- Eat high tea at a major hotel. This was on my agenda and dropped off when I was disappointed by the Ritz menu.
- Head outside of London for at least a day. I was meant to go to Brighton and didn´t.
- Find wombles in Wimbledon. Or at least look for them really, really hard.
- Take a cruise on the Thames. Thanks to Jelena for that idea.
- Photograph all of the locations on the Monopoly board. I got part-way there...
- Visit the National Gallery.
- Go to Sherlock Holmes house. 221b Baker Street. I was so close.
- Look for Paddington Bear in Paddington.
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Things I didn´t do in London
There are many more things that I would do or see another time. This is a short list of ideas so I don´t forget:
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Last days
Four-day outlook:
Day 14 - lazy day, dinner with friends of Hayley & Shane;
Day 15 - Hammersmith, Baker Street, Madame Tussauds, Covent Garden;
Day 16 - Dr Johnson's house, shopping;
Day 17 - leaving London.
Thanks to Tamara and Jelena for commenting on my previous post!
Day 14: Thursday 14/02/2008. Happy Valentine's Day! I had a very lazy day at Hayley & Shane's apartment, followed by a relaxing dinner with them and their friends Julia and Simon.
Day 15: Friday 15/02/2008. This was my first day of London weather that lived up to its reputation. Sullen, grey, cold, unwelcoming.
The day started with a scheduled detour to Hammersmith for Hayley. Apparently, you register yourself to one doctor's surgery over here and you can't use any other. Hammersmith, a 40+ minute drive from Earlsfield, is near to where Hayley & Shane used to live. It's also close to Notting Hill but, with the day focused on Madame Tussauds, we were never going to make it that far.
After freezing my face off in the bitter cold wind, Hayley & I stumbled upon a Starbucks, where I firmly planted myself to await her return. Smooth jazz and hot chocolate in a warm cafe. Perfection.
What I noticed, sitting in that cafe, is that people stare. It's not like Central London where everyone is head down, all frown. The people here are inquisitive but it's searching, leech-like.
On Hayley's return, we caught the tube to Baker Street Station and I was almost immediately greeted by the bronzed figure of Sherlock Holmes. Hayley condescended to take a picture of me with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous character; I couldn't quite convince her to journey to 221b.
A paparazzi attack on the red carpet marked the start of our visit to Madame Tussauds. Further down the red carpet, we were greeted by big name stars. Many of them were recognisable but didn't look quite right. Some of the more realistic likenesses included Nicole Kidman [I made Hayley take my picture with Nic], Samuel L. Jackson, Humphrey Bogart, Alfred Hitchcock and Kylie. I was going to try to pass of my pictures with Richard Branson and Nelson Mandela as the real deal...
We looked only at the serial killer section of the Chamber of Horrors - the screams put me off the live show. The whirlwind cab drive through London's history was good; the 'Wonderful World of Stars' IMAX-styled theatre show was not.
Over all, and I know I've said this a number of times before, I am glad I have seen but I wasn't dazzled by the display. I think I had built it up too high in my expectations over the years.
Hayley & I lunched at Souk, a Moroccan restaurant in Covent Garden that was incredibly delicious and authentic. At £20 each, it was worth every penny. If you happen to make it to Souk, please try the pita & hommous, the fresh mint tea (which isn't what you expect) and baklava.
Within the Seven Dials of Covent Garden, there is a fabulous little courtyard called 'Neal's Yard'. Hayley and I really enjoyed it there, with our £10 manicure, £9.75 10-minute massage and natural remedies store [I highly recommend the lip balm - at £5, it's pricy, but it's darn good].
We ate an ok dinner at Fuel. Our amazing lunch would have been hard to follow at any venue, however the onion soup was ordinary and beef-stocky; the pizza was too salty and lacking in other flavour. The garlic pizza was yummy but dry. On the bright side, alcoholic beverages seem to be reasonably priced. Shame I couldn't drink...
I finally fitted in my London cab ride - between Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush, when we picked up Hayley's car at the end of the night. Then we headed home and to sleep. Yay :)
Day 16: Saturday 16/02/2008. Of course, I left it until absolute last minute to post clothes home so that's how I started my day [well, after breakfast, cleaning, washing]. I was super-shocked when the guy in Post Office told me that 2.5kg of fabric would cost me nearly £50 (+ packaging) - to send via surface mail. Apparently there is a 2kg limit for cheap postage of surface mail (6 weeks to delivery).
Hannah's London Tip #13: If you're going to post items home, send them in smaller packages of 2kg or less. It cost me just over £14 (+ packaging) in the end.
When I reached the overland, I was greeted by a group of giggling teenagers - who were celebrating a hen's day. That freaked me out a bit.
My big adventure for the day was finding Dr Samuel Johnson's house, which is not nearly as simple as the guidebooks would have you believe. Dr Johnson wrote the first universally-accepted English dictionary (Johnson's Dictionary) that went further than lists of synonyms. In fact, he included quotes as well as etymologies and some very amusing words and definitions. Examples: fopdoodle (meaning "idiot") and fribbler ("one who professes rapture for the woman, and dreads her consent"). I will try to use fopdoodle in a sentence each day this week.
Dr Johnson was a distinguished man of letters before he commenced the dictionary. I was also intrigued to find out that his best friend had a thing for prostitutes and constantly battled VD, while he may have had a touch of OCD.
In my explorations, I also discovered the meaning of 'amenuenses' - in reference to Dr Johnson's six helpers over the nine years it took to compile the dictionary [guessably, it means clerks or assistants]. I am still at a loss as to why a guidebook, designed for foreign visitors, would include such a broad and obscure vocabulary.
On leaving the house, and suffering from hunger and the biting chill in the air, I was tempted to eat in the inviting warmth of the nearby McDonald's - then I noticed the portliness of its patrons and talked myself out of it. I don't need to look nine months pregnant prematurely.
So I caught the train to Oxford Circus, where I came across a manic street preacher (literally) and sandwiched @ EAT (at the bottom of Top Shop, followed by a snail-shaped danish and a hot chocolate at the Apostrophe boulangerie & patisserie. The hot choc was more like a rich chocolate yogo than a drink; I had to eat it with a spoon! [Donald, I did find Abeno Too near Leicester Square - too late for lunch. I will make sure that Hayley & Shane have the details so that I can dine vicariously through them.]
I ended my day with a last look at the shops [when is Marks & Spencer coming to Perth?] and commenced the three-train journey home. This trip was mildly eventful, with mice playing together on the train tracks at Covent Garden Station, a twentysomething prat reunion next to the train at Leicester Square Station, and an impromptu choral performance (in harmony) on the escalators leading up to Waterloo. Seriously. And they were good!
Hayley took me out to dinner at a Fulham pub (in)aptly named The Temperance. The meal was hearty, seemed very English to me, and cost us less than £15 each. [Thanks for taking me out, Hayley!]
*
It's now 17/02, Day 17 of my trip, hours away from my next long-haul flight. Icky la la.
I will miss Hayley & Shane, who have looked after me so well over the last two-and-a-bit weeks. Though I am looking forward to my next big adventure in Chile, I'm getting increasingly homesick...
Thanks to Tamara and Jelena for commenting on my previous post!
Day 14: Thursday 14/02/2008. Happy Valentine's Day! I had a very lazy day at Hayley & Shane's apartment, followed by a relaxing dinner with them and their friends Julia and Simon.
Day 15: Friday 15/02/2008. This was my first day of London weather that lived up to its reputation. Sullen, grey, cold, unwelcoming.
