Friday marked my triumphant return to the gym. I finally signed up for a gym (Fitness First) here in London and I feel so much better already. Why did it take so long? Gyms are ridiculously expensive here and I couldn't find one super close to my house, but I found one mediocre (but still outrageously overpriced) gym a block from work. So we're going to try it out and see how it goes. The good news is they have all the usual equipment, the bad news is it's all jam-packed into a teeny tiny space. Certainly no Crunch...not even the WeHo 24 Hour Fitness...and about double the cost. But the good news is because it's so freaking expensive, it's highly motivating for me to go. Also, I'm only on a 3 month contract so if I can't stand it there, at least I'm not legally bound to it for very long. Hopefully, though, I'll get used to it and enjoy being able to go straight from work.
The food portion - well, I plan on gorging myself silly on pizza, pasta and vino this weekend during my 2 day trip to Venice. I can't wait! I missed Venice on my backpacking tour post-Dartmouth, so I'm very very excited to finally see the city of canals. It's not quite the sunny beach getaway I was originally thinking of, but I think it'll be a great "city break" (as they call them here). If anyone has any favorite spots, restaurants, can't miss sights, let me know!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Modern day
I guess I've finally caught up to the present, thank goodness.
Work is still pretty light and even though my editor and our assistant were out most of the week (after I came back), it wasn't too taxing. Thursday night though, I met up with my editor and her two adorable kids and we went to the Kelly Clarkson show!!! This, of course, was my suggestion when I found out she was playing at the venue a block away from work. All the other young people in the office looked at me like I was insane but Catherine thought her daughter might want to go...anyway, tickets were purchased and yay, I got to see my K.Clark! She's so freaking talented it's ridiculous. Plus, it was fun to go with 2 kids to their very first concert.
I finally joined a gym on Friday and feel better already. It's ridiculously expensive for the quality of the gym but it's a block from work and I've learned that if I can't walk to my gym from either home or work then I won't end up going. So hopefully this will work out ok - I really want to get those endorphins kicking around again.
Saturday my dear co-worker Juliet and I went on a walk around London. She's an amazing tour guide and she showed me tons of cool little spots I never would have found on my own - blooming gardens, old churches, Borough Market (great food market, but insanely crowded), an adorable tea shop. We even walked through the British Museum really quickly. (also insanely crowded but the main lobby is so cool to see) Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera with me, but when ya'll come out to visit, I'll take you to some of these little gems, I promise. It became rainy and cold outside (surprise, i know) while we were walking so it affected our path a little bit. She and some co-workers had invited me to a house party that night but I didn't think I'd make it out. Once I got home to my warm cozy flat it was going to be tough to leave again. But - surprising myself - I went and had a great time. They're so much fun to hang out with, it would be impossible for anyone to have a bad time with those guys. I think party of my going out stemmed from running into another co-worker on the street on my way home and having him jokingly ask if I was going to spend Saturday night by a fire, petting my cats. Being likened to a sad old maid is enough to make any girl throw on a dress and some boots and get herself to a party.
Today - well, this blog has been most of my day. And a lot of TV. And I did cook myself a real dinner for a change, so that's something.
I'm trying to figure out a weekend getaway for next weekend so suggestions are welcome. I want warmth and sunshine. Today I discovered a deal to go to Gibraltar so I might do that. I also looked at the Canary Islands and Mallorca but to be honest, none of them are a guaranteed 80 degrees and if I'm going I want a lock on some sunshine.
That's all for now. Sorry I'm behind on emails and phone calls and birthday presents. I'm trying to get better, I swear.
Work is still pretty light and even though my editor and our assistant were out most of the week (after I came back), it wasn't too taxing. Thursday night though, I met up with my editor and her two adorable kids and we went to the Kelly Clarkson show!!! This, of course, was my suggestion when I found out she was playing at the venue a block away from work. All the other young people in the office looked at me like I was insane but Catherine thought her daughter might want to go...anyway, tickets were purchased and yay, I got to see my K.Clark! She's so freaking talented it's ridiculous. Plus, it was fun to go with 2 kids to their very first concert.
