What's That in the Sky? Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane? No...

...It's actually the sun.

Although the weather in the UK hasn't been terrible this winter, it has still be awfully dark with the sun rising after I get to the office and setting before I leave for my commute. We typically lose any glimpse of sunlight by 4:30pm when it become pitch black outside. I was warned about this when I first moved to London that my biggest issue wouldn't be the weather, but rather the darkness and the grey. People here actually suffer from a condition called SAD (seasonal affective disorder). So when the weatherman forecasted a bright and sunny weekend, I had to make sure I got outside for a least a few hours a day. I've got some projects I've been focusing on recently so I've spent plenty more time in my flat than anywhere else outside of work. However I am a true Northern California girl at heart which means that I prefer to be outdoors rather than indoors and at any sign of sunshine I will put on the warm weather gear. This weekend that meant t-shirts, tank tops, skirts with no tights, open toe shoes, and most importantly, sunglasses. I stopped short of the flip flops considering I was already a frightful sight to the Brits, daring to go out of doors without a coat, scarf, hat, and gloves in the middle of February.

What the Brits were wearing:


What I was wearing:


Saturday morning I called up Tonya to head down to Borough Market since it had been ages since I'd been. I'm not sure if I've mentioned Borough Market before but it is a huge farmers' market in the middle of central London. It's one of the favorite American tourist spots since outside of the vendors, all I ever hear are American accents. I was great to get out and see the fresh meat, cheese, produce, and fish and we stopped at one of my favorite stalls, Brindisa, for a fresh off the grill chorizo sandwich. We ate our sandwiches in the churchyard next to market and then did a bit of shopping. With all the fresh goodies, I'd made up my mind to make a bouillabaisse so I had to go pick out all of my ingredients.

This morning when I awoke, the sun was still shining brightly so after I spent some time cleaning the flat, I headed down to Kensington Gardens for a stroll. I got on the bus which stops in front of my favorite store, you know it, the Whole Foods. I popped in for a quick cappuccino and then headed across the street to enter the park. It was before noon so the park was quiet still as people were setting up their football (soccer) matches and rollerblade obstacle courses. Other people were taking their morning run/stroll through the park or just walking their dogs or enjoying a cup of coffee and a pastry. It was a really lovely day out with the sky so intensely blue and bright. Excuse me for getting a bit snapshot happy in Kensington Gardens.

Lucky McBride

Part 3

The girls didn't want to spend the entire week in London since this was Bernice and Melissa's first trip to Europe and Margaret has been to London before. We discussed several other places to visit that wouldn't require too much travel time such as Paris, Brugge, and Brussels, but we wanted to pick a spot that would be new for all us. In the end we settled on Ireland since it's cheap to get from London to Dublin, Ireland and it would be a new experience for everyone. In addition, Bernice works for Diageo which owns several beer and spirit producers in Ireland. We are always taken care of when we visit any of the Diageo brands with Bernice, but no of us expected the VIP treatment that we received in Ireland. Big thanks to Bernice for setting up all the visits and for sharing the privilege with us! She really went above and beyond to get us some once in a lifetime experiences.

We arrived in Dublin midday and decided to take it easy on our first day since we'd had some late nights in London and we had an early morning planned the next day. After checking-in to the hotel we headed to the Grafton Street area of Dublin for lunch. For our first tourist activity we went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. The book contains richly decorated copies of the 4 gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John written around 800 AD. The book was given to Trinity College for safekeeping and is visited by nearly 500,00 people every year. The end of our tour took us through the Long Room in the Old Library Building. The Long Room is 65 meters long and contains over 200,000 texts with some dating back to the 17th and 18th century. You can see some of the photos that we weren't supposed to take. The room was built using Irish oak which then depleted all of the surrounding forests. Some of the trees are just starting to grow back now. After some shopping and a light dinner we called it a day.

