31 Months in...and will she ever go home?

So here we are at the 31 month mark, can you believe it? I have lived in London for 31 months. I would call that an achievement for a girl who grew up in Hobart in a safe and secure little suburb with her loving family taking care of her.


London and I have a love hate relationship.


I'm not going to lie, there have been months when I have struggled to find a reason to stay. Having experienced a non existent summer we are now entering the winter months and it doesn't seem fair. Where was the summer sun? The bars are all throwing 'Goodbye to the summer that never was' parties!'

Now I am waking up in darkness, working in an office which cannot seem to set the heating to the correct temperature and watching as the sky grows dark at 5 once again..

I wonder what I am doing when every morning I have to hop onto a crowded train to travel 6 stops with a lady pressing her oversized handbag into my back THEN shuffling off the train and getting dragged along by the crowd, only to board a tube to travel a further 10 stops...they are the moments I wonder why living here is a choice I have made!

But then I have to remind myself. Living in London has changed my life. For the better.

I have met so many amazing people in my time here from all walks of life. Saffas, Kiwis, fellow Aussies - to round off the antipodean quarter…..hilarious English people that show me that they really are a funny bunch with a wicked sense of humour…Polish ….French, Italian, and Spanish men and women - who ooze style and class…it is a breeding ground for all the different cultures which is a beautiful thing …something I would never have fully experienced in Australia. (John Howard to thank for that perhaps?) I have made a hand picked selection of wonderful friends and I have met my love - Mark.

And best of all? Whenever I think of coming home I remember one thing. I have my whole life to live in Australia. I have the luxury of dual citizenship and while I have that luxury I am sure as hell gonna make use of it. Prague, Amsterdam, Switzerland…I wanna see 'em all…

….so a smelly hour long tube rides and darkness in the afternoon? I can handle it if it means I get to live in London….for now…

Rachixx

The new house

Here is my beautiful new apartment with my man Sparki!

Hit prediction

Haven't done one of these for awhile...not since James Blunt...and look how popular he is now...not very. Doesn't help that he is lording it up with the ladies.

Anyway my latest hit prediction *drum roll* Listen out for Newton Faulkner. He is brilliant, toured with John Butler over here and his sound is incredible. That's my next hit prediction...



Rachixxxxx

Austin Powers Party

Photies!
Hello peeps...here I am at work obviously time wasting. I hope you can waste a bit of time with me looking at my random party snaps from Alina's Austin Powers themed party on Saturday night. Don't know exactly who I went as - perhaps a fembot...the dress was a bargain and the shoes where £5! After a rummage in the cupboard mark pulled out a t-shirt and shorts (no change there then) but using the ingenious technique of snapping out the lenses of his glasses if you cover one eye with your hand and squint with the other he kinda looks like a version of Austin Powers...
Love ya lots
Rachixx

Chianti on the Grand Canal....

I could not have asked for a better way to spend my 25 birthday…
VENICE!



It was everything I expected and so much more. We arrived by boat to our destination at around 10pm after an amazing hour long ride from the airport, our heads dizzy with excitement and eyes wide. Our destination? Arsenale (pronounced ARSE-AN-AR-LAY not Arsenal like the football team.) When Mum pronounced it as the latter she was loudly corrected by a proud Italian!



Our hotel was tucked away in one of the tiny little alleyways, a beautiful 3 star hotel with a tiny red carpet at the front door (put out for me no doubt…) After freshening up we were famished and decided to stay local. We ended up in a quaint little restaurant where I feasted on seafood pasta and my new favourite red - Chianti. Ah bliss…




The next day we decided it was time to explore the sites. The heat was quite oppressive as we made our way through the busy streets to St Marks Square. As I gazed up at the cathedral, my hair shining from my new Sunsilk for blondes I felt a splat, then a cold sensation at the top of my head. A pigeon had popped one on my head! Mum and Mark saw the funny side but I was absolutely livid!



We spent the next few days in some fabulous restaurants and I have to say, had some of the most enjoyable and tasty meals of my life! A highlight was definitely dinner on the Grand Canal. We were seated outside in the late evening sun. After enjoying a delicious steak and more red (easily the best steak I have ever tasted) we heard a few rumbles in the sky. We looked out when suddenly a freak thunderstorm hit! Everyone tried in vain not to get wet, holding table napkins and menus as protective shields over themselves. It was amazing to watch the lightening light up the sky as a man ran around trying to sell everyone umbrellas. Luckily the rain subsided and we were able to leave without getting drenched.




