Running

I have found a fantastic route to run, it's about 4kms through Wormwood Scrubs, past the Burlington Danes Academy (for mathematics and dance, if I read correctly??) and the hospital. And a prison. Just for good measure!

The first time I went, I tried to use my GPS run tracker app on my phone. Epic fail...

Apparently I ran through the hospital, school and then some houses. Oh! And over the rail lines... Call me Superman :)

In other news, I have done this route twice running and once jogging with Em; so getting into this whole running business!!

Lunch with Giorgos

One of my newest yet bestest friends in London, Giorgos knew Helen from France, and I have adopted him as my token Greek bestie!

He landed an amazing job at an English Language school, based in Tottenham Court Road - directly opposite We Will Rock You and above Primark (how he resists daily temptation is beyond me...)

There is a gorgeous little green square just across from his work, so we went and sat in the park, had a yummy lunch (his mum packed his; I had Pret, obviously!) and we chatted about life and work and the weather and what not... 

I feel like this should be a regular thing, if not until I am employed, at least! And especially while the sun is shining and there is blue sky in London!!

(He had a mouthful of sandwich)

Fun Run

In lieu of going to the gym (which I really do miss!) I have been running.

Em and I did this route the other day, and I got bored of walking so I started jogging. And it felt good!

So today I tried to 'track my run' via GPS and some stupid app, which told me I had run directly through/over the hospital, a school, and a block of houses...

So I mapped it using a handy website, and found I ran 4km in 35 minutes - woohoo!

So now I know this distance, I'm going to make it my little track and see if I can better my time :)

Who needs the gym when I can now run around!! (And did some silly side-steps while running, too, just to get my body back into 'netball' thinking)

Also a note to point out - there are netball courts just by #2 - which is where I will be playing soon!! Wee!!!!

Munich, you gorgeous thing you...

What an amazing trip.

The sun shone, the raspberries were fresh and the dogs can go on public transport. Man, I love this city!!!

Coming above ground from the airport into Marienplatz felt like coming home. It reminds me of old reunions, of past visits when I felt like a stranger in this city. Now, I am no stranger.

I visited Dallmayr, an amazing delicatessen with the most delicious varieties of fresh hors d'oeuvre, cured meats, fresh fish and a chocolate counter that makes my mouth water... 

Strolling the prestigious Maximillianstraße, I pretended to be rich enough to step foot in a shop. Jimmy Choo, Dior, Prada. Ahh, perhaps one day I will...

Anna and I had a delicious leberkäse semmel at the Viktualienmarkt and wandered through the various stalls selling flowers, cheeses, liqueurs and so on.

Walking through the streets in my dirndl made me feel more local than ever before, and I cannot wait to wear it again!

Today, happily sober (or at least, still sobering up) we walked through the Oktoberfest and watched all the crazy rides. We walked up to the Bavaria statue and saw the masses of people below. We went through the Oide Wiesn, with it's carnival rides from years ago a- merry-go-rounds, swinging chairs, short roller coasters and a small ferris wheel. 

We strolled the quiet streets of Munich and window shopped for shoes, bar stools, postcards, an old pipe from an antique shop, even a toaster from a comic book store. We had strawberries on a stick, coffee then juice, and sausages for dinner. We found a great little bar called Frenzy, where all the chandeliers were odd and they had candles on the table. It was so gorgeous; we had a cup of tea...

This place will forever feel comfortable and homely to me. I hope, maybe one day, I could live here for a while...

The Wiesn

I always know I will have a good time when a bunch of FH students come together. Especially if it includes copious amounts of alcohol, which any good Oktoberfest reunion should...

Five years ago I met some amazing people on my semester in Austria, and through them I am fortunate to continue meeting other amazing people!

It was so great to see Andi, Tobi, Kathi, Kathrin and Laura again; and to meet Claudia, another Kathrin, Mattias and Karsten... For Anna and I to be together in Munich again was the best!!

We dressed in our dirndl and lederhosen, ate pretzels for breakfast and braided our hair. We caught the U-Bahn to Theresienwiese and made it to the Hacker-Pschorr tent to meet Andi at 9:30am - so early because we are THAT dedicated. 

Anna, Claudia and I had a front row view of the procession of brass bands, the horses and carriages for each beer tent. Then we were on camera as the Mayor of Munich arrived at our tent; he opens the first keg, thereby officially announcing the start of Oktoberfest!

From midday the veer flowed and we had a great afternoon in the biergarten; then Andi managed to get us inside (he knows people...) 

So we got a fresh beer and slowly took over a table, then proceeded to dance, sing and drink the night away, up on the chairs (and occasionally the table!)

Conversation of the day...

Kathrin Frey: "Do you think we will still do this in 20 years?"

Me: "Of course we will!! We will just have to leave our kids with our partners, and get them to collect us at 11pm!"

Long may our Wiesn reunions continue... Thank you to my wonderful friends for a wonderful time! (Even if my head did not agree this morning...)

And as they say a picture paints a thousand words, I will end this with photos only

One for the road

So normal :)

Our home for the next 12 hours

Drums, flutes and a glockenspiel in the procession band!

Pretty sure we were on Bavarian TV...

First beers!!!

 

PROST!

Crazy foreigners...

Reenacting our first pretzel moment...

