USAAM Visit

Saturday morning, in my haggard state, I made my way on the tube from Alicia's West Kensington lair to Marble Arch station, just minutes away from the Victory Services Club where I was to meet up with USAAM (an old family acronym for Uncle Stephen and Auntie Mary - picture on left -, not to be confused with United States Airforce Army Mob (fam joke)). It's been a while since I last saw them, so much catching up was in order over our breakfast, and regardless of how shot my braincells were from the night before I knew I was in for a treat. A bit of background for those of you who do not know ---USAAM live in Cheltenham, about 2-3 hours West of London in the Cotswoulds, and they every so often venture into London to scope out the theatre scene and various new cultural goodies the city has to offer. US, a brilliant mathematician, conversationalist, and writer is my mum's bro who's been living in England for a few decades now. AM is a born and raised English gem and graduate of Oxford, so you can imagine the kinds of conversations one would have with these two - delicious!

I found my way pretty painlessly to the V.S. Club and found USAAM in the dining room already mowing down on their traditional english breakfasts. We had a lovely reunion, I made my way to the buffet and loaded up on the hash browns, beans, eggs, and tomatos and settled down for our catch-up. We discussed many-a-topic and concluded a whole day and not just breakfast should be spent together. US told me he had investigated some of the plays that were on stage at the moment and narrowed it down to a few he thought I'd be interested in seeing that afternoon. It came down to Keira Knightly's drama The Children's Hour and the more light-hearted Clybourne Park, which had gotten rave reviews. I was totes into seeing Keira on stage but concluded that we should decide based on whatever tickets were available so last minute. After we wrapped-up at the VSC we made our way to Leicester Square where US was able to investigate further and discovered that Keira's play was sold out until March. Aw, poor little Charlie just threw up - be back in a second.

K back. So US picked up 3 tickets to the matinee for Clybourne Park and we set off to kill the 3 hours we had til show time. The 3 of us made our way on foot from Leicester Square to the National Theatre on the South Bank where we split up to do our own things. US went to the NT box office to see if any Shakespeare tickies were avails, and AM and I headed East to the Tate Modern to check out the latest exhibit. We had a great long stroll on the South Bank and finally made it to the Tate Mod to feast our eyes on Ai Weiwei's Unilever series. To break it down for you, the TM is an old factory-style GIGANTIC building with a massive turbine room that spans almost the size of a football field. The exhibit we wanted to see is literally over one hundred million hand-made/painted porcelain sunflower seeds, each unique in design, sprawled on the turbine room floor (see pic on left). I won't go into any quasi-arty explanation but you can imagine the different reactions people have when they hear about or see this kind of art ("THIS is art?" and "what the eff" being the most popular, hence why US wanted to avoid it - totally understandable as I see both sides). It was really interesting to witness nonetheless, and after seeing enough sunflower seeds for a lifetime, Mary and I worked our way up to the 7th floor where we got an amazing view of London. It was a great Aunt/Niece bonding time. At 1:30, we made our way to the meeting place at Millenium Bridge, where US greeted us with 3 tickets in hand to a Monday night showing of Twelfth Night at the National Theatre. Amaze across many a gaze. We walked across the bridge and got an amazing view of St Paul's (see pic). It was suchhhhhh a gorgey day, 14 degrees and the sun was shining.

We got back to Leicester Square and settled down in a cafe where we had some Earl Greys (with lemon of course) and I indulged in some tiramisu. It was then time for the show, and WHAT an amazing play, oh em gee. Twas one of the best I've seen, won't go into detail but it dealt with heavy subjects in such a hilarious way. There was no shortage of every single swear word imaginable - poor US was mortified thinking he was the corruptor of his young innocent niece. I reassured him that I've been a victim of corruption all my life and a little shit or fuck wouldn't worsen the sitch.

Afterwards we went to Traf Square to dine in the St Martin in the Fields church's crypt cafe. Great food and more amazing discussions were had. I said farewell to USAAM and thanked them for providing me with such a glorious day, and made my way back to Sidcup where an eager Jules was waiting to hear my stories over a glass of vino.