The next morning we got up early to start on our 3 drive to County Antrim, Northern Ireland, which is located slightly above Belfast. Since I was the only one who could drive on the wrong side of the road, I got the task of chauffeuring the group for the day. The drive took us through some beautiful Irish countryside will green rolling hills, rivers, sheep grazing on hillsides. After a bit over 3 hours we reached our first Diageo destination, the old Bushmills Irish Whiskey distillery. Bushmills is celebrating its 400th birthday this year which makes it the oldest whiskey distillery in the world. Our private tour guide, Sam, took us through the entire process of making Bushmills whiskey, from barley and water all the way through packing and shipping the boxes. At the end of our tour we walked by the restaurant and bar area and expected that we would sit down for a whiskey tasting. Our guide took us right past this area and through the gift shop so we were disappointed at missing out on the tasting. Then he opened another door to a cozy red room with leather sofas and table full of whiskey glasses. Sam sat us down and took us through all of the Bushmills whiskeys: White Bush, Black Bush, 10 year single malt, 16 year single malt, 12 year single malt, and 21 year single malt. We also had a couple glasses of Scotch so that we could taste the difference. Of course since I was driving I only had a sip of each. After the tour and lunch I was keen to head back to Dublin since the weatherman had forecasted winds up to 70mph and snow for Northern Ireland but the people at Bushmills convinced us that we had to go to the Giants Causeway since we'd already made the long journey and it was only 2 miles away.

We had discussed going there earlier but decided to skip it due to the weather but now we figured we had to go. Although it was freezing cold and we were all nearly blown away by the winds, we were glad that we stopped by since it was the type of coastal scenery that just shows you the amazing force of nature. Nothing like that could ever be devised by human hands. Giants Causeway is referred to as the 8th wonder of the world being formed over 60 million years ago by lava outflows. There are nearly 40,000 basalt columns that just seem to jut out from the ground daring the waves to break them. As the waves came up, the sea foam was instantly frozen into snow . Unfortunately is was too cold too stay for long and too dangerous to walk around much but it was worth the stop.

On our final day we found a cute cafe in Dublin owned by a kind French woman from Bordeaux. Crepes were the cafe's specialty but I was treated to a mouthwatering roblechon and bacon tartine. Oh so good! After we filled our tummies we headed to our next Diageo brand, Guinness. Typically visitors go on a self-guided tour but Bernice was able to secure a tour guide, Adam, for us. Adam was the 4th generation is his family to work at Guinness so he knew everything about the brewing process, the building (including the secret tunnels), and the history. The tour here was very different from Bushmills though since Guinness is much more commercial and, being located in Dublin city center, receives many more tourists. Adam did a great job of showing us around and gave us a detailed lesson in drawing Guinness from a tap. I'd heard many times in the past that Guinness in Ireland doesn't taste like Guinness anywhere else in the world and they were right. There is something so fresh about it here that this was probably the only time I could finish a whole pint of it. On top of that the bar area is located on the very top floor of the building with glass walls so that you get a 360 degree view of Dublin. We finished our pints and had a great lunch of all types of food made with Guinness but sadly we had to head to the airport and go back to London. What I'll miss the most about Ireland will definitely be the people. Everywhere we went everyone was so kind to us and actually would stop and talk instead of ignoring us.

After our trip to Ireland the girls were only in London for one more night. Before they headed back to the States, I took the girls to a small neighborhood cafe to try a full English breakfast. We also had a little bit of time to head over to Abbey Road where the Abbey Road Studios is located. If you're not a Beatles fan, the Abbey Road Studios is where they recorded nearly all of their albums including their final one, appropriately named Abbey Road. As thousands of other tourists do, we stopped traffic to mimic the Beatles' famous Abbey Road cover picture in the zebra crossing.

Pictures are on the right.

Pancake Day

Whereas in other parts of the world people prepare for the 40 days of suffering during Lent by giving into all sorts of hedonistic pleasures on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), the British celebrate it with Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday). Traditionally on Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) you are supposed to make traditional British pancakes (similar to French crepes but slightly thicker and much less heavy than American pancakes) but it has become more of an affair to empty your cupboards of all the leftovers.

