And So it Goes...

Discovery # 17: Madame Tussards is not worth the price you pay, especially when you arrive at the same time as a high school (and no I do not mean a class, I mean an entire high school). Imagine how girls giggle and squeal over a poster of the famous Twilight star Mr. Robert Pattison, now imagine how they squeal when they get to pose with an almost perfect replica of him. Add in Brad Pitt, David Beckham and Will Smith and you can imagine how ridiculous painful our afternoon was. We literally had to squeeze through the crowd most of the afternoon, and by the time I actually stepped out of Madame Tussards I had been elbowed in the chest and face more than forty times.

Discovery # 18: Urban parks are not the same thing as being outdoors in nature, and just so we are all clear you Toronto, New York and never leave the city folk just because you spent an afternoon at the petting zoo and playing soccer in a grassy field that was manufactured and architecturally designed this does not mean you experienced “rural living”.

Discovery # 19: If you find shepherd’s pie in England on sale for 2 pounds or less, DO NOT BUY. It is without a doubt hazardous to your health, and besides that it tastes so terrible you actually crave Burger King while eating it.

Discovery # 20: The Queen is the biggest thing going over here. You might think the Twilight and Harry Potter crew, along with football heros and The Beatles are rock stars over here, but they shine a pale pale light beside this old brod. We in Canada never got the whole royalty thing, in fact with the Queen’s visit this year Canadians are down 30% in favour of even being part of the Commonwealth; but you can’t say stuff like that over here. Seriously, I think someone might kill you. They know everything about her, random facts that no one should know about everything. On top of that everyone talks about her like she is their best friend. The only thing I know about her is that I like seeing her face; it means I have money.

Discovery # 21: Always investigate a “good” deal on a flat over here. We are in Harlesden, London. The flat looked great in the pictures; and the price was within an arm’s reach of our budget. Well, let’s look at the reality of our little flat # 2 shall we. One: we live above a launderette, which is basically in Canadian terms a Laundromat (in case you were wondering!), thus the temperature of the apartment is always at a balmy 30 degrees. Two: It has in the past, and to some still is, the murder capital of London. Considering Jack the Ripper basically defined history in Whitechapel with his string of murders, this is saying something. Three: It has a high gang rate activity, which of course white man America blames on its high multicultural status. Just so we are clear, there are lots of white man sporting some gangster wardrobes, so white man should reconsider. Now, those are its less flattering features, there are two features which I happen to like. Four: Apartment is without a doubt bordering on the 2-3 times bigger than our last flat so cheers to that (in fact we both toasted some stella as soon as we walked in!) and five: It is the reggae capital of England, who doesn’t love that!

Now, as for our adventures over the past few days. One, we went to Madame Tussards which I already spoke about. Posted below are some pics of the less harrowing exhibits. Coolest part of the exhibit: The infamous serial killers of England in the “Scream” exhibit. Way cool! We even got to see the guillotine that beheaded Mary Antoinette! I took a picture of course (see below!)

On that same day we also did Supper in SOHO with my cousin Scott, which included an unintentional detour route through Soho's red light district...one thought: OH MY (with a shock face). We also did a tour around Sherlock Holmes, # 221 Baker Street!

The next couple of days were spent relaxing, packing and moving. The moving part is a real pain in the behind. Want a description? Shrink yourself down to 5.2” if you aren’t already in that ballpark. Put a 3 foot backpack on your back weighing approximately 50 lbs. Then, pack a suitcase to an approximate weight of 65 pounds. Then, grab two sobey’s reusable green bags and fill them with groceries, approximately 15 pounds. The grab a smaller backpack, approximately 22 pounds and figure out where to put that. Now, ask your friend or your partner to do the exact same thing and see if you can help each other out. Of course, you haven’t left you living room yet silly! You are moving afterall. So now let’s go up three flights of stairs with all of that luggage, approximately 68 steps. The of course you need to come back down, but just a cautionary note your luggage may go flying down the stairs accidentally or it may tip over several times while attempting this. Now you get to wait five minutes, enjoying the weight of that super duper backpack which of course tips and sways every now and then because the top is heavier than the bottom. While waiting you should go to the mall, because it is only then that you will have hundreds (and I’m not joking) of people stare, point, whisper and laugh. The next step of the journey may be hard for you to replicate, but you can try if you wish. You need to board a bus, train or subway in which you have standing room only and not all your luggage can fit. You will take that packed train, bus or subway 15 minutes then attempt to get everything off of it. Another cautionary note, you only have 15 seconds, twenty other people are getting off as well along with twenty people waiting to get on in that same 15 seconds, and things still like to tip over. Now you have to find a cab. Ah, moving days are so much fun aren’t they! Needless to say we did nothing but grocery shop and sleep for two days!

Yesterday we went on an outside London day adventure. Thoughts: FANTASTIC!

Stop # 1: Windsor Castle: Thoughts: HOLY COW!

Highlight # 1: It was built by William the Conqueror who though had a bit of a sketchy passed I happened to enjoy learning about in history class at UPEI.

