Lifestyles of the Rich and the famous

I took another stab at shopping today. My expedition led me to a well known shopping area called Knightsbridge. I found Harrods here and saw the most beautiful, spectacular and expensive dresses and clothing. I continued through the Knightsbridge area, poking my head into a boutique here and there. Unfortunately for me all the boutiques only sold hand-made couture dresses that would cost anyone but the rich and the famous an arm and a leg. So my dreams of finding the perfect dress in London slowly started to die away with every step I took down that street. My dad met me there again and we both went by bus to a mall Schalk had recommended. No luck there either though, but I couldn't care less anymore. I took the train back to the West End after that and went to see Chicago! And I had thought Wicked was awesome... Maybe it's just because I'm already so obsessed with it, but it was totally different than I had expected. But brilliant nontheless. All that Jazz!

Wonderous World of the Wicked Witch of the West

My dad and I tried to go to the London Dungeon this morning, but we didn't have enough time to complete the entire tour so we went to Buckingham palace instead. The queen was home, but she was busy with some politician so we had to postpone our tea party. Maybe next time... After our visit to the palace we walked down to Trafalgar Square, where Dad had to go to some fancy business lunch I was once again not invited to. I headed up to the National Gallery and spent the afternoon staring at the works of Van Gogh, Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci. Later I went over to the Big Ben and houses of Parliament where I took about a thousand pictures. Why can't architects these days be more creative. All the detail on those buildings is just so amazing! How can anyone think that less is more when you see all that beauty? I came across an interesting sight when walking around Parliament Square. The Square has about 6 large statues of political figures that have played a great role in the world's history. Among them are Abraham Lincoln and even Nelson Mandela. I met up with my dad a little later and we took the tube to meet up with Schalk again. I then saw my first ever West End musical, Wicked. It was so amazing. I was literally sitting on the very edge of my seat the entire time, with a huge goofy grin on my face. It was spectacular and breathtaking and I loved every single second of it. I just really wish I could have shared it with my best friend. Nina would really have loved it...

Home sweet home

So I got up a little late adain this morning. I don't seem to have that whole "wake up early because you're in London" thing down pat. Maybe tomorrow? Anyway... I took a trip down to Oxford Street to do some shopping. That didn't work out so well though. Maybe I can buy a shirt there tomorrow. If my parents sell their house and all our cars in time... As soon as I walked into the main department store there I knew it was going to be bad... Suffridges is a 5 storey building filled with designer lables in every nook and corner. Everywhere I looked I could see Chanel, Dolce and Gabanna and Dior. I didn't have to look at any price tags. In fact I didn't even dare to touch anything! I walked through that store with my mouth hanging open like an idiot and both my hands tucked safely into my pockets. I started feeling a little light headed and decided it might be better to find the nearest exit. I wandered down the rest of Oxford Street in a daze untill I came upon a sign. I sign that said: Notting Hill Gate. I know I've always said that I love Namibia and I'll always live there, but I found my home today. I love everything about Notting Hill. The small little store. The cute two storey flats packed closely together. All the market stalls and friendly people and antique shops. Colours and music everywhere! And I really just felt that I could breathe! If home is where the heart is, then my heart's in Notting Hill.

Eye see London, Eye wish Eye'll see France

After an eventful day my dad and I just wanted to do something relaxing like watch a movie... that didn't quite work out as planned though. Instead we ended up 135 m up in the air, overlooking 40 km of city. Yep, me and my dad, who just so happens to be afraid of heights, spent 30 mins in a revolving wheel overlooking London's most famous sights. The London eye. I've been on it before, but that time doesn't really count, since we spent most of the trip sleeping (long story). I thought it was awesome, and my dad agreed, though I could see that he preferred sitting on the bench in the centre of the compartment, rather than stand at the edge with me. The view from up there is spectacular, unbelievable and completely undescribable (no really, I wish I could describe it to you, but I just don't have the words). All the while I was up there I was also thinking of how great it would be to see a view similar to this one, only that viewing point is at the top of a triangular structure in Paris and not a rotating wheel. A girl can dream can't she?

