Ah London we missed you. But surprise, surprise, we arrived and had the third degree at passport control and then had problems with connecting our UK SIM. Some things don't change. But it is great to be back and feels like coming home. Yes, things have changed; there are new buildings and developments, extra lines on the tube, but it still is London. Love it.

After getting the train into town, we headed on the good old Jubilee Line to Kelburn, just two stops from our old flat. Our Air BNB was in a superb location just by the station and we had a lovely big room with a bathroom that had a massive bath with lights and a shower that was practically like getting a massage in a disco.

We then of course headed off to the pub; The North London Pub. Some English tucker was had (some things have definitely improved) along with some drinks. Wow it was great to be in western civilisation even if it was freakin' cold.

The next day it was a shopping day in Oxford Street to get some warm clothes and look at the Christmas lights. Now it's starting to feel like Christmas. Prices are pretty good, we thought compared to NZ and I was delighted to pick up some FLY London boots for a decent price for a change.

Then it was followed by a good Indian dinner near Kelburn. Bliss.

After a nice lie in we caught the bus from Victoria Station to Oxford to catch up with some friends, Jack and Deb that we had met in Halong Bay, Vietnam.

We had forgotten just how beautiful Oxford is and wandered around the town looking at the fantastic architecture and soaking up the atmosphere while jumping into cafes for hot chocolate to get out of the cold. While we waited for Deb and Jack to finish work, we hung out in the impressive Ashmolean Museum sneakily listening to academics discussing various artefacts to their students.

It was great to see Deb and Jack and hear all about their wedding plans for April, and to be shown around where Jack works in Brasenose College. A beautiful college which is part of Oxford University. We were even treated to seeing the fabulous Sheldonian Theatre where they are getting married (and where scenes from Harry Potter were shot) along with the dining room where they are holding their reception. Deb pointed out we happened to be the first people that heard they were engaged (when we were in Vietnam) and also the first to see their wedding venue. We feel quite honoured. You never know we may well make it to their wedding in April, who knows.

Cocktails were then had at The Alchemist, as the name suggests they were a chemist's concoction with some interesting ingredients. Mine even had dry ice!

Dinner for old times sake was Vietnamese of course. Not as good as in Vietnam but great anyway. We then had to say our goodbyes and got our bus back to London.

An exciting day was had next day as we got a train to Stafford and then a taxi (wow those English taxi drivers can talk) to Yarlet School to see Emma. So good to see her and she showed us around the school. Quite a small school but a lovely main building. Then all three of us jumped on a train to Birmingham. Why Birmingham you may ask? Well two reasons, to catch up with friends and it is also a good place to fly to Dublin from.

Birmingham was a bit of a shock. I kind of knew what I was in for but hadn't quite counted on the sheer amount of people in the main town due I guess, the Christmas markets and German Christmas Beer tents. Our hostel was fine and we navigated our way into town trying to walk around the vomit and drunk people. It was only 7pm too these guys can't hold their booze! It was nightmare trying to find dinner as you seemed to have to book a year in advance, but eventually we found a quite cool Indian Street food restaurant. Birmingham of course, is known for its Indian restaurants. We then managed to catch up with Nirm, a fabulous man we had met in Chang Mai in Thailand who lives in Birmingham. We had a great night chatting and catching up over curry.

The following day as none of us really felt too inclined to see the sights (plus the things we did want to see were booked out) it was more shopping and Emma did quite well! We looked around the Christmas Markets and had a mulled wine, followed by fighting to find a place for dinner again. Italian tonight. We were meant to meet up with some flatmates from our London days who live in Leicester but they weren't well, which was a shame.

The next day it was flight no 17 to Dublin. It was a sad goodbye to Emma but we left knowing we would see her in a couple of weeks. Ireland here we come!