Update time!!
I've been meaning to do an update for a while now. My sister has come and gone. :( But I had a lot of fun with her while she was here. Oh, but first, I saw Waiting for Godot starring Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen on the Friday before Jen arrived. It was really good! I totally prefer musical theatre, but the acting was superb and it was done well. Good set too. Waiting for Godot is really absurd and I found myself nodding off at one point, but on the whole, I enjoyed it and am really glad I got to see it! I had a really good seat too. I was in the 7th row (I think the 7th, could have been the 6th) off to one side on the aisle, but it's a smaller theatre, so it wasn't that wide. I could totally see everything, and I had tons of leg room because there was no one in front of me. I was something like 10 feet from the stage, so it was great!
Then my sister came the next morning. I met her at Victoria and then we came back to my flat to drop off her stuff. Then we went shopping on Oxford street. I bought a couple of tops at Dorothy Perkins, and a couple more at Primark! Then we went to a pub (the same pub my mom fell in love with when they were here - it's in Mayfair and it's fab! The food is really good there) for dinner. Then we headed back. On Sunday we went to Harrods, then the London Eye and the London Aquarium with Rachel. It was pretty good. I liked the aquarium, it was much bigger than I expected it to be too. Oh, and I got two new pairs of shoes from Office. It made my sister jealous because she didn't find any shoes, so then she made me go into EVERY shoe store we passed from then on. Sunday night we cooked dinner and went to bed fairly early because our train to Paris the next morning was EARLY. So Monday morning we woke up really early and caught the Eurostar to Paris. We first went to the Eiffel Tower and queued for an hour to go up it. But I had planned for the queues, so it was alright. I had a crepe while waiting! Yum! The views from the top of the Eiffel Tower are amazing! It was sooo pretty! Although, chilly, super windy. Then we decided to walk to our hotel, because it wasn't too far from the Eiffel Tower. We stopped in a bunch of stores on the way. Yes, still looking for shoes. Also fun clothes. I bought one top for ten euros. Jen, nada. We bought some wine and cheese and checked into our hotel. It was a good pick I thought. I liked the location and it was quite nice. We rested and drank and ate for a bit. Then we went to see Moulin Rouge and we walked around that area and found a place for dinner. It turned out to be a really good place. We shared beef fondue which was huge, and a huge yummy salad. And then we had ice cream for dessert. It was sooo good! Yum! Then I dragged my sister back to the Eiffel tower so I could see the light show and take more pictures. The next morning we went to a cafe next to our hotel for breakfast. Then we checked out and went to the Arc de Triomphe. Then we walked FOREVER until we found a good shopping area (we thought it was a lot closer than it was). But we went to a whole bunch of stores, my sister found some shoes and a few tops. I bought a top too. Then we tried to go this l'Entrecote restaurant for a late lunch, but they were closed, so I was sad. And then we would have had enough time to go to the Musee d'Orsay but we were so tired, I didn't feel like going there, not to mention I didn't feel like spending more money for both the metro and the entrance fee. So we went to the train station and found a restaurant to eat. It was good, but not as good as the dinner the night before. I had mussels and fries. My sister had steak with bernaise sauce. Then we wandered around the train station, bought some chocolate, checked in and waited a bit for our train. We had a good time though. For Jen's last day in London, we went and got theatre tickets in the morning, then went to Primark so she could return a top she decided against. Then we went to Madame Tussauds. Then we went to a pub for a drink. Then we went back to my flat and rested a bit and dressed for the evening. We went to Piccadilly Circus for Jen could see it, then we went to a mexican restaurant in Leicester Square for dinner. We shared nachos and fajitas, yum! I had a margarita too. Yum! Then we saw Spring Awakening which was fab! It's SO good! I love it! My sister enjoyed it too. Then we went home and to bed. The next morning I dropped my sister off at Victoria, said good bye and then I had to go to work. :(
Then on Friday Catherine was in town and I met her and her friend Jane at Waterloo. We went on the London Eye and then I gave them (well tried to give them) a tour of the West End. We walked up to Trafalgar Square and through the Piccadilly Circus so we could take night photos. It was fun! Sadly I had to work the next day, so then I said goodbye after a few hours of hanging out. Then it was work, and more work. I went to Hamleys on Tuesday and bought my nephew a (shoot, I started this last night before my company came, and totally forgot to finish it when they left! So, I started this Saturday afternoon, it's now Sunday morning). Anyways, so I bought my nephew a birthday present for his first birthday. Jeremy is already one year old!!! He's growing up so fast! Lol! Then I worked, luckily I had the weekend off, and it feels like my first real break in quite some time. It's nice.