Sunday I spent the whole day assembling furniture in the new house with Jules and David. Monday I went back into London in the early afternoon and visited Southwark (pronouced Suth-uck) Cathedral, right beside Burrough market where Shakespeare's bro Edmund is barried. Afterwards I stumbled upon The Clink, a ridiculous prison museum in the basement of a building that once was the grimiest most ruthless jailhouse in the world that was known as 'The Clink', hence where the slang for prison comes from. I forgot my camera on this day and was so sad I wouldn't be able to document my eve with USAAM, but luckily enough entry into The Clink included one free pic at the end of the tour, so at least I have one photographic piece of evidence from this day, LOL.

I met up with USAAM at the National Theatre at 5:15 and we had an amazing dinner at the theatre restaurant where US briefed me on the plot of 12th Night. We found our way to our seats, which weren't together as US bought the very last 3 tickies that were left, and so began the play. Little did I know the cast was PACKED with well known and talented actors. I was loving the show up until an abnoxious couple arrived 25 mins late and sat right next to me. The woman wouldn't stop moving, talking, invading my space with her ever-moving feet, blowing her nose, the list goes ON. My biggest pet peeve is fidgeting ahhhh, brEUGHdle, haha, I was so enraged with the behaviour of said woman that I almost resorted to yelling at her in frustraysh, but refrained as that is not the etiquette of a young lady watching Shakespeare. The Gods heard my devistaysh and granted me with a fortunate turn of events at the intermish - the couple left and were never to return. US bought me a glass of red wine to calm my nerves which I enjoyed throughout the second half, and I was able to focus and enjoy the intricate language and phenominal performances.

Thus concludes my wonderful visit with USAAM. Thanks to their generosity I was able to see such amazing plays and now have a renewed apreesh for the 'speare, who I'm convinced would be rolling in his grave after reading my blog, butchered english and all. But some day, perhaps people will look back on the abreves and think, 'wow, that girl was as innovative as Shakespeare himself'. Ok maybe not, but a girl can dream...........

10 Downing many-a-drink (get it?)

After 2 weeks of no bloggage, I have much to catch you all up on! I'll break it down in a few posts so you won't get mad bored. Here goes!


Two Fridays ago, on the 11th, Jules, David, Lee (David's bro in law), and I all met up for our private tour of Parliament and special visit to 10 Downing. This was by far the best time I've had on my trip - if you don't already know, it's impossible to get a pic in front of #10 if you're a regular Joe shmoe or Canuck traveller like myself. Fortunately I got this rare opportunity thanks to Lee, who is a police officer and is usually stationed at the Downing Street gates. It was great - the four of us walked through the crowd of keen onlookers who were clasping the bars like prisoners of the clink, faces pressed up against the Downing gates in hopes of getting a glimpse of the famous residence. As soon as they saw Lee, the guards opened the high security gates and we walked right through. We proceeded to a security bunker where they scanned our bags and bodies, and after some flirtatious banter with one very cute guard, they concluded we weren't planning a malicious attack on the PM and gave us the OK to go. We walked down to the end of the street to the famous door that was guarded by one of Lee's buddies who gave us the go-ahead to take as many pics as we wanted. This was amazing as we thought we'd get one or two shots at best before getting the boot. We posed in every single possible combination and got some great shots and made some hilars memories. One in particular will be forever remembered - Jules and I were posing together and were dared by Lee and the guard to knock on the door. After refusing to do so many times, the boys' persistency prevailed and we summoned up the balls to knock on the door, which immediately flung open revealing the insides of the famed house and a very ticked off door man who looked like he was going to murder us. After sincerely apologizing, the bitter man closed the door in our faces and we realized we had just seen the inside of 10 Downing. AMAZE! Regretfully we couldn't take it all in as we were too caught up in the awkwardness that surrounded the mome, but in hindsight that was well worth the risk. Haha!