I finally joined a gym on Friday and feel better already. It's ridiculously expensive for the quality of the gym but it's a block from work and I've learned that if I can't walk to my gym from either home or work then I won't end up going. So hopefully this will work out ok - I really want to get those endorphins kicking around again.
Saturday my dear co-worker Juliet and I went on a walk around London. She's an amazing tour guide and she showed me tons of cool little spots I never would have found on my own - blooming gardens, old churches, Borough Market (great food market, but insanely crowded), an adorable tea shop. We even walked through the British Museum really quickly. (also insanely crowded but the main lobby is so cool to see) Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera with me, but when ya'll come out to visit, I'll take you to some of these little gems, I promise. It became rainy and cold outside (surprise, i know) while we were walking so it affected our path a little bit. She and some co-workers had invited me to a house party that night but I didn't think I'd make it out. Once I got home to my warm cozy flat it was going to be tough to leave again. But - surprising myself - I went and had a great time. They're so much fun to hang out with, it would be impossible for anyone to have a bad time with those guys. I think party of my going out stemmed from running into another co-worker on the street on my way home and having him jokingly ask if I was going to spend Saturday night by a fire, petting my cats. Being likened to a sad old maid is enough to make any girl throw on a dress and some boots and get herself to a party.
Today - well, this blog has been most of my day. And a lot of TV. And I did cook myself a real dinner for a change, so that's something.
I'm trying to figure out a weekend getaway for next weekend so suggestions are welcome. I want warmth and sunshine. Today I discovered a deal to go to Gibraltar so I might do that. I also looked at the Canary Islands and Mallorca but to be honest, none of them are a guaranteed 80 degrees and if I'm going I want a lock on some sunshine.
That's all for now. Sorry I'm behind on emails and phone calls and birthday presents. I'm trying to get better, I swear.
Visitor two: Mr. Matt
Two days after my parents left, Matt arrived! Hurrah!
I took a week off work so we could hang out the whole time. It's very slow right now because we just had our screening, so I don't think anyone missed me. I certainly didn't get any flack about taking the time away, which is always nice.
So anyway, the highlights:
Thursday night we went out for a tipple with all the peeps from work. Tons of people came out which was really awesome and I think Matt was really happy to meet everyone and vice versa. We went to the standard Hop Poles, which is where we go just about every Tuesday (the normal tipple night). Then Matt, Jenni, Tim and I moved onto Distillers, just a couple blocks away, after everyone else had gone home for the evening.
Friday was gorgeous when we woke up and we headed out to the London Zoo. Matt found it in my Time Out - I didn't know where it was or anything about it. It's a fantastic zoo! A little pricey but the exhibits and habitats are so wonderful, it was well worth it. There are a lot of enclosures that you can walk through, ones with butterflies, birds, monkeys, these crazy rabbit-deer creatures I can't remember the names of, and even one with sloths...
If any of you check out Matt's artblog regularly, he actually did a frighteningly similar picture of a sloth weeks ago - kudos for accuracy m'dear.
The next day we did a big bus tour day to Windsor Castle, Bath (or as Trudy our tour guide insisted, Baaaaaaath) and Stonehenge.
Windsor was gorgeous, but quick. We barely got to see all the regular tourist stuff before it was time to get back on the bus. Certainly no time to stop and really study all the amazing paintings and relics on display. The queen was apparently in residence the day we were there because it was Easter weekend. And we got super lucky because I guess that Friday was the only day the whole week that the castle was open to visitors. They have some spectacular Da Vinci sketches on display. It was just a bummer that it was so insanely crowded we were kind of pushed along past things whether we were ready to move on or not. The State Apartments were like no apartment I've ever seen. These are the rooms that are open to the public and they are lavish beyond belief. Gorgeous tapestries, paintings by the greats, entire rooms decorated with swords and armor. Very much a royal castle. We did catch a little of the changing of the guard - the odd part was when the guard band played "When the Saints Go Marching In" - it just seemed a little too Mardi Gras for the occasion. Anyway, it's gorgeous but you could easily spend a whole day there, just taking the time to stop and really admire the State Apartments as they should be.