There is your lesson in British culture for today.

Duck, Duck, Goose

Part 2

The last full day in London for the girls and me was Margaret's birthday and we had a few activities planned. The day started out a bit mad and rushed as we had to make a 9am appointment in central London through some of the worst rush hour traffic. Even with a separate bus lane we barely made our appointments by taking a bus, running, jumping into a cab (after another one turned us down) and running some more. After all that effort we were rewarded with our tranquil and relaxing deep-tissue massages at Elemis Day Spa. Not only was I glad to relax into the hands of my well-trained and slightly sadistic masseuse, I was also excited to discover a new corner of London. The area of Mayfair is well-known for being posh with some of the most expensive haute couture boutiques, jewelery stores, bespoke tailors, and luxury hotels. But in this neighborhood where people have more money than their many generations have known what to do with, is a small windy alley called Lancashire Court. Lancashire Court is one of those hidden nooks that makes London, London and it provides the type of environment where you'd want to sit and sip cappuccinos all day long.

After our long and luxurious massages (which the girls treated me to for being their hostess, love you guys!), we headed out for a full day of shopping. First we had a short stop at Selfridge's so that I could show the girls a proper London department store (no, the locals do not shop at Harrods). Afterwards we left Oxford Circus behind and went down to Covent Garden to visit my favorite British designer, Paul Smith. Before diving into our shopping spree, we stopped to refuel at Masala Zone since the girls had to try London-style Indian food at least once. We shopped a bit more and then headed home to get ready for the main event of the night.

Since Margaret had come all the way to London to celebrate her birthday, we had to make sure we did it right. Although I had to call in 2 months ahead of time, we were able to secure a table at the much celebrated Fat Duck Restaurant. The Fat Duck is hidden away in a small white cottage in the obscure town of Bray (which is near the Altera office, by the way). In 2005 it was named Best Restaurant in the World by Restaurant Magazine, taking the honor away from the famed French Laundry. The chef/owner, Heston Blumenthal, is almost entirely self-taught and is a proponent of molecular gastronomy. This is a scientific approach to food where he takes the ingredients down to the molecular level to understand the taste, sight, sound, and smell. He'll often serve dishes "cooked" in liquid nitrogen, spray a scent into the air to intensify a flavor, or play music through an iPod to enhance the crunch sound of an ingredient. It all sounds a bit strange and over-dramatic but the food is simply divine, even aside from all of the hype surrounding this place. Best of all it was great to be surrounded by friends with two additional people joining us, Jenn and Steve. Jenn, who now lives in Reading (pronounced red-ing) with her English husband, went to high school with Maggs and Melissa. Steve is a Brit hiding out in America and is a co-worker from my Chicago office. He happened to be out here during the same time for his mother's 70th birthday and called me up to get together. We originally planned on having lunch but a spot opened up in our reservation so Steve was more than happy to join us. He also totally got us out of a pickle since we were looking at a 100 GBP cancellation fee for the person who wasn't going to show. I believe he enjoyed the food overall but I did get several comments about portion sizes and he said he would send me pictures of him at the Burger King later.

It turned out to be a great day with good food, good wine, and most importantly, good friends. Enjoy the pictures on the right.

A Good Girlfriend is Cheaper than Therapy

Part 1

I wouldn't really say that I have a best friend or that I believe in that concept because I think people come into your life at different times for different reasons and may stay for a long while or just a bit. That being said, I do have some really great friends and 3 of them were here visiting this week. Typically we take a trip every year around the end of January/early February to celebrate my friend Margaret's birthday. We've had quite a few snowboarding related trips to places such as Whistler, British Columbia and Salt Lake City, Utah but this year Margaret decided to spend her birthday trip here in London with Bernice, Melissa, and me. The girls arrived last Saturday evening after a 10-hour flight from SFO that was delayed by 4 hours. They hopped onto the Heathrow Express and I collected them from the London Paddington Station around 5:30pm. We headed back to my flat where the girls rested up a bit, had a few bites to eat, and freshened up.

