Free Parking!This is where Brigit Jones lived!!
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I love this photo! 
Friday, June 02, 2006
...London Still...Click on the links to see the photos!
This is my first trip to Europe.
I never really wanted to go - it was never very enticing to me! The thought of being in a country full of smelly poms, old, crappy buildings, and shitty weather seemed like a rather dull holiday. To me, this was a country full of malnurished, posh sounding people who had a diet consisting of potatoes, bangers and mash, cabbages and limes; this was about as interesting as chopping my arm off with a chainsaw - and quite painful aswell i'd thought.
You might be thinking I am a small minded Aussie...but come on! This is a country that prides itself on being conquerers, intelligent thinkers, ruling the western world! If they were just that - why did they send the convicts to Oz? Wouldn't it have made more sense to relocate themselves to Oz (the best country in the world) and leave the convicts in gloomy London town locked in the Clink Prison?
Hee hee! Oh, I am a rude girl...but seriously... Holy Smokes Batman! Was I ever wrong!
I sure did fall head over heels for that gloomy country indeed...I think, largely because while I was living in Japan, I met an eclectic array of superb individuals, that changed my view of London and the pommie nation as a whole.
Staying with Tracey and Nick, I was treated like the late Princess Diana...I was chauffered around by the gracious Nick (the fiance with the mostest), entertained by Tracey's helarious anecdotes accompianed by Becks beer, and red wine, and shown the sites of the town, by the new English resident, Miss Ranna Sayama; my friend and ex co-teacher in Seto, Japan.
The highlight, and reason for the trip was Matt and Naori's wedding. Set in the picturesque small town of St. Albans, I was captivated by the quaint wedding, and deep inside, I felt a glimmer of hope: long distant relationships can work out for the best. I was there the night that Matt and Naori first met six year ago. I consoled Naori when Matt returned to England, celebrated with him on his return to Japan, and then listened, as the couple parted for a 3rd time. 6 years later, they are in love, married and are still smiling after beating the visa system. There is hope for Chad and I yet!
Oh, but the familiar faces! Some faces I hadn't seen in the flesh for 5 years - yet I knew, that as soon as I walked up to them, we would chat as if we saw each other yesterday. This was very comforting: I often in Canada, look around the room, know no one, and have to explain my situation to every person I encounter. (I can't complain too much - seeing Chad on a daily basis is wonderful!)
While in London I was keen to complete a 'Monopoly Tour' of London. I grew up with the UK version of Monopoly, and I am proud to say that I saw 18 out of the 29 places and captured them all on my little digital camera! Tracey's little red car was 'Free Parking'; the 'Clink Prison' near London Bridge - Jail; 'Just Visiting' was me in Hyde Park sitting on a chair next to a rose garden...Next time, I will attempt to compete the tour and attempt the pub crawl associated with the places of interest.
Speaking of Pubs...I thought there were lots of pubs in Australia - but England takes the cake. Compared to puritanical Vancouver, I was shocked. I almost didn't even feel like drinking....I did, but it didn't have the same feeling of naughtiness associated...and the warm ale did not wet the palate at all...I was reduced to lager with a top...(A shandy! ME!) Everytime I entered a pub I tried to suss out their specialties but never seemed to have much luck. Are there any English people working in bars in London? My first encounter was the funniest;
"So, whats a good beer to try?"
"Ya, dis is beer. Ve have many."
"No, seriously, what is a good beer here?"
"You vant a pint?"
"Ah, yeah..." I hesitate, looking for someone who looks like they know what I am talking about...A guy flits past...
"Hey, whats a good beer?" I yell.
"We have Fosters," an Aussie voice informs me.
"Fosters? That's piss!"
"It's made here. It isn't imported."
"Even worse." I spot a sign above a tap - lite ale, Madonna's favourite.
"I'll have that one." The German barmaid pours me a beer.
Thanks to a good friend, Claire, we managed to have cheap high tea and cucumber sandwiches at the Dorchester. We sat in style, sipping the Dorchester tea, and nibbling scones with clotted cream. No one famous walked by, except a Big Brother contestant from last years UK version. I was hoping to see William (as in, Prince...) but alas...no.
Other Highlights included:
Thank you to Tracey, Nick, Ranna, Ian, Miriam, Matt, Naori, Mark, Becky, Marcus, Anne, Alison, Joel, Lola, Derek and Claire, Maria, Jenny and Peta for making it a truly wonderful 2 weeks away!
No more holidays for a while though...pounds certainly suck the dollars away.
I never really wanted to go - it was never very enticing to me! The thought of being in a country full of smelly poms, old, crappy buildings, and shitty weather seemed like a rather dull holiday. To me, this was a country full of malnurished, posh sounding people who had a diet consisting of potatoes, bangers and mash, cabbages and limes; this was about as interesting as chopping my arm off with a chainsaw - and quite painful aswell i'd thought.
