Sorry for the huge gap in updates but once classes started the insanity started ... plus Christine reignited my addiction to tv
My family left after the first week of classes and Eugene and I just got our apartment back to status-quo.. okay well mostly Eugene because school, competitions, clubs, etc. started kicking my butt right away. I'm in a photo taking slump as I went to Suzi's Bday at a Cabaret (a bit of a strange line up with a hula hooper followed by a burlesque dancer), Mamello's Bday at Puza (real meat finally!), and a night out in Cranfield and managed to take zero pictures.. for better or worse.
Today I just returned back from our tournament at Cranfield. LBS matched its wits against Cranfield in Touch Rugby, Football, Volleyball, Badminton, Basketball and one other sport. I believe we beat them in everything except Badminton and Girls Football. We play to win! As the team cheerleader I quickly and willingly became the team coat rack since I brought my winter jacket only to not wear it to the field... don't ask me why. The girls played really well and everyone looks really good, even if I get back on my feet and can run I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with their level of play. When the girls finally finished we went inside to defrost our toes and cheer on Volleyball and Girls Football. Watching Football i realized some people take this tournament way too seriously and are a bit intense.. to the borderline of unsportsmanlike. Rugby is really the most sportsmanlike sport.
Anyways that evening was Burnside which is a feast to celebrate a dead poet. It was a black tie event ... and everyone was dressed to the nines, which was interesting to see people go from sweats to tuxes and dresses. The black tie event was a bit strange. It felt like I was at a Jr High dance, well except for the shot of Irish whisky at the door. Because the days events had been so intense I had only had a snack bar the entire day and I was starving! Only to discover that this black tie event was a buffet. And they had no tables anywhere. Course that didn't stop the Rugby girls from commandeering a table and setting up our own little corner to eat. I tried haggis.. not a fan.. but vegetarian haggis was actually quite good. The food was so so, so I just ate enough to be full. Not very carb heavy either.. which ended up being not optimal as the one plus side was a glass of wine was only 2GBP or you could get a bottle for 10GBP... which us girls quickly opted for. The music and dancing was actually Scottish, and in the end even I jumped in to partake in the crazy festivities. After that we went to what I think is their student center... where there was karaoking, I joined the Rugby girls for a round of Like a Virgin. All in all a fun but exhausting night.
Eugene enjoyed a day to himself and went to the National Gallery. Said it was nice to go and just stay as long as he wanted, eat when he felt like it and not having to accommodate anyone (i.e., me I'm guessing hehe). Of course no Chu outing would be complete without a little chow mein from Golden Dragon.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
A nice end to 2009
The last two weeks of my family visiting has been filled with a lot of fun and seeing London with my new found time and mobility
Highlights:
1. Boxing Day - Last minute decision to watch Billy Elliot at Victoria Palace ... Billy Elliot the Musical is absolutely Amazing!! The songs are great, the dancing is impressive, the stage is pretty crazy and for once my favorite character (Billy's friend Michael)didn't end up dying! The kids are absolutely amazing, I think because of Child Labor Laws they have 5 Billy Elliot's... we got the gymnast one and he was crazy athletic.. not the best ballet dancer but I thought that was fitting since the one in the movie wasn't fine tuned either a decent singer and a pretty good tap dancer.
2. Victoria and Albert Musuem - Described as England's attic, had a Chinese collection that was a mixture of art, modern, traditional, anthropological and cultural... much more impressive than the British Musuem, but still not as good as Gu Gong. Despite a few hours there, didn't even get through 1/2 of the museum... definitely need to go back.
3. Tate Modern - (Disclaimer: I am not a fan of modern art) The restaurant has quite a nice view of the Thames river, unfortunately it was gloomy as London often is these days. The food is pricey but really quite good. Duck Confit, Pork Chops and Orcheitta Pasta was YUM! Highly recommend the restaurant... art was good I'm sure but I personally only enjoyed a few pieces and quickly tired after that.
4. Uniqglo and Chinatown: We took advantage of Boxing Day and New Year's Day sales to head out to the lights of Oxford and Picadilly Circus and shop our hearts out at Uniqglo. The only time my dad has spent more time shopping than us girls. And both times Eugene and my dad were the big winners. We also spent a couple of meals enjoying the amazing food of The Golden Dragon, of course buying a bundle of food and Chinese pastries to bring home!
5. Finally visiting The Markets - a day at Camden market was not great for shopping...but pretty cool to walk amongst what used to be pretty fancy horse stables, although the cobblestones weren't so boot friendly. Finally made it to Borough Market.. a foodie dream, were site seeing right after so couldn't really partake but we're going back for more!
6. Harrod's Food Hall - Quickly winning my sister over, we bought Salami and Prosciutto to our hearts content (I have a new favorite... salami felino) and cheese to match of course. This of course led to many late night meals and snacks of different combinations of meats and cheese... defintely going to need a diet changing resolution.