Margaret particularly wanted to arrive that evening because her cousin was having his 21st birthday party at a hall in East London. The party was being held from 6pm to 11pm and we didn't manage to leave my flat in West London until after 9pm. After a 30-minute tube ride and a short walk we were able to arrive at the party around 10pm. We went straight into the main room and what a huge surprise it was to find practically every Philipino in all of London at this party. There were at least 100 people between her relatives and their friends and I felt as though we were at a party back in Daly City or Vallejo. It was very interesting to see that regardless of what country you emmigrate to, culture doesn't change. We stayed through a few dances so that Margaret could catch up with her family but then decided to leave the hip hop to the youngters. We got back on the tube and went to find a bar in SoHo that would still serve us a drink. As much as London may consider itself a party town, the bars stop serving alcohol at midnight. My friend suggested that we go to Floridita since they stay open until 3am but unfortunately they were having a special event and we couldn't get in. We ended up just down the block at Refuel which was also full but we were able to sweet talk our way in for a final round (or two, or three) or drinks. Along with the bars, the tube also shuts down at midnight so the only options to get home are buses or taxis but the taxis are always full as everyone is trying to get home at the same time. We were near a bus stop that would take us directly to my flat so we waited for a double decker to get us home. And we waited, and waited, and waited in the cold. We were passed by 2 buses that were already full but after some time we jumped on a bus that would get us to my neighborhood.

Before the girls arrived in London we had discussed driving out into the country to visit Bath (Jane Austen country) or Stratford-Upon-Avon (Shakespeare country) instead of staying in the city since I could drive us out on Sunday and they would be in London for 3 days. From London it would be about a 2-hour drive to either city so after a long haul flight and a long night out, we decided to sleep in and spend the day in London instead. We started the day on the right foot with some pastries, coffee, and mimosas and went to see the Princess Diana dress collection at Kensington Palace. Margaret is a huge royal family buff (especially Princess Di) so our trip had to include at least one palace. We did somehow manage to get distracted along the way first stopping at the MAC store (no not the computer) in Kensington where I forced Melissa to sit down for a makeover. We were able to find some lovely lipstick colors for her and best of all we found the UK headquarters for Jimmy Choo just hiding behind the MAC store. Back on our way to Kensington Palace we again were distracted by another store, this time the magnificent Whole Foods store. Long time readers know how much I enjoy going to the Whole Foods store here in London so of course I had to share the its splendors with my friends. We popped in for a quick snack of gelato and finally made it to Kensington Palace. Kensington Palace was built in 1689 by King William III and Queen Mary II since the king had very bad asthma and could not stand the air in London. We were able to tour the state rooms where Queen Anne lived, Queen Victoria was born, and where Princess Di lived before she died. Kensington Palace isn't as grand as some of the other palace's but the gardens more than make up for anything that the building is lacking. It is one of my favorite palaces because it feels more like a home than any other palace (as much as a palace could feel like a family home). Following our tour I had arranged for us to have afternoon tea at the Tea Palace. What else would 4 girls do in London? The Tea Palace offers a great high tea in a warm, relaxed, and comfortable setting that doesn't feel like your grandmother's living room. It turned out to be a very productive visit since during tea we decided that the Tea Palace's purple would be Bernice's wedding color, not that she's getting married anytime soon as we apparently have jinxed her now. After a short rest at my flat we went back out to dinner at Roka Restaurant where I had the best hamachi I've tasted in London.

Sadly on Monday I had to return to work so the girls took off to see the tourist sites without me. From what I could gather, they packed their day full with a visit to the British Museum where they were able to see the sold Terracotta Army exhibit that I've been dying to see. They spent most of their day at the museum and then went over to the London Eye to see the 360 degree views of London. While in that area that went by Big Ben and Westminster Abbey as well. I joined them after work for dinner at the Salt House pub, currently my favorite gastropub in London.