year abroad in London

12:19 AM
Lura

Thursday, March 23, 2006

the mark of spring

studying in Hyde Park..

love it...the weather and green that is (not the books - lol)

2:43 PM
Lura

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

going insane because of a particular type of technology that claims to push mankind a significant step forward - the computer.

Ah. I hate computer-related problems. wait, extend that to electronics - anything that runs on electricity really does my head in. I spent my entire evening rebooting my computer, perhaps twenty plus times - that has gotta do some harm on the computer. The result? unfixed. The bottom line is I need to back up everything on my laptop and then reformat. But it isnt as easy as it sounds. I didnt bring my operations systems CD with me from australia. So, I madly ran around the halls asking if anyone had a XP disc...specifically Dell but to no avail. After systematically messaging everyone on my MSN list who is in London, I got two positive responses. One is Ed and the other is Kevin. But both of them left their CDs at home (Cambridge and somewhere North London respectively). So, hopefullly, I will be able to grab the CD off them on Monday when they return home for the weekend, and surgerically operate on my computer. To top it off, my battery has decided to commit suicide. excuse the death theme.

other than dealing with my computer (and my camera), my weekend was characterized by lots of cooking, baking, roasting, and well you name it. This past Sunday, I held my first dinner party. I invited friends from back home over - in total 7. Some of my friends from halls joined in. A tee bit stressed having never cooked for a group before, but it proceeded without a hitch. The theme was Moroccean/Middle-Eastern cuisine. And the menu?

Starters:
Hummus dip with celery, cucumber, carrot and breadsticks
Baba Ganoush (eggplant dip)
Chickpea & Parsley salad
Warm pita bread

Main:
Roasted and grilled vegetables (sweet potato, squash, mushrooms, carrots, red onion with this fabulous marinade Eleanor suggested)
Chicken tagine
Rosemary roast lamb on braised
Moussakka

Dessert
Cheesecake

I didnt take photos of that night, but Nicki did, so I will endeavour to post them on as soon as I steal them. hope everyone is having a better relationship with their electronics. XX

thought Ill share what a Moroccan tagine (yea, the one that I lagged from Morocco - but definitely worth it) looks like. Actually, this photo was taken on the following evening...yea I cooked again, but on a smaller scale for a few friends from uni.

Edit: my laptop has taken a turn for the worse; it turns out there is a hardware problem. My hard disk is faulty and has to be changed. So I am waiting for Dell to call me and hopefully send a technician to service my computer! hopefully before the end of this week, because Im supposed to go to Devon to stay with a friend for the weekend. Ahh.

On a brighter note, whats a sign that summer is coming? its still bright at 5pm. whoppeedoo

Double edit: here are some photos taken on the second night. we ate like pigs - had our main course, then Gabrielle worked the crepes (shes French) and Cara made devonshire scones (she is from Devon!) - both were so so delicious. Im addicted to lemon & sugar crepes, and nutella crepes. Ahem..a confession - i love eating nutella by the spoonful. yuMmy

Triple Edit: photos of the first night - half of the guests (ex-Islanders); the food

1:36 PM
Lura

Thursday, March 16, 2006

ahhhh crap. I booked some flights without consulting a friend...and now she is not happy. In short, I chose to visit a series of far flung countries by myself over travelling with her to a handful of eastern european countries. I honestly couldnt choose both because of financial and time restraints. The other truth is, when it comes to travel, I can get obssessed with wanting to visit particular countries and endeavour to make it happen. In this instance, I perhaps displaced what should be more important; there is no good excuse. Just pure selfishness.

How do you view travelling?
a) akin to a private commodity that you choose to indulge for your own self desires, and there isnt any need to consult others about it; or

b) akin to a social event where there is an open invitation to anyone who wants to come along, and where your plans have to be decided with other peoples' plans

(I dont particularly want to activate comments on my blog, so if you have some insight or you wish to admonish me, do email me)

p/s: I generally prefer travelling by myself because I am a difficult travel partner; 9 out of 10 trips, I rather travel alone. The sad thing however, is this friend is the only person I want and can possibly travel with; we have similar styles of travelling and she is super laid-back, making her a relaxing and fun travel companion.

