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Beginnings and endings

I love beginnings, love that first couple of days of doing something completely new and not being quite sure of what's to come or what to expect. Sometimes it's hard and you're almost always very nervous, but it's well worth it to know that you're starting a new chapter in your life. A chapter filled with blank pages that only you can fill with exactly what you want. What I don't like though is endings. I hate saying goodbye and would usually prefer to keep everything just as it's always been. I don't like it when what has been now and today for so long suddenly turns into a memory. It's like it might not even have happened, like it's something that you just imagined. So I love beginnings and hate endings. Unfortenately there's always an ending before the beginning, something needs to end before something else can begin. This time it was London's time to end. I closed that chapter and turned it into a memory. An absolutely amazing memory and a chapter in my life that I'll never forget.


Today it's exactly one month since I left London and I can't even count the times when I've wished that I could just clap my hands and be back in London for the day. Still I think I made the right decision to move back home, it's just takes some getting used to and I'm not quite there yet. I don't miss the city that much cause I know it will always be there and everytime I'm visiting I can go to all of my favourite places. Beside I might even move back one day, I'm already planning on having another year living in London and starting of my career once I've taken some sort of education. What I do miss though are all the people. The family have been here on holidays this week and I've made sure to meet them twice. It wasn't until Lukas ran and hugged me and I heard Siri say "Tiiiinka" in her own special way that I realised how much I've missed them. Luckily I know that I'm gonna keep contact with them as well, nothing can stop me from watching those little ones grow up. Now I just have to wait another one and a half month before I'm visiting London, I don't think I can stay away much longer. Any how, since this is a blog for my life in London this will be my last post. Well, except from telling you about my new blog, I haven't started it yet but I'll let you know when I do.

So, one last:
xxx


25 things I miss

  • Waking Siri up by tickeling her and hear her wonderful laugh.

  • Discusing why it is that you're upside down in the spoon and other tricky questions with Lukas.
  • Sitting in the front on the upper deck in the buses.
  • Listening to amazing live music at the Bedford.
  • Waking up on a weekend and now that the day will be filled with new experiances and places.

  • Being silly and laughing at everything on a sunday afternoon with Pia, while Alena just shakes her head.

  • Morning coffee with Siri at Costa.
  • Taking a nap in the middle of the day every single weekday.
  • Not being able to decide what to eat at Brick Lane cause all the choices looks so yummy.

  • Buying lunch at M&S and then enjoy it in some park on a sunny day.
  • Having friends and family visit and spend every waking moment showing them London.
  • Walking home from the gym eating roasted nuts and pass by the river with the lights and that special smell.
  • Hear people calling out "two for a tena" while watching all the colours of the flowermarket.
  • Going out in Soho and occasionally sing "Jag kommer" with Michaela, Amelie and Sarah.
  • Meeting new people that within days seems like old friends.
  • Walking along the southbank watching the people and the streetartist while eating food from the market or the van.

  • Taking an one-day-trip to any other place in England and discover a new town.

  • Instantly feel the quiet and calm atmosphere when walking in to a museum like Tate Modern or British Museum.

  • Taking long walks with Amanda in the evening, discussing everything and nothing.
  • The playgroup on Thursdays, drinking coffee and talking to other nannies.
  • The baguettes from Borough Market and the Malaysian Pancakes from Brick Lane.

  • Going to central in the morning and just happen to stay there until the night.

  • Having brunch with Karolin while catching up.

  • To always be in the presence and not feel like I have to figure out the future just right now.
  • Reminding myself that I'm actually in London, or even better, living in London.


Goodbyes, unsignificant love and a babyccino

My last week in London were obviously filled with feelings and goodbyes. I started already on Monday, having a goodbye dinner at Del' Azis in Clapham Common. It's a really nice place and we had a great evening with loads of yummy food and even yummier and gigantic desserts. On Tuesday I went to the gym one last time and then finally managed to pack my bags the right way. Wednesday I left Siri with Nikolina during the afternoon and met Pia and Alena for a last coffee and carrot cake at Bertie and Boo. Even though I was so close to tears I kept them in even while saying goodbye to my dearest friends, I'm not very good at crying in public. In the evening I helped puting the kids to bed and then had a very nice dinner with Nathalie and Julian. Because of the other rather special occasion we had fingerfood and champange. Luckily champange makes me rather sleepy, otherwise my thoughts probably would have kept me awake.

