Marianne and Kathryn's visit...

Marianne and Kathryn (an Auntie and Cousin through Stephen's side) recently stopped in on their world (well, Europe and China) tour - Kathryn fresh from a Contiki tour around Europe that has just inspired us to see more places, and Marianne fresh from her first overseas flight.

We were working during the week, while they were having a great time checking out all of the sights, but on Saturday and Sunday we managed to take a some time to travel around with them.

First stop was Notting Hill for the markets, followed by Kensington Palace (on the outskirts of Hyde Park). Kensington gained much of its early fame by being the residence of an asthmatic king, who found the air much cleaner 2 miles out of London than he did within London itself - ironically the palace is now on the border of the congestion zone, and so the air may well be marginally less clean. More recently it is famous as the residence of Diana.


After checking out the opulent palace, we headed down to the Orangery, a beautiful cafe within the palace grounds. Originally a conservatory, it was refurbished during the 18th century at a cost of nearly 7000 pounds (quite a lot, compared to the budget of 3500 pounds - good to see some things never change). Here we feasted on scones and cakes, and felt really quite posh.

Very posh

Cakes at The Orangery

Dinner that night was a special treat for Sarah's birthday - we went to one of Gordon Ramsay's gastropubs, The Narrow, in Limehouse (just down the DLR from our place). Although simple in conception (fish and chips, bangers and mash and chicken and leak pie were three of the mains on offer) the quality of the ingredients and the preparation meant that it was a delicious meal. The view across the Thames was lovely as the sun set.

Dinner at The Narrow

Sunset on the Thames

Sunday we got up bright and early to visit Warwick Castle. Last time we'd been it was the depths of winter, and so none of the interactive exhibits were operating. This time, on the other hand, we got to see archers, duellists, the ghost tower (with real actors jumping out) and the trebuchet (which flings a 15kg weight 250 meters). It was a lovely day out.

At the gates of Warwick Castle

Loading the Trebuchet (watch the men walking in the hamster wheels)

Launching the Trebuchet

Marianne and Kathryn moved on to Paris, and then onto Beijing (and we are a little jealous...) but the house won't be empty long...next up, Blair!