Sun is in the sky....

...oh why oh why would I wanna be anywhere else? So the music theme continues, but it's hard to get Lily Allen's song LDN out of my head when we've had such great weather here in London!

We've had almost one week in London now, and have enjoyed exploring our new home and seeing as much as we possibly can (and doing some boring stuff like setting up bank accounts).

We arrived into Heathrow bright and early on Tuesday morning and jumped straight on the London Underground, which was one of the things I was looking forward to the most. Yeah, I'm a bit of a transport nerd, but how could you not love the tube when one arrives every two or so minutes, it costs 30 pounds per week for unlimited travel, and you feel like you are travelling around a monopoly board ( Leicester Square, Piccadilly, Regents Park to name a few). Plus the history behind it - the tube is the world's oldest underground rail system at over 138 years old, some of the stations have ghosts and some were even used as shelters during WW1 and WW2.

For those of you that were wondering, we have been completely safe over here during the riots. Fortunately, they haven't been in our part of town, although it's been interesting and sad to watch what is happening on the news. There have been some really sad stories of shops and buildings that have been in families for generations being burned to the ground by mindless 13 year olds. But London will recover and it seems the worst is over.

We've been staying with our friend Bron in Southfields, just between Wimbledon and Putney. I think we might look at living in this area when we arrive back in London as we love the friendly family feel and close access to everything. Bron has been a fantastic tour guide, making us feel really welcome, introducing us to other friends and showing us around town. Bron, I know you've been joking about setting up a tour company welcoming aussies to the town but I seriously think you could do it - your help and advice has been invaluable!

 View from London Eye

 Looking down the road near Buckingham Palace

 Checking out the swans while cycling in Hyde Park

 Portobello Road, aka Notting Hill markets

 Yep, they really take their pubs seriously over here

The prettiest bridge - Tower Bridge

So far, we've been on the London Eye and Madame Taussads, the Science Museum, Buckingham Palace, Portobello Markets at Notting Hill, bike ride through Hyde Park, taken a river boat cruise and checked out Piccadilly and Leicester Square. Highlights for me have been learning the history of Madame Taussads, watching the guards at Buckingham Palace, picking out landmarks from the movie 'Notting Hill' at Notting Hill and sailing under London Bridge. Not to mention the pubs - we've been to one or two every day since we've been here, and I've discovered new drinks such as Pimms, ciders and alcoholic ginger beer - there's a severe risk of becoming an alcoholic over here.

We are catching the Eurostar tomorrow to Paris to begin our French adventure! Hopefully my six months of French lessons will pay off, but we are very excited to indulge in some French pastries and cuisine - ooh la la!

Till next time, stay safe and have fun!