Adventures in London: Issue 105

This weekend was the well anticipated Diamond Hen Do in Barcelona, Spain!!! One of the great things about having Europe in your backyard is that when it comes to planning hen dos... you can explore outside of the weekend in Atlantic city or spa get away in upstate new york. For Nat's special weekend it was a beach get-a-way in sunny Spain.

It had been over a year since any of us went away for the weekend, so all of us girls were rather looking forward to the weekend away. We landed on Thursday rather late in the evening, but early for Barcelona so after a quick change and refresh it was off we went to find some food.

Barcelona is a rather interesting city. It has a bit of everything. I was told before I left that Barcelona is the most beautiful city people had been to. A photographers city. To be honest I did not get that from the tour on Friday. We were waiting for two more people to join us on that evening, so during the day we decided not to explore the city too much. Instead we thought a good way to orientate ourselves would be to take one of those site-seeing buses. It was a great way to explore Rome, London even - - why not Barcelona. For anyone thinking of going to Barcelona and taking a red bus tour...allow me to say - DON'T!! It was a grand waste of time. It was a nice ride from our place to the beach for lunch, but after that is was a complete snooze fest.

Well it was almost a snooze fest. Just as I was settling into a snooze I was "delighted" with a water balloon breaking on my lap. Not sure at first what had just happened I jolted up to realise that my shirt soaking wet and LL's bag was filled with water. It was a bit refreshing given the heat, but undesirable as I was wearing white. I way also rather please that I had literally just put Xavier away. Imagine how please I would have been had Xavier still been in my lap (the answer there is not at all and I am certain I would have offended some parents with my (un)lady like words). The afternoon bus ride was a complete waste of money, but it was a nice day hanging out with the girls in the sunshine, having lunch by the beach and relaxing.

What happens when you combine 5 foodies and a menu of small plates that all sound delicious? You order 1-2 of each time on the menu which equates to being WAY too much food at the table. By the time the paella came out, we all had no room to fit anything else into our dresses, that however did not stop us from trying. Being the special one at the table (i.e. the one that was allergic to squid), meant that I had to order the non-seafood paella for 2. That was a lovely explanation to the waiter when he brought out the dishes - "oh put those in front of Tini, they are hers". Did not make it through both the plates, but did polish off one of them :-) I used my highly advanced Gujatindi to request that we take-a-way the paella. It was a rather entertaining dinner to say the least.

After dinner and an impromptu outdoor concert and dancing (which was SOO much fun), it was time to head back to the flat and wait the arrival of the rest of our party. Quite shockingly Bren and Powers arrived ready and willing to rally for a night out. To be honest had I been in their shoes I would not have been able to rally. Heck, in my own shoes I was not in the mood to rally (but I did).

We went to a highly recommended club Razz something or other. We should probably be flattered (but not really) as the club was filled with 22-something kids. I think the last time I was in a club I was just about 22 or even younger. I enjoy dancing, but clubbing it just not my scene for a number of reasons that I will not get into at the moment. All things said and done, it was a nice night of dancing. Feet hurt a bit, but it was night to dance.

The next day was spent relaxing on the beach and enjoying the sunshine. Normally I am not one for just laying on the beach, but this one time I definitely embraced it. It has been ages since I went to the beach - - think the last time was LA with Olga in 2005. It was rather nice and enjoyable. Unlike my last beach trip, I was not antsy and did not feel the need to get up every hour to go for a walk/run/stroll. This time I simply laid on my blanket and enjoyed my iPod and soaked up the sunshine. I miss the sun, the heat and that feeling of your body tanning with the rays. I also miss the singing doughnut man. He was lovely and had the most delicious doughnuts. This weekend was definitely about doughnuts. I ate a total of 6 doughnuts on this trip. My highlight was 3 in a row. I had the desire to go for 4, but thought that would be over kill. Why can't they open a dunkin donuts in London?!