So after our photo-op Lee led us across the street to check out the new Parliament building. We entered through the secret back way, went through security again and got some special badge pics taken for security purposes (when I say special I mean it in the sense that in my pic I look like a very special person (made a face, surprise, surprise)) and so began our tour. By this time it was around 6:30 and the buildings of Parliament were practically empty. Lee guided us through the MP basement passageway (which is a thousand years old, sooo oss), leading us to Westminster Hall which dates back to 1097 -- this massive Hall was where many ceremonies and famous trials were held, including that of Sir Thomas More, which I obvi was very excited about. We then proceeded to the House of Commons and House of Lords (google pics, it's worth it - unforch we weren't allowed to take any), and stumbled on a room that had amazing portraits of Henry VIII and his 6 wives all lined up in a row, a very rare sight indeed. We had the best tour, compliments of Lee who served as an amazing guide. And what better way to end an historical walking tour than at the Parliament pubs, which cannot be accessed by the public so it was a rare treat. At the first stop Jules and I got a glass of vino, the boys opted for Guinness, and we settled at a table on the pub's balcony which overlooked the Thames. We had a breathtaking view of Southbank including the Eye (as seen in pic). It was just sooooo amazeballish. Just the best. When we had had enough of the glorious view, we headed to pub #2 where we ended up staying for almost two hours.


We had amazing chats and laughs about the characters in the pub who all work for the government - it was jokes getting all the gossip. Needless to say, by the end of drink 4 Jules and I were feelin' fine Reiffenstein, and I realized I had to book it to my next engagement. I said bye to the crew and hopped on the tube, got off at South Kensington where I was to meet up with Miss Alicia Miller and friends for a night out. At this point my cell was out of minutes and navigating my way through Alicia's area a little tipsy with no guidance proved to be more difficult than I thought, so I sought out directions from a beautiful Frenchman and his buddy who I stumbled upon outside one of the pubs. Very helpful they proved to be, and I finally spotted sweet Alicia a block over, blonde hair blowing in the wind, her echoing heckles of "dear! dear!" reverberating off of the ancient buildings. We had a glorious reunion followed by a tour of her house, which is such a perfect and comfortable abode. We had some drinks and drunk-dialed our Mom's - we were only able to reach Betsy who was thrilled that hers and her best friends daughters were partying it up in London. We were supposed to head to The Punch Bowl which is Guy Richie's pub but we realized it was way too late to go to the popular spot as it was Friday and would be impossible to get due to the inevitable domination of the after-work-turned-party crowd. Ironically enough, out of all of the amazing places to go in London, we ended up at Sketch (where I had celebrated my birthday, picture of us at Sketch on the left), but had an amazing time regardless.

After our night we hopped on the bus that took us as close to Alicia's neighbourhood as possible (Tube closes WAY too early over here, for a system that's so efficient you would think it would stay open later than 12:30 considering London's one of the world's biggest cities!), where we were forced to complete our journey on foot. Mumsie - don't worry, but we ended up being followed by a persistent group of boys and had to seek refuge in a random Lebonese restaurant (pictured left - Alicia waiting for the coast to be clear) where we waited for the boys to finally leave us be. They were harmless but it's always good to be safe and be cautious. It was good practice for Italy needless to say. We finally made it back home and crashed right away. That concludes my Friday.

I had to wake up ridic early on Saturday morning as I was to meet my Uncle Stephen (my Mum's bro) and my Aunt Mary for breakfast. Getting up was torture due to the booze that was consumed the previous night combined with the minimal hours of sleep I got, but I fought the broodleness, dressed myself in the clothes from the day before - hot - and ventured to Marble Arch tube station where I was to meet USAAM (Uncle Stevie and Auntie Mary) at the Victory Services Club to break my fast. Story of this day and the rest of my weekend to follow!

Continuaysh of the last post

I'M BACK, sorry about the delay. I know you've all been biting your nails, sitting by your computers in anticipaysh for the continuaysh.

Saturday cont'd - After our lazy day, Jules and I started getting ready for our night out in London. We both relished the beautification process before our night out, and after a day of feeling and looking not so attractive a bit of makeup and blowdryer were welcome. As soon as we were ready, we got a ride to the train and headed into the city. A lot of people live outside of London but head in to party on the weekends, so we were surrounded by eager party people, all chatting and boozing on board. When we got into Charing Cross, we hopped on the tube for two stations to Oxford Circus where we were to meet up with a fellow Leasider Alana, who's been living in London for years. She was in charge of planning the night's itinerary, a task we whole-heartedly appointed to her as she knows the city inside out and is a frequenter of all the hottest spots. We began the night at SKETCH, a very cool cocktail bar/restaurant. There were three bars within the bar, all in separate rooms which each had their own vibe. We settled in a room that is super hard to describe but I'll do my best as I want to set the scene --- the bar was in a white shiny dome-shaped structure within a massive room... on either side of the little entrance to the dome there was a staircase that led up to open area bathrooms (boys on left, girls on right) that contained egg-shaped pods in which to pee, complete with pasture scene sound effects (mooing of cows, bahs of sheep, twitters of birds...), very unique and out of the ordinary. Within the dome was an in-ground circle shaped bar where you had to yell down to the bartenders to order your, wait for it, £13 cocktails. THIRTEEN POUNDS. Hollllyyyy shitttttt London is HELLA expensive! It makes the mojitos at Sassafraz look like a pint at McSorley's. For those of you who don't know, 13 pounds is about $20. We opted for a £23 bottle of white wine, and settled down to have great chats and scope out the sceneeeeee.