The day started with a scheduled detour to Hammersmith for Hayley. Apparently, you register yourself to one doctor's surgery over here and you can't use any other. Hammersmith, a 40+ minute drive from Earlsfield, is near to where Hayley & Shane used to live. It's also close to Notting Hill but, with the day focused on Madame Tussauds, we were never going to make it that far.
After freezing my face off in the bitter cold wind, Hayley & I stumbled upon a Starbucks, where I firmly planted myself to await her return. Smooth jazz and hot chocolate in a warm cafe. Perfection.
What I noticed, sitting in that cafe, is that people stare. It's not like Central London where everyone is head down, all frown. The people here are inquisitive but it's searching, leech-like.
On Hayley's return, we caught the tube to Baker Street Station and I was almost immediately greeted by the bronzed figure of Sherlock Holmes. Hayley condescended to take a picture of me with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous character; I couldn't quite convince her to journey to 221b.
A paparazzi attack on the red carpet marked the start of our visit to Madame Tussauds. Further down the red carpet, we were greeted by big name stars. Many of them were recognisable but didn't look quite right. Some of the more realistic likenesses included Nicole Kidman [I made Hayley take my picture with Nic], Samuel L. Jackson, Humphrey Bogart, Alfred Hitchcock and Kylie. I was going to try to pass of my pictures with Richard Branson and Nelson Mandela as the real deal...
We looked only at the serial killer section of the Chamber of Horrors - the screams put me off the live show. The whirlwind cab drive through London's history was good; the 'Wonderful World of Stars' IMAX-styled theatre show was not.
Over all, and I know I've said this a number of times before, I am glad I have seen but I wasn't dazzled by the display. I think I had built it up too high in my expectations over the years.
Hayley & I lunched at Souk, a Moroccan restaurant in Covent Garden that was incredibly delicious and authentic. At £20 each, it was worth every penny. If you happen to make it to Souk, please try the pita & hommous, the fresh mint tea (which isn't what you expect) and baklava.
Within the Seven Dials of Covent Garden, there is a fabulous little courtyard called 'Neal's Yard'. Hayley and I really enjoyed it there, with our £10 manicure, £9.75 10-minute massage and natural remedies store [I highly recommend the lip balm - at £5, it's pricy, but it's darn good].
We ate an ok dinner at Fuel. Our amazing lunch would have been hard to follow at any venue, however the onion soup was ordinary and beef-stocky; the pizza was too salty and lacking in other flavour. The garlic pizza was yummy but dry. On the bright side, alcoholic beverages seem to be reasonably priced. Shame I couldn't drink...
I finally fitted in my London cab ride - between Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush, when we picked up Hayley's car at the end of the night. Then we headed home and to sleep. Yay :)
Day 16: Saturday 16/02/2008. Of course, I left it until absolute last minute to post clothes home so that's how I started my day [well, after breakfast, cleaning, washing]. I was super-shocked when the guy in Post Office told me that 2.5kg of fabric would cost me nearly £50 (+ packaging) - to send via surface mail. Apparently there is a 2kg limit for cheap postage of surface mail (6 weeks to delivery).
When I reached the overland, I was greeted by a group of giggling teenagers - who were celebrating a hen's day. That freaked me out a bit.
My big adventure for the day was finding Dr Samuel Johnson's house, which is not nearly as simple as the guidebooks would have you believe. Dr Johnson wrote the first universally-accepted English dictionary (Johnson's Dictionary) that went further than lists of synonyms. In fact, he included quotes as well as etymologies and some very amusing words and definitions. Examples: fopdoodle (meaning "idiot") and fribbler ("one who professes rapture for the woman, and dreads her consent"). I will try to use fopdoodle in a sentence each day this week.
Dr Johnson was a distinguished man of letters before he commenced the dictionary. I was also intrigued to find out that his best friend had a thing for prostitutes and constantly battled VD, while he may have had a touch of OCD.
In my explorations, I also discovered the meaning of 'amenuenses' - in reference to Dr Johnson's six helpers over the nine years it took to compile the dictionary [guessably, it means clerks or assistants]. I am still at a loss as to why a guidebook, designed for foreign visitors, would include such a broad and obscure vocabulary.
On leaving the house, and suffering from hunger and the biting chill in the air, I was tempted to eat in the inviting warmth of the nearby McDonald's - then I noticed the portliness of its patrons and talked myself out of it. I don't need to look nine months pregnant prematurely.
So I caught the train to Oxford Circus, where I came across a manic street preacher (literally) and sandwiched @ EAT (at the bottom of Top Shop, followed by a snail-shaped danish and a hot chocolate at the Apostrophe boulangerie & patisserie. The hot choc was more like a rich chocolate yogo than a drink; I had to eat it with a spoon! [Donald, I did find Abeno Too near Leicester Square - too late for lunch. I will make sure that Hayley & Shane have the details so that I can dine vicariously through them.]
I ended my day with a last look at the shops [when is Marks & Spencer coming to Perth?] and commenced the three-train journey home. This trip was mildly eventful, with mice playing together on the train tracks at Covent Garden Station, a twentysomething prat reunion next to the train at Leicester Square Station, and an impromptu choral performance (in harmony) on the escalators leading up to Waterloo. Seriously. And they were good!
Hayley took me out to dinner at a Fulham pub (in)aptly named The Temperance. The meal was hearty, seemed very English to me, and cost us less than £15 each. [Thanks for taking me out, Hayley!]
*
It's now 17/02, Day 17 of my trip, hours away from my next long-haul flight. Icky la la.
I will miss Hayley & Shane, who have looked after me so well over the last two-and-a-bit weeks. Though I am looking forward to my next big adventure in Chile, I'm getting increasingly homesick...
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Back in London - days 11-13
The quick three-day preview FYI:
Day 11 - Buckingham Palace, Green Park, shopping;
Day 12 - Harrod's, pedicure, dinner at the Algarve;
Day 13 - Dali Universe @ County Hall, London Aquarium, big night in.
Day 11: Monday 11/02/2008. We carried the Parisian weather with us. Sunny and 13. How fabulous! I started the day with changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, which took far too long. I could not believe the off-season crowds! Judging by the accents around me, I would say that this is the time of year when the locals come out to enjoy the tourist attractions.
I have to say, I felt a bit let down. I am glad I did it - to be able to say I did - but it really was not anything special. After an hour of standing, several photos, very sore feet and the persistent feeling that I was about to faint, I headed across the road to Green Park and the Princess Diana Memorial Walk. I was more interested in finding a park bench than doing the walk, which stretches across four parks, however I was excited to stumble across it.
It was in Green Park that I met up with Tom H (who will be known to Landgate readers) for lunch and shopping. It was great to catch up with a friendly face! We stopped by the Ritz on the way to the tube to find out about their high tea, which I was superkeen to try. We realised very quickly that we were not suitably attired and I could only eat half of what was on the menu. For £37, I decided to give it a miss. I'll still look into the Berkely, though. They have boot and handbag shaped cookies.
So we headed into town, which leads me to my next tip, courtesy of Tom.
Hannah's London Tip #11: Ignore Tip #8. Buy an Oyster card (that you can top up) for train travel. It magically works out the cheapest journey for you, depending on the # of uses, times of day, destinations. Better than a Day Travelcard.
The first thing we did was shop for shoes [the bones in my feet have shifted due to my lack of sensible shoes, I am sure], and I bought some flat boots from Dune within minutes of reaching Oxford St. Reduced from £65 to £45. Yay me! We had a yummy lunch at Bella Italia on Argyll St, then onto more shops.