This trip has taught me a great deal. Barcelona was not what I thought it was going to be. I learned a lot over the weekend and the days leading to the weekend. I am glad this trip happened. I think it was an experience that was needed and the timing happened to work out just the way it was supposed to. They say that things happen for a reason and you just have faith that things will be okay.

On that note, I am off. Hope you all are well

xoxo

T

Adventures in London: Issues 53-104

Another year has come and gone. When I look back on the year that has past I look back with no regrets. Life it too short to hold grudges and to have regrets. Life is about today and living and cherishing the moments that you have with the people you love.

I could look back on the my second year here in London and focus on all the moments that I wish went a bit better, the things I could have done, should have done or would have done. Instead, I am going to live for now and look back at my second year with a smile on my face. I have traveled around Europe, got to go home to Nisky, learned to cook new dishes, went to numerous shows, met some lovely people and laughed. What more could you ask for?

Thank you to everyone who has made my second year one that I will always remember.

Love you always

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 104

MOM IS IN LONDON!!!! After months of begging and pleading, Mom finally bought her ticket for a month long visit to the Big Smoke! I am rather excited about her visit here. It will be nice to spend some one-on-one time with Mom. I don't care how old I get, I will always love and look forward to my Mommy time.

On Wednesday, Mom joined me for running club and the post run dinner. It was nice to have Mom meet the club. It was also nice to be able to run the full course without stopping. What a great feeling all around :-) On Thursday, we went for burgers at Guerilla Burgers in Christopher Place for burgers and an oreo cookie milkshake. Can someone tell me what it is about oreo cookie milkshakes that are so good. I can have them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is nothing like a good milkshake!

On Friday, Simone allowed us to join her for her drive to Kent and dropped us off in Whistable for the day. I honestly do not know what it is about Whistable, but I absolutely adore this place. The fact that it is an oyster town could have something to do with it :-) I had never really walked around Whistable much, so Mom and I toured around the streets and shops a bit. As you can guess, it made me fall in love even more. We found this cute little Tudor tea place and enjoyed some scones and tea cakes in the garden. It was truly a lovely day and I am pleased that I got to introduce Mom to Whistable and Guinness battered oysters. She is not yet a fan of plain oysters, but I will get her there. At least this time she tried one :-)

The last couple of times Mom came for a visit the only markets that I really knew about were the local Venn Street market and Borough. This visit I was happy to be able to show Mom the other glorious markets around London, including Camden Market. We spent nearly 3 hours walking around the market, going in and out of stalls and yet we probably saw half of what the market had to offer. Camden is not meant for everyone, but I think Mom enjoyed the food stalls and especially the cute little jewelry and trinket shops. I absolutely adore having Mom here in London and having the ability to take her around. A month is not enough though. Sounds like a long time, but it is definitely not enough to fully see the city, eat at all the restaurants and explore what the city has to offer.

That said, this visit is not all about being a tourist. This visit has also been about showing what living in London is all about. In the day time we have been going out, but the evenings have been filled with Mom cooking dinner (yummmy) and catching up on movies. On Sunday, we had plans to watch Eclipse with Naomi. Mom's initial reaction to the vampire movie was heck no, but after sitting her down and making her watch both Twilight and New Moon (yup, convinced Mom to do a movie marathon) on Saturday night she was rather looking forward to the third installment of the twilight saga. You won't catch her reading the books, but I suspect that she will be at Crossgates when New Dawn comes out.

After Camden we went straight to the Clapham Picturehouse to meet up with Naomi for the movie. Despite having seen the movie a couple of weeks prior, I was rather excited to watch the movie with Mom and Naomi. It felt nice catching up with my London sister and Mom. It has been a while since I had the opportunity to do that with both of those ladies. All and all, it was a good Sunday. All and all, it was a good week. Yeah it had its moments, but what week doesn't. The important thing is that Sunday was a good day. Focus on those days - the ones when you laugh, when the sun shines, when you embrace the moment. All the others...forget them. They are not worth your energy or brain waves to remember.

