Update 25 - Sonia’s 30th!!

Woohoo! It was a huge weekend in London. Brilliant!

Friday:

I realised last year that my 30th was coming up (uh oh!) and that some of my oldest friends would be in the UK (woohoo!). An idea struck me...I could celebrate my birthday in London!Friday the 23rd. We excitedly got out of bed at the usual time, walked to work the usual way, stopped at the train station and caught the Flytoget train to the airport!Our room was great...it even had a sink and microwave!And a big bath! I wanted to use this straight away but it was 3pm and our tummies were rumbling.So we headed outside in search of something for lunch.We'd walked about 100 metres and seen at least 10 places we could eat at! We decided on a greasy fish n chips n burger meal...which went down great. Then we agreed that was enough grease for the weekend!Dan larfed histerically at the wine on the supermarket shelves :)After a relaxing bath we walked 15 minutes to Soho to meet up with Chris and Linda.We got a little lost in the maze of streets and stumbled upon this restaurant where we were going to eat the next night for my birthday!It looked like a really interesting place to eat.Eventually we found the right pub and had a good chat with Chris about how he's been doing. Then Linda and her man, Dan turned up. Shortly followed by Johnno!It was great to meet Dan since I'd been hearing all about him on msn :)After a couple of drinks we wandered around the streets looking for a place to eat dinner. Linda took us to this sushi restaurant. Dan and I felt like kids in a candy store watching the huge range of delicious sushi move past us. One of the main things we miss in Oslo!We both liked the marinated salmon the best, closely followed by the spinach ball made to look like a maki roll.Mmm...spinach sushi.It was soooo good to be catching up with old friends again. We hadn't larfed that much in ages. I definitely had a permanent grin on my face.Delicious sushi zoomed past for hours.The biggest problem was choosing what to eat next. I tried as much as i could...even the coconut soup was great.A couple of Adelaide boys :)Dan noticed something strange on the sushi train...Hang on...is that my face on that cake?This berry dessert was covered in a white chocolate yoghurt sauce. It was abosolutely delicious!Like I said...kids in a candy store :)Linda had organised these 'special' cupcakes for me. Er...thanks Linda man!John was quite interested in the contents of the cupboard behind him.It was definitely strange seeing people eating cakes with my face on them.And this is even stranger.After dessert we contemplated the meaning of life...And then Linda took photos of John doing a 'wobbly cheeks' photo.Outside the restaurant.We said goodnight to Linda and Dan and walked around looking for someplace that was open for a drink.Being London, a lot of pubs still close at 11pm! It was really cold this night too. Colder than it was it Oslo.

Saturday:

The next day Dan and I walked through Sicilian Avenue on our way to a train station to meet up with everyone. We were extremely tired from not sleeping well (possibly overexcited at seeing old friends again...Linda thinks it could be the sushi).Here it is...EAT.Linda and (my) Dan had planned a surprise for me and wouldn't tell me what it was. Because I was tired I was hoping it was something relaxing.We were at a theatre to see a show called 'The Blue Man Group'.We were told not to take photos once the show started so I snapped a couple while we waited.Linda had bought me my ticket for my birthday.Of course I couldn't resist the temptation to get a photo during the show...which resulted in this half visible shot as I discreetly held the camera.I really enjoyed the show. It couldn't have fit my mood more perfectly on my birthday. It's a hard show to describe too...extremely creative, funny and entertaining.At the end of the act all this paper (recycled apparently) dropped from the ceilings and the wall behind us.It continued to drop from large rolls for about 10 minutes while the audience passed it along the rows of chairs down to the stage.At the end there were mountains of paper on the stage.And here is one of the blue men. It was an awesum birthday present from Linda and a really nice birthday surprise...thank you!!After the show we split up, with Dan and I heading back to our hotel to get changed for dinner, Chris doing the same and the others going for a coffee.London! It was great to be back here for my birthday.Our hotel was just beyond this park.It was called the Buckingham Hotel.Ta Da!After a quick change we walked back to Soho for dinner.First we had a quick drink at a bar.Looking too cool for that plastic bag.Heyhey it's Mr Ben! Dan has known Ben for a long time and I worked with him in Sydney. He nows lives in Scotland.Hilarious darling!Dan, Dan and BenAfter drinks we mozied along to Yauatcha, where Andrew was meeting us.They asked us not to take photos (apparently because of celebrities dining there), but after a delicious dinner and a few drinks we didn't care :)This is my birthday cake that Dan & Linda had pre-ordered. Another surprise! Thanks guys.Then out came the 'Sonia' cakes.I look like I'm trapped in the cake and screaming for help...heheh.Mmm...birthday cake. The food at this place was almost as good as the bathroom!I got a photo of the aquarium bar as we headed out the door. Full of absolutely delicious dim sum!Ok everyone get together for a photo...Like this?Yeh that's great.Say...Yauatcha!After dinner we said goodbye to Linda and Dan and went in search of a nearby pub.I've known Andrew since the first design course I did when I was 17.Have I mentioned how good it was to see everyone? ;)John surprising me was the icing on my birthday weekend cake. We've been friends since the beginning of high school!After the bell sounded for last drinks we wandered around (yet again) looking for another open pub.Wandering around London is pretty cool so I didn't mind.John's old friend, Ben, lives in London so he met up with us for drinks.Cheers to being officially old!Did I say how great it was to see everyone again?And so ended my 30th birthday. But the weekend wasn't over yet!

