Back to School in Camden Town, a.k.a The Highlight of Bry's Trip

On this fine day, we awoke extremely early and sleepily trundled off to school with Rosemary. After a delicious coffee at St Pancras (we are major fans of Rosemary's morning routine), we felt more alive and were once again able to function like almost normal humans. 

We signed in at reception as "ambassadors from Otago University, New Zealand" (we think Otago will appreciate this free PR) and because the school didn't have any visitor passes left, we were given sweet security passes that said we were construction workers. Possible career alternatives as builders beckoned, but Bryony, as we well know, is destined to teach. So teach we did. 

The school, as seen on the internet a few years ago.

Rosemary had arranged for us to hang out in the science department, imparting our wisdom and inspiring young minds. We went along to classes of all ages, including tutoring fifth formers on genetics and running a seventh form class about human biology all by ourselves. Bryony's little face was all aglow. Alex, despite vowing to never in her life become a teacher, admits she really enjoyed the day as well. Especially the human biology part, as it was like med but stuff she actually knew. 

We also experienced the joy of a real English school lunch, and enjoyed the amount of easily breakable plastic cutlery we used up during the course of the meal. 

We just happened upon Rosemary in a classroom, crafting the minds of the future generation.
Just kidding, this photo is also off the internet (but is probably true about the minds part) 

After school, we headed down to the Camden Lock market - the first of many markets we would visit in our journeys (we do love a good market). Camden was pretty awesome - just like a really big version of Cuba street, but with more people selling Cath Kidston knockoffs and those scarves, the scarves that are sold at every market ever. It was very pretty as well, with the water and the fairy lights everywhere, and the various music coming from different directions. After being accused of Australianism by an attractive man selling goat leather bags, viewing some Maori pounamu of questionable authenticity,  coming across even more stone lions (seriously, they are everywhere in London), being harassed in good fun by street vendors, and being tempted by glorious second hand clothes and shoe shops, we ate some delicious street food and made our merry way back to Charlton. 

Thumbs up for super funky Camden. Sadly there were few punks to be seen.

At one point we did possibly see a crime taking place though.
A man rode past on a pushbike, wearing a balaclava and yelling loudly. He was clearly running away from the scene of the crime on his getaway bike. 

This photo is for the benefit of the Harrow Kitties. A foodstuff we could all enjoy without getting ill. 

Stay tuned for even more London experiences, that we share from our hostel room in Paris, over a month after they occurred! (we are super speedy at blogging). 

Charlton, A Place Where We Lived For A Bit; Also, A Nice Coffee At Last

We know you, our insatiable public, have all been waiting for further amusing and witty anecdotes of our trip with bated breath, so now we bring forth tidings of A Day in Which We Did Not Do Very Much. 

John and Rosemary live in Charlton, in south east London.  At the start of Our Adventure, we stayed with them for about ten days. On the third day of our trip (yes, this is post five, a month and a bit in, and is covering day three - showing we are both slack and ridiculously, excessively, garrulously verbose) we decided to have a lazy day around home and to explore our local environs.

We've kind of already spoiled the surprise of what we did this day, as you've already seen most of the photos we took - they were of the squirrelfriends we met at Charlton House. 

Also, for any of you who have been closely following our coffee-related escapades, you'll be pleased to know that we procured delicious coffee at a cute little coffee shop in the middle of the park with John. It was good. We were happy. 

Bryony photographs the street. Unnecessary caption on self explanatory photo.

A stunning example of said street photography.

Alex can hardly compete. Also, look! Blue sky!

We then wandered up to Charlton House, and John gave us a quick tour. It was all very grand and fancy like the fancy people have in the novels set at a time when they had houses like this.

So grand! Incredibly Austen-tatious (oh ho ho).

Ally and Brybry wished they had big flouncy dresses
so that they could swish them passive-aggressively
while engaging in witty repartee with a sardonic Austenian protagonist
(preferably one who looked like Colin Firth circa BBC pride&pred)
out here by the archway during a big fancy house party.

Not Colin Firth, but still quite cute.

Ally is,  however,  probably not ladylike enough to live at Charlton House.

It's Narnia! 

We often have some catty roommates, who even take up more of the bed than Bryony does. 

Handsome Boris. 

Ohai there. I can haz matching pjs?

Little happy Mo.

Oh I'm not a model. The camera just accidentally went off by itself.

This was also the joyous day upon which Ally found out that she had passed her examinations, and thus would not need to fly back to NZ in January to resit them (praisebetosweetbabyjesus).

Let the Adventure Continue, they said! Huzzah!

Taking Photos Of Buildings One Ought To Take Photos Of When One Is In London: Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, Where Have You Been?

We've been to London to visit The Queen. 

After commuting into central London so successfully you'd think we lived there or something (I'm looking at you Oyster Card, bip bip), we went to all the places in London you are supposed to go to in London when you are in London and took photographs of them. That being said, we don't know what this first building is. 

A parliamenty building, perhaps?