After less than a day, Tom managed to pass on a longstanding addiction to me. No, not cigarettes. It's Thornton's toffee. I love the choc-coated vanilla fudge...
I also enjoyed my first-ever Starbucks coffee (hazelnut hot chocolate) and it was brilliant! Then it was time to find Tom's friend's birthday celebrations, using Shane's A-Z.
My evening was relaxing and home-cooked. A perfect finish to a lovely day.
Day 12: Tuesday 12/02/2008. I slept in until about 10:30 - my first sleep-in while I've been away - and watched bad TV as I ate a breakfast of Thornton's choc-coated vanilla fudge and Sainsbury's salt & vinegar twists (another recent addiction), all the while vowing to eat a healthy lunch.
It feels like every second show on London's free-to-air TV is Antiques Roadshow, The Very Best of Antiques Roadshow or Antiques Roadshow: a Retrospective. They really cling onto their old stuff here.
Everything about the day was delayed - from getting up, to buying a train ticket (the ticket office closed as soon as it was my turn to buy a ticket), to catching the train (delays on several lines, including the Jubilee). I just had to accept that nothing would be rushed today.
By the time I made it into Harrod's, I was starving. I tried to make a bee-line for the food hall, however I could not help but be sidetracked by pretty things. The cosmetics counters were impeccable, Harrod's Arcade was delightful, and the soft accessories were luxurious. I made mental notes of everything I needed and moved on to the food. [BTW, it was here that I discovered the £12 that the Heathrow shop wanted for a Harrod's green bag wasn't actually that steep - they are £14.95 at Harrod's!]
The fruit & vegetables, prepared meals and fresh pastries and sweets looked amazing. I found some very nice looking artichokes and decided that I had to cook some for Hayley & Shane before I head home.
It was upsetting to find a fantastic fromagerie. Ordinarily, such a find would have been a boon, with all the delicate soft cheeses and robust blues calling to me by name; instead, they were transformed into temptations to be avoided in my current condition. Despondent, I wandered into Harrod's Cafe Espresso.
The first thing that made me smile was the bag hooks under clean tabletops. My cappuccino was also fabulous (and so I should have been, for £3.80!). I was heartened by the fact that this and many other places around London are using exclusively fairtrade coffee. I read an interesting article in BA's in-flight business magazine about the economics and low additional cost (to industry) of supporting fairtrade coffee, yet there is generally a high cost passed onto the consumer. Very interesting.
I looked around as I awaited my melanzane di parmigiana [yes, again] and I tingled with a Christmas sensation, the promise of a gift unopened. I could have kicked myself for contemplating not going to Harrod's whilst in London.
I quickly corrected my 'merci beaucoup' into a 'thank you' as my meal arrived. Naturally, it was fabulous. I passed on my compliments to the kitchen via my waitress and found out that a bona fide Italian chef prepared my meal, which explained the simple, authentic flavours. Full of cheese and fully satisfied, I sipped on peppermint tea as I finished writing out my postcards. It was 3:30pm when I left the cafe, and I happily handed over the £23 (incl tip) for such a pleasing meal.
I realise, as I read through my travel notes, that my trip thus far has been marked by simple yet pleasurable gastronomic experiences. I haven't been able to drink alcohol or take any risks, yet I have really enjoyed my holiday - particularly because of the food. Even the basic £2.95 nachos at Debenhams were just right for the time.
I left the cafe with a resolve to book a tableau pour un at Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant before I leave, a meal sure to cost me between £40 and £60. I love my food. Up to that point, I was under budget [good project management!]. All that was about to change: I stumbled upon Harrod's jewellery section.
One Tiffany & Co necklace later, I was no longer looking at a Gordon Ramsay culinary experience. It's funny how one's priorities can turn on a dime like that. [I can hear you shaking your head. It's a congratulations present from me to me. And it will last a lifetime, unlike a meal. Truly.]
Hannah's London Tip #12: ATMs, or magical money walls, are called 'cashpoints' over here. I have managed to confuse more than one salesperson by asking for directions to the nearest ATM...
After sauntering around some more in Harrod's, wearing in my new necklace, I stopped, looked at my mobile phone (my watch didn't go with the outfit) and realised it was 5:28pm. I had a pedicure booked for 6pm. In Earlsfield. An hour away.
Rushing home with shopping bags in peak hour was not fun (three Jubilee line trains were too packed for additional passengers before I managed to squeeze on), but I made it to Glowz [yes, that does say much about the salon] for my pedicure. It was just what my feet needed - and have me just enough time to get home and change jackets in time for dinner with Kristian & Jasmina.
I have known Kristian since primary school, though we hadn't seen each other for years; Jasmina [I so hope my spelling is right!] is his lovely wife. We had ~17 years to catch up on and a lovely meal at the Algarve (Portuguese resturant in Wandsworth; I think there was one other occupied table...), but the piri-piri chicken couldn't compare to Nando's! Now I can order food in four languages and say thank you in six. I'm so proud of me :) [Thanks again, Kris and Jas.]
The weirdest thing happened at the end of the night: the Indian taxi driver accused me of having an American accent.
Day 13: Wednesday 13/02/2008. I started out at County Hall's Dali Universe, where I managed to catch three art exhibitions (Dali, Picasso, Azam) for the bargain basement price of £12.
With over 500 masterpieces, the Dali retrospective was impressive and extensive. I was surprised to discover the extent to which religion, mythology and metaphor influenced Dali's philosphy and work. It was for me a sensual, empowering display; his brand of surrealism involves an incredible artistry and attention to detail. He also collaborated with some big names in furniture and film (eg. Alfred Hitchcock for Spellbound).
I appreciated Dali's strong self-belief and view of how ideas can be formed and used. I was inspired by some of his philosophy, which I guess makes him a true artist ["An artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others"], and disturbed by other aspects. He had a definite sadistic streak through his work that more often than not applied to sex.
In terms of the other two artists: the Picasso exhibition was smaller, understated and intriguing [I didn't know he created ceramics or designed tapestries!]; Azam's iridescent spaghetti did nothing for me, hence I didn't spend too long on the artist-in-residence's display. It was interesting to compare Dali and Picasso's representations of the female form side by side. Dali tended to preserve the roundness of natural curves and pervert them in such a way that you could tell what they had come from, while Picasso was more abstract, angular and disconnected. I don't know enough about art to know what that says about either or both of them.
Lunch at the London Aquarium's Cafe A was yummy and too pricy for what it was: £6.25 for a cheese & salad sandwich and chocolate donut. I really paid for the view - overlooking foot traffic travelling alongside the Thames.
As a tourist destination, the London Aquarium is abysmal - and, at £13.25, a waste of precious pounds. Well, maybe not such a waste, as I did contribute to preservation of our oceans with my ticket purchase.
I hurriedly sought out Zone 9 as soon as I entered, thinking I had made it just in time for shark feeding time, only to discover I was a day late/early. Very disappointing. Then I saw how small the sharks were and realised the feeding show would not have been too vigorous. I followed through with the obligatory tour but I remained unimpressed. The Aquarium seems to have been set up for schoolkids and Londoners who haven't really been anywhere. I forget how spoiled we are for aquatic life in Perth.
I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around London, trying not to spend more money [I did discover a photo development place and transferred my photos from memory card to DVD - finally! But now they're too big to attach to my blog!].
