well i'm back home now... and everything feels slightly weird. it's so obvious how slow everything at home is, the ppl, the transportation, the activity life... it's quite a shame and i have to remember to put it all into perspective that this IS home... that won't ever change... but there is just something about london that really makes me crave to go back and stay longer. i was just getting so used to the routine of everything, of the hustle and bustle, of being pushed passed and not hearing an excuse me (quite frankly, there are so many ppl in the city you can't be bothered to be overly polite all the time!!), of being able to go to so many city activities as there never seems to be enough time to do everything, of being able to eat REALLY well especially if i want something pro like a macaroon... i can't find that here... here is home, but home needs to pick up the pace a bit more.
i believe this shall be my last blog entry before my next trip... until then, a bid you adieu. who knows where i'll take off to next. i'm certainly not opposed to going back to london.
ciaos
Sunday, June 20, 2010
tayyabs
let it be known i will probably never have a more delicious palestinian or indian fare outside of london ever again. every time i go and eat w/ alexxi's mum, ann, i get well tanked on good food, spices and wine, and friday night was no exception.
tayyab is a pakistanian restaurant, think less curry and more marinated cured bbq meats. delicious aromas sizzling from the hot plates and coconut naan bread that i would die for. b/c it's a muslim restaurant, out of religious reason they cannot serve alcohol, so everybody brings their own stash of alchy. we stopped by the sainsbury local market and picked up 4 bottles of red wine. i figure hey, at least a bottle to each person right?!
the meats that came were SOOOOO favorable and delicious, couldn't believe it. despite the heaty spices playing havoc and stress in my mouth, i couldn't stop gobbling up everything in front of me. was most thankful for the yogurt mango drink that cooled me right down so i could keep inhaling everything. i don't think i ever took a break from the wine, the meats, the pumpkin, the chick pea, the aubergine oooo all so delicious.
it was all getting to be a bit much, i really should remember to slow down when eating as everything was stuck in my esophagus and wasn't going down to digest. i feared everytime i would bend over lest is all came back up!! gross yea i know. but man oh man, it was SOOOOOO GOOOD one of the best meals i've ever had. i THINK there are pictures of the food, but can't remember was i got well tanked on the wine.
tayyab is a pakistanian restaurant, think less curry and more marinated cured bbq meats. delicious aromas sizzling from the hot plates and coconut naan bread that i would die for. b/c it's a muslim restaurant, out of religious reason they cannot serve alcohol, so everybody brings their own stash of alchy. we stopped by the sainsbury local market and picked up 4 bottles of red wine. i figure hey, at least a bottle to each person right?!
the meats that came were SOOOOO favorable and delicious, couldn't believe it. despite the heaty spices playing havoc and stress in my mouth, i couldn't stop gobbling up everything in front of me. was most thankful for the yogurt mango drink that cooled me right down so i could keep inhaling everything. i don't think i ever took a break from the wine, the meats, the pumpkin, the chick pea, the aubergine oooo all so delicious.
it was all getting to be a bit much, i really should remember to slow down when eating as everything was stuck in my esophagus and wasn't going down to digest. i feared everytime i would bend over lest is all came back up!! gross yea i know. but man oh man, it was SOOOOOO GOOOD one of the best meals i've ever had. i THINK there are pictures of the food, but can't remember was i got well tanked on the wine.
germany vs serbia
well... not quite the outcome the germans were hoping for were they? wrote down my thoughts as i ate sticky toffee pudding and had a beer in the pub, watching germany vs serbia amongst all german fans! sticky toffee pudding was wellllllls delicious!!!
"i'm watching serbia (idje idje idje!!) vs germany while eating sticky toffee pudding and drinking a kronenburg. i'm buzzed to say the least...
in the pub w/a bunch of pissed off germans b/c klose just got red carded and then serbia scored right after that"
"pudding is more like a cake, so delicious w/ hot custard surrounding it's delicious mound of fluffiness"
"and now just watched germany hit the crossbar and the rebound got kicked out. we all went ARGH!!! when that happened. hilarious. just poor luck for the germans"
"6 yellow cards for germany?! wtf"
"i'm watching serbia (idje idje idje!!) vs germany while eating sticky toffee pudding and drinking a kronenburg. i'm buzzed to say the least...
in the pub w/a bunch of pissed off germans b/c klose just got red carded and then serbia scored right after that"
"pudding is more like a cake, so delicious w/ hot custard surrounding it's delicious mound of fluffiness"
"and now just watched germany hit the crossbar and the rebound got kicked out. we all went ARGH!!! when that happened. hilarious. just poor luck for the germans"
"6 yellow cards for germany?! wtf"
national portraits gallery
an amazing building, on the inside, full of wonderful paintings. i don' t know if it's b/c i'm a bit jaded from all museum visits in italy, but at first as i was wondering around i thought okay yaya, i don't really care about the daughter of the duke of someone's portrait on the wall, but as i wondered around and turned the corner, lo and behold was one of the sunflowers paintings by van gogh!! and next to it was the yellow chair. and behind me was monet and manet paintings, and in the next room was degas paintings w/ a picasso and my favourite, was gustav klimt's portrait of hermine gallia.
some thoughts i jotted down when i sat inside the gallery
"hi... i'm sitting in a room full of van gogh monet, manet, cezzanne, rousseau paintings... provibe. i am humble by the creative genius in this room. reminds me of the vibe in musee d'orsy when alexxi and i were sitting in a room w/ the van gogh self-portrait. in front of me is cezanne's "bathers" and just behind me is van gogh's sunflowers and solitaire chair... in absolute brilliant company. it's cool, neat for lack of a better word to see the brush strokes up close. wish my mum was here w/ me to see this. she'd go crazy ape shit...fangirl."
and as i wondered thru into the gallery's shop, i realized there were da vinci's in this building (from the souvenir loot) so i ventured back in and quickly found da vinci's the virgin & child saint anne & saint john baptist. 1499-1500.
this was a "cartoon" full size in prep for a painting, but was never actually painted. da vinci used his sfumato technique and it was clearly evident to me as i stood in front of this cartoon (more like masterpiece of epic proportions), b/c the faces of the saints felt like they were popping out at me. as if it was 3d. i almost wanted to touch the cheeks of anne and john baptist. this was absolute GENIUS work and i am so grateful i saw it in real life. absolute genius vibe.
some thoughts i jotted down when i sat inside the gallery
"hi... i'm sitting in a room full of van gogh monet, manet, cezzanne, rousseau paintings... provibe. i am humble by the creative genius in this room. reminds me of the vibe in musee d'orsy when alexxi and i were sitting in a room w/ the van gogh self-portrait. in front of me is cezanne's "bathers" and just behind me is van gogh's sunflowers and solitaire chair... in absolute brilliant company. it's cool, neat for lack of a better word to see the brush strokes up close. wish my mum was here w/ me to see this. she'd go crazy ape shit...fangirl."
and as i wondered thru into the gallery's shop, i realized there were da vinci's in this building (from the souvenir loot) so i ventured back in and quickly found da vinci's the virgin & child saint anne & saint john baptist. 1499-1500.
this was a "cartoon" full size in prep for a painting, but was never actually painted. da vinci used his sfumato technique and it was clearly evident to me as i stood in front of this cartoon (more like masterpiece of epic proportions), b/c the faces of the saints felt like they were popping out at me. as if it was 3d. i almost wanted to touch the cheeks of anne and john baptist. this was absolute GENIUS work and i am so grateful i saw it in real life. absolute genius vibe.
last day in london
was spent in trafalger square, national portraits gallery, lunch at the lamb and flag pub, watching germany vs serbia game in a diff pub surrounded by german fans, a walk thru covent gardens, one last (pistachio) macaroon from paul's, some shopping at oasis, a walk thru hyde park, a walk down tower bridge, a quick visit at the design museum, a break-neck jaunt back to central london to look for something at spitelfields for mum, and finally a wonderful send off dinner at tayyabs, a pakistanian restaurant in east london w/ alexxi, clare, ann and lou....
holy crap i did a lot, no wonder i was well tired by the end of the night!!
holy crap i did a lot, no wonder i was well tired by the end of the night!!
Friday, June 18, 2010
air
is a powerful... thing. a few memorable quotes from friday night's battle w/ the air leakage in the air mattress i had been sleeping on night after night. we'd pump up the mattress nightly, but then i realized it would deflate after a couple of hrs of me not even sleeping on it. clearly, something was wrong, and alexxi found the hole...
"just give it up, alexxi, the tape's not gonna work, you're not gonna be able to conquer it!"
"i'm going tame this c*** air and show it who's boss!!"
"yeaaa that's right you take this tape you %^$&*^&$^"
"whyyyyy isn't it working?!! ahhhgh"
actually, i think he made the hole bigger and worse haha
"mushroom that shit!!"
the fight was won by air and despite his efforts, alexxi still thought it would be conquered if we stuck the mario mushroom one up stuffy underneath the mattress to "plug" the air seeping out of the hole... um ya, so i gave up and when i went to sleep i just took mushroom out, no way i could sleep w/ that thing underneath me. it's like the ultimate pea in princess in the pea. by the time i woke up that morning, i was on the floor and the mattress had completely depleted hahaha
it was one of those silly, after drinking, tanked on good company and food nights, and i hadn't laughed in SOOOO long and so hard. it was a memorable, ridiculous, silly lamb and alexxi fools night.
