On Saturday, Sally, Ayumi, Wesam, and I went to Portobello Road in Notting Hill for their amazing market. There were food stalls, antiques, new goods, anything and everything imaginable, including magnificent crepe stands. We tried one with sugar and lemon, and it was delicious. After being there most of the day, Sall and I headed to Covent Garden and walked around there and then decided to walk the trek to Victoria Station to pick up Laura Beth because it was such a beautiful day. We greeted the birthday girl (Laura Beth turned 21 that day!) at the station and promptly pinned on a huge button proclaiming that she was 21 so all in London would know. (Note: Sally did not want me to buy this button. I'm still very glad I did.) LB was coming from Spain were she has been studying, and had been traveling for over 20 hours, so we skipped out on sightseeing and went back to the flat. We met up with our roommates for dinner at Nando's to celebrate both Aviva and LB's birthdays, and then went out around Covent Garden and Picadilly Circus. With LB's huge birthday button and Aviva's birthday girl sash, we were quite the scene.
Yesterday, we met Donna B (Laura Beth's mom) at the hotel they are staying at this week- she had just flown in from Arkansas! We hung around the Strand and their hotel for the afternoon, and then got afternoon tea at an amazing tea shop in Notting Hill. They had a fifteen page menu specifically for the tea! We all chose exotic varieties like passionfruit mango orange tree, or something like that, and then had scones and cakes, too. Tea is a long process, and by the time we made it back to the hotel, Donna B went up to go to sleep and the three of us found a sports bar nearby to watch the Euro Cup (this is soccer, for those of you that are unaware like I was until last night). Spain won, so all were happy- at least most of the people around us were!
Today was the first day of the festival! Things went very well, and the performers were great. We had a great crowd, too. So 1 performance down, 24 more to go! Tonight we are having a opening celebration dinner, as Mark and Nisa call it, with all of the people involved with Diorama or the other sponsors.
And as for my crayfish experience...I got salad from Pret today for lunch. It said it was crayfish and avocado on greens, but for some reason I thought crayfish was what British people call shrimp. I was wrong. Shrimp are actually called prawns. Anyways, the little guys don't taste too awfully bad, but for some reason I can't bring myself to eat them. I have some sort of mental block that probably stems from calling the things crawdads and tying a piece of raw bacon to a string trying to catch them in the drainage ditch at Mamaw's house when we were younger. Luckily, I got a cup of miso soup with my salad, but Ayumi just informed me that it is soup with seaweed and tofu, and I just don't know if I can handle that, either. I'm trying to be adventurous, but tomorrow I am just going back to my apple and tuna sandwich.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
999 at Flat #6
What an eventful past couple of days we have had! We worked up until Thursday evening, when the drama begins...
Last night, we had plans with all of our flatmates (minus Sarah, who works like she is getting paid for her internship) to go to some karaoke bar, made by the flat #6 social chair, Nikki. We had all just gotten back from work and were hanging out on the second floor of our flat, when the door bell starts ringing. Aviva goes to answer the door, and some good samaritan is there saying he had just seen a man in a hoodie holding a bottle of some sort and jumping from our balcony to the street below. He had followed him until the hooded man realized he was doing so, and then lost him.
Our flat isn't in the nicest neighborhood, but not the worst, either. We have a gate to get into our courtyard, but if you can scale the concrete wall fencing in our patio and balcony, like said hooded man, then that is where the trouble starts. All of us are freaking out, of course, and go downstairs to see if he had actually gotten into the bottom floor. The lock on the patio door is busted off, the metal grate behind it that locks twice for even more protection has one of its locks off, and the bathroom window lock is busted, but metal bars intact. So, he had attempted to get in(and could at least reach into the room) but was scared off, or unable to get in quickly enough. (Although Kyla is missing her favorite pair of underwear). We called Anglo American and they sent staff over to check out the situation, and they called the police, who said they were on their way. Our plans for singing awful Whitney Houston songs with British men at some karaoke bar off Farringdon were shot. The guys in the flat across from us were supposed to go out with us, but instead came over to our flat to wait on the police with us. Fast forward to midnight, and they still haven't arrived!! So all that time spent sitting around, for nothing, other than the bottom floor of our flat was still un-lockable and it would have been stupid to leave.
Well, the police did end up coming, but not until this morning. Sally, Ayumi, Nikki and I were the only ones here. I went downstairs to talk to the policeman (he had a funny name, but I can't remember it) as he took notes on a little tablet as I talked, while his detective partner dusted for fingerprints. It was legit. We talked for 15 minutes, and that was that. Now we are waiting on all the locks to be replaced, and Kyla has moved into our room, because who would want to sleep in the room that had been broken into??! So the moral of the story is...I don't actually know. Don't trust policemen to be timely? Avoid hooded men carrying bottles? Don't leave your favorite pair of underwear next to a door that might be broken into? Only time will tell.