Oh - a quick debrief on a night out in London if you live outside the city - in order to get home there are few options. The last train out to Sidcup is before midnight. The alternative way to get home is tube it to the farthest station east, then cab it. The last tube runs at 12:30. Last resorts include: night bussing with drunk ppl, or cabbing it all the way and paying with a million dollar bill or a limb. Jules and I decided to play it by ear.

We ended up staying at Sketch until around 11:45, and we promptly decided it would be impossible to catch the tube as we were having just too good a night. We figured we'd deal with travel home when we came to that bridge. Alana's second spot of the night for us was Bungalow 8 (amptly named after the exclusive NYC club to which you need a key to get in (a la SATC)). Although you didn't need a key for this one, you had to be on an exclusive list, which Alana obvi had no issues getting us on. Whattagirl. So we waltzed in to B8 (located in the lobby of a hotel... at least I think it was a hotel. I was a few glasses in by this point), got some drinks at the bar and settled in the back near the DJ booth. The DJ, who we came to know as Alex, supplied us with drinks the rest of the night and switched the playlist from drab to fab just for us ladies. It didn't hurt that he was super sexy with dimples and a 6'3 frame. Anyway, we had an amazing time and partied until after 3. Woops! Missed the train, tube, and bus. What to do? Cab it we did, after mowing on Mc D's (the line was INSANE), we hopped in a cab and had a semi-coherent ride home. I won't even tell you the price we paid... BUT it was my bday and was worth it in the end. I didn't save up to have lame nights in one of the most exciting cities.

Sunday - Woke up a little worse for the wear BUT not as bad as I thought I'd be. I had smuggled Kraft Dins in to the country at Jules' request as they don't have it in England, and we decided to make a batch to satisfy our hangovers. We had another low key day followed by a great dinner with the extended fam - Christine, David, Jules, Deb (David's sis), Lee (her hubby), and the kids Joshua and Abigail all came over for a big dins. We had great chats, vino, and an amazing meal followed by a surprise birthday cake, compliments of Christine. SUCH a great eve!

Monday - My REAL bday. I've been milking this one as I figure quarter century needs to be celebrated properly. Jules woke me up early and came into my room, presents in hand. I opened the one from Christine first, and then that of Jules.... which was..... tickets to DIRTY DANCING ohhhhhhh babyyyy. I can't express how amazing this gift was! Will get to that soon.... So after prezzies, we got ready and headed out to get our hair cut. It was much needed for me as my hair was down to my waste, so I got a few inches off to lighten the load for when I hit the road on my travels to explore Italian culture new and old. (Got carried away on a lil rhyme there, I know I'm a big loser). After the cut, we came back and chilled a bit, then got ready around 4 and caught the train. The plan was to find a random restaurant to satisfy our caesar salad, pizza, and white wine cravings. Did we ever hit the jackpot - we found this amazing restaurant (Jules and David had actually been before) called l'ulivo and dined on authentic italian food and wine. DELISH. I splurged on some tiramisu but like I've said before, I'm through with the guilt. I'll get a personal trainer when I get home.... SO we cut it very close by leaving the restaurant at 7:20 and had mere minutes to get to the show for 7:30. We booked it through the streets and got into our seats literally 10 seconds before Dirty Dancing started. WHAT A SHOW. We were dyingggg omg go see it wherever you are it's AMAZING! We so loved it and I can't express how thankful I am to Jules that she gave me the best birthday I could have asked for, thank you my sweet sweet babe!!!!!!!