"just give it up, alexxi, the tape's not gonna work, you're not gonna be able to conquer it!"
"i'm going tame this c*** air and show it who's boss!!"
"yeaaa that's right you take this tape you %^$&*^&$^"
"whyyyyy isn't it working?!! ahhhgh"
actually, i think he made the hole bigger and worse haha
"mushroom that shit!!"
the fight was won by air and despite his efforts, alexxi still thought it would be conquered if we stuck the mario mushroom one up stuffy underneath the mattress to "plug" the air seeping out of the hole... um ya, so i gave up and when i went to sleep i just took mushroom out, no way i could sleep w/ that thing underneath me. it's like the ultimate pea in princess in the pea. by the time i woke up that morning, i was on the floor and the mattress had completely depleted hahaha
it was one of those silly, after drinking, tanked on good company and food nights, and i hadn't laughed in SOOOO long and so hard. it was a memorable, ridiculous, silly lamb and alexxi fools night.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
one last day
one last day in london... it's funny, feels like i've been here longer than a week but i guess that's b/c every day has been about 14 hr days of doing and seeing things and the only thing i do back at the flat, before going to sleep, is making sure i blog about my day so i don't forget...
here are things i love about london:
-shop keepers and cashiers calling me sweety, dear. not all of them do, but when they do it's quite nice, so natural, not forced.
-"this water" drink in lemon lime. i can't get enough of this. i need this. i'm addicted to "this water"
-the tube system. though i'd say give an hr to get anywhere in london, remember, this city is enormous, the tube system here is fantastic and i really have appreciate it's complex simplicity. i love victoria station, it's so pro, has the national rail (18 platforms), gatwick express and the tube all in one giant hub, plus they have the pasty shop and paul's!! macroon that shit. every... morning...
-the macroons from paul's. i think i gained some macaroon wait :( BUT... soooo YUMMY!!! pistachio is my favourite
-the pasty's, which i pronounce as pastey... as in those nipple cover stickers... both wonderfully naughty
-everybody drinking beers on patios as soon as they're off work
-the east london vibe. it's soo chill and hipster, but not pretentious hipster. ppl just ARE and are chill
-topshop
-sunday roasts
-the markets
...more and more!!
will NOT miss my constant battle of allergies.
here are things i love about london:
-shop keepers and cashiers calling me sweety, dear. not all of them do, but when they do it's quite nice, so natural, not forced.
-"this water" drink in lemon lime. i can't get enough of this. i need this. i'm addicted to "this water"
-the tube system. though i'd say give an hr to get anywhere in london, remember, this city is enormous, the tube system here is fantastic and i really have appreciate it's complex simplicity. i love victoria station, it's so pro, has the national rail (18 platforms), gatwick express and the tube all in one giant hub, plus they have the pasty shop and paul's!! macroon that shit. every... morning...
-the macroons from paul's. i think i gained some macaroon wait :( BUT... soooo YUMMY!!! pistachio is my favourite
-the pasty's, which i pronounce as pastey... as in those nipple cover stickers... both wonderfully naughty
-everybody drinking beers on patios as soon as they're off work
-the east london vibe. it's soo chill and hipster, but not pretentious hipster. ppl just ARE and are chill
-topshop
-sunday roasts
-the markets
...more and more!!
will NOT miss my constant battle of allergies.
the ballet
we went to the royal albert hall tonight to watch the ballet, swan lake. i was excited b/c i LOVEEE the ballet, oh tutus, i LOVE tutus and how the girls are look sooo graceful and beautiful. what i forgot to mention to alexxi (b/c i knew he'd hesitate) was that um ya you can see the guys nuts. this is beyond nut hugger, banana hammock sacks, i mean these are tights, hoisery therefore you can see every definition on the man's lower half. at least they're muscular. could be fat blokes dancing around there.
i thought the male lead danced wonderfully. usually the men prance around and look heavy and not graceful, but this one wow he was excellent. his jetes and pirouettes were amazing, very graceful and musicality was great. the lead female, the swan, she was wonderful too. my favourite scene was when all the swans were dancing together, so it was this magical scene of white feathery tutus.... it was spectacular, really glad i got to see this.
i thought the male lead danced wonderfully. usually the men prance around and look heavy and not graceful, but this one wow he was excellent. his jetes and pirouettes were amazing, very graceful and musicality was great. the lead female, the swan, she was wonderful too. my favourite scene was when all the swans were dancing together, so it was this magical scene of white feathery tutus.... it was spectacular, really glad i got to see this.
really just not feeling hawt
w/ my super red nose, one cheek redder than the other, my constant epic and i mean EPIC battle w/ allergies, i just feel like a mess... a not so hot mess. been popping claritens like candy all day long. i don't know how the locals get by w/ not looking like an absolute mess. i sit there on the tube, wiping sweat off my brow, my neck, wearing a summer dress trying to stay cool in this extremely muggy tube cabin, while there are these girls in trousers and jackets, looking cool as a cucumber... HOW DO THEY DO IT?!
dear silly canadian
it's not winter, that's why we don't carry those wool english newsboy caps...
OOOOO ok, so i was on a hunt this week for one, as my dad likes wearing them and will only wear true, pure, good quality caps. he's not a consumerist, far from it, but he does appreciate good quality items. it was quite a stressful hunt as father's day is approaching... it wasn't until i ended up in hackett that the salesman, who's name is boetang (how awesome of a name is that), pointed out that the remaining caps they have were form LAST season... last season meaning winter... fruittttt i am such a fruit, duh ok. nonetheless, i lucked out at hackett. happy father's day, daddy, hope you like and if not, don't tell me you don't b/c i had a stressful day of shopping for you.
OOOOO ok, so i was on a hunt this week for one, as my dad likes wearing them and will only wear true, pure, good quality caps. he's not a consumerist, far from it, but he does appreciate good quality items. it was quite a stressful hunt as father's day is approaching... it wasn't until i ended up in hackett that the salesman, who's name is boetang (how awesome of a name is that), pointed out that the remaining caps they have were form LAST season... last season meaning winter... fruittttt i am such a fruit, duh ok. nonetheless, i lucked out at hackett. happy father's day, daddy, hope you like and if not, don't tell me you don't b/c i had a stressful day of shopping for you.
so close, yet so far
i was a 5 out of 10 on being a londoner (according to alexxi's scale), but got demoted back to a 2. i've managed to get rid of that dreadful word "awesome" it really DOES sound nahhh when you say it over here...honestly, like a baffoon, but i did manage to fuck it all up when i pushed my way out of the tube this morning. how was i suppose to know the fat ppl standing in front of me weren't moving b/c of other ppl or b/c they were just standing there? i have this fear, in any country, my own city included, of being trapped on the train b/c of ppl's inability to get the hell out of my way. rude? yes, but at the same time, get a move on and don't just stand there idly or slowly move about. was on the district line on the way to south kensington when i got blocked into the corner by this overly size beast of a man. i'm not claustrophobic, but when i can see he clearly could move back a bit, while i'm trapped, w/ less than a foot away from my face a big fleshy, gross man, i tend to gag... keep calm, carry on.
i digress. i think i should get back to being a 5 or maybe a 5.5 as i did manage to navigate my way on the national rail system and got to the royal albert hall without a map. who's ms. gps now, eh alexxi?!?! ;) xx
i digress. i think i should get back to being a 5 or maybe a 5.5 as i did manage to navigate my way on the national rail system and got to the royal albert hall without a map. who's ms. gps now, eh alexxi?!?! ;) xx
today...
i think i helped the uk economy a little bit...4 hrs in selfridges must've contributed to something, if not dedication for a good deal in a less hectic part of the day
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
this one's for you, jo
shopping so far...
quilted "leather" pewter colored handbag
navy blue chiffony dress
gray t-shirt w/ the telephone booth screen printed on it
marc jacobs wallet and coin purse and toiletry bag
one shoulder taffeta, chiffon pale pink/nude dress
printed sheer t-shirt
a whole bunch of tennis gear
2 lbs worth of chocolates
gray ballet flats
going to selfridges early tomorrow to hunt for a father's day present. also looking out for that wallet ...
i walked by the new LV on bond street, but didn't have a chance to go in, that'll be part of tomorrow's excursion.
ti amo, friend. xx
quilted "leather" pewter colored handbag
navy blue chiffony dress
gray t-shirt w/ the telephone booth screen printed on it
marc jacobs wallet and coin purse and toiletry bag
one shoulder taffeta, chiffon pale pink/nude dress
printed sheer t-shirt
a whole bunch of tennis gear
2 lbs worth of chocolates
gray ballet flats
going to selfridges early tomorrow to hunt for a father's day present. also looking out for that wallet ...
i walked by the new LV on bond street, but didn't have a chance to go in, that'll be part of tomorrow's excursion.
ti amo, friend. xx
brussels
so... brussels is a bit different! a lot of ppl don't really understand english. had to pull out my non-existent flemish and ancient barely can remember french. i sort of had a plan or some ideas of places i wanted to check out, but i basically just hopped on the eurostar and landed in brussels. the tourist map was a bit shit, wasn't detailed enough and only laid out the touristy spots, which makes sense... but the pantone hotel should be on that map! unfortunately, it was not and i was just too tired from translating and walking to even figure out how to get there... i digress.. so i get off the train, follow signs and after much ado about how to get the hell out of there and which direction to go on, i decided to head to the atomium. it's this giant... atom structure built in the 1950's for the world's fair and has displays about the fair and other exhibits based on the theme, our future.
