I'm Back

I apologise for the blog neglect. I was living in a flat with no internet for a month and a half. But now I've moved flats and the internet is back and I can go back to unexpectedly losing hours of my life by clicking on recommended videos on youtube. It's amazing how productive one is without the constant distraction provided by the internet; I read six books in the last month!

Vienna Part I: Courtyard and Cathedral

I went to Vienna with assorted family members last Friday. We arrived in the early evening so didn't have much time to explore; we just went into the city centre for a little wander and a lovely hearty dinner.

 Our hotel had this really cute little courtyard/ garden. We had breakfast here every morning.

 St Stephen's Cathedral with its amazing tiled roof. The lens flare is not my attempt to be arty; my camera is rubbish and the sun was setting and this was the best I could do.

 Lovely little flower shop in the square near the Cathedral. 

 Lovely Jesuit church - we had dinner right next door.

Secret Tea

Rahul and I went to the Soho Secret Tea Room for Afternoon Tea. I've been there before and was a little bit disappointed; I didn't think it was really worth the price. But the cake selection was much better this time (and the portion sizes far more generous) so I felt far more satisfied this time round. 

But to be honest, the main appeal of the Secret Tea Room isn't really the quality of the food and drink but the kitsch 40's aesthetic and the thrill of having tea in a 'secret' tea room (the tea room is above a pub and can only be accessed with a booking). The whole experience is fun and feels like an event rather than just tea.

 The strawberry tart was all kinds of amazing. And the chocolate brownie was incredibly rich and dense.

Photo courtesy of Rahul's instagram...

Bows and Planes

For years I'd always avoided high-necked tops because of the rule espoused by all fashion magazines that women who are, shall we say, generously endowed, should only really wear V-necks. But when I found this top with its gloriously large, flower-patterned bow, I didn't care whether it's neckline was appropriate for my figure, all I cared about was that I thought it was fun and pretty. So screw fashion rules - I'm not going to pass up on a fabulous item of clothing just because someone, somewhere has decided that my figure is not suited to it.

I completely forgot that I hadn't posted these photos from the last Bank Holiday weekend. For some family bonding time, my father, brother and I went to see the Shuttleworth Collection. The Shuttleworth Collection is a huge collection of aviation paraphernalia demonstrating the first 100 years of flight. They have some really amazing old planes in their collection. For example, they have Louis Blériot's monoplane which was exhibited at Selfridges after the first cross-Channel flight in 1909.

Some of the older contraptions are so rickety and fragile-looking that I'm frankly amazed that anyone volunteered to actually try and fly them. Incredibly, most of the planes in the collection still work and are flown from the airfield next to the museum for special events.

The brother... reading about a very early wooden and canvas plane...

Food, Fête & Fire

This bank holiday I escaped from London to soak up some sun in the countryside with friends and family. The weather was much nicer than I think anyone expected. On the Saturday, there happened to be a Village Fête near my friend's house so we ended up spending the whole day lounging on the grass and eating hog roast and pie - it was glorious!

 The delightful Emily and Alice partaking of hog roast with all the trimmings

After leaving the fête, we went to an adorable, old-fashioned sweet shop...
 

Then we spent the whole evening in the garden by the fire pit; eating, drinking and chatting until we were practically falling asleep around the fire.