Brybry, unlike real paparazzi, put her optical zoom to 

good use and took a photo of a possible dodgy 

political deal going down, instead of just trying to 

photograph the boobs of the Duchess of Cambridge.

We had a good wander around the outside of Westminster, but decided not to sneak in after seeing the police with their massive FO rifles guarding the entrances. Travel is making us wise. 

Look! Westminster! We also opted not to photograph the police and their FO rifles. 

It was a very windy day in London. Felt like home. 

Standing next to Emmeline Pankhurst, a badass militant suffrage activist.

Yeah, feminism! 

The London Eye, artily framing some statue. Ally opted not to go on the
Eye, for obvious reasons.

In the grounds of Westminster, looking out over the Thames which is about as clean as the Leith (As we are such worldly travelers, we feel the need to clarify we mean Dunedin's Leith,  not Edinburgh's. That'll come later and it is cleaner. We're assuming. We haven't actually seen it yet. We'll keep you posted.)

Alex looking unintentionally sultry, like a fashion model or something.

Bryony tries to compete with Alex's sultriness, and wins. 

Westminster from one of the plethora of bridges over the Thames, whose name we have forgotten.

Next we were off, somewhat reluctantly, to Buckingham Palace - another place one ought to take a photo of. Some excitement was experienced, however, when a lesser garden-variety royal was driven past us in a black taxi, preceded by a veritable cavalcade of whistling, motorcycling policemen (blowing whistles, that is; not whistling with their mouths, in some kind of peculiar chorus designed to entertain aforementioned minor royal). 

Though we are but humble students from the Antipodes, we would like to suggest that a policeman's whistling energies might be better spent in some kind of orchestral arrangement, like the hypothetical in the above paragraph. 

Look! Buckingham Palace! No mice were found under any chairs.

Apparently we gave these statues to The Queen.

They are supposed to represent (swarthy?) New Zealand settlers domesticating the native NZ lion.

 During our approach to the palace, Brybry was left behind, due to her penchant for excessively safe road crossing practices. As Bry traversed five sides of an octagon in the name of road safety, Ally, having crossed the single necessary road, sat at the fountain and read the book she had purchased earlier that morning from one of the many amazing second hand book shops on Charing Cross Road. Whilst Ally got through a good few chapters, Bryony passed the time spent waiting for lights to change by documenting from afar.

Ally settles down by the fountain to wait.

Chapter One of new book.

Chapter Two of new book.

Chapter Three of new book.

Final chapter of new book. Just kidding, it was only Chapter Four.

More of the day was spent wandering around and exploring London, taking photos of squirrels and buildings, and at the National Gallery.

Brybry and her new equine friend.

Brybry and her new avian friend. This is the park where we met some of
the squirrels of the Squirrel Post. 

The back of the Horse Guards place.

 That evening, we met John and Rosemary for snacks and then headed off to the West End to see MATILDA THE MUSICAL. And it was fantastic. Tim Minchin's lyrical genius was showcased in its full glory, and the set was INCREDIBLE. It was so great. We shall stop explanation here to avoid gushing.

Casual awesomeness onstage.

 This all occurred on the 20th of November. It's on the date stamp of the pictures, in case you were wondering. 

The Overseas Coffee Snobbery Begins; Also, Greenwich Is Really A Nice Place

Anywhere a latte comes in a glass is not a place one wants to be spending one's pennies. 

Our arrival at John and Rosemary's heralded the True Beginning of our Adventure, and thus it was time for the Matching Pyjamas of Dunedin to make their International Debut. The pyjamas hadn't got many caps in Dunedin, despite their promising beginning; however, high hopes were held for their future performance on foreign soil.

Tired,  rumpled, and probably dirty from a million hours of
aeronautic transportation, but the pyjamas managing to
look supremely glamourous nonetheless. 

We decided to start our time in England where time starts. So on the 19th of November, off we marched to Greenwich (literally, we walked there). Greenich was lovely. 

Brybry whimsically swinging on a fence by the Thames.

Unintentionally artistic photo of Brybry's taking a photo of
The Royal Naval College. It was very pretty.

We explored the Greenwich museum and learnt some Fun Facts about the history of the area. 

Ally, attired appropriately after swearing,
fighting, gambling, not to going to Chapel, and
being drunk and disorderly.

Brybry, who never swears and always goes to
Chapel, dressed in regular attire.

We wandered through Greenwich park and had some lunch with our new squirrel friends (this was the first day we had encountered them - you're lucky we have any photos of anything else to show you) before heading up to the Observatory.

Lunch in the pretty park. Sadly the community herb garden
had no basil for our tomatoes and cheese, but Brybry
seems to be enjoying it quite a lot anyway. 

Token photo at the meridian line.

Playing in the crunchy crunchy leaves in the Observatory gardens...

...And inadvertently having the same leaf jumping technique.

After this, there are no photos because the hot caffeinated beverage masquerading as coffee we procured was not worth photographing.