My December has begun in the most festive ways possible, and I think that's why I'm feeling the most festive I've ever felt. I've never been an out and out Scrooge, but Christmas isn't my favourite time of the year at all, I much prefer bonfire night and Halloween. This year Christmas so far has definitely been enjoyable though!
Last weekend, Alex and I spent a couple of days in London. My parents bought us tickets to see England and Australia play rugby at Twickenham as our Christmas presents, so we built a weekend trip around that. As I've said before, I really dislike London, but there are times it's worth being there and last weekend was definitely one of those times.
We traveled down by train on the Friday and checked into our B&B, the Dawson House Hotel near West Hempstead tube station. It was exactly what we needed, decently sized comfy place only 10 minutes from the tube, but on Friday we decided to do the hour's walk to Hyde Park. It was a nice enough walk, seeing bits of London new to Alex and I, we stopped for dinner at the Pizza Express (their Christmas pizza was delicious!! A stuffing, pizza and pork dream!) and then we hit Oxford Road. The lights and decorations were lovely to see, but the people, as always weren't. It was just too busy and people were all over the place. But hey ho, I expect it now. From there we entered Hyde Park for Winter Wonderland.
It really was a sight to behold. There was so much going on from craft stalls, stalls of all the bad but tasty food, fun houses, hook-a-duck games, haunted houses, and the piece de resistance - the german beer tent! After battling our way through the crowds to see all that could be seen, Alex and I queued for about 15 minutes to enter the Bavarian Village. We grabbed our steins, finally found a bench to sit at and then thoroughly enjoyed the festive party atmosphere guided by a really decent and (seemingly authentic) German band. It was fantastic! Considering the Winter Wonderland is free to get into, an the steins were only a fiver, it was a surprisingly decent priced night out in London and thoroughly enjoyable!!
As if that wasn't enough Christmas for one weekend, this Wednesday Alex and I went to Birmingham to see the Nightmare Before Christmas. It was in 3D, and on for one night only. Alex isn't it's biggest fan, but I adore Tim Burton and Nightmare Before Christmas is in my top 5 favourite films, so he'll watch it with me once a year. This year was a particularly fun watching! I loved how many adults were in there, singing along like big kids, it was fab.
The festivities are still occurring as I'm about to go and meet two great friends from Keele to wander the Birmingham Christmas markets! Hope your Christmas time has started well whether you celebrate it or not!
Last weekend, Alex and I spent a couple of days in London. My parents bought us tickets to see England and Australia play rugby at Twickenham as our Christmas presents, so we built a weekend trip around that. As I've said before, I really dislike London, but there are times it's worth being there and last weekend was definitely one of those times.
We traveled down by train on the Friday and checked into our B&B, the Dawson House Hotel near West Hempstead tube station. It was exactly what we needed, decently sized comfy place only 10 minutes from the tube, but on Friday we decided to do the hour's walk to Hyde Park. It was a nice enough walk, seeing bits of London new to Alex and I, we stopped for dinner at the Pizza Express (their Christmas pizza was delicious!! A stuffing, pizza and pork dream!) and then we hit Oxford Road. The lights and decorations were lovely to see, but the people, as always weren't. It was just too busy and people were all over the place. But hey ho, I expect it now. From there we entered Hyde Park for Winter Wonderland.
It really was a sight to behold. There was so much going on from craft stalls, stalls of all the bad but tasty food, fun houses, hook-a-duck games, haunted houses, and the piece de resistance - the german beer tent! After battling our way through the crowds to see all that could be seen, Alex and I queued for about 15 minutes to enter the Bavarian Village. We grabbed our steins, finally found a bench to sit at and then thoroughly enjoyed the festive party atmosphere guided by a really decent and (seemingly authentic) German band. It was fantastic! Considering the Winter Wonderland is free to get into, an the steins were only a fiver, it was a surprisingly decent priced night out in London and thoroughly enjoyable!!
The next day, the Saturday, was match day!! We got £8 all day tube travel tickets and made our out to Twickenham stadium, the home of English rugby if you don't know. On the way to the stadium from the station, we got a pork and stuffing bap from a food van parked in someone's front lawn, as you do, then made our way to the humongous Guinness tent, because what else would we do?! It says a lot of positive things about rugby crowds that alcohol is allowed into the games, unlike at international football matches, and that supporters of both teams sit together rather than apart. It creates a really chill and inclusive atmosphere, and builds up the opportunities for some hilarious back and forth.
Our seats were amazing, and during both halves much of the action happened in our corner of the try line. We also seemed to be in a particularly singy corner of the stadium, I don't think I've ever sang 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' so much, and I want to start a petition for 'Jerusalem' to be our new national anthem. To to top it all off, England won!!!! And then we had to get back to the hotel as quickly as possible because we had dinner reservations.
The restaurant we ate dinner at was the Doubletree by Hilton at the Docklands, I found it through Wowcher as they were offering a voucher for a reduced price 3 course meal and a bottle of prosecco. The food was delicious! We were given a table right next to a window that looked out over the Thames and onto Canary Wharf which added to the experience and was totally unexpected. Afterwards, we got a boat across the Thames, then made our way through Canary Wharf, got a tube, then headed through central London for a couple of pints in a Canadian pub Alex knew of. That Saturday was pretty much us in a day, and I loved it.
After lunch of Guinness cake in Camden market, spotting Rich Hall in St Pancras but being too scared to approach him, seeing that yet again Platform 9 3/4s was too busy for a proper photograph, and wandering around the British library, it was home time!
As if that wasn't enough Christmas for one weekend, this Wednesday Alex and I went to Birmingham to see the Nightmare Before Christmas. It was in 3D, and on for one night only. Alex isn't it's biggest fan, but I adore Tim Burton and Nightmare Before Christmas is in my top 5 favourite films, so he'll watch it with me once a year. This year was a particularly fun watching! I loved how many adults were in there, singing along like big kids, it was fab.
The festivities are still occurring as I'm about to go and meet two great friends from Keele to wander the Birmingham Christmas markets! Hope your Christmas time has started well whether you celebrate it or not!
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