Last week was only a three day working week (I was ill on Monday and had already booked Friday off for a long weekend), but it seemed to go on forever.

This was a good thing in many ways though, because it was a lot of fun. On Friday morning I rushed around getting everything done (packing, cat feeding and watering, cat medicating, cleaning, washing up, eyebrows, showering etc.) before catching a train to London.

Two hours later I was standing outside the hotel I’d booked in Wembley.

Hannah, Tony and I went to see this year’s Legend of Zelda concert. Because we’re massive geeks :P (And also I may have done this a few times before, i.e. every single one in London. But apparently I only blogged about 2011 and 2013).

The hotel room was massive, which is great if you like that sort of thing but personally I’ve never been that bothered. (People always seem to complain about the ‘small’ rooms in hotels, especially in London, but it’s always confused me. What do people even want all that floor space for?? Is there some kind of secret hotel party club I’ve not been invited to?)

Anyway, the Novotel was very new and nice enough, and only a 20 min tube trip from St Pancras. That combined with the prices (around £40 each with the three of us sharing a room) mean it’s definitely somewhere I’d consider staying again.¹ Plus, it’s obviously really convenient for the Wembley Arena, and there are several places to eat and shop very close by, even late at night – I’m always amazed about how early things shut in London, especially outside zone 1.

The concert is a bit different every year, and this year’s had some new music and arrangements as well as old favourites. It was definitely the biggest there’s been so far, and we were rushing around the venue exploring everything and getting Streetpass hits in before it started. (We arrived a bit later than I would have liked as we ended up doing a big pre-event meet up at a local pub which involved about 20 people and some of the worst pub food I’ve ever had).

About fifteen minutes before it was due to start we got stopped by a woman asking if we needed anything; we asked which door we should go through for our seats. After she replied, she promptly asked us if we’d like wristbands to access the VIP lounge bar (yay free upgrade!), so we had just enough time to check it out and buy drinks there – effectively skipping the big queues – before heading back to the main arena bit.

We must have spent five minutes walking back and forth through the main block of seats because we had literally no idea where we were sitting; looking for D block, all we could find were C and E. I was beginning to get a bit stressed when we got stopped by an usher asking if they could help (all the staff we spoke to were great). After looking at my little rubbish ticket print out she promptly took us to the front row (!) Like an idiot I hadn’t even realised I’d actually booked front row seats, despite the fact I booked them the instant they opened bookings.

So yeah, it worked out really well. The philharmonic orchestra always puts a smile on my face, and I felt so relaxed after a day of travelling and rushing around. Afterwards a group of us went back to our hotel and hung out at the bar before parting ways. All in all, it was a great night.

My train back the next day was mid-afternoon, but I had a chance to meet up with an old friend for brunch. We went to a little cafe in central London, and then wandered down to Regent’s Park. The weather was gorgeous and we were able to relax on the grass for a bit and just people-watch and enjoy the squirrels and blossom. After that we headed to St Pancras via the Wellcome collection, which happened to be a really interesting crime scene investigation themed exhibition.

By the time I got back home I felt like about a week had passed, but it was still only Saturday (!) I got back to a house full of people that Joe had invited over, so after a bit of a cuddle with a sleepy Ginge I escaped to the garden for the last of the sun with Halo and my book.

I was so exhausted due to very little sleep and seven miles of walking round London and Nottingham that I went to bed early and was flat out until the morning. Sunday was more of a relaxing day, but we ended up going to buy plants for the garden. It’s a yearly ritual and they die within a couple of months, but all of our parents always complain we don’t look after the garden enough (I say garden, it’s a tiny amount of space), so we spent a few hours cutting brambles back and planting stuff anyway as a token gesture.

Considering the week started off so badly – I couldn’t even get out of bed on Monday I felt so ill – it ended on a high. And if any political party would like to introduce the idea of a three day week, they’ll definitely get my vote ;)