It's hot!

I hear that Eastern Australia is in the midst of a big cold snap and while I'm not sorry to be missing it, I wish it were a little cooler here. 

Last year I came to Europe in the middle of the coldest spring they had experienced for 50 years. For six of the seven weeks I was here it was cold - cold enough for me to wear warm scarves, boots and multiple layers. 

This year the weather is back to normal and it's a little later in the season. And it's hot!

At home I set the air conditioner to 24 degrees to cool down. Here the temperature has yet to get above 25 but it feels more like 30+. While there is no humidity, you get warm as soon as you move and the buses (where windows can't be opened) and tube trains are hot and airless. Buildings designed to stay warm trap the heat and it lingers long after the temperature has dropped to 12 or 13. 

My ugly but practical hiking sandals have not been off my feet (unfortunately giving me a massive blister) and my warm jacket is packed in the bottom of my suitcase - I'm thinking that I won't need it again till I fly home.  

But on the plus side, the sky is blue, the breezes (when they blow) are delicious and there are plenty of legitimate excuses for ice cream consumption.

Other than Ireland, this is probably the coolest place I am going to visit so I suspect the next few weeks are going to get interesting!

Scotch eggs and Strawberries

I woke up hungry.

Given the marathon journey it takes to get to Europe, the flights went well and there was even a spare seat between me and another traveller on the Singapore - London leg. Singapore Airlines came up trumps on good food and great in-flight entertainment and everything ran on time. I landed in London just after 7pm to a balmy 22 degree evening that was as light and bright as 2 or 3pm at home. 

I cruised through customs and after a train ride and short taxi journey I was at my hotel and diving into bed for some much needed shut eye.

But now it was Saturday morning and I was hungry for breakfast and a chance to stretch my legs so I caught the tube to London Bidge to visit the Borough markets. 

The Borough markets are a haven for foodies everywhere and specialise in quality cuisine. It was after 9am by the time I arrived so first stop was coffee and breakfast. I bought my first ever Scotch Egg and I have to say, it was magnificent. A Scotch egg is a hard boiled egg (with a slightly soft centre) wrapped in flavoured sausage meat and crumbed. I don't know if this was indicative of all SEs, but served on a rocket salad with some sweet potato fries, it was heavenly.  I finished up with some fresh blueberries from a fruit stall.

Jetlag started to hit as soon as I ate, so after a wander around the cheese, bread, fruit and cake stalls, I set off to the waterfront and walked along the south bank.  When I got to the Tower Bridge, I bought a ticket for the top and walked along one span of the bridge and admired the view.  The bridge was opening for a boat as I cane out so I watched it go through before crossing to the other side and setting off to walk west along the entire city of London towards Westmister. 

It was a hot and sunny day, but the walking was easy and interesting and I had a punnet of strawberries to keep me going.  At one point I found a way down to the beach and was able to walk along the banks of the Thames, looking at all the interesting things washed up by the tide - a bucket list item! I found some shards of pottery that I'm telling myself are from a Victorian house, an old nail that obviously came from a house burnt down in the great fires of 1666 and a piece of flint that was shaped by cave men (and not the tides).  What great fun!

My ugly but practical hiking sandles had their first big workout and execpt for a blister on my heel, they are wearing well.  Pretty good for a four hour walk!

Crawled back to my room for a well earned nap and let the jet lag take over.  

Time for a new adventure

Well the bags have been packed, unpacked and repacked again. I've debated the merits of cargo pants against jeans and tried to guess which shirts will take me from heat in the south of France to the colds of Northern Ireland. In truth, you can't pack for every eventuality and I know this well. But I like to put all my stress and worry into planning my trip and once I get on the plane I just take things as they come and deal with things as they happen. 

Right or wrong choices, this is it for the next six weeks - unless a little shopping finds it's way into my bag!

Time to relax with a glass of wine and the latest Janet Evanovich.