Football and Travel warm-up

Well today it is a stunning 28 degrees in London. I could enter into a whole diatribe on the difference between an Adelaide 28 and a London 28, but that would be slightly boring. Let me just tell you that 28 in London is perfect (bordering on too hot for porcelain dolls like me) and the chances of sunburn are not high. Lovely. It even smells lovely. The big ginger tom cat from downstairs is lying on its back, spread-eagled in the sun. People are happy, England flags fly on every corner of every building.

I’m sure it hasn’t escaped the notice of people in Australia (maybe Canada?), but the World Cup kicked off yesterday in Germany. And today see’s the first game for England (vs. Paraguay) which unites this pretty diverse country in a patriotic fervour which leaves the post-Ashes display to shame. I did a spot of Maternity shopping on Oxford street today (more on that later) and it was apparent that no self-respecting English male would wear anything other than an England shirt. And some sort of red/white display on the bulk of females was also obvious. By sheer freak of chance I was wearing my green and yellow… Go Brazil. 

Anyway – it’s just a lovely day, a great time to be in England. It’s catching - this build-up to a football tournament. I now read the latest reports on Rooney’s foot with great interest. I too laugh at the genius cult-figure which is becoming the lanky Peter Crouch (who amusingly broke into ‘the Robot dance’ as a part of his goal celebrations. Very much looking forward to Australia’s entry into the tournament, Dave and I debated hanging an aussie flag from the bell-tower of our house (and therefore very visible from a main south-London intersection). This idea was discarded when we realised that we would need to invest in getting an Aussie flag – something that no self-respecting English shopkeeper would currently be doing.

So the game has kicked-off, the streets of London are empty. We are nearing half time when no doubt the pub doors will open, and pale English will stream out, take of their tops, and try to fry them self in the half time break. Dave – as I have no doubt mentioned – is of with our good friends Chris Jameson to Stuttgart on Thursday week to watch Australia crush Croatia (thank you NAB). Kieran, with his six boxing kangaroo flags, has headed off today with 5 mates in a campervan, to help give Australian’s a bad name in Germany.

Tomorrow Olivia arrives. Which is very exciting, I have waited a while for this. But unfortunately for the thousands of avid readers of this site, it may mean a few weeks of silence. So after a few days kicking about London, we are off to Paris on Friday, then Greece the following Tuesday. Booking hotels/ferries/planes for this whirlwind trip has been something of an all-consuming nightmare, but beyond one or two final touches, it has all been done. I can simply relax, enjoy the food, and enjoy the experience.

It is all very exciting, we are spending 4 days in total in Paris, one of which will be a day trip out to sample the wares of the Champagne wine-making region. Of course, I will be strictly spitting all that I sample (as far as Dave is concerned). After immersing ourselves in all of that, we fly to Greece. After a night in Athens in a hotel overlooking Parthenon (recommended by Rachel), we will fly to the Cyclades where we will spend a couple of days exploring the quiet, secluded Milos (which has 2 of the Lonely Planet’s top ten beaches in Greece). From there we then catch a ferry to the Cyclade’s number 1 destination – Thira (Santorini) for three days of Luxury 4* living. Seeing as this is one of my final trips, minus a child, we decided to splurge a little bit and do this last bit in style. Some of us might remember this island from year 8 History, but for those needing a refresher…Thira was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the last several thousand years when it erupted cataclysmically in 1630BC. The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of feet deep, and its effects may have indirectly led to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. It is thought to be linked with the burial of the Palace of Knossoss (where the nasty Minotaur roamed) and widely thought to be the place Plato speaks of when she refers to the disappearance o an island named Atlantis. But all this riveting History aside, it is the number one tourist destination, because it is so breathtakingly beautiful. I have put some photos below to further exhibit how jealous you should all be.

I made some mention of explaining a maternity trip, but really, after all that exciting Greece stuff, it is a bit of a let-down. Basically, im in week 15 and on that borderline of either pregnant or quite fat. I have little doubt that seeing as this has all happened in the last 2 weeks, it is quite likely that im going to double in the next 2, during my travels. And as a large number of pants and tops no longer fit, I went to the trouble of investing in a few ‘room th wgrow’ summer dresses. Lovely. Mind you, even though Top Shop does have a maternity wear section, Maternity shopping is a wholly boring process, and I reckon that I will shop online in the future.

We still have not bought a single item of furniture that suggests that this apartment is expecting a baby for Christmas. But I don’t think we will be going overboard in htat department, the bare essentials for a growing family that doesn’t intent to live more than a year or two longer in the UK. And besides the cutest little jumpsuit which says ‘My Daddy Loves Me’ (couldn’t resist) and a hat with bear ears gifted by Sandy Mayo, there is no sign at all.

Anyway. Must go now, as the game has finished (England won) and sunshine to be had.

So off to meet Livvy tomorrow then will go to Greenwich for the markets there or perhaps the Spitifields Market, depending what she likes……