Happy New Year everybody!!!! 2012 has arrived and with it the perfect opportunity to make some resolutions (some we'll not keep and others perhaps we will manage to!). I hope that you all enjoyed the Christmas break...I have to admit that my first day back in Paris (yesterday) I struggled with some post-holiday blues. But now i am back at work, (it feels nice to be back) and i shall go for a run at the gym later. Have to get back on track with the exercise/eating regime : )
So, my Christmas break was lovely if any f you are interested! I travelled to London on Friday 23 December, arriving in Kings Cross/St. Pancreas for half 7 where i met Mr. Ryan Mark and off we went to Bond Street to meet my sister for dinner. The restaurant where we dined is called Ayoush, and my goodness was it scrumptious food! We had some nice starters, i forget which, but they were cheese based and vegetarian! Then for the main meal, Ryan took the vegetarian tagine, my sister the lamb tagine, and myself the lamb couscous. I also had a yummy cocktail called "Desert Iced Tea" which was made up of Tequila, Bourbon, fresh lime, coke and soda. I had two, they were that nice. Ryan did not leave one drop of sauce/food on his plate - so i think it is safe to say the place was a success and reasonably-priced i thought for the quality of the food. We were seated in the right hand corner, and had a lovely view out on to the street where we could ogle passers-by, see the Christmas lights, and watch all the red buses pass by...a really lovely night...which finished by us popping on the Jubilee Line to Kate's house (really nice and big and Christmassy!) where we exchanged some presents and drank tea and watched "Elf" (admission, i fell asleep somewhere rather near the beginning of the film and woke up at the end credits! Oops. I don't know if Ryan and Kate noticed, hope not!)
Saturday morning, we headed off to Borough market around 10. Kate sneakily had nothing for breakfast, as she knew what was awaiting her at the market! Ryan and i managed a croissant with some jam, with tea of course, but somehow this was forgotten when we arrived. I really enjoyed this market. It has lots of fresh food, lots of different types of food, and everybody seems to be completely relaxed and there to soak up the ambiance. I ate some really good steak and ale stew, Ryan opted for a vegetarian burger, and afterwards we even managed to split this huge chunk of brownie between the three of us, over a latté. Seriously, the brownies were like bricks. Ryan went off with the other two, and i bet he ate them all by himself the greedy little gannet (I'm clearly joking. Despite his voracious appetite, Ryan remains on the slim side, and would always share his things with other people. I think it's Kate who would sneak off and eat things by herself if i'm being honest haha! She also stays slim despite all the food she hoovers up.)
Next, we hit Selfridges (i had never actually been before) where i bought myself a Bare Minerals starter kit. Then Ryan left Kate and I to head home and join his mum : (, as we hit the Blink Brow Bar where we had our eyebrows threaded and a head, neck and shoulder massage. Both were absolutely sublime, and it is now my mission to let my eyebrows grow out a bit more and find somewhere in Paris that a) does threading and b) is not extortionately priced, so then c) i can go and get 'em did again! Next stop was Sweaty Betty where we got Kate a yoga mat and mat pouch, then Starbucks where we had a mint tea and quality chat. The rest of my time in London passed in a wonderful haze of TOO MUCH YUMMY FOOD, champagne, Downton Abbey (if you have not yet seen this, you MUST), Eastenders (which i had literally not seen in years!) and more quality time spend with Katie.
Next stop...New York!
Here are some pics from my London Christmas:
Borough Market! |
Mushroom and Cheese puff pastry thing - yummy |
Camembert and Rosemary...delicious! |
The cute Christmas tree which had cool sparkly lights to go with it! |