Highlight # 2: Two, we saw amour and actual knight gear from like centuries and centuries ago.

Highlight # 3: Saw the bed that some of the great kings slept in, including Henry the VIII (though I am not sure how much actual sleeping he did J)

Highlight # 4: Saw tons of amazing British and Italian paintings like Rembrandt, Dyke and so forth. It was stunning

Highlight # 5: Saw the “round table” of the knights, including all the shields; even those of the shamed and stripped knights!

Highlight # 6: Stood on Henry VIII’s grave! (well his vault actually!)

Highlight # 7: Saw the dolls and dollhouses of the Queen’s (they were princesses at the time I hope!)

Stop # 2 on our out of London adventure: The City of Bath: Thoughts: HOLY COW!

Highlight # 1: Saw where Johnny Depp lives

Highlight (I think!) # 2: Saw where Nicholas Cage lives

Highlight # 3: Drove through the towns and villages that sparked all of Jane Austen’s novels. I nearly died in heaven imaging it all!

Highlight # 4: Walked on cobbled stones and sat near a Roman healing bath which is more than 2000 years old!

Highlight # 5: Got to stroll around the city that almost every British noble has also strolled around, and coolest part almost all of the city is 500 years old!

Highlight # 6: The Bath Abby (pics below) and listening to their choir practice

Stop # 3: Stonehenge: Oh dear...

Highlight # 1: Got to check it off the bucket list.

Never got to do the Greenwich day yet, but since Mr. Johnny Depp is currently there filming the next Pirates of the Caribbean you know that’s where I will be tomorrow; peaking through wired fences for a glimpse! Tuesday Lenny has to work so I am going on a Notting Hill film walking tour which will take me to all the spots that were filmed or used in the film throughout the movie (too bad it won’t include High Grant!). On the agenda for this week is also to be the Museum of Natural History and the long awaited Jack the Ripper walking tour. Of course the weather has to hold out, fingers crossed!

Cheers until tomorrow!

The Scoop Thus Far

Hello Folks! Sorry for the delay, been getting some much needed rest the last few days.

So where to start:

Well, a few days ago we decided to enjoy the cloudy but no rain blessing we were given and hit the town to do some exploring. We visited Westminster Parliament buildings, which to no one’s surprise is a bigger version of Ottawa. Yes, how crazy that Canada has to replicate everything on what Britain or the USA creates. Someday I hope we find our own way in the world! Regardless this place is massive, like MASSIVE. It spans at least twelve blocks, easily two American football fields and with towering peaks it is quite an impressive piece of historic architecture. What is mind boggling is why does a small elected group of mostly men need such a big space?

Next was Big Ben, which of course had me seeing songs from Peter Pan and daydreaming about flying! It is also quite impressive, and I also had one of my first shock moments. Now every tourist location we have visited thus far has either been less than expected/hoped for, or pretty close to what I imagined it would be. Tower Bridge perhaps being the only exception but then when I viewed the crappy royal blue paint it went down the impressive scale. So, when I came across Big Ben I had my first legitimate “wow this is way more impressive than I thought it would be,” which if you know me well is an experience that does not happen all that often!

So what was so fantastical about Big Ben you ask (I am assuming you asked!). It looked like a series of little castles. It was carved, moulded and sketched to perfection. Gold and silver and bronze scattered throughout, and with such fine architectural designs I just kept thinking how is this a clock? I mean I have seen some pretty cool grandfather clocks, but this clock is like a castle all to its own and at the end of the day all it does is tell time! Plus it was like a Disney moment, and despite Peter Pan being only number seven on my all-time favourite Disney animated movie pre-2000, it was still a very cool childhood delight moment.

After our trip around Big Ben it began to rain, so we skipped Westminister Abbey for that day, but we will be back. Part two of our adventure included an Acquarium, which if you have been to SeaWorld of Marineland you would have been booerns and threw out some dynamic yawns, which unfortunately Lenny and I did a few times. Overall though, it was a great way to spend a few hours out of the rain! We saw some very cool turtles, and attempted to bribe an octopus to stop playing shy and pose for just one picture (he didn’t buy our Canadian charm though and stayed just out of sight for our entire visit!). We hung out with some sharks, which wouldn’t stay still long enough to catch a decent photo, but were very cool to watch. Now most of you know I am not a fan of bigger than a trout marine killing, but when that great white rounded the corner his face was one of the most terrifying things I have ever seen. What was weird was that I have seen great whites before, so this guy must have had some crappy parental lineage that create because his facial features were nasty. Lenny’s first comment was immediately, “Holy crap that guy’s got a scary face.” Two seconds later two kids cried. Is this helping reiterate how scary this guy was!? We browsed around and found Nemo (so did every child under seven who guided us to the Nemo and Dory tank by yelling their names repeatedly). There were of course some sting rays, which as always are stunningly beautiful. After our surfing experience in Florida though (where we were not allowed to walk on the surface but glide so we didn’t get stung by one of them) I find myself loving them a lot more in captivity.

