Day 18...is there such a thing as too much good food?
It's ten p.m., I'm sitting at my office desk and I can't help but think about how I was feeling almost exactly twelve hours ago. At ten a.m., I had only just arrived at the office and was cursing myself for having overslept and, as a result, missed breakfast. I was hungry. Really, very hungry. Now, a mere half-day later, I can't imagine ever eating again. Wining and dining--NOT a misnomer. I won't bore you with the details.
Since my last post, very little has happened. The latter half of this week should be full of exciting things to share, though, so look out for a post this weekend. By the way, is anyone reading this out there? I've started to wonder if I'm not perhaps just talking to myself (and Simon, who kindly comments).
Day 15...some frivolous thoughts
After a quick update on what I've been up to, I thought I'd share some UK tidbits.
So, the Chelsea Flower Show was phenomenal. I really want a garden now. (And also a house and a backyard in which to put the garden.) Apart from that, I've been work, work, working. I'll spare you those details. I think this afternoon I may try to do some more exploring in
my neighborhood, in an effort to feel like I really have a "place" of my own in the city.
Now, some strange things I've noticed:
(1) There are potato chips here in basically every flavor you can think of. I myself just enjoyed(?) a bag of
Roast Chicken potato chips. Surprisingly, they actually did taste just like chicken. The other flavors (which you'll see listed on the previous link to the far left) sound even more bizarre...like Lamb & Mint or Heinz Tomato Ketchup. This reminds me of the
Jones Soda holiday pack of assorted sodas flavored like items from a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I understand that was TERRIBLE.
(2) In the ladies room at the cinema, there was a vending machine selling "
chewable toothbrushes". And, folks, this isn't gum. It's actually a little TOOTHBRUSH that you chew until your teeth feel clean. Check out the link. Weird stuff.
(3) There's a fantastic array of ethnic restaurants here, but many of the ones I've tried so far appear to have toned down both spice and flavor to a disappointing level. Perhaps to accomodate the English palate? Anybody know either (i) why this is, or (ii) how I can convince them to
kick it up a notch?
Day 12...it's finally sunny!
Up until today, there had been a grand total of 30 minutes of sunlight during my entire stay in London. Today, however, is beautiful. I had lunch at a restaurant called Just the Bridge, which is on the
Thames River, right next to the
Millenium Bridge (which I understand is called the Bouncy Bridge by the locals, because it was poorly engineered initially and had an uncomfortable reverberation when walked upon). The food was tasty, and the view was lovely. I had crispy duck and mango spring rolls and something else... Sorry Simon, still no fish -n- chips. I'm working on it. Along with downing a pint, etc.
A few nights ago (day 10, to be exact), several of us dined at Hakkasan, which is the only Chinese restaurant ever to receive a Michelin star. It was very trendy, dark, loud and smoky, but the food was excellent. I was put in charge of the wine list, and received no help from a completely un-knowledgable sommelier whose only interest seemed to be convincing me that I really needed to order a magnum (double bottle) instead of what I had chosen. It all worked out and everyone seemed to enjoy my picks.
I was given tickets to the
Chelsea Flower Show, which is apparently very exciting and "the beginning of the London social season." It's tomorrow evening, so I'll try to post shortly after with my commentary. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the long weekend that's coming up. I had thought of going to Paris, but it turns out to be prohibitively expensive on such late notice, so I'm going to put it off for a week. Perhaps I'll just have a very "London" weekend and find a good place for a
proper English breakfast and wander around
Hyde Park and
Buckingham Palace.
