Woking

Woking is a little town located in the west of Surrey and only a 30 minute train ride to Waterloo station. This is where I lived during my stay in England. During the day I would go for a walk or run and we would go spin at the gym at night, because the sun sets at 16:00 during the winter, which made our evenings very long!

A walk in the Woking Park

Fifteen Restaurant

It was my 23rd Birthday and definitely the best birthday ever!!!

John baked a delicious chocolate M&M cake for me. I was woken up with breakfast-in-the-lounge. Croissants, blueberry muffins and M&M's! And then came my gift...the one on top of the wish list. A Citizen Eco-Drive watch with Swarovski Crystals and Mother-of-Pearl dial. The best birthday gift I could ask for!

Little chef

I met John at Waterloo Station after work, presuming we will just have dinner somewhere nice next to the Thames River. But John took me back to Old Street, which is on the Northern Line saying there is a cool pub we can go to. We had one drink and then I was told we were going to have dinner.

I had no idea where we were going but when the corner of my eye caught the sign "Fifteen" I realized we weren't going to some random pub, we were going to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Restaurant. I froze and was speechless. John laughed and said: "surprise"!! I literally started to cry! I couldn't believe it! Finally I was going to eat at one of Jamie's restaurants. This was surreal.

The retro styling and open kitchen combine to make the restaurant a relaxed and elegant environment. The emphasis is on top-quality seasonal produce, simply prepared with care and passion to create the best in modern Italian-led dishes.

We started off with a glass of Prosecco accompanied by freshly baked focaccia and the most delicious Italian Sevillano olives. Both John and I actually started eating olives after this experience.

Entree - roasted squash with creamy goats' cheese and fried crudo 

I had the Wild Mushroom Ravioli with a creamy pecorino sauce

John had the succulent lamb with couscous and tomato salsa

John was not happy when his plate was empty!

Chocolate Brownie with vanilla ice cream and Panna cotta with biscotti for dessert

Fifteen is committed to sourcing seasonal, high quality ingredients from the best suppliers throughout the UK and Italy. Homemade produce is at the heartbeat of the restaurant, be it fresh pasta, breads, ice cream, a selection of cured meats, cordials, presses and alcoholic drinks such as Prosecco, limoncello, fennel liqueur, to name a few. We had such an amazing time and I couldn't ask for a better birthday! Thank you love! xxx

My first day out in London

                           

Waking up in London was such an incredible feeling! We went for a early morning run and then got ready for a day out in London town!! 

We took the train to Waterloo where we hopped onto a Borris bike and cycled to the Borough Market. It was all a surprise to me! John planned everything! 

Amazeballs is the word I will use to describe the Borough Market.  It might just be the most amazing food market I have been to.  We had to ride the wave of people to get through the market. There may have been some shoving and silent curses as you’re shuffled from one end to the other of the market. 

There were vendors for everything from homely sausage, seafood, cooked food to even foie gras.

We started the day off with a delicious Mocha at The Rabot Estate - Chocolate heaven

Kappacasein is the stall that amazed me the most.  They actually sell potatoes with melted cheese in addition to their toasted cheese sandwiches made from Montgomery cheddar, onions, leeks and garlic on Poilâne sourdough, which are known to be the best toasted cheese in the whole of Britain. It was incredible to watch them heat up this giant block of Ogleshield cheese and then scrape it onto baby gherkins, pickled onions and potatoes also known as raclette. I would never eat it, just because I am a bit of a health snob, but the queues for this grilled cheese delicacy clearly showed I was missing out on some greasy goodness!

John enjoying a Confit Duck Sandwich

                         

London impressed me from the moment I arrived (besides the interrogation part, of course). Around every corner there is something so special, wether it be an antique shop, road market, china town or a michelin star restaurant. There is so much more beauty to discover! 

Are you from London mate!!!

While I was still in Europe I applied for my UK visa through an Immigration Company. Their services were extremely poor so I eventually got John to call them, because I'm not very good in the angry department! They even failed to book me an appointment at the Consulate so I just did it myself and received my visa within 2 working days!  Still not sure why I paid so much money for their incompetent services, but they can be lucky because I was so excited when I got my visa I totally forgot that I wanted to sue them!!!

14 October 2011 I arrived in London!!! 

When I got to the border control the officer looked at me as if I was an illegal immigrant. He hit me with the 20 questions... Who are you visiting, where does he work, where does he live, do you have enough money to support your 6 month holiday, do you have a return flight??? I was shaking like a rattle snake and stuttering with fear. After 10 minutes of interrogation, he finally let me enter the United Kingdom!

I was so nervous to see John. Because we see each other so seldom, I sometimes have to take a moment to remind myself that he is my boyfriend! My legs were shaking as he approached me at the airport. He looked so handsome! Just a hug from him is indescribable.
We took the train to Woking, which is south-west of London. This would be my new home. I arrived on a beautiful sunny day although it was 12 C, which is quite warm for London, but I was shivering, due to the fact that I skipped winter and just had an amazing summer in the Med - this was definitely something I didn't want to get used to!

As we arrived in Woking we stopped at Starbucks for a coffee and walked home. Our house was only a 10 minute walk from the station. John was sharing with his cousin Hayley, her partner James and there adorable newborn son, Xavier.

I unpacked and we went for a lovely lunch at the Bridge Barn next to the river. So good to finally be in London!!!

My first pub lunch!