A Farewell and a Facelift

Today, Jeff left for Germany. He will be doing hotel assessments in Cologne and then Dusseldorf until he returns Thursday night. Before seeing him off, Jeff and I went to The Light Cafe in Wimbledon for some amazing breakfast. We were first to arrive at opening, and naturally, a reward came because of this - snagging the most coveted spot to dine, which was a cozy table for two on an elevated platform by the window that overlooks the picturesque high street. I've always wanted to sit there, but it never fails that it is always taken. Not today! :)

The best table in the house!

My poor blog has been neglected the past couple of months, so after cleaning around our flat, I decided to give it a much needed facelift. I don't like to spend too long fixing it up because I get carried away so easily and, on top of that, I'm still not that great of a Blogger navigator. Adding gadgets, fixing margins, centering titles... I have to do a Google search for almost any change I want to make. Hopefully, this will remedy itself soon; it just wears me out. But no fear - I am here to stay and blog. The more I do, the easier it will become!

With that said, I originally intended to blog about our trips around England and Paris, but I've spent too long already revamping and typing this out, so expect at least one new post no later than a week from now. I need to feel like others are "counting" on it, so I have motivation to follow through!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. What a great, restful weekend it has been! Almost ready for the new week ahead. I hope you all have a great one!

On Saturday morning, Jeff, me and Monk soaked up the sun while we took a stroll around the park.

For dinner on Saturday, Jeff and I went to the local pub and watched some Olympic tennis mixed doubles.

When I haven't been blogging or cleaning today, I've been watching one of my favorite shows.

Such a lively atmosphere at our home today.

Love his voice! Any Day Now is my current favorite from this album.

London 2012

The front page of The Times last Friday, July 27, 2012.

 I don't really remember paying much attention to previous Olympic Games, but how can I not pay attention when I now live where it's being held?! There has been a lot of excitement mixed with a lot of hesitation - commuters haven't been too keen on the influx of tourists. Last week before the Olympics starting, it never failed that while I was on the Northern tube line heading to work, at Charring Cross, the stop before Leicester Square (where I get off), there would be a huge tourist group that would pile on. This made it a bit more difficult to exit the tube, but I understand why they are here and don't take it personally when my personal bubble is momentarily invaded. Some Londoners get so upset. Sure it isn't fun if you end up late to work or get shoved too close to a stranger on the tube, but don't let it ruin your day - the Olympics are being hosted in London for goodness sake! Enjoy that aspect of it!! For those who have grown up in Texas or just know of it's delightful summer heat (which my body is yearning for with all the rain I've been subjected to recently), you know that no city there will ever be considered to host the Olympics. So again, for me to now be living in London as the Olympics are taking place is incredible. I never thought this would happen.

Now that the Olympics are going on, my commute to and from work has been great; I've even been able to find a seat on the train and tube, which I don't ever get normally. I think we were told to expect the worst, so that if it did happen we wouldn't be surprised. So far, so good. I think the fact that a lot of people are working from home has helped too.

This was my view while on the train heading to work on Monday. Hello empty seats!

Last Monday, July 23rd, the Olympic Torch came down one of the main streets we live off. Jeff and I were both able to get home in time to see the Relay Team and mini parade pass by. Jeff even remembered to bring our good camera to capture the fun! Here are a mix of photos that he and I took. 

Crowds lined along the street. 

Beginning of the parade.

Olympic Torch Relay 2012

Us excited to see the Olympic Torch.

Obligatory Yoda shot with the Olympic Torch.

It came and went fast, but what a sight!

A neat shot of the Olympic Torch from behind.

So many people excited to see the Olympic Torch.

 Jeff and I watched the Opening Ceremony at one of our friend's flats. We had a great time! I didn't realize there were so many countries that I didn't know existed! I definitely need to work on Geography! 