Baaaaath was next, but while we were on our way there (it was about a 2hr drive from Windsor) it started snowing like nobody's business. Very very luckily the snow stopped about 15 minutes before we got to Bath, but that gives you a feel for the temperature outside. We went to see the Roman baths which were built around a natural hot spring which is apparently radioactive so no one is allowed to touch the water in the Roman baths.
But it's really informative and, again, the history is just amazing. The town looks cute and I would definitely go back for a weekend just to relax and walk around. There's a modern day spa Thermae there, that I would LOVE to go to for a day.
Last up, Stonehenge. From the picture it looks like a gorgeous, sunny day...
but then if you look at how bundled up we are, that tells the real story. Cold, windy, and cold.
It was still awesome to see, though, and I'm so glad it was part of our tour. I just wish we could get close to the big rocks.
Sunday was Easter, so after Matt found all the little eggs I'd hid for him, well...we didn't do much. We'd been outside in the cold a lot the day before and it was snowing again on Sunday so we just relaxed and watched TV inside for most of the day. But then dinner...oh dinner. It was a phenomenal meal at Maze, one of Chef Ramsay's restaurants. It's tapas style (but not Spanish) so they recommend 3-5 dishes per person. Every single one we ordered was so amazingly tasty. So we left very full and very happy. See, here's the happy couple:
Monday we went to the Tate Modern in the afternoon. The giant spider is gone now (sadly) but the crack is still there. We went through all the public galleries and those took up the whole afternoon. It's a really wonderful museum, I noticed new favorites in the same galleries I went through before. Because it was Easter Monday, which is a bank holiday here, it was really crowded. I'm guessing museums and tourist spots were the bulk of what was open that day, so it wasn't too surprising really. After that we made our way up north to see H.Lord. Matt got a tour of her new place and then we walked over to Crouch End and pubbed it. Here are the two cuties drinking some "Old Rosey", an apparently delicious cider that I still need to try...
Sadly the next day Matt had to get back on the plane and return to that awful sunny warm LA weather. It was really great to have him here and hopefully he had enough fun to want to come back again before my time is up.
I took a week off work so we could hang out the whole time. It's very slow right now because we just had our screening, so I don't think anyone missed me. I certainly didn't get any flack about taking the time away, which is always nice.
So anyway, the highlights:
Thursday night we went out for a tipple with all the peeps from work. Tons of people came out which was really awesome and I think Matt was really happy to meet everyone and vice versa. We went to the standard Hop Poles, which is where we go just about every Tuesday (the normal tipple night). Then Matt, Jenni, Tim and I moved onto Distillers, just a couple blocks away, after everyone else had gone home for the evening.
Friday was gorgeous when we woke up and we headed out to the London Zoo. Matt found it in my Time Out - I didn't know where it was or anything about it. It's a fantastic zoo! A little pricey but the exhibits and habitats are so wonderful, it was well worth it. There are a lot of enclosures that you can walk through, ones with butterflies, birds, monkeys, these crazy rabbit-deer creatures I can't remember the names of, and even one with sloths...
If any of you check out Matt's artblog regularly, he actually did a frighteningly similar picture of a sloth weeks ago - kudos for accuracy m'dear.
The next day we did a big bus tour day to Windsor Castle, Bath (or as Trudy our tour guide insisted, Baaaaaaath) and Stonehenge.
Windsor was gorgeous, but quick. We barely got to see all the regular tourist stuff before it was time to get back on the bus. Certainly no time to stop and really study all the amazing paintings and relics on display. The queen was apparently in residence the day we were there because it was Easter weekend. And we got super lucky because I guess that Friday was the only day the whole week that the castle was open to visitors. They have some spectacular Da Vinci sketches on display. It was just a bummer that it was so insanely crowded we were kind of pushed along past things whether we were ready to move on or not. The State Apartments were like no apartment I've ever seen. These are the rooms that are open to the public and they are lavish beyond belief. Gorgeous tapestries, paintings by the greats, entire rooms decorated with swords and armor. Very much a royal castle. We did catch a little of the changing of the guard - the odd part was when the guard band played "When the Saints Go Marching In" - it just seemed a little too Mardi Gras for the occasion. Anyway, it's gorgeous but you could easily spend a whole day there, just taking the time to stop and really admire the State Apartments as they should be. Baaaaath was next, but while we were on our way there (it was about a 2hr drive from Windsor) it started snowing like nobody's business. Very very luckily the snow stopped about 15 minutes before we got to Bath, but that gives you a feel for the temperature outside. We went to see the Roman baths which were built around a natural hot spring which is apparently radioactive so no one is allowed to touch the water in the Roman baths.
