Saturday cont'd - After our lazy day, Jules and I started getting ready for our night out in London. We both relished the beautification process before our night out, and after a day of feeling and looking not so attractive a bit of makeup and blowdryer were welcome. As soon as we were ready, we got a ride to the train and headed into the city. A lot of people live outside of London but head in to party on the weekends, so we were surrounded by eager party people, all chat
ting and boozing on board. When we got into Charing Cross, we hopped on the tube for two stations to Oxford Circus where we were to meet up with a fellow Leasider Alana, who's been living in London for years. She was in charge of planning the night's itinerary, a task we whole-heartedly appointed to her as she knows the city inside out and is a frequenter of all the hottest spots. We began the night at SKETCH, a very cool cocktail bar/restaurant. There were three bars within the bar, all in separate rooms which each had their own vibe. We settled in a room that is super hard to describe but I'll do my best as I want to set the scene --- the bar was in a white shiny dome-shaped structure within a massive room... on either side of the little entrance to the dome there was a staircase that led up to open area bathrooms (boys on left, girls on right) that contained egg-shaped pods in which to
pee, complete with pasture scene sound effects (mooing of cows, bahs of sheep, twitters of birds...), very unique and out of the ordinary. Within the dome was an in-ground circle shaped bar where you had to yell down to the bartenders to order your, wait for it, £13 cocktails. THIRTEEN POUNDS. Hollllyyyy shitttttt London is HELLA expensive! It makes the mojitos at Sassafraz look like a pint at McSorley's. For those of you who don't know, 13 pounds is about $20. We opted for a £23 bottle of white wine, and settled down to have great chats and scope out the sceneeeeee.
ting and boozing on board. When we got into Charing Cross, we hopped on the tube for two stations to Oxford Circus where we were to meet up with a fellow Leasider Alana, who's been living in London for years. She was in charge of planning the night's itinerary, a task we whole-heartedly appointed to her as she knows the city inside out and is a frequenter of all the hottest spots. We began the night at SKETCH, a very cool cocktail bar/restaurant. There were three bars within the bar, all in separate rooms which each had their own vibe. We settled in a room that is super hard to describe but I'll do my best as I want to set the scene --- the bar was in a white shiny dome-shaped structure within a massive room... on either side of the little entrance to the dome there was a staircase that led up to open area bathrooms (boys on left, girls on right) that contained egg-shaped pods in which to
pee, complete with pasture scene sound effects (mooing of cows, bahs of sheep, twitters of birds...), very unique and out of the ordinary. Within the dome was an in-ground circle shaped bar where you had to yell down to the bartenders to order your, wait for it, £13 cocktails. THIRTEEN POUNDS. Hollllyyyy shitttttt London is HELLA expensive! It makes the mojitos at Sassafraz look like a pint at McSorley's. For those of you who don't know, 13 pounds is about $20. We opted for a £23 bottle of white wine, and settled down to have great chats and scope out the sceneeeeee.Oh - a quick debrief on a night out in London if you live outside the city - in order to get home there are few options. The last train out to Sidcup is before midnight. The alternative way to get home is tube it to the farthest station east, then cab it. The last tube runs at 12:30. Last resorts include: night bussing with drunk ppl, or cabbing it all the way and paying with a million dollar bill or a limb. Jules and I decided to play it by ear.
We ended up staying at Sketch until around 11:45, and we promptly decided it would be impossible to catch the tube as we were having just too good a night. We figured we'd deal with travel home when we came to that bridge. Alana's second spot of the night for us was Bungalow 8 (amptly named after the exclusive NYC club to which you need a key to get in (a la SATC)). Although you didn't need a key for this one, you had to be on an exclusive list, which Alana obvi had no issues getting us on. Whattagirl. So we waltzed in to B8 (located in the lobby of a hotel... at least I think it was a hotel. I was a few glasses in by this point), got some drinks at the bar and settled in the back near the DJ booth. The DJ, who we came to know as Alex, supplied us with drinks the rest of the night and switched the playlist from drab to fab just for us ladies. It didn't hurt that he was super sexy with dimples and a 6'3 frame. Anyway, we had an amazing time and partied until after 3. Woops! Missed the train, tube, and bus. What to do? 
Cab it we did, after mowing on Mc D's (the line was INSANE), we hopped in a cab and had a semi-coherent ride home. I won't even tell you the price we paid... BUT it was my bday and was worth it in the end. I didn't save up to have lame nights in one of the most exciting cities.Sunday - Woke up a little worse for the wear BUT not as bad as I thought I'd be. I had smuggled Kraft Dins in to the country at Jules' request as they don't have it in England, and we decided to make a batch to satisfy our hangovers. We had another low key day followed by a great dinner with the extended fam - Christine, David, Jules, Deb (David's sis), Lee (her hubby), and the kids Joshua and Abigail all came over for a big dins. We had great chats, vino, and an amazing meal followed by a surprise birthday cake, compliments of Christine. SUCH a great eve!