Jeff and I only have tickets to one event for the Olympics - wait for it... Freestyle Wrestling, a very coveted event for sure. ;) Sarcasm aside, we are grateful to have tickets at all! By the time we knew we were moving here, England's tickets were already sold out and we weren't residents then anyway, so it didn't matter. Thankfully, Jeff was sent to Spain for a hotel assessment project a few months ago. Spain was the only country to sell their tickets over the counter, so while Jeff was in Madrid, he went to FNAC, the ticket holder, and purchased our tickets! Thank goodness for a school background that taught Spanish! We have to wait until the final day of the Olympics, August 12, to watch our event at the Excel Center, but we hope to see some of the public events in the meantime. 

Jeff and I will also be attending the Paralympics in September. I am super excited about the event we are going to see, which is the Bronze Medal Match for Men's Goalball. If you aren't familiar with Goalball (a team sport for individuals who are visually-impaired), check out this video. A large part of my college years, I studied a lot about people with disabilities and, in some classes, I learned about the Paralympics and it's events. I've even played Goalball - very challenging but fun! For our 5 year anniversary, Jeff bought me these Paralympic tickets - such an amazing gift! Goalball will be held in Olympic Park, so we will be able to see the largest Olympic complex (Olympic Stadium, Copper Box, Aquatics Center, etc...). It's going to be great!

Lastly, I will leave you with a picture of the oddly official mascot of the Olympics. I've got some catching up to do on the blog - our anniversary trip and Jeff's parent's visit hopefully to come within the next couple of weeks!

Meet Wenlock - the weird, but official 2012 Olympic Mascot.

3-Day Weekend

We had a bank holiday yesterday, which allowed for a wonderful 3-day weekend. So, Jeff and I did a bit of relaxing, but even more of exploring London. Friday was a fairly restful day, more for me than for Jeff. After work, Jeff was invited to "go for a curry," so he enjoyed Indian food with some friends, while I went for a nice run and had breakfast for dinner. I love scrambled eggs and turkey bacon at any time of the day! Saturday morning, we met Mike and Andrea at a newly opened restaurant called Sweetspot, where we dined on what was advertised as "American-style pancakes." They were good, but definitely no match to Cracker Barrel or IHop. After our leisurely breakfast, we all walked down Oxford St. and Tottenham Court Rd. and did some shopping before we later ate lunch at Vapiano's (their carbonara is great!). Then, we said our goodbyes after visiting one last shop together. Jeff and I, once again, did some more walking. Our first stop was Cybercandy, a multi-cultural sweet's store (with American sweets being the main attraction), where I bought a Dublin Dr Pepper and some SweeTarts. Jeff and I then walked down Oxford St. (again) over to Charing Cross and to Covent Garden Market, where we checked out many neat stands and were entertained by different street performers. Next, we headed to The Strand for tea and pastries at Paul; there are always so many delicious options, that it makes deciding so difficult! I love a good fruit tart, so a strawberry one it was! We were able to rest our already tired legs and backs during our tea break, and then we were off again to The National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square. We made it there an hour before closing, which is not nearly enough time to see all the amazing paintings this gallery holds, but what we were able to see, we really enjoyed. Our favorites were Manet, Monet and van Gogh. When we left Trafalgar Square, we walked under the Ministry of Defence's (correctly spelled with a c in England) Arch and down The Mall (street) to Buckingham Palace. Wow! I can't even imagine living in such a grand place as that! It was really awesome to see. All of these sights seen and it wasn't even dinner time yet, so Jeff and I finally decided to head home and research a good Mexican restaurant to eat at in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