But it's really informative and, again, the history is just amazing. The town looks cute and I would definitely go back for a weekend just to relax and walk around. There's a modern day spa Thermae there, that I would LOVE to go to for a day.Last up, Stonehenge. From the picture it looks like a gorgeous, sunny day...
but then if you look at how bundled up we are, that tells the real story. Cold, windy, and cold.
It was still awesome to see, though, and I'm so glad it was part of our tour. I just wish we could get close to the big rocks.
Sunday was Easter, so after Matt found all the little eggs I'd hid for him, well...we didn't do much. We'd been outside in the cold a lot the day before and it was snowing again on Sunday so we just relaxed and watched TV inside for most of the day. But then dinner...oh dinner. It was a phenomenal meal at Maze, one of Chef Ramsay's restaurants. It's tapas style (but not Spanish) so they recommend 3-5 dishes per person. Every single one we ordered was so amazingly tasty. So we left very full and very happy. See, here's the happy couple:
Monday we went to the Tate Modern in the afternoon. The giant spider is gone now (sadly) but the crack is still there. We went through all the public galleries and those took up the whole afternoon. It's a really wonderful museum, I noticed new favorites in the same galleries I went through before. Because it was Easter Monday, which is a bank holiday here, it was really crowded. I'm guessing museums and tourist spots were the bulk of what was open that day, so it wasn't too surprising really. After that we made our way up north to see H.Lord. Matt got a tour of her new place and then we walked over to Crouch End and pubbed it. Here are the two cuties drinking some "Old Rosey", an apparently delicious cider that I still need to try...
Sadly the next day Matt had to get back on the plane and return to that awful sunny warm LA weather. It was really great to have him here and hopefully he had enough fun to want to come back again before my time is up.
The Fam Comes to Town
Sorry for the absence, but I had a wonderful 2 week whirlwind of visitors. The good news is that I've seen lots of good stuff these past 2 weeks and now I get to share it with all of you.
My parents came first and they did even more than I'll write about here. I worked for half the days they were in London and they were great at entertaining themselves during those days with all kinds of things.
They came on a Tuesday and stayed in the Sydney House Chelsea, which they were really happy with. It's a cute boutique hotel in Chelsea which is a really nice area filled with shops and restaurants, walking distance to museums and Harrods. Plus, it was a direct, easy bus ride to my place in Fulham from there. Their first night we went to dinner at Lucio, an Italian restaurant in Chelsea, which was amazing. The website isn't much to look at but if you look up reviews online and take my word for it, it's an amazing meal.
Wednesday the 'rents came over to Fulham and we ate at my favorite Thai place, Sukho (previously blogged) and saw my flat. They were quite pleased with the safety level and really liked the neighborhood in general. And my mom was so amused by the size of my kitchen, she took pictures.
"Billy Elliot" (the musical) was Thursday night. A co-worker arranged the tickets for me and the seats we had couldn't have been more perfect. The show itself was spectacular and I highly recommend it to absolutely anyone. (*Girls might want to bring along some tissues for the end.) Even my dad, who's not really a musical kind of guy, really enjoyed it. The kids in it were all really talented and the the sets, the staging....it was all just really good.
Then on Friday we did our big day tour of Oxford, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Warwick Castle. It was a ton to do in just one day and I was worried that it was going to be too rushed the whole time, but it was a great tour and our guide was a walking encyclopedia of English history.
Oxford was the first stop. My mom did a summer at Oxford between high school and college, and she lived in Christ Church college, so it was pretty neat that Christ Church is the college we actually got to see. Also, Oxford and Christ Church in particular have been used a lot in the Harry Potter movies. Even though the constant stream of Potter trivia was lost on my dad, I giggled with delight.