Tuesday - Tuesday I had a low key morning and headed into the city mid afternoon. I decided to head to Notting Hill station where I mooched around for 2 hours. I didn't head to Potabello Market as it was an odd day at an odd time, so I wandered the area and checked out little shops, book stores, and cafes on one of the main strips. I'm so in love with the architecture that riddles the streets of London, so it was an absolute joy to be walking around, taking in the sights, and enjoying the beautiful sunny day. Afterwards I jumped on the tube and headed to Bank station where I ran into Jules and decided to stick it out until she was finished work. She showed me a pub/restaurant where I settled down to eat some food, drink some drinks, and read my book. I stayed there for 3 hours and just took in what I was reading and the fact that I'm in London just enjoying life and not thinking about my life back at home, but just living in the now. It's so important to do that sometimes - just live in the now.

Wednesday - Yesterday was unremarkable. I blogged, read, hung out with the fam, ate, philosophized, and went to bed.

Thursday (aka today) - Was the first rainy day in the almost two weeks I've been here, which is incredible considering London's meteorological reputation. My plans for the day were shot though as I was going to go on a London Walk called "Mysterious London and The Da Vinci Code".... yes, I'm a huge nerd and was really looking forward to it but what can ya do. So here I sit, home alone as Christine went on a 3 day trip, drinking some wine and writing to you fine people. Dinner time now.

Tomorrow I'm heading into London with Jules, we're getting a private tour of Parliament (Jo, wish you could be there for that), then getting a special pic in front of 10 Downing, a huge priveledge thanks to Lee who is a cop and has connections. Then meeting up with my mumsie's best friend's daughter Alicia for some drinks. Will report end of weekend or early next week.

Hope you're all doing well back at home. Miss you guys, but not too much. Lots of love.

Kates xx <3>

Rest of my first week

I have almost a full week to catch you up on, so brace yourself for a long one. Sit back, relax, take a break from work, and read on.

Wednesday - My last blog post day. I decided to take the day off and relax in Sidcup, read my book (The Other Boleyn Girl, very fitting for London), drink some afternoon wine, hang with the fam, and eagerly await the return of Jules and David from work to hear about their days. Yes, I sound like a thumb-twidler awaiting the tales of the outside world to help escape from my domesticated captivity. I have so many days here, and it's nice to have a much needed self-inflicted day of rest for me, my wallet, and London cause I don't think the city can handle THIS all the time.

Thursday - I woke up feeling pretty broodle, I've had a persistent cough since December (which has almost cleared by now) but to top that off I came down with a cold that has apparently been circling around the greater London area. The plan that evening was to meet up with Paul, one of the Brit boys I met on the cruise, to go for drinks in Leicester square. As tempted as I was to stay at home drinking tea, I forced a few Advil cold and sinuses down my throat, bundled up, and trudged onward. Leicester square is a bustling hub of activity during the day and night. It is right next to Picadilly Circus, and is equally as touristy, so I blended right in with my Canada scarf and camera in hand. Seeing Paul in London was so weird and awesome. I've only known those boys for a month but it feels like years as we all spent almost every day together on the cruise. We walked around a bit, then went to four pubs where I was able to savour a different traditional ale at every stop. I'm drinking a LOT of beer over here and it's bringing me back to my highschool and uni days. How I miss the tastey suds, I wish my body could stomach it like I used to. But alas, I am a woman of 25 who is a shadow of her former 19-year-old party animal self. We had a lovely old time Paul and me, reminiscing about our days at sea over drinks then dinner. I caught the 10 oclock train back to Sidcup where Christine and Jules were waiting to give me a ride home. They remarked on how "together" I was after all those beers, shortly after which I was struck with a mean case of the hiccoughs which thereby solidified their observation.

Great Thursday.

Friday - Was a jam-packed day. Jules, Christine, her friend, and I went to the local mall Bluewater - We walked into the mall with purpose, with what we thought would be self-restraint, I had my mom's voice echoing in my head "unforseen costs, unforseen costs, avoid unforseen costs" (shopping would fall under the 'forseen' cost category unless you go in with the willpower I possess...ed). Jules had to buy some boots, and I had to get a camera adapter cord so I could upload pics and visually fill all you kids in on my goings on. Well, this mall is AMAZE across the gaze. So many new stores that I've never heard of! It was like I had never been to a mall before. After a lovely milk-shaked lunch and a few hours of browsing, I walked out with two pairs of shoes, one practical, the other impractical, but I justified the latter purchase with the fact that they were on sale, and when the man rung them up an extra £15 was deducted. Eh!?? Anyway, Jules had no luck until the very end when we wandered into a random store and found a delicious pair of boots she proceeded to buy.

