London Day 5 (The days are winding down!!)

Norman:


Today we decided to escape the business of London and headed out to another area of England. We headed to Brighton, which is about an hour train ride away out of central London. Brighton is significantly different from England and since today is the last day of good weather, we tried and make the most of it.


My first impression of Brighton is that walking through the city and the independent shops, it is kind of hippy area and much more radical than London. Reminds me a lot of Kensington Market of Toronto. Lots of cool coffee shops, restaurants, vintage clothing stores and distinctive personalities. 

Mandy + Brighton Stores

We then walked to the Royal Paviliion in Brighton, which houses museums and some green area. Pretty  unique spot, the architecture of the Royal Pavilion has some gothic/Asian flair to it and is not like any building I've seen in the UK.

Reminds me of the Taj Mahal

From then we headed to the main attraction of Brighton: Brighton Pier! It's a pier with arcades, food, games and amusement park rides. It was nice to sit back and enjoy the sun. Only negative part of this trip was that for the first time ever, a seagull decided to poop on us and it was quite the disgusting experience.

Brighton Pier + Sun = Great day

A seagull pooped on us 2 seconds after this photo was taken

Brighton is has one of the few beaches that is accessible in London, and we decided to soak up some rays and hang out there until the sun began to wane and it started getting cold. I must be getting older, I'm starting to enjoy just lying down and enjoying the sun. The beach was a rocky, but I managed to wedge myself into the pebbles for a comfortable position.

Despite the beach, still have to check 

Headed back to London afterwards, changed out of the seagull-poop stained clothes and we met up for a few of friends for dinner before my friend Senny goes back to Korea for good. Currently trying to pre-emptively pack and get ready to leave London and continue on the next leg of the Euro-Trip!

London Day 4

Today was a quiet day of adventures in London. Though originally, we were supposed to visit Oxford (potentially go punting, check out the pubs, etc), we woke up far too late and decided that we didn't really have the energy to do so. We did want to do something outside since today was one of the last days of nice weather that we would enjoy in London. We walked down Regent Street towards Oxford circus, where there are a lot of shopping malls in the area. From then, we made our way to Hyde Park and relaxed under the sun and checked out the scenery there.

Writing post cards to friends/family. It took 2 hours... literally.

Normandy alongside some ducks. Craving Peking duck now...

Afterwards, we started to make our way towards Harrod's, which is a popular department store in London when we saw a police escort zoom by us with KATE MIDDLETON inside the car! (Okay, maybe it wasn't Kate, but I am convinced that it was). Harrod's was a very large department store, but my wallet didn't allow me to purchase any more things (especially after Bicester Village).  

Harrod's is exceptionally British looking

From then, we decided to go home as the clouds were starting to form. We made some dinner back at my place (grilled cheese sandwiches, cream of chicken soup, and cheese+crackers+cherry tomatoes). One of my friends was having a birthday party that day as well, so we joined them for some celebratory drinks and retired for the evening. 

Next day: THE BEACH!

London Day 3

Mandy:


Today we spent an entire day at Bicester Village! It is Europe's most popular outlet mall. Burberry had amazing deals so of course we bought a few things :) The only bad thing about going to Bicester is that the train ride from London is 32 pounds. Good thing we each saved at least that much money on our purchases.


Norm made me a delicious pasta bolognese for dinner while I was getting ready to go to the LSE end of exams party at Cafe de Paris. The event was a black tie affair - luckily I brought a dress. We met up with Norm's res friends and headed to the club. I've never partied with a group of 8 European guys before but it was a really fun night! I got drunk off of two glasses of wine and a sex on the beach so I even had fun dancing to the 2008 pop music.

Norm's Posse

Only Asian Couple

London Day 2

Mandy:


Today we went to London's chinatown to have a late afternoon dim sum. Surprisingly there was a long line up and even more surprising was that the food was pretty good! For the price we paid... I'm glad it was good. Ha gow was £3!

Chinatown

On our way to dim sum we stumbled upon a Hare Krishna (Indian parade). People were lined up to pull a float across a street.

Hare Krishna

After dim sum we made our way to the LSE campus. It's a lot smaller than te UofT campus but it definitely has a different old European architecture feel.