While Shane was out for the evening, Hayley and I had a junky night in - Thai, chocolate, a tub of Ben & Jerry's icrecream each, back-to-back Scrubs and Friends episodes. It was great, and we both woke up with food hangovers :p
*
Today. Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you have something special planned. I am spending a lazy day at the apartment because it is 8-degrees and threatening rain and it is so cosy in here :)
Day 11: Monday 11/02/2008. We carried the Parisian weather with us. Sunny and 13. How fabulous! I started the day with changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, which took far too long. I could not believe the off-season crowds! Judging by the accents around me, I would say that this is the time of year when the locals come out to enjoy the tourist attractions.
I have to say, I felt a bit let down. I am glad I did it - to be able to say I did - but it really was not anything special. After an hour of standing, several photos, very sore feet and the persistent feeling that I was about to faint, I headed across the road to Green Park and the Princess Diana Memorial Walk. I was more interested in finding a park bench than doing the walk, which stretches across four parks, however I was excited to stumble across it.
It was in Green Park that I met up with Tom H (who will be known to Landgate readers) for lunch and shopping. It was great to catch up with a friendly face! We stopped by the Ritz on the way to the tube to find out about their high tea, which I was superkeen to try. We realised very quickly that we were not suitably attired and I could only eat half of what was on the menu. For £37, I decided to give it a miss. I'll still look into the Berkely, though. They have boot and handbag shaped cookies.
So we headed into town, which leads me to my next tip, courtesy of Tom.
The first thing we did was shop for shoes [the bones in my feet have shifted due to my lack of sensible shoes, I am sure], and I bought some flat boots from Dune within minutes of reaching Oxford St. Reduced from £65 to £45. Yay me! We had a yummy lunch at Bella Italia on Argyll St, then onto more shops.
After less than a day, Tom managed to pass on a longstanding addiction to me. No, not cigarettes. It's Thornton's toffee. I love the choc-coated vanilla fudge...
I also enjoyed my first-ever Starbucks coffee (hazelnut hot chocolate) and it was brilliant! Then it was time to find Tom's friend's birthday celebrations, using Shane's A-Z.
My evening was relaxing and home-cooked. A perfect finish to a lovely day.
Day 12: Tuesday 12/02/2008. I slept in until about 10:30 - my first sleep-in while I've been away - and watched bad TV as I ate a breakfast of Thornton's choc-coated vanilla fudge and Sainsbury's salt & vinegar twists (another recent addiction), all the while vowing to eat a healthy lunch.
It feels like every second show on London's free-to-air TV is Antiques Roadshow, The Very Best of Antiques Roadshow or Antiques Roadshow: a Retrospective. They really cling onto their old stuff here.
Everything about the day was delayed - from getting up, to buying a train ticket (the ticket office closed as soon as it was my turn to buy a ticket), to catching the train (delays on several lines, including the Jubilee). I just had to accept that nothing would be rushed today.
By the time I made it into Harrod's, I was starving. I tried to make a bee-line for the food hall, however I could not help but be sidetracked by pretty things. The cosmetics counters were impeccable, Harrod's Arcade was delightful, and the soft accessories were luxurious. I made mental notes of everything I needed and moved on to the food. [BTW, it was here that I discovered the £12 that the Heathrow shop wanted for a Harrod's green bag wasn't actually that steep - they are £14.95 at Harrod's!]
The fruit & vegetables, prepared meals and fresh pastries and sweets looked amazing. I found some very nice looking artichokes and decided that I had to cook some for Hayley & Shane before I head home.
It was upsetting to find a fantastic fromagerie. Ordinarily, such a find would have been a boon, with all the delicate soft cheeses and robust blues calling to me by name; instead, they were transformed into temptations to be avoided in my current condition. Despondent, I wandered into Harrod's Cafe Espresso.
The first thing that made me smile was the bag hooks under clean tabletops. My cappuccino was also fabulous (and so I should have been, for £3.80!). I was heartened by the fact that this and many other places around London are using exclusively fairtrade coffee. I read an interesting article in BA's in-flight business magazine about the economics and low additional cost (to industry) of supporting fairtrade coffee, yet there is generally a high cost passed onto the consumer. Very interesting.
I looked around as I awaited my melanzane di parmigiana [yes, again] and I tingled with a Christmas sensation, the promise of a gift unopened. I could have kicked myself for contemplating not going to Harrod's whilst in London.
I quickly corrected my 'merci beaucoup' into a 'thank you' as my meal arrived. Naturally, it was fabulous. I passed on my compliments to the kitchen via my waitress and found out that a bona fide Italian chef prepared my meal, which explained the simple, authentic flavours. Full of cheese and fully satisfied, I sipped on peppermint tea as I finished writing out my postcards. It was 3:30pm when I left the cafe, and I happily handed over the £23 (incl tip) for such a pleasing meal.
I realise, as I read through my travel notes, that my trip thus far has been marked by simple yet pleasurable gastronomic experiences. I haven't been able to drink alcohol or take any risks, yet I have really enjoyed my holiday - particularly because of the food. Even the basic £2.95 nachos at Debenhams were just right for the time.
I left the cafe with a resolve to book a tableau pour un at Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant before I leave, a meal sure to cost me between £40 and £60. I love my food. Up to that point, I was under budget [good project management!]. All that was about to change: I stumbled upon Harrod's jewellery section.
One Tiffany & Co necklace later, I was no longer looking at a Gordon Ramsay culinary experience. It's funny how one's priorities can turn on a dime like that. [I can hear you shaking your head. It's a congratulations present from me to me. And it will last a lifetime, unlike a meal. Truly.]
After sauntering around some more in Harrod's, wearing in my new necklace, I stopped, looked at my mobile phone (my watch didn't go with the outfit) and realised it was 5:28pm. I had a pedicure booked for 6pm. In Earlsfield. An hour away.
Rushing home with shopping bags in peak hour was not fun (three Jubilee line trains were too packed for additional passengers before I managed to squeeze on), but I made it to Glowz [yes, that does say much about the salon] for my pedicure. It was just what my feet needed - and have me just enough time to get home and change jackets in time for dinner with Kristian & Jasmina.
I have known Kristian since primary school, though we hadn't seen each other for years; Jasmina [I so hope my spelling is right!] is his lovely wife. We had ~17 years to catch up on and a lovely meal at the Algarve (Portuguese resturant in Wandsworth; I think there was one other occupied table...), but the piri-piri chicken couldn't compare to Nando's! Now I can order food in four languages and say thank you in six. I'm so proud of me :) [Thanks again, Kris and Jas.]
The weirdest thing happened at the end of the night: the Indian taxi driver accused me of having an American accent.
Day 13: Wednesday 13/02/2008. I started out at County Hall's Dali Universe, where I managed to catch three art exhibitions (Dali, Picasso, Azam) for the bargain basement price of £12.
With over 500 masterpieces, the Dali retrospective was impressive and extensive. I was surprised to discover the extent to which religion, mythology and metaphor influenced Dali's philosphy and work. It was for me a sensual, empowering display; his brand of surrealism involves an incredible artistry and attention to detail. He also collaborated with some big names in furniture and film (eg. Alfred Hitchcock for Spellbound).
I appreciated Dali's strong self-belief and view of how ideas can be formed and used. I was inspired by some of his philosophy, which I guess makes him a true artist ["An artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others"], and disturbed by other aspects. He had a definite sadistic streak through his work that more often than not applied to sex.
