LONDON TRIP week 1

Sep 01, 2011 11:38

This is a note i was writing during my trip to London. I came home a week ago, but i was waiting till the time when we found out about ... well, you know. our future. to post this..
so here it goes :D



July 25

Right now i have half an hour to enjoy having nothing to do, so i'm typing this.. I spent 5 minutes altogether on passing passport control and collecting my luggage so now i have some spare time, waiting for my bus (for which i totally got a ticket beforehand, which is awesome) that's going to take me to the greatest place on earth.. AND i've got no desire to listen to music, which is freakishly rare for me..

I met a girl on the plane, who's finishing her master in City, we got talking.. By the end of the flight we discovered a mutual acquaintance - her ex-classmate/my ex-group-mate! Her flight back to Kiev is the same as mine too! This is fate.. We arranged to sight-see together, as she hasn't been able to do it during the year that she was turned into a geek by evil evil City..

Also, she didn't seem to know anything about the fact that City is considered much better than Met, and told me to go for Met.. (which is what i'm going to do one way or another but still..)

Anyways.. That's what happened to me during the first half an hour of my arrival.. I've been writing this note.. Really slowly.. On my phone.. x.x that is dying, a slow, digital death..

...
So, i totally missed my bus just now xD dunno how that happened, has never happened to me before. But oh well xD
Experiences like these need to happen every once in a while..

...
Aaaaand because i caved to my ipod, i totally missed the fact that we stopped RIGHT NEXT TO MY ANT'S HOUSE! I could've walked home from the bus stop. Instead i traveled all the way down to Baker street and couldn't even get an oyster, as it was too late..
Is there a higher power that wanted me to see more of London on the first day?

...
ok, that was horrible, barely made it.. Thanks to guys with maps on their iphones and random jews on the street... and aunt's neighbor who conveniently opened the door (because i wouldn't be able to call her x_x)
Aunt made me eat X__X a lot... and only let me sleep with a promise of eating 10 times the amount tomorrow morning __x

...

July 26



Don't you just love the fact that being in london you can just stumble upon a lottery for a 'Tennant and Catherine Tate' play!? I didn't win, but i'm going to, i tell you..
I'm not leaving this country without seeing it! that duo! not to mention that the play is "much ado about nothing"! I wanted to read it because i still haven't.. I even downloaded it.. Did i mention Tennant? the prise for the winners of the lottery is a chance to buy the best ticket evar for 10 pounds only. The draw today was among 200 people, maybe more.. And there were 20 winners. Which makes my chances of winning one to ten.
And if i go every day for 10 days, say.. Doesn't it make for a foolproof plan? TENNANT IS IN THAT PLAY!

...
Among other things, oysters are a fancy black colour this year!

Also, I raided a one pound shop just now x_x couldn't help it.. when i was passing by Golder's Green i spotted a korean restaurant and a korean SHOP! with lots and lots of korean food! they have bagged kimchi, all types of ramyun, other stuff... i have stuff to bring home as souvenirs for quite a few people now XD
do not fret, sister, i don't mean you.. i've found a souvenir for you already.. (although, do you need it?!)

Tomorrow i'm going to get a membership at Korean cultural center :] free access to their awesome media library and events :D

...



A story about these cookies is that there were 5 of them.. Two barely killed me, they were that good. It looks like it's normal chocolate chip, but these chips are actually gooey melted milk chocolate, and together they make you see stars, i swear

...
Right now i'm off to meet Mehmet :D first night out in london IN TWO YEARS!

you guys can still write to me via email... or here.. my phone's off (the one that has wifi) because i totally forgot about the inconvenient condition of british sockets x_x they're different... soon i'll be without an ipod and without my second phone XD in couple of days without a camera XD

cheers

...

July 27



Mehmet and I went to my favourite pub last night. I FINALLY reunited with my precious cider! ARGH, it tasted even better than i remembered!
we caught up with each others lives and i have to say that his english has improved quite a lot, although he still couldn't understand some stuff...

Two ciders proved to be too much, so we said goodbye early, before i had the chance to go home by night bus :[




...
Went to Borough market today, one guy fed me three different types of curry, one spicier than the other..

Took a midday nap just now :D because i was so tired (aunt snores)
Somehow it lasted 5 hours XD
so i guess i will be experiencing my night bus today after all.. YAY!

what else do i tell you guys...
the weather? XD it's freaking perfect! a tad bit too cold, but just how i like it...

i didn't win the ticket to Much Ado again today, but i just know that it's going to happen one of these days!!!! :D
i still haven't been to a single park! what does it say about my love to them?.. D: oh well XD

...

