Well hello again my lovelies, from a cold, wet, dreary Ballyliffin. Normally, when people complain about the weather here, I disagree, because I don't think it's that bad! But Ireland has had rain every day since the end of December, and it has been very cold and windy as well. After a point, it does start to get you down, and even though the days are getting longer, it's difficult to tell, as the clouds have been so thick! I definitely haven't been able to take any nice sunset photos so far this year. Of course, it could be wonderful weather, and I would still be struggling, because my depression is ongoing and constant, but there you go.
Anyway. Here are some photos from last year for you to enjoy. I spent the third week of September in London with friends, so a bit of a change of scenery for you! Of course, I was having so much fun with friends that I forgot to take many photos, so they're mostly selfies, but you can get some idea of my adventures anyway.
On Monday 15th September, I traveled by bus from Ballyliffin to Carndonagh, where I unfortunately missed my connection, so I had to get a taxi from Carn to Derry, where I then got the AirCoach to Belfast International. From there I flew to Stansted, and then traveled by train and Tube into central London, meeting up my friend Jonathan and his family in the Oxford Circus area. I've known Jonathan since my early days in Virginia, which is almost 20 years ago now. He and his mother, brother, and sister were all spending a week in London, and luckily for me, they didn't mind me crashing their family holiday! Since I also have lots of friends, as well as my brother living in the Greater London area, I thought it would be a great opportunity to catch up with several people at once.
I got to stay at the
Langham Hotel with Jonathan and his family, which was definitely a fun experience for me. It was the poshest place I've ever stayed, and since they had Club access, I got to partake in that too. Caviar for breakfast? Don't mind if I do! Champagne at any time of day? Well, I don't really like Champagne, but it would be rude not to, right?! Haha! I'm so glad I went, because it is very unlikely I'll experience anything like that ever again, so definitely a fun memory. I did feel somewhat out of place with my blue hair and charity shop clothes, but all of the staff there were beyond amazing, and we were treated like royalty.
 |
| The Club, AM. |
 |
| The Club, PM. |
Every day we had breakfast at the
Langham Club, which had a fancy buffet spread, as well as meals to order á la carte. I drank a LOT of their fancy tea as well. Later in the day they had light snacks and finger food, and in the evening there was soups, salads, and other options. And of course, you could order whatever you wanted to drink. The Champagne was free-flowing, but after the first obligatory glass, I switched to Bloody Marys, or wine, depending on my mood. Most days we were all out and about exploring other places and trying different restaurants, but it was so nice to have that option if we stayed in. I kept saying I was being so spoiled! It's difficult to go back to a Premier Inn after that, haha!
 |
| New Album Cover, obviously. |
 |
| Oxford Circus Tube Station. Steep! |
Tuesday evening, I traveled by Tube to Gants Hill, where I met up with my brother, and we went to dinner with some of his closest friends, and their son. They chose one of their favourite restaurants, Harman, which is a Turkish Grill, and it was fabulous, I'd highly recommend it. After saying our goodbyes I traveled back and met up with Jonathan and his sister at the Wigmore Bar attached to the hotel for a pint. After that, Jonathan and I went to the Artesian Bar inside the hotel for a cocktail. While you know I usually love a pint of real ale, the Artesian was a VERY fancy bar, with very fancy drinks, and I thoroughly enjoyed it each time we went. It was all part of the experience.
Wednesday, after another fancy breakfast, I went out with Jonathan and his sister for the afternoon. They wanted to do some shopping and exploring, and I was more than happy tagging along. Laurel had been to London before, but had never been to a proper pub, so I took it upon myself to find as many nice ones as possible. After all, exploring the inside of old historical buildings is something you have to do in London! And if those buildings also serve beer, that's a bonus, haha! Later we went back to the Club to meet up with the others, and I ate there. (They had prawn cocktail and an amazing cream of broccoli soup, and I couldn't resist!) After that, I went with Jonathan and his brother Nathan to another local pub, the Argyll Arms, and they ate while I had more real ale. And then we went back to the Artesian for a nightcap.
 |
| The Churchill War Rooms. |
Thursday after breakfast I went with the whole family to the Churchill War Rooms, which was absolutely fascinating. A wonderful exhibit, and such an important chapter in history. I highly recommend you go if you get the chance! Afterwards, Jonathan, Laurel and I continued our exploration of bookshops and pubs, which was a lot of fun. Later we ate at the Wigmore, and then Jonathan and I went for a walk around the surrounding area and visited more pubs. Did I mention we did a lot of drinking that week?!
 |
| St. James's Park. |
 |
| Fibonacci Staircase. |
 |
| The Langham at night. |
Friday was a very busy day. After another lovely breakfast at the Club, I walked to the nearby Wallace Collection and met up with my friend Karina. I have known Karina since we were 12, and love her dearly, but because of living in different countries, we don't get to see each other nearly as often as I would like. She now lives in Cambridge, and luckily, has Fridays off work, which worked out perfectly for us! She had wanted to visit the Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur exhibition at the Wallace Collection, so we went there first, and it was every bit as weird and wonderful as we hoped.
