Floating in the summer sky...

We surfaced the next morning not too shabby after all and had an English cook up for breakfast in our B&B.... yum (although the service left a little to be desired after we were practically yelled at for sitting atthe wrong table....and the buffet was filled with cranky guests stralking the forever empty coffee pot!)

After breakfast we headed to ANt and Jo's place for a BBQ and although the sun came out it was still freezing (althuogh apparently it was a lovely day... Katie even got her bathers and the slippery slide out while i sat shivering under two jumpers!!)

It was a really lovely wind down from the wedding the day before and a great chance to chat in a more relaxed atmosphere. Sadly all too soon it was time to say goodbye, and with a few tears we were back in the road and headed further North as we drove up to Norwich to meet the other side of the family!!

Eventually we found ourselves two broads in the broads, and after a quick stop in to say hi to Nan (my great grandmother!!) we tucked ourselves in for the night.

In the morning I tackled my first proper English shower.... the spraying handle in a bath tub.... so strange and takes the whole relaxation factor out of the showering proces as you never can really get right under the water... also.... COLD!!

But not to be detered we were late for breakfast at teh hotel and they scrubbed together some toast for us.... with bellies refilled we headed off to wander the streets of Wroxham. It's a holiday village and really quite pretty. And best of all - it had a proper saddlery... and i got to stock up on some English goodies that i always stare longingly at in my imported mags!!





We stopped on the bridge over the broads, but after watching a local get attacked by a swan... we moved on!!

After lunch we got together with Nan and Sharon for some family pics.....

Before heading off on Nan's big adventure!!!! Nan had told Emma how she'd always wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride, butu had never had anyone to go with.... So here we were... ready and waiting!!!

It was amazing to see the balloon being blown up and for a while it was touch and go as to wether we'd actually be able to fly due to the wind.

But before we knew it we were up up and away!!!! And no... they were not standard issue orange polar fleeces, it just so happened ironicaly that we all had the same colour!! Hmmmm... guess it's in the genes!!

The views were spectacular, and we took great endeavour in playing spot the animal and ooohhhh is that a crop circle or do aliens really exist!!

At the end Nan was the proud survivor and I was so proud of her!!

With another long day over we once again said our goodbyes, before heading back into the little hire car.... and making our way all the way back to Greenwich!!

I can see the church, I see the steeple...

This latest delay wasn't my fault.... Bloger hasn't been letting me upload pics!!!

Grr!!

Anyway - Saturday was the big day.... part of the reason for the timing of my trip was so I could go to Ant and Jo's wedding, a great way to meet all the family at the same time!!!

We left home in PLENTY of time to go to the car hire place to pick up our car for the journey up North. Expecting we would get to our hotel with an hour or so to spare and get changed etc etc.

Little did we know that the hire car company planned on keeping us waiting for over an HOUR to pick the car up. As we fidgeted more and more as the minutes ticked by, we realised it was going to be tight for time, but we would still be ok, we kept telling ourselves, it would be ok....

We eventually piled into the car, made a quick stop back at the house to pick up the Woollimi Pine (our cool Australian dinosaur pine tree wedding present) and our bags and set off... thinking we should still have at least half an hour to spare at the other end.

London traffic blows.

we inched along the freeway.... and for no apparent reason....

...there was no crash... just traffic....

... and more traffic...

We screamed into the hotel parking lot, ran (and i mean RAN upstairs chucked our dresses on grabbed our shoes and hand bags and jumped back in the car) It was all ok we were giong to make it.

Just as we got to the massive round about at the bottom of the road that the church was on, we saw some flashing lights, not to be put off we enetered the round about but there was no getting off at our exit.... The police had barricaded it off. We madly did a few loops of the roundabout in a panic, while Emma frantically checked out the road map, and just when i thought i was going to puke with dizziness, Emma yells to Kim (who was driving) "take that exit" as Kim veers off amid beeping horns.... Emma says a lot more quietly "ummm.... no ... the other one"...

Too late... we were on the freeway to somewhere far far away.... like maybe Gibraltar!! And tehre was no getting off. We all looked dismally at the clock, watching the time slip by completely out of our control. Eventually we got off, and somehow managed to get back on going the other way. Soon enough (kinda) we were back at the fateful roundabout, we pleaded for the barricade to be gone, but no such luck. We took a stab at another exit, this time taking us into some back streets, far more promising, but as we wound our way through the wending roads, we started to realise our new fate.... we were lost. Eventually we came to the resolution to try my favourite trick when lost.... follow the majority of cars around you..... whilst doing this we discovered we were following a cra who was also lost.... then to our amazement we saw...... Fascinators!!! They were wearing fascinators!!! And in England that can only mean one thing..... they were off to a wedding!!! Luckily they unlost themselves, found the wedding and we followed them.... even better they were going to the same weddign we were!!!