Monday - My REAL bday. I've been milking this one as I figure quarter century needs to be celebrated properly. Ju
les woke me up early and came into my room, presents in hand. I opened the one from Christine first, and then that of Jules.... which was..... tickets to DIRTY DANCING ohhhhhhh babyyyy. I can't express how amazing this gift was! Will get to that soon.... So after prezzies, we got ready and headed out to get our hair cut. It was much needed for me as my hair was down to my waste, so I got a few inches off to lighten the load for when I hit the road on my travels to explore Italian culture new and old. (Got carried away on a lil rhyme there, I know I'm a big loser). After the cut, we came back and chilled a bit, then got ready around 4 and caught the train. The plan was to find a random restaurant to satisfy our caesar salad, pizza, and white wine cravings. 
Did we ever hit the jackpot
- we found this amazing restaurant (Jules and David had actually been before) called l'ulivo and dined on authentic italian food and wine. DELISH. I splurged on some tiramisu but like I've said before, I'm through with the guilt. I'll get a personal trainer when I get home.... SO we cut it very close by leaving the restaurant at 7:20 and had mere minutes to get to the show for 7:30. We booked it through the streets and got into our seats literally 10 seconds before Dirty Dancing started. WHAT A SHOW. We were dyingggg omg go see it wherever you are it's AMAZING! We so loved it and I can't express how thankful I am to Jules that she gave me the best birthday I could have asked for, thank you my sweet sweet babe!!!!!!!
les woke me up early and came into my room, presents in hand. I opened the one from Christine first, and then that of Jules.... which was..... tickets to DIRTY DANCING ohhhhhhh babyyyy. I can't express how amazing this gift was! Will get to that soon.... So after prezzies, we got ready and headed out to get our hair cut. It was much needed for me as my hair was down to my waste, so I got a few inches off to lighten the load for when I hit the road on my travels to explore Italian culture new and old. (Got carried away on a lil rhyme there, I know I'm a big loser). After the cut, we came back and chilled a bit, then got ready around 4 and caught the train. The plan was to find a random restaurant to satisfy our caesar salad, pizza, and white wine cravings. 
Did we ever hit the jackpot
- we found this amazing restaurant (Jules and David had actually been before) called l'ulivo and dined on authentic italian food and wine. DELISH. I splurged on some tiramisu but like I've said before, I'm through with the guilt. I'll get a personal trainer when I get home.... SO we cut it very close by leaving the restaurant at 7:20 and had mere minutes to get to the show for 7:30. We booked it through the streets and got into our seats literally 10 seconds before Dirty Dancing started. WHAT A SHOW. We were dyingggg omg go see it wherever you are it's AMAZING! We so loved it and I can't express how thankful I am to Jules that she gave me the best birthday I could have asked for, thank you my sweet sweet babe!!!!!!!Tuesday - Tuesday I had a low key morning and headed into the city mid afternoon. I decided to head to Notting Hill station where I mooched around for 2 hours. I didn't head to Potabello Market as it was an odd day at an odd time, so I wandered the area and checked out little shops, book stores, and cafes on one of the main strips. I'm so in love with the architecture that riddles the streets of London, so it was an absolute joy to be walking around, taking in the sights, and enjoying the beautiful sunny day. Afterwards I jumped on the tube and headed to Bank station where I ran into Jules and decided to stick it out until she was finished work. She showed me a pub/restaurant where I settled down to eat some food, drink some drinks, and read my book. I stayed there for 3 hours and just took in what I was reading and the fact that I'm in London just enjoying life and not thinking about my life back at home, but just living in the now. It's so important to do that sometimes - just live in the now.
Wednesday - Yesterday was unremarkable. I blogged, read, hung out with the fam, ate, philosophized, and went to bed.
Thursday (aka today) - Was the first rainy day in the almost two weeks I've been here, which is incredible considering London's meteorological reputation. My plans for the day were shot though as I was going to go on a London Walk called "Mysterious London and The Da Vinci Code".... yes, I'm a huge nerd and was really looking forward to it but what can ya do. So here I sit, home alone as Christine went on a 3 day trip, drinking some wine and writing to you fine people. Dinner time now.
Tomorrow I'm heading into London with Jules, we're getting a private tour of Parliament (Jo, wish you could be there for that), then getting a special pic in front of 10 Downing, a huge priveledge thanks to Lee who is a cop and has connections. Then meeting up with my mumsie's best friend's daughter Alicia for some drinks. Will report end of weekend or early next week.
Hope you're all doing well back at home. Miss you guys, but not too much. Lots of love.
Kates xx <3>
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