 |
| Grayson Perry, Delusions of Grandeur Exhibit. |
From there we walked to Bentley's in the West End, because I had gotten us tickets to the London Oyster Championship! Quite random, but when I was looking up things to do in London, I came across this event, which looked like a lot of fun. As soon as I knew that Karina also enjoyed oysters, I booked our tickets, which included entry to the event, oysters, drinks tickets, gift bags, and invitations to the after party. Other than that, we didn't know what to expect, and it ended up being a lot fancier than we anticipated! We got front row positions to the Shucking Competition, but stood a little further back for the 'Best Dressed' contest, (as in dressed oysters, with different toppings) which was judged by Prue Leith, and some other celebrity chefs whom I didn't know. It turned out the dapper gent we were chatting to was Prue Leith's husband, John Playfair, who was lovely! After the celebrations died down there, we went next door to the after party at the Cuckoo Club. It was so much fun hanging out together and having a few drinks, and experiencing something so different from our daily lives.
 |
| London Oyster Championships. |
 |
| Prue Leith, Judging. |
 |
| Prue Leith's husband, John Fairplay. |
 |
| I love this woman! |
 |
| Drink tickets coming in handy! |
After Karina left, I headed back to the Wigmore for something more substantial than oysters, and then went to the Artesian again with Jonathan for drinks, before he and I went out exploring again. He was in the mood for Indian food and we ended up walking to Soho and finding somewhere that was still open late. (Pretty much the only thing I miss about living in a big city is the variety and availability of different cuisines!)
 |
| Gotta love a big mirror selfie. |
Saturday we had breakfast at the Club again, even though I knew I was going out for lunch later. I don't usually eat breakfast, and I rarely eat more than one full meal a day, due to my health issues, but all the walking and drinking that we were doing definitely helped my appetite. It was a nice change, and so wonderful to be able to eat and enjoy different foods. So later I set out and got the Tube to Tottenham Court Road, and went to the Arcade Food Hall to meet up with my brother again. This was a place that had been recommended to him a few times, and we were both excited to try it. Like an American style food court in a mall, there are multiple different places and cuisines to choose from, and you can just sit at your table and order from your phone. Great for when you're not sure what you want, so you can order small plates from several different places! I was in the mood for some Mexican food, and had some guacamole, salsa, tacos, and grilled peppers, and a margarita to wash it all down! Afterwards we explored the local area a little bit, had a coffee, went in to see the Outernet, and had a lovely catch up.
 |
| The Outernet. |
Later it was back to the Langham to change, and myself and the Burney family went for a lovely last meal together at Bocconcino in Soho, before going back to the hotel Club for some last drinks together. I had had such a wonderful time with them, and was so grateful that they had allowed me to tag along everywhere. I had tried not to crowd them too much, since it was a family holiday, and prior to this week, I only knew Jonathan, but by the end of the trip I felt like part of the family! Jonathan and I made a last visit to the Artesian bar later, since we are both night owls compared to everyone else there. If you ever get a chance to go there, they have some incredible cocktails to choose from, and I had been slowly working my way through the ones that appealed to me. I might just have to go back to London just to go there again!
 |
| Yes, he's that tall. |
 |
| The Burney Family. |
 |
| Classy last drink at the Artesian Bar. |
 |
| Not so classy drink at the Stansted Airport Bus Stop. |
Sunday we enjoyed our last breakfast at the Club, (I was really going to miss that place!) and then finished packing and said our goodbyes. Irish, Laurel, and Jonathan were all flying back to Virginia, and Nathan had to fly back to Texas, so they had long days ahead of them. I only needed to travel as far as Stansted, but that took a while too, haha. And even though I had traveled lightly for the week, I seemed to acquire an extra bag full of gifts and souvenirs, which was a strain on public transport, but I made it there safely. The original plan had been to meet some MORE friends from Virginia at the airport, and spend some time with them, but in the end they had to change their flight so things got rearranged. Instead, I got to see Karina again! She came to pick me up at the airport, and we went back to her house in Cambridge where I was able to stay the night. It was lovely seeing her partner Lucas again, as well as their children. I got to do some crafts with Karina and her youngest, eat a wonderful meal cooked by Lucas, have several drinks, and chat until late. I also got to stay in their guest house at the bottom of the garden, which was incredible!
Monday I got up early to say goodbye to Karina before she went off to work, and then Lucas kindly gave me a lift to the train station. I got a train back to Stansted airport, and flew back to Belfast International. From there I caught the AirCoach back to Derry, and then a bus to Carndonagh, and then I was lucky enough to have a cousin nearby who could pick me up for the last leg. So I bought him a couple of pints of Guinness at the Ballyliffin Townhouse as a thank you, and to round off a very full and exciting week!