Animals aren't only found at the zoo

Sunday morning started a little later than i had planned, but I did only sleep for about two hours on the plane, so who could blame me? After breakfast with dad and uncle Chicken (as he shall henceforth be known) I set off through Regents park to the ZSL London Zoo. On my way there I came across the most beautiful, albeit a little spooky, churchyard. It was a quiet forest-like area in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world and almost deserted, except for two old grannies siting on a bench with their knitting needles in hand. The churchyard was filled with tree and oddly shaped stones, which on further inspection, I found out were actually headstones. They dated back to the 1700s and most of the names couldn't even be read anymore, but they were still there, hidden between the bushes and undergrowth, and the more I started to look around, the more I found. They were everywhere, and they gave the lovely tranquil garden an eery feel. I loved every second of it. After that I continued through the park to the zoo, which it turns out, isn't like our zoos in SA. It's obvious from the get-go that this zoo actually has money. They have special features and effects at each exibit and the animals definitely don't live in shoe boxes. You actually have to spend about 5 minutes looking for each animal in its enclosure. That fact instantly removed the guilty feeling I usually have when entering a zoo. I hate seeing animals locked up in cages, but these guys were clearly having the time of their lives. Living it up in a posh London neighbourhood with not a care in the world. This, unfortunatly, made me feel even worse for the animals in the SA zoos though.

I found out a little later that afternoon that the zoo wasn't the only place in London to find exotic animals. It became clear as soon as my dad and I set foot at Lord's Cricket Grounds that it was going to be an interesting afternoon. The final of the mens World T20 match was electrifying. Sri Lankan and Pakistani fans packed the stands and the noise was overwhelming. I quickly pointed out to my dad that cricket definitely wasn't a "gentlemen's game" anymore. The fans were ecstatic! Both teams played a convincing game, but it was the fans that made the match worth watching. Even those rooting for Sri Lanka, like my dad and I, starting singing with the Pakistan fans towards the end of the game.you just couldn't escape the excitement, and their tunes were actually quite catching. Our group (all the people attending the ICC conference that stay in our hotel) even made a new friend in the form of a very drunk Pakistani guy who landed a seat right in the middle of us. That guy should have been wearing a number 23 jersey at a rugby match!

After the match we all tried to escape the stadium as soon as possible. The match might have ended, but the fans went on chearing for much much longer. And I thought it was an advantage staying in a hotel right next to Lords...

The Home of cricket

After the match we had a quick lunch/dinner with Schalk (my dad's friend) and his mates on a boat. We ended being pretty late and had to run to get to the hotel in time. We took a quick shower, got dressed in flash and then scurried over the street to Lord's, The Home of Cricket. We attended the ICC's cocktail party and met so many people from so many countries, with so many accents I almost got whiplash! My dad's cousin, Marais, who's an international umpire, was there and the two of us spent the evening making fun of all the countries that we weren't even sure was being enough to fit a cricket field in. Like St. Helena and Cyprus. I met some really nice people from Chile and Ireland and had an intense debate with the guy from Ruanda about women's cricket. I was actually quite surprised at myself. I hadn't noticed that I'd been listening to my dad all these years, untill I was face to face with some of the biggest names in cricket, and i was up to speed with what they were saying and could wip out plenty of facts about Namibian cricket and keep our country's name proud. The Long Room, which is the most important historic site for cricket was absolutely beautiful. It was, a the name implies, a long room with high ceilings looking out onto Lord's cricket grounds. Take 3 steps out the victorian style doors and you were literally on the outfield. The paintings on the walls of the Long Room dated back to 1744. I was scared to breathe in there! But as it turns out, all those very important looking people are soem of the coolest most down to earth people I've met. Except maybe for the Brits...they're a bunch of snobs. Big surprise there!