Sunday:

The next morning it was a bit warmer and the sun even came out in bursts of WAKE UP!First stop...breakfast.An english breakfast of course!Greasy hangover goodness. Oh wait, we weren't going to eat anymore grease were we?Waiting for a train in a hazy underground tube station.We caught the train to the London Eye by the river.We didn't go on this when we were in London last because we were watching our money. So this time it was on my to do list.Inside the capsule.We got to this height and then the capsule stopped for about 15 minutes. We didn't know why and I started to feel a bit claustrophobic and queasy hanging over the water in a glass bubble.But once we started moving again it was alright :)I think this is one of those things I'll only do once...like waiting in the line for hours to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower.Me and Big Ben.We were sleepy from the night before but it was a relaxing thing to do the next day.It's a great view from up here.The sun even came out and we felt it's warming glow on our faces.Aww. Thanks to Dan I was having such a fun weekend.I really like this photo...kind of old meets new.Then we caught the tube to Picadilly Circus to see our hotel that we stayed in almost 2 years ago.It's always packed with people in this area.We turned the corner & discovered that the hotel had been shut down for good! It was pretty dodgy so we weren't too surprised. It was actually kind of funny.Just next to the hotel. It's pretty much right in the middle of town and the theatre district.We walked across Covent Garden and Soho to China town where we ate a late lunch.China town! Oh how we'd missed it.Ooo more exciting goods downstairs?Unaware of the surprise to come, I proceeded to pig out at a dim sum place.In my excitement I ordered the large bowl of wonton soup :)We ordered a feast!Yay I'm still in London!It was great that the sun was coming out more too.At 5.30pm we met Linda and Dan at Old Street train station. They had suggested finding a bar and then restaurant for dinner.I couldn't believe I'd stumbled upon Fifteen! I kept saying that and Linda pretended she'd never heard of the place.We went inside for a drink and shortly after Dan revealed that we were actually booked in to eat there for dinner. It was my 3rd surprise!Linda and Dan had booked it months ago!!So we all larfed about how funny it was that I'd thought I'd found it and then we larfed at Linda and Dan pulling faces :)After a cosmopolitan we headed downstairs to our table.They served us a starter plate while we looked at the menu. It was then that I realised how much I'd eaten only an hour or 2 earlier in China town!!We sat in a booth in a corner of the room.Here it is.The waiter introduced this as a 'Jamie Oliver experiment' from his recent trip to Japan. The scallop was delicious!I still couldn't believe I was in Fifteen!Starter: This is what Dan ordered. Some beef carpaccio that had been hung out for 21 days or something :)Starter: My crab & zuchinni salad...delicious!Starter: Linda's Dan's italian style saladI cleaned that plate!Entree: Lamb with homemade gnocciEntree: Pesto mushroom risottoEntree: hmm...i can't remember or work it out from the photo :)Entree: Seafood in a tasty sauce :)Main: My delicious seabass!Main: This is Dan's main. Looks like some tasty meat :)All this food was going to be trouble later on!Before dessert they served up a partly sweet / partly tart rhubarb & cream pre-dessert. I enjoyed it more than my actual dessert!Which was this! Linda's lemon tart was pretty damn tasty.The toilet at Fifteen.This is the wad of cash that we used to pay for our delicious 5 (but really 8) course dinner. It's the most expensive dinner we've ever had!It was so worth it though. Such a fun surprise. I am one very lucky 30 year old to have such fanatical food loving friends :)On our final day in London it was bright and sunny. This is the view from our hotel window.Exhausted we sat in the sun, slowly making our way to the train station. We ate lunch at a Pret (best sandwich I've had in a long time) and said goodbye to the city of abundant good food and wine.Arriving back in Oslo we were greeted with gorgeous sunny weather. And it hasn't stopped yet! Last weekend we sat outside and had a picnic.The grass is slowly starting to turn green now that the snow has melted. I can't tell you how good it was to be sitting in the sun in tshirts again!Cheers to that! The latest view from our balcony (well a week ago). It's actually greener than this already! I can't wait for everything to go mad blossoming in Summer.