London! - A Weekend in Pictures

I spent last weekend in London with a girlfriend from college who was here on work and we had a fantastic time cruising the town and checking out some new spots! It's been awhile since I enjoyed the comforts of a corporate charge card! Thanks Liz!

Richmond Hill Hotel, Richmond-Upon-Thames

Liz's company put her up here in this cute boutique hotel in Richmond-Upon-Thames, at the end of the Tube's District line, to be close to the film production she's working on. The hotel was charming, it served alcohol all night, and had a great hillside view over the Thames.

SoBar in Richmond-Upon-Thames

We stopped at this cute spot tucked down an alleyway in Richmond for our first drink of the evening. The nibbles and drinks were excellent, and the place got pretty busy between 5 and 6pm while we sipped our drinks. It was a little on the noisy side by the time we left, but the jazzy beats playing over the stereo were nice.

Oscar Bar at Charlotte Street Hotel, SoHo

This place was around the corner from our dinner restaurant, so we stopped here for a drink around 8pm. Every table was full and the bar was packed. Liz had an espresso-tini that was out of this world--like a spiked Starbucks frappuccino!

Fino Restaurant, SoHo

We met two of Liz's work colleagues here for a 9:30pm dinner on Saturday--they are film editors working on a new Disney/Pixar feature that's filming here in London. Amazing pork belly, tuna tartare and classic tortilla, plus some fabulous Spanish wine.

Fish Works Restaurant, Richmond

We needed something greasy when we finally rolled out of bed at noon on Sunday, but breakfast was already over, so the fish & chips at this cute seafood brasserie fit the bill.

Camden Markets

We went to hunt for some antique tidbits for Liz's mom's new restaurant in San Francisco, but mostly found lots of tacky t-shirts and cheap souvenirs. The whole trip was worth it for the small stall we discovered selling Brazilian-style Churros (large tube-shaped doughnuts dusted in cinnamon & sugar and filled with dulce de leche). Delicious!

Claridge's Hotel Bar, Mayfair

We had a couple of hours to kill before our dinner reservation, so we sat at a cozy table in this bar and ordered some frou-frou cocktails. I had a Vanillita--cranberry & lime juice mixed with fresh strawberries, Vanilla vodka and honey, served over crushed ice. C'est bon!

Cecconi's Restaurant

We were excited to get a last minute 8pm reservation for Sunday night, and got great seats by the front window. Loved the mint green accents to brighten up the black & white retro vibe. Also loved the buffalo mozzarella & cherry tomato starter and the fresh crab & avocado salad. My Venetian fritelle dessert with zabaione cream was heavenly--glad I ate light & saved room.

Warwick Castle Visit

Castles always bring me back to Disney-driven childhood fantasies of being a princess carried off by a handsome prince on a white horse, so I was thrilled when a coupon/voucher offering 2-for-1 admission to Warwick Castle arrived in the mail a few months ago. Although D grew up near here, he had never been to visit it as a child, so he was interested in it too. The castle, which claims to be England's best preserved Medieval castle, is only 25 minutes drive from where we live in southern Birmingham, so when New Years Eve day arrived bright and sunny, we decided to drive over and give it a go.

When we first entered the grounds around noon it was still fairly quiet, but I was nervous that the whole experience would be boring for adults since there seemed to be prams everywhere, and a Disney-esque quality to some of the displays. Luckily, once we passed through the courtyard and entered the main castle building through the Great Hall decked out with Christmas decorations, I was pleased to see the traditional hallmarks of a Norman castle in full display--swords, armor, massive antique furniture--and not a Swashbuckling Micky Mouse in sight. Many of the rooms featured wax 'mannequins' dressed in period clothing and they were so life-like that in my photos the rooms appear to be filled with costumed performers!