After my chat with the police, we headed to Kew Royal Botanical Gardens for the day. It was lovely, Mark and Lawry brought a picnic, and we spent the whole day there. After a slight mistake with me and directions (once again) we got on the right train, going the right direction, and were home by 6:10. Ayumi's boyfriend Wesam got to London today, and when we got home, the four of us decided last minute to go see Les Mis. We changed clothes, and were back out the door by 6:25. And let me tell you, that $45 for the ticket was the best money I have spent the whole trip. The show was unbelievable. Stunning, breathtaking, awe-inspiring, you get the point.
Tomorrow, our friend Laura Beth from Tulsa gets into town, and will be here until Thursday, and then Mom, Dad, and Molly will be here a week from today! It's going to be a fun couple of weeks.
Last night, we had plans with all of our flatmates (minus Sarah, who works like she is getting paid for her internship) to go to some karaoke bar, made by the flat #6 social chair, Nikki. We had all just gotten back from work and were hanging out on the second floor of our flat, when the door bell starts ringing. Aviva goes to answer the door, and some good samaritan is there saying he had just seen a man in a hoodie holding a bottle of some sort and jumping from our balcony to the street below. He had followed him until the hooded man realized he was doing so, and then lost him.
Our flat isn't in the nicest neighborhood, but not the worst, either. We have a gate to get into our courtyard, but if you can scale the concrete wall fencing in our patio and balcony, like said hooded man, then that is where the trouble starts. All of us are freaking out, of course, and go downstairs to see if he had actually gotten into the bottom floor. The lock on the patio door is busted off, the metal grate behind it that locks twice for even more protection has one of its locks off, and the bathroom window lock is busted, but metal bars intact. So, he had attempted to get in(and could at least reach into the room) but was scared off, or unable to get in quickly enough. (Although Kyla is missing her favorite pair of underwear). We called Anglo American and they sent staff over to check out the situation, and they called the police, who said they were on their way. Our plans for singing awful Whitney Houston songs with British men at some karaoke bar off Farringdon were shot. The guys in the flat across from us were supposed to go out with us, but instead came over to our flat to wait on the police with us. Fast forward to midnight, and they still haven't arrived!! So all that time spent sitting around, for nothing, other than the bottom floor of our flat was still un-lockable and it would have been stupid to leave.
Well, the police did end up coming, but not until this morning. Sally, Ayumi, Nikki and I were the only ones here. I went downstairs to talk to the policeman (he had a funny name, but I can't remember it) as he took notes on a little tablet as I talked, while his detective partner dusted for fingerprints. It was legit. We talked for 15 minutes, and that was that. Now we are waiting on all the locks to be replaced, and Kyla has moved into our room, because who would want to sleep in the room that had been broken into??! So the moral of the story is...I don't actually know. Don't trust policemen to be timely? Avoid hooded men carrying bottles? Don't leave your favorite pair of underwear next to a door that might be broken into? Only time will tell.
After my chat with the police, we headed to Kew Royal Botanical Gardens for the day. It was lovely, Mark and Lawry brought a picnic, and we spent the whole day there. After a slight mistake with me and directions (once again) we got on the right train, going the right direction, and were home by 6:10. Ayumi's boyfriend Wesam got to London today, and when we got home, the four of us decided last minute to go see Les Mis. We changed clothes, and were back out the door by 6:25. And let me tell you, that $45 for the ticket was the best money I have spent the whole trip. The show was unbelievable. Stunning, breathtaking, awe-inspiring, you get the point.
Tomorrow, our friend Laura Beth from Tulsa gets into town, and will be here until Thursday, and then Mom, Dad, and Molly will be here a week from today! It's going to be a fun couple of weeks.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
It's almost festival time!
We saw the three legged dog again today at the park! He is so precious. Makes me miss Phoebe at home, and she doesn't even like me that much. Since I last blogged, we've been busy with work- the festival starts next week!
Sunday, we went to the West End Live show in Leicester Square with Kyla, Kayla, and Ayumi. Essentially, it was a huge outdoor festival with a mainstage featuring numbers from the West End musicals that are currently playing. We missed all of the good acts since they were spread out over Saturday and Sunday, but it was still fun. We then headed to Nando's for lunch, it a Portuguese restaurant that specializes in chicken, and then went to Covent Garden to the shops and market there. After that we did Little Venice, which is basically just canals in a pretty neighborhood, but it was a beautiful day and was fun to just wander around there.