Case in point, Christ Church dining hall was used as pretty obvious reference for the Hogwarts dining hall. But there are only room for 3 tables, so according to our tour guide the one in the Potter movies is scaled about 1.5 times the size. (although to me in the movies it looks about 5 times the size and with much higher ceilings) Also, my mom ate all her meals in this exact place at the same tables 30-some years ago so that's pretty cool.
Along with all the Potter trivia, there was a fair share of Lewis Carroll/Alice in Wonderland anecdotes. For those of you who don't know, Lewis Carroll (real name: Charles Ludwig Dodgson) was actually a math (or as they say here in England, maths) professor at Oxford and Alice was one of the Christ Church dean's daughters. I've always been a huge fan of "Alice and Wonderland" and have probably owned at least 10 different copies of the book. Anyway, one of the stained glass windows in the lovely Christ Church features her:
See her in the corner of the left window?
I thought it was cool. Anyway, our tour guide was great at pointing out little details like that and providing the stories to go along with them. I'm sure if I'd just walked through the church on my own, I never would have noticed it.
We didn't really have much time to wander around Oxford because next it was onto Stratford-Upon-Avon for lunch and a visit to the birthplace. We ate in a creaky floored Tudor restaurant with the rest of the group (choice of Fish & Chips, Cottage Pie or pasta for the veggie-tarians). Did you know that Shepard's Pie means that it has lamb but Cottage Pie is with beef? You probably did, I didn't until that day. Anyway, we walked around the birthplace, it was fine. Unfortunately all the lovelienss down by the River Avon was torn up for some renovations so no swans or riverboats for us.
Last stop: Warwick Castle. The great thing about Warwick (in contrast to Windsor, which I went to with Matt the following week) is that you're free to roam around wherever you like. They had a cool exhibit with wax figures from Madame Tussaud's set up to recreate a weekend party at the Castle back in the time of Lord Warwick. Here's my dad making friends with the butler:
Then we walked around the grounds (until the rain started), saw the dungeon and did the 350 stair voyage up to the tippy tops of the castle. That's where the first picture was taken. Here's mom and dad at one of the castle view points - but not the highest...there was no room for turning around for pics up there.
They were closing up the castle when we left so we did as much as we could. Unfortunately we missed the area where the peacocks roam around, but with the rain, maybe they weren't out anyway? That's what I'd like to think. Also of note about Warwick, they used it a lot for Antiques Roadshow. I've seen two episodes shot at Warwick since the tour.
Speaking of antiuqes, Saturday we went to Portobello Road for the massive market - mostly antiques but also food and junky stuff towards the bottom. Unfortunately it was also the market featured in the opening shot of "Notting Hill", which means it's crazy ridiculously packed with more tourists than locals these days. But Mom and Dad were good sports, didn't mind the crowd, and we all had fun looking at all the different kinds of antiques on offer. I really appreciate the span of history the antiques encompass - different centuries, countries, from spoons to telescopes, china to thermometers...so cool. After that people-packed morning, we dared to go to Harrod's on a Saturday. Thankfully it was the least crowded I've seen it and we were able to shop til we dropped.
The weather Sunday was pretty junky so the parents came over to my place, we had brunch and took a short walk over the bridge to Putney, stopping briefly so I could show them a couple of the other apartments I had looked at when I first got here. They were really supportive of my choice. Then, our last dinner together was totally fabulous at Bluebird, also in Chelsea. The inside is super hip with sky high ceilings, and the food was delicioso. Here's the happy fam (minus my favorite brother) enjoying the end of the visit.
My parents came first and they did even more than I'll write about here. I worked for half the days they were in London and they were great at entertaining themselves during those days with all kinds of things.
They came on a Tuesday and stayed in the Sydney House Chelsea, which they were really happy with. It's a cute boutique hotel in Chelsea which is a really nice area filled with shops and restaurants, walking distance to museums and Harrods. Plus, it was a direct, easy bus ride to my place in Fulham from there. Their first night we went to dinner at Lucio, an Italian restaurant in Chelsea, which was amazing. The website isn't much to look at but if you look up reviews online and take my word for it, it's an amazing meal.