Hope you all are well

xoxo

T

Adventures in London: Issue 103

The longest journey starts with a single step. How true is that quote! Whether we are starting a marathon or a 50m dash or a hike up Mt Everest, each start with a step. Just one step, and after we have take that step, we take another and then another. So much emphasis is put on our first steps. When we are babies our parents treasure and document our first steps. What does it matter in the grand scheme of things? We will be walking, running for years to come, yet that single first step is the monumental point of our lives. First steps, seem trivial, but its these first steps that are worth remembering. Like babies, we shouldn't focus on the races we are going to run, the hikes we are going to take, we should focus on the here and now - - on just taking that first step. Nothing like a coffee with the sis to remind you of such things.

I have probably bought DOZENS of Beard Papas cream puffs in NYC, yet it took me moving to London to finally eat one. Why!?! Why did not try one earlier. These things are just pure heaven. They are the definition of sin..or are those marcaroons? I am confused now. I don't go out of my way, but every time I pass the Beard Papa shop on Oxford I have to treat myself to one. These week I was treated with back-to-back deliciousness (how lucky am I). It has been a nice week of catching up with the girls for some post-work shopping in preparation of our weekend in Barcelona! That said, I think we bought more food than clothing for the weekend. Hmm going to be interesting when it comes to going to the beach :-)

On Friday, Powers and I went to see Tonic Fold at St Paul's Church in Covent Garden. A bunch of us from the running club were going to see the show, so I thought I would go as well. I had no idea what to expect except that the music was "classical with a twist". I was thoroughly blown away when the band started performing. The 12+ orchestra band led by Shane Cullian and guest starring 4 singers were an absolute delight to see. The voices of the four singers complemented each other and filled the church walls. I wish we sat closer to the front so we could hear the vocals a bit more.

Sometimes the best weekends are the ones you least expect. Early in the week I was treated with the news that Courtney & Kirk were going to be in town for a visit from Edinburgh. It was a delightful surprise to say the least. We decided to go see "Comedy of Errors" in Regent's park. I have been living in London for nearly 2 years and within one week I went to Regent's park twice. All this time here and I never came up north. The London sun was in full flesh on Saturday which made watching the show a bit of a meltdown. That said, it was a rather lovely performance. Took a bit to figure out what was going on, but it was good fun.

After the comedy of errors (and another ice cream), we walked around the park and caught up whilst laying under a bunch of trees. It was nice to just sit in the park, reminiscing about the college years and just embracing the moment. You don't always need to rush from place to place. Sometime, just taking the time out to the enjoy the sunshine is just fine. We continued the night with a some starters and explored a new neighborhood for a delicious italian dinner. It is fun just walking around this great city and coming across new neighborhoods. It is rare that we go to new parts of London, especially in west London as none of live over there nor do we have a reason to go out that way. On Sunday, I went up to Primrose Hill for the first time to meet up with Courtney and Kirk for brunch before they headed off. It was a really nice weekend catching up. I cannot remember the last time when the three of us had the chance to have a true heart to heart conversation. It is amasing the pressure that some of us put on ourselves.

Well, on that note - hope you are well and enjoying the summer (while it last). Oh and happy 7-11!!!

xoxo

T

Adventures in London: Issue 102

What do you think has been the greatest invention in technology in the last 350 years? Is it the electricity? The car? The telephone? The internet? What do you think will be the greatest innovation in technology in the next 350 years? On Monday, the team went to a talk on the Futures of Technology with Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the WWW), Stephen Fry (writer, broadcaster), Prof Dame Wendy Hall, Dr Jim Haseloff (biologist from University of Cambridge), and Bill Thompson (technology critic and commentator on digital culture). How do you think the world of social networking (facebook and twitter) have molded our society? Have we forgone a sense of privacy for a sense of connection? Have we hit a stage of information overload...are we too connected? Something to ponder if you are bored...

