Thursday night was a big night out for the Carat group as the entire office was invited to a party hosted by Eurosport. As I came to find out, Eurosport is the European equivalent to ESPN in the US so the night was all about sport. Along with dinner and drinks, the event also included trivia, which we all know I love! Sadly enough, it was all about Europe and sports and teams I knew nothing about. As international as my team was (1 Maltese, 1 British/Iranian, 1 Filipino and me) we held the last place spot through to the end. Luckily, in a last place tie breaker, we were finally able to answer a question and took home nothing as we got second to last place. Oh well, at least I learned a lot about all the wonderful sports Europe has to offer: Cricket, Rugby, football, snooker…
The Entertainer March 29, 2007
Some friends and I went to a notable but off the beaten path theater called the Old Vic this week to watch a true British play, The Entertainer. It was a really good performance but rather dark play with a focus was on war and death. From what I hear, it is a great representation of small town London in the late 1950’s. The lead was acted by Robert Lindsay who is a famous comedian in the UK along side his wife, Pam Ferris, who played a small role in the first Harry Potter film.
This is the second rendition of the play, noting its 50th anniversary. It was first acted out 50 years ago by someone you all should know, Sir Laurence Olivier. Photos from his early plays along with some other big names (Richard Burton, Judi Dench, Peter O’Toole and Maggie Smith) where showcased throughout the theater. It is so amazing to see that much history in one small building. Over the past few years, the theater was in a state of decline but is currently on the upswing. Part of this upswing is due to the addition of Kevin Spacey to the staff.
About the playwright and the play, from the site: http://www.oldvictheatre.com/
John Osborne was one of the 20th century’s most celebrated playwrights and the original ‘angry young man’. Following the success of Look Back in Anger, he continued to examine the state of the country in The Entertainer, this time using three generations of a family of entertainers to symbolize the decline of post-war Britain
Korean Pints March 25, 2007
Olivia and I met up for a day of shopping on Saturday. To start the day off though, we need to get a good lunch in our stomachs. We stopped at a great little fish and chips joint on the edge of Covent Garden. It was a great little hole in the wall place with great food. From there, we were ready to hit the road for some shopping.
We walked through all the cool stores along Regent Street and then headed over to Carnaby Street which had some wonderful stores. Sadly enough, I walked away with nothing to show for the day, but we had a good time window shopping.
As the afternoon went on, the rain came into town and we decided to head in doors for a while. We found a little pub down an alley and figured it was time for an afternoon pint. Greg came up to join us and we headed out to find some dinner. Walking through the neighborhood, we found a little Korean BBQ joint. While Greg and Olivia where the old pros at Korean BBQ, I must say this was a first for me. It was a mix between a hibachi and a Mongolian restaurant. You choose all the meets, they prepare them and bring them to the table and you cook them to your liking.
From there, we were heading home and figured we would drop into another pub as the night was still young. All this time, I have been putting off the trial of the Guinness as I was worried it just wouldn’t taste the way it looks, like chocolate milk. As everyone says the Guinness is best here due to the water, I figured now was as good a time as ever to try one so I ordered a half pint. Another great thing about London is that you don’t have to order a full beer. Every bar offers half pints which is wonderful for those (like me) who haven’t mastered the heavy beers. I am sorry to say, it wasn’t all that I had hoped it would be and I do feel slightly disappointed. I won’t go into the details of what I thought it tasted like as I have already been down that path with many Guinness lovers. I will leave this recommendation up to you all, drink at your own risk.
The Tube March 25, 2007
As with the NY subway, I am incredibly fascinated by the London Tube. It is an endless provider of entertainment. It also provides what I think is the easiest way to get from point A to point B, given that there is no construction and no one has chosen to fall under a train. At any time of day, night, holiday, weekend or weekday, you will find a train packed with people. Where could they all be going?
My morning trip to work is usually the worst when it comes to packing people into a train car. Just when you think that you can’t get one more person in, you pull up to a stop with that one person who is determined to get on. I have heard that each body puts off the same amount of heat as a 100W bulb. Multiply that by the 50 or so people in one train car with our heavy coats, scarves and hats and you can see how we start the day off sweating.
I will give it to the British though; they resist this urge to cram together when it comes to exiting the stations through the escalators. Everyone seems to have the line system down with those who want to stand on the right and those who want to walk on the left. If only they could figure out which side of the sidewalk to walk on.
Exiting the tube is my favorite part of the morning. After spending the past 20 minutes sweating to death on the train, you end up on the escalator which is a wind tunnel of cold air coming in from the outside. It freezes all the sweat to your body. I know its gross but I look forward to it every day.