Monday and today we worked from 9-6 with just a short break for lunch. Things are really busy with the festival coming up- we are trying to coordinate 25 performance days, each with multiple artists/groups, and the task isn't easy. The fact that no one can understand our accents over the phone doesn't help the situation either! We are getting close to being done though, and should have everything wrapped up by Thursday. Today, I spent all day on photoshop trying to finish up the last set of posters to get them to the printer. Who knew that my photoshop experience from Mary Hensler's studio art class at SHS would come in handy one day? My eyes are still a little fuzzy from staring at a computer for so many consecutive hours. We get our last day off for the summer on Friday, and we are meeting Mark and Lawry at Kew Gardens for a picnic. It normally costs about 12 quid to get in, but they have guest passes for us! That is all for now, I am off to go make my evening cup of tea...how British of me, right?!
Sunday, we went to the West End Live show in Leicester Square with Kyla, Kayla, and Ayumi. Essentially, it was a huge outdoor festival with a mainstage featuring numbers from the West End musicals that are currently playing. We missed all of the good acts since they were spread out over Saturday and Sunday, but it was still fun. We then headed to Nando's for lunch, it a Portuguese restaurant that specializes in chicken, and then went to Covent Garden to the shops and market there. After that we did Little Venice, which is basically just canals in a pretty neighborhood, but it was a beautiful day and was fun to just wander around there.
Monday and today we worked from 9-6 with just a short break for lunch. Things are really busy with the festival coming up- we are trying to coordinate 25 performance days, each with multiple artists/groups, and the task isn't easy. The fact that no one can understand our accents over the phone doesn't help the situation either! We are getting close to being done though, and should have everything wrapped up by Thursday. Today, I spent all day on photoshop trying to finish up the last set of posters to get them to the printer. Who knew that my photoshop experience from Mary Hensler's studio art class at SHS would come in handy one day? My eyes are still a little fuzzy from staring at a computer for so many consecutive hours. We get our last day off for the summer on Friday, and we are meeting Mark and Lawry at Kew Gardens for a picnic. It normally costs about 12 quid to get in, but they have guest passes for us! That is all for now, I am off to go make my evening cup of tea...how British of me, right?!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The English Countryside
So I realize that I updated recently, but today we did so much that I think I may forget it all unless I get it down in writing! We started out with Lawry and Mark picking the three of us up from the Diorama at 9:30am and then set out for the English countryside west of London. We drove through several small villages on our way to Roche Court, the home of Lady Bessborough, which is just east of Salisbury. She started a sculpture gallery in the gardens and grounds of her beautiful home, and was hosting about 100 people at the gallery opening for two new exhibitions today. We wandered around the grounds and artist residence (living space for guest artists) before introductions of the artists, hostess, and speaker were made, and then were treated to a very British lunch. There was quiche and greens, cheeses, and pickled whole walnuts. Like, outer shell and all. Sounds (and looks) gross, but they were actually pretty tasty. After tea and dessert, we headed out to explore the country side. We drove through Salisbury, Marlborough and probably half a dozen other tiny villages. The scenery was gorgeous, and the towns so quaint and peaceful. After stopping shortly at Figsbury Ring (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figsbury_Ring), we eventually made our way to Stonehenge around 3:30pm. This morning, over 30,000 visitors had come to watch the sunrise for the summer solstice and the site had just reopened at 3:00. We walked around for a bit, but it was rainy so didn't stay long.
We got back on the rode, and made it to Avebury http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-avebury/ which is a smaller version of Stonehenge, and stopped for afternoon tea (I had a scone, Mom!), and to walk around the small village of about 200 people. The town was full to the brim of hippie, dred-locked, guitar-playing earth worshipers (and I mean that in a nice way, they were delightful!) that were camped out at this monument for the summer solstice. It was an interesting, fun day to visit!! We then hit up several more small villages, and drove around looking for the prehistoric white horse carvings present on many of the hills in Wiltshire http://www.wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk/. We got to see two before it was time to head back to London. Traffic was awful, and we made it back close to 9pm. We stopped at this haunted pub on the Thames in Hammersmith, where we had some of the best food and service we have had this entire trip. It was in a beautiful, quiet part of London, and we definitely would like to go back. Ya'll can read about the ghost here: http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=155. Anyways, Mark and Lawry just dropped us off about half and hour ago at 11pm, so we have had a long day, much of it with 5 of us crammed into a very small (manual) European car, that doesn't necessarily provide the most comfortable trip through windy country roads. We had such a great time though, and are grateful for Mark and Lawry taking such great care of us while we are here. And they have invited us to visit Kew Gardens with them on Friday, which should be fun as well. We have plans with the flatmates tomorrow, though, so I am off to bed for now!