We wandered through all of the rooms in the castle, then walked up the "Mound" to the original castle ramparts for a better view of the grounds. Behind the castle walls we watched as the falconry master flew several hawks and falcons over our heads and demonstrated medieval hunting techniques using birds of prey. Following the demonstration we wandered through the Peacock Park and got closer to a dozen peacocks than I have ever been in my life! After a stroll along the castle waterfront, and through the old water-wheel/electric mill, we hiked back up to the castle entrance and took the stairs up onto the castle ramparts.

Winding up about 100 stairs in the highest castle turret was a little claustrophobic, but the view was worth it--we could see all of Warwick town and the surrounding villages. All in all it was a great way to spend a couple of hours--even on a bitterly cold day.

Since it was New Years' Eve, we didn't want to stay too late, but went for a late lunch at a charming pub in Warwick village called The Zetland Arms Hotel before heading home. The room was cozy and the food turned out to be fantastic--D had a plate of faggots & peas with mashed potatoes, and I had a grilled sausage & stilton cheese panini sandwich. We were two very satisfied customers!

Bonus #1: The castle admission office was doing a promotion giving away a voucher for an extra visit in 2010 with every adult ticket purchased in 2009, so I can go back again in the spring when it's warmer.

Bonus #2: I got to ride away from the castle with my very own price charming beside me.

Good Morning 2010 - Nice to See You!

I've survived my first holiday season in England! There were a few notable differences between this year's holiday fun and what I normally experience at home in California:

1. Opening crackers (not the Saltine variety, but the strange parcels that nobody loves and everyone buys for the Christmas dinner table) and wearing paper crowns during our Christmas meal. For you Americans out there, a "cracker" is a small Christmas parcel containing a paper crown, a joke and a small, cheap trinket (like a dice or nail clippers) which is tied at both ends like a Tootsie Roll, and it opened by two people simultaneously pulling on either end of the parcel--whoever ends up with the largest section of the cracker wins the goods inside. Someone asked me why this long-standing English tradition didn't make it over to America with the Pilgrims, and I have a feeling it's got something to do with the whole "crown = king" thing, which the early Americans weren't too keen on. Just a guess....

2. Snow in the backyard instead of palm trees. On December mornings in L.A. I used to wear my Ugg boots occasionally to walk the dog because they were easy to slip on and marked the trend started by celebs a few years ago. I've had the same pair of Uggs since I was 18 years old, and until this year they still looked brand new because I rarely wore them. Now I wear them everywhere--to the movies, to the mall, to the gym, to dinner at a local restaurant--and they are practically falling apart. The snow and cold weather really added a special element to the Christmas Day atmosphere, but my feet have not actually been warm since September.

3. An extra national holiday for Boxing Day on which there is neither a boxing match, nor the boxing up of any particular items. I have yet to find an English citizen who can give me a clear explanation of why December 26th is a holiday and how it came into being. Not that I'm complaining about the additional day off, but think about it--shouldn't we just be honest with ourselves and call it Shopping Day (as a nod to the post-Christmas sales which create an even bigger consumption frenzy than Christmas itself), or Sleeping-It-Off Day (an indication of what everyone who's not hitting the sales is doing after the Christmas dinner food and alcohol binge)?

It's not the first time I have spent Christmas away from my family, but it is the first time in many years that I didn't do any travelling over the holiday period. During the past 5 years I have spent the holidays driving down Mexico's Baja Peninsula, roaming the jungles of Costa Rica, lying on the beach in Cabo San Lucas (Mexico), skiing fresh powder in Idaho, and trekking in Nepal & India. I do miss the excitement that travel brings, and the escape from all the holiday nostalgia and/or inevitable family drama, but this year there were no bags to pack, planes to catch, freeways to navigate, or airports to run through, and I have to say that on the whole this made the experience MUCH more relaxing.

Happy New Year! Here's to all that 2010 has in store!

Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market

Beer, sausage, cheese & chocolates. The Germans sure chose a fine selection of foods to become internationally known for! D and I made a visit to Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market in the city center one night last week with some friends and felt obliged to pay homage to German culture by taking part in some of the hearty eating and drinking that was going on.