July 28

today was so sunny, it was a nice change from all the gloomy weather.. I sunbathed in a park and talked to BoBo, my friend from two years ago.. We talked for 32 minutes! Which, people who know me realize, is abnormal for me.. =]
I really missed her! she was so much fun 2 years ago, she still is.. I somehow forgot about the fact that she's not from London, she lives in Portsmouth.. But she's coming up soon and we're definitely going to meet, but then maybe i'll go see her in Portsmouth in couple of weeks..



I'm seriously going to become fat here! With the rate it's going at...sis, tell mom i'm stuffing myself up all day thanks to aunt.. And this freaking mobile internet in mcdonaldses x.x it's making me eat their food *sob*

90 percent of asians here are korean, i swear..
btw, i figured out why i enjoyed talking to BoBo THAT much earlier.. She was the first female person i've talked to during these 3 days xD
Although there were some girls on Oxford street yesterday who asked me to answer some questions about some brand (i know absolutely nothing about) on camera.. that was fun :]
they gave me a usb flesh card as a reward for my sufferings :]
Sister, tell mom we now have two in the family XD

I've talked Mehmet into a korean restaurant for tomorrow, he also insisted on telling me everything he knows about paintings in the national galery :)

...
Argh, kpop deprivatilon....
I want it to be the weekend already :]

...
BTW!
i got a bag which i don't know who of you's gonna like more (Julia or Anya).. the one who doesn't like it will get another one..
the thing is that Julia was the one who asked for a bag, but it's totally sista's style.. :/ blue and cute..
you can decide among yourselves when i post a picture..
i also got myself a watch at Camden, finally!! :D feels so good, like a time lord XD (speaking of time lords, i'll post pictures of Hamley's Doctor Who display tomorrow XD i feel good being in this country and understanding all the references to it's most loved show :] )

...

July 29




I won! It only took me 4 tries :D now i'll have to postpone all friday night plans [i did have some].. And now i'll have to go home early to pretty myself up for the inevitable meeting with Tennant the Great, because my seat is brilliant!
Together with me won an american girl, who is a die hard doctor who fan :D she told me all about how if you hurry to get to the back exit you'll be able toget a glimpse of them or even get a photo or an autograph :]
Now, what should i make him sign?

...
For some reason i sleep much more here, if i don't i'll be too sleepy.. Probably all the physical activities i don't usually do back home

...



I ate bibimbap! It was so good...
We went to my favourite korean restaurant with Mehmet today.. Little Korea in China Town..
Oh, it was tasty.. I was too shy to speak korean to the waiters though x.x but oh well.. :]





Also, i tried soju for the first time in my life! It was good, compared to other traditional alcohol drinks of some countries i've tried *cough*turkey*cough*,tasted a bit like jin, but not enough for me to not like it :]



And i'm waiting for the play to start! Sitting in the third row of the stalls, right under the stage :]
I'm going to have the time of my life in the nearest couple of hours :]

...
That's what i call a freaking awesome friday night, a day well spent indeed :)

I swear, when the play was starting my whole body was tingling

I generally love the premise of bickering-enemies-turned-lovers type of romance..This was too stunning for words. David in drag, in paint, in shorts, his facial expressions.. Just, him on stage, period. But what i did not expect was to like Catherine so much! She was just as hilarious
as she was on the show, but somehow enhanced much more by a live performance!
I was sitting right next to the stage and everything was so close, so wonderful and stunning, and right there!
Their interactions were really priceless though :] such a couple they make!I'll never forget this experience..

..and blimey, his scottish accent!! i almost died a sweet painless death~..



...

July 30

AAAAnd the day full of korean dancing, start! :D



...
The flashmobs were wonderful! I met many awesome people, a lot of local fans, even a whole crew who could potentially not mind me teaching them, even though all 5 of them are awesome dancers :D
I think i was one of a few who were over 20 XD but a lot of people (even random koreans, and even random people who knew nothing about kpop!) complemented me on my dancing! even though i'm far from knowing everything, to girls it looked like i did (know everything) XD people seriously asked me to take pictures with them, like random korean girls.. and two black women in their thirties (obviously not knowing what the hell we were doing) came up to me and said i was good XD
oh well, now i got myself a crew :] and there are two more flashmobs to go!



