England

We arrived in Cambridge after a relatively short train ride, and walked to Alexis & Lou's flat to have a dinner with Josh's parents, Lou's mother, and the Gruner family from Germany, who the Kalderimis family had stayed with during their time in Germany quite a few years ago. They are such a lovely couple, and offered to host us if we make it up to Biberach during our travels through Germany. A lovely dinner and great conversation followed, and the night was spent at a Bed & Breakfast down the road, and our very sweet yet flustered host cooked us a breakfast which we enjoyed with the Gruners in the morning.

We ventured out into the streets of Cambridge while it was still sunny, and as it was open day for the colleges in the area, the cobblestone streets were swarming with people. Wandering through as tourists with cameras attached to us, we took in the gorgeous old buildings and quaint alleyways, before settling at a bar for a cider and then getting ready for the first part of the wedding at the registry office. The legal part of the proceedings, since the rest of the event was on the Sunday and at a college, this was a simple ceremony with family and friends.

After a meal at a local bar, we all rushed to the canal to make the last punting session of the day. Linking the boats together, except for one rouge boat headed by pirate Andrew, first mate Josh and captain Daniel further back down (Josh claims this was the best boat of all)... we toasted to the new couple with bubbly and strawberries, and coasted down the river with some experienced (and not so experienced) punters, before recounting the events of the week with Sophie, Marie and Simon at a corner bar on the canal.

That night the rain overtook the sun, and the outdoor ceremony scheduled for the afternoon looked as if it would be washed out. The contingency plan was a stack of white umbrellas, which proved to make a striking and picturesque setting for the pond-side affair. After a tour of Girton college where the ceremony was held, some tea and scones, and the cutting of the cake, the group retired to Felix Hotel for the rest of the evening. Josh, Sophie and I ended up at our own 'Exclusive Club' table for the dinner, as the rest of the guests on our table couldn't make it that evening. Three of us huddled to one side of huge round table, Josh and Sophie took advantage of the missing people by insisting to the waiting staff that their meals be left even though they weren't there... a few extra desserts later, a few bottles of wine later... we finished the evening with port and cheese and a number of guests from around the room visiting our 'Exclusive Club'.

The following morning, and the rain continued harder than ever. Catching a train back into London that afternoon, the weather still hadn't eased, dampening plans of a picnic in Hyde Park. This time the contingency plan resulted in a makeshift picnic on the floor of Daniel & Katherine's home, with more scones, wine, and other nibbles, before packing for the trip to France the next morning...

Some of the next day was spent in a place I won't hurry back to. We were yet to battle the crowds of the Oxford Street shopping district, and so decided to venture into the deep, as we actually did need to buy a few things. Josh's parents were down from Cambridge for the day, and so we teamed up with them and Josh's sister Sophie to walk the streets of the Monopoly board... After my poor feet decided they had been trodden on enough, we headed to Covent Gardens for a beer (well, actually I haven't quite got accustomed to beer yet, but the others had beer - although I was later introduced to cider which tickled my fancy), and then back to Oxford Circus to meet my old workmate Matt for a drink. We also realised how much time you need to allow for yourself to get anywhere in London - the result of being very late to a dinner date at my cousin's house. It was a fantastic night once we finally arrived. Gorgeous meal, amazing house, and flawless company.

Another jam-packed day followed, as it was our last full day in London, and we still had so much to do. We caught a tube (finally getting used to it) to Camden to see the markets, and also felt we were getting used to bartering, and walked away with our price on some clothing... And rushed down to the Borough Food Market at London Bridge. What an amazing place, filled with tastings of fresh cheese, fruit, sweets and any food you could ever crave... And as it was a week day we were without the stresses of the weekend crowds, although that would be an experience in itself. Must go back and enjoy more delights, as we were hurried out of there to catch a train to Cambridge for the night.

The day after the concert, and another one lined up... The Beck concert in Southampton that night. That morning we tried to get our bearings a bit by walking from Islington into the city on another stunning day. We met Andrew for lunch in the Church Yard of St Paul's, and were introduced to Paul's pastries. Afterwards we walked the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern, dwarfed by the giant graffiti art on the walls - a recent installation piece. As we had such limited time in London, we were getting used to the 'in-and-out' tours of these places, and had to limit our time in the Tate before heading to Waterloo station. I will definitely be going back to see more of what it has to offer, but did manage to squeeze in seeing the Pollocks, Klines, Rothkos... We walked the Thames to Waterloo station, and were thankful that the staff were very helpful with the information we needed, as we're still adjusting to reading giant sign boards with incomprehensible information.

We caught the train to Southampton and went straight from the station to the concert venue where we met Dan, a friend who works on the crew with Beck, and generously helped us out with tickets for the event. We strolled on into soundcheck with the band, and sat in the back rocking away to the wordless beats of the songs. After the gig, we waited around for pack up and ended up sitting in the tour bus (the crew's one, Beck quickly scampered away to his and departed) having some drinks with Dan, and one or two of the band until they left us to drive to Manchester for the next gig...

We caught the morning train back into the heart of the city, and spent the day walking the streets to see some more sites. Soho in search of the famous 'flat white', but found the fabulous Monmouth Coffee House instead, Neal's Dairy for some amazing blue cheese (not pricey at all if you were earning the pounds, like most things really! Pity about the NZ dollar...), Covent Gardens, Trafalgar Square and a glimpse at Buckingham Palace, and ended up at the British Museum - incredible architecture. With our newly acquired blue cheese, we picked up some red wine to have with Andrew, and went to the lock at the canal by his place where the houseboats lie.

From there it was into the city for dinner with Josh's brother Daniel, his wife Katherine and Josh's sister Sophie at the East Room, where we enjoyed fantastic cocktails and food, including one specially made cocktail for Josh by the 'NZ' bartender, who actually turned out to be Australian...

Fish in a sea of weird and wonderful accents, we arrived at Heathrow after what felt like an extended long-haul flight, although it was only 13 hours. Although 13 hours without any entertainment system working is a long 13 hours... Not impressed to say the least! We had finally made it, and were immediately introduced to London's underground to make our way back to Andrew's flat - thankfully with the lead of Andrew - in Angel, Islington. Rolling my suitcase down cobblestone streets, following Josh with many kilos on his back, this was the start of lugging our lives around behind us in bags. We discovered that London doesn't get dark until at least 10.30pm in summer which was a great excuse to go to the pub for our first drink in London. We met Josh's brother Daniel, his wife Katherine, and Josh's sister Sophie at the Organic bar down the road for one drink before we faded miserably into the pits of tiredness...

The next day was a strikingly sunny day, spent in Islington with my cousin Patrick and his partner Randy (who coincidentally live a short walk from where we were staying), and my sister Sarah and her boyfriend Mike who had travelled from Bristol for the day. A bit of a reunion over a beautiful Greek lunch, followed by a crash course in London tips...

That evening we were heading to the Erykah Badu concert, and caught the tube into the city, which gave me my first glimpse of the London riverscape, and all of the tourist sites scattered around it. We walked along past Millenium Bridge shadowed by the Tate Modern to Embankment to enjoy a drink in the sun, outside the caves of the bar below us. Another tube ride to Brixton where the concert was being held, and we arrived at the venue. An amazing voice, and an incredible show, but sadly jetlag may have hit us by this point and we weren't quite on form... But what a fantastic night.