Updates ahoy!

I've had two big weekends in a row, and now it's time to stop procrastinating (marking) and write some updates (procrastinate a bit).

The weekend before last, Tamara and I went into London for the day. We had two main missions - to go to Harrods (I'd been a couple of times before, but Tamara hadn't been, and I needed to pick up a couple of Christmas presents), and to go to the German Christmas markets in Hyde Park. We also had plans to check out some of the Christmas lights around the city.

We started by going straight for the centre of opulence - Harrods. We ended up wandering around for a good four hours. We picked up lots of presents, not that I can mention too much here, as it would give too much away! We spent a fair bit of time in the jewellery and watch sections, scoping out loot that was worth more than our annual salaries combined. We also found pens worth more than our salaries - and I seriously think my supermarket biros are of more use!

After Harrods we regrouped and headed over to Hyde Park for the German Christmas markets. They only opened that day, and it was amazing. There were all these wooden huts selling all kinds of gifts. We started out with a bite to eat, as we'd been going all day without a break. It didn't help that the first couple of stands that we came across were the food and drink huts, so naturally we had bratwurst! They were being cooked on this huge round brazier, and smelt delicious. They tasted pretty damn good as well - we were talking about them again just last night! We also managed to score a freebie taster of Pimms Winter - Pimms mixed with warm apple juice.

Yes, yes - I do realise the sexual innuendo here!

The Pimms teapot/van

Once our bellies were full (and we'd taken some photos), we wandered around the stalls. There were some awesome beanies for sale, and I'm kind of kicking myself for not buying one - it was cold. Oh so cold. My ears were on the verge of dropping off methinks! A lot of the stalls were selling crafts made in Germany. There was so much that I wanted to buy, but I did manage to be at least a little bit restrained! One end of the market had lots of rides, like they used to have at the show. We didn't go on any of them, but it certainly added a festive atmosphere. Of course, the ice rink that had been set up helped with that! We finished up with Tamara having a mug (glass? cup?) of mulled wine, and the fake snow machines kicked in. Turned out, fake snow was actually bubbles!

Our next stop was Covent Garden, as I'd been told that the Christmas lights there were worth a look. Turns out it had been a bit of a miscommunication. The lights weren't up at all! Apparently last year's lights were spectacular, and the friend who told me about them was planning a visit this year, but hadn't yet been. Nevertheless, a trip to Covent Garden is never a write-off, thanks to the Australia Shop being located there. We walked down there, intent on just one purchase - Bundaberg Ginger Beer. Well, it was a great theory at least. All that way, and not a drop of ginger beer to be found. I won't even go into how upset we were. Let me just say that we seriously contemplated going to this convenience store on Fleet Street that I know stocks it. From there we wandered to Leceister Square, contemplating dinner. We decided to go to Chinatown, and somehow came up with the idea of dim sum, as neither of us had had it before. Again - good in theory. We looked at a few menus to see what they served for dim sum, and whilst the odd dish looked good, the chicken feet, intestines and pig's organs really did manage to turn us off. We still somehow managed to decide that we wanted Chinese food for dinner, and had quite a good meal. I think I'll be back to that restaurant!

After dinner we headed down the street, stopping for a quick bit of shopping (new beanies), before reaching Picadilly Circus. There was a vague thought to go to Hamley's Toy Store, which is on Regent Street. We played tourist, as neither of us had photos of the big signs at night. We then noticed that Regent Street had these huge stars stretching across the street, and they were pretty! We followed the stars, stopping periodically for photos and to readjust beanies to cover our ears, and finally got to Hamley's. Sadly for us, Hamley's had closed over an hour before, so there was no re-enacting Tom Hanks' role in "Big" by playing with a giant step-on keyboard. Shame, shame, shame. Regardless, we amused ourselves with the window displays.



After we grew bored of staring into the windows like the children in "Oliver Twist", we headed another block down the street, and found our way to Carnaby Street. Well, not so much found out way there, as saw a sign, swivelled on the spot, and saw the giant snowmen! We took a few photos, and broke into song with Christmas carols that were actually relevant for a change ("Frosty the Snowman" and "Walking in a Winter Wonderland"). By this stage were were both shattered and frozen, so it was time to commence the journey home!