Wednesday the 'rents came over to Fulham and we ate at my favorite Thai place, Sukho (previously blogged) and saw my flat. They were quite pleased with the safety level and really liked the neighborhood in general. And my mom was so amused by the size of my kitchen, she took pictures.
"Billy Elliot" (the musical) was Thursday night. A co-worker arranged the tickets for me and the seats we had couldn't have been more perfect. The show itself was spectacular and I highly recommend it to absolutely anyone. (*Girls might want to bring along some tissues for the end.) Even my dad, who's not really a musical kind of guy, really enjoyed it. The kids in it were all really talented and the the sets, the staging....it was all just really good.
Then on Friday we did our big day tour of Oxford, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Warwick Castle. It was a ton to do in just one day and I was worried that it was going to be too rushed the whole time, but it was a great tour and our guide was a walking encyclopedia of English history.
Oxford was the first stop. My mom did a summer at Oxford between high school and college, and she lived in Christ Church college, so it was pretty neat that Christ Church is the college we actually got to see. Also, Oxford and Christ Church in particular have been used a lot in the Harry Potter movies. Even though the constant stream of Potter trivia was lost on my dad, I giggled with delight. 
Case in point, Christ Church dining hall was used as pretty obvious reference for the Hogwarts dining hall. But there are only room for 3 tables, so according to our tour guide the one in the Potter movies is scaled about 1.5 times the size. (although to me in the movies it looks about 5 times the size and with much higher ceilings) Also, my mom ate all her meals in this exact place at the same tables 30-some years ago so that's pretty cool.Along with all the Potter trivia, there was a fair share of Lewis Carroll/Alice in Wonderland anecdotes. For those of you who don't know, Lewis Carroll (real name: Charles Ludwig Dodgson) was actually a math (or as they say here in England, maths) professor at Oxford and Alice was one of the Christ Church dean's daughters. I've always been a huge fan of "Alice and Wonderland" and have probably owned at least 10 different copies of the book. Anyway, one of the stained glass windows in the lovely Christ Church features her:
See her in the corner of the left window?
I thought it was cool. Anyway, our tour guide was great at pointing out little details like that and providing the stories to go along with them. I'm sure if I'd just walked through the church on my own, I never would have noticed it.
We didn't really have much time to wander around Oxford because next it was onto Stratford-Upon-Avon for lunch and a visit to the birthplace. We ate in a creaky floored Tudor restaurant with the rest of the group (choice of Fish & Chips, Cottage Pie or pasta for the veggie-tarians). Did you know that Shepard's Pie means that it has lamb but Cottage Pie is with beef? You probably did, I didn't until that day. Anyway, we walked around the birthplace, it was fine. Unfortunately all the lovelienss down by the River Avon was torn up for some renovations so no swans or riverboats for us.
Last stop: Warwick Castle. The great thing about Warwick (in contrast to Windsor, which I went to with Matt the following week) is that you're free to roam around wherever you like. They had a cool exhibit with wax figures from Madame Tussaud's set up to recreate a weekend party at the Castle back in the time of Lord Warwick. Here's my dad making friends with the butler:
Then we walked around the grounds (until the rain started), saw the dungeon and did the 350 stair voyage up to the tippy tops of the castle. That's where the first picture was taken. Here's mom and dad at one of the castle view points - but not the highest...there was no room for turning around for pics up there.
They were closing up the castle when we left so we did as much as we could. Unfortunately we missed the area where the peacocks roam around, but with the rain, maybe they weren't out anyway? That's what I'd like to think. Also of note about Warwick, they used it a lot for Antiques Roadshow. I've seen two episodes shot at Warwick since the tour.
Speaking of antiuqes, Saturday we went to Portobello Road for the massive market - mostly antiques but also food and junky stuff towards the bottom. Unfortunately it was also the market featured in the opening shot of "Notting Hill", which means it's crazy ridiculously packed with more tourists than locals these days. But Mom and Dad were good sports, didn't mind the crowd, and we all had fun looking at all the different kinds of antiques on offer. I really appreciate the span of history the antiques encompass - different centuries, countries, from spoons to telescopes, china to thermometers...so cool. After that people-packed morning, we dared to go to Harrod's on a Saturday. Thankfully it was the least crowded I've seen it and we were able to shop til we dropped.