We had to make haste shortly thereafter as I had to catch a train into London where I'd be meeting my cousin Andrew at London Bridge staysh. With less than a minute to spare I caught the train settled down with my ipod, and admired my new purchase (which I had changed into en route to the train). I got into London Bridge around 4:50, 20 minutes late but in one piece and looking rather dashing in all my impracticality. Andrew chose this location under the impression it would be a great and convenient place to meet-- many-a-pub can be found in the surrounding area. What we didn't factor in was that this joint train and tube station is one of London's largest, with 15+ exits, and more people than mecca (well not quite but you get the pic). After many hilarious phone calls during which we remarked on the impossibility of finding eachother in the masses, Andrew made his way to the nearby Burough

Market and instructed me to ask for directions and head there to find him. It was like hide and seek with cell phones. Thankfully Jules had pointed out the Market the other day so I made my way there quite easily, and after one more exhausted call, I spotted Andrew in the midst of the market. We had a comical reunion in the middle of a cobble stone road which appeared to be out of commission until a large truck came towards us mid-hug out of nowhere and at full speed, horn blaring and lights blazing, and we had to jump out of the way to avoid impending death. That being said, we had a HUGE laugh while walking through the market, and ended up heading into the Market Porter, a super old English pub in the heart of the Burough. We had THE BEST time, catching up, chatting about friends and family and life in general. I asked a group of rowdy men to take our pic and we ended up hanging with them for a good hour, during which they bought us pints and entertained us with their cockney humour and quick Brit wit, which Andrew and Mel also possess. Melly - you would've loved this night. When we're in London together, whenever that may be, we're heading to the Porter. So, after what became a very international night of meeting brit blokes, an american business man, and his australian boss, I had to jet off back to Sidcup to meet Jules. I said farewell to Andrew (who is a professional singer for Wells Cathedral about 3 hours west of London fyi) and caught the train. Jules and I got a ride out to Checker's pub about 10 mins from the house in Sidcup and met up with David and his buddies. We had great chats over drinks and it was nice to meet his friends who were all so nice and welcoming. SO that concludes Friday.....

Saturday - Jules and I had an amazing lazy day. Sweet David made us lunch in bed and we chatted about the previous night. We watched a movie called 'The Downfall' about the last days of the demise of Hitler, a lil depressing but SUCH a good flick, I recommend it. We then got ready for our big night out to celebrate my bday.

Stay tuned, I'm hungry and need a break from writing, will post the second half in a bit!!!

Getting settled

As I am sitting here writing this, I just found out that it's a snow day in Tdot. It's 10 degrees here with overcast skies that are threatening rain, although it's supposed to be a dry one today. Feeling very far from home right now indeed!

I'm going to begin where I left off, rattled and distraught from my customs fiasco. David picked me up at the airport and drove me to the house where I'm staying this month. David and Jules recently purchased their own house hoping that it would be ready in time for my arrival, however there was much more to be done than originally anticipated. So instead we're all staying in his family home, located in the same neighbourhood of Sidcup, a quaint British suburb about 20 minutes east of London on the train. I feel incredibly spoiled to be here, the minute I stepped into the place I felt right at home. It looks like it could be in House and Home--- beautifully furnished and cozy at the same time. Not to mention David's mom Christine is the most chivalrous of hosts. I'm sitting in the living room as we speak, near a bay window with my new boyfriend Charlie, the 12 pound Bichon-Cavalier hybrid, curled up beside me. Such a handsome boy, but no pup could replace my li'l bee boy!

