South Bank, London, National Theatre and Tate Modern, Bob Bob Ricardo

We had a fantastic guided tour of the National Theatre, arranged by Anna as a birthday present to Mike for his 70th. We saw the 3 theatres and the stage set up for the shows…one was for ’The Witches’. Behind the scenes areas were fascinating too as we visited the prop and set workshops. The guide was very informative.

We met Michaela and Sean at the Millenium Bridge where a group of about 100 Santa’s were having a get together…very cute! Apparently the event is for anyone who wants to meet new people but they have to come dressed as a Santa! It was very funny seeing Santa's catching the tube! The next stop was the Tate Modern and Sean took us up to the viewing area near the roof…fab views over London skyline in all directions. It was getting dark by 4pm so we caught the tube to Covent Garden and the buildings looked so lovely with their painted colour schemes, Christmas lights and tree. We had a nice drink in the Leadenhall Market before going to a very fancy restaurant called Bob Bob Ricardo. Again more gluhwein…yum!

The restaurant was very glam, with lots of gold, marble and fancy waiters. Our table was a lovely booth with the cute addition of a ‘press for champagne’ button on the marble wall of the booth. Anna joined us and we really enjoyed a delicious meal. Anna and Sean had the beef Wellington for 2…it looked and apparently tasted amazingly good. It was special to be together again.

Sean and Michaela told us of their marriage last January, which did come as a surprise with it being nearly a year ago. We understood their decision to marry so they could both go to Munich together, which was a requirement by the German govt. The ceremony was held in a registry office in Sydney and their witnesses were Dani, Cassie and Johann. They told us a little of their plans for a wedding celebration in Sydney, in January 2025. They are a lovely couple and we are thrilled that Michaela is our daughter-in-law. So big news shared at a beautiful restaurant in London. Press for champagne was enacted! It was wonderful for the five of us to be together. I shed a few tears on the tube back to Kew.