I spent the days doing the regular things, both to show Nikolina but also just to do it one last time. The park, coffee at costa, rhymetime at the library, playhouses and playdates. I picked up Lukas by myself twice, leaving Siri with Nikolina, which was nice considering I was able to pay my full attention and really talk to him.

Thursday and my last day in London:

Siri and I started the morning at Costa where I for the first time ordered her a babyccino together with my regular coffee. I think the concept is so hillarious, but obviously she loved it, chocolate and warm milk, it can't get any better. At 10am we met Nikolina and went to the playgroup. There was loads of goodbyes and Petra kept telling me "don't start crying now", kidding of course but I actually wasn't even close. Until we got home and I sat with Siri and ate lunch, she asked me to sing all sorts of songs and while doing it I started thinking of everything beeing the last time. I managed to keep it together until Siri had her nap and I was doing the dishes but by then the tears were flowing down. It felt good tho, to not cry at all when leaving so much would have been weird.


In the afternoon we picked up Lukas and went to sainsbury's for ice-cream. Everything to make them remember me as the best nanny. Well actually me and Lukas had started a chart regarding using cutlery while eating and the price was to get ice cream and since he was almost nearly done and it was my last day and very warm and sunny I thought we all deserved it. Then we walked down to the riverside together with Firdo's and some other nannys/mothers and stayed there for about half an hour before walking back to meet Nathalie. I got ready, collected my things, said goodbye and walked down the street hearing Lukas yell all sorts of unsignificant things after me, which I can only guess was a way to make me stay. Already before the train station a man offered to help me with the bags, he waited while I bought the tickets, helped me aboard the train in Wandsworth town and off in Clapham Junction and then all the way to the platform where the gatwick train went. Even though he was going to a completely different platform. That's one of many things I will miss with London, that people always are so extremely helpful.

xxx

Yoghurt jars, pastel colours and birch trees

Way to soon and finally my last weekend in London arrived.

Friday:

Me and Pia started the day with some last days shopping in Southside. Converse and Body Shop products to bring home, check. Then we went on to my absolutely favourite foodshop Whole foods. Lip balm for mom, check.


Outside they'd made a flag out of youghurt jars and inside it was full of amazing food, just as always.


Opposite of Whole foods there is a church squeezed in between the traffic and the houses and just below in the corner is a tiny flowershop. I always thought that looks so sweet.


We continued walking up north and passed by this amazingly british pub full of flowers.


After a short walk we ended up in Notting Hill with it's colourfull houses.


And a couple of walls with street art, like "Made you look".


What I like the most tho are the houses in different pastel colours. Why don't we use a bit more colour in Sweden as well? It makes the world seem so much brighter.


We ended up in a little shop with all sorts of fun stuff: stickers, framed photos and sayings, and bags that we bought two off. One for me and one for Alena.


In the evening Karolin and I had tickets to see "Comedy of errors" at National Theatre. It was a Shakespeare play which made it a bit hard to understand at first but as soon as we got used to the language we got quite a few laughs.


In the pause we sneaked out on the balcony and found an absolutetly amazing view over the river thames and both of the banks.


We also found one of the eggs from the big easter hunt. They're really scattered all over London.


After the play we walked over one of the bridges and finished the evening with a nice dinner on strand.

Saturday:

Since it was my last Saturday in London we of course had to start with Borough Market. And by we I mean Pia, Alena, Sanni and I.


It's one of the thing I'll miss the most, to walk around among the stalls and look at and try everything.



Then when you've decided what to eat you can sit down by the big church, eat your food and enjoy the sun.


Since the spring had just arrived and the cherry trees had blossomed it was the perfect day to do exactly that. And maybe find something little special in the tree.


I also found this frog on one of the walls of the market and realised right away that it must be marked after me. All of you who know my middlename and some swedish can figure out why.


After walking about the market for some time we continued along the southbank. We passed by Tate Modern with all the birchs, the millenium bridge and St Pauls Cathedral on the otherside.


We took a tiny break on the sweet little yard hidden somewhere between London Bridge and Waterloo.


And we found the egg that must be the most London of them all, before ending the day with a brownie and coffee by the water in Waterloo.


Even if it was the end of the day the Saturday most certainly continued. After a quick shower I took my beloved 87 to central london to join Karolin's birthday dinner and then back to have one last night out with my girls. I manage to snap a photo of the Opera house, but I'm afraid that's it for the evening.

