Month: May 2011

I think I want to hit each and every one of these as well.

10 of the best pubs in London | Travel | guardian.co.uk.

I want to hit each and every one of these this summer.

Summer pub gardens | Life and style | The Guardian.

I know I’m stating something that many other people already know, a former employer told me one that you could get a high paying job for stating the obvious, but in many large cities there is a publication called TimeOut that lists many of the different cultural things to do in that city for the week.  TimeOut London is fantastic and can help you filter through the overstimulation of activities in such a large metropolitan area.  They include a hotlist of activities from which you can choose, including multiple different categories, including art, theatre, live music, cinema, restaurant reviews, lectures and community oriented events.

For those of you visiting as tourists, there are travel guides for each city that are refreshing in tone and real in their candor.  Written by locals for locals, you get a realistic picture of what you can do while you are in that city to experience the city just like a local.  If you want a less touristy, more authentic city experience, then TimeOut guides are for you. Otherwise, stick to Frommers and end up in the same 20 restaurants and sights that everyone and their brother has attended.  TimeOut also publishes a very open and frank Gay and Lesbian Guide for London that speaks to all of the different scenes that one could possibly want.  Clubs, pubs, the underbelly, it’s all there.

Check their worldwide site here.

One of the things that people don’t necessarily discuss with relocation and international expatriation is the mixed emotions that come along with picking your life up and dropping it into a completely unfamiliar culture.  There is the excitement of new places, people, jobs and things to do but the sense of latent grief in the not so subtle mourning of the friends, activities and routines that you have left behind.  In my experience, it took me about four months to get to the point where the novelty of my new living situation has worn off.  The lack of novelty does not make the overall experience any less wonderful, but, it does force me to realize that everyone’s lives continue, including my own – making the new reality that much more poignant.

London is a wonderful city, vibrating with possibility, creative in its nature, and practically teeming with choices of things to do and people to meet. However, there becomes a time when the most mundane things that one could rely on are the things that you miss – the dry cleaner who knows your name and asks about your travel; the Sunday morning routine of brunch at your favourite restaurant, the paper and people watching; the sports matches and meetings of your favourite team and club; running into a friend that you haven’t seen in a while in the most random of places and the familiar faces and things, even at the grocery store.  These are the things that you end up missing the most, even on a subconscious level.

All the new choices in things to make part of a routine can be overwhelming, not necessarily in a tragic and melodramatic way, but, in a realistic “Really?” sort of way.  Sometimes, I still feel disconnected and a bit isolated from the reality of my own existence because nothing seems repeatable or predictable.  Everything is a new experience, and while thrilling most of the time, sometimes it just gets old. There are times that the human condition needs that sense of the familiar in the face of novelty, the sense of belonging in the face of potential isolation and the sense of community while not sacrificing the individual achievement that got you there.

Anyway, I know it can sound like I am bemoaning the wonderful and great things that I’ve worked so hard to earn.  The expat experience is a great and wonderful and a exciting adventure. Though, in every adventure, there are times that it can feel like more work than fun. Putting myself out there to be open to the magic of new friendships, experiences and places is the only way I can see myself getting through this.

And, this too shall pass.  And now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go make myself some homemade macaroni and cheese and watch bad American television until I feel a little less disconnected.

Don’t judge me.

Beatrice and Eugenie return to the Royal Wedding milliner for more eye-catching creations | Mail Online.

Say whatever you want, I think the hat that Princess Beatrice wore to the wedding is absolutely brilliant.  I want one for myself.

Courtesy of the Daily Mail

Tube strike looms for London commuters | UK news | guardian.co.uk.

Definitely something to watch out for in the next few weeks.  Personally, this would be a perfect time to ride a bike through London.

Things To Do In London On The Cheap: 6-12 May | Londonist.

This site is one of the places where you can find many things that are either free or relatively inexpensive and usually once in a lifetime experiences.

London has some grand park spaces, Royal Parks, as it were.  These are large spaces that are not legally owned by the public, but are used by the public by the “grace and favour of the Crown”. These are lands that are owned by the Crown Estate, basically the land holdings of the Queen which are managed by the Crown Estate Commission as part of the land portfolio that the Monarchy owns.  These historic spaces are freely accessible and absolutely beautiful.  In the past couple of weeks, I have visited the four of them in Central London, as Spring in London is motivation enough to get out there. Most of these parks were designed or remodeled in the 1820’s by John Nash, famous architect and landscaper commissioned by the Prince Regent.

St. James’s Park is the smallest of the five and the oldest, bordered by St. James’s Palace, Buckingham Palace, The Mall and Birdcage Walk. The main feature of this bucolic space is a manmade lake in the center, filled with pelicans which have been resident since the late 1600’s. The gardens and romantic winding paths are.definitely worth spending a quiet afternoon, right near the hustle and busttle of Victoria Station, Westminster Abbey and Parliment.  The closest tube station is Victoria Station.

St. James’s Park leads into Green Park, a solid green space filled with meadows, woods and trees that is bordered by Piccadilly, Constitution Hill, and the Queen’s Walk.  This is the closest public space to Buckingham Palace and it is one of the most calm places in central London.  Bucolic is the best word to describe the space and it is a place that I like to go to clear my head.  There are very few memorials and public monuments, but, one of note is the Canada Memorial.  It is the WWI and WWII memorial of the Canadian Soldiers that died defending Britain.  The closest station is Green Park.

Green Park leads into Hyde Park at Hyde Park Corner. Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in Central London, and is to London what Central Park is to Manhattan.  I live at Lancaster Gate which is at the border of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.  Hyde Park is divided in two by the Serpentine, a water feature that allows for paddle boats, swans, and rowing. Pathways for running, walking and rollerblading crisscross the park, and bike trails and a bus road bisect the park.  It differs from Central Park in one main way – in Central Park, you never lose sight of the skyscrapers or the large buildings that border the park. In Hyde Park, ther are a few places where you can completely lose sight of the fact that you are in the middle of the UK’s biggest city, becomeing one with the nature and monuments that are in park.  You can rent lawn chairs, get ice cream, and eat at a restaurant in the middle of the park.

Kensington Gardens is the final of this chain of parks.  Though often considered part of Hyde Park, the gardens have been separate since the 1720’s, as originally these were the gardens of Kensington Palace. Kensington Gardens is the original adventure spot for Peter Pan, as represented by the statue and monument in the eastern part of the park.  The Gardens are more formal, botanical in nature and have the Italian Gardens fountain water structures right near the entrance I use to go to the park. The Western boundary of the gardens is Kensington Palace, former home to Diana, Princess of Wales and the home to the British monarchs prior to Buckingham Palace.

All in all, this chain of parks can provide you plenty of free pleasure and relaxation, right outside your doorstep – well, at least mine.

I have just been buried as hell since going to Seoul, China and then coming back here and being buried at work.  More stuff to get posted tomorrow.  🙂