We got back on the rode, and made it to Avebury http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-avebury/ which is a smaller version of Stonehenge, and stopped for afternoon tea (I had a scone, Mom!), and to walk around the small village of about 200 people. The town was full to the brim of hippie, dred-locked, guitar-playing earth worshipers (and I mean that in a nice way, they were delightful!) that were camped out at this monument for the summer solstice. It was an interesting, fun day to visit!! We then hit up several more small villages, and drove around looking for the prehistoric white horse carvings present on many of the hills in Wiltshire http://www.wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk/. We got to see two before it was time to head back to London. Traffic was awful, and we made it back close to 9pm. We stopped at this haunted pub on the Thames in Hammersmith, where we had some of the best food and service we have had this entire trip. It was in a beautiful, quiet part of London, and we definitely would like to go back. Ya'll can read about the ghost here: http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=155. Anyways, Mark and Lawry just dropped us off about half and hour ago at 11pm, so we have had a long day, much of it with 5 of us crammed into a very small (manual) European car, that doesn't necessarily provide the most comfortable trip through windy country roads. We had such a great time though, and are grateful for Mark and Lawry taking such great care of us while we are here. And they have invited us to visit Kew Gardens with them on Friday, which should be fun as well. We have plans with the flatmates tomorrow, though, so I am off to bed for now!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Betwixt and Hampton Court Palace
This week hasn't been too eventful, but here is the update.
We worked all this week. Getting close to the festival start date, so things are getting a little busier around the Diorama. Wednesday, we met all of our flatmates and another friend Shivam for dinner at Tortilla, which is London's equivalent of Free Birds/Chipotle/Qdoba. It was delish. After that we headed to see a new musical at the theatre our roommate Sarah works at. It was called Betwixt and was really great. The theatre is small, just 120 seats, but many famous actors have gotten their start there (Alan Rickman!) and lots of their productions go on to the West End, Broadway, or to tour. Our tickets would normally have cost 20 quid, but Sarah got all 8 of us in for free! It was a fun night.
Today, Sally and I had the day off work. We woke up this morning and while we were getting ready the housekeepers came in. Shortly after two people from the Anglo American staff showed up, apparently to fire the housekeepers! It was really awkward, so we hurried on out of the flat to Waterloo station, where we bought tickets to Hampton Court Palace, which is in a town about 40 minutes south of London. Ascot is this weekend, and the station was overrun with men in top hats and women in fancy dresses and hats all waiting for their trains out to the races. It was fun to just people watch as we waited for the train. We got to Hampton Court Palace and spent about 3 hours touring the huge compound and gardens. It was really interesting and a good way to spend the day off. We headed back to London and stopped by Covent Garden for a little shopping before we headed back to the flat. Now we are just hanging out here with our flatmates, who are all so much fun.
Tomorrow, Mark and Lawry are taking Sally, Ayumi, and me to a gallery opening at Roche Court that they were invited to. It is about two hours away from here, and we are stopping at Stonehenge on the way home. Tomorrow is the summer solstice, and people come to worship there at sunset or something like that, I'm not sure what religion it is, but it I will have to google it before we go tomorrow. Hope all is well back in the US!!
We worked all this week. Getting close to the festival start date, so things are getting a little busier around the Diorama. Wednesday, we met all of our flatmates and another friend Shivam for dinner at Tortilla, which is London's equivalent of Free Birds/Chipotle/Qdoba. It was delish. After that we headed to see a new musical at the theatre our roommate Sarah works at. It was called Betwixt and was really great. The theatre is small, just 120 seats, but many famous actors have gotten their start there (Alan Rickman!) and lots of their productions go on to the West End, Broadway, or to tour. Our tickets would normally have cost 20 quid, but Sarah got all 8 of us in for free! It was a fun night.
Today, Sally and I had the day off work. We woke up this morning and while we were getting ready the housekeepers came in. Shortly after two people from the Anglo American staff showed up, apparently to fire the housekeepers! It was really awkward, so we hurried on out of the flat to Waterloo station, where we bought tickets to Hampton Court Palace, which is in a town about 40 minutes south of London. Ascot is this weekend, and the station was overrun with men in top hats and women in fancy dresses and hats all waiting for their trains out to the races. It was fun to just people watch as we waited for the train. We got to Hampton Court Palace and spent about 3 hours touring the huge compound and gardens. It was really interesting and a good way to spend the day off. We headed back to London and stopped by Covent Garden for a little shopping before we headed back to the flat. Now we are just hanging out here with our flatmates, who are all so much fun.
