a typical weekend in London
you know how the English always talk about the weather? it is because they are proud of how fascinating it can be. in typical English fashion, my trip down to London on saturday started with some interesting happenings outside my window. when i left Coventry, the sky was clear and it was rather much warmer than it had been for a few days. as i progressed further south, the sky grew darker rain pelted down. then around Milton Keynes Central it started to snow. however, by the time i got to London, all was well because snow became rain again. hmmm...
anyway... first stop was... BOROUGH MARKET! it's the market that Jamie Oliver always went to in his Naked Chef shows and i hadnt been there before (even my parents have been there before!) so it HAD TO BE DONE!
we walked over the Thames on London Bridge and took a picture of Tower Bridge, which people always seem to think is London Bridge because it is grander and prettier. sigh. poor London Bridge...
they sell everything from fresh meats and seafood to fresh vegetables and fruits, to cooked meats and bottled drinks, to organic food and even ready-to-eat food!
we HAD to have a chicken burger... it was calling out "EAT ME EAT ME!"
olives! they even let you sample before you buy!
remember the Charlie Brown TV special where the character of Rerun appears for the first time talks about having to sit at the back of his mother's bike while she rode around town? isnt that boy SUCH a Rerun? soooo cuuutttee!
these are heavenly (or as my brother says, 'divine') - GBP1.50 of pure chocolate joy! so rich and sooooo gooooood!
organic vegetarian food - look at the quiche! YUM!
we decided that the shop we saw just outside the market was too tempting not to go to for lunch (and a seat) -when we were approaching the market we were greeted by smells of paella and meat grilling outside the shop - so we ordered a paella and grilled chorizo sandwich.
chorizo is a bit like Spanish lap cheong an because all the chorizo we had tried before came in slices, we were rather unprepared for how strong the chorizo was in the sandwich. the paella was nice though the one big prawn they gave in the bowl was overcooked because the guy outside had had it in the huge pot for ages!
since we were south of the Thames we decided to pay yirong a visit since she lives on the 'wrong' side as my brother says, so we took a long walk along the river to her place -which is very nice and posh! 5 stars for a student apartment!
one thing i have realised about London is how the old is juxtaposed with the new (as the picture below demonstrates). kind of a bit like how Chinatown and the CBD are in Singapore.
just outside the market is a recreation of the ship that Sir Francis Drake sailed in! what a nugget of history!
passed by the Clink Prison Museum and saw in the basement window the gift shop. what cool spears!
the exterior gate of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre - on the gate they have cast moulds of all the animals ever mentioned in his plays... if you are a true Shakespeare buff you should be able to name all and which plays they were in! haha... good test!
walking along the south the Thames, i couldnt resist taking pictures of the scenery on the north. it really is very beautiful - i'm beginning to be convinced the south is nicer to live in than the north. but then again as my brother argues, the north has more to offer and is better linked to a lot of places like russell square and leicester square.
the day ended with a round of mahjong at some of my brother's friends' place - i finally understood what sort of combinations will get you points when you game! aaahhh... ENLIGHTENMENT!
Sunday started off with a visit to Hillsong London (the church my brother attends) and then off to a combined lunch with some OCF people (a Hillsong+All Souls' affair) at Crispy Duck in Chinatown where we indulged in some dim sum and loads of good laughs! mmmm... we were supposed to go off to Hamstead Heath for crepes (which i have been wanting to try for AGES!) but the weather made it much to dreary to go to Hamstead and eat crepes from one of those mobile stands since it would be impossible to sit around and enjoy the gorgeous greenery. sigh.
BUT instead we went to the National Gallery since i havent had my dose of galleries and museums lately.
Picadilly Circus which is right outside the National Gallery - see the famous lions? :)
the exterior of the National Gallery is gorgeous!
that was about as much i could take of the Gallery because no photography is allowed inside! only went to the 1700 to 1900 section because we didnt have time for the whole Gallery and it was what interested me the most. loved the Degas and Monet and Sisley! :) if you have time for only one section, i recommend you go through ALL the 1700-1900 rooms...
we stopped for gelato on the way back (we justeating ice cream on rainy days!) at this place near the National Gallery that my brother said was rather nice. i ordered a sweet orange tea and we shared an Amaretto Cup.
the tea was REALLY sour and yet had that sweet aftertaste - which wasnt the wisest choice to have with ice cream since everything tastes less sweet after ice cream...
we then walked on to Covent Garden because it was on the way home and couldnt resist stopping to soak in the atmosphere!
they had a carousel at Covent Garden which look so pretty but was just too expensive for anyone to go on - 2 pounds per ride!