The weather Sunday was pretty junky so the parents came over to my place, we had brunch and took a short walk over the bridge to Putney, stopping briefly so I could show them a couple of the other apartments I had looked at when I first got here. They were really supportive of my choice. Then, our last dinner together was totally fabulous at Bluebird, also in Chelsea. The inside is super hip with sky high ceilings, and the food was delicioso. Here's the happy fam (minus my favorite brother) enjoying the end of the visit.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
And she's back.
(gasping for breath)
I'm back! I've survived the most consecutive days I've ever worked (25 to be exact) and have resumed a normal life. Hurrah!
They were nice enough to give me a bonus day off last Friday, so I had a little mini spa day at Büty Salon, near my house. The treatments were wonderful but the facility itself could use a little updating. Nothing was un-hygenic but the floors looked kind of dingy and the walls were all marked up. Still, the massage and facial were fantastic and I fell asleep almost as soon as they dimmed the lights.
In my new Zen-like state, I braved Oxford Circus and finally got a chance to enter Liberty's doors. I feel like an angelic chorus should sing when you walk in there. It's this gorgeous gothic castle-like building and inside, it's on the level of Barneys...at least. Yes, a lot of things are just ridiculously expensive, but I was able to find a reasonably priced gift or two and perhaps a very reasonably priced pair of shoes for myself. (hee hee)
Here are the shoes:
I would feel guilty about the shoe purchase, but seriously, it turns out that when you actually walk in your shoes everyday - as opposed to just driving and sitting in them like in LA - shoes actually wear out pretty quickly. Anyway, after Liberty, I roamed nearby Carnaby Street until it was time for my dinner date with the lovely h.lord. I got to see her new fab place of her very own, in north London near the Archway stop. She cooked me a delicious vegetarian dinner, which was especially generous since she was leaving for LA the next morning. Crazy girl. But it was so yummy and sooo good to see her and her new home.
Saturday I roamed around, got a haircut at Bloww from my stylist Sophie, who is French, straightforward and completely hilarious. She does a lot of work for photoshoots and some celebrity hair as well and while she won't name drop or disclose much, she always has great stories. And I think she's warming to me a bit (this was our second appointment). Then, lucky me, I got to see my cousin Monica who was in town for just a few days for business and was willing to brave the trip from Heathrow to downtown on a Saturday night. Of course for the meeting spot, I managed to pick the ONE STORE in Piccadilly Circus that has changed names since I've been here. I met Helen in front of Virgin Megastore in Piccadilly the first month I was here, but of course it's the one place that's changed (now a Zavvi) and that's where I'd told Monica to meet me. Luckily, she didn't give up and was extremely forgiving and it just proved to me how little I still know around London. When we did finally find each other, we had a great dinner at an Italian place just off Regent Street. It was wonderful to see her and catch up on her exciting family.
Sunday was a cleaning and taxes day, but I did meet up with a co-worker for lunch and a stop at a pub afterwards in a neighborhood in northwest London, West Hampstead/Finchley Road, which I hadn't been to before. The cafe was really cute and healthy-like and I can't remember the name for the life of me. I really liked the pub too, called The Gallery - it had a little balcony with sofas and then a lower level where they have bands and comedy. Sunday also started the most brutal weather we've had since I've been here. Monday morning was really the worst with high winds and sheets of rain...I was sopping wet just getting to the bus stop. But I guess I feel lucky that it's only been one day like that, instead of every day.
Now, the big news is that Mom and Dad arrived yesterday and I couldn't be more thrilled to have them here. We already scored big time with a fabulous dinner last night at Lucio in Chelsea. Unfortunately they don't have much of a website yet, so you'll just have to trust me when I say it was amazing and delicious. It was also a very "nice" meal, if you get my drift, so I won't be going there on a regular basis. But it was a fantastic dining experience all around and very nice to have something to celebrate (my parents) as an excuse for trying it out.