2:27 PM
Lura

oh, right. Im supposed to be typing up my notes, but with the distraction outside I cant concentrate. I forgot. Its Thursday night, which means the demonstrators outside M&S are at it again. What happens are two groups - the Israelis and Palestinians - set up a stand opposite each other, and basically protest and shout slogans for a good two hours. They unfailingly appear every Thursday night armed with their flags, drums, amplifier, posters and leaflets. The London police takes it quite serious because there is always policemen standing on guard (let me check...tonight, I count eight).

Thursday is my dayyy off! yay. Earlier today, I walked to the National Portrait Gallery in the cold cold weather. It wasnt a pleasant day to be out, but I have been wanting to visit the Gallery for a long time. Personally, I found the Tudor Gallery and the contemporary portraits most interesting.

Queen Elizabeth I ("the Ditchley Portrait)

note. she is standing on a globe, with her feet on England and with her back turned to the stormy clouds. It is supposed to represent Elizabeth standing outside of the elements and reigning above the human sphere. The contrast between the sun and storm is supposed to represent the defeat of the Spanish and victory for the English.

1 & 2. National Portrait Gallery

3. Marylebone High Street - discovered this street a few days, love it. its a cute street with lots of cafes, boutiques, bookstores. Apparently there is a Sunday farmers market, which I will need to check out this week. The best thing is, its only a ten minute walk from where I live

4 & 5. M&S fooooood. chippies...I mean crisps

6. electronic menu outside Busaba Thai restaurant - how innovative

7. bus #73, my main way of getting around

8. crowding onto a random bus

p/s: yay, the protestors are packing up. perfect timing.

11:21 AM
Lura

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

I love this city.

6:51 PM
Lura

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

becoming more and more of a photolog...hmm...some old photos, enjoy :)

1. random alcove off Columbia Road

2. somewhere off Hackney Road

3. Portabello market

4. famous cupcake shop, Portabello Road

5. antiques market

6. flowers at the Columbia Road Flower Market

7. 5th floor of the Tate Modern

1:08 PM
Lura

Monday, March 13, 2006

Fun times with my Hong Kong homies over the past week and a half

Nicki, Jan and I being our spastic selves in Giraffe, a really funky restaurant, playing with plastic giraffes that accompanied our smoothies. We had brunch at the outlet just off Marylebone High Street (had a glance up this road, and it seems like a fun street to walk down. I need to make a note to come here again).

finally tried this Italian phenomenon - Carluccio Cafe. My take on this Italian success? so-so. The cappucino was disappointing, but the funghi linguine was tasty. However, after a gastronomical sampling of this beautiful cusine in Rome, I admit I probably wont visit Carluccio anytime soon. Speaking of franchises, however, I intend to dine once at Pizza Express, simply because it is everywhere in London.

Bar One - this establishment that only admits >21yrs can be found in most hotspots. The one we visited was at the Charing Cross junction, prehaps one of the busier junctions in London. It was awesome. no, not the bar or the drinks in particular but the company. After watching the matinee show of Blood Brothers (let me add what a wonderful theaterical production), and deciding it was too early for dinner, we opted for pre-drinks. I havent had such animated conversation in a long time - we talked about abortion, euthanasia, drugs, jobs, travel and what not.

On Sunday night, we (Dez, Kenny, Chris and Jase) had planned to meet up for dinner at a Korean restaurant. However, I changed the plans last minute suggesting everyone come over to my halls for takeaway pizza. haha. Alright, I wanted to save money. The guys did the hard work, well Dez and Kenny did; Kenny went to the Pizza Hut down the road and ordered take-away and Dez went to Sainsbury to buy beer. It turned out to be fun, just chilling in the corridor halls. Afterwards, we hit Edgware Road and visited a shisha bar that I hadnt visited since I first arrived in London. A restaurant is prehaps a more accurate description of the place. The moment you walk in, you pause for a second thinking you have walked into a restaurant in Egypt or Turkey. I cant pinpoint whether its the tacky lights, or the loud arabic music, or the groups of men crowding around tables smoking shisha and drinking tea, or the strong smell of shisha aromas in the air. I love it.