I don't know what was up with this lady.............

He has Kathrin's initials on his lederhosen!!!! He he he...

He stumbled into our group. Giving Kiwi's a bad name...

Thankfully from here, the cameras died...

Furry friends

I have made fast friends with Polly, Petra's cat. She has amazingly soft fur and a little white mustache and loves cuddles!!

I am trying to figure out a way to steal her an take her back to the UK, so the whole flat can enjoy her cuddles...

Watch this space!

And goodnight from Zoe & Polly, spooning in Munich

On the road again

Well, being so close to Europe has it's perks.

I'm just popping over to Munich for the weekend! I hear there is some beer festival (no big deal, right?) and some of my friends are going... 

Cue excitement:
YAYYY OKTOBERFEST!!!!

Added bonuses of Munich include visits to the Viktualienmarkt, perhaps my favourite food market in all the world; leberkäse sandwiches and my German Aunty are all there too!

Zoe are we ready ready?

YES WE ARE READY READY!

(For 5kgs in 5 days...!)

And hopefully some sunshine and not incredibly terrible hangovers!

One small step for Zoe...

I think this is the first bank account I have ever opened myself!

With the assistance and direction of my fair Helen, today I opened both a Current AND Savings account at NatWest! Woohoo!

It all seems pretty straightforward... Lots of numbers and stuff, transfer blah, and what was that thing about an app?

#overwhelming // sense of achievement!

After 'work' drinks in Holburn

How exciting is this!! I don't even have a job yet, but I am going for after work drinks with Em's work people! (Emma is coming along, too. Otherwise that would be a bit odd.)

What to wear........!!!!

--- Later that night ---

Well, that was amusing!

First thing I noticed - everyone in suits! Then they take their ties off, while still clutching the pint, like they've had a hard week in the office.

Second thing I noticed - men buy the rounds! Thankfully I stuck to gin & tonics, but if I drank beer as fast as they did I would turn into a keg in no time...

Third thing - Emma's coworkers are lovely, once they get the work talk out of the way :) It's the same with any work environment though, and they do seem to enjoy what they do. I'm envious -- I WANT A JOB TO TALK ABOUT!! We had a great laugh about a dodgy guy in the bathroom, staring at Michael. There was also a moment where all three men in the conversation were rubbing their nipples...

And then we finished the night with overpriced kebabs... Delicious :)

Almost a legit citizen!

Today, I took the long and arduous trip to Tooting Bec to get my National Insurance number.

Aside from the fact the trip felt like I travelled a million miles away from East Acton (THREE different tube lines!) the suburb wasn't too bad; I found a decent coffee to help me through...

When I arrived, I noticed an 'interesting' selection of people waiting at this place. A mix of Eastern Europeans in trackies, young professionals in suits or with nice handbags, and a great variety of other ages in various states of presentation (Mohawk, dreads, baldies, t-shirts, ripped jeans, stripper heels.) The line was out the door, but thankfully my 9:50am appointment got me up the stairs on time.

I met with some lady who took my details, assumed I was entering the UK with savings (which I am) and got me to sign on the dotted line. She stole my passport for about 10 minutes, then returned it and I was free to go!

A week later, I have my NI Number, and am one step closer to being a legit, working class citizen of the United Kingdom!

(this is my excited face...!)

I found Heaven...

It's in the chocolate hall in Harrods.

Never have I seen so much indulgence in one small area!

£60, £80, even £90 per kilo for the most exquisite flavours – Japanese Vinegar, Mondial Lemon & Vanilla, Orange & Balsamic Caramel, Rosemary & Olive Oil.

Above and beyond this, there were giant macaroons, bombonieres laquered gold, pralines for Africa, boxes with big ribbons and... 

Everyone working there wore these quaint, flat-rimmed hats! Something you'd expect to see in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory!

I loved it. I can't wait to go there for some

A great quote I found

"To succeed in life, you need three things: A wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone."

- Wishbone, Brixton (where they also serve egg in their cocktails!)

Walking back from Ealing

Found the most amazing Tudor houses along the road...

Complete with roses!

Zoe cooked Imam!!

Potentially the first ever Greek dish I have attempted to make, sans help from any family member!

Note: I have never blanched any vegetable, let alone eggplants.

It didn't come out at all like the one we had at Platanos in Lachania (top 5 delicious dishes from my trip to Greece!)

The oven dish had no lid and we had no tinfoil, so it didn't bake how I needed it too.

And I made wayyy too much...

BUT! It was still edible, it was really filling, it was healthy, and it smelt really good.

So I consider this a victory :)

Such a Brit...

Look who I had tea with today!

I'll call that a win :)

What a way to end the day!

Ahh, Monday afternoon...

After a long day's job hunting (or working, for the employed among us,) this is a time to come home, get out of your work gear, and then let Zoe kick your butt with some exercise!

Nadia, Emma and I jogged to Wormwood Scrubs Park (which sounds gross and is by a prison...) where we did a killer set of squats, lunges and calf raises... We finished with some shuttle runs and squat jumps at the end, 'just because' :)

Then we stretched/Em and Nadia played on the balance beams, and I jogged home, underneath this beautiful sunset...

How not to wash wool...

My first faux pas on the washing front...

Housewife fail, but it was hilarious! Em was crying with laughter :)