probably wasn't the best decision as it was an extremely wet and windy day, but hey we are in London. The markets were very cool. Looks of quirky stalls, great Indian food which they all give you samples, to try and rope you in and just walking around was perfect. I brought some boots for myself as we literally walk everywhere here and my boots from home are very worn out. My legs also don't know whats hit them. After Camden we had an early night. Still getting used to the fact it is pitch black at 4pm!


2nd January - Woke up to the sun shining today which was beautiful. The agenda called for Buckingham Palace. So off we went taking the tube out to Green Park. Clearly many other people had thought Buckingham Palace was the place to be today as well. It was packed! But hey, after new years we can handle any crowd! We were just in time to watch the changing of the guard ceremony which was great to see. The palace itself is spectacular, the buildings all over London are just beautiful and so historical. Then it was off into Piccadilly ( I love all the monopoly names) to Fortnum and Mason. A place mum had recommended we go. How right she was! Its basically 4 stories of food (a restaurant on each level plus cakes and other food), gifts, jewellery and everything else in between. We could have spent all day in there and lots more £££, but i had to show some restraint. We did however, eat Eggs Benedict on the first level along with a pot of beautiful tea which came in a solid putter tea pot i could barley lift, a scone and macaroon on the second level and took home an antipasto plate from the ground floor. I'm slowly eating my way around London. I cant wait to take Mum back there when she visits. Its my new favourite and helps that's it also the same colour as Tiffany's. This evening Emma went to the gym (bless her) and i started sorting out my millions of photos i have already taken. Although unfortunately somehow on New Year's Eve the screen on my camera broke and am now down to an Iphone camera until i start working, then ill buy a new one.


3rd January - I have officially been in London for a week now : ) We had planned to do Abbey Road today but unfortunately as it often happens in London the weather had other ideas. Extremely cold and miserable today, the wind is the worse though and its not like home where you can jump in your car to escape it. So instead we went to the post office so i could post some things home and the man gave me a box of chocolates (he must have known it was my 1 week anniversary). He is a regular at Emma's pub, but a good man to make friends with, as sending parcels isn't the cheapest thing in the world. Then we went on the tube to suss out where i had to go for my meeting with the agency tomorrow. It was a good idea at the time and made it easier as i knew where i was going, but lets just say after two broken umbrellas (the bloody wind) and very wet feet, it was so nice to get home to a warm shower. Emma went off to work and i followed. Going to the pub every night is the thing to do in London so I'm learning. I sat there and wrote in my travel journal, drinking £1.95 Aspall ciders, living the dream really. I met Emma's friend Claire who is also a school teacher for dinner and then walked home for an early night.


Week 1 was a blast. Certainly loving life and have already had some of the best experiences ever. Started off rocky but that was inevitable. Stay tuned for next weeks adventure, lots of love xxx