Another highlight was a day on the beach in Lido. It wasn't as busy as the beach in Barcelona and it was surrounded by a street full of beautiful restaurants where you could sit outside and have a beer or three. Mark and I spent many hours after our swim chilling out there. Pure bliss…




I also FINALLY got the designer wallet I had always wanted from my folks. A beautiful black Coccinelle wallet with a buckle strap. Mark bought me an amazing Giorgio Armani watch, perfume and tickets to none other than John Butler Trio (for the 6th time and third over here!) Lucky girl…we dined in a place we had gone to twice which had become our official favourite for taste and value for money - La Nuova Perla. I even had my own personal accordian player play Happy Birthday! What a blast.




For anyone that hasn't been, I thoroughly recommend it for the food, wine and atmosphere!

Rachix

Parental Guidance

What a month it has been!

My parents arrived in the 28 May after a year of not seeing either of them (folks, you don't look a day over 50!) I am a big kid at heart and have missed them dearly so it was fantastic to see them again. Mark and I picked them up from the airport then went home and chilled inside, out of the rain. It was such a nice afternoon gorging on lasagne and red and chatting away. Conversation flowed effortlessly even though it was the first time they had met my man. We shared pictures of the family and I was impressed to see how great my brothers were looking...Richard, nice jacket and Tom your gonna be a chick magnet if you aren't already!

The following week we ate for Britain at some lovely restaurants including Belgos a fancy little Belgian restaurant. Dad has the biggest saucepan of mussels I have ever seen! Mmm. Afterwards we went to see Mark rock out at Tommy Flynns in Camden.

We also saw the new Pirates film and I have to say, as much as I am a fan of the divine Mr. Depp I was not a fan of this snore fest.

We had a very memorable night at a pub down the road. They had a beautiful courtyard where we sat in the evening sun feasting on olives, bread and some hearty steaks… the red wine was once again flowing. On one of the warmer days I went to Hyde Park with the folks and we took a ride on a row boat - it nearly ended badly when mum had a mini heart attack after dad and I tried to tip her into the Serpentine!

The three of us have also managed a trip up North to the relies, where we spent a lovely few days eating, chatting and chilling. Perfection!
On the way back to London we stopped in Blackpool....AGH! Holy moly, not somewhere you wanna stop for long, that's all I have to say.

And in just over a week I will be spending my 25th birthday in VENICE! Can you believe it? The entire week....AGH! I am sure I will have some pretty brilliant updates after that trip....


Rachixxx


ps - I'm gonna bang on some photos in the next few days to accompany this blog.

SnOwBaLLs

On Easter Saturday we all piled into a big 10 seater van, excited by the prospect of our snow extravaganza! We arrived in style at the extraordinarily beautiful chalet Courchevel in France after a three hour drive from the airport. The sun was shining and the mountains were covered in snow.

We made ourselves comfortable in our bunk bedded rooms then settled into the chalet. We had two hosts who were around the 24-25 age mark and worked at the chalet for five months of the year. It was their final week and you could tell they were feeling the strain of looking after 10 people every week. They would cook our breakfast and dinner and have an afternoon snack consisting of baguettes, coffee and tea cake ready for us everyday (a welcome sight after 6 hours on the slopes.) Dinner consisted of anything from a Caribbean themed chicken dish to a french specialty.

My first day on the slopes started out well, the girls showed me how to stop and I found that starting wasn't too complicated (it is slippery on the piste after all!) I ended up mastering the green slopes and had grown to love riding up on the pommel looking out over the mountains (a plastic plate that you put between your legs to drag you uphill on the snow.)

I was feeling super confident up until 5pm when Mark decided to take me on 'the shortcut' home. BIG MISTAKE! We ended up on the steepest blue run of all and I ended up crying all the way down, sliding backwards and cursing Mark for taking me down such a steep slope on my very first day!


Having gotten over my dramatic first day the next few days were heaven. We would ski for hours on end, have lunch at some lovely cafes, sipping red wine in the sunshine.
By the third day I had mastered getting on and off the chair lift which is actually easier than it looks! I stuck with the girls for most of the trip as the boys were all snowboarding but by our last perfect day we hit some massive slopes all together, taking videos and photos as we went.
On the final evening we headed down to the local ski bar where we had a selection of dangerous concoctions and toasted to one of the most amazing trips ever!

I'll never forget our trip and my 10 ski buddies: Kaine-it, Claire Polar Bear, Narctic, Lance Mountain, Fast Laine, Charlie Chilled, Marc-ski, G.I. Snow, Sleet Kid and me - Tuff Stuff!

snow snaps soon to come....!