it took quite a bit of navigating and time to get out there, and i have to say most of my morning in brussels was spent on the metro and on buses getting and looking for directions. anyway, when i arrived at the atomium, i was astounded. this thing is HUGE, i mean like eiffel tower huge, it's ridiculous, the sheer enormity of this thing just sitting in the middle of no where. i was tired, got up at 5am london time to make my train, and didn't feel like paying the entrance fee, so i just hung outside, took some photos. this thing really is impressive and worth having a closer look.
after that, i decided to go find place jourdon for maison antoines which is suppose to be a famous place to get frites. this took me about an hour to figure out how to get there. a lot of back and forth on the metro, asking ppl where it is, and then finally getting on a bus, which is already kind of dodgy as there are no signs indicating what stop the bus is stopping at. so thankfully i was sitting near some nice belgiums who said that place jourdon stop is here.
after all that back and forth and walking around, i finally found it!! another 30 minute in the queue and i was at the front ordering fritens (large size... of course, do you expect anything less from me?!) and 3 different dipping sauces: ketchup, special sauce, and provencale. the fries really were delicious, they're crispy and... different. hard to explain, but it's just crispy throughout.
after that delicious pit stop, which was the first meal of my day!! yes, my belly full of fried potatoes and sauces mmm ... i decided it was time to get to the city centre and settle down there for the remainder of the day. i was thinking of going to the pantone hotel and this street market, but after my navigation issues w/ getting to place jourdon i figured it was best to just leave it alone. i really just did not want to take another bus, especially since i'll never know if i'd be at the right stop.
once i got to the central stop, i walked all the way down in the old city square, grand place and grand it was! it's not as detailed as italian cities, but it was still impressive nonetheless. it stopped me in my tracks. 4 large, tall ornate buildings make up the square and of course there are a bunch of side streets that veer off. i stumbled upon the manneken pis, the little statue of the peeing boy. it's the icon for brussels. i forgot the back story, but that little peeing boy structure is everywhere in the form of chocolates, bottle openers etc.
when walking down the streets i can smell sugar and chocolate b/c there's a chocolate store on every corner. it was actually getting kind of too much for me as i only had the cone of fries and needed something more real and substantial as a meal....haha but then i gave in and had a waffle w/ nutella and strawberries mmm. walked around more, actually more like wondered aimlessly... there isn't a lot to "do" it's not like paris or roma where there are more recognizable buildings and piazzas. eventually stopped the mcdonalds to make a pit stop, and then ended up at some pub for a leffe blond. was exhausted from all the walking around in the sun...
after that, ended up in some small cobbled streets full of restaurants where the waiters were trying to lure tourists in. i got enticed by the large flat screen tv w/ the switzerland vs spain game. my ankles were in pain, so i plopped down in this empty restaurant, drank a hoegaarden, and ate a bottomless bucket of mussels, i swear, there must've been about 100 pieces in there. i couldn't finish it all up, but i definitely made a dent. incidentally, i met a travel journalist who was walking down the street, saw me relaxing w/ the bucket of mussels and asked if he could take a photo of me w/ it. he's from toronto! what a nice coincidence, especially in this city where i felt like a total fruit, especially w/ my half sunburnt face (freak :( ) anyway, i gave him my address and name and he'll be sending me a copy of his travel magazine! and no, it wasn't fake, didn't get a dodgy vibe from him!
oooo it was so nice to just sit and relax, watch the game, and cheer and jeer along w/ the other algerian waiters haah. if only spain had scored to equalize the game, we all agreed they just cocky and played very lazy.
after that delicious meal, that included a free apertif at the end, i slowly made my way back to the gard du midi to get back on the eurostar.
it was a good day, a day in brussels, for me, was sufficient. i definitely should've played out the "how to get there" places better before i left vanny, but oh well... i'm on vacation, no rules right? i have to say, i was quite thankful when i got back to st pancras. i felt like a pro on the tube system, getting back to alexxi's. have to say, the more places i visit, the more i appreciate the complexity and ease of use of the london tube.
ok, it's midnight here, i am exhausted, 5am start and tomorrow i need to get to selfridges for the sale!!
ciao for now
it took quite a bit of navigating and time to get out there, and i have to say most of my morning in brussels was spent on the metro and on buses getting and looking for directions. anyway, when i arrived at the atomium, i was astounded. this thing is HUGE, i mean like eiffel tower huge, it's ridiculous, the sheer enormity of this thing just sitting in the middle of no where. i was tired, got up at 5am london time to make my train, and didn't feel like paying the entrance fee, so i just hung outside, took some photos. this thing really is impressive and worth having a closer look.
after that, i decided to go find place jourdon for maison antoines which is suppose to be a famous place to get frites. this took me about an hour to figure out how to get there. a lot of back and forth on the metro, asking ppl where it is, and then finally getting on a bus, which is already kind of dodgy as there are no signs indicating what stop the bus is stopping at. so thankfully i was sitting near some nice belgiums who said that place jourdon stop is here.
after all that back and forth and walking around, i finally found it!! another 30 minute in the queue and i was at the front ordering fritens (large size... of course, do you expect anything less from me?!) and 3 different dipping sauces: ketchup, special sauce, and provencale. the fries really were delicious, they're crispy and... different. hard to explain, but it's just crispy throughout.
after that delicious pit stop, which was the first meal of my day!! yes, my belly full of fried potatoes and sauces mmm ... i decided it was time to get to the city centre and settle down there for the remainder of the day. i was thinking of going to the pantone hotel and this street market, but after my navigation issues w/ getting to place jourdon i figured it was best to just leave it alone. i really just did not want to take another bus, especially since i'll never know if i'd be at the right stop.
once i got to the central stop, i walked all the way down in the old city square, grand place and grand it was! it's not as detailed as italian cities, but it was still impressive nonetheless. it stopped me in my tracks. 4 large, tall ornate buildings make up the square and of course there are a bunch of side streets that veer off. i stumbled upon the manneken pis, the little statue of the peeing boy. it's the icon for brussels. i forgot the back story, but that little peeing boy structure is everywhere in the form of chocolates, bottle openers etc.
when walking down the streets i can smell sugar and chocolate b/c there's a chocolate store on every corner. it was actually getting kind of too much for me as i only had the cone of fries and needed something more real and substantial as a meal....haha but then i gave in and had a waffle w/ nutella and strawberries mmm. walked around more, actually more like wondered aimlessly... there isn't a lot to "do" it's not like paris or roma where there are more recognizable buildings and piazzas. eventually stopped the mcdonalds to make a pit stop, and then ended up at some pub for a leffe blond. was exhausted from all the walking around in the sun...
after that, ended up in some small cobbled streets full of restaurants where the waiters were trying to lure tourists in. i got enticed by the large flat screen tv w/ the switzerland vs spain game. my ankles were in pain, so i plopped down in this empty restaurant, drank a hoegaarden, and ate a bottomless bucket of mussels, i swear, there must've been about 100 pieces in there. i couldn't finish it all up, but i definitely made a dent. incidentally, i met a travel journalist who was walking down the street, saw me relaxing w/ the bucket of mussels and asked if he could take a photo of me w/ it. he's from toronto! what a nice coincidence, especially in this city where i felt like a total fruit, especially w/ my half sunburnt face (freak :( ) anyway, i gave him my address and name and he'll be sending me a copy of his travel magazine! and no, it wasn't fake, didn't get a dodgy vibe from him!
oooo it was so nice to just sit and relax, watch the game, and cheer and jeer along w/ the other algerian waiters haah. if only spain had scored to equalize the game, we all agreed they just cocky and played very lazy.
after that delicious meal, that included a free apertif at the end, i slowly made my way back to the gard du midi to get back on the eurostar.
it was a good day, a day in brussels, for me, was sufficient. i definitely should've played out the "how to get there" places better before i left vanny, but oh well... i'm on vacation, no rules right? i have to say, i was quite thankful when i got back to st pancras. i felt like a pro on the tube system, getting back to alexxi's. have to say, the more places i visit, the more i appreciate the complexity and ease of use of the london tube.
ok, it's midnight here, i am exhausted, 5am start and tomorrow i need to get to selfridges for the sale!!
ciao for now
don't get cocky now
spain you suck! don't get cocky and let switzerland beat you!! watched the game at some outdoor restaurant, in brussels, eating a bucket of mussels the size of my head, accompanied by a hoegaarden. super relaxing, chill night. could hear the algerian waiters cheer and jeer along the street as the match went on.
macaroons
eating macaroons from paul's every day... i think i can handle that. marie antoinette had the right idea!!
i've saved 2 macaroons, bought from paul's this morning... they're quite melty and are in the fridge now... mmm midnight snack.