Sunday:

Unfortenately but as planned I had to spend most of the sunday trying to pack all of my thousand belongings in one big and one small suitcase. Can't exactly say that I managed but I did get all of my stuff to the family's place and then most of my stuff to Sweden. Luckily for me I had my amazing friends helping out so the day didn't feel quite as wasted. I also had time for a lunch with the family and the new aupair Nikolina and in the end about half an hour to sit outside in the park and enjoy the beatiful wheater.


Still in the evening it was nice to forget everything about packing, walk three minutes to the closest pub and together with Emelie, Nikolina and her friend Jona try to answer the unbelievable hard questions in the Pub quiz we'd decided to try out. We won the last place with 6 out of 40. Our name was "Don't blame us, we're from Sweden".

xxx

Pigeons, old books and ballons

Another sunday. Not just a regular sunday though. It's the sunday before my last sunday in London. One week left until I'll pack all of my things and move out of the flat to spend the last days at the family's place. One week until I will have spent my las weekend in London. One week until I'm writing my last weekend update.

Friday:

I started my weekend with a delicious breakfast: Youghurt with applepure, bananas and blackberries, two knäckebröd with sprouts or jam, apple and mango juice and tea. Perfect before working out at the gym, which even though I just had a bad cold went quite alright. After a shower I got on the train to Balham for lunch and coffee with Pia, Alena and Sanni. Then back on a train, tube this time, all the way up to Camden Town to meet Judith who I used to go to primary school with about ten years ago. She had her flatmate Sara with her and we walked around on the Market for a while, freezing, buying food and looking at all the weird stuff they sell. When we were so cold that we could barely stand it we took a bus to their place. We drank tea and talked about nothing special and suddenly it was evening and time to go home, which can only mean that we had a really nice time.

Saturday:

Saturday started with a brunch with Karolin by Covent Garden. The place seemed very promising but turned out to be amazingly slow and with coffee that only tasted of milk.


But even so we had a really nice time and at the end got served some delicious pancakes and bread with compote.


When Karolin needed to go home to study I met up with Pia (surprise?!) at Piccadilly Circus.


We sat at the foot of the statue for a while enjoying the sun and looking at tourists and pigeons.


Then we walked on to Green Park, bought some food and enjoyed it outside.


The predicted rain was very hard to spot on the sunny sky.


We went on a bus and ended up by a gigantic building that I've never seen before, apperantly Westminster Church.


Then we went on another bus and came to Waterloo.


Just by the river they have flea market where they only sell old books, I always feel like buying a book when I'm there but have so far not found anything I want.


On the way back home we passed by The royal waterloo for children and women. I'm guessing that it's now opened for all people or maybe not opened at all. Anyhow I think it's really nice that they've kept the exterior.


In the evening we went to Koko in Camden. It was absolutely crowded and almost only french people in there, kind of weird.


On the dancefloor they threw out gigantic ballons that everybody tried to catch. It was fun seeing the ballons bounce against the walls of the old theatre.

Sunday:

Since I'm moving and have lots of things to take care of next sunday I of course had to spend this one at my favourite sunday place Brick Lane.


Sanni, Carla, Alena and Pia (who were sitting next to me) came with my to enjoy the amazing food. I had the best thing you can have there: Turkish gozleme (which is kind of like a bread) with spinich and cheese.


I also finished the weekend with knäckebröd with sprouts, this time together with a butternutsquash soup. After skyping and writing this it's now time for bed to get some energy for my last regular working week.

Sleep well! xxx

The time, easter eggs, diagon alley and a basement

I want to have every weekend documented when I move back to Sweden because it is so much fun to look back at it later. So even though I know that it's already a new weekend this is all of the photos from last weekend. I must warn you if you're planning to look through all of them though: there are loads! (Almost never ending)

Saturday:


Without planning so we got stuck at Pia's friday evening, watching movies and laughing about absolutely nothing and since just the thought of getting to the train made me unbelievebly tired I decided to stay over. So in the morning we could just walk straight to Bertie&Boo for a coffee and flapjack to take away.


After a short busride to Elephant and Castle we walked on towards the river and passed by theese blue men climbing up the wall. We tried to join them but didn't really manage...


A few more steps and we were at one of my favourite places, Borough Market. We bought a juice and a baguette each, sat down on a wall and enjoyed the sun and food.


Then we went on to the next market with train. It was Greenwich Market and I found a pair of nice sunglasses, prefect for the sunny day.


