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

What a year!

As of today it has been exactly a year since I arrived in London. I’m feeling a mixture of pride, disbelief (that’s it’s already been a year!), sadness that half my time here has already gone by but also optimism for the year ahead. What a year it’s been; I haven’t travelled quite as much as I had expected/hoped to (London is a very expensive city to live in!) but I still managed to travel to Wales, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Scotland and a few random places/towns around England so that’s not too bad.

First, a few pictures of what I’ve been up to over the holidays. In December, Dan and I went to Bruges with BritBound to see one of Europe’s famous Christmas markets. I was a little disappointed by the market since I had been looking at pictures of Berlin and Prague’s markets before going and Bruges is tiny but it is still a charming little town and we had a good time. Here are a few pictures of 1) the ferry crossing to France, 2) Bruges town square (where the market is) and 3) the best thing about Belgium: food (especially chocolate) and beer!

I love London at Christmas time – from the iconic Harrods all lit up to the cute shop decorations. It also turns out that London has its own Christmas market in Hyde Park (amongst many others) called Winter Wonderland. We went to this market and it is basically a Christmas version of Oktoberfest – it was great! I also used it as an opportunity to proudly display my Canada mittens!

I was lucky enough to have some of my family come visit me in London this Christmas and we went on a tour of Scotland (Edinburgh, Highlands & Inverness) for Christmas. This was a Haggis Adventures tour and it was really great: very well organized, fantastic guide/driver and all-around good fun! This is my second Haggis Adventures tour and I really recommend them for anyone wanting to visit Scotland in a fun and affordable way. They also have these cute little busses but sometimes, there are creepers on the bus (note: this may only be when my brother is on board):

So we started off in Edinburgh:

Then moved up in the Scottish Highlands through two national parks, around Loch Ness, stopped by the Culloden memorial site and up to Inverness:

And we had a lovely Christmas dinner at the Royal Highland Hotel (famous for its Royal visitors and the staircase that inspired the one in Titanic) in Inverness which included a haggis, neeps & taties starter (delicious!):

And we even got to visit some of my favourites: Hairy Coos!

It was a great trip with very scenic views and good Scottish fun. We eventually make our way back to London in time for the new year where my mom and I went for posh afternoon tea at The Dorchester:

And we celebrated New Year’s Eve in style after a visit to Nobu where I had the best meal of my life. I had delicious tuna tacos (not pictured), Wagyu beef and this chocolate tart for dessert that started out as a chocolate ball but after hot chocolate was poured on it (at the table), it melted into a tart – so cool! I have eaten at some great restaurants in my life but this is by far the best meal I have ever had. I now need to save up my pennies and go back soon!

Finally, since I have now spent a year living in London, I thought I would list my advice for the top ten things to do when moving abroad:

1. Get an iPhone

I have never been a big Apple fan but the iPhone has lots of great apps like CityMapper (which has saved me so many times), Whatsapp, Skype and FaceTime which make it easy (and free!) to stay in touch with people from back home. It was a big expense for me but definitely worth it.

2. Network

I am a relatively shy person and it’s hard for me to push myself to meet new people but this was part of this experience. Groups like BritBound and Meetups are the perfect place to meet new people when you move abroad by yourself and most people in those groups are in the exact same situation so I felt that this made it a little easier. I feel that it’s important to meet people or this experience wouldn’t be the same.

3. Make time to call home

It’s easy when your life starts picking up to forget to call your family/friends but I found that it’s been worth making the time for it (even though I’m still not doing it enough). Whether it’s for moral support, a good chat or, more importantly, to order more supplies of stuff only found in Canada, it is important and I will do it more this year.

4. Travel every chance you get

As I said before, I came here hoping to travel more but it’s important to continuously budget for holidays. While travelling within Europe may seem cheap compared to travelling from Canada, travel expenses still add up and it’s good to budget to make the most of it. I have started savings jars that I hope will help with more European city breaks in 2015!

5. Join discount sites

Shortly after I got here I signed up to free websites like TimeOut, Amazon Local and Groupon and started receiving daily email deals for restaurants, theatre tickets, tourist attractions, shops, etc. The discounts are usually very good and it’s definitely worth taking the time to scroll through a few emails every day.

6. See shows!

London is a great place to see theatre, musicals, ballets, operas, orchestras, etc. Using the websites I mentioned above you can easily find discounted tickets and I try to remind myself once in a while to go see some world-class shows! So far I have seen Les Misérables (a few times…it’s my favourite), Wicked, The Nutcracker and Miss Saigon. I missed out on seeing Richard III starring Martin Freeman (I heard mixed reviews anyway) and I’m determined to get tickets to Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch next fall. Coming up, I have tickets to the Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses and the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular which I’m excited for. I would also like to see another ballet and an opera too.

