Nicky had arranged a car to pick us up from Heathrow. It turned out to be a slow trip because it was through peak hour traffic and we didn't reach Nicky & John house at West Hampstead until about 8:45am. It would have been much more expensive by taxi.
John was at home studying for exams and Nicky was at work. Their unit is in a nice quiet street in a nice neighbourhood. West Hampstead is north west of central London. The nearby underground railway takes them both to work at Canary Wharf without having to change trains.
They have been living here for about three months. The owners refurbished it about 12 months ago and so it is clean, fresh and modern inside. It has a large bedroom with ensuite, guest bathroom, kitchen, study and a large lounge room. As you would expect in an old building, it has tall ceilings (about 3m) which help make the unit feel spacious.
It is on the first floor up a couple of flights of stairs and overlooks the street. John carried our bags upstairs for us but later told us that he has had a bad back lately and needs to visit the physio again this afternoon.
After catching up with John, we set off to explore the local neighbourhood. We caught the overground train from West Hampstead to Hampstead Heath station. John had given us each an Oyster card which can be used on any mode of transport in London.
We had lunch in a cafe and set off the explore Hampstead Heath which is huge park (791 acres) in the middle of suburban London. It's about the same size as Central Park in New York.
At first it reminded me of the vast open spaces of Parramatta Park but as we went on it changed to have a very English feel and I realised that it was much bigger even than Parramatta Park. It's huge, open, peaceful, green - a vast oasis in the middle of suburbia.
There weren't many people in the park. We didn't have a map and there were very few signs. One helpful couple suggested that we visit Kenwood House and gave us directions on how to find it. We then came across another couple who were looking for Kenwood House too and hadn't been able to find it even though they had a map. Eventually we located it and it was well worthwhile.
Kenwood House was built in the 1700s. It is a large imposing house with vast grounds. Suzy said it was the house used for some of the scenes in the Notting Hill film. It was previously owned by a rich family who donated it to the nation about 80 years ago.
We walked through the house to admire the architecture and the paintings by famous artists. We had afternoon tea in the cafe that is located in the converted stables next door. Even the stables were impressive.
We walked back through the park - past the ladies' bathing pond, the gentleman's bathing pond, the model boating pond and others. We caught the overground train from Gospel Oak station to Finchley Road station, went to the supermarket and walked back to Nicky and John's with our shopping. About 10,000 paces since we left this morning.
Nicky got home soon after 6pm and cooked us a nice dinner.
At the end of the evening, John set up a blow-up double bed for us in the lounge room.
Click here to see my photos for this day.
John was at home studying for exams and Nicky was at work. Their unit is in a nice quiet street in a nice neighbourhood. West Hampstead is north west of central London. The nearby underground railway takes them both to work at Canary Wharf without having to change trains.
They have been living here for about three months. The owners refurbished it about 12 months ago and so it is clean, fresh and modern inside. It has a large bedroom with ensuite, guest bathroom, kitchen, study and a large lounge room. As you would expect in an old building, it has tall ceilings (about 3m) which help make the unit feel spacious.
It is on the first floor up a couple of flights of stairs and overlooks the street. John carried our bags upstairs for us but later told us that he has had a bad back lately and needs to visit the physio again this afternoon.
After catching up with John, we set off to explore the local neighbourhood. We caught the overground train from West Hampstead to Hampstead Heath station. John had given us each an Oyster card which can be used on any mode of transport in London.
We had lunch in a cafe and set off the explore Hampstead Heath which is huge park (791 acres) in the middle of suburban London. It's about the same size as Central Park in New York.
At first it reminded me of the vast open spaces of Parramatta Park but as we went on it changed to have a very English feel and I realised that it was much bigger even than Parramatta Park. It's huge, open, peaceful, green - a vast oasis in the middle of suburbia.
There weren't many people in the park. We didn't have a map and there were very few signs. One helpful couple suggested that we visit Kenwood House and gave us directions on how to find it. We then came across another couple who were looking for Kenwood House too and hadn't been able to find it even though they had a map. Eventually we located it and it was well worthwhile.
Kenwood House was built in the 1700s. It is a large imposing house with vast grounds. Suzy said it was the house used for some of the scenes in the Notting Hill film. It was previously owned by a rich family who donated it to the nation about 80 years ago.
We walked through the house to admire the architecture and the paintings by famous artists. We had afternoon tea in the cafe that is located in the converted stables next door. Even the stables were impressive.
We walked back through the park - past the ladies' bathing pond, the gentleman's bathing pond, the model boating pond and others. We caught the overground train from Gospel Oak station to Finchley Road station, went to the supermarket and walked back to Nicky and John's with our shopping. About 10,000 paces since we left this morning.
Nicky got home soon after 6pm and cooked us a nice dinner.
At the end of the evening, John set up a blow-up double bed for us in the lounge room.
Click here to see my photos for this day.
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