(no subject)
First of all I would like to say that I cannot BELIEVE that my time over here is halfway over. Wow!
This past weekend Paul and Gaby graciously opened their home to me to stay with them in London. I got up early in Guildford on Saturday morning and headed their way. I estimated it would take me an hour-hour and fifteen minutes for me to get to their place and I was way off (Lloyd Christmas voice)! Even the extra time I had allotted for my notorious lateness did not save me- I arrived at Uxbridge (their neighborhood) at 11am, TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER, I believe. Good thing I brought my iPod... an hour long train ride then two switches on the tube=epic journey. Being the laid back/awesome people they are Paul and Gaby didn't mind my being late, and after I put my stuff at their place we headed out.
After taking into consideration my ideas as to what I would like to do while I was in London (Thrift store? Book store? MEXICAN FOOD?), Gaby made an easygoing game plan for the weekend: Saturday- Portobello Road, Sunday- Camden Town, Monday- SoHo and lots and lots of eating in between. :)
It was my first time to go to Portobello Road. As a matter of fact, I hadn't even heard of it. Basically on Saturdays it hosts an extensive outdoor market. I suppose what makes it different from Camden Town is that it's more so antiques, fresh food and fair prices than a kitschy tourist trap (more on Camden later). Anyway, I think every hipster in London was on Portobello Road this past Saturday. The girls seem to have a uniform- shorts, tights, men's shoes or the mock kind, hippie hair and a panache for accessorizing. When I caught glimpses of the tables through the mobs of people cooler than me I saw vintage clothes, knick knacks, cupcakes, and jewelry, jewelry, jewelry. Within ten minutes I immediately like Portobello much more than Camden. Our first stop was to eat (epic journey=ravenous). Gaby took me to the most BOMB falafel place, where you could watch them assemble your pita (chickpeas, hot chile sauce, lettuce, tahini, oh my!) while sipping on their homemade, au naturelle lemonade. Gaby talked a big game about this falafel and it definitely lived up to my expectations! We continued walking down the road to where Paul wanted to eat, and in the meantime I saw baskets and BASKETS of sweets, vats of simmering, savory food, freshly baked bread and self-serve olives in wooden bowls. (One of my favorite things about London is that you can find food of ANY ethnic persuasion in this city.) After Paul got his food (Lebanese, I think?) we wandered around looking at old maps, dripping clocks à la Salvador Dali that actually functioned, a hot pink velvet love seat and a disgusting amount of vintage fur. We unexpectedly came upon the flagship location of the bakery Paul and Gaby had raved about and had promised to take me to later, and of course I had to partake. ;) It's called Hummingbird Bakery, I got a red velvet cupcake, YES it was delicious and was of Sprinkles caliber. After we grew tired of Portobello life the three of us made our merry way to Westfield, which is a bright and shiny Australian chain shopping mall that has everything from Uniqlo to Gucci (Gucci Mane voice). I love me some Dallas, Texas but I have to say that this mall put Northpark to shame (if you Texans can even imagine)! After browsing for a while we made our way to the highly anticipated tapa-style Mexican food restaurant where my enchilada craving (I accidentally typed "crazing"- Freudian slip?) was satiated. After Gaby and I awed at the styling and fluorescent pumps at Miu Miu, we headed back to Uxbridge. After enjoying a slice of Gaby's homemade carrot cake (NOM) I concluded my rough day ;) with the first bubble bath I've had in years, a book, and falling asleep in the first queen size bed I've been in since I left Texas. Gaby and Paul spoiled me SO much- what a diva!
