Rudolph

Wow these last few months have flown by! A few holidays get in the way and I realise I haven't blogged since August!

To kick start my return to the blogging world I thought a quick post is needed to get me back in the swing of things.

While I've been busy holidaying, running and wrapping up warm brrrr... Christmas has rolled it's merry way round once again!

In a shared house where everyone will be home for xmas, decorations sometimes get put on the back-burner 

This year with pinterest on my side, and an overdue clear out of the basement,I found an old box and created my own decoration for free. Who knew there was something cheaper than Poundland?!

It's so easy so give it a go - I found all the instructions here

merry christmas!

Kirsty

Open Air Theatre

Rain rain go away, come back another....eh...year?

On Thursday the heavens opened above London and the rain came a' pouring! Of all the days to have tickets to an Open Air Theatre! 

Come rain or shine however, the show must go on! With the lazy summer pre-theatre picnic we had planned now off the table, we headed under cover and hit up East Street for a quick spot of Asian nosh.

Sam had trouble deciding 

I didn't...

Coconut curry and corn fritters mmmmm

In fact we got so distracted by our tasty food we failed to even notice that the theatre-gods had had their awesome way, and melted away the clouds! We headed up to Regent's Park with our brollies safely hidden away :)

Nestled in the heart of Regent's park is the Open Air Theatre

When you look skywards you see nothing but trees..

Don and Sam

The amazing stage setting

For tonight's production of 'The Sound of Music'

Despite the questionable weather the place was packed out!

And then show time!

I have to admit I have somehow avoided ever seeing The Sound of Music in any form. Despite the constant repeats at Christmas, Julie Andrews warbling tones have managed to escape me.

Having previously been a tad on the cynical side I have to admit that the performance won me over! The singing was spectacular, the children were adorable, and the overall production was seamless! It runs until 14th September, so I highly recommend you pick up a ticket before it sells out!

Standing ovation all round!

'Goodbye my Coney Island Baby'

As I open the blinds to another dreary day in London, my mind wanders back to a time of travels, adventures and sunshine. Definitely time for my penultimate New York post! Yes you heard it here first I am scraping another two posts out of my week long holiday, but when everything's new there is just so much to see, and consequently ramble about!

On Sam's last day before jetting off early we awoke to the most beautiful day yet! The only appropriate thing to do was to head to the beach! Off to Coney Island we set!

Even the gritty view from the station looks nice when the sun is shining!

When you arrive you can hardly miss Nathan's 'famous' hot dog restaurant.

although I think maybe 'infamous' is more appropriate...

This guy loves his hot dogs..

A little too early for lunch - we headed straight down to the beach to cool our toes in the Atlantic Ocean...

Unfortunately we were such early birds that the rides were not even open, but we still got to take a peek...

As one of the rides is the historic WOODEN roller coaster known as the Cyclone, I was more than happy to avoid a spin! I don't want to die!...or even worse get a splinter!

We then hit the shops to get some essentials...

Before Sam got her fortune taken...

Unfortunately her fortune came true and she left Don and me to spend the last few days getting in trouble without her!

Paris

After our fun and games at Disney on Saturday, it was time to grow up and embrace the culture with some sunny sightseeing on Sunday.

With my previous visit to Paris being one snowy February weekend -more than ten years ago- seeing Paris in the sun felt like a revelation! The conditions were perfect and Paris felt dreamy.

We began our tour at Notre Dame, before meandering down the Seine...

I spy Notre Dame

Sam and Fi

Sam and me

The Seine definitely trumps the Thames...

After a gentle riverside amble we re-emerged at ground level to cross the Pont des Arts, the famous 'Love Locks' bridge.  

This bridge is covered in padlocks - each one representing the love of a couple. The key is thrown in the Seine below and their love will last for eternity.  While I am not usually one for cheesy romantic gestures, even I think this is pretty endearing...although I'm not sure I want to be locked to someone for life ;)

Are you sure you want to throw that key away??

We then carried back along the river and stumbled across the Louvre! 

It was far too nice a day to go in so we went for a spot of al fresco dining instead

Apparently if you throw an egg on top, a 'Croque Monsieur' becomes a 'Croque Madame'. Oui Oui Oui

After a much needed refuel we set off down the Seine again...

and got our first glimpse of Monsieur Eiffel..

When the evening started drawing in we had to hop back on the Metro to Gare du Nord

Always time for a quick cocktail and then back to London ahoy!

Unfortunately true to form, the train back didn't go quite as planned and we were stuck in the tunnel for two hours! If you want to get to your destination on time - I warn you to never travel with me!

Saying that every cloud has a silver lining and we got half off our next return trip! Not one to miss a bargain we booked up a December trip to Bruges pronto! I can't wait!