Christine gave me soup and a sandwhich which satisfied my intense longing for variable food groups - all I had before the plane and ironically on it as well were blueberry muffins eughhh- so I broke my fast by scarfing that down, got settled into my new digs, then David and I left hurriedly to fetch Julesie 45 mins away from a training she had been at for 3 days out in the middle of nowhere. We had a great reunion, although I was insanely tired so the ride home I slept the whole way. We arrived to the home fires burning literally, the cozy livingroom filled with David's extended family - his sisters, neices and nephews are frequent visitors. Fam is very important to them much like how it is to me, and Christine had already cracked a bottle of red open, so Jules and I gladly accepted a glass (or 5) of wine, it was a Saturday night after all. We had a great catch up and ended up hitting the hay around 1.

Sunday we decided to hit up the most amazing little pub in the countryside called The Chaser for lunch. The drive is about 20 minutes from Sidcup and it made me sooooo happy to be driving the winding roads through the famed Brit countryside. It's hard to get used to the way people drive here, roundabouts are in the place of stop signs and it takes effort to resist screaming at pedestrians on the roads to get out of the way. Jaywalking is risky here... don't worry Mumsie I'm constantly looking left and right :) haha. So we arrived at the pub, located in the middle of bright green country hills next to an old church that makes one feel like they've gone back in time. SO my kind of place. Everywhere you turn there's so much history.

Random - I have to throw in that right now "Somebody to Love" (Queen, not Justin Bieber) just came on the radio for the second time today. What is it with this song here!? It's not like it's top 40 material these days...

I feel like I'm writing wayyyyy too many details so I'll try to move this along.. we're still on the first day. At the pub we ordered some vino, I had to have some fish and chips to feel one with the Brits, and Jules and David had burgers to feel one with the "Americans" as they say. I've found that here, my 'accent' is my best accessory, especially in the boy department. However I've resorted to wearing a Canada scarf to avoid confusion, Brits take more kindly to you after finding out you're not American. Anyway, we had a great ol time at the pub, which was packed-- it's a very popular spot. Afterwards, we left and checked out the church-- there's a very old cemetery on the Church grounds that overlooks the countryside and it's soooo picturesque, very Pride and Prej.

We came home and Jules and I went for a walk with Charlie to see their new pad. It's about 10 minutes from Christine's house, such a cute spot, I'm so excited for the two of them to be homeowners - a concept that's SO far from where I'm at in life. We then took Charlie to a local park and got some good exercise, which was very needed as I later found out we'd be having fish and chips for dins, hahaha, after which I was officially deep-fried and battered out. We came home to more vino, chats, and tastey food.

Monday, Jules and I got up early to head into the city so she could show me the ropes before making her way to work. We grabbed the 9:30 train which took us right to London Bridge station and took a scenic walk across the Thames (on a bridge of course, I'm not Jesus) to the North part of London where we got to view London Bridge, The Tower, the Eye, and St. Paul's cathedral to name a few. It's amazing that Londoners are surrounded by such beautiful history all the time, when you are you can't help but end up taking it for granted I think. Anyway, Jules took me on the tube and got me settled, then left me to do as I pleased. At first the subway system's a little daunting, but everything's so clearly marked and there are helpful signs whereever you turn so it's hard to get lost. I made my way to the Canadian Embassy in Trafalgar square at Charing Cross station to discuss the meaning of the stamp the customs wench embedded on my Passport. As my luck would have it the Embassysi closed this month for renovations. I let out a surrendering chuckle and made my way to the National Gallery where I spent the next 3 hours checking out the Caravvaggios, Vermeers, and Constables to name a few. Thankfully I love galleries and museums so I'll be able to independantly entertain myself for days on end.

I grabbed a bite and headed to Oxford circus where I did some (window) shopping and got lost in Top Shop. I ventured home around 4 and came home to finally unpack my bags, eventually installing myself by the fire with Christine, David's sister Deb, and the two kids Abigail and Joshie where we had some wine and discussed a vast array of topics, from the kids' extra curriculars to suicides on the tube. (When Jules and I got into the tube station that day there was the following announcement: "Due to a body on the tracks, there is a delay on the central line" to which I let out a shocked gasp and those around me responded with annoyed groans as if they'd heard of a minor technical difficulty. Londoners are descensitized to the loss of life on the tracks as it happens ALL the time apparently, and the transportation ppl aren't afraid of telling it like it is.) Jules got home around 9, David around 9:30, then we all ate a late dinner and headed to bed.

