Sun, sand and sea....

...and did I mention SUN!

Yes, honeymoon had finally arrived. I had taken charge of organising the wedding and Mark took charge of organising the honeymoon. Besides knowing where we were going (Sri Lanka and the Maldives), I knew very little else, other than I was very much looking forward to the honeymoon surprise (and a much needed break).

The taxi arrived early that dull and grey Saturday morning to get us to the airport on time. We arrived at the airport and things were pretty much stress free. Before we knew it we were off on our 11 or so hour day flight to Sri Lanka. We arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital city just after 2am (local time), found our transfer driver and made for the taxi outside. Once outside, we were hit with 25 degree heat...yes at 2am in the morning... and I quickly shed my only jersey I had brought with (finally getting it right for once, as I didn't wear it again until our flight back to London). Our 30 min journey from Columbo airport to Negombo was pretty dark and uneventful, and we couldn't quite tell what would be in store for us, over the next few days.

Experience Sri Lanka...
The next day we woke up probably about midday Sri Lankan time and were treated to a normal 'English' type breakfast with the most delicious fresh papaya juice (one of the many fruits, we would discover over the next week, that was grown locally).

Stepping out from our accommodation, our first experience of Sri Lanka, besides for the unbelievable heat, was one of simple, urban life, with every second shop being a little tourist curio shop or a sleepy, run-down type of corner cafe (for the much needed water). The locals were extremely friendly always smiling and greeting you (something that takes some getting used to after living in London for so long). The road however was anything but sleepy, with 100s of tuk tuks driving up and down the streets, making use of their most prized possession...their HOOTER.

aka Pamela...
I soon became the fascination of many a local (men, woman and children) and didn't quite know whether to be flattered or insulted by the constant (and blatant ,outright) staring and attention. So it didn't take long before Mark decided to rename me...Pamela.

First stop the beach....
We were less than 2 min away from the beach, and the first sight of it, is one I will not forget in a hurry. The beach was pretty rough and rugged, however the palm trees created the most idyllic setting you could ever imagine. The temperatures were in the high 30s and we couldn't wait for our first dip in the ocean – or should I say the 'world’s biggest outside bath'...the water was ridiculously warm, yet still somehow managed to be refreshing!





Negombo...
The second day we arranged for a private driver, who would drive us around over the next few days while we explored the different cities of Sri Lanka. Job for the day done...we headed back to the beach and made use of the hotel pool, where the water was even warmer than the sea! That day was a Sri Lankan public holiday, and the locals were out celebrating ‘something’. There was a festival of sorts in Columbo, however still feeling a little jet-lagged we decided to give it a skip and instead we went out for dinner to a place called Bisho (as recommended by the friendly accommodation owner, as well as the Lonely Planet Travel Guide Book). Being in a new country ,we had to try their local cuisine of course... CURRY...and we weren’t disappointed. Mark did however spot the guy at the next table eating what looked like a divine piece of steak and made a mental note. Being a public holiday no alcohol was allowed to be served/bought anywhere, apart from ordering it and drinking it in your room, which we did whilst playing Rummy and Sh*thead, which I am pleased to say I was champion of both games that night.

Let the adventure begin...
The next morning we were up early, to meet with our driver/guide, Dennis and set off on our next adventure. Still not having quite adjusted as yet to the new time zone, we thought we could have a little 'kip' in the car (a minivan all to ourselves) on the 3 to 4 hours drive to Kandy. Little did we know the real Sri Lankan experience was about to kick in (before we had time to doze off)! Those 100s of tuk tuks I mentioned earlier now turned into what seemed like 1000s, together with other cars, buses, trucks and not to mention the motorbikes (with 3 to 4 people on them, where only the driver - mainly the Dad - wears the helmet, whilst the wife and kids go without). Sri Lanka has no robots (traffic lights), stop streets, circles, it’s all just go, go, go. The only rule it seemed, was to use your hooter as much as possible...and which meant various things... warning people you are behind them, you want to overtake them (on left or right hand side of the road, didn’t matter), warning people you are coming round a blind corner, warning people walking on the road that you were coming and to move over, and then just for fun too! Now to add to my already frazzled nerves, the were numerous stray/street dogs, who just lie on the edge of the road...how they manage to survive is beyond me with all the swerving on and off the roads whilst over taking. Yet somehow it all seems to work, with us, obviously still around to tell the story.