With over 2 million visitors a year, the market is the largest authentic German Christmas market outside of Germany or Austria, and apparently Frankfurt is Birmingham's "partner city" under some EU sister city program. The market here opened mid-November in Victoria Square and runs until December 23rd (although I have heard rumors that the city council are considering leaving it open until February, since it has brought so much life to the central business district). It's open all day, from 10am to 9pm, which has allowed me to nip over during my afternoon holiday shopping outings for a mug of mulled cider or a hot Bratwurst sandwich.

The shops are found in cute little timber huts which have been erected around Victoria Square and down part of New Street, all covered in pine boughs and holly. About 1/2 of the stalls are food oriented, selling roasted nuts, marzipan loafs, chocolate treats, hard candies, soft pretzels, Germans sausages, German breads, and of course beer, mulled cider and mulled wine (Gluhwein). The remaining stalls sell mostly craft-work or handmade gifts, including ceramics, candles, glasswork, jewellery and Christmas decorations. A number of stalls also feature traditional German items such as wooden toys, nativity scenes and marionettes.

I found out that the origins of the Christmas Market in Frankfurt can be traced back to 1393. In Medieval times, Frankfurt originally apparently held the Christmas Market exclusively for the burghers (members of the governing class), while the city craftsmen reserved their finest wares for local people.

Most of the crafts for sale aren't really my cup of tea, but there's definitely some fine handiwork on display. I really enjoyed seeing people out during their lunch hours having mugs of beer and hot cocoa, watching children from some of the local schools sing Christmas carols up on the small stage near the top of Victoria Square. In the evenings workers crowd around the beer stalls drinking in groups and avoiding their holiday to-do lists. It feels altogether cheerful considering the weather and the economic climate that would otherwise be dampening spirits at this time of year. As the German's say: Froehliche Weihnachten!!

Train-Riding Etiquette for Beginners

There's nothing more relaxing than a quiet hour spent reading a good book in the nearly empty coach of a train passing through the English countryside, listening to the dull rattle of the train moving over the tracks or the rain splashing on the windows. I have really come to enjoy train-riding here. A majority of the time the experience is thoroughly enjoyable and the journey passes quickly. However, after visiting London on several train trips over the past few months, I have a few simple requests for all my fellow train-riders:

1. Please preserve the peace & quiet that others are enjoying around you, especially if you choose to sit in one of the "Quiet Zones" that are now available on many trains. If you are in a Quiet Zone, that means no talking on your mobile or to other passengers, listening to music on your iPod (see # 6 below), or even sending text messages on your mobile or Blackberry unless the tones are turned off on your keypad and the new message alert is silenced. If you choose to talk in other areas of the train, please keep the volume to a whisper and the conversation length to a minimum. Your life is not that interesting. Funnily enough, I haven't heard any loud Americans on the train in England yet, but there does seem to be a corresponding increase between the volume of non-English speakers and the distance from England of that language's origin (i.e., French, Germans and Spaniards are on the quieter end of the scale, but things get louder as you move towards the Russian, Arab, Chinese and African dialects).

2. If a woman is travelling alone and carrying 3 or 4 huge bags (especially on the Tube), you should definitely offer her your seat or at least a place to stand where she can set the bags down during transit without causing severe trauma to the feet of her fellow travelers.

3. When there are signs posted in narrow passageways or stairwells in train or Tube stations asking travelers to "KEEP LEFT" to allow movement in both directions, if you choose to ignore said signs, you immediately lose the right to protest when travelers traveling in the correct manner whack into you as they pass or shove you out of their way. They are rushing to get on the train platform as much as you are rushing to get off of it.

4. Bringing hot french fries onto the train at any time is a definite sin. It is completely disrespectful of all dieters on the train and may cause more than 1 rider to 'fall off the wagon' and rush into the nearest McDonalds in shame upon exiting at their destination.