6 hours of dancing nonstop!
it was far from a proper flashmob, but it was sort of like an open air kpop party in a really public place XD



I almost dived into the fountain, it was so inviting! it smelled and looked sooo good! likу a proper pool.. x.x I only dipped my legs in, but it was very refreshing..



...

So the story about my saturday night goes like this, in short..
I went to a posh bar slash pub with a friend that left me there in a middle of an awesome cover band's performance and i met a bunch of nice spanish guys and girls, who adopted me for the night :]
That's an extra short version of events that took place yesterday night..



O'neils - a pub hidden in the center of china town. On the weekends a cover band from Wales plays there. Brilliant doesn't even remotely describe my impression of them! This was a genre i haven't been able to enjoy much lately,obviously.. Punk rock/brit pop: franz ferdinand's “take me out”, kings of leon,katy perry, outcast's hey ya [was fantastic!] just to name a few :) and the atmosphere was not very much different from a concert! They were that good..

So basically, when the band had a break (my friend was gone by then) the music that was playing was somehow only spanish and it just so happened that i was jamming to it right next to this spanish bunch of people and they took me in xD

They were really fun, and the cider was good, and the band was awesome. I'm jealous of myself..

image Click to view



...

July 31

I think i have about a couple dozen new friends on facebook now xD

...

Me and Mehmet have done the korean food thing already and today after st Jame's park we went to get italian.. It was soooo good!
We are probably going for a record because tomorrow is turkish food, and who knows what else in the future xD

And also, the fact that it's almost been a week and i've been to st james for the first time today speaks volumes about how good my vacation has been :)
Although i'll only consider it visited when i go there alone.. Dunno when that's going to be.

...

After an awesome Caesar salad and an even more awesome ice cream/chocolate brownie i went to meet my new spanish friends :)



We went to Camden (it's become a much more interesting place xD), looked around the market and the shops (i found a place where i'll finally pierce my ear).
Then we went to see late Amy Winehouse's place.. There's a huge memorial right next to it, with all kinds of different things, flowers just being one of them.. Letters, bottles, cigarettes, cards, paintings, teddy bears.. Everything fans associated with her..



After, we went to one of the highest peaks in London, with the greatest view of the center and city! Breathtaking.. It was sunset so you can imagine the view..:]



I was mostly talking to Rodolfo and his sister Patricia, but there were other awesome people present.. A small group of Brazilians and other spanish guys.. The spanish were speaking catalan and the brazilians were speaking a mix between spanish and portuguese.. So my linguistic geekiness kicked in full force xD



And they were so easy going! Now that i think about it that is my first long acquaintance with spanish people! I have to say their mentality fits me.. I find it intriguing and very suiting to mine xD

...

August 1

an 8!!!! i got an 8!!!! how is that possible (that i still have only 6.5 for writing x___x whae?!)
but OMG! OH. MY. GOD! the possibilities..
Listening 8.5
Reading 8.5
Writing 6.5
Speaking 7.5
Overall Band 8

...
I got the most horrible scare this morning.. i dropped my phone, and it just wouldn’t turn on! I’ve tried this and that and all i could think of.. it got fixed after (in a fit on nervous desperation) i decided to just tear it open XD it, for a lack of a better word, got scared, obviously..and suddenly decided to start working again.. after i’ve seen it’s insides XD

...
I think i put on at least 5 kilos

...
Magic of the musicals

To begin with, Canary wharf - one of the places i've not been to before.. and it's absolutely stunning! in a completely modern way



It was an event to promote some of the musical currently running in London.. they used to be held in covent garden but it was probablytoo packed so they moved.. and it’s not a weekly event any more... :(




Some of the songs were really good! Too bad we didn’t wait for Priscilla, i wanted to see that..

image Click to view



Anyway, we did have Turkish food XD it wasn’t very good, but i thought i’d stay at the restaurant for the night, i couldn’t move a muscle..





Baklava.. mmmmh.. it was too good!

And after, we went to explore south and north bank at night.. Mehmet made me call Eray and talk Turkish to him XD i think i woke him up, poor guy.. but it turns out it’s his birthday tomorrow! And i didn’t even congratulate him.. cause in Ankara it’s tomorrow already... :(
Oh, well..



---

AND this concludes my first week!
(my oyster is dead, that's how i know)

[TBC]
the rest is going to be up shortly :D
Previous post Next post
Up