Crisps March 25, 2007
In many parts of Europe, you will find bags of potato chips referred to as crisps. One of the most common places to find them is at your local pub. While you can still order the standard bar nuts, many people choose to order crisps instead. Some of you might think this isn’t so odd, and I agree. It is the flavors that become odd. You might find the standard plain and salt & vinegar flavors, but don’t look for cheese, ranch or even bbq for that matter. Instead, you will find cheddar & onion, grilled steak, prawn cocktail, bbq ribs (which are terrible) and mango salsa. My favorite is turkey dinner which is very hard to find. I heard once that the most popular flavor in world is ketchup which I have yet to find here. I do know they exist as we use to get them all the time when I was in Saudi.
Jack The Ripper March 22, 2007
Of all the horrible stories around the world, few have captured peoples imaginations as much as Jack The Ripper. Well, I can say I will keep wondering as this weeks walk around town wasn’t all I was hoping for. While it was fun and very interesting, it lacked a bit of the mystery I was looking for. Most of the actual places have been torn down and replaced by modern day objects such as coffee houses and car parks. Considering the history and the mister of it all, I figured most of it would have been well preserved. Here is an overview of the walk from the site which was a little more intriguing than the walk itself.
Please tread carefully and keep away from the shadows – you are about to enter the abyss…
He came silently out of the midnight shadows of August 31, 1888. Watching. Stalking. Butchering raddled, drink-sodden East End prostitutes. Leaving a trail of blood that led…nowhere. Yes, something wicked this way walked, for this is the Ripper’s slashing grounds. We evoke that autumn of gaslight and fog, of menacing shadows and stealthy footsteps as we inspect the murder sites, sift through the evidence – in all its gory detail – and get to grips, so to speak, with the main suspects. Afterward we can steady our nerves in The Ten Bells, the pub where the victims – perhaps under the steely gaze of the Ripper himself – tried to forget the waking nightmare.
I Can Not Help You, Stupid Americans! March 21, 2007
Today’s title is not a knock at the French or the Americans; it was just my favorite quote of this adventure.
The plan was to get up bright and early on Sunday morning, head to Kings Road for some shopping and then head to the airport to go to Paris for a few days. Well, we did make it to the airport in time. As I mentioned earlier, the preceding days had taken their toll and we were plum tuckered out. We got a good night’s rest which was just what we needed before we headed off to Paris.
At the airport, we stopped in a little book shop and picked up a phrase book to help us out as we knew nothing besides hello and thank you. We chose to go to Paris on Sunday evening because we had heard from many people that the shops were all closed on Sundays. We figured we would get into town, grab some dinner, get the lay of the land and then go to bed early so we could get up early on Monday. According to the girl at the front desk, even restaurants closed on Sundays. She pointed us in the direction of the only thing she knew of which was a pretty crappy sushi joint. We ate there and decided to still do our walk around the city to find the places we had to hit on Monday in the daylight. To our surprise, it was at this point that we found plenty of restaurants that were open. Oh well. We made our way to the Louvre and decided to turn around as it was bitterly cold and windy. On the way back to the hotel we found a street side crepe maker and had to order one. I got the nutella which was Incredible!!!
We did get up bright and early on Monday morning and headed out for a big day of excitement. We found one of the local bus tours which would take us to all the local landmarks. We started out driving down the Ave. des Champs Elysees. This was a beautiful old road that leads up to the Arc de Triomphe. We stopped here and got out to experience the moment. The weather was pretty bad so we decided not to go up to the top of the Arc. Instead we headed into a local cafe to grab a drink to warm us up and then do a little shopping on the Champs Elysees. From there, we got back on the bus and headed to the Grand Palais and Trocadero which weren’t very exciting but beautiful none the less. Our next get off was the major landmark, the Eiffel Tower. As with any major tourist destination, we were hit up left and right by people wanting money. They all knew too look for the Americans which we played off very well I must say. We stood in the queue to go up the tower for thirty minutes, watching people continue to cut in the front. The weather began to snow, and we knew we were going no where, so we decided it just wasn’t worth it. We got back on the bus and headed to the Louvre. As with many parts of Paris, this was not a very tourist friendly museum. There were no signs telling you where to go or what you needed to do so we were very lost. We got scolded by a few museum officials and then found our way to ticket booth. We made our way to the three pieces of art we wanted to see: The Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory of Samothrace and The Venus de Milo. Feeling we had seen the main pieces, which a few in between, we headed back to the bus and on to Notre Dame and the Hotel des Invalides. There was also a stop in the middle there which included a sugar crepe. Delish!
At this point, we were touristed out and gave up the sight seeing for shopping. We hit the main shopping roads and did some good shopping. I made my big purchase which was a new hand bag. Yeah!