i've saved 2 macaroons, bought from paul's this morning... they're quite melty and are in the fridge now... mmm midnight snack.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
still ridonkulous
christ, it's the morning and my face is still ridonkulous looking. i was hoping it'd all go away, like a bad bad nightmare. no. i still look like a freak :( boo
lopsided lobster face
after close examination, it's definitely way more red on my left cheek than the right!!! ahhh freak
be prepared, this is all about tennis blog
i'm quite proud of myself today, i was my own mr/ms. gps (alexxi is usually mr gps, it's quite nice b/c then i sit back and just follow, trusting his navigational guidance. i'm not bad at it, but it's nice when all i do is photograph our way to our destination haah) on my own heading to eastbourne and after figuring out the intricacies of the national rail system at the victoria station, i safely arrived at easetbourne after 1.5 hrs on the train. thank goodness i was paying attention b/c the cabins of the train had split up at little hampton while the rest went off to eastbourne and if you're in the wrong cabin, then obviously you head to the wrong destination! talk about an epic fail. luckily, i discovered this whilst inside and was in the right sections for eastbourne.
once at eastbourne, i walked out of the station and used my spidey-gps sense... and asked a local the general direction of the devonshire tennis park. the town is quite small, so i just walked and walked, following signs until i basically stumbled upon the tv trucks, security and gates of the tournament. this took me about.. 15-20 minutes. ... i've always said, put me in a city by myself and i am fine, not scared, but like put me in a kitchen to host xmas dinner i'd be petrified.
so practically skipping down the street when i spot the tournament signs, i'm told i need to walk "400 meters around the corner, just keep walking on and on until you see the art gallery to pick up your ticket"
400 meters what? i may live in the imperial system, but i still have no idea how far 400 meters is.
anyway, finally get to the art gallery and w/ a giant beaming grin on my face i skip to the ticket pick up counter to get my centre court tix PRO shit. so excited. even MORE excited for today's line up!!
caroline wozniacki vs aravane rezai
KIM CLIJSTERSSSSSS vs yanina wickmayer
and more and more
SOO excited
i walked around the grounds for a bit when i got there. everything's really open. they have 5 courts: centre court, ct 1, 2, 3, 4, and a about 8 more for practice courts. the practice courts are great b/c you see the tennis players out in the open and you can literally be 2 feet away from them...behind a fence, but still, it's so close!
i was a complete papparazzi stalker today.... what else do you expect?! i was stalking anybody who was carrying a giant tennis bag, they weren't accompanied by body guards, just their coach and fitness coaches.
i spotted kim clijsters by accident. i was walking around and then a group of girls were milling around a practice court exit, so i immediately went over and realized OMG it's kim clijsters exiting. i even said omg out loud. hah dork, i know, but i was surrounded by other tennis fangirls so they all shared my excitement. i was bold. i ran up to her and asked if i could take a photo w/ her. she is super nice, said yes, and so instead of asking someone to take the photo, i quickly held up my hand and judged the composition and got the shot!! it's great! she is tall, a lot taller than i thought. i was absolutely euphoric when that all happened. ppl have their actors, actresses, footballers, hockey players they go gaga over, i get nuts over tennis.
i also spotted zheng zie, just standing there w/ her coach, so i went up and asked if i could take a photo w/ her. i think she was slightly wtf/scared, but then i told her, in mandarin (pro shit, i can whip it out if i really needed to) that i was from vancouver and wanted to know i could take a photo w/ her. so same deal, i took the photo of us together.
after more meandering and player stalking (azarenka, radwanska, wozniacki, wozniack etc) i went over to centre court and took my seat. i was soo excited b/c the 1st couple of matches were the wozniacki and clijsters match. i was in heaven.
the wozniacki vs rezai match was quite good, very evenly matched, despite the score. can't believe wozniacki lost, but rezai did play well and picked it up in the 3rd set.
the clijsters match was a lot more one sided and the 1st set only lasted 19 minutes!! it was great to see her play her live.
actually, it was great to see everybody play live. the balls are SOOOOO fast, i can't believe how fast they play, really makes me want to step up my own game and i can't wait to get back to it. i feel like... okok i can return the wta players serves, but not the guys. their serves are wicked fast and i'd be lucky if i could get the ball back, much less get it back well.
it was a hooooooooottttt day, was absolutely dying by the middle of the day. it was weird b/c it'd be very, very windy, breezy, very cold, and then the sun would pop back out and it'd be extra hot. so needless to say, a whole day outside.. yes.. yes i am sunburnt and i look like i wore ski googles all day today. i have a sunglass tan!! :( my face hurts right now, as i type... even my chest is red! my chest never gets red, even back home under the sun. quite alarming, hoping it'll go away or calm down by the time i get home. i look ridonkulous AND my face hurts. :( fail.
so after the clijsters match, i went to walk around the grounds. i saw a few minutes of the schiavone vs cirstea match. i heard schiavone lost and it wasn't a pretty score. oh well, she is the roland garros champion for a reason, b/c she's good at clay, and probably horrible on grass.
i watched more players practice, ended up watching li na practice w/ vera dushevina. caroline wozniacki came back out on the court to practice more, after her game loss. ... i guess to practice for next week's wimbledon as i don't reckon she's playing doubles.
caught some of the hantuchova/black vs some randoms doubles match.
watched zheng zie lose to shahaar peer.
and the BIG news... watched AMELIE MAURESMO play football tennis and then did some real tennis practice!!! say what/??? are you out of retirement? hearing other ppl talk, i realized that she's been out to the tourny's just practicing... for what? who knows, maybe she'll do doubles at wimbledon?? maybe she'll enter?
it was nice to see her in person. she's a lot more friendly looking and less... well butch. she's also VERY good, so nice to see her enjoy and just play for fun.
football tennis? football tennis is like doubles tennis, but w/ a football instead, same rules as doubles tennis, but you use your body to return the ball.
also saw some random atp players play football tennis w/ a tennis ball, that looked hard.
omg, on the grounds they were selling tennis gear!!!! the clothes were so much cheaper than tenniswarehouse and in canadian retails! i bought 3 skirts, a top, and 2 types of wrist bands. sooo excited.
while watching some random atp tennis guys practice, a ball went astray, i played ball girl and fetched it for them, but then i asked the coach if i had to give it back or if i could keep it as a souvenir... he said yes. YAY! it's a salzenger wimbledon 2010 ball!!! looks like they are all playing w/ that ball at the tournament.
canada's own alexandra wozniack was playing too! she played against a surprising wildcard entry, heather watson. she played fabulously and looked like just a kid doing it! wozniack did not perform well, i was disappointed w/ her performance. at the changeover, i yelled out "come on alexandra!! i came all the way from canada for this!!" and lo and behold, another spectator yelled out "so did i!!" and she pointed to her canada olympic hoodie!! how fun, what a nice coincidence.
i ended up leaving the tournament at around 530. all the players i wanted to see had come and gone, so again, i meandered back into town using the guise of my internal gps and the street signs and caught a train back to london victoria.
i ended up walking around the block, outside, wanted to look for some dinner, other than a boxed sandwich, which seems to be quite popular here.... found a nearby pub playing the brazil vs north korea game. had some chicken roast w/ some yorkshire pudding, a london pride, and then called it a day.
coming back to alexxi's, i felt like a local pro, knew when to change, how to get 'home' safely and okay...
today was an excellent day, i had such a good time. even watching the players practice for hrs was wicked.
but now my face and chest hurt and i look stupid :( like a lobbsterrrr :( boo
tomorrow i'm off to brussels!! early morning, 545am start!
once at eastbourne, i walked out of the station and used my spidey-gps sense... and asked a local the general direction of the devonshire tennis park. the town is quite small, so i just walked and walked, following signs until i basically stumbled upon the tv trucks, security and gates of the tournament. this took me about.. 15-20 minutes. ... i've always said, put me in a city by myself and i am fine, not scared, but like put me in a kitchen to host xmas dinner i'd be petrified.
so practically skipping down the street when i spot the tournament signs, i'm told i need to walk "400 meters around the corner, just keep walking on and on until you see the art gallery to pick up your ticket"
400 meters what? i may live in the imperial system, but i still have no idea how far 400 meters is.
anyway, finally get to the art gallery and w/ a giant beaming grin on my face i skip to the ticket pick up counter to get my centre court tix PRO shit. so excited. even MORE excited for today's line up!!
caroline wozniacki vs aravane rezai
KIM CLIJSTERSSSSSS vs yanina wickmayer
and more and more
SOO excited
i walked around the grounds for a bit when i got there. everything's really open. they have 5 courts: centre court, ct 1, 2, 3, 4, and a about 8 more for practice courts. the practice courts are great b/c you see the tennis players out in the open and you can literally be 2 feet away from them...behind a fence, but still, it's so close!
i was a complete papparazzi stalker today.... what else do you expect?! i was stalking anybody who was carrying a giant tennis bag, they weren't accompanied by body guards, just their coach and fitness coaches.
i spotted kim clijsters by accident. i was walking around and then a group of girls were milling around a practice court exit, so i immediately went over and realized OMG it's kim clijsters exiting. i even said omg out loud. hah dork, i know, but i was surrounded by other tennis fangirls so they all shared my excitement. i was bold. i ran up to her and asked if i could take a photo w/ her. she is super nice, said yes, and so instead of asking someone to take the photo, i quickly held up my hand and judged the composition and got the shot!! it's great! she is tall, a lot taller than i thought. i was absolutely euphoric when that all happened. ppl have their actors, actresses, footballers, hockey players they go gaga over, i get nuts over tennis.
