Portsmouth and London - the first week

We are now at the Starbucks in Kuala Lumpur airport, waiting for our connecting flight to Melbourne. I have ordered a Green Tea Latte which is pretty weird tasting - I would not recommend it! Our flight is 15 minutes delayed at this point - desperately hoping that it doesn't get any further delayed. The post-holiday/going-back-to-work stress is starting to set in. We arrive back in Melbourne on Sunday morning at 6am and then are straight back to work on Monday, and I am vaguely starting to remember all the work I left behind. I did a pretty good job of forgetting about work these past three weeks, which was needed as my first 6 months as Head of Maths have not been the easiest, and I was in desperate need of a break. 

I am also feeling quite unfit and unhealthy at the moment, which is a worry as I am running the Sydney Marathon in 10 weeks time. My training was going really well until we went on holiday. The longest run I managed these past 3 weeks was 10k, when really I should be over the 20k mark by now. These next 10 weeks are going to be a good time to refocus on exercise and nutrition after 3 weeks of indulgence!

Ok so back to the trip... We spent our first night in Brixton as mentioned and then headed off to Portsmouth to see Andy's family. We met for lunch at Old Thorns in Liphook, where we got married over 2 years ago. It's always nice to spend some time reminiscing about your wedding day and having lunch brought back some good memories. The next day we headed out to walk along the seafront in Old Porstmouth and have lunch with Andy's high school friends in Gunwharf, and then back to one of their houses for a BBQ that evening. One of the couples just had a baby and the other just got married, so it was a great opportunity to see the baby and to watch a few video highlights from the wedding we missed. It is hard being so far away and missing these important events - this is where we have struggled the most with our move to Oz.

Old Portsmouth

I headed back to London the next day for a spa day with Kristin. We went to the ESPA Life spa at the Corinthia and I could not recommend it more. I usually find hotel spas disappointing as they don't always have the full 'day spa feel' but this one definitely did. A bit pricier than others but it was a pretty special occasion as Kristin and I are rarely in the same country at the moment. We had the City Hideaway Spa Experience (basically the cheapest package available!) and it was bliss. Lunch first in a completely white room (white marble floors and tables, white leather chairs) and everyone in their bathrobes. I don't know what it is about eating lunch in a bathrobe, but to me it feels like such an indulgence. That was followed by a massage, facial, pedicure and then time to relax in the thermal heat area: hot tub, sauna, steam room, along with giant bowl of ice shavings to cool down with. The area is dimly lit and all black so very chilled and relaxing. The only criticism was that this area is open to hotel guests so there were a few kids in the pool, which ruins the mood a little!

Betty met up with us after the spa for a drink, and then her and I went to Gordon's Wine Bar on Embankment for a glass of vino, massive plate of cheese and a catch up. I cannot tell you how much I miss having Betty and Jon in Melbourne to hang out with. It makes such a difference having friends that know you well and I think Jon put it very well when he said our company was 'effortless'. Good friends are effortless company, what a lovely thought!

The next few days consisted of Andy and I frantically trying to find some clothes to wear for the wedding in Spain. I think we both thought it would be easy to shop in London for something to wear, like we would just pop up to Oxford Street and get two whole outfits and be done with it in an hour. I think we somehow forgot how ridiculously busy Oxford Street is. Even in the middle of the day on a weekday. It also didn't help that the sales had just started, so all the stores looked like a jumble sale. Total nightmare! I think all the stressful shopping completely undid any sense of relaxation I had from the spa day.

In the evenings we got together with different groups of friends, including Andy's uni friends and old co-workers from pretty much every school I worked at in London. 

Ok I didn't get a chance to add pictures to this post before boarding the plane, so we are home now as I add this last bit. We are TIRED and had a 3 hour nap when we got home from the airport at 8am. I feel like we may regret this in a few hours when we try to go to bed. Anyway I will finish up the details of our trip this week - am now off to get myself ready for a week back at school.

Portsmouth Harbour