Since my phone alarm is garbage, I overslept a bit on Sunday morning but got some much needed cell repair. Our first mission: full English fry, AKA a traditional breakfast. After consuming one too many vegetarian sausages and witnessing some drunk (yes at 11am) football lads brawling and getting kicked out of the pub, we got on the train and headed to Camden Town. Since Paul was coming down with a cold he stayed at home (poor guy) and it was just me and Gaby. I had been to Camden before and was very underwhelmed, but I clearly missed all of the good stuff. Hindsight I'm not sure how I missed so much the first go around, but I sure am glad I gave Camden another shot. Yes, there is some garbage and yes, there are tourist traps, but with the right navigation (cue: Gaby) it's a whole new world (cue: Aladdin theme song). Once again delicious food was had: the best veggie burger I've ever had in my life (!!!), a giant donut (???) and a latte with rice milk from a vegan cafe. I'm not sure how people decide what to eat while in Camden- there is everything from Argentinian to West African fare and it's all authentic and amazing. While shopping Gaby got to experience firsthand how obnoxiously girly I am due to my being drawn to pink, anything with tulle, and sparkly bangles and earrings like a moth to a flame. (And the Most Patient Award goes to... GABY BROWN!) Anyway, after looking at candles shaped like wine bottles, a few too many t shirts donning Kate Moss' middle finger, another great book store and a pit stop at King's Cross to take a picture pushing the Harry Potter trolley at Platform 9 3/4 we headed home. We took it easy that night and ordered in awesome Indian food and watched Despicable Me while I repainted my nails. (Diva!: The Sequel)
On Monday Paul had to go back to work life so again it was me and Gaby. We grabbed some apples and granola bars and hit the road with all of my stuff in tow so that we could drop it at Paul's office in order for it to be more accessible for me to go home that evening. We then went to lunch with Paul at this place called Hummus Bros, where you literally get a massive bowl of hummus with some sort of filling in the middle (I chose mushrooms) and some pita bread. It was delicious, of course. (Are you noticing a trend? :) En route to see Carnaby and Regent Streets Gaby and I ducked into Agent Provocateur to take a gander at their bank-breaking, beautiful underthings. How to maintain class while selling handcuffs is beyond me, but Agent Provocateur has mastered it. I thought the window display was really interesting (giant spinning teacup with a mannequin in it, oversized British flag and under garments strewn everywhere) and thought about how much the visual merchandising guru Liz would love it but didn't think to take a picture. We did a lot of window shopping and browsing, took a look in some vintage shops, Irregular Choice, David & Goliath, Anthropologie and of course more used book stores. We wandered around Chinatown and before we knew it it was dinner time. We had some you guessed it- delicious Thai (?) food and then it was time for me to head back to good ole Guildford. I gave Paul and Gaby hugs and a big thank you and embarked on the epic journey. Fortunately I caught the fast train out of Waterloo so it wasn't too bad.
All and all it was a really great weekend- relaxing, I got to see parts of the city not from a tourist's point of view and, as I'm sure you've concluded, ate my weight in absolutely fantastic food. Another giant thanks to Paul and Gaby.
After class tomorrow morning my five week long Easter break begins. (English people really put Americans to shame by celebrating Jesus for a full month. I don't hate it!) Although my tour de Europe is still in the air I'm bound to have many-a-story to tell when April is through. Until next time...!
This past weekend Paul and Gaby graciously opened their home to me to stay with them in London. I got up early in Guildford on Saturday morning and headed their way. I estimated it would take me an hour-hour and fifteen minutes for me to get to their place and I was way off (Lloyd Christmas voice)! Even the extra time I had allotted for my notorious lateness did not save me- I arrived at Uxbridge (their neighborhood) at 11am, TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER, I believe. Good thing I brought my iPod... an hour long train ride then two switches on the tube=epic journey. Being the laid back/awesome people they are Paul and Gaby didn't mind my being late, and after I put my stuff at their place we headed out.
After taking into consideration my ideas as to what I would like to do while I was in London (Thrift store? Book store? MEXICAN FOOD?), Gaby made an easygoing game plan for the weekend: Saturday- Portobello Road, Sunday- Camden Town, Monday- SoHo and lots and lots of eating in between. :)
It was my first time to go to Portobello Road. As a matter of fact, I hadn't even heard of it. Basically on Saturdays it hosts an extensive outdoor market. I suppose what makes it different from Camden Town is that it's more so antiques, fresh food and fair prices than a kitschy tourist trap (more on Camden later). Anyway, I think every hipster in London was on Portobello Road this past Saturday. The girls seem to have a uniform- shorts, tights, men's shoes or the mock kind, hippie hair and a panache for accessorizing. When I caught glimpses of the tables through the mobs of people cooler than me I saw vintage clothes, knick knacks, cupcakes, and jewelry, jewelry, jewelry. Within ten minutes I immediately like Portobello much more than Camden. Our first stop was to eat (epic journey=ravenous). Gaby took me to the most BOMB falafel place, where you could watch them assemble your pita (chickpeas, hot chile sauce, lettuce, tahini, oh my!) while sipping on their homemade, au naturelle lemonade. Gaby talked a big game about this falafel and it definitely lived up to my expectations! We continued walking down the road to where Paul wanted to eat, and in the meantime I saw baskets and BASKETS of sweets, vats of simmering, savory food, freshly baked bread and self-serve olives in wooden bowls. (One of my favorite things about London is that you can find food of ANY ethnic persuasion in this city.) After Paul got his food (Lebanese, I think?) we wandered around looking at old maps, dripping clocks à la Salvador Dali that actually functioned, a hot pink velvet love seat and a disgusting amount of vintage fur. We unexpectedly came upon the flagship location of the bakery Paul and Gaby had raved about and had promised to take me to later, and of course I had to partake. ;) It's called Hummingbird Bakery, I got a red velvet cupcake, YES it was delicious and was of Sprinkles caliber. After we grew tired of Portobello life the three of us made our merry way to Westfield, which is a bright and shiny Australian chain shopping mall that has everything from Uniqlo to Gucci (Gucci Mane voice). I love me some Dallas, Texas but I have to say that this mall put Northpark to shame (if you Texans can even imagine)! After browsing for a while we made our way to the highly anticipated tapa-style Mexican food restaurant where my enchilada craving (I accidentally typed "crazing"- Freudian slip?) was satiated. After Gaby and I awed at the styling and fluorescent pumps at Miu Miu, we headed back to Uxbridge. After enjoying a slice of Gaby's homemade carrot cake (NOM) I concluded my rough day ;) with the first bubble bath I've had in years, a book, and falling asleep in the first queen size bed I've been in since I left Texas. Gaby and Paul spoiled me SO much- what a diva!
