Sunday may technically be the start of our South America trip but it really started on Wednesday evening, after I turned off my laptop for the very last time. Sadly - actually very sadly and quite reluctantly - I’ve now finished working at Northern Ballet. The timing was insanity, but not my doing, just 7 working days to train others, pass over 23 years of knowledge and clear my desk, the only good thing to come out of it that I can go away without the expectation to keep a permanent eye on my emails for something to go wrong and having to fix it over a dodgy satellite link as was always the case in the past. Happily my two assists and another colleague are very capable.
Hence on Thursday evening we return to the UK, flying into Gatwick, picking up a car and heading to Novotel Paddington for a few nights. Strategic so we can catch the Heathrow Express, but unexpectedly a very nice hotel in a great location, especially for bears, and a bit of canal exploring too. Our few days are packed with pre-arranged plans with family and friends.
Before we head back to Gatwick the next day, we visit a nearby chemist, specifically chosen because we’re in need of Yellow Fever vaccination, however there’s a complication. For only the second time in my life I get carded - the first was a bar in the Waldorf Astoria in 1988 for the positive reason of checking if I was 21, even though at age 23 I had been drinking for ages - this time it’s an insult, the youthful chemist thought I could be over 60!! The upshot is only I get the vaccine, hubby is a year too old, it’s considered unsafe. The irony is, as the otherwise lovely chemist goes on to explain, we’re covered for a lifetime anyway since we had them in 2001, having lost the certificates we can’t prove that - I get a new cert and hubby gets an exemption.
Next we check in on family for lunch at Burgess Hill, before dropping the car at Gatwick and the train back in, just in time to meet up with a birthday girl for champagne, then dress for dinner and head off to Petrus, our favourite Gordon Ramsay restaurant.
It’s always a pleasure to dine here, impeccable service and amazing food, we enjoy a delightful evening with Maria over six courses and paired wines. The taxi back was an electric and our driver was determined to break the land-speed record at every opportunity.
Next morning we embark on a bear-hunt, but there are not many around the canal at Paddington Basin. We are happy after finding four, then it’s time to kiss Maria goodbye and head off in the direction of Drury Lane to find another friend. We are looking forward to seeing Frozen, not as lifelong enthusiasts but to see the technical bits, primarily the video screen back cloth which is very impressive, as is the bridge and frock change. Otherwise it’s nice but nothing amazing, just good theatre. Afterwards we meet another ballet friend, catch up on the ballet world gossip (so much news!) and go on to the Botanist in Sloane Square for dinner.
Our last day takes the canal the opposite direction until we reach Ladbrook Grove and start walking South, around Portobello Market, Notting Hill, Kensington, Knightsbridge and finally check out a favourite hotel on Hans Crescent at the back of Harrods, we rapidly decide not to lunch there, the prices are ridiculous, but next door is Crazy Pizza, where we will still manage to spend £160 on posh chicken and chips for two plus a bottle of Chardonnay - London food prices have indeed gone quite crazy!
Our walk continues unabated as we circumnavigate the palace for the second day, then head up through Green Park, Mayfair and Marylebone before catching the Heathrow Express. Heathrow is quiet and we’re in the lounge before long, awaiting our flight to Madrid.
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