We walked through Greenwich and watched the old buildings...


...parked bikes...


...and british flags on lamp posts.


Until we ended up in Greenwich park with a rasperry sorbet each in our hands.

"Hmm, which one looks yummier, mine or hers?"


It was an absolutely amazing day with a blue sky, sun and 16 degress. Two tiny little kids were running around chasing a boll and all around us were people having picnics.


Even so we got a bit cold after sitting in the grass for to long and decided to "climb up" the hill. The view up there was quite remarkable.


Besides it's the very place were they keep time, and not just any time, The time. Also known as GMT. Suppose you all know what it means?


There was quite a few people up there as well. Tourists, inlines-trainers, and sun seekers.


And of course there was loads of beautiful, big, old buildings which most certainly is remarkably important in some meaning, no idea in which tho.


Some of them were even harder to know in which way they were important. Actually I'm not even sure if this is a building, maybe just a gigantic sculpture?


In the evening Pia, Alena, Sanni and I went to see the "Legally Blonde" musical as we gave that to Pia on her birthday. It was quite funny, very similar to the film except from that they had a whole song about "Bend and snap". Since we already were in central we of course also had to take a glass after. First on the most british pub you can imagine and then on a very fancy bar in soho.


While walking through London we found about five easter eggs spread out on different places. It's a big easter egg hunt all over central London now, apperantly you can win quite a lot of money.

Sunday:

Probably the day when I've been up and away the earliest on a weekend. Up at 9.30 and in central before 11am. I had a very good excuse tho, another thing we've been looking so much forward to, the Muggle Tour (Harry Potter for those of you who are not that in to it). This is our guide Hana outside 12 Grimmauld Place, the Order of Phoenix's headquarters.


This flower shop were used to film the entry to the diagon alley. By the way, about five photos forward are only about Harry Potter so unless you're a total nerd like me you could just scroll down a bit.


It was really nice cause Hana brought photos from the film so that we could actually recognize the wall that they used.


Apparently they used the stairs inside of St Pauls cathedral (in the background) many times, for example walking up to professor Trelawney's class.


Westminister tube station were used in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix when Harry and Arthur Weasley are going to the Minister of Magic but are not aloud to use magic. They closed the station for a whole day while filming which is quite remarkable considering how many people that are crossing there everyday.


To be honest I don't really know what she said about this specifik view, but of course the Thames and many of the bridges are used in the fifth film when they are bringing Harry to Grimmauld Place.


Here they filmed the sixth Harry Potter. Ron is standing at that corner when they are using polyelixir to become people that work on the Ministry of Magic.


And just around the corner is were the guest entrance to Ministry of Magic is, it's suppose to be a telephone box, but unfortenately they just brought it there for filming so it's no longer there.


We finished the tour on a very small street with almost only bookstore which was the inspiration for diagon alley. Sorry about the photo, I know it's a bit weird if you look at the girls, something with the camera I suppose.


Alright, anyone who scrolled down, I'm done with the nerd things now. To be honest it's mostly for me to remember, might not be very intresting for you.



After the tour we bought some food and sat down in St James Park for lunch, we ate and talked for about one hour...


...until walking further in to the park.


Even there we found a couple of eggs, one in the middle of the pond.


We ended up, well we actually intended to end up, it wasn't by mistake, at Buckingham Palace.


Sanni, Alena, Carla and I. Pia were the photograph. All of us more or less Harry Potter nerds.


After walking through St James Park, Green Park and parts of Hyde Park (yes, it is kind of far) we decided to go to the Museums. First we took a peek in the Victoria and Albert Museum.



Even though just walking in the entrance gave us these amazing views we felt like it was way to much to comprehend in the single hour we had before closing. So instead we walked to the science museum just around the corner and did a test to find out who we are. Would have been convenient if they would have told me what I'm gonna become as well, so I don't have to figure that out by myself.


My plan was to go home after the museum and have a quiet evening but since I didn't feel like going home at all I instead ended up with the other girls on a pub were I ate a vegetarian sunday roast. Also something you should try in London, just beacuase it's so british.


After dinner we went on to another pub and ended the fabulous weekend with listening to a fantastic band called "Robbie Boyd Band" down in the basement. Do I have to mention that I was pleased with the weekend?

xxx

Chai the, cottage cheese and cosmetics

Haven't had any nap today, for some reason I didn't manage to fall asleep. But it's rather nice to just lay down and rest for half an hour as well and now I can have some quiet time with a cup of chai the before waking up Siri which is not to bad either. I also had time to call and book a play for me and Karolin for next Friday.

