My free Weekend in London!

As most of you know, I have been in London the past week for work. Most of my time has been spent working, commuting and eating out, I had a free weekend, and it was fantastic!

Saturday:
I woke up naturally without an alarm clock. This is my most favorite way to wake up, and I think that all weekends and vacation days should start with a natural wake up. I went to the hotel gym and ran for 45 minutes. Its really important to me to work out while on the road. I think it is one of the hardest things to do, as I am not in my routine, but I must make the effort to use what is available to me.

Harmandeep and I went to a really great restaurant for lunch, the IVY. It is a really popular restaurant in LA, so we thought we’d give it a go. The food was amazing! I got these grilled prawns that were seasoned to perfection, and we shared the yummiest chocolate soufflé. I love soufflé- you know, the freshly baked chocolate cake with hot chocolate sauce on the inside, along side vanilla gelato-- its amazing!

After the Ivy, we made our way to Camden Market. This is a street with a ton of cool shops and an open market, somewhat like Malibu in LA. Lots of unique stuff, mostly punk rocker stuff, but there were some gems to be found. The prices were totally reasonable (for London), and the energy of the area was awesome. We found a discounted ALDO store, and went a little crazy. Finally, something we could afford!! We each bought 3 pairs of shoes for 30 pounds total-(approximately $60 USD) - a great price! Davey (Deepy’s cousin) met up with us, and we found an outdoor patio/pub, where we sat down and enjoyed the sunshine. Davey ordered something similar to Canadian Poutine- It was french fries, baked beans and cheese. Way too much fat content for me to partake, but I think it’s a pub favorite here. There were some free magazines sitting on the table, and I flipped one open to see what kind of cool things there was to do in London, and there were naked MEN everywhere!! This is when we looked around and discovered that it wasn’t just a traditional English pub, rather, we had stumbled into a traditional English GAY pub. Ha ha aha…. We had a good laugh.

Later that night we went out to eat at this cool Asian Fusion restaurant (although I forget the name). Everyone’s food was really good, except mine. I ordered a seared tuna salad, which is generally a safe bet. What I got were 3 pieces of lettuce and a bunch of raw tuna chunks. It was really not good. Why do I always seem to order the bad food? I’ve learned not to order salads in London- they just don’t have the quality produce needed to make it delicious (like California).

Sunday:

Yippeeee--- church holiday! I woke up naturally again, got dressed in my blue express sweats, flip flops, and pink carry all bag. Armed with my Eye Witness London guide book and tube pass, I went out to explore.

First stop- the National Gallery (free): I spent most of my time in the Impressionism & post Impressionism periods, as they are my favorite. I got the audio guide, which I ALWAYS recommend to do, as it makes “old stuff” a whole lot more interesting when you hear the history behind it. I saw a lot of Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir & Van Gough. My favorite piece was actually not from the impressionist period, it was the Marriage-a-la-mode series by Horgath (1743). It’s a series of 6 paintings that show a husband and wife who married for money rather than love- and its full of funny English Satire of the lives of the bourgeoisie. I studied this work in my Art History 202 class at BYU, and I would have to say its one of my all time favorite works. You must check it out if you ever have the chance.

2nd stop- Leicester square: I got a little lost getting here, but I finally found it, and the discount theatre ticket booth I was searching for. However, the only tickets available for the matinee showing were “Stomp” and “Blue Man Group”, neither of which I wanted to see. Oh well- I’ll try again on Thursday with Camille. I walked around the square and got the best gelato ever- it was even low fat ($5). Im defiantly going to hit that place up again before I leave.

3rd stop- the Tower of London & Tower Bridge ($15). The tower of London is awesome. Its where they used to house prisoners and do public (and private) hangings. I got the audio tour ($4)- again, totally worth the extra cost. I also saw the crown jewel collection. Mom- you would Love this one!

4th stop-On the Tube ride home, I noticed that the Tate Modern was one of the stops along the way, so I thought, what the heck, I may as well check it out too. Although I am not of fan of most modern art, they do have some Rodin’s (the kiss), and I do like pop-culture art. However, once off the tube- there were no signs, and the map in my eye witness London guide book was not especially helpful in this instance. Im sure it would have been if I knew which way was north, but I can never figure the whole North thing out. Left or Right? After about ½ hour of looking for the Tate, I gave up and called it a day.

Back to the hotel for a workout & shower, and off to dinner.

I met up with Harmandeep and we went to the Hyatt Regency hotel’s Itilain restaurant. It had a good review on google, and it was a short walk away, so we checked it out. The service was impeccable, but the food was actually bland. I ordered Tuna again, but it was tasteless. Fresh, but tateless. Thankfully we had some chocolate soufflé to wash it down. And yes, in case you were wondering, I am a FATTY. I must go on a diet upon my return home.

Well- right now its Monday morning, and I’m on the train to work- its almost at my stop- Maidenhead, so I’d best be going. I love you all!

XOXO

Eve

Ps- My sister patience is home from her mission!! Yipeeeeee--- welcome home Patience!

PPS- My friend Camille is coming to stay with me on Wednesday night (here in London)! Yippee again!