Barbican Conservatory

On Sunday we met with some friends at the Barbican Conservatory, the second biggest conservatory in London, which is right in the heart of the city and not far from us. We found it incredibly peaceful and relaxing, while the kids particularly liked watching the big fish! It was the perfect way to spend an otherwise gloomy and cold day.

Final Afternoon Tea with the girls

No doubt, I will miss many things about London and my life here but one of the things I know I will miss the most is my little Afternoon Tea gang. My girlfriends and I have been enjoying lovely Afternoon Teas for the last few years and I treasure every single one of these moments. Last Saturday we had one final Afternoon Tea; this time we went for a limited edition, Matthew Williamson inspired Afternoon Tea at the iconic Balthazar in Covent Garden. The Afternoon Tea in itself wasn't the best we had had and definitely the location wasn't as cute as some of the other bakeries we visited; however, the butterflies and floral dessert were quite impressive and definitely caught our attention. Lord knows how much I will miss you girls! 

Local Strolls and Playgrounds

One thing Emilia and I have been doing a lot since I stopped working is wandering around our beautiful neighboroughood and visiting all the playgrounds in the area. It is official, Emilia loves slides! The weather has been quite nice, mostly sunny, although still a little bit chilly. Here are some recent pictures.

The Art of the Brick: Lego Exhibition

Today we finally went to see The Art of the Brick, an exhibition I had wanted to see in a long time! The exhibition was thankfully extended and today was the final day. It features over 80 pieces of art, all made with Lego bricks by the NYC based artist Nathan Sawaya. I knew I would like it and I was sure Emilia would love it too but I must say: it blew us away! It is a marvelous exhibition, not only for the works themselves but also for the sense of accomplishment and level of creativity and energy that the artist wants you to leave the exhibition with. I could see it again, and again, and again! I took a lot of pictures, here are just a few to give you an idea of what it is like. Amazing, right?! 

Barnes: Wetland Centre and The Boat Race

Yesterday we ventured all the way to Barnes, a lovely village in South-West London. Rob and I had been there before but this time we took Emilia with us and planned a full day of activities there. 

We took the train from Waterloo late in the morning and once in Barnes we walked straight to the London Wetland Centre, a green oasis for wildlife and people just a few minutes away from central London. The weather was nice, only a bit chilly, and we strolled around the park for hours! Emilia was in heaven and walked the whole time. To make things even more interesting, there was an Easter Duck Hunt going on and we had fun looking for the giant rubber ducks hidden in the park. 

Once we exhausted ourselves walking around the wetland centre, we took a stroll around Barnes village, one of the cutest villages in London. If we were not moving to the US, Rob and I would seriously consider looking for a place to settle here! Our friends Natalie and Dave live in Barnes, so we went to their place for some snacks before all heading down to the river to see the boat race, the historic, annual rowing race between Oxford University and Cambridge University. It was such a beautiful day and not surprisingly lots of people turned up to cheer for the guys. It was our first time seeing the race live and we absolutely loved it! It's one of those purely British traditions that I am glad we got to experience. Emilia was cheering for Oxford and guess what?! They won!