Everyday London photos cont....

1. vintage clothes sold on Brick Lane

2. bbq on a lane off Brick Lane

3. view from Nicki apartment in South Kensington

4. Commercial Street, Shoreditch

5. Salvation Army band, Oxford St

6. Tescos, the cheapest grocery chainstore around

7. Albert Memorial, Kensington Gardens

8. random tube station I forgot

9. Liverpool Street Station

10. unknown street leading to Commercial Street

5:41 PM
Lura

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

I decided to shift my so called cultural day from Saturday to Wednesday. This afternoon, after my hellish long morning of back-to-back seminars (hate Wed!) ,I decided to feast my eyes on something other than textbooks: I went to the Wildlife Photographer Exhibition at the Natural History Museum. I spent a good hour and a half looking at the photographs. I think my mouth was agaped for the most part. It was an awe-inspiring and humbling experience.

Death Squeeze

Spring snowflakes in the flooded forest

Polar Trek

River of Dreams

Clash of the Bulls

Rainforest Dawn

2:35 PM
Lura

Monday, March 06, 2006

Roma

The boys, Jason and Chris, dozing on our extremely early flight to Roma. When we got off the plane, we couldnt ask for brighter weather or bluer skies. Photo of Rosh on the bottom right, as we were walking to our hotel. We walked literally right across the city of Rome: took us 45 minutes. When we got to the hotel, we all had a nap! lol

Snaps around St Peters Bascilia in the Vatican. Late, we fine dined at an outdoor restaurant in the piazza outside the Pantheon. We decided to spluge on one dinner in Rome, and we decided on the first night. The Italians take their food seriously, and eat in a metriculously ordered way, namely antipesto, first course (pasta), second course (meat), coffee, dessert and constant flow of red wine. lol. it was a beautiful experience.

We did a lot of walking, because Jase has heard horrible experiences on buses. I wasnt persuaded, and bused it myself on the second day. One night, we walked over seemingly numerous bridges and monuments whose names escape me now. We also indulged in a lot of gelati and coffee. My friend, who is on exchange in London as well, is from Italy, and she had emailed me a list of places to hit up, in particular pointing out the best gelati and coffee joints. Giolitti (above) is one of the places; they must have served at least 70 flavours!

There are public taps/fountains where you can drink from (like the above). Its great being able to fill up your bottle with fresh clean water whenever. Photos taken around Piazaa Venezia, and in particular the national monument for Vittorio Emmanuele

Famous Trevi Fountain - the myth is you throw a coin over your shoulder, and if it lands in the fountain, you will one day return to this eternal city. Well, I had forgotten all about that myth until I stood directly in front of it. I clearly remembered throwing a coin into the fountain on my first trip to Rome with my parents...and ta da...I am back. Of course, I threw a coin again this time. So I expect to return sometime in the future. Bottom left photo is of the Spanish Steps - an anti-climax really

Piazza Navona - beautiful fountains and a lot of artists with their works in the rectangular square

Last but not least, the Colosseum (where The Gladiator was shot). I didnt go inside, but merely walked around the grand structure.

I was naughtyyy going on this trip to Rome. So, honestly, no more flights until exams are over. The only upcoming trip planned is going to a friends family home in Devon, in South West England during the Easter break. Until now till end of exams, its crunch time; my exam timetable out and Im super stressed.

8:38 AM
Lura

Sunday, March 05, 2006

my camera est la fin

St Peters Basilica, Vatican City

Funny fact: around midnight, we attempted to cross through St Peters grounds (the above) but we were asked to get out. Confused, we realized we were jumping state borders! as you are probably aware, the Vatican is the world smallest independent state.

5:15 PM
Lura