An evening of culture

Monday (yes, that was almost a week ago, but I haven't had a second to write about it yet!) saw me attempting an epic feat - leaving work on time and jumping on a train to get to Trafalgar Square. I'm pleased to say that I made it with a whole 10mins to spare!

And what was all this rushing for? The ballet of course :)

BP were sponsoring a Big Screen event across the country, involving a live link up with the Royal Opera House. On this occasion, the performance in question was the Royal Ballet's Titian 2012 - three pieces created by a team of different choreographers, composers and designers.

On arrival in the iconic square, we were presented with rain ponchos and blow-up cushions (which proved super-useful!) and then settled ourselves down. Each Act lasted about 35mins and the intervals were 30 mins which gave me time to grab some dinner between the dancing! They screened various "behind the scenes" films between each act, including live interviews with some of the people involved.

Hidden spots

A few gems of London that I've recently discovered:

Borough Market - not far from London Bridge tube station. Some great food stalls and a fun atmosphere. We visited a wine bar where the bartender offered us samples before choosing, and also served us an amazing cheese board...

I also enjoyed paella from a very Spanish establishment, where one of the staff paused to discuss the best places in Spain to visit - apparently San Sebastian is the place to be (seeing as it's where he's from!).

I also ventured further East to Greenwich. I'm sure I've visited the observatory here before, but I've never really done Greenwich. And I still haven't - I need more time to explore the shops, market stalls, eateries and cafes! Did get to see the Cutty Sark and the Royal Naval College at least.

One of the many impressive Royal Navy College buildings.

A trundle around the Olympics

It's sad that the world is such a scary place nowadays; I remember visiting the Barcelona Olympic stadium when they were still building it and being allowed inside. However, in London in 2012 you can barely get near any of the Olympic venues due to the worry of terrorist attacks.

We showed a couple of youngsters around London to see some of the Olympic "bits", starting with a trip down to Thames to see the Olympic Rings on Tower Bridge.

The picture doesn't do them justice - it's actually a rather impressive statement!

Oh, so organised

I got a bit carried away in trying to make sure I manage to get to some ballet lessons over the summer - I got a couple of recommendations from twitter and then researched the different levels for each location. It was a bit complicated as each studio has a different set of classes and despite their descriptions, it's still a bit of guess-work: Am I a beginner+? General? Intermediate? Elementary?! It was pretty confusing.

And now I'm left with a spreadsheet (yup - I said I was being organised!) of different class options. I wonder how many I'll realistically make it to?! :)

Spot of greenery

Spotted as I arrived home after work this evening. Yay!

Relaxed

For the first time in weeks I'm feeling relaxed :) Had a whole evening of just cooking a nice dinner, enjoying a glass of Pinot Grigio, washing up and generally chilling. Lovely.

And here's an amazing photo that A took at the weekend during the Henley Summer Fireworks:

Climbing the walls

For once, it isn't me that's taken up a new hobby - it's A. So yesterday morning, I headed to Reading Climbing Wall with him to see what all the fuss is about.

I stuck to bouldering - this is climbing without ropes and harnesses. Apparently it is kind of harder than rope climbing because you can't rest and take the weight off your arms, but I'm not quite ready for being suspended by a rope and travelling high up a climbing wall. The highest I climbed was with my feet about 5' off the ground.

I hired some shoes, stuck my handbag in a locker and A gave me some basic instruction.