Kandy, the hilly city...
En route to Kandy we stopped off at a Spice Garden, where I was much intrigued...with all the natural herbs, spices and not to mention fruit and veg that Sri Lanka produces get put to good use in some herbal medicines. I probably would have bought the whole shop, had they not actually been quite expensive (a first so far) and instead settled with only 3 kinds of products. We also stopped at one of the many tea factories for a tour, after all Sri Lanka is known as the Ceylon valley...and who would have guessed how much work went into making tea! Needless to say I made a purchase here too, this time limiting myself to just 1 product...some natural ginger tea.

We arrived in Kandy, and went straight to drop our things off at the B&B, which happened to be at the top of possibly one of the highest and windiest roads, which can only fit in 1 car, yet still happened to be a 2 way road for traffic...so the hooter once again came in very handy. We were only in Kandy for 1 night and put this time to good use, by seeing a cultural dancing/singing show, the Temple of the Tooth, exclusive dining (as in we were the only ones there) at a Sri Lankan restaurant as well as silk shopping and gem shopping (I got one of these too!).

Sigiriya Rock and Kandalama...
The next day we headed off for Sigiriya, where the famous Sigiriya Rock is. Our driver very kindly called ahead to the fancy Kandalama hotel where we were booked to stay and managed to get us Honeymooners upgraded to a suite! Very very nice! This hotel was just amazing! It is 1km long and is built into the side of rock. There were 3 pools, one being an infinity pool, overlooking the lake, the second a natural rock pool and the 3rd a normal, but huge pool, right on the otherside of the hotel. Our suite was huge, with 2 balconies, a lounge, bedroom and bathroom, and our view was of the amazing Sigirya Rock and some of the hotel’s beautiful gardens.

The next day we set out to climb Sigiriya Rock, which has about 2000 stairs, some of which are extremely narrow. Our guide (not Dennis – takes people up about 2 or 3 times a day...once was definitely enough for us and we had to make numerous resting stops along the way) impressed us with the story of the 18 year old king who built his castle on this rock, not much of it remains unfortunately, apart from some artwork on the rock walls.
While in Sigiriya we enjoyed some fine dining, hotel entertainment and lots and lots of swimming. We also went on an elephant safari and we saw at least 50 or more elephants, which are a bit smaller than the African elephants, and have smaller ears, in their natural environment!

Back to Negombo...
Nearing the end of our Sri Lankan adventure, we headed back to Negombo for another day or so of relaxing and yet more eating. We went back to the Bisho restaurant, so Mark could have his much dreamt about steak and he wasn’t disappointed. We enjoyed a few more ‘baths’ in the world’s biggest bath, and before we knew it, the week was up and it was time to pack up and get ready for our trip back to Columbo airport.

All in all...Sri Lanka was beautiful, yet dirty in parts and absolutely amazing with all its many (natural) commodities it has to offer. Definitely an experience to remember and one we’d happily do again!

Next stop the Maldives....

Back to Reality...

...and good old London town.

We had a lovely Christmas with the family back home in SA after all the wedding hype, and what was our first Christmas in SA in many a year (over 6 years for me and even longer for Mark).

Before we knew it though, it was back to London, work and reality.

Now with the wedding plans and preparations out of the way, you would have thought the next 2 and a bit months before the honeymoon would have been smooth sailing. Unfortunatley that was not the case, as it was time to knuckle down to the studies again. In February I started my second course in my second year university, to run alongside my current course(if that makes any sense)... and I had 3 assignments (with a lot of reading) due while we would be away, and as such needed to get them submitted before we could head off on honeymoon. This of course impacted Mark too, who had to get stuck into all the house chores, so I could busy myself in my assignments.

