Beautiful English gardens that were used in Harry Potter. Recognise?

Two birds in one stone. Or 'two flies in one clap' as we say in Sweden. That characterised this weekend. My friend is taking a course outside of London this week and she decided to arrive early and spend the weekend. Very nice! I then drove her to the place where she is having her course - Ashridge. I had the pleasure of visiting their garden. Such a pleasure!! Apparently Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was recorded here (parts of it). I knew I had seen it before! In any case - enjoy! And you should visit! Very pretty it is!

Vyshyvanka Mega March

Apart from the Champions League and the first sun in a while, London saw the Vyshyvanka Mega March, which celebrates Ukrainian culture, this bank holiday weekend. Vyshyvanka is the traditional Ukrainian clothing which contains Ukrainian ethnic embroidery (the shirts that everyone wears). After gathering at Trafalgar Square to sing the Ukrainian national anthem the crowd (we estimate 100-200 people) marched via the Mall to Buckingham Palace for a photo shoot. Lots of kids. Lots of colours. Lots of happiness. Very pretty. 

Ukrainian kids leading the singing. 

Tired. And the march hasn't even started yet. 

Flowers.

Laughter.

Photographers.

Outside Buckingham Palace

Setting up the photo shoot

Waiting eagerly to get shot

Ambassador Volodymyr Khandohiy

Mmm, candy

Playing

All done. Maria resting in the grass.

Does it get more London than this?

I walked by Buckingham Palace yesterday and could not resist to take a picture of the iconic London figure - the Buckingham Palace Guard. Haven't seen the changing of the guard yet - I guess I should do at some point. Until then, these pictures will have to suffice!

Annaliese from Britain’s Next Top Model ‹ Fotoble

We had a lot of fun when shooting Annaliese, and in our blog you get to know some more and see the result! Turnout was pretty good and we had a lot of fun. Couldn't have been a better day :)

Shooting Annaliese from Britain’s Next Top Model

Around the fire place at the farm

Few things are as relaxing as sitting around a fire and looking into it, feeling the heat and thinking about everything and nothing. Always thought so since I was younger and did a lot of outdoor activities.

The other weekend we (or me - by mistake) booked a farm bed and breakfast - The Beeches Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast in Bradford On Avon (well, I guess the name should have given me a clue). We had to walk over a mile over the fields to get dinner, but on the other hand I had the best pie I've ever had and I really liked the town. And they had a fire place in the cabin. After coming back after dinner we lit it up and relaxed it front of it for a while before going to bed.

Johan, Camilla and Hugo ‹ Fotoble

We had a family shoot the other day with Johan, Camilla and their cute one-year old Hugo. He loves his football! Some pics below - more here: Johan, Camilla and Hugo

Fog in London

There is this joke in Asterix and the Britons that has been used a lot in my family... 'Is Britain always foggy? No, only when it's not raining'... Always think about that joke when the fog is covering all of the City, which is not unusual. The two pictures below are taken from the same spot on the same day. Must admit that the fog is mysterious though and it provides plenty of photo opportunities. Still haven't gone to Richmond park in the dawn to catch the deer, but I will!

 

Mysterious Stonehenge

Stonehenge is one of the most famous sites in the world and is at a very convenient distance London. It's fascinating to walk around the monument while letting the audio guide telling you about the history (nobody has any idea of why it was built though). Archeologists believe it was built 2200-2400 BC but there are indications that the first stones were raised as early as 3000 BC. In either case, it must have been quite a job to get the top stones on top of the standing ones. Wonder how they did it.  

Pappa

Weather can change fast...

Looks like someone is looking down from above... 

Swansea street art

This past weekend (bank holiday weekend) we went to Wales. We have learnt the hard way that it's better to stay in one place and to drive around less, so we decided to stay in Swansea. The hotel was very nice but other than that - not my favourite city in the UK so far (if I'm honest). That said - the surroundings were super! Very pretty. 

There will be more pictures from Wales as soon as I have processed them. In the meantime I will add a couple of picture of Swansea street art (among the coolest things we saw in Wales' second largest city). Am trying Blogger's iPhone app - will be interesting to see the outcome... More to come soon.

Bodiam Castle - the best preserved castle I've been to

We like to make road trips. Even more so when we have visitors! The other weekend Maria's dad was here and we all went to Bodiam Castle in East Sussex. It was very special for many reasons. First we had to take a train to get there (or we didn't have to - you can drive, but it was an extra treat). Second it's a very well preserved castle and thirdly, you can really get breathtaking pictures of the castle. We got some nice shots of the castle reflecting in the water but it wasn't completely still... Think we should go back in the golden hour - that is just before the sun sets. If it's not windy the pictures should be even more amazing!

We did not go with this train...

Some start early...

Maria resting in the sun

We met some friends outside the castle who had a picnic. Maria and her dad below... 

After the picnic the day was over - time to take the train back. 

On the way back we travelled the old way - steam engine!