Summer Days at Last!

May and June have flown by and summer is finally here! It is a very hot 35 degrees today in London and a lot of people are sipping Pimms and eating strawberries and cream at Wimbledon while some of us (me!) have to work. Even though I am Canadian, no one at my work agreed that I should get the day off. How unfortunate that I can’t take advantage of the fantastic weather! Before I move on to what I’ve been up to lately, let me wish everyone a Happy Canada Day! Here is an amazing picture I found on the Canadian expats Facebook page. I just can’t get over how amazing it is:

So I have busy with fun random things lately, here’s a sampling and great examples of why living in London is so amazing – there is never a shortage of things to do!

In May I went to see a live taping of the Graham Norton Show where tickets are free! When you get tickets, you don’t know who the guests are going to be but I got very lucky and one of the guests was Simon Pegg who I absolutely love! Kylie Minogue, Michael McIntyre and Brandon Flowers were also on the show. It was a really fun experience and Graham Norton is hilarious both on and off the screen, I definitely recommend this if you find yourself in London, you can’t go wrong with free tickets anyway really! Try to spot me in the audience if you can:

In May I also let out my inner geek and went to the Legend of Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses concert and to the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular which were super fun. The Doctor Who one in particular had many of the show’s villains and monsters walking around on stage and in the aisles during the show which was really fun. To cap off May, I also met up with friends to watch the Eurovision song contest on television which is a bit of a big deal over here (depending who you ask). It is an extremely cheesy American Idol-type of show where each European country (and somewhat confusingly Australia this year) gets to send one performer and people from all over Europe vote for their favourites. Sweden was the winner this year replacing last year’s Austrian (bearded!) lady Conchita Wurst. It’s not for everyone but we did have fun, enjoyed some Pimms (my new favourite drink since moving to the UK) and sported furry moustaches in honour of Conchita:

In June I celebrated my 30^th birthday (cue hysterical tears) and went to a few nice places. First, we went to Escape Rooms where you essentially get locked in a room for an hour and you have to solve a series of puzzles, riddles and everything in between to escape the room. We succeeded with 6 minutes to spare! It was very challenging but also very fun. I’m a little bit hooked and can’t wait to go back and try to solve some of their other challenges. Here is Team Poutine’s victory picture that now hangs on the walls of Escape Rooms:

On my actual birthday I took the day off of work and was treated to a day at the London Zoo. Those who know me know that I love giraffes and I was very pleased to spend a part of my birthday with 3 lovely giraffes. The London Zoo is very nice. The animals look healthy and happy, the enclosures are clean and there is sufficient space for them to roam and even hide if they want to. Here are a few of my pictures from the zoo:

For dinner we went to Berner’s Tavern which is a fantastic restaurant. The vibe is casual yet classy and there is only one enormous room where the walls are lined with framed pictures and paintings from floor to ceiling. The food was fantastic (probably the best chicken I’ve ever had) and they gave me a nice little cake and birthday card when they found out it was my birthday. The cocktails are also very unique and fun. I had the “Cereal Killer” which is rum, Kahlua, white chocolate liqueur, coco pops milk (that’s right!) and chocolate bitters served in a very cute tiny milk bottle and candy stripe straw. It was a really great place for a special occasion.

I also had a chance to visit Borough Market, London’s oldest fruit & vegetable market (although there is so much more there now!) and it was amazing. Here is just a taste of what you can find there:

Lastly, after a year and a half of waiting, I finally went to see a movie at the Electric Cinema. This super old cinema is expensive but worth every penny. You can either sit on the 2 seater sofas at the back, on your very own armchair (with footstool) or on one of the 2 seater beds at the front and all seats have cashmere blankets! We opted for one of the beds at the front and it was fantastic! Not only are you super comfortable and cozy during the movie, the cinema offers snacks like nachos, burgers, chicken wings, candy, etc and drinks (champagne, beer, wine, etc.) that you can enjoy during the movie. I will definitely be back – especially considering that it’s less than 5 minutes away from my house!

I plan to now enjoy summer, try to spend as much time outside picnicking in London’s many parks and enjoying everything London has to offer in the summer, including the sometimes unbearable heat in a place where air conditioning is not always that common. Here’s a quote that summarises how I feel about summer here:

“Ah summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.”

Russel Baker