Yesterday morning (so Saturday) I bummed around a bit, but finally got ready and went to the Broadway market in east London. I've been meaning to go for quite some time, Amanda had sent me a link to a blog of a woman who trades there. She makes cakes and tarts, so I've been wanting to try them. She also makes brownies, which I tried. The brownies were good, but they were expensive (£2.60/brownie, and you can get other ones for 2 for £3 from other places) and I think only just as good as other places, not better. So not worth it. I also bought a chocolate tart to serve as dessert that night. The tart totally saved this woman. And I may go back. Because the tart was TO DIE FOR. It was amazing!! It was dark chocolate with a shortbread crust, and a layer of jam in between. Now normally I don't like jam in dessert, but the jam added a great balance in flavours and was needed. So it was perfect. It wasn't too bitter (as some dark chocolate tarts can be), the jam helped that, it added a great sweetness, but without taking away from the chocolate. It was really really good. I may go back for more tarts. Not brownies though. Here's a link to the blog: http://www.cocoandme.com/. Anyways, I also bought a new bag (bad me, I know) and a new wallet. I'm not sure about the wallet, I think it will be too small for me, but it's so cute. I may give it to someone as a gift or something. The bag I love!
For dinner last night, Joanna and her husband Dan came over and we played board games and I cooked them dinner. I made salmon (it was alright, they enjoyed it, but I think my measurements of onion soup mix/mayonnaise wasn't quite right...so I'll work on that), twice baked potatoes and grilled asparagus. I actually managed to cook the asparagus perfectly, so I was kind of impressed with myself for that! And the potatoes turned out nice as well. They had brought a bottle of wine which we drank, as well as some really yummy cheese from Amsterdam which we ate first. Then we had the delicious tart for dessert. Oh, I was going to say my only criticism of the tart would be a bit too much cocoa on the top. There was a layer of cocoa done with a bird stencil on top, which made it look pretty, but both I and Joanna managed to breathe in too much cocoa and almost choke. So, less cocoa would be better. We played Monopoly (the British version, which is a novelty for me) and then Cluedo (which yes, is Clue - except Mr. Green in Reverend Green in the Brit version). And then we watched Eurovision, which was my first time watching it (we don't get it in Canada, they do in Australia though). It was.....interesting. I really liked the Denmark song, it was written by Ronan Keating, and it was a song I would totally listen to. They did not win, nor did they come close. Which made me sad. I did like the Iceland song, and they came in second. The winner was Norway and I thought their song was only okay. I think it was because they sang in English, but they had an accent, so it sounded weird to me (and Joanna and Dan). Anyways, they left after the show, and I cleaned up (thank goodness for my dishwasher!!) and went to bed. Now I'm finally watching American Idol from this week. I already know who's in the final two though, I got spoiled before it was even on here by facebook. Oh well. Today I'm going to see the Star Trek movie this evening! Woooooooo! I'm excited! I'm excited for the slashy goodness I've heard is in it. Woo hoo slash in a huge Hollywood blockbuster!
Then my sister came the next morning. I met her at Victoria and then we came back to my flat to drop off her stuff. Then we went shopping on Oxford street. I bought a couple of tops at Dorothy Perkins, and a couple more at Primark! Then we went to a pub (the same pub my mom fell in love with when they were here - it's in Mayfair and it's fab! The food is really good there) for dinner. Then we headed back. On Sunday we went to Harrods, then the London Eye and the London Aquarium with Rachel. It was pretty good. I liked the aquarium, it was much bigger than I expected it to be too. Oh, and I got two new pairs of shoes from Office. It made my sister jealous because she didn't find any shoes, so then she made me go into EVERY shoe store we passed from then on. Sunday night we cooked dinner and went to bed fairly early because our train to Paris the next morning was EARLY. So Monday morning we woke up really early and caught the Eurostar to Paris. We first went to the Eiffel Tower and queued for an hour to go up it. But I had planned for the queues, so it was alright. I had a crepe while waiting! Yum! The views from the top of the Eiffel Tower are amazing! It was sooo pretty! Although, chilly, super windy. Then we decided to walk to our hotel, because it wasn't too far from the Eiffel Tower. We stopped in a bunch of stores on the way. Yes, still looking for shoes. Also fun clothes. I bought one top for ten euros. Jen, nada. We bought some wine and cheese and checked into our hotel. It was a good pick I thought. I liked the location and it was quite nice. We rested and drank and ate for a bit. Then we went to see Moulin Rouge and we walked around that area and found a place for dinner. It turned out to be a really good place. We shared beef fondue which was huge, and a huge yummy salad. And then we had ice cream for dessert. It was sooo good! Yum! Then I dragged my sister back to the Eiffel tower so I could see the light show and take more pictures. The next morning we went to a cafe next to our hotel for breakfast. Then we checked out and went to the Arc de Triomphe. Then we walked FOREVER until we found a good shopping area (we thought it was a lot closer than it was). But we went to a whole bunch of stores, my sister found some shoes