Day 8...in an internet cafe
there's no wireless in my apartment! so i'm sitting in an internet cafe until i can lay my hands on some ethernet cable and get back to life as usual. please excuse the lack of capital letters, as this keyboard seems only some of the time to want to recognize the shift key. London is great! there are so many
british people here! so far, i've spent the bulk of my time unpacking and settling in, along with sleeping at all the wrong hours, despite attempts to force myself into this time zone.
on my first day here, i couldn't get into my apartment for several hours after i arrived, which was pretty annoying since i hadn't slept a wink on the plane and was dead tired and not in the mood to have my first exploration. so, like any good american, i found the nearest
starbucks and sat with my book until i could move in. i finished all of
The DaVinci Code.
yesterday, i went out exploring a bit...got my tube pass, walked around in a bunch of cool neighborhoods the names of which i can't tell you because my map is in my apartment (or "flat"!!). as expected, the indian food here is fantastic.
what i'm especially excited about today is that i live just a few blocks from
Portobello Road (of
Bedknobs and Broomsticks song fame) which is home to a great market every weekend, including the famous antique market, along with a flea market and (what i'm most excited about) a farmers' market!
now i'm off to continue in what appears to be a never-ending quest for a raincoat. you'd think they'd sell them on every street corner here, but what i keep hearing is "it's not the right season." could have fooled me...
looks very much like rainy season from where i'm sitting. wish me luck and leave me comments!
Day 5...greetings from JFK
So much has happened already! I'll try not to bore with the highlights. I'm posting from the "international" terminal of JFK airport. It's only kind of international...American Airlines recently moved their London and Brussels departures from the *real* international terminal to their domestic terminal. Goodness knows why. No good food here...no duty free shop here... All around crummy. I'm trying to bask in the leftover glow from 5 days at the
Ritz Carlton at Battery Park.
I arrived in New York on Saturday evening after a terrible flight. My
little propeller plane nearly fell out of the sky. We vertically dropped several hundred feet, to the sounds of a confused pilot, a terror-stricken stewardess, and drinks hitting the ceiling. We eventually landed, and everything has been busy, but hectic, since. I met up with two of my best friends at my hotel, where we enjoyed
the best martinis the City has to offer, along with some really yummy food and wine. My friends helped me pick out my outfit for the first day of work, which felt unsurprisingly like the first day of school. I realized that I had managed to pack 10 (that's TEN) pair of black shoes, one pair of tennies, one pair of green flip-flops and nothing else. Today I finally found a decent deal on a pair of brown shoes, which should make dressing a bit easier.
Work has been simply three days of orientation. My associate class seems very nice and interesting. There are 8 Canadians in our company, and several folks from other countries. We were stuffed full of yummy foods for lunches and breakfasts, catered in by the firm, and had a couple of fun events in the evenings. Monday night we went to
A Taste of Wall Street, which was an event showcasing tastings from the menus of 50+ downtown restaurants, held on the top floor of the newly rebuilt
7 World Trade Center. Tuesday night the firm treated us to a welcome reception at a fun little pub near the office. Today I got myself a haircut and wrapped up the last of my pre-flight errands.
I think that does it for now. I'll try to post more often so posts will be both shorter and more action-packed. Next stop: my apartment in London!
Day Minus 8...
So, technically, the 92 days of my summer adventure have not yet begun. I'm still firmly in the throes of exams, with two down and two to go next week. However, a major step toward actually *getting* to my initial destination provided much amusement this week. In a terrible panic, I realized on Wednesday afternoon that I had not yet filed paperwork for my visa. This, of course, seemed problematic since I'm to leave next Sunday for LONDON. So, after much hustling and bustling about, I managed to get together all the necessary forms, certifications (including one from a professor that I 'play well with others') checks and atrocious passport photographs, and get them into a conveniently parked FedEx truck sitting on the side of the road. I do all of this in a terrible tizzy because, of course, 9 days couldn't possibly be enough time to turn around a government document. Not so. Exactly 46 hours later, a similar FedEx truck pulled up outside my apartment and deposited...wait for it...my completed visa.
Now, with visa, passport, and touristy-looking travel guide in hand, I am starting to get excited about my trip. My great love for ethnic food will have no end of satisfaction, and I'm very much looking forward to this spectacular
Michelangelo exhibit currently showing at the British Museum.
Keep an eye out for regular posts once the summer-proper begins. And leave me comments, for goodness' sake...I'm counting on you to make this a dialog and not just me, writing into the nothingness.
