Seeing seven sisters

Today we caught the train 2 hours outside of London to see this amazing park called Seven Sisters.

I uploaded a bunch of photos from the trip.

The shore ditch

We traveled to the dark side of London tonight to catch a show. I know I'm not giving Shoreditch a fair shake, but there was a couple stabbings in the news recently, so that created a bit of a dark cloud. Prior to moving to London, we actually looked for apartments in the area -- it was described as hip and artsy. But after going there, I am quite happy where we ended up at :).

Now back to the show... we went to see this Swedish performer, Familjen. I only heard a few of his tracks prior, but since Those Damn Twins and Familjen are BFFs on MySpace, we had to go. It was a lot of fun, very lively for a small venue. The opening act, Casio Kids, was great as well.

Found this video of Familjen's hit Det snurrar i min skalle (just learned it won a Grammy in Sweden):


Rewinding a bit...
Yesterday we checked out a bit of the London Design Festival. Not too exciting... but a lot more exciting than what they were showing at the Tate Modern.

On Saturday we strolled the city and walked around the London Eye (huge ferris wheel). We accidently stumbled upon some sort of Festival in a park and saw this totally random Cabaret performance. Great stuff!



Between all that we've been working and relaxing.

Price rant

$5 for an Americano, $7 for beer, $50 for breakfast for two...

The prices here are pretty high. I'm not against paying good money for good food, but when it costs $15 for a cheese pizza, it better be damn good.

So this got Thomas and I in to a discussion on what meal we would pay a high price for... translating to what foods do we miss from Seattle.

Here's my list:
- Chicken Katsu at Ohanas
- Panang Curry at Simply Thai
- Veggie pizza at Bills on Broadway
- El Guapo sandwich at the Honey Hole
- Breakfast at Lindas

I'm sure I'll think of many more.

Dublin for a day

I went over to Dublin for a day to start work with a new company I am working for HiSoftware. I had a little extra time so I walked through Temple Bar and Trinity College.

I also was amazed to learn that Dubliners trust each other so much that they allow double parking on the streets. The cars below that are blocking traffic leave their parking break off so that if someone needs to move the car they can roll it out of the way!

The House of Viktor and Rolf

We saw an amazing fashion show at the Barbican Centre. On display was the work of Viktor & Rolf... okay, so it was more of an art exhibit than a fashion runway. The gallery hosted a huge dollhouse mansion, probably the size of an actual house, with dolls wearing miniature versions of their work. The runway videos where projected in surrounding rooms containing the real dresses.

I never heard of these guys, but I was absolutely amazed by their work. I didn't understand those wild fashion shows with outfits that no living person would ever wear, but I guess I finally got -- it's just plain, wonderful art.

Here's one of my favortite show entitled "Flowerbomb":

Thomas' favorite was called "Russian Doll". I couldn't find a video, but imagine a single model on stage and the designers placing a new dress over the current one. They do this several times, until she ends up looking like a russian doll.

On the way to Notting Hill...

I decided to read up on Notting Hill before heading there so we'd know what to expect. This was the welcome message from one of the sites:

"You've heard the hype, seen the movie...now visit the area!!!

Welcome to your guide to the London area of Notting Hill! We'll show you the places you want to be seen in and you want others to see you in! Shop with the locals! Spot the celebs! Do all of the above and leave before it becomes unfashionable! (N.B. Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts not included)"

Nothing could live up to that!

Things to do when the internet is down

Take a stroll through Brompton Cemetary: Located just across the street -- this would normally creep me out, but with all the joggers, cyclers, and strollers, it seemed more like a park.

Catch an art show at the Serpetine Gallery: This was a bit of a snooze.

Watch the Dark Knight: Finally. Loved everything about it!

Eat with the Italians: The pizza place down our street had a great vibe, very lively and fun. The girl sitting across from us was stunned when the waiter brought her calzone -- it was probably twice the size of her head.

The good, the bad and the ugly

The Good: Got our workspace setup, and I finally found a voltage converter :).


The Bad: Internet went down all day -- this is Thomas spending 2 hours trying to get it up and running. I also caught a nasty cold.


The Ugly: Trying to get sound out of the Xbox without a stereo.

Luggage found!

British Airways finally called this morning and just came by to deliver Thomas' lost luggage. And yes, that is a monitor that Thomas packed in his duffle bag — he thought a garbage bag and socks would protect it, but I went in and repacked it with bubble wrap before we left.

Walking around

This always gets me

The weather cleared up around noon and we set off on foot in search of a voltage converter — through Hyde Park, Knightsbridge, Mayfair, til finally ending up near the University of London. By the time we got to the electronics store, everything was about to close (7pm is too early!). We hopped on the tube heading back, but after a few stops, decided to get out and take in more of the city. We walked through Picadilly Circus, which is beautifully overwhelming.


Thomas in Picadilly Circus

The walk home was a few miles farther then expected, but overall it turned out to be a great day... despite not finding a voltage converter.

Thomas adds: One of the highlights was viewing the Gehry Pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park. This is Frank Gehry's first piece of architecture in London and I believe also his first collaboration with his son. It was nice and breezy. Every year the Serpentine Gallery gets someone to design a temporary pavilion. See Serpetine Gallery 2002 design by Toyo Ito

I left rainy Seattle for rainy London

That blurry figure is Thomas making a Starbucks run at 6am

Morning, Day 2. Thoughts:
- Extremely jetlagged.
- Power converters are confusing.
- I love our flat!

Started a photo collection.

Perpetuating the Terminal 5 Story

Thomas in front of the British Airways booth

As nice as the new Terminal 5 is at London Heathrow Airport, I experienced what many other customers have been complaining of... a missing bag. I will have to give them a ring tomorrow as their website keeps reassuring me that they are tracking the bag.