"Sorry Love"

After meeting all the lovely gents in the hotel, Dad and I set off into the city. We hopped on a bus and then the tube (I love saying that!). We then got off around Piccadilly Circus and tried to do some shopping. Though we didn't actually buy anything. It's not that I didn't want to, believe me! It was just so bloody expensive. I felt guilty for even looking at stuff. Horror struck then, when we walked into a clothing store. I almost started to cry! The store was Mango and it was like it was designed for me! I would have worn any single outfit in that store every day for the rest of my life! It's nearly impossible to find clothes that style in SA not even to mention Nam. Oh well.... We then walked around for a while and came across something I have been waiting for, for 2 years! A Starbucks!!!! I immediately went up to the counter and order my usual Grande Caramel Macchiato. It was like riding a bike! Then my dad goes and orders a Hot Chocolate... Who orders a hot chocolate at Starbucks? It's STARBUCKS!!!!
After my little reunion with a long lost friend we hoppedon the tube again and met up with some friends at the coolest Ausie bar I've ever been in. Well, technically it was the first Ausie bar I've ever been in, but that was just for dramatic effect.... It's called "Walkabout" (Like in the movie!haha) and it was acked to the brim with both Brits and South Africans. All of them ready to watch the Boks and the Lions. Kind of ironic isn't it? Watching the Springboks play the British Lions in an Australian bar.... Like I said on my Facebook status, I learned a few important things about pubs in England.... 1. It's packed with Brits 2. They are really drunk 3. They are really loud when they're drunk 4. You cannot understand a word these loud, drunk Brits say 5. They keep saying "Sorry Love" everytime they bump into you (which I love!hehe) 6. It's the best place to watch the Boks smash the Lions!

Business is boooming a mile high

So when we arrived at Hosea Kutako our luck started to turn for the better and we got upgraded to business class for the trip from Windhoek to Joburg. I know its not much and its a shame that it wasn't for the longer leg of the journey, but business class is still business class. We got to hang out in the business class lounge and sit in the most comfortable chairs and we weren't served anything out of a plastic container. We actually got proper cutlery on an aeroplane! Who would have thought it possible? Our section of the plane was filled with very important business people doing very important business things and that didn't want to be interupted by anything that wasn't either a) Very important or b) Business related. That's why it was such a shame when we came across a very unhelpful SAA employee in Joburg, who just couldn't seem to get hold of his supervisor when we had been tagged for another upgrade. We supposedly didn't look important or businessy enough for him. Oh well.... 11 hours in a shoe box is that bad...... but who cares about our crappy flight? I'm in freakin LONDON!!!!
From the minute I set foot in the country everything was a blur. We went through the whole trip from Heathrow to our hotel in half an hour, which has to be some sort of record. when we got to the hotel our rooms weren't ready though, which immediately burst our bubbles.
We got straight to meeting and greeting though. I met the 2 nicest guys in the world during breakfast. They're my dad's friends from Botswana. I love Chicken. He's a character that guy!
We took a quick shower in their room, before setting off and starting our London adventure.

Flying SOLO

I firmly believe that to truely enjoy another person's experience one needs to know all the details. You can't jump into a fairy tale halfway through! That's cheating! So in order for you to enjoy this, I need to tell you everything. Starting here...in my room in Nam.
I was almost cracking with excitement when my mom came to pick me up at school about 2 hours ago, but then the reason i was about to crack quickly changed when she told me that my dad's passport was gone....yep. I was going to have to fly solo. damn.... Alone.... in a foreign country....all by my lonesome.... well, I thought, at least they speak English. And then it hit me! ME.....ALONE....IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY!!!! Whoohoo!!!! Just imagine the possibilities!
Sadly though, after almost 4 hours of searching, they realize that they had the right passport all along, and not the expired one as they had thought. Dammit! No, just joking! How could I go to London without my dad? He's the one with the bank account;)
So now we're off to go visit our little friend Ben and see if we can't bump into Will or Harry and go rock some Polo with them...