5. Do not travel on the Tube at rush hour unless you are willing to be a human sardine and will not complain about it or attempt to prevent it. If there are 2 inches of space left in your car, surely you can fit at least four more people in.

6. If you insist on listening to your iPod or music player at full volume, please invest in a good pair of in-ear earphone buds or Bose-type silencing headphones that prevent your music from being shared with the entire coach full of train travelers. Just because you are enjoying your new playlist, doesn't mean we want it to be the soundtrack to our day.

7. If you intend to use the lavatory while traveling on the train, it is best not to travel with a group of your drunken friends on a stag do (i.e., bachelor party). These types are known for opening the door to the toilet while you are taking a leak and attempting to expose your modesty to every hapless woman traveler passing through the corridor. You are also not likely to leave the bathroom without a puddle on the floor, which will not likely be a welcome sight to the next toilet seeker.

Bon voyage!

Sunday Night Showdown: X-Factor v. Snooker?

Sometimes I just have to laugh at what I'm willing to spend time watching on television here in England! This weekend, we spent at least 3 hours between Saturday and Sunday watching the finals of Simon Cowell's UK talent show hit, "The X-Factor", just to find out who 10 million English teenage girls would prefer to see crooning at them in tight black pants and a skinny tie. Seriously, neither of the two finalists has a voice or a look that appeals to me personally, yet I was held captivated as the entire country screamed and shouted over them in a massive love-fest. During the last 2 nights, the singers were even joined onstage by Michael Buble, Robbie Williams, George Michael, Leona Lewis, JLS and even Sir Paul McCartney--wouldn't these stars rather be dueting with someone who's already a famous singer rather than a teenage hopeful? iTV must have deep pockets!

Although the 18 year old winner, Joe McElderry, has a strong voice, he looks about 12 years old, is super short, and would get eaten for breakfast by the likes of Justin Timberlake or even Chris Martin in terms of stage performance ability. Although the winning acts from the past two years of X-Factor have done well commercially on their own (Leona Lewis has gone world-wide, and JLS is popular here), I don't really see little Joe ever reaching an audience outside of his X-Factor support base. The runner-up, Olly Murs, has a ton of stage personality, but a weaker singing voice, and he seems like he'd be more suited to musical theater.

Also dominating prime-time last night was the UK Snooker Championships. Seriously, does anyone in America even play snooker? It's definitely on the list of questionable 'sports' along with table tennis, car racing and shooting. I have never met anyone who has a snooker table or knows the rules in my whole life--it's a bit like pool, but with a larger table and twice as many balls. I don't even like to say the word "snooker" (pronounced "snU-ker" here)--it sounds like something a cranky old lady would carry around in her purse. D was of course aghast that I have spent my existence in ignorance of this important UK 'sport', so we watched the final match last night while he tried to explain the rules. Before falling asleep I managed to learn that the players must alternate between trying to sink a 'colored' ball and a 'red' ball, the former being worth a varying amount of points, depending on which colored ball is sunk. The colored balls are brought back out onto the table after being sunk, but once all the red balls have been pocketed, the player with the highest score wins.

Maybe next week I can sneak in a few minutes of Sunday Night Football on ESPN America to bring me back to reality!

Wherefore art thou Shakespeare?

I admit it. I actually paid 17 GBP to ride around on one of those super-touristy, hop-on hop-off, double-decker tourist buses on my first visit to Stratford-Upon-Avon with D in February, and I had a good time. Normally I try to stay away from those types of tourist traps, but in this case we only had a few hours of the afternoon left to see the city, and it was freezing cold out, so the idea of finding our own way through the town and possibly getting lost was about as appealing as frostbite. On that visit D and I didn't pay to visit any of the Shakespearean homes, but we did at least see them all from the outside. We passed by the vacant outdoor tables of cozy teahouses, past sleepy canals with boats shuttered and docked for the winter, and past white-washed Elizabethan buildings fronted by the characteristic raised, black wooden beams.