In terms of the other two artists: the Picasso exhibition was smaller, understated and intriguing [I didn't know he created ceramics or designed tapestries!]; Azam's iridescent spaghetti did nothing for me, hence I didn't spend too long on the artist-in-residence's display. It was interesting to compare Dali and Picasso's representations of the female form side by side. Dali tended to preserve the roundness of natural curves and pervert them in such a way that you could tell what they had come from, while Picasso was more abstract, angular and disconnected. I don't know enough about art to know what that says about either or both of them.
Lunch at the London Aquarium's Cafe A was yummy and too pricy for what it was: £6.25 for a cheese & salad sandwich and chocolate donut. I really paid for the view - overlooking foot traffic travelling alongside the Thames.
As a tourist destination, the London Aquarium is abysmal - and, at £13.25, a waste of precious pounds. Well, maybe not such a waste, as I did contribute to preservation of our oceans with my ticket purchase.
I hurriedly sought out Zone 9 as soon as I entered, thinking I had made it just in time for shark feeding time, only to discover I was a day late/early. Very disappointing. Then I saw how small the sharks were and realised the feeding show would not have been too vigorous. I followed through with the obligatory tour but I remained unimpressed. The Aquarium seems to have been set up for schoolkids and Londoners who haven't really been anywhere. I forget how spoiled we are for aquatic life in Perth.
I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around London, trying not to spend more money [I did discover a photo development place and transferred my photos from memory card to DVD - finally! But now they're too big to attach to my blog!].
While Shane was out for the evening, Hayley and I had a junky night in - Thai, chocolate, a tub of Ben & Jerry's icrecream each, back-to-back Scrubs and Friends episodes. It was great, and we both woke up with food hangovers :p
*
Today. Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you have something special planned. I am spending a lazy day at the apartment because it is 8-degrees and threatening rain and it is so cosy in here :)
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Not-so-sunny London - days 5-7
It took so long for me to write Day 5's post that it has become a 3-day epic! Since then, London has become less sunny, although it is meant to fine up over the weekend - and I'm looking forward to a 13-degree day tomorrow.
This entry is so long, hence I have compiled a dot-pointed summary of sights:
Day 5 - Tower of London, Golden Palace, Spamalot
Day 6 - Southwark Cathedral, Globe Theatre, Tate Modern, Millenium Bridge, Selfridges
Day 7 - Trafalgar Square, Horse Guard Parade, 10 Downing St (attempt), Westminster Abbey, Big Ben & Parliament House, shopping on Oxford, Regent & Bond Streets.
Thanks to Jelena, Donald & Kristian for their comments re my last post! FYI, also from last post, a cathedral is so-named because it houses the bishop's throne, or cathedra.
Day 5: Tuesday 05/02/2008. I left home in search of the Tower of London at 9:20am.
Hannah's London Tip #8: Buy your all-day Travelcard (covers all trains, overland and underground) after 9:30am and save money. Applies to weekday travel only. £5.90 instead of £9 means a £21 saving over the course of my stay, which I can waste frivolously on other things.
I lunched very cheaply (£2.94) upstairs at EAT (next to the Tower), an awesome organic & wholefoods place that is actually a 'fast food' chain in London. As I ate, I enjoyed an amazing view - as I do wherever I happen to be in London. The monuments, old buildings, terraced housing. You just fall on top of them without a plan and many do not appear in guidebooks. It's all so fabulous.
The Tower of London is huge. It took me over 3.5hrs to explore. I bought a Tower guidebook (£4.95; useful, but not essential). There are constant interactive displays, short films and plaques about the Tower's history - let alone the architecture, views, engravings from ex-prisoners, atmosphere. I was glad to be here on a bleak day. It felt more authentic.
Hannah's London Tip #9: Don't wear high-heels to the Tower. Aside from doing lots of walking, they get caught between the cobbled path.
I loved so much about the Tower, but the Crown Jewels exhibition was my favourite part. I travelator-ed around the main exhibit twice - behind the same American lady who, whilst also beginning her second round, gestured to me and proclaimed loudly to her husband, "See! She understands what I am talking about!"
I made myself a very kitsch Tower souvenir in the form of a pressed penny.
Hannah's London Tip #10: If you want a pressed penny, ensure you have £1 for entry to the Tower's Regimental Museum, a 1p coin (to be pressed) and a 50p coin (to pay for the pressing).
I now find myself doing/seeing things that friends have shared from their travels, except that I have completely forgotten the related conversation until I am in the thick of the action. Take the pressed penny - I now recall Hannah V telling me about her Tower experience. It's kind of exciting, like I'm trapped in a real-life King's Quest, only I don't know what the ultimate goal is. A bit like the search for the grail.
Speaking of grail, here's my Spamalot review: the Palace Theatre was the perfect location for a musical set in 932AD and, despite Shane being the only one of us to have seen the Monty Python films, Hayley and I had high hopes. I shouldn't have. Whilst I found it mildly amusing in parts, Spamalot let me down. In its defence, I was feeling very cultured and supertired at the time - and this is not a classy show. So what was it about? Certainly not The Holy Grail remake it promised (I am told the film is actually very funny). It's more of a Benny Hill meets Priscilla (as in 'Queen of the Desert') arrangement. Yes, exactly as you picture it now. No, not really my cup of tea. 2 stars [Sorry, Jelena], and only because of the rousing musical numbers, the brilliantly hammy performance from the Lady of the Lake, and the free ticket upgrade we were given as we walked through the door.
Before Spamalot, we dined at the Golden Pagoda in Chinatown, near Leicester Square. We wondered what all the crowds were about, then realised it was the eve of the Chinese New Year. How fortuitous! The restaurant had a 10-page menu, and service was so prompt that I think it took us longer to eat than order. Dinner was yummy but nothing special and, @ £15 per person, we over-ate (very fitting, seeing as it was the last night of the Year of the Pig...).
Still, our stomachs' icecream compartments were not filled and we hankered for dessert. We headed to Macca's, where I experienced my first McFlurry. I did feel odd about that, given we could have gone somewhere more distinctly European, but it was so good and only 99p.
Day 6: Wednesday 06/02/2008. Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Rat is upon us.
My first stop on Day 6 was Southwark Cathedral. As the first Gothic church in London, it's got very, very old roots. It even has links to Shakespeare, with its Sam Wanamaker memorial.
Sam Wanamaker was the American actor who, after finding a brass plaque to be the only memorial dedicated to Shakepeare in London, started the massive task of rebuilding Shakespeare's Globe Theatre - as its 3rd incarnation since 1599. He died before he could see his ~50 year project come to fruition in 1997. How do I know all of this? I did the tour and viewed the Theatre exhibition (£9 cost). The Theatre's season runs from April to November, so that makes me either 2 months too early, or 2 months too late.
Just down the road from the Globe is Vinopolis, which I didn't venture into, for fear of being sucked into one of my favoured pastimes.
Entry to the Tate Modern, which is only slightly further along the Thames walk, is strictly free - but they have little, arty, flasky-type things prompting you to donate £3 at every turn. So I donated my unofficial entry fee. I wish they had some sort of "I've given my £3 to keep Tate Modern" sticker - I felt like these donation sculptures were trying to suck more generosity from me at every turn and it was stifling.
Peter, you will be pleased to note that I took pictures of the earthquake in the Turbine Hall, and it was just as you described it. I couldn't, however, bring myself to get someone to take a photo of me with my foot in the crevice; it seemed too macabre.
