London Winter, Christmas & New Years 2012/13

Backtracking a bit, as we’re coming into winter this year, I realise we never blogged about last winter, Christmas, and New Years.

I have to say we were a little apprehensive about UK winter. I found however that it wasn’t so much the brutality of the winter, but rather the duration – it just seemed to keep on going! I think we even had snow in May. To be fair though, it was apparently an unusually long winter. Meanwhile, back in NZ, friends and family were basking in the warmest summer in 40 years, and cruelly sending pictures of sunny beaches our way.

That said, it was fun to have actual snow, and a real Christmas-y feel. Erika, Kylie and I went ice skating at Somerset House as well. It was beautiful, with lots of cool lighting, the beautiful old building behind, mulled wine and chocolate brownies to warm us up, and a ginormous Christmas tree. My second ice skating experience ever, and I even managed to stay upright, but only just!

Before Christmas, we got together as a group to have our own Christmas celebration and secret santa exchange.

Unlike most of London, we didn’t leave the city for Christmas or New Years. We spent an incredibly relaxed Christmas with French and Norwegian friends and Emeline and Håvard. We made Norweigan gingerbread biscuits, named ‘Pepperkaker' - they were a little darker than the British-style gingerbread, and had a kind of peppering taste - which we then iced - which then iced; we went for a walk around the neighbourhood; and we ate copious amounts of delicious food. 

For New Years, we got together as a group and went to a local bar, where we had quite a bit of wine and danced into the wee hours.

In January, we were treated to a proper snow. It was great fun to us newbies to start with. We went to the local park, and used some real estate signs lying about as toboggans to slide down the hill, much to the amusement of the families. We made a snowman out the back of our flat, had numerous snowball fights, and went exploring in the local cemetery, which had turned into a veritable winter wonderland. After a while though, I got a little fed up of struggling not to fall over on my way to and from the station, and trying to stay warm in our chilly flat.