After a full day of adventures, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and head out for a nice dinner. We asked the concierge for a true French restaurant experience. He asked if we like escargot, which I said I doubt, but had to try as I was in the home of escargot. He recommended a small little restaurant which was off the beaten path. The one thing we didn’t take into account for was reading the menu. As this wasn’t a tourist hot spot, the menu did not have the English translations. Luckily I had my phrase book and looked up some of the words under the table. I found two dishes which looked edible, fish or sausage. The rest were all parts of a cow which I don’t believe are meant to be eaten (tongue and cheek???). The waiter recommended the fish and the soup de jour which was cauliflower so I agreed. We figured to be French; we needed to be drinking champagne as well. Suzanne order what we thought was a bottle of champagne, but later found out was a bottle of red wine with a very similar spelling. We had a good launch as the waiter poured our glasses. It turned out to be a good bottle of wine so we were happy. Dinner was great and was a nice ending to our day of adventuring through Paris.
The plan for Tuesday was to get up early again and do a little shopping before we headed back to London. We were so tired from the day before that slept away most of the morning. We got up, made our way to a local cafe and grabbed a bite before heading to the airport (and grabbing a final banana crepe on the way). This is where the trip goes down hill. The concierge at the hotel tells us we can take the Metro to the airport and there is a stop just down the street which will be easy to get to. He did not mention that the walk was all uphill at a 45 degree angle.
With luggage in tow, we made it to the Metro. Suzanne had a rough time as she lost of one the wheels one her luggage and the main strap broke. After spending a good 20 minutes reading the Metro map, we figured out how to get to the main train station which would take us to the airport. From the main train station, we spent another 20 minutes trying to figure out what train went to the airport. After a bit of frustration, we finally got on the correct train and figured we had been through the worst of it. Little did we know there was more trouble to come. We got to the airport but didn’t know which terminal. One would assume that you could read some signs or ask for help and we would be good. We weren’t that lucky. We stood in one line for about 20 minutes and didn’t move an inch. We gave up and headed to another line which looked to be moving much faster. After standing in this line for 20 minutes, we made it to the front and handed the airline attendant our passports. She looked at us like we were stupid and this is where the ranting began. Read the following in your best French accent, “I can not help you. Do you not read? You wasted your time standing in the queue. Why would you do this? Are you stupid? You stupid American…” The ranting went on for what seemed like five minutes but I am sure was only one minute. Suzanne and I just looked at each other and laughed, as we couldn’t get a word in to ask where we should go. Finally, the lady stopped and we got our question in. She pointed in the right direction so we took off as we had only 45 minutes until our flight left. It wasn’t that she was mean to us; she just got so frustrated on our behalf. We couldn’t help but laugh at the madness of the moment. Upon getting to the correct terminal, we then had to find the right line to stand in. I will state right now, the Charles de Gaulle International Airport has to be the most confusing and non tourist friendly airport. Ten minutes later, we find the right line which is at least 15 people deep. We find a supper friendly airline attendant who lets us go to another line as our flight is about to take off. Then we run into yet another snag. Because we purchased our tickets along with the hotel as a package deal, we have to show a voucher from the hotel to prove we did in fact stay at this hotel. WHAT!!!! We have no voucher, the hotel gave us nothing. Luckily, I saved a receipt for the hotel taxes (4 euros) which they accepted as proof that we did in fact stay at the hotel. They let us board the plan in time and the wonderfully too long two day trip to Paris was over.
Girls Headed to Paris
Arc de Triomphe
The Winged Victory of Samothrace
Venus de Milo
The Seine River
Cheers to the Irish March 18, 2007
Based on the crazy adventures of Wednesday and Thursday nights, Friday was much more reserved so there are no crazy stories. We also had to save up our energy for the big Saturday adventure as it was St Patrick’s Day.
We got up early on Saturday and made our way to Buckingham Palace to experience the changing of the guards. I was more interested in seeing if the boys we met on Wednesday were actually part of the event. We arrived a little too early so we went into a little cafe to grab a bite to eat. I must take a moment to compliment this little hole in the wall. They made an excellent English breakfast sandwich. Even after taking our time eating, we still had 45 minutes until the festivities began but we figured we would make our way over and find a good place to stand. Good thing we did as it was already packed. People must get there two to three hours in advance to get a good spot. We ended up standing by the fountain across the street from the palace which gave a good view of the soldiers and the band walking down the street and into the palace. It seems there was a lot going on in front of the palace but we didn’t get to see much of that due to the crowd. The soldiers and the band came through and we searched and searched for the boys from Wednesday night but never saw them. Either they were still hung over or they told us some tall stories. Oh well, they offered good entertainment at the time. At this point, we decided we had seen enough and headed on.
We headed east to Borough Market. As I have mentioned before, even if you don’t buy anything, the market is a true old piece of London which everyone should experience. We walked around for an hour or so and grazed off a few testers here and there. You could almost compare it to Sam’s on a Saturday.