Yesterday I had a VERY late sleep in, woke up at 1pm, had some lunch, and headed into London around 3:30 where I went to the National Portrait Gallery in Traf square and spent most of the time in the Tudor gallery. LOVED it. Around 6 I made my way on the tube to Bank station where Jules works. I will NEVER complain about taking the subway in rush hour in TO again after facing the most horrific tube ride in London rush hour on my way to Bank. It was like herding cattle and I was glad to get off the train. I ended up searching for a while and finding a great little pub where I had two pints and read my book while I waited for Jules to finish work, surrounded by men who had just finished work. I felt right at home ;)

I got the call from Jules and headed to her office where I met her boss Jenny. We then went to Mc D's and got some ice cream, then headed home to Christine's "death row" mac and cheese, deemed so as it's the last meal David would request before being executed -- it's THAT good. Mmmm I may come home a "healthier-looking" woman, as Julia Roberts says in Eat Pray Love "I don't want to be obese, but I'm through with the guilt". However, I'm trying to get as much exercise as I can to combat the dreaded potential muffin top.

ANYWAYYYYY I feel like I rambled on way too much and am now distracted by the prospect of curling up with my book. I'm meeting up with Paul who I met on the Carib cruise tomorrow for drinks at Leicester square, and have a busy amazing weekend planned as my bday is approaching.

Will post again soon, not sure who's reading this but I hope you're all doing well back home.

Love KT xx

ps- pictures to come, just figuring out how to post them

Getting here...

After the epic fail that was "Discouver Vancouver", I've decided to challenge myself by creating another witty-titled blog that actually contains more than 2 posts, documenting my travels through Europe. So here goes....

The flight over to London is worth mentioning. As some of you may know, I HATE flying. I usually carry a few adavan in my wallet as a placebo to reassure me that if the going gets rough, I can get pleasantly dopey on the drug, making the possibility of a crash a distant, fuzzy and almost happy thought. After working myself up for the flight, I got to the airport only to discover the flight was... wait for it.... 9 HOURS DELAYED. GOOOOO, how broodle is that. Luckily, sweet UJ was there to bring me back home for a few hours, only to return back to the airport later that night. The flight finally took off at 1 am, and after a glass of wine my nerves were calm and I was able to catch a mere 4 hour sleep, mind you there was a minor Toy Story 3 interruption in between but it was worth it I tell you.

I arrived at Gatwick slightly misty eyed but nonetheless excited to see Jules and David. As I waited for customs, I couldn't help but get the feeling that something wasn't right. As I approached the front of the line I stared at the customs employees sitting at their cubicles in disgust, with sullen looks plastered on their faces, clearly hating their lives and wishing they completed their highschool degrees (low blow...?). Of course I landed the worst of them all --- a vertically and socially challenged hobbit-like, menopause-approaching biatch who looked like she got plucked off the set of Slumdog Millionaire and thrown into an "official" uniform. This woman gave me HELL for not having a return ticket, despite the fact I had written proof that one was not needed if the visitor was staying less than 6 months.

Anyway, without boring you, I was detained for over 2 hours.... 2 HOURS. For NO good reason. They conducted a full luggage search (no cavity thank gawd) normally reserved for the sketchiest of the sketch. Violated and overtired, I could do nothing but listen to the customs nazi yell at how angry she was with me, reminding me of that time I skipped an afternoon at Cosburn in grade 8 and got called into the principals office where I received a scolding as though I had commited the worst violation since Eve ate the apple. My punishment: a stamp on the back pages of my passport usually reserved for pleasant documentation of one's previous travels --- "MUST RETURN APRIL 15". "Or what?" I asked the wench. "Or you, David, and Julia will face legal actions and go to court". "Go fuck yourself" I exclaimed... in my head. The problem is you can't argue with these bastards cause they hold the cards and can send you back home before you can say "go fuck yourself".

Yes, I was planning on coming home around that time anyway, but would have liked to A) have a flexible departure date, 2) to NOT have that stamp on my PP, and D) not have had such a rotten, rattling beginning to the voyage. (Melly, recognize the movie quote?)

That being said, I found much comfort in the words of Jules, David, and the fam. Sweetest David waited for me without knowing what had come of me, for that I express my sincerest gratitude.

STAY POSTED for the next blogs which will be 100 times more interesting and filled with joyous memories. Thanks for reading my rant.

Signing off for now... xo Kates