Hurrah!!! We snuck in the back of the church just in time to see the most important "I do" bits.... Yay!!

The out into the sunniest day for photos in the gardens. It really was a lovely day...

L-R: Auntie Coral (Nan's sister), Ant (my Mum's cousin), Katie (my cousin or something like that!?!?!?), Jo (the new adittion to the family!) and Uncle Peter.

Me, Ritchie and Emma!!

I was continuosly amazed by the genetic resemblances flowing through the family lines. Katie reminds me so much of Ali, and Harry (above, being held by Danny and Mel) was like a mini Callum! So strange, to find all these people that I have never met before yet to see so clearly that there is a link there!!

Katie was a stunnig bridesmaid and little Damaris made a debut performance as flower girl. It was a really long day, but they both held up exceptionally well!

Unfortunately.... Lizzie and I didn't hold up quite so well, and by mid afternoon it was time for shoes off and a rest in the sun.

Lizzie, Kim, Em and I all had to have a bit of a break from the dance floor eventually!! And the pink hat was the highlight of the day!

As I mentioned above meeting all the family was a bit surreal. Essentially what by definition would be "strangers" welcomed me as though I had been a part of their lives for always. But I guess that's it... they had always been a part of my lives, I had grown up if not "knowing" these people.... "knowing of them", hearing the stories, seeing the photos, sharing in the news of weddings and children, fortunes and misfortunes. They are my family, and meeting them was one of the best parts of my trip.....

There was a lot of them!!

Eventually it was time to leave, and in true England style the rain began to pour down, we stole a cab, headed back to our hotel and blissfully fell into bed yet again!

I don't feel like dancing....

We didn't feel like doing ANYTHING.... other than slobbing out watching TV!! AFter scraping in nice and late after the Eurostar dumped us back in London.. we had a lazy day in front of the tv.... intermittently mixed with a breif shopping trip to Canary wharf.....ahhh....

And of course... as fast as we emptied our overnight bags from Paris we were refilling them for the next trip up north for the wedding the next day!! Phew.... it was relentless!!

But when we released we were all packed... we put our dancing shoes back on!! And jumped on the ferry down the Thames to the O2 Dome, to see the Scissor sisters concert.

Me... excited by the fact there was alcohol on the ferry...(and yes... i am awake... just!!)


Tower bridge on a typical London day!!
The less impressive London bridge...
The more impressive O2 Dome...

Inside the O2 Dome was HUGE... think night clubs, restuarants, cocktail bars, a proper sit down Nandos restuarant with alcohol(what the?!?!?) and line ups!!!! For everything!! Oh yeah.... and an indoor beach...
... You gotta feel sorry for the English hey!! Imagine having to build an indoor beach!!

Eventually we found the actual concert bit and made our way i. We had awesome seats and the concert was amazing, so many special effects and the lead singers dancing cracked me up the whole way through!!

A massive thanks to Kym for getting us the tickets!!!!

And i even managed to meet one of the "in person"...

I like big buts....

Who knew.... here was I thinking that the French had all the best breakfast foods... croissants, pastries, danishes....HELLO... I didn't know it was at the expense of TOAST!! Seriously ... who doesn't have toast!!

So after we checked out of the hotel on Day-two-Paris after the sneaky sneaky sneaky little frenchman tried to charge us for our toast-free breakfast twice...We contemplated our plan of attack... with a seriously euro free wallet after the day before... and tired feet from the night time, we decided a hop on hop off tour was the way to go.

Yet again the sneaky sneaky sneaky little frenchmen tried to diddle us, by only giving us one ticket when we paid for two... we then had to argue with the bus driver who's only English seemed to be... "you lost". No my wee friend... YOU Lost!! Eventually persistence paid off yet again and he gave us another ticket. We perched ourselves on the somewhat sunny open top section and took in the sights of gay Paris!!

Some of my fave pics below....

We took advantage of the "Hop-Off" bit at Monte Marte.... which was my favourite part of Paris! The view back towards the city was simply stunning and the bustling market place with the paintings and little restuarants just had the loveliest atmosphere. Sadly the toilets left more than a little to be desired and I have seriously never smelled such a stink in my life.... and I've dealt with some pretty serious horse poo in my time!!

Pics from Monte Marte....