Tonight they're going to come to work and then we'll go down to Fulham together so they can see my flat and have dinner down there. I think during the day they're doing the Original London Bus Tour where you can hop on and hop off as many times as you like. I did it my first couple of weeks here, if you'll recall. =)
I'll try to come up with some pictures for my next post. I know how some of you hate all this reading business.
I'm back! I've survived the most consecutive days I've ever worked (25 to be exact) and have resumed a normal life. Hurrah!
They were nice enough to give me a bonus day off last Friday, so I had a little mini spa day at Büty Salon, near my house. The treatments were wonderful but the facility itself could use a little updating. Nothing was un-hygenic but the floors looked kind of dingy and the walls were all marked up. Still, the massage and facial were fantastic and I fell asleep almost as soon as they dimmed the lights.
In my new Zen-like state, I braved Oxford Circus and finally got a chance to enter Liberty's doors. I feel like an angelic chorus should sing when you walk in there. It's this gorgeous gothic castle-like building and inside, it's on the level of Barneys...at least. Yes, a lot of things are just ridiculously expensive, but I was able to find a reasonably priced gift or two and perhaps a very reasonably priced pair of shoes for myself. (hee hee)Here are the shoes:
I would feel guilty about the shoe purchase, but seriously, it turns out that when you actually walk in your shoes everyday - as opposed to just driving and sitting in them like in LA - shoes actually wear out pretty quickly. Anyway, after Liberty, I roamed nearby Carnaby Street until it was time for my dinner date with the lovely h.lord. I got to see her new fab place of her very own, in north London near the Archway stop. She cooked me a delicious vegetarian dinner, which was especially generous since she was leaving for LA the next morning. Crazy girl. But it was so yummy and sooo good to see her and her new home.
Saturday I roamed around, got a haircut at Bloww from my stylist Sophie, who is French, straightforward and completely hilarious. She does a lot of work for photoshoots and some celebrity hair as well and while she won't name drop or disclose much, she always has great stories. And I think she's warming to me a bit (this was our second appointment). Then, lucky me, I got to see my cousin Monica who was in town for just a few days for business and was willing to brave the trip from Heathrow to downtown on a Saturday night. Of course for the meeting spot, I managed to pick the ONE STORE in Piccadilly Circus that has changed names since I've been here. I met Helen in front of Virgin Megastore in Piccadilly the first month I was here, but of course it's the one place that's changed (now a Zavvi) and that's where I'd told Monica to meet me. Luckily, she didn't give up and was extremely forgiving and it just proved to me how little I still know around London. When we did finally find each other, we had a great dinner at an Italian place just off Regent Street. It was wonderful to see her and catch up on her exciting family.
Sunday was a cleaning and taxes day, but I did meet up with a co-worker for lunch and a stop at a pub afterwards in a neighborhood in northwest London, West Hampstead/Finchley Road, which I hadn't been to before. The cafe was really cute and healthy-like and I can't remember the name for the life of me. I really liked the pub too, called The Gallery - it had a little balcony with sofas and then a lower level where they have bands and comedy. Sunday also started the most brutal weather we've had since I've been here. Monday morning was really the worst with high winds and sheets of rain...I was sopping wet just getting to the bus stop. But I guess I feel lucky that it's only been one day like that, instead of every day.
Now, the big news is that Mom and Dad arrived yesterday and I couldn't be more thrilled to have them here. We already scored big time with a fabulous dinner last night at Lucio in Chelsea. Unfortunately they don't have much of a website yet, so you'll just have to trust me when I say it was amazing and delicious. It was also a very "nice" meal, if you get my drift, so I won't be going there on a regular basis. But it was a fantastic dining experience all around and very nice to have something to celebrate (my parents) as an excuse for trying it out.
Tonight they're going to come to work and then we'll go down to Fulham together so they can see my flat and have dinner down there. I think during the day they're doing the Original London Bus Tour where you can hop on and hop off as many times as you like. I did it my first couple of weeks here, if you'll recall. =)
I'll try to come up with some pictures for my next post. I know how some of you hate all this reading business.
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