Since my phone alarm is garbage, I overslept a bit on Sunday morning but got some much needed cell repair. Our first mission: full English fry, AKA a traditional breakfast. After consuming one too many vegetarian sausages and witnessing some drunk (yes at 11am) football lads brawling and getting kicked out of the pub, we got on the train and headed to Camden Town. Since Paul was coming down with a cold he stayed at home (poor guy) and it was just me and Gaby. I had been to Camden before and was very underwhelmed, but I clearly missed all of the good stuff. Hindsight I'm not sure how I missed so much the first go around, but I sure am glad I gave Camden another shot. Yes, there is some garbage and yes, there are tourist traps, but with the right navigation (cue: Gaby) it's a whole new world (cue: Aladdin theme song). Once again delicious food was had: the best veggie burger I've ever had in my life (!!!), a giant donut (???) and a latte with rice milk from a vegan cafe. I'm not sure how people decide what to eat while in Camden- there is everything from Argentinian to West African fare and it's all authentic and amazing. While shopping Gaby got to experience firsthand how obnoxiously girly I am due to my being drawn to pink, anything with tulle, and sparkly bangles and earrings like a moth to a flame. (And the Most Patient Award goes to... GABY BROWN!) Anyway, after looking at candles shaped like wine bottles, a few too many t shirts donning Kate Moss' middle finger, another great book store and a pit stop at King's Cross to take a picture pushing the Harry Potter trolley at Platform 9 3/4 we headed home. We took it easy that night and ordered in awesome Indian food and watched Despicable Me while I repainted my nails. (Diva!: The Sequel)
On Monday Paul had to go back to work life so again it was me and Gaby. We grabbed some apples and granola bars and hit the road with all of my stuff in tow so that we could drop it at Paul's office in order for it to be more accessible for me to go home that evening. We then went to lunch with Paul at this place called Hummus Bros, where you literally get a massive bowl of hummus with some sort of filling in the middle (I chose mushrooms) and some pita bread. It was delicious, of course. (Are you noticing a trend? :) En route to see Carnaby and Regent Streets Gaby and I ducked into Agent Provocateur to take a gander at their bank-breaking, beautiful underthings. How to maintain class while selling handcuffs is beyond me, but Agent Provocateur has mastered it. I thought the window display was really interesting (giant spinning teacup with a mannequin in it, oversized British flag and under garments strewn everywhere) and thought about how much the visual merchandising guru Liz would love it but didn't think to take a picture. We did a lot of window shopping and browsing, took a look in some vintage shops, Irregular Choice, David & Goliath, Anthropologie and of course more used book stores. We wandered around Chinatown and before we knew it it was dinner time. We had some you guessed it- delicious Thai (?) food and then it was time for me to head back to good ole Guildford. I gave Paul and Gaby hugs and a big thank you and embarked on the epic journey. Fortunately I caught the fast train out of Waterloo so it wasn't too bad.
All and all it was a really great weekend- relaxing, I got to see parts of the city not from a tourist's point of view and, as I'm sure you've concluded, ate my weight in absolutely fantastic food. Another giant thanks to Paul and Gaby.
After class tomorrow morning my five week long Easter break begins. (English people really put Americans to shame by celebrating Jesus for a full month. I don't hate it!) Although my tour de Europe is still in the air I'm bound to have many-a-story to tell when April is through. Until next time...!