Just so you know, I tried to make a post about the weekend last night but I realised that it was loads of photos so I couldn't finish before bedtime. Since I'm having a cold I needed to get in bed rather early. Anyhow I'll do it as soon as possible.

Today it's 14 degrees and sunny, absolutely amazing. Since we had the playgroup this morning we have mostly been inside but we'll probably spend the afternoon in the park.

Now my little sweetheart is breathing on my neck, all snuggled up in my arms. Wasn't very happy about waking up so we'll take some time to just sit. Then we're having cottage cheese, cinnamon and apples for snacks.

The photo is of my dinner from yesterday. They have so nice soyabolls and things like that over here. With that I just had pasta and a tomato sauce with mushrooms and fresh basil, and some salad of course. Yummy and simple. Maybe I should buy some soyathings with me to sweden? That and cosmetics from body shop.

xxx


"Today's special is a smile"

Hi everybody, came home quite late yesterday so that's why I'm a bit late on the weekend update. Will upload it tonight or tomorrow. All I can say is that it was absolutely amazing! I've got a bit of a cold because of it but it was without doubt worth it. Right now I'm sitting in the sofa, drinking coffee and eating apple bread muffins that me and Siri made in the morning. She also has a cold so because of that she's allowed to sleep as long as she want, which is what she's doing now.

Also might be worth mentioning that the first photo is taken last week when we took the kids down to the riverside. Hope you're having a good day!

xxx


Spring, blossoms and carrot cake

Life always seems so much easier as soon as the sun comes out and it's a bit warmer. Today I'm wearing my spring coat for the first time this year, the cherry trees has blossomed and I'm on my way to balham for coffee and carrot cake at Bertie&Boo. So just wanted to let you know that life is pretty darn good.

 


The today, snogs and candles in cups

Today, Thursday the 23rd of February, it's exactly one year since I arrived to London. If I remember it correctly I was already up in Lukas bed by this time, exhausted from all the new impressions. It's also exactly three weeks until I'm leaving and moving back to Sweden. By this time then I'll be on the airplane halfway there. This day has been proofing it's extraordinarity with 16 degrees plus and sun. I've been walking around in only t-shirt without feeling even a little bit cold. I'm also celebrating or mourning (depending on how you see it) with babysitting my little ones, it feels absolutely right considering it's because of them I'm here.

Anyway, I thought I'd use the time to finally upload the photos from last weekend.

Friday:

I started with dragging Pia and Emelie to the gym for a two hours long workout, only way to not feel guilty about all the unhealthy things we're eating during the weekend... No, just kidding, but it's always nicer to workout with others. After that Pia and I had lunch at my place, took the bus to Oxford Street and fought with the crowds for a while before giving up and walking down to Soho for a nice and quite italian dinner. We finished the day with a guilt-free snog (frozen youghurt) while walking down to leicester square and reminding us about how wondefully crowded and alive London always is on a friday night.

Saturday:

After showing the flat and having breakfast with Nikolina (who is the next aupair) I took the train to Borough Market to meet Pia. Our plan was to have the best tasting baguettes, which we did, and then take of to Greenwich, which we didn't. It was rather cold and windy so we changed our plans.


So instead we went to Westfield mall to do some shopping. I found nothing. Or well, I did find some shoes that I want, but since I don't know if I'll have enough weight I thought I better wait with buying them until I've packed.


Walking home I realised that it was quite beautiful outside. After a bit of resting Pia joined me again, we had dinner and got ready at my place.


And then spent the rest of the evening on the good old Grand. As you can see it's situated in an old theatre which I think is quite marvelous.

Sunday:

Since Pia slept at my place we where up and away rather early, well, at least for a sunday morning. The plan for the day was my favourite sunday-routine.


We started at Colombian road flower market.


If you look around a bit you can find hidden cafés, street musicians and tiny yards filled with old things for sale.


You can also find loads of really cute stores where you usually want to buy everything but don't really need any of it.


Like all of this.


Even in the darkest places you can find some light, Anne Frank is a perfect reminder of that.


The next stop was Brick Lane with lunch and after coffee with the yummiest thing ever, Malaysian Pancakes. I've asked Pia to send me baguettes from Borough Market and these when I move back to Sweden.