i also spotted zheng zie, just standing there w/ her coach, so i went up and asked if i could take a photo w/ her. i think she was slightly wtf/scared, but then i told her, in mandarin (pro shit, i can whip it out if i really needed to) that i was from vancouver and wanted to know i could take a photo w/ her. so same deal, i took the photo of us together.
after more meandering and player stalking (azarenka, radwanska, wozniacki, wozniack etc) i went over to centre court and took my seat. i was soo excited b/c the 1st couple of matches were the wozniacki and clijsters match. i was in heaven.
the wozniacki vs rezai match was quite good, very evenly matched, despite the score. can't believe wozniacki lost, but rezai did play well and picked it up in the 3rd set.
the clijsters match was a lot more one sided and the 1st set only lasted 19 minutes!! it was great to see her play her live.
actually, it was great to see everybody play live. the balls are SOOOOO fast, i can't believe how fast they play, really makes me want to step up my own game and i can't wait to get back to it. i feel like... okok i can return the wta players serves, but not the guys. their serves are wicked fast and i'd be lucky if i could get the ball back, much less get it back well.
it was a hooooooooottttt day, was absolutely dying by the middle of the day. it was weird b/c it'd be very, very windy, breezy, very cold, and then the sun would pop back out and it'd be extra hot. so needless to say, a whole day outside.. yes.. yes i am sunburnt and i look like i wore ski googles all day today. i have a sunglass tan!! :( my face hurts right now, as i type... even my chest is red! my chest never gets red, even back home under the sun. quite alarming, hoping it'll go away or calm down by the time i get home. i look ridonkulous AND my face hurts. :( fail.
so after the clijsters match, i went to walk around the grounds. i saw a few minutes of the schiavone vs cirstea match. i heard schiavone lost and it wasn't a pretty score. oh well, she is the roland garros champion for a reason, b/c she's good at clay, and probably horrible on grass.
i watched more players practice, ended up watching li na practice w/ vera dushevina. caroline wozniacki came back out on the court to practice more, after her game loss. ... i guess to practice for next week's wimbledon as i don't reckon she's playing doubles.
caught some of the hantuchova/black vs some randoms doubles match.
watched zheng zie lose to shahaar peer.
and the BIG news... watched AMELIE MAURESMO play football tennis and then did some real tennis practice!!! say what/??? are you out of retirement? hearing other ppl talk, i realized that she's been out to the tourny's just practicing... for what? who knows, maybe she'll do doubles at wimbledon?? maybe she'll enter?
it was nice to see her in person. she's a lot more friendly looking and less... well butch. she's also VERY good, so nice to see her enjoy and just play for fun.
football tennis? football tennis is like doubles tennis, but w/ a football instead, same rules as doubles tennis, but you use your body to return the ball.
also saw some random atp players play football tennis w/ a tennis ball, that looked hard.
omg, on the grounds they were selling tennis gear!!!! the clothes were so much cheaper than tenniswarehouse and in canadian retails! i bought 3 skirts, a top, and 2 types of wrist bands. sooo excited.
while watching some random atp tennis guys practice, a ball went astray, i played ball girl and fetched it for them, but then i asked the coach if i had to give it back or if i could keep it as a souvenir... he said yes. YAY! it's a salzenger wimbledon 2010 ball!!! looks like they are all playing w/ that ball at the tournament.
canada's own alexandra wozniack was playing too! she played against a surprising wildcard entry, heather watson. she played fabulously and looked like just a kid doing it! wozniack did not perform well, i was disappointed w/ her performance. at the changeover, i yelled out "come on alexandra!! i came all the way from canada for this!!" and lo and behold, another spectator yelled out "so did i!!" and she pointed to her canada olympic hoodie!! how fun, what a nice coincidence.
i ended up leaving the tournament at around 530. all the players i wanted to see had come and gone, so again, i meandered back into town using the guise of my internal gps and the street signs and caught a train back to london victoria.
i ended up walking around the block, outside, wanted to look for some dinner, other than a boxed sandwich, which seems to be quite popular here.... found a nearby pub playing the brazil vs north korea game. had some chicken roast w/ some yorkshire pudding, a london pride, and then called it a day.
coming back to alexxi's, i felt like a local pro, knew when to change, how to get 'home' safely and okay...
today was an excellent day, i had such a good time. even watching the players practice for hrs was wicked.
but now my face and chest hurt and i look stupid :( like a lobbsterrrr :( boo
tomorrow i'm off to brussels!! early morning, 545am start!
victoria is crazy
victoria station is absolutely mad. i have to say it's more incredible than a roundabout in roma. seriously. everybody's going every which way in some manic pace, yet nobody really runs into each other, and if you don't get out of someone's way be prepared to get pushed!
also note, when heading to your destination make a note of whether or not the cabins in your train will separate and veer off in different directions!
also note, when heading to your destination make a note of whether or not the cabins in your train will separate and veer off in different directions!
Monday, June 14, 2010
broke it
broke my number 1 vacation rule. never eat at mcdonalds!!!!!ahhhh i am so ashamed i don't deserve to travel... haha jk. no really, but we did go to mcdonalds AFTER we had a fantastic meal at strada, an italian restaurant. alexxi had a 2 for 1, so we used that. i love how you don't have to tip in london, well at least you won't get harassed and chased after if you don't. it's just not expected here and sometimes they do add a service charge, but that's only in some places. anyway, we wanted dessert, but didn't want to pay the 5 quid for something that could be very well just so-so, so instead alexxi says he wants a mcflurry from mcdonalds. i groan and moan, but i eventually given in. i mean he does have a point, spending 5 quid on a nahhh dessert can definitely ruin the night, so we walked to mcdonalds on regent street and had the york (or something named like that) mcflurry. apparently, this york chocolate bar's slogan is anti-female, a chocolate bar only for men, something along those lines, and w/ a logo of the female sign w/ an x over it!! how sexist, yet funny at the same time.
omg my mcflurry was soooo good. i'm still bothered that i went to mcdonalds, but the sugary, chocolatey, CHEAP, yumminess has made up for all of that!
omg my mcflurry was soooo good. i'm still bothered that i went to mcdonalds, but the sugary, chocolatey, CHEAP, yumminess has made up for all of that!
craft
you know you've made it when you're shopping on seville row. it's a street full of men's tailoring, made to fit suits. beautiful shirts, ties, fabrics, cufflinks... nothing wrong w/ off the rack, but when you can get fitted and measure to have something look unbelievably handsome on you, why not go for that instead? and remember the 'old' days of when tailoring was more popular and low-brow? when has it gone high brow? damn you cookie cutter walmart stores for depopularizing (not a real word i know, but i don't care) the art of a well made suit.
hardcore
i don't think i can ever get enough of top shop. honestly. i spent about 2-3 hrs in that store alone, that one on oxford street, the big one, 3 floors of brilliant consumerism. it's actually, quite overwhelming, stuff after stuff after stuff, don't want to miss a single thing. my little girly shopping heart pitter pattered when i got there, practically ran into the store from oxford station. dork i know.
kate moss' line for topshop is not bad, a lot of it simple stuff that you could find elsewhere for cheap, but then you wouldn't be emulating the supermodel that is kate moss... *sarcasm* i could care less.
i loveee top shop. all i had before dinner was a pasty, water, chips, and malt teasers. was absolutely famished, by the time i met up w/ alex at marble arch. i think all the shopping euphoric fumes had died out.
selfriges was the next big pit stop after top shop. if you've never been, you simply must. it's greater than harrods x 10. AND... it's that time of the season where everybody had their big summer sales. it was ridonkulous on the ground floor. there was a line up to get into every corner of the major brands, i.e. louis vuitton, dior, gucci. i don't even know if they had their stuff on sale, but nonetheless, there was a line up of asians haha. i think it's more insane than a usa sale, b/c all these beautiful luxury items were strewn about, being picked apart as if they were pieces of meat. the walls and tables were practically bare by the end of the day. i got so turned around and lost amongst the sale of marc by marc jacobs, whom i love, that i couldn't even be bothered to go to the mens section to look for a father's day present.
i think today's sales at selfridges helped the recession...
kate moss' line for topshop is not bad, a lot of it simple stuff that you could find elsewhere for cheap, but then you wouldn't be emulating the supermodel that is kate moss... *sarcasm* i could care less.
i loveee top shop. all i had before dinner was a pasty, water, chips, and malt teasers. was absolutely famished, by the time i met up w/ alex at marble arch. i think all the shopping euphoric fumes had died out.
selfriges was the next big pit stop after top shop. if you've never been, you simply must. it's greater than harrods x 10. AND... it's that time of the season where everybody had their big summer sales. it was ridonkulous on the ground floor. there was a line up to get into every corner of the major brands, i.e. louis vuitton, dior, gucci. i don't even know if they had their stuff on sale, but nonetheless, there was a line up of asians haha. i think it's more insane than a usa sale, b/c all these beautiful luxury items were strewn about, being picked apart as if they were pieces of meat. the walls and tables were practically bare by the end of the day. i got so turned around and lost amongst the sale of marc by marc jacobs, whom i love, that i couldn't even be bothered to go to the mens section to look for a father's day present.