After I moved over to England in June, I went back a few more times during the summer. On the first summer visit I took part in a city walking tour organized by Stratford Town Walk, that started near the waterfront and meandered past most of the city's major landmarks during the 2 hour stroll. Our guide was quite well informed, and after 2 hours, I knew lots more about the city's history and felt like I could navigate the town fairly easily on my own. Being on my own, I decided against lunch and instead stopped into Benson's Tea Room and had a delicious cream tea while reading my book.

One of the benefits of the Stratford Town Walk was that we were given 5 coupons/ vouchers good for discounts at several dozen restaurants and tourist establishments around town, including the Shakespeare homes operated by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Using one of my vouchers I bought a ticket to visit all five Shakespeare homes (good for 1 year) on the next visit back (for GBP12 instead of the normal GBP 17 price). In about 3.5 hours, I was able to visit three of the homes: Shakespeare's Birthplace, New Place and Hall's Croft. The Birthplace was the most interesting of the 3, with live guides in some of the rooms giving you information about what you saw inside, and costumed actors out in the gardens performing scenes from some of the Bard's most famous plays. Hall's Croft was also fairly informational and well-signed, but New Place was a little on the boring side. If you only have 1 day in Stratford, focus on the Birthplace and adjoining museum and skip the remaining homes. Since my ticket is good until next July, I decided to leave the last 2 houses, Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Mary Arden's House, until sometime next year.

Today I went back for a little mooch (i.e., English-speak for 'a look around') in some of the boutiques and shops in anticipation of Christmas and came across a few cute places:

- Vinegar Hill (http://www.vinegar-hill.co.uk/) a cute shop with jewelry, decorative accessories for the home, party accessories, cookbooks, journals and other small gifts.

- Aspire (http://www.aspirestyle.co.uk/catalogue) a funky shop selling fashion, jewelry and gifts

- Havilands Tea Room (5 Meer Street, Stratford Upon Avon, CV37 6QB), a cute delicatessen with attached tea room - great home-made sausage rolls for 60p!

- Revital Wholefoods (http://www.revital.co.uk/Revital_Health_Shop_Stratford_on_Avon) found a great well-priced selection of organic and asian cooking staples (some of which I'd only seen previously in London), as well as the usual vitamins and supplements.

- Chadds Sandwich Bar (6c Union Street, Stratford Upon Avon CV37, Tel:+44(0)1789 294 044) discovered the most delicious, fresh baguette sandwich I've had yet in England: Thai Red Curry Chicken Sandwich with cucumber, onion and lettuce on a wheat baguette for GBP 2.50. The filling was tasty and the bread was still warm from baking in the oven. Far better and cheaper than Baguette du Monde, Greggs, Subway, Pret a Manger, or any of the other chain shops!! I'm gonna try and replicate the sandwich filling at home and make my own.

English Words Explained!

One of D's favorite sayings when we're turning in for the night is "You coming up the apples?" It took me about 2 weeks to figure out that this was short for "You coming up the apples & pears?", which was actually Cockney rhyming slang for "You coming upstairs?"

Without even touching on the difficulties of understanding Cockney rhyming slang, I wanted to run through a few of the most commonly used English words that differ from US terms, or are not used in America at all. I plan to add to this list whenever I hear a new word, so keep checking back or subscribe to an RSS feed for this page!