There was so much art from well-recognised names that I hardly knew where to focus. Picasso, Pollock, Tanguy, Matisse, Monet... It was a feast for the eyes. And not all of it tasted good. I mean, dead birds stuck to a wall? At least they were stuffed, I guess. Jean Dubuffet offered up a 1950s piece of framed granite-look laminex, or so it seemed. And I never did understand those canvasses of block colour - until I read the explanation hanging next to a piece of slashed blank canvas. What is art, really? So profound. Thank you, Lucio.
I should really have kept up my tech drawing. The number of geometric designs and simple patterns posing as art was incredible. How did these artists manage to sell it as art for thousands of dollars?
The piece I really didn't get was 'Lightning with Stag in its Glare' (Beuys). The whole sculpture was brown, and it looked to me like a giant termite mound surrounded by big animal poohs. Possibly a reflection of how scared the stag was to have the lightning after it? [Now I show the true cultural deficit at my core.]
The most penetrating artists for me were Christian Schad, Mark Rothko (always a favourite) and Juan Munoz. The Munoz retrospective set me back £9 that were well worth it. I was disconcerted by 'The Wasteland' (a little boy, smiling with legs dangling from a bench that is too high for him), 'Shadow and Mouth' (a lifelike statue whose moving mouth was exaggerated by shadow) and 'Backs on Bronze' (literally spines protruding from irregular bronze boulders).
When I stepped into 'Many Times', I became part of the art. Surrounded by a roomful of identical oriental men who smiled laughingly despite their sunken feet, I felt crowded and alone. It was a caricature of the famed terracotta warriors - only these versions wore modern Asian attire, carried no weapons, held no order within their groups.
Before I made good my escape (4hrs later...), I enjoyed the awesome view of St Paul's Cathedral from the Level 7 cafe. Btw, the Level 2 cafe is not priced too badly and has excellent food and service. I found it a little rude that they automatically added a 12.5% service charge. Many places in London do, apparently. Total cost: £10.40, incl service - for pumpkin soup with bread, a side of winter greens and a bottle of water)
Anyways, I was meeting Hayley at the front of Selfridges, so I braved my way across the Millenium Bridge, which wasn't that scary after all and gave some brilliant city views. Selfridges was too huge to cover in one evening, but we gave it a red hot go. Hayley had a successful shopping expedition; I managed to find an Aveda salon and make an appointment for Friday.
Finally at home, Hayley, Shane and I succumbed to the smell of Indian cooking (there is the constant aroma of Indian spices streaming from a next-door apartment, day and night) and we bought some less-than-spectacular Indian food from nearby restaurant. At £10ea, I couldn't really complain. [And I forgot to mention that I did find my Krispy Kreme - in Waterloo Station. Yum yum!]
Day 7: Thursday 07/02/2008. I was going to take it easy today, but I figured I still had next week to be lazy. So I hit:
Trafalgar Square - including Lord Nelson & his lions; for a photo shoot only. The National Gallery awaits!;
the 11am Horse Guard Parade on Whitehall - good to say I've done it, but it wasn't much and the nearby Cavalry Museum didn't interest me for £6 entry fee;
St James's Park - where I discovered just how close Buckingham Palace was. Palaces and castles are on next week's agenda; and
10 Downing Street - from the other side of iron bars and mean-looking guards with big guns.
Westminster Abbey was just down the road, so I meandered down. The building was amazing and unmissable. The entry fee of £10 matched that of St Paul's Cathedral but, at £5, the tour was pricier. Recalling the 2-hour epic tour of three days prior, I opted for £2 guidebook. Unlike St Paul's, stained glass is everywhere that light could possibly get in. I think this makes it feel darker, more Gothic.
The Abbey is beautiful but cluttered. Carvings, tombs and marble slabs commemorating royalty, nobility, the rich and the influential over gravesites litter the hallways and chapels and, rather than feeling awe-inspired, I was simply overwhelmed by the spectacle. It also saddened me to think that I was wearing away the history underfoot with my every step; some of the marble slabs were already worn smooth.
The Cloisters gave me the chance for fresh air and I was super-excited to stumble upon Muzio Clementi's marble slab tucked down a quiet passage. A definite highlight for me. The converted crypt that is the Abbey Museum, beyond the Cloisters, is a veritable celebration of coronations (as it claims multiple times - just read the wall hangings).
Big Ben & Parliament House also got a look in before I called it a day. I was fairly sight-seeinged out at this point, which you can probably guess from my reduced entry size for the day, hence shopping in central London seemed an excellent option.
I headed directly to Oxford, Regent & Bond Streets and found some fabulous little boutiques. While all the big names were there, I also discovered some quiet gems, such as Lush (handmade bath and beauty products; the shop is set out like a cheese room) and Office (great shoes).
I was exhausted when I returned home and am just so glad that I have a relaxing morning of pampering planned before we fly to Paris for the weekend.
It's after midnight here, so I am finally calling it a night. Thanks for reading!
This entry is so long, hence I have compiled a dot-pointed summary of sights:
Thanks to Jelena, Donald & Kristian for their comments re my last post! FYI, also from last post, a cathedral is so-named because it houses the bishop's throne, or cathedra.
Day 5: Tuesday 05/02/2008. I left home in search of the Tower of London at 9:20am.
I lunched very cheaply (£2.94) upstairs at EAT (next to the Tower), an awesome organic & wholefoods place that is actually a 'fast food' chain in London. As I ate, I enjoyed an amazing view - as I do wherever I happen to be in London. The monuments, old buildings, terraced housing. You just fall on top of them without a plan and many do not appear in guidebooks. It's all so fabulous.
The Tower of London is huge. It took me over 3.5hrs to explore. I bought a Tower guidebook (£4.95; useful, but not essential). There are constant interactive displays, short films and plaques about the Tower's history - let alone the architecture, views, engravings from ex-prisoners, atmosphere. I was glad to be here on a bleak day. It felt more authentic.
I loved so much about the Tower, but the Crown Jewels exhibition was my favourite part. I travelator-ed around the main exhibit twice - behind the same American lady who, whilst also beginning her second round, gestured to me and proclaimed loudly to her husband, "See! She understands what I am talking about!"
I made myself a very kitsch Tower souvenir in the form of a pressed penny.
I now find myself doing/seeing things that friends have shared from their travels, except that I have completely forgotten the related conversation until I am in the thick of the action. Take the pressed penny - I now recall Hannah V telling me about her Tower experience. It's kind of exciting, like I'm trapped in a real-life King's Quest, only I don't know what the ultimate goal is. A bit like the search for the grail.
Speaking of grail, here's my Spamalot review: the Palace Theatre was the perfect location for a musical set in 932AD and, despite Shane being the only one of us to have seen the Monty Python films, Hayley and I had high hopes. I shouldn't have. Whilst I found it mildly amusing in parts, Spamalot let me down. In its defence, I was feeling very cultured and supertired at the time - and this is not a classy show. So what was it about? Certainly not The Holy Grail remake it promised (I am told the film is actually very funny). It's more of a Benny Hill meets Priscilla (as in 'Queen of the Desert') arrangement. Yes, exactly as you picture it now. No, not really my cup of tea. 2 stars [Sorry, Jelena], and only because of the rousing musical numbers, the brilliantly hammy performance from the Lady of the Lake, and the free ticket upgrade we were given as we walked through the door.
Before Spamalot, we dined at the Golden Pagoda in Chinatown, near Leicester Square. We wondered what all the crowds were about, then realised it was the eve of the Chinese New Year. How fortuitous! The restaurant had a 10-page menu, and service was so prompt that I think it took us longer to eat than order. Dinner was yummy but nothing special and, @ £15 per person, we over-ate (very fitting, seeing as it was the last night of the Year of the Pig...).