Not before long, with the snow playing havoc with the trains, so my mind played havoc with the days, counting down until our honeymoon finally arrived...and soon enough it did and my assignments eventually came to conclusion as well. At least for the next few weeks anyway.

Where to start....

Appropriately enough today is our 3 month wedding anniversary! Ahhhh!! Time is just flying by already! Anyway, so I thought what better day, to start describing THE BIG DAY! (19 December 2009)

After over a year and a bit of planning and preparation for the Big Day (with a fair few hiccups along the way), I can happily say, that the day went off absolutely fabulously! I honestly don’t think I could have asked for a better day. The weather was PERFECT, the sun was out and the wind stayed away (a record achievement for PE weather), and everything else just seemed to fall into place.
The morning started off well, with a tasty breakfast at Foresthall, with 2 of my Bridesmaids (Shona and Carol). Much to my surprise Carol presented me with a lovely little gift from my wonderful then hubby-to-be. A beautiful pair of diamond stud earrings. What a lovely surprise! After breakfast we had a wonder around the beautiful gardens at Foresthall, and on our way to our room, we saw the make-up lady (Theano) had arrived...time to realise that it was actually happening and the day really had arrived. Not long after that the hair lady (Helen) arrived and soon things were very much in progress. My mom, Claire (Maid of Honour), Tayla and Chesney (flowergirls) arrived, followed by Sue (mother-in-law to be). Not much later the videographer and photographer arrived and somewhere along the line my Gran and Dad did too. Everyone was there...so it was definitely all go!! It was such an amazing feeling, that after all the planning and stressing that had gone into organising the wedding, I felt so completely at ease and peaceful the whole morning of the Big Day. My bridesmaids were absolutely fantastic in keeping any kind of 'behind the scenes' stress away from me. Shona had control of my phone, and anything and everything was done through her.
After numerous attempts in trying to get my newly acquired diamond earrings into my 2nd holes, (as I had dangly earrings to match my necklace for the 1st holes), I finally got dressed and decided to go with just the one stud. Then ensuring I had my something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, the official photos began...and the poodle made its wedding debut!
Before I knew it, it was already 4pm, so I was going to be fashionably late and make Mark sweat a little! Our goodbyes (just to get to the venue) almost turned into a little teary moment, at the final good-bye to ‘Miss Cawood’, before jumping into the car (as elegantly as I possibly could in my dress) a few reverse attempts in and out of the car and my dad and I were finally on our way in our Vintage 1939 Plymouth. I don’t think the car could go faster than 40km an hour, so it made for a long and nerve wracking ride to the venue...this was probably the first time I felt nervous all morning.

Our song began to play (Somewhere over the rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole), my beautiful nieces had scattered rose petals on their way down the aisle as one of their flower girl duties, the bridesmaids were all in place in front, and it was time for my dad and I to make our entrance. My soon-to-be hubby (aka The Suit) was smiling in the front and looked even hotter than normal in his wedding suit (I do love him in a suit) and his groomsmen all looked pretty smart too.

The ceremony began...
Claire gave a lovely message, Shona read a scripture (Corinthians) and Shaz read a poem (On your wedding day). I was under the impression that the hymn we had chosen (O Perfect Love), was a ‘common’ and ‘well known’ wedding hymn... but no one seemed to know it! A few giggles into the first and second verses made for a bit of an ice-breaker, although painfully enough there were another two to go, as it was a 4 verse hymn... but thankfully by the 4th verse people had to started to feel a bit more brave and graced us with their singing voices to the unfamiliar tune (thank-you Stephanie!). The vows and ring exchange went off hitch free and the ceremony was brought to an end with a closing prayer by Grant (my brother-in-law). The walk to the register desk was however not as hitch free as the ring exchange, no I didn’t fall, it just didn’t quite go as planned either...due to a lack of space in the Boma. Anyway the signatures were signed...and the marriage became official when the bubbles were blown!

Photos, photos and more photos....
Family photos, beach photos, forest photos you name it and then it was finally time for the reception to begin. Our song began (Time of my life, by David Cook) and Mr and Mrs Attwood were announced! Walking into the reception hall was such a surreal feeling, nevermind being a Mr and Mrs, but to finally see all the hard work in getting the decor and flowers etc come together, and seeing that it had finally paid off for the very first time. The cake looked even better than I had hoped, and the flower arrangements were finally what I wanted all along.

