Saturday, 16 February 2013

Country Mouse Goes to the City

In actual face, I am not a country mouse. I was a city girl until I got dragged kicking and screaming into the countryside (I kid you not), a new stay at home mum. I tell you what, that first year or so was a shock. I used to email friends, incredulous that you could hear sheep and cows when in the back garden. Horse riders clip clopping past our front window.

Well, we are no longer in that same house and I think the cows are in even closer proximity now, but I love a trip to the city. More so than the others in this house I think, but I know how to entice them away from all this greenery.

It is not a long train trip to London from the middle of nowhere (as Laura Jane described our abode - which it isn't really). Soon enough we were ensconced in the Science Museum, pushing buttons, doing quizs, getting electric shocks.


Well, you knew when it said Do Not Touch it would be me encouraging her to do so, didn't you?

From there it was off to Chinatown. This is a must for us, and one of the main draws of going to the city, because we love, love, love dim sum. I even allowed my photo to be taken which I don't usually allow without hours of grooming, soft lighting and Photoshop promises.


We finished our excursion with something else we do almost every time we go to London, a visit to the National Gallery. As this sits on Trafalgar Square you have the benefit of human statues, buskers, political protests (well, we did today, it was for a country I had never even heard of), and the general hubbub of humanity that gathers there. I love it all. Except the crowds on the Underground. That I do not love.



Now I am back in my green space in the country. In an ideal world I would live here, but I would get to the city more often. Really, I need to go by myself so I can enjoy the wonders of Liberty's and other such delights.

Susan

37 comments:

  1. I so love London. You truly should go on your own some of the time, it is a spectacular city.

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  2. I agree with Leanne, you need to get to London more for your 'fix' of city life! Looks like you had a great day!

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  3. Glad you had a good day! You'll need to take me to Chinatown one day, sort me out with something veggie ;-) lol

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  4. envy from me love going to London have not been for years !!!

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  5. Last me know if you ever want a companion for a wander: its only 40 mins in the train for me

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  6. Looks like a wonderful day - and you needn't have worried about the photo, you look lovely. I too would love to go to London on my own - so I could go to the V&A and not have everybody racing ahead and asking "haven't you FINISHED yet?". Sadly I do get to go up to London on my own fairly often - but it is always for work and there is never time to go and visit the interesting bits!

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  7. We are headed up as a family in a month's time - I have mixed emotions!

    Glad you had fun xxx

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  8. Looks fab - I've been to all those London places apart from China Town - sob.

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  9. I need to go back to London! It is planned soon now that I have the baby Bjorne!

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  10. I need to go back to London! It is planned soon now that I have the baby Bjorne!

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  11. Sounds like a fab day out - except for the not getting to wander around Liberty's part ;-) Love going to London, my sis lives there so I often just hop on the train too.
    Happy weekend xx

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  12. As an armchair traveller I took great pleasure in visitng London with you - thank you so much for sharing. Feel free to travel anywhere, anytime and take us along. :D

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  13. Looks like a wonderful time. Never been to London but someday I would like to.

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  14. so glad your girls got their dim sum! haha looks like a great trip!

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  15. so glad your girls got their dim sum! haha looks like a great trip!

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  16. I love the bustle and energy of London but I'm always glad to return home at night and hear the owls hooting. I need both country and town in my life! Di x

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  17. Glad you and your girls had fun - love the pic of all three of you!

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  18. Oh I love the National! And dim sum too, so what flavours did I have?

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  19. Luff London!
    Am slightly jealous....
    Glad you had a great time :)

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  20. I know exactly how you felt when you first moved to the country. I was exactly the same.
    Your trip to London sounds lovely. I can't wait to try out your favourite yum cha place in a few months time.

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  21. Sounds like you had a lovely out and about in London!

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  22. that food looks delish! Sounds like a great day :-D

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  23. I too am a country mouse. I was a city mouse for some years, studying etc, but I do like my place in the country and to visit the city. I have yet to visit London though. That would be one huge, exciting city to visit. It's so far from Australia, but so many Aussie's go there. Most of my family have visited and my bro lived there for 18 months.

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  24. Ok if you are not making FoQ this year then we have to meet up in Liberty's and hit as many quilt shops as possible! You know it makes sense!

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  25. How fun! I grew up in busy suburbia and now we live on the outskirts of a big for Ireland, small to me town. It still freaks me out that I can hear cows and horses, but more and more I feel more secure out in the boonies than I do when in the big city. Still, it's nice to go and visit!

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  26. I'm a country girl living in the city - perhaps we should swap! Jxo

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  27. I am so jealous. I love the Science Museum. I bet it's great with kids to enjoy it with. The National was always my favourite gallery and ALWAYS on my list for a London visit as I did History of Art A'Level while at boarding school in Surrey so we got up to London regularly to visit the National for study purposes. I do miss my visits to London. Glad you had a good time!

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  28. I love to visit the cities, but I'd hate to live there. Looks like you all had an amazing time.

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  29. Looks like you had a great day in London! I so miss it. It used to be just 30 mins on HS1 for us and now it costs a fortune (relatively speaking) to fly there from Jersey! I can't wait to take my children to the Science museum and Natural History Museum and all the other museums and shows when they are older.

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  30. I feel like I've been on a mini vacation through your snaps. I've never been to London so it's good to see some of the sights.

    You look gorgeous. You worry too much ! (This from the girl who de-thinnified herself in all her Christmas snaps from 2011!)

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  31. London *shudders* all the noise and people, it's my worst nightmare, unless there's major shopping involved of course! Looks like you had a fab time though, and you know that country you'd never heard of with the protester, left hand corner photo, i think it was probably Scotland! ; )

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  32. Looks like you had a marvellous time but STOP coming to London on non-LMQG days ;-). First Sunday of the month only!!

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  33. I love the country and the city and live in a suburb...which is basically boring as hell. No cabbies honking nor cows mooing. Your trip to London sounds like a lot of fun

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  34. oh wow, I just found your blog. I would be your opposite. I am from the UK (York, where those yummy Terry's chocolate oranges used to be produced, as well as Rowntree's smarties and kit-kat (before Néstle).
    I now abide in Canada; NB in fact. Literally in the middle of nowhere. No sheep (tell a lie~one sheep farmer has a flock of 30) and no pigs in the fields. Only potatoes. and forests. and more potatoes. We're in McCain country. French-fry capital of the world.
    You may (or may not) be missing the snow; we received over a foot over the weekend, and we're due to receive another 6-10 inches overnight and tomorrow.
    Sigh. Yes, I know it rains a lot in Northampton but at least you don't have to shovel that...!!
    Are you in the UK for ever? Life is so different, eh?

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