Fancy a Cuppa? Afternoon Tea in London

Afternoon Tea is one of those quintessential British activities and though we have done it in Devon and the Cotswolds, we haven't had High Tea in a posh London hotel. We didn't want to go to a big place like the Ritz or Dorchester, so instead we found a small out of the way hotel in Knightsbridge, so still plenty posh! 

The Egerton House Hotel is in two Georgian style townhouses on a side street and still maintains the feel of an early 19th century house.  

We took our tea in the sitting room, which also doubles as a bar. We went the full nine yards, starting with a glass of bubbly, before moving onto several pots of tea each, sandwiches, scones and lots of little pastries and cakes. 

We finished it off with a Martini for CW and a Cosmopolitan for Cora. The bar tender Antonio is supposedly the finest Martini maker in London so we couldn't resist trying one. Although it was CW's first martini, he can honestly say it was the best Martini he has ever had!

All in all we had an very relaxed three and a half hours enjoying how the other half, or 1%, live!

Ice Skating at Somerset House

The Christmas season in London is not complete without a trip to one of the ice skating rinks they put up at famous landmarks around the city. There are temporary rinks in Hyde Park, the Natural History Museum, Tower of London and Somerset House. We have been to all of them except the Natural History Museum, which is usually overrun with kids, but we have not skated at Somerset House in the evening, when it is a touch more romantic!

We went after work the first day back after the holiday break, giving us something to look forward to on what can be a bit of a depressing day! It was lovely, with a huge Christmas Tree all lit up and the rink bathed in either bluish or reddish light depending on the alternating lights. A bit of music and the happy chatter of people filled the large courtyard giving it all a magical feel. 

You only get an hour and the rink is a bit small and slightly cramped, but it is a great experience and has truly become a must-do wintertime activity in London.  Although there are other rinks in London, Somerset House is definitely our favourite setting!

The London 2012 Olympics

After seven years and numerous scare mongering newspaper articles about the lack of security, the assurance of transport chaos and the expectation of a sub-standard opening ceremony, the London Olympics have exploded into life. The opening ceremony was quintessentially British and though a lot of it may have been lost to the international audience, there were some truly inspired elements – namely Mr Bean and the Queen’s ‘parachute’ entrance. We spent most of the next two days glued to the telly, waiting for a British gold medal that was sluggish in coming.

The real highlight for us was the opportunity to go to a live Olympic event, Beach Volleyball. On a partially sunny afternoon,  it is Britain after all, we went along with our friends Oliver and Pascale to Horse Guards Parade. The organisers were truly inspired when they decided to build a 15,000 seat stadium in the middle of this historic location in central London. The atmosphere was amazing and the chance to sit in the sunshine and look over the roofs of Whitehall towards the London Eye while enjoying Olympic sport was a once in the lifetime experience.

Beach Volleyball is a sport that definitely does not take itself too seriously. There is none of this dead silence required during serves or while play is ongoing. In fact, the music blares between each point, there is synchronised clapping and all sorts of random shouts from around the stands. There is also the dancing troupe and loud cheers for the volunteers as they rake out the sand. Truly it is the Olympics mixed with a beach music festival.

Even with all the fun and frivolity happening, the players themselves are amazingly talented and truly athletic. Though many people say volleyball is all about the skimpy bikinis and ripped guys, the players are elite athletes and the quality of play was clearly evident – especially with the Brazilian teams.

It was certainly a massive difference from our efforts on North Avenue beach back in Chicago all those years ago! We saw two men’s and two women’s matches and all were very exciting as we saw the world champion women’s Brazilian team, the epically named ‘the Wall’ from the Brazilian men’s team and a fairly overmatched, but extremely well-supported, British men’s team.

It was a fabulous afternoon and we are so happy to have gotten the one set of tickets that we most wanted for this ‘home’ Olympics. It is certainly something that we will never forget.

A few photos from our amazing day out... please forgive the cheesy music