...you're not how much money you've got in the bank. You're not your job. You're not your family, and you're not who you tell yourself.... You're not your name.... You're not your problems.... You're not your age.... You are not your hopes. ~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, Chapter 18

The question then is...who are you? How do we define ourselves? Should be try to define ourselves, or should we "stop trying to control everything and just let go?" Letting go is often the hardest thing to do; to loose all hope and embrace the freedom that comes from the oblivion. Forget what you know, what you think you know about life, friendships, and relationships. If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake as a different person? (are you confused? Suggest you watch Fight Club and you will know what I am paraphrasing).

On Friday, Big E and KV came to London Bridge Hospital to pick me up from a day procedure to get my stomach stapled (note: if you think that is the truth you clearly do not know how much of a foody i am). It was a beautiful day in London, so to taken advantage of it we decided to do a picnic in Clapham Common. We raided the local Sainsbury and then strolled over to the park. The weather was absolutely divine. We could have gone back to the flat, but the idea of staying in when the weather was so good just did not seem right. We spent the evening relaxing, eating and laughing in the park. We the sun set and as the weather cooled off, we headed back to the flat for a mini-Glee marathon. KV was staying the night, so we continued our Glee marathon after Big E left. In all it was the perfect Friday evening. Just what the doctor's ordered - - good friends, good food and good TV!

On Saturday after a lazy wake up and coffee from Ista, KV and I headed up to Angel. She introduced me to a new market. Behind her flat there is a wonderful street market with the most delicious burgers. Here is a tip: the guy grills the meat patty. Then slices the patty in two halves, in the middle in stuffs it with shredded cheese and then reassembles. It was absolutely delicious. A little bit too much grease and meat for me, but nonetheless DELICIOUS! I highly recommend you trying this out the next time you have a BBQ. Don't be boring and put the slice of cheese on the top of the patty to melt. Cook it within the patty itself. That is how all the cool kids eat their burgers! To burn off the burgers, we went to the local neighborhood playground and played for a bit. We waiting until the kids were gone so we didn't look strange (or rather we waited until there were not witnesses of us reliving our childhoods). I remember when I lived back home, I would go to the Rosendale Elementary playground when I was in a mood. There was just something about being there that I enjoyed. I am sad that they tore it down and are replacing it. Good for the kids as I am rather jealous of the new playground, but sad as both Mom and Dad played a role in building that playground.

Once we were finished playing in Angel, we headed to Trafalgar Square to meet up with my friends from the running club for an afternoon of celebration, live music (nothing like hearing defying gravity fill the air of Trafalgar Square), laughing, and dancing in the sunshine. London is known for its festivals and parties. Granted most of them involve some level of fancy dress (costume) which I don't quite understand, but if you want a celebration...London will show you a tip or two. Actually to be fair, I think this is an overall UK thing. If there is one thing that London is good at, it is throwing a party. The Olympics are surely to be a festival that everyone is bound to never forget. I cannot wait. I wish the 2012 summer games would just hurry up and come.

What is one event that London (and the UK) is not keen to celebrate!? Independence Day! Unlike last year when we all gathered at Silas' for 4th of July celebrations, this year we were left to fend for ourselves. Rather than going all out, the girls decided to do a low-key celebration. Nowhere close to the camp-out picnics by the river to watch the Macy's Fireworks, we went for brunch at the Grafton in Clapham Old Town followed by a preview viewing of Twilight Saga: Eclipse. I know it is not fireworks, but seeing the battle between werewolves and vampires was a close second. Like most 13 year olds, I have been addicted to everything vampire related: the Twlight books and movies, True Blood, Vampire Diaries. The third book of the saga, Eclipse, was definitely the best book and certainly the most action packed movie! Unlike the last couple of movies that I have seen in the cinema I did not fall asleep (nor did I want to) once!

Well, hope you all had a lovely 4th of July!

xx

T