i think today's sales at selfridges helped the recession...
hampton court
today, i went to hampton court. it was king henry viii's palace. it's HUGeeeeeee. different from versailles, less in your face and butt opulent, but still very grand. apparently, his hunting fields included all the way to worcester park and that's where i stayed at, w/ alexxi and his dad, the first time around. let's just say that's like having your palace in richmond and your hunting fields stretch further out to north van. baller... henry viii was a baller.
the grounds are also known for their flowers, fields, gardens, and the all-might maze. i was expecting it to take me longer than 10 mins to go thru, so it was well disappointing when i got to the centre and realized how small it was. the maze did not a-maze-me hahah i guess i was expecting a woodlen nymph or something to come out and greet me when i got to the centre...instead there were some loud german boys. guten maze ja??
there was also suppose to be the royal tennis courts, built in the 17th centre!!!! I LOVEEE TENNIS... BUT the courts were closed for renovations! they were building a roof over it!! urghhh disappointttment. apparently they were clay courts too... sounded like it was something i could've played on or at least walk around in!! gahhh oh well, going to eastbourne tomorrow morning for the last grass warm up tournament before wimbledon. at least i'll get to see some pros!! exciting.
the grounds are also known for their flowers, fields, gardens, and the all-might maze. i was expecting it to take me longer than 10 mins to go thru, so it was well disappointing when i got to the centre and realized how small it was. the maze did not a-maze-me hahah i guess i was expecting a woodlen nymph or something to come out and greet me when i got to the centre...instead there were some loud german boys. guten maze ja??
there was also suppose to be the royal tennis courts, built in the 17th centre!!!! I LOVEEE TENNIS... BUT the courts were closed for renovations! they were building a roof over it!! urghhh disappointttment. apparently they were clay courts too... sounded like it was something i could've played on or at least walk around in!! gahhh oh well, going to eastbourne tomorrow morning for the last grass warm up tournament before wimbledon. at least i'll get to see some pros!! exciting.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
leap frog
i feel like i'm playing leap frog when i'm here. i look both ways, but i often look the 'wrong' way when i j-walk, which results in me running for my life b/c the cars don't slow down here. it's any wonder i haven't gotten hurt yet!
oh ya
i tasted the best freakin' cheese at the market today. it was some cheese boutique store and attached to it was a wine and cheese lounge. it looked slickkkk, nice date spot, probably 20 quid a head, but it'd be worth it say.
i wanted to take a bit into every round i saw mmm CHEESE I LOVEEE
i wanted to take a bit into every round i saw mmm CHEESE I LOVEEE
sundays are brilliant
the thing 'to do' on sundays is to have a sunday roasts and roasts can be beef, chicken, lamb, any choice of meat which is... well it's roasted, and served w/ peas, cauliflower and cheese, roasted potatoes, parsnips, and yorkshire pudding. we almost missed the traditional sunday roast b/c by the time we got to the royal something pub, the kitchen had stopped serving food. devastating piece of news as we were absolutely tanked from walking so much that all we wanted was this roast. we ended up having beers instead... on an empty stomach! that about knocked me out, i think i might've fallen asleep at the table for a minute... we eventually got up and walked around to hackney road ( i think that's the name) and found a pub called electricity showrooms. they still served sunday roasts so we jumped at that chance, unfortunately they were out of yorkshire pudding. a disgrace, cries our my british friends, b/c apparently yorkshire pudding is the best! oh well, hopefully next time i can experience it!
it was a huge meal, heaped w/ food and by the end of it we were exhausted and needed a dessert hit. found a cafe w/ some cakes in the middle and i feasted on a giant piece of chocolate cake. it was a much deserved reward for all the walking we did.
it was a huge meal, heaped w/ food and by the end of it we were exhausted and needed a dessert hit. found a cafe w/ some cakes in the middle and i feasted on a giant piece of chocolate cake. it was a much deserved reward for all the walking we did.
no more awesome
i need to have the canadian beat out of me. i've realized how moronic the word "awesome" sounds, especially when alexxi tries to say it w/ a north american accent. there could be other words used instead...
fabulous
excellent
brilliant
major
wonderful
and my ever favorite, sensational. i just like how it sounds
fabulous
excellent
brilliant
major
wonderful
and my ever favorite, sensational. i just like how it sounds
east london girl
today, i experience what very few tourists experience, and that's a true east london experience. clare took us to the spitelfields market and it was ridiculously overwhelming. ppl were selling everything from handmade crafts to vintage to fashion. it's sort of like the vancouver portabello market, but 100x better and way bigger. my little consumeristic heart did a little pitter patter when i saw everything. i played it safe, only got a jacket, t-shirt, dress and purse... hey no judging, it could've been worse. i wanted this hat, but wasn't sure how i'd get it home and didn't want to wear it on the plane ride back.
spitelfields is also known for their vintage shops. went to a big one that felt like someone's closet, from the 50-80's had exploded and was organized by color and sizes... i didn't last very long in there, had to get out before i went mental w/ trying to comprehend exactly what i was looking at !!
i am exhausted, can hardly finish this blog post, so all i'll say to end this w/ note form of what i remembered from today (no witty comments, too tanked on roast and beer and chocolate cake):
-walked on brick lane
-londoners sure know how to do street food well
-great vibe for all from all the "hipsters"
-everybody wears rayban eyewear
-saw a banksy graffiti which was well awesome ... kk in this case i must use the word awesome b/c i was looking for his stuff everywhere
-loved how the narrow street felt like a harry potter street
-saw the location where radiohead played their viral concert from a couple of yrs ago
-london's got some wicked fashion boutiques, but a lot of it is well expensive
-should've bought those bally vintage gold ballet flats
-should've inquired how much the vintage burberry purse was
-weirdass black druid like ferries/witches what have you danced around and played drums at the market
-should've bought that mint green dress, the same one clare has in cream
-can't believe i spent a 100 pounds today
-grateful for clare and alexxi's help w/ the inflatable mattress
-fell asleep on clare's bed
-met a real scottish girl... not trying to sound ignorant, but never met someone w/ a real scottish accent, it was neat
-when a tube station is closed on the wknd for repair, it's bloody annoying and can screw up your plans. a 5 min tube ride can turn into a 20 min bus ride
-liverpool tube station is just as nice as the waterloo station, each have their own quirks and uniqueness about it...though the bourne supremacy was filmed at waterloo so that might take the edge in which one is cooler
-learned how to properly pronounced "reuters" and not sure if i'll ever get it right
-the word "cool" sounds way cooler when said by someone w/ a british accent
spitelfields is also known for their vintage shops. went to a big one that felt like someone's closet, from the 50-80's had exploded and was organized by color and sizes... i didn't last very long in there, had to get out before i went mental w/ trying to comprehend exactly what i was looking at !!
i am exhausted, can hardly finish this blog post, so all i'll say to end this w/ note form of what i remembered from today (no witty comments, too tanked on roast and beer and chocolate cake):
-walked on brick lane
-londoners sure know how to do street food well
-great vibe for all from all the "hipsters"
-everybody wears rayban eyewear
-saw a banksy graffiti which was well awesome ... kk in this case i must use the word awesome b/c i was looking for his stuff everywhere
-loved how the narrow street felt like a harry potter street
-saw the location where radiohead played their viral concert from a couple of yrs ago
-london's got some wicked fashion boutiques, but a lot of it is well expensive
-should've bought those bally vintage gold ballet flats
-should've inquired how much the vintage burberry purse was
-weirdass black druid like ferries/witches what have you danced around and played drums at the market
-should've bought that mint green dress, the same one clare has in cream
-can't believe i spent a 100 pounds today
-grateful for clare and alexxi's help w/ the inflatable mattress
-fell asleep on clare's bed
-met a real scottish girl... not trying to sound ignorant, but never met someone w/ a real scottish accent, it was neat
-when a tube station is closed on the wknd for repair, it's bloody annoying and can screw up your plans. a 5 min tube ride can turn into a 20 min bus ride
-liverpool tube station is just as nice as the waterloo station, each have their own quirks and uniqueness about it...though the bourne supremacy was filmed at waterloo so that might take the edge in which one is cooler
-learned how to properly pronounced "reuters" and not sure if i'll ever get it right
-the word "cool" sounds way cooler when said by someone w/ a british accent
london morning
goooodd morninggg london. slept like a log last night, after we finished our drinks and home made fajitas...it was a very tiring day, especially for me since i was gogogo right when i got off the plane. i don't know why i do that to myself, why i don't just take a nap or rest... oh well can't be bothered.
anyway, this morning alexxi and i made a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs and fried tomato. actually, he made while i supervised hehe. i did have a moment of anxiety when i realized we were 'off schedule' but then i also remembered it was sunday, day of rest, which meant no anxiety and the gogogo mentality had to slow a bit. after a delicious, belly filling breakfast we got ready to go to experience east london. clare is ms gps today, as spitelfields and brick lane are her area. day of rest, so time for alexxi to take a back seat in tour guide duties :)
anyway, this morning alexxi and i made a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs and fried tomato. actually, he made while i supervised hehe. i did have a moment of anxiety when i realized we were 'off schedule' but then i also remembered it was sunday, day of rest, which meant no anxiety and the gogogo mentality had to slow a bit. after a delicious, belly filling breakfast we got ready to go to experience east london. clare is ms gps today, as spitelfields and brick lane are her area. day of rest, so time for alexxi to take a back seat in tour guide duties :)
safe
alexxi saved me and had some random cable that connected to my bb and to the laptop YAY don't have to spend 20 pounds for a charger that wouldn't plug into the north american outlets at home!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
she cares
my mum called alexxi's phone, long distance, and left a voice mail "hi, this is helen's mum, please tell her to go to sleep"....
