r.

Alex and i utilised this beautiful weather and visited Syon Park & House in Brentford. I used to live 5 minutes from there but ashamedly never visited and i wish i had sooner because the gardens are a wonder of this world. There are so many varieties of trees, plants and flowers not to mention wildlife like cranes and turtles (eeee turtles!). It was like being in 'the secret garden' with all these winding paths and bridges and little nooks perfect for a quiet or romantic picnics and view points as well (the house and gardens actually back onto Kew Gardens!). There was even a little gnome door in a tree so cute. We went through the conservatory first and i must say i want to get married there it's now top of my list with the wide pane glass and massive fountain out front and funnily enough they were prepping for a wedding when we arrived! the fields are just gorgeous and the house itself is magnificent to behold its hard to believe, despite being centuries old, that people still own and are coming back to live there. Unfortunately i couldn't take pictures of the inside but every bit of grandeur you can imagine- it has. From a vast library with real first edition copy books to pillars imported from Rome and silk wall finishing and ivory decorations. They also have a beautiful courtyard with stairs winding down from each corner down to a well crafted and well kept garden full of roses and pebbling. We learnt a lot of history about the place and each room from the amazing people that work there, it used to be a huge abbey which was knocked down to build the house and is now owned by the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. Although the house and gardens is still truly someones house and garden it is open to the public and has a garden centre and club attached where me and Alex had afternoon tea and a really sweet gift shop (i'm a sucker for those) with intricate gifts. It has now made me enjoy long walks and admiring nature's beauty, though of course its all the better in the sunshine. If you're ever visiting London give it a peep!

The pictures don't do it justice, i could have taken a million more as its such a vast space; it makes you forget you're in the city.

Hope you enjoyed this post x

n.

Winter Wonderland.

Alex and I finally got to visit Hyde Parks annual Winter Wonderland; a Bavarian style village with stalls, rides, food and drink and generally a good atmosphere. I'm so glad i finally got to go and have plans of making a visit next year. We ate bratwurst (german sausage) and i also had a hot chocolate, we took a peak at all the different stalls selling food and fashion items, although with the fashion stalls once you'd seen one, you'd seen them all. I also made a purchase for Alex's dad: a pot of 'gooseberry and eldeflower' jam, from a stall selling unique curds, chutneys and marmalade's which was really nice to see and taste! Alex and I went on the big ferris wheel overlooking Winter Wonderland, hyde park, and parts of London could be viewed in the horizon. We also visited the Ice Kingdom which was sub zero so our fingers and toes felt like they would fall off if we took any longer inside. Winter Wonderland isn't the cheapest of attractions but i would recommend it, look up the rides and events available and scope out what you think you'd be interested in the most to get the best out of your visit.