You might be thinking I am a small minded Aussie...but come on! This is a country that prides itself on being conquerers, intelligent thinkers, ruling the western world! If they were just that - why did they send the convicts to Oz? Wouldn't it have made more sense to relocate themselves to Oz (the best country in the world) and leave the convicts in gloomy London town locked in the Clink Prison?
Hee hee! Oh, I am a rude girl...but seriously... Holy Smokes Batman! Was I ever wrong!
I sure did fall head over heels for that gloomy country indeed...I think, largely because while I was living in Japan, I met an eclectic array of superb individuals, that changed my view of London and the pommie nation as a whole.
Staying with Tracey and Nick, I was treated like the late Princess Diana...I was chauffered around by the gracious Nick (the fiance with the mostest), entertained by Tracey's helarious anecdotes accompianed by Becks beer, and red wine, and shown the sites of the town, by the new English resident, Miss Ranna Sayama; my friend and ex co-teacher in Seto, Japan.
The highlight, and reason for the trip was Matt and Naori's wedding. Set in the picturesque small town of St. Albans, I was captivated by the quaint wedding, and deep inside, I felt a glimmer of hope: long distant relationships can work out for the best. I was there the night that Matt and Naori first met six year ago. I consoled Naori when Matt returned to England, celebrated with him on his return to Japan, and then listened, as the couple parted for a 3rd time. 6 years later, they are in love, married and are still smiling after beating the visa system. There is hope for Chad and I yet!
Oh, but the familiar faces! Some faces I hadn't seen in the flesh for 5 years - yet I knew, that as soon as I walked up to them, we would chat as if we saw each other yesterday. This was very comforting: I often in Canada, look around the room, know no one, and have to explain my situation to every person I encounter. (I can't complain too much - seeing Chad on a daily basis is wonderful!)
While in London I was keen to complete a 'Monopoly Tour' of London. I grew up with the UK version of Monopoly, and I am proud to say that I saw 18 out of the 29 places and captured them all on my little digital camera! Tracey's little red car was 'Free Parking'; the 'Clink Prison' near London Bridge - Jail; 'Just Visiting' was me in Hyde Park sitting on a chair next to a rose garden...Next time, I will attempt to compete the tour and attempt the pub crawl associated with the places of interest.
Speaking of Pubs...I thought there were lots of pubs in Australia - but England takes the cake. Compared to puritanical Vancouver, I was shocked. I almost didn't even feel like drinking....I did, but it didn't have the same feeling of naughtiness associated...and the warm ale did not wet the palate at all...I was reduced to lager with a top...(A shandy! ME!) Everytime I entered a pub I tried to suss out their specialties but never seemed to have much luck. Are there any English people working in bars in London? My first encounter was the funniest;
"So, whats a good beer to try?"
"Ya, dis is beer. Ve have many."
"No, seriously, what is a good beer here?"
"You vant a pint?"
"Ah, yeah..." I hesitate, looking for someone who looks like they know what I am talking about...A guy flits past...
"Hey, whats a good beer?" I yell.
"We have Fosters," an Aussie voice informs me.
"Fosters? That's piss!"
"It's made here. It isn't imported."
"Even worse." I spot a sign above a tap - lite ale, Madonna's favourite.
"I'll have that one." The German barmaid pours me a beer.
Thanks to a good friend, Claire, we managed to have cheap high tea and cucumber sandwiches at the Dorchester. We sat in style, sipping the Dorchester tea, and nibbling scones with clotted cream. No one famous walked by, except a Big Brother contestant from last years UK version. I was hoping to see William (as in, Prince...) but alas...no.
Other Highlights included:
- Drinking beer with my old mate Peta on the Thames near the place where they filmed 'Sliding Doors'.
- The "Notting Hill' tour with Shana - finding the 'blue door' that was now black, and seeing a Fosters beer can on the porch.
- Seeing real punks in london!
- Walking through the creepy suburb of Whitechapel - knowing that Jack the Ripper once slautered many a young female there.
- Perving on Christian Slater in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest'.
- Going to an Essex school with Tracey!
- Meeting all the people that Tracey always spoke about to me in Japan.
- Covent Garden - oh the atmosphere!
- Eating curry at Brick Lane in a restaurant full of tourists, and no East Indians.
- Visiting Kensington Palace - getting my fingered gnawed off by a chipmunk.
- Seeing the Peter Pan statue, and having Ranna exclaim that Jane was "Staring at Peter's Penis."
- Celebrating 4 of my friends birthdays.
- Sleeping on the floor with 5 others in a small apartment. Waking up, and seeing old Japan friends, and thinking for a moment, that I was still in Japan!
Thank you to Tracey, Nick, Ranna, Ian, Miriam, Matt, Naori, Mark, Becky, Marcus, Anne, Alison, Joel, Lola, Derek and Claire, Maria, Jenny and Peta for making it a truly wonderful 2 weeks away!
No more holidays for a while though...pounds certainly suck the dollars away.
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