We were given some names of Mexican restaurants to try, but Jeff and I decided to be risky and try one we hadn't heard of. After reading some good reviews provided by other Americans living in London, who had been deprived of real Mexican food and claimed this place cured their cravings, we picked a place in Brixton called El Panzon. I won't go into much detail, but what would have been a 5 minute walk to this restaurant from the tube, turned into over an hour walk in search of this place, and all because my Iphone provided one mistake in the directions. After a couple of phone calls, more walking and the immense determination to have "Mexican" food, we finally made it to El Panzon. The food wasn't horrible; Jeff and I did enjoy what we ordered, but there was nothing authentic about it (which we expected to begin with). We also think the Americans that wrote the reviews must have been from up North because, again, this wasn't even close to Tex-Mex. Smooth paste-like guacamole + ill-seasoned (Piri-Piri) chicken for my quesadillas (apart from Mexican food, Piri-Piri seasoning it great!) + oregano/spaghetti sauce-like Ranchero sauce + salad WITH sweet pickles served with a burrito = so wrong but an interesting attempt. We won't go back, but I am glad we tried something new.

We were suppose to try a nearby church on Sunday morning, but embarrassingly, we slept till almost 1 in the afternoon. I blame it on the large amount of walking we did on Saturday. I am looking forward to trying out this church next Sunday though. It is pretty small and it would be nice to attend somewhere close by so getting involved would be easier. The rest of Sunday, with the exception of taking Monk on a short walk, Jeff and I hung around our flat. The most exciting part of our day was Skyping with my parents and our good friends Nicole and Tyler. We really enjoyed catching up with you both!

Monday, Jeff and I decided to do a bike tour of Central London. Apart from all the other ways to get around in London - train, tram, tube, taxi, boat - you can also rent bicycles from docking stations that are all around the city. It is really nice, especially for commuters. (The first 30 minutes is free of charge, so that is a big plus for those who don't have far to go.) The weather was less than cooperative with our cycling plan after lunch time, so until the weather cleared up around 3 that afternoon, we walked through some nice neighborhoods and parks, checked out different charity shops (thrift shops) and book stores, and browsed at Camden Market and Camden Lock Market. As excited as I was to ride around Central London, I was very nervous at the same time. Riding that close to moving cars is scary, and I could just avoid the streets altogether by riding on the sidewalks, but it's illegal to do that here. Riding on the streets wasn't bad; there were a few times when I felt uncomfortable, but I made our 8-mile trip safe and sound. Jeff and I started our bike adventure just north of Regent's Park, where we then made our way through and down to Baker Street (took a quick photo of The Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street) to Hyde Park and then to St. James's Park, where we rode by Buckingham Palace and down The Mall before hitting Trafalgar Square, crossing the Waterloo Bridge and finally docking our bikes before heading home [I'm ignoring this run-on sentence ;)]. It was so much fun that we decided in future weekends we'll pick different areas of London and do the same thing. After a train ride and quick walk, we came home and took Monk to our nearby park, and the rest of the evening we relaxed. It was a great but long day!

Here are some photos from our weekend. Hope everyone has a great week!

Yummy breakfast on Saturday.

Oxford St.

 My treats went away quickly after this photo.

Street performer, who needed more clothes, in Covent Garden.

Apple Market in Covent Garden.

The Strand.

One of my favorite places for tea and pastries - Paul.

Delicious.

Victoria Embankment Gardens

Too bad the Mexican food here isn't that good (from what we've heard).

The National Portrait Gallery.

Ministry of Defence Arch.

The Mall.

Fancy gate at Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace.

Ornate gate at Buckingham Palace.

View of one of the guards.

St James's Park and Lake.

Wall art at El Panzon.

Our appetizer - nachos.

Jeff's burrito with pulled pork (which was good) and the salad with sweet pickles (gross!).

My quesadillas and the spaghetti sauce-like Ranchero sauce.

Top of Parliament Hill.

By Camden Lock Market.

Looks like Texas State Fair delicacies can be found in London.

Beginning of our cycling adventure.

Regent's Park.

221b Baker Street.

Hyde Park.

Marble Arch in Hyde Park.

Horse's Head statue in Hyde Park.

Genghis Khan statue in Hyde Park.

Even horses have to cross the road too.

Cycling in Hyde Park.

Hanging out at King George's Park with Monk.