Still, our stomachs' icecream compartments were not filled and we hankered for dessert. We headed to Macca's, where I experienced my first McFlurry. I did feel odd about that, given we could have gone somewhere more distinctly European, but it was so good and only 99p.
Day 6: Wednesday 06/02/2008. Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Rat is upon us.
My first stop on Day 6 was Southwark Cathedral. As the first Gothic church in London, it's got very, very old roots. It even has links to Shakespeare, with its Sam Wanamaker memorial.
Sam Wanamaker was the American actor who, after finding a brass plaque to be the only memorial dedicated to Shakepeare in London, started the massive task of rebuilding Shakespeare's Globe Theatre - as its 3rd incarnation since 1599. He died before he could see his ~50 year project come to fruition in 1997. How do I know all of this? I did the tour and viewed the Theatre exhibition (£9 cost). The Theatre's season runs from April to November, so that makes me either 2 months too early, or 2 months too late.
Just down the road from the Globe is Vinopolis, which I didn't venture into, for fear of being sucked into one of my favoured pastimes.
Entry to the Tate Modern, which is only slightly further along the Thames walk, is strictly free - but they have little, arty, flasky-type things prompting you to donate £3 at every turn. So I donated my unofficial entry fee. I wish they had some sort of "I've given my £3 to keep Tate Modern" sticker - I felt like these donation sculptures were trying to suck more generosity from me at every turn and it was stifling.
Peter, you will be pleased to note that I took pictures of the earthquake in the Turbine Hall, and it was just as you described it. I couldn't, however, bring myself to get someone to take a photo of me with my foot in the crevice; it seemed too macabre.
There was so much art from well-recognised names that I hardly knew where to focus. Picasso, Pollock, Tanguy, Matisse, Monet... It was a feast for the eyes. And not all of it tasted good. I mean, dead birds stuck to a wall? At least they were stuffed, I guess. Jean Dubuffet offered up a 1950s piece of framed granite-look laminex, or so it seemed. And I never did understand those canvasses of block colour - until I read the explanation hanging next to a piece of slashed blank canvas. What is art, really? So profound. Thank you, Lucio.
I should really have kept up my tech drawing. The number of geometric designs and simple patterns posing as art was incredible. How did these artists manage to sell it as art for thousands of dollars?
The piece I really didn't get was 'Lightning with Stag in its Glare' (Beuys). The whole sculpture was brown, and it looked to me like a giant termite mound surrounded by big animal poohs. Possibly a reflection of how scared the stag was to have the lightning after it? [Now I show the true cultural deficit at my core.]
The most penetrating artists for me were Christian Schad, Mark Rothko (always a favourite) and Juan Munoz. The Munoz retrospective set me back £9 that were well worth it. I was disconcerted by 'The Wasteland' (a little boy, smiling with legs dangling from a bench that is too high for him), 'Shadow and Mouth' (a lifelike statue whose moving mouth was exaggerated by shadow) and 'Backs on Bronze' (literally spines protruding from irregular bronze boulders).
When I stepped into 'Many Times', I became part of the art. Surrounded by a roomful of identical oriental men who smiled laughingly despite their sunken feet, I felt crowded and alone. It was a caricature of the famed terracotta warriors - only these versions wore modern Asian attire, carried no weapons, held no order within their groups.
Before I made good my escape (4hrs later...), I enjoyed the awesome view of St Paul's Cathedral from the Level 7 cafe. Btw, the Level 2 cafe is not priced too badly and has excellent food and service. I found it a little rude that they automatically added a 12.5% service charge. Many places in London do, apparently. Total cost: £10.40, incl service - for pumpkin soup with bread, a side of winter greens and a bottle of water)
Anyways, I was meeting Hayley at the front of Selfridges, so I braved my way across the Millenium Bridge, which wasn't that scary after all and gave some brilliant city views. Selfridges was too huge to cover in one evening, but we gave it a red hot go. Hayley had a successful shopping expedition; I managed to find an Aveda salon and make an appointment for Friday.
Finally at home, Hayley, Shane and I succumbed to the smell of Indian cooking (there is the constant aroma of Indian spices streaming from a next-door apartment, day and night) and we bought some less-than-spectacular Indian food from nearby restaurant. At £10ea, I couldn't really complain. [And I forgot to mention that I did find my Krispy Kreme - in Waterloo Station. Yum yum!]
Day 7: Thursday 07/02/2008. I was going to take it easy today, but I figured I still had next week to be lazy. So I hit:
Westminster Abbey was just down the road, so I meandered down. The building was amazing and unmissable. The entry fee of £10 matched that of St Paul's Cathedral but, at £5, the tour was pricier. Recalling the 2-hour epic tour of three days prior, I opted for £2 guidebook. Unlike St Paul's, stained glass is everywhere that light could possibly get in. I think this makes it feel darker, more Gothic.
The Abbey is beautiful but cluttered. Carvings, tombs and marble slabs commemorating royalty, nobility, the rich and the influential over gravesites litter the hallways and chapels and, rather than feeling awe-inspired, I was simply overwhelmed by the spectacle. It also saddened me to think that I was wearing away the history underfoot with my every step; some of the marble slabs were already worn smooth.
The Cloisters gave me the chance for fresh air and I was super-excited to stumble upon Muzio Clementi's marble slab tucked down a quiet passage. A definite highlight for me. The converted crypt that is the Abbey Museum, beyond the Cloisters, is a veritable celebration of coronations (as it claims multiple times - just read the wall hangings).
Big Ben & Parliament House also got a look in before I called it a day. I was fairly sight-seeinged out at this point, which you can probably guess from my reduced entry size for the day, hence shopping in central London seemed an excellent option.
I headed directly to Oxford, Regent & Bond Streets and found some fabulous little boutiques. While all the big names were there, I also discovered some quiet gems, such as Lush (handmade bath and beauty products; the shop is set out like a cheese room) and Office (great shoes).
I was exhausted when I returned home and am just so glad that I have a relaxing morning of pampering planned before we fly to Paris for the weekend.
It's after midnight here, so I am finally calling it a night. Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Sunny London - days 2-4
I'm not joking! Aside from 5 mins of cloud yesterday, the days have been clear and sunny.
I don't apologise for the length of these posts. I am also using them as my travel journal for reminders to me - so you may find what follows too onerous.
Day 2: Saturday 02/02/2008. So much to say! Hayley and I took the overland/tube into Waterloo (I couldn't find the newsagent where Matt Damon's source hid in The Bourne Ultimatum), then to Central London.
Hannah's London Tip #1: Insert your ticket face up into the ticket machine...
Leicester Square to buy Wednesday night tickets for Sound of Music. After lining up for ~40 mins, we ended up purchasing SoM for that night plus tix for Tower of London, Spamalot and Madame Tussauds.
Hannah's London Tip #2: Sometimes the tickets you want are cheaper and more available off-line.
Lunch in Covent Garden at The Rock Garden was a little overpriced (£11.95 for a grilled chicken burger) but it was a heated venue and it hit the spot. Shopping was fabulously overwhelming, most notably Whittards of Chelsea (instant mulled wine flavoured tea! Who would have thought?) and Godiva for chocolate. Also viewed: the Royal Opera House - everything I wanted to see was either sold out or too far into the future.
Hannah's London Tip #3: It's a good idea to layer but forget the tights under long pants. It's not really that cold - especially after walking around all day.