The next day was actually sunny, so we took advantage of the day in full stride by heading to Buckingham Palace (the site for Ethan and Chelsea's beautiful engagement!) for the changing of the guards and then strolled around Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, and Piccadilly Circus.

Buckingham Palace: Some of you may be upset by the comments, but the truth is that the gates around the palace are WAY more impressive than the palace itself. In reality the building is the simply a grey version of our Province House and it is three times bigger. It had very little architectural delicacy and really just looked like a very large boulder than had some windows and doors. Now the gates were very impressive with 12foot high iron and gold coated gates that definitely proclaimed royalty. Along with the gates the whole royal thing was amplified by the huge and very cool fountain out front. It was surrounded by various statues of what I be . In the center was another golden statue that was much more glorious than the royal palace itself. Now though the Palace may not have looked impressive, the fact that many of the Kings and Queens of England have lived in that very castle was enough to have me clicking happily with my camera and dreaming of an afterlife when I can live inside it! Coolest part of the Buckingham Palace visit was the little guards in their funny fur hats! I have been wanting to see one since I was little so it was very awesome to see them! Unlike in the movies you can’t go up beside them and try to make them laugh; at least not when we were there, so this was a major disappointment. The changing of the guards was as a former colleague of mine pointed out a VERY long drawn out traditional affair. It started at 11:30 with some drummers, and four horses led in a bunch of royal guards dressed in their traditional red uniforms with their little back furry hats, carrying their guns like the proper cadet would do. For thirty minutes they marched to the drums and horses pranced around the statues. Then they all cleared out the way they came and new guards took their place in the little boxes outside the palace doors! Obviously this changing of the guard thing is a BIG deal though because at least 10,000 people were there to watch, crowding against gates, statues, stairs, streets and sidewalks. Wherever you turned you ran into a tourist with a camera. Needless to say when it was done I was beelining it out of there as fast as I could. One more kids boot to the face as they happily strolled along on their dad’s shoulder and I was going to rip their boot off and beat their parent with it. Now that I think about I should have done that; I bet then I could have gotten a close up photo with a royal guard! Final not ewith regards to the Changing of the Guards, be careful where you step because like in Toronto they don't clean up the little gifts the horses leave behind!

Following Buckingham Palace we strolled through the widespread fields of Hyde Park which is known as one of London’s largest recreational parks with large football fields and a lake for swimming and boating. They have large roads sweeping throughout the park that allow for cyclists and rollerblades, as well as perfect trails for running and walking. One thing I was surprised to see though was their large area for horseback riding. Another surprise was that despite it being the first sunny day in over seven days, there were very few people there. Those that were there were to no one’s surprise playing a game of football! Kensington Gardens was cool to be at, but it will be better when spring comes and there is actually a garden! I know, no surprise there either! Not that shrubs and decaying flowers aren’t cool, but I would rather sit on a bench by a fountain surrounded by alive plants instead of dead ones. Just saying!

We walked around the Garden and Park for a long time searching for Princess Diana’s memorial fountain. I posted a picture and once you see it: enough said. It was dreadful, and all it did was remind me of how much the Queen hated her. As you can see from the picture, it wasn’t even a stupid fountain. Water fountains in high school are more impressive than that crappy memorial. At least she got a big piece of grass (you can’t hear the sarcasm but insert it here).

That day we also went to Marble Arch. This arch was built in like the early 1800s and it use dot be Buckingham Palace but eventually the Queen's transportation got too wide to fit through the arch so it got moved to Hyde Park. They are currently thinking about moving it again; good luck with that!

The next day rained A LOT so we headed to a movie: Winter’s Bone. I am not sure if it will be coming to PEI, but if it does go to City Cinema and see it. It is absolutely amazing and if Ms. Lawrence does not win an Oscar I am officially never watching an Oscar movie again! It was flawless acting, and an absolutely amazing screenplay. Go see it (or download it but don’t tell anyone I told you to do it!)

Today we went to Hillsong London. We were planning on going to a church of our blessed rescuers (the 4 people who rescued us when we were homeless) but there were a bunch of planned tube closures today which caught off the path to their church. The church was just like you’d see in their DVD or music videos. I am not sure what that means yet! It is still to be determined if I will go back.

Tomorrow is Shepherd’s Bush Market. Now normally we would not be going to a market on a possibly perfect Monday, but the underground has decided to go on a 36 hour strike which started at 6 this evening. This means whatever we are doing is by foot only, and since we are in Olympia it is to Shepherd’s Bush Market we go. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Some upcoming plans: Camden Flower Market, Covent Garden (which may end up being exactly like Kensington Gardens but we shall see), a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, Stonehenge, and Bath. We are also, wait for it, going to a few concerts and I am just about bursting with excitement and anticipation! (Insert drum roll here): We are going to see The Boxer Rebellion, Brandon Flowers and Ellie Goulding. To make things even more awesome The Script is coming in March!!! WHOOOOO HOOOOO (this is a very loud cheer, you may even hear it where you are at right now!)

Interview news tomorrow. There are a few kinks with the job, but regardless we will know more in the morning!

Cheers!