We found the cutest little restuarant to have lunch where we had REAL french baguettes and FRENCH fries... so cool... all served by our little french waiter in his little berret... yes it was all so cute!!

We headed back down these steps....

Only to be chased down by these scary black men trying to force these little pices of string onto our wrists.... one in particular was a little too amorous grabbing my arm and yelling after me how enamoured he was with my "Booty"!! Eeeeekkkkk......

We chased down the bus to "Hop-On" and make our way back to central Paris to pick up our bags and get back on the Eurostar to head back to London.... but the sneaky sneaky sneaky little Frenchmen weren't finished with us just yet!!

As we picked up Emma's suitcase, the handle practically disintegrated in her hands.... as she pointed this out to the valet, his ever helpful response was "You Carry". Despite wanting to scream .... "NO...you broke it .... YOU carry" at him, we eventually coerced him into temporarily fixing it with a bus load of Gaffa tape!! With this we said "au reviour" to our little "one night in Paris" holiday...

He met marmalade down in old Moulin Rouge...

Next stop Paris!!! Woo hoo... waiting in the early morning for the Eurostar!!

Well what can i say about the Eurostar... i swear it just about takes me longer on teh bus every day to get to and from work than it did to get from London to Paris... that may be a slight exaggeration... but you get the idea!!

The only hiccup of the journey was when after relieving myself in the toilets (after all the coffee we'd drunk to gte going on time...) I was struck by the unfortunate realisation that i couldn't find the button to flush the damn thing!! I think i then spent a good partof the journey trying to work out how on earth i was meant to resolve this problem... and being stuck in a tiny box while the train was hurtling its way across teh countryside waas starting to make me all the more quesy. eventually after just about resigning myself to the fact that i may just have to push it down i found an inconspicuos round thing on the floor.... in desperation i trod on it... and yay... success.... so back to my seat for... more coffee!!

We navigated our way on the Paris train network and for the first time in my life i found myself to truly be in a non english speaking country!! I loved it!!! Thankfully pretty much everyone spoke enough English that i was understood, but it was just so cool to hear everyone prattling away in a language where i had no idea what they were saying!!

After a slight brush with the police (ie crashing into them in the train.... and them not finding this as amusing as we did!!) we found our way to the hotel... and it was BEAUTIFUL!! After sharing a bed at Emma's we were both stoked to have massive king size beds each... all to ourselves, and a proper (ie not English!!) shower!! It was all we could do to drag ourselves out of the room!! But of course, if there's one thing that would get me out it was.... Shopping!!!

We set off to what has to be my favourite shopping centre!! The Galleries Lafayette...

I loved it..... Amazingly amongst all the extravagance and expensive clothes... people wander around with their mongrel dogs, which seem to be allowed to go just about anywhere... I tried to imagine dragging Archer and Ciska around the shops with me... it seems so ridiculous!! Besides they so would have gotten in the way of my favourite purchase of the entire trip... i must say I was very proud to become the owner of some beautiful Jimmy Choo shoes!!! Love love love!!

Shopping in hand we made our way back to the hotel (after a quick stop at Godiva for the most lush iced coffees you could EVER imagine!!) where we finally got to enjoy the shower and I donned the Jimmy Choo's for their inaugral outing!!

We met up with our mini tour bus thingy for the night, which took us over to the one and only Eiffel Tower....

It was so much taller than I had expected!! We went up to the first level where we had dinner before having a wander around to take some photos...

It really was so beautiful up there!! However, Eduardo, our not very french tour guide was hustling to get us onto our cruise boat for the next experience!!

We jumped on and enjoyed a beautiful evening (such nicer weather than we'd had in London) and marvelled at all the french people lining the river drinking wine (swigging straight from the bottle) picnicing and dancing... it was such an amazing atmosphere and everyone seemed so happy and relaxed.

The sun began to set and we saw the sights of Paris from a completely different view...

Finally... what I'd been waiting for.... the Eiffel Tower lit up... and began to sparkle with thousands of tiny lights.... it was so pretty!!!!

But Eduardo wasn't finished with us.... he piled us on the bus and into what i think was the longest line up of the trip.... The Moulin Rouge!!!

There was a lot of boobies.... I must say a little distracting!! But such a huge show.... the girl swimming with the massive pythons was probably one of my favourite bits.... and the cute little dancing minature ponies.... i really need to get my horses a stage show job!!

We had such an awesome night, but I was glad whne i finally peeled the Jimmy Choos from my feet and crawled into the enormous bed in the early hours of the morning!!