The last stop was the icing on the cake, or the dot on the i as we say in Sweden, pretty much what made an already perfect day even better. We spent the evening in Balham with Alena and Carla, first and Bertie and Boo's where they had candles in cups, and then dinner at an Italian restaurant.

Now I think the parents will be here any minute so I'm gonna finish this post. Hope you're all very weel!
xxx

Dinasours and salted peanuts

Unfortenately I'm a bit to lazy right now to write about the weekend, but since I started a post about the week a couple of days ago I figured I could at least finish it. Since Lukas had half term and holiday it was a rather special week. The kids grandma came from Sweden to visit and help me out. She has been here almost all of Lukas's holidays and it's always really nice, she's very sweet and always gives me loads of compliments.

Monday:
So far when the grandma has been here she has always done things with Lukas and me and Siri has done or usual routine but this time I thought since Siri has grown a bit older it might be fun for her to also leave the safe little area around her home. So on Monday we all decided to take the bus to National History Museum to look at the dinasours, which was also really nice for me since I haven't been there before. Siri thought some parts, like the giant moving T-rex was a bit scary, but I think she liked the over all experience. Altough a couple of times during the week she remembered it and has been saying (l)"äskigt" (which would be like (s)"cary") and then "Hey hey" because I tried to making it less scary by saying "Hi" to the dinasours like we do to the birds and cats. It's really funny to see how something suddenly strikes her mind and how she then starts to talk about it. Any how, Lukas of course loved it but they both got a bit bored and tired rather fast so we had a early lunch and then went back home.




Tuesday:
Lukas went with his grandma to the National Gallery which I figured Siri wouldn't really appreciate so we instead spent the morning with Firdos on a playcentre in Fulham. Another nice place I discover only weeks before I'm leaving. In the afternoon I took the kids to the playground to let grandma have a rest and Lukas was playing very nicely with the two year olds that Firdos are taking care of. It's to bad that he can't be like that with Siri but I think he's to used to her. He can still be really sweet with her but only when he feels like it himself, else he can be a bit to rough. Since I didn't feel a hundred precent well after work I skipped the gym and instead walked home and made a delicious dinner: Potato and leek soup with fried tortilla bread (that Pia got for free on Borough Market), cherry tomatoes and hummus. I always feel a little bad when I make really good food for only me so because of that I have to post it here so I can at least brag a bit about it.


Wednesday:
The weather was so wonderful, almost like spring, so we decided to spend the morning in the park, all four of us. After lunch Lukas got to visit his mom at work which he was really thrilled about. Siri got to do it when I was sick the week after the christmas holiday, so everything else would simply be unfair. Since Lukas was away we invited the new aupair over to get to know Siri a bit better. For a five year old one month might as well be one year so because of that we decided it'd be better for Lukas to not know quite yet that I'm leaving. I really don't long til the day that he finds out, just this week he has told me several time that I'm the best nanny he ever had. He even said "I don't ever want you to leave, I want you to be our nanny forever". I wonder if he can feel that something is going on...

Thursday:
Me and Siri went as usual to the playgruop in the morning while Lukas and the grandma went to another museum. The afternoon we spent on, which also starting to get usual, playdate with Firdos. Although this time I also brought Lukas, which might not been the best decision. Let's just say that afterwards I really felt like I needed a drink. Luckily me and Pia already had planned the Bedford and "Vin's night in" for the evening. It was like walking straight in to a living room from the 80's. With biscuits and salted peanut on every table we sat and listened to wonderful music and a couple of comedy acts the whole evening, so absolutely amazing!


xxx

"Everything will be alright in the end, so if it's not alright it's not yet the end"

Just wanted to let you know that everything is decided now. I just booked my flight home on the 15th of March, 30 days from now, an one-way ticket. I also told my landlord I'm moving and cancelled my phone contract. I think I made the right decision. I don't want to leave but I really want to go home, and right now that feeling is stronger. Even so, the sadness that I already feel because of leaving makes me doubt my decision a bit. It's going to be so horrible to leave everything here; my little ones that I love more for everyday, Nathalie and Julian that have helped me with so much, my wonderful sweet friends that means so much to me and the city where it's always something new and exciting happening. The life that I have built here during this last year. On the other I'm really looking forward to coming home to my family and friends, having dinner with the neighbours, staying at home a whole day but still not feel lonely, working at the nursery with my friends, going to town to have a coffee or dinner with those who know me better than I do. Just going back to my normal life.