LSE Building

Then we went to Oxford street to do a little shopping. Unfortunately all the stores close at 6pm on Sunday's :( Fortunately we were hungry and Chef Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant was just around the corner. The restaurant definitely deserves its one Michelin star rating. It was one of the most delicious meals I've ever had! Norm and I each had a four course tasting menu with a trio of wine tasting. The highlight of the meal was the sea bass ceviche (I didn't even get sick after!).

Sea Bass Ceviche

After a quick rest at home we went on a walk to see the London Eye and the Big Ben. I'm so glad Norm's place is a walking distance to all the attractions.

London Eye and Big Ben

That's it for now!

Mandy Crosses the Pond!

Norman:

'ello Mates. Yesterday was the day Mandy arrived in London and I was quite happy to see her. According to this photo, the feeling seemed mutual:

Blurry action shot out of the international arrivals gate

We then took the Gatwick Express back to Central London. Mandy was quite jet-lagged because she forgot her very important neck pillow so her bobbing head prevented sleep on the plane. When we first arrived back at my apartment, she fell asleep to recharge her batteries. After (several) hours, she was up and running again so we decided to check out the sights and sounds near our place. 

First up was Trafalgar Square, which has a large open space in the heart of London. What I mean by "heart of London", if you simply type in "London" into maps.google.co.uk, the place marker is right at Trafalgar Square. Though I'm used to seeing this sight everyday on my walk to school, this is the first time I saw the Trafalgar Square from the perspective of a tourist and appreciated the . For whatever reason, it was extra-touristy at the square.

41 days until the Olympics!

From then, we walked across the Mall to check out St. James Park and Buckingham Palace. The weather starting to become uncooperative and the wind was picking up. Leaves and debris were flying into our eyes and mouths, but we survived. Again, despite living in London, and walking by Buckingham Palace often, this was the first time I stopped to actually appreciate it.

 

At that time, it was getting close to dinner. London is an amazing city, but one thing it seriously lacks is decent food (or at least lacking in food that is worth the money you pay). However, notable exceptions to this are the Indian food in London, which is quite authentic and delicious. We went to a place called Dishoom near Covent Garden. Food was good there and reasonably priced. Some lamb biryani, curry, paneer tikka, murgh malai and chessy naan afterwards, we were full and headed home.

Mandy's favourite was the paneer tikka, but it was too spicy for her to fully enjoy it 

Today was also the birthday of one of my good friends at LSE and to celebrate we went to the Charring Cross Theatre and Player bar. This bar plays live piano music and is open until 2:00 am. For those who live in Westminster, it is a common headache that 95% of pubs close at 11:00 pm and stores stop selling alcohol. As a result, the search for drinks past 11:00 pm is always a headache unless one wants to go to one of the crappy Piccadilly tourist clubs. Finding the piano bar was an amazing late discovery for me and my friends and Christoph decided to celebrate his birthday there.

Birthday boy is on the right

That is it for now! Tune in for more updates. Cheerio!

Mandy:

My first thoughts of London: 

1) I didn't bring enough warm clothes

2) It was so windy debris was flying into both my eyes

3) My fave line of the day

Norm: I need to buy a new.... falafel?

Me: You mean a loofah?

Norm: Yes... that....

Summer 2012

Mandy:

Our next adventure is a 4 week Eurotrip starting in London then Amsterdam, Paris, Nice, Barcelona, and back to London for Norm's convocation.

Stay tuned for daily (hopefully) posts!

Two Year Update

Mandy:
It has been two years since our last post. During this time we have travelled to New York City for New Years, Chicago, and Korea. While Norm went to school at Villanova, Pennsylvania I did a road trip around the states and went to Las Vegas.


Here is a quick recap of our travels:

Road trip stop in New Jersey. Rick and I went to the bar where Snooki got punched in the face and beers for $1. We ordered 15. 

We were lucky to have amazing weather in New York City in December. 

Thus far, the best New Years Eve celebrations at Cabanas in the Maritime Hotel.

Post SOA, pre UFE celebrations in Vegas. Four full days of pool parties and clubbing.

Korea Crew Family Picture - Day trip to Gyeongbok Palace.