My lovely boyfriend upgraded us to First Class for our trip from Cardiff to London Paddington. The rain had started as we left there but it began to brighten as we headed east. My humungous suitcase was dragged around a few more stations before we got to Jerome and Eli's in North Acton. Not long in we decided to venture back out to find a bit of grub and enjoy some of the sunshine. We headed to Notting Hill and found a lovely pub festooned with greenery and photos of music idols on the wall. Gareth claimed that at 4pm it was about bloody time he had a beer and a glass of wine seemed a pretty good idea to me too. Woozy after a few we wandered back to Eli and Jerome's where plans were laid for the evening. Sure where else but HQ, AKA the New Inn in Ealing? This has been the base for many a drinking session since 2007 when I started visiting Jerome and Susie in London. Susie is a very old friend that I know from Siamsa Tire and Tralee - where I went to college (uni). Nowadays I'm proud to call her whole family friends, including Jerome - her eldest brother.
It was a lovely few days in London, taking in the hottest day of the year in the UK where we picnicked in Hyde Park beside the Serpentine and I got my birthday present in the form of a trip to the Globe Theatre to see "The Taming of the Shrew". We had drinks overlooking St. Paul's Cathedral and the Thames and discussed that we could probably live around there. There was a drunken late night at HQ and swigging from a bottle of wine with Susie on Ealing Broadway (Sheer class as usual). I endured possibly the worst hangover of the entire trip on my last day and took solace in a dark cinema in Leicester Square. Unfortunately I also found out that a friend back in Dubai had passed on and I didn't get to fully enjoy the last few days of being bathed in the perfect glow of love with Gareth.
He took me to Heathrow on Tuesday morning and held me tight as he said goodbye; I knew I'd miss him but I had no idea that this was the last time that we, as a couple, would be straightforward, that we weren't caught in a maelstrom of emotions. I waved back with a little smile - my boy would be back to me in 9 days and we'd just spent the most amazing month together, taking in so many friends and creating so many memories.
So, on I walked to the A380 for the first time, where I got whisked up to the business class lounge and ended my holiday in style by drinking rather too much Dom Perignon and chatting to the lovely cabin crew. Next stop Dubai....and where would lilIrish travel next?
It was a lovely few days in London, taking in the hottest day of the year in the UK where we picnicked in Hyde Park beside the Serpentine and I got my birthday present in the form of a trip to the Globe Theatre to see "The Taming of the Shrew". We had drinks overlooking St. Paul's Cathedral and the Thames and discussed that we could probably live around there. There was a drunken late night at HQ and swigging from a bottle of wine with Susie on Ealing Broadway (Sheer class as usual). I endured possibly the worst hangover of the entire trip on my last day and took solace in a dark cinema in Leicester Square. Unfortunately I also found out that a friend back in Dubai had passed on and I didn't get to fully enjoy the last few days of being bathed in the perfect glow of love with Gareth.
He took me to Heathrow on Tuesday morning and held me tight as he said goodbye; I knew I'd miss him but I had no idea that this was the last time that we, as a couple, would be straightforward, that we weren't caught in a maelstrom of emotions. I waved back with a little smile - my boy would be back to me in 9 days and we'd just spent the most amazing month together, taking in so many friends and creating so many memories.
So, on I walked to the A380 for the first time, where I got whisked up to the business class lounge and ended my holiday in style by drinking rather too much Dom Perignon and chatting to the lovely cabin crew. Next stop Dubai....and where would lilIrish travel next?
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