Things I'm Loving - My Parents

I've been lucky enough to have had my parents over from New Zealand for the last month.

Fresh off the plane.

I've loved the time spent with them, I even gave up my room for a month and slept in the lounge! Total dedication! 

Mum surprised me with my belated 21st quilt. I was told that I wouldn't get it until I moved back to New Zealand. I think she realised that it might not happen for a while...

I showed them around London, we were proper tourists...

In Trafalgar Square...

At a Wetherspoons for dinner (it's one of my favourite chains of restaurants - a drink and burger for £7!)

We went on the new 'Emirates Air Line' - a gondola that goes over the Thames to Greenwich...

Mum met her new friend Queenie...

Me and Dad entertained ourselves at Marks and Spencers whilst Mum shopped...

We had a lovely picnic in Victoria Park on a gloriously sunny and hot day...

We went to Devon where we got to catch up with family whom my parents hadn't seen in 21 years...

I got to meet my Great Uncle Ron. He's such an amazing guy - despite his height ha! - and like I said on Face Book, if I was in my late 70's, I'd definitely have a crush on him...

We lived the high life and went to the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall - such an amazing experience!

We hopped on the Euro Star over to Paris where Mum and Dad got to catch up with their friends from Belgium who they met when we lived in Finland and also hadn't seen in 21 years...

We saw the sights - like the Sacre Coeur in Montmart...

I took some sneaky museum photos - this was at Victor Hugo's house, he wrote Les Miserables... 

Mum showed everyone how tiny our hotel room was. If you go to Paris, I highly recommend staying in Hotel Henry iv. It's on the same island as Notre Dame. 

I got Mum and Dad to pose 'like they loved each other' but they weren't allowed to kiss, on the bridge covered in padlocks with love messages on Pont Neuf...

We did a boat tour on the Seine River...

We got a quick shot with the Eiffel Tour in the background...

And then we returned to London, where my parents went to Scotland for a few days. After being back in London for 3 nights, I had to sadly say goodbye to them this evening. It was incredibly hard, there were tears, and a very special moment where my dad told me he loved me. I probably should've kept that a secret, but it doesn't happen very often. 

So farewell wonderful parental units. I had such a special time with you, being able to show you where I live and a peak into my new life in London! I miss you already but will see you again next year when I pop over for a visit! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Linking up with Meg cos she's choice for things I'm loving, and Simone for best in blog...

Malaysia, whaka yeah! : part 1

The low-down. The 411. The deets.

We spent 3 nights in Kuala Lumpur. Saw a lot of amazing temples, parks, buildings. Ate a lot of amazing food and soaked in the amazing culture. 

Cutesy buildings in Kuala Lumpur.

Feet eating fish frenzy

If I wrote a book about a magical land, this would be the secret tree where all of the most wonderful, special and fantastical things happened. All inside that one tree. That led to that great land. 

Nature at it's finest - Lake Gardens.

I absolutely love this photo.  And butterflies. Which we saw at Rama Rama butterfly park.

We then traveled on a bus and had a 3 hour boat ride on one of these to get to Taman Negara - a national park in the middle of Malaysia. 

After negotiating a permit to get into the national park and then a permit for photographing, we went on a fun canopy walk. 

We devoured some delicious (not-so-dairy-free) pancakes for breakfast

And then we were on our merry way to Kapas Island a.k.a Paradise...

(coming up in part 2 so I don't bore you to tears)

Linking up with Meg my choice buddy and my other choice buddy Simoney