Tomorrow, Mark and Lawry are taking Sally, Ayumi, and me to a gallery opening at Roche Court that they were invited to. It is about two hours away from here, and we are stopping at Stonehenge on the way home. Tomorrow is the summer solstice, and people come to worship there at sunset or something like that, I'm not sure what religion it is, but it I will have to google it before we go tomorrow. Hope all is well back in the US!!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Super Noodles
Well, Sally and I just enjoyed a nutritious dinner of Super Noodles. Britain's version of Ramen Noodles, except more expensive. I really love Super Noodles though, so I'm not complaining.
Last night, we headed over to to the home of our boss, Mark Ross, and his wife, Lawry, for dinner. They spend about 4 months out of the year at their home in Tulsa, and the rest of the time here and traveling abroad. They just arrived into town last week, so Lawry invited Sally, Ayumi, and I over for dinner this weekend since they are back in town. They are lovely people, and have a beautiful home in Hackney. It is four stories, which may seem huge, but the houses here are rather narrow, too. Lawry cooked us a feast. We had bean salad, carrot salad, green salad, tabbouleh, chicken, and potatoes, with fruit and yogurt for dessert. Last week we told her how we missed iced tea and pretzels, and so she had that for us, too! We ended up staying until past 10pm just talking with the two of them, and then they drove us home instead of having to navigate on the bus system out of East London. Mark drove by Prince Charles home at Regent's Park near where we live on the way home, but we couldn't get up the street- it was blocked off because President Bush was visiting. Over 2,000 police officers are on duty for his visit here, and there was an enormous anti-war protest on Parliament Square yesterday to coincide with his arrival. As Lawry put it "If he hadn't been such a bad boy, then maybe we would be happier to have him here!" She is originally from London, a retired school teacher (but going back to get her Ph D), and a lot of fun to be around. Mark is, too!
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23494613-details/Security%20for%20Bush%20will%20shut%20centre%20of%20London/article.do?expand=true#StartComments
Today we went into work, and right after lunch, the power went out in our building. I don't think I have fully described our work situation, but the Diorama is currently in between locations. A new space complete with cafe, theatre, studio and gallery space will be completed in August of 2009, but until then the offices are scattered about London. We are currently operating out of the Bovis Project Space, which is where all of the architects for the complex where the new Diorama will be work. We are the only 4 women (Nisa included) in the building, and things definitely get rowdy in there sometimes. The power went off twice today and each time the British and Scottish architects in the building just yelled and cried and cursed at their computer screens. It was an entertaining afternoon. That is all for now, we are off to the park!
Last night, we headed over to to the home of our boss, Mark Ross, and his wife, Lawry, for dinner. They spend about 4 months out of the year at their home in Tulsa, and the rest of the time here and traveling abroad. They just arrived into town last week, so Lawry invited Sally, Ayumi, and I over for dinner this weekend since they are back in town. They are lovely people, and have a beautiful home in Hackney. It is four stories, which may seem huge, but the houses here are rather narrow, too. Lawry cooked us a feast. We had bean salad, carrot salad, green salad, tabbouleh, chicken, and potatoes, with fruit and yogurt for dessert. Last week we told her how we missed iced tea and pretzels, and so she had that for us, too! We ended up staying until past 10pm just talking with the two of them, and then they drove us home instead of having to navigate on the bus system out of East London. Mark drove by Prince Charles home at Regent's Park near where we live on the way home, but we couldn't get up the street- it was blocked off because President Bush was visiting. Over 2,000 police officers are on duty for his visit here, and there was an enormous anti-war protest on Parliament Square yesterday to coincide with his arrival. As Lawry put it "If he hadn't been such a bad boy, then maybe we would be happier to have him here!" She is originally from London, a retired school teacher (but going back to get her Ph D), and a lot of fun to be around. Mark is, too!
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23494613-details/Security%20for%20Bush%20will%20shut%20centre%20of%20London/article.do?expand=true#StartComments
Today we went into work, and right after lunch, the power went out in our building. I don't think I have fully described our work situation, but the Diorama is currently in between locations. A new space complete with cafe, theatre, studio and gallery space will be completed in August of 2009, but until then the offices are scattered about London. We are currently operating out of the Bovis Project Space, which is where all of the architects for the complex where the new Diorama will be work. We are the only 4 women (Nisa included) in the building, and things definitely get rowdy in there sometimes. The power went off twice today and each time the British and Scottish architects in the building just yelled and cried and cursed at their computer screens. It was an entertaining afternoon. That is all for now, we are off to the park!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The least anticipated event of the Summer- Harvey Leaving
Good morning, everyone! Sally and I are actually awake this morning because Harvey was off to the airport at 7:30am. The past month with her has been amazing, and we were all very sad to have to part ways again. But, the last few days have been fun, so here is the update.