7. Write about your experiences

I have found that writing entries in this blog can be therapeutic but it also reminds me of all the things I have done. Even this entry now, if I wasn’t taking the time to write this, I wouldn’t have fully realized how much I have done over the past year and how amazing it’s been! It can also be nice to re-read some of my past entries which brings back memories of what I was going through at the time.

8. Pack light

London has everything and more that you can every need. I think that there is no need to pack things like towels, laundry bags and random accessories as some blogs/websites suggest. It’s easier to arrive here with a lighter bag and buy everything you need once here. There are affordable places like Primark and Argos that have very low prices, even in London. I now regret dragging my super heavy suitcase around everywhere when I first arrived.

9. Talk to the locals

I have found that people love to talk about their neighbourhoods and things that they love. It’s easy to start up a conversation with “I’m not from here, do you have any advice on what to do?” since people almost always have something to say. People often volunteer travel advice/things to do when they hear my accent and realize that I’m not from around here so it’s also a good way to meet people.

10. Just do it already!

This, I think, is my best piece of advice. Stop being scared of what could go wrong and take the plunge. I believe that, as long as you keep an open mind, this type of adventure can only be a success. To cap things off, as always, a quote that touches on this last point:

Life is what you make it. Always has been, always will be.

Eleanor Roosevelt

And Now for Something Completely Different

It has been a while since I last wrote but I have been busy! Now that I have established a routine of sorts for day-to-day life in London and that my major moving expenses are done, I have finally had time to travel and have some fun.

Before I get into the travel, a bit of advice: there are many meetup groups and Facebook groups (Canadians in London, BritBound) aimed at Canadians in London looking to meet new people. Many of these revolve around specific interests (art galleries, sports, foodies, etc.) but there are more general ones like the London Canadian Expats group. I have attended a few of this group's events where over 100 Canadians show up to watch hockey games, have a drink or more recently, to celebrate the May 2-4 long weekend. This event was great as only Canadian music was played, Canadian drinks were imported (Clamato for Caesars and Sleeman's beer) and most importantly: poutine was served (with real cheese curds!). It's always nice to meet other Canadians when you've been away from home for a while and this was a really fun night. I really recommend joining these gropus and making the effort to attend a few events when moving to London. Here's a picture of my perfect Canadian meal:

Plug: The Poutinerie was authentic and delicious and can be found at London's Brick Lane Market every Sunday.

Now for my travel! My first trip since moving to London was to Cardiff, Wales. Before going to Cardiff I was warned not to bother as it's a rough and depressing place. I ignored that advice and I'm so glad I did! A friendly taxi driver in Cardiff explained that it used to be a rough city about 20 years ago but that a lot of work has gone into changing its image and vibe. I was really impressed by Cardiff (it helps that the weather was in the 20s and sunny!) but it is a lovely City with lots to offer! Here are a few of the places I visited and recommend:

1.  Doctor Who Experience 

Don't forget to try to find the secret entrance to Torchwood at Ronald Dahl Place (fellow Doctor Who/Torchwood geeks will know what I'm talking about here)!

2.  Cardiff Harbour

You can take a water taxi to the City Centre to/from here which is more enjoyable
that a real taxi, bus or walking. There are great restaurants, pubs and shops along the quay here. There was also, very randomly, a Royal Navy ship docked open to the public while I was there so I took some time to visit:

 3.  Cardiff Castle

Beautiful old castle (those who know me know that I am slightly obsessed with castles...so this was a mandatory stop)

 

Other things worth noting in Cardiff are the high street (across from Cardiff Castle) which has lots of restaurants, pubs and shops, including covered arcades that are quite charming:

This is also a good place to treat yourself to a Welsh Cake which was a very delicious and happy discovery. They are kind of like a soft shortbread cookie with raisins and sugar...more delicious than they sound - especially if you can find them freshly baked and still warm! Excuse my while I wipe the drool from my mouth...

While this short trip to Cardiff for a very affordable £6 bus ticket (coaches here are MUCH better than the Greyhound busses we have back home) was a great weekend getaway, I am looking forward to upcoming trips to Dublin, Paris, Munich and Edinburgh over the next few months. 

Stay tuned for more tales from the land of tea and crumpets - and abroad! As usual, I end with a quote; this one is aimed at those who told me not to bother visiting Cardiff:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

 Mark Twain