So, did I make the right decision? I don't know yet, only the future can tell.

xxx


15 teabags and 311 steps

Another weekend has passed by and now I might only have about four or so left, really weird. I think I might have to plan them a bit. Even though I do actually feel like I've done most of the things that I want to do while I'm here so it should be fine, no regrets! Well then, this weekend.

Friday:
I had pretty much the perfect Friday, very chilled but still with a lot going on. I got up rather early, even though I wasn't working I'd told Nathalie that I would come with her to have a coffee with the new aupair. Just to get two opinions and to help put with Siri in case she got bored. She seemed really nice and were also very intrested of the job so I think she will probably be the one after me. She even followed me home just to see the room that she could take if she wants to. When she left I made a chocolate cake and then took off to the gym to meet Emelie, it is so much more fun to work out when you're two people. After the gym I'd invited Josefina and Linnea for a swedish fika, Emelie also stepped by for a while and helped me make a blueberrie cake. So we ate two different kinds of cake, drank coffee and just sat in the livingroom talking for hours. Around 8pm I almost had to push them out since I had to meet Pia and Alena at sainsburys. They also came to my place but for dinner and to watch "One day", and then of course to just talk about nothing and everything until about 1am when they took the bus home and I feel asleep.

Saturday:

Pia met me by the shoppingcentre and we took our favourite bus, 87, in to central. We started of at apostrophe to get some soup. Lunch is necessary when you have a big mission ahead of you. This is the view we had from the café, not to bad or what do you think?



When we stepped outside we realised that just next door was the Twinings shop which I´v never seen before. Maybe not so strange cause we were as much in the middle of nowhere as you can be in the most central of central London.


The whole shop were filled with teabags and teapots. I bought 15 different teabags for 1.50, mostly for the memory.


After about half an hour walking, passing by St Pauls Cathedral and Millenium Bridge, we were standing at the foot of our mission for the day. Monument. We wanted to reach the sun.


There is 311 steps, all of them going around and around and around, and the further you get the more narrow it gets.


Pia needed I tiny break in the middle (or to be honest I asked her to sit down so I could take a photo).


Finally up there we realised that it was absolutely worth every single step cause the view was amazing. Here you can see the tower bridge.


The pointing building in the middle, which I always forget the name of, was Julian (the dad) part of making. Don't know in which way, but something in the architecture cause that's what he does.


If you look closely you can see London Eye at the far right.


The best part where that we did reach the sun. I stood the for a while just enjoying the feeling when it hit my face.


One last photo before walking the 311 steps down.


You might think walking down should be easier but the thing is that I was so focused on the next step and not missing it and fall down that I got totally dizzy.


But we managed to get down and even got a certificat.


"This is to certify that Katinka Fernström Richter has climbed the 311 steps of the Monument"


After stoping by Borough Market real quick I got on the train to go home and found a handprint on the window. The evening was spent on a quite unforgetable goodbye party for Josefina who is now going to Nepal for four months.

Sunday:
Me and Pia got on the 87 again, passed by the filming of James Bond, and got of at Covent Garden where we met Karolin and her friend Andrea. We had a lovely lunch at a not so lovely reastaurant, very nice food but not as nice staff.
:
When we were absolutely full Karolina showed us this wonderful new opened shop.


I couldn't resist and left with a really sweet little bag...


...full of swedish sweets. You wont know until you're without it for one year how good it is.

xxx

Layers of snow and fresh spinach

It's thursday evening and snowing outside. At first it melted as soon as it touched the ground but now it's making layers on the streets. Luckily I've been inside pretending that it's friday cause tomorrow my weekend is starting.

I started of with making a meal for only me, quite luxiourius since I've recently only eaten whatever I've made for the kids. Quorn, corgettes and mushrooms in a sauce with pasta and fresh spinach, hundredprecent vegan and very delicious.

The rest of the evening I've spent in my bed with the computer, eating chocolate ice-cream, drinking chamomille tea and watching the snow slowly fall down outside my window.

Now and then that's excatly what you need, to just do nothing special at all. Even more after a very nice but still so exhausting week with playdates, gym and cinema. Plans for tomorrow includes interview with a new aupair, foodshopping and gym, swedish fika with a couple of swedish friends and watching "One Day" with my german girls. Perfect for a snowy day.

xxx

Om

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