Wednesday, we didn't do a whole lot of anything other than come home from work and make dinner when Harv got into town. Thursday we went to work, then met up with Harv at our flat that afternoon. We tried to catch a Thames River cruise, but the Circle line was delayed like always, and we missed the last cruise time. Friday, we worked again and then met up with Harvey at Hummus Bros. for dinner and headed to see Jersey Boys. It was just unbelievable. Kell and Molly- Glenn Carter from Jesus Christ Superstar was in it!!! It was a really great show.
Yesterday, we went out to Hampstead Heath which is this 800 acre park in North London. It was a nice day, so we just wandered around the park for a while. There were stables, a zoo, flower gardens, and plenty of walking trails. After that we wandered around Hampstead for awhile, before heading back to the City. We got dinner, and actually made it to the Thames river cruise this time! We got dropped off at Tower Bridge, and wandered for a little more before heading back to Kilburn. Last night we just hung out at the flat with our roommates and one of Kyla's friends that is visiting.
Harvey, we have had so much fun with you this past month and hope you have a safe trip home! Skype us soon, girl- and see you in two months!!
Wednesday, we didn't do a whole lot of anything other than come home from work and make dinner when Harv got into town. Thursday we went to work, then met up with Harv at our flat that afternoon. We tried to catch a Thames River cruise, but the Circle line was delayed like always, and we missed the last cruise time. Friday, we worked again and then met up with Harvey at Hummus Bros. for dinner and headed to see Jersey Boys. It was just unbelievable. Kell and Molly- Glenn Carter from Jesus Christ Superstar was in it!!! It was a really great show.
Yesterday, we went out to Hampstead Heath which is this 800 acre park in North London. It was a nice day, so we just wandered around the park for a while. There were stables, a zoo, flower gardens, and plenty of walking trails. After that we wandered around Hampstead for awhile, before heading back to the City. We got dinner, and actually made it to the Thames river cruise this time! We got dropped off at Tower Bridge, and wandered for a little more before heading back to Kilburn. Last night we just hung out at the flat with our roommates and one of Kyla's friends that is visiting.
Harvey, we have had so much fun with you this past month and hope you have a safe trip home! Skype us soon, girl- and see you in two months!!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
what a JOYful birthday!
Yesterday was great. We came into work and Ayumi had snuck into the office the night before and left gifts on our desks for each of us- flowers and japanese hand mirrors! We went to lunch with her at Pret right across the plaza and then came back to work and finished out the day, and then headed back to the apartment to meet up with the flatmates.
For dinner, we decided to go to the Texas Embassy, after AJ (that is Auntie Jinger who is MJ's {miss joy} sister and our bestie Kelley's aunt for those of you that don't know them) suggested that we try it out. They got the atmosphere and music just right, and it was definitely the closest thing we have encountered to Texas so far. The only music they played was country, so we heard Shania, LeAnn, Garth, Reba, Brooks & Dunn, Dolly...it was perfect! The food was far superior to our first encounter with European Tex-Mex at Chiquitos, but we are still looking forward to the real thing when we get home! Thanks for the recommendation, Auntie Jinger!! After dinner we wandered around London for a while, and then headed to TigerTiger where Kyla and Nikki showed us all up with their amazing dance skills. Since it was a Tuesday the club was pretty tame (except for some Swedish girls and a large number of 40 year old creepers), and all of us had to work, so we left by 12:30 thinking the tube would still be running. We were wrong. So after asking at least 6 different people for directions, we made it back to the flat in about 1.5 hours by walking and taking the night bus. It would have been a 15 minute tube ride, but oh well, it was an adventure.
So anyways, we had a great birthday, but missed celebrating it with all of our friends and family! There will plenty of time for that when we get back though. Thanks for everyone's emails, phone calls, facebook messages, and to Justin (margherio- our friend from Tulsa) for sending us hilarious snail mail birthday cards- we loved them all!! We miss y'all!
For dinner, we decided to go to the Texas Embassy, after AJ (that is Auntie Jinger who is MJ's {miss joy} sister and our bestie Kelley's aunt for those of you that don't know them) suggested that we try it out. They got the atmosphere and music just right, and it was definitely the closest thing we have encountered to Texas so far. The only music they played was country, so we heard Shania, LeAnn, Garth, Reba, Brooks & Dunn, Dolly...it was perfect! The food was far superior to our first encounter with European Tex-Mex at Chiquitos, but we are still looking forward to the real thing when we get home! Thanks for the recommendation, Auntie Jinger!! After dinner we wandered around London for a while, and then headed to TigerTiger where Kyla and Nikki showed us all up with their amazing dance skills. Since it was a Tuesday the club was pretty tame (except for some Swedish girls and a large number of 40 year old creepers), and all of us had to work, so we left by 12:30 thinking the tube would still be running. We were wrong. So after asking at least 6 different people for directions, we made it back to the flat in about 1.5 hours by walking and taking the night bus. It would have been a 15 minute tube ride, but oh well, it was an adventure.