this was after i had already tried to call home and left an email w/ her i had arrived and was out and about, on the first day.
this was after i had already tried to call home and left an email w/ her i had arrived and was out and about, on the first day.
way to pack smart, stupid
brought the wrong blackberry power charger... will now have to buy a new power charger, that will be uk power charge style... ffffffff :(
what i did in my 30+hrs of being awake
as soon as alexxi picked up me up, we had some tea back at his place, and then we took off for canary wharf, a nice quiet, non-touristy spot of england. it's the financial district, where everybody goes to work. they had an auto-car show so there were tons of nice cars parked around. walked around looking for a pizza express and it's not like pizza express 1.50/slice. it was like real gourmet pizza. after that we went to paul's. a premium french bakery and i had a macaroon for the very first time and i have to say i'm quite addicted! anybody who wants to bribe me can give me a giant macaroon! chocolate flavored, please :)
after a few hrs of that, we went to greenwich village where the 0 latitude line sits, the definite measurement of the earth. it was ... anticlimatic. i don't know what i was expecting, but now just a brass line in the floor. the walk to get up there was gorgeous. the park is ridiculous and wonderfully used. they also have the naval maritime museum, architecture was very romantic, baroque influenced. they were quite pretty and am glad i saw it.
there was a line to take photos w/ the median brass line, but i ended up cutting line to take photos of my feet near it, a bit anticlimatic i say. i guess i was expecting... half me in previous time and the other half in future time? haah obviously, i had high expectations as it was just a measurable line in space.
later we went back to tower bridge and then walked along the thames towards waterloo. it was a nice night, sunny, not too chilly, and lots of ppl out.
we went back to clapham junction and caught the usa vs england game at a pub called the royal. there weren't any chavs (whitetrash douchebags), it was quite modern and nice. half the patrons were only paying attention.
pain point of the day, when the clapham junction tube was closed for renos and we took the bus instead, took well long. longer than had the tube was open, oh well, got a detour of the shady part of clapham hahaha.
we made fajitas for dinner. i am tanked. not from drinking, but from being awake since.... 830am pst thursday, and it's not saturday close to midnight... i believe it's about 34 hrs of being awake. i feel slightly nuts
ciao for now. tomorrow off to spitelfields where clare's gonna show me all the pro east london markets, plus tons of banksy graffiti. wootwoot.
ciaos
after a few hrs of that, we went to greenwich village where the 0 latitude line sits, the definite measurement of the earth. it was ... anticlimatic. i don't know what i was expecting, but now just a brass line in the floor. the walk to get up there was gorgeous. the park is ridiculous and wonderfully used. they also have the naval maritime museum, architecture was very romantic, baroque influenced. they were quite pretty and am glad i saw it.
there was a line to take photos w/ the median brass line, but i ended up cutting line to take photos of my feet near it, a bit anticlimatic i say. i guess i was expecting... half me in previous time and the other half in future time? haah obviously, i had high expectations as it was just a measurable line in space.
later we went back to tower bridge and then walked along the thames towards waterloo. it was a nice night, sunny, not too chilly, and lots of ppl out.
we went back to clapham junction and caught the usa vs england game at a pub called the royal. there weren't any chavs (whitetrash douchebags), it was quite modern and nice. half the patrons were only paying attention.
pain point of the day, when the clapham junction tube was closed for renos and we took the bus instead, took well long. longer than had the tube was open, oh well, got a detour of the shady part of clapham hahaha.
we made fajitas for dinner. i am tanked. not from drinking, but from being awake since.... 830am pst thursday, and it's not saturday close to midnight... i believe it's about 34 hrs of being awake. i feel slightly nuts
ciao for now. tomorrow off to spitelfields where clare's gonna show me all the pro east london markets, plus tons of banksy graffiti. wootwoot.
ciaos
usa vs england
anticlimatic i say, but at the same time, the us shouldn't have scored that goal to tie it up w/ england. we ended up at a local bar in the neighborhood. it wasn't rowdy as i thought. no chavs, but that's probably b/c we weren't in the city centre. i had a couple of beers, sort of on an empty stomach, and now i'm kind of buzzed and drunk typing this all out. have been awake for what seems like forever...!!
cry me a river
ok, so there were about 10 babies on the flight over. NOT joking, about 5 were constantly crying the entire time. ppl this was a 10 hr flight NON STOP CRYING BABIES w/ broken tv screens meaning little entertainment. in otherwise, i was listening to babies cry the entire time, until i fell asleep from lack of oxygen b/c of the decompress air in the cabin!
all in all, it was a good flight for what it was. a bit of a shock that the drinks you had to pay for, but whatever. i'm just glad i didn't sit next to a screaming 6 month old. i just heard IT from the back of the plane, screaming bloody murder.
all in all, it was a good flight for what it was. a bit of a shock that the drinks you had to pay for, but whatever. i'm just glad i didn't sit next to a screaming 6 month old. i just heard IT from the back of the plane, screaming bloody murder.
british love
everything sounds better in a british accent, not b/c of it's smooth eloquent articulation, but b/c everything doesn't sound so contrite and dumb down. i don't mean to be a complete ass, but honestly, the english vocabulary IS larger than what is known in north america and i fear for speaking out loud for sounding like a complete moron...
kind of smashed
in london. just finished watching england vs usa match in a local pub, called the royal, in clapham north. it was anti-climatic was usa scored and tied it up 1:1 oh well, at least england dind't loose. a little smashed, esp after being awake for 30+ hrs and still going strong!! am going to go help make fajitas. blog later.
xx
xx
Friday, June 11, 2010
june 11
june 11 is a big day. day of weddings, day of vacations and oh ya it's FIFAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! i don't follow futbol, religiously, but the big matches is when i hop on the bandwagon. by "tonight" london time, i'll be sitting in a pub, decked out in some girly looking futbol kit screaming w/ the other brits. fangirl that shit.
LONDDDONNNN CALLLINNNGGGGG
leaving in 10 hrs and i'm super excited! bags are packed. actually that's a lie, i really have to zip it all up, have to pack a bunch of little stuff, but i'm procrastinating. i think i've trained myself to stay up well late so i'm still wide awake. i have close to 10 hrs on a plane, i can nap then. oh god ... it's a charter flight. i just need to pass out, watch a movie and i should arrive in due time.
LONNDDONNN CALLLINGGG i'm gonna wreck havoc. or just have some good british fun.
fifa game
east london
hampton court
eastbourne tennis tournament
brussels (never been, so yay!)
ballet at royal albert hall
shopping shopping shopping
tower of london
home....
will have internet (i think) at alexxi's, hopefully will be blogging, otherwise, will document and post later.
LONNDDONNN CALLLINGGG i'm gonna wreck havoc. or just have some good british fun.
fifa game
east london
hampton court
eastbourne tennis tournament
brussels (never been, so yay!)
ballet at royal albert hall
shopping shopping shopping
tower of london
home....
will have internet (i think) at alexxi's, hopefully will be blogging, otherwise, will document and post later.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
LONDONNNNNN next friday
london town next friday and a day in brussels, a night at the ballet, and days relaxing in the city, eating, ppl watching and shopping :)
so in conclusion...
(the last HK post ) this has been less of a vacation and more of a week of stress and learning about every dirty laundry about my family. i wouldn't call this relaxing as HK is not a place for relaxation. there are so many ppl EVERYWHERE that sometimes there's no peace or a moment's rest. i think i'll feel better when i can speak english without being stared at again...
another lazy vibe post
another lazy vibe post
-360 lantao/gondola (btw there's a city gates outlet at this MTR stop!)
-picked up tickets for the orchestra... had $$ issues as in not enough cash on hand. wish dad would've listened and taken the cash from mum sigh... stubborn
-dinner w/ #2 family (cousin w/ the awesome cars)
-met an uncle who works on the legislative council representing engineers. awesomesauce. i really liked his tie (i don't know why i thought that??) it was red and w/a fabulous paisley print... (oh that's why haha i remember now)
-360 lantao/gondola (btw there's a city gates outlet at this MTR stop!)
-picked up tickets for the orchestra... had $$ issues as in not enough cash on hand. wish dad would've listened and taken the cash from mum sigh... stubborn
-dinner w/ #2 family (cousin w/ the awesome cars)
-met an uncle who works on the legislative council representing engineers. awesomesauce. i really liked his tie (i don't know why i thought that??) it was red and w/a fabulous paisley print... (oh that's why haha i remember now)
baller
"well the ferrar is just my weekend car, but really i drive a porsche..."
WHAT?! so i met a new cousin tonight. he's super fun, is a surgeon who specializes in sports injury, which i guess explains the 2 baller cars. AND it's a yellow ferrari. it's gorgeous. ohoh and btw ferraris are a lot cheaper in HK apparently... mmm?