Seeing the neon lights & Angel of Christian Charity of Piccadilly Square and discovering Regent Street inspired me to collect pics of all the Monopoly locations. And find wombles in Wimbledon. And Paddington Bear in Paddington.
Despite my fear of heights, Hayley and I took our 'flight' on the London Eye at 5pm. My guidebook told me it was 'not at all vertiginous', but I still couldn't stand up at the railing once we got near 1/2-way. The views were amazing and unique. I highly recommend it.
Hannah's London Tip #4: Sometimes it can pay to buy tickets online. We avoided an hour-long queue and saved 10% (our cost: £13.50ea).
Hannah's London Tip #5: Don't count on taking a warming mocha with you. No hot drinks allowed on the flight.
Hannah's London Tip #6: Take the London Eye at sunset on a clear day and you see London in the light and in lights.
We stopped at the Ice Bar and Carnaby Street on our way to dinner at Bella Italia (great food and serice at reasonable prices) and the Sound of Music at the Palladium Theatre. I give it a mixed review: I could live with the difference in storyline with the film, set design and lighting was magical, the extra songs were tedious, Maria overacted, the children were darn good, and Mother Superior was the stand-out role. 4 stars.
Day 3: 03/02/2008. A rest day. Video Hits dosed me up with all the old 80s hits from Kylie, Jason and Mel & Kim. I subjected myself to 5 mins of Eastenders and 10 mins of Coronation Street - which were both dreadful [my condolences to any fans...]. I also discovered that UKTV has very long ad breaks with very, very bad ads.
The day wasn't all about English television. I ventured to Southside Shopping Centre and discovered some pretty ordinary clothes shops, a fabulous bakery [though my search for Krispy Kreme continues], and Aunty Anne's Pretzel shop. Then I relaxed at home, planned my week, slept very well.
Day 4: 04/02/2008.I finally figured out the ticket/train situation, which enabled me to start exploring St Paul's Cathedral (£10 entry) before all the crowds arrived. Simply breathtaking. I took the 90-minute Supertour, which set me back £3 and 2 hours. This let me see areas other visitors can't normally access and I took pictures, with permission (they're not allowed elsewhere inside the Cathedral), in the Geometric Staircase leading up the Clock Tower. I also found out why a cathedral is called a cathedral. People have to start writing comments on my blog before I share this tidbit, though I am sure the info is readily available [many thanks for my one comment, Donald!].
With some very bad direction and lack of confidence in my own bearings, which turned out to be right after all, I reached the Tower of London too late to enjoy it - now a Day 5 event.
Hannah's London Tip #7: Listen to Hayley and Shane - buy a central London map...
Roast chicken dinner. Yum yum.
I'm just about to embark on Day 5: Tower of London, shopping on Oxford Street, dinner in Soho, Spamalot at the Palace Theatre. Pics are on their way! I am having a great time and missing Perth as well.
I don't apologise for the length of these posts. I am also using them as my travel journal for reminders to me - so you may find what follows too onerous.
Day 2: Saturday 02/02/2008. So much to say! Hayley and I took the overland/tube into Waterloo (I couldn't find the newsagent where Matt Damon's source hid in The Bourne Ultimatum), then to Central London.
Leicester Square to buy Wednesday night tickets for Sound of Music. After lining up for ~40 mins, we ended up purchasing SoM for that night plus tix for Tower of London, Spamalot and Madame Tussauds.
Lunch in Covent Garden at The Rock Garden was a little overpriced (£11.95 for a grilled chicken burger) but it was a heated venue and it hit the spot. Shopping was fabulously overwhelming, most notably Whittards of Chelsea (instant mulled wine flavoured tea! Who would have thought?) and Godiva for chocolate. Also viewed: the Royal Opera House - everything I wanted to see was either sold out or too far into the future.
Seeing the neon lights & Angel of Christian Charity of Piccadilly Square and discovering Regent Street inspired me to collect pics of all the Monopoly locations. And find wombles in Wimbledon. And Paddington Bear in Paddington.
Despite my fear of heights, Hayley and I took our 'flight' on the London Eye at 5pm. My guidebook told me it was 'not at all vertiginous', but I still couldn't stand up at the railing once we got near 1/2-way. The views were amazing and unique. I highly recommend it.
We stopped at the Ice Bar and Carnaby Street on our way to dinner at Bella Italia (great food and serice at reasonable prices) and the Sound of Music at the Palladium Theatre. I give it a mixed review: I could live with the difference in storyline with the film, set design and lighting was magical, the extra songs were tedious, Maria overacted, the children were darn good, and Mother Superior was the stand-out role. 4 stars.
Day 3: 03/02/2008. A rest day. Video Hits dosed me up with all the old 80s hits from Kylie, Jason and Mel & Kim. I subjected myself to 5 mins of Eastenders and 10 mins of Coronation Street - which were both dreadful [my condolences to any fans...]. I also discovered that UKTV has very long ad breaks with very, very bad ads.
The day wasn't all about English television. I ventured to Southside Shopping Centre and discovered some pretty ordinary clothes shops, a fabulous bakery [though my search for Krispy Kreme continues], and Aunty Anne's Pretzel shop. Then I relaxed at home, planned my week, slept very well.
Day 4: 04/02/2008.I finally figured out the ticket/train situation, which enabled me to start exploring St Paul's Cathedral (£10 entry) before all the crowds arrived. Simply breathtaking. I took the 90-minute Supertour, which set me back £3 and 2 hours. This let me see areas other visitors can't normally access and I took pictures, with permission (they're not allowed elsewhere inside the Cathedral), in the Geometric Staircase leading up the Clock Tower. I also found out why a cathedral is called a cathedral. People have to start writing comments on my blog before I share this tidbit, though I am sure the info is readily available [many thanks for my one comment, Donald!].
With some very bad direction and lack of confidence in my own bearings, which turned out to be right after all, I reached the Tower of London too late to enjoy it - now a Day 5 event.
Roast chicken dinner. Yum yum.
I'm just about to embark on Day 5: Tower of London, shopping on Oxford Street, dinner in Soho, Spamalot at the Palace Theatre. Pics are on their way! I am having a great time and missing Perth as well.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
London
1/02. After getting a grilling at Heathrow because I didn't know my sister's new address, I was finally released.
Southfields. I had a couple of hours of sleep on the couch at Hayley & Shane's and went for a really big walk. It wasn't meant to be as long as it was, but I got a little lost trying to find an ATM and admiring the mossy walls and terraced housing.
Where I visited/what I saw today:
Wimbledon Park Tennis Gallery;
Villeroy & Boch factory outlet (walk-by);
The Pig & Whistle (walk-by);
HSBC (for money);
Tuk Tuk Thai (for lunch - the Tom Yum Gai was surprisingly good);
a free-range butcher (to buy chicken, because I'm cooking dinner. The poor guy looked at me like I was from Mars when I spent a few seconds too long in my wallet before announcing, "I'm really sorry about this - I'm still trying to get used to which note is which"...); and
a dog that looked like Tin Tin's Snowy.
Tonight, Hayley is driving me around London to see the lights. Tomorrow, we will shop and enjoy pedicures in central London.
Southfields. I had a couple of hours of sleep on the couch at Hayley & Shane's and went for a really big walk. It wasn't meant to be as long as it was, but I got a little lost trying to find an ATM and admiring the mossy walls and terraced housing.
Where I visited/what I saw today:
Tonight, Hayley is driving me around London to see the lights. Tomorrow, we will shop and enjoy pedicures in central London.
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