BUILD.A.BEAR has such a cute concept! you are basically allowed to create your own personalised bear by choosing from certain 'skins' and stuffing them with the stuffing that they have rolling in the huge machine near the back. you get the option of putting a cloth heart in and a adding a voice to your bear. then they do it in the shop and give you a birth cenrtificate for the bear. i was wondering whether it would have been hilarious to get a stuffed rabbit from the store and add the pig oink 'voice' to the rabbit so that everytime you squeezed it you'd get an 'oink'! or how about a dog with a cat meow? heheh...
thoroughly enjoyed the visit to London. thanks kor!
anyway... first stop was... BOROUGH MARKET! it's the market that Jamie Oliver always went to in his Naked Chef shows and i hadnt been there before (even my parents have been there before!) so it HAD TO BE DONE!
we walked over the Thames on London Bridge and took a picture of Tower Bridge, which people always seem to think is London Bridge because it is grander and prettier. sigh. poor London Bridge...
they sell everything from fresh meats and seafood to fresh vegetables and fruits, to cooked meats and bottled drinks, to organic food and even ready-to-eat food!
we HAD to have a chicken burger... it was calling out "EAT ME EAT ME!"
olives! they even let you sample before you buy!
remember the Charlie Brown TV special where the character of Rerun appears for the first time talks about having to sit at the back of his mother's bike while she rode around town? isnt that boy SUCH a Rerun? soooo cuuutttee!
these are heavenly (or as my brother says, 'divine') - GBP1.50 of pure chocolate joy! so rich and sooooo gooooood!
organic vegetarian food - look at the quiche! YUM!
we decided that the shop we saw just outside the market was too tempting not to go to for lunch (and a seat) -when we were approaching the market we were greeted by smells of paella and meat grilling outside the shop - so we ordered a paella and grilled chorizo sandwich.
chorizo is a bit like Spanish lap cheong an because all the chorizo we had tried before came in slices, we were rather unprepared for how strong the chorizo was in the sandwich. the paella was nice though the one big prawn they gave in the bowl was overcooked because the guy outside had had it in the huge pot for ages!since we were south of the Thames we decided to pay yirong a visit since she lives on the 'wrong' side as my brother says, so we took a long walk along the river to her place -which is very nice and posh! 5 stars for a student apartment!
one thing i have realised about London is how the old is juxtaposed with the new (as the picture below demonstrates). kind of a bit like how Chinatown and the CBD are in Singapore.
just outside the market is a recreation of the ship that Sir Francis Drake sailed in! what a nugget of history!
passed by the Clink Prison Museum and saw in the basement window the gift shop. what cool spears!
the exterior gate of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre - on the gate they have cast moulds of all the animals ever mentioned in his plays... if you are a true Shakespeare buff you should be able to name all and which plays they were in! haha... good test!
walking along the south the Thames, i couldnt resist taking pictures of the scenery on the north. it really is very beautiful - i'm beginning to be convinced the south is nicer to live in than the north. but then again as my brother argues, the north has more to offer and is better linked to a lot of places like russell square and leicester square.the day ended with a round of mahjong at some of my brother's friends' place - i finally understood what sort of combinations will get you points when you game! aaahhh... ENLIGHTENMENT!
Sunday started off with a visit to Hillsong London (the church my brother attends) and then off to a combined lunch with some OCF people (a Hillsong+All Souls' affair) at Crispy Duck in Chinatown where we indulged in some dim sum and loads of good laughs! mmmm... we were supposed to go off to Hamstead Heath for crepes (which i have been wanting to try for AGES!) but the weather made it much to dreary to go to Hamstead and eat crepes from one of those mobile stands since it would be impossible to sit around and enjoy the gorgeous greenery. sigh.
BUT instead we went to the National Gallery since i havent had my dose of galleries and museums lately.
Picadilly Circus which is right outside the National Gallery - see the famous lions? :)
the exterior of the National Gallery is gorgeous!
that was about as much i could take of the Gallery because no photography is allowed inside! only went to the 1700 to 1900 section because we didnt have time for the whole Gallery and it was what interested me the most. loved the Degas and Monet and Sisley! :) if you have time for only one section, i recommend you go through ALL the 1700-1900 rooms...we stopped for gelato on the way back (we justeating ice cream on rainy days!) at this place near the National Gallery that my brother said was rather nice. i ordered a sweet orange tea and we shared an Amaretto Cup.
the tea was REALLY sour and yet had that sweet aftertaste - which wasnt the wisest choice to have with ice cream since everything tastes less sweet after ice cream...
we then walked on to Covent Garden because it was on the way home and couldnt resist stopping to soak in the atmosphere!
they had a carousel at Covent Garden which look so pretty but was just too expensive for anyone to go on - 2 pounds per ride!
BUILD.A.BEAR has such a cute concept! you are basically allowed to create your own personalised bear by choosing from certain 'skins' and stuffing them with the stuffing that they have rolling in the huge machine near the back. you get the option of putting a cloth heart in and a adding a voice to your bear. then they do it in the shop and give you a birth cenrtificate for the bear. i was wondering whether it would have been hilarious to get a stuffed rabbit from the store and add the pig oink 'voice' to the rabbit so that everytime you squeezed it you'd get an 'oink'! or how about a dog with a cat meow? heheh...thoroughly enjoyed the visit to London. thanks kor!
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10:32 pm
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