7. Feeding the birds at Regent's Park - Christmas Day the tube and buses were closed so there was nothing for us to do except take a walk in Regent's Park and feed the birds. Eugene finally got to bring out the rock hard baguette he had been saving for just this occassion. It was pretty entertaining because our bread pieces were so hard that the birds actually fought over it (instead of just eating it immediately), although most did not use their brains and soak it in water to soften it but often ended up abondoning the rock hard bread. I suspect we might have killed a few geese because on the walk back I heard some coughing and sipping water...
8. Mommy's cooking - Love Love Love having my mom here to pour out her love the way she knows best, with cooking deliscious food all the time! Good thing I don't have a scale so I don't have to worry about gaining weight hehe. It's a win win because my mom prefers cooking to going out and London doesn't have so many great places to go out to eat that we prefer to stay home... unlike LA!
9. Introduction to British Television - Ironically my sister who resides in the US watches more British TV than Eugene and I, who reside in the UK. I have now been introduced and fairly amused with The Big Fat Quiz, Top Gear, and QI.
10. New Year's Eve - Per Eugene's request we bundled up and headed out to the Thames for fireworks at midnight, well my sister, Eugene and I. We got off at Embarkment and ended up walking all the way to Black Friar's Bridge... basically there were so many people we saw the residual light of the main fireworks shows and that was it. However, at midnight all of a sudden it started to snow and snow hard! Making for a natural show of its own. We got to spot two residual fireworks go off too!
Happy New Years Everyone!!
Highlights:
1. Boxing Day - Last minute decision to watch Billy Elliot at Victoria Palace ... Billy Elliot the Musical is absolutely Amazing!! The songs are great, the dancing is impressive, the stage is pretty crazy and for once my favorite character (Billy's friend Michael)didn't end up dying! The kids are absolutely amazing, I think because of Child Labor Laws they have 5 Billy Elliot's... we got the gymnast one and he was crazy athletic.. not the best ballet dancer but I thought that was fitting since the one in the movie wasn't fine tuned either a decent singer and a pretty good tap dancer.
2. Victoria and Albert Musuem - Described as England's attic, had a Chinese collection that was a mixture of art, modern, traditional, anthropological and cultural... much more impressive than the British Musuem, but still not as good as Gu Gong. Despite a few hours there, didn't even get through 1/2 of the museum... definitely need to go back.
3. Tate Modern - (Disclaimer: I am not a fan of modern art) The restaurant has quite a nice view of the Thames river, unfortunately it was gloomy as London often is these days. The food is pricey but really quite good. Duck Confit, Pork Chops and Orcheitta Pasta was YUM! Highly recommend the restaurant... art was good I'm sure but I personally only enjoyed a few pieces and quickly tired after that.
4. Uniqglo and Chinatown: We took advantage of Boxing Day and New Year's Day sales to head out to the lights of Oxford and Picadilly Circus and shop our hearts out at Uniqglo. The only time my dad has spent more time shopping than us girls. And both times Eugene and my dad were the big winners. We also spent a couple of meals enjoying the amazing food of The Golden Dragon, of course buying a bundle of food and Chinese pastries to bring home!
5. Finally visiting The Markets - a day at Camden market was not great for shopping...but pretty cool to walk amongst what used to be pretty fancy horse stables, although the cobblestones weren't so boot friendly. Finally made it to Borough Market.. a foodie dream, were site seeing right after so couldn't really partake but we're going back for more!
6. Harrod's Food Hall - Quickly winning my sister over, we bought Salami and Prosciutto to our hearts content (I have a new favorite... salami felino) and cheese to match of course. This of course led to many late night meals and snacks of different combinations of meats and cheese... defintely going to need a diet changing resolution.
7. Feeding the birds at Regent's Park - Christmas Day the tube and buses were closed so there was nothing for us to do except take a walk in Regent's Park and feed the birds. Eugene finally got to bring out the rock hard baguette he had been saving for just this occassion. It was pretty entertaining because our bread pieces were so hard that the birds actually fought over it (instead of just eating it immediately), although most did not use their brains and soak it in water to soften it but often ended up abondoning the rock hard bread. I suspect we might have killed a few geese because on the walk back I heard some coughing and sipping water...
8. Mommy's cooking - Love Love Love having my mom here to pour out her love the way she knows best, with cooking deliscious food all the time! Good thing I don't have a scale so I don't have to worry about gaining weight hehe. It's a win win because my mom prefers cooking to going out and London doesn't have so many great places to go out to eat that we prefer to stay home... unlike LA!
9. Introduction to British Television - Ironically my sister who resides in the US watches more British TV than Eugene and I, who reside in the UK. I have now been introduced and fairly amused with The Big Fat Quiz, Top Gear, and QI.
10. New Year's Eve - Per Eugene's request we bundled up and headed out to the Thames for fireworks at midnight, well my sister, Eugene and I. We got off at Embarkment and ended up walking all the way to Black Friar's Bridge... basically there were so many people we saw the residual light of the main fireworks shows and that was it. However, at midnight all of a sudden it started to snow and snow hard! Making for a natural show of its own. We got to spot two residual fireworks go off too!
Happy New Years Everyone!!
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