WHAT?! so i met a new cousin tonight. he's super fun, is a surgeon who specializes in sports injury, which i guess explains the 2 baller cars. AND it's a yellow ferrari. it's gorgeous. ohoh and btw ferraris are a lot cheaper in HK apparently... mmm?
buddha give me wisdom
today, i climbed a whole lotta stairs to see the biggest or 2nd biggest buddha in the world. it. was. big... to get there, we took this super long gondola over water and mountainous land. i hope for all my sweaty efforts i will now be rewarded w/ some enlightenment from the big buddha (present day, so no... no i didn't. i got heartbreak instead b/c i'm a fool!..um ya...)
at the little town of buddha, my dad and i had tofo-dessert in this shanty hole in the wall place. but it was the most delicious tofu-fah i've had in a LONGGGG time. my mum was not impressed given how shanty looking it was, but whatever. sometimes you just have to go w/ what the locals do, or in this case what's for the tourist!
my dad said it was extra yummy b/c they churned it by hand...thoughtful care and consideration? i like.
at the little town of buddha, my dad and i had tofo-dessert in this shanty hole in the wall place. but it was the most delicious tofu-fah i've had in a LONGGGG time. my mum was not impressed given how shanty looking it was, but whatever. sometimes you just have to go w/ what the locals do, or in this case what's for the tourist!
my dad said it was extra yummy b/c they churned it by hand...thoughtful care and consideration? i like.
sai ngo
ok so i'm not squeamish, but i saw all sorts of sea creatures organized in little containers in prep to become seafood. apparently, customers will point out the seafood they want, how it'll be prepared and then like 20 mins later, voila. lunch.
on a positive note, it was nice to see all sorts of different seafood, most of them expensive in vancouver, but apparently cheap in hk. mm and they were alive.. in front of me.. ready to be eaten... bleh
on a positive note, it was nice to see all sorts of different seafood, most of them expensive in vancouver, but apparently cheap in hk. mm and they were alive.. in front of me.. ready to be eaten... bleh
the monkey king
so .. does EVERYBODY know where the monkey king lives? b/c apparently my mum does b/c as soon as she heard the location name in the cartoon, playing on tv, she went "oh! it's the monkey king cartoon on tv" .. what? how? did she know what this was??
"Everybody knows where the monkey king lives!" wtf? seriously? what?! um so ya i watched some cartoon about the monkey king... time well spent in HK.
"Everybody knows where the monkey king lives!" wtf? seriously? what?! um so ya i watched some cartoon about the monkey king... time well spent in HK.
viva pinata?!
totally watching what looks like viva pinata in mandarin except it's not viva pinata. it just looks like it.
lost
totally lost my octopus card.. probably from getting off the ledge at the avenue of stars when we watched the light show... out of my bum pocket... b/c my bum is too big it squished the card out?! i hope not... sadface
ahh alessi!!!!
happy days are here again.
there was an alessi store in one of the million gigantic malls in kowloon on canton road. i went apeshit in there. wish i had the $$ to buy it all. came upon it by accident, was looking for the loo when i found it. they had the achille castiglioni watch i had been wanting forever. it's gorgeous, simple and timeless (designed in the 60s). of course i picked up my usual allotment of spoons and forks... i don't know why i just don't buy a set, but i seem to buy random one or two of each whenever i'm in europe and find alessi products. i'm weird. anyway, this time 3 spoons and 1 fork. the fork is more of a show piece cause it has quite an exaggerated shape, it's by ettore sottsass. sigh i wish i could've played more in there...
there was an alessi store in one of the million gigantic malls in kowloon on canton road. i went apeshit in there. wish i had the $$ to buy it all. came upon it by accident, was looking for the loo when i found it. they had the achille castiglioni watch i had been wanting forever. it's gorgeous, simple and timeless (designed in the 60s). of course i picked up my usual allotment of spoons and forks... i don't know why i just don't buy a set, but i seem to buy random one or two of each whenever i'm in europe and find alessi products. i'm weird. anyway, this time 3 spoons and 1 fork. the fork is more of a show piece cause it has quite an exaggerated shape, it's by ettore sottsass. sigh i wish i could've played more in there...
too tired to write
apparently my journal notes for this day were just in note form and it's been too long since that day of the trip to remember all the details... so this is what i did on this day
-bank
-sai ngo - fisherman catch
-jockey club
-hk cultural centre, planetarium, art museum
-8pm light show
-heritage - maritime area
-a little bit of nathan road
-kee wah bakery
okok... so i think this day i helped my mum sort out some banking stuff, my uncle #8 took us to sai ngo fisherman wharf area where you pick which LIVE seafood you want, you see from the tanks, and they will cook it live for you... um uncle #8 also took us to the jockey club. i was very excited about this b/c every time my parents go they always say they go to the jockey club. unfortunately no horses were practicing when we were there, they were in their stalls just hanging out hah how cute. nonetheless, it was cool to see a real horse race track not like what we have here in vanny. yes i'm a snob, but it's a fact.
my dad and i caught the 8pm light show where all the big, tall buildings on the hong kong side are light up and there are lasers that all flicker to this music. quite an electrical extravaganza that is probably eating up half the electricity bill of the country!
mm don't remember what the heritage museum area was, but i might have a photo of it somewhere...
-ahh nathan road, it's just a street w/ lots of different kinds of shops... i remember it was a nice day, sun actually shown thru the clouds and cast some nice glow on the street. my dad took me there and we just walked around.
ahhh kee-wah bakery, that's where i grabbed all the yummy snacks i brought back home and to the office. half my luggage was full of hk yummies.
-bank
-sai ngo - fisherman catch
-jockey club
-hk cultural centre, planetarium, art museum
-8pm light show
-heritage - maritime area
-a little bit of nathan road
-kee wah bakery
okok... so i think this day i helped my mum sort out some banking stuff, my uncle #8 took us to sai ngo fisherman wharf area where you pick which LIVE seafood you want, you see from the tanks, and they will cook it live for you... um uncle #8 also took us to the jockey club. i was very excited about this b/c every time my parents go they always say they go to the jockey club. unfortunately no horses were practicing when we were there, they were in their stalls just hanging out hah how cute. nonetheless, it was cool to see a real horse race track not like what we have here in vanny. yes i'm a snob, but it's a fact.
my dad and i caught the 8pm light show where all the big, tall buildings on the hong kong side are light up and there are lasers that all flicker to this music. quite an electrical extravaganza that is probably eating up half the electricity bill of the country!
mm don't remember what the heritage museum area was, but i might have a photo of it somewhere...
-ahh nathan road, it's just a street w/ lots of different kinds of shops... i remember it was a nice day, sun actually shown thru the clouds and cast some nice glow on the street. my dad took me there and we just walked around.
ahhh kee-wah bakery, that's where i grabbed all the yummy snacks i brought back home and to the office. half my luggage was full of hk yummies.
hello foreign girl
let's bum-rape you in prices.
kk i'm sooo not from here. was buying a miumiu knock off purse from a stall and the girl just looked at me and asked where i was from. she could probably tell from my slightly glazed eyes of when she was doing her selling spiel in chiense or maybe the way i spoke or look, but apparently it's obvious i'm not from here :(
hah i must've looked like such an easy mark. oh well. i got the bag i wanted for cheap. fake bag vibe that shit! hah it was funny when my dad came to rescue me and helped bargain down the 2nd bag. those hk girls drive a hard bargain! well not a bad bargaint, but they are pretty pushy. i'm glad i held firm on my final offer.i think i'd get eaten alive if this was mainland china!
kk i'm sooo not from here. was buying a miumiu knock off purse from a stall and the girl just looked at me and asked where i was from. she could probably tell from my slightly glazed eyes of when she was doing her selling spiel in chiense or maybe the way i spoke or look, but apparently it's obvious i'm not from here :(
hah i must've looked like such an easy mark. oh well. i got the bag i wanted for cheap. fake bag vibe that shit! hah it was funny when my dad came to rescue me and helped bargain down the 2nd bag. those hk girls drive a hard bargain! well not a bad bargaint, but they are pretty pushy. i'm glad i held firm on my final offer.i think i'd get eaten alive if this was mainland china!
impatience and interlerence
i think i know where i get my impatience and intolerance from... from BOTH my parents. holy crap, like calm the F down. don't stress the non-existent little life stuff and just chill'ax. and they wonder why i don't like to travel w/ them!... i'm a laidback, yet gogogo, can be flexible travel they... are not quite...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
german boys in hk?!
(okok picking up from where i last left off b/c i never finished and leaving for euro next friday whheeee and i need the HK trip to be wrapped up..here we go!)
helloooo german boys. i'm in the canteen, yet again, having a $2 cheapie breakfast of eggs, tea, toast and macaroni and ham (HK staple) and as i look around me in this university canteen i notice some hot looking german boys, albeit probably at least 4 years younger, but damn they are nice eye candy. can i take one home w/ me to vancouver? sigh... cougar vibe indeed, eh?!
helloooo german boys. i'm in the canteen, yet again, having a $2 cheapie breakfast of eggs, tea, toast and macaroni and ham (HK staple) and as i look around me in this university canteen i notice some hot looking german boys, albeit probably at least 4 years younger, but damn they are nice eye candy. can i take one home w/ me to vancouver? sigh... cougar vibe indeed, eh?!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)