and a few tops. I bought a top too. Then we tried to go this l'Entrecote restaurant for a late lunch, but they were closed, so I was sad. And then we would have had enough time to go to the Musee d'Orsay but we were so tired, I didn't feel like going there, not to mention I didn't feel like spending more money for both the metro and the entrance fee. So we went to the train station and found a restaurant to eat. It was good, but not as good as the dinner the night before. I had mussels and fries. My sister had steak with bernaise sauce. Then we wandered around the train station, bought some chocolate, checked in and waited a bit for our train. We had a good time though. For Jen's last day in London, we went and got theatre tickets in the morning, then went to Primark so she could return a top she decided against. Then we went to Madame Tussauds. Then we went to a pub for a drink. Then we went back to my flat and rested a bit and dressed for the evening. We went to Piccadilly Circus for Jen could see it, then we went to a mexican restaurant in Leicester Square for dinner. We shared nachos and fajitas, yum! I had a margarita too. Yum! Then we saw Spring Awakening which was fab! It's SO good! I love it! My sister enjoyed it too. Then we went home and to bed. The next morning I dropped my sister off at Victoria, said good bye and then I had to go to work. :(
Then on Friday Catherine was in town and I met her and her friend Jane at Waterloo. We went on the London Eye and then I gave them (well tried to give them) a tour of the West End. We walked up to Trafalgar Square and through the Piccadilly Circus so we could take night photos. It was fun! Sadly I had to work the next day, so then I said goodbye after a few hours of hanging out. Then it was work, and more work. I went to Hamleys on Tuesday and bought my nephew a (shoot, I started this last night before my company came, and totally forgot to finish it when they left! So, I started this Saturday afternoon, it's now Sunday morning). Anyways, so I bought my nephew a birthday present for his first birthday. Jeremy is already one year old!!! He's growing up so fast! Lol! Then I worked, luckily I had the weekend off, and it feels like my first real break in quite some time. It's nice.
Yesterday morning (so Saturday) I bummed around a bit, but finally got ready and went to the Broadway market in east London. I've been meaning to go for quite some time, Amanda had sent me a link to a blog of a woman who trades there. She makes cakes and tarts, so I've been wanting to try them. She also makes brownies, which I tried. The brownies were good, but they were expensive (£2.60/brownie, and you can get other ones for 2 for £3 from other places) and I think only just as good as other places, not better. So not worth it. I also bought a chocolate tart to serve as dessert that night. The tart totally saved this woman. And I may go back. Because the tart was TO DIE FOR. It was amazing!! It was dark chocolate with a shortbread crust, and a layer of jam in between. Now normally I don't like jam in dessert, but the jam added a great balance in flavours and was needed. So it was perfect. It wasn't too bitter (as some dark chocolate tarts can be), the jam helped that, it added a great sweetness, but without taking away from the chocolate. It was really really good. I may go back for more tarts. Not brownies though. Here's a link to the blog: http://www.cocoandme.com/. Anyways, I also bought a new bag (bad me, I know) and a new wallet. I'm not sure about the wallet, I think it will be too small for me, but it's so cute. I may give it to someone as a gift or something. The bag I love!
For dinner last night, Joanna and her husband Dan came over and we played board games and I cooked them dinner. I made salmon (it was alright, they enjoyed it, but I think my measurements of onion soup mix/mayonnaise wasn't quite right...so I'll work on that), twice baked potatoes and grilled asparagus. I actually managed to cook the asparagus perfectly, so I was kind of impressed with myself for that! And the potatoes turned out nice as well. They had brought a bottle of wine which we drank, as well as some really yummy cheese from Amsterdam which we ate first. Then we had the delicious tart for dessert. Oh, I was going to say my only criticism of the tart would be a bit too much cocoa on the top. There was a layer of cocoa done with a bird stencil on top, which made it look pretty, but both I and Joanna managed to breathe in too much cocoa and almost choke. So, less cocoa would be better. We played Monopoly (the British version, which is a novelty for me) and then Cluedo (which yes, is Clue - except Mr. Green in Reverend Green in the Brit version). And then we watched Eurovision, which was my first time watching it (we don't get it in Canada, they do in Australia though). It was.....interesting. I really liked the Denmark song, it was written by Ronan Keating, and it was a song I would totally listen to. They did not win, nor did they come close. Which made me sad. I did like the Iceland song, and they came in second. The winner was Norway and I thought their song was only okay. I think it was because they sang in English, but they had an accent, so it sounded weird to me (and Joanna and Dan). Anyways, they left after the show, and I cleaned up (thank goodness for my dishwasher!!) and went to bed. Now I'm finally watching American Idol from this week. I already know who's in the final two though, I got spoiled before it was even on here by facebook. Oh well. Today I'm going to see the Star Trek movie this evening! Woooooooo! I'm excited! I'm excited for the slashy goodness I've heard is in it. Woo hoo slash in a huge Hollywood blockbuster!