People & places

Babb = darling, dear (for a woman), used informally

Son = buddy, pal (for a man), used informally & for those older than you

Bloke = man (informal)

Brummie = someone from Birmingham, England

Bluenose = a supporter of the Birmingham Blues Football Club

Jock = someone from Scotland

Geordie = someone from Newcastle region

Manc = someone from Manchester region

Cockney = someone from East London

WAGs = wives and girlfriends (usually of football/soccer players)

The Old Bill = the police

Bobby = a policeman

Gaffer = (slang) old man; (informal) boss, football manager

Pikey = a derogatory word that used to refer to Irish travelers; now generally used to refer to someone whose life is characterized by itinerancy, theft or regard for authority, without reference to national origin

MOT = Ministry of Transport (like DMV in America), MOT Test = annual vehicle roadworthiness test

OAP = Old Age Pensioner, senior citizen

Poof = derogatory reference to a homosexual male

Off-license = store for the sale of alcohol to take away and consume at home; liquor store

Clothing

courts = high heeled pumps

jumper = sweater

vest = tank top

trainers = running shoes or sneakers

body = bodysuit (usually with snaps in crotch)

braces = suspenders

pants = underwear, underpants

kecks = underwear

knickers = women's underpants

Y-fronts = men's briefs or jockey shorts (i.e. tighty-whities)

trousers = pants

nappy = baby's diaper

plaited = braided

swimming costume = swimsuit

suspenders = garter belt for holding up ladies stockings

wellies = rubber rainboots, Wellington boots

Items or Things

fag = cigarette

rubber = eraser for pencil

flat = apartment

pavement = sidewalk

petrol = gasoline

bin = wastebasket

queue = line up

arse = buttocks

pram = stroller, baby carriage

pushchair = forward facing stroller for a small child

dummy = baby's pacifier

artic lorry = semi trailer truck

blues & twos = slang for an emergency vehicle w/ lights & sirens

bog roll = toilet paper roll

boiled sweet = hard candy

building society = a savings & loan association

fanny = a woman's genitalia (i.e., the English say "bum bag", never "fanny pack" for a bag worn around the waist)

butty or sarnie or sarny = a sandwich

caravan park = trailer park

coach = bus

carriageway = lanes of auto traffic on a road

central reservation = lines dividing traffic on highway (i.e., median strip)

cashpoint = ATM

council flat = public housing

dole = welfare

dosh = (slang) money

dress circle = seats in the first balcony of a theater (balcony or loge)

stalls = seats in the ground floor level of a theater (orchestra section)

estate car = station wagon

flannel = washcloth (for the face)

fairy lights = Christmas lights

fortnight = 14 days, or 2 weeks

fringe = bangs, describing the hair covering the forehead

hash sign = the pound key (#)

high street = the primary business & shopping street in a town

hob = stovetop burner; the hot surface on a stove

pelican crossing = pedestrian crossing with traffic lights operated by pedestrians

varruca = a wart on one's foot, a Plantar wart

Actions & emotions

argy-bargy = (informal) pushing & shoving or outright fighting

blag = (v.) to obtain or achieve by deception, to bluff, to rob or (n.) a tall story, bluff

chuffed = proud, pleased or satisfied

to 'pull' or 'cop off with' = to successfully engage the company of a potential sexual partner, or to fornicate with

to snog = make out with, to French kiss

to fancy = to like someone or something, to have a desire for

fit = highly attractive, hot

have a kip = take a nap

minging = dirty, rotten, smelly, unattractive

parky = cold, usually with reference to the weather

to row = to have a fight

skint = out of money, broke

to slag off = to badmouth, defame or speak badly of someone

take the piss/take the mickey = to make fun of someone, or to transgress beyond what's acceptable, as in "the increases in car taxes are taking the piss"

to go 'tits up' = to suddenly go wrong (mildly vulgar)

to whinge = to complain or whine about something

Profanities and Vulgarities

sod (as in "Sod it!"), sodding = f--k, f--king

Sod off! = Get lost, go away

bugger (n.) = a--hole, jerk, or more innocently ('a cheeky bugger' = a rascal)

bugger! = Damn! or Shoot!

bugger it (v.) = screw it

I buggered it = I screwed it up

We're buggered = we're thwarted, in a predicament, screwed

Bollocks = literally refers to male testicles, used as "Bollocks!" (i.e. "Dammit!") or "That's a load of bollocks."

git = a scumbag, idiot or annoying person

tosser or wanker = a no-good waster, a jerk