After venturing through the market, we felt we had seen enough and didn’t need to make any purchases so we headed to a local pub to grab a pint or two and watch some rugby. The big game for the day was Ireland vs. Italy and of course everyone was cheering on Ireland as it was there day and they are one of the top teams. It was a good game and Ireland won by a landslide so we weren’t on the edge of our seats with anticipation. We met some nice folks there as well and introduced Suzanne to the best crisps London has to offer, the Turkey Dinner.
It is at this point in the weekend that I either had too much beer, not enough sleep or too many sight seeing adventures because I can’t remember what we did for the rest of the night. I do know we went home fairly early as Sunday was to be a big day, but that is about it.
Undiscovered London March 17, 2007
Thursday was a normal day minus the massive headache I was nursing from the previous night’s adventure with the Royal boys… Suzanne and I decided it would be a good night to do another of the London Walks so we met up after work at the Monument tube stop to join the rest of the tour. The walk was based on Undiscovered London and had three pub stops along the way which was great. For those who don’t know about the Monument, it was built in remembrance of the great fire. If you were to turn it on its side directly down the street it sits on, the top portion would fall right on to the point on Pudding Lane where the fire began.
As the tour continues, we caught up on much of the lesser known stories of London as well as learned about the difference between cask beer and keg beer. They actually have a different word for a keg but I can’t think of what that is at the moment. Our tour guide recommended a variety of the different ales at each pub which we then felt obligated to test. While it is my understanding that the cask beers are often the darker beers, and I only drink the light ones, I did find one noted as a blond in the first pub. It had to be the darkest light beer I have ever drunk, but it was really good so I recommend you all try one if you get the chance.
From the tour, we headed back to my neck of the woods and hit my local Arabic restaurant for some late night shish taook. That was definitely a great ending to a fun night out.
Friday was less exciting. We were both tired from staying out way to late the two previous nights so we just did dinner at a local Indian restaurant and then headed home. We decided to get off one stop prior to my house and walk down Sloane Street to look in the windows. This is where all the high end stores are located; Gucci, Prada, Cartier, etc.
As we were walking down the street, we heard a crowd cheering. At first, we figured it was a late night soccer game or something in one of the gardens. As we approached the crowd, we realized it was just a group of people yelling up at a hotel window. At this, we knew there had to be a celebrity near by and we had to join. We joined the group and found out that they were cheering for Michael. I think you all know who that is without listing the surname. While no one ever really saw anything, there was a child who kept popping up in the window. We took this to be his son Prince playing a bad joke on the crowd. After about 30 seconds, the scene got boring so we decided that was a great ending to a very lazy day.
Here is a review of the walk we did on Thursday evening if you are interested in more reading:
THE “UNDISCOVERED LONDON” PUB WALK
To travel rather than be packaged – that’s the name of the game. And here’s the walk. It’s one you go on because you want to see where it takes you. Because you really do want to discover. Because you want to see the London the hordes never get to see: old dockyards and twisty, crookbacked little alleys and pubs that are the real McCoy – London versions of “Cheers”. Let alone the most heart-stopping view of the whole sweep of the river and its ancient city – all the more special because the last Londoners to walk along this stretch of the Thames would have been wearing periwigs, breeches, and buckle-shoes…and carrying snuff boxes. Yes, that’s right, it’s been 300 years since people were last able to go where we’re going this evening. Cheers indeed!
What’s Your Ultimate Fantasy? March 14, 2007
Suzanne came in this morning and will be staying with me for the next week. I dropped her off at my house to spend the afternoon recouping from her flight while I headed back to work.
She was to head over to Oxford Street, do a little shopping and then head towards my office around 6. I got the call at 5:30 that she was lost. Not a hard thing to do in this city. I forgot to tell her that that street signs are located on the sides of the building rather than on actual posts. Once she found her way to the office, we headed over to Boots to get some band aids (plasters in British speak) and headed on to a little sushi restaurant in Covent Garden for dinner. From there, we headed back to my place to freshen up then his a local pub by my place.
This is where the night really begins. Walking in to the pub, we met a guy by the name of John straight away. To our surprise, John (who initially looked like Matt Damon) and his group of friends, Owen and Chris, turn out to be part of the Royal Orchestra, and play a major part in the changing of the guard every other day. How cool!!! Little did we know John was going to be a total pervert. One of his first comments to us was “what is your ultimate fantasy?” The conversation only went down from there. My first thought was to title this entry “don’t talk to strangers” but once that line came out, I knew it was a must use. I would go into this story but will hold off for a personal drunken night out with each and every one of you. Luckily, his friends were total gentlemen and two people who we will hopefully hang out with again during the remainder of our time here.
I would post pictures but we opted out of taking them by the end of the evening. We will hopefully meet up with Owen and Chris again in their full uniform and will definitely post those shots.