So anyways, we had a great birthday, but missed celebrating it with all of our friends and family! There will plenty of time for that when we get back though. Thanks for everyone's emails, phone calls, facebook messages, and to Justin (margherio- our friend from Tulsa) for sending us hilarious snail mail birthday cards- we loved them all!! We miss y'all!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Birthday Eve!
Well, things are significantly less exciting today than they have been for the past several days spent with Greg, Ken, Dave, Jason, and Harvey. We are back to work again, trying to work out the last few details for the festival. But here is the update for the rest of the weekend...
We loved Avenue Q!! We quoted lines and lyrics from the show all weekend. Definitely worth seeing, even if you have to lean over a balcony to see the stage! Sunday we woke up and went to the Imperial War Museum, had a picnic lunch in the adjacent park, and then headed to London Bridge. We walked up and back down the Thames, and then headed to the Tate Modern and the Globe. We tried to get tickets for the Merry Wives of Windsor, but unfortunately it was sold out. But that was fine, and we enjoyed another leisurely walk down the Thames stopping to take pictures and watch street performers. We ended the night with a lovely pub dinner near Trafalgar Square before heading back to Kilburn. Our friends left this morning when we went to work- the guys back to the US and Harvey back to Canterbury for her last final.
Tomorrow is the big 21st birthday, but it isn't really as significant here in the UK as it is back home. We are just planning on going out to dinner with our flatmates, I think. All of us have to work everyday this week though, so the celebration will not get too rowdy! We also got our last roommate on Friday- Kyla from Indiana. We really like her, too, and the apartment is a loud, busy place when we are all around in the evenings. Well, our lunch break is almost over, so it is back to work for me!
Also-- Happy Birthday Molly!!! We are sad we won't be celebrating together, but make Mom and Dad take you out to Cellarmans or something!!!!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
The 1631 does London
Well these have been an eventful couple of days. Since I last posted, four of our friends from Tulsa arrived to stay with us in London for a few days. Ken, Dave, and Greg have been traveling for the past couple of weeks all around Europe, and Jason joined them for the last leg of their journey- London. We met up with them on Wednesday after we got finished with work, and after trying to get somewhat reasonable tickets to see Wicked, returned to our neighborhood and had a picnic in the park. Thursday, we woke up and went to the National Gallery, ate lunch on the steps of Trafalgar Square, and then headed towards Parliament Square. We decided to get in line to go see the House of Lords debate, which would have been about a 45 minute wait. As soon as we got passed security and into the building, we got lucky, because MP Colin Burgon from Leeds noticed our group on his way in and whisked us away on our very own personal tour of Parliament. So while everyone else waited in line to watch a debate from the balcony, Colin escorted us throughout the building and into the restricted access areas as well, with one of our stops being the members only patio looking out onto the Thames river. He entertained us for about an hour, and we decided a personal tour from a member of parliament couldn't really be topped and skipped seeing the debate.
After that we moved on see Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Knightsbridge and Harrods, and the Natural History Museum. It was a full day! After we got back to the apartment and had dinner, we went next door to Young's because it was Kassy's last night in London. We had fun with her, and were sad to see her go. Yesterday we woke up and hit up the Science Museum before hopping on a bus to Canterbury to visit Harvey! It was a lovely little town and a beautiful campus. After Harvey and Jason made breakfast this morning, we decided to walk into town to catch our 11:45 bus back to London. Jason, Greg, and I headed up the front, with Sally and Dave in the middle and Ken and Harv bringing in the tail. The three of us made it to the stop with a couple minutes to spare, so we figured the other two groups would be shortly behind us. So when a few minutes later Ken and Harv showed up, we began to wonder where Sall and Dave were. Well, turns out they took a wrong turn and were a little lost. So the two of them missed the bus, which was fine because they were able to make it on the next one. Just a fun little adventure. The boys went exploring in London this afternoon while Harv and I waited on Sally and Dave to get in, and now all of us are back at the flat, getting ready to go see Avenue Q! Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.