Our stand-in Master of Ceremonies, Tim did a fantastic job kicking off the evening, by ‘getting grace out of the way’, which was given by my bridesmaid Carol. Tim controlled the running order of the evening superbly and ensured all things went smoothly and to time, as much as possible, coz let’s face it, they very seldom do!

Time for the speeches...
My dad was first up and set the bar really high for Mark and Craig (Bestman) to follow. His wise crack of ‘Bald is beautiful’ set the tone for the many jokes that followed throughout the speeches. Mark and Craig without knowing in their speech preparation had tried to out due each other (some things never change) with trophy’s and pizza cutter gifts. Both speeches were brilliant and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Tim very aptly ended the speeches with a lovely quote: "May your love be modern enough to survive these times, but old fashioned enough to last forever."

Then it was time to cut the cake...
The paparazzi were out in full force and Mark and I had to fight our way to the front of the crowd to carry out the age old tradition. Our cake topper, topped it off nicely, making the only reference of the evening to our much loved, and normally much talked about cat, Molly (aka DogCat).

1st dance...
Our song began (I’m Yours, by Jason Mraz) and Mark and I raced to the dance floor, not quite making it in time to start it off how we had always practised it, which threw me a bit, not to mention the first turn, as obviously never having practised in my dress before I hadn’t quite thought through the whole wrist band holding up the train of my dress. I had ‘cleverly’ put on my right hand, so every time we did a turn the dress kept catching on my hair! Let’s just say it made for an interesting first dance. Mark did very well in keeping the rhythm going, which was very impressive, since he was the more nervous one for the dance...it just goes to show...my man can dance!

The party started...
With the formalities out of the way, the party could finally begin. The dance floor was soon whipped into shape by all shapes and sizes. The tunes were a merry mix, although very few were from our list we had given the DJ, nevertheless it got the crowd going. An image I will never forget is my Gran grooving away and showing the youngsters how it’s done to ‘Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon’.

The garter and bouquet were thrown, albeit to the smallest of crowds (that’s what happens when you one of the last to tie the knot). Shona the usual favourite to win the bouquet toss had some stiff competition from Vicki and Michelle. Obviously the guns just weren’t warmed up enough and Vicki triumphed in the end. The competition from the guys wasn’t nearly as stiff, and Nick from the UK came out tops with for South African tradition of throwing the garter. Vicki and Nick did their victory lap, with their unique dance style, to ‘Islands in the Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’. Interestingly enough this proved to be one of the most popular songs to dance to and after Vicki and Nick had sweated it out long enough in the spotlight, Mark and I joined them, only to be closely followed by almost every other couple.

As the night wore on and the crowd started to thin, Mark and I made the decision to stay until the end, instead of making the usual tunnelled exit. The few die-hards that stayed till the end however still insisted of making a mini tunnel for us before we headed out to our ‘beautifully’ decorated car where we were kindly chauffeured by Grant back to Foresthall, to end what had been the most wonderful, memorable, love and fun filled day, where it had officially all begun for the me and all the girls that beautiful morning.

Wedding DVD - Montage

Well the time has come...

...to finally get with the 21st century!

Mark has been saying for ages now that I should write a blog, and I think it’s time to admit that he is right! (The dutiful wife duties have begun already!) :-) So I embraced technology and the wonders of what the internet can offer, and not even 2 minutes later and the blog is already up and running. It was quite amazing at how simple it was really...if only I had just done it sooner! My next task however will be to make it a bit more ‘MarkandLucinda-fied’...

2010 is the year of new beginnings! Now I know we already half way through March, and it’s a bit late in the day to be writing about the year as if it’s just begun, but I think I should back track a little, so the blog can really capture things from the start of our married life. This probably defeats the whole purpose of the blog idea...but then if my blog writing technique is going to be anything like my ‘following’ a recipe technique, it should hopefully make for an interesting outcome/read!