Admiral's diary in Europe

After the captain left mid - February I had 2 weeks to visit and catch up with old friends and family before leaving for Brisbane.I divided my time between London with my sister Susan, Amersham with my parents,Rome with our youngest daughter Josette and Strood with Jess ,Ben and our baby granddaughter Sydney,plus an overnight visit with Phil and Sandra ( Bens parents)in the village of Wisborough Green.
London......
Trying new restaurants is a delicious hobby Susan and I always practice on my trips home to England,so these last 2 weeks with lunches and dinners we went to the following...
The Bull and Last,Pollen Street Social,Opera Tavern,Dabbous, Wright Brothers Soho ,Danesfield House,and for nostalgia the Ritz and Fortnum and Masons.
Josette and I also followed the same practice and tried many new restaurants in Rome .this was also my catch up time with many of the award winning movies this season,here are my thoughts.....
The Help, I found disappointing ,but worth seeing,the book is much better.
Hugo, interesting I would recommend .
The Artist, I found the first 10 mins slow and then became captivated.Well worth seeing,an interesting observation was that for the first time in a long while the audience in the cinema was silent ,and well mannered throughout the movie, no munching of popcorn or slurping of drinks,a wonderful experience.
The Iron Lady, well worth seeing,this movie brought tears to my eyes a few times,somehow the 1980's passed me by ( probably because this was the decade I was pregnant with or nursing our 5 children) I had forgotten what a remarkable woman Margaret Thatcher was ,and how turbulent England had been,a wonderful portrayal .
The Descendents ,worth seeing. George is delicious rather like good wine.
Moneypit, a good plane or DVD movie.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,a quintessential English movie, a great cast,most enjoyable.
I did manage a couple of plays plus an excellent David Hockney exhibition at the Royal academy.
Susan and I went for the first time to London fashion week at Somerset house, a must for shoppers,allow plenty of time as there are bargains to pick up.
Rome......
This was my first visit to Rome,I had 2 days pouring cats and dogs and 2 days with perfect blue sky and sunshine.so with contrasting weather Josie and I explored this magnificent city,she had already been to many of the sights ,so she was an excellent tour guide passing on all sorts of interesting information.On all my travels so far ,I have not seen so much history in one city,rather overwhelming,I need to return and take it more slowly. We were lucky that Ruth( the captains sister) and Stef (a native Roman )were there at the same time so we had a very special night tour of the city.check josettes blog ( jositaly.blogspot.com)
Strood.....
What can I say,having a baby granddaughter is one of the most wonderful experiences,I loved every moment I was with her,it was so very hard to say goodbye to Jess and Ben who have become wonderful parents and little Sydney, knowing that the next time I see her she will be 9 months old, crawling around no doubt.
As is the way, I am always having to say goodbye,until the next time.This is the hardest part of leading this amazing traveling life.