Nice weekend, nice weather and only TWO days until China!

G planned a wonderful weekend last week, we:

• Headed to Primrose Hill on Friday afternoon/evening and had wonderful weather for a sushi picnic to celebrate my last official day of class
• Enjoyed more nice weather by studying outdoors on Saturday AM and PM (Primrose Hill, again. Hmmm…can you tell it’s my favorite?)
• Went shopping at Zara to kill time before dinner and a show. (Unfortunately for G, I found a BEAUTIFUL ivory suit and swing event dress I just couldn’t live without.).
• Had a wonderful dinner with Champagne at a restaurant by Covent Garden. It’s theatre themed with lots of extravagant balconies and such. Very fun.
• Saw “Little Shop of Horrors”. G got up early on Saturday to visit the half-price ticket booth and we weren’t quite sure of what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised.
• On Sunday, we ventured to Columbia Flower Market by Old Street in order to find a few blooms for our window boxes. Decided on red, purple and orange to go with our emerging family room color scheme.
• And we ended the weekend with an authentic, homemade English roast at G’s company’s CEO’s house in Newbury (about an hour away from London by train). It came complete with beef roast, roasted parsnips and potatoes, the best candied carrots ever, yorkshire puddings (my first ever) and brocolli. YUM! Not to mention the apple tart, single cream and chocolate mints for dessert. Double Yum! And, of course, we were in good company and were able to eat al fresco with such wonderful weather (although the English declare they can’t stand this 70 degree heat…are they crazy? This is what I’ve been waiting for…)

This week, I’ve been tying up loose ends with remaining coursework, China preparations and picking up things around the flat. Soon after I return, I’ll spend a day at the Royal Ascot Ladies’ Day with friends (I’ve already purchased my hat) and friends from the US will visit us in London (Andy & Chiaki, Toni & Chris). We can’t wait.

Oh, too. At dinner on Saturday, G invited me to spend my birthday weekend with him in Brugge! We’ll be able to take the Eurostar under the English Channel. Fun! And it’s a perfect weekend destination, especially in July.

T minus 1.5 days until I leave for China. I’ll try my best to update the blog from the road, but I’m uncertain of whether internet access will be available and/or affordable…fingers crossed. I’ll return from China (very jet-lagged) on Father’s Day, June 17th.