After that we moved on see Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Knightsbridge and Harrods, and the Natural History Museum. It was a full day! After we got back to the apartment and had dinner, we went next door to Young's because it was Kassy's last night in London. We had fun with her, and were sad to see her go. Yesterday we woke up and hit up the Science Museum before hopping on a bus to Canterbury to visit Harvey! It was a lovely little town and a beautiful campus. After Harvey and Jason made breakfast this morning, we decided to walk into town to catch our 11:45 bus back to London. Jason, Greg, and I headed up the front, with Sally and Dave in the middle and Ken and Harv bringing in the tail. The three of us made it to the stop with a couple minutes to spare, so we figured the other two groups would be shortly behind us. So when a few minutes later Ken and Harv showed up, we began to wonder where Sall and Dave were. Well, turns out they took a wrong turn and were a little lost. So the two of them missed the bus, which was fine because they were able to make it on the next one. Just a fun little adventure. The boys went exploring in London this afternoon while Harv and I waited on Sally and Dave to get in, and now all of us are back at the flat, getting ready to go see Avenue Q! Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
a rainy day in London town.
It is a rainy Tuesday morning in London. The weather here is really the only thing I don't like about this city. But we are starting to get used to it, and are learning to keep our umbrellas on us at all times!
Yesterday, we got off work early, so Sally, Ayumi and I went to Notting Hill and Portebello Market, and then Oxford Street for the afternoon. We were all starting to get hungry, so we stopped in at Hummus Brothers to get take away for us to eat with our flat mate Kassy, who finished up her last final yesterday. When we got home, we had four new roommates! They live in the two double bedrooms on the top floor. One is from Montreal (but originally Israel) and doing an internship with a designer, one is from Brooklyn and doing a technical theatre internship, another is from Madison, Wisconsin and doing a child psychology internship, and the last is from LA and doing some sort of fashion marketing internship. Kassy moves out on Friday, and someone else will be moving into her room that same day. Things are a little crazy at the flat right now! Everyone seems really great though, it is a just a big change from the way we have been living these past couple of weeks. We will keep you updated though.
Sally and I have also found a really great park just a few minutes away from our flat, and we have been using the trail there in the evenings. It is technically called Paddington Recreation Grounds, but they have gardens, dog runs, soccer fields, a gym, cafe, track, trail, tennis courts, and lots of open green space. Some parts are sort of secluded and sketchy, but we go before dark and stay together for the most part, so don't worry, Mom! Last night we saw a three legged dog hopping around...you would be surprised at how well he could get around for having only three legs!! And no one keeps their dogs on leashes here, but all that we have seen have been very well behaved, too. Well I should get to work, but below is a link about a hot topic in London right now, the banning of drinking on public transportation. Child gang violence (think kids as young as 10 or 11) is also a very real problem here, and is always on the news- there have been 16 deaths since January. Apparently the police are trying to crack down on gang crime, but efforts haven't been very successful thus far. Maybe the lack of sunshine here just gives people year round seasonal affective disorder.
http://news.scotsman.com/uk/-An-Underground-party.4140341.jp
OK, back to work for real now.
Yesterday, we got off work early, so Sally, Ayumi and I went to Notting Hill and Portebello Market, and then Oxford Street for the afternoon. We were all starting to get hungry, so we stopped in at Hummus Brothers to get take away for us to eat with our flat mate Kassy, who finished up her last final yesterday. When we got home, we had four new roommates! They live in the two double bedrooms on the top floor. One is from Montreal (but originally Israel) and doing an internship with a designer, one is from Brooklyn and doing a technical theatre internship, another is from Madison, Wisconsin and doing a child psychology internship, and the last is from LA and doing some sort of fashion marketing internship. Kassy moves out on Friday, and someone else will be moving into her room that same day. Things are a little crazy at the flat right now! Everyone seems really great though, it is a just a big change from the way we have been living these past couple of weeks. We will keep you updated though.
Sally and I have also found a really great park just a few minutes away from our flat, and we have been using the trail there in the evenings. It is technically called Paddington Recreation Grounds, but they have gardens, dog runs, soccer fields, a gym, cafe, track, trail, tennis courts, and lots of open green space. Some parts are sort of secluded and sketchy, but we go before dark and stay together for the most part, so don't worry, Mom! Last night we saw a three legged dog hopping around...you would be surprised at how well he could get around for having only three legs!! And no one keeps their dogs on leashes here, but all that we have seen have been very well behaved, too. Well I should get to work, but below is a link about a hot topic in London right now, the banning of drinking on public transportation. Child gang violence (think kids as young as 10 or 11) is also a very real problem here, and is always on the news- there have been 16 deaths since January. Apparently the police are trying to crack down on gang crime, but efforts haven't been very successful thus far. Maybe the lack of sunshine here just gives people year round seasonal affective disorder.
http://news.scotsman.com/uk/-An-Underground-party.4140341.jp
OK, back to work for real now.
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