The tickets had been organised months in advance. Anna, my home swap host, had suggested I go when I had coincidently asked to stay the week of the iconic garden show. She is a member of the Royal Horticultural Society and organised to buy some for me and a couple of friends. I was thrilled and Peter and Annette were too. The Chelsea Flower Show- a little bonus to complement their stay in the UK.

Anna had advised me to arrive early as the fragrance of the flowers would be so heady and to avoid the crowds. She was right on both counts. Making my way in the early morning through Pimlico along the Thames to the Bull Ring Gate I was so enchanted with the birdsong, the flowers, the lack of traffic!!! It was marvellous.

Although we had come from different directions, we arrived simultaneously. We were early and had an opportunity to catch up and share our excitement. It was a magnificent day and it definitely impacts on people- particularly Londoners. It was Saturday. It was a Bank Holiday weekend. There was wine, music and song…well not really but that is how Londoners behave on bright sunny beautiful days. 

Hours were consumed by delightful ‘shows’, innovative garden ideas, nuanced specific species presentations and spectacular floral arrangements. We met then radiated out on our own, reunited shared a coffee and what we had seen then off we went again to explore. Peter was quite taken with my red hat. It was a traveller’s super bonus. I was always visible!!!

Finally we gathered in the bandstand area, listened to some orchestral music, indulged in a few Pims then made our farewells and arrangements for our Sunday catch up.

Early Sunday and my sister rang. I had told her to but had forgotten so I greeted my lovely friends at home in the dark, tousled hair, sleepy but very pleased to see them all. 

I was checking out ‘Bike London’ which I had seen being organised at Trafalgar Square on my bus trip home from Camden Markets- wow has that been gentrified!! From what I could gather, streets were closed around central London and anyone who could ride a bike was encouraged to go exploring on a traffic free circuit. I contacted Annette and Peter and we agreed to meet a bit earlier and see what the go was. It’s a city. You really must know what you are doing. Turns out, there was a massive bike ride on that day involving thousands of lycra-clad cyclists. It was daunting. There was also a separate circuit for the less ‘professional’ like us but we had to find our own bikes and join the circuit wherever we could. 

The National Gallery was a far more sedate option and there was a fabulous exposition on, called ‘After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art’. The three of us were interested in that so off we went. It was fabulous. Afterwards we had lunch at the delightful café in the Gallery. There are often good eating places in Galleries.

Peter decided to further explore the gallery and Annette and I wandered into Covent Garden, picked up some gifts, checked out every single silver store, listened to some classical busking before heading back to meet up at the Chandon for a pint and a wine or two or three. We were very comfortable and ready to eat only to be told they wouldn’t be doing food that evening.

It was off to a favourite of Peter and Annette’s, the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ on Northumberland Street, an area of London very familiar to my friends as they had stayed in the area on a number of occasions. It had been a wonderful two days of sharing London with fabulous company. Afterwards I headed back to get ready for my flight to Munich the following day.