It’s crisp outside and the skies are grey, hinting at rain but the clouds aren’t breaking just yet.  When your body involuntarily shivers occasionally whilst walking down the street, it’s yet another reminder that I’m not in warm, sunny Australia anymore!

I had a fantastic journey over here after I was upgraded to First Class.  The service in the cabin is just top-notch, along with the Dom Perignon and caviar!  The only glitch in the flight was that my inflight entertainment system was on the blink for the Sydney-Bangkok leg, and with the cabin being full there was no other seat available.  For the Bangkok-London leg however, there were only four of us in the cabin so I was able to switch seats.  All credit to the cabin crew who eased my disappointment by letting me choose a complimentary gift from the duty free catalogue.

Ben’s company has arranged temporary accommodation in Notting Hill for him (us!) so yesterday he took me around the local neighbourhood, including the Portobello markets that featured lots of little stalls selling Christmas trees, paella, fresh seafood, winter woollies and more.  There is such a nice village feel here, and lots of cafes and restaurants.  It reminds me a lot of Balmain, but unfortunately the rents here are incredibly prohibitive so I should banish any thoughts of living in Notting Hill!

For my birthday today, I met up with some friends for lunch and drinks, including a few that I hadn’t seen since 2000 (Paul